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Thursday 11 July 2019
Man Sentenced for Falsely Claiming to be a Federal Officer Pursuing Suspects with a BombRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that CHRISTIAN GERALD DESGROUX, age 59, of Raleigh, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle to 30 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
According to information presented in court, DESGROUX, pretending to be a United States Federal Officer, utilized the 911 Raleigh-Wake Communication Center to report that a bomb was contained in a van, being operated by illegal immigrants, who were planning to take the bomb to Washington D.C.
As detailed in the public record, DESGROUX, falsely stated that while he was in pursuit of the vehicle, the occupants were firing at him. Eighteen Raleigh Police Officers responded resulting in Glenwood Avenue being shut down in both directions for over 45 minutes. Ultimately, Raleigh Police discovered the entire incident was a hoax.
At the time of this offense, DESGROUX, was serving a term of supervised release after pleading guilty to impersonating a military officer and landing a helicopter at SAS in Cary, North Carolina. Due to the revocation of his supervised release because of the current charge, the court imposed a 10 month sentence to run concurrently.
The case was investigated by the Raleigh Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Diaz prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Man Previously Committed to a Mental Institution Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Guns and Receiving Drugs in JailRead the Press Release
A man who possessed guns illegally and received drugs in the mail while in jail was sentenced July 10, 2019, to more than a year in federal prison.
John Conrad Walgren, age 25, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after pleading guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of contraband while in prison.
Walgren had previously been the subject of state proceedings regarding his mental health that made it illegal for him to possess firearms. His girlfriend obtained multiple guns which he then accessed and possessed. After being arrested and while in custody for possessing the guns, a family member mailed cards to the jail for Walgren. Concealed within those cards was alprazolam, commonly called Xanax.
Walgren was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Walgren was sentenced to a total of 14 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Walgren is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file numbers are 18-cr-1041 and 19-cr-0052.
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Man Heads to Prison After Communicating Desire to Have Sex with TeenagerRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 47-year old Zapata resident has been ordered to federal prison for enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Matthew David Pascoe pleaded guilty April 3, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña sentenced Pascoe to 120 months. He was also to serve five yearson supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
In November 2018, Pascoe communicated through an online messaging application with whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl. During these exchanges, Pascoe communicated his desire to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual acts with the purported minor.
Pascoe arranged a date and time to meet with her with the intent to engage in sexual intercourse. He was taken into custody as he arrived at that location in Laredo Nov. 10, 2018.
Pascoe will remain in the custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Zapata County Sheriff’s Department and Laredo Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) April Ayers-Perez and former AUSA Giselle Guerra prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Madison Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Erin J. Graham, 37, of Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison for sex trafficking and transporting individuals across state lines with the intent that they engage in prostitution, announced Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson.
Graham was convicted following a five-day jury trial in Madison in April. The evidence presented at trial established that between 2015 and 2017, Graham engaged in sex trafficking by force, coercion and fraud, and transported individuals across state lines with the intent that they engage in prostitution. Graham posted advertisements on Backpage.com and forced or coerced individuals to commit commercial sex acts with those who responded to the advertisements. In addition, Graham transported two individuals between Wisconsin and Virginia with the intent that they engage in prostitution.
The scheme was uncovered in April 2017 when law enforcement officials encountered one of the victims at a Madison hotel when an employee called 911 after the victim ran from her room bleeding and hid behind the front desk. The victim told a nurse at a Madison hospital that she had been strangled to the point of unconsciousness by Graham when she told him she wanted to leave.
At the trial, four victims testified that they were forced to engage in multiple acts of prostitution and turn over money they earned to Graham and his girlfriend, Patience Moore. The victims testified that they were the only source of income for Graham and Moore. One victim was with Graham and Moore for 18 months, from age 18 to 20. They convinced her that they would help her make money to care for her ill mother, to be able to go to school, and to purchase a car. Instead, testimony at trial showed that Graham was physically abusive to the victim on many occasions and controlled everything from her access to food to when she could speak to her family.
In a written victim impact statement provided to the Court, one of Graham’s victims said, “When I realized the truth was to sell my body so that he could have money and never work another day in his life, I didn’t feel like a person, and I felt I didn’t have value.”
Judge Peterson said, “This case was about vulnerable women degraded by a heartless predator.” The judge said the lengthy sentence was necessary to make the public safe from Graham’s future efforts to exploit women.
“The defendants’ actions in using violence, intimidation, coercion, and fear to exploit these young women is abhorrent,” said U.S. Attorney Blader. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who engage in this despicable crime.”
"This case shows the level of power and control traffickers have over their victims. This highly successful investigation and prosecution is a clear message to those who engage in sex trafficking in our community -- they will face the combined efforts of local and federal officials to bring them to justice,” said Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney, whose agency led the investigation. "This case exemplifies the outstanding working relationship between my office and the U.S. Attorney's Office."
Patience Moore, Graham’s co-conspirator, pleaded guilty for her role in this sex trafficking scheme on March 14. She was sentenced on June 18 by Judge Peterson to three years in federal prison on June 18 for her role in this trafficking scheme.
The charges against Graham and Moore are the result of an investigation by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of the Madison, Grand Chute, Wisconsin State Capitol and Hampton (Virginia) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Pfluger and Kevin Burke prosecuted the case.
Man from Counselor, N.m. Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Nathanial Atencio, 24, of Counselor, N.M., pleaded guilty in federal court in Albuquerque today to a charge of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.
A grand jury previously returned an indictment against Atencio on January 29, 2019. According Atencio’s plea agreement, he committed this crime in Sandoval County sometime between November 1, 2016, and November 8, 2016. Atencio engaged in a sexual act with a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant and gave birth to a child. Atencio is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation where this crime occurred.
Atencio is currently out of custody pending sentencing. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Farmington office of the FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Jaros is prosecuting the case.
Man from Colorado Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Arising from Deadly Crime Spree Near Las Cruces in 2017Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel Lowell, 35, of Pueblo, Colo, pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Cruces today to carjacking resulting in death and other offenses stemming from a crime spree in Doña Ana and Luna Counties on November 27, 2017.
According to court records and statements made on the record in court, Lowell took part in the crime spree with Trista Schlaefli, 32, of Colorado Springs, Colo. It began at an immigration checkpoint on Interstate 10. Lowell approached the checkpoint in a stolen vehicle and could not produce identification. A Border Patrol agent directed Lowell to secondary inspection. However, Lowell sped away with Schlaefli in the stolen vehicle driving more than 100 miles per hour.
After fleeing the checkpoint, one of the tires on the truck blew out. Lowell approached another vehicle with a family inside, including two small children. Lowell threatened the driver at gunpoint and demanded they give him their vehicle. Lowell carjacked the vehicle and took off with Schlaefli.
From there, Lowell stole some spark plugs from a store that he intended to use to break into other cars. However, before Lowell could do that, police tried to pull Lowell and Schlaefli over in the stolen vehicle. Lowell and Schlaefli took off driving recklessly and speeding with police chasing them. During their flight, they crashed into a motorcyclist, who died from the impact of the collision.
Lowell and Schlaefli continued to attempt to evade law enforcement. Lowell tried to carjack another vehicle, but the driver resisted. Eventually, a team of law enforcement officers stopped Lowell and Schlaefli and arrested them. Lowell had a stolen firearm and at least fifteen stolen credit cards with him at the time of his arrest.
Schlaefli previously pleaded guilty on November 13, 2018, to an indictment charging her with carjacking resulting in death, high-speed flight from an immigration checkpoint, carjacking, attempted carjacking, aiding and abetting brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of unauthorized access devices. She is awaiting sentencing at a future date.
On June 19, 2019, a federal grand jury in Las Cruces returned a second superseding indictment against Lowell. Today, he pleaded guilty to all charges including carjacking resulting in death, attempted carjacking, high-speed flight from an immigration checkpoint, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a stolen firearm, transportation of a stolen vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of unauthorized access devices.
Lowell is currently in custody. At sentencing, he faces up to life in prison for carjacking resulting in death, 15 years in prison for attempted carjacking, 5 years in prison for flight from an immigration checkpoint, 7 year in prison for brandishing a firearm, 10 years in prison for possession of a stolen firearm, 10 years in prison for transportation of a stolen vehicle, 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and 10 years in prison for possession of an unauthorized access device.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police Department, the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the Pikes Peak Community College Campus Police, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Pueblo Police Department, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, the Fountain Police Department, and the Colorado State Patrol investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Aaron Jordan are prosecuting the case.
Man from Arizona Sentended to 20 Years in Prison for Murdering Two People in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Yonnie, 28, of Winslow, Ariz., was sentenced in federal court on Monday to 20 years in prison on two counts of second-degree murder in Indian Country.
Yonnie previously pleaded guilty to this offense on March 20, 2019. According to his plea agreement, he committed the murders on July 18, 2014. Yonnie became upset when he saw the first victim with his mother. Yonnie confronted the first victim with a knife and stabbed the first victim to death. Yonnie then went to the second victim’s home, where he pulled a knife and stabbed the second victim fatally. Law enforcement officers arrested Yonnie when he returned home a short time later.
The Albuquerque office of the FBI investigated this case with the Navajo Nation Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall prosecuted the case.
Lancaster County Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison on Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Ezekiel Jahpari Patterson, age 21, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence presented in court established that on January 11, 2018, a deputy with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office stopped the driver of a 1998 Buick near Evans Drive for a traffic violation. Patterson was seated in the backseat of the car. As the deputy approached the car, he observed Patterson reaching under the seat and asked Patterson to step out of the car. The deputy searched Patterson and found two loaded firearms hidden in Patterson’s clothing. One of the firearms was stolen.
Federal law prohibits Patterson from possessing any firearm because of his 2017 felony conviction for assault and battery first degree. Patterson was on probation when he was found with the two firearms.
Senior United States District Judge Cameron M. Currie, of Columbia, accepted Patterson’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison followed by two years of court-ordered supervision. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Taylor prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) alongside officers with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in our communities and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally-based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Lake Oswego Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl from China Leading to Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—Joseph Richard Caruso, 34, a prolific darknet narcotics vendor residing in Lake Oswego, Oregon, was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for illegally distributing fentanyl that was linked to a 2017 fatal overdose in Wisconsin.
“A highly-coordinated effort by four law enforcement agencies led to Mr. Caruso’s arrest less than two days after his most recent inbound fentanyl package was discovered. It’s this sort of nimble and decisive law enforcement work that’s required to keep synthetic opioids off of our streets and prevent additional overdoses,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “I applaud the tremendous work of everyone involved in this case.”
“This sentence is a significant step forward in eliminating deadly drugs from our community,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Seattle. “Fentanyl is an extremely deadly substance. Blatant disregard for the safety of those who could have come into contact with it will not be tolerated. This case is a testament to the hard work HSI, and our law enforcement partners, do every day to combat these drugs from making it to our streets.”
According to court documents, on November 19, 2017, a U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector discovered a suspicious package addressed to Caruso at the U.S. Postal Service Portland Air Cargo Center. The package was transported to the Portland Police Bureau’s Drugs and Vice Division for further examination in a safe environment. Wearing a ventilated hood for protection, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent assigned to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Interdiction Taskforce opened the heat-sealed package and found a clear Ziploc baggie containing a fine powdery substance. A test conducted the following day at the Oregon State Police Laboratory confirmed the substance was cyclopropylfentanyl, a power opioid and Schedule I controlled substance.
Investigators removed the cyclopropylfentanyl from the package and replaced it with an inert powder similar in appearance. On November 21, 2017, they conducted a controlled delivery of the package with the inert powder to Caruso’s residence in Lake Oswego. Shortly thereafter, Caruso was observed retrieving the package from his apartment postal box. HSI agents and other task force officers confronted Caruso and placed him under arrest.
On April 3, 2019, Caruso pleaded guilty to one count of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death. At sentencing, he was ordered to forfeit more than $764,000 and a 2013 Audi A4 sedan.
This case was investigated by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Interdiction Taskforce, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division. It was prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin and Julia E. Jarrett, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
The Oregon HIDTA program was established by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in June of 1999. In 2015 the program expanded into Idaho and was renamed the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA. The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA consists of 14 counties and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Counties in the HIDTA include Oregon’s Clackamas, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Umatilla and Washington counties, and Idaho’s Ada, Bannock and Canyon counties.
Drug abuse affects communities across the nation, and opioid abuse continues to be particularly devastating. The CDC reports that from 1999 to 2016, more than 630,000 people have died from a drug overdoses. In 2016, 66% of drug overdose deaths involved an opioid. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of injury or death in the United States. In Oregon, the total number of deaths related to drug use increased 11 percent between from 2013 to 2017, with 546 known drug related deaths in 2017.
If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8am and 11pm Pacific Time daily.
La Crosse Man Sentenced on Crack Cocaine ChargeRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Earl Hill, 40, La Crosse, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 42 months in federal prison for possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
In October 2018, a concerned neighbor called the La Crosse Police Department to report a lot of short-term vehicle and pedestrian traffic at Hill’s home. Ultimately a search of Hill’s residence revealed over 22 grams of crack cocaine and packaging materials consistent with drug distribution and he was arrested.
Hill’s arrest came less than three months after being released from a lengthy prison sentence in Illinois. He has eight prior criminal convictions in Illinois, including convictions for drug conspiracy, domestic battery, possessing weapons, and reckless conduct. At the time of his arrest, Hill was also on supervision in Wisconsin for delivering cocaine.
The charge against Hill was the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schlipper.
KC, Grandview Men Sentenced for Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a three-months-long conspiracy that included at least 27 armed robberies, culminating in the armed robbery of a Walgreens in Blue Springs, Mo., in which a suspect was fatally shot by law enforcement officers.
Demetrius E. Nelson, 26, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, July 10, to eight years in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant Parrise K. Black, also known as “Kilo,” 27, of Grandview, Missouri, was sentenced on Tuesday, July 9, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On May 30, 2018, Nelson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, four counts of robbery, and four counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. On May 21, 2018, Black pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, three counts of robbery, and three counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Seven co-conspirators robbed 27 businesses in Blue Springs, Independence, North Kansas City, Raytown, Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., at gunpoint from Jan. 2 to March 24, 2016. In addition to the armed robberies charged in the indictment, evidence was introduced during Thomas’s trial of other, uncharged robberies that were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. Victim businesses included convenience stores, pharmacies, and other businesses.
The robberies followed a similar pattern: Two or three conspirators entered the business armed with handguns, wearing gloves, hoodies, and/or masks. The hoodies were drawn tightly over their faces to obscure their features. The employees were forced at gunpoint to hand over money from the cash register and the safe. The thieves wore the same hoodies in nearly all the robberies; Thomas wore a blue Kansas City Royals hoodie for the majority of the robberies he committed.
The spree of robberies culminated on March 24, 2016. Co-defendants Shannon R. Thomas, 28, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Deonte J. Collins-Abbott, 24, of Grandview, Missouri, along with Jermon Seals of Shawnee, Kansas, robbed the Walgreens at 7 Highway and Duncan in Blue Springs. Thomas placed a Springfield Armory .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol to the back of an employee’s head and took money from the front register. Collins-Abbott and Seals went over the pharmacy counter and took prescription grade cough syrup at gunpoint from the pharmacist. They left the business but were confronted by law enforcement officers as they were walking back to the vehicle. They failed to comply with the officers’ commands; Seals turned towards the officers, pointing a gun in their direction. Officers returned fire and Seals was fatally struck in the exchange. Thomas and Collins-Abbott were apprehended by officers after a short foot chase.
Thomas was found guilty at trial on May 9, 2019, of participating in the conspiracy as well as participating in 10 armed robberies. He was also found guilty of 10 counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thomas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 years in federal prison without parole and awaits sentencing.
Collins-Abbott pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison without parole. Collins-Abbott admitted that he committed eight armed robberies between Feb. 3, 2016, and March 24, 2016.
Co-defendants Kevin T. Thompson-Randell, 23, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Frank A. Garner, Jr., 25, of Grandview, have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Caine and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Kate Butterfield. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the North Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Justice Department launches National Public Safety Partnership with Cleveland Division of PoliceRead the Press Release
Today, officials from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio, and the Cleveland Division of Police convened at the United States Attorney Offices in Cleveland to initiate the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) program with the Cleveland Police Department. This Justice Department program is a three-year engagement that seeks to leverage department assets in support of a local jurisdictions' commitment to drive down violent crime.
On June 3, 2019, Attorney General William Barr announced the selection of the Cleveland Police Department as one of ten FY 2019 PSP sites where the Justice Department will work collaboratively to provide training and technical assistance in areas such as crime analytics, emerging technology and community engagement.
Since 2017, the Justice Department has directed nearly $14.9 million in customized training and technical assistance to help build crime fighting capacity in PSP sites, including $6.6 million to support the FY 2019 sites through FY 2022. PSP seeks to bring law enforcement stakeholders together to work collaboratively in reducing violent crime attributed to felonious firearm use, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
“Today our team is on-site in Cleveland to collaborate with local law enforcement officials in their mission to improve public safety and drive down violent crime,” said Jon Adler, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. "Through the Public Safety Partnership, we are committed to fulfilling the Attorney General's priority of supporting local law enforcement combat violent gangs, felonious firearms use and drug trafficking," added Adler.
“We are excited to bring the PSP team’s expertise to Cleveland to add to the outstanding collaboration already underway addressing violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman. "We know targeted, vigorous enforcement actions combined with meaningful crime prevention and reentry efforts have a demonstrated track record of reducing homicides, shooting and other violence.”
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin D. Williams said: “The Cleveland Division of Police welcomes the assistance of the PSP team in our efforts to reduce violent crime in our community. Our commitment to the safety of our residents is our primary focus and this program will increase our ability to provide the highest level of service.”
Since 2017, the Justice Department has worked with more than 30 local jurisdictions under the nationwide PSP program. Many participating cities have already seen dramatic reductions in violent crime. New Orleans ended 2018 with 146 murders, the lowest number of murders since the early 1970s. In Milwaukee, homicides declined in 2018 for a third straight year after hitting a deadly peak in 2015.
Agencies in attendance at this meeting included the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio; the Office of Justice Programs; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Cleveland Police Department; the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office; the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and Mayor Frank Jackson’s Office.
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Justice Department Obtains $1.4 Billion from Reckitt Benckiser Group in Largest Recovery in a Case Concerning an Opioid Drug in United States HistoryRead the Press Release
Global consumer goods conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB Group) has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to resolve its potential criminal and civil liability related to a federal investigation of the marketing of the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone. The resolution – the largest recovery by the United States in a case concerning an opioid drug – includes the forfeiture of proceeds totaling $647 million, civil settlements with the federal government and the states totaling $700 million, and an administrative resolution with the Federal Trade Commission for $50 million.
Suboxone is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids.
“The opioid epidemic continues to be a serious crisis for our nation, and I’m proud of the work the Department of Justice and our partners are doing to address this epidemic,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire Murray.
“We are confronting the deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history. Opioid withdrawal is difficult, painful, and sometimes dangerous; people struggling to overcome addiction face challenges that can often seem insurmountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Drug manufacturers marketing products to help opioid addicts are expected to do so honestly and responsibly.”
Resolution of the Criminal Investigation
Until December 2014, RB Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Indivior Inc. (then known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.) marketed and sold Suboxone throughout the United States. In December 2014, RB Group spun off Indivior Inc., and the two companies are no longer affiliated. On April 9, a federal grand jury sitting in Abingdon, Virginia, indicted Indivior for allegedly engaging in an illicit nationwide scheme to increase prescriptions of Suboxone. The United States’ criminal trial against Indivior is scheduled to begin on May 11, 2020, in the United States District Court in Abingdon, Virginia. Indivior is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
To resolve its potential criminal liability stemming from the conduct alleged in the indictment of Indivior, RB Group has executed a non-prosecution agreement that requires the company to forfeit $647 million of proceeds it received from Indivior and not to manufacture, market, or sell Schedule I, II, or III controlled substances in the United States for three years. In addition, RB Group has agreed to cooperate fully with all investigations and prosecutions by the Department of Justice related, in any way, to Suboxone.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that this office will work tirelessly to address all facets of the opioid epidemic,” First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia said. “This historic resolution is the product of a continued partnership with the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FDA, HHS, and the U.S. Postal Service.”
“This is a landmark moment in our fight to hold drug companies responsible for their role in the opioid crisis,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. “We will not allow anyone to put profits over people, or to exacerbate or exploit the opioid crisis for their own benefit. The Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s expertise, capacity, and diligent investigation, combined with strong relationships with local, state, and federal partners, helped make this resolution possible.”
“Opioid addiction and abuse is an immense public health crisis and taking steps to address it is one the FDA’s highest priorities,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D. “Providing misleading information about product benefits puts the public at risk. We also are particularly concerned with schemes to game the drug approval process to prevent generic competition for important medicines. The FDA, including criminal investigators in our Office of Regulatory Affairs and the lawyers in our Office of Chief Counsel, will continue to work with the Department of Justice to investigate and hold accountable those who devise and participate in schemes to the detriment of the public health.”
“The U.S. Postal Service spends billions of dollars per year in workers compensation-related costs, most of which are legitimate,” said Kenneth Cleevely, Special Agent in Charge of the Eastern Field Office for the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “However, when medical providers or companies choose to flout the rules and profit illegally, special agents with the USPS OIG will work with our law enforcement partners to hold them responsible. To report fraud or other criminal activity involving the Postal Service, contact our special agents at www.uspsoig.gov or 888-USPS-OIG.”
According to the indictment, Indivior—including during the time when it was a subsidiary of RB Group—promoted the film version of Suboxone (Suboxone Film) to physicians, pharmacists, Medicaid administrators, and others across the country as less-divertible and less-abusable and safer around children, families, and communities than other buprenorphine drugs, even though such claims have never been established.
The indictment further alleges that Indivior touted its “Here to Help” internet and telephone program as a resource for opioid-addicted patients. Instead, however, Indivior used the program, in part, to connect patients to doctors it knew were prescribing Suboxone and other opioids to more patients than allowed by federal law, at high doses, and in a careless and clinically unwarranted manner.
The indictment also alleges that, to further its scheme, Indivior announced a “discontinuance” of its tablet form of Suboxone based on supposed “concerns regarding pediatric exposure” to tablets, despite Indivior executives’ knowledge that the primary reason for the discontinuance was to delay the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of generic tablet forms of the drug.
The indictment alleges Indivior’s scheme was highly successful, fraudulently converting thousands of opioid-addicted patients over to Suboxone Film and causing state Medicaid programs to expand and maintain coverage of Suboxone Film at substantial cost to the government.
The Civil Settlement
Under the civil settlement, RB Group has agreed to pay a total of $700 million to resolve claims that the marketing of Suboxone caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. The $700 million settlement amount includes $500 million to the federal government and up to $200 million to states that opt to participate in the agreement. The claims settled by the civil agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The civil settlement addresses allegations by the United States that, from 2010 through 2014, RB Group directly or through its subsidiaries knowingly: (a) promoted the sale and use of Suboxone to physicians who were writing prescriptions without any counseling or psychosocial support and for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary and that were often diverted for uses that lacked a legitimate medical purpose; (b) promoted the sale or use of Suboxone Film to physicians and state Medicaid agencies using false and misleading claims that Suboxone Film was less susceptible to diversion and abuse than other buprenorphine products and that Suboxone Film was less susceptible to accidental pediatric exposure than tablets; and (c) submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 25, 2012, claiming that Suboxone Tablet had been discontinued “due to safety concerns” about the tablet formulation of the drug and took other steps to delay the entry of generic competition for Suboxone in order to improperly control pricing of Suboxone, including pricing to federal healthcare programs.
“With the nation continuing to battle the opioid crisis, the availability of quality addiction treatment options is critical. When treatment medications are used, it is essential they be prescribed carefully, legally, and based on accurate information, to protect the health and safety of patients in federal healthcare programs,” said Gary L. Cantrell, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Along with our federal and state law enforcement partners we will continue working to protect these vulnerable beneficiaries.”
“Opioid manufacturers – like all drug manufacturers – have a duty to market their products both truthfully and safely,” said Craig Carpenito, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. “Opioid manufacturers have an additional and critically important duty to maintain effective controls to prevent their highly dangerous products from being abused and diverted.”
“The opioid crisis has caused devastation throughout the country, including in the lives of Federal employees, annuitants, and their families,” said Thomas W. South, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations for the Office of Personnel Management. “The OPM OIG is committed to working with the Department of Justice and our other law enforcement partners to combat this epidemic. As always, patient safety is our number one priority.”
The civil settlement resolves the claims against RB Group in six lawsuits pending in federal court in the Western District of Virginia and the District of New Jersey under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.
FTC Resolution
Under a separate agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), RB Group has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve claims that it engaged in unfair methods of competition in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The FTC is filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging anticompetitive activities by RB Group designed to impede competition from generic equivalents of Suboxone. RB Group no longer manufactures or markets drug products. As part of a consent decree, RB Group agreed that it would notify the FTC if it began marketing drug products in the United States. RB Group further agreed that if it filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA in connection with a drug product, it would simultaneously disclose to both the FDA and the FTC all studies and data relevant to that Citizen Petition. RB Group further agreed not to withdraw a drug from the market or otherwise disadvantage a drug after obtaining approval to market another drug containing the same active ingredient.
“Buprenorphine products are approved for use in the treatment of Americans struggling to overcome opioid addiction, and, in the middle of the nation’s opioid crisis, RB Group allegedly sought to deny those consumers a lower-cost generic alternative to maintain its lucrative monopoly on the branded drug,” said Gail Levine, a Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
A Multilateral Effort
The criminal resolution with RB Group was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch based on an investigation by the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; FDA - Office of Criminal Investigation; United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General; and Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. The civil settlement was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Assistance was provided by representatives of the HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General; the HHS Office of the General Counsel, CMS Division; FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the General Counsel; the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Office of Personnel Management - Office of Inspector General; the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Inspector General; the Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General; and TRICARE Program Integrity.
Justice Department Obtains $1.4 Billion from Reckitt Benckiser Group in Largest Recovery in a Case Concerning an Opioid Drug in United States HistoryRead the Press Release
Note: Relevant documents can be found here:
Forfeiture Settlement Agreement 1 (Includes Non Prosecution Agreement, Civil Settlement Agreement, and Tolling Agreement) Forfeiture Complaint Forfeiture Settlement Agreement 2 FTC Joint Motion for Stipulated Order FTC ComplaintABINGDON, VA – Global consumer goods conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB Group) has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to resolve its potential criminal and civil liability related to a federal investigation of the marketing of the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone. The resolution – the largest recovery by the United States in a case concerning an opioid drug – includes the forfeiture of proceeds totaling $647 million, civil settlements with the federal government and the states totaling $700 million, and an administrative resolution with the Federal Trade Commission for $50 million.
Suboxone is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids.
“The opioid epidemic continues to be a serious crisis for our nation, and I’m proud of the work the Department of Justice and our partners are doing to address this epidemic,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire Murray.
“We are confronting the deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history. Opioid withdrawal is difficult, painful, and sometimes dangerous; people struggling to overcome addiction face challenges that can often seem insurmountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Drug manufacturers marketing products to help opioid addicts are expected to do so honestly and responsibly.”
Resolution of the Criminal Investigation
Until December 2014, RB Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Indivior Inc. (then known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.) marketed and sold Suboxone throughout the United States. In December 2014, RB Group spun off Indivior Inc., and the two companies are no longer affiliated. On April 9, a federal grand jury sitting in Abingdon, Virginia, indicted Indivior for allegedly engaging in an illicit nationwide scheme to increase prescriptions of Suboxone. The United States’ criminal trial against Indivior is scheduled to begin on May 11, 2020, in the United States District Court in Abingdon, Virginia. Indivior is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
To resolve its potential criminal liability stemming from the conduct alleged in the indictment of Indivior, RB Group has executed a non-prosecution agreement that requires the company to forfeit $647 million of proceeds it received from Indivior and not to manufacture, market, or sell Schedule I, II, or III controlled substances in the United States for three years. In addition, RB Group has agreed to cooperate fully with all investigations and prosecutions by the Department of Justice related, in any way, to Suboxone.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that this office will work tirelessly to address all facets of the opioid epidemic,” First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia said. “This historic resolution is the product of a continued partnership with the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FDA, HHS, and the U.S. Postal Service.”
“This is a landmark moment in our fight to hold drug companies responsible for their role in the opioid crisis,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. “We will not allow anyone to put profits over people, or to exacerbate or exploit the opioid crisis for their own benefit. The Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s expertise, capacity, and diligent investigation, combined with strong relationships with local, state, and federal partners, helped make this resolution possible.”
“Opioid addiction and abuse is an immense public health crisis and taking steps to address it is one the FDA’s highest priorities,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D. “Providing misleading information about product benefits puts the public at risk. We also are particularly concerned with schemes to game the drug approval process to prevent generic competition for important medicines. The FDA, including criminal investigators in our Office of Regulatory Affairs and the lawyers in our Office of Chief Counsel, will continue to work with the Department of Justice to investigate and hold accountable those who devise and participate in schemes to the detriment of the public health.”
“The U.S. Postal Service spends billions of dollars per year in workers compensation-related costs, most of which are legitimate,” said Kenneth Cleevely, Special Agent in Charge of the Eastern Field Office for the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “However, when medical providers or companies choose to flout the rules and profit illegally, special agents with the USPS OIG will work with our law enforcement partners to hold them responsible. To report fraud or other criminal activity involving the Postal Service, contact our special agents at www.uspsoig.gov or 888-USPS-OIG.”
According to the indictment, Indivior—including during the time when it was a subsidiary of RB Group—promoted the film version of Suboxone (Suboxone Film) to physicians, pharmacists, Medicaid administrators, and others across the country as less-divertible and less-abusable and safer around children, families, and communities than other buprenorphine drugs, even though such claims have never been established.
The indictment further alleges that Indivior touted its “Here to Help” internet and telephone program as a resource for opioid-addicted patients. Instead, however, Indivior used the program, in part, to connect patients to doctors it knew were prescribing Suboxone and other opioids to more patients than allowed by federal law, at high doses, and in a careless and clinically unwarranted manner.
The indictment also alleges that, to further its scheme, Indivior announced a “discontinuance” of its tablet form of Suboxone based on supposed “concerns regarding pediatric exposure” to tablets, despite Indivior executives’ knowledge that the primary reason for the discontinuance was to delay the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of generic tablet forms of the drug.
The indictment alleges Indivior’s scheme was highly successful, fraudulently converting thousands of opioid-addicted patients over to Suboxone Film and causing state Medicaid programs to expand and maintain coverage of Suboxone Film at substantial cost to the government.
The Civil Settlement
Under the civil settlement, RB Group has agreed to pay a total of $700 million to resolve claims that the marketing of Suboxone caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. The $700 million settlement amount includes $500 million to the federal government and up to $200 million to states that opt to participate in the agreement. The claims settled by the civil agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
The civil settlement addresses allegations by the United States that, from 2010 through 2014, RB Group directly or through its subsidiaries knowingly: (a) promoted the sale and use of Suboxone to physicians who were writing prescriptions without any counseling or psychosocial support and for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary and that were often diverted for uses that lacked a legitimate medical purpose; (b) promoted the sale or use of Suboxone Film to physicians and state Medicaid agencies using false and misleading claims that Suboxone Film was less susceptible to diversion and abuse than other buprenorphine products and that Suboxone Film was less susceptible to accidental pediatric exposure than tablets; and (c) submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 25, 2012, claiming that Suboxone Tablet had been discontinued “due to safety concerns” about the tablet formulation of the drug and took other steps to delay the entry of generic competition for Suboxone in order to improperly control pricing of Suboxone, including pricing to federal healthcare programs.
“With the nation continuing to battle the opioid crisis, the availability of quality addiction treatment options is critical. When treatment medications are used, it is essential they be prescribed carefully, legally, and based on accurate information, to protect the health and safety of patients in federal healthcare programs,” said Gary L. Cantrell, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Along with our federal and state law enforcement partners we will continue working to protect these vulnerable beneficiaries.”
“Opioid manufacturers – like all drug manufacturers – have a duty to market their products both truthfully and safely,” said Craig Carpenito, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. “Opioid manufacturers have an additional and critically important duty to maintain effective controls to prevent their highly dangerous products from being abused and diverted.”
“The opioid crisis has caused devastation throughout the country, including in the lives of Federal employees, annuitants, and their families,” said Thomas W. South, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations for the Office of Personnel Management. “The OPM OIG is committed to working with the Department of Justice and our other law enforcement partners to combat this epidemic. As always, patient safety is our number one priority.”
The civil settlement resolves the claims against RB Group in six lawsuits pending in federal court in the Western District of Virginia and the District of New Jersey under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.
FTC Resolution
Under a separate agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), RB Group has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve claims that it engaged in unfair methods of competition in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The FTC is filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging anticompetitive activities by RB Group designed to impede competition from generic equivalents of Suboxone. RB Group no longer manufactures or markets drug products. As part of a consent decree, RB Group agreed that it would notify the FTC if it began marketing drug products in the United States. RB Group further agreed that if it filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA in connection with a drug product, it would simultaneously disclose to both the FDA and the FTC all studies and data relevant to that Citizen Petition. RB Group further agreed not to withdraw a drug from the market or otherwise disadvantage a drug after obtaining approval to market another drug containing the same active ingredient.
“Buprenorphine products are approved for use in the treatment of Americans struggling to overcome opioid addiction, and, in the middle of the nation’s opioid crisis, RB Group allegedly sought to deny those consumers a lower-cost generic alternative to maintain its lucrative monopoly on the branded drug,” said Gail Levine, a Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
A Multilateral Effort
The criminal resolution with RB Group was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch based on an investigation by the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; FDA - Office of Criminal Investigation; United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General; and Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. The civil settlement was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Assistance was provided by representatives of the HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General; the HHS Office of the General Counsel, CMS Division; FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the General Counsel; the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Office of Personnel Management - Office of Inspector General; the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Inspector General; the Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General; and TRICARE Program Integrity.
Jury Convicts Postal Clerk of Embezzling Postal Funds and Making False RecordsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – JAMES BRYAN BARNES, 53, of Norman, has been convicted by a jury of embezzlement of postal funds, theft of government money, and making false postal record entries, announced United States Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
According to a second superseding indictment, Barnes was the lead Sales and Service Associate at the Midwest City Branch Post Office when he conducted a scheme to steal postal funds by taking cash for stamps without properly accounting for the sales. He was charged with one count of embezzlement of postal funds in excess of $1,000, one count of theft of government money in excess of $1,000, and four counts of making false entries in the U.S. Postal Service’s records.
Today, a jury convicted Barnes on those six counts. The jury heard that Barnes made false record entries into his cash register at least 178 times from October 2015 through June 2018 and took almost $3,000 belonging to the Postal Service.
At sentencing, Barnes faces up to ten years in prison on each of the six counts of conviction, in addition to a fine of up to $250,000 per count. He will also be subject to up to three years of supervised release after imprisonment. Sentencing will take place in approximately ninety days.
These charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service—Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William E. Farrior and Nick M. Coffey.
Judge Sentences Jamaican to Time Served for Gun Offense, Orders Transfer of Defendant to Homeland Security for DeportationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A citizen of Jamaica has been sentenced in federal court to time served, totaling 14 months’ imprisonment, and three years of supervised release on his conviction of violating a federal firearm law, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Kevin Ruddock, 35, formerly of Verona, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, in May 2018 Ruddock possessed a Ruger Model 9E, 9 millimeter handgun, along with 123 rounds of ammunition with an extended magazine, and that the possession was illegal both because Ruddock was admitted into the United States on a non-immigrant visa and because he was in the United States at the time of his possession illegally and unlawfully. Ruddock, who is from Jamaica, was under investigation based on suspicion that he entered into a fraudulent marriage, and during that investigation law enforcement obtained photographs of Ruddock with a firearm. Law enforcement then executed a search warrant at his home, which led to the recovery of the firearm, along with the ammunition and the extended magazine. As part of his purchase of the firearm, Ruddock falsely represented on federal forms that he was a citizen of the United States.
After imposing sentence, Judge Schwab ordered that the defendant be transferred to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for his deportation.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Brady commended the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Ruddock.
Judge Delgado ConvictedRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A federal jury has convicted a Texas state district judge of bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The jury convicted Rodolfo “Rudy” Delgado, 65, of Edinburg, following a six-day trial of one count of conspiracy, three counts of federal program bribery, three counts of travel act bribery and one count of obstruction of justice.
“The bribery of a judge may be the worst break of the publics’ trust in government,” said Patrick. ”Rudy Delgado used his position to enrich himself. He didn’t just tip the scales of justice, he knocked it over with a wad of cash and didn’t look back. Delgado’s actions unfairly tarnish all his former colleagues.”
“No one – especially a judge – is above the law,” said Benczkowski. “Corrupt judges erode the confidence we have in our judicial system, but this verdict goes a long way in restoring that confidence.”
Delgado is currently a justice in the 13th Court of Appeals for the State of Texas. He was previously the presiding judge for the 93rd District Court for the State of Texas, which has jurisdiction over Texas criminal and civil cases located within Hidalgo County. As a district judge, Delgado conspired with an attorney from January 2008 to November 2016 to accept bribes in exchange for favorable judicial consideration on criminal cases pending in his courtroom.
As part of the investigation, Delgado also accepted bribes on three separate occasions in exchange for agreeing to release three of the attorney’s clients on bond in cases pending before his court. The first two bribes totaled approximately $520 in cash and the third bribe - in January 2018 - totaled approximately $5,500.
After Delgado learned of the FBI’s investigation, he also attempted to obstruct justice by contacting the attorney and providing a false story about the payments.
Sentencing has been set for Sept. 25, 2019. Delgado was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arthur “Rob” Jones and Robert Guerra are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Peter Nothstein of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Japanese Fishing Company Convicted of Obstruction of Justice and Falsifying Records to Cover up Illegal Oil and Garbage PollutionRead the Press Release
A Japanese fishing company, Fukuichi Gyogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (“Fukuichi”), was convicted and sentenced today in the District of Guam for two violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding.
The charges stemmed from discharges of waste oil and oily bilge water from the F/V Fukuichi Maru No. 112 (“the vessel”) into international waters and the attempt to cover up those discharges when the vessel was inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard in Apra Harbor, Guam. The charges also included failing to properly document the discharge of fishing gear and plastics from the vessel, and obstructing a Coast Guard Port State Control inspection.
“When Fukuichi broke the law when they intentionally discharged oily bilge waste into the ocean. To make matters worse, they tried to cover up their unlawful acts by obstructing the routine Coast Guard inspection, said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department will continue to work with its partners to ensure that companies, both foreign and domestic, comply with the rule of law.”
U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson stated, “Fukuichi’s fishing vessel plied the waters of the Western Pacific for decades in disregard of basic environmental precautions. It would have continued to do so but for the United States asserting jurisdiction in this criminal prosecution. Our waters and reefs are worthy of protection through punitive enforcement action. We will target any companies or persons who engage in similar unlawful conduct.”
Fukuichi pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding, and two counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. The company was ordered to pay a $1.5 million criminal fine and serve a five-year term of probation, during which vessels owned and/or operated by the company will be banned from entering the Exclusive Economic Zone, Territorial Sea, or a port or terminal belonging to the United States without prior approval. Fukuichi will also be required to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) that includes vessel audits. The ECP and associated audits must be sent to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to any of the company’s vessels entering U.S. waters or a U.S. port. The COTP will have the discretion whether to allow such entry based upon the company’s compliance with international and domestic laws governing pollution and safety.
Fukuichi was the owner and operator of the vessel, which conducted fishing operations throughout the Pacific Ocean. The vessel entered Apra Harbor, Guam, on April 1, 2019, for repairs to its cargo refrigeration system. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel and discovered fifteen pollution and safety deficiencies and detained the vessel. The inspectors discovered numerous leaks of water and oil into the bilges, and asked the Chief Engineer to demonstrate operation of the Oil Water Separator (OWS). The Chief Engineer was unable to demonstrate how to operate the OWS and the inspectors determined the OWS had not been used. According to court documents, the Chief Engineer confessed that the practice on the vessel was to discharge waste oil and oily bilge water directly into the ocean using an emergency bilge pump system and buckets. The inspectors discovered these systems coated with heavy oil. The inspectors examined the vessel’s Oil Record Book, which, oddly, was a single volume that spanned thirty years. The inspectors discovered two hundred and thirty-three incorrect or false entries in the ORB. Later during the inspection, the inspector discovered that the Chief Engineer obstructed their proceeding by erasing forty-two of the fraudulent or incorrect entries and replacing them with new information. The inspectors also examined the vessel’s Garbage Record Book (GRB) and discovered that it contained a series of “ditto” marks instead of the signature of the officer in charge of managing the garbage. The inspectors determined based on crew interviews that animal carcasses and fishing gear, which included plastic, had been discharged from the vessel and not recorded in the GRB.
“I want to highlight the diligent work of the marine investigators who first identified these issues and worked closely with the vessel crew and the Department of Justice for several months to bring it to a conclusion," said Capt. Christopher Chase, Captain of the Port Coast Guard Sector Guam. "Marine pollution prevention and response is a cooperative effort requiring the support of many partner agencies in order to hold those who violate international and U.S. law accountable for their actions. The preservation of the ecosystem here and throughout the Pacific is a top priority for the Coast Guard, and this case is one example of how we complete that mission.”
“This exceptional collaborative effort continues to deter maritime organizations from these types of devastating illegal practices that threaten to destroy our natural living marine resources as well as level the playing field for the many responsible companies who obey the laws and regulations created to protect these finite resources,” said Coast Guard Special Agent-in-Charge Kelly Hoyle.
The case was investigated by U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Guam, with assistance from the Coast Guard Investigative Service. The prosecution was handled by Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorneys Mikel Schwab and Marivic David of the District of Guam.
Japanese Fishing Company Convicted of Obstruction of Justice and Falsifying Records to Cover up Illegal Oil and Garbage PollutionRead the Press Release
A Japanese fishing company, Fukuichi Gyogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Fukuichi), was convicted and sentenced today in the District of Guam for two violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding.
The charges stemmed from discharges of waste oil and oily bilge water from the F/V Fukuichi Maru No. 112 (the vessel) into international waters and the attempt to cover up those discharges when the vessel was inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard in Apra Harbor, Guam. The charges also included failing to properly document the discharge of fishing gear and plastics from the vessel, and obstructing a Coast Guard Port State Control inspection.
“Fukuichi broke the law when the company intentionally discharged oily bilge waste into the ocean. To make matters worse, Fukuichi tried to cover up their unlawful acts by obstructing the routine Coast Guard inspection,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department will continue to work with its partners to ensure that companies, both foreign and domestic, comply with the rule of law.”
U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson stated, “Fukuichi’s fishing vessel plied the waters of the Western Pacific for decades in disregard of basic environmental precautions. It would have continued to do so but for the United States asserting jurisdiction in this criminal prosecution. Our waters and reefs are worthy of protection through punitive enforcement action. We will target any companies or persons who engage in similar unlawful conduct.”
Fukuichi pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding, and two counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. The company was ordered to pay a $1.5 million criminal fine and serve a five-year term of probation, during which vessels owned and/or operated by the company will be banned from entering the Exclusive Economic Zone, Territorial Sea, or a port or terminal belonging to the United States without prior approval. Fukuichi will also be required to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) that includes vessel audits. The ECP and associated audits must be sent to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to any of the company’s vessels entering U.S. waters or a U.S. port. The COTP will have the discretion whether to allow such entry based upon the company’s compliance with international and domestic laws governing pollution and safety.
Fukuichi was the owner and operator of the vessel, which conducted fishing operations throughout the Pacific Ocean. The vessel entered Apra Harbor, Guam, on April 1, 2019, for repairs to its cargo refrigeration system. According to court documents, members of the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel and discovered fifteen pollution and safety deficiencies and detained the vessel. The inspectors discovered numerous leaks of water and oil into the bilges and the Chief Engineer confessed that the practice on the vessel was to discharge waste oil and oily bilge water directly into the ocean using an emergency bilge pump system and buckets. The inspectors discovered these systems coated with heavy oil. The inspectors examined the vessel’s Oil Record Book and discovered two hundred and thirty-three incorrect or false entries. Later during the inspection, the inspector discovered that the Chief Engineer obstructed their proceeding by erasing forty-two of the fraudulent or incorrect entries and replacing them with new information. The inspectors also examined the vessel’s Garbage Record Book (GRB) and discovered that it contained a series of “ditto” marks instead of the signature of the officer in charge of managing the garbage. The inspectors determined based on crew interviews that animal carcasses and fishing gear, which included plastic, had been discharged from the vessel and not record in the GRB.
“I want to highlight the diligent work of the marine investigators who first identified these issues and worked closely with the vessel crew and the Department of Justice for several months to bring it to a conclusion," said Capt. Christopher Chase, Captain of the Port Coast Guard Sector Guam. "Marine pollution prevention and response is a cooperative effort requiring the support of many partner agencies in order to hold those who violate international and U.S. law accountable for their actions. The preservation of the ecosystem here and throughout the Pacific is a top priority for the Coast Guard, and this case is one example of how we complete that mission.”
“This exceptional collaborative effort continues to deter maritime organizations from these types of devastating illegal practices that threaten to destroy our natural living marine resources as well as level the playing field for the many responsible companies who obey the laws and regulations created to protect these finite resources,” said Coast Guard Special Agent-in-Charge Kelly Hoyle.
The case was investigated by U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Guam, with assistance from the Coast Guard Investigative Service. The prosecution was handled by Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorneys Mikel Schwab and Marivic David of the District of Guam.
Jamaican Man Sentenced to Twenty-One Years in Prison for Heading Alien Smuggling Organization from Freeport, BahamasRead the Press Release
Michael Stapleton, 44, of Jamaica, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to a total of 262 months in prison after having been convicted by a South Florida jury of running an international alien smuggling organization out of Freeport, Bahamas.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Thomas G. Martin, Acting Chief Patrol Agent for U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector, made the announcement.
Stapleton was convicted by a federal jury on January 30, 2019, of forty-seven criminal counts related to his involvement in an alien smuggling scheme (Case No 14-CR-80151). The trial evidence showed that Stapleton was the head of a smuggling organization operating out of Freeport, Bahamas. For several years, he coordinated the smuggling of aliens to the United States through Freeport from around the world. He arranged for them to be hidden in stash houses, hired smuggling captains, and arranged for boats to make crossing from the Bahamas to the United States. Testimony at trial showed he also used the vulnerability of the aliens to exploit them by demanding more money from them after they were in his power, keeping them in deplorable conditions, mistreating them, and sending them out in unsafe boats. In one smuggling venture, the aliens were pushed overboard in rough seas far from the beach, despite some of them not being able to swim. Stapleton was extradited to the United States in 2018.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan said, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to the vigorous prosecution of those individuals who engage in the dangerous and illicit practice of alien smuggling. Today’s sentencing shows those who plan and commit these crimes while abroad will not have impunity from federal prosecution in the United States but will instead face more than twenty years in prison.”
“These smuggling organizations place no value on human life and are constantly putting people’s lives at risks. Stapleton’s actions clearly proved that,” said Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Miami. “Our goal is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the type of organization that Stapleton headed and we are committed to do everything within our powers to put these individuals behind bars.”
U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Thomas G. Martin stated, “Smuggling organizations like these pose a great risk. Without the combined efforts of all law enforcement agencies involved, the actions of Stapleton would continue to endanger migrants’ lives and threaten U.S. border security.”
The Court found that Stapleton was the leader/organizer of the smuggling venture that involved between 20-99 victims, that he created a risk of substantial bodily harm, sexually assaulted two women, and possessed a firearm. In addition to the term of incarceration, Stapleton was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay a special assessment of $4,700.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended ICE-HSI, along with the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Jupiter Police Department, the Juno Beach Police Department, and the Manalapan Police Department, for the investigative assistance provided in support of this matter. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Jones and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Evans.
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.
Indictment Charges West Jordan Man with Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY – A West Jordan man faces federal charges of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in a two-count indictment returned by a grand jury late Wednesday afternoon.
The indictment alleges that John Aaron Favro, age 24, of West Jordan, distributed fentanyl on Nov. 18, 2016, resulting in the overdose death of a person identified in the indictment as M.K.K.
According to a complaint filed in the case, M.K.K. was pronounced dead Nov. 21, 2016, from an apparent overdose at an apartment in Murray. M.K.K. was found during a welfare check after not being seen or heard from since Nov. 18, 2016. According to the complaint, a shoe box containing two small blue pills labelled A215, an imprint that signifies oxycodone, was found next to her on the bed. A toxicology analysis of M.K.K.’s blood revealed high levels of fentanyl. According to the Utah Medical Examiner, she died as a result of fentanyl intoxication.
Salt Lake City DEA agents spoke with M.K.K.’s parents regarding her death. According to the complaint, the parents told the agents about an individual with whom they had been in contact at the time of M.K.K.’s death when they had been desperately trying to find M.K.K, the complaint alleges. They tracked a phone number on their family cellular phone plan records to Favro.
The DEA investigation of Favro started in 2016. It continued into 2019 as agents gathered evidence, completed an examination of M.K.K.’s cell phone records leading up to her death, and conducted interviews with others, including a confidential source who told agents in January 2019 that he/she believed Favro was M.K.K.’s supply source for fentanyl at the time of her death. According to the complaint, M.K.K. who was participating in Drug Court, was introduced to Favro through another Drug Court participant.
According to the complaint, confidential sources indicated Favro sold more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills. A second confidential source, who worked as Favro’s co-conspirator, told agents he/she personally supplied Favro with 500-1000 pills at a time on at least 20 occasions over the months they worked together selling pills. Agents seized fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills from the second confidential source and test results confirmed the pills contained fentanyl. The second confidential source sold fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills in Utah from before June 2015 through May 2017. Two other confidential sources told agents they supplied Favro with fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills for resale during the summer of 2016.
Favro is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in the indictment Thursday at 2:45 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner. The potential maximum penalty for each count the Favro indictment is life in prison. Both counts have minimum mandatory sentences. The distribution count resulting in death has a potential 20-year minimum mandatory sentence and the conspiracy count has a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence.
Earlier this summer, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber encouraged law enforcement officers to screen all cases involving fentanyl with his office for potential federal prosecution.
“Fentanyl is at a high threat level for us. We are asking our law enforcement partners to help us disrupt, dismantle, and deter fentanyl distribution in Utah and prevent fentanyl-related overdose deaths,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said. “We need to use every tool we have.”
Huber said he has a clear message for drug traffickers: bring fentanyl into Utah and plan on having an initial appearance in federal court.
According to DEA information, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Clandestinely produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico.
Given the risks of fentanyl, federal prosecutors believe there is a compelling federal interest in reviewing every case. Huber says his prosecutors will screen for evidence of distribution or simple possession. Additionally, his office will pursue any appropriate sentencing enhancements.
Indictments and complaints are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in these documents are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City are prosecuting the case. Special agents and task force officers from the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force and IRS-Criminal Investigations are investigating the case. The U.S. Marshals Service is also assisting with the case.
Indiana Residents Indicted on Terrorism and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury has charged brothers Moyad Dannon, 21, and Mahde Dannon, 20, both of Fishers, Indiana, with multiple firearms charges and one count of attempting to provide material support and resources, including firearms, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana made the announcement. The defendants are also charged with various firearms offenses. The federal indictment was handed down on July 2, 2019. The defendants have been in federal custody since their arrest on May 15, 2019 pursuant to a federal criminal complaint.
This indictment is the result of a months-long investigation led by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
As alleged in the last week’s indictment and the previously filed Criminal Complaint, in June 2018, Mahde Dannon, who was awaiting trial on felony theft charges in Lake County, Indiana, hatched a scheme to deliver firearms, including stolen firearms, to a convicted felon who was cooperating with the FBI. The following month, Mahde Dannon introduced his brother Moyad Dannon to the cooperating individual, and the cooperating individual later introduced the Dannon brothers to an FBI agent who was acting in an undercover capacity.
Between July 2018 and December 2018, the Dannon brothers sold a number of illegally-obtained firearms to the cooperating individual. Around the same time period, the Dannon brothers also began to manufacture untraceable “ghost guns” by purchasing unserialized firearms parts online and assembling those parts into fully-functioning, .223 caliber, semi-automatic rifles, which they sold to the FBI undercover agent.
In late 2018, the Dannon brothers approached the cooperating source and FBI undercover agent about manufacturing untraceable, fully-automatic, .223 caliber rifles, using much the same process they used to manufacture the semi-automatic rifles. In February of 2019, the Dannon brothers built one fully-automatic rifle which they provided to the FBI undercover agent.
Shortly thereafter, Moyad Dannon accompanied the undercover agent to a location near the U.S. southwest border in an effort to market that rifle, and additional fully-automatic rifles, to a potential buyer. During that trip, Moyad Dannon learned that the potential buyer sought to ship the fully-automatic weapons to a location in the Middle East, where they would be used by ISIS. Despite learning of the ultimate destination of the weapons, the Dannon brothers agreed to manufacture at least 55 additional fully automatic “ghost guns” which they believed would be shipped to the Middle East to ISIS and its members.
In furtherance of that agreement, on May 15, 2019, Mahde and Moyad Dannon manufactured five untraceable, fully-automatic, .223 caliber rifles from parts they had purchased online. At that time, the Dannon brothers were fully aware that the plan was to send the five automatic rifles overseas to ISIS. After building the fully-automatic rifles, the Dannon brothers sold all five weapons to undercover FBI agents posing as employees of the buyer from near the southwest border. Almost immediately thereafter, the Dannon brothers were arrested by the FBI.
Mahde and Moyad Dannon appeared in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 11, 2019, to be arraigned on the charges in the indictment. The Dannons were previously ordered detained, without bond, pending a trial in this matter.
The Dannon brothers face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the firearms charges, and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment on the attempt to provide material support to ISIS charge. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. The charges in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Rinka, Chief of the National Security Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Hudson Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Crack Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Archie “A.J.” Evans, age 42, of Hudson, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison for his involvement in a crack cocaine distribution ring that operated in Columbia County.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent of the New York State Police; James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Chief L. Edward Moore of the Hudson Police Department.
As part of his guilty plea, Evans admitted that between August and December 2017, he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Columbia County. The defendant further admitted that members of the conspiracy made weekly trips to New York City where they purchased hundreds of grams of powder cocaine, returned it to Hudson, converted it to crack cocaine, and then sold it to customers. The defendant admitted that the organization sold at least 464 grams of crack cocaine between August and December 2017.
Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also imposed a 5-year term of supervised release, to begin after Evans’s release from prison.
This case was investigated by the New York State Police’s Special Investigations Unit, the FBI, and the Hudson Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Joshua R. Rosenthal.
Hephzibah man admits drug charges in court plea, faces up to 40 years in prisonRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA: A Hephzibah man has admitted owning a stash of drugs and a handgun that led to his arrest on federal charges.
In U.S. District Court on Wednesday, July 10, Eric Bernard Ferguson, 37, of Hephzibah, pled guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Marijuana, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Ferguson faces a sentence of five to 40 years in federal prison.
As described in court documents and testimony, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office investigators, including a member of a Drug Enforcement Administration task force, served a search warrant in August 2018 at Ferguson’s home. The search discovered packages containing more than 180 grams of cocaine, more than 5 grams of methamphetamine and quantities of marijuana, along with cash and a loaded handgun hidden under a mattress. As noted in court, Ferguson has three prior convictions in state court for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
“This case represents excellent work from our federal and local law enforcement partners to target and remove drug distributors from our community,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “The prospect of real, significant time in federal prison, with no parole, should help deter those who likewise would push poison in our neighborhoods.”
Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said of the guilty plea, "Cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana are dangerous drugs that pose a clear and present danger to the community. Because of the collective efforts of our local, state and federal law enforcement counterparts, this defendant was brought to justice. This case is a shining example of what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies at all levels and the U.S. Attorney's Office work collaboratively."
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro V. Pascual IV.
Hedge Fund Founder, CEO, and CIO Anilesh Ahuja and Former Trader Jeremy Shor Convicted of Securities Fraud Related Offenses in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced that ANILESH AHUJA, a/k/a “Neil,” the founder, chief executive officer, and chief investment officer of Premium Point Investments LP (“PPI”), a Manhattan-based investment firm that managed hedge funds, and JEREMY SHOR, a former trader at PPI, were found guilty today of securities fraud-related offenses. AHUJA and SHOR were convicted after a six-week trial in Manhattan federal court presided over by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, for their participation in a scheme to inflate the net asset value (“NAV”) reported to investors for hedge funds managed by PPI, by more than $100 million.
Ms. Strauss said: “Investors in our markets must be able to count on the truth and accuracy of the information they receive from those they entrust with their money. As the jury’s verdict reflects, Ahuja and Shor failed to live up to that fundamental responsibility and investors lost significant money as a result.”
According to the Indictment and based on the evidence presented at trial:
Premium Point Investments
In or about 2008, AHUJA co-founded PPI, where he was the chief executive officer and chief investment officer. PPI managed hedge funds focused primarily on structured credit products, including residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”). PPI’s flagship mortgage credit fund (the “Hedge Fund”) was launched in or about October 2009. A segregated ERISA fund held the same positions as the Mortgage Credit Fund. In 2013, PPI launched a new fund (the “New Issue Fund”) that purchased and securitized pools of mortgages that were not issued or guaranteed by a government agency. At various relevant times between 2008 and 2016, PPI managed billions in assets. JEREMY SHOR was employed by PPI as a trader, where he focused on non-agency RMBS – i.e., RMBS securities that were not issued by a government agency.
The Scheme to Mismark Securities
From at least in or about 2014 through at least in or about 2016, AHUJA and SHOR participated in a scheme to defraud PPI’s investors and potential investors in the Hedge Fund and the New Issue Fund by deceptively mismarking each month the value of certain securities held in these funds, and thus fraudulently inflating the NAV of those funds as reported to investors and potential investors.
PPI fraudulently obtained inflated quotes, including from corrupt brokers, and manipulated its valuation process to inflate the purported value of securities held by the funds. The effect of the mismarking scheme was to materially overstate the reported NAV – at times by more than $100 million across the funds managed by PPI. This benefited PPI in at least two ways. First, PPI was able to charge its investors higher management and performance fees. Second, the PPI was able to forestall redemptions by investors who would have requested a return of their funds had they known PPI’s true performance and operating health.
The mismarking scheme evolved as a result of demands by AHUJA that PPI maintain its track record of success and keep pace with the performance of peer funds, regardless of market conditions or the actual performance of the funds. To achieve the goal of posting competitive returns, AHUJA, along with another partner, set an inflated “target” return for the Hedge Fund and New Issue Fund at the end of each month, which was at times based in part on the performance of peer funds. The traders at PPI were then tasked with “reverse engineering” marks to meet the “targets.”
* * *
AHUJA, 51, of New Rochelle, New York, and SHOR, 44, of New York, New York, were each found guilty on all four counts of the indictment: one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison, and one count each of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
SHOR and AHUJA will be sentenced by Judge Failla at a future date.
Ms. Strauss praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea M. Griswold, Joshua A. Naftalis, and Max Nicholas are in charge of the prosecution.
Hearing Set for Michael Lambert Seabrooke in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Greenville, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Michael Lambert Seabrooke, of Columbia, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and charged with possessing firearms (destructive devices) which are not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Seabrooke will have a detention and preliminary hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 15, 2019, on the third floor of the Clement F. Haynsworth Federal Courthouse, 300 East Washington Street, Greenville, South Carolina. United States Magistrate Judge Kevin McDonald will preside.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pickens Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen of the Greenville Office.
U.S. Attorney Lydon stated that all charges in this case are merely allegations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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20190710-3_-_advisory_-_seabrooke_complaint.pdfHarrison County man admits to selling methamphetamineRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – John Robert Lyons, of Salem, West Virginia, has admitted to distributing methamphetamine near a playground, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Lyons, age 46, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine in Proximity to a Protected Location.” Lyons admitted to selling methamphetamine near Jackson Park playground in Harrison County in February 2017.
Lyons is facing at least one year and up to 40 years incarceration and a fine of up to $2,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Happy Valley Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl and Possessing a Machine GunRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—Johnell Lee Cleveland, 37, of Happy Valley, Oregon, was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for distributing cyclopropyl fentanyl, possessing a machine gun and money laundering.
According to court documents, in March 2018, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), FBI, and IRS executed a series of search warrants on Cleveland’s residence in Happy Valley, his storage unit in Clackamas, Oregon and a stash house in Vancouver, Washington as part of an ongoing investigation of Cleveland, a suspected distributor of oxycodone pills in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area.
During the search of Cleveland’s home in Happy Valley, investigators seized $27,372 in cash, seven firearms, a ballistic vest, and more than 300 suspected oxycodone pills wrapped in two plastic baggies. One of the firearms seized was a fully-automatic machine gun with a drum magazine. In Cleveland’s garage, investigators found a white Mercedes-Benz with exterior bullet holes believed to be involved in a December 2017 downtown Portland shooting that left one man critically injured.
In searches of Cleveland’s storage unit and the Vancouver stash house, investigators found an additional $124,040 in cash, more than 900 additional suspected oxycodone pills and more than $100,000 worth of jewelry and Rolex watches. Laboratory tests revealed that the suspected oxycodone were in fact counterfeit pills made with cyclopropyl fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
On March 22, 2019, Cleveland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute cyclopropyl-fentanyl, one count of possessing a machine gun and two counts of money laundering. As part of his plea, Cleveland agreed to abandon any interest in the seized firearms and forfeit all criminally-derived proceeds as identified by the government.
Cleveland is currently awaiting trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court for attempted murder with a firearm related to the December 2017 shooting in Portland.
This case was investigated by PPB, FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Peter Sax and Benjamin Tolkoff, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Fraudster and Identity Thief Who Used the Personal and Account Information of AT&T Customers to Purchase Apple iPhones Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis today sentenced Toni Ann Bobet, age 30, of New York, New York, to 50 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain and charge the costs of upgraded Apple iPhones against true AT&T customers. Judge Xinis also ordered Bobet to pay restitution of $95,001.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Matthew S. Miller of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office; and Acting Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to the plea agreements of Bobet, and co-defendants Alonia Anderson Perkins, age 42, of Tampa, Florida and Celeste Nyleen Carmona, age 23, of New York, New York, they conspired to obtain, charge, and finance the costs of upgraded Apple iPhones against true AT&T customers’ accounts. The defendants admitted that they used stolen account information, telephone upgrade eligibility, and personal identifying information of actual AT&T Mobility customers to obtain the iPhones, which Bobet then provided to her co-conspirators in New York City.
Specifically, in July 2015 and April 2016, respectively, Bobet recruited Carmona and Perkins into the scheme. In May 2016, Bobet drove Perkins and Carmona from New York City to Apple Stores located in Maryland and elsewhere to obtain Apple iPhones for resale. For example, on May 16, 2016, Bobet provided Perkins and Carmona with fraudulent identification cards that contained the stolen personal information of victim AT&T customers, but bore the photographs of Perkins and Carmona, as well as counterfeit credit and debit cards in the victim customers’ names. Bobet obtained the stolen identity information from her co-conspirators in New York City. Bobet drove Perkins and Carmona to the Apple Store located at The Mall in Columbia, Maryland. Perkins and Carmona entered the Apple store while Bobet remained in the car. Perkins and Carmona each posing as a victim customer, purchased an Apple iPhone on the victim customers’ accounts. Bobet then drove Perkins and Carmona to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Carmona, posing as a victim customer purchased two more iPhones on the account of that customer. Perkins attempted to purchase an iPhone on the account of a fourth victim customer, but that customer’s account reflected a past due balance of $100, and Perkins was unable to upgrade any lines on that victim’s account until the balance was paid. Perkins abandoned the transaction and left the store, while Carmona completed her transaction.
Police responded to the Westfield Mall and located Bobet’s vehicle in the parking lot. Bobet attempted to leave, but law enforcement stopped the vehicle. Bobet, Perkins, and Carmona were taken into custody and transported to police headquarters. A search of Bobet recovered two cellular phones which contained AT&T account information and personal identifying information of at least 20 individuals. Bobet’s vehicle was seized and a search warrant for the vehicle was obtained. Law enforcement recovered a laptop, a tablet, counterfeit identification cards, credit and debit cards, and a black duffle bag containing the four fraudulently obtained Apple iPhones.
AT&T records also showed that during the timeframe of the conspiracy, the name of Alonia Perkins was fraudulently added to four AT&T accounts in Florida and that three of these victims’ accounts had their billing addresses changed to Perkins’ address in Florida. The records also showed that Perkins later financed at least six Apple iPhones against the four victim customers’ accounts. AT&T records further showed that the name Nyleen C. Carmona, or derivatives of that name, were added to 24 victims’ accounts, and Carmona later financed at least 46 Apple iPhones against the victims’ accounts.
Perkins and Carmona previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the U.S. Secret Service and the Montgomery County Police Department’s Economic Crimes Task Force and Electronic Crimes Unit for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Sykes, who prosecuted the case.
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Former U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Fiduciary Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Disabled VeteransRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Raj Kumar Ditta pleaded guilty today in federal court to misappropriating and embezzling funds he held as a fiduciary for incompetent and disabled veterans, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, Special Agent in Charge James Wahleithner. The plea was accepted by the Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, U.S. District Judge.
In pleading guilty, Ditta, 51, of San Ramon, admitted that from 2010 through 2012, he entered into fiduciary agreements with the VA. Under the agreements, he agreed to act as a fiduciary for eight different veterans or beneficiaries that the VA had determined were not competent to handle their own financial affairs. As a fiduciary, Ditta was required to establish bank accounts to receive each beneficiary’s VA income and to ensure the beneficiary’s debts were paid. Ditta admitted that in each case, he set up a separate bank account for the beneficiary and, within months, began syphoning funds from the beneficiary’s account. Ditta moved thousands of dollars to his own personal account and used those funds for his own benefit. In sum, Ditta misappropriated and embezzled no less than $39,500 from the veterans and beneficiaries.
Ditta was charged by Information on May 24, 2019, with one count of misappropriation of funds held by a fiduciary, in violation of 38 U.S.C. § 6101(a), and 15 counts of theft of government money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. Under the plea agreement, Ditta pleaded guilty to the misappropriation of funds count and, if he complies with the plea agreement, the remaining counts will be dismissed at sentencing.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers scheduled Ditta’s sentencing hearing for November 14, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. Ditta faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the 38 U.S.C. § 6101(a) violation. In addition, as part of sentencing the court may order an additional period of supervised release and restitution, if appropriate. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Apolinar Olivera is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division.
Former Hollywood Digital Marketing Executive and Professional Poker Player Charged with Embezzling $22 Million from His EmployerRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former executive at StyleHaul Inc., a digital marketing company that represents “influencers” on YouTube and Instagram, has been arrested pursuant to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with embezzling $22 million from his employer and using the stolen money for buy-ins at professional poker tournaments, crypto-currency investing, and other personal expenses.
Dennis Blieden, 29, formerly of Santa Monica and now residing in Nevada, was taken into federal custody yesterday in Las Vegas. The indictment, which a federal grand jury returned on Tuesday and was unsealed today, charges him with 11 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two forfeiture counts.
Blieden made his initial court appearance today in United States District Court in Las Vegas, and he will be arraigned on the indictment in Los Angeles at a later date.
According to the indictment, between October 2015 and March 2019, Blieden was the controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, a digital company once based in Hollywood, but which relocated to London in April. In this role, Blieden had control over the company’s bank accounts, and allegedly abused this authority to wire the company’s money to his personal bank accounts.
Blieden is charged with disguising his fraudulent behavior in various ways, including creating a fictitious lease in May 2018 for the rental of a condominium in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, which bore a forged signature of a StyleHaul executive.
The indictment further alleges that Blieden illicitly transferred $230,000 of StyleHaul’s funds for his own personal use by falsely representing that the condominium was being rented for business purposes for StyleHaul’s clients and employees. Blieden also created fictitious wire transfer letters purportedly from Western Union to make it falsely appear that he had caused wire transfers from StyleHaul to a client to pay money due to the client, the indictment alleges.
Blieden, who has entered and won professional poker tournaments, also frequently engaged in online gambling with crypto-currency he purchased with embezzled money, according to the government’s motion requesting detention in this case. During the course of the alleged scheme, Blieden used money he stole from his employer to write $1,204,000 in personal checks to poker players, $1,134,956 was used to pay off his credit cards, and $8,473,734 was transferred to Blieden’s crypto-currency accounts, according to court documents.
Shortly before his dismissal from StyleHaul, on February 21 and 22, Blieden entered into two poker tournaments, wherein the buy-in amounts were $52,000 and $103,000, respectively, court papers state.
If convicted of all charges, Blieden would face a statutory maximum sentence of more than 200 years in federal prison.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Valerie L. Makarewicz of the Major Frauds Section.
Former CEO of Melrose Credit Union and Long Island Businessman Charged with Bribery Scheme in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that ALAN KAUFMAN and TONY GEORGITON were arrested today and charged with bribery of a financial institution officer. KAUFMAN and GEORGITON were charged with participating in a scheme in which KAUFMAN, who was then the chief executive officer of Melrose Credit Union (“Melrose CU”), accepted free housing and financing for the purchase of his personal residence from GEORGITON in exchange for the approval of millions of dollars in loans to GEORGITON’s companies at favorable terms. KAUFMAN is also charged with accepting lavish vacations, including to Paris and Hawaii, as bribes from a media company, in exchange for Melrose CU purchasing increased advertising with that company. The defendants are expected to be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Alan Kaufman conspired to take bribes from Tony Georgiton in exchange for favorable refinancing of millions of dollars of Melrose Credit Union loans to Georgiton’s companies. In addition, Kaufman is alleged to have accepted Paris and Hawaii vacations in exchange for directing increased advertising payments to a media company. Now, both Kaufman and Georgiton face criminal charges for their alleged self-dealing.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Lavish vacations, rent-free housing, and even naming rights to a ballroom were among the high-ticket items Kaufman received in this alleged scheme. All of this was made possible through a series of illegal business dealings negotiated with Georgiton and a New York City-based media company – both of whom independently sought financial benefits of their own from Melrose Credit Union, where Kaufman served as chief executive officer. Today’s charges highlight a series of fraudulent behaviors that raised red flags along the way. The FBI will continue to be a major force in confronting those who think they can evade the law in order to make an easy profit.”
According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
In 2010, GEORGITON purchased a home in Jericho, New York (the “Jericho Residence”), and permitted KAUFMAN to live in that home rent-free for over two years. While KAUFMAN was living rent-free at the Jericho Residence, KAUFMAN personally approved the refinancing of over $60 million worth of loans at Melrose CU held by a company owned by GEORGITON with favorable terms. The head of Melrose CU’s loan department refused to sign off on the loans given to GEORGITON because, among other things, he believed that the terms were too favorable and did not comply with Melrose CU’s loan policy.
In 2011, KAUFMAN sought approval from Melrose CU’s board of directors for Melrose CU to purchase the naming rights to a ballroom under construction in Astoria, Queens (the “Melrose Ballroom”). That ballroom was owned by a company owned by GEORGITON. KAUFMAN did not disclose to the Melrose board that he was living rent-free in a house owned by GEORGITON at the time he sought board approval for the naming rights acquisition. Over the next four years, Melrose CU paid approximately $2 million to GEORGITON’s company for the naming rights to the Melrose Ballroom.
In 2013, KAUFMAN purchased the Jericho Residence from GEORGITON, with financing that largely came from GEORGITON. To purchase the Jericho Residence, KAUFMAN took out a $200,000 loan from Melrose CU co-signed by GEORGITON and secured by GEORGITON’s shares in Melrose CU. GEORGITON also gave KAUFMAN a $240,000 unsecured personal loan. GEORGITON has never made a demand for payment on that personal loan and KAUFMAN has never made a payment on that personal loan.
In addition, from in or about 2010 through in or about 2015, KAUFMAN solicited and accepted lavish vacations and other gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from a media company located in New York, New York (“Media Company-1”), in exchange for KAUFMAN’s approval of increased advertising spending by Melrose CU with Media Company-1. For example, in 2010, Media Company-1 paid for KAUFMAN and his girlfriend, who also worked at Melrose CU, to fly to Paris, France, and stay at the Four Seasons George V Paris. In 2012, Media Company-1 paid for KAUFMAN and his girlfriend to fly to Maui, Hawaii, and stay at the Four Seasons in Wailea. In 2013, Media Company-1 paid for KAUFMAN and his girlfriend to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
KAUFMAN did not seek approval for these vendor-paid trips from the Melrose CU board, nor did he disclose these vendor-paid trips to the Melrose CU board, in violation of Melrose CU’s anti-bribery policy.
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KAUFMAN is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and two counts of bribery of a financial institution officer, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. GEORGITON is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of bribery of a financial institution officer, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the FBI. He also thanked the National Credit Union Administration for their efforts and ongoing support and assistance with the case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dina McLeod is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Fishers Residents Indicted on Terrorism and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Indianapolis – Josh J. Minkler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced today that a federal grand jury has charged brothers Moyad Dannon, 21, and Mahde Dannon, 20, both of Fishers, Indiana, with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources, including firearms, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. The defendants are also charged with various firearms offenses. The federal indictment was handed down on July 2, 2019. The defendants have been in federal custody since their arrest on May 15, 2019, pursuant to a federal criminal complaint.
“National Security is a top priority for the Department of Justice,” said Minkler. “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting individuals who engage in international and domestic terrorism.”
This indictment is the result of a months-long investigation led by the FBI Indianapolis’ Joint Terrorism Task Force with assistance from the Fishers, Indiana, Police Department.
As alleged in last week’s Indictment and the previously-filed Criminal Complaint, in June of 2018, Mahde Dannon, who was awaiting trial on felony theft charges in Lake County, Indiana, hatched a scheme to deliver firearms, including stolen firearms, to a convicted felon who was cooperating with the FBI. The following month, Mahde Dannon introduced his brother Moyad Dannon to the cooperating individual, and the cooperating individual later introduced the Dannon brothers to an FBI agent who was acting in an undercover capacity.
Between July 2018 and December 2018, the Dannon brothers sold a number of illegally-obtained firearms to the cooperating individual. Around the same time period, the Dannon brothers also began to manufacture untraceable “ghost guns” by purchasing unserialized firearms parts online and assembling those parts into fully-functioning, .223 caliber, semi-automatic rifles, which they sold to the FBI undercover agent.
In late 2018, the Dannon brothers approached the cooperating individual and FBI undercover agent about manufacturing untraceable, fully-automatic, .223 caliber rifles, using much the same process they used to manufacture the semi-automatic rifles. In February of 2019, the Dannon brothers built one fully-automatic rifle which they provided to the FBI undercover agent.
Shortly thereafter, Moyad Dannon accompanied the undercover agent to a location near the U.S. southwest border in an effort to market that rifle, and additional fully-automatic rifles, to a potential buyer who was also cooperating with the FBI. During that trip, Moyad Dannon learned that the potential buyer sought to ship the fully-automatic weapons to a location in the Middle East, where they would be used by ISIS. Despite learning of the ultimate destination of the weapons, the Dannon brothers agreed to manufacture and sell at least 55 additional fully-automatic “ghost guns” to the buyer from the southwest border, believing those weapons would be shipped to the Middle East, to ISIS and its members.
In furtherance of that agreement, on May 15, 2019, Mahde and Moyad Dannon manufactured five untraceable, fully-automatic, .223 caliber rifles from parts they had purchased online. At that time, the Dannon brothers were fully aware that the plan was to send the five automatic rifles overseas to ISIS. After building the fully-automatic rifles, the Dannon brothers sold all five weapons to undercover FBI agents posing as employees of the buyer from near the southwest border. Almost immediately thereafter, the Dannon brothers were arrested by the FBI.
“This case is the first of its kind for the Federal Bureau of Investigation where you have individuals allegedly making guns to sell and/or send overseas to ISIS,” said Grant Mendenhall, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Division. “This indictment paints a vivid picture of the rapid rise of homegrown violent extremism and the lengths people are willing to go to in their support of terrorist activity.”
Mahde and Moyad Dannon appeared in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 11, 2019, to be arraigned on the charges in the Indictment. The Dannons were previously ordered detained, without bond, pending a trial in this matter.
The Dannon brothers face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the firearms charges, and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment on the attempt to provide material support to ISIS charge. The charges in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Rinka, Chief of the National Security Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Daniel Owens, 27, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated that on January 23, 2019, Greece Police Officers were called to 254 Estall Road for a report of people building bombs at that address. After knocking on the door and being let into the house, officers found several rounds of 12 gauge shotgun ammunition. Officers also found a device which appeared to be a pipe bomb, a glass bottle containing isopropyl alcohol, which officers believed was a Molotov cocktail device, and a glass jar containing metal screws and nails. During conversations with officers, the defendant admitted to building the pipe bomb and packing it with the screws and nails.
In 2018, Owens was convicted in Monroe County Court of Criminal Possession of a Firearm, and is legally prohibited from possessing ammunition.
The matter was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Phelan, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.
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Federal Jury Convicts Two of Kidnapping ChargesRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On July 10, 2019, following a three-day trial before Chief Judge Pamela Reeves of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, a jury convicted Josh Small and Joni Amber Johnson of Princeton, West Virginia, of conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping. Sentencing is set for Joni Amber Johnson on November 25, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. and for Josh Small on December 4, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in United States District Court in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Both Joni Amber Johnson and Josh Small face a sentence of up to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
Evidence at trial revealed that on June 30, 2018, Small and Johnson used a gun to force their way into the home of a 73-year-old Tennessee woman and tied her up. Small and Johnson then stole jewelry, firearms, cash, a knife, and other items from the victim before taking her phone and leaving her with her hands and feet bound. Small and Johnson were later arrested in West Virginia where Small was caught with several items stolen from the victim.
The investigation that led to these convictions was the product of a partnership between the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office; Knox County Sheriff’s Office; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; Mercer County, West Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; Virginia State Police; Giles County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; Bland County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Assistant United States Attorneys Alan Kirk and Kevin Quencer represented the United States at trial.
Federal Jury Convicts Hardin County Man of Illegal Possession of an Explosive DeviceRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – After a three day federal jury trial, a Hardin County man has been found guilty of illegal possession, manufacture and transfer of a destructive device. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the guilty verdict today.
According to information presented in court, on August 24, 2018, TBI Special Agents began investigating Jonathan Edward White, of Hardin County. During the course of the investigation, agents determined that White might be in possession of an explosive device. That same day, White met with agents working in an undercover capacity and provided them with a pipe bomb. Special Operations personnel from the Tennessee Highway Patrol responded and rendered the explosive device safe. Jonathan White was arrested without incident and charged with one count of Possession of a Prohibited Weapon under state law. In the resulting federal investigation, the ATF Explosives Enforcement Branch examined the device and determined it to be an improvised explosive bomb which qualifies as a destructive device, as defined by Title 26, USC, § 5845.
The federal indictment charged that White knowingly and unlawfully made, possessed, and transferred a prohibited destructive device, more commonly known as a pipe bomb, in violation of Title 26, USC, § 5861 and 5871.
Sentencing is set for October 10, 2019, before U.S. District Court Judge J. Daniel Breen. White faces up to 10 years imprisonment; 3 years supervised release; and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "This office, along with our law enforcement partners, takes all bomb threats seriously, and we are vigilant to protect and prevent property damage, bodily injury, and death from any explosive device in West Tennessee. We commend the quick, thorough, and coordinated response of all of the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, and we are pleased that this dangerous offender has been held accountable."
ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson remarked, " ATF's priority to reduce violent crime in order to provide a safe environment for the community was evident as ATF's explosives experts working with our partners were instrumental in mitigating the potential destructive force this incident may have caused."
This case was investigated by the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office; Savannah Police Department; Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Tennessee Highway Patrol; Tennessee Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
This case is being prosecuted by the Eastern Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of the government.
Edenton Man Sentenced for Theft OffenseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that on June 24, 2019, in federal court, Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced ASHIRI SHARI STALLINGS, 22, of Edenton, North Carolina to 16 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
STALLINGS was named in an Indictment filed on March 28, 2018, charging him with receipt of stolen government money or property exceeding $1,000. On January 2, 2019, STALLINGS pleaded guilty.
STALLINGS participated in a plot to burglarize the Edenton Post Office in Edenton, North Carolina five times in 2015. The post office lost $26,190.91 in cash or other property as a result of the burglaries.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Eastpointe Man Sentenced to 56 Years for Robbing Eight Retail Stores in Armed Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
An Eastpointe man was sentenced today to 56 years after having been convicted in November, 2018, of robbing eight retail stores at gunpoint between June 26, 2017, and October 18, 2017, and attempting to rob a ninth store, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sentenced was Mohamed Abdi, 33, of Eastpointe, Michigan.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Mohamed Abdi started his robbery spree on June 26, 2017, when he attempted to rob a Family Dollar located on Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe, Michigan, at gunpoint. That robbery attempt failed when the store clerk was unable to open the register, but undeterred, Abdi drove two miles down the road to a CVS in Warren and robbed it hours later that day.
Abdi proceeded to rob seven other CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies throughout the greater Detroit area. Each time, Abdi walked into the store wearing a baseball hat, sunglasses, and a long sleeve shirt. Abdi waited until the store was empty and then demanded the money from the register while brandishing a handgun tucked in his waistband. In addition to brandishing a gun, Abdi also threatened several of the clerks, including telling the clerk who failed to open her register at the Family Dollar in Eastpointe that she was lucky he did not shoot her.
During his robbery spree, Abdi picked stores that appeared to be empty based on the number of cars in the parking lot and the number of customers in the stores. Abdi robbed the following stores:
- June 26, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 13608 East Nine Mile Road, Warren
- July 11, 2017: Rite Aid Pharmacy, 15411 Southfield Road, Allen Park
- July 24, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 27700 Harper Avenue, St Clair Shores
- July 30, 2017: Rite Aid Pharmacy, 35101 East Michigan Avenue, Wayne
- July 31, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 15051 East Thirteen Mile Road, Warren
- October 16, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 3647 Dix Avenue, Lincoln Park
- October 17, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 31240 Harper Avenue, St Clair Shores
- October 18, 2017: CVS Pharmacy, 22515 Mack Avenue, St Clair Shores
Abdi took $2,825.66 from the eight stores affected by his robbery spree.
The investigation was led by members of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force in conjunction with police departments in Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Livonia, St Clair Shores, Warren, and Wayne.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeanine Brunson and Shane Cralle.
East Amherst Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for His Role in Multi-Million Dollar Illegal Narcotics ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Darryl Williams, 47, of East Amherst, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Tokash, who handled the case, stated that between June 2013 and September 2015, the defendant conspired with others to sell fentanyl and cocaine. Williams formed a relationship with co-defendant Jose Ruben Gil and agreed to distribute large amounts of drugs for Gil in Western New York and other cities. Gil, who was based out of California, requested that the defendant and co-defendant Troy Gillon meet with him in California on at least two occasions to arrange for the set-up and delivery of illegal narcotics to Buffalo and other cities. The defendant began receiving large shipments of cocaine via surface shipment on tractor-trailers, the proceeds of which were sent back to Gil via surface transportation.
On June 23, 2013, California Highway Patrol stopped a tractor-trailer in Barstow, California which resulted in the seizure of approximately $420,000 in United States Currency. The cash seized from this tractor¬ trailer constituted proceeds from the sale of heroin and cocaine, which the defendant was sending to Gil to pay for those illegal drugs.
Gil was arrested in California on January 13, 2014. Thereafter, Gil's associate, Herman Aguirre, continued the cross-continent drug trafficking operation with the defendant while Gil was in prison. After Gil's arrest, and at Herman Aguirre's direction, the defendant took the money from the proceeds of the drugs sales in Buffalo and other East Coast cities, brought it to Bank of America locations in Western New York, and deposited it into accounts held by three California-based corporations, including Triton Foods, Kamara Investments, and Fresh Choice Produce. Subsequent to those deposits, the principals of those three corporations engaged in further financial transactions for the purpose of withdrawing or otherwise debiting the funds from the bank accounts to give to Gil and/or Herman Aguirre to pay for the heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. The transactions were designed to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under Federal law and while knowing that the property involved in the financial transactions represented the proceeds of unlawful activity, to wit, the unlawful sale of illegal narcotics.
In mid-July 2013, Herman Aguirre gave Williams his night deposit lock box key for the Bank of America branch located on Dick Road in Depew, NY. During the period from July 2013 to September 2014, the defendant engaged in numerous financial transaction whereby he deposited cash into the Dick Road branch lock box for the benefit of Triton Foods.Because the quantities of drugs shipped were so large, and the proceeds so great, Williams invited others into the drug trafficking organization. The defendant introduced co-defendants Maulana Lucas and Troy Gillon to co-defendant Herman Aguirre, who was shipping the drugs from California. Lucas and Gillon then assisted with distributing the drugs, collecting proceeds from the same, and depositing proceeds from the same into banks located in Western New York. In the Western District of New York alone, Williams personally deposited a total of approximately $19,000,000 in cash into accounts.
Between July 15, 2014, and March 18, 2015, the defendant received 29 pallets of shipments of controlled substances from Herman Aguirre. Each pallet contained a combination of approximately 30-50 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
Williams also directed Shirley Grigsby to accept packages of drugs at her places of employment, as well as the apartment in which she was living in. On March 23, 2015, Buffalo Police seized 22 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of heroin, and eight kilograms of fentanyl at Shirley Grigsby's apartment.
In addition, the defendant had an apartment on Niemel Drive in Niagara Falls, NY where he stored kilogram quantities of drugs that were shipped from California.On July 31, 2015, federal agents executed a search warrant on another home registered to the defendant, on Boca Place in East Amherst, NY. $43,940.00 in U.S. currency was seized from the premises, along with drug packaging material, bank deposit slips, and a key to a safety deposit box, which was subsequently opened and contained $31,000.00 in U.S. currency.
Williams was arrested in August 2016 along with 16 other defendants. All defendants have been convicted.
“Large scale transnational drug trafficking organizations such as this one serve as a pipeline to ensure the delivery of misery to our community,” noted U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “By completely dismantling them through highly successful and comprehensive prosecutions such as this, we help to remove not only drugs but the despair and harm they bring to the lives of those who both consume them and distribute them.”
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Jonathan D. Larson, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.
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Dominican National Sentenced for Social Security Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in Lynn was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for Social Security fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Nelson Bolivar, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to two years and one day in prison and two years of supervised release. Bolivar will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In May 2019, Bolivar pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft. Bolivar was arrested and charged in a July 2018 federal law enforcement sweep of 25 individuals accused of document and benefit fraud.
Dubbed “Double Trouble,” the July 2018 investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), comprised of local, state and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.
On July 13, 2015, Bolivar, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, applied for a Massachusetts Identification Card using the name and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican citizen. He presented a Puerto Rican birth certificate and a Social Security card in the other person’s name to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles as proof of his identity. Based on the application and supporting identity documents, Bolivar was issued an identification card in the name of the Puerto Rican citizen. Bolivar also used the name and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican citizen to receive MassHealth benefits.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Dominican National Charged with Distributing FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national was arrested and charged today in federal court in Boston with distributing fentanyl.
Milton Elias Lara, 42, a Dominican national residing in Methuen, was charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Lara appeared in federal court in Boston today and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for July 18, 2019. Lara is also subject to an ICE detainer.
During the course of an investigation, Lara was identified as a fentanyl distributor operating in the Merrimack Valley. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lara’s apartment, they seized approximately 800 grams of fentanyl, 100 grams of cocaine, and drug packaging tools and materials. Lara was subsequently arrested.
The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Tewksbury Police Chief Timothy Sheehan made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations and the Andover, Billerica, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, and North Andover Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit 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.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Trafficking Aggravated Assault While ArmedRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jonathan Webb, 22, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a long-term multi-jurisdictional firearm trafficking investigation as well as a shooting that occurred in Southeast Washington, D.C. that left a teenager severely injured.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police.
On July 10, 2019, Webb pleaded guilty to a two-count Information charging Conspiracy to Engage in the Trafficking of Firearms and Aggravated Assault While Armed. Webb will be sentenced by United States District Court Judge Amit Mehta on September 5, 2019.
Yesterday’s plea agreement is the result of a long-term investigation by ATF, MPD, and the Virginia State Police into a firearms trafficking ring operating in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Members of the conspiracy traveled from D.C. into Virginia to illegally purchase firearms, and then returned to the District to file-off the serial numbers and resell the guns.
According to court documents, during the summer of 2018, Webb, who was prohibited from lawfully purchasing a gun, traveled with his co-conspirators to a licensed firearms dealer in Virginia to acquire a firearm. After Webb selected a pistol, he handed money to a co-conspirator who purchased the firearm on his behalf. Webb and his co-conspirators then returned to Washington, D.C., where they filed-off the serial number and Webb took possession of the firearm. Webb’s co-conspirators trafficked approximately 31 firearms during the course of this conspiracy. On at least one occasion, Webb and other members of the conspiracy posed for photographs while holding firearms and filmed a music video using firearms purchased during the course of this conspiracy.
According to court documents, on October 8, 2018, a teenager, identified in court records by the initials “E.L.”, was walking down the sidewalk in the Congress Heights area of the city, when E.L. saw Webb standing on a porch. E.L. continued walking, but encountered Webb again on the block when Webb walked out from between two houses and approached the teenager. Webb immediately drew a firearm and fired repeatedly at E.L. The teenager was hit multiple times, suffering a pelvic fracture, a left arm fracture, right thigh fracture, and a spinal injury; E.L. suffered from paralysis because of the spinal injury.
Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emile Thompson, of the Homicide Section, who prosecuted the case.
Department of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to directly input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS). The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems.
TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). The Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) developed the connections which allows tribes to seamlessly submit new and updated sex offender information directly from TTSORS to NSOR.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to addressing the public safety crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including the high rates of sexual violence against women and children,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Providing a direct connection to the FBI National Sex Offender Registry gives tribal law enforcement the information they need to investigate and prevent these heinous offenses.”
American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer persistently high rates of victimization, including from sexual assault. According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In June, the department extended a deadline for tribes to apply for up to $167 million in federal funds through August 16, 2019, to support crime victims throughout Indian country.
“The direct connection between the National Sex Offender Registry and Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System provides increased resources for identifying, tracking, and sharing information about persons convicted of committing these crimes,” said Gwendena L. Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. “It will also allow for further improvements in providing a safer community for all involved to integrate tribal law, custom, tradition and practices in a comprehensive fashion consistent with holding offenders accountable.”
“Standing Rock has always had a priority of ensuring public safety,” said Mike Faith, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “Technological advances to our systems ensure that our SORNA staff are able to input offender information and get back in the field while ensuring compliance is maintained.”
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, requires that, when an offender initially registers or updates his or her information in a jurisdiction, that the state, tribe, territory or District of Columbia must submit immediately the information to NSOR as well as other jurisdictions where the offender has to register. TTSORS is a fully functioning registry system that complies with SORNA requirements. TTSORS was created to assist the Indian tribes that have elected to implement SORNA.
Since 2015, the SMART Office, OCIO, the FBI, the Office of Tribal Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office for Victims of Crime, have worked together to develop the Tribal Access Program to provide tribes direct access to national crime information systems for both criminal and non-criminal justice purposes. This includes the ability to directly enter NSOR data and enhance the capacity to collect and submit fingerprints and palm prints to the FBI. TAP has been instrumental in assisting tribes with ongoing implementation of SORNA. In fiscal year 2019, the department expanded TAP to 25 more tribes, for a total of 72 participating tribes.
Department of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to input data directly and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry ("NSOR") using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System ("TTSORS"). The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program ("TAP"), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems.
TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking ("SMART"). The Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer ("OCIO") developed the connections that allow tribes to submit new and updated sex offender information directly from TTSORS to NSOR.
"The Department of Justice is dedicated to addressing the public safety crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including the high rates of sexual violence against women and children," said Attorney General William P. Barr. "Providing a direct connection to the FBI National Sex Offender Registry gives tribal law enforcement the information they need to investigate and prevent these heinous offenses."
American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer persistently high rates of victimization, including from sexual assault. According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In June, the Department extended a deadline for tribes to apply for up to $167 million in federal funds through August 16, 2019, to support crime victims throughout Indian country.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA"), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, requires that, when an offender initially registers or updates his or her information in a jurisdiction, that the state, tribe, territory, or the District of Columbia, must submit immediately the information to NSOR as well as other jurisdictions where the offender has to register. TTSORS is a fully functioning registry system that complies with SORNA requirements. TTSORS was created to assist the Indian tribes that have elected to implement SORNA.
Since 2015, the SMART Office, OCIO, the FBI, the Office of Tribal Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office for Victims of Crime, have worked together to develop the Tribal Access Program to provide tribes direct access to national crime information systems for both criminal and non-criminal justice purposes. This includes the ability to enter NSOR data directly and enhance the capacity to collect and submit fingerprints and palm prints to the FBI. TAP has been instrumental in assisting tribes with ongoing implementation of SORNA. In fiscal year 2019, the department expanded TAP to 25 more tribes, for a total of 72 participating tribes.
Department of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to directly input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS). The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems.
TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). The Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) developed the connections which allows tribes to seamlessly submit new and updated sex offender information directly from TTSORS to NSOR.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to addressing the public safety crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including the high rates of sexual violence against women and children,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Providing a direct connection to the FBI National Sex Offender Registry gives tribal law enforcement the information they need to investigate and prevent these heinous offenses.”
“Nine of our Western Washington tribes participate in TAP, and this new ability to share information will improve safety in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. “I’m hopeful that more of our tribal partners will successfully apply for TAP funds and we will see additional communities joining in this important information sharing network.”
American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer persistently high rates of victimization, including from sexual assault. According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In June, the department extended a deadline for tribes to apply for up to $167 million in federal funds through August 16, 2019, to support crime victims throughout Indian country.
“The direct connection between the National Sex Offender Registry and Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System provides increased resources for identifying, tracking, and sharing information about persons convicted of committing these crimes,” said Gwendena L. Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. “It will also allow for further improvements in providing a safer community for all involved to integrate tribal law, custom, tradition and practices in a comprehensive fashion consistent with holding offenders accountable.”
“Standing Rock has always had a priority of ensuring public safety,” said Mike Faith, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “Technological advances to our systems ensure that our SORNA staff are able to input offender information and get back in the field while ensuring compliance is maintained.”
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, requires that, when an offender initially registers or updates his or her information in a jurisdiction, that the state, tribe, territory or District of Columbia must submit immediately the information to NSOR as well as other jurisdictions where the offender has to register. TTSORS is a fully functioning registry system that complies with SORNA requirements. TTSORS was created to assist the Indian tribes that have elected to implement SORNA.
Since 2015, the SMART Office, OCIO, the FBI, the Office of Tribal Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office for Victims of Crime, have worked together to develop the Tribal Access Program to provide tribes direct access to national crime information systems for both criminal and non-criminal justice purposes. This includes the ability to directly enter NSOR data and enhance the capacity to collect and submit fingerprints and palm prints to the FBI. TAP has been instrumental in assisting tribes with ongoing implementation of SORNA. In fiscal year 2019, the department expanded TAP to 25 more tribes, for a total of 72 participating tribes.
Tribes with TAP access in Western Washington include: Chehalis, Swinomish, Lower Elwha, Quinault, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Suquamish, Tulalip Tribes, Makah, and Lummi Nation.
Department of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to directly input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS). The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems.
TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). The Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) developed the connections which allows tribes to seamlessly submit new and updated sex offender information directly from TTSORS to NSOR.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to addressing the public safety crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including the high rates of sexual violence against women and children,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Providing a direct connection to the FBI National Sex Offender Registry gives tribal law enforcement the information they need to investigate and prevent these heinous offenses.”
American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer persistently high rates of victimization, including from sexual assault. According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In June, the department extended a deadline for tribes to apply for up to $167 million in federal funds through August 16, 2019, to support crime victims throughout Indian country.
“The direct connection between the National Sex Offender Registry and Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System provides increased resources for identifying, tracking, and sharing information about persons convicted of committing these crimes,” said Gwendena L. Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. “It will also allow for further improvements in providing a safer community for all involved to integrate tribal law, custom, tradition and practices in a comprehensive fashion consistent with holding offenders accountable.”
“Standing Rock has always had a priority of ensuring public safety,” said Mike Faith, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “Technological advances to our systems ensure that our SORNA staff are able to input offender information and get back in the field while ensuring compliance is maintained.”
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, requires that, when an offender initially registers or updates his or her information in a jurisdiction, that the state, tribe, territory or District of Columbia must submit immediately the information to NSOR as well as other jurisdictions where the offender has to register. TTSORS is a fully functioning registry system that complies with SORNA requirements. TTSORS was created to assist the Indian tribes that have elected to implement SORNA.
Since 2015, the SMART Office, OCIO, the FBI, the Office of Tribal Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office for Victims of Crime, have worked together to develop the Tribal Access Program to provide tribes direct access to national crime information systems for both criminal and non-criminal justice purposes. This includes the ability to directly enter NSOR data and enhance the capacity to collect and submit fingerprints and palm prints to the FBI. TAP has been instrumental in assisting tribes with ongoing implementation of SORNA. In fiscal year 2019, the department expanded TAP to 25 more tribes, for a total of 72 participating tribes.
Department of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to directly input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS). U.S. Attorney Trent Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma applauded the decision, which provides a critical tool to combat sexual violence in Indian country. The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems.
TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). The Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) developed the connections which allows tribes to seamlessly submit new and updated sex offender information directly from TTSORS to NSOR.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to addressing the public safety crisis in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including the high rates of sexual violence against women and children,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Providing a direct connection to the FBI National Sex Offender Registry gives tribal law enforcement the information they need to investigate and prevent these heinous offenses.”
U.S. Attorney Trent Shores, Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Native American Issues (NAIS) and citizen of the Choctaw Nation stated, “Access to information, especially sex offender registries, is essential to keeping tribal communities safe. Indian country is not a safe haven of anonymity for sex offenders. Tribal governments - like their state and local counterparts - should know when sex offenders have moved into their community. I applaud Attorney General Barr’s continued focus on improving public safety in Indian country.”
American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer persistently high rates of victimization, including from sexual assault. According to a 2016 study funded by the National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and more than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In June, the department extended a deadline for tribes to apply for up to $167 million in federal funds through August 16, 2019, to support crime victims throughout Indian country.
“The direct connection between the National Sex Offender Registry and Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System provides increased resources for identifying, tracking, and sharing information about persons convicted of committing these crimes,” said Gwendena L. Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. “It will also allow for further improvements in providing a safer community for all involved to integrate tribal law, custom, tradition and practices in a comprehensive fashion consistent with holding offenders accountable.”
“Standing Rock has always had a priority of ensuring public safety,” said Mike Faith, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “Technological advances to our systems ensure that our SORNA staff are able to input offender information and get back in the field while ensuring compliance is maintained.”
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, requires that, when an offender initially registers or updates his or her information in a jurisdiction, that the state, tribe, territory or District of Columbia must submit immediately the information to NSOR as well as other jurisdictions where the offender has to register. TTSORS is a fully functioning registry system that complies with SORNA requirements. TTSORS was created to assist the Indian tribes that have elected to implement SORNA.
Since 2015, the SMART Office, OCIO, the FBI, the Office of Tribal Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office for Victims of Crime, have worked together to develop the Tribal Access Program to provide tribes direct access to national crime information systems for both criminal and non-criminal justice purposes. This includes the ability to directly enter NSOR data and enhance the capacity to collect and submit fingerprints and palm prints to the FBI. TAP has been instrumental in assisting tribes with ongoing implementation of SORNA. In fiscal year 2019, the department expanded TAP to 25 more tribes, for a total of 72 participating tribes.
Chicago Pharmacy Technician Sentenced to a Year in Federal Prison for Stealing Opioids and Selling Them for a ProfitRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former technician at a Chicago pharmacy has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for stealing thousands of pills of Hydrocodone and selling them for a profit.
JACQUELINE GREEN worked at Allcare Discount Pharmacy, located in the 2700 block of West North Avenue in Chicago. From October 2015 to December 2017, Green and a co-defendant, ELIZABETH CRUZ, conspired to steal approximately 56,108 pills of Hydrocodone and sell them outside the pharmacy for a profit. Green and Cruz received at least $10,800 in proceeds from the sale of the stolen pills.
Green, 28, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the prison sentence Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Brian McKnight, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“The opioid epidemic has devastated the lives of countless individuals through addiction and overdose,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nani M. Gilkerson argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Defendant contributed to this national crisis by helping make opiates available on the street to individuals who otherwise would not and should not have access to them.”
“Pharmacies and their employees are trusted to handle dangerous pharmaceutical medications responsibly,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Bell. “When pharmacy employees illegally divert potent pain medications for illegitimate purposes, they put individuals and their families at risk of drug dependence and overdoses. The DEA will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring violators to justice.”
The government was represented by Ms. Gilkerson and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rojas.
Cruz, of Stone Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the same charge as Green. Cruz admitted in a plea agreement that she concealed the theft by falsifying the pharmacy’s inventory to make it look like the pills had either not been received from the distributor or had been dispensed to patients. Judge Guzman set Cruz’s sentencing for Sept. 5, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.
Buffalo Woman Pleads Guilty for Her Role in Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Sucley Romero, 28, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that between July and September 29, 2017, the defendant conspired with others to sell cocaine.
In July 2017, Romero agreed with co-defendant Daniel Navarro to receive a package of cocaine, shipped from Puerto Rico, at her Tower Street residence in exchange for payment. The defendant knew that the package contained cocaine and belonged to Cesar Rivera-Figueroa, who was the leader of a drug trafficking organization managed, at the time, by Daniel Navarro. Romero also knew that the cocaine would be distributed in the Buffalo area.
On July 26, 2017, a United States Postal Service parcel addressed to the defendant was intercepted by the United States Postal Inspection Service. A few days later, a search warrant was executed on the package. Concealed within a toy “cash box” was a kilogram-sized brick of suspected cocaine.
Romero is one of 12 defendants charged in this case and the fifth to be convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 22, 2019, before Judge Vilardo.
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Bradenton Man Sentenced to 70 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Sex Abuse Video Series of A One-Year-Old Child for Dark Web ForumRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – Chief U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced James Lockhart (31, Bradenton) to the statutory maximum penalty of 70 years in federal prison for producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography.
Lockhart had pleaded guilty on March 26, 2019.
According to court documents, between March 2016 and February 2018, Lockhart produced a sexually violent four-video series of child sex abuse where he recorded himself having sex with a one-year-old child. He then distributed the videos on a dark web forum. In the videos, Lockhart displayed signs bearing the dark web forum’s name and his online moniker in order to gain notoriety in the forum and elsewhere. In addition to the dark web series, Lockhart created other sex abuse videos and images of the child. He also bragged of sexually abusing a second one-year-old child.
Lockhart also collected child pornography involving other victims. Following the execution of a search warrant at Lockhart’s residence, authorities seized devices containing 43 videos depicting child pornography and at least 4,000 images of child pornography. Lockhart’s child pornography collection included infants and sadomasochistic and violent conduct.
“This deviant committed the most horrible atrocities imaginable to a one-year-old child,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Cochran. “HSI’s national and international partnerships have helped ensure that this predator will never again harm a child.”
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Boston and Tampa), with assistance from the Queensland Police Service, Commonwealth of Australia. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.