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Monday 28 January 2019
Indian National Pleads Guilty to Leadership Role in Dangerous Human Smuggling ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An Indian national pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 for his role in a complex, transnational conspiracy to smuggle aliens from India to the Unites States for profit, which claimed at least one life and endangered many others.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Puerto Rico made the announcement.
Yadvinder Singh Bhamba, 60, an Indian national, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of smuggling aliens to the United States for profit before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sivia Carreño-Coll of the District of Puerto Rico. Judge Carreño-Coll has recommended that District Judge Carmen C. Cerezo accept the guilty plea. A sentencing hearing before Judge Cerezo is scheduled for April 23, 2019. Bhamba was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on March 15, 2017.
According to admissions in Bhamba’s plea agreement, since 2013, Bhamba had a leadership role in a human smuggling conspiracy operating out of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, India and elsewhere. As part of the conspiracy, Bhamba personally assisted around 400 aliens to unlawfully enter the United States between 2013 and 2015. He also oversaw and directed co-conspirators operating out of the Caribbean.
Bhamba and other members of the conspiracy made flight arrangements for aliens to travel from India through other countries – including Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran, Panama, Venezuela, Belize, and Haiti – to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic was used as a staging area, where aliens were housed before being transported to the United States. The organization brought groups of aliens from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico or Florida by boat. Once the aliens reached Puerto Rico or Florida, they were picked up by co-conspirators and taken to stash houses until flights could be arranged to California, New York, or elsewhere in the United States. Bhamba and others arranged for fraudulent identifications for some aliens to use in the United States.
The boat trips organized by Bhamba and his co-conspirators were perilous. Boat captains used old, damaged, cracked, unlicensed, overcrowded, and unsafe boats to make the journey. In at least one instance, an alien died in a boat on his way to the United States.
At times, the smugglers would take passports from the aliens during their journeys, physically assault them, and threaten their families to collect money. Aliens paid between $30,000 and $85,000 to be smuggled from India to the United States. From at least 2013 to 2016, human smuggling was Bhamba’s primary source of income.
Members of the conspiracy, including Bhamba, would use false names or nicknames to communicate with the aliens and with each other. Bhamba, whom fellow smugglers and aliens knew as “Ruby,” also instructed others to use false names or nicknames to avoid detection. Bhamba used fraudulent Indian, Dominican, and Jamaican identifications for travel and financial transactions related to the conspiracy.
As part of the conspiracy, Bhamba directed associates to unlawfully smuggle 15 aliens to Puerto Rico in July 2016. Bhamba personally met the 15 aliens in various countries along their journeys, including in Dubai, Thailand, Iran, and the Dominican Republic, and he communicated with them throughout their journeys, which began approximately in January 2016. In some instances, Bhamba created and provided false employment documents on behalf of the aliens to authorities to obtain foreign visas. Bhamba also instructed aliens traveling through foreign airports how to find, and in some instances, pay cash to, corrupt immigration officials, passport control officers, or airport employees in order to bypass regular immigration and passport control procedures.
After the aliens arrived in the Dominican Republic, Bhamba used an alias to arrange and pay for a hotel for them. On July 25, 2016, Bhamba alerted co-conspirators in Puerto Rico to be ready to receive 15 aliens. On July 27, 2016, 15 Indian nationals were transported from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico in a 22-foot wooden vessel. The vessel was not marked or equipped with basic safety features, such as lights or navigational equipment. The outside of the vessel was painted black, to make it difficult to see in the water at night. Per safety regulations, the size of the boat should have limited the number of occupants to eight people, but it carried 15 aliens, plus members of the conspiracy who captained the vessel.
The aliens were supposed to be met in Puerto Rico by another smuggler, but they were apprehended instead. Bhamba contacted other members of the conspiracy to find out what happened to the aliens and paid a co-conspirator to locate the aliens and confirm they did not drown, so that the co-conspirators would not lose money. Bhamba was arrested in the Dominican Republic in August 2017, and thereafter transferred to Puerto Rico.
The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
HSI Puerto Rico investigated this case. The government of the Dominican Republic and the Transnational Crime Investigative Unit of the Dominican Republic National Police provided significant assistance and support during the investigation and have brought charges against other members of the smuggling network.
Trial Attorneys Ann Marie E. Ursini and Christian A. Levesque of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case, with the assistance of the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.
Huntington Man Sentenced for Federal Meth and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who previously pled guilty to drug and gun charges was sentenced today to 131 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Jonathan Forest Johnson, 31, entered guilty pleas to distribution of methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in October 2018 in federal court in Huntington. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department.
“Almost 11 years in prison,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Yet another gun-toting drug dealer taken off the streets of Huntington.”
On January 29, 2018, a confidential informant contacted Johnson to arrange the purchase of methamphetamine. After negotiating the transaction, Johnson directed the informant to meet him in the parking lot of a department store located in the 3000 block of U.S. Route 60 in Huntington. The informant met with Johnson at that location and Johnson sold the informant 15 grams of crystal methamphetamine in exchange for $330.
On February 2, 2018, investigators executed a search warrant at Johnson’s residence located at 3405 5th Avenue in Huntington. During the search, investigators seized a number of items including 17 grams of heroin, 4.5 grams of meth, two 9mm pistols, a .40 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, a 12 gauge shotgun, and a 16 gauge shotgun. Johnson was arrested during the search and Johnson admitted that he intended to sell the heroin and meth found in his residence. Johnson further admitted that he possessed the firearms to serve as protection based on his involvement in distributing heroin and meth.
Johnson also admitted to selling an additional 15 grams of meth to an informant on January 31, 2018, and that he was prohibited from possessing the firearms seized based on multiple prior felony convictions in the Cabell County Circuit Court for First Degree Robbery and Malicious Wounding. Johnson also admitted that he had been selling heroin and meth for the two-month period prior to the February 2 search of his residence.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
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Houston Medical Clinic Owner Convicted in $11 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and operator of a purported medical clinic, QC Medical Clinic, was convicted on Jan. 24, by a federal jury of participating in an $11 million Medicare fraud scheme in which fraudulent medical documents were sold to home-health agencies in and around Houston.
The conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick of the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office.
Brenda Rodriguez, 57, of Harris County, Texas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of healthcare fraud following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas. Rodriguez is expected to be sentenced on April 29.
According to the evidence presented at trial, from October 2012 through August 2015, Rodriguez and others conspired to defraud Medicare by selling Plans of Care, and other medical documents signed by a doctor, through QC Medical Clinic (“QC Medical”) to various home-health services, resulting in approximately $11 million in false and fraudulent claims for home-health services billed to Medicare.
The evidence at trial showed that home-health agencies billed Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and in many instances, not provided.
To date, three others have pleaded guilty or were convicted based on their roles in a larger fraudulent scheme that included QC Medical. John Ramirez, M.D., was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud for his role at a related purported clinic and is awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. Nenna Iro and Magdalene Akharamen, owners of Houston area home-health agencies, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in purchasing Plans of Care and other signed medical documents from QC Medical.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tina Ansari and Thomas Heyward Carter.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Illegal Gun Possession, Violating Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RASCELL LEGGETT, 32, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 22, 2011, Leggett was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing marijuana and crack cocaine in Hartford. He was released from federal prison in February 2015. Leggett subsequently violated the conditions of his supervised release and, in June 2016, was sentenced to an additional four months of imprisonment, followed by two years and eight months of supervised release. He was released from federal prison in November 2016.
In August 2017, Leggett was arrested by Hartford Police and charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension. Leggett subsequently failed to appear for a federal supervised release violation hearing on November 6, 2017.
On December 18, 2017, investigators arrested Leggett after they stopped a vehicle he was operating on Albany Avenue in Hartford. A search of the car revealed 148 bags of heroin, a Ruger 9mm pistol loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition, and $655 in cash. A search of Leggett’s person revealed approximately four grams of crack cocaine.
At the time of his arrest, Leggett also had an active Hartford Police arrest warrant for attempted first degree assault with a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, and risk if injury to a minor. The charges stemmed from an incident on December 13, 2017, when Leggett fired a gun into a car occupied by a woman and her minor child.
Leggett has been detained since his arrest. On October 17, 2018, he pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Judge Hall sentenced Leggett to 60 months of imprisonment for possessing a firearm, and a consecutive 24 months of imprisonment for violating his supervised release.
Leggett has also pleaded guilty in state court to offenses stemming from the shooting on December 13, 2017, and awaits sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division provided valuable assistance to the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Harrison County man sentenced for firearms violationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jesse Alan Clevenger, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to three years probation for possessing a firearm after two domestic violence convictions, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Clevenger, age 34, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in June 2017. Clevenger admitted to possessing a .30 caliber rifle illegally. Clevenger had previously been convicted on two separate charges of domestic battery in the Harrison County Magistrate Court. The crime occurred on June 28, 2016.
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 prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.Grand Island Woman Pleads Guilty to Credit Card FraudRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – On January 4, 2019, United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced that Lendardra Griffin (29, Grand Island, FL) pleaded guilty to two counts of unauthorized access device fraud, for her role in a credit card fraud scheme. Griffin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
According to the plea agreement, Griffin participated in a scheme to obtain credit cards by using stolen personal identifying information (“PII”) and then using the fraudulently obtained credit cards to obtain cash, gift cards, and retail items. Griffin, and the individuals that she aided and abetted, obtained PII from victims, obtained credit cards in those victims’ names or linked to the victims’ accounts, and then used those credit cards to obtain money and items of value at various banks and retail stores. Griffin’s conduct, and the conduct she aided and abetted, is estimated to have resulted in a total loss of at least $478,000. The investigation and prosecution of others involved in this credit card fraud scheme continues.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
Gardiner Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Robert Gay, 35, of Gardiner, Maine pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records, on June 2, 2018, the defendant was hired to perform plumbing work at a residence in Scarborough, Maine. While working in the basement, the defendant came across and later stole a rifle that belonged to the homeowner. A search of the defendant’s cell phone revealed text conversations reflecting that the defendant stole the rifle and sold it to another individual. The purchaser was identified and the rifle was recovered and returned to the homeowner. The defendant was prohibited from possessing the rifle because he had two prior felony convictions for theft.
The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Scarborough and Gardiner Police Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted 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.
Four Audi Managers Charged in Connection with Conspiracy to Cheat U.S. Emissions TestsRead the Press Release
Four Audi managers, including a former member of Audi AG’s management board, were charged in an indictment filed on Jan. 17 for their roles in the nearly decade-long conspiracy to defraud U.S. regulators and U.S. customers by implementing software specifically designed to cheat U.S. emissions tests in tens of thousands of Audi “clean diesel” vehicles, the Justice Department announced today.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
Richard Bauder, 69, former head of Audi’s Diesel Engine Development Department; Axel Eiser, 57, former head of Audi’s Engine Development Division; Stefan Knirsch, 52, former head of Audi’s Engine Development Division and a former member of Audi’s Management Board, and Carsten Nagel, 50, former head of Diesel Certification, were charged in the Eastern District of Michigan with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act, along with multiple counts of wire fraud and multiple counts of making false statements under the Clean Air Act. All four are believed to be citizens of Germany. These individuals join Giovanni Pamio, 61, an Italian citizen, who was charged via criminal complaint in July 2017 and whose extradition from Germany is being sought by U.S. authorities. Pamio was formerly head of Thermodynamics within Audi’s Diesel Engine Development Department in Neckarsulm, Germany.
According to the indictment, from in or about 2006 until in or about November 2015, Pamio led a team of engineers responsible for designing emissions control systems to meet emissions standards, including for nitrogen oxides (NOx), for Audi 3.0 liter diesel vehicles in the United States.
The indictment further alleges, when Bauder, Eiser, Knirsch, Nagel and Pamio realized that it was impossible to calibrate a diesel engine that would meet NOx emissions standards within the design constraints imposed by other departments at the company, they directed Audi employees to design and implement a software function to cheat the standard U.S. emissions tests. The co-conspirators deliberately failed to disclose the software function, and knowingly misrepresented to U.S. regulators and U.S. customers that the vehicles complied with U.S. NOx emissions standards, the indictment alleges. Bauder, Eiser, Knirsch, Nagel, and Pamio also are alleged to have marketed the Audi 3.0 liter vehicles to the U.S. public as “clean diesel,” when they knew that these representations were false.
Audi’s parent company, Volkswagen AG (VW), previously pleaded guilty to three felony counts connected to cheating U.S. emissions standards. VW was sentenced in April 2017, and the company paid a $2.8 billion criminal penalty.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and EPA-CID investigated the case. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Fenton and David Fuhr of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer Blackwell and Trial Attorney Joel La Bissonniere of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crime Section, and White Collar Crime Unit Chief John K. Neal and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Wyse of the Eastern District of Michigan. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also assisted in the case. The Department of Justice also extends its thanks to the Munich II Prosecutor’s Office in Munich, Germany, for its assistance.
Former Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency Employee Sentenced to Probation for Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that Joel Hunsicker, age 38, of Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion to serve two years on probation and pay restitution for his theft of government funds during a six-year time period.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Hunsicker previously admitted to the theft of $6,730 of government funds when he worked at the Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency from 2009 through 2015. Hunsicker admitted to converting to his own use funds supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor for incentive rewards for students participating in the Pennsylvania CareerLink Lackawanna County program.
The case was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
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Former Quincy Man Sentenced for $1.9 Million Real Estate Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Quincy man, who had been a fugitive for more than 20 years prior to his arrest in April 2017, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with a $1.9 million real estate investment fraud scheme in Quincy.
Scott J. Wolas, 69, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 81 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,949,813 in restitution to the victims of his fraud scheme. Judge Saylor also ordered Wolas to pay restitution of $69,768 to Social Security and Medicare and $318,266 to the IRS. In June 2018, Wolas pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, misuse of a Social Security number and tax evasion.
From at least 2009 through 2016, Wolas, using the name Eugene Grathwohl, operated a real estate business known as Increasing Fortune Inc. and worked as a licensed real estate agent for Century 21 in Quincy. From 2014 through 2016, he solicited investments for the development of the Beachcomber Bar property on Quincy Shore Drive and for the construction of a single-family home on the adjacent property. He collected more than $1.9 million from at least 24 investors and promised each of them a significant return on their investments. He further promised to pay out at least 125% of the profits related to the single-family home construction. However, Wolas used the money mostly for personal expenses unrelated to development of the real estate projects.
Wolas was scheduled to close on the Beachcomber property on Sept. 15, 2016. A week before, however, he left Quincy and ceased all contact with his then-girlfriend, his co-workers, and his investors. Law enforcement then discovered that Grathwohl was actually Wolas, a former lawyer who had been a fugitive since 1997 after being charged with fraud and grand larceny in New York. The real Eugene Grathwohl resided in Florida and was known to Wolas.
On Nov. 17, 2016, law enforcement officers interviewed Wolas’ ex-wife, Cecily Sturge, of Delray Beach, Fla., who stated that she had not been in contact with her ex-husband for approximately 15 years. Sturge continued to say that this was so, despite evidence of contact between her cell phone and one known to belong to Wolas that demonstrated more recent communication between the two.
After further investigation, Wolas was arrested on April 7, 2017, at a condominium he was renting in Delray Beach, Fla. Investigators learned that Wolas had first rented a room in the condo from Nov. 12 through Nov. 21, 2016, through an online rental website in the name of Cecily Sturge. Messages exchanged between the condo owner and Sturge depicted a photo of Sturge and messages claiming that Wolas (using the name Cameron Sturge) was Sturge’s brother and a retired paleontologist in need of a place to stay. The owner of the condo told authorities that Sturge and Wolas arrived at the condo together in the same car on Nov. 12, 2016, five days before Sturge’s interview with law enforcement.
Sturge was divorced from Wolas in 2001 by default judgment in Palm Beach County, Fla. In February 2017, Sturge filed a petition to modify the judgment in order to obtain the contents of Wolas’ retirement account, which had a balance of approximately $647,000, from the New York law firm where he worked prior to being indicted in 1997 by New York authorities. In pleadings filed in February and March 2017 regarding that matter, Sturge swore that Wolas’ whereabouts were unknown to her, despite telephone records showing frequent contact between the two. In addition, copies or drafts of documents filed in the Florida proceeding, along with a thumb drive, were found in the room where Wolas was arrested. Wolas later admitted that he drafted the pleadings that Sturge filed. The United States previously obtained a court order freezing the retirement account pending the resolution of the criminal proceedings.
Sturge previously pleaded guilty to making a materially false statement to a federal agent and was sentenced in May 2018 to one year of probation.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra S. Bower of Lelling’s Criminal Division and David G. Lazarus of Lelling’s Civil Division prosecuted the case.
Former President of Labor Union Sentenced for Embezzlement, False Filings, and Kickback SchemesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROCCO FAZZOLARI, who previously served as the president of a labor union (the “Union”) and a trustee of the Union’s employee welfare benefit plan (the “Plan”), was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for embezzling from the Union and the Plan, concealing this embezzlement through false filings with the U.S. Department of Labor, and for participating in a kickback scheme. Through these embezzlement and kickback schemes, FAZZOLARI and a co-conspirator illegally obtained a total of more than $1.3 million from the Union and the Plan. FAZZOLARI previously pled guilty before United States District Judge Analisa Torres, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Rocco Fazzolari abused his position as the president of a labor union, taking more than $1 million through embezzlement and kickback schemes. Most of this money was taken from an employee benefit plan, which was established to provide medical care for union members. For his crimes, he is now headed to federal prison.”
According to the allegations in the Information to which FAZZOLARI pled guilty, public court filings, and statements made in court:
From at least in or about 2012 through in or about June 2016, FAZZOLARI repeatedly used Union funds to pay for his personal expenses, including payments for spa treatments, a gym membership, a second car, medical expenses, dues for an actors’ union, personal credit card charges, and ATM cash withdrawals. FAZZOLARI then “reimbursed” the Union with funds from the Plan. The Plan was established to provide, among other things, medical, surgical, and hospital care or benefits to Union members. In total, FAZZOLARI embezzled more than $128,000 from the Union over approximately four years, and improperly transferred more than $89,000 from the Plan to “reimburse” the Union.
In addition, from at least in or about 2000 through in or about June 2016, FAZZOLARI engaged in a kickback scheme with another individual (“CC-1”). Using Plan funds, FAZZOLARI paid CC-1’s company, Acclaim Administrators, Inc. (“Acclaim”), more than $1.1 million for purported services, even though Acclaim did not actually provide the Plan with these services. CC-1 then kicked back the vast majority of these payments to FAZZOLARI.
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In addition to his prison term, ROCCO FAZZOLARI, 58, of Manhasset Hills, New York, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, to forfeit $941,828, and to pay restitution of $1,288,810.75. Under the terms of his plea agreement, FAZZOLARI has agreed to a 13-year ban, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §§ 504 and 1111, which generally prohibits him from, among other things, being employed by a labor union or employee benefit plan.
Mr. Berman praised the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Office of Chief Accountant, and Office of Labor-Management Standards for their outstanding investigative work. Mr. Berman also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice’s Labor-Management Racketeering Unit of the Organized Crime and Gang Section for their assistance in this case.
This matter is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Neff is in charge of the prosecution.
Former LMPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Attempted EnticementRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Former Louisville Metro Police officer Brandon Wood has been charged in a felony Information and pleaded guilty to attempted enticement, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.
“The tragedy of the LMPD Explorer Program is that Mr. Wood and others used a well-intended program designed to recruit our finest young people into law enforcement service as a tool to exploit those same kids,” stated U.S Attorney Russell Coleman. “The United States looks forward to his sentencing to a term of years in federal prison.”
"Brandon Wood's guilty plea is a testament to the FBI Louisville’s Public Corruption Civil Rights Task Force's hard work. The FBI and its task force partners, Louisville Metro Police Department and the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, are dedicated to preserving the integrity of our governmental institutions,” said FBI SAC James Robert Brown Jr. “Whether that be law enforcement or elected officials, no one is above the law."
According to a plea agreement, between 2011 and 2012, Wood attempted to entice John Doe 1, who had not reached 18 years of age, to engage in sexual activity. Wood met Doe through the LMPD Explorers Program during a camp held in Bullitt County – where Wood was a counselor and sworn LMPD officer. Wood used social media to contact John Doe 1 after the camp. Those communications resulted in an attempt to entice the minor to engage in sexual activity.
The attempted enticement charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, followed by no less than 5 years and could be up to a life term of Supervised Release.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless is prosecuting the case which is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit.
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This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Former E-Commerce Executive Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing; Sentenced to Six MonthsRead the Press Release
Daniel William Aston, a former e-commerce executive, pleaded guilty on Jan. 17, 2019 for conspiring to fix the prices of posters sold online. Aston, a resident and citizen of the United Kingdom, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on Aug. 27, 2015. Aston was a fugitive until his arrest in Spain in May 2018. After his arrest, he spent over five months in Spanish custody before agreeing to submit to U.S. jurisdiction and answer to price-fixing charges.
Aston is the former Director and part owner of Trod Limited (doing business as Buy 4 Less, Buy For Less, and Buy-For-Less-Online), a U.K. company headquartered in Birmingham, England, which was also charged in the indictment. Trod Ltd. pleaded guilty to the price-fixing charges on Aug. 11, 2016. Aston admitted to fixing the price of certain posters sold in the United States on Amazon Marketplace from as early as September 2013 to approximately January 2014. Following his guilty plea, Aston was sentenced to serve a custodial sentence of six months, with credit for the time he served in Spanish custody. Aston will serve the remainder of his custodial sentence under supervised release.
“Today’s announcement represents another successful development in the Division’s first online marketplace prosecution involving algorithmic pricing tools and a warning to fugitives who attempt to evade prosecution,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Americans shopping online, like all consumers, deserve the benefit of a market free from collusion. The Division and its law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals, wherever located, who collude through new and sophisticated means, including algorithmic pricing software.”
According to the charge, Aston and his co-conspirators discussed the prices of certain posters sold in the United States through Amazon Marketplace and agreed to fix, increase, maintain, and stabilize the prices of those posters. In order to implement their agreements, the defendant and his co-conspirators agreed to adopt specific pricing algorithms for the sale of certain posters with the goal of coordinating changes to their respective prices.
This prosecution arose from a federal antitrust investigation into price fixing in the online wall décor industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office with the assistance of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. Anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the wall décor industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.
Former City of Atlanta Deputy Chief of Staff sentenced to federal prison for accepting bribesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Evelyn Katrina Taylor-Parks has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to accept bribe payments while she served as the City of Atlanta’s Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor.
“Let Ms. Taylor-Parks’ case be a warning to any and all public officials who abuse their power for personal gain, or for the benefit of their associates to the detriment of the taxpayers: we will thoroughly and appropriately investigate such criminal breaches of fiduciary duty and bring them to justice irrespective of the dollar amount of the ill-gotten gain,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.“Parks abused the trust placed in her by the people of the city of Atlanta,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and its partners in law enforcement will not tolerate those who choose to try to influence established and proper government procedures. We would urge anyone who witnesses similar activity by public officials to contact the FBI.”
“In order to regain trust in our local government, we will continue to investigate and recommend criminal charges against those who engage in corrupt governmental practices,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS- Criminal Investigation. “The sentence handed down today should deter those who seek to peddle political influence and access for personal financial gain while in a public service position.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately January 2010 to May 2018, Parks served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the City of Atlanta. As the Deputy Chief of Staff, Parks had various responsibilities, including managing core City of Atlanta operations, coordinating with the Mayor and the executive staff to execute the administration’s policies, and facilitating the procurement process.
In her position, Parks signed an annual Financial Disclosure Statement attesting that she was not self-employed or employed by any business or entity other than the City of Atlanta, and that she had not received more than $5,000 in annual income from any source other than the City of Atlanta. Parks executed the Financial Disclosure Statements under penalty of perjury in 2011, 2012, and 2013, stating she was not employed outside the City of Atlanta.
A vendor, who was an executive with a firm in Atlanta during Parks’ tenure as the Deputy Chief of Staff, sought work through his businesses with the City of Atlanta, and the City of Atlanta ultimately awarded one project to the vendor’s firm worth $99,999.
From late-2011 to mid-2013, Parks met privately with the vendor on multiple occasions. During these meetings, Parks and the vendor discussed various topics, including the vendor’s desire to obtain work with the City of Atlanta, the idea of sole-source contracting, and the process by which the vendor could obtain a sole-source contract with the City of Atlanta. At the time of these meetings, the vendor was actively seeking projects and work with Atlanta, and at times was performing work for the City of Atlanta.
The vendor paid Parks thousands of dollars and paid for various services on Parks’ behalf, while seeking work with the City of Atlanta. In return for these bribe payments, Parks knew that the vendor wanted her to use her position and power as the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff to assist the vendor with the City of Atlanta’s contracting and procurement process, and to assist the vendor in the future when needed.
In exchange for accepting money from the vendor:
1. Parks met regularly with the vendor, took the vendor’s calls, and responded to the vendor’s emails.
2. She organized and arranged meetings between the vendor and high-ranking employees within the City of Atlanta and with a member of the City Council.
3. Based on the high-level nature of her position, Parks knew that when she contacted City of Atlanta employees, on behalf of the vendor, those employees would feel compelled to comply with her requests.
4. Parks provided the vendor with information and advice regarding the processes and procedures to obtain a sole-source contract with the City of Atlanta.
5. She assisted the vendor in obtaining a City Council Resolution allowing the City of Atlanta to negotiate a sole-source contract with the vendor that was possibly worth millions of dollars. Parks believed that the vendor intended to use the resolution in an attempt to obtain government contracts outside of Atlanta.
6. She also facilitated and expedited the process for the vendor to receive payment for work the vendor had completed for the City of Atlanta.
In total, Parks admitted to taking bribe payments from the vendor on 7 or 8 occasions, where each bribe was between $1,500 and $2,000. Parks also received from the vendor a Louis Vuitton handbag, a cruise to Mexico, and a trip to Chicago. Parks never disclosed her ongoing financial relationship with the vendor and/or the vendor’s firm on her Financial Disclosure Statements to the City Atlanta. As a result, from January to July 2013, the City of Atlanta issued payments of $19,900, $11,750, $15,000, $17,200, and $36,149 to the vendor’s firm.
On November 16, 2017 and on February 15, 2018, Parks was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During those interviews, Parks falsely stated that she had never taken money from the vendor.
On August 15, 2018, Evelyn Katrina Taylor-Parks, 49, of Douglas County, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging her with one count of conspiratorial bribery. Based on her conviction, Parks was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay approximately $15,000 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President of Barbadian Insurance Company Charged with Laundering Bribes to Former Minister of Industry of BarbadosRead the Press Release
The former chief executive officer and senior vice president of Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL), a Barbados-based insurance company, were charged in an indictment unsealed on Jan. 18, with laundering bribes to the former Minister of Industry of Barbados in exchange for his assistance in securing government contracts for ICBL.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York and Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.
Ingrid Innes, 63, a citizen of Canada, and Alex Tasker, 58, a citizen of Barbados, were charged with one count of conspiracy to launder money and two counts of money laundering in an indictment returned in Aug. 22, 2018, by a federal grand jury sitting in Brooklyn, New York. The former Minister of Industry of Barbados, Donville Inniss, 52, a U.S. legal permanent resident who resided in Tampa, Florida, and Barbados, was charged with the same crimes in an indictment unsealed on Aug. 6, 2018, and was also charged as a co-defendant of Innes and Tasker in the superseding indictment.
The indictment alleges that in 2015 and 2016, Innes, then the chief executive officer of ICBL, and Tasker, then a senior vice president of ICBL, took part in a scheme to launder into the United States approximately $36,000 in bribes that they paid to Inniss, who at the time was a member of the Parliament of Barbados and the Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development of Barbados. In exchange for the bribes, Inniss allegedly leveraged his positon as the Minister of Industry to enable ICBL to obtain two government contracts. According to the allegations, Inniss arranged to receive the bribes through a U.S. bank account in the name of a dental company with an address in Elmont, New York, in order to conceal the scheme.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
ICBL voluntarily self-disclosed the case and received a declination under the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. ICBL disgorged $93,940.19 in illicit profits that it earned from the scheme.
The FBI’s New York Field Office and International Corruption Squad is investigating the case. In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption.
Trial Attorney Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sylvia Shweder of the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this matter.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. Additional information about the Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Former Charter Airline CEO Sentenced to Nearly Eight Years in Prison for Orchestrating Multimillion Dollar Scheme to Steal Passenger Money from EscrowRead the Press Release
The former chief executive officer of a now-bankrupt public air charter operator was sentenced to 94 months in prison on Jan. 11 for her role in a scheme to steal millions of dollars in passenger money for future travel from an escrow account, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Regional Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General’s (DOT-OIG).
Judy Tull, 73, of Edenton, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton of the District of New Jersey, who presided over the trial. Judge Wigenton also ordered the defendant to pay $19.6 million in restitution. Tull and her co-defendant, Kay Ellison, 58, also of Edenton, were both convicted on March 28, 2018 after a seven-day trial, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions and to commit bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud affecting financial institutions and three counts of bank fraud. Tull is the former CEO of Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Tours (Direct Air), which was headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with operations in Daniels, West Virginia, and Ellison is its former vice president and managing partner. Judge Wigenton sentenced Ellison on Nov. 28, 2018 to 94 months in prison and ordered her to pay $19.6 million in restitution.
According to evidence presented at trial, from October 2007 through March 2012, Tull and Ellison engaged in a scheme to steal passengers’ money for future travel from an escrow account by artificially inflating the amount of money that the defendants claimed they were entitled to receive, and by sending this falsified amount in a letter to the escrow bank telling the escrow bank to release the money. The evidence further established that to cover up their fraud, the defendants falsified profit and loss statements to make the company look like it was making money rather than losing money, and sent these falsified documents to credit card companies and banks to trick them into continuing to do business with the company.
Testimony at trial established that two financial institutions incurred losses of nearly $30 million for having to refund thousands of passengers their money that should have been held for them in escrow, but was actually stolen by the defendants as part of their fraud.
Robert Keilman, 73, of Marlboro, New Jersey, Direct Air’s former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his role in this scheme and was sentenced separately.
This case was investigated by DOT-OIG. Trial Attorneys Cory E. Jacobs and Michael T. O’Neill of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section plays a pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s fight against complex white collar crime around the country.
Florida Man Convicted for Assaulting Customs and Border Protection Officer at Orlando International AirportRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – On January 8, 2019, a federal jury found John Craig Myrick (67, Groveland) guilty of forcible assault of a federal officer causing bodily injury. Myrick faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is set for April 10, 2019.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on August 11, 2018, Myrick arrived at the Orlando International Airport from Bogota, Colombia. While passing through the screening area, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) directed Myrick to the baggage control seating area. While in the seating area, Myrick moved towards another CBPO. The CBPO with whom he had a brief interaction attempted to control Myrick by grabbing Myrick’s arm. Myrick resisted, fell on top of the CBPO, and began punching the officer in the back of the head several times. The CBPO suffered a fractured ankle in the process.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Bayliss, on assignment from the Office of Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, and Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs.
Florida Man Charged with Procurement Fraud Related to Federal Courthouse in St. ThomasRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands announced today that David Wikel, president of Florida-based Therma-Seal Roof Systems, LLC, was charged with providing kickbacks in connection with the $1.7 million dollar federal government subcontract to retrofit the roof of the Ron de Lugo Federal Building in St. Thomas, VI.
According to the Information filed in the case, in May through October 2014 Wikel paid over $200,000 in kickbacks to a senior project manager for the prime contractor on the Ron de Lugo Project, and that person ultimately funneled $85,000 back to Wikel. The Informtion also alleges that Wikel falsely inflated the costs billed under the subcontract in order to cover the aforementioned kickbacks.
This case is being investigated by the General Services Administration – Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of the Inspector General, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Brooks.
United States Attorney Shappert reminds the public that an Information is merely a formal charging document, and it is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
Fentanyl Trafficker Extradited to the United StatesRead the Press Release
On Jan. 24, Canadian authorities extradited Christopher Bantli, a prolific vendor of various controlled substances, to the United States to face drug trafficking charges filed in the District of Columbia.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Marcus Anderson of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Orlando Field Office made the announcement.
Bantli, 39, arrived in the United States Thursday evening and made an initial appearance on Friday, Jan. 25 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robinson in federal court in Washington, D.C. Bantli is charged in a seven-count indictment alleging that from November 2015 through September 2016, he imported into the United States from Canada and elsewhere various controlled substances, including powerful synthetic opiates such as acetyl fentanyl. This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
The case was investigated by the DEA, in cooperation with Canadian law enforcement authorities. Trial Attorney Brian Nicholson of the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in bringing Bantli to the United States and procuring foreign evidence during the investigation. The U.S. Marshals Service provided critical assistance by assisting in the extradition.
The U.S. Department of Justice thanks the Government of Canada for its assistance in this case, in particular the Calgary Police Service Cybercrime Support Team.
This case is also the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state, and local enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni and Anthony Aminoff of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) are prosecuting the case. Deputy Chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s (MLARS) Special Financial Investigations Unit Stephen Sola and Trial Attorney Erin Cox, both formerly of NDDS, also provided significant assistance on the case.
Federal crackdown on financial fraud and ATM skimming continues with guilty pleasRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, Ga: Two Brazilian nationals who used bank customers’ account information obtained by an ATM “skimming” device have pled guilty in federal court.
Julio Lopez Da Silva, 38, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, while Anderson Santos, 41, pled guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft, in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, said United States Attorney Bobby L. Christine. Da Silva faces sentencing of up to 30 years in prison, while Santos faces a mandatory two-year sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
The two were named in September in a six-count indictment alleging their participation in a scheme that involved placing card-reading devices on ATMs to capture customer information, and then using the information to encode blank cards to withdraw substantial amounts of money. After the men were arrested Dec. 3, 2017 in Savannah, police searched a Port Wentworth hotel where the two were staying and discovered skimming equipment and nearly $20,000 in cash.
The guilty pleas from Da Silva and Santos follow similar recent cases in the coastal area, all involving foreign nationals operating illegal skimmers. Adrian Burloiu, 39, a Romanian national, pled guilty Dec. 11, 2018, to possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices and now faces up to 10 years in prison. In March, Yosvel Licor Nunez, 36, was sentenced to 20 months in prison; Yampiel Granja Sotolongo, 35, was sentenced to 28 months; and Yoisel Pego Mirabal, 32, was sentenced to 27 months for their part in a scheme to operate skimmers that stole customer information at gas stations. All three men are Cuban nationals.
The cases were investigated by the United States Secret Service, along with the Rincon Police Department, Savannah Police Department, Port Wentworth Police Department, the Richmond Hill Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“These cases demonstrate the success of cooperative investigations by federal and local agencies teaming up against those who would attempt to profit from fraud and theft,’” said Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors working together will find these criminals, no matter their national origin, and we will send them to prison.”
“One of the top priorities for the Secret Service continues to be combating computer-related crimes perpetrated by domestic and international criminals that target the U.S. financial infrastructure,” said Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge Glen Kessler. “The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many retail and law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world, continues to successfully combat these crimes by working closely with experts from all affected sectors to constantly refresh and adapt our investigative methodologies.
“The Secret Service has taken a lead role in mitigating the threat of ATM and gas pump skimming as exhibited in these cases and we will continue to place a strong emphasis on prevention and education with financial institutions, retail partners and law enforcement, “ added RAIC Kessler.
For retailers and financial institutions seeking additional information on ATM and gas pump skimming, please contact your local Secret Service Field Office at www.secretservice.gov and ask to speak to the Electronic Crimes Task Force representative.
Federal Jury Finds Orange Park Man Guilty in Overdose Death of 18-Year-Old WomanRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL - On January 16, 2019, a federal jury found Trumaine “Lucky” Muller (34, Orange Park) guilty of one count of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of an 18-year-old woman, one count of distribution of heroin and furanylfentanyl, one count of possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and furanylfentanyl, and one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Muller faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 6, 2019.
According to evidence presented at trial, on November 9, 2016, at approximately 10:30 pm, Tyler Hamilton, Christopher Williams, and an 18-year-old female with the initials A.B. traveled together to the Cedar Bend apartments in Orange Park, Florida to buy $40 worth of heroin from Muller, a local dealer. Muller was a regular dealer for Williams. Hamilton provided the bulk of the money for the drug transaction. After leaving Muller’s apartment with what they believed to be heroin (which was actually fentanyl), Williams drove to Hamilton’s house. Hamilton went inside, shot up about half of the purchased fentanyl, and overdosed. Hamilton survived.
When paramedics responded to Hamilton’s house, Williams and A.B. drove a short distance to Williams’s house. While at Williams’ house, Williams and A.B. split the remaining $20 of the fentanyl (believing it to be heroin). Williams went into his bathroom, shot up the fentanyl, and passed out. He awoke a short time later when Hamilton called Williams asking him to go to his house to pick him up. When Williams left his house, A.B. was conscious and alert. When Williams and Hamilton returned around midnight, A.B. was asleep on Williams’s sofa.
At 1:32 am on November 10, 2016, Hamilton began searching online to search for signs of an overdose and how to place someone in the “recovery position” (such that they do not asphyxiate in case of vomiting). During the 3:00 am hour, A.B.’s breathing became more labored and she began to aspirate in her sleep. At 4:13 am, Williams and Hamilton called 911. At 4:45 am, after paramedics had responded, A.B. was pronounced dead.
Clay County homicide and narcotics detectives responded to the scene and obtained information that indicated that Muller had distributed the fentanyl. Detectives located Muller, who was then a passenger in a stolen rental vehicle on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park. The detectives watched Muller engage in a suspected drug transaction in a parking lot in Orange Park, and stopped that vehicle a short time later. Inside the car, the detectives found $1,942 in a purse and foil packets used to distribute opiates. The detectives also found cellphone that was later identified as the phone that Hamilton had used on November 9, 2016, to set up the fentanyl deal.
After a follow-up investigation, on February 8, 2017, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Muller’s apartment and recovered distribution amounts of heroin, cocaine, and a loaded .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver. At time, Muller had a prior felony conviction and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Williams (33) and Hamilton (28) previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in state court.
This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tysen Duva.
Federal Jury Finds Brandon Man Who Tried to Turn 12-Year-Old Relative into His Child-Wife GuiltyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – On January 11, 2019, United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced that a federal jury had found Mirza Afzal Hussain (55, Brandon) guilty of coercion and enticement of a minor, document fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Hussain faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison for the enticement conviction, a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment for the document fraud conviction, and a mandatory, consecutive two-year term of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft conviction. Hussain’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 11, 2019.
According to evidence presented at trial, Hussain agreed to house his sister and her family, including two minor daughters, when the relatives legally immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh in 2010. Hussain’s relatives were culturally and socially isolated, did not have employment, lacked transportation, and spoke very little English. During their stay at his house, Hussain developed a romantic and sexual interest in his 12-year old niece. He bought the child tight, American styled-clothing, romantic jewelry, and cellphones. He also sexually battered his niece and started living with her openly as if she were his spouse—in front of her family and his wife.
Hussain’s wife left him, and, in early 2012, the relatives (including his 12-year-old niece), also moved out of his home. For several years, Hussain continued to contact his niece. He signed her out of school, lingered outside her new residence, and continued to contact her by phone frequently. Hussain sent numerous sexually explicit text messages to his niece—professing his love for her and his intention to marry her, discussing sex with her, soliciting naked photographs from her, and asking her to masturbate for him. He also manipulated her into falsifying reports claiming her parents were abusing her.
In November 2012, Hussain traveled to Bangladesh and obtained a false birth certificate that changed his niece’s birthdate, making her appear to be three years older. He returned to the United States and used that birth certificate to fraudulently obtain a new Legal Permanent Resident Card reflecting her new birth year. Hussain then showed up at his niece’s home and tried to take her away from her parents—presenting the Legal Permanent Resident Card as proof that she was an adult.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank Murray and Mandy Riedel. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Peresie and Rachel Jones assisted in the prosecution.
Federal Fugitive Arrested on Robbery and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A fugitive who fled the scene of a fatal car crash that killed a 78 year-old woman on Wednesday afternoon made his initial appearance in federal court today on robbery and gun charges.
Darrell Pittman, 29, of Newport News, was arrested in Chesapeake early Saturday following his escape from the fatal car crash. Pittman, who was a passenger in the Ford Explorer that struck the vehicle of the woman who was killed, fled the scene before he could be apprehended by police on outstanding warrants.
According to allegations in the indictment that was unsealed today, Pittman approached a Papa John’s employee on or about July 25, 2018, in Newport News and allegedly took money, pizza, and property from the employee through the threat of force and violence, brandishing a firearm at the employee and demanding the employee’s money and property during the course of the robbery.
Pittman is charged with interference with commerce by robbery, and with brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. If convicted of the brandishing charge, he faces a mandatory minimum consecutive term of 7 years in prison. If convicted on both counts, Pittman faces a maximum penalty of 27 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Pittman is scheduled for a detention hearing Thursday at the federal courthouse in Newport News.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of a renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy E. Cross and Chad McHenry are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-4.
A(n) indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
East Coast Stepping Stones, Inc., A Jacksonville-Based Provider for Children with Autism, Pays the United States $360,000 to Settle Allegations of FraudRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced today that East Coast Stepping Stones, Inc. (“ECSS”) has paid the United States $360,000 to resolve a False Claims Act allegation that it submitted false claims to the TRICARE program for therapy services for children with autism. ECSS is a Jacksonville-based provider of intensive behavioral treatment to children with autism, known as Applied Behavioral Analysis (“ABA”) therapy. TRICARE is the federal health insurance program for active and retired military members and their families.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that ECSS billed TRICARE for ABA therapy services for children with autism that misrepresented the services provided and who had provided them. ECSS also failed to document services as required, and fabricated and altered medical records. ECSS and its senior leadership— Amantha Massey-McLaughlin, Kevin McLaughlin, and Susan Quinn—have agreed to pay $360,000 in an ability-to-pay settlement.
“Companies that commit to providing intensive behavioral treatment to children with autism, at a pivotal time of that child’s development, should be held accountable for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “Our Office is committed to protecting federally funded programs that make it possible for children with special needs to receive these vital services.”
“This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to protect the integrity of DoD programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that diverts and wastes precious American taxpayer dollars intended for our Warfighters and their families" said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Shea Gibbons, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The litigation and settlement of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Dulles Metrorail Project Subcontractor and Company President Settle Civil Fraud SuitRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Universal Concrete Products Corporation (UCP) and its President and co-owner, Donald Faust, Jr., have agreed to pay $1 million to settle civil allegations that UCP falsified test records for concrete panels for the extension of the Silver Line, also known as Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail Project.
The allegations stem from UCP’s work as one of the subcontractors supplying precast concrete to the Dulles Metrorail Project, which is partially funded by loans from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The government’s amended consolidated civil complaint in intervention alleges that from approximately October 2015 through June 2016, then-UCP Quality Control Manager, Andrew Nolan, and UCP quality control employees under his supervision, falsified test records to make it appear as though air content for the concrete was within the required range of air content. Nolan allegedly falsified test records knowing that the general contractor for the Dulles Metrorail Project would reject the concrete had it known that the concrete fell below the required air content for the project. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is overseeing Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail Project and is addressing any remediation necessary as a result of the alleged conduct separately from the resolution reached by the government in this settlement.
The government’s civil lawsuit claims are based on a whistleblower suit initially filed in 2016 by a former UCP quality control employee. The suit was filed in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act and the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, which allow private persons to file suit on behalf of the government. Under the statutes, the government has a period of time to investigate the allegations and decide whether to intervene in the action or to decline intervention and allow the whistleblower, also called the relator, to go forward alone. The government intervened in the relator’s suit in May 2018. The False Claims Act and Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act also provides the whistleblower a share of the government’s recovery.
Related court documents and information from the civil lawsuit is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cv-316.
In August 2018, Nolan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Related court documents and information from the criminal action is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-292.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Roushdy, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Fiorillo, and Assistant Attorneys General Peter Broadbent and Nancy Auth.
The civil claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Doctor charged for prescribing narcotics to non patients, ordered detained until trialRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, Ga: A physician with clinics in Pooler, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., has been indicted for illegally prescribing drugs to non-patients and ordered held in custody pending trial in federal court.
Dr. Johnny Di Blasi, 46, of Braselton, Ga., is named in a nine-count indictment for Conspiracy to Unlawfully Dispense Controlled Substances (Oxycodone), Unlawful Dispensation of Controlled Substances (Schedules II and IV), and False Statements Related to Health Care Matters, said Bobby L. Christine, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took Di Blasi into custody Christmas Eve at Miami International Airport while he was waiting to board a flight to Medellin, Colombia.
As described in a criminal complaint and subsequent indictment, Di Blasi, known as “Dr. Johnny,” is accused of writing prescriptions for narcotics, including opioids and amphetamines, to non-patients. The complaint alleges Di Blasi wrote the prescriptions through clinics he operated in Pooler, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., to individuals traveling from at least 11 states. In addition, the complaint describes Di Blasi as providing prescriptions for opioid pain medications and amphetamines to non-patients he met in restaurants and bars. Four counts of the indictment charge Di Blasi with knowingly concealing the fact that the prescriptions he signed were issued for no legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice.
The indictment alleges the illegal behavior took place for more than a year, with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration initiating a formal investigation in March 2018.
“A key component of the opioid crisis gripping our nation is the supply chain provided by unscrupulous, profiteering medical professionals who violate the law while breaking their oath to ‘do no harm,’” said Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “Even during the holidays, however, our law enforcement agencies and prosecutors will work to remove dangerous drug distributors from our communities, whether they are street-corner dealers or professionals in lab coats.”
Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, “The sharp increase in consumption of opiates being distributed for non-medical reasons continues to be a major concern. To help combat this growing problem, DEA and its local law enforcement counterparts will continue to target those who traffic these addictive pain medications.”
“HHS OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners round-the-clock to aggressively pursue providers who abuse their position of trust,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Providers who unscrupulously prescribe addictive drugs should know that our agents, no matter what the holiday, will continue in the fight against the opioid epidemic.”
Said Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team Director Everett Ragan, “There are a lot of good doctors who take their medical oath seriously. This arrest is a prime example that we will seek all drug dealers no matter the holiday or what their day job or title is.”
An indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Josephson and Tom Clarkson are prosecuting the case for the United States.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery for Hold-Up at Branch in Downtown WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul Bernard Jones, 58, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal bank robbery charge for a hold-up last summer in downtown Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Jones pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plea, which is subject to the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 70 to 87 months, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Honorable Amy Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for April 30, 2019,
According to plea documents, on June 11, 2018, at approximately 9:10 a.m., Jones entered a TD Bank branch in the 1700 block of Connecticut Avenue NW. He walked up to a teller, took a wadded-up piece of paper, and tossed it at her. He then stated “give me everything, give me hundreds, fifties, and twenties only and don’t push anything. I have something on me.” The wadded-up piece of paper also demanded money and contained a threat. The teller provided Jones with $1,450 in cash and he fled the bank.
Within minutes, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI responded to the bank. An MPD officer observed Jones at the intersection of 14th and R Streets NW, a few blocks from the bank. He tried to run, but was immediately apprehended. Law enforcement located $1,433 in cash in a search of the defendant. Jones has been in custody since his arrest.
The prosecution grew out of the efforts of the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Catherine O’Neal and Legal Assistant Emma Atlas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who is prosecuting the matter.
DC and Maryland Residents in Scheme to File Fraudulent Tax Returns and Obstruct the IRSRead the Press Release
The indictment charges Johnny and Maria Moore, from the District of Columbia, along with Charese Johnson, aka Charese Adesalu, from Aberdeen, Maryland, with conspiring to defraud the United States in an effort to obtain fraudulent refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The indictment also charges the Moores with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false trust tax returns (Forms 1041), and filing their own false amended personal income tax returns (Forms 1040X) with the IRS. Additionally, Johnson is charged with aiding and assisting the Moores in preparing their false Forms 1040X.
To further the scheme, the Moores, together with Johnson and another co-conspirator, allegedly prepared and filed tax returns that claimed either false withholdings or false credits. Based on those alleged falsities, they requested significant refunds to which they were not entitled. The Moores allegedly received a refund of over $500,000 for one trust tax return filed for the 2012 tax year. As charged in the indictment, when the IRS sought to recoup that refund, Johnson conspired with the Moores and others to obstruct the IRS collection efforts.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 5 years for the conspiracy charge, and 3 years for each of the false return charges. The defendants also face substantial monetary penalties, supervised release, and restitution.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, who investigated this case, and Trial Attorneys Abigail Burger Chingos and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A 10-count indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Washington State charges Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device Co. USA with theft of trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment, returned by a grand jury on January 16, details Huawei’s efforts to steal trade secrets from Bellevue, Washington based T-Mobile USA and then obstruct justice when T-Mobile threatened to sue Huawei in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The alleged conduct described in the indictment occurred from 2012 to 2014, and includes an internal Huawei announcement that the company was offering bonuses to employees who succeeded in stealing confidential information from other companies.
“Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes” Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker said. “As I told Chinese officials in August, China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law. I’d like to thank the many dedicated criminal investigators from several different federal agencies who contributed to this investigation and the Department of Justice attorneys who are moving the prosecution efforts forward. They are helping us uphold the rule of law with integrity.”
“The charges unsealed today clearly allege that Huawei intentionally conspired to steal the intellectual property of an American company in an attempt to undermine the free and fair global marketplace,” said FBI Director Wray. “To the detriment of American ingenuity, Huawei continually disregarded the laws of the United States in the hopes of gaining an unfair economic advantage. As the volume of these charges prove, the FBI will not tolerate corrupt businesses that violate the laws that allow American companies and the United States to thrive.”
“This indictment shines a bright light on Huawei’s flagrant abuse of the law – especially its efforts to steal valuable intellectual property from T-Mobile to gain unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes of the Western District of Washington. “We look forward to presenting the evidence of Huawei’s crimes in a court of law, and proving our case beyond a reasonable doubt. Fair competition and respect for the rule of law is essential to the functioning of our international economic system.”
According to the indictment, in 2012 Huawei began a concerted effort to steal information on a T-Mobile phone-testing robot dubbed “Tappy.” In an effort to build their own robot to test phones before they were shipped to T-Mobile and other wireless carriers, Huawei engineers violated confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with T-Mobile by secretly taking photos of “Tappy,” taking measurements of parts of the robot, and in one instance, stealing a piece of the robot so that the Huawei engineers in China could try to replicate it. After T-Mobile discovered and interrupted these criminal activities, and then threatened to sue, Huawei produced a report falsely claiming that the theft was the work of rogue actors within the company and not a concerted effort by Huawei corporate entities in the United States and China. As emails obtained in the course of the investigation reveal, the conspiracy to steal secrets from T-Mobile was a company-wide effort involving many engineers and employees within the two charged companies.
As part of its investigation, FBI obtained emails revealing that in July 2013, Huawei offered bonuses to employees based on the value of information they stole from other companies around the world, and provided to Huawei via an encrypted email address.
Under the maximum sentencing provisions applicable to corporate entities, Conspiracy and Attempt to Commit Trade Secret Theft are punishable by a fine of up to $5,000,000 or three times the value of the stolen trade secret, whichever is greater. Wire Fraud and Obstruction of Justice are punishable by a fine of up to $500,000.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Greenberg and Thomas Woods of the Western District of Washington, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran has been recused from this matter because of legal representations he undertook before he joined the Department of Justice. Per direction from ethics officials in the Department of Justice, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes will act as U.S. Attorney with respect to this matter pursuant to the authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515.
huawei_indictment_pacer_1.pdfChinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
A 10-count indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Washington State charges Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device Co. USA with theft of trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment, returned by a grand jury on January 16, details Huawei’s efforts to steal trade secrets from Bellevue, Washington based T-Mobile USA and then obstruct justice when T-Mobile threatened to sue Huawei in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The alleged conduct described in the indictment occurred from 2012 to 2014, and includes an internal Huawei announcement that the company was offering bonuses to employees who succeeded in stealing confidential information from other companies.
“Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes” Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker said. “As I told Chinese officials in August, China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law. I’d like to thank the many dedicated criminal investigators from several different federal agencies who contributed to this investigation and the Department of Justice attorneys who are moving the prosecution efforts forward. They are helping us uphold the rule of law with integrity.”
“The charges unsealed today clearly allege that Huawei intentionally conspired to steal the intellectual property of an American company in an attempt to undermine the free and fair global marketplace,” said FBI Director Wray. “To the detriment of American ingenuity, Huawei continually disregarded the laws of the United States in the hopes of gaining an unfair economic advantage. As the volume of these charges prove, the FBI will not tolerate corrupt businesses that violate the laws that allow American companies and the United States to thrive.”
“This indictment shines a bright light on Huawei’s flagrant abuse of the law – especially its efforts to steal valuable intellectual property from T-Mobile to gain unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes of the Western District of Washington. “We look forward to presenting the evidence of Huawei’s crimes in a court of law, and proving our case beyond a reasonable doubt. Fair competition and respect for the rule of law is essential to the functioning of our international economic system.”
According to the indictment, in 2012 Huawei began a concerted effort to steal information on a T-Mobile phone-testing robot dubbed “Tappy.” In an effort to build their own robot to test phones before they were shipped to T-Mobile and other wireless carriers, Huawei engineers violated confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with T-Mobile by secretly taking photos of “Tappy,” taking measurements of parts of the robot, and in one instance, stealing a piece of the robot so that the Huawei engineers in China could try to replicate it. After T-Mobile discovered and interrupted these criminal activities, and then threatened to sue, Huawei produced a report falsely claiming that the theft was the work of rogue actors within the company and not a concerted effort by Huawei corporate entities in the United States and China. As emails obtained in the course of the investigation reveal, the conspiracy to steal secrets from T-Mobile was a company-wide effort involving many engineers and employees within the two charged companies.
As part of its investigation, FBI obtained emails revealing that in July 2013, Huawei offered bonuses to employees based on the value of information they stole from other companies around the world, and provided to Huawei via an encrypted email address.
Under the maximum sentencing provisions applicable to corporate entities, Conspiracy and Attempt to Commit Trade Secret Theft are punishable by a fine of up to $5,000,000 or three times the value of the stolen trade secret, whichever is greater. Wire Fraud and Obstruction of Justice are punishable by a fine of up to $500,000.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Greenberg and Thomas Woods of the Western District of Washington, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran has been recused from this matter because of legal representations he undertook before he joined the Department of Justice. Per direction from ethics officials in the Department of Justice, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes will act as U.S. Attorney with respect to this matter pursuant to the authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515.
Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Charged with Financial FraudRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A 13-count indictment was unsealed earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging four defendants,[1] all of whom are affiliated with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei), the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, with headquarters in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and operations around the world. The indicted defendants include Huawei and two Huawei subsidiaries — Huawei Device USA Inc. (Huawei USA) and Skycom Tech Co. Ltd. (Skycom) — as well as Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wanzhou Meng (Meng).
The defendants Huawei and Skycom are charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to violate and substantive violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Huawei and Huawei USA are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice related to the Grand Jury investigation in the Eastern District of New York. Meng is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.
Matthew G. Whitaker, Acting United States Attorney General, Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Christopher A. Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Wilbur Ross, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, announced the charges.
“Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes,” stated Acting Attorney General Whitaker. “As I told Chinese officials in August, China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law. I’d like to thank the many dedicated criminal investigators from several different federal agencies who contributed to this investigation and the Department of Justice attorneys who are moving the prosecution efforts forward. They are helping us uphold the rule of law with integrity.”
“As charged in the indictment, Huawei and its subsidiaries, with the direct and personal involvement of their executives, engaged in serious fraudulent conduct, including conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, sanctions violations, money laundering and the orchestrated obstruction of justice,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “For over a decade, Huawei employed a strategy of lies and deceit to conduct and grow its business. This Office will continue to hold accountable companies and their executives, whether here or abroad, that commit fraud against U.S. financial institutions and their international counterparts and violate U.S. laws designed to maintain our national security.” Mr. Donoghue thanked the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service agents who are investigating this case for their tireless work and dedication.
“These charges lay bare Huawei’s blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,” stated FBI Director Wray. “Companies like Huawei pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security, and the magnitude of these charges make clear just how seriously the FBI takes this threat. Today should serve as a warning that we will not tolerate businesses that violate our laws, obstruct justice, or jeopardize national and economic well-being.”
“As charged in the indictment, Huawei and its Chief Financial Officer broke U.S. law and have engaged in a fraudulent financial scheme that is detrimental to the security of the United States,” stated U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen. “They willfully conducted millions of dollars in transactions that were in direct violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, and such behavior will not be tolerated. The Department of Homeland Security is focused on preventing nefarious actors from accessing or manipulating our financial system, and we will ensure that legitimate economic activity is not exploited by our adversaries. I would like to thank ICE Homeland Security Investigations for their exceptional work on this case.”
“For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using the U.S. financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities,” stated U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Ross. “This will end. The Trump Administration continues to be tougher on those who violate our export control laws than any administration in history. I commend the Department’s Office of Export Enforcement, and our partners in the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security for their excellent work on this case.”
* * * *
Overview of the Indictment
The charges in this case relate to a long-running scheme by Huawei, its CFO, and other employees to deceive numerous global financial institutions and the United States government regarding Huawei’s business activities in Iran. Beginning in 2007, Huawei employees misrepresented Huawei’s relationship to an unofficial subsidiary in Iran called Skycom, and as a result falsely claimed that Huawei had only limited operations in Iran and that Huawei did not violate U.S. or other laws or regulations related to Iran. Most significantly, after news publications in late 2012 and 2013 disclosed that Huawei operated Skycom as an unofficial subsidiary in Iran and that Meng had served on the board of directors of Skycom, Huawei employees, and in particular Meng, continued to lie to Huawei’s banking partners about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, falsely claiming that Huawei had sold its interest in Skycom to an unrelated third party in 2007 and also that Skycom was merely Huawei’s local business partner in Iran. In reality, Skycom was Huawei’s longstanding Iranian subsidiary, and Huawei orchestrated the 2007 sale to appear as an arm’s length transaction between two unrelated parties although Huawei actually controlled the company that purchased Skycom.
As part of this scheme to defraud, Meng personally made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom.
Huawei relied on its global banking partners for banking services that included processing U.S.-dollar-denominated transactions through the United States. U.S. laws and regulations generally prohibited these banks from providing U.S.-dollar transactions related to Iran through the United States. The banks could have faced civil or criminal penalties for processing transactions that violated U.S. laws or regulations. Relying on the repeated misrepresentations by Huawei, banking partners continued their banking relationships with Huawei. One banking partner cleared more than $100 million worth of Skycom-related transactions through the United States between 2010 and 2014.
As a further part of this scheme to defraud, Huawei and its principals repeatedly lied to U.S. government authorities about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom in submissions to the U.S. government, and in responses to government inquiries. For example, Huawei provided false information to the U.S. Congress regarding whether Huawei’s business in Iran violated any U.S. law. Similarly, as indicated in the indictment, in 2007 — months before Huawei orchestrated the purported sale of Skycom to another Huawei-controlled entity — Huawei’s founder falsely stated to FBI agents that Huawei did not have any direct dealings with Iranian companies and that Huawei operated in compliance with all U.S. export laws.
After one of Huawei’s major global banking partners (identified as Financial Institution 1 in the indictment) decided to exit the relationship in 2017 because of Huawei’s risk profile, Huawei allegedly made additional misrepresentations to several of its remaining banking partners in an effort to maintain and expand those relationships. Huawei and its principals are alleged to have repeatedly and falsely claimed that Huawei had decided to separate from Financial Institution 1, and not that Financial Institution 1 had decided to cause the separation. On the basis of these misrepresentations, those other banking partners continued their banking relationships with Huawei.
In 2017, when Huawei became aware of the government’s investigation, Huawei and its subsidiary Huawei USA tried to obstruct the investigation by making efforts to move witnesses with knowledge about Huawei’s Iran-based business to the PRC, and beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S. government, and by destroying and concealing evidence of Huawei’s Iran-based business that was located in the United States.
In December 2018, Canadian authorities apprehended Meng in Vancouver pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant issued under Canadian law. The U.S. government is seeking Meng’s extradition to the United States.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The indictment unsealed today is assigned to U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York.
The government’s investigation is ongoing. Individuals and companies with information about additional misconduct by these defendants or their related entities and principals should contact their local FBI field office.
The investigation is being jointly conducted by the FBI’s New York Field Office, HSI’s New York Field Office, OEE’s New York Field Office, and DCIS’s New York Resident Agency. Agents from the FBI, HSI, OEE, and DCIS offices in Dallas provided significant support and assistance. The government’s case is being handled by the National Security and Cybercrime and Business and Securities Fraud Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon, Julia Nestor, David K. Kessler, Kaitlin Farrell, and Sarah Evans, MLARS Trial Attorneys Laura Billings and Christian Nauvel, and CES Trial Attorneys Thea D. R. Kendler and David Lim are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley of the Northern District of Texas, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Morris and Brendan King of the Eastern District of New York’s Civil Division and Trial Attorneys Andrew Finkelman and Margaret O’Malley of DOJ’s Office of International Affairs. Additional Criminal Division and National Security Division Trial Attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys within U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas, and the Northern District of California have provided valuable assistance with various aspects of this investigation.
The Defendants:
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Huawei Device USA Inc.
Skycom Tech Co. Ltd.
Meng Wanzhou, also known as “Cathy Meng” and “Sabrina Meng”
Age: 46Residence: People’s Republic Of China
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-457 (AMD)
[1] The indictment charges other individuals who have not yet been apprehended and whose names will not be publicly released at this time.
Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Charged with Financial FraudRead the Press Release
Huawei Device USA Inc. and Huawei’s Iranian Subsidiary Skycom Also Named Defendants
Other Charges Include Money Laundering, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Obstruction of Justice and Sanctions Violations
A 13-count indictment was unsealed earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging four defendants,[1] including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei), the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, with headquarters in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and operations around the world. The indicted defendants include Huawei and two Huawei affiliates — Huawei Device USA Inc. (Huawei USA) and Skycom Tech Co. Ltd. (Skycom) — as well as Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wanzhou Meng (Meng).
The defendants Huawei and Skycom are charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Huawei and Huawei USA are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice related to the grand jury investigation in the Eastern District of New York. Meng is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracies to commit bank and wire fraud.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Wilbur Ross of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the National Security Division, announced the charges.
“Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes," said Acting Attorney General Whitaker. "As I told Chinese officials in August, China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law. I’d like to thank the many dedicated criminal investigators from several different federal agencies who contributed to this investigation and the Department of Justice attorneys who are moving the prosecution efforts forward. They are helping us uphold the rule of law with integrity.”
“As charged in the indictment, Huawei and its Chief Financial Officer broke U.S. law and have engaged in a fraudulent financial scheme that is detrimental to the security of the United States,” said Secretary Nielsen. “They willfully conducted millions of dollars in transactions that were in direct violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, and such behavior will not be tolerated. The Department of Homeland Security is focused on preventing nefarious actors from accessing or manipulating our financial system, and we will ensure that legitimate economic activity is not exploited by our adversaries. I would like to thank ICE Homeland Security Investigations for their exceptional work on this case.”
“For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using U.S. financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities,” said Secretary Ross. “This will end. The Trump Administration continues to be tougher on those who violate our export control laws than any administration in history. I commend the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement, and our partners in the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security for their excellent work on this case.”
“As charged in the indictment, Huawei and its subsidiaries, with the direct and personal involvement of their executives, engaged in serious fraudulent conduct, including conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, sanctions violations, money laundering and the orchestrated obstruction of justice,” stated U.S. Attorney Donoghue. “For over a decade, Huawei employed a strategy of lies and deceit to conduct and grow its business. This Office will continue to hold accountable companies and their executives, whether here or abroad, that commit fraud against U.S. financial institutions and their international counterparts and violate U.S. laws designed to maintain our national security.” Mr. Donoghue thanked the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) agents who are investigating this case for their tireless work and dedication.
“These charges lay bare Huawei’s alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices,” said FBI Director Wray. “Companies like Huawei pose a dual threat to both our economic and national security, and the magnitude of these charges make clear just how seriously the FBI takes this threat. Today should serve as a warning that we will not tolerate businesses that violate our laws, obstruct justice, or jeopardize national and economic well-being.”
* * * *
Overview of the Indictment
The charges in this case relate to a long-running scheme by Huawei, its CFO, and other employees to deceive numerous global financial institutions and the U.S. government regarding Huawei’s business activities in Iran. As alleged in the indictment, beginning in 2007, Huawei employees lied about Huawei’s relationship to a company in Iran called Skycom, falsely asserting it was not an affiliate of Huawei. The company further claimed that Huawei had only limited operations in Iran and that Huawei did not violate U.S. or other laws or regulations related to Iran. Most significantly, after news publications in late 2012 and 2013 disclosed that Huawei operated Skycom as an unofficial affiliate in Iran and that Meng had served on the board of directors of Skycom, Huawei employees, and in particular Meng, continued to lie to Huawei’s banking partners about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom. They falsely claimed that Huawei had sold its interest in Skycom to an unrelated third party in 2007 and that Skycom was merely Huawei’s local business partner in Iran. In reality, Skycom was Huawei’s longstanding Iranian affiliate, and Huawei orchestrated the 2007 sale to appear as an arm’s length transaction between two unrelated parties, when in fact Huawei actually controlled the company that purchased Skycom.
As part of this scheme to defraud, Meng allegedly personally made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about the relationship between Huawei and Skycom.
According to the indictment, Huawei relied on its global banking relationships for banking services that included processing U.S.-dollar transactions through the United States. U.S. laws and regulations generally prohibited these banks from processing transactions related to Iran through the United States. The banks could have faced civil or criminal penalties for processing transactions that violated U.S. laws or regulations. Relying on the repeated misrepresentations by Huawei, these banks continued their banking relationships with Huawei. One bank cleared more than $100 million worth of Skycom-related transactions through the United States between 2010 and 2014.
In furtherance of this scheme to defraud, and as alleged in the indictment, Huawei and its principals repeatedly lied to U.S. government authorities about Huawei’s business in Iran in submissions to the U.S. government, and in responses to government inquiries. For example, Huawei provided false information to the U.S. Congress regarding whether Huawei’s business in Iran violated any U.S. law. Similarly, as indicated in the indictment, in 2007 — months before Huawei orchestrated the purported sale of Skycom to another Huawei-controlled entity — Huawei’s founder falsely stated to FBI agents that Huawei did not have any direct dealings with Iranian companies and that Huawei operated in compliance with all U.S. export laws.
After one of Huawei’s major global banking partners (identified as Financial Institution 1 in the indictment) decided to exit the Huawei relationship in 2017 because of Huawei’s risk profile, Huawei allegedly made additional misrepresentations to several of its remaining banking partners in an effort to maintain and expand those relationships. Huawei and its principals are alleged to have repeatedly and falsely claimed that Huawei had decided to terminate its banking relationship with Financial Institution 1, when in fact it was Financial Institution 1 that had decided to terminate the banking relationship. Through these misrepresentations, Huawei was able to continue its banking relationships with its other banks.
In 2017, when Huawei became aware of the government’s investigation, Huawei and its subsidiary Huawei USA allegedly tried to obstruct the investigation by making efforts to move witnesses with knowledge about Huawei’s Iran-based business to the PRC, and beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S. government, and by concealing and destroying evidence of Huawei’s Iran-based business that was located in the United States.
In December 2018, Canadian authorities apprehended Meng in Vancouver pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant issued under Canadian law. The U.S. government is seeking Meng’s extradition to the United States.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The indictment unsealed today is assigned to U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York.
The government’s investigation is ongoing.
The investigation is being jointly conducted by the FBI’s New York Field Office, HSI’s New York Field Office, OEE’s New York Field Office, and DCIS’s Southwest and Northeast Field Offices. Agents from the FBI, HSI, and OEE offices in Dallas provided significant support and assistance. The government’s case is being handled by the National Security and Cybercrime and Business and Securities Fraud Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and the Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon, Julia Nestor, David K. Kessler, Kaitlin Farrell, and Sarah Evans, MLARS Trial Attorneys Laura Billings and Christian Nauvel, and CES Trial Attorneys Thea D. R. Kendler and David Lim are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley of the Northern District of Texas, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Morris and Brendan King of the Eastern District of New York’s Civil Division and Trial Attorneys Andrew Finkelman and Margaret O’Malley of DOJ’s Office of International Affairs. Additional Criminal Division and National Security Division Trial Attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys within U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas, and the Northern District of California have provided valuable assistance with various aspects of this investigation.
The Defendants:
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Huawei Device USA Inc.
Skycom Tech Co. Ltd.
Meng Wanzhou, also known as “Cathy Meng” and “Sabrina Meng”
Age: 46Residence: People’s Republic Of China
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-457 (AMD)
[1] The indictment charges other individuals who have not yet been apprehended and whose names will not be publicly released at this time.
Chinese National Who Stole Trade Secrets while Working for Medical Device Companies Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Irvine engineer who stole trade secrets belonging to two former employers, both of which develop and manufacture medical devices used to treat cardiac and vascular ailments, was sentenced late this afternoon to 27 months in federal prison.
Wenfeng Lu, 46, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Andrew J. Guilford.
Lu was sentenced after pleading guilty last May to six counts of unauthorized possession and attempted possession of trade secrets. Lu admitted that he stole confidential and proprietary trade secrets from two different medical device companies with research facilities in Irvine, where Lu worked from January 2009 until he was arrested in this case in 2012.
Lu first worked at ev3 (which later became part of Covidien, and then Medtronic), and later at Edwards Lifesciences Corporation. Notwithstanding signing employment agreements in which he acknowledged that proprietary technology developed at the companies was the sole property of the companies, Lu copied numerous documents belonging to both of his employers that contained technical information and trade secrets, took them home, and placed them on his personal laptop computer.
While he was working for the companies, Lu travelled to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) multiple times – sometimes soon after stealing the trade secrets from his employers. Lu had obtained financing and was preparing to open a company in the PRC that would manufacture devices used to treat vascular problems and would use technology he had stolen from his American employers, according to court documents.
“In furtherance of his business, defendant [Lu] applied to the PRC government for funding designed to attract technological talent from places such as the United States, and was selected to receive approximately $2 million RMB (about $328,000 USD) and free rent for a period of three years in a laboratory in a technology park located in Nanjing Province in the PRC,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court. “The money and laboratory space was part of a program sponsored by the PRC government to encourage scientists of Chinese descent to return to the PRC with intellectual property to develop biomedical technology in the PRC.”
Lu was arrested as he prepared to board a plane to the PRC in November 2012, which prevented him from implementing his business plan and causing significant harm to the victim companies in the United States.
The sentencing memo notes that Lu was not content with “a substantial salary, a comfortable life in Irvine, California, and the opportunity to develop meaningful products that save people’s lives,” so he took his employers’ protected information. In addition, he took the information to the PRC, putting those trade secrets “at great risk of being stolen by nefarious actors in the PRC.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Takla of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Jennie L. Wang of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.
Chicago-Based Clinical Psychologist Charged in $3.2 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme That Allegedly Exploited Mentally Disabled PatientsRead the Press Release
A Chicago, Illinois-based clinical psychologist was charged in an indictment filed on Jan. 3, for his participation in a health care fraud scheme involving approximately $3.2 million in allegedly fraudulent claims billed to Medicare for psychological counseling and psychological testing for severely mentally disabled adults that was never actually performed.
Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement
Hubert Dolezal, Ph.D., 78, of Chicago, was charged in an indictment filed in the Northern District of Illinois with 15 counts of health care fraud.
According to the indictment, from December 2012 to June 2018, Dolezal allegedly engaged in a scheme to bill Medicare for psychological counseling, psychological testing and neuropsychological testing of severely mentally disabled adults living in community-based housing. The indictment alleges that Dolezal defrauded Medicare through submission of claims for services that were never performed, and for services performed on a routine, rather than an as-needed basis. The indictment also alleges that Dolezal was also double-paid for services, collecting payment from Medicare and the organization running the community-based housing.
The indictment alleges that Dorezal submitted approximately $4.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, and that Medicare paid a total of approximately $3.2 million on those claims.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI. Trial Attorney Leslie S. Garthwaite of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.
California man sentenced to seven years in Sidney meth caseRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – California resident Raymond M. Fitch was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and to five years of supervised release on January 25 for conviction in a methamphetamine case in which the drug was mailed to Sidney from California, said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme today.
Fitch, 59, of Imperial Beach, Calif., pleaded guilty earlier to possession with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at sentencing.
The investigation began in about August 2017 when the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation received information that two individuals from Sidney had been receiving regular shipments of meth by mail at their residence from a source in California.
On August 29, 2017, the U.S. Postal Service observed a package addressed to one of these persons from Chula Vista, Calif. The sender’s return address was to a strip mall. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on the package and found a clear plastic bag containing meth along with a note addressed to “T&T.” Officers also found a clear plastic bag containing about 54 grams of pure meth with a note reading “RF you owe 4000 total.” Fifty four grams of meth is the equivalent of about 432 individual doses.
During an interview, one of these co-conspirators told officers that “RF” was Ray Fitch and that Fitch received one ounce of meth from the California supplier in every package the source sent. The co-conspirator estimated that Fitch had received numerous packages of meth from the source. The second co-conspirator corroborated the statement and said that the meth reserved for Fitch was always labeled with the initials “RF.”
Law enforcement also interviewed one of Fitch’s customers who bought about a half ounce of meth daily from Fitch for about four months.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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California Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Role in Medicare Kickback ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A California doctor was sentenced to 42 months in prison on Jan. 22 for his role in a Medicare kickback conspiracy involving a Los Angeles-area home health agency.
Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, M.D., 65, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California, who also ordered Kanakeswaran to forfeit $509,662 to the United States. Following a six-day trial, Kanakeswaran was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 23, 2018, on one count of conspiracy to pay and/or receive kickbacks for Medicare referrals and four counts of receiving kickbacks for Medicare referrals.
According to evidence presented at trial, from 2008 to 2016, Kanakeswaran and others engaged in a conspiracy to refer Medicare patients to Star Home Health Resources (Star), a home health agency located in La Verne, California in exchange for illegal kickback payments. Kanakeswaran received cash kickback payments, as well as kickback payments by check through a company Kanakeswaran owned called Digital Perfection Corporation, the evidence showed. The evidence presented at trial showed that Kanakeswaran received illegal kickbacks from Star in the amount of $509,662.
As a result of the conspiracy, the owners and operators of Star submitted claims to Medicare based on the Medicare beneficiaries that Kanakeswaran referred to Star, and Medicare paid approximately $4.1 million based on those claims, the evidence showed.
This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI. Trial Attorney Claire Yan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander F. Porter of the Major Frauds Section of the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.
Bradenton Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – On January 16, 2019, Christabelle Crews (36, Tampa) pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. Crews faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Her sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to the facts presented at the plea hearing, Crews was involved in a scheme to deposit U.S. income tax refunds checks that the IRS had issued as the result of income tax returns fraudulently filed in the names of victim-taxpayers. Evidence showed that Crews had deposited a number of third-party tax refund checks with forged signatures of the victims, into a SunTrust bank account that she controlled between December 2012 and May 2013. The scheme resulted in the transmission of more than $56,000 in fraudulent income tax refund checks.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.
Beaumont Man Charged in Connection with Shooting of Girlfriend and ChildRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A 25-year-old Beaumont, Texas man appeared in federal court on firearms and drug trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
James Anthony Madrid had an initial appearance today pursuant to a criminal complaint issued by the U.S. District Court charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
According to information presented in court, on Jan. 24, 2019, local and federal agents responded to the 8700 block of Newfield Lane in Beaumont, Texas, in connection with a shooting. Officers discovered Madrid’s one-year-old child and girlfriend had been shot. An investigation revealed Madrid had shot the girlfriend and child as individuals attempted to break into the house in connection with Madrid’s drug trafficking activities. A search of the home revealed approximately 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, evidence of drug distribution and several firearms.
If convicted, Madrid faces up to Life in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by the Beaumont Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.
It is important to note that a complaint, arrest, or indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Bakersfield Trucker Sentenced for Shipping Drugs Sourced from MexicoRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Darrell Leon Jennings, 51, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to five years in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
His sentence follows his guilty plea on November 7, 2018. According to court documents, Jennings, a trucker doing business in Moreno Valley as Jennings Transportation, assisted Mario Alvarez-Muniz, 50, of Taft, in transporting 6 kilograms of heroin and 11 kilograms of cocaine destined for Chicago. After Alvarez-Muniz arranged for the shipment of the drugs from Mexico to Mira Loma, Jennings picked up the drugs and drove back to Bakersfield where he was stopped by agents. A police dog located the drugs in a customized hidden compartment in Jennings’ truck.
Co-defendant Alvarez-Muniz previously entered a guilty plea and was sentenced last year to a prison term of 10 years and 1 month.
This case was the product of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, California Highway Patrol, Bakersfield Police Department, and Kern County Probation Office. OCDETF is the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General's drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations and related criminal enterprises. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.
Avanti Hospitals Llc, and Its Owners Agree to Pay $8.1 Million to Settle Allegations of Making Illegal Payments in Exchange for ReferralsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced that on Dec. 28, 2018 Los Angeles-based Avanti Hospitals LLC (Avanti) and six of its owners will pay the federal government $8.1 million to settle claims that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing Avanti’s subsidiary, Memorial Hospital of Gardena (Gardena Hospital), to submit false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs for medical services referred by a physician who received kickbacks and other improper payments from Gardena and other Avanti affiliates.
“Financial arrangements that improperly compensate physicians for referrals encourage physicians to make decisions based on financial gain rather than patient needs,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to preventing illegal financial relationships that undermine the integrity of our public health programs.”
The government alleged that the payments from Avanti, Gardena Hospital and at least two other Avanti affiliates to a high-referring physician violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has an improper compensation arrangement. Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not distorted by improper financial incentives and is instead based only on the best interests of the patient.
The settlement announced resolved allegations that Avanti, Gardena Hospital and at least two other Avanti affiliates provided compensation to a physician they engaged as a medical director that (1) exceeded fair market value for his services, and (2) was an attempt to incentivize him to refer patients to Gardena Hospital.
“Illegal kickbacks paid to doctors for referrals burden our healthcare system, drive up insurance costs for everyone, and corrupt the doctor-patient relationship,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna for the Central District of California. “Patients are not commodities who can be sold to the highest bidder, especially when the bills are ultimately being paid by American taxpayers.”
Avanti and Gardena Hospital have also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
“Patients and taxpayers rightly should expect that referrals be based on sound medical judgement, not driven by thinly veiled bribes, as alleged here,” said Christian J. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Our compliance agreement with Avanti and Gardena Hospital contains strong monitoring and reporting provisions to help ensure that people in government health programs will be protected.”
The settlement partially resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Joshua Luke, the former C.E.O. of Gardena Hospital. The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. The government may intervene and file its own complaint in such a lawsuit. Dr. Luke will receive approximately $1.6 million from the federal government.
The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The case is docketed as U.S. ex rel. Luke, State of California ex rel. Luke v. Gardena Hospital, L.P. DBA Memorial Hospital of Gardena, Avanti Hospitals, LLC, et al., CV 15-08732 FMO (C.D. Cal.) (PARTIALLY UNDER SEAL). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Australian Commodities Trader Pleads Guilty to Spoofing on U.S. Futures ExchangeRead the Press Release
A commodities trader at an Australian proprietary trading firm (Trading Firm A) pleaded guilty on Dec. 26, 2018 to spoofing in connection with his fraudulent and deceptive trading activity in the E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement.
Jiongsheng (“Jim”) Zhao, 31, of Sydney, Australia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois to one count of spoofing. Zhao was extradited to the United States on Nov. 16 and made his first court appearance on Nov. 19. Sentencing is scheduled for July 19, 2019 before Judge Tharp.
“For almost four years, Jim Zhao placed thousands of phony orders for E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts that he never intended to execute—all in an effort to fraudulently move the market to his own advantage,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The Department and our law enforcement partners will use every tool at our disposal to identify and prosecute those who engage in manipulative trading activity on U.S. markets.”
As part of his plea, Zhao admitted that from approximately July 2012 through March 2016, he placed thousands of orders for E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts on the CME, a commodities exchange operated by CME Group Inc., that, at the time Zhao placed the orders, he intended to cancel before execution (the Spoof Orders). Zhao admitted that typically he engaged in this trading strategy when he already had an order for E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts pending in the market that he did want to execute, but that was not being filled (the Primary Order). Zhao admitted that he would place the Spoof Orders on the opposite side of the market from the Primary Order with the goal to induce other market participants to trade against his Primary Order. This trading strategy, Zhao admitted, was intended to inject materially false and misleading liquidity and price information into the E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts market by placing the Spoof Orders in order to deceive other market participants about the existence of supply and demand. The Spoof Orders were designed to artificially move the price of E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts in a direction that was favorable to Zhao, and to the detriment of other market participants. In pleading guilty, Zhao admitted that he placed the Spoof Orders in order to generate profits (or mitigate losses) for himself and Trading Firm A, and that Trading Firm A kept a percentage of Zhao’s trading profits, ranging at various times from 20 percent to 50 percent.
According to admissions in the plea agreement, in approximately March 2016, the CME began an investigation into Zhao’s trading activity in connection with the E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts. As part of that investigation, Zhao submitted to a CME interview, and provided the CME with written responses to explain his trading activity, including three specific examples of Zhao’s trading activity. In a written response submitted to the CME, Zhao stated that all of the orders identified in the three examples were part of either a “scalping” or spread trading strategy and were placed with the intention to execute. In truth and in fact, however, Zhao admitted as part of his plea that when providing this response to the CME, he knew that he had placed certain large orders identified in each example with the intent, at the time they were placed, to cancel them before execution (i.e., the large orders were Spoof Orders). Zhao admitted that his statement to the CME that he placed these large orders with the intention that they be filled was false and misleading, and that he made this false statement in order to falsify, conceal and cover up his spoofing conduct.
This case is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. The International Crime Cooperation Central Authority of the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Federal Police and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in connection with the arrest and extradition of Zhao. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission also provided substantial assistance in this case.
Trial Attorney Matthew F. Sullivan and Assistant Chief Justin D. Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in these cases should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.
Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson Receives Human Trafficking AwardRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Human Trafficking Task Force has named Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson as the recipient of its Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Oklahoma, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. AUSA Anderson received the award on January 24, 2019, at the task force’s candlelight vigil at the Oklahoma Bar Center as part of Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Ms. Anderson became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2014, after private practice with major law firms in New York City and Oklahoma City. Her portfolio includes a number of cases against those involved in child sex trafficking. She has also handled a variety of other criminal cases, including complex white collar matters and gun prosecutions. A graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law, she serves as the office’s Human Trafficking Coordinator and has taught courses at the Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center on human trafficking prosecutions.
For more on federal efforts to prevent and prosecute human trafficking, visit https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Armed Leader of Drug Conspiracy Is Sentenced to 27 YearsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Thursday, January 24, 2019, Dontarius Marquis Hall, 39, of Gaston County, N.C., was sentenced to 27 years in prison for drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. also ordered Hall to serve five years under court supervision.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Robert C. Helton of the Gastonia Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to information contained in filed court documents and Hall’s sentencing hearing, Hall’s trial was scheduled to begin on June 4, 2018. The morning of the first day of trial Hall entered a plea of guilty, and admitted to being the leader, organizer and recruiter of a drug conspiracy that operated in an around Gaston County. Hall further admitted that between 2010 and 2015, the drug conspiracy trafficked eight to twenty-five kilograms of crack cocaine. According to court records, while executing a federal search warrant at Hall’s residence in December 2015, law enforcement recovered two firearms, drug trafficking paraphernalia, and $965 in cash. Due to his lengthy criminal history, which dates back to 1999 and includes several convictions for drug and firearm offenses, Hall was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Hall is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
This case stems from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI and the Gastonia Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven R. Kaufman and Lambert Guinn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte handled the prosecution.
Armed Drug Trafficker SentencedRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Phillip Taylor, 28, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, was sentenced to 188 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated that Taylor, a two-time convicted felon, was arrested following a police investigation which took Rochester Police officers to 173 Anderson Avenue to investigate a report of a person dropping a handgun in the parking lot of the business located there. When officers arrived, they saw a person, later identified as Taylor, get into the driver’s seat of a blue Ford Escape and drive off after officers went to speak with him about the reported handgun. The defendant drove his car in the direction of one of the responding officers, coming within inches before driving away. Taylor also struck a brick structure with his vehicle as he exited the parking lot and continued traveling westbound on Anderson Avenue as officers pursued him. Officers followed Taylor in police cars onto College Avenue where the defendant struck a tree. Undeterred, Taylor continued to flee on foot with officers in pursuit. During the chase, officers could see the defendant holding the right side of his pants while making several attempts to remove something from his pants pocket. Taylor was taken into custody in the area of 100 College Avenue. Officers searched the defendant and recovered a loaded .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun in his pocket, $704 in cash, and 12 vials containing cocaine.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Simmons, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.
Arizona courier with 10 pounds of methamphetamine sentencedRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – An Arizona woman who admitted driving 10 pounds of methamphetamine to Billings to make money was sentenced on January 25 to five years in prison and five years of supervised release, said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme on Monday.
Leticia Aguirre Tyrrell, 36, of Tucson, had pleaded guilty earlier to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at sentencing.
During a drug trafficking investigation, task force agents worked with a confidential informant who arranged for a meth shipment to be delivered in Billings. On June 23, 2018, investigators learned that the courier’s name was “Leti” and that she had arrived at a Billings hotel. Agents arrested her and identified her as Leticia Aguirre Tyrrell.
Agents seized Tyrrell’s Ford Fusion and got a warrant to search the vehicle. Investigators found 10 pounds of meth in one large package in the rear passenger seating area of the vehicle. Ten pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 36,240 individual doses.
In an interview later, Tyrrell said she had made the trip to earn some money and was to be paid $5,000 for driving to Billings. The vehicle had been rented. Tyrrell obtained a box of what she believed to be meth from an unknown male in Phoenix before departing for Montana.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Godfrey prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Amherst Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening A Local PhysicianRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Gary Drago, 58, of Amherst, NY, pleaded guilty to witness tampering and failure to file an income tax return before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that on May 19, 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received information from an individual (Victim) regarding threats, theft, and extortionate acts that the defendant made against the Victim and the Victim’s business, a medical practice. The Victim also advised the FBI that he had a meeting with the Amherst Police Department regarding these crimes the very next day. The FBI advised the Victim to meet with the Amherst Police Department. The Victim was going to meet with the Amherst Police and the FBI to tell them about how Drago previously extorted money from the Victim’s business by using threats of physical harm and threats to ruin the Victim’s reputation.
However, an employee of the Victim overheard the conversation with the FBI, and notified the defendant. Drago then arrived at the Victim’s place of business, and told the Victim’s patients that the Victim was done seeing patients that day. Drago then then physically took the Victim from his place of business and placed the Victim in his car. Once in the car, the defendant threatened the Victim with a pistol, and slapped the Victim, telling the Victim that he heard the Victim was talking with law enforcement. Drago continued to ask the Victim who he spoke to from law enforcement, and what the Victim told them. The Victim told the defendant that he spoke to the FBI and was going to meet with the Amherst Police the next day. While continuing to threaten the Victim, the defendant told the Victim to call the FBI and tell them that everything was okay, which the Victim did. Drago then let the Victim go home.
Later that same night, the defendant repeatedly called the Victim and left messages on his voice mail threatening the Victim, and reminding the Victim not to cooperate with the FBI, or go to the meeting with the Amherst Police the next day.
Between 2013 and May 20, 2017, the defendant worked at medical business located in Williamsville, NY. During that time, Drago entered into a contract for employment with the Victim/owner and was paid a salary through the payroll. However, the defendant eventually started taking additional money from the business in the form of cash, without providing any employment service in return. When confronted by the Victim about the money, Drago would threaten force or physical harm. Specifically, the defendant took a total of $129,792 without rendering employment services. When confronted by the Victim, Drago would berate and threaten physical harm or damage to the Victim’s reputation. As a result, the Victim was fearful, and was prevented from stopping the defendant from taking the unearned money.
In addition, during the course of his employment with the Victim, Drago received recordable income. Some of this income was derived from the defendant’s threats to the Victim, and was paid by the Victim to the defendant as extortion money. The defendant received this income through payroll check payments from the victim’s business, as well as cash payments from the Victim. However, Drago failed to file federal income tax returns. For the tax years 2013 through 2016, the defendant received $294,043 in income, resulting in a loss to the Internal Revenue service of $19,007.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, New York Field Office; the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill; the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Timothy Howard; and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of John Flynn.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2019, before Judge Vilardo.
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Friday 25 January 2019
Tres hombres del suroeste de Kansas son condenados a la cárcel por planear un atentado con bomba contra inmigrantes somalíes en Garden CityRead the Press Release
Tres hombres del suroeste de Kansas fueron condenados a 25, 26 y 30 años de cárcel tras ser acusados de confabular a detonar una bomba en un complejo de apartamentos en Garden City donde vivían inmigrantes musulmanes, anunciaron el Fiscal General en funciones Matthew Whitaker, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Kansas, Stephen McAllister, el Director del Buró de Investigaciones Federales («FBI», por sus siglas en inglés), Chris Wray, el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles Eric Dreiband, el Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División Nacional de Seguridad John C. Demers y el Agente Especial Encargado de la División del FBI en la Ciudad de Kansas Darrin E. Jones.
«El Departamento de Justicia trabaja a diario a frustrar amenazas terroristas en los Estados Unidos», afirmó el Fiscal General en funciones Whitaker. «Está claro que los autores en este atentado actuaron con premeditación en su intento de asesinar a personas inocentes por motivos de su religión y origen nacional. No es solo ilegal: es moralmente repugnante. La condena de hoy representa una victoria importante contra los delitos de odio y el terrorismo doméstico, y quisiera agradecer a todos los que ayudaron a llevar a los acusados ante la justicia, eso es, a los profesionales dedicados del FBI, la Fiscalía Federal en Kansas, la División de Derechos Civiles, la División de Seguridad Nacional, y nuestras agencias asociadas del orden público locales y estatales. La policía salvó vidas en este caso».
«Estos acusados planearon, sin piedad, detonar una bomba en un complejo de apartamentos y matar a gente inocente, sencillamente por motivos de dónde son y cómo rezan», declaró el Director del FBI Wray. «Hoy, junto con nuestras agencias asociadas del orden público, reafirmamos nuestro compromiso a proteger a los miembros de nuestras comunidades de aquellos que intenten aterrorizarlos y dañarlos».
«Algunos han descrito este enjuiciamiento como un caso de derechos civiles, un caso de terrorismo doméstico o incluso un caso de delincuencia violenta», comentó el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Kansas, Stephen McAllister. «No obstante, se mire como se mire, va en contra de todo lo que representamos: derechos civiles, la seguridad pública y el respeto de la ley».
«La condena de hoy refleja el compromiso del FBI a proteger las comunidades que servimos y nuestra obligación continua a impedir complots cuando la intención de los mismos es cometer actos violentos y dañar a otros», dijo Darrin Jones, el Agente Especial Encargado de la División del FBI en la Ciudad de Kansas. «La condena resalta la gravedad de estos delitos y que no se tolerará las acciones motivadas por el odio. El FBI, junto con nuestras agencias asociadas del orden público, seguirá trabajando agresivamente para garantizar que los autores sean llevados ante la justicia».
El 18 de abril del 2018, tras un juicio que duró cinco semanas, un Jurado federal condenó a Patrick Eugene Stein, de 49 años, vecino de Wright, Kansas, a Curtis Allen, de 51 años, vecino de Liberal, Kansas, y a Gavin Wright, de 53 años, vecino del Condado de Beaver, Oklahoma, de un cargo de confabular a emplear un arma de destrucción masiva y un cargo de confabular a vulnerar los derechos a la vivienda de sus víctimas anticipadas. Ambas conspiraciones se basaron en el complot de los acusados de estallar el complejo de apartamentos en un intento de asesinar a los inmigrantes somalíes musulmanes que vivían allí. El jurado también condenó a Wright por mentir al FBI en un asunto relacionado con el terrorismo doméstico.
Las pruebas que se presentaron en el juicio revelaron que, a lo largo de varios meses, los acusados confabularon a atacar un complejo de apartamentos que contenía una mezquita en Garden City, Kansas, donde inmigrantes musulmanes originarios de Somalia vivían y rezaban. Las pruebas presentadas durante el juicio establecieron que los acusados celebraron varias reuniones con el fin de planear el ataque y tomaron medidas significativas, incluyendo la fabricación y la prueba de explosivos, en miras a la implementación de su plan. Durante la investigación dirigida por el FBI que duró ocho meses, una fuente confidencial, a quien el Gobierno da el crédito por impedir el ataque y salvar las vidas de víctimas inocentes, grabó numerosas conversaciones en las que los acusados discutieron y perfeccionaron su plan. A medida que el plan se forjaba, los acusados discutieron obtener cuatro vehículos con el fin de llenarlos de explosivos y aparcarlos en las cuatro esquinas del complejo de apartamentos para crear una explosión que seguramente nivelaría el edificio y mataría a sus inquilinos.
A lo largo de la investigación, el acusado Stein también se reunió con un agente encubierto del FBI que fingía ser un traficante de armas del mercado negro en un esfuerzo por obtener una bomba. Durante una de las reuniones, Stein realizó una visita en carro con el agente para ver el edificio de apartamentos que los acusados tenían previsto destrozar.
Curtis Allen fue condenado a 25 años. Gavin Wright fue condenado a 26 años. Patrick Stein fue condenado a 30 años.
Whitaker, McAllister, Wray, Dreiband, Demers y Jones elogiaron a los siguientes procuradores y agencias del orden público por sus esfuerzos excepcionales y ejemplares en la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de este caso importante: el FBI, la Policía de Liberal, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Seward, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Ford, la Policía de Garden City, la Policía de Dodge City la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Finney, la Patrulla de Carreteras de Kansas, el Buró de Investigaciones de Kansas, la Fiscalía Federal y la División de Derechos Civiles y la División de Seguridad Nacional del Departamento de Justicia.
El caso fue enjuiciado por el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Tony Mattivi y las Abogadas de Litigios Risa Berkower y Mary J. Hahn de la División de Derechos Civiles y apoyado por el Abogado de Litigios David Cora, de la Sección de Contraterrorismo de la División de Seguridad Nacional y la Abogada de Apelaciones Danielle Tarin de la Oficina de Leyes y Políticas.
Para más información sobre el trabajo del Departamento de Justicia por combatir y prevenir los delitos de odio, vaya a www.justice.gov/hatecrimes: es un único portal con enlaces a recursos del Departamento de Justicia relacionados con delitos de odio para la policía, los medios de comunicación, investigadores, víctimas, grupos de apoyo, y otras organizaciones y personas.
Three Southwest Kansas Men Sentenced to Prison for Plotting to Bomb Somali Immigrants in Garden CityRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Three men from southwest Kansas were sentenced to 25, 26 and 30 years imprisonment on charges of conspiring to detonate a bomb at an apartment complex in Garden City where Muslim immigrants lived, announced Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker; United States Attorney for the District of Kansas Stephen McAllister; FBI Director Chris Wray; Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband; Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division John C. Demers; and FBI Kansas City Division Special Agent in Charge Darrin E. Jones.
“The Department of Justice works every day to thwart terrorist threats to the United States," said Acting Attorney General Whitaker. "The defendants in this case acted with clear premeditation in an attempt to kill innocent people on the basis of their religion and national origin. That's not just illegal—it's morally repugnant. Today's sentence is a significant victory against hate crimes and domestic terrorism, and I want to thank everyone who helped bring the defendants to justice—the dedicated professionals with the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office in Kansas, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and our state and local law enforcement partners. Law enforcement saved lives in this case."
“These defendants planned to ruthlessly bomb an apartment complex and kill innocent people, simply because of who they are and how they worship," said FBI Director Wray. “Today, together with our law enforcement partners, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting all people in our communities from those who seek to terrorize and do harm."
“Some people have described this prosecution as a civil rights case, a domestic terrorism case or even a violent crime case,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister of the District of Kansas. “However you look at it, it is a violation of everything we stand for in America, equal rights, public safety and respect for law.”
“Today's sentencing speaks to the FBI's commitment to protect the communities we serve and our continued obligation to disrupt plots where the intent is to commit violence and harm others,” said Darrin Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Kansas City Division. “This sentencing highlights the gravity of these crimes, and that actions motivated by hatred will not be tolerated. The FBI, with our law enforcement partners will continue to work aggressively to ensure those responsible are brought to justice."
On April 18, 2018 after a five-week trial, a federal jury convicted Patrick Eugene Stein, 49, of Wright, Kansas, Curtis Allen, 51, of Liberal, Kansas, and Gavin Wright, 53, of Beaver County, Oklahoma, on one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy to violate the housing rights of their intended victims. Both conspiracies stemmed from the defendants’ plot to blow up the apartment complex in an effort to kill the Somali Muslim immigrants who lived there. The jury also convicted defendant Wright of lying to the FBI in matter involving domestic terrorism.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that the defendants plotted, over the course of several months, to attack an apartment complex that contained a mosque in Garden City, Kansas, where Muslim immigrants from Somalia lived and worshipped. Evidence during trial established that the defendants held numerous meetings to plan the attack and took significant steps – including making and testing explosives – toward implementing their plan. During an eight-month-long FBI investigation, a confidential source, whom the government credited for thwarting the attack and saving the lives of innocent victims, recorded numerous conversations during which the defendants discussed and refined their plan. As the plan solidified, the defendants discussed obtaining four vehicles, filling them with explosives, and parking them at the four corners of the apartment complex to create an explosion that would be sure to level the building and kill its occupants.
During the course of the investigation, defendant Stein also met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a black market arms dealer, in an effort to obtain a bomb. During one of the meetings, Stein drove with the agent to see the apartment building that the defendants were planning to destroy.
Curtis Allen was sentenced to 25 years. Gavin Wright was sentenced to 26 years. Patrick Stein was sentenced to 30 years.
Whitaker, McAllister, Wray, Dreiband, Demers, and Jones commended the following law enforcement agencies and prosecutors for their exceptional and exemplary efforts investigating and prosecuting this important case: the FBI, the Liberal Police Department, the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Garden City Police Department, the Dodge City Police Department, the Finney County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division.
The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi and Trial Attorneys Risa Berkower and Mary J. Hahn of the Civil Rights Division and supported by Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Appellate Attorney Danielle Tarin of the Office of Law and Policy.
Three Southwest Kansas Men Sentenced to Prison for Plotting to Bomb Somali Immigrants in Garden CityRead the Press Release
Three men from southwest Kansas were sentenced to 25, 26 and 30 years imprisonment on charges of conspiring to detonate a bomb at an apartment complex in Garden Citywhere Muslim immigrants lived, announced Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker; United States Attorney for the District of Kansas Stephen McAllister; FBI Director Chris Wray; Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband; Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division John C. Demers; and FBI Kansas City Division Special Agent in Charge Darrin E. Jones.
“The Department of Justice works every day to thwart terrorist threats to the United States," said Acting Attorney General Whitaker. "The defendants in this case acted with clear premeditation in an attempt to kill innocent people on the basis of their religion and national origin. That's not just illegal—it's morally repugnant. Today's sentence is a significant victory against hate crimes and domestic terrorism, and I want to thank everyone who helped bring the defendants to justice—the dedicated professionals with the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office in Kansas, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and our state and local law enforcement partners. Law enforcement saved lives in this case."
“These defendants planned to ruthlessly bomb an apartment complex and kill innocent people, simply because of who they are and how they worship," said FBI Director Wray. “Today, together with our law enforcement partners, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting all people in our communities from those who seek to terrorize and do harm."
“Some people have described this prosecution as a civil rights case, a domestic terrorism case or even a violent crime case,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister of the District of Kansas. “However you look at it, it is a violation of everything we stand for in America, equal rights, public safety and respect for law.”
“Today's sentencing speaks to the FBI's commitment to protect the communities we serve and our continued obligation to disrupt plots where the intent is to commit violence and harm others,” said Darrin Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Kansas City Division. “This sentencing highlights the gravity of these crimes, and that actions motivated by hatred will not be tolerated. The FBI, with our law enforcement partners will continue to work aggressively to ensure those responsible are brought to justice."
On April 18, 2018 after a five-week trial, a federal jury convicted Patrick Eugene Stein, 49, of Wright, Kansas, Curtis Allen, 51, of Liberal, Kansas, and Gavin Wright, 53, of Beaver County, Oklahoma, on one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy to violate the housing rights of their intended victims. Both conspiracies stemmed from the defendants’ plot to blow up the apartment complex in an effort to kill the Somali Muslim immigrants who lived there. The jury also convicted defendant Wright of lying to the FBI in matter involving domestic terrorism.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that the defendants plotted, over the course of several months, to attack an apartment complex that contained a mosque in Garden City, Kansas, where Muslim immigrants from Somalia lived and worshipped. Evidence during trial established that the defendants held numerous meetings to plan the attack and took significant steps – including making and testing explosives – toward implementing their plan. During an eight-month-long FBI investigation, a confidential source, whom the government credited for thwarting the attack and saving the lives of innocent victims, recorded numerous conversations during which the defendants discussed and refined their plan. As the plan solidified, the defendants discussed obtaining four vehicles, filling them with explosives, and parking them at the four corners of the apartment complex to create an explosion that would be sure to level the building and kill its occupants.
During the course of the investigation, defendant Stein also met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a black market arms dealer, in an effort to obtain a bomb. During one of the meetings, Stein drove with the agent to see the apartment building that the defendants were planning to destroy.
Curtis Allen was sentenced to 25 years. Gavin Wright was sentenced to 26 years. Patrick Stein was sentenced to 30 years.
Whitaker, McAllister, Wray, Dreiband, Demers, and Jones commended the following law enforcement agencies and prosecutors for their exceptional and exemplary efforts investigating and prosecuting this important case: the FBI, the Liberal Police Department, the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Garden City Police Department, the Dodge City Police Department, the Finney County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division.
The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi and Trial Attorneys Risa Berkower and Mary J. Hahn of the Civil Rights Division and supported by Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Appellate Attorney Danielle Tarin of the Office of Law and Policy.
For more information about DOJ’s work to combat and prevent hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes: a one-stop portal with links to DOJ hate crimes resources for law enforcement, media, researchers, victims, advocacy groups, and other organizations and individuals.
Texas Man Arrested for Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
A former Sugar Land, Texas, resident has been arrested and detained for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office.
A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment against Warren Christopher Clark, 34, on Jan. 23, 2019. It was unsealed today following his initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston.
Clark was captured in Syria by the Syrian Democratic Forces, transferred to U.S. law enforcement custody this week and arrived yesterday in the Southern District of Texas.
"The arm of American Justice has a lengthy reach,” said Patrick. “The number one priority of the Southern District of Texas, along with the FBI and our other national security partners, is to keep America safe. The protection of life is the most sacred job law enforcement has."
Clark is charged with attempting to provide himself as material support to ISIS, which the Secretary of State designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“The FBI continues to aggressively pursue individuals who attempt to join the ranks of ISIS’s foreign fighters or try to provide support for other terrorist organizations. This fight against terrorism is not one we can combat alone,” said Turner. “The FBI relies on our domestic counterparts and foreign law enforcement agencies, as well as the public. Anyone who has information about individuals who have traveled or are planning to travel overseas to support terrorist groups should report it immediately to their local FBI office.”
The charged material support violation carries a possible penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, upon conviction.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and police departments in Houston and Sugar Land conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Mark McIntyre and Craig M. Feazel and Trial Attorney Michael J. Dittoe of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.