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Friday 2 August 2019
Nigerian National Involved in Business E-Mail Compromise Scheme Sentenced to 3 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STANLEY HUGOCHUKWU NWOKE, also known as “Stanley Banks,” “Banks,” “Hugo Banks,” “Banky,” and “Jose Calderon,” 28, a citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 36 months of imprisonment for his role in a business e-mail compromise scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Nwoke conspired with Adeyemi Odufuye and others in a business compromise scheme that targeted hundreds, if not thousands, of CFOs, controllers and others at businesses, nonprofit organizations, and schools in Connecticut and across the United States. As part of the scheme, Odufuye, Nwoke and others, including Olumuyiwa Yahtrip Adejumo, sent e-mails addressed to executives that were made to appear to be sent from the legitimate e-mail address of the CEO or other executive from the business. The emails were sent with the intent of having the recipients send or wire money to bank accounts used by members of the conspiracy.
The investigation revealed that scheme participants controlled multiple e-mail and social media accounts used in the scheme and, in certain instances, sent e-mails and attachments containing malware to the intended recipients.
In late 2015, Odufuye and others sent or caused to be sent dozens of e-mails to the controller of a company in Torrington, Connecticut. In the e-mails, Odufuye posed at the real CEO of the victim company and instructed the controller to send multiple wire transfers exceeding a total of $1 million from the company’s accounts to various individuals and purported entities. The company then sent five wire transfers totaling more than $500,000 to accounts in Virginia, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Hong Kong.
The investigation revealed that Odufuye and others also targeted a company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut, as part of this scheme.
Judge Hall ordered Nwoke to pay restitution of $662,053.87.
Nwoke was arrested in Mauritius on May 8, 2018, was extradited to the U.S., and has been detained since his arrest. On May 7, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Odufuye, formerly residing in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and Adejumo, formerly residing in Toledo, Ohio, both citizens of Nigeria, previously pleaded guilty to related charges. On December 12, 2018, Odufuye was sentenced to 45 months of imprisonment and was ordered to pay restitution of $921,497.87 to victims of the scheme. On August 17, 2018, Adejumo was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Cyber Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
U.S. Attorney Durham thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police, and the Mauritius Police Force’s Central Criminal Investigation Department for their assistance in this case.
To contact the Connecticut Cyber Task Force, please call the FBI in New Haven at 203-777-6311.
Montgomery County Doctor Charged with Illegally Prescribing OpioidsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Spiro Y. Kassis, M.D., 66, of Plymouth Township, PA, was charged by Information with 14 criminal counts of distributing dangerous and addictive opioids and other controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
According to the Information, the defendant, who claimed to be a specialist in psychiatry and addiction medicine, operated medical offices in East Norriton Township, PA and Scranton, PA. Kassis used his offices to operate a prescription “pill mill” whereby he sold medically unnecessary prescriptions for opioids drugs such as oxycodone and burprenorphine, and other controlled substances. The defendant sold prescriptions to so-called patients for approximately $200 cash each. At the East Norriton office, Kassis saw approximately 45 “patients” per day, who lined up outside of a back room to the office. As each person filed in, Kassis collected $200 cash from the patient, counted the money, and then issued the requested prescriptions electronically to the patient’s pharmacy. Often, the defendant issued dangerous combinations of prescriptions including oxycodone, methadone, and buprenorphine, all to the same patient.
“My Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners at all levels to find those responsible for flooding our neighborhoods with these dangerous drugs and bringing them to justice,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “I want to thank Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and his Office for referring this case for federal prosecution and for their cooperation as we bring drug dealers – whether they wear a lab coat or stand on a street corner – to justice.”
“The defendant, Spiro Kassis, may have had the title of doctor but he was simply a drug dealer, peddling addiction by using a prescription pad,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. “Kassis was selling thousands of prescriptions purely to make money. Instead of being a healer and doing no harm, he was a major contributor to the opioid-heroin-fentanyl epidemic that is killing so many people in our communities.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 250 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General; and Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Narcotics Enforcement Team, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy, and Special Assistant United States Attorney James Price who was cross-designated by the Montgomery County District Attorney for this prosecution. The related civil actions are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Scicchitano.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Michigan Woman Convicted of Obstructing the IRSRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Flint, Michigan, convicted Gerri Avery today of engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Avery obstructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its attempts to collect payroll taxes due and owing for Integrated HCS Practice Management (Integrated), a Southfield, Michigan, company, by providing false and misleading information to the IRS Revenue Officer attempting to collect the taxes owed. Integrated, a management services business for healthcare providers, failed to pay payroll taxes due from its employees for the third quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, and the first quarter of 2014. Avery, whose duties at Integrated were central to the business’s operations, made statements to the IRS Revenue Officer that attempted to minimize her involvement in and knowledge of the business as well as the involvement of Joseph DeSanto, one of the owners of the business. Avery also told the IRS she did not know how to obtain bank statements and other documents related to the business, despite regularly accessing such records as part of her responsibilities for the company.
In a related case, DeSanto himself has pleaded guilty to failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over payroll taxes relating to Integrated and to failure to file his personal tax return for 2013.
United States District Judge Laurie J. Michelson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019. Avery faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, in addition to a term of supervised release and restitution.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and William Guappone, who are prosecuting the case, and paralegal Eric Mahoney.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.
Mexican National Sentenced for Meth Trafficking in 21-Pound Bust by SD Highway PatrolRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a man from San Jose, Mexico, who entered the United States and was subsequently apprehended in South Dakota and convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine was sentenced on July 31, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Heriberto Navarro Ortiz, age 33, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, 1 year of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
“First of all, I want to commend the South Dakota Highway Patrol for its excellent work in apprehending this drug trafficker,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “Most of the meth trafficked in South Dakota and across the United States is produced by violent Mexican drug cartels and smuggled across our southern border. Federal, State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement authorities are working together to do everything possible to stamp out this poison and hold the traffickers accountable.”
Ortiz was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 4, 2018. He pleaded guilty on May 3, 2019.
In early November of 2018, Ortiz was hired to travel to the United States and deliver a load of methamphetamine from California to Minnesota. Using funds provided by his contact, Ortiz flew from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Tijuana, Mexico, and then crossed the border into the United States on foot. Ortiz’s contact then instructed him to travel to Apple Valley, California, where he picked up a silver Chevrolet Malibu loaded with approximately 21 pounds of packaged methamphetamine, and began heading east.
On November 22, 2018, a Trooper with the South Dakota Highway Patrol stopped Ortiz’s car for speeding on Interstate 90 near mile marker 216. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, the Trooper discovered a package containing methamphetamine wrapped in plastic tape beneath the carpet covering a rear wheel well. A thorough search of the car revealed that it contained nineteen hidden packages weighing approximately 21 pounds. Six packages were located in the rear wheel well, four were inside of the driver and passenger seat backs, and nine were in the windshield cowling. The South Dakota Public Health Laboratory determined that the packages contain 8.4 kilograms of pure methamphetamine. Prior to November 2018, Ortiz had entered the United States at least seven or eight times.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Ortiz was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mexican National Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, AR – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Erasmo Ortiz-Torres, age 41, was sentenced yesterday to 78 months in federal prison followed by deportation proceedings for illegally reentering the United States after being deported. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, immigration authorities encountered Ortiz-Torres at Washington County Jail on December 13, 2018. Ortiz-Torres is a Mexican national formerly residing in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Through fingerprints, agents determined Ortiz-Torres’ identity, criminal history, and alienage. According to his immigration file, Ortiz-Torres has been issued reinstated removal orders multiple times since he was first removed from the United States in 2001. In 2006, he was convicted of illegal reentry into the United States after deportation subsequent to an aggravated felony conviction. In 2017, he was deported again. After his most recent removal, Ortiz-Torres reentered the United States voluntarily and without lawful authority.
Ortiz-Torres was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2019 and entered a guilty plea in May 2019. He will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operation. Assistant United States Attorneys Sydney Butler and Amy Driver prosecuted the case for the United States.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Bribing D.C. Public OfficialsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marvin Parker, 60, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pled guilty Wednesday to one count of bribery of public officials, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.
Parker pled guilty before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a criminal Information, charged with one count of bribery of public officials and witnesses on July 31, 2019. Parker faces up to 15 years of prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000. As part of his plea, Parker will pay a special assessment of $100 per felony conviction to the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to Parker’s admissions made in connection with his plea, Parker is the owner and sole proprietor of RPM Associates. As part of his business, Parker made cash payments to two employees of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Parker made those payments to MPD employees to influence them to provide him with information about individuals who had been involved in traffic accidents in Washington, D.C. Upon receipt of this information, Parker would contact those individuals by phone and offer to assist them with obtaining legal representation and medical services. MPD’s General Orders prohibits officers and employees from releasing Traffic Crash Reports except under limited circumstances. D.C. Law prohibits the solicitation of traffic accident victims within 21 days of the accident when the solicitation is for financial gain and for the purpose of directing the victim to practitioners, such as attorneys or medical providers.
Specifically, Parker paid MPD Employee 1 approximately $50 to $200 per week in cash for the Traffic Crash Report information. Parker paid MPD Employee 2 approximately $400 to $500 per week in cash for the Traffic Crash Report information.
In total, between August 23, 2015, and October 11, 2017, Parker made more than $40,000 in cash payments to MPD Employee 1 and MPD Employee 2, in exchange for them providing Parker with Traffic Crash Report information in violation of their official duties as MPD employees.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who assisted the case from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division. She also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including paralegal specialists Josh Fein and Mariela Andrade, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler, Andrew Floyd, and Colleen Kukowski who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Manhattan Doctor Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes and Kickbacks from Pharmaceutical Company in Exchange for Prescribing Fentanyl DrugRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DIALECTI VOUDOURIS, a doctor who practiced in Manhattan, pled guilty today to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in connection with a scheme to prescribe Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from Subsys’s manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics. VOUDOURIS pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As she admitted today, Dialecti Voudouris, a prominent Manhattan oncologist, prescribed her patients Subsys, a powerful fentanyl drug, in exchange for over $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks from the drug’s manufacturer, Insys. Today’s guilty plea – the third in this case – once again demonstrates that when a doctor’s best medical judgment is compromised by bribes, this Office will hold that physician to account, especially when a dangerous opioid like fentanyl is involved.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment against VOUDOURIS and filings in related proceedings:
The Insys Speakers Bureau
Subsys, which is manufactured by Insys, is a powerful painkiller approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The FDA approved Subsys only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Prescriptions of Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, reimbursed prescriptions written by VOUDOURIS.
In or about August 2012, Insys launched a “Speakers Bureau,” a roster of doctors who would conduct programs (“Speaker Programs”) purportedly aimed at educating other practitioners about Subsys. In reality, Insys used its Speakers Bureau to induce the doctors who served as speakers to prescribe large volumes of Subsys by paying them Speaker Program fees. Speakers were supposed to conduct an educational slide presentation for other health care practitioners at each Speaker Program. In reality, many of the Speaker Programs were predominantly social affairs where no educational presentation about Subsys occurred. Attendance sign-in sheets for the Speaker Programs were frequently forged by adding the names and signatures of health care practitioners who had not actually been present.
VOUDOURIS’s Participation in the Scheme
VOUDOURIS, a doctor specializing in oncology and hematology who worked at a private medical office on the Upper East Side, received approximately $119,400 in Speaker Program fees from Insys in exchange for prescribing large volumes of Subsys. During a September 2014 dinner with several Insys executives and managers, a senior Insys executive told VOUDOURIS, who had recently been nominated by Insys as a Speaker, that he wanted her to prescribe Subsys to one new patient every day, and that VOUDOURIS would be allocated Speaker Programs if she continued prescribing Subsys. In a conversation with an Insys manager and sales representative soon thereafter, VOUDOURIS was once again informed that Insys expected her to write more Subsys prescriptions. In the months that followed the dinner and this conversation, VOUDOURIS’s Subsys prescriptions rose significantly. By the end of the first quarter of 2015, VOUDOURIS – who had prescribed very minimal quantities of Subsys prior to becoming a Speaker for Insys – was approximately the 10th-highest prescriber of Subsys nationally, accounting for total net sales of Subsys of approximately $581,500 in that quarter alone.
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VOUDOURIS, 48, of Queens, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. VOUDOURIS is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Wood on January 3, 2020.
Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for its participation in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah Solowiejczyk and David Abramowicz are in charge of the prosecution.
Manchester Men Plead Guilty to Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Jose Hiram Martinez Rolon, 27, of Manchester, and Billy Damuel Maldonado Cancel, 26, also of Manchester, pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking charges in a 7-defendant narcotics case, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and September, 2018, Maldonado conspired with other persons to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl as part of the Lucas Rios Drug Trafficking Organization. Investigators made controlled buys of fentanyl from Maldonado in Manchester on May 14, 2018, June 13, 2018, July 26, 2018, and September 19, 2018, totaling approximately 100 grams.
In a separate hearing, Martinez Rolon pleaded guilty to distribution of more than 40 grams of fentanyl. The evidence showed that on November 8, 2018, after an undercover officer arranged a fentanyl deal by telephone with Lucas Rios, Martinez Rolon delivered the drugs to the officer in Manchester and received a payment of $1200 cash. The quantity of fentanyl was approximately 100 grams.
Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2019.
Co-defendants Samuel Ramos and Abelino Morales-Padilla previously pleaded guilty to fentanyl trafficking charges in the same case.
“The illegal distribution of fentanyl endangers the health and safety of our citizens” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Even a small amount of this drug can be lethal. In order to stop this deadly trade, we will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners to arrest and prosecute those responsible”.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the New Hampshire State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis.
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Managers of Local Gold Dealer Plead Guilty to Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Daniel Silva (619) 546-9713
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 2, 2019
SAN DIEGO – Global Gold Exchange, LLC and its managers, Jeffrey Morrow and Richard M. Owen, pleaded guilty in federal court today to multiple financial crimes, admitting that they laundered money through their unlicensed money transmitting business by falsely reporting cash transactions as sales of “gold” and other precious metals.
As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants agreed to forfeit approximately $2 million in assets involved in the money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting business.
Special Agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force worked with FBI agents and the United States Postal Inspection Service during the multi-year investigation to unravel millions of dollars in suspicious transactions taking place at the San Diego-based office and bank accounts of Global Gold Exchange, or GGEX. GGEX also pleaded guilty to mail fraud, while Owen also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm or ammunition.
As detailed in the plea agreements entered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt, GGEX unlawfully laundered cash and funds from a variety of sources – both lawful and unlawful – and fraudulently documented the transactions as “a complete gold transaction.” In sum, GGEX and its managers admitted operating “as an informal money transfer system engaged in facilitating the transfer of money domestically and internationally outside of the conventional financial institutions system, and did so without regard for the source, destination, purpose, or legality of the funds transmitted.”
Between 2017 and 2018, GGEX and managers Morrow and Owen admitted that they and others employed various money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting techniques to conduct unlawful transactions through GGEX and GGEX’s bank accounts, including:
-Transacting with a “local cartel out of Mexico;”
-Falsifying invoices for sales of gold, when in reality it was the receipt of a large cash deposit, and returned by check after GGEX took a 10 percent fee;
-Agreeing with “clients” to tell law enforcement or tax authorities that the transactions were sales/purchases of precious metals; and
-Advising clients to mail GGEX parcels filled with heavy substances to mimic the weight of gold to falsely document the nature of GGEX’s transactions.
“Global Gold Exchange and its managers attempted to operate as a one-stop-shop for money laundering,” said United States Attorney Robert S. Brewer, Jr. “The package of guilty pleas entered today makes clear that the United States will pursue and prosecute any individual, asset, or business attempting to launder the proceeds of crimes, or that threaten the integrity of our financial system.”
“Criminal organizations are becoming increasingly dependent on individuals and businesses who offer their expertise and services to assist in laundering illegal proceeds,” said Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. “Today’s plea should send a clear message to these individuals and businesses that they will be held accountable and face the consequences.”
“Global Gold Exchange and its managers Jeffrey Morrow and Richard M. Owen accepted money from all sources regardless of lawfulness,” said Nichole Cooper, Los Angeles Division Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service. “They then subverted conventional financial institution systems by using fraudulent invoices, directing clients to mislead law enforcement, and labeling it ‘a complete gold transaction.’ The result of this plea agreement shows the US Postal Inspection Service and its federal partners bring justice to those who seek to hide their crimes from the law.”
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force, a partnership targeting unlawful transactions through the financial system. The task force brings together the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement including IRS-CI, California Franchise Tax Board, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the San Diego Police Department. FBI and United States Postal Inspection Service partnered with the FIBC in this coordinated investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Silva.
Sentencing is scheduled to occur on October 16, 2019. Owen faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Morrow faces a maximum of five years in prison. GGEX faces a maximum of five years probation.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 19-CR-2936-CAB
Global Gold Exchange, LLC
Richard M. Owen San Diego, CA Age: 49
Jeffrey Morrow San Diego, CA Age: 44
SUMMARY OF CHARGES*
Money Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine
Operation of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1960
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Mail Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1341
Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and $1 million fine
Unlawful Possession of Firearm – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 922(g)
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCIES
IRS Criminal Investigations and the Financial Investigations and Border Crimes Task Force
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Postal Inspection Service
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Man Pleads Guilty to Assault on Langley Air Force BaseRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man pleaded guilty today to charges of assault by strangulation stemming from a February altercation aboard Langley Air Force Base.
According to court documents, Gregory Keith Fortune-Prior, 29, was involved in a verbal argument with his son’s mother at her residence on Langely Air Force Base. During the argument, Fortune-Prior physically assaulted the victim by grabbing the back of her neck, throwing her on to the bed, and then hitting the victim causing her nose to bleed. After the victim exited the room into the hallway, Fortune-Prior followed and placed both of his hands around the front of the victim’s neck and began strangling her. The victim’s legs began to give out as she experienced difficulty breathing and after Fortune-Prior let go she fell to the ground. Fortune-Prior then kicked the victim on the side of her abdomen multiple times. The victim exited the residence with her son, but after realizing that she had left her identification and credit cards behind, returned to retrieve them. Upon returning, Fortune-Prior confronted the victim again and began hitting her. The victim was holding their two-year-old son at the time and had to use her body to cover the child so that Fortune-Prior did not hit him. The victim sustained multiple visible injuries as a result of the assault.
Fortune-Prior faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on November 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Colonel Kirk B. Stabler, Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Taylor is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-63.
MS-13 Member Indicted for RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An alleged member of the transnational criminal gang MS-13, or La Mara Salvatrucha, was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court in Boston with RICO conspiracy.
Manuel Adan Yanez Cruz, a/k/a “Rocky” or “Flaco,” 19, a Salvadoran national who had been residing in East Boston, was charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday with conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, commonly referred to as racketeering or RICO conspiracy. Yanez Cruz was in immigration custody at the time of his federal criminal arrest. Yanez Cruz was detained following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston yesterday.
As alleged in the indictment, MS-13 is a violent street gang with members in Massachusetts and across the United States. Members of MS-13 and their associates commit and conspire to commit acts of violence to enhance the gang’s prestige, control and expand the gang’s territory, keep others in fear of the gang, and ensure compliance with the gang’s rules. Until at least October 2018, Yanez Cruz allegedly conspired with other MS-13 members and associates to engage in criminal activity to support the criminal organization.
More than 50 MS-13 members and associates in Massachusetts have been convicted of multiple acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and assault, as well as other criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking, firearms possession, witness tampering, and witness retaliation.
The charge of RICO conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant also faces deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal District Court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; and Revere Police Chief James Guido made the announcement today.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lubbock Man Allegedly Plotting Mass Shooting Charged with Making False Statements to Firearms DealerRead the Press Release
A Lubbock man allegedly contemplating a mass shooting has been charged by criminal complaint with making false statements to a federally-licensed firearms dealer, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
The potential shooting has been averted.
William Patrick Williams, 19, was arrested by special agents of ATF and FBI Thursday, following a brief hospitalization. He made his initial appearance in court Friday morning.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed this afternoon, on July 13, Mr. Williams allegedly told his grandmother he had recently purchased an AK-47 rifle and planned to “shoot up” a local hotel and then commit suicide by cop. Sensing he was both homicidal and suicidal, she convinced him to allow her to bring him to a local hospital instead.
Mr. Williams later gave officers consent to search the room he’d rented at the hotel, where officers found an AK-47 rifle, seventeen magazines loaded with ammunition, multiple knives, a black trench coat, black tactical pants, a black t-shirt that read “Let ‘Em Come,” and black tactical gloves with the fingers cut off. Mr. Williams told officers he had laid out his weapons on the bed so that law enforcement could take custody of them.
Eight days later, ATF received the firearms transaction form (form 4473) that Williams had completed on July 11, when purchasing the AK-47. On the form, Mr. Williams listed his relatives’ address, where he no longer resided. Agents discovered that although Mr. William’s driver’s license showed the family members’ address, Mr. Williams was actually living with a roommate at a different address, following eviction by his relatives. He had allegedly misrepresented his current address on the firearms transaction form.
“This was a tragedy averted,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “I want to praise the defendant’s grandmother, who saved lives by interrupting this plot, as well as the Lubbock police officers and federal agents who investigated his unlawful acquisition of a deadly weapon. If you suspect a friend or loved one is planning violence against themselves or others, do not hesitate to seek help immediately by calling law enforcement.”
“The safety of our citizens is paramount,” said Lubbock Interim Police Chief Jerry Brewer. “When events like this occur we greatly appreciate the cooperative relationships with our federal law enforcement partners that enhance our abilities to protect the community.”
“ATF is committed to preventing firearms violence. The ATF Dallas Field Division wants to thank our state, local and federal partners who cooperated in this investigation,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division Craig W. Saier.
“The FBI worked closely with our partners at the ATF and Lubbock Police Department to prevent the defendant from potentially committing a violent act,” said Matthew DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office. “This case is a perfect example of law enforcement agencies coming together to find a solution that protected the public from harm.”
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence, and Mr. Williams is innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to five years in federal prison.
The Lubbock Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Haag, NDTX’s West Texas Branch Chief, and Stephen Rancourt are prosecuting the case.
Lexington Man Sentenced to 80 Months for Armed Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Dominique Jamar McCann, 24, of Lexington, was sentenced yesterday, to 80 months in federal prison, by United States District Judge Karen C. Caldwell, for possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In May 2018, officers with the Lexington Police Department, attempted to stop the vehicle being operated by Dominique McCann. McCann fled from the police at a high rate of speed and collided with another vehicle. McCann then fled on foot but was quickly apprehended. McCann was in possession of approximately one ounce of heroin and a Glock handgun. During his plea, McCann admitted to drug trafficking and possessing the firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
Under federal law, Middlebrooks must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Louisville Field Division; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Police Department, jointly made the announcement.
The ATF and the Lexington Police Department conducted the investigation. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia T. Rieker.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The PSN program was reinvigorated 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.
Leader of Large-Scale Lee County Drug Ring Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – Tony Wilson, Jr. (31, Lehigh Acres) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine base, fentanyl, heroin, and multiple firearms charges. Wilson faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, from 2013 through 2018, Wilson, known a/k/a “Big Homie” and “Caine,” was the head of a large-scale drug distribution ring operating in the Suncoast Estates neighborhood of North Fort Myers. The drug organization occupied several houses and trailer homes in the neighborhood, inside which dealers worked side-by-side to distribute controlled substances to customers.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted dozens of undercover drug purchases from the dealers at the drug houses. They also executed multiple search warrants resulting in the seizure of tens of thousands of dollars in cash, multiple firearms, and large quantities of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl. Investigators believe that the organization often generated more than $10,000 per day in sales.
To date, eighteen members of the ring have been federally charged. Wilson is the fourteenth member to plead guilty.
The following is a list of individuals who have been charged in connection with this case:
Name Charge(s) StatusTony Wilson, Jr.
(31, Lehigh Acres)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, and firearms offenses.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to life in federal prison.
Monique Moore
(47, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to life in federal prison.
Patrick Graham
(25, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Michael Perez
(38, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
James Estrella
(50, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Danielle Hallmon
(32, Pine Island)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Dorothy Rochford
(27, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Darniel Williams
(24, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Kenneth Tippins
(48, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Eileen Smith
(22, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Malik Timbers
(26, St. Petersburg)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Christopher Connor
(30, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Pleaded guilty, faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
William Thomas
(26, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances.
Trial scheduled for August 19, 2019; he faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Tyrome Wright
(46, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances.
Trial scheduled for August 19, 2019; he faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Jeffrey Beard, II
(29, Labelle)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances.
Trial scheduled for August 19, 2019; he faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Elizabeth Kuc
(47, North Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances.
Trial scheduled for August 19, 2019; she faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Michelle Gladys
(49, North Fort Myers)
Possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
Samantha Badger
(23, North Fort Myers)
Possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Leeman and Trent Reichling.
Kent, Washington Dentists Plead Guilty to Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Two Kent, Washington dentists who conspired to avoid more than $460,000 in income taxes pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to filing a false tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. MIKE HSIEH, 48, of Bellevue, Washington, and CHRISTINE CHEN 45, of Renton, Washington, own Comfort Family Dentistry Inc. Between 2007 and 2014, the two took steps to illegally hide their income from the IRS to reduce their tax obligation. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled sentencing for November 22, 2019.
According to records filed in the case, HSIEH and CHEN maintained two sets of financial statements for the business – one showing the actual expenses, and another showing inflated expenses. The fraudulent expense statements were given to their accountant for tax preparation. The pair also established a bank account that was not disclosed to the tax preparer. Patient fees deposited into the account were not reported as income. Finally, the pair took cash proceeds from the dental practice and never reported that income to the accountant or on their taxes.
For tax year 2013, HSIEH admits he reported a taxable income of $232,753, when it was really more than $100,000 higher. HSIEH should have paid taxes on income of $348,663. For tax year 2013, CHEN reported income of $319,131 when her true income was $425,679. For all the tax years between 2007 and 2014 they each admit failing to pay about $231,000 in taxes that they should have paid.
HSIEH and CHEN have agreed to make restitution of slightly more than $231,000 each to the U.S. and pay any additional tax, penalties and interest.
Filing a false tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Diggs.
Jury Finds Memphis Man Guilty of Attempted Enticement and Traveling for Sex with a ChildRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK— A Memphis man has been convicted of traveling to Conway with plans to have sex with a 12-year-old girl and her mother, who turned out to be an undercover male police officer.
Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced that a federal jury found Michael Willins, 40, of Memphis, guilty of traveling with the purpose of having sex with a minor as well as attempting to entice a minor to engage in a sex act. In addition to making plans to have sex with the mother and child, Willins had asked the undercover officer to send nude photos of the hypothetical minor.
The jury returned their verdict Thursday evening after deliberating for less than an hour. United States District Judge Kristine Baker presided over the two-day trial, and Judge Baker will sentence Willins at a later date.
“This defendant not only had the desire to sexually abuse a child, but he also demonstrated his willingness to act on that depravity by driving three hours to follow through with his perverse plan,” stated U.S. Attorney Hiland. “This verdict shows that those who would prey upon children will be held accountable for their actions.”Testimony during the trial established that in October 2016, an undercover officer with the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office responded to a Craigslist ad that claimed to be “looking for really taboo female.” The ad was posted by Michael Willins, who began communicating with the undercover officer, a male pretending to be a 33-year-old woman with a 12-year-old daughter. The two exchanged emails and messages in which Willins expressed his interest in having sex with the mother as well as the child.
On October 13, 2016, Willins left his workplace in Memphis, filled a prescription for one Cialis pill, and drove to an apartment complex in Conway, Arkansas. When he arrived at what he believed was the home of the mother and daughter, he was met by Faulkner County Sheriff’s deputies. They found condoms in Willins’ pocket and a strap-on sex toy in his car, which he had discussed using in messages with the undercover officer.
The statutory penalty for enticement of a minor is not less than 10 years imprisonment with a possibility of up to life imprisonment. The statutory penalty for travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is not more than 30 years imprisonment. Both offenses of conviction include a penalty of not more than a $250,000 fine and not less than five years of supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin Bryant and Joan Shipley.
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Jury Finds Herkimer County Man Guilty of Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – On Thursday, August 1, 2019, after a four-day trial, a Binghamton jury found Daniel M. Passero, Jr., of Herkimer County, guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The jury found that between July of 2015 and January 13, 2016 Passero downloaded hundreds of sexually explicit images of children, and saved them to a memory card that was later found in a smartphone recovered at Passero’s home.
At the time of the offense, Passero was on parole for a prior sex offense against a child. As a result, he faces a sentence of between 15 and 60 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant was convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by United States Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and the New York State Police, with assistance from the Gloversville Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Burlington Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Perry and Kristen Grabowski, as a part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Jury Convicts Hampton Man of Drug Related MurderRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Hampton man today on charges of use of a firearm resulting in death, drug conspiracy, attempted possession with intent to distribute ecstacy, and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Damontaze M. Tillery, 24, arranged to trade a firearm for the drug MDMA, commonly called “ecstasy” which was to be provided by the victim. On July 26, 2018, the victim travelled from Virginia Beach to downtown Newport News to conduct the drug transaction with Tillery. The victim met Tillery at 19th Street and Ivy, and during the transaction Tillery murdered the victim. The victim was unarmed and still in possession of the quantity of ecstasy when he was found deceased in his vehicle with his foot on the gas causing the tires to spin until a bystander turned the vehicle off. An off-duty Newport News firefighter responded after seeing the smoke coming from the vehicle, and upon approaching the vehicle he realized the victim had a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim, Javon Stephenson, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tillery faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on November 8. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa R. McKeel and Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-31.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Mark Wesley Schmit (50, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 20 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release.
According to court documents, during the course of the investigation of an unrelated child exploitation case, the FBI learned that an individual had exchanged a series of text messages with Schmit on July 24, 2017. During that conversation, the individual sent several pornographic videos to Schmit, claiming that they depicted his 13-year-old sister. In response, Schmit requested that the individual send him additional graphic sexual videos of the purported child. Schmit then sent an image to the individual depicting an adult male sexually assaulting a young girl.
On April 16, 2019, FBI agents arrested Schmit pursuant to a federal arrest warrant. During an interview, Schmit admitted to sending and receiving child pornography, and that he had a sexual interest in looking at images of underage girls. Schmit also admitted that he had engaged in online conversations with underage girls, while purporting to be a teenage boy, and solicited sexual images of the girls. Forensic analysis of Schmit’s cellphone revealed that it contained at least five images depicting the sexual abuse of young children.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Jacksonville Office). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.
This is another case 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.
Justice Department Reaches $3 Million Settlement with Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation for Violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (Nissan MAC) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The suit alleges that Nissan MAC repossessed 113 vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without first obtaining the required court orders, and failed to refund up-front capitalized cost reduction (CCR) amounts to servicemembers who lawfully terminated their motor vehicle leases early after receiving military orders. This settlement is the Justice Department’s 10th settlement with an auto finance provider since 2015 and exemplifies continued efforts to enforce the SCRA’s motor vehicle repossession and lease termination provisions.
“Men and women in uniform risk their lives to serve our country, and Congress enacted the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to protect them when they serve our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The U.S. Department of Justice will continue to enforce the Act vigorously in order to protect servicemembers and to ensure that all covered industries comply fully with the law.”
“The SCRA exists to offer protections to our military service members and to minimize undue financial burdens associated with deployments and other instances where our military servicemembers experience a profound and prolonged lifestyle change,” said U.S. Attorney Don Cochran, for the Middle District of Tennessee. “We will aggressively hold those institutions and businesses accountable who are required to comply with the Act. Our military deserves no less.”
The SCRA prohibits repossessing a motor vehicle from a servicemember during military service without a court order if the individual made a deposit or installment payment on the loan before entering military service. The SCRA also permits servicemembers to terminate motor vehicle leases early without penalty after entering military service or receiving qualifying military orders for a permanent change of station or to deploy. When servicemembers lawfully terminate motor vehicle leases, the SCRA requires that they be refunded all lease amounts paid in advance for a period after the effective date of the termination.
Nissan MAC is a Tennessee-based auto financing company that provides auto loans and leases for customers of Nissan and Infiniti.
Individuals who lease vehicles from Nissan MAC often contribute an up-front monetary amount at lease signing, in the form of a cash payment, credit for a trade-in vehicle, rebate, or other credit. A portion of this up-front amount can be applied to the first-month’s rent and certain up-front costs such as licensing and registration fees. The remainder, which is called the CCR amount, reduces the monthly payment the lessee must make over the term of the lease. The Department’s investigation revealed that when servicemembers terminated their motor vehicle leases early pursuant to the SCRA, Nissan MAC retained the entire CCR amount.
The agreement resolves a suit filed today by the Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. It covers all repossessions of servicemembers’ vehicles and leases terminated by servicemembers since Jan. 1, 2008.
The agreement requires Nissan MAC to create a $2,937,971 settlement fund to compensate servicemembers whose rights were violated under the SCRA. Additionally, Nissan MAC must pay $62,029 to the United States Treasury.
The agreement also requires Nissan MAC to revise its policies and procedures to prevent future unlawful repossessions of servicemembers’ vehicles and ensure that servicemembers who terminate their auto leases early receive a full refund of all eligible pre-paid CCR amounts. NMAC must also provide training to its employees and representatives.
The Department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the Department of Justice has obtained over $474 million in monetary relief for over 120,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. The SCRA provides protections for servicemembers in areas such as evictions, rental agreements, security deposits, pre-paid rent, civil judicial proceedings, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosures, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments. For more information about the Department’s SCRA enforcement, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.
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Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on July 31 was:
Pete Isaac Smith Jr., III, 36, of Cut Bank, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. He was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services. Pacer case reference. 19-50.
If this case is of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor its the progress regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.
To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Illinois State Senator Indicted for Allegedly Fraudulently Receiving Salary and Benefits from Labor UnionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted Illinois State Sen. THOMAS E. CULLERTON on embezzlement charges for allegedly fraudulently receiving salary and benefits from a labor union for which he did little or no work.
Cullerton, 49, of Villa Park, is charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and employee benefit plans, 39 counts of embezzlement from a labor union, and one count of making false statements in a health care matter, according to an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu and Abigail Peluso.
According to the indictment, Cullerton was a member of Teamsters Local Union 734 prior to assuming office as an Illinois State Senator. After his election in November 2012, Cullerton was no longer an eligible participant in Local 734’s health and pension funds. In March 2013, while Cullerton was serving in the Illinois Senate, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 25 hired him as a purported union organizer. The full-time, salaried position included benefits from Local 734’s health and pension funds, due to an agreement Joint Council 25 entered into with Local 734 that same month, the indictment states.
The charges allege that for the next three years Cullerton did little or no work as an organizer. When Joint Council 25 supervisors requested that he perform his job duties, Cullerton routinely ignored them, the indictment states. From March 2013 to February 2016, Cullerton fraudulently obtained from Joint Council 25 and its members approximately $188,320 in salary, bonuses, and cellphone and vehicle allowances, as well as approximately $64,068 in health and pension contributions, according to the indictment. Cullerton used the proceeds of the payments to pay personal expenses, such as his mortgage, utilities and groceries, the charges allege.
The indictment alleges that Cullerton also fraudulently obtained approximately $21,678 in reimbursed medical claims from Local 734’s Health and Welfare Fund. Cullerton submitted or caused to be submitted to medical providers information that made it appear he was a “route salesman” for Local 734, the indictment states. The false information concealed and covered up the fact that Cullerton was not eligible for participation in the fund since he was not regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week for Local 734, Joint Council 25, or any other employer that participated in the fund, according to the indictment.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges in the indictment are each punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Harry Keilholtz Sentenced to 240 Months on Methamphetamine Conspiracy and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On August 1, 2019, Harry Keilholtz, 54, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 240 months in federal prison following convictions for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
According to his plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court, Keilholtz was the out of state source of supply for this particular methamphetamine conspiracy operating in the Eastern District of Tennessee. A federal search warrant was executed at Keilholtz’s residence in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on February 12, 2016. Numerous customers/co-conspirators were present at the time the warrant was executed. Keilholtz attempted to flee but was apprehended in the back yard. A search of the residence revealed over one kilogram of methamphetamine, a loaded AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and scales. A loaded 9mm pistol was found on Keilholtz’s person.
A few weeks after the execution of the search warrant, Keilholtz became a fugitive. Approximately 30 months later, in November 2018, Keilholtz was finally located and arrested in Panama City, Florida. During the sentencing hearing, an obstruction of justice enhancement was applied to Keilholtz’s sentence due to his fugitive status for about two and half years. In upholding the obstruction of justice enhancement, U.S. District Court Judge R. Leon Jordan noted that Keilholtz had been living under an alias name, had lived in multiple cities during the time of his flight, had identification in someone else’s name, was driving a vehicle registered to someone else, and was living in a recreational vehicle registered to someone else.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, Morristown, Tennessee Police Department, and the Third and Fourth District Judicial Drug Task Forces. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.
This case was a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
Han Gil Hotel Owner Pleads Guilty to Maintaining Drug-Involved PremisesRead the Press Release
Han Gil hotel owner Su Amos Mun pleaded guilty today to maintaining a drug-involved premises, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
In plea papers, Mr. Mun, 65, admitted that for more than a year, he charged drug dealers an inflated daily rate, or “drug tax,” that allowed them to openly sell quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs from inside his hotel rooms.
He further admitted that despite being notified of two separate heroin overdose deaths that occurred inside the hotel, Mr. Mun continued to allow dealers to sell illegal drugs to customers from Han Gil Hotel rooms, often arming himself with a firearm. Mr. Mun also admitted that many of the drug dealers operating out of his hotel were armed with handguns and long guns.
As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Mun agreed to forfeit the Han Gil hotel, which is also the subject of a civil action filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleging the site functioned as a “safe haven for drug distributors” and a “breeding ground for escalating criminal activity.”
The hotel has been shuttered since March 8, when a federal judge granted prosecutors’ motion for a restraining order prohibiting the hotel’s further operation. The establishment, located less than 1000 feet from Dallas’ Herbert Marcus Elementary, had seen multiple deaths, shootings, and drug-related incidents over the eight months prior to the restraining order.
To date, eight criminal defendants in the Han Gil case have pleaded guilty, including Eric Dewayne Freeman, aka “Stuff,” the lead defendant in the case. The 44-year-old Freeman – who could be seen on surveillance video peddling drugs and committing acts of violence from inside the Han Gil – corroborated Mr. Mun’s knowledge of dealers’ illegal activities in his plea papers.
“The Defendant’s plea not only documents his criminal culpability, but also describes how he brazenly facilitated and profited from the criminal conduct by dangerous individuals operating out of his hotel,” U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox said of Mr. Mun. “The Defendant’s business directly impacted the safety of this community and his conviction allows us to permanently rid the neighborhood of this horrible place. I want to thank all the law enforcement personnel that worked together innovatively to bring about this great result. Let this case serve as a warning to other business owners that operate similar establishments – we will not allow those who profit off the dangerous and illegal activity of others to hide in the shadows.”
Mr. Mun now faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for December 19.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Coppell Police Department, Dallas Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Grand Prairie Police Department, Arlington Police Department, Grapevine Police Department, Lancaster Police Department, the State Department, IRS, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Plano Police Department, Farmers Branch Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Garland Police Department, Rowlett Police Department, Denton Police Department, Lewisville Police Department and McKinney Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert, Chief of NDTX’s Narcotics Section, and Phelesa Guy, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Section, are prosecuting the criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Beran, NDTX Opioids Coordinator, is handling the civil case.
Georgia Man Sentenced for $6.5 Million Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering Involving Tricare, Other VictimsRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Michael Scott Burton, 52, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison yesterday after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. The sentence was announced today by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Between January 2014 and December 2015, Burton conspired with others to defraud TRICARE and other insurance companies out of more than $6.5 million in fraudulent claims for prescriptions for compounded pain cream, scar cream, and wellness capsules. Burton agreed that co-defendant Brad T. Hodgson would forge prescriptions for compounded drugs for individuals who Burton knew were not patients of the Georgia doctor’s practice where Hodgson worked. Burton recruited sales representatives, including co-defendants Bradley D. Pounds and Heather E. Pounds, to obtain and provide Burton with the personal identifying information and insurance cards of individuals for whom the prescriptions could be issued in exchange for commission payments. Burton would forward that information to Hodgson, who would issue the prescriptions – even though he was not licensed to write prescriptions – and send them to Physician Specialty Pharmacy in Pensacola without the individuals ever seeing or speaking with a doctor. Burton also recruited co-defendant Marie Ann Smith to assist Hodgson with processing and submitting prescriptions. Physician Specialty Pharmacy then caused TRICARE and other insurance companies to be billed and paid Burton a 50% commission for each compounded drug prescription that was paid by insurance. By this conduct, Burton earned over $1.4 million in commissions from fraudulent prescriptions.
"Health care fraud is a crime that affects all Americans – but to perpetrate a scam that victimizes a program for our nation’s service members and their families is beyond appalling," Keefe said. "This conspiracy stole money meant to help those who have given so much to our nation, and the criminals behind it deserve the punishment they receive."
"The wide-spread corruption uncovered in this complex and multistate fraud scheme wasted millions of American taxpayer dollars, and furthermore, deprived U.S. military members and their families of legitimate prescription medications and other needed medical care," said Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS-Southeast Field Office. "DCIS is committed to working with our investigative partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to identify, investigate and bringing to justice anyone who defrauds the DoD and the American taxpayer."
For his role in the scheme, Burton was sentenced to 96 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $$6,540,348.48 in restitution to TRICARE and pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,480,931.74. In February, Bradley Pounds was sentenced to 21 months in prison, and Smith and Heather Pounds were sentenced to probation. In separate related cases, Hodgson is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty, and Andrew E. Fisher, the president and part-owner of Physician Specialty Pharmacy, is awaiting trial scheduled for September 3rd.
"Crimes like this increase the costs we all pay for healthcare and prescription drugs," said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen. "I thank our FDLE Pensacola office for spearheading this complex investigation and our U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case."
Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes prosecuted these cases following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Financial Services-Bureau of Insurance Fraud, Florida Department of Health, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Army Criminal Investigative Command.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl
Georgia Man Convicted of Conspiring to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – A federal jury today found Eric Pedro Valdez (39, Atlanta) guilty of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. Valdez was indicted on October 11, 2017.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, between November 2015 and May 2016, Valdez conspired with others to distribute more than 70 kilograms of methamphetamine. On March 23, 2016, Valdez hand-delivered 4 kilograms of methamphetamine to two co-conspirators at a business in the Atlanta- area. The methamphetamine was intended for distribution in Sumter County.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
Former State Employee Charged with Mail Fraud, Identity Theft and Theft of FundsRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Federal grand jury sitting in Lexington has indicted a former employee of the Kentucky Commission (now Office) for Children With Special Health Care Needs, on charges arising from allegations of theft from that agency. Diana Baker, 53, of Louisville, was charged with one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and four counts of theft from the state agency.
Baker was a 28-year employee of the Commission, which is an agency within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services that assists families with children with special health care needs in obtaining funding and care. The indictment alleges that between 2007 and 2018, Baker, who was an Administrative Branch Manager in the Louisville office, manipulated software programs, to generate fraudulent payment vouchers, which purported to reimburse the families of special needs children for out of pocket expenses or pay third party vendors for services to children. These vouchers were sent in the regular course of business to the Kentucky State Treasurer’s Office, which issued checks that were actually used to make payments on Baker’s credit card accounts, to pay doctors and dentists for services to Baker’s family, and, in one instance, to pay a carpenter for work on a dock for lakefront property owned by Baker. The amount of the alleged theft is approximately $45,000.
The investigation leading to the indictment was conducted by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.
Any indictment is an accusation only. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Ohio County Magistrate sentenced to prison for tax fraudRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Former Ohio County Magistrate Harry A. Radcliffe, III, was sentenced today to four months incarceration to be followed by two months of home confinement for tax fraud, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
“Defendants are not treated differently because they are elected officials. In fact, elected officials know better than most people about the rule of law. We have done our duty and the court has now imposed its sentence. We will continue to investigate violations of the public trust,” said Powell.
Radcliffe, age 61, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Impede the Internal Revenue Service” in April 2019. In tax years 2013, 2014, and 2015, Radcliffe accepted a total of approximately $22,000 in cash payments from William W. Seelbach, then owner of W&S Bail Bonding d/b/a A Bail Bonding by ABC (“ABC”), which payments were offered by Mr. Seelbach as bribes. These payments were made and received in cash, at least in part, in an effort to impede the Internal Revenue Service in the collection of income taxes. Radcliffe willfully failed to report this income to the Internal Revenue Service, resulting in a total tax loss of $5,500.00. He also failed to report this extra-judicial income to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
Radcliffe was ordered to pay $5,500 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. presided.Former Narcotics Supervisor Sentenced for Stealing Drug Evidence for his Personal UseRead the Press Release
A former narcotics supervisor from the Mayes County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced Friday for stealing methamphetamine that had been seized as evidence during multiple law enforcement investigations, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Brett Alan Mull, 48, of Pryor, to six months in federal prison followed by six months home detention for tampering with or destruction of evidence and for acquiring methamphetamine through deception. Following imprisonment, Mull will serve two years on supervised release. Mull pleaded guilty to the felony charges on April 3, 2019.
The defendant used his position as a supervisor of the Criminal Interdiction Unit to gain access to methamphetamine in order to support his addiction. In 2017, Mull began removing OSBI evidence submittal envelopes containing the illicit drug before the evidence was booked into the property room. On July 3, 2018, investigators discovered altered evidence submittal envelopes, drug paraphernalia, and methamphetamine during searches of Mull’s residence and workplace.
“There is a social contract between the public and the police that is built on mutual trust, respect and accountability. Brett Mull violated that contract, and for that, there must be consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Shores. “Mull fell into the clutches of addiction and then repeatedly broke the law. He altered evidence. He confiscated methamphetamine from suspects and then used that same meth to get high. Today, he faced the consequences for his actions. I am proud of the integrity of the entire prosecution team to bring these offenses to light and pursue justice.”
The FBI and investigators from Mayes County District Attorney Matt Ballard’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Roberts prosecuted the case.
Former Honduran Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Life in Prison for Distributing over 150 Tons of Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael Machak, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division, announced today that HECTOR EMILIO FERNANDEZ ROSA, a/k/a “Don H,” was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. FERNANDEZ ROSA made approximately $50 million in connection with the distribution of 135 tons of cocaine and 20 tons of methamphetamine precursor chemicals, which he was ordered to forfeit in connection with sentencing. FERNANDEZ ROSA was provisionally arrested in Honduras in October 2014, and extradited to the United States in September 2015. FERNANDEZ ROSA previously pled guilty before U.S. Circuit Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who imposed today’s sentence while sitting by designation.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Hector Emilio Fernandez Rosa, operating with impunity in Honduras, trafficked more than 135 tons of cocaine to the United States over the course of 17 years. By paying millions of dollars in bribes to Honduran officials, including the former president, he ensured safe passage of his drugs to the U.S. He also protected his trafficking organization by eliminating his rivals, murdering 19 people, including Honduran Congressman Mario Fernando Hernández Bonilla in 2008. Today, one of the most prolific and violent drug traffickers has been brought to justice.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Machak said: “Bringing to justice and putting behind bars individuals like Fernandez Rosa not only makes our country safer, but keeps enormous quantities of dangerous drugs off our streets. This should serve as a message that DEA will not tolerate and will prosecute dangerous drug traffickers that wreak havoc on our country.”
According to court filings and statements made during court proceedings:
In approximately 1998, FERNANDEZ ROSA started to participate in drug trafficking in Honduras with a cell of traffickers distributing approximately five tons of cocaine per year. By 2003, FERNANDEZ ROSA assumed a management position in the group, which increased the volume of cocaine it was distributing to approximately 10 tons per year until at least 2013. FERNANDEZ ROSA coordinated the payment of large bribes to members of the Honduran National Police and at least one Honduran military official who helped escort and assure safe passage of large drug shipments. For example, in approximately 2005, FERNANDEZ ROSA and other co-conspirators paid a Honduran presidential candidate more than $2 million in narcotics proceeds in an effort to install one of FERNANDEZ ROSA’s allies as the Vice Minister of Security in Honduras. The candidate prevailed in the election, but did not follow through on his promise to FERNANDEZ ROSA. During the same period, FERNANDEZ ROSA and other co-conspirators spent approximately $100,000 on bribes to law enforcement in connection with each of their drug shipments.
Between 2008 and 2010, FERNANDEZ ROSA diversified his operations by working to receive approximately 20 tons of ephedrine at Puerto Cortés, which is the biggest commercial port in Honduras. In connection with this scheme, FERNDNEZ ROSA worked with key lieutenants of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, a/k/a “El Chapo,” to help the Sinaloa Cartel manufacture large quantities of methamphetamine in Honduras and Guatemala, which was then transported north over land, like the cocaine, and imported into the United States.
In November 2008, following a seizure of related ephedrine in France, FERNANDEZ ROSA ordered the murder of Honduran Congressman Mario Fernando Hernández Bonilla. The assassination was one of 19 murders that FERNANDEZ ROSA ordered or carried out. In 2003, for example, FERNANDEZ ROSA directed his drug trafficking workers to kidnap a man who worked for a rival trafficker. After the victim was kidnapped, FERNANDEZ ROSA’s workers tortured him and, as FERNANDEZ ROSA watched, placed him in a recently dug grave while he was still alive. FERNANDEZ ROSA and his workers than executed the victim. In 2013, FERNANDEZ ROSA deployed an assassin to murder someone FERNANDEZ ROSA suspected had helped kill a relative, and the assassin coordinated a large attack that resulted in killing FERNANDEZ ROSA’s target and approximately nine additional victims.
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In addition to the prison term, FERNANDEZ ROSA, 46, of Honduras, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $50,000,000.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and Matthew J. Laroche are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Controller for Westmoreland County Packaging Company Charged with Embezzling $191,000Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – The former Controller for a packaging company located in Export, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of wire fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The eight-count Indictment, returned on July 30 and unsealed Aug. 1 following her arrest, named Victoria Mazur, 51, of 265 McKim Drive, Pittsburgh, PA (Plum Boro), as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment presented to the court, from approximately December 2012 until December 2017, Mazur embezzled funds from her employer, Gateway Packaging Corporation, by processing fraudulent refunds through the employer’s point of sale terminal, which is used to process credit and debit card transactions for customers. The Indictment further alleges that the total amount embezzled was approximately $191,000.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years for each count of wire fraud. The law also provides for a fine of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Collin County Resident Sentenced for Metroplex Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – A 52-year-old Aurora, CO man has been sentenced to federal prison for a wire fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. DeSarno.
John Russell Scrivner pleaded guilty on Feb. 8, 2019, to wire fraud and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone. Scrivner was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $341,981 to a victim of the wire fraud scheme.
According to information presented in court, from July 2013 to March 2016, Scrivner, a former resident of McKinney, Texas, was employed as the General Manager of a Texas company, Steel Fabrication Services, when he devised and executed a scheme to defraud the company of funds and property. The FBI’s investigation showed that Scrivner diverted company funds to a bank account he controlled, used money to pay expenses to set up a separate business he controlled, and used the company money to pay for personal expenses. Scrivner was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 9, 2018.
“This was greed, pure and simple,” said U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas. “Employers have to put trust in their managers, but it leaves them at risk for these types of frauds. Companies need checks and balances in place to prevent this from happening to them.”
“The defendant used his position of trust to deceive and defraud his employer,” said Matthew DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Office. “The FBI does not tolerate acts of corporate fraud and will pursue individuals who use their access to profit financially.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Gibson.
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Former Collections Manager Arrested for Defrauding Former Employer of over $1.3 MillionRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROILAND GOTIANGCO was arrested on fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in connection with his embezzlement from the security and protection company (the “Company”) where he previously worked as the Head of Collections. Specifically, GOTIANGCO has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for falsifying customer refund requests and pocketing the refunds, and with wire fraud for accepting payments from certain Company customers in exchange for concealing the amounts those customers owed the Company. GOTIANGCO was arrested today in River Edge, New Jersey, and was presented before Magistrate Ona T. Wang in Manhattan federal court.
Manhattan U.S. Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Roiland Gotiangco abused his position and lined his own pockets to the tune of over $1.3 million. The means were sophisticated but the motive was simple: greed. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud wherever it is found.”
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ROILAND GOTIANGCO, 38 of River Edge, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. The wire fraud counts each carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed and a maximum fine of $250,000. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Jilan J. Kamal is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Flowood Man Sentenced under Project EJECT to over 5 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Trent Deundra Crump, 28, of Flowood, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III to 65 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kirk Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Crump was also ordered to pay a $1,500.00 fine.
On April 4, 2017, officers with the Pearl Police Department responded to an accident on the eastbound ramp of the I-20 exit to Highway 49 North. As a result of a consent search, a semi-automatic pistol was found in Crump’s vehicle. Crump has a prior felony conviction for attempted illegal drug sales.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn Murray.
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.
Florida Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Pension Benefit Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kessey Durand, 28, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison on a federal wire fraud charge stemming from his scheme attempting to steal over $107,000 in pension benefit payments intended for at least 21 victims/pension recipients.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Robert A. Westbrooks, Inspector General for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Durand pleaded guilty on March 22, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced by the Honorable Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell. Durand was also ordered to pay a restitution judgment in the amount of $44,299.44 to PBGC, which had reimbursed the pension recipients. Durand additionally agreed to forfeit $10,964.64 in previously seized funds and to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $39,663.45. Following his prison term, he will serve a 36-month term of supervised release, including 100 hours of community service.
According to a statement of offense and related conduct acknowledged by Durand, he worked at PBGC for less than two months in January and February 2018. PBGC, a federal corporation within the U.S. Department of Labor, provides pension benefits to participants in private-sector defined benefit pension plans after those plans are terminated. Through a web interface, pension recipients can maintain and update the electronic direct deposit (EDD) information for their pension benefits.
From January to June 2018, Durand executed his wire fraud scheme. Using personal identifying information he obtained while working at PBGC, Durand changed or attempted to change the payment information for at least 21 pension recipients – re-directing the pension payments to Metabank accounts Durand controlled. Durand had also used the victims’ personal information to create those fraudulent Metabank accounts. Soon after the payments, Durand cashed out the stolen funds.
For 10 victims, between January and May 2018, Durand succeeded in obtaining payments totaling $29,663.45. He attempted to divert a total of over $107,000, but for other victims, the diverted payments did not go through.
The case was investigated by Curtis Flood, Senior Special Agent, PBGC’s Office of Inspector General.
The case was prosecuted by former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Joss Nichols (of the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section) with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Diane Brashears.
Fitchburg Man Arrested on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Fitchburg man was arrested this morning and charged in federal court in Worcester with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Ryan Decarolis, 26, was charged with the possession and distribution of child pornography. He will appear in federal court in Worcester this afternoon.
According to the charging documents, Decarolis used a social media account to communicate with an individual who was subsequently charged with production and distribution of child pornography. With the consent of that individual, an undercover federal agent assumed control of that individual’s account and began communicating in an undercover capacity with Decarolis. In January 2019, Decarolis transferred child pornography to the undercover officer, and in April 2019, Decarolis provided the undercover officer with access to his Dropbox account, which contained hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography.
Agents executed a search warrant at Decarolis’ Fitchburg residence, where they seized a tablet belonging to Decarolis containing videos depicting child pornography.
The charge of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Possession of child pornography carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest F. Martineau made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett from Lelling’s Worcester office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Jury Convicts a Pinson Man on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
A federal jury yesterday convicted a Pinson man of two counts of possession of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine powder, and cocaine base, also known as “crack” cocaine, with the intent to distribute, and one-count of possession of a gun in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E, Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris.
The jury returned its guilty verdict against Deveonte Brown, of Pinson, after two days of testimony before U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala. Brown will be sentenced on December 18, 2019.
“This type conviction is the second in two weeks in the Northern District of Alabama,” Town said. “We will not tolerate criminals who pose a clear threat to our District. Criminals who plague our streets with drugs and guns will continue to be targets for federal prosecution where the debt to society is full price. No discounts. No parole.”
“Dangerous criminals like Brown need to take notice that DEA and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate their criminal activities,” Morris said. “Drugs and guns are a deadly combination that often end with violent acts. Again, today’s verdict should send a resounding message to all drug dealers in Alabama. We will target you, investigate you, and ensure that you go to prison in order to make our communities safe.”
Evidence at trial proved that on October 6, 2017, Brown left a shoe box containing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine powder, cocaine base, and a digital scale in his hotel room. Brown later returned to the hotel to retrieve the shoe box. Fultondale police officers attempted to confront Brown in his vehicle when he fled from police at a high rate of speed. The chase was called off due to Brown’s erratic driving. On October 12, 2017, Brown was found in the passenger seat of a white dodge charger in Pinson. Brown was sitting on a bag containing over $7,000 and a gun. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies found a bag with heroin and methamphetamine in the back seat of the car.
The penalty for possessing with intent to distribute is up to 20 years prison. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries an additional sentence of 5 years that cannot be run concurrently with the drug sentence.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Blake Milner and Greg Dimler prosecuted the case.
Farmington Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Fentanyl Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Randy Stevens, 29, of Farmington, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 30, 2018, an individual who was cooperating with law enforcement officers advised that Stevens planned to travel from Rochester, New Hampshire to the Lawrence, Massachusetts area in a pickup truck to purchase a large quantity of fentanyl. Later the same day, law enforcement officers observed the truck travel from Rochester to a liquor store in Lawrence. After the vehicle returned to New Hampshire, it was stopped by the New Hampshire State Police for a traffic violation. Stevens was a passenger in the vehicle. After a narcotics detection dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the truck, 269.3 grams of fentanyl were recovered.
On the evening of June 2, 2018, a Kingston, New Hampshire police officer conducted a traffic stop of a motorcycle that Stevens was operating on Route 125. Stevens provided the officer with a false name and the officer later recovered 42 grams of fentanyl from the motorcycle.
Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2019.
“Interstate fentanyl trafficking makes a lethal drug available for sale on the streets of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “The results have been devastating to the people of this state. To stop this illegal trade, we will work closely with our law enforcement colleagues to identify, arrest, and prosecute interstate traffickers who bring this drug into the Granite State.”
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New Hampshire State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis.
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Dublin Man Sentenced to 30 Months’ Imprisonment for Insider Trading in Relation to Securities of Ross Stores, Inc.Read the Press Release
OAKLAND – Saleem M. Khan was sentenced today to 30 months in prison related to his participation in an insider-trading conspiracy and related scheme, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., U.S. District Judge.
Khan pleaded guilty to the charges on January 31, 2019. According to the plea agreement, Khan admitted that during the period July 2009 to October 2012, he obtained from a friend material, non-public information relating the sales and financial performance of Ross Stores, Inc. (“Ross”), a discount-clothing retailer then headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif. Khan’s friend worked in Ross’s finance department. Based on the material, non-public information, Khan entered into options contracts regarding Ross securities in advance of Ross’s monthly sales announcements. Khan used brokerage accounts held both in his name and in names of nominees. In his plea agreement, Khan admitted he compensated the Ross “tipper,” including by providing $130,000 to the tipper through third parties and by purchasing items on the tipper’s behalf. Khan also admitted he made profits in excess of $3,500,000 as a result of the scheme. At sentencing, the government presented evidence showing that Khan had made realized gains from trading in Ross option of as much as $8.2 million between July 2009 and October 2012.
On November 2, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Khan charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; nine counts of securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1348; and one count of obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1505. Khan pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and securities fraud counts. The remaining count was dismissed at today’s sentencing hearing.
Khan was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pertaining to the same insider-trading scheme in the following civil case: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Saleem Khan et al., Civil Action No. 3:14-cv-02743 HSG (N.D. Cal., filed June 13, 2014). In September 2016, the court entered a final judgment in the civil case against Khan ordering him to pay more than $15 million in disgorgement, penalties, and prejudgment interest. In that case, Khan agreed to settle the charges against him without admitting or denying the allegations in the civil complaint, and he consented to the entry of final judgment.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gilliam sentenced the defendant to a two-year period of supervised release. The Court scheduled a hearing on October 21, 2019, for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent Khan should be ordered to pay restitution to Ross. Khan may be ordered to pay attorney’s fees incurred by Ross resulting from the company’s participation in the government’s investigation and prosecution of Khan. The defendant will begin serving his prison term on November 4, 2019.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle F. Waldinger and Karen Beausey are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
Doctor Indicted and Arrested for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On July 31, 2019, a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Dr. Antonio REYES-VIZCARRONDO with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. The defendant was arrested today, announced U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico. The Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are in charge of the investigation.
According to the indictment, from in or about 2008 to through in or about 2015, Dr. Antonio REYES-VIZCARRONDO enriched himself by submitting or causing to be submitted false and fraudulent claims to health care benefits programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. The claims submitted by REYES-VIZCARRONDO were for services using procedural codes that he was aware he could not use pursuant to the contractual terms of his employment, services rendered that were, in fact, rendered by other physicians. Defendant concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit plans and the receipt and transfer of the resulting fraudulent proceeds, and diverted these fraudulently obtained proceeds for his personal use and benefit.
Dr. REYES-VIZCARRONDO submitted and/or caused to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid a total of 8,159 claims using prohibited medical codes, including prohibited codes for services not rendered, totaling $882,608.91. Dr. REYES-VIZCARRONDO is facing a health care fraud forfeiture allegation of $601,783.47, which constitutes the amount of money Medicare and Medicaid paid the defendant.
“The submission of false claims to health care benefit programs is unacceptable and a waste of taxpayer funds,” said U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodriguez- Vélez. “Today’s arrest shows the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners’ firm commitment to protect public funds and to safeguard the well-being of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.”
Pursuant to the charges, the defendant faces possible sentences of up to 10 years for the health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Anderson.
Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
District of Columbia Physician Indicted for Alleged Role in $12.7 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A physician with a practice in the District of Columbia was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his role in an alleged $12.7 million health care fraud scheme to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for complicated medical procedures he never provided.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia, Acting Assistant Director in Charge John P. Selleck of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office and District of Columbia's Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas made the announcement.
Frederick Gooding, 68, of Wilmington, Delaware, was charged in an indictment filed on July 30 in the District of Columbia with 11 counts of health care fraud. He was arrested yesterday morning, and made his initial appearance today. The case is assigned to the Honorable Tanya A. Chutkan, and a trial date has not yet been set.
According to the indictment, from January 2015 to August 2018, Gooding participated in a health care fraud scheme in which he submitted Medicare claims for injections and aspirations that were not medically necessary, not provided or both. Gooding allegedly knew that he was not providing such injections, as required by Medicare, and to disguise his scheme, Gooding allegedly falsified medical documents to make it appear as if his purported medical services billed to Medicare were medically necessary and provided. Gooding submitted or caused the submission of more than $12.7 million in claims to Medicare, the indictment alleges.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the D.C. Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Trial Attorney Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
District Man Sentenced to 15 Months as Part of Law Enforcement’s Effort to Prosecute Offenders Who Escape from Halfway HousesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Freddie Curtis, 31, of Southeast Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison for escaping from the Hope Village Halfway House, located in Southeast, Washington, D.C.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Lamont Ruffin, United States Marshal for the District of Columbia (USMS), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Curtis pled guilty on April 24, 2019, before the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of escape from custody. Judge Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Curtis to 15 months of prison to be followed by one year of supervised release.
Curtis’ sentence highlights the ongoing efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office and the USMS to prosecute felony offenders who escape from halfway houses. These offenders are under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and are afforded the opportunity to complete the final portion of their sentences at halfway houses to assist their reentry into the community. In 2017, the USMS requested the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office with the investigation, prosecution, and disposition of an increased number of escape cases. To date, the United States Attorney’s Office has obtained dozens of felony convictions of defendants who either failed to report to or absconded from the Hope Village Halfway House.
According to the Government’s evidence, on September 7, 2017, Curtis was convicted of one count of Felony Bail Reform Act and one count of attempted distribution of cocaine, and was sentenced by a D.C. Superior Court judge to 26 months of prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. As part of the defendant’s sentence, he was permitted to complete the remainder of his sentence at Hope Village Halfway House.
On December 13, 2018, the defendant arrived at Hope Village to complete the remainder of his sentence. On January 15, 2019, Curtis signed out of the Hope Village facility, and although he was supposed to return later that day, he never returned. Curtis was arrested weeks later by MPD on new criminal charges.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Marshal Ruffin, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case. They also cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr. and Paralegal Katie Thomas of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section.
Detroit Man Sentenced for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Detroit, Michigan man who possessed a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl for distribution in Cross Lanes, West Virginia was sentenced to 33 months in prison, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Stuart commended the investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT). John Delaney Wilson, 36, previously plead guilty to possessing with intent to distribute heroin.
“Five felony drug convictions. Sadly, none of the previous four convictions taught the defendant to stop selling drugs,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We need to take note of those that repeatedly offend and ensure their opportunities to re-offend are extremely limited. The Detroit Express from Detroit to West Virginia is being shut down one Detroit drug dealer at a time.”
On November 27. 2018, MDENT detectives executed a search warrant on an apartment in Cross Lanes they believed was being utilized to distribute heroin. Upon entering the residence, a detective observed Wilson running to the bathroom of the apartment and attempting to flush suspected narcotics down the toilet. A detective recovered the item Wilson attempted to flush and testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Lab confirmed the substance to be heroin containing fentanyl. Detectives had conducted a controlled buy of heroin earlier that day from another individual seen entering the apartment in Cross Lanes and recovered the recorded buy money in Wilson’s pants pockets during the execution of the search warrant.
The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin. While imposing the sentence, the Court noted that Wilson had no connections to West Virginia and came to the area just to sale drugs. The Court further noted that this conviction was Wilson’s fifth felony drug conviction.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman.
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Delaware Sex Offender Sentenced to Prison for Violating Federal Registration and Notification Law in St. Lucie and Palm Beach CountiesRead the Press Release
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Gadyaces S. Serralta, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, announced that on July 31, 2019, Larry Cunningham, 63, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, sitting in West Palm, to 21 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, for failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 2250(a) (Case No. 19CR14009).
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), which was passed by Congress in 2006 as part of the Adam Walsh Act, provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States and seeks to strengthen the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. In part, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.
According to the court record, including the agreed upon Factual Proffer in support of the defendant’s guilty plea, on July 15, 1988, Cunningham was convicted in the State of Delaware of First Degree Burglary, Third Degree Unlawful Sexual Intercourse and Second Degree Conspiracy. Because Cunningham was convicted of Third Degree Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, a qualifying sex offense, he was subject to SORNA's lifetime registration requirements, including that he notify authorities of any change of address. Beginning in August of 2009, Cunningham was informed of his registration obligations under SORNA and began to register as a “sex offender” in the State of Delaware. On April 19 and 20, 2016, Cunningham traveled from Delaware to Florida and failed to update his registration information. On April 16, 2016 and August 24, 2016, the Delaware State Police issued an arrest warrant for Cunningham on a Sex Offender Registration Violation. From April, 20, 2016, until on or around July 2018, Cunningham lived in St Lucie County and Palm Beach County, Florida. He failed to notify Delaware or Florida authorities and failed to register as a sex offender after his move to Florida, as required. On September 13, 2018, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force apprehended Cunningham, who had moved to Hendry County, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service in this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Dark Web Drug Dealer Sentenced to Five Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Sam Bent, 33, of Saint Johnsbury, Vermont was sentenced today to a five-year period of incarceration upon his conviction for three counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances over the Dark Web. The prison term will be followed by a three-year period of supervised release. Sam Bent's sentence also included a $14,000 forfeiture money judgment. Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Sam Bent to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on October 1, 2019.
Court records show that from 2017 until April 2018 Sam Bent conspired with his cousin Djeneba Bent, 27, of Concord, Vermont, to distribute cocaine, LSD, MDMA, and other controlled substances over dark web marketplaces that are accessible on the Internet only to persons using encryption techniques. He received payment for his drug sales in bitcoin. Sam Bent's efforts to convert that cryptocurrency into cash provided the basis for his conviction on three counts of money laundering.
Sam Bent operated the conspiracy out of the East Burke, Vermont, residence he shared with his co-conspirator cousin, Djeneba Bent, until Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service searched that residence in April 2018.
In imposing Sam Bent's sentence, Judge Crawford noted the need to deter others from engaging in the illegal online distribution of controlled substance. Judge Crawford also sentenced Djeneba Bent to a three-year term of probation, noting her lesser role in the conspiracy and other mitigating factors.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Vermont State Police.
Sam Bent was represented by Stephanie Greenlees, Esq. Djeneba Bent was represented by Assistant Federal Defender David McColgin, Esq. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Drescher was the prosecutor.
Dallas County Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Possession of a Firearm After Conviction of a FelonyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that James Thomas, a 28 year old resident of Selma, Alabama was sentenced to 24 months of incarceration for possession of a CZ, .40 caliber pistol.
On April 19, 2019, Thomas pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement and admitted in open court that on December 19, 2019, a Selma, Alabama police officer conducted a traffic stop of a Nissan Altima being driven by Thomas that had no tag displayed. As the officer approached the vehicle, he could smell marijuana coming from the car and could see passengers inside the vehicle with Thomas. The officer asked for and received Thomas’s driver’s license. Thomas said that he had just purchased the vehicle and did not have insurance. The officer returned to his vehicle to run a check on Thomas’ license and to wait for the additional officers he radioed for after he smelled marijuana. When the additional officers arrived, the original officer asked Thomas to exit his vehicle and he did. The officer next asked Thomas if there were any weapons inside the vehicle. Thomas responded saying that there were no weapons inside the vehicle and gave verbal consent to search it. During the search, police found a large cookie jar containing marijuana. Officers also found a CZ, model CZ75B, .40 caliber pistol under the front seat. Thomas knowingly possessed the firearm. An additional quantity of marijuana was seized from a passenger’s sock.
At the time of the traffic stop, Thomas has been previously convicted of a felony, namely, Manslaughter, on July 26, 2013, in the Circuit Court of Dallas County, Alabama, case number CC-2012-000029. Because of this felony conviction, Thomas was prohibited from possessing a firearm. As part of his plea, Thomas forfeited any and all interest in the CZ, model CZ75B, .40 caliber pistol. He also forfeited any and all interest in a Taurus, model PT-25, .25 caliber pistol, seized from the vehicle he was driving on January 19, 2019.
Officers of the Selma, AL Police Department, deputies of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and special agents of the ATF investigated the case and brought it to the U. S. Attorney's Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 8 Years for Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Petersburg man was sentenced today to 8 years in prison for possessing firearms after having been convicted of a felony.
“Avery has a criminal history that includes over 50 convictions,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “His criminal record includes violence and felony convictions for drug distribution and possessing firearms. In short, Avery is a career criminal and is a prime example of the type of individual that presents a serious safety risk to our communities.”
According to court documents, Charles Avery, 45, who is prohibited from possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon, possessed a 9mm rifle in October 2018 and a .40 caliber firearm in November 2018. Avery sold the 9mm rifle to a confidential source in exchange for a cash payment, and the following month he also sold the .40 caliber firearm, which agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were able to acquire through the use of a confidential source. Additionally, when Avery was arrested on the firearms charges in March, he was in possession of a quantity of crack cocaine.
Due to Avery’s extensive criminal history, clear lack of respect for the law, and need to protect the community from his criminal conduct, the United States sought an upward variance sentence in this case, which was granted by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Kenneth A. Miller, Director of Public Safety, Petersburg Bureau of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:19-cr-364.
Berkeley County man admits to firearms chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Donald Wayne Wilson, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, has admitted to a firearms charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Wilson, age 62, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Wilson, having been previously convicted of a felony, had a .357 caliber revolver in September 2018 in Berkeley County.
Wilson faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Project Safe Neighborhoods is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley D. Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Auto Transport Company Owner Charged with Falsifying U.S. DOT Records, Fraud, ID Theft, Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – The owner of an East Providence automobile transport company was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Providence today on charges he falsified U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) records, fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 from various financial institutions, utilized another person’s personal identifying information to continue to illegally operate his auto hauling business after being ordered to shut down by the FMCSA for safety violations, and took numerous evasive steps to avoid paying personal income taxes to the IRS.
Michael Chaves, 39, owner of CAT Inc., was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Providence today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond on a ten-count information that charges him with falsification of records, aggravated identity theft, five-counts of bank fraud, two-counts of wire fraud, and tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Kristina O'Connell, and Special Agent in Charge of the Region II U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Douglas Shoemaker.
It is alleged in court documents that Chaves attempted to influence and impede FMCSA investigations and administrative compliance reviews by falsifying U.S. DOT records. FMCSA inspections include a review of driver’s hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial drivers (CDL) license requirements, financial responsibilities, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records.
It is also alleged in court documents that Chaves operated various schemes to fraudulently obtain loans and funds from several banks and credit unions. It is alleged that Chaves fraudulently obtained loans from at least six different financial institutions totaling $332,000, by providing fraudulent earning statements, tax returns, motor vehicle purchase contracts, and Department of Motor Vehicle documents.
It is also alleged that Chaves employed a fraudulent check scheme by submitting 15 fraudulent checks he allegedly created to an automobile seller’s bank account from which he withdrew $64,453 and that he allegedly caused the fraudulent wire transfer between financial institutions of $72,864.28.
It is also alleged in court documents that Chaves received taxable income that he did not report to the Internal Revenue Service and that he took several steps to evade income taxes by, among other things, commingling business and personal expenses; using a check casher to divert third-party income; creating fraudulent third-party checks and cashing them using a check casher, rather than a bank; and maintaining approximately 15 different bank accounts using at least 5 different company names.
An information is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.
The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the East Providence Police Department and the National Crime Insurance Bureau.
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Atlanta Man Sentenced to Almost 20 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Jose Antonio Castillo, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday by Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to 235 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") in New Orleans. Castillo was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
In late 2017, HSI agents in Gulfport began investigating Castillo’s drug trafficking organization. Based on numerous sources of information, agents determined that Castillo was supplying at least three individuals on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with methamphetamine. Those three individuals would travel to Atlanta, Georgia, and meet Castillo at an automotive shop where he worked. Castillo would provide pound quantities of methamphetamine to these individuals in exchange for money. The individuals purchasing the methamphetamine from Castillo would then bring that meth back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and sell it.
In July 2018, local HSI agents traveled to Atlanta and arrested Castillo. At the time of his arrest, Castillo had over 800 grams of methamphetamine in his car. Agents also executed search warrants at Castillo’s home and the automotive shop.
To date, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi has prosecuted seven individuals involved in Castillo’s drug trafficking organization. All seven of those individuals have pled guilty.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Gulfport, Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, and the Georgia Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.