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Wednesday 6 March 2019
Federal Charges Allege Corruption Schemes by South Suburban Harvey Officials and AssociatesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Six defendants have been charged as part of an ongoing federal investigation into corruption schemes allegedly carried out by city of Harvey officials or their associates. Among the defendants are two cousins with high-ranking relatives in Harvey government who allegedly extorted cash from a strip club owner, and two Harvey police officers who allegedly falsified a police report to protect acquaintances from facing firearm charges. Federal law enforcement today executed court-authorized search warrants at two locations in Harvey.
Several of the defendants were arrested today and are scheduled to make initial court appearances today at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in Chicago.
The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; Brad Geary, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and Thomas J. Dart, Cook County Sheriff. The Harvey Police Department is cooperating in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J.B. Franzblau, Grayson S. Walker and Brian P. Netols.
Criminal complaints unsealed today in federal court in Chicago allege three separate corruption schemes:
U.S. v. Kellogg, et al, 19 CR 192
ROMMELL KELLOGG, 66, of Harvey, and COREY JOHNSON, 63, of Harvey, are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion. Kellogg and Johnson are cousins with high-ranking relatives in Harvey government, the complaint states. From 2012 to 2016, Kellogg and Johnson conspired to regularly extort payments from a Harvey strip club owner based on threats that the city would shut down the business if the payments were not made, the complaint states. The charges allege that in exchange for the payments, city officials allowed the business to operate, knowing that acts of prostitution were occurring onsite.
U.S. v. Muhammad, et al, 19 CR 190
DERRICK MUHAMMAD, 70, of South Holland, and DERRICK MOORE, 48, of Blue Island, are charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Muhammad and Moore are Harvey Police Department officers who allegedly worked together to falsify a police report to protect two acquaintances from possibly facing firearm charges. The acquaintances – a father and son – were convicted felons who could not legally possess a firearm, the complaint states.
In March 2018, the operator of a Harvey-based towing company notified Muhammad that a handgun was discovered in a Chrysler 300 sedan that had been reported stolen and ordered towed by police in nearby Calumet City, the complaint states. The sedan was used by the father and had recently been driven by the son. Muhammad and Moore schemed to conceal the firearm’s connection to the pair, with Moore preparing and filing a police report stating that he discovered the weapon in some brush near the towing company “while on patrol,” the charges allege.
U.S. v. Luster, et al, 19 CR 191
DONALD LUSTER, 55, of Dixmoor, and WILL WILEY, 56, of Harvey, are charged with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. Luster worked as a private consultant to the city of Harvey. In November 2017, he agreed with Wiley to solicit bribe payments from an entrepreneur who owned a towing company in a nearby suburb, the complaint states. In exchange for the bribes, Luster would provide the entrepreneur with a lease to a parcel of land owned by the city of Harvey, the complaint states.
Unbeknownst to Luster and Wiley, the entrepreneur was cooperating with law enforcement and had agreed to make consensual recordings of conversations and meetings with the pair, the complaint states. In a recorded meeting on Dec. 3, 2017, the entrepreneur paid a cash bribe of $5,000 to Wiley, the complaint states. Shortly thereafter, an employee of the city of Harvey provided the entrepreneur access to the parcel of land. On Jan. 5, 2018, the entrepreneur delivered a $7,000 cash bribe to Luster, after which Luster and the city employee advised that the entrepreneur could continue to access and use the parcel, the complaint states. An official lease was never provided to the entrepreneur, the complaint states.
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The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The conspiracy counts are each punishable by up to five years in prison, while the obstruction charge is punishable by up to 20 years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Anyone wishing to notify law enforcement of suspected corruption in Harvey is encouraged to email the FBI at [email protected].
FCI-Loretto Inmate Charged with Possessing ContrabandRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pa., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown on a charge of possession of a prohibited object in prison, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The indictment named Ryan S. Harris, 35.
According to the indictment presented to the court, on September 28, 2018, Harris possessed a quantity of Buprenorphine.
The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Correctional Institution, Special Investigative Staff, conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Harris.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
ExxonMobil to Pay Civil Penalty and Take Remedial Measures to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations Stemming from Deadly Fire at Texas RefineryRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (ExxonMobil) today to resolve federal Clean Air Act claims arising from a 2013 fire at the company’s oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas that killed two employees and injured ten others. In a complaint filed today with the settlement, the United States alleges that the company violated Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, which requires measures to prevent accidental releases of extremely hazardous substances that can have serious public health and environmental consequences.
The April 17, 2013, fire at the refinery occurred when workers used a torch to remove bolts from the top, or “head,” of a device called a heat exchanger. The torch ignited hydrocarbons released from the head. EPA’s inspection following the incident disclosed violations of Section 112(r) and of the regulations known as the Chemical Accident Prevention provisions.
“The deaths and injuries resulting from the 2013 fire at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery are a terrible tragedy,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement sends a clear message to companies handling hazardous substances in their operations that they must take the necessary steps to protect their workers under the environmental laws or face the consequences of vigorous enforcement. Additionally, the relief the United States has secured will aid in protecting a vulnerable surrounding community from future tragic episodes like this one.”
“When companies shortcut the safety requirements that have been put in place, especially in high risk situations like this, people can die,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown of the Eastern District of Texas. “It is important that companies understand that there is not only liability in private civil suits, but administrative fines to pay. We cannot put a price on the lives lost, but we hope to deter these kinds of violations to save lives in the future.”
“We rely on companies to carefully follow environmental regulations, which are designed—above all—to protect human health,” said EPA Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “As the incident at ExxonMobil’s facility shows, failing to comply with these rules can have devastating consequences.”
Under the consent decree, ExxonMobil will pay a $616,000 civil penalty, hire an independent third party auditor to conduct a compliance audit of ExxonMobil’s procedures for opening process equipment at ten different process units at the refinery, and perform a supplemental environmental project (SEP) under EPA’s SEP Policy to purchase a hazardous materials Incident Command Vehicle (ICV), valued at $730,000, for the Beaumont Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS). The auditor will also evaluate the company’s procedures for conducting risk-based mechanical integrity inspections.
The ICV will contain equipment specifically tailored to enhance BFRS’s hazardous-material incident response capabilities, including its 24-hour emergency response services from 12 fire stations. From these stations, BFRS provides fire, hazardous materials, disaster, technical rescue, and first responder emergency medical services over 90 square miles containing numerous petroleum and/or chemical facilities. The ICV will enhance BFRS’s capability to communicate and coordinate emergency response activities in the event of a fire, explosion or similar major incident.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information about submitting a public comment is available at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Essex County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Illegal Food Stamps SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in a food stamps fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Manuel Venegas, 54, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit fraud. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2015 to March 2018, Venegas was an employee of Jenny’s Deli, a small grocery store in Newark, New Jersey. Venegas’ daughter, Maria Teresa Venegas, was the listed owner of Jenny’s Deli and pleaded guilty to the same crime in September 2018. She was sentenced Feb. 20, 2019, to two years in prison.
Jenny’s Deli was authorized to accept benefits provided by SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retail food stores approved for participation in SNAP may sell food in exchange for SNAP benefits but may not exchange SNAP benefits for cash. According to the charges against them, Maria Teresa Venegas and Manuel Venegas exchanged more than $885,000 in SNAP benefits for cash between 2011 and 2018.
Every SNAP recipient receives an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, similar to a debit card, to use to make purchases. Every retailer authorized to accept SNAP benefits has an EBT terminal. Food purchases are made by swiping the card at the terminal. After the customer enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN), the EBT terminal verifies the PIN, determines whether the customer’s account balance is sufficient to cover the proposed transaction, and informs the retailer whether the transaction should be authorized or denied. The amount of the purchase is deducted electronically from the SNAP benefits reserved for the customer and the purchase amount is credited to the retailer’s designated bank account.
In addition to the high volume of SNAP benefits redemptions for Jenny’s Deli, indicating fraud, law enforcement agents verified the fraudulent exchange of SNAP benefits for cash through the use of an undercover law enforcement agent who engaged in approximately 20 “purchases” at Jenny’s Deli where Manuel Venegas, Maria Theresa Venegas, or another Jenny’s Deli employee acting at their direction exchanged money for SNAP benefits.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Manuel Venegas to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $573,199.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Exxonmobil to Pay Civil Penalty and Take Remedial Measures to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations Stemming from Deadly Fire at Texas RefineryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (ExxonMobil) today to resolve federal Clean Air Act claims arising from a 2013 fire at the company’s oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas that killed two employees and injured ten others. In a complaint filed today with the settlement, the United States alleges that the company violated Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, which requires measures to prevent accidental releases of extremely hazardous substances that can have serious public health and environmental consequences.
The April 17, 2013, fire at the refinery occurred when workers used a torch to remove bolts from the top, or “head,” of a device called a heat exchanger. The torch ignited hydrocarbons released from the head. EPA’s inspection following the incident disclosed violations of Section 112(r) and of the regulations known as the Chemical Accident Prevention provisions.
“The deaths and injuries resulting from the 2013 fire at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery are a terrible tragedy,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement sends a clear message to companies handling hazardous substances in their operations that they must take the necessary steps to protect their workers under the environmental laws or face the consequences of vigorous enforcement. Additionally, the relief the United States has secured will aid in protecting a vulnerable surrounding community from future tragic episodes like this one.”
“When companies shortcut the safety requirements that have been put in place, especially in high risk situations like this, people can die,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown of the Eastern District of Texas. “It is important that companies understand that there is not only liability in private civil suits, but administrative fines to pay. We cannot put a price on the lives lost, but we hope to deter these kinds of violations to save lives in the future.”
“We rely on companies to carefully follow environmental regulations, which are designed—above all—to protect human health,” said EPA Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “As the incident at ExxonMobil’s facility shows, failing to comply with these rules can have devastating consequences.”
Under the consent decree, ExxonMobil will pay a $616,000 civil penalty, hire an independent third party auditor to conduct a compliance audit of ExxonMobil’s procedures for opening process equipment at ten different process units at the refinery, and perform a supplemental environmental project (SEP) under EPA’s SEP Policy to purchase a hazardous materials Incident Command Vehicle (ICV), valued at $730,000, for the Beaumont Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS). The auditor will also evaluate the company’s procedures for conducting risk-based mechanical integrity inspections.
The ICV will contain equipment specifically tailored to enhance BFRS’s hazardous-material incident response capabilities, including its 24-hour emergency response services from 12 fire stations. From these stations, BFRS provides fire, hazardous materials, disaster, technical rescue, and first responder emergency medical services over 90 square miles containing numerous petroleum and/or chemical facilities. The ICV will enhance BFRS’s capability to communicate and coordinate emergency response activities in the event of a fire, explosion or similar major incident.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information about submitting a public comment is available at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees
Drug Trafficking Organizer Sentenced to Prison as Part of A Multi Defendant Drug Investigation and ProsecutionRead the Press Release
DENVER – Jose Tapia-Rubio, age 60, of Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore to serve 96 months (8 years) in federal prison followed by 5 years on supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and conspiracy to conduct an unlawful financial transaction, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, DEA Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Tim McDermott and IRS CI Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne announced. Tapia-Rubio appeared at the hearing in custody and was remanded at its conclusion.
Tapia-Rubio is one of 17 defendants charged in this large scale prosecution of a drug trafficking organization (DTO). These individuals were charged by indictment on April 13, 2017. A superseding indictment was obtained on July 11, 2017. Tapia-Rubio pled guilty on June 25, 2018. He was sentenced on March 5, 2019. The other defendants include:
- Rodrigo Mora-Sanchez – sentenced to 138 months in prison followed by 5 years on Supervised Release
- Lara Zamora-Cruz -- sentenced to 72 months in prison followed by 5 years on Supervised Release
- Selestino Hernandez-Mayo – sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 2 years on Supervised Release
- Eduardo Jimenez-Sanchez – sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 4 years on Supervised Release
- Heberto Mora-Sanchez – sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 4 years on Supervised Release
- Jose Chica-Orellana – sentenced to 55 months in prison followed by 5 years on Supervised Release
- Oscar Mora-Campos – sentenced to 40 months in prison followed by 5 years on Supervised Release
In addition, several other defendants have cases that remain pending.
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, between February 2016 and May 2017, the Drug Enforcement Administration Strike Force and the Aurora Police Department conducted an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO). Tapia-Rubio and his co-conspirators played significant roles within that DTO. The investigation revealed that the DTO imported multi-kilogram/multi-pound quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico to California. The drugs were then transported to Colorado and then sold to customers in the Denver metro area, as well as customers located in Breckenridge, Aspen and New Castle. The DTO received, off-loaded, stored and sold drugs at El Rancho Market located in Aurora. That business was owned by Tapia-Rubio. The DTO maintained a stash house in Aurora as well.
During the course of the investigation law enforcement seized: 1) 12.5 kilograms of cocaine and 1.2 pounds of methamphetamine; 2) approximately $692,000 in bulk cash drug proceeds; 3) two homes valued at approximately $615,600; 4) three vehicles valued at approximately $28,650; and 5) eleven firearms.
“Targeting drug traffickers and focusing on the top of their organizations is an important role for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said. “Thanks go to the agents from the DEA, IRS CI and the Aurora Police Department who worked tirelessly on this case.”
“This investigation targeted a significant cocaine and methamphetamine drug trafficking organization based in Aurora, Colorado and the Denver metropolitan area,” said DEA Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Tim McDermott. “This provides another prime example of the commitment of the DEA, working with our state, local, and federal partners, to dismantle and remove drug trafficking organizations in order to protect our communities.”
Steven Osborne, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation stated, “This is an important victory for the American public. Not only is a criminal going to jail for his crimes, but the government has seized a significant amount of illegal proceeds through asset forfeiture. The role of IRS CI in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can financially disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to provide its financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”
This case was investigated by the DEA, IRS CI and the Aurora Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Podolak, Zachary Phillips and Tonya Andrews.
Dominican Republic National Charged with Trafficking over 1,000 Kilograms of Cocaine Enters Guilty Plea in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Dany Perez-Brito, 44, of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance on Board a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States in District Court before Judge Curtis Gomez, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.
According to court documents, a United States Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft detected a go-fast style vessel with no indicia of nationality located about 65 nautical miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. After being detected, the go-fast vessel led authorities on a ten-hour chase in international waters between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. USCG personnel were able to board the vessel when it finally went dead in the water approximately 96 nautical miles north of St. Thomas. Upon boarding the vessel, authorities discovered 52 bales containing a total of approximately 1,132 kilograms of a white powdery substance that field tested positive for cocaine. In court, Perez-Brito admitted to having conspired to transport the cocaine by boat from Venezuela to Puerto Rico, for which he expected to be paid $200,000.
Perez-Brito faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a five-year term of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10,000,000.
This case was being investigated by the USCG, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith J. Edwards.
District Court Rules That MTA’s Renovation of Subway Station Triggered MTA’s Obligation Under Americans with Disabilities Act to Install Elevators Unless Technically InfeasibleRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that partial summary judgment has been granted in favor of plaintiffs and the Government in a lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by private plaintiffs (Bronx Independent Living Services et al. v. MTA) in which the United States intervened. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (the “MTA”) replacement of the stairways at the Middletown Road subway station in the Bronx affected the station’s usability, thus triggering the MTA’s obligation under the ADA to install elevators, without regard to cost, unless it is technically infeasible to do so.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The MTA is now on notice that whenever it renovates a subway station throughout its system so as to affect the station’s usability, the MTA is obligated to install an elevator, regardless of the cost, unless it is technically infeasible. Individuals with disabilities have the same rights to use the New York City subway system as every other person. The Court’s decision marks the end of the MTA treating people with disabilities as second-class citizens. My Office will continue to work to ensure that the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act are enforced, and that everyone enjoys equal access to public transit in this District.”
The ADA, signed into law in 1990, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. Under its provisions, the ADA requires state and local government agencies to make alterations to public transit facilities readily accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.
In March 2018, this Office intervened in a private lawsuit brought by Disability Rights Advocates regarding the MTA’s refusal to install elevators at the Middletown Road station, despite undertaking a substantial renovation of the entire station, including the staircases. The Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Authority (“FTA”), had declined the MTA’s request for federal funds for the renovation because the MTA’s refusal to install elevators violated the ADA.
Judge Ramos ruled that MTA’s renovation of the Middletown Road station was an alteration that triggered the ADA’s requirement to install an elevator unless it is technically not feasible to do so. Specifically, Judge Ramos concluded that when a public transit authority alters a station in a way that affects its “usability,” the public transit authority must follow the requirements in 49 C.F.R. § 37.43(a)(1), requiring the installation of an elevator where technically feasible regardless of cost. The Court rejected the MTA’s argument that the governing regulation permitted it to avoid installing an elevator based on cost considerations.
Mr. Berman thanked Disability Rights Advocates for its work in this case, as well as FTA for its continued assistance with this matter.
This case is being handled by the Civil Rights Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Blain and Lara Eshkenazi are in charge of the case.
Disbarred Orange County Attorney Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Mail Fraud, Tax Evasion, Obstruction of Justice, Perjury, and Other CrimesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that former Orange County attorney JOSEPH SCALI was sentenced to seven years in prison in connection with SCALI’s conviction for mail fraud, structuring cash transactions, making false statements to the IRS, obstructing the IRS, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, and perjury following a four-week jury trial. SCALI was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román, who presided over the trial.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Joseph Scali, a former attorney, was convicted of embezzling $850,000 from his attorney trust account that held third party funds from an uncompleted real estate transaction. Instead of returning the funds – which he was required to do by law – Scali used them on his personal expenses, including sports tickets and international travel. Scali also filed false tax returns and made false sworn statements to the court. Joseph Scali violated his responsibilities as a lawyer and a taxpayer, and now will have seven years in federal prison to reflect on his wide array of financial crimes and failure to act ethically before the court.”
According to the Indictment, court filings, and statements made in public court proceedings:
From January 2011 through August 2012, SCALI – then a licensed, practicing attorney – perpetrated a scheme to defraud a prospective buyer of land and mineral rights in Pennsylvania. SCALI represented the seller in the land transaction and was entrusted to hold the buyer’s funds in his attorney trust account pending closing, which never took place. Instead of preserving the buyer’s funds and returning them when the transaction fell through, SCALI embezzled $850,000 of the buyer’s money from his attorney trust account and spent the majority on personal expenses, including season sports tickets, luxury clothing items, and trips abroad.
After defrauding the buyer, SCALI engaged in tax evasion for the years 2011 and 2012 by, among other things, deliberately withholding from the IRS his attorney trust account records, which would have revealed the funds he had misappropriated and made him liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid federal income taxes.
In addition, between 2006 and November 2013, SCALI corruptly endeavored to obstruct the IRS by (a) providing materially false, incomplete, and misleading information to an IRS Revenue Officer about his tax filing history and income; (b) commingling client funds and personal funds in his attorney trust account; (c) paying for personal items directly out of his attorney trust account; (d) structuring $32,400 in cash deposits into his attorney trust account. In addition, SCALI failed to timely file U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, for the years 2006 through 2012, as well as U.S. Corporate Income Tax Returns, Forms 1120, for his law firm, Joseph G. Scali, P.C., for the years 2007 through 2012, notwithstanding that he was required by law to file a return for each year. SCALI was also separately convicted of making false statements to the IRS and structuring cash deposits.
In all, SCALI caused the IRS to incur losses of over $500,000, not including penalties and interest.
SCALI also committed obstruction of justice and perjury when, in seeking to set aside his disbarment by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, he lied under oath to that court about the reason for his 2013 suspension from the practice of law in New York State.
In 2014 and 2015, SCALI perpetrated a second mail fraud scheme by fraudulently undertaking a legal representation of a client for a fee without disclosing his 2013 suspension from the practice of law in New York State.
On July 6, 2016, SCALI was disbarred by the Second Judicial Department of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, Judge Román ordered SCALI to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution totaling $1,511,534.73 to the victims of his mail fraud schemes and the IRS.
Mr. Berman praised the work of the IRS, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this investigation. Mr. Berman also thanked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the New York State Police, the Counsel for the Grievance Committee for the Ninth Judicial District of New York State, the Counsel for the Committee on Grievances for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the Counsel for the IOLA Fund of New York for their assistance and cooperation in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Olga Zverovich, Vladislav Vainberg, and Daniel Noble are in charge of the prosecution.
Department of Justice Highlights Western District of Oklahoma for Its Focus on Firearms Offenses Involving Domestic ViolenceRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – In remarks today in Washington, DC, Katharine Sullivan, the Acting Director of the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women, singled out the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma for its success in prosecuting firearms cases involving domestic violence. The office’s initiative, "Operation 922," is the local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department-wide program to prevent and prosecute violent crime. For the full text of Acting Director Sullivan’s remarks at the FBI’s celebration of National Women’s History Month, see: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/blog/womens-history-month-reflections-individuals-who-influence-us-and-doj-accomplishments.
As part of Operation 922, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Oklahoma focus on enforcing federal laws to keep firearms out of the hands of those Congress has precluded from possessing firearms. Operation 922 specifically focuses on domestic violence abusers who are subject to a victim protection order or restraining order, or who have been previously convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Section 922 of Title 18 of the United States Code prohibits those specific offenders from possessing firearms or ammunition. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also targets domestic violence offenders through Section 922’s prohibition on possessing a firearm after any felony conviction. In addition, the office prosecutes violent crime cases in Indian Country, including domestic abuse acts involving strangulation and cases in which a firearm or other weapon is used.
"You cannot have safe neighborhoods without first having safe homes," said Bob Troester, First Assistant U.S. Attorney. "This effort to protect victims of domestic violence relies upon our committed partnership with District Attorney David Prater and his office, the Oklahoma City Police Department and Chief Bill Citty, and Palomar, Oklahoma City’s Family Justice Center. It is also the result of the dedicated work of the women and men of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect victims from domestic abusers."
Locally, since Operation 922 was initiated last year, over 50 domestic-violence-related cases have been charged by Western District prosecutors. These cases include all prosecutions for illegal possession of firearms related to domestic violence. Nationally, according to Justice Department data, the number of defendants charged in the specific category of possessing a firearm after a misdemeanor conviction (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)) has grown by nearly 80%, from 110 in Fiscal Year ("FY") 2016 to 197 in FY2018. In the same period, convictions increased more than 160% from 55 in FY2016 to 148 in FY2018.
For further information about Operation 922, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (405) 553-8999.
Danville Man Sentenced on Wire Fraud, Identity Theft, Student Loan Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Danville, VIRGINIA – A Danville resident, who committed federal student loan fraud by enrolling dozens of individuals in online universities for personal financial gain, was sentenced yesterday in federal court to more than nine years in prison, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced.
Tyrone Dwayne Young, 30, was sentenced yesterday to 111 months in federal prison. The Court, also ordered Young to pay restitution of more than $1.1 million to the United States Department of Education and eight institutions of higher education, including Strayer University, Capella University, Post University, the University of Phoenix, Derry University, Kaplan University, Argosy University and Liberty University based in Lynchburg. The Court’s sentencing orders follow Young’s guilty plea on November 1, 2018, to one count of wire fraud, one count of student loan fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, the latter of which carries a mandatory sentence of two years.
According to information presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Kari Munro, beginning in or about May 2016, Young started using the personal identifiers of family members and friends to enroll them as students in online universities. Working through Department of Education and university websites, he created fraudulent student profiles to enroll his victims in online courses of study for the purpose of obtaining federal student loans in their names. His victims never completed their courses of study and eventually failed or were withdrawn, in most instances after student loan funds for their educational programs had been disbursed. Young tracked and orchestrated the receipt of these fraudulent student loan funds for personal use.
Eventually, Young expanded his efforts to include individuals outside his immediate circle of family and friends. Posing as a higher education employee, Young encouraged low-income residents in the greater Danville area to provide their personal identifiers for enrollment purposes, promising free government money and other benefits. In all, Young’s scheme involved the use of personal identifying information for more than 60 individuals, resulting in an attempted loss to the Department of Education and affected institutions of more than $1.4 million.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Kari Munro prosecuted the case for the United States.
Cotati Resident Sentenced to Prison for Filing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Stanley Charles was sentenced today to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $657,888 in restitution for tax fraud, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Maxine M. Chesney, U.S. District Judge.
Charles, age 33, of Cotati, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charges on July 18, 2018. According to the plea agreement, Charles admitted that for tax years 2009 through 2015, he prepared and filed 428 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns requesting false deductions and credits on behalf of other taxpayers. For example, Charles prepared and filed a fraudulent federal income tax return for a husband and wife without their knowledge or permission. The tax return falsely reported that the couple had $8,000 in qualified higher education expenses. Along with the false return, Charles filed a document directing the IRS to pay $5,447 of the refund to the couple, and the remaining $1,235 to his own bank account. In addition, Charles admitted he prepared and filed with the IRS a false 2011 Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return regarding his own income. Charles knew he was entitled to an American Opportunity Credit of no more than $2,500 and nevertheless falsely reported a credit of $9,873.
On June 18, 2018, Charles was charged by information with one count of tax fraud, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), and one count of filing a false federal income tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). Charles pleaded guilty to both counts.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesney sentenced the defendant to one year of supervised release. Judge Chesney also ordered the defendant to refrain from aiding or assisting in the preparation of federal income tax returns for anyone other than himself. Judge Chesney ordered the defendant to begin serving his prison term on May 6, 2019.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Stier is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS-CI.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to Seventy-Six Months in Prison for Possessing A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
OAKLAND –James Robert Lewis was sentenced to 76 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for violating the terms of his supervised release, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton, Chief United States District Judge.
Lewis, 35, of Richmond, Calif., pleaded guilty to the felon-in-possession charge on December 14, 2018. In pleading guilty, Lewis admitted that on August 26, 2018, he was a convicted felon and was not eligible to possess a firearm. He fled from a Richmond police officer and discarded a loaded semiautomatic handgun into the bed of a pickup truck. The firearm had an extended magazine, with a thirty-round capacity, and was loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition. Lewis further acknowledged that on August 26, 2018, he was on supervised release pursuant to a conviction in 2013 for a separate firearms offense.
On September 27, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Lewis, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Lewis pleaded guilty to the charge and admitted that the crime was also a violation of the terms of his supervised release. Chief Judge Hamilton ordered the defendant to serve a combined 76 months for both violations.
In addition to the prison term, Chief Judge Hamilton ordered Lewis to serve a three-year term of supervised release to begin at the conclusion of his prison term.
Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Lloyd-Lovett is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elyza Delgado. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Richmond Police Department.
Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects More Than $49 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2018Read the Press Release
New Haven – U.S. Attorney John H. Durham today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut collected $49,188,380.37 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2018. Of this amount, $7,111,152.86 was collected in criminal actions and $42,077,227.51 was collected in civil actions.
Overall, the Justice Department collected a total of just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018.
“This past fiscal year, our Office’s dedicated attorneys and staff helped to recover more than $49 million,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “We are gratified that these funds are returned directly to victims of crime, provide needed services for these victims and fund ongoing federal, state and local law enforcement efforts. One of our primary missions is to seek justice for victims, remove ill-gotten gains from wrongdoers and protect the integrity of important government programs.”
The largest civil collections in the District of Connecticut were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct, or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts owed to several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education, were collected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office from debtors located in Connecticut.
All of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s criminal recoveries in fiscal year 2018 were the result of successful enforcement against criminal defendants who committed various types of crime, with the largest recoveries in cases involving wire and securities fraud.
Nationally, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and victims of federal crimes. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid directly to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are also collected by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Connecticut, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $5,407,828.00 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2018. Of this amount, $3,962,387 was collected in civil cases and $826,833 was collected criminal cases. $618,608 was collected administratively. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
“The men and women of the U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country work diligently, day in and day out, to see that the citizens of our nation receive justice. The money that we are able to recover for victims and this country as a whole is a direct result of their hard work,” Director James A. Crowell, IV, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation. The Office is composed of approximately 68 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and approximately 57 staff members at offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, please visit www.justice.gov/ct.
New Haven – U.S. Attorney John H. Durham today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut collected $49,188,380.37 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2018. Of this amount, $7,111,152.86 was collected in criminal actions and $42,077,227.51 was collected in civil actions.
Overall, the Justice Department collected a total of just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018.
“This past fiscal year, our Office’s dedicated attorneys and staff helped to recover more than $49 million,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “We are gratified that these funds are returned directly to victims of crime, provide needed services for these victims and fund ongoing federal, state and local law enforcement efforts. One of our primary missions is to seek justice for victims, remove ill-gotten gains from wrongdoers and protect the integrity of important government programs.”
The largest civil collections in the District of Connecticut were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct, or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts owed to several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education, were collected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office from debtors located in Connecticut.
All of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s criminal recoveries in fiscal year 2018 were the result of successful enforcement against criminal defendants who committed various types of crime, with the largest recoveries in cases involving wire and securities fraud.
Nationally, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and victims of federal crimes. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid directly to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are also collected by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Connecticut, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $5,407,828.00 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2018. Of this amount, $3,962,387 was collected in civil cases and $826,833 was collected criminal cases. $618,608 was collected administratively. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
“The men and women of the U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country work diligently, day in and day out, to see that the citizens of our nation receive justice. The money that we are able to recover for victims and this country as a whole is a direct result of their hard work,” Director James A. Crowell, IV, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation. The Office is composed of approximately 68 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and approximately 57 staff members at offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
Collin County Man Guilty of Child Exploitation ViolationsRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas – A 21-year-old McKinney, Texas man has pleaded guilty to child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Stephen Chase Clark pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak on Mar. 4, 2019.
According to information presented in court, in August 2018, law enforcement officers conducting an undercover investigation dubbed Operation Zeus, encountered Clark chatting on social media with an individual he believed to be a minor male. Clark engaged in sexual conversations with the individual and asked for photographs of the child. Clark was arrested on Aug. 28, 2018, after he went to a location in McKinney where he expected to meet the individual he believed to be a child to engage in sexual activities. A review of Clark’s cellular phone and social media accounts revealed a number of sexually explicit chats between Clark and other young males. Law enforcement also found a number of child pornography and chats about trading child pornography.
Clark entered into a plea agreement with the government that includes a sentence of 250 months in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set and the actual sentence will be determined by a federal judge at sentencing.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.
FBI agents continue to work to identify children whose images were located on Clark’s electronic devices and encourage anyone who had contact with Clark or may have additional information to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 1-800-804-3547.
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Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Dealing Heroin Laced with Carfentanil; Attempting to Murder WitnessRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A defendant was sentenced today in the first federally indicted carfentanil prosecution in the country.
Phillip Watkins, 34, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 300 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin laced with carfentanil and attempting to murder a witness he believed was going to testify against him if he went to trial on the drug charge.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, other members of the Hamilton County Heroin Task Force including the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification in Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and police departments in Norwood, Blue Ash and Sharonville and Springfield Township announced the sentence imposed today U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.
Court documents say Watkins conspired with others in August 2016 to sell heroin laced with carfentanil, an animal tranquilizer 10,000 times more powerful than morphine, from a residence in the Elmwood Place neighborhood of Cincinnati and that users suffered both fatal and non-fatal overdoses of the potent drugs he sold.
Task force officers arrested Watkins in September 2016 and a federal grand jury indicted him that same month.
While in custody awaiting trial on those drug charges, Watkins learned of a potential witness against him in that case. Watkins arranged to have that witness killed to prevent their testimony. Law enforcement uncovered the plot and stopped it before the murder could take place. A grand jury indicted Watkins for witness tampering in March 2017.
“There is no deadlier poison than carfentanil. In dealing that drug, Watkins showed a disregard for human life, which he then confirmed by plotting to have the witness against him killed,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “His 300-month sentence is a fitting punishment and will keep the community safe. I commend all of the law enforcement agencies participating in the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition Task Force. Their incredibly nimble work made this case possible. Enforcement efforts like these are a big part of turning the tide against synthetic opioids in Ohio.”
Deputy Criminal Chiefs Michael Hunter and Emily Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Oakley and Megan Gaffney represented the United States in these cases.
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Chicago Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking a 16-Year-Old Girl Who Was Allegedly Murdered by a CustomerRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted a Chicago man on sex trafficking charges for arranging a commercial sex encounter for a 16-year-old girl that ended in the child’s murder in a south suburban garage.
JOSEPH HAZLEY, 35, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor, one count of sex trafficking of a minor, and four counts of transporting a person across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.
The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman set sentencing for June 4, 2019.
The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Eddie Johnson, Chicago Police Superintendent. Substantial assistance was provided by the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Markham Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Parente and Kelly Greening.
Evidence at trial revealed that Hazley posted the girl’s information in commercial sex advertisements on Backpage.com, and arranged multiple meetings for her to engage in prostitution. Hazley drove the girl to several meetings in the Chicago area in December 2016.
One of the meetings occurred in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, after a customer had responded to Hazley’s posting. Hazley drove the girl to Markham and waited in his car a few yards from the garage while she met with the customer. During the encounter, the customer allegedly murdered the girl.
The suspected customer was subsequently arrested by the Chicago Police Department and charged with murder in Cook County Criminal Court.
If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Cherokee Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced March 5, 2019, to 12 years in federal prison.
Raymond Andrew Kerns, 37, from Cherokee, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 10, 2018, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Kerns was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance, third or subsequent offense in the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County in August 2017.
Evidence at the guilty plea and sentencing showed that from January 2017 through February 2018, Kerns was involved in a conspiracy that distributed nearly three pounds of methamphetamine in and around the Cherokee, Iowa area. On February 27, 2018, Kerns was apprehended by law enforcement in Storm Lake, Iowa while attempting to meet with another meth dealer. Law enforcement seized $1,500 and 8 grams of methamphetamine from Kerns, which Kerns admitted he planned to distribute to other persons.
Kerns was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Kerns was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Kerns 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 Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Storm Lake Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminalistics Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-4025.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Bordentown, New Jersey, Woman and Philadelphia Man Admit Roles in Scheme to Launder Money, Defraud Internet DonorsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A Bordentown, New Jersey, woman and a Philadelphia man today admitted their respective roles in a GoFundMe scam that gained nationwide attention, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Katelyn McClure, 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Johnny Bobbitt, 36, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In November 2017, McClure and Mark D’Amico allegedly created a crowd-source funding page on GoFundMe’s website titled “Paying It Forward.” The campaign solicited donations from the public purportedly for the benefit of a homeless veteran, Bobbitt. McClure and D’Amico posted a story that McClure was driving home from Philadelphia on Interstate 95 and ran out of gas. Bobbitt acted as a “good Samaritan” and rescued McClure by using his last $20 to buy gasoline for her. The website stated that funds were being solicited to get Bobbitt off the streets and provide him with living expenses, setting a goal of $10,000.
In reality, McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 for her. D’Amico and McClure allegedly conspired to create the false story to obtain money from donors. The story was quickly picked up by local and national media outlets and went viral and raised approximately $400,000 from more than 14,000 donors in less than three weeks.
The donated funds were transferred by D’Amico and McClure from GoFundMe into accounts that they controlled. The majority of the money allegedly was quickly spent by D’Amico and McClure on personal expenses over the next three months, including significant amounts on D’Amico’s gambling, vacations, a BMW automobile, clothing, expensive handbags and other personal items and expenses.
In mid-November of 2017, when the donations had reached approximately $1,500, D’Amico and McClure told Bobbitt about the campaign and the false gas story. In December of 2017, after setting up a bank account for Bobbitt, D’Amico and McClure deposited $25,000 of proceeds of the scheme into Bobbitt’s account.
The count of wire fraud conspiracy to which McClure pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 19, 2019.
The count of conspiracy to commit money laundering to which Bobbitt pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited assistant prosecutors and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Scott Coffina; officers of the Florence Township Police Department; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel:
McClure: James J. Gerrow Jr. Esq., Hainesport, New Jersey
Bobbitt: Lori Koch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, CamdenBergen County, New Jersey, Man Admits Distributing Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man today admitted distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Barry Goldstein, 46, of Bergenfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution of images of child sexual abuse.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From May 2018 through August 2018, an undercover law enforcement officer (the “UC”) communicated over an instant messaging mobile application (the “IM App”) with Goldstein. The IM App allows users to transmit and receive content after users register a username. Goldstein maintained an account on the IM App, which was accessed from Internet Protocol addresses associated with Goldstein’s home.
In May and June 2018, after engaging in explicit conversations with the UC regarding the sexual abuse of children, Goldstein used his account on the IM App to share with the UC multiple files depicting child sexual abuse. On Aug. 29, 2018, law enforcement officers searched Goldstein’s residence, interviewed Goldstein and arrested him.
The count of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 6, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Intrater of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
Bankrate Inc.’s Successor in Interest Agrees to Pay $28 Million to Resolve Securities and Accounting Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Baton Holdings LLC, as the successor in interest to Bankrate Inc., a financial services and marketing company (Bankrate), has entered into a nonprosecution agreement and agreed to pay $28 million in combined monetary penalties and restitution to resolve the government’s investigation into a complex accounting and securities fraud scheme carried out by former executives of Bankrate.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida and Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement.
Bankrate admitted in the resolution documents that former executives engaged in a complex scheme to artificially inflate Bankrate’s earnings through so-called “cookie jar” or “cushion” accounting, whereby millions of dollars in unsupported expense accruals were purposefully left on Bankrate’s books and then selectively reversed in later quarters to boost earnings. In addition, Bankrate admitted that former executives misrepresented certain company expenses as “deal costs” in order to artificially inflate publicly reported adjusted earnings metrics, and also made materially false statements to Bankrate’s independent auditors to conceal the improper accounting entries. As a result of the scheme, Bankrate admitted that the fraudulent conduct caused Bankrate’s shareholders to suffer at least $25 million in losses. According to the resolution documents, Red Ventures Holdco LP, which acquired Bankrate in November 2017 after the securities and accounting fraud scheme took place, also agreed to certain terms and obligations under the agreement but had no involvement in the underlying criminal conduct.
“Today’s resolution with Bankrate’s successor in interest—together with the previously announced convictions of the company’s CFO and vice president of finance—closes the books on an accounting fraud that caused more than $25 million in losses to the company’s shareholders,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “This case reflects the Department’s commitment to holding both individuals and institutions accountable for fraudulent conduct, and to obtaining restitution for the victims of fraud.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has an extensive history of investigating complex financial fraud schemes in order to protect investors as well as the integrity of the financial marketplace from fraudulent activities by trusted insiders who abuse their positions,” said Inspector in Charge DeLeon-Colon. “Anyone who engages in this type of financial fraud scheme should know they will be found and they will be held accountable.”
Bankrate Inc.’s former CFO, Edward J. DiMaria, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida to serve 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $21,234,214 in restitution. Hyunjin Lerner, Bankrate’s former vice president of finance, also previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and was sentenced by Judge Moore to serve 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $21,234,214 in restitution.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington, D.C. Division investigated the case. Principal Assistant Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys Emily Scruggs and Jason Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The SEC also provided assistance in this matter.
Potential victims of the scheme can find information about their rights under relevant law at the following website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/edward-j-dimaria.
Arkansas Man Must Pay $25,000 After Conviction for Interstate Transportation of Stolen PropertyRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – BRANDON BYRGE, 29, of Texarkana, Arkansas, has been sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $25,000 for interstate transportation of stolen property, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On June 5, 2018, a federal grand jury charged Byrge with transporting two drill bits from Oklahoma to Arkansas when he knew they had been stolen, converted, and taken by fraud. According to the indictment, the two bits were worth approximately $39,000.
Byrge pleaded guilty on August 6, 2018.
On February 26, 2019, U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Byrge to two years of probation and ordered him to pay $20,000 in restitution and a fine of $5,000. On March 5, the court amended its judgment by ordering that of the $20,000 in restitution, $18,000 go to Smith International, Inc., of Sugar Land, Texas, and $2,000 go to Bayless Sales & Services of Weatherford, Oklahoma. These amounts reflect the costs to the companies of temporarily not having access to the drill bits, which ultimately were recovered.
This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Major Theft Task Force, which consists of the FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Kumiega prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for further information.
Albany Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Intending to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine and Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK –Dwayne G. Perkins, age 38, of Albany, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, for possessing and intending to distribute heroin, cocaine and more than 28 grams of crack cocaine.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Perkins was convicted following a 3-day jury trial in September 2018 presided over by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. The trial evidence established that the FBI and other law enforcement executed a search warrant on Perkins’s Albany apartment on April 4, 2017. An FBI Agent searched Perkins and found him to be hiding, in bags attached to his underwear, what turned out to be approximately 42 grams of crack cocaine, 36 grams of cocaine, and 7.5 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl. Agents also seized, from the apartment, two digital scales and $1,746 in cash.
This case was investigated by the FBI and its Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the New York State Police, the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and the Albany Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Akron man pleaded guilty to launching denial of service attacks that shut down web sites for the city of Akron and the Akron Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
An Akron man pleaded guilty to launching denial of service attacks that shut down web sites for the city of Akron and the Akron Police Department.
James Robinson, 33, is scheduled to be sentenced July 1. He pleaded guilty to damaging protected computers.
According to court documents filed in the case:
Servers hosting web sites belonging to the city of Akron were victims of an active distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on Aug. 1, 2017. Two website domains appeared to be the target of the attacks: akronohio.gov and akroncops.org.
The DDoS attack ultimately overwhelmed the web sites with network traffic and rendered them unavailable to users.
A tweet that same day from @AkronPhoenix420 took credit for targeting the Akron web sites, including a link to a youtube video and a screenshot showing akronohio.gov was not accessible. The tweet included hashtags #Anonymous and #TangoDown.
The video showed a static image of an individual in a Guy Fawkes mask making statements including “it’s time we teach the law a lesson,” “Akron PD abuses the law” and “this week the city of Akron experienced system failures on multiple domains including their emergency TCP ports.”
The subsequent investigation identified attacks coming from an Internet connection registered to James Robinson and that Robinson’s phone was associated with the Twitter account @AkronPhoenix420.
@AkronPhoenix420 also claimed credit for many other DDoS attacks including many in 2018 that bore similar characteristics to the Akron attacks. Targets of those attacks web site domains and servers hosted by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Information Security Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Treasury and others. Multiple DDoS attacks have been claimed by AkronPhoenix420, including many in 2018.
Law enforcement authorities got a search warrant for Robinson’s house on Edison Avenue in Akron in May 2018. Agents located a Guy Fawkes mask and a cell phone with a cracked screen similar to a phone seen in tweets by @AkronPhoenix420. Robinson stated he was responsible for the DDoS attacks against the Department of Defense, city of Akron and others, according to court documents.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Defense Criminal Investigative Services, Akron Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Treasury. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Om Kakani and Daniel J. Riedl.
Additional affiliates of Ghost Face Gangsters street gang plead guilty to federal chargesRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: Seventeen additional defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, bringing to 33 the total number of guilty pleas only months after charges were filed.
Operation Vanilla Gorilla, an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from inside Georgia’s prison system. The multi-agency federal, state and local operation netted 46 indictments on federal charges, primarily for drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Indictments were handed down in November and December 2018 in U.S. District Court in Savannah. Sixteen of the defendants pled guilty in February, and 17 more have since entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court. They include:
- Christopher Hendrix, a/k/a “Hot Boy” and “Irish,” 40, of Helena, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 5 grams or more of Methamphetamine and Heroin, and faces five to 40 years in prison. In court, Hendrix admitted that he was the “capo” for the Ghost Face Gangsters who was brought to this district to get gang members “on track.” He has tattoos of horns on his head, the “G” tattooed on his neck and “Vanilla Gorilla” tattooed on his chest;
- Cody Penfield, 28, of Savannah, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine. He faces 10 years to life in prison;
- Nick Penfield, a/k/a “Picnic,” 22, of Pooler, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and faces five to 40 years in prison;
- Waylon Jesse Hodges, 41, of Pembroke, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Trevor Aines, a/k/a “Sticks,” 29, of Garden City, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess Five Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and faces up to life in prison;
- Marcos Logan-Greco, 28, of Richmond Hill, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Heroin, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and faces up to life in prison;
- Jennifer J. Grooms, 36, of Ellabell, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Kimberlin Johnson, 24, of Rincon, Ga., pled guilty to Distribution of Alprazolam (Xanax) and Distribution of Hydrocodone and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Dillon Myrick, a/k/a “Country Crack,” 31, of Savannah, Ga pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Robert Fuller, a/k/a “Robbie,” 39, of Richmond Hill, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Baby Dwayne Garrison, 55, of Bloomingdale, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Joseph Britt Carter, a/k/a “Crack,” 29, of Savannah, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Possession of a Firearm by a Drug User, and faces up life in prison;
- Cody Tracy, a/k/a “Cojack,” 33, of Guyton, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison;
- Andrew P. Campos, a/k/a “Chubs,” 28, of Richmond Hill, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and faces up to life in prison; and,
- Rodney Rose, 39, of Bloomingdale, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The guilty pleas of two additional defendants have been sealed by the court.
The indictments allege that the narcotics-trafficking conspiracy began as early as 2015, operating in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, Emmanuel, Evans, and Tattnall Counties, in the Southern District of Georgia, and elsewhere. Members of the conspiracy associated with the Ghost Face Gangsters and with other criminal street gangs to aid in the distribution of controlled substances, for protection, and to promote a climate of fear.
Operation Vanilla Gorilla represents one of the largest-ever takedowns of Ghost Face Gangsters associates.
“The swift resolution of these cases with guilty pleas demonstrates the effectiveness of the investigation and the prosecution team,” said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “The investigators and our OCDETF prosecutors have done an outstanding job, and their work in dismantling violent criminal street gangs will continue to make our communities safer.”
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field division stated, “DEA is committed to making our communities safer and these results demonstrate the agency’s resolve in confronting violent criminals locally, nationally and internationally.”
“This case is a great example of how you leverage law enforcement resources to target the offenders driving crime in the region,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Operation Vanilla Gorilla was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises. The case was investigated by the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Chatham County Narcotics Team (CNT), the Georgia Department of Corrections Intelligence Division, the Savannah Police Department, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, the Richmond Hill Police Department, the Pooler Police Department, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Bloomingdale Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys E. Greg Gilluly Jr. and Frank Pennington.
Active Duty Soldier at JBLM Arrested on Charges He Traveled to Foreign Country for Sex with ChildrenRead the Press Release
A 37-year-old Staff Sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) was arrested today on a criminal complaint charging him with traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual contact and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. MOEUN YOEUN made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma this morning following his arrest at JBLM. YOEUN had been residing in Steilacoom, Washington. YOEUN will remain in custody pending a detention hearing next week.
According to the criminal complaint, YOEUN came to the attention of law enforcement when Facebook notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a person associated with four user accounts was enticing minors to send images of sexually explicit conduct and was making travel plans to go to the Philippines to engage in sex with minors. The messages linked to the account indicate YOEUN traveled to the Philippines in February 2019.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in prison..The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted, the sentence of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
FBI and U.S. Army CID are investigating the case as part of the South Sound Child Exploitation Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Grady Leupold.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc
Tuesday 5 March 2019
Woodburn Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Conterfeit ID SchemeRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—Miguel Merecias-Lopez, 24, of Woodburn, Oregon, pleaded guilty today to one count each of conspiracy to produce false identification documents and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, from a time unknown until September 21, 2017, Merecias-Lopez and other co-conspirators were part of a Oaxaca, Mexico-based criminal conspiracy to produce and sell fraudulent U.S. government documents.
Conspirators, including Merecias-Lopez, maintained a clandestine photo lab in Woodburn where they used various computers, scanners, laminators, digital cameras and a high-resolution printer to produce the fraudulent documents. They would communicate with customers in-person and electronically via email, Facebook and Snapchat, and receive payments via PayPal, U.S. mail or in person.
On September 21, 2017, investigators arrested Merecias-Lopez in a fast food parking lot in Woodburn when he arrived to conduct a drug deal. More than a kilogram of methamphetamine was found on Merecias-Lopez’s person. A subsequent search of Merecias-Lopez’s apartment produced additional methamphetamine and equipment used in furtherance of the fraudulent document scheme. Investigators found and seized the materials needed to produce thousands of identification cards.
A review of electronic devices found in Merecias-Lopez’s apartment produced evidence that the conspiracy had operated in Woodburn for more than a decade and produced and sold more than 10,000 different fraudulent documents including driver’s licenses for more than 25 states, U.S. social security cards, immigration-related documents including non-immigrant visas and legal permanent resident cards, marriage licenses, vehicle bills of sale and titles, and birth certificates. Merecias-Lopez was personally responsible for producing more than 300 fraudulent U.S. government documents.
A charge of conspiracy to produce false identification documents carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release. A charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries of maximum sentence of life in prison with a 10 year mandatory minimum sentence, a $10,000,000 fine and five years’ supervised release.
The government and defense counsel representing Merecias-Lopez are jointly recommending a sentence on the low-end of the non-binding U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines range when he is sentenced on June 18, 2019 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN), the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF) and the Woodburn Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Peter D. Sax, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
White River Woman Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Crystal Earth, age 26, of White River, South Dakota, convicted of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon was sentenced on March 4, 2019, by United States District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Earth was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Earth was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 17, 2018. She was convicted on December 14, 2018, following a four-day jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on February 26, 2018, in the Horse Creek Community near White River. On that date, Earth was at her home in Horse Creek drinking alcoholic beverages and socializing with a group of people that included the victim. At one point, Earth and the victim, an adult male, got into an argument. Earth took a knife from the kitchen and repeatedly stabbed the victim in the chest and face, causing multiple puncture wounds to the victim’s chest and a deep laceration to his chin.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk Albertson and Cameron Cook prosecuted the case.
Earth was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Waterloo Gang Member Sentenced to over One Year for Illegally Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
A man who illegally possessed ammunition was sentenced today to more than one year in federal prison.
Daejon Putman, age 22, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 23, 2018, guilty plea to being a drug user in possession of ammunition.
Evidence during the case showed police executed a search warrant at Putman’s residence and located a single round of .40 caliber ammunition in his bedroom. Putman was also involved in distributing marijuana and Xanax and was a member of the Del Mob street gang in Waterloo.
Putman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Putman was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Putman 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 Lisa C. Williams and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-cr-2048.
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Waterbury Investment Advisor Charged with Additional Counts Related to $1 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 21-count indictment today charging LEON C. VACCARELLI, 42, of Waterbury, with fraud and money laundering offenses stemming from an investment scheme that defrauded individuals of more than $1 million.
On May 2, 2018, a grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Vaccarelli with three counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. The superseding indictment adds an additional three counts of wire fraud and six counts of securities fraud.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, Vaccarelli was a registered representative of The Investment Center (“TIC”), a brokerage company, and was an investment adviser associated with IC Advisory Services, Inc. (“IC Advisory”). He also was the owner and only member of LWLVACC, LLC, and conducted business through an entity named Lux Financial Services (“Lux Financial”). Using these various entities, Vaccarelli operated a financial advisory and brokerage service through which he offered investment advice and sold investments and securities to individuals and families in the Waterbury area.
Between approximately 2011 and 2017, it is alleged that Vaccarelli defrauded victim investors of more than $1 million by falsely representing that he would invest his clients’ money in IRA rollover accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (“CDs”), or other types of interest-earning investments. However, instead of investing customers’ funds as he had represented, Vaccarelli deposited customer funds into his own personal account and business bank accounts, commingled those funds with his own money, and used the funds to pay both business and personal expenses, including tuition and mortgage payments. In some instances, he also used customer funds to make bogus “interest payments” to other victim-investors.
Mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. Money laundering carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.
Vaccarelli is released on a $100,000 bond pending trial.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. McGarry and Jennifer R. Laraia.
Washington D.C. Commercial Sex Customer Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland –Leon R. Harrison, age 56, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a minor, for having sex with a 15-year-old girl in exchange for money.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Tim Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
“Children cannot consent to have sex for money, and any adult who encourages or profits from sexual exploitation of children faces a lengthy term in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.
According his plea agreement, between August 9, 2016 and February 7, 2018, Harrison used his Facebook account to send messages to hundreds of other Facebook users, offering them money in exchange for sending him sexually explicit pictures, watching him masturbate, or meeting with him in person to engage in commercial sex. Several Facebook users told Harrison that they were under 18 years old, and as young as 12 years old. Harrison continued to make the requests even after they stated that they were minors.
Harrison admitted that he met Girl 1 online and began engaging in commercial sex with Girl 1 beginning in 2016 or 2017, when she would have been 13 or 14 years old.
On October 9, 2017, Harrison and Girl 1 reconnected on Facebook, after a period of not communicating with each other. Between October 9, 2017, and February 7, 2018, Harrison and Girl 1 exchanged hundreds of messages over Facebook. At that time, Girl 1 was at a 15-year-old tenth-grade student in Maryland. In the messages, Harrison repeatedly offered to pay Girl 1 in exchange for having sex with him. In twelve instances, Harrison offered her between $40 and $60 for sex.
On February 6, 2018, Girl 1’s mother discovered the Facebook messages and contacted the police. That day, an undercover police detective began operating Girl 1’s Facebook account.
On February 7, 2018, Harrison continued communicating with Girl 1’s Facebook account. Harrison stated that he would meet with Girl 1 that evening, and that he would bring money and condoms. Harrison stated he would pay Girl 1 $50 to have sex with him and made arrangements to meet with Girl 1 at a restaurant in Odenton, Maryland. Harrison agreed that he would get Girl 1 home before 1:00 a.m. because it was a “school night.” Harrison described the sex acts he wished to engage in with Girl 1 and what he wanted her to wear when they met. Harrison also asked to engage in sexual contact with Girl 1 without a condom.
When he arrived at the restaurant, Harrison had condoms, $50 in cash, and two 50ml bottles of flavored vodka in his pants pockets. Harrison was arrested in the parking lot. Following his arrest, Harrison was interviewed by law enforcement officers and admitted that he is HIV-positive, and that he does not disclose that fact to his sexual partners.
As part of his plea agreement, Harrison must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Harrison and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea, Harrison will be sentenced to between 10 and 16 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2019, at 9:15 a.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI, the Anne Arundel County Police, and the Anne Arundel State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Ray D. McKenzie, who are prosecuting the case.
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U.S. Obtains over $25 Million in Forfeited Funds as Part of a Successful Effort to Root Out Fraud and Corruption in Government Contracting in AfghanistanRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has reached a settlement of its civil forfeiture case against assets owned by Hikmatullah Shadman that he wrongfully acquired as a government contractor in Afghanistan. Under the terms of the settlement, approximately $25 million will be forfeited to the United States. The civil settlement is part of a global settlement that involved the resolution of a criminal case and False Claims Act allegations.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department’s Civil Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Inspector General John F. Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID)’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI North Carolina Field Office made the announcement after the settlement was signed and filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The United States relies on government contractors to supply and resupply our military with vital resources they require to carry out critical missions,” said Assistant Attorney General Hunt. “We will continue to ensure that companies and individuals who contract directly or indirectly with the federal government do not engage in fraudulent business practices at the expense of our nation’s military and the American taxpayer.”
“The success of our overseas war and reconstruction efforts is tied directly to the trust and respect established with the local populace,” said U.S. Attorney Higdon. “Corruption in our military operations undermines those efforts and cannot be tolerated.”
“This case involved fraud and corruption that exploited subcontracts designed to support American troops in a conflict zone,” said Special Inspector General John F. Sopko. “I’m proud of the tenacity displayed by SIGAR special agents, whose dogged pursuit of justice led to the return of $25 million to the United States Treasury.”
According to court documents, Hikmatullah Shadman, a young Afghan national, operated several companies including Hikmat Shadman Logistics Services Company (HSLSC), which served as subcontractors delivering supplies to U.S. service members at various locations in Afghanistan. From November 2010 to March 2012, Shadman charged the United States more than $77 million for delivering supplies to U.S. service members. The civil forfeiture case, initially filed on Nov. 20, 2012, targeted, among other things, Shadman’s fraudulent receipt of a disproportionate number of subcontracts for the transport of military supplies in Afghanistan, as well as the inflated prices that he charged the United States for such transport.
From at least 2007 to 2012, the U.S. Government paid contractors and subcontractors to resupply U.S. military forces operating in Afghanistan, and utilized local Afghan-owned businesses to transport fuel and other supplies by truck to various locations throughout the country. The investigation revealed thousands of apparent falsified documents submitted by Shadman’s companies to the United States for payment. As a result of this falsification, the Government often paid Shadman for work that was never performed and for work other than that described in the documentation submitted. Through his companies, Shadman also charged the United States rates which were well above the average rate of his competitors. The forensic analysis conducted in this case revealed that Shadman overcharged the United States millions of dollars for transporting supplies to U.S. service members in Afghanistan.
As part of the global settlement, several companies owned and controlled by Shadman, including HSLSC, entered into a separate agreement with the United States to resolve False Claims Act allegations arising from kickbacks paid from November 2010 to May 2012 to obtain subcontracts to transport military supplies needed by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Under the agreement, $1.5 million of the forfeited funds will be paid to resolve these claims.
In addition to the civil forfeiture and False Claims Act resolutions, Shadman’s primary company, HSLSC, was criminally prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina. On Jan. 3, HSLSC pleaded guilty to a criminal information, No. 5:18-cr-492-1, charging the corporation with two counts of paying gratuities to two U.S. service members in Afghanistan, and one count of conspiracy to do the same, in order to influence the award of subcontracts to HSLSC and to ensure favorable treatment in the contracting process. In this criminal case, HSLSC was sentenced to pay an $810,000 fine and forfeit $190,000. Under the terms of the civil settlement agreement agreed to by the parties, those funds will be paid to the United States before the civil settlement is concluded. As part of the criminal case, HSLSC also agreed to be placed on probation for five years, not to contest debarment, not to seek to engage in business within the United States, and its corporate officers agreed not to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.
“The corporate plea and the civil settlement filed today once again demonstrates that defrauding the government is a losing proposition,” said Director Robey of the U.S. Army CID’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “Stealing U.S. tax dollars meant to support our soldier’s readiness is an egregious abuse of trust. We, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to protect the U.S. military from unscrupulous businesses.”
“DCIS will aggressively investigate complex fraud and corruption that undermines the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) no matter where it happens or how long it takes,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Craig. “We hope that this case demonstrates the commitment of DCIS and our law enforcement partners to use every available option to protect valuable DoD resources around the world and better enable our Warfighters to accomplish our critical global missions.”
This civil forfeiture case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected].
The investigation was conducted by SIGAR along with the FBI, DCIS, the U.S. Army Major Procurement Fraud Unit, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Patricia Kessler and Steven Parker of MLARS International Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi of the District of Columbia (formerly of MLARS). The HSLSC criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Banu Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The civil False Claims Act imposes treble damages and penalties on those who knowingly submit false or fraudulent claims for government funds or property. The False Claims Act investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Glenn Harris of the Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Truong and Heather Graham Oliver of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
U.S. Obtains over $25 Million in Forfeited Funds as Part of a Successful Effort to Root Out Fraud and Corruption in Government Contracting in AfghanistanRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice has reached a settlement of its civil forfeiture case against assets owned by Hikmatullah Shadman that he wrongfully acquired as a government contractor in Afghanistan. Under the terms of the settlement, approximately $25 million will be forfeited to the United States. The civil settlement is part of a global settlement that involved the resolution of a criminal case and False Claims Act allegations.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department’s Civil Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Inspector General John F. Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID)’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office and Special Agent in Charge John Strong of the FBI North Carolina Field Office made the announcement after the settlement was signed and filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The United States relies on government contractors to supply and resupply our military with vital resources they require to carry out critical missions,” said Assistant Attorney General Hunt. “We will continue to ensure that companies and individuals who contract directly or indirectly with the federal government do not engage in fraudulent business practices at the expense of our nation’s military and the American taxpayer.”
“The success of our overseas war and reconstruction efforts is tied directly to the trust and respect established with the local populace,” said U.S. Attorney Higdon. “Corruption in our military operations undermines those efforts and cannot be tolerated.”
“This case involved fraud and corruption that exploited subcontracts designed to support American troops in a conflict zone,” said Special Inspector General John F. Sopko. “I’m proud of the tenacity displayed by SIGAR special agents, whose dogged pursuit of justice led to the return of $25 million to the United States Treasury.”
According to court documents, Hikmatullah Shadman, a young Afghan national, operated several companies including Hikmat Shadman Logistics Services Company (HSLSC), which served as subcontractors delivering supplies to U.S. service members at various locations in Afghanistan. From November 2010 to March 2012, Shadman charged the United States more than $77 million for delivering supplies to U.S. service members. The civil forfeiture case, initially filed on Nov. 20, 2012, targeted, among other things, Shadman’s fraudulent receipt of a disproportionate number of subcontracts for the transport of military supplies in Afghanistan, as well as the inflated prices that he charged the United States for such transport.
From at least 2007 to 2012, the U.S. Government paid contractors and subcontractors to resupply U.S. military forces operating in Afghanistan, and utilized local Afghan-owned businesses to transport fuel and other supplies by truck to various locations throughout the country. The investigation revealed thousands of apparent falsified documents submitted by Shadman’s companies to the United States for payment. As a result of this falsification, the Government often paid Shadman for work that was never performed and for work other than that described in the documentation submitted. Through his companies, Shadman also charged the United States rates which were well above the average rate of his competitors. The forensic analysis conducted in this case revealed that Shadman overcharged the United States millions of dollars for transporting supplies to U.S. service members in Afghanistan.
As part of the global settlement, several companies owned and controlled by Shadman, including HSLSC, entered into a separate agreement with the United States to resolve False Claims Act allegations arising from kickbacks paid from November 2010 to May 2012 to obtain subcontracts to transport military supplies needed by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Under the agreement, $1.5 million of the forfeited funds will be paid to resolve these claims.
In addition to the civil forfeiture and False Claims Act resolutions, Shadman’s primary company, HSLSC, was criminally prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina. On Jan. 3, HSLSC pleaded guilty to a criminal information, No. 5:18-cr-492-1, charging the corporation with two counts of paying gratuities to two U.S. service members in Afghanistan, and one count of conspiracy to do the same, in order to influence the award of subcontracts to HSLSC and to ensure favorable treatment in the contracting process. In this criminal case, HSLSC was sentenced to pay an $810,000 fine and forfeit $190,000. Under the terms of the civil settlement agreement agreed to by the parties, those funds will be paid to the United States before the civil settlement is concluded. As part of the criminal case, HSLSC also agreed to be placed on probation for five years, not to contest debarment, not to seek to engage in business within the United States, and its corporate officers agreed not to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.
“The corporate plea and the civil settlement filed today once again demonstrates that defrauding the government is a losing proposition,” said Director Robey of the U.S. Army CID’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “Stealing U.S. tax dollars meant to support our soldier’s readiness is an egregious abuse of trust. We, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to protect the U.S. military from unscrupulous businesses.”
“DCIS will aggressively investigate complex fraud and corruption that undermines the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) no matter where it happens or how long it takes,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Craig. “We hope that this case demonstrates the commitment of DCIS and our law enforcement partners to use every available option to protect valuable DoD resources around the world and better enable our Warfighters to accomplish our critical global missions.”
This civil forfeiture case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected].
The investigation was conducted by SIGAR along with the FBI, DCIS, the U.S. Army Major Procurement Fraud Unit, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Patricia Kessler and Steven Parker of MLARS International Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi of the District of Columbia (formerly of MLARS). The HSLSC criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Banu Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The civil False Claims Act imposes treble damages and penalties on those who knowingly submit false or fraudulent claims for government funds or property. The False Claims Act investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Glenn Harris of the Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Truong and Heather Graham Oliver of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Two Mexican Mafia ‘Secretaries’ Found Guilty of RICO Charge for Being Street Intermediaries for Member of Violent Prison GangRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man and his long-time girlfriend have been found guilty of racketeering conspiracy for collecting and storing extortionate “taxes” for the man’s brother, an imprisoned Mexican Mafia member, and for acting as the brother’s eyes and ears on the street, delivering coded messages to him, including one message that resulted in an individual being marked for death.
Thomas Gonzales, 60, and Gloria Valerio, 66, both of the Elysian Valley neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, were found guilty Monday of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) after a two-week federal jury trial. Gonzales also was found guilty of making a false statement to a law enforcement officer.
Gonzales and Valerio were named in a 2015 federal RICO indictment that charged 22 defendants and outlined how Gonzales’s brother, Mexican Mafia member and senior Frogtown gang member Arnold “Arnie” Gonzales, 58, had ordered the unification of the traditional rival Los Angeles street gangs of Frogtown, Toonerville, and Rascals. The inter-gang alliance began in 2010 and resulted in the three gangs controlling the narcotics trade and other illegal activities in an area along the Los Angeles River that ran from Elysian Park nearly to Burbank. Through violence and threats of violence, senior members collected money, or “taxes,” from legitimate and illegal businesses in the area for Arnie Gonzales’s benefit. Prosecutors previously obtained 19 convictions in this case with some defendants receiving sentences of up to 25 years in federal prison. Gonzales and Valerio were the last two defendants still facing charges.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Gonzales and Valerio acted as “secretaries,” or people who act as the bridge between imprisoned members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and the gang members on the street. “Secretaries” often are not gang members themselves and have normal jobs and minimal criminal histories, which is why the Mexican Mafia targets them to be used as intermediaries, as they are able to make prison visits to Mexican Mafia members without arousing suspicion. In this case, Valerio worked as an insurance analyst and Thomas Gonzales was an HVAC technician.
At trial, jurors saw more than 35 video clips from 11 prison visits in 2012 and 2013 where Valerio and Thomas Gonzales visited Arnie Gonzales, who was serving a life sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison for a murder conviction. As Arnie Gonzales’s eyes and ears on the streets, Thomas Gonzales and Valerio stored the extortionate “tax” money gang leaders had collected from street gangs in Arnie Gonzales’s name within the territories controlled by him. Valerio deposited some of that money into Arnie Gonzales’s prison account. A search warrant executed at the defendants’ residence in June 2015 resulted in the seizure of more than $22,000 in cash.
The evidence at trial also showed that the defendants used coded language to inform Arnie Gonzales about an individual who was falsely claiming to have the authority to collect “taxes” on Arnie Gonzales’s behalf. That individual later was marked for death, the jury heard.
United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez has scheduled a June 3 sentencing hearing for both defendants. Gonzales and Valerio face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on the racketeering conspiracy count. Gonzales faces an additional statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the false statements count.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - Special Service Unit; the Glendale Police Department; and the Los Angeles Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carol Alexis Chen of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Alexander B. Schwab of the Major Frauds Section.
Twin Cities Bank Robber Sentenced to Eight Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of JAYVON DOMINIQUE GANT, 28, to eight years in prison for bank robbery. GANT, who pleaded guilty on August 20, 2018, was sentenced today before Judge Joan N. Ericksen in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, on June 7, 2018, GANT entered Premier Bank in Bloomington, Minnesota, and passed a note to the teller that contained a demand for money, followed by a verbal demand of the teller to, “give me all the money and no trackers.” In response to his demand, the teller handed GANT $3,710 and, after receiving the money, GANT fled the bank on foot. Following the robbery, law enforcement officers located GANT at his home in Bloomington. Upon law enforcement’s entry to the residence, GANT jumped from his third floor balcony to the second floor below, broke the sliding glass door and entered the second floor apartment in an attempt to escape. When confronted by law enforcement on the second floor, GANT jumped from the second floor balcony to the ground level where he was apprehended.
According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, GANT committed five additional robberies of other banks located throughout the Twin Cities area. In all instances, GANT used similar tactics by passing a note to the teller that contained a demand for money. For example, one such note stated, “Give me all the money out the top and bottom drawer act calm and normal NO Gps or Dypack Im going to go through the money at this counter so don’t play games with me give me the money act normal no one will get hurt.”
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Bloomington, Blaine, Fridley, Edina, Cottage Grove and Oakdale Police Departments. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat violent crime.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.
Defendant Information:
JAYVON DOMINIQUE GANT, 28
Bloomington, Minn.
Convicted:
- Bank robbery, 1 count
Sentenced:
- 96 months in prison
- Three years of supervised release
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Three Michigan men indicted on drug and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Three men from Michigan were indicted by a federal grand today on drug distribution charges, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
The men are accused of distributing heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine, and methamphetamine from the fall of 2018 to January 2019 in Marion County and elsewhere. They are:
- Terrence D. Marsh, of Detroit, Michigan, age 37
- Nicholas J. Mathis, of Warren, Michigan, age 24
- Lamar D. Perdue, of Detroit, Michigan, age 20
Each man was indicted on one count of “Conspiracy to Possess With the Intent to Distribute and Distribute Controlled Substances,” one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession With the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine within 1000 Feet of a Protected Location,” one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession With the Intent to Distribute Heroin within 1000 Feet of a Protected Location,” one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession With the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl within 1000 Feet of a Protected Location,” one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Hydrochloride within 1000 Feet of a Protected Location,” one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base within 1000 Feet of a Protected Location,” and one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Crime.”
Each face not less than 10 years and up to life incarceration and a fine of up to $10 million for each of the conspiracy and aiding and possession of methamphetamine counts. They face up to 40 years incarceration and a fine of up to $2 million for each of the heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base counts, and face five years to life incarceration and a $250,000 fine for the firearms count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Project Safe Neighborhoods is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Three Rivers Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Three Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Interstate KidnappingRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – Yesterday, Jesus Humberto Barrera Estrada, 20, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was sentenced by United States District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 60 months in federal prison followed by six years of supervised release. On Jan. 14, 2019, Corey Webster Newkirk, 22, of Tempe, Ariz., was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. On Dec. 3, 2018, Gabriel Mario Morales, 20, of Tempe, Ariz., was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. All three men had previously pleaded guilty to interstate kidnapping.
Beginning on or about May 27, 2018, Newkirk, Morales, and Barrera Estrada engaged in a conspiracy to find the victim, and clandestinely surveil her and her family in California. The trio drove from Arizona to southern California, where they continued to watch the victim and her family, even tracking one of their vehicles with a GPS device. The conspiracy culminated on June 4, 2018, when the three men ambushed the victim, physically restrained her inside a vehicle, and drove across state lines back to Arizona. A traffic stop in Quartzsite, Ariz. ultimately led to the victim’s rescue and the apprehension of the three men.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department, and the Quartzsite Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Christina Covault, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-18-882-PHX-DLR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2019-021_Newkirk etal
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Thirteen Members of Middle Tennessee Drug Trafficking Organization IndictedRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - March 5, 2019 – Two indictments unsealed today charged thirteen Middle Tennessee individuals with various crimes relating to a conspiracy to unlawfully possess and distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in the Middle Tennessee area, and federal firearms violations, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran.
Earlier today, local, state and federal law enforcement officers began arresting those charged and all but one are in custody. Robert Bell, 41 of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, remains at large.
The indictments allege the criminal activity occurred between June 1, 2017, and February 6, 2019. Those charged in the indictments are:
Mark McElwee, 50, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute heroin methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
Ramell Webster, 34, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession and distribution of heroin and possession with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin; being a convicted felon in possession of firearms; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
Michael Bedwell, 40, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; being a convicted felon in possession of firearms; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
John Hayes, 36, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.
Jesse Weston, 38, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Robert Bell, 41, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; and unlawful possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.
Chelsea Brassell, 28, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine and cocaine.
Laura Hayes, 31, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Caddius House, 42, of Murfreesboro, unlawful possession with intent to distribute Xanax.
Kirk Carroll, 41, of Westmoreland, Tennessee, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.
Jennifer Neal, 38, of Westmoreland, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Joshua Parsons, 37, of Nashville, conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine; unlawful possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; being a convicted felon in possession of firearms; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
Matthew Anderson, 31, of Nashville, being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.
If convicted, the following penalties apply:
McElwee and Webster, 10 - 45 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine;
Michael Bedwell, 10 years, up to life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine;
John Hayes, Weston, Bell, Brassell, Laura Hayes, House, Carrol, and Neal, up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine;
Joshua Parsons, 5 - 25 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine; and
Matthew Anderson, up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department; the Smyrna, Tennessee Police Department; the Macon County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Department; the Marshall County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Department; and the Putnam County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Siji Moore is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Three Men Sentenced for Multi-State Crime Spree Including Carjacking and Pharmacy Robberies in Wyoming and New MexicoRead the Press Release
New Mexico residents Antoine Mitchell, Moses D. Dickens III, and Christopher Dominguez, were all sentenced in a Cheyenne federal court recently after pleading guilty to crimes related to a violent crime spree that included armed pharmacy robberies in Wyoming and New Mexico.
On October 6, 2016, the three men, disguised in ski masks, kidnapped a woman at gunpoint in Wheatland, Wyoming, and dropped her at a remote location west of Wheatland before driving her Ford Edge and their own car to the Medicap Pharmacy in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There, again disguised, they fired shots and demanded painkillers, including OxyContin and Oxycodone. After exchanging gunfire with the pharmacist, the robbers fled in the Ford Edge, abandoned it shortly thereafter, and left Wyoming in their own car.
Despite a detailed and thorough investigation by the Cheyenne Police Department, the crimes in Wyoming went unsolved until December 3, 2016, when Mitchell, Dickens, and Dominguez robbed another pharmacy at gunpoint in Raton, New Mexico, fleeing with OxyContin, Morphine, Promethazine, cough syrup, and Ketamine. After a high-speed chase with the Raton Police Department, the three men were apprehended and charged in federal court in New Mexico.
In a joint effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Wyoming, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office, the Wheatland Police Department, the Cheyenne Police Department, the Wyoming State Crime Laboratory, and with the courageous assistance of the victims in Wyoming, Mitchell, Dickens, and Dominguez were linked to their crimes in Wheatland and Cheyenne. They were charged in federal court in Wyoming.
Eventually, both the Wyoming and New Mexico cases were consolidated before Federal Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal in Wyoming. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Offices in New Mexico and Wyoming, Dickens, Dominguez, and Mitchell all entered pleas related to the carjacking and pharmacy robberies. Mitchell and Dickens received sentences of 35 years in prison. Dominguez will serve 28 years.
"This case is an outstanding representation of how close cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies across two states can put violent criminals and drug dealers behind bars," said Wyoming U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen. "It is a perfect example of the kind of case that our President, our Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Wyoming and New Mexico are targeting to reduce violent crime and address the opiate epidemic in our respective communities. Here, we combined the resources of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices across two states to find the most effective way to investigate and prosecute these violent actors, and to bring justice to the victims of violent crime, which is the mandate of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood initiative. I also want to highlight in particular the courage or the victims of these crimes in Wyoming. Without their assistance, these criminals may never have been accountable for their violent crimes here."
"Today’s sentencing of Antione Mitchell and the recent sentencings of Moses Dickens III and Christopher Dominguez illustrate the FBI’s commitment to work with its law enforcement partners to address violent crime in our community," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Dean Phillips. "This investigation was truly a collaborative multi-state effort between local and federal law enforcement. The community is safer with these individuals behind bars. And we are confident Mitchell, Dickens, and Dominguez’s sentencings sends a message to those involved in acts of violence that they will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Stockton Woman Pleads Guilty to Two Separate Fraud ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kioni M. Dogan, 38, of Stockton, pleaded guilty Tuesday to separate criminal conspiracies to submit false claims for federal income tax refunds and to commit mail fraud in connection with California state unemployment insurance benefits, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Dogan and her co-conspirators together illegally sought over $2 million from the California and federal governments with these schemes.
In the tax case, Dogan conspired with her co-defendant Antonia Brasley and others to submit false tax returns to the IRS by obtaining personal identifying information from family, friends, and others, and then submitting returns seeking refunds to which the people listed on the returns were not entitled. To pursue the refunds, false statements were placed on the returns regarding income, withholding from income, and gambling losses, with fraudulent supporting tax forms. From May 2011 through April 2012, Dogan and her co-conspirators sought over $940,000 in fraudulent tax refunds, of which approximately $708,188 were paid out by the IRS.
In the unemployment insurance case, from 2010 through 2015, Dogan and her co‑conspirators operated a “fictitious employer” scheme. Dogan created an employer with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) that was fictitious and did not conduct any business. Dogan then caused the submission of information to the EDD falsely indicating that various persons were employed by the fictitious entity. Dogan subsequently filed unemployment claims in the names of the fake employees. Co-defendants Gloria Harris and Lavonda Bailey are among the individuals alleged to have collected the fraudulent benefits, both in their own names and in the names of other fake employees. Dogan was connected to approximately $1.3 million in fraudulent claims to EDD, of which approximately $972,319 were paid out by EDD.
The unemployment fraud case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Employment Development Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The tax fraud case was the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hales is prosecuting both cases.
The charges against co-defendants Brasley, Harris, and Bailey remain pending. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dogan is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on June 11, 2019. Dogan faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to submit false claims, and 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, as well as a $250,000 fine on each count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on President Donald J. Trump’s Intent to Nominate Jessie K. Liu as Associate Attorney General of the United StatesRead the Press Release
Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:
"I was pleased to recommend Jessie Liu to President Trump for the position of Associate Attorney General and am grateful that he has nominated her. Jessie has distinguished herself as a first-class attorney in private practice, in the Treasury Department, and in five different positions over her career at the Department of Justice. Today she leads more than 300 prosecutors at our nation's largest U.S. Attorney office, where she has achieved significant accomplishments, including prosecuting several significant False Claims Act cases and implementing the Department's pilot initiative on sexual harassment in public housing. With her record of public service, particularly in civil justice and federal law enforcement matters, it is clear that she will be an outstanding addition to our leadership team at the Department.”
Statement Following the Completion of State and Local InvestigationsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office today issued the following statement:
“Now that both state and local authorities have completed their investigations into the shooting of Stephon Clark, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, will examine whether the shooting involved violations of Mr. Clark’s federal civil rights. That examination will involve a review of the substance and results of the state and local investigations, and any additional investigative steps, if warranted.”
St. Thomas Man Found Guilty on Drug Charges Involving 5 Kilograms of Powder CocaineRead the Press Release
St. Croix, USVI – Alvin Henry, 40, of St. Thomas, has been found guilty, after a jury trial, of one count of Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance With Intent to Distribute and one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance With Intent to Distribute in the St. Croix District Court, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. The jury trial lasted a total of seven days, starting on February 25, 2019, and concluding on March 5, 2019.
These federal offenses carry a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years or more than life, a fine of up to $10,000,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five years. Sentencing will be set for a future date.
According to trial testimony, on November 2, 2016, a Customs and Border Protection K-9 officer entered the pre-departure area at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix to randomly inspect departing passengers. When the K-9 officer approached, Defendant Henry ("Henry") nervously stood up and lifted his bag off the floor. When the CBP officers noticed this suspicious behavior, they asked if they could look into his bags. Henry consented and 10 duct-taped bricks of cocaine powder were confiscated from the bag. Further investigation revealed that Henry was part of a scheme to transport cocaine from St. Croix to Florida, and had met with an airport employee in the bathroom of the departure area, who delivered the cocaine bricks to Henry in the bathroom. Henry was scheduled to board the American Airlines flight to Miami with the cocaine in his carry-on luggage. Laboratory analysis confirmed the substance was cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine powder) with a net weight of 5,132.4 grams, or over 5 kilograms.
The case was investigated by Customs and Boarder Protection and Homeland Security Investigations. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southeast Laboratory in Miami analyzed the cocaine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
Sinaloa, Mexico Man Sentenced to 188 Months for Methamphetamine, Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Abel Eduardo Cristerna-Gonzalez, age 27, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced on February 27, 2019, to 188 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine and for Possession With Intent To Distribute Heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1); 841(b)(1)(A); 841(b)(1)(B); and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. The defendant’s jury trial began with testimony on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 and concluded on Thursday, August 9, 2018 with a guilty verdict. The verdict and sentence obtained was the result of an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Sentencing occurred following the completion of a pre-sentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office.
Evidence at trial proved that on April 24, 2018, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper stopped a vehicle for traveling in excess of the speed limit on I-40 in Okmulgee County. The vehicle was driven by Luis Lopez Arce and Cristerna-Gonzalez was a passenger. Following routine questioning and further investigation, methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance were located in the vehicle. Additionally, evidence proved that the methamphetamine in the vehicle weighed 50 grams or more and the heroin 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing heroin. The jury found that Cristerna-Gonzalez – the defendant on trial – knowingly and intentionally possessed the methamphetamine and heroin with the intent to distribute them.
“Drug trafficking organizations distribute their poison to towns and cities across our country. The people that transport these drugs and deliver them to their intended distribution points are an integral part of the business model these organizations utilize to make huge profits while the rest of society pays the price. This investigation and prosecution of the defendant disrupted a drug trafficking organization which is a Department of Justice priority,” United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said. “The members of this office will continue to work with our state, local, tribal and federal law enforcement partners to combat the distribution of dangerous drugs which has had such a devastating impact across the nation.”
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-paroleable sentence will be served.
Shiprock Man Sentenced to Eight Years’ Prison for DUI Causing Child’s DeathRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On March 4, 2019, Travis Lester Begay, 30, of Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan to eight years’ imprisonment. Begay had previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
After drinking all day on June 3, 2018, Begay began driving his car with four young children in the back seat. Begay’s blood alcohol content at the time was 0.28, which is three-and-a-half times the legal limit. Because he was so intoxicated, Begay lost control of the car and caused a rollover crash. A ten-year-old child was ejected from the back seat and died as a result of the collision. Both Begay and the victim are members of the Navajo Nation, and the offense occurred on Navajo Route 63, north of Red Valley, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Voit, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR 18-08223-SPL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2019-025_Begay
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Shiprock Man Found Guilty of Raping Woman in TowaocRead the Press Release
DURANGO – Merle Denezpi, age 39, of Shiprock, New Mexico, was found guilty on March 1, 2019, of federal sexual assault charges following a week-long trial before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn announced. Denezpi appeared at trial in custody and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the trial’s conclusion.
Denezpi was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 7, 2018, for one count of Aggravated Sexual Assault within the exterior boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, near Towaoc, Colorado. According to court documents, as well as facts presented during trial, Denezpi used physical force and death threats to sexually assault his victim. Denezpi fled from the scene by jumping out a second-story window and hid underneath a bush for roughly thirteen hours. When apprehended by federal agents, Denezpi offered a contradictory story about his relationship with the victim, before finally asserting any sex was consensual. A Sexual Assault Nurse Exam (“SANE”) was conducted showing significant bruising and injuries to the victim. In addition a DNA test conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations revealed Denezpi’s DNA was present on the victim.
Denezpi will be sentenced by Judge Blackburn on June 3, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. in Durango, Colorado. Denezpi faces up to life in prison.
“Victims of sexual assault display tremendous courage when they agree to participate in the prosecution of their assailants by confronting them in court, and we commend the victim here for her courage,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. Our office is committed to vigorously prosecuting those who prey upon women and hold them accountable.”
This case was investigated by Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the assistance of their Victim Witness Specialist. The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Graves and Tim Neff.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon was sentenced on March 4, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lawrence Gary, Jr., age 20, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Gary was indicted on February 14, 2018. He pled guilty on August 7, 2018.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred around midnight on the evening of January 20, 2018. On that evening, the Defendant was at a social gathering at a residence in the Two Strike Community near Rosebud. The victim, an adult man, was also present. At some point, Gary and the victim got into an argument and Gary began assaulting the victim, striking him with his hands and fists. The victim fell to the floor and Gary kicked and stomped the victim multiple times with shod feet. He further struck the victim multiple times with a saucepan. The Defendant also stabbed the victim in the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades, with a knife. After he assaulted the victim, Gary left him lying on the floor and departed the house.
The stab wound severed the victim’s spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the chest down. Around noon on January 21, 2018, the victim was discovered lying on the floor of the residence. He was transported by ambulance to the Rosebud Indian Health Services Hospital, and subsequently transferred to Rapid City Regional Hospital. He was thereafter placed in a nursing home.
On October 24, 2018, while Gary was pending sentencing, the victim passed away. An autopsy determined that the stab wound inflicted by Gary was the proximate cause of the victim’s death.
The case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Gary was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rockford Man Charged with Illegal Possesson of FirearmsRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — ALVIN J. MALONE, 31, of Rockford, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Rockford for illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
The indictment alleges that on Feb. 19, 2019, Malone illegally possessed a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, a .22-caliber rifle, and a loaded .45 semi-automatic pistol.
Malone has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 19, 2019. He will appear for arraignment on March 6, 2019, at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston in Rockford.
The indicted was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Timothy Jones, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The Rockford Police Department assisted in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
The charge of illegally possessing a firearm carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, to be followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rigby Man Sentenced for Obtaining Controlled Substances by FraudRead the Press Release
POCATELLO - Benjamin J. Hurley, 38, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 3 years of probation for obtaining controlled substances, namely Tylenol 3 and 4, by fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. Hurley was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye. Hurley pleaded guilty on November 30, 2018.
According to court records, Hurley was employed as a pharmacist in Rigby. As part of his employment, Hurley had access to the controlled substances in the pharmacy and access to the pharmacy’s inventory management system. Hurley knowingly and intentionally altered the pharmacy’s inventory management system to fraudulently conceal his theft of acetaminophen/codeine 300/30mg (Tylenol 3) and acetaminophen/codeine 300/60mg (Tylenol 4) from the pharmacy. Tylenol 3 and Tylenol 4 are Schedule III controlled substances. Hurley stole over 1,600 pills of Tylenol 3 and 580 pills of Tylenol 4.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
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Richardson, Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Raudy Acosta Fernandez, age 32, of Richardson, Texas, entered a guilty plea to Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1), punishable by not more than 2 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00, or both.
The Superseding Indictment alleges that on or about March 21, 2018, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did knowingly possess, and use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person during and in relation to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Lighthorse Police Department and the United States Secret Service.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.