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Thursday 13 December 2018
Louisiana Couple Indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud the IRS and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in Shreveport, Louisiana, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Shreveport husband and wife with conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and multiple counts of filing false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph.
According to the indictment, Robert and Donna Poimboeuf owned and operated D&G Holdings LLC (D&G), a company providing laboratory and mobile phlebotomy services. For the 2011 through 2015 tax years, the Poimboeufs allegedly underreported their income and gross receipts from D&G on their joint personal federal income tax returns by submitting false information to two separate tax return preparers that omitted bank accounts and Forms 1099 that the accountants needed to accurately report their taxable income. The indictment charges that the Poimboeufs also improperly classified business receipts as non-taxable loan proceeds in an effort to reduce their income.
If convicted, Robert and Donna Poimboeuf each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy counts and three years in prison on each false return count. The Poimboeufs also face a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and HeroinRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Porfirio Rodriguez Reyes, 39, of Lincoln, received sentences today of 57 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 57 months for possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Those sentences are to run concurrently (at the same time). Following the prison term, Rodriguez Reyes will serve two years on supervised release. However, it is likely he will be deported to Mexico after he is released from prison.
In February and March of 2018, a confidential informant working with the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force made two purchases of methamphetamine and five purchases of heroin from Rodriguez Reyes in Lincoln. The largest purchase of methamphetamine occurred on March 2, 2018. At that time, the confidential informant bought 78 grams of actual methamphetamine from Rodriguez Reyes. The largest purchase of heroin was 108 grams on February 23, 2018. The total amount of actual methamphetamine purchased from Rodriguez Reyes was 104 grams (approximately 3 ¾ ounces), and the total amount of heroin was 378 grams (13 ½ ounces).
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Kansas EMT Pleads Guilty to Stealing Morphine from VialsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – An EMT in Jackson County, Kan., pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing morphine from vials, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Colby W. VanWagoner, 33, Mayetta, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a controlled substance by deception and one count of making a false statement during an investigation.
The crimes took place while VanWagoner was working for the Jackson County Emergency Medical Service in Holton, Kan. In his plea, VanWagoner admitted he tampered with vials of morphine sulfate. He replaced morphine with saline solution and put the vials back into narcotic boxes on ambulances and in office stocks. Tests showed the concentration of morphine in vials that had been tampered with was low as 1 percent or less. The concentration of morphine should have been 100 percent.
Sentencing is set for March 12. The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of five years on federal probation.
McAllister commended the Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett for their work on the case.
KC Man Indicted for Child Pornography, Arrested After Stand-off with PoliceRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who was arrested yesterday after an hours-long standoff with police officers was indicted by a federal grand jury for attempted distribution and possession of child pornography.
Eric C. Hacker, 36, was charged in a 10-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. That indictment was unsealed and made public following his arrest.
The federal indictment alleges that Hacker attempted to distribute child pornography over the internet on eight separate occasions between March 27, 2017, and June 2, 2017. The indictment also charged Hacker with one count of receiving child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography.
Hacker was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, after he fled from police officers and barricaded himself for several hours inside of a storage container he had been using as a residence.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Nexstar Media Group Inc. in Ongoing Television Broadcaster Information Exchange InvestigationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with Nexstar Media Group Inc., one of the largest owners of television stations in the country, as part of its ongoing investigation into exchanges of competitively sensitive information in the broadcast television industry.
The Department filed an amended complaint today in the case United States v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., et al., adding Nexstar Media Group Inc. as a defendant. At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement with Nexstar that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the complaint. The Department filed its original complaint in the case on Nov. 13, 2018, along with proposed settlements with six other television broadcasting companies.
“The Antitrust Division continues its efforts to stop the unlawful exchange of competitively sensitive information in the television broadcast industry,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Robust competition among broadcast stations allows American businesses to obtain competitive advertising rates. The unlawful sharing of information reduced that competition and harmed businesses and the consumers they serve.”
According to the amended complaint, Nexstar agreed with other entities in many metropolitan areas across the United States to exchange revenue pacing information, and also engaged in the exchange of other forms of non-public sales information in certain metropolitan areas. Pacing compares a broadcast station’s revenues booked for a certain time period to the revenues booked in the same point in the previous year. Pacing indicates how each station is performing versus the rest of the market and provides insight into each station’s remaining spot advertising for the period.
By exchanging pacing information, Nexstar and other broadcasters were better able to anticipate whether their competitors were likely to raise, maintain, or lower spot advertising prices, which in turn helped inform their stations’ own pricing strategies and negotiations with advertisers. As a result, the information exchanges harmed the competitive price-setting process.
The proposed settlement prohibits the direct or indirect sharing of such competitively sensitive information. The Department has determined that prohibiting this conduct would resolve the antitrust concerns raised as a result of Nexstar’s conduct. The proposed settlement further requires Nexstar to cooperate in the Department’s ongoing investigation and to adopt rigorous antitrust compliance and reporting measures to prevent similar anticompetitive conduct in the future. The settlement has a seven year term, and it will continue to apply to stations currently owned by Nexstar, even if those stations are acquired by another company.
Nexstar Media Group Inc. is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Irving, Texas. It owns or operates 105 television stations across 93 markets and had revenues in excess of $1.2 billion in 2017.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Owen Kendler, Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.
Jury convicts California man of traveling to Atlanta to have sex with a nine-year-old childRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Craig Alan Castaneda has been found guilty by a jury of traveling from San Diego to Atlanta to have sex with a nine-year-old girl and of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
“Prosecuting child predators is one of this office’s highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We are proud of the work that our law enforcement partners do in pursuing these predators, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to work with them to bring these persons to justice.”
“This conviction is another example of the lengths child predators will go to prey on our children,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is also an example of the FBI’s determination to pursue them. We hope it also serves as a warning to predators who feel they can act out on the internet without fear of being caught.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In early April 2015, an FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity posted an ad on Craigslist in which he portrayed himself as a mother in search of a “teacher” for her nine-year-old daughter. The defendant responded to the ad the next day and described his previous experience in molesting children, including a child as young as four years old. He also said that he was “grooming” (that is, preparing) another child to be molested but that the family had moved away a few months earlier.
The defendant continued to communicate with the undercover agent for the next several weeks, and he made plans to travel from San Diego, California, to Atlanta, Georgia. In one of his final communications with the undercover agent before boarding a plane, he instructed the mother to obtain sex toys and lubricant. FBI agents met the defendant when he arrived at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on May 2, 2015, and arrested him.
Craig Alan Castaneda, 39, of Imperial Beach, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia, June 2, 2015, on one count of traveling from another state to engage in sexual activity with a child under the age of 12 years, and one count of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Castaneda was convicted by a federal jury a three day trial. Sentencing for Castaneda has not yet been scheduled.
This case is being investigated by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Hartigan and Paul R. Jones are prosecuting the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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.
Jury Finds New York City Man Guilty of Federal Drug Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - After deliberating for approximately one hour, on December 12, 2018, a federal jury of six men and six women found Juan Wilquin Hernandez-Bourdier guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin and possession of heroin, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Hernandez-Bourdier was tried before United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Ross E. Lenhardt who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established that on January 26, 2016, Hernandez-Bourdier was the front seat passenger in a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan as it travelled eastbound across Route 80 in Western Pennsylvania. Because the windows were darkly tinted and the vehicle changed lanes without signaling, Trooper Reed Grenci stopped the vehicle. Grenci, a trained interdiction officer, noted many signs that the two occupants may possibly be smuggling illegal items or money and requested permission to search the vehicle. Since Trooper Grenci knew that the same type of vehicles had resulted in police locating a hidden aftermarket compartment in the rear bumper area, he went under the rear of the vehicle and observed the "trap". Once the hydraulically-operated trap was opened, it was found to hold four rectangular blocks which contained a total of 4,195 grams of heroin. The word "Ferrari" and the Ferrari horse symbol were found to be stamped into the kilograms of heroin. The outer layers of wrapping on those blocks consisted of coffee grounds and plastic wrap.
Lab analysis located two fingerprints of the driver on the kilogram packages and a box of plastic wrap and coffee grounds were contained within a backpack in the van. Lab analysis of a toothbrush in the backpack with the coffee grounds and plastic wrap revealed the DNA of Hernandez-Bourdier. The trial included evidence that the driver and passenger were related by marriage and that they were both originally from the Dominican Republic, but were living in the greater New York City area.
A Task Force Officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) testified that a gram of heroin (for comparison’s sake, it was noted that in court that one gram is the same amount in a common package of coffee sweetener) contains approximately 50 "stamp bags," or single serving dosage units of heroin, and that while many factors can affect the price of a stamp bag, single bags are commonly sold for approximately $10 each in Western Pennsylvania. As such, the amount of heroin located would be nearly 210,000 stamp bags worth more than $2 million on the street.
The driver of the vehicle, Habys Meran, while on house arrest, cut off his house arrest bracelet and fled. He is currently a wanted fugitive and individuals with information regarding his whereabouts may contact the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Unit at 412-644-6627. All individuals may remain anonymous and monetary rewards are possible.
Judge Walton scheduled sentencing for May 10, 2019 at 11 a.m., after the preparation of a Pre-Sentence Report by the United States Probation Office. In most circumstances, the law provides for a total sentence of at least 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court remanded the defendant to jail in the custody of the United States Marshals Service.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) joined forces to conduct the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hernandez-Bourdier, with the valuable assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as laboratory analysis by the PSP and HSI labs.
Jury Convicts Former Tigard Resident for Defrauding Investors in Ohio Gold MineRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, a federal jury in Portland returned guilty verdicts against Harry Dean Proudfoot III, 78, formerly of Tigard, Oregon, for running a fraudulent gold mining investment scheme that he used to steal $3.2 million from 140 investors. Proudfoot was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
“Harry Proudfoot and his children made many promises to their investors—promises they never intended to fulfill. They now join a long list of financial criminals whose schemes were cut short by diligent investigators working on behalf of victims. Pursuing criminals who prey on unknowing investors is a top priority for federal law enforcement in Oregon,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
“The FBI is committed to investigating fraud schemes and deceptive practices by those who can cause devastating and irreparable financial harm to the members of our community. Together with its law enforcement partners, the FBI is dedicated to protecting the interests of the American public, so they can both invest and lend with confidence,” said Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon.
“Mr. Proudfoot and his children built a ‘house of cards’ with their false promises and when it collapsed, as these houses do, IRS-Criminal Investigation is proud to support its law enforcement partners to expose and bring to justice those responsible,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon.
According to court documents and information shared at trial, in 2008, Harry Proudfoot created 3 Eagles Research and Development, a company based in Tigard that he used from 2008 through 2012 to solicit investors for a purported goldmining operation in Ohio. Harry Proudfoot, along with his adult children, including co-defendant Matthew Proudfoot, falsely promised to use investors’ money to purchase mining equipment and conduct mining operations at two gravel pits in Ohio.
To entice investors, Proudfoot and his children offered high rates of return, typically 10% of gross revenues, payable once the mine became operational. They falsely told investors they had all the necessary legal and business requirements in place for the mining operation.
At the same time, Proudfoot and his children withheld important facts from investors including that Harry Proudfoot had received cease and desist orders from the States of Alaska and Oregon for selling unregistered securities through material misrepresentations in 1992, 1993, and 2003 and that Matthew Proudfoot had filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Rather than using investor money as promised they diverted it to their personal use, funding living expenses, cars, travel, credit card bills, medical payments, lulling payments and other expenses to keep the scheme afloat.
In 2011, the States of Washington and Colorado and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating the group for securities violations. Ultimately, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon entered a judgment against Harry Proudfoot, Matthew Proudfoot and the 3 Eagles Research and Development Company in the SEC enforcement action.
Harry Proudfoot faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release on each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release on each count of money laundering. He will be sentenced on April 3, 2019 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.
Co-defendant Matthew Proudfoot pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on November 1, 2017. He will be sentenced on January 9, 2019.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Jacksonville Man Arrested on Federal Charge for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces today that Jason Ryan Fain (37, Jacksonville) has been arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with possessing videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children. Fain faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release. He is detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for December 17, 2018.
According to the complaint, on January 9, 2017, an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a citizen complaint at a residence in Jacksonville where Fain resided. The officer recovered a USB thumb drive that allegedly belonged to Fain, and believed to contain child pornography. A search of the thumb drive revealed 3,614 images and 7 videos depicting child pornography, together with “selfie”-type photos depicting Fain.
On October 27, 2017, Fain was arrested in Youngstown, Florida. During an interview, he admitted that the thumb drive belonged to him and that it contained “hundreds” of pornographic images of children that he had obtained from the internet. A forensic analysis of the drive confirmed that it had accessed a particular file-sharing network on the internet and that it also contained at least one document in Fain’s name.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Jackson Man Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison under Project EJECT for Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Jerrod Domonique Cowards, 25, of Jackson, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Tom S. Lee to serve 37 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Cowards was also ordered to pay a $1,500.00 fine.
On May 1, 2018, officers with the Clinton Police Department were on patrol in the area of Highway 80 and Shaw Road in Clinton, Mississippi. One officer noticed a silver Ford Fusion on the road without the tag illuminated as required by law. The officer stopped the vehicle and noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The officer ultimately searched the vehicle and found a firearm underneath the front passenger seat where Cowards was sitting. Cowards admitting to possessing the firearm that was found underneath his seat. Cowards had a prior felony conviction from Rankin County Circuit Court in 2011.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Clinton Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Chalk.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together.” PSN is program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Jackson Man Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Identity of a Veteran and Theft of Veteran BenefitsRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Tierun Bush, 56, of Jackson, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee to serve 36 months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and theft of government funds and property, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Judge Lee also ordered Bush to pay full restitution to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
From 2005 to 2018, Bush used the name, social security number and other identifiers of a U.S. military veteran to fraudulently receive narcotics, medical care, medical equipment, and financial assistance for the cost of housing from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Bush, who is not a military veteran, was a long time patient at the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson under the name of the victim whose identity he stole. When first approached by agents from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bush provided the name of the victim as his own but quickly confessed when he was told by agents that they had already interviewed the victim, who lives out of state. By fraudulently using the identity of a veteran, Bush was able to obtain goods and services from government valued at over $133,603.93, which he will be required to pay in restitution as a part of his sentence.
The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher.
Illegal Alien Sentenced to 37 Months and Fined $15,000Read the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that JOSE ARTEAGA-CENTENO, age 44, a native of Mexico, was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment for illegal reentry of a removed alien.
According to court documents, on March 8, 2018, ARTEAGA-CENTENO was found in the United States after having been previously deported from the United States on May 24, 2013. Further, on September 29, 2011, ARTEAGA-CENTENO was previously convicted of a felony.
United States District Court Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sentenced ARTEAGA-CENTENO to thirty-seven (37) months in prison, and ordered him to pay a $15,000 fine. A three year term of supervised release was also imposed, in addition to a $100 special assessment fee. Following the completion of his sentence, the defendant will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
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Hospice Care Provider Pays Nearly $6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced today that SouthernCare, Inc., a hospice care provider, has agreed to pay $5,863,426 to the federal government to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare for hospice care that was medically unnecessary or lacked documentation.
The settlement resolves allegations in two separate complaints filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. These provisions allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The whistleblowers, Dawn Hamrock and Patricia Beegle, will share approximately $1.1 million of the recovery between them. Both whistleblowers were former employees of SouthernCare.
In their qui tam complaints, the whistleblowers generally alleged that SouthernCare provided hospice care to patients who were not eligible under the Medicare program. To be eligible, hospice care must be reasonable and necessary, a physician must certify that the patient’s life expectancy is six months or less, and the provider must satisfy other documentation requirements. The whistleblowers alleged that SouthernCare admitted patients into hospice who were not terminally ill and lacked appropriate medical documentation showing such an illness. The company allegedly treated some patients for many years. This settlement agreement resolves the allegations arising from SouthernCare’s facilities in Pennsylvania from January 2009 through December 2014.
“My office takes whistleblower allegations very seriously, and we will hold accountable anyone who defrauds taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The False Claims Act gives us a powerful tool to do that. We thank Ms. Hamrock and Ms. Beegle for playing a vital role in the resolution of this case. Together with their lawyers, these two citizens provided essential assistance to the government. Without the willingness of relators to shed light on allegations of fraud, preserving government program funds would be far more challenging.”
“Unnecessarily admitting people into hospice is particularly dangerous, as it can cause patients who are not terminally ill to stop seeking treatments for recovery,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure federally funded healthcare resources are used appropriately.”
There has been no determination of civil liability. The settled civil claims are allegations only.
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael S. Macko and Anthony D. Scicchitano, with investigative assistance from auditor George Niedzwicki and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.
Honduran National Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that a man from Honduras pleaded guilty to making false statements after trying to obtain a Louisiana driver’s license illegally.
Will Avila, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee. D. Drell to one count of making a false statement. According to the guilty plea, Avila entered a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles location in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana on January 10, 2018, and attempted to apply for a Louisiana driver’s license. Avila used the name and Social Security card of a Puerto Rican citizen to fill out the driver’s license application. A special agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement questioned Avila, and the defendant made false statements in an attempt to maintain the false identity he used to apply for the driver’s license.
Avila faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for March 7, 2019.
Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie is prosecuting the case.
Greenville Gang Member Sentenced to 204 Months’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
NEW BERN – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced JERRELL ANTWAN JENKINS, 33, from Greenville, North Carolina, to 204 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
JENKINS was charged in a 14-count superseding indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina December 20, 2017. On July 23, 2018, JENKINS pled guilty to three counts of the Superseding Indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and heroin, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
JENKINS was charged as a result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Greenville Police Department. As part of that investigation, officers conducted a series of controlled purchases of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and firearms from JENKINS in Greenville between November 2016 and June 2017. JENKINS was identified as a high-ranking member of the Absolute Blood Mafia gang in Greenville.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Greenville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Howard prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Four South Florida Residents and Jet Link, Inc. Charged with Aircraft Parts FraudRead the Press Release
Four individuals and a company were charged in a five-count indictment in connection with their operation of Jet Link, Inc., an aircraft parts broker based in Margate, Florida.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Wendell W. Palmer, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations - Office of Procurement Fraud, Detachment 5, Dobbins ARB, GA, Frank Robey, Director, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (CID-MPFU), John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office and Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Robert Cantone, 73, of Coral Springs, Alex Cantone, 41, of Sunrise, Brenda Snelgrove, 58, of Coconut Creek, Ronald Burns, 45, of Hollywood, and Jet Link, Inc, operating out of Margate, Florida were charged in the indictment (Case No. 18-CR-60329). R. Cantone, A. Cantone, Snelgrove and Burns have been arrested. R. Cantone and Snelgrove had their initial appearances in Miami. A. Cantone will have his initial hearing today in the Northern District of Texas. Burns remains a fugitive. Each defendant faces charges of conspiracy to commit aircraft parts fraud and aircraft parts fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 38. If convicted on any one of the counts alleged in the indictment, the defendants each face a maximum statutory sentence of up to ten years in prison, and Jet Link, Inc. faces a fine of up to $10,000,000.
According to conduct alleged in the indictment, R. Cantone, A. Cantone, Snelgrove, and Burns, would unjustly enrich themselves by fraudulently winning contracts for the supply of military aircraft parts to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), by supplying the DLA with false certifications on their electronic bid quotations, wherein they stated JET LINK “currently possesses the material,” and that the parts were “inspected for correct part number and for absence of corrosion or any obvious defects,” were “in its original package,” and were “new, unused, and not of such age or so deteriorated as to impair its usefulness or safety,” when in fact such parts were not purchased until after the contracts had been awarded by DLA. These parts were thereafter shipped to the Department of Defense, and were often either non-conforming or substandard.
“This indictment and the related arrests demonstrate that the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to protecting the integrity of the defense procurement process,” stated U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan. “We will continue to prosecute those individuals who choose to manipulate the system for their financial gain.”
"The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, along with its law enforcement partners, has, and always will, aggressively identify and investigative anyone who attempts to commit aircraft part fraud and put our nation's warfighters at risk," stated Special Agent-in-Charge Wendell W. Palmer, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations - Office of Procurement Fraud, Detachment 5, Dobbins ARB, GA.
“These arrests represent the unwavering commitment by DCIS and our investigative partners to ensure that the Defense procurement system is protected from unscrupulous contractors who choose illicit profits over quality and integrity. DCIS will pursue anyone who uses fraud and deception to undermine our critical warfighting missions or compromise safety in DoD programs and activities," stated John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Field Office, DCIS.
“Defrauding the government and providing substandard components intended for use in U.S. military aircraft puts our service members in harm’s way,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Selby of HSI Miami. “HSI will continue to work with our partners at the Department of Defense and aggressively target individuals and companies engaged in this type of criminal act.”
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army CID-MPFU, DCIS, and ICE-HSI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.
An indictment is a charging instrument containing accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Four Men Enter Guilty Pleas for Their Role in Conspiracy to Murder Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer Osvaldo Albarati-CasañasRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – On Friday, December 7, 2018, four men entered guilty pleas for their roles in the conspiracy to murder Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati-Casañas, a Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. Lieutenant Albarati was murdered on February 26, 2013.
On January 28, 2015 a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a six count indictment charging nine individuals for the murder of Lieutenant Albarati: Ángel D. Ramos-Cruz, a.k.a. “Api;” Miguel Díaz-Rivera, a.k.a. “Bolo;” Juan Quiñones-Meléndez, a.k.a. “El Manco;” Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Yogui;” Jayson Rodríguez-González, a.k.a. “Gonzo;” and Alexander Rosario de León, a.k.a. “Coquí”. Defendants Carlos Rosado-Rosado, a.k.a. “Cano;” and Jancarlos Velázquez-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Jan,” pleaded guilty on August 13, 2018.
On December 7, 2018, Ángel D. Ramos-Cruz, Juan Quiñones-Meléndez, Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez, and Jayson Rodríguez-González entered pleas of guilty to the pending indictment. As part of the plea agreement, the defendants acknowledged that they conspired to murder Lt. Albarati as a direct result of continuous seizures of contraband by Albarati and other correctional officers. At the time of the conspiracy, Ramos-Cruz was an inmate at the facility and from inside MDC, he contacted an associate, Quiñones-Meléndez, a.k.a. “El Manco”, and requested that “El Manco” recruit the triggermen to carry out the hit or “vuelta.”
“Vuelta” which translates in English to “turn” or “errand” was a term that the organizations of Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez and Quiñones-Meléndez would use to describe a plan to commit a murder. Quiñonez-Meléndez contacted his fellow associate Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez a.k.a. “Yogui,” to shore up resources and triggermen. Quiñones-Meléndez recruited Carlos Rosado-Rosado, a.k.a. “Cano” and Jayson Rodríguez-González, a.k.a. “Gonzo,” to participate in the murder of Lt. Albarati. Meanwhile, Mojica-Rodríguez recruited Alexander Rosario de León, a.k.a. “Coqui,” as an additional enforcer to participate in the murder. Rosado-Rosado and Rosario de León had previously entered guilty pleas.
The murder of Lt. Albarati was carried out on February 26, 2013, as planned. Co-defendant, Oscar Martínez-Hernández was found guilty by a jury on September 20, 2018, for his role in the conspiracy as well. His sentence is scheduled for January 22, 2019.
“Throughout his law enforcement career, Lieutenant Albarati’s service was exemplary, selfless and courageous,” said United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “With this conviction we take another step towards our goal of holding those who carried out this reprehensible and senseless murder accountable for their actions. The Department of Justice will continue to honor Lieutenant Albarati’s legacy as a public servant, his dedication to safeguard the community, and his integrity.”
The murder of government employees and officials is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life. Murder for hire is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for any terms of years or for life. Use of a firearm resulting in death is also punishable by a maximum term of life.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the collaboration of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, DEA, ATF, the United States Marshals Service, ICE-HSI, the Puerto Rico Police Department, the San Juan Municipal Police, and other law enforcement agencies that covered hundreds of leads developed as a result of the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas W. Cannon and Max Pérez-Bouret.
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Former University of Michigan Doctor Sentenced on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
DETROIT – A former University of Michigan doctor was sentenced today to 10 years in prison on child exploitation charges, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis, Department of Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).
Sentenced was Mark Hoeltzel, 47, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hoeltzel pleaded guilty on September 13, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow to online enticement of a minor.
According to court records, in 2017, Hoeltzel, a pediatric rheumatoid arthritis doctor, created a Facebook account for a fictitious teenage boy and used this persona to engage in online conversations with numerous minor girls across the country. During these conversations, Hoeltzel was able to convince the minor girls to produce child pornography.
“The Department of Justice is committed to the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our society – our children,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “This defendant pretended to be a teenage boy in order to sexually exploit minors, many the same age as the patients he treated.”
"The sentencing handed down in this case reflects the serious nature of the crimes committed, which are particularly troubling given the defendant's role in the community as a physician,'" said Steve Francis. “Mr. Hoeltzel abandoned his oath to "do no harm" and instead sought opportunities to harm and exploit innocent children. This case shows that HSI is committed to investigating child predators regardless of the positions they hold in society.”
This case was investigated by agents of the HSI and detectives from the University of Michigan Police Department, Special Victims Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward prosecuted the case.
Former Trucking Logistics Employee Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Fake Advertising SchemeRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – John E. Kelly, 63, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for mail fraud and tax evasion as part of a scheme to defraud his employers of approximately half a million dollars. He was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victim companies and the IRS. He pleaded guilty in May 2018 to one count each of mail fraud and tax evasion.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Todd Wickerham, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division and Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Pittsburgh Division, announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.
According to court documents, in 2014 and 2015, Kelly was employed at two different trucking logistics companies – CEVA Logistics and Container Port Group, Inc.
During that time, Kelly defrauded the two companies by causing them to pay for bogus advertising expenditures from a pair of sham companies that Kelly set up for his own gain.
Kelly billed the trucking companies more than half a million dollars for advertising services that were never actually provided. Instead, he took the payments and used them to pay personal expenses. He caused an actual loss of $461,000 from CEVA and CPG.
For example, Kelly served as CEVA’s director of recruiting and was able to set up new advertising vendors for payment. He instructed a direct-report employee to add a nominee company (that he controlled) to CEVA’s approved-vendor list. Kelly then began submitting bogus advertising invoices to CEVA from his company. From approximately March 2014 through March 2015, Kelly caused the submission of at least 65 invoices to CEVA totaling $485,670. CEVA paid out $438,030 of the invoices via checks, which were mailed to a Post Office Box that Kelley controlled in Lewis Center, Ohio.
Kelly was terminated from CEVA in April 2015 and then hired by CPG. He renamed his vendor company and began the scheme again, billing CPG for fake advertising services in the amount of $29,461. Nearly $23,000 was actually paid.
The defendant created email accounts and used fake identities as well as phony corporate registrations and Taxpayer/Employer Identification Numbers when corresponding with CEVA and CPG to conceal his involvement with the nominee companies.
“Kelly went to great lengths to perpetrate his years-long fraud, U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “He formed and used multiple shell companies and created fictitious ‘employees’ of those companies to interact with real employees at his legitimate employers. Although his means were sophisticated, at bottom Kelly was a thief. He stole from the companies that employed him and from the IRS. For that, he deserves the five years in prison that the district court imposed today.”
Kelly also failed to file an individual or business tax return for 2014 and 2015. As a result, he had a tax due and owing (representing both his wages and embezzlement income) of at least $70,500 for each year.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and USPIS, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton, who is prosecuting the case.
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Former South Florida Attorney and Stock Promoter Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud in Relation to Pump and Dump Stock Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
A former South Florida attorney and a stock promoter pled guilty today in connection with a $1 million pump and dump securities fraud scheme involving the shares of Valentine Beauty, Inc. (“VLBI”).
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Mark E. Fisher, 53, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Joseph F. Capuozzo, 57, of Davie, Florida, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, in Miami, to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, in Case No. 18-CR-20823. Judge Williams is scheduled to sentence Capuozzo on February 21, 2019 and Fisher on March 25, 2019. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 or double the gross proceeds of the offense.
Previously, Eddy Ubaldo Marin, 56, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Shane R. Spierdowis, 27, formerly of Boca Raton, were charged with securities fraud offenses in connection with the same VLBI scheme. Marin pled guilty and was sentenced on September 5, 2018, to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles (Case No. 18-CR-20354-DPG). Spierdowis also pled guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ursala Ungaro to 5 years on probation. (Case No. 18-CR-20355-UU).
According to court documents, VLBI was a beauty products supply company with operations in Sunrise, Florida, that marketed its products on television infomercials and elsewhere. Shares of VLBI stock were publicly traded and quoted over the counter on OTC Link. In approximately November 2013, Marin and other accomplices arranged to secretly obtain a controlling interest in VLBI stock by issuing shares to certain third parties, including Green Tree Capital, Inc., a company controlled by Marin and Capuozzo, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Fisher, formerly a practicing lawyer licensed to practice in Florida and New York, was a securities lawyer based in Boca Raton who allegedly became involved with the manipulation of VLBI shares at the invitation of Marin. Fisher allegedly executed various false and fraudulent documents to facilitate the scheme, including certain legal opinion letters that falsely indicated that shares controlled by Marin and other conspirators, were not in fact owned or controlled by “affiliates” of the companies. Such letters allowed shares of VLBI to be falsely classified as “free trading” and thus sold to the public, when in reality that were restricted. In March and April, 2014, Marin, Fisher, Capuozzo, Spierdowis, and other conspirators arranged to transfer a substantial number of shares into brokerage accounts in the name of fictitious entities, but in reality controlled by the conspirators. In addition, according to court documents, Fisher, Capuozzo and other conspirators knew that Marin was a convicted felon and attempted to conceal his role in the scheme by keeping his name off of corporate documents. To facilitate the concealment of Marin’s role, Capuozzo became the listed owner of an entity that held Marin’s VLBI shares and traded the shares at the direction of Marin. Capuozzo also served as the nominee Chief Executive Officer of VLBI, while acting at the direction of Marin and the conspirators.
Thereafter, beginning in approximately May 2014 and continuing through in or around September 2014, Marin, Fisher, Capuozzo, Spierdowis, and others arranged for VLBI to issue rosy press releases, while also using internet marketing and penny stock newsletters to tout VLBI stock. These efforts were intended to artificially increase the trading volume and price of VLBI shares, so that Marin, Fisher, Capuozzo, Spierdowis and their co-conspirators could secretly sell shares at a profit. During the conspiracy period, the conspirators sold approximately $1 million worth of VLBI shares to the investing public.
In approximately June 2014, Marin began a term of federal imprisonment due to a different federal offense, and was ultimately incarcerated at FCI Miami. While Marin was at FCI Miami, Fisher, Capuozzo, Spierdowis, and others continued the stock manipulation scheme, while keeping a larger portion of the trading profits for themselves. The conspirators continued to sell shares of VLBI, while continuing the same pattern of issuing press releases and engaging in coordinated sales of shares, until approximately April 26, 2016, when trading in VLBI shares was suspended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Previously, the SEC filed parallel civil enforcement actions against Fisher, Capuozzo, Marin and Spierdowis.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Miami Field Office. She also thanked the SEC’s Miami Regional Office for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerrob Duffy, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Lehr is handling asset forfeiture related to the matter.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Former President of Investment Adviser Firm Pleads Guilty to Defrauding ClientsRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that HECTOR MAY, the president of Executive Compensation Planners, Inc. (“ECP”), a registered investment adviser and financial planning firm located in New City, New York, pled guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud certain investment advisory clients (the “Victims”) out of more than $11 million. MAY pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As Hector May admitted today, for decades he and his co-conspirator violated his clients’ trust by siphoning money from their accounts to line their pockets and continue to perpetrate their illegal scheme. In total, May and his co-conspirator stole more than $11 million. Now, he has confessed to his crimes and faces significant time in prison.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “This case has all the markings of a classic Ponzi Scheme with payments made to investors with other investor money, bogus account statements, etc. Mr. May also used investor money to pay personal and business expenses. His day of reckoning has arrived.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Hector May spent decades defrauding investors and gaming the system to make himself wealthier, all at the expense of those who trusted him to serve as a responsible steward of their funds. This kind of criminal behavior undermines the strength and security of our financial systems. Today’s conviction should serve as a warning to those who think they can get away with similar schemes -- the FBI and our law enforcement partners will discover the truth and hold you accountable for your actions.”
According to the Information filed today, to which MAY pled guilty:
Since 1982, MAY has been the president of ECP and has provided financial advisory services to numerous clients. Since 1994, MAY has been a registered representative of a broker dealer (“Broker Dealer-1”). In its role as a broker dealer, Broker Dealer-1 facilitated the buying and selling of securities for clients of Broker Dealer-1’s registered representatives, including clients of MAY. To that end, Broker Dealer-1 and associated clearing firms maintained securities accounts for ECP’s clients and, through those accounts, held ECP’s clients’ money, executed their securities trades, produced account statements reflecting activity in the clients’ accounts, and forwarded these account statements to ECP’s clients.
In order to obtain money from the Victims’ securities accounts with Broker Dealer-1, MAY advised the Victims, among other things, that they should use money from those accounts to have ECP, rather than Broker Dealer-1, purchase bonds on their behalf. He further represented that by purchasing bonds through ECP directly, the Victims could avoid transaction fees. Because MAY lacked the authority to withdraw money directly from the Victims’ accounts with Broker Dealer-1, he persuaded the Victims to withdraw the money themselves and to forward that money to an ECP “custodial” account (the “ECP Custodial Account”), so that he could use the money to purchase bonds on their behalf.
With the assistance of his co-conspirator (“CC-1”), MAY guided the Victims, first, to withdraw their money from their Broker Dealer-1 accounts, and second, to send that money to the ECP Custodial Account by wire transfer or check. At times, MAY falsely represented that the funds being withdrawn from Victims’ Broker Dealer-1 accounts were the proceeds of prior bond purchases MAY had made. After the Victims sent their money to the ECP Custodial Account, MAY did not use the money to purchase bonds. Instead, MAY and CC-1 spent the money on business expenses, personal expenses, and to make payments to certain Victims in order to perpetuate the scheme and conceal the fraud.
Specifically, in some cases, MAY used Victims’ funds to make purported bond interest payments to other Victims. In other cases, MAY used Victims’ funds to make payments to other Victims who wished to withdraw funds from their accounts. MAY and CC-1 also created phony “consolidated” account statements that they issued through ECP and sent to the Victims. These “consolidated” account statements purported to reflect the Victims’ total portfolio balances and included the names of bonds MAY falsely represented that he purchased for the Victims and the amounts of interest the Victims were supposedly earning on the bonds. In order to create the phony consolidated account statements, MAY provided CC-1 with bond names and false interest earnings, and CC-1 created ECP computerized account statements and had them distributed to the Victims.
To keep track of the money that the co-conspirators were taking from the Victims, CC-1 processed the Victims’ payments for the purported bonds, entered them in a computerized accounting program, and, through that program, kept track of how MAY and CC-1 received and spent the Victims’ stolen money. In this way, from the late 1990’s through March 9, 2018, MAY and CC-1 induced Victims to forward them more than $11,400,000.
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MAY, 77, of Orangeburg, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense; and one count of investment adviser fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing before Judge Vincent L. Briccetti has been scheduled for March 15, 2019.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In a related case, the Securities & Exchange Commission brought a civil action today against May and another in the White Plains federal court.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margery B. Feinzig and Vlad Vainberg are in charge of the prosecution.
Former OU Football Player Sentenced to the Maximum Penalty for Defrauding Investors of Nearly $900,000Read the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – A former University of Oklahoma football player has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme that defrauded investors of $869,300 announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. Timothy Hamilton, 31, of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty Sept. 14, 2018.
Today, U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell sentenced Hamilton to the maximum allowable penalty of 60 months in prison to immediately be followed by three years of supervised release.
The court also ordered a criminal forfeiture money judgement in the sum of $869,300, representing proceeds obtained through the conspiracy. All monies will go to provide restitution to the victims.
“T.J. Hamilton’s extravagant and indulgent lifestyle was fraudulently built on the financial savings of those who believed in him. Hamilton persuaded investors to part with their money by exploiting his status as a former University of Oklahoma football player, using his church connections, making a false claim that he was a chemical engineer, and through the bogus endorsements of his products supposedly from former University of Oklahoma athletes,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Hamilton repeatedly lied to 18 investors in order to bilk them out of almost $900,000. He compounded his crime by lying under oath in civil suits brought by those same investors in order to conceal his crimes. His scheme had a severe impact on victims, most notably a widow who lost her life savings. In court today, T.J. Hamilton faced those he cheated. He now has to deal with the consequences of his criminal actions.”
Victims told the court at length how Hamilton’s fraud harmed their professional and personal reputations. They further expressed that they trusted Hamilton and wanted to support his vision. Instead he cheated them. The financial impact of his fraud was devastating.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Dowdell noted that Hamilton had many opportunities in the course of his business ventures to inform investors of initial business failures, but he continued to accumulate investors, systematically draining members of his church and others of an exorbitant amount of money. The judge further noted that Hamilton’s charm, innate intelligence and ability to lie without remorse allowed him to steal almost $900,000 from victims in order to live lavishly.
At his plea hearing, Hamilton, who goes by T.J. Hamilton, admitted to promoting false investment opportunities relating to business ventures that were purportedly going to produce and market sportswear and nutritional supplements. At the time of his crime, Hamilton was a resident of Oklahoma.
As part of the scheme, Hamilton established and claimed to be the President and CEO of multiple companies. The Clean Athlete, LLC, established in 2011, promoted sportswear that could supposedly control the sweat and odor that comes with athletic play. Two other companies, Clean Athlete Nutrition, LLC, and Complete Athlete Nutrition, LLC, both established in 2012, claimed to create supplements that would improve athletes’ metabolism. His parents, Gena and Timothy Hamilton, were managing members of the companies. They both pleaded guilty on Sept. 14, 2018, for providing false income information in order to receive a car loan from a bank.
Upon receipt of investor funds, the Hamiltons used a majority of the money for personal gain, primarily for T.J. Hamilton’s country music career ambitions and his extravagant lifestyle.
The Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin C. Leitch, Richard M. Cella, Charles M. McLoughlin and Catherine J. Depew prosecuted the case.
Former Frederick Business Owner Sentenced to 17 Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud of More Than $49 MillionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Mark Ian Gaver, age 56, of Bonita Springs, Florida, and previously of Middletown, Maryland, today to 17 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction for eight counts of bank fraud and two counts of money laundering arising from a scheme in which he obtained over $49 million in bank financing for his company Gaver Technologies, Inc., d/b/a GTI Federal (GTI), using false and fraudulent financial statements, balance sheets, and certifications of outstanding accounts receivable. Judge Bennett also ordered Gaver to forfeit assets valued at approximately $4.2 million, and pay restitution in the amount of $48,774,308.75. A federal jury convicted Gaver on August 1, 2018. Gaver has been in custody since his arrest on November 15, 2017, when he entered the United States from Canada.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Manchak, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Northeast Region.
“Mark Gaver committed a massive fraud to maintain his lavish lifestyle,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “This sentence ensures that he will not profit from his crimes and will be held accountable for his years of lies.”
According to the evidence presented at his seven-day trial, in 1998 Gaver formed GTI, an information technology company based in Frederick, Maryland. Between November 2008 and December 2016, Gaver submitted materially false financial documents to a federally insured bank, including fraudulent audit reports and contract status reports, in order to establish and to obtain successive increases in the line of credit from the lender for GTI. Based upon the false documentation submitted by Gaver, the lender ultimately extended approximately $49 million in financing to GTI. The evidence showed that Gaver diverted a large portion of these fraudulently obtained funds to his own personal use.
According to the evidence presented at trial, the bank initially approved an $18.5 million line of credit for GTI in August 2009, when it took over the line of credit from another bank that had previously extended a $16.5 million line of credit to GTI. This line of credit was subsequently increased eight separate times between March 2010 and March 2016, growing from $18.5 million to a total of $50 million. On an ongoing monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, and in connection with each request by Gaver for an increase in GTI’s credit line, the bank required GTI to submit specific documentation disclosing the company’s financial performance and condition. The required documentation included audited annual financial statements, quarterly balance sheets, monthly borrowing base certificates, and monthly accounts receivable aging reports. The monthly borrowing base certificates required Gaver to certify the amount of GTI’s outstanding accounts receivable, and were used by the bank to establish a maximum borrowing amount for GTI. Under the terms of GTI’s line of credit agreement with the lender, GTI was only allowed to borrow up to 75% to 80% of the total amount of GTI’s outstanding accounts receivable, and the funds loaned by the bank were only to be used by GTI for business purposes.
The evidence proved that between August 2009 and December 2016, Gaver also submitted Quarterly Contract Status Reports to the bank, which falsely represented that GTI had secured contracts with federal government agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), or that overstated the amount of GTI’s ongoing contracts with federal government agencies.
The evidence showed that some of the funds obtained from the lender were used by Gaver to cover regular business expenses and thereby keep GTI open, but that Gaver also diverted half of the post-2009 loan proceeds – approximately $15 million – to his own personal use. For example, Gaver used loan proceeds to pay $779,000 for the rental of private planes that he used for non-business purposes, as well as to pay for personal pleasure trips to the Bahamas, France, Germany, Mexico, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Gaver also used the funds to purchase vacation homes, including a 4,000-square-foot condominium with a view of the Gulf of Mexico in Bonita Springs, Florida, which cost $2.275 million. Gaver also used loan proceeds to purchase a 2012 Maserati Gran Turismo; a 2011 Mercedes Benz SL Roadster; and a private membership at an exclusive golf club located in Naples, Florida that cost $285,000.
United States Attorney Robert Hur commended the FBI and the FHFA-OIG for their work on the investigation. Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Jeffrey J. Izant, who prosecuted the case.
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Former Director of Operations of a Rockford Non-Profit Organization Charged with FraudRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — LEILANI HILLIS, 60, of Rockford, the former director of operations of a Rockford non-profit organization, was charged today in federal court with one count of mail fraud and one count of tax fraud.
Hillis was an employee of the non-profit organization since 2001. During her employment, Hillis handled the organization’s payroll, human resource matters, accounting, and oversaw the annual audit. As of 2009, Hillis had signatory authority on the organization’s bank account and access to the organization’s PayPal account.
According to a criminal information, the organization issued employees a credit card in the employee’s name. From 2009 through April 2018, Hillis schemed to enrich herself by using her employee-issued credit card to make more than $600,000 in unauthorized purchases for her personal benefit. Hillis concealed her crime by using the organization’s accounting codes to make it appear the purchases were for the organization’s benefit, and she forged the initials of the organization’s president on the expense reports. Hillis issued and signed checks from the organization’s account to the bank, knowing the payment included money to pay for the unauthorized purchases. Hillis also did not report as income the money from the organization that she used to pay the organization’s credit card for her unauthorized personal purchases.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and tax fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Each charge also carries a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from that offense, whichever is greater, plus full restitution and a period of supervised release following imprisonment of up to five years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Hillis is scheduled to appear for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston on Dec. 19, 2018, at 9:30 a.m.
The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.
Former CEO, CFO and Directors of Healthcare Services Company Indicted in Elaborate $300 Million Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Defendants Allegedly Inflated Company’s Value and Revenue to Defraud Investors
NEWARK, N.J. – The former CEO, CFO and two directors of a publicly traded healthcare services company were indicted today for allegedly orchestrating a widespread scheme to defraud investors and others out of hundreds of millions of dollars in connection with a merger transaction designed to convert the company into a private entity, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Parmjit Parmar, a/k/a “Paul Parmar,” 48; Sotirios Zaharis, a/k/a “Sam Zaharis,” 51; Ravi Chivukula, 44; and Pavandeep Bakhshi, 41, are charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud. Parmar, Zaharis, and Chivukula were first charged by complaint in May 2018. Bakhshi was charged with the same offenses in a separate criminal complaint in September 2018, which was unsealed earlier this week following his arrest at JFK Airport after he arrived from London. Zaharis and Chivukula remain fugitives.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From May 2015 through September 2017, Bakhshi and conspirators Parmjit Parmar, a/k/a “Paul Parmar,” Sotirios Zaharis, a/k/a “Sam Zaharis,” and Ravi Chivukula orchestrated an elaborate scheme to defraud a private investment firm and others out of hundreds of millions of dollars in connection with the funding of a transaction to take private a healthcare services company (Company A) traded publicly on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market. To fund the transaction, the private investment firm put up $82 million and a consortium of financial institutions put up another $130 million. The scheme utilized fraudulent methods to grossly inflate the value of Company A and trick others into believing that Company A was worth substantially more than its actual value.
To present a positive picture of the company’s financial wealth, the conspirators allegedly sought to raise tens of millions of dollars in the public markets, purportedly to fund Company A’s acquisitions of various operating subsidiaries. In reality, a number of those entities either did not exist or had only a fraction of the operating income attributed to them. The conspirators allegedly funneled the proceeds of these secondary offerings through bank accounts they controlled and used the money for a variety of purposes that had nothing to do with acquiring the purported targets. The money from one of the offerings was instead used to make it appear as if the operating subsidiary had substantial customer revenue when, in fact, the funds were simply transfers of the money that had been raised in the secondary offering. The conspirators went to great lengths to make it appear that these funds were revenue, concocting phony customers and altering bank statements to make it appear as if the funds were coming from customers.
The conspirators allegedly:
• Created fictitious operating companies that Company A purportedly acquired in sham acquisitions.
• Falsified and fabricated bank records of subsidiary entities in order to generate a phony picture of Company A’s revenue streams.
• Generated fake income streams and phony customers of Company A and its subsidiaries.
• Made material misrepresentations and omissions to the private investment firm and others.The defendants’ alleged actions caused the private investment firm and others to value Company A at more than $300 million for purposes of financing the transaction to take the company private.
The alleged scheme was uncovered in September 2017, when the conspirators resigned from their positions with Company A or were terminated. On March 16, 2018, Company A and numerous of its affiliated entities filed for bankruptcy, attributing the company’s financial demise, in large part, to the fraud scheme.The conspiracy count with which the defendant is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The securities fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of twenty years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine.
The United States filed a criminal complaint against Parmar, Zaharis and Chivukula on May 16, 2018 for their roles in the scheme. Zaharis and Chivukula currently are fugitives. The United States also filed a separate civil complaint on the same date seeking forfeiture of four properties that Parmar owns or controls, including a house in Colt’s Neck and three apartments in New York City. Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint on May 16th against Parmar, Zaharis and Chivukula.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, with the investigation which led to today’s charges. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, under the direction of Regional Director Marc P. Berger and Associate Regional Director Lara S. Mehraban, for its assistance.
The government is represented by Paul A. Murphy, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit, Trial Attorney Leslie Lehnert, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Asset Recovery Money Laundering Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Floridian Pleads Guilty in Complex Fraud Scheme Related to the Processing of Credit Card PaymentsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa - A resident of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank, wire and mail fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Gennady Nudelman, 42, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Nudelman was involved in a complex conspiracy related to the fraudulent processing of credit card payments. The credit card companies will not allow their products and services to be used to pay for certain precluded activities, including the on-line sales of pharmaceutical drugs and of products violating trademark infringement laws. The defendant participated in the conspiracy designed to conceal from the credit card companies the fact they used their products and services to pay for precluded activities and to subvert the internal controls the credit card companies had in place to detect and prevent this type of activity. The fraud involved establishing shell corporations and web sites associated with the shell companies that falsely claimed that they sold products other than pharmaceutical drugs or products that violated trademark infringement laws. The conspirators then applied for merchant accounts from the credit card companies in the names of the shell corporations and the fake web sites. Once the merchant accounts were established, they were used to process payments for pharmaceutical drugs or products that violated trademark infringement laws. Additionally, the conspirators arranged for the credit card statements sent to the consumers to have the names of the shell corporations and telephone numbers. The conspirators set up a telephone bank to receive calls from customers questioning billings on their credit card statements, and the conspirators explained to the customers the true nature of the transactions in hopes of avoiding charge-backs that could cause the credit card companies to question the legitimacy of the transactions.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for April 29, 2019 at 11 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania State Police and United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Nudelman.
Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced ADAM C. METEVIA, a 22 year-old resident of Baton Rouge, to 27 months in federal prison following his conviction of possessing a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The Court further sentenced METEVIA to 3 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and also ordered that the firearm and ammunition possessed by METEVIA be forfeited.
On November 14, 2017, Baton Rouge Police Department responded to a McDonalds near the corner of Scenic Hwy. and Harding Blvd. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A complainant advised that METEVIA entered the McDonalds, walked behind the counter to the kitchen area, and raised up his shirt, exposing a handgun tucked into his waistband. When the BRPD officers arrived at the McDonalds, they observed a male, later identified as METEVIA, matching the description of the suspect in possession of a large revolver. Upon apprehension, officers retrieved the firearm and also discovered twenty-one rounds of .ammunition in his pockets. METEVIA was previously convicted in East Baton Rouge Parish of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, a felony.
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “Firearms in the hands of convicted felons will not be tolerated in this jurisdiction. I want to thank my prosecutors, the ATF, and the Baton Rouge Police Department for bringing this defendant to justice.”
ATF Resident Agent-in-Charge Antonio L. Pittman stated, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with our Federal, State, and Local Law enforcement partners continue to serve our communities by focusing our efforts on removing armed, violent offenders from our streets. We work diligently to protect our citizens by presenting relevant investigative work to our Middle District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution.”
This matter is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brad Casey.
Felon in Possession of a Firearm Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced DEMARCUS FLEMING, a 38 year-old resident of Baton Rouge, to 115 months in federal prison following his conviction of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon. The Court further sentenced FLEMING to 3 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered that the firearm be forfeited.
On July 5, 2017, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a “disturbance with shots fired,” at a residence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As they did so, the deputies, via their investigation, determined that FLEMING possessed the firearm which they located on the ground in front of the residence. FLEMING was previously convicted in East Baton Rouge Parish of possession of cocaine and attempted possession of a firearm, felony offenses. The Court stated in part for the reasoning, “The Court has an absolute obligation to protect the community and, based on your drug use and behavior in the past, it is not a stretch for the Court to find that you pose a serious risk to the public.”
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “Our office works hard to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons, and this is an example of what can be achieved when federal, state, and local agencies work together. I want to thank our prosecutors, the ATF, and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office for their efforts.”
ATF Resident Agent-in-Charge Antonio L. Pittman stated, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with our Federal, State, and Local Law enforcement partners continue to serve our communities by focusing our efforts on removing armed violent offenders from our streets. We work diligently to protect our citizens by presenting relevant investigative work to our Middle District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution. The arrest and prosecution of Mr. Fleming is one example of the great work we are doing in our district.”
“This indictment is one example of the collaboration of local, state and federal agencies to get dangerous criminals and weapons off our streets. The EBR Sheriff's Office is committed to continuing to work with all our law enforcement counterparts to ensure the safety of our residents. I'm grateful to the U.S. Attorney's Office for their hard work and dedication in prosecuting these cases that our agents have worked so hard to develop,” stated EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux.
This matter is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Jefferson.
Federal Indictment Charges Twenty-Four Members and Associates of a Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Organization Operating in Little HavanaRead the Press Release
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Juan J. Perez, Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD); Jorge R. Colina, Chief of the City of Miami Police Department (MPD), and Gadyaces S. Serralta, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, announced the unsealing of federal charges today against 24 members and associates of a drug trafficking and money laundering organization ("DTO”) operating in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami-Dade County, Florida and elsewhere. The defendants are charged in a 59-count indictment for their conduct related to drug trafficking, violent crime, federal firearms offenses, and money laundering.
“As your new U.S. Attorney, life-long South Florida resident and concerned citizen, I remain committed to supporting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its dedicated law enforcement partners as we continue to target the members and associates of drug trafficking and violent criminal enterprises that threaten the public’s safety and security,” stated U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan. “As evidenced by the handing down of federal charges against 24 defendants today, we stand ready to prosecute those individuals who terrorize our local communities, fuel the narcotics epidemic and endanger the lives of others with gun violence.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Ari Shapira said, “This indictment demonstrates, most clearly, the ATF commitment to reducing violent crime in South Florida. We will never waver in our efforts to battle the drug-fueled firearms violence that threatens our communities. I am proud to lead our dedicated law enforcement professionals and applaud their collective collaboration with our partners at all levels of government. The people of South Florida deserve no less.”
“This success is the product of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies collaborating with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to rid our communities of illegal narcotics and the violence that so often comes with it,” said Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan J. Perez. “All of those involved in this investigation worked relentlessly to ensure that everyone responsible would be brought to justice.”
“The U.S. Marshal Service is thankful to be a part of the law enforcement efforts that brought forth the dismantling of this criminal enterprise,” stated U.S. Marshal Gadyaces Serralta. “Together with our federal, state, and local partners we have made this community a safer place to live, work and play.”
The federal indictment and ”Motion to Seek Pre-Trial Detention” allege that from approximately December 7, 2013, through on or about October 30, 2018, in Miami-Dade County, Ulysses Cabrera, a/k/a “Uley,” a/k/a “Big Cuz,” 29, and Bernardo Quinonez, a/k/a “Macho,” 30, both of Miami, were the leaders and organizers of the continuing criminal enterprise, the DTO. Rafael Quinonez, a/k/a “Gigi,” a/k/a “Big Junkz,” 27, Henry Feliciano-Torres, a/k/a “Mafia,” 31, Daniel Quinonez, a/k/a “Julio,” 31 Marvin Melendez-Reyes, a/k/a “Homicide Marvin,” 22, Victor Smith, a/k/a “OGP,” 22, Hector Salgado, a/k/a “Teto,” 18, Issac Leal, a/k/a “Chico Black,” a/k/a “King Felony,” 28, Jose Luis Diaz, a/k/a “Lil Cuz,” 26, Peter Rodriguez, a/k/a “Hot Boy,” 25, Rogelio Ramos, 22, Peter Simo, a/k/a “Worm,” 20, Elizabeth Legon, a/k/a “Eli,” 29, Ricardo Perez-Castro, 62 Orlando Lorenzo, 52, Roberto Garcia, 24, Miguel Haber, 34, Pedro Rene Gonzalez, a/k/a “Pete,” 42, Eduardo Bobadilla-Orol, a/k/a “Chupa,” 62, Gilbert Cruz Baez, a/k/a “Bori,” 20, Alain Terry, a/k/a “Youngin,” Ronald Reyes-Melo, a/k/a “Cueyo,” 22, and Charlie Gonzalez, 28, are alleged members and associates of the criminal enterprise. Rogelio Ramos is an illegal alien from Honduras. All other defendants charged in the indictment are from Miami.
From as early as 2013, the DTO distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana onto the streets of Little Havana, in Miami-Dade County, Florida and elsewhere. In November of 2017, a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, headed by ATF, began a proactive investigation into the Little Havana based DTO. The indictment announced today charges members, former members and associates of the DTO with various drug trafficking, money laundering and violent crimes.
According to allegations in the court docket, Cabrera supplied the cocaine and acted as a manager of the DTO. B. Quinonez oversaw the operation and man-power used to transform the cocaine into crack cocaine and distribution into the streets of Little Havana and elsewhere. Cabrera and B. Quinonez were charged in the indictment with being the principal administrators, organizers, supervisors and leaders of the continuing criminal enterprise, the DTO, and that they earned substantial income and resources from the criminal operation (Count 1).
The court docket further alleges that co-defendants, including Diaz, P. Rodriguez and R. Quinonez, were mid-level management members of the DTO, who worked to bring the narcotics into the South Florida community for distribution. R. Quinonez oversaw the distribution of marijuana by the DTO. Residences in Little Havana and Brickell, within Miami-Dade County, were used to manufacture, consume and distribute the illegal narcotics. The DTO used the area of 10th Avenue and 4th Street, in Little Havana as their base of operation. Co-defendants including Feliciano-Torres, D. Quinonez and Smith oversaw the local drug trade, as street-level narcotics distributors including co-defendants Leal, Ramos, Simo, Baez, Haber, Legon and Terry introduced the drugs directly into the community. Cabrera, B. Quinonez, R. Quinonez, Feliciano-Torres, D. Quinonez, Melendez-Reyes, Smith, Leal, Diaz, Ramos, Simo, Baez and Terry were collectively charged in the indictment with participating in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute the controlled substances (Count 2).
When rival drug dealers threatened the territory controlled by their criminal enterprise or when individuals questioned their authority, Cabrera and B. Quinonez allegedly directed armed members of the charged narcotics conspiracy to intimidate, maim, and in some instances kill others. As a result, innocent bystanders were shot and sustained serious physical injuries.
The indictment charges specific firearms offenses and violent criminal conduct, including:
Baez, a former member of the DTO turned rival, was charged with committing a drive-by shooting on October 30, 2017, in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Cabrera, Bernardo Quinonez, Rafael Quinonez, Feliciano-Torres, Daniel Quinonez, Melendez-Reyes, Smith, Leal, Ramos, Simo, Haber and Terry were charged federally for their involvement in a drive-by shooting which occurred on October 31, 2017, November 2 and November 6, 2017, in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Gonzalez, Bobadillo-Orol, Leal, Melendez-Reyes, Reyes-Melo, Gonzalez and Simo were charged with being convicted felons unlawfully in possession of firearms.
Cabrera, Bernardo Quinonez, Rafael Quinonez, Feliciano-Torres, Daniel Quinonez, Melendez-Reyes, Smith, Leal, Ramos, Simo, Haber and Terry were collectively charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking on April 3, 2018.
Cabrera, Bernardo Quinonez, Rafael Quinonez, Feliciano-Torres, Daniel Quinonez, Melendez-Reyes, Smith, Leal, Ramos, Simo, and Haber were also charged with collectively possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking on June 11, 2018.
Smith and Salgado were charged with committing an armed robbery of a Miami hotel guest on July 10, 2018.
Baez and Terry were charged for their involvement in a drive-by shooting which occurred on July 27, 2018, in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Ramos was charged with being an illegal alien unlawfully in possession of a firearm on September 13, 2018.
In addition, Cabrera, Bernardo Quinonez, Rodriguez and Diaz were charged with laundering money, in that they allegedly conducted financial transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce (including the purchase of property), with proceeds of the drug trafficking enterprise.
Law enforcement seized approximately 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, several grams of crack cocaine, more than 26 pounds of marijuana, 4 assault rifles, 10 pistols, 10 extended magazines, 10 semi-automatic firearms, a short barrel rifle, a revolver and hundreds of rounds of ammunition related to the criminal conduct charged in the indictment.
If convicted of the varied charges set forth in the indictment each defendant will face his/her respective sentencing guidelines. The maximum penalty for: participating in a continuing criminal enterprise is life in prison; participating in a conspiracy to possess controlled substances with the intent to distribute is life in prison; maintaining an establishment for distribution of controlled substances is 20 years in prison; possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute is 20 years in prison; participating in a conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is life in prison; committing a drive by shooting is 25 years in prison; brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is life in prison; being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition is 10 years in prison; participating in a conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years in prison; and using a two-way radio to facilitate drug trafficking is 20 years in prison.
This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. 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.
This investigation and prosecution was carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region’s drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused on the nation’s illicit drug trafficking threats.
This investigation, Operation Havana Ghost, is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the ATF, MDPD, including the MDPD Street Terror Offender Program (STOP), MPD and U.S. Marshals Service for their dedicated efforts to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in South Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Breezye Telfair. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eloisa D. Fernandez is handling the forfeiture aspects of this case.
An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Attached: Indictment and United States’ Omnibus Motion to Seek Pre-Trial Detention
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Elkhart Man Indicted for Possession and Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND –Steven J. Perry, 54, of Elkhart, Indiana, has been charged by indictment with transportation and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch.
According to documents in the case, on September 17, 2018, Mr. Perry, who has a prior conviction for possession of child pornography, uploaded images of child pornography to an online service. The service reported this to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who then relayed this “cybertip” to the Indiana Crimes Against Children task force. The cybertip was then referred to an FBI cybercrimes task force agent in South Bend. A search warrant was conducted on December 5, 2018 at Perry’s Elkhart residence. Mr. Perry admitted that he had uploaded images to the online service and was taken into custody.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty in court.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case was investigated by the FBI cybercrime unit in South Bend with assistance from the Secret Service and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Maciejczyk.
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Eighteen Charged in Federal Drug IndictmentRead the Press Release
Harrisonburg, VIRGINIA – Federal, state, and local officials announced today the arrests of 19 individuals on federal drug-trafficking, firearms, and other charges resulting from a months-long, multi-agency investigation.
"The modern opioid epidemic is one of the most vexing problems faced by law enforcement and public-health officials,” U.S. Attorney Cullen stated today. “As U.S. Attorney, I am committed to prosecuting individuals and organizations who distribute Fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine and working with our federal, state, and local law-enforcement partners to stanch the flow of these deadly drugs into Western Virginia. But while I firmly believe that vigorous enforcement is critical to addressing this epidemic, we also support meaningful treatment initiatives for those suffering from drug addictions and targeted outreach to prevent others from having their lives destroyed by these deadly substances.”
“ATF is committed to ridding American streets of crime, not just in large cities but also in the rural areas that are often hit hardest by the scourge of illegal firearms and drugs. This investigation is a great example of how we work with our law enforcement partners to dismantle criminal organizations and protect the communities they infest. It should serve as a reminder to others that no matter where you are, if you commit a federal crime, we will do everything we can to put you behind bars,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas L. Chittum III, ATF Washington Field Division.
The indictment, returned under seal by a federal grand jury December 4, 2018 and unsealed yesterday, charges 18 defendants with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that certain members of the conspiracy trafficked more than 1,000 grams of heroin and more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from approximately January 2016 and ending in approximately December 2018.
One defendant, Brandon Wayne Eppard, is charged with maintaining a property for the purpose of unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. That property was located at 160 Shenandoah Street in Mount Jackson, Virginia.
An additional defendant, Merle Stephens, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Stephens was arrested at a Motel 6 in Mount Jackson, Virginia on December 7, 2018.
The indictment also charges four individuals, Michael Mullins, Jeffrey Craig Mays, William Ray Shoemaker, and Christopher Thomas Trimble, with firearms possession charges in addition to their drug charges.
Charged in the indictment are as follows:
- Anthony Benjamin Testerman, 25, of Mount Jackson, Va. – one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
- William Ray Shoemaker, 45, of Edinburg, Va. – one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, three counts of distributing and possession with the intent to distribute, methamphetamine, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
- Jeffrey Craig Mays, 32, of Mount Jackson, Va. – one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
- Katie L. Harlow, 37, Mount Jackson, Va. – one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and three counts of distribution of methamphetamine.
- Javon Eugene Cook, 26, of Mount Jackson, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, one count of distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Brooke McIntosh, 27, Timberville, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine
- Jonathan Lewis Hodges, 30, of New Market, Va. – one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute, methamphetamine.
- Kenneth J. Webb, 32, of Woodstock, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and three counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute, methamphetamine.
- Amanda Jean Mullins, 30, of Edinburg, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and two counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute, methamphetamine.
- Michael Mullins, 32, - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
- Dietrich M. Day, 28, of Dumfries, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
- Christian Michael Burhop, 27, of Basye, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, three counts of distribution of heroin, one count of distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of distribution of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl.
- Christopher Thomas Trimble, 27, of Fishersville, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
- Brandon Wayne Eppard, 28, of Mount Jackson, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and one count of maintaining a premises for the purpose of unlawfully distributing, possessing, and using controlled substances.
- Tiffany Bowman Lopez, 30, Quicksburg, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, two counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute heroin and four counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.
- Erica Lam, one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.
- Justin Tyler Mumaw, 26, of Edinburg, Va., - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and two counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Dana Marie Silvious, 29, Front Royal, Va. - one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, two counts of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute heroin.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office, the RUSH Drug Task Force, the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, the Mount Jackson Police Department, the Woodstock Police Department, the Front Royal Police Department, the Timberville Police Department, and the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Grayson A. Hoffman will prosecute the case for the United States.
A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dunkirk Man Sentenced for Selling Illegal Controlled SubstancesRead 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 Anthony Dloniak, 40, of Dunkirk, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute U-47700, was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, who handled the case, stated that beginning in May of 2017, law enforcement officers began recovering packages addressed to the defendant from China and the Netherlands, all of which contained either U-47700 or MDMA, both of which are Schedule I controlled substances. On September 7, 2017, officers executed a search warrant at the Dloniak’s residence and recovered controlled substances and items used in the distribution of controlled substances, including: a quantity of U-47700; scales; a vacuum sealing system; packaging materials; a ledger; a book entitled “How to Manufacture Methamphetamine;” and, $12,650 in U.S. currency.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Ebersole.
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Dublin Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Operating an Interstate Pimping Ring, Co-Defendant SentencedRead the Press Release
MACON— A Dublin, Georgia man was sentenced to 240 months in prison for spearheading an organized interstate pimping ring, said Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Jesse Lee Hall, Jr., 39 of Dublin, pled guilty in May to one (1) count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, five (5) counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity and one (1) count of inducement to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity. The Honorable Marc T. Treadwell sentenced Mr. Hall, Jr. on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 to a total of 240 months imprisonment and five (5) years of supervised release for his crimes. In addition, co-defendant Lantesia Lanier, 41, of Dublin, Georgia was sentenced to twelve (12) months in prison and one (1) year supervised release on a charge of misleading law enforcement about her knowledge of the enterprise.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Hall, Jr., acted as a pimp for several victims. The first victim was identified by law enforcement at a Macon hotel in June 2016. The victim told authorities that Mr. Hall, Jr. was her pimp and that she met him through the internet, and her convinced her to move from Ohio to Georgia. The victim was forced by Mr. Hall, Jr. to perform commercial sex acts in hotels throughout central Georgia. During the investigation, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office received new information that Mr. Hall, Jr. was trafficking other women for sex. A second victim confirmed that Mr. Hall, Jr. was her pimp and that she had worked for him from approximately July 2013 until February 2016. Mr. Hall, Jr. advertised her services on the website Backpage.com and transported her to hotels inside and outside Georgia for commercial sex acts. A third victim was also identified and was required to perform commercial sex acts throughout central Georgia. All three victims detailed various threats from Mr. Hall, Jr. to force them to perform commercial sex acts. The victims told law enforcement that Ms. Lanier, along with co-defendants Curtis Hall and Jackie Fields, had knowledge of the operation and participated in it to varying degrees. Mr. Hall and Ms. Fields will be sentenced at a later date.
“This pimp will serve 20 years in prison for selling people for sex. Human trafficking is a deplorable offense, and its victims are usually the most vulnerable people in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Charles “Charlie” Peeler. “We will continue to make human trafficking a major priority for the Office, and appreciate the investigative work of the FBI, Bibb, Laurens, and Bleckley County Sheriff’s Offices in this case.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, with support from the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Bleckley County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.
Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years for Transporting over 13,000 Pounds of Marijuana into the United StatesRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – On Dec. 11, 2018, Enrique Valencia-Lopez was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to ten years in prison. A jury previously found Valencia-Lopez guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to import marijuana, and importation of marijuana.
In May 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz. discovered and seized hundreds of wrapped bundles containing marijuana from the commercial tractor-trailer Valencia-Lopez drove into the United States. The bundles in total weighed over 13,000 pounds.
Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. The prosecution was handled by Corey J. Mantei and David P. Savel, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-00894-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-167_ Valencia-Lopez
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az
Dominican Republic Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Possess 50 Kilograms of Cocaine with the Intent to DistributeRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Reynaldo Lerburds, 41, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced today in District Court before District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez to conspiracy, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced Lerburds to 87 months followed by five years of supervised release. Additionally, Judge Gomez ordered that Lerburds pay a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, on April 17, 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Lerburds was travelling from St. John to St. Thomas on the car barge and that the vehicle he was driving contained cocaine. The following day, DEA Agents stopped Lerburds after he was observed driving a Suzuki vehicle off the car barge. When agents approached Leburds, they observed several large duffle bags in the rear of the vehicle. Agents conducted a consensual search of Lerburds’ vehicle and found approximately 50 brick-like objects of a white powdery substance. The white powdery substance tested positive for cocaine and weighed approximately 50 kilograms.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Virgin Islands Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.
Dominican Citizen Pleads Guilty to Theft of Mail and Conspiracy to Commit Bank FraudRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. - Ariel Mendoza, 26, a citizen of Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty today to theft of mail and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Scott W. Murray.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from November 2017 to March 2018, several residents of Salem and Manchester, New Hampshire, as well as residents of Lawrence, Massachusetts reported to their local police departments that they had used public mailboxes to mail personal checks or money orders that never were received by the intended recipients. On November 26, 2017, a video surveillance camera near a public mailbox in front of the U.S. Post Office in Salem captured images of Mendoza and another person as they stole items of from the mailbox.
In addition, from November 2017 to May 2018, Mendoza and others deposited over $27,000 in stolen checks and money orders to accounts at banks and credit unions in New Hampshire. After each deposit, Mendoza and the other conspirators obtained the proceeds of the stolen checks by withdrawing cash at ATMs and performing debit card transactions.
Mendoza will be sentenced on March 29, 2019. After he completes that sentence, Mendoza faces likely deportation to the Dominican Republic.
“Crimes such as bank fraud cause financial damage to innocent victims and cannot be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “The theft of mail undermines public confidence in a critical governmental service and must be addressed by aggressive investigation and prosecution. I want to thank the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Police Departments in Salem, Manchester, and Lawrence. Their prompt response and thorough investigation of these serious crimes should deter other people from engaging in similar conduct.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service takes mail theft very seriously,” said Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division. “Our customers expect their personal information to be kept secure when mailing with the U.S. Postal Service. Postal Inspectors, along with our local police departments who assisted in this investigation, worked hard to prevent more people from becoming further victimized by this scheme. These types of crimes cause considerable financial damage and personal inconvenience.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Salem Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, and the Lawrence, Massachusetts Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kinsella.
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Domestic abuser, convicted robber with bullets among those indicted on firearms chargesRead the Press Release
Six people were indicted in federal court for firearms violations.
Indicted are: Jacob Moser, 28, Conneaut, Robert Howse, 24, of South Euclid, Anthony Clark, 37, of Cleveland, James Horn, 40, of Cleveland, Bryshaun Dodds, 24, of Findlay, and Samuel Schutte, 34, of Green County, Wisconsin.
Moser possessed a Smith & Wesson SD40 VE pistol and 39 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition on August 21, despite a previous conviction for drug trafficking, according to the indictment.
Howse possessed 28 rounds of 9 mm ammunition on September 15 and 16, despite a previous convictions aggravated robbery, burglary and robbery, each with a firearms specification, according to the indictment.
Clark possessed a Smith & Wesson SD40 VE pistol and 39 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition on August 21, despite a previous conviction for drug trafficking, according to the indictment.
Horn possessed a 12-gauge shotgun on April 11, despite a previous conviction for domestic violence in Cleveland Municipal Court, according to the indictment.
Dodds possessed a .38-caliber revolver, a .22-caliber rifle and a .45-caliber pistol on October 24, despite previous convictions for aggravated assault and aggravated burglary, according to the indictment.
Schutte possessed a Kahr .45-caliber handgun on October 30 despite previous convictions for burglary, forgery and escape, according to the indictment.
These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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. PSN was reinvigorated in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, Cleveland Division of Police, the Toledo Police Department and the Metrich Drug Task Force. They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew D. Simko, Henry F. DeBaggis, James Lewis, Scott Zarzycki and Robert Patton.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dillingham Man Indicted on Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that a Dillingham man has been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges, arising from the seizure of methamphetamine found inside his luggage at the Anchorage International Airport.
Andrew Madison Straley III, 50, of Dillingham, was named in the indictment charging him with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Straley is currently awaiting a court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the federal charge.
According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 19, 2018, law enforcement officers observed Straley arrive at the Anchorage International Airport and check in for a flight bound for Dillingham. Straley did not check any bags, but allegedly made a comment to another passenger that he needed to “go pick something up” before departing the airport as a passenger in a red sedan. Approximately one hour later, Straley arrived back at the airport in the same car, and began walking toward his departure gate, carrying a blue roller bag. Straley was contacted by law enforcement officers at the departure gate and was detained.
A trained narcotics detector dog examined Straley’s luggage and subsequently indicated the presence of controlled substances. Straley consented to a search of his luggage, and located inside was approximately 114.6 grams of methamphetamine, numerous baggies commonly used for the packaging and distribution of drugs, and numerous glass pipes.
If convicted, Straley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and a maximum of up to life in prison, as well as a fine of up to $10 million, for the charge alleged in the indictment. Under federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team, which includes the Alaska State Troopers (AST), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Sandpoint Police Department, the Anchorage Police Department, the North Slope Borough Police Department, and the Anchorage Airport Police, conducted the investigation leading to the charge in this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vandergaw.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Detroit Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Unemployment Insurance Fraud, Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
A Detroit man was sentenced to 36 months in prison today for having conspired to engage in mail fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Wanda M. Stokes, Director of the Talent Investment Agency
According to court records, Charles H. Alexander, 54, of Detroit, participated in a multi-year scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits. As part of the scheme, Alexander obtained personal identifying information of third parties and caused unemployment benefits to be issued in the names of those third parties—even though those individuals has no legitimate entitlement to such benefits. Alexander also impersonated others in order to withdraw fraudulently-obtained unemployment insurance benefits.
Alexander, who has prior convictions for illegal weapons activity, drug activity, and aggravated domestic violence, was also sentenced for having illegally possessed a loaded firearm.
“Unemployment insurance fraud hurts honest employers and employees by driving up rates and making it more difficult for legitimate claimants to receive their benefits,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “Charles Alexander took that damaging fraud activity and made it even worse when he chose to endanger others through his illicit possession of a loaded gun. “
“Charles Alexander and his co-conspirators defrauded the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency by falsely obtaining and using debit cards containing over $330,000 in unemployment insurance benefits issued in the names of claimants who were not entitled to such benefits. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and state workforce agencies to protect the integrity of unemployment insurance benefit programs,” said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
"Stealing unemployment benefits hurts us all," Wanda M. Stokes, Director of the Talent Investment Agency said. "We are vigilant in bringing these criminals to justice and making certain they face stiff penalties for their crime. I commend Regulation Agent Kurt Eggly for his efforts to bring this criminal to justice," Stokes added.
Alexander was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Judge Friedman ordered Alexander to pay $330,561 in restitution.
The case was investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind.
Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- A Detroit, Michigan man pled guilty yesterday to a federal drug charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Octavius Ellis, 23, entered a guilty plea today to knowingly and intentionally distributing fentanyl. Stuart praised the work of the Huntington Police Department.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the country,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “So far in 2018, we have seized enough fentanyl to kill more than 1.6 million West Virginians. That is why my team will prosecute every fentanyl dealer law enforcement identifies.”
On January 19, 2018, officers with the Huntington Police Department’s Special Emphasis Unit utilized a confidential informant to arrange a controlled buy of heroin from Ellis. Ellis arrived at the buy location in the West End of Huntington and provided the confidential informant with a substance he represented to be heroin in exchange for $70. Testing by the West Virginia State Police Lab confirmed the substance to actually be fentanyl.
Ellis faces up to 20 years when he is sentenced on March 18, 2019.
Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
Fentanyl is a powerful, synthetic narcotic that works on the brain like other opioids, such as morphine or heroin, but is 50 to 100 times more potent, and can easily cause an overdose. According to a report released by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl surpassed heroin as the deadliest drug in the United States, taking more than 18,000 lives in 2016.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.), an enforcement surge that seeks to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas.
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Defendants Charged with Multiple Counts Related to Interstate Prostitution and Sex Trafficking EnterpriseRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine charging Shou Chao Li, 37, and Derong Miao, 37, both of Concord, New Hampshire, with one count of conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation and travel for prostitution, two counts of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion, and five counts of interstate transportation for prostitution. Li was also charged with possessing a victim’s passport as part of the sex trafficking scheme. The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank of the District of Maine.
According to the indictment, defendants Li and Miao operated an interstate prostitution and sex trafficking enterprise between July 2016 and at least February 2018. The defendants targeted Chinese women and recruited them to travel to Maine, where the defendants caused them to engage in prostitution, controlled their movements, and isolated them. The defendants rented residences and hotel rooms in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire for purposes of prostitution, and they employed others outside of Maine to advertise the women on Backpage.com and to communicate with prostitution customers.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Li faces up to five years on the passport charge. Both defendants face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, between 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life on the sex trafficking charges, and up to 10 years on the interstate transportation for prostitution charges. Both also face fines up to $250,000 and mandatory restitution.
The District of Maine is one of six districts designated through a competitive, nationwide selection process as a Phase II Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam). ACTeams focus on developing high-impact human trafficking investigations and prosecutions involving forced labor, international sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion through interagency collaboration among federal prosecutors and federal investigative agencies.
The case is being investigated by the Portland and South Portland, Maine and the Manchester, Portsmouth, and Concord, New Hampshire Police Departments; the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office; the FBI; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and Wage and Hour Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee with assistance from the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Columbia Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Child Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a prostitution operation that involved sex trafficking a minor victim.
Kenneth Ronald Jones, 26, of Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole.
In separate but related cases, Barry Paul Manthe, 65, and Ronald James Clark, 68, both of Columbia, have pleaded guilty to using the internet to promote a racketeering enterprise, a prostitution business that operated out of a Columbia residence. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2019.
On Aug. 6, 2018, Jones pleaded guilty to one count of the sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity by coercion and enticement. Jones admitted that he induced three victims, including a minor, to travel across state lines to engage in prostitution and illicit sexual activity between May 1 and June 1, 2016.
On June 28, 2016, a 17-year-old victim from Wisconsin – identified in court documents as “FV1” – contacted her social worker and reported that she was being held against her will by Jones. She was located at a residence in Columbia that was known for prostitution and removed by law enforcement officers.
FV1 told investigators that Manthe paid for escort advertisements on the website Backpage for the prostitutes utilizing the brothel. According to FV1, she was advertised under a pseudonym but the ads did not include her photograph. Jones found photographs of other females on the Internet and gave them to Manthe to post with the ad.
Clark collected the door fee from the prostitutes, which ranged from $10 to $30. FV1 gave the rest of the money she earned through prostitution to Jones. Clark applied the door fee income to the monthly bills, then split the remaining profit between himself and Manthe.
FV1 told investigators that she met Jones and another victim, a teenager identified as “FV2,” in May 2016 at a party in Milwaukee, Wis., and agreed to travel with him to Columbia to engage in prostitution. As soon as she arrived in Columbia, she was expected to see clients. Jones, who knew she was 17 years old, instructed FV1 to tell everyone at the house she was 18 years old. Jones had her charge $120 for half an hour, or $160 for a full hour. FV1 gave $20 to the owners of the residence and the rest of the proceeds of her prostitution to Jones.
FV2 told investigators that she met Jones in March 2016 at a party in Milwaukee and accompanied him to Columbia because she believed she would be assisting Jones with selling narcotics. FV2 estimated that she earned about $2,500 for engaging in prostitution, but was not allowed to keep any of the money. After about two weeks in Columbia, FV2 and Jones returned to Milwaukee to pick up FV1, after which they returned to the same brothel in Columbia.
FV2,” told police that she worked at the brothel every day and was advertised through Backpage. Jones physically abused her in the days prior to her running away in late May or early June 2016. She reported Jones pointed a 9mm handgun in her face and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
Jones arranged for a third victim, a teenager identified as “FV3,” to join them in Columbia. FV3, after communicating with Jones on Facebook, agreed to come to Columbia to help him with his drug business. After she arrived in Missouri, Jones told FV3 she needed to make money and threatened to kick her to the streets if she did not do what he wanted. FV3 agreed and did a prostitution “date.” FV3 stated Jones directed her to charge clients $120 per half hour and $200 per hour. FV3 gave a door fee to the owners of the brothel and the rest of the money to Jones. She witnessed Jones point guns and threaten the other victims.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Greendale, Wis., Police Department, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Police Department.
Canadian man sentenced for enticing Georgia and Mississippi girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct over the internetRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Yves Joseph Legault has been sentenced for coercing and enticing the production of child sexual exploitation images over the Internet. The defendant preyed on children in both Mississippi and Georgia simultaneously.
“Legault’s determination to pursue lurid desires shows his lack of fear of the law and a willingness to harm children no matter how young they are,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Predators use the Internet and social media sites to lure unsuspecting teens into their web of deceit. Fortunately, our law enforcement partners adapt quickly to new methods these individuals use, and catch those who prowl the Internet to engage in sexual activity with minors. Our office will continue to prosecute these cases, and we highly encourage parents to be actively involved in children’s social media activities and Internet use.”
“Predators like Legault are always lurking on line, and a threat to our children. Hopefully his sentencing will serve as a warning to all parents to monitor what their children are doing on the internet and on their cell phones,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Be assured the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children unit and its Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH) will use every investigative resource and remain vigilant for predators who pose a threat to children.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Beginning in approximately July 2017, Legault met a 13-year-old Marietta, Georgia, girl on the website Omegle, a free online and anonymous text and video chat tool. After moving their communications to Google Hangouts, the defendant asked the teen to perform sexual acts on live video-streaming for him. He eventually arranged to travel from Canada to Atlanta, Georgia, in order to have sex with the girl.
On August 11, 2017, Legault was arrested after flying from Toronto, Canada into Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport to have sex with the teen. The 13-year-old girl’s mother had alerted agents with the FBI to the relationship after she intercepted a package he sent her daughter from Canada. A federal grand jury charged Legault for this conduct on August 15, 2017.
During the pendency of the Atlanta case and upon further investigation, agents discovered that during this same time period, Legault was also engaged in coercive and enticing chat and message exchanges with an eight-year-old girl residing in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Legault asked the girl to engage in sexually explicit behavior while the two were chatting over a live-streaming communication device. He was subsequently charged in the Southern District of Mississippi with one count of coercing and enticing the production of child pornography.
Yves Joseph Legault, 54, of Ontario, Canada, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison to be followed by supervised release for life, a $200 special assessment, and he will be deported to Canada upon completion of his sentence. Legault pleaded guilty to both federal cases in the Northern District of Georgia on September 18, 2018, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans.
This case was investigated by divisions of the FBI in Georgia and Mississippi.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Skye Davis prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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.
Canadian Accountant Sentenced for Stealing Nearly $600,000 from Massachusetts CompanyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Canadian national who worked as an accountant for a Massachusetts company was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for stealing nearly $600,000 from her employer.
Thanh Tam Tao Huynh, a/k/a Tiffany Huynh, 30, most recently of Quincy, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $588,278. Huynh will be deported upon completion of her sentence. In June 2018, Huynh pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
Huynh was employed as the accountant/bookkeeper by her employer from approximately March 2016 through December 2017. Huynh used her position and access to the company’s bank accounts to wire about $425,000 from a company account held by the Royal Bank of Canada to accounts in the United States that Huynh and her associates controlled. She also used a company credit card to make unauthorized purchases for herself and her friends. To conceal her actions, Huynh provided her employer with false balance information for the Canadian account and withheld the personal charge information from the credit card statements she submitted for review. In total, Huynh defrauded her employer of approximately $588,278.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
California Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Michael Vincent Maes, 30, of Oakland, California, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to life in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, attempt to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to launder money, and five specific acts of money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles with Homeland Security Investigations, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Derryle Smith with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Between June 2016 and February 2017, Maes was sending packages of methamphetamine to addresses in Slidell, Louisiana, for distribution throughout the Southern District of Mississippi. The individuals distributing that methamphetamine would then deposit proceeds from those sales into Wells Fargo accounts in Biloxi and Gulfport at Maes’ direction. All of the individuals distributing methamphetamine on the Mississippi Coast have previously pled guilty to their activities. Maes was found guilty on September 21, 2018, after a four-day trial. He was acquitted of one specific act of money laundering.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Meynardie and Kathlyn Van Buskirk.
California Man Sentenced on Drug Charge Involving over 200lbs of CocaineRead 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 Armando Ernesto Abarca, 22, of Modesto, California, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, was sentenced to 168 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who handled the case, stated that between September 2014 and September 2016, the defendant conspired with others to possess and distribute cocaine. Specifically, Abarca utilized a storage unit in Amherst, NY to store 43 kilograms of cocaine. The defendant also distributed approximately 50 kilograms of cocaine in Columbus, OH, during the course of the conspiracy.
Charges remain pending against co-defendant Raul Everado Ledesma Abarca. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office. Additional assistance was provided by ICE-HSI in Los Angeles, California.
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CFO of North Suburban Automobile Parts Company Indicted on Fraud Charges for Allegedly Embezzling More Than $700,000 in Company FundsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The former Chief Financial Officer of a north suburban automobile parts company has been indicted on federal fraud and money laundering charges for allegedly embezzling $700,000 in company funds.
While serving as CFO of the Libertyville-based company, MICHAEL PUGLISI fraudulently wrote corporate checks to three shell companies that he created, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District in Chicago. Puglisi fraudulently set up the shell companies with names that closely resembled or were identical to the names of actual vendors of the auto parts company, the indictment states. Puglisi deposited checks from the auto parts company into bank accounts he opened in the names of the shell companies, and then transferred the money to his personal bank or investment accounts, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Puglisi, 63, of Lisle, with four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. Arraignment in U.S. District Court has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.
According to the charges, Puglisi’s fraud scheme began in 2013 and continued until earlier this year. Puglisi allegedly made false entries in the auto parts company’s accounting reports and financial statements in order to conceal his theft. As a result of his actions, Puglisi caused a loss to the company of at least $700,000, the indictment states.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while each money laundering count carries a maximum sentence of ten years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Business Owners Indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud the IRS and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging a Shreveport husband and wife with conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and multiple counts of filing false tax returns, announced United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment, Robert and Donna Poimboeuf owned and operated D&G Holdings, LLC (D&G), a company providing laboratory and mobile phlebotomy services. For the 2011 through 2015 tax years, the Poimboeufs allegedly underreported their income and gross receipts from D&G on their joint personal federal income tax returns by submitting false information to two separate tax return preparers. The information submitted to the tax preparers omitted bank accounts and Forms 1099 that the accountants needed to accurately report their taxable income. The indictment charges that the Poimboeufs also improperly classified business receipts as non-taxable loan proceeds in an effort to reduce their income.
If convicted, Robert and Donna Poimboeuf each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy counts and three years in prison on each false return count. The Poimboeufs also face a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.
Special agents with the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation. First Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Van Hook and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
The charges in the indictment are only accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Buffalo Man Sentenced for Selling Cocaine Near A Buffalo SchoolRead 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 Stevie Alejandro, 32, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of cocaine, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash, who handled the case, stated that the defendant operated the Barberians Barber Shop at 1132 East Lovejoy Street, which is located directly across from Buffalo Public School #43, the Lovejoy Discovery School. Between May 2017 and October 18, 2017, the defendant utilized the barber shop to facilitate a drug distribution network. Alejandro conspired with co-defendants Aaron Hill, Cleophus Dentmond, a/k/a Face, Gilbert Guzman, and others, to distribute cocaine in the Lovejoy District.
During the course of the investigation, Alejandro and his associates made numerous cocaine sales to an undercover police officer. Aaron Hill, Cleophus Dentmond, and Gilbert Guzman were previously convicted and sentenced.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Raymond P. Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zak; and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.
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Buffalo Couple Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Tax Refund SchemeRead 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 Emmanuel Collins, a/k/a Scooter, 40, and Quintella Wilson, 36, both of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims (Collins) and aiding and abetting fraudulent returns, statements, or other documents (Wilson) before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Collins’s charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Wilson’s charge carries a maximum penalty of one year and a $100,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that between 2012 and 2015, Collins organized various individuals in Buffalo to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, claiming false income and tax withholdings on false W-2 forms. Wilson assisted Collins in part by driving the tax filers to tax return preparers to file the fraudulent forms. Investigators identified 16 fraudulent filings in the conspiracy that claimed $124,787 in false refunds. Collins generally took a cut of each tax refund that was fraudulently obtained. Three of the tax filers have also been convicted for their roles.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of James D. Robnett, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2019, before Judge Geraci.
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