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9 October 2019
Anchorage Nurse Practitioner and Soldotna Doctor Arrested on Separate Federal Narcotics ChargesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration have arrested an Anchorage nurse practitioner and a Soldotna doctor on separate federal narcotics charges, which allege that they illegally distributed large amounts of opioids and other powerful narcotics by writing prescriptions for “patients” without medical examinations and lacking medical necessity. Federal law enforcement officials executed multiple search warrants in both cases yesterday.
Jessica Joyce Spayd, 48, of Anchorage owns a medical clinic called Eagle River Wellness in Eagle River, Alaska. Spayd is a licensed Advanced Nurse Practitioner specializing in pain management and addiction treatment. Spayd was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint that charges her with illegally distributing oxycodone, methadone, and hydromorphone.
The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2019, Spayd prescribed over 4 million dosage units of opioid narcotics to just over 450 unique “patients” in Alaska, many of whom traveled hundreds of miles from Fairbanks, Utqiagvik, King Salmon and other remote locations to obtain prescriptions. The complaint alleges that Spayd’s unlawful distribution of opioids resulted in the deaths of two patients. Law enforcement agencies continue to investigate Spayd’s prescribing history.
Dr. Lavern R. Davidhizar, 74, of Soldotna owns and practices at Family Medical Clinic in Soldotna, Alaska. Davidhizar has been licensed as an Osteopathic Physician since 1978 and holds an Alaska Medical License. Davidhizar was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint that charges him with illegally distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice.
The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that between 2017 and 2019, Davidhizar prescribed over 700,000 narcotic pills. During that time, the leading medications prescribed, but not limited to, were hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, methadone, and tramadol. According to the affidavit, drug abusers on the Kenai Peninsula referred to Davidhizar as the “Candy Man” because it was common knowledge that people could obtain pain medication prescriptions from him even though they did not have a legitimate medical need. Law enforcement agencies continue to investigate Davidhizar’s prescribing history.
In response to the arrests, U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder states, “[t]ogether with our partners in law enforcement, we are committed to prosecuting the illegal distribution of controlled substances, whether the crimes are committed by medical professionals or street dealers. The end result of their activities is the same: the creation of addicts, crime, and sometimes death.”
Additionally, “[t]he Rural Alaska Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (RAAVEN) represents an ongoing effort to build the capacity of federal, state, and tribal law enforcement in rural Alaska and collaborative public safety and prevention measures with community leaders and local law enforcement officers.”
“While facing a frightening opioid drug epidemic, it is truly sad that these two medical professionals would deliberately contribute to this on-going health crisis,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis. “DEA and its partners will continue to aggressively address illicit drug trafficking throughout the entire State of Alaska under Operation RAAVEN.”
If convicted, Spayd faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years to life in federal prison for the most serious charges alleged in the complaint. If convicted, Davidhizar faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment. The actual sentences imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants. The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If the public has any further information regarding Spayd or Davidhizar,
please contact Anchorage DEA at (907) 271-5033.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and members of the Alaska Health Care Fraud Task Force, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Office of Law Enforcement and Security, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Alaska State Parks Rangers, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department, Soldotna Police Department, Kenai Police Department, Alaska Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the State of Alaska Division of Insurance conducted the investigations leading to the charges in these cases. The Spayd case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan D. Tansey. The Davidhizar case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Corso and Jonas Walker.
The Alaska Health Care Fraud Task Force (AHCFTF) is a partnership of local, state, federal, and private agencies focused on the investigation of health care fraud, waste, and abuse in Alaska or affecting Alaskan interests. For more information: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/anchorage/alaska-health-care-fraud-task-force
Ada Man Sentenced to 70 Months for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Branden Ashley Rowell, age 37, of Ada, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A). The charges arose from an investigation by the Ada Police Department, the District 22 Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
The Indictment alleges that on or about June 8, 2016, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said, “Rural and urban areas alike have felt the devastation methamphetamine has had on individuals, families, and communities. The number of overdose deaths attributable to methamphetamine in Oklahoma each year continue to climb. Drug dealers must be stopped. Thanks to the Ada Police Department, District 22 Drug Task Force, the OBN and members of this office, Rowell is being held accountable.”
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jarrod Leaman represented the United States.
8 October 2019
Wood County Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Belleville man pled guilty to a gun crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Joshua Adam Dowler, 37, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.
Dowler admitted that on April 12, 2018, he possessed a Taurus 9mm pistol at a residence on Cain Hill Road. Dowler was prohibited from possessing the firearm due to his July 2007 conviction of daytime burglary in Wood County Circuit Court. He was serving a term of parole at the time he possessed the pistol.
Dowler faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on January 31, 2020.
The United States Marshals Service, the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Woman sentenced for rebranding, selling prohibited weight loss drugs from ChinaRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Belmont County woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court today for buying illegal weight loss drugs from China to rebrand and resell them for a profit in the United States.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.
Crystal Ware, 33, formerly of Shadyside, purchased drugs from China containing Sibutramine and then mislabeled the drugs and sold them at an inflated price. Sibutramine was approved as a treatment for obesity in 1997 but was withdrawn from the U.S. market in October 2010 due to its association with increased strokes and cardiovascular events.
In 2015, Ware created the website “www.positivevibespositivelife.com” and registered the trade name “Positive Vibes” in Ohio to promote and sell weight loss products called “Burn, Vibe, Vortex, Slimming V and Fruit Fit” that contained the discontinued Sibutramine.
Ware would bulk order the original Sibutramine drugs from China, then relabel and resell them at up to eight times the cost. For example, she purchased 160 bottles of drugs for $5.50 to $10 per bottle from China and resold them for $40 per bottle. Ware received more than $17,000 total from the sale of the misbranded drugs.
The FDA Office of Criminal Investigation received information in 2016 that Ware was operating a business that sold weight loss products that contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients. FDA laboratory analysis revealed that Ware’s weight loss products contained Sibutramine as an active ingredient.
“Distributing foreign prescription drugs of unknown origin and ingredients places U.S. consumers at risk,” said Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office. “In this case, the drug had previously been removed from the U.S. market for safety reasons. We will aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to subvert FDA requirements, which are designed to ensure the safety and quality of drugs distributed to American consumers.”
In November 2018, Ware was charged with and pleaded guilty to receiving misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.
She was sentenced today to six months of home confinement, three years’ probation and 80 hours of community service.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, as well as Assistant United States Attorney J. Michael Marous, who is representing the United States in this case.
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Winchester Man Sentenced to 300 Months for Drug Trafficking and Being a Convicted Felon in Possession of 19 Stolen FirearmsRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jeffery L. Barnett, 49, of Winchester was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Danny C. Reeves, for the possession with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the plea agreement, a federal search warrant was executed at Barnett’s residence in Winchester, on March 11, 2019. ATF agents and KSP detectives located over 100 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mix that was meant for sale and seized over $2,000 in drug proceeds. A subsequent search was executed at a nearby storage unit leased by Barnett, and 19 stolen firearms were discovered. Barnett has five prior felony drug trafficking convictions and qualified as a “Career Offender” under federal law.
“The defendant’s criminal history, the type and quantity of drug he intended to distribute, and the numerous firearms he illegally possessed, directly led to his lengthy sentence,” said United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. “I commend the cooperation and dedicated work of ATF and KSP in building the investigation that led to this prosecution and conviction.”
Barnett previously pleaded guilty on June 10.
“Repeat violent offenders are a threat to the safety and security of our communities,” stated ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Tommy Estevan of the Louisville Field Division. “All too often, drug dealers use guns to further their violent criminal activities. Today’s sentence reflects ATF’s ongoing commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime and make our communities safer for everyone.”
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Tommy Estevan, Acting Special Agent in Charge for ATF; and Richard W. Sanders, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF and the Kentucky State Police. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger W. West.
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Wilmington Man Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment After Police Seize His Cache of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEW BERN —United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan, sentenced ISAI SANCHEZ, 23, of Wilmington to 120 months’ imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release. SANCHEZ was named in a five-count Indictment on May 22, 2018, charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography. SANCHEZ pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography on October 18, 2018. As a condition of the plea agreement, SANCHEZ, a native and citizen of Mexico, also agreed to his removal from the United States following the completion of his sentence.
The investigation began in June 2016, when officers of the Arlington Police Department in Arlington, Massachusetts arrested a separate man on child pornography charges. That man admitted to trading child pornography on his KIK Messenger account, and he agreed to allow agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take over the account.
In July 2016, an undercover agent accessed a chat group on KIK titled “Boys” using the account and identified a user that had posted two child pornography videos. Agents were able to identify an IP address for the account that posted the videos and found that it was assigned to SANCHEZ’s residence in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Agents executed a federal search warrant at the residence on May 4, 2017. SANCHEZ was present and agreed to be interviewed. He admitted using his laptop to download child pornography. He retrieved his laptop, which he had hidden under a dresser, and showed agents where he had hidden two hard drives in air vents. Forensic analysis found child pornography on each of the three devices. In total law enforcement recovered over 3,200 individual images and 3,600 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.
This case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national initiative, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Jake D. Pugh represented the government.
Willimantic Teen Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Illegally Manufacturing and Selling FirearmsRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MOHAMMADREZA KAMALI, also known as “Reza,” 19, of Willimantic, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally manufacturing and selling firearms.
According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation into Kamali began after law enforcement learned that Kamali was offering to sell firearms to individuals in Connecticut. In October and November 2018, Kamali sold four AR-15 style firearms, which he had built himself after ordering parts on the internet, to an undercover ATF special agent.
Kamali was arrested on November 2, 2018. On April 16, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license.
Kamali, who is released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison on October 30.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Willimantic Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Clark.
Whitecone Man Sentenced to 29.5 Years’ Prison for Second Degree MurderRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – This week, Bryan Joshua Tewanema, 25, of Whitecone, Ariz., was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 355 months of imprisonment. Tewanema had previously pleaded guilty to second degree murder and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
During the evening of September 13, 2017, Tewanema entered a residence where the victim was staying, forced the victim outside, and then shot the victim with a rifle. The victim died as a result. Both Tewanema and the victim were members of the Navajo Nation, and the offense occurred in Whitecone, on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Navajo Nation Departments of Public Safety and Criminal Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Voit, District of Arizona, Phoenix
Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Advertising Videos and Images of Children Being Sexually AbusedRead the Press Release
A Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty today to advertising child pornography.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
Simon Walker, 33, was charged in July 2018 with one count of advertising child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography.
According to admissions made in connection with his plea agreement, Walker was the creator and administrator of online chat groups devoted to the trading of child pornography. In addition to uploading images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Walker encouraged other members of the groups to distribute child pornography, warning them that they would be removed from the groups if they did not contribute to the online community of offenders. Forensic examination of his electronic devices, pursuant to a federal search warrant executed at his residence in May 2018, uncovered hundreds of videos and images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Walker was arrested by the FBI on July 12, 2018, was ordered detained by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and has remained in custody since that time.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols scheduled sentencing for Jan. 23, 2020.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, composed of FBI agents and local, state and federal partners, investigated the case. Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Lazarus of the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.
This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Validated Gang Member and Felon Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment for Possessing Loaded Handgun with Extended MagazineRead the Press Release
NEW BERN — United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan, sentenced JENOURI ROBERTS, 29, of Wilmington to 120 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release. ROBERTS was named in a three-count Superseding Indictment on May 16, 2018, charging him with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and possession of ammunition by a felon. ROBERTS pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on June 4, 2019.
On January 27, 2018, members of the Wilmington Police Department in Wilmington, North Carolina, conducted a traffic stop on a car with expired plates. Officers made contact with the driver, JENOURI ROBERTS. Officers observed that ROBERTS, a convicted felon and validated gang member, began acting nervously as they checked his information in the computer. Officers decided to conduct a protective frisk for officer safety and asked ROBERTS to step out of the vehicle. While checking the driver’s compartment of the vehicle, officers noticed the outline of the back strap of a pistol between the driver’s seat and the center console. Officers detained ROBERTS and retrieved a Glock 19 9mm handgun. The gun, which had been reported stolen, containing a loaded, 15-round magazine. Beneath the gun, officers found an extended 31-round magazine, loaded with 9mm ammunition.
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.
The Wilmington Police Department, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Jake D. Pugh represented the government.
United States Attorney Mike Stuart Announces Progress in Making our Communities Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
FBI 2018 Crime Report Shows 3.9 Drop in Violent Crime in the United States
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two years ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Throughout the past two years, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. According to FBI’s 2018 Crime in the United States Report released this week, the violent crime rate decreased for the second consecutive year, down 3.9 percent from the 2017 numbers.
“The revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a major success,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “It packs a powerful punch by combining advanced data with local leadership, further reducing violence in communities across the country and improving overall public safety. U.S. Attorneys continue to focus their enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals and work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal police. The Justice Department’s relationships across the board have never been stronger.”
“We are seeing significant reductions in violent crime as a result of PSN,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Our PSN success to date is a testament to the remarkable partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the Southern District. Rest assured that while we’ve locked up record numbers of violent drug dealers and prohibited persons with guns, we maintain a sense of urgency. We still have much work to do to keep our citizens safe from perpetrators of violence.”
“ATF strives to be ‘no better partner’ to law enforcement agencies,” stated ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Tommy Estevan of the Louisville Field Division. “During the past year, ATF investigated illegal sources of crime guns and persons who illegally possessed or used guns to commit violent crimes in the Huntington and Charleston communities. Together, we pursued ‘traffickers and trigger pullers’ with every resource, including new ballistic technology and other crime gun intelligence to disrupt the shooting cycle. ATF remains committed to the continued success of Project Safe Neighborhoods and this comprehensive approach to public safety.”
“Huntington’s reductions in violent crime can be credited to our partnerships with federal agencies and our community, as well as the hard work of our police officers,” said Huntington Police Chief Hank Dial. “Our PSN partnerships have resulted in more thorough and rapid gun investigations which have led to marked decreases in violent crime making our community a safer place to live.”
As we celebrate the two-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
As a result of its precipitous increase of violent crime in 2017, we have continued to focus our PSN enforcement efforts in the City of Huntington. Work continues with the Huntington Police Department (HPD) to identify and investigate the City’s most violent offenders. An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) works daily with HPD to conduct investigations on trigger pullers and gun traffickers. Collaborative law enforcement operations continue to shutter significant violent drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). Federal, state and local law enforcement are working collaboratively and cooperatively across jurisdictional boundaries to shut down the pipeline of drugs flowing into the Southern District of West Virginia through Huntington, which borders both Kentucky and Ohio. Through these successful operations, the flow of illicit drugs from out-of-state sources such as Akron, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan have been curtailed. Collaboration between federal, state and local partners most recently resulted in two significant takedowns: Operation Free Market – a takedown that took out a heroin and fentanyl DTO operating between Detroit and Huntington in which seven defendants have been charged by federal indictment, with approximately 120 grams of heroin and 130 grams of fentanyl taken off the streets of Huntington; and Operation Flat Tire which shuttered a large Akron to Huntington heroin and methamphetamine DTO. To date, 23 members of the DTO are under federal indictment. As a result of the long-term investigation, more than 22 pounds methamphetamine, 300 grams of heroin, 2 ounces of fentanyl and 15 firearms have been seized.
Recent notable cases include:
- Brandon Douglas Tomblin, of Huntington, was sentenced to 102 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Read more: https://go.usa.gov/xVFD7.
- Bryan Patrick, of Ohio, was sentenced to eight years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Read more: https://go.usa.gov/xVFDw.
- Jonathan Forest Johnson, of Huntington, was sentenced to 131 months in prison for methamphetamine distribution and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Read more: https://go.usa.gov/xVFDS.
- Justin Michael Wilson, who threatened two Putnam County government employees with a machine gun and stole their work vehicle, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for carjacking and gun crimes. Read more: https://go.usa.gov/xVFWQ.
Community Partnerships
A public messaging campaign will soon be launched featuring the deterrent message “Gun Crime = Fed Time.” Meetings were held throughout the District to discuss PSN and the utilization of federal firearms statutes in cases of domestic violence with law enforcement, local prosecutors and victim service providers. In addition, United States Attorney Mike Stuart continues to address community and faith-based organizations to discuss violent crime prevention strategies and public safety.
Improvements to Community Safety
- For the second consecutive year, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation decreased when compared with the previous year’s statistics, according to FBI figures released today. In 2018, the number of violent crimes was down 3.3 percent from the 2017 number.
- The 2018 statistics also show the estimated rate of violent crime was 368.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate fell 3.9 percent when compared with the 2017 rate.
- In 2018, the City of Huntington’s overall violent crime offenses dropped approximately 20% and homicides decreased by 53%. Violent crime incidents continued to decline in early 2019. A comparison of the first six months of 2019 with the same time period in 2018 indicates another decrease in violent crime incidents of approximately 24%, a 71% reduction in murders; and a 52% decrease in robberies.
- In FY 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia increased the number of PSN defendants prosecuted by 77%. In addition, the Office increased prosecutions of felon in possession cases by approximately 29%.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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U.S. Attorney's Office Reaches ADA Settlement with Norwalk Urgent Care ProviderRead 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 DRX NORWALK, P.C. doing business as AFC Urgent Care in Norwalk, to resolve allegations that the urgent care facility was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by the parent of a child with developmental disabilities. The complaint alleged that a doctor at AFC Urgent Care Norwalk refused to provide the complainant’s child with a school physical based on the doctor’s determination that the child’s developmental disability made him too medically complex to be seen at an urgent care facility.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, AFC Urgent Care Norwalk will submit for approval to the U.S. Attorney’s Office a nondiscrimination policy that outlines AFC Urgent Care Norwalk’s obligations pursuant to Title III of the ADA and sets forth a patient grievance procedure. Once approved, AFC Urgent Care Norwalk will post the nondiscrimination policy on its website and will also physically post the policy in public view at AFC Urgent Care Norwalk’s office. Further, AFC Urgent Care Norwalk will train its staff members on Title III of the ADA and the new nondiscrimination policy. AFC Urgent Care Norwalk will also compensate the complainant in the amount of $2,500.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including professional offices of healthcare providers, hospitals, and other service establishments are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
U.S. Attorney Durham noted that the management of AFC Urgent Care Norwalk was cooperative with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and is committed to addressing the issues raised by the ADA investigation without litigation.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, which ensures that individuals are able to access places of public accommodation in Connecticut, including medical services at doctors’ offices, hospitals, urgent care and other healthcare facilities,” stated U.S. Attorney Durham. “AFC Urgent Care Norwalk has fully cooperated throughout our investigation and has made clear its commitment going forward to comply in all respects with the ADA.”
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.
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.
Three-Time Deported Felon Sentenced to 30 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Obeth Cardona-Quinonez, age 32, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady for illegal reentry of a removed alien, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
Cardona-Quinonez was sentenced to 30 months in prison and will be deported upon completion of his federal sentence.
According to documents in this case, Cardona-Quinonez, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) and providing false information to a law enforcement officer in 2013. Cardona-Quinonez was arrested for a second OWI in 2014. He was thereafter deported to Mexico in 2014. In May 2016, he illegally re-entered the U.S., was found and deported again within two weeks. In July of 2016, he again illegally re-entered the U.S. and in October of 2017, he was arrested for OWI after he drove into a utility pole, ran from the scene of an accident and had a blood alcohol content of double the legal limit in the State of Indiana. In July 2018, he pleaded guilty to the 2017 and the 2014 OWI charges and was deported a third time in August 2018. Cardona-Quinonez returned to the U.S. two months later, in October 2018, without legal authorization, and lived in Fort Wayne until December 2018 when he was charged with driving after having been declared a habitual offender, a charge which was later dismissed.
The case was investigated by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Nokes.
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Three Gangster Disciples leaders convicted of racketeering, attempted murder, and other crimesRead the Press Release
Jury heard about triple murder in nightclub, murder of witness, 50 pounds of cocaine, and shooting of teenager
ATLANTA – Three leaders of the Gangster Disciples national criminal organization have been convicted by a federal jury of offenses including racketeering conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy, and other crimes. This case is the latest of a series of trials and pleas for members and leaders of the Gangster Disciples.
“The Gangster Disciples are extremely organized and their reach is wide-spread across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak. “Their strict chain of command that carried their message of violence and crime throughout the organization posed a serious threat nationwide. They lured young people into the gang with the promise of a better life, and then inducted them into an appalling world of violence and crime.”
"The Gangster Disciples have terrorized communities in Georgia and elsewhere for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s convictions, as well as the convictions of 32 co-defendants to date, send a clear message: the Department of Justice is committed to dismantling this violent and lawless criminal enterprise.”
“Drug trafficking, thefts, violent assaults and murders are all crimes that the Gangster Disciples commit every day to protect their turf, increase their territory, control and recruit members and terrorize rival gangs. They are merciless and have wreaked havoc in our neighborhoods for far too long,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface. We are dedicated to dismantling these organized and violent criminal enterprises in order to make Atlanta and the surrounding communities, a safer place for our citizens.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago dating back to the 1970’s. The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “silence and secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement. Violations of the rule are punishable by death.
The evidence showed that the defendants and their fellow gang members used the gang’s structure to carry out a pattern of violent and serious crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, bank and wire fraud, drug trafficking, and extortion. The jury heard testimony and other evidence about multiple murders and attempted murders by Gangster Disciples.
Included in those murders was a deadly shooting at a nightclub in Macon, Georgia. Three people were killed and another three were wounded after gang member Vertuies Wall and his subordinates started a gunfight with rivals. On another occasion, gang member Lewis Mobley shot a teenage victim twice at point-blank range. Mobley believed that the victim had disrespected the gang by walking through a crowd while shouting a slogan and wearing the color associated with a rival gang. In a third incident, a top Gangster Disciples leader summoned the gang’s National Chief Enforcer to travel across the country to kill a witness. The witness, who was scheduled to testify against a Gangster Disciple on drug charges, was shot dead in her home on the gang’s orders.
The evidence also showed that each of the trial defendants held a position of authority within the gang’s structure. Mobley held a position in the gang’s security/enforcement arm, and exercised leadership over the enforcement team known as “HATE Committee,” that was responsible for committing murders, shootings, and other violence. Wall was the “First C,” or local leader, for the Macon area Gangster Disciples. Gang member Lawrence Grice also held a leadership position over Gangster Disciples in parts of Texas including the city of Houston.
The defendants listed below were convicted in this case, and found guilty of the following charges:
- Lewis Mobley, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, including murder and drug conspiracy; committing an attempted murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm to do so; and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm relating to the drug crime.
- Vertuies Wall, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, including murder.
- Lawrence Grice, 30, of Houston, Texas, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, and a drug conspiracy regarding more than five kilograms of cocaine.
To date, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty, five were convicted at a separate trial, and three defendants are presently awaiting trial.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force; ATF; U.S. Marshal Service; The U.S. Postal Service, the Bureau of Prisons; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; the Georgia Department of Corrections; DeKalb Police Department; Cobb County Police Department; Bibb County District Attorney’s Office; Atlanta Police Department; Louisiana State Police; and Aurora, Colorado Police Department investigated this case.
Assistant U.S Attorneys Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Section, Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security Section, and Erin N. Spritzer of the Northern District of Georgia, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Three Gangster Disciples Leaders Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy, Attempted Murder and Other CrimesRead the Press Release
A federal jury has convicted three leaders of the Gangster Disciples (GD) national criminal organization of offenses including racketeering conspiracy (RICO) involving murder, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy and other crimes.
Lewis Mobley, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, including a sentencing enhancement for murder and a sentencing enhancement for drugs; committing an attempted murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm to do so and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm relating to the drug crime. Vertuies Wall, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, including a sentencing enhancement for murder. Lawrence Grice, 30, of Houston, Texas, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, including a sentencing enhancement for drugs and a separate conviction for drug conspiracy regarding more than five kilograms of cocaine.
According to court documents, the Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago dating back to the 1970s. The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “Silence and Secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement. Violations of the rule are punishable by death.
“The Gangster Disciples have terrorized communities in Georgia and elsewhere for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s convictions, as well as the convictions of 32 co-defendants to date, send a clear message: the Department of Justice is committed to dismantling this violent and lawless criminal enterprise.”
“The Gangster Disciples are extremely organized and their reach is wide-spread across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak for the Northern District of Georgia. “Their strict chain of command that carried their message of violence and crime throughout the organization posed a serious threat nationwide. They lured young people into the gang with the promise of a better life, and then inducted them into an appalling world of violence and crime.”
“Drug trafficking, thefts, violent assaults and murders are all crimes that the Gangster Disciples commit every day to protect their turf, increase their territory, control and recruit members and terrorize rival gangs. They are merciless and have wreaked havoc in our neighborhoods for far too long,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface. We are dedicated to dismantling these organized and violent criminal enterprises in order to make Atlanta and the surrounding communities, a safer place for our citizens.”
The evidence showed that the defendants and their fellow gang members used the gang’s structure to carry out a pattern of violent and serious crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, bank and wire fraud, drug trafficking and extortion. The jury heard testimony and other evidence about multiple murders and attempted murders by Gangster Disciples.
Included in those murders was a deadly shooting at the Wings Café nightclub in Macon, Georgia. Three people were killed and another three wounded after Wall and his subordinates started a gunfight with rivals. On another occasion, Mobley shot a teenage victim twice at point-blank range. Mobley believed that the victim had disrespected the gang by walking through a crowd while shouting a slogan and wearing the color associated with a rival gang. In a third incident, a top Gangster Disciple leader summoned the gang’s National Chief Enforcer to travel across the country to kill a witness. The witness, who was scheduled to testify against a Gangster Disciple on drug charges, was shot dead in her home on the gang’s orders.
The evidence showed that each of the trial defendants held a position of authority within the gang’s structure. Mobley held a leadership position in the gang’s security/enforcement arm, and exercised leadership over the enforcement team known as “HATE Committee” that was responsible for committing murders, shootings and other violent crimes. Wall was the “First C,” or local leader, for the Macon-area Gangster Disciples. Grice held a leadership position over Gangster Disciples in parts of Texas including Houston.
To date, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty, five were convicted at a separate trial and three defendants are presently awaiting trial.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force, DeKalb Police Department, DeKalb District Attorney’s Office and Atlanta Police Department investigated this case.
Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs section, Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security section and Erin N. Spritzer of the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Texas Woman Pleads Guilty to Alien SmugglingRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Rebecca Ann McLean, 27, a resident of Texas, pled guilty today before U.S. District Sul Ozerden to unlawful transportation of aliens within the United States for commercial advantage or private financial gain, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
McLean will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on January 10, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and special assessments that could total $5,100.
On May 18, 2018, a Hancock County Sheriff’s Office deputy was in the area of I-10 eastbound near Diamondhead, Mississippi, when he observed a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with Texas license plates driving carelessly. A traffic stop was initiated and another deputy arrived to assist. The driver of the vehicle was Pascual Lopez-Lopez, who did not have a driver’s license and was an illegal alien from Mexico. Deputies also saw several people lying down in the SUV, and found eight illegal aliens from Mexico (including the driver). Defendant Rebecca McLean, a U.S. citizen and Texas resident, was the front seat passenger. Further investigation showed she was taking the eight men to Florida.
A deputy contacted the Department of Homeland Security, Blue Lightening Operations Center which contacted a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Deputies collected the names and birth dates of the eight males and discovered one was a juvenile. All, except for the juvenile, were transported to the Hancock County Jail. HSI determined the occupants of the vehicle were, indeed, illegally present in the U.S. and were being smuggled/transported by McLean. Three of the illegal aliens had been previously deported from the United States.
U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation exhibited by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Jay Golden and Stan Harris were the prosecutors for the case.
Texarkana Physician Arrested for Over-Prescribing Opiates and Other Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
Texarkana, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas and Justin King, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced today that Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker was arrested today on federal charges. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas indicted Dr. Parker on nine counts of Prescribing Without a Legitimate Medical Purpose Outside the Scope of a Professional Practice.
According to the Indictment, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Groups initiated an investigation into Dr. Parker of Texarkana, Arkansas in 2018 after receiving complaints from local law enforcement about a suspected pill mill and possible overdose death of a patient. Investigators analyzed prescription drug monitoring data attributed to Dr. Parker, and the investigation revealed Dr. Parker was an over-prescriber of controlled substances, to include opiates, benzodiazepines, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup in the Texarkana area. In the two-year period analyzed, Dr. Parker prescribed approximately 1.2 million dosage units of opiates, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to approximately 1,508 patients (approximately 847 dosage units per patient). Dr. Parker also prescribed approximately 16 gallons of Promethazine with Codeine cough syrup to approximately 29 patients during the same time period. These prescriptions included several prescriptions written in combination with narcotics and sedatives to high diversion risk patients.
Other agencies participating in the investigation are the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Texarkana Police Department, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS). Special Assistant United States Attorney Anne Gardner is prosecuting the case for the United States.
An Indictment is merely an accusation. An arrest warrant represents a finding of probable cause. A person is presumed innocent unless or until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ten Tribes in Western Washington awarded nearly $13 million to strengthen law enforcement and provide services for crime victimsRead the Press Release
Ten Indian Tribes in Western Washington have been awarded nearly $13 million in U.S. Department of Justice grant funding to enhance criminal justice and safety in their communities, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. One notable grant will fund a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney to work with the FBI’s Northwestern Washington Safe Trails Task Force to prosecute crime in tribal communities. The $482,419 three-year grant was awarded to the Swinomish Tribal Community, though the attorney will prosecute cases for a consortium of tribes located in northwest Washington.
“These grants provide a wide range of services in our tribal communities – everything from services for crime victims, to sex offender monitoring, to reducing alcohol and drug related crime,” said U.S. Attorney Moran. “It is a competitive process to obtain these grants, and I congratulate our tribal partners on their successful applications.”
The Lummi Indian Nation in Bellingham was awarded four grants totaling $2.5 million. The funded programs include: $748,608 to enhance tribal justice programs and reduce Alcohol and substance abuse related crime; $720,000 to support crime victims; $374,994 to support programs to reduce Elder Abuse; and $720,000 to hire a tribal attorney and advocate to assist crime victims with civil litigation.
The Swinomish Tribal Community in La Conner was awarded four grants totaling $1.4 million. In addition to the $482,419 for a designated attorney, the Tribe was awarded two additional grants totaling $802,205 to support services for crime victims. An additional grant of $134,267 will pay for personnel to enter 10 years of historical data into the nationwide National Criminal Background Check System.
Tulalip Tribes of Washington was awarded three grants totaling $1.5 million. A $643,871 grant will enhance the tribes family drug court program working to get parents into treatment and reunite families. Two additional grants totaling $926,845 will got to support services for victims of crime.
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Kingston was awarded three grants totaling nearly $1.5 million: An $898,000 grant to enhance the tribal justice system; $491,542 to support victims of crime; and $108,750 to enhance sex offender monitoring.
Puyallup Tribe of Indians were awarded two grants: $783,873 to improve the Tribal justice system and $717,292 to support victims of crime.
The Makah Tribe in Neah Bay was awarded $498,796 to support their drug court and $719,528 to support victims of crime.
The Confederated Tribes of Chehalis Reservation in Oakville were awarded $750,000 to strengthen their tribal justice system and $369,213 to support services for crime victims.
The Skokomish Indian Tribe was awarded $374,633 to improve their sex offender monitoring program and $488,978 to improve services for crime victims.
The Hoh Indian Tribe in Forks was awarded $514,778 to expand victim services with a special focus on educating the community on human trafficking and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah was awarded $480,187 to enhance victim services.
The grants were awarded by a variety of DOJ agencies including the Office of Victims of Crime, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
For additional information on individual grants, please contact the recipient organizations.
Superseding Indictment Adds Charges Against Brooklyn Man Allegedly Involved in Drug Trafficking on Pittsburgh’s West EndRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging 14 people, residents of Western Pennsylvania as well as New York, with violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today. Several of these individuals had previously been charged in two related indictments on June 12, 2018, after a lengthy Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking and violence in the Greenway Park Apartments and other communities in the Greater Pittsburgh area.
The superseding indictment, containing eight counts, named:
- Kala Jones, 48, of Brooklyn, NY;
- Willie Harris, 40, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Monta Banks, 29, of McKees Rocks, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Tamra Moore, 36, of Pittsburgh, PA;
- Allen Green, 40, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Jaimon Woods, 29, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Marshinneah Manning, 27, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Cecil Howard, 48, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Brianne Dean, 31, of Bridgeville, PA;
- Antoine Dean, Sr., 54, of Heidelburg, PA;
- Mary Cerezo, 59, of Lawrence, PA;
- Mark Givens, 29, of Pittsburgh, PA, currently incarcerated;
- Eric Kaminski, 47, of Pittsburgh, PA; and
- Delrico Clyburn, 28, of Braddock, PA, currently incarcerated.
According to the Superseding Indictment, from in and around November 2017, and continuing thereafter to in and around June 2018, in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Willie Harris, Monta Banks, Tamra Moore, Allen Green, Marshinneah Manning, Cecil Howard, Brianne Dean, Antione Dean, Sr., Mary Cerezo, Mark Givens, and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine. Also according to the Superseding Indictment, during that same timeframe, Kala Jones, Willie Harris, Allen Green, Brianne Dean, Mary Cerezo, and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of powder cocaine, and Monta Banks, Tamra Moore, Jaimon Woods, Eric Kaminski, and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. The Superseding Indictment also charges that Monta Banks, Tamra Moore, Jaimon Woods, Eric Kaminski, Mark Givens, Delrico Clyburn, and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute a quantity of heroin, and charges that Monta Banks, Tamra Moore, and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute a quantity of cocaine. The superseding indictment also charges Monta Banks with one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a quantity of heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl on January 25, 2018. Finally, Jaimon Woods and Monta Banks are also each charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on or about December 7, 2017 and April 26, 2018, respectively.
As to Willie Harris, Monta Banks, Tamra Moore, Allen Green, Marshinneah Manning, Cecil Howard, Brianne Dean, Antione Dean, Sr., Mary Cerezo, and Mark Givens, federal law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of $10,000,000, or both. As to Kala Jones, Jaimon Woods, and Eric Kaminski, federal law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. As to Delrico Clyburn, federal law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. The law provides for a maximum sentence on the firearm charges of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Tonya Sulia Goodman and Yvonne M. Saadi are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration jointly led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, Robinson Township Police Department, Stowe Township Police Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Wilkinsburg Borough Police Department, and the McKees Rocks Police Department.
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.
A Superseding Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Red Lake Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree MurderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty plea of JEREMIAH KINGBIRD, 39, to one count of second degree murder. KINGBIRD, who was indicted on February 20, 2019, entered his guilty plea earlier today before Judge Susan Richard Nelson in U.S. District Court in Bemidji, Minnesota.
United States Attorney Erica MacDonald said, “Domestic violence is one of the biggest challenges facing our tribal communities and Native American women, in particular, experience this type of violence at a disproportionately high rate. During the month of October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we honor the survivors of domestic violence and recommit our efforts to bring perpetrators like Mr. Kingbird to justice.”
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, during the early morning hours of January 6, 2019, following a night of drinking, KINGBIRD and the victim, KINGBIRD’s wife, were traveling in a motor vehicle to their home in Ponemah, Minnesota, when KINGBIRD and the victim began to argue and engage in a physical altercation. While driving, KINGBIRD struck the victim in her head, used his hand to strangle her, and then left her on the road near Highway 1 and Old Ponemah Road in Redby.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, law enforcement found the victim, hours later, lying face down in the snow; she had severe injuries to her head and neck and was having difficulty breathing. The victim was transported to the Red Lake IHS Hospital where hospital staff were unsuccessful in reviving her. During a search of KINGBIRD’s vehicle, law enforcement observed blood on the front passenger window of the vehicle. KINGBIRD admitted to violently assaulting the victim and leaving her outside in the elements.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina L. Allery and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.
Defendant Information:
JEREMIAH KINGBIRD, 39
Ponemah, Minn.
Convicted:
- Murder in the second degree, 1 count
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Rancho Cordova Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Sell Narcotics Through Social MediaRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nathan Paul Barnes, 24, of Rancho Cordova, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute narcotics, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Barnes operated a drug distribution enterprise called “Fine Cali Herb” that used various social media platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat. Barnes sold marijuana, THC products, and psilocybin mushrooms to customers throughout the United States and abroad. Barnes received payment for the narcotics in several forms, including bitcoin.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy (NCIDE) Task Force, consisting of agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The NCIDE Task Force targets all forms of dark-web and cryptocurrency criminal activity in the Eastern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grant B. Rabenn and Paul A. Hemesath are prosecuting the case.
Barnes is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John A. Mendez on Jan. 14, 2020. Barnes faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Raleigh Man Sentenced to 66 Months for Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced SHAREEM UNIIKE MARSHALL, 31, of Raleigh, NC to 66 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
MARSHALL was named in a one count Indictment filed on January 9, 2019 charging him with Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. On July 10, 2019, MARSHALL, pled guilty to that charge.
According to the investigation, on June 14, 2018, officers with the Raleigh Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment in Raleigh. Although MARSHALL’S name was on the lease, he did not stay at the residence. Prior to the officer’s arrival, MARSHALL had come to the apartment to visit his child. While at the apartment, MARSHALL became angry and the victim asked him to leave, but he refused. MARSHALL and the victim got into a verbal and physical altercation at which time the victim called for police assistance.
Sometime after the officers left the apartment, MARSHALL returned to the apartment while the victim was packing her vehicle to go to a family member’s home. The victim observed MARSHALL’S vehicle pull into the apartment parking lot causing her to grab their child and run for her bedroom, locking the bedroom door. MARSHALL entered the apartment through an unsecured door and threatened to shoot through the bedroom door. As MARSHALL was leaving the apartment, he fired multiple gunshots. Officers responded to the apartment and recovered two 9mm shell casings in the lawn near the rear door.
Later that day, MARSHALL was located at his apartment on Dacian Road in Raleigh. Officers found a 9mm firearm under a table to the right of his bed. The firearm was loaded with a 12-round magazine that contained 10 rounds of ammunition.
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 on a sustained basis in those communities 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel W. Smith prosecuted the case for the government.
Pottawattamie County Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced that on October 8, 2019, 53 year old Laura Lynn Schubert was sentenced by District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Schubert was sentenced to imprisonment for 92 months followed by a term of supervised release for 5 years.
In October 2018, an Iowa State Trooper made a traffic stop of the vehicle Schubert was driving. Schubert was in possession of 90 grams of methamphetamine. A search warrant was obtained for her residence where officers located an additional 340 grams of methamphetamine. Schubert pled guilty to this charge in June 2019. Schubert has a prior federal felony conviction for distribution of a controlled substance in 2004.
This case was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement and the Council Bluffs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Postal Service Employees Arrested for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. –United States Magistrate Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll authorized a criminal complaint charging Edgardo C. Sánchez-Sosa, Guelvin Benítez-Carrasquillo, and Gellitza Ortiz-Martínez with drug trafficking, mail delay, and tampering with evidence, announced United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), the U.S. Postal Inspection Services (USPIS), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are in charge of the investigation.
According to the information contained in the affidavit submitted in support of the criminal complaint, on September 24, 2019, the USPS OIG started receiving allegations from the USPIS that parcels were arriving at the Canóvanas, Post Office with the labels broken or swapped and the barcodes torn. The parcels had a new label with a new address. On September 26th, USPS OIG agents executed multiple search warrants on parcels that were handled and relabeled, and all search warrants tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
The investigation also revealed that on October 1, 2019, employee Sánchez-Sosa mishandled parcels and used his phone during the process to take pictures of the parcels. The agents observed that Sánchez-Sosa opened the parcel and manipulated it. At the same time, he was texting on his phone, making and receiving phone calls. Sánchez-Sosa was detained and the parcel was recovered by the agents.
Defendant Guelvin Benítez-Carrasquillo was the Highway Contract Carrier for route 4 in Canóvanas. Benítez-Carrasquillo would receive the packages containing cocaine from Sánchez-Sosa. He was arrested on October 3rd.
In furtherance of the investigation, agents discovered and seized 24 packages of cocaine that defendant from Gellitza Ortiz-Martínez and Sánchez-Sosa. The packages recovered had a combined weight of 25.91kg for an estimated street value of more than $500,000.
The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Postal Service, Special Assistant United States Attorney Camille García. If convicted, the defendants could face a minimum penalty of 10 years up to life in prison. A criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Oscar Martínez-Hernández, a.k.a. “Cali” Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder of Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer Osvaldo Albarati-CasañasRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – Today, Oscar Martínez-Hernández, a.k.a. “Cali;” was sentenced by US District Court Chief Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí for the of the murder of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati-Casañas, a Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow. Lieutenant Albarati was murdered on February 26, 2013. On September 20, 2018, Martínez-Hernández was found guilty after an 11-day jury trial.
On January 28, 2015 a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a six count indictment charging nine individuals for the murder of Lieutenant Albarati. Defendants Ángel D. Ramos-Cruz, a.k.a. “Api;” Miguel Díaz-Rivera, a.k.a. “Bolo;” Juan Quiñones-Meléndez, a.k.a. “El Manco;” Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Yogui;” Jayson Rodríguez-González, a.k.a. “Gonzo;” Alexander Rosario de León, a.k.a. “Coquí;” Carlos Rosado-Rosado, a.k.a. “Cano;” and Jancarlos Velázquez-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Jan,” pleaded guilty and were sentenced in accordance with their respective plea agreements for their specific roles in the offense. Ramos-Cruz was sentenced to 309 months, Quiñones-Meléndez was sentenced to 285 months, Díaz-Rivera was sentenced to 129 months, Mojica-Rodríguez was sentenced to 249 months, Rodríguez-González was sentenced to 396 months, Rosario-De León was sentenced to 204 months, Rosado-Rosado was sentenced to 140 months, and Velázquez-Vázquez was sentenced to 120 months.
During Martínez-Hernández’ trial, the government proved that during the period of time prior to Albarati’s murder, Oscar Martínez-Hernández, a.k.a. “Cali;” was incarcerated at the MDC facility pending sentencing in another federal drug case. Martínez-Hernández would consistently use cell phones and had other contraband in his possession while in the facility. Martínez-Hernández and other inmates were angered that Lieutenant Albarati, a member of BOP’s Special Investigations Section, was consistently searching for contraband in the facility and challenged the leadership of the inmate population, including Oscar Martínez-Hernández. The government proved that Martínez-Hernández and these other inmates made a plan to pay individuals in the free community to murder Lt. Albarati as he went home from work.
At trial, witnesses testified that Martínez-Hernández watched from his cell on the evening of February 26, 2013 as Lt. Albarati left in his white Veloster and signaled to other inmates who were communicating with the hired gunman using a contraband cell phone. The gunman waited on the shoulder of Highway 22 near the Buchanan toll. The gunman stalked Lt. Albarati’s vehicle and eventually gunned down Lt. Albarati as he drove home. The gunmen used four .40 caliber fully automatic Glock pistols to commit the murder.
Evidence showed that Oscar Martínez-Hernández had agreed to contribute money for the murder and assisted with signaling to other inmates when Lt. Albarati left work. The jury found the defendant guilty of all six counts including the murder of a federal officer, murder for hire, conspiracy, and related firearms offenses.
“Today justice has been served as the defendant in this case was held responsible for his actions and this horrific crime; a crime that he planned and then was carried out without regard for the victim or his family,” said United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow. “Although the verdict and sentencing of the defendant will not lessen the pain of Lieutenant Albarati’s family, it is my sincere hope that it provides some closure to his loved ones.”
The case was investigated by the FBI with the collaboration of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, DEA, ATF, the United States Marshals Service, ICE-HSI, the Puerto Rico Police Department, the San Juan Municipal Police, and other law enforcement agencies that covered hundreds of leads developed as a result of the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas W. Cannon and Max Pérez-Bouret.
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Orchard Park Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun ChargesRead 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 Felix Calderon-Valcarcel, 29, of Orchard Park, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that between May 2018 and September 2018, law enforcement officers conducted a series of controlled buys and payments from the defendant. In addition, between July 2018 and February 2019, officers seized approximately 8.5 kilograms of cocaine and $52,000 in U.S. currency from postal parcels shipped from Puerto Rico to various locations in the Western District of New York, Florida, Alaska, Georgia, and Pennsylvania using the United States Postal Service. The shipments were made to the defendant or to a co-conspirator. Additionally, the investigation identified $55,700 in U.S. currency and/or money orders shipped in parcels from the defendant or co-conspirators to Puerto Rico as payment to the source of supply for the cocaine
In March 2019, the Lackawanna Police Department obtained a state search warrant for Calderon-Valcarcel’s residence on East Abbott Road, his person, and his vehicle. On March 26, investigators conducted a car stop in advance of executing the search warrant for the defendant’s person. When investigators approached Calderon-Valcarcel, he was observed sitting in the driver’s seat counting approximately $10,000 of U.S. currency. The defendant was detained. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of approximately a kilogram of cocaine. Investigators then executed the search warrant of the defendant’s residence and recovered approximately four kilograms of cocaine and a 9mm firearm.
The defendant also directed co-conspirators to perform various tasks in furtherance of the objectives of the conspiracy, including taking receipt of packages, opening a P.O. box, purchasing money orders, mailing packages containing cash or money orders, and accepting cash payments from lower-level distributors and customers of the organization for drugs distributed by Calderon-Valcarcel.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Boston Division Inspector-in-Charge Joseph W. Cronin; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; The Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Orchard Park Police Department, under the direction of Chief E. Joseph Wehrfritz; the Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Michel; and the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gregory Wickett.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 14, 2020, before Judge Vilardo.
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Opioid Awareness Summit Arms Educators to Combat Opioid AbuseRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, more than 225 educators, school nurses, counselors, mental health clinicians and others with an interest in student health have convened today at the Opioid Awareness Summit for Educators. The daylong summit is being held at Fresno State University.
The summit is focused on four specific goals 1) building awareness of the scope and state of the national opioid epidemic and its impact on young adults in our region; 2) destigmatizing opioid misuse to provide for more effective treatment interventions; 3) having a beneficial conversation with a student if approached about drug misuse; and 4) building awareness of the warning signs that a student or child is misusing opioids.
Participants will hear from medical, public health and law enforcement professionals about the science of addiction, treatment options, ready-for-use resources for educators, and best practices for implementing an opioid awareness program in their own schools. Additionally, U.S. Department of Justice policy and current enforcement efforts will also be discussed.
U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said: “Opioid abuse is one of the most urgent law enforcement and public health challenges facing our country today and needs a three-pronged approach: education and prevention, treatment, and enforcement. Today’s opioid summit for educators brings together all three prongs and highlights our office’s ongoing commitment to keeping communities safe by preventing drug abuse and overdose deaths.”
Jim Yovino, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools explains about the importance of this summit: “The opioid crisis is not only a national epidemic, but it is gripping families close to home. As educators, we must participate in this important discussion to keep our students healthy and safe.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is sponsoring the summit, along with the California Narcotic Officer’s Association, the Central Valley Opioid Safety Coalition, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Foundation at FCOE, the Fresno County Department of Public Health, the Fresno Madera Medical Society, the Fresno Police Officer’s Association, the Fresno State Police Department, the Fresno State University, and the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. Assistance was also provided by the California Health Collaborative, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, the Fresno Police Department, the Lock It Up Project, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Operators of Charter Bus Company Plead Guilty to Bribing Federal Safety InspectorRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner and safety manager of a charter bus company operating in Massachusetts pleaded guilty today to bribing a federal safety investigator in order to influence the safety review of the passenger buses.
Le Wen Wu, 49, and Yat Kuen Chan, a/k/a “Andy,” 41, both of Quincy, each pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to pay an unlawful gratuity and to bribe a public official, one count of unlawful gratuities to a public official, and one count of bribery of a public official. U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled sentencing for Jan. 9, 2020. Wu and Chan were charged in November and September 2018, respectively.
L&W Travel Inc. was a passenger bus charter company purportedly located on Cambridge Street in Boston. Wu was the owner, president, treasurer, secretary, vice president and director of L&W, and Chan acted as the safety manager. In January 2018, L&W applied to register as a charter bus company with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The FMCSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, establishes and enforces safe operating requirements for motor carriers, including mandatory safety audits within the first year of operation.
On multiple occasions in July and August 2018, during a safety audit of L&W, Wu and Chan gave a total of $2,800 in cash to an FMCSA safety investigator to influence the investigator’s compliance review and safety audit of L&W. For example, on Aug. 1, 2018 Chan gave the investigator $600 so that the investigator would not place an L&W bus immediately out of service based on two significant safety violations – inadequate brakes and a defective emergency exit door – but rather, would allow L&W to fix the brakes in Massachusetts and drive the bus to New Jersey for repair of the door.
The charge of conspiracy to pay unlawful gratuity and to bribe a public official provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of unlawful gratuities to a public official provides for a sentence of no greater than two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of bribery of public officials provides for a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General; and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Barclay of Lelling’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
Operation “Crime Driver” Targets Violent Criminals in Tipton CountyRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant and 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson announced today that the first phase of a joint federal, state and local law enforcement anti-violence initiative has resulted in the federal indictments of six individuals from Tipton County, TN. The agencies participating in the initiative include the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the District Attorney General’s Office for the 25th Judicial District, the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Department of Correction, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to information presented in court, between February and May 2019, law enforcement targeted offenders wanted on arrest warrants for violent criminal offenses in Tipton County, Tennessee. Officials from the participating agencies announced the results of Operation "Crime Driver" at a press conference on May 3, 2019, in Covington, Tennessee.
On February 20, 2019, Danny Muex, Jr., 31, of Atoka, Tennessee, led Tipton County Sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed pursuit, wrecking his vehicle. As deputies apprehended him, he threw a handgun from the vehicle. At the time, he was on probation in the state of Florida as a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. Muex Jr., has been charged in federal court in Memphis with being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, he faces up to 120 months in federal prison.
On March 3, 2019, Atoka officers encountered Ramell Jackson, 23, of Millington, Tennessee, during a traffic stop and found him in possession of a handgun. At the time, he was under indictment for delivering drugs, and was an admitted drug user. In addition, Jackson was found in possession of ammunition on May 3, 2019, after being convicted of a drug felony. He is currently in state custody awaiting to be arraigned on federal charges. He is charged in federal court in Memphis with possession of a firearm while under felony indictment, possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. If convicted, Jackson faces up to 120 months in federal prison.
On April 3, 2019, Marcus Green, 38, of Covington, Tennessee, a former Shelby County Sheriff’s Corrections Deputy, who was on federal supervised release for a prior federal drug conviction, was found in possession of 1 ½ pounds of marijuana. The U.S. Probation Office filed a petition to revoke Green’s supervised release based upon the marijuana he possessed, and the federal grand jury in Memphis indicted him for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Green pled guilty to both the supervised release violation and the substantive charge of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. Green was sentenced to a year and a day in custody for violating his supervised release, and he faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment on the substantive marijuana charge to which he pleaded guilty. https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/pr/former-shelby-county-sheriff-s-corrections-deputy-indicted-federal-drug-trafficking On May 3, 2019, law enforcement performed a parole check at the residence of Maurice Nash, 46, of Atoka, Tennessee and found a stolen handgun, $11,579 in cash, 90 pills of ecstasy, a small marijuana grow operation, and Gangster Disciples gang literature. A search of his vehicle produced approximately three pounds of marijuana and a SKS 7.62 assault rifle. Nash has been charged in federal court in Memphis with possession of MDMA (ecstasy) and marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. If convicted and found to be an Armed Career Criminal, Nash faces a possible sentence of 360 months and up to life in federal prison.
Later that same day, Tipton County Sheriff deputies encountered Isca Johnson, 23, of Covington, Tennessee, and smelled marijuana emanating from his apartment. He gave consent to search, and deputies found marijuana, alprazolam, a loaded handgun, and ammunition. He admitted to owning the items and to being an illicit drug user. Johnson has been charged in federal court in Memphis with possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. If convicted, Johnson faces up to 120 months in federal prison.
Jodeci Young, 23, of Covington, Tennessee, has been charged in federal court in Memphis with possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance on May 3, 2019. If convicted, Young faces up to 120 months in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "We are pleased to join with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to focus on the priority areas of firearms and narcotics cases that impact public safety in our rural communities, and we are glad to support this successful joint operation by adopting these cases for aggressive federal prosecution. We are tired of the trigger-pullers and traffickers that terrorize Tipton County, and we will continue our laser focus on the real drivers of violent crime: guns, gangs, and drugs."
The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office investigated these cases.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Hord and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal Oldham are prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.
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Nigerian National Pleads Guilty for Role in Conspiracy to Launder Millions from Business Email Compromise FraudRead the Press Release
In Austin this afternoon, a Nigerian National formerly residing in San Antonio and Austin pleaded guilty to his role in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud conspiracy that laundered millions of dollars, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash; Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), San Antonio; and, Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Houston Division.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin, 31-year-old Chibuzor Stanley Uba pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. By pleading guilty, Uba admitted to conspiring with others to collect funds by defrauding U.S. and foreign victims through BEC schemes.
Uba’s co-defendants include fellow Nigerian Nationals: Bameyi Kelvin Omale, a 32-year-old resident of Houston; Nnamdi Nwosu, a 32-year-old resident of Houston; Chinonso Agbaji, a 30-year-old resident of Houston; and, Igho Calaba, a 25-year-old resident of Austin. Omale, Agbaji and Calaba have all pleaded guilty to the money laundering conspiracy charge and are awaiting sentencing. Uba, Omale, Agbaji and Calaba face up to 20 years in federal prison. Nwosu remains a fugitive in this case.
According to the indictment in this case and court records, Uba and his codefendants were also conspiring with Joseph Odibobhahemen and Nosa Onaghise. Odibobhahemen and Onaghise, who were charged in a separate indictment, have previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Court records also reflect that over $10 million was allegedly sent by victims to accounts controlled by the conspirators, who were able to take in excess of $6 million before law enforcement or financial institutions stopped the fraudulent transfers.
In a BEC scheme, scammers target businesses and individuals making wire transfer payments, often targeting employees with access to company finances. The scammers trick the employees into making wire transfer payments to bank accounts thought to belong to trusted partners—except the money ends up in accounts controlled by the fraudsters. Sometimes the scammers use computer intrusion techniques to alter legitimate payment request emails, changing the recipient bank accounts. Sometimes they send spoofed emails from email addresses similar to the real email accounts used by trusted partners.
Whatever the BEC method used, the scammers need bank accounts controlled by coconspirators to collect the stolen money. The conspirators in this investigation acquired or controlled dozens of bank accounts opened in the U.S., including in Austin, TX, utilizing fraudulent identification documents, including fraudulent foreign passports in fake names. Once the funds were fraudulently procured and deposited into these bogus accounts, the defendants worked quickly to withdraw or transfer the funds.
This indictment resulted from a continuing investigation by HSI and USPIS. The FBI also assisted in the investigation as did the California Highway Patrol. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of New York also provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Galdo and Keith Henneke are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Nnamdi Nwosu is asked to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE encourages the public to report any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Nwosu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to more than 22 Years for Conspiring to Distribute Heroin in Jacksonville AreaRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE — United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that that today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard, sentenced Jordan Ray, 39, of Patterson, New Jersey, to 270 months’ imprisonment, followed by 6 years of supervised release. RAY was one of nine codefendants named in a fifteen-count Indictment on May 7, 2015. The Indictment charged RAY with conspiring to distribute cocaine, marijuana, 28 or more grams of crack cocaine, and 100 or more grams of heroin; two counts of possession with intent to distribute the same drugs; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Ray pled guilty to all charges on April 9, 2019.
Ray was the last of the nine men to be sentenced in this case. His eight co-conspirators previously received sentences ranging from 12 to 188 months:
- On June 12, 2019, Christopher Sirmons was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute heroin.
- On November 9, 2016, Christopher Salomon was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release following a guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute heroin and 280 or more grams of crack cocaine.
- On April 13, 2016, Anthony Taylor was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute 100 or more grams of heroin, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and quantities of powder cocaine and marijuana.
- On April 13, 2016, Steven Langley was sentenced to 61 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release following his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute heroin and Percocet.
- On March 8, 2016, James Orr was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release, following a guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute 100 or more grams of heroin, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and quantities of powder cocaine and marijuana.
- On March 8, 2016, Christopher Ray Duncan was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute heroin.
- On March 8, 2016, Steven Rolle was sentenced to 12 months’ and 1 day custody following a guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute a quantity of heroin.
The investigation began in 2014, when officers of the Jacksonville PD, Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune began receiving reports that a group of men led by co-defendant Anthony Taylor were distributing large amounts of heroin in the Onslow, NC area. From January through October of 2014, agents were able to conduct 14 controlled buys of heroin and other controlled substances from Taylor and other co-defendants using confidential informants and undercover officers.
During one of these controlled buys on October 7, 2015, a confidential informant purchased 20 bags of heroin from RAY for $260. RAY told the informant that he was Taylor’s source of supply from New Jersey. Law enforcement subsequently learned that RAY had moved to North Carolina from Patterson, NJ, in approximately August 2014 to avoid arrest on unrelated New Jersey murder charges. Investigators determined that Ray was staying with Taylor and another co-defendant James Orr at a residence in Jacksonville.
On October 16, 2014, officers conducted a traffic stop of a car leaving that residence, in which RAY was a passenger. On RAY’s person, they found small quantities of crack and powder cocaine and well as marijuana. The next day, officers executed a search warrant at the residence. In RAY’s bedroom, they found 4.6 grams of heroin, 58.9 grams of crack cocaine, 47 grams of cocaine, a quantity of marijuana, and a loaded 7.65mm semi-automatic firearm. They found an additional 80 grams of heroin in Orr’s and Taylor’s bedrooms.
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.The Jacksonville Police Department, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated these cases. Assistant United States Attorney Jake D. Pugh represented the government.
National Children’s Advocacy Center Receives Several U.S. Department of Justice Grants to Serve Our Youngest VictimsRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE - The Department of Justice has awarded grants totaling $2,734,498 to the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) in Madison County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and NCAC Executive Director, Chris Newlin.
“I am pleased to be able to announce that the Department has awarded grants totaling $2.734,498 to the National Advocacy Center this year,” Town said. “These grants will allow this center to continue providing training and support to the many professionals who work with child abuse victims and strive to improve the judicial system’s handling of their cases. And, now, with the Opioid grant, the NCAC will be able to provide additional services to ensure that the most vulnerable victims effected by the opioid crisis, our children and youth, are supported as they heal from the impact of crime and substance abuse.”
“The NCAC is excited to receive these three grants through the Department of Justice,” Newlin said. “The two training and technical assistance grants have been managed by the NCAC for many years, and we appreciate the support and confidence shown by the Department of Justice over the years. The Opioid Grant is a new three-year award which will support the NCAC’s efforts to collaborate with many agencies in our community including the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address the opioid crisis and its impact on children.”
The NCAC is receiving the funding through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Victims of Child Abuse grant programs. Under the Training and Technical Assistance for Child Abuse Professionals Grant, the NCAC received $800,000 to support the continued development and implementation of a model training program for federal, state, and local professionals who assist child abuse victims through the child protection, mental health, and judicial system; and to support significant free training while continuing to operate the renowned Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO).
It also received a $1,250,000 grant under the VOCA Act Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers Program to implement the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides training and technical assistance to state chapters, other children’s advocacy centers, and multidisciplinary teams in the Southern Census region of the United States. The Southern Census region houses more than 45% of the 1,000+ CACs currently operating throughout the United States which served more than 360,000 youth in 2018.
Under the Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims, the NCAC will address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to the opioid epidemic and to expand upon existing or establish new programs to provide services to children and youth who are victimized as the result of the opioid crisis. With this $684,498 award, the NCAC will leverage its longstanding community partnerships to transform responses to children in Madison County, Alabama, who have been placed in extremely vulnerable situations as a result of the opioid crisis and parental substance abuse. This funding will enable the NCAC to work with the multidisciplinary team, begin identifying these intersections, assessing unmet needs, and expanding services to ensure these victims are full served.
NDTX Round-Up October 8, 2019Read the Press Release
SENTENCING – Sylvia Diaz
On September 30, Sylvia Diaz was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in federal custody, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to acquire a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer by false or fictitious statement. She and her codefendant purchased in total 160 firearms in 50 separate transactions for a buyer in Mexico. Diaz falsely claimed on the corresponding paperwork that she was the actual buyer. This case was prosecuted by AUSA Cathy Richardson and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
GUILTY PLEA - Joshua Blake Browning
On October 1, Joshua Blake Browning, 38, pled guilty to escape from custody. Browning was serving an 8 years and 10 month sentence for the crime of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He escaped from a Federal Prison Camp in Seagoville by running when asked to forfeit a cell phone in his possession. Browning faces up to five years in federal custody, consecutive with his current sentence. This case is prosecuted by AUSA Suzanna Etessam and was investigated by the United States Marshal Service.
GUILTY PLEA – Robert Darren Moore
On October 1, Robert Darren Moore, 35, pled guilty to bank robbery. Moore admitted to robbing a BBVA Compass Bank within a Tom Thumb, a Bank of America, and a Texas Star Bank within nine days. Moore faces up to 25 years in federal custody. This case is prosecuted by AUSA Damien Diggs and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Addison Police Department, Richardson Police Department, and Sherman Police Department.
GUILTY PLEA - Luis Alexander Vargas
On October 1, Luis Alexander Vargas, 31, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Vargas was apprehended in a white van and attempted to escape on foot. He was quickly arrested and the officers found 62 kilograms of methamphetamine in the vehicle. Vargas faces up to 40 years in federal custody. This case was prosecuted by AUSA Linda Requenez and investigated by the Irving Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
SENTENCING – Joshua Israel Pagan Zapata
On October 3, Joshua Israel Pagan Zapata, 22, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months in federal custody for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine. Zapata and his co-conspirators agreed to bypass security at the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport with what they believed to be 10 kilograms of methamphetamine. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and the Dallas Police Department. The case was prosecuted by AUSA George Leal, AUSA John De La Garza, and AUSA John Kull.
SENTENCING – Christian Davis Cruz-Rodriguez
On October 3, Christian Da Cruz-Rodriguez, 24, was sentenced to 5 years and 5 months in federal custody for conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Cruz-Rodriguez told undercover agents about different methods to smuggle contraband into aircraft at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. He agreed to smuggle 6 kilograms of methamphetamine at the request of the undercover agents. The investigating parties on this case were the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and the Dallas Police Department. The prosecuting attorneys were AUSA George Leal, AUSA John De La Garza, and AUSA John Kull.
GUILTY PLEA - James Dick Biggs
On October 1, James Dick Diggs, 55, pled guilty to unarmed bank robbery. In April of 2019, Diggs robbed two different banks in Dallas by threatening employees. Biggs faces up to 20 years in federal prison. This case was investigated by AUSA Melanie Smith and prosecuted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
GUILTY PLEA – Christopher Cousins
On September 30, Christopher Cousins, 28, pled guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. In February 2018, Cousins and his two coconspirators entered a Sprint Store in Garland, brandishing a firearm. The conspirators stole smartphones and cash for a total value of over $13,000. Cousins faces up to 60 years in federal custody. This case was investigated by the Dallas Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is prosecuted by AUSA PJ Meitl.
Media Advisory: United States Attorney’s Office, Inter-Religious Council of Linn County, and Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission to Host Forum on Protecting Places of WorshipRead the Press Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA –United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr., the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County, and the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission will host a community forum focused on protecting places of worship. Leaders of the interfaith community, representatives of houses of worship, and other community stakeholders and members are encouraged to attend to discuss hate crime laws, identifying and reporting hate crimes, and best practices for creating safe and secure houses of worship. Speakers include officials from local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as from local community organizations.
Event Details
When: 5:30PM-8:30PM, Tuesday, October 22, 20019
Where: Cedar Rapids Public Library- Whipple Auditorium
450 5th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
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Man Sentenced for Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain EmploymentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that LUIS FELIPE PALAFOX-ALVAREZ (PALAFOX-ALVAREZ), age 25, a native of Mexico, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to illegally using a Social Security number to obtain employment, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).
United States District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry sentenced PALAFOX-ALVAREZ, to time served and a $100 special assessment fee. The defendant shall be surrendered to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
According to court documents, on or about August 14, 2019, PALAFOX-ALVAREZ presented a false Social Security card when attending a pre-employment safety class at the Gulf Coast Safety Council in St. Rose, Louisiana. PALAFOX-ALVAREZ falsely represented that a social security number was assigned to him when in fact; the social security number had been assigned by the Commissioner of Social Security to another individual.
U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Border Patrol and the Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans is in charge of the prosecution.
Man Caught with Two Kilograms of Methamphetamine and a Loaded Gun in Bell County Pleads Guilty to Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
LAUREL, Ky. - Dylan Brewer, 23, of Harlan County, pleaded guilty Monday to possession with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins.
According to the plea agreement, law enforcement stopped Brewer’s vehicle in Bell County, Kentucky, on July 13, and found two kilograms of methamphetamine and a loaded firearm hidden in a speaker box in the back seat. During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Brewer had been obtaining methamphetamine in Georgia and traveling to Harlan County to distribute it.
“Reducing the availability of dangerous drugs and protecting the public are two of our most important priorities,” said Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Prosecuting armed methamphetamine traffickers, like the defendant, satisfies both. This prosecution, and others like it, reinforce a simple message: dealing meth with a gun will likely result in a long stay in a federal prison.”
U.S. Attorney Duncan; Dan Dodds, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Louisville Field Division; Richard Sanders, Commissioner of Kentucky State Police; Kyle Dunn, Pineville Police Chief; Mitch Williams, Bell County Sheriff; and Mike Smith, Knox County Sheriff, jointly announced the guilty plea. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew H. Trimble.
Brewer’s sentencing hearing has not yet been set. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison, with a maximum of life, and a maximum fine of $20 million. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
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Lexington Woman Sentenced to 6 Months for Communicating False Information about Explosives to University of KentuckyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, KY- A Lexington, Kentucky, woman, who previously admitted to sending false information concerning explosives threatening the University of Kentucky campus was sentenced Tuesday to 6 months in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Danny Reeves sentenced 20-year-old, Haily Loriane Duvall for communicating false threats regarding explosives.
Duvall previously admitted of using Snapchat to communicate threats to the University of Kentucky community on November 7 and 8 of 2018. According to the plea agreement, Duvall created a second account and used it to further disseminate the created threats. Duvall also informed other University of Kentucky students about the Snapchat communications, contacted the University of Kentucky Police Department and reported the threats, and also made contact with a local news reporter to attempt to publicize the alleged threat. After being confronted by law enforcement, Duvall admitted to being responsible for the threats and that the threats would be seen as a serious expression of intent to commit harm to University of Kentucky students and faculty.
Duvall pleaded guilty on June 24. Under federal law, Duvall must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years, which includes 6 months at home incarceration. Duvall must also pay a $1,800 fine.
“Using the internet to make threatening communications, even if those threats are a hoax, is a serious criminal offense. The defendant’s actions were not harmless. She caused law enforcement to needlessly respond to her hoax, potentially taking them away from real emergencies, and substantially disrupted activities at the University of Kentucky and the campus area,” said United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. “Prosecution of these hoax cases should serve notice that this conduct is unacceptable, and hopefully, it will deter others from engaging in similar behavior.”
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge James Robert Brown, Jr. of the FBI’s Louisville, Kentucky Field Division, and Joe Monroe, Chief of the University of Kentucky Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the University of Kentucky Police Department and the FBI. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone.
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Lancaster Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Heroin and Fentanyl That Led to A DeathRead 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 Joshua Levine, 23, of Lancaster, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi and Charles J. Volkert, Jr., who are handling the case, stated that between June 2013 and March 23, 2017, the defendant conspired with Robert Moore and others to distribute heroin in the City of Buffalo and surrounding suburbs. Levine was a user of the heroin and fentanyl he obtained from Moore, but during the course of the conspiracy, he also re-distributed some of the drugs to other users for profit.
On February 18, 2017, Levine received a quantity of heroin and fentanyl from Moore, which Levine, in turn, distributed to an individual identified as B.G., who thereafter died as the result of an overdose.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers from the Amherst, Lancaster, and Buffalo Police Departments, and the New York State Police and DEA, conducted 11 controlled purchases of fentanyl and butyryl fentanyl from co-defendant Robert Moore. Additionally, on February 23, 2017, law enforcement officers with the Amherst Police Department conducted a controlled purchase of fentanyl from Joshua Levine. On March 16, 2017, law enforcement officers conducted search warrants at Robert Moore’s residence on Glenwood Drive in Williamsville, NY, and also at Joshua Levine’s residence on Aurora Street in Lancaster, NY. A quantity of fentanyl with identical drug packaging was discovered at each of those residences. Both Robert Moore and Joshua Levine were arrested the day of the search warrants.Robert Moore was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing. Two other co-defendant, Reese Moore and Kevin Abernathy, were also previously convicted and are also awaiting sentencing.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John C. Askey; the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), under the direction of Major Mary Clark, and Lieutenant Kevin Reyes; the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief William J. Karn, Jr.; the Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Squad, under the direction of Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood; the Lockport Police Department, under the direction of Interim Police Chief Steve Preisch; the Depew Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome Miller; the Niagara County Sherriff’s Office and the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour; the Erie County Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard; and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in Charge Kevin Kelly.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 14, 2020, before Judge Vilardo.
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Lancaster County Oil & Gas Company Officers Charged with Bank FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Jeffrey Lyons, 58, of Lancaster, PA, Karen Connelly, 65, of Manheim, PA, and Judith Avilez, 58, of Elizabethtown, PA were all charged with bank fraud for their roles in defrauding Fulton Bank. Lyons and Connelly were charged by Information and Avilez was charged by Indictment.
The charging documents allege that between 2003 through May 15, 2018, Lyons, the former CEO of Worley & Obetz, and Worley & Obetz’s two controllers, Connelly and Avilez, defrauded Fulton Bank by fraudulently inflating Worley & Obetz’s revenue on its financial statements. Worley & Obetz was an oil and gas company in Manheim, PA, that provided home heating oil, gas, and propane to its customers. As a result of these and other alleged financial improprieties, the company has shut down and all employees lost their jobs.
To perpetuate the fraud, Connelly and Avilez created fraudulent Worley and Obetz financial statements to make the company appear to the bank that it had more revenue and accounts receivable than it did. Connelly was the Worley & Obetz controller from 2000 until she retired in December 2015. After Connelly retired, she and Lyons continued the fraud for approximately six months until Lyons asked Connelly to teach the scheme to Worley & Obetz’s new controller, Avilez.
Avilez’s Indictment alleges that after Connelly taught her how to commit the fraud, she knowingly continued the fraud with Lyons, falsifying Worley & Obetz’s financial statements. Lyons is also alleged to have altered a customer contract and provided the altered contract to Fulton Bank to support Worley & Obetz’s requests for more loans. The charging documents allege that the bank fraud scheme continued for at least 15 years. Fulton Bank relied on the fraudulent Worley & Obetz customer contract and the fraudulent Worley & Obetz financial statements created by Lyons, Connelly, and Avilez when it lent Worley & Obetz over $60 million.
The Information also charges Lyons with tax evasion for not reporting over $650,000 in income he received from Worley & Obetz in 2013.
“The alleged fraud here is stunning in scope and duration,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “As alleged, the defendants obtained tens of millions of dollars from bank lenders to benefit their business, when their jobs as CEO and Controller required them to act with fiduciary integrity. My Office will continue to work aggressively with our law enforcement partners to protect innocent individuals and businesses from being victimized by financial fraud.”
If convicted, Karen Connelly and Judith Avilez face a maximum possible sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine and Lyons faces a maximum sentence of 35 years’ imprisonment and a $1,250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigations, and Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Knox County Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – Jason William Graves, 40, of Gray, Ky., pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on Tuesday.
Graves, who was previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2013, acknowledged that he illegally possessed two firearms on June 23, 2019. Graves faces up to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of federal supervised release, and a fine of not more than $250,000.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, made the announcement today.
Assistant United States Attorney R. Nicholas Rabold is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Graves' sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., at the United States District Court in London.
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Kentucky Truck Driver, Prior Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Kentucky truck driver and prior sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting child pornography.
Gregory Marshall, 58, of Paducah, Kentucky, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
According to court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the tractor trailer Marshall was driving on U.S. Highway 60 in Wright County, Mo., on June 17, 2018. The trooper discovered that Marshall was a non-compliant sex offender. Marshall was convicted of sodomy involving a 14-year-old victim in Kentucky in 1995. While searching the sleeper berth of the tractor, the trooper discovered a laptop computer and an external hard drive that contained child pornography.
Under federal statutes, Marshall is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."KC Man Sentenced to Life Plus 72 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a three-months-long conspiracy that included more than 27 armed robberies, culminating in the armed robbery of a Walgreens in Blue Springs, Missouri, in which a suspect was fatally shot by law enforcement officers.
Shannon R. Thomas, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to life in federal prison without parole, followed by a consecutive sentence of 72 years in federal prison without parole.
On May 9, 2019, Thomas was found guilty at trial of participating in the conspiracy as well as participating in 10 armed robberies. He was also found guilty of 10 counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The life sentence was imposed for Thomas’s conviction of brandishing a firearm during the Walgreens robbery that resulted in the death of Jermon Seals.
Thomas and co-conspirators robbed 27 businesses in Blue Springs, Independence, North Kansas City, Raytown, and Kansas City, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas, at gunpoint from Jan. 2 to March 24, 2016. In addition to the armed robberies charged in the indictment, evidence was introduced during the trial of other, uncharged robberies that were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. Victim businesses included convenience stores, pharmacies, and other businesses.
The robberies followed a similar pattern: Two or three conspirators entered the business armed with handguns, wearing gloves, hoodies, and/or masks. The hoodies were drawn tightly over their faces to obscure their features. The employees were forced at gunpoint to hand over money from the cash register and the safe. The thieves wore the same hoodies in nearly all the robberies; Thomas wore a blue Kansas City Royals hoodie for the majority of the robberies he committed.
The spree of robberies culminated on March 24, 2016. Thomas, along with co-defendant Deonte J. Collins-Abbott, 25, of Grandview, Missouri, and Jermon Seals of Shawnee, Kansas, robbed the Walgreens at 7 Highway and Duncan in Blue Springs. Thomas placed a Springfield Armory .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol to the back of an employee’s head and took money from the front register. Collins-Abbott and Seals went over the pharmacy counter and took prescription grade cough syrup at gunpoint from the pharmacist. They left the business but were confronted by law enforcement officers as they were walking back to the vehicle. They failed to comply with the officers’ commands; Seals turned towards the officers, pointing a gun in their direction. Officers returned fire and Seals was fatally struck in the exchange. Thomas and Collins-Abbott were apprehended by officers after a short foot chase.
Collins-Abbott pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison without parole. Collins-Abbott admitted that he committed eight armed robberies between Feb. 3, 2016, and March 24, 2016.
Parrise K. Black, also known as “Kilo,” 27, of Grandview, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Demetrius Nelson, 26, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant Kevin T. Thompson-Randell, 24, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole.
Frank A. Garner, Jr., 25, of Grandview, pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18, 2019.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Caine and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Kate Butterfield. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the North Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Jury convicts local businessman of long-term sex trafficking of minorRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The 67-year-old founder and part-owner of Global Blue Technologies has been convicted of sex trafficking of a minor female, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
The jury deliberated for 10 hours before convicting David Wills, now of San Antonio and previously of Rockport and South Padre Island, following a 10-day trial.
The jury heard that from 2012 to 2015, the aquaculture company owner conspired with Maria Losoya and trafficked a young girl beginning when she was only 10 years of age. Losoya and Wills used their cell phones to arrange meetings at several different locations where Wills would sexually assault the victim. These included multiple Wills’ residences as well as Losoya’s in Brownsville and hotels and motels in the greater Corpus Christi area.
The jury heard testimony that Wills promised to pay for the victim’s college tuition if Losoya allowed him to sexually assault the young girl. Wills also reimbursed Losoya for gifts to the victim and expenditures she would otherwise not have been able to afford. These included an iPad, Bose headphones, a flatscreen TV, Apple laptop, trampoline, swimming pool and a school trip to Washington D.C.
Wills sexually assaulted the minor female multiple times until she reported it in April 2015.
Losoya pleaded guilty in 2017 and testified at trial.
The jury also heard from the forensic interviewer who first interviewed the victim about the sexual assaults, the nurse who first examined her, several state and federal law enforcement officers and an expert witness who testified about Wills' and Losoya's cell site information. An eyewitness also described seeing the victim at a Portland hotel where Wills and Losoya met in March 2014.
In addition, the jury heard from Wills’ former personal assistant who testified he asked her to hand over a personal computer on the day of the victim’s outcry. He later admitted it was destroyed to prevent law enforcement from seizing and reviewing it.
Wills, who had a total of 12 attorneys representing him at trial, attempted to
convince the jury Losoya only wanted more money and tried to refute cell site location data as well as the nurse’s testimony. They also criticized the victim’s previous statements. Wills took the stand and admitted having an affair with Losoya but denied any sexual involvement with the victim.
The jury heard from multiple defense witnesses attesting to the defendant’s character and successes, while attempting to contradict testimony Losoya and the victim gave.
The jury ultimately returned guilty verdicts on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, seven counts each of sex trafficking and coercion/enticement, one count of attempted coercion/enticement and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
He faces up life in prison.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos presided over the trial. Previously released on bond, Wills was taken into custody following the verdict today where he will remain pending sentencing, which will be set at a later date.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Brownsville Police Department and Texas Rangers conducted the investigation with the assisatnce of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zahra Fenelon, Rick Bennett and Stephanie Bauman are prosecuting the case.
James Michael Wells Convicted for Murdering Coast Guard EmployeesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska -- U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that today, after deliberating for 8 hours, a jury of 6 women and 6 men found James Michael Wells guilty of the April 12, 2012, murders of U.S. Coast Guard Electrician’s Mate First Class James Hopkins (“Hopkins”) and retired Chief Boatswain’s Mate Richard Belisle (“Belisle”).
Wells, now 68, was arrested on Feb. 15, 2013, for the 2012 murders of Hopkins and Belisle, federal employees and Wells’ co-workers at the United States Coast Guard (“USCG”) antenna maintenance facility, located at the USCG Communication Station (“COMMSTA”) on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Wells was convicted in 2014 and the case was reversed on appeal by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2017.
Evidence at trial established that on April 12, 2012, between 7:09 and 7:14 a.m., Hopkins and Belisle were shot and killed with a .44 revolver, which was never found, while working at their duty stations in the Rigger Shop at COMMSTA. First responders noted no evidence of a break-in or robbery and both men appeared to be victims of a targeted killing. Wells was due to arrive at the Rigger Shop the same time respectively as Hopkins and Belisle, but instead left two phone messages for Hopkins and Belisle, noted to be after the victims’ time of death, stating Wells was running late due to a flat tire. Wells ended up arriving to the Rigger Shop well over an hour after his normal start time, immediately claiming to have had a flat tire.
USCG security videos captured Wells passing the Main Gate at Base Kodiak at 6:48 a.m. in his white Dodge truck on his way toward the Kodiak Airport, and returning back toward his residence at 7:22 a.m. However, a small blue SUV, owned by Wells, was captured on USCG security videos passing the Rigger Shop front entrance. The evidence showed Wells drove his white Dodge pickup truck to the airport, where he swapped vehicles and drove Nancy Wells’ blue Honda CR-V to COMMSTA to commit the murders. There was a 34-minute period of time for which James Wells could not account and that unexplained discrepancy captured the attention of the interviewing agents. Additionally, a tire with a nail in it was seized and through extensive testing, the examiner concluded that the nail had been manually inserted into the tire, undermining the foundation of Wells’ alibi that he had picked up a nail while driving to work on the morning of the murders.
At trial, Wells testified that he had a low tire, stopped and went to the bathroom at Servant Air and then went home. He further testified that he removed the nail and replaced it with a larger nail which was the one discovered by investigators.
On October 8, 2019, Wells was convicted on all six counts of the indictment: two counts of murder in the first degree, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1111, one for each victim; two counts of murder of an officer or employee of the United States, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1114, one for each victim; and two counts of possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
Sentencing will be scheduled by the court in the coming days. The law provides for a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Wells will remain in custody pending sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder notes that the conviction comes after an extensive investigation led by the FBI, with support from the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Alaska State Troopers.
Deputy Criminal Chief Steven Skrocki prosecuted the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Sherman, and Commander Kelly Stevens, U.S. Coast Guard, who was appointed as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Jackson Man Sentenced under Project EJECT to over Eight Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery of Dollar General StoreRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Darryl De’Monte Thompson, 31, of Jackson, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to serve 102 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for robbing a local Dollar General store in Jackson and brandishing a firearm during that crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Thompson was also ordered to pay a $1,200 fine.
On April 6, 2018, Thompson and Jalen Simmons robbed the Dollar General on Briarwood Drive in Jackson. Thompson served as the lookout while Simmons entered the store, brandished a stolen 9mm pistol, and demanded cash from the register. When the cashier was unable to open the register, Simmons robbed customers at gunpoint. Officers with the Jackson Police Department apprehended both suspects as they fled the scene.
On September 29, 2018, Simmons and Thompson were charged in a federal criminal indictment with one count of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the crime. Simmons pled guilty before Judge Reeves on December 17, 2018. He was sentenced on March 22, 2019 to seven years and one day in prison for his role in the crime. Thompson pled guilty before Judge Reeves on May 22, 2019.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Purdie.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Justice Expel Crime Together." PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the
Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Independence Woman Sentenced for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court today for her role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Sarah M. Davila, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 12 years and one month in federal prison without parole.
Davila, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 3, 2018, admitted that she sold methamphetamine to an undercover police officer on five separate occasions. According to court documents, those purchases were large amounts and totaled 245.88 grams of methamphetamine. When officers executed a search warrant at her residence, they seized a firearm and some methamphetamine.
Davila, identified as a mid-level supplier, is the final defendant to be sentenced among 10 defendants convicted of their roles in the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Husband and Wife Sentenced to Prison in College Admissions CaseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A husband and wife were sentenced to prison today for paying $125,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter.
Gregory Abbott, 68, and Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y., were each sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani to one month in prison, one year of supervised release, ordered to complete 250 hours of community service and to each pay a fine of $45,000. In May 2019, the Abbotts pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
The government recommended that the Abbotts each be sentenced to eight months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $40,000.
Beginning in 2018, Gregory and Maria Abbott conspired with William “Rick” Singer and others to have their daughter’s ACT exam and SAT II subject tests corrected, thereby fraudulently inflating the scores. In April 2018, Gregory Abbott wired $50,000 to Singer’s sham charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF), to pay for the scheme. Later that month, the Abbotts’ daughter took the ACT exam at a test center in West Hollywood that Singer “controlled” through the center’s corrupt administrator. After the Abbotts’ daughter completed the exam, defendant Mark Riddell corrected her answers. As a result of the cheating scheme, the Abbotts’ daughter received a fraudulent score of 35 out of 36 on the exam.
In June 2018, the Abbotts arranged with Singer for someone to correct her daughter’s answers on the SAT subject tests to increase her score. The Abbotts then paid $75,000 to KWF. In October 2018, the Abbotts’ daughter took the exams, again at the West Hollywood test center, and again, Riddell corrected her answers. As a result of the scheme, the Abbotts’ daughter received a perfect score of 800 on the math subject test and 710 on the literature test.
The Abbotts are the 6th and 7th parents to be sentenced in the college admissions case. Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, and Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
Houston, TX Man Sentenced to 27 Months for Shipping Misbranded Prescription Drugs to Oldham CountyRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Houston, Texas, man, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison followed by 2 years of supervised release by United States District Judge David J. Hale for two counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and one count of using a fictitious name to conduct an unlawful business.
Dhaval Jerambhai Dholaria, 39, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and one count of using a fictitious name to conduct an unlawful business in August of 2019. Dholaria was originally indicted on June 7, 2017.
“Put the families of our district at risk through your greed, as in this case, and expect to reside in federal prison” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman.
“Distributing foreign prescription drugs of unknown origin and ingredients instead of FDA-approved drugs places the U.S. public health at risk,” said Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office. “We will aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to subvert FDA requirements, which are designed to ensure the safety and quality of drugs distributed to American consumers.”
According to the plea agreement, from March 19, 2016, to March 23, 2016, Mr. Dholaria illegally shipped zolpidem tartrate (Ambien), a Schedule IV controlled substance used for sleep problems, from a location in Texas to a P.O. Box in Oldham County, Kentucky. The medication he shipped was misbranded, in that it was dispensed without a prescription and its labeling did not contain required directions for use. He shipped this medication with the intent to defraud and mislead, by avoiding the FDA requirements for prescription drugs.
To accomplish his introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, Dholaria used a stamps.com shipping account registered in the name of “Sam H,” a false name he used for the purpose of conducting his unlawful business by means of the Postal Service.
During the course of the investigation, federal agents seized over thirty (30) packages of prescription pills sent to Dholaria from India. Those packages contained approximately: 52,000 tramadol pills (a Schedule IV opioid), 2,300 diazepam pills (a Schedule IV anti-anxiety medication, also known as Valium), 2,200 zolpidem tartrate pills, 1,200 clonazepam pills (a Schedule IV anti-anxiety medication, also known as Klonopin), and 1,500 carisoprodol pills (a Schedule IV muscle relaxant, also known as Soma). Agents also seized nearly thirty (30) packages containing nearly 5,000 prescription pills of various types that agents witnessed Dholaria placing in the mail for delivery to United States residents. Based on shipping records it appears that Dholaria shipped tens of thousands of prescription pills throughout the United States before he was caught.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Weiser and Madison Sewell, and was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, the United States Postal Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
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Hoboken Man Admits Participating in Voter Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hoboken, New Jersey, today man admitted his role in a conspiracy to promote a voter bribery scheme during a municipal election in Hoboken, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
William Rojas, 69, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiring with others to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme during the 2015 municipal election in Hoboken.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their county clerk’s office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the VBM Application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot.
From September 2015 through November 2015, Rojas worked for a candidate for the Hoboken City Council (Candidate 1). At Candidate 1’s direction, Rojas and a conspirator, Matthew Calicchio, agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2015 Hoboken municipal election. Rojas provided these voters with VBM applications and told them they would get paid $50 for casting mail-in ballots. After receiving the completed mail-in ballots from voters, Rojas and Calicchio reviewed them to ensure that voters had voted for Candidate 1. After the election, Rojas delivered $50 checks to the voters whose mail-in ballots he collected. Calicchio previously pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7, 2019.
Rojas faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
Defense Counsel: Kevin F. Carlucci Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 10 YearsRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Louisville, man, who pleaded guilty to possessing and dealing heroin, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release, by United States District Judge David J. Hale.
“Peddle this poison at your peril in the Western District of Kentucky” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman “Law enforcement here is committed and united to protect our families from this threat.”
Logan Charles Silliman, 33, was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in Louisville on March 8, 2017.
Silliman was originally indicted with knowingly and intentionally distributing a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, to Gregory Allen, whose death and serious bodily injury resulted from the use of the drugs. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Silliman voluntarily plead to a lesser offense, and pleaded guilty to knowing and possessing with intent to distribute a mixture of a substance containing a detectable amount of heroin.
According to a plea agreement, on or about December 19, 2016, Silliman distributed a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin to Allen.
On or about January 6, 2017, Silliman possessed a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin when police located the drugs in his apartment during the execution of a search warrant. Silliman admitted that he had been selling heroin for approximately two years.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Bonar and Stephanie Zimdahl, and was investigated by the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
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