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Monday 19 November 2018
Former Chief Executive Officer of New York Credit Union Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Multimillion-Dollar EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that KAM WONG, the former chief executive officer (“CEO”) and president of the oldest New York credit union (the “Credit Union”), a non-profit financial institution, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court today to embezzling millions of dollars from the Credit Union. WONG pled guilty before U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he admitted in court today, Kam Wong, the former CEO and president of New York’s oldest credit union, abused his position of trust as a guardian of municipal, state, and federal workers’ financial accounts to enrich himself. In so doing, Wong stole money from the credit union that could have gone to the credit union’s members, and tried to cover up what he had done by making false statements to federal investigators and creating false and misleading documents. I commend the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners, for their tireless efforts in this ongoing investigation.”
According to the Complaint, the Information, statements made in court and publicly available documents:
WONG was the CEO and president of the Credit Union, a non-profit financial institution headquartered in New York, New York, which is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration Board. The Credit Union is the oldest credit union in New York State and one of the oldest and largest in the country, providing banking services to more than 425,000 members, including municipal, state, and federal workers in New York City. The Credit Union’s earnings are intended to be directed back to its members in the form of more favorable rates and fewer and lower fees for products and services.
From 2013 through January 2018, WONG engaged in a long-running multi-faceted scheme to obtain money from the Credit Union to which he knew he was not entitled, and took steps to seek to conceal what he had done. Among other things, WONG embezzled from and defrauded the Credit Union by submitting sham invoices for dental work never performed on him or paid by him, and, as a result, fraudulently obtained reimbursement for hundreds of thousands of dollars of such nonexistent dental work. In addition, WONG fraudulently caused the Credit Union to pay him additional monies that he knew he was not entitled to receive, including millions of dollars of payments in lieu of purported long-term disability insurance, and for purported taxes owed on these and other employment benefits.
WONG also misapplied money and other things of value from the Credit Union, with respect to, among other things, reimbursement payments for repairs to luxury vehicles the Credit Union leased to WONG, which repair work was already covered by the Credit Union’s insurance; cash advances to which he was not entitled; educational, housing, and living expenses for two of WONG’s friend’s relatives; payments for his leave days that did not comply with and exceeded what was provided for under his employment contract; the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz automobile that was not provided for under his employment contract; the leasing of multiple luxury vehicles at the same time; electronic devices (including, iPhones, iPads, and laptops) for personal use by WONG and others; and reimbursement, as business expenses, of personal expenses, including hotel stays. In addition, WONG obtained controlled substances, for personal use, from a former Credit Union Supervisory Committee member.
In January 2018, after WONG learned about the investigation, WONG sought to obstruct justice by making false statements to federal investigators and creating false and misleading documents to try, after the fact, to explain and justify some of these payments.
* * *
WONG, 62, of Valley Stream, Long Island, pled guilty to one count of embezzlement from a federally insured credit union, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. As a condition of his plea, WONG also agreed to forfeit at least $9,890,375 and to pay at least $9,890,375 in restitution to the Credit Union.
WONG is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Koeltl on April 5, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of WONG will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Berman praised the outstanding work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office. Mr. Berman also thanked the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the National Credit Union Administration.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli J. Mark and Daniel C. Richenthal are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alona Katz from the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
Final Defendant Sentenced in Operation Chasing OxyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his leadership role in a nine-member conspiracy to fraudulently obtain and sell approximately 9,000 Oxycodone pills in Hampton Roads.
According to court documents, from February to September 2017, Deonte Farrow, who was sentenced today to 10 years, and Quentia Fields led a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain Oxycodone pills from various pharmacies in the Hampton Roads area for the purpose of selling the pills on the streets for a profit. Farrow and Fields manufactured and drafted prescriptions for Oxycodone pills from their home computers and printers, using the name and DEA registration numbers of real physicians, without the physician’s knowledge. Farrow and Fields then worked with co-conspirators, Harvey Williams, Lucion Liles and Quanisha Platt, to recruit individuals to serve as runners, such as Tynasia Smith, Travis Smith, Juan Ramirez, and Tykeiah Benn, who would take the prescriptions to various pharmacies in the Tidewater area to be filled. Platt, who had worked in several pharmacies, knew how to draft a prescription so that it looked legitimate to a pharmacy. The runners either were paid in money or given a quantity of the Oxycodone pills for their services. The listed patient on the written prescriptions were either the name of a co-conspirator or the name of some other real person, sometimes without that person’s knowledge. In total, approximately 20 physicians’ names and DEA registration numbers were used on the fraudulent prescriptions without the doctor’s knowledge.
This investigation was conducted by the Richmond Tactical Diversion Squad, in cooperation with the Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach Police Departments, and the Virginia State Police.
Name, Age
Hometown
Convictions
Sentence
Deonte Farrow, 28
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
120 months
Quentia Fields, 27
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
46 months
Harvey Williams, 27
Chesapeake
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
51 months
Lucion Liles, 28
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
41 months
Quanisha Platt, 24
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
37 months
Tykeiah Benn, 27
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
24 months
Travis Smith, 31
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
16 months
Juan Ramirez, 31
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
10 months
Tynasia Smith, 22
Chesapeake
Conspiracy to Obtain and Distribute Oxycodone
7 months
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division], made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Muhr prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-15-1.
Federal Prisoner Sentenced to over 14 Years for Assaulting Two Victims with a ShankRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Valentino Gonzalez, 47, of Texas, a federal inmate in the United States Penitentiary in Yazoo City, Mississippi, was sentenced Friday, by Chief United States District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to 170 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for two counts of assault, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.
In 2005, Valentino Gonzalez was convicted and sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for conspiracy to murder. He was serving that sentence in the United States Penitentiary in Yazoo City, Mississippi, when in September 2017, Gonzalez attacked another prisoner with a long, metal shank stabbing him repeatedly. When a correctional officer attempted to intervene, Gonzalez stabbed the officer. Both victims sustained serious injuries.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the work of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the investigation of this case.
Federal Jury Convicts Navajo Man on Federal Child Sexual Abuse ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned a verdict today finding Brian Adrian Sloan guilty on aggravated child sexual abuse charges following a five-day trial. The guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson and Special Agent in Charge James C. Langenberg of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.
The FBI arrested Sloan, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Newcomb, N.M., in Aug. 2016, on an indictment filed on Aug. 23, 2016, alleging child sexual abuse offenses. The indictment was superseded on Jan. 24, 2017, and charged Sloan with sexually abusing a child under the age of 12 years on two occasions between May 2007 and Dec. 2007, and between May 2008 and Aug. 2008, and sexually abusing a second child under the age of 12 years between June 2003 and Aug. 2003. According to the superseding indictment, Sloan committed the crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
Trial on the superseding indictment commenced on Nov. 13, 2018, and concluded this morning when the jury returned a guilty verdict against Sloan on all four counts of the superseding indictment.
Testimony at trial established that Sloan began sexually abusing the victim referenced in Counts 1, 2 and 3 of the superseding indictment during the summer of 2007. The victim, who was 11-years old when the sexual abuse began, testified being repeatedly sexually abused by Sloan from the beginning of the summer of 2007 through at least Aug. 2008. According to testimony, Sloan would find the victim alone at home and sexually abuse the victim while threatening and being physically abusive.
The victim referenced in Count 4 testified that the victim stayed at a relative’s house on a night during the summer of 2003, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and during a night hide and seek game, the victim entered a dark bedroom where Sloan was hiding and Sloan grabbed and sexually molested the victim.
The jury deliberated approximately three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
At sentencing, Sloan faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years and a maximum of life in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and will be required to register as a sex offender. Sloan remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Novaline D. Wilson and Elisa C. Dimas are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Federal Grand Jury Returns Ten-Count Indictment against Driver Illegally Transporting Nine Undocumented AliensRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – An undocumented Mexican national has been charged with illegally transporting undocumented aliens. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the indictment today.
In a ten-count indictment, a federal grand jury has charged an undocumented Mexican national with illegally transporting undocumented aliens through the Western District of Tennessee and with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation.
According to the information presented in the indictment, Rufino Valldovinos-Ramirez, 41, was charged with illegally transporting nine undocumented aliens, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii). The grand jury charged that Valldovinos-Ramirez knew and disregarded the fact that his nine passengers were illegally present in the United States, and transported them in furtherance of their violation of law, for the purpose of his own financial gain.
Valldovinos-Ramirez was also charged with illegal reentry into the United States, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, § 1326(a).
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "Because the Department of Justice is the only agency that can prosecute violations of our sovereign immigration laws, it is critical that our work focus on criminal cases that deter and reduce illegality while promoting lawfulness in our immigration system. This is a high priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will aggressively prosecute any persons who engage in unlawful smuggling, transportation, or harboring of multiple undocumented aliens to illegally enter the United States."
"Criminal networks who engage in illegal cross-border smuggling pose a security vulnerability to the U.S.," said Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles. "Further, these groups routinely place profit over the well-being of their human cargo, which often has tragic results for those taking this dangerous, illegal path. HSI is committed to working with its federal, state and local partners to investigate and prosecute those who flagrantly violate U.S. law."
If convicted, Valldovinos-Ramirez faces up to five years in federal prison for each 1324 count; up to two years for the 1326 count and/or a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Delery and Stephen Hall are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Federal Court Holds Mississippi Tax Return Preparer in ContemptRead the Press Release
A federal court in Jackson, Mississippi, held that Kavivah Branson, aka Kavivah Bradley, has violated a permanent injunction entered against her on July 3, 2014, which barred her from preparing tax returns for others.
Branson admitted, in documents filed with the court, that she had violated the injunction by directly or indirectly preparing returns for others. She also agreed to pay the United States a total of $55,000 as reimbursement of its investigation expenses and disgorgement of fees she received from refunds claimed on returns she prepared in violation of the injunction. That investigation was undertaken by the Tax Division as part of its effort to monitor the conduct of return preparers who have been enjoined from preparing returns, and hold those who have continued to do so accountable for violating that ban.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ordered Branson to pay these amounts. Also, the court barred her from working at or maintaining any interest in any entity that offers tax preparation services.
The injunction barring Branson from preparing tax returns remains in effect, and the court authorized the United States to continue to monitor her compliance with its orders.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers and tax scheme promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found here. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Essex County, New Jersey, Woman Charged with Role in $2 Million Moving Company Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, woman was arrested and charged today with managing a variety of moving companies in New Jersey that systematically defrauded hundreds of customers, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Farah Al-Ibrahim, a/k/a “Farah Alhomsi,” a/k/a “Farah Adam,” a/k/a “Farah Adams,” a/k/a “Sara Adams,” 38, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She made her initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Al-Ibrahim and her conspirators operated numerous moving companies that quoted customers “low-ball” price estimates for moves and then raised prices on the day of the move, after the goods were loaded and the customers were subject to the conspirators’ demands. Al-Ibrahim and her conspirators consistently, over a number of years and hundreds of moves, raised final prices for moves above the allowed increase from initial estimates as provided by federal regulations, including increases as high as 400 percent on the day of the move. The collective difference between the estimates and the final balances for the customers’ moves was approximately $2 million.
The conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to others, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Transportation-Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker, Northeast Region; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, Newark Division; and special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Angel Melendez, New York Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Erie Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Two Minor VictimsRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of sex trafficking of a child and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Thomas Patrick Petoff, 31, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from March 2015 to October 2015, Petoff and a co-defendant, Devonte Lucas, knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, advertised and maintained two minor victims who engaged in commercial sex acts at the behest of Petoff and Lucas. Petoff’s illegal activity was ultimately stopped when members of the Millcreek Police Department observed Lucas transport a minor female to a Millcreek motel after the Millcreek officers, acting in an undercover capacity, had set up a meeting at the motel with the victim via an Internet advertisement that had been placed by Petoff.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for April 8, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.. The law provides for a total sentence of life in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. As part of his plea, Petoff has agreed to a sentence of fourteen years in jail to be followed by ten years of supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Millcreek Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Petoff.
Erie Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Nathan Richard Kosmatine, 31, pleaded guilty to three counts before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Kosmatine distributed, received and possessed computer images and movies depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for March 18, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Kosmatine on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Kosmatine.
Erie County Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of North East, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 12 years in jail and 10 years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Wesley Chase, 34.
According to information presented to the court, Chase distributed, received and possessed computer images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Chase.
Elkins man admits to methamphetamine distributionRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Oscar Willard Thomas, of Elkins, West Virginia, has admitted to a methamphetamine distribution charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Thomas, also known as “Will Thomas,” age 46, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Thomas admitted to selling methamphetamine in September 2016 in Randolph County.
Thomas faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Drug Task Force investigated.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Dolores Diana M.B. Westfall Sentenced to Prison in Drug Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant DOLORES DIANA M.B. WESTFALL, age 37, from Yona, was sentenced in District Court to serve a 77-month term of imprisonment for Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Fifty Grams or More of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The Court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment and a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.
On July 27, 2017, the U.S. Postal Inspector, agents and task force officers with Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted a package in the mail. They discovered approximately 222.6 net grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride (“ice”) in the package. Westfall was also in possession of a methamphetamine pipe and a small Ziploc baggie. The evidence revealed that Westfall attempted to possess the drug with the intent to distribute it to another person. Westfall used her post office box to receive the ice. She expected to receive some of the drug as payment from the supplier.
U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “I applaud law enforcement for their actions in combating sources of illegal drugs. This case demonstrates the benefits of effective partnerships by our federal and local agencies. Our office will continue to vigorously enforce drug laws in an effort to pare back the availability of drugs to users or potential users.”
This prosecution was the result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Service and Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Rosetta San Nicolas prosecuted this case for the United States Attorney’s Office.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms Charge Following Gun Trafficking InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Isaiah Green, 28, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from an investigation into a gun trafficking scheme in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Green pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of interstate travel in connection with engaging in the business of illegally dealing in firearms. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. The Honorable Amit P. Mehta scheduled sentencing for Feb. 14, 2019.
The guilty plea followed an investigation by ATF, MPD, and the Virginia State Police into Green’s role in the purchase of significant quantities of firearms during the summer of 2018. Green and another individual were arrested on July 27, 2018, in the District of Columbia after allegedly purchasing four firearms at the Dulles Gun Show in Chantilly, Virginia. According to the government’s evidence, an additional five firearms, all with obliterated serial numbers, were recovered from an apartment where Green was living at the time.
According to the government’s evidence, beginning in or around June 27, 2018, Green and the other individual began accepting orders for firearms purchases from people residing within the District of Columbia. To fulfill the orders, the two traveled to various gun stores and pawn shops throughout Virginia. The other individual would fill out ATF forms and falsely assert that she was the intended owner of the firearm. Green could not purchase the firearms himself because he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms due to a prior domestic violence conviction.
After purchasing the firearms, the two traveled back to an apartment in Southeast Washington, where Green used a sanding tool to remove the serial numbers from the firearms so that the firearms could not be traced back to them after they were sold. The two would then illegally sell the firearms for a profit within the District of Columbia.
As part of the plea agreement, Green admitted that he and his co-defendant purchased 31 firearms for illegal resale in a one-month time period in 2018.
This case is being investigated by the ATF and MPD with the assistance of the Virginia State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Investors in Binary Options and Cryptocurrency Scheme and Admits to Obstructing JusticeRead the Press Release
Earlier today in federal court in Central Islip, Blake Kantor, who formerly operated a binary options company known as Blue Bit Banc and Blue Bit Analytics (“BBB”), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Kantor admitted to obstructing an investigation into his fraudulent scheme. When he is sentenced, Kantor faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture and a fine. The guilty plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), and James McDonald, Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced the guilty plea.
“Kantor defrauded investors to enrich himself and then tried to cover his tracks by lying to the federal agents investigating the scheme,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “We will continue to protect the integrity of the financial marketplace by prosecuting to the fullest extent those who deceive the investing public and obstruct the pursuit of justice.”
According to court filings and facts presented at the guilty plea proceeding, in March 2014, Kantor established BBB, which sold binary options, a type of investment in which investors are promised an opportunity to be paid predetermined amounts based upon the price of securities, commodities or other investments at particular points in time. From approximately 2014 to 2017, Kantor and others solicited and took in approximately $1.5 million from more than 700 investors in BBB’s binary options. Kantor told investors that they could place binary option trades, or a BBB representative could do so for them, and that the predetermined profits promised them would be based on the actual prices of securities, currencies and other investments at particular points in time. However, Kantor did not inform the investors that a computer software program of BBB’s fraudulently altered data associated with binary options investments so that the probability of investors earning a profit favored BBB and disadvantaged investors. To further his scheme, Kantor directed that bank accounts—including one in the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis—be opened using aliases and identifying information of others, making it more difficult to trace the funds that Kantor fraudulently took from investors. Kantor also converted BBB investments into ATM Coin, a worthless cryptocurrency that he misleadingly told investors was worth substantial sums of money.
In October 2017, after FBI agents informed Kantor that they were investigating his involvement in binary options, Kantor directed a co-conspirator to alter BBB customer lists. When interviewed by the FBI, Kantor falsely stated that he had not been involved in binary options since August 2013.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Bradley T. King and Madeline M. O’Connor are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
BLAKE KANTOR (also known as “Bill Gordon”)
Age: 42
Fort Lee, New JerseyE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-177 (SJF)
Counter-Protester Charged for Assaulting Police OfficerRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Brian Glantz, 23, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, was charged on Saturday by complaint with one count of assault on an officer in the performance of official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1), and the assimilated Commonwealth of Pennsylvania crime of aggravated assault on an officer in the performance of official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 13 and 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(3).
On November 17, 2018, a group identified as “We the People” received a permit and held a rally in Independence National Park. According to the complaint, approximately 50 people attended the event, and the group waved flags and made speeches. The complaint alleges that approximately 500 counter-protesters gathered at the event, yelling obscenities at both the permitted group and at state, local, and federal law enforcement officers. The complaint details that numerous law enforcement officers worked together to position themselves between the two groups to prevent a potentially violent confrontation. The complaint charges that the defendant pushed back at the officers and, while on Park property, punched a Philadelphia Police Department officer in the side of his face as he was in the performance of his duties; the defendant continued to resist the officers’ efforts to arrest him, kicking his legs and wrestling with the officers and park rangers.
“Assaulting a law enforcement agent – whether a federal, state, or local officer – is a crime that I take very seriously,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “There is no excuse for it. No matter who you are, if you assault an officer and there is federal jurisdiction, I will bring the full weight of my Office down upon you.”
The defendant has been held at the Federal Detention Center since Saturday. On Monday, the defendant appeared in United States Magistrate Court before the Honorable Elizabeth T. Hey and was released on a $15,000 bond with travel restrictions.
The case was investigated by the National Park Service with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Diviny.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Corrections Officer Arrested for Scheme to Smuggle Opioids into MCI-NorfolkRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A corrections officer at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute facility in Norfolk (MCI-Norfolk) was arrested today and charged in connection with conspiracy to smuggle Suboxone strips into the facility for an inmate.
Steven J. Frazer, 29, of Cumberland, R.I., was arrested today and charged in a criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Frazer, an employee of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, will appear this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell.
Beginning around Nov. 14, 2018, it is alleged that Frazer began arranging with a cooperating witness to smuggle Suboxone strips into MCI-Norfolk to sell to inmates. Suboxone is a Class III controlled substance used to treat heroin addiction, but some addicts abuse it to get high. It is coveted as contraband in prisons across the nation and particularly in New England.
According to court documents, around midnight on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, the cooperating witness met Frazer in a South Attleboro parking lot and provided him with 40 Suboxone strips, 24 pages of K2 (a synthetic cannabinoid, which is more powerful and more dangerous than marijuana), and $2,500 in cash. After the meeting – which was audio and video recorded by law enforcement – federal agents arrested Frazer.
The charge of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Commissioner Thomas A. Turco III of the Massachusetts Department of Correction made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Lelling’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
“Keeping firearms out of the hands of convicted felons is a top priority,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This is a public safety and law enforcement safety issue that I am 100 percent committed to. We will continue to aggressively pursue these cases and work with our partners at the ATF to remove violent criminals like Mitchell from our communities.”
According to court documents, Sean Gregory Mitchell, 45, unlawfully possessed a firearm in June 2016, when Newport News police officers were on bike patrol at Mitchell’s apartment complex and detected the odor of marijuana. Officers subsequently obtained a search warrant for the apartment, and located a semi-automatic handgun with a loaded magazine, a small bag of marijuana, a scale, and three small bags of cocaine base.
This is Mitchell’s third federal conviction. He was previously convicted of felon in possession of a firearm in 1997, and distribution of cocaine base and use of a communication facility in the distribution of cocaine base in 2003 in federal court. Mitchell’s prior state convictions include assault and battery, trespassing, unlawful wounding, and possession of marijuana.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Cowles prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-82.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' Pharmacy settles claimsRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Pharmacy and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have reached an agreement settling alleged pharmacy violations in which the pharmacy will pay a $95,520 civil penalty and take other steps to ensure compliance with federal law and Drug Enforcement Administration regulations, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced.
The settlement agreement is the result of an inspection by the DEA for activity from March 2017 to March 2018. The DEA has the responsibility to inspect pharmacies or medical providers that dispense controlled substances to ensure they are complying with federal regulations. The regulations are designed to prevent the theft or diversion of controlled substances to unauthorized users.
The DEA conducted the inspection after it learned that approximately 2,500 oxycodone pills had been stolen or unaccounted for from the Tribes’ pharmacy in St. Ignatius, on the Flathead Indian Reservation. During the investigation, the DEA discovered significant violations of the regulations, including failing to adequately track records of the controlled substances in the pharmacy and failing to report the missing oxycodone pills to the DEA.
In addition to the $95,520 penalty, the pharmacy also must take numerous measures to ensure compliance in the future. The pharmacy must conduct annual evaluations of its compliance for three years and certify to the DEA that it is meeting all regulatory requirements. If it has future violations, the pharmacy will be subject to a judgment for the full potential penalty of $240,640 for the alleged violations.
“This settlement is an important step toward ensuring that opioids are properly controlled in the CSKT Pharmacy,” said U.S. Attorney Alme. “For the safety of the community, we need to ensure that the pharmacy is managed responsibly in the future. The penalty puts every pharmacy in Montana on notice that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and DEA will vigorously enforce controlled substance regulations to prevent diversion of the prescription opioids that are harming our communities.”
“We appreciate the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes taking this issue seriously. It is our hope that this settlement and the tribe’s plan to bring the pharmacy into compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations requirements will prevent future diversion of controlled substances,” said Stacy Zinn-Brittain, DEA regional agent in charge for Montana.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Dishong worked on the settlement agreement. The DEA’s Western Montana Tactical Diversion Squad investigated the case.
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Colorado Man Sentenced for Driving Seven Pounds of Meth to KansasRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Colorado man was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison for driving seven pounds of methamphetamine to Kansas, U.S. Attorney Steven McAllister said.
Hector Manuel Aguirre, 21, Edwards, Colo., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that in February 2018 the Kansas Highway Patrol stopped his car in Ellis County. Investigators found more than seven pounds of methamphetamine in the car. Aguirre was transporting the drugs from California to Wichita.
McAllister commended the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Rodebaugh for their work on the case.
Chinese national sentenced to nearly six years in prison for distributing opioids and other drugs that were shipped from China to the U.S. and ultimately to OhioRead the Press Release
A Chinese national who had been living in Massachusetts was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for distributing opioids and other drugs that were shipped from China to the United States and ultimately to Ohio.
Bin Wang, 43, was sentenced to 71 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including drug conspiracy, conspiracy to import a controlled substance and drug distribution.
Wang operated Cambridge Chemicals, Wonda Science, and other companies from a warehouse in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Law enforcement began investigating shipments of carfentanil, fentanyl and other opioids in August 2016, after a series of fatal overdoses in Northeast Ohio, according to court documents.
That investigation led them to several Chinese web sites, which they learned were selling kilogram amounts of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, which were shipped via private carriers such as FedEx. One of the web sites was used to purchase acetylfentanyl that caused the overdose deaths of two Summit County residents in 2015, according to court documents.
Beginning in November 2016, undercover agents began ordering opioids and other drugs from a Chinese drug trafficking organization. The agents wired money to China using Western Union or MoneyGram. Investigators learned the Chinese drug trafficking organization sent the drugs Wang in Massachusetts, who in turn mailed the drugs domestically, including to locations in Northeast Ohio, according to court documents.
Court documents detail numerous sales and shipments of drugs from China to Massachusetts to Ohio from November 2016 through July 2017.
The leaders of the Chinese drug organization, Fujing Zheng, aka Gordon Jin, and his father Guanghua Zheng, both reside in Shanghai, China. They have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances into the United States, operating a continued criminal enterprise, money laundering and other crimes.
“Wang was responsible for receiving shipments of deadly opioids and other drugs from China and then sending them to Ohio and throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “We will continue to work with law enforcement to stop the steady stream of drugs from overseas that is killing our friends and neighbors.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon said: “The importation of opioids and other synthetic drugs from China has played a significant role in America’s current drug use epidemic. Over 60,000 people a year die from drug overdoses in this country, and halting all methods of drug trafficking, including by way of the Internet is a top priority of the DEA. This investigation makes clear that geographic and technological hurdles will not stop DEA and our partners from bringing to justice those responsible for the illegal distribution of drugs in the U.S.”
“As opioids and other dangerous drugs continue to plague our communities in Ohio, a unified law enforcement community is the only way to stem the tide of this dangerous and deadly epidemic,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis. “In order to have a significant impact, these organizations must be attacked from the street-level dealer to the wholesale distributor.”
“This investigation is a great example of a collaborative effort of federal agencies and a local drug task force working together to identify and track down people and organizations that are responsible for the ever-increasing shipments of very powerful synthetic opiates into Ohio,” said Don Hall, director of the MEDWAY Drug Enforcement Agency.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Cronin following an investigation by the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency, a drug task force serving Wayne County.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The OCDETF Program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking, money laundering and violent criminal organizations operating domestically and internationally. The principle mission of the OCDETF Program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, money laundering and violent criminal organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
Canadian Man Admits Attempted Illegal Re-entry into United StatesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ali Haider Pasha, age 23, of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, pled guilty today to attempted illegal re-entry into the United States.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Robert Dwyer, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Port Director for the Massena, New York, Port of Entry.
Pasha, a citizen of Canada, was removed from the United States to Canada on May 10, 2018 following his November 2017 conviction for the felony offense of evidence tampering, in Clinton County, New York. When Pasha was removed from the United States, he was advised that he was prohibited from seeking to return to the United States for a period of 10 years. On September 8, 2018, Pasha was arrested by CBP Officers as he tried to enter the United States as a passenger in a vehicle at the Massena Port of Entry. A fingerprint check of Pasha resulted in the discovery of the prior removal. Pasha admitted that he attempted to enter the United States without permission following the May 2018 removal.
As a result of his conviction, Pasha faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy on March 7, 2019. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by CBP and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.
California Resident Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns Which Failed to Report Secret German and Israeli AccountsRead the Press Release
A Beverly Hills, California, resident pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns which did not report his offshore accounts in Germany and Israel and did not report the income earned on those accounts, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California.
According to the plea agreement and related court documents, Teymour Khoubian pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns for tax years 2009 and 2010 that failed to report foreign financial accounts in Germany and Israel, and failed to report income earned on those accounts. Between 2005 and 2012, Khoubian jointly owned multiple accounts at Bank Leumi in Israel with his mother that held between $15 million and $20 million. Additionally, since at least 2005, Khoubian also owned a foreign account at Commerzbank AG in Germany. Despite his ownership interest in these accounts and a legal requirement to declare all offshore accounts containing $10,000 or more, Khoubian prepared false tax returns for tax years 2005 through 2011 that did not fully disclose his foreign accounts, nor report all the interest income earned on those accounts. For instance, Khoubian’s Bank Leumi accounts generated interest income in excess of $4 million between 2005 and 2010, none of which was reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The total tax loss associated with the Bank Leumi accounts is approximately $ 1.2 million.
At least since 2009, Khoubian was aware of the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (the OVDP). The OVDP allowed U.S. taxpayers to voluntarily disclose their previously unreported foreign accounts and pay a reduced penalty to resolve their civil liability for not declaring foreign accounts to U.S. authorities. During 2011 and 2012, Bank Leumi requested that Khoubian sign a Form W-9 for U.S. tax reporting purposes. In an August 13, 2012, recorded telephone conversation with a banker at Bank Leumi, Khoubian stated that the reason he did not want to sign a Form W-9, was "because you have to pay half of it."
In 2012 and 2014, Khoubian knowingly made multiple false statements to IRS special agents investigating his foreign accounts, including falsely stating that the Bank Leumi accounts were not in his name, that he did not own a bank account in Germany from 2005 to 2010, that he closed his German bank account and moved all of that money to the United States, and that none of the money in his German bank account was moved to Israel.
As part of the plea agreement, Khoubian agreed to the entry of a civil judgment against him for an FBAR penalty in the amount of $7,686,004. Khoubian further agreed to pay an additional $612,310 in restitution to the IRS.
Khoubian faces a maximum of three years in prison for each of the tax counts to which he pleaded guilty, as well as monetary penalties and a period of supervised release.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher S. Strauss and Ellen M. Quattrucci of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorney Robert Conte of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Buffalo Man, Convicted by A Federal Jury, Sentenced on Gun and Drug ChargesRead 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 Larry Willis, 33, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted following a jury trial of possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, maintaining a drug involved premises, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activities, and being a felon-in-possession of firearms and explosives, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura A. Higgins and Paul E. Bonanno, who handled the trial of the case, stated that between November 2016 and December 1, 2016, Willis and co-defendant Isiah Pierce utilized two apartments inside 70 Henrietta Avenue, Buffalo, New York, to manufacture, package, and store quantities of crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, and butyryl fentanyl, along with the proceeds from the sale of such substances. To protect their product and their proceeds, the defendants maintained multiple firearms and ammunition within each of the apartments.
During the execution of a search warrant in the lower apartment at 70 Henrietta Avenue, officers recovered crack cocaine, three firearms and ammunition, a digital scale with drug residue, packaging material, whisks, spoons, and cutting agents. A subsequent search of the upper apartment uncovered additional amounts of crack cocaine, a mixture of heroin and butyryl fentanyl, three handguns, and numerous rounds of ammunition.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.
Isiah Pierce is awaiting sentencing.
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Bridgeport Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYESHON KING, 31, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for illegally possessing firearms.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 24, 2017, members of the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department conducted a court-authorized search of King’s Bridgeport residence and seized a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol that had been reported stolen in Bridgeport in 2015. Investigators also seized items used to process and package narcotics for street sale.
King’s criminal history includes a state conviction in May 2007 for attempted assault in the first degree. He received a sentence of 15 years of incarceration, suspended after three years, on that conviction.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
King has been detained since his federal arrest on July 13, 2017. On August 30, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon.
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and Bridgeport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Vizcarrondo and Dave Vatti.
Biloxi Man Gets 17 ½ Years in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – Julio Chantello Williams, 35, of Biloxi, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to a total of 211 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release, announced U. S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Williams received the maximum of 120 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and 211 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The sentences will run concurrently. Williams was also ordered to pay fines totaling $8,000.
In August 2017, Gulfport Police foot patrol checked a parked car with loud music to find Williams with a handgun and marijuana in his lap. Three months later in November 2017, Williams was hit by a car while walking. Biloxi Police found a handgun on the windshield of the car and 16 grams of methamphetamine in Williams’s pocket. Later in November and December of 2017, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Homeland Security Investigations made undercover buys of methamphetamine from Williams.
Williams has prior state convictions for auto burglary, possession of controlled substances and 2 counts of transfer of controlled substances.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Homeland Security Investigations, Gulfport Police, Biloxi Police and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
Bayonne, New Jersey, Police Officer Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Using Excessive Force During Arrest, Filing False ReportRead the Press Release
Also Had Role in Fraudulent $20,000 Home Rehabilitation Loan Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. – A former Bayonne, New Jersey, police officer was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for using excessive force during an arrest, falsifying records in an attempt to conceal his conduct and helping a relative fraudulently obtain a home rehabilitation loan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Domenico Lillo, 48, of Bayonne, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of deprivation of civil rights under color of law and one count of falsifying records to impede a civil rights investigation. Lillo also pleaded guilty to an information charging him with assisting in the filing of a false report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with a federally funded home rehabilitation loan worth $20,000.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On the early evening of Dec. 27, 2013, Lillo and other police officers from the Bayonne Police Department went to an address in Bayonne to arrest a man on a warrant from Sussex County. Lillo admitted that he struck the individual they were arresting in the head with a flashlight while the individual was handcuffed and not resisting arrest, injuring him. Lillo also admitted that he falsified a Bayonne Police Department Use of Force Report related to the arrest with the intent to impede an investigation into the case.
Lillo also admitted that on May 10, 2012, he aided a relative in preparing and submitted a fraudulent HUD application to get a federally funded rehabilitation loan on a home Lillo co-owned.
In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Lillo to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $20,000 to the City of Bayonne.U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacques S. Pierre of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr., Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven G. Sanders of the Appeals Division.
Defense counsel: Frank Arleo Esq. and Thomas Cammarata Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
Anchorage Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Stuart Gregory Ravn, 30, of Anchorage, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of a child – possession of child pornography. Ravn was arraigned this morning before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Smith, and was ordered detained pending trial.
The indictment alleges that on Oct. 23, 2018, Ravn knowingly possessed or accessed with intent to view, by means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce, matter that contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, located on a computer or digital device. It is further alleged that the visual depictions of such conduct were of minors under the age of 12.
If the public has any further information or concerns about the activities of Ravn, please contact the FBI at (907) 276-4441.
If convicted, Ravn faces a statutory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Ravn has a previous conviction with the State of Alaska for possession and distribution of child pornography.
The Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the State of Alaska Department of Corrections, Anchorage Adult Probations conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Alexander and Anne Veldhuis.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In May 2006, DOJ launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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.
Alleged Mexican Drug Dealer Extradited to Southern District of IllinoisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS, Mo., – On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 Armando Medina-Hernandez was extradited from Mexico to the United States by DEA Special Agents and U.S. Marshals to face federal drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of Illinois.
According to the Superseding Indictment unsealed on November 16, 2018, Medina has been charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Medina is accused of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 5 kilograms or more of a mixture or substances containing a detectable amount of cocaine to the Southern District of Illinois and elsewhere.
"This extradition is further evidence of the partnership between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials to bring narcotic traffickers to face the American justice system," according to DEA St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge William Callahan. SAC Callahan and United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft recently met with high-level Mexican Government counterparts in Chicago to discuss efforts to combat Mexican drug trafficking organizations supplying the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area and Southern Illinois. "This extradition is the result of an international partnership where U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials are a unified force committed to combat international drug trafficking," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Steven D. Weinhoeft said. "The US Attorney’s Office is committed to identifying and prosecuting offenders who directly impact the St. Louis Metropolitan area and Southern Illinois, even when we have to cross international borders to apprehend them."
SAC Callahan and US Attorney Weinhoeft credit the DEA agents and prosecutors who tracked the source of supply of the drugs to Mexico. "We are seeing record heroin and fentanyl deaths throughout the St. Louis Metro region and methamphetamine continues to plague the Midwest," explained SAC Callahan. "In this case, our investigation tracked the source of this poison to Mexico, so that is where we went to begin to infiltrate this specific organization. The extradition of Medina back to the Southern District of Illinois is the first step in that direction."
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, that charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
A Federal Grand Jury Returns a 10-Count Indictment on Local Man who Robbed Six Mid-South BusinessesRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A local man has been indicted for six counts of Hobbs Act robbery and four counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the indictment today.
On November 15, 2018, a federal grand jury returned a ten-count indictment against Brandon Albonetti, 23, for the robberies and attempted robberies of several CVS stores and one Burger King during the summer of 2018.
The robberies occurred in Memphis, between June 21, 2018 and August 14, 2018. In a majority of these robberies, Albonetti entered the respective stores armed with a pistol, taking cash and other items from the registers and safes. In two robberies, Albonetti displayed a knife, as he demanded cash. The defendant robbed the CVS located at 786 North Germantown Parkway twice and the CVS at 5055 Stage Road, three times during this time period.
On August 14, 2018, Memphis Police officers quickly responded and apprehended Albonetti as he tried to flee the scene of the CVS on Stage Road, which he had just robbed. The defendant used his vehicle to strike two patrol cars as authorities positioned their vehicles to keep the suspect from escaping.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "We must make it painfully clear that violent crimes committed with firearms have severe consequences, and this indictment does just that. For his repeated and brazen criminal conduct, this violent offender faces up to life in federal prison. We are FED UP with gun crime in Memphis."
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years imprisonment on each robbery count. If convicted of the firearms charges, the defendant faces up to life imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force; Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryce Phillips is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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2nd SKS Associates Doctor Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Dispensing Controlled Substances, Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A prescribing physician with SKS Associates, an opioid treatment facility located in Johnstown, Pa., waived indictment and pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and health care fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Ruth D. Jones, 57, of Bedford, Pa., pleaded guilty to three counts before Chief United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Jones illegally distributed prescriptions for buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance. She also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy with co-defendant Dr. Michael Cash to create and distribute illegal prescriptions for buprenorphine. In addition, Jones pleaded guilty to health care fraud for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare, for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed buprenorphine.
According to the government, Jones and Cash saw on average 43 patients every day for periods lasting no more than three to five minutes. Moreover, the government advised the court that upon execution of a search warrant, investigators located more than 2,000 blank, pre-signed prescriptions with Jones’ or Cash’s signatures.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for March 20, 2019 at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court placed Jones on bond.
Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Michael L. Ivory are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from the following agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.
Sunday 18 November 2018
Wayne County Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexually Abusing a Minor in International WatersRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that on November 15, 2018, United States District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Joshua Morrison, 21, of Wayne County, to 37 months in prison for sexually abusing a minor while aboard a cruise ship in international waters. Morrison was ordered to serve 10 years on federal supervised release after completion of his prison term and will also be required to register as a sex offender.
“Egregious crime,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Child sex offenders belong behind bars and that’s where Morrison is headed.”
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Wasserman is handling the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart
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Friday 16 November 2018
Wright State University Agrees to Pay Government $1 Million for Visa FraudRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Wright State University’s Board of Trustees has accepted responsibility for visa fraud offenses on behalf of the university and agreed to pay the federal government $1 million.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Steve Francis, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, announced the agreement entered into today.
According to the agreement, between 2010 and 2013, Wright State entered into several sponsored research contracts with Webyoga, Inc., a privately held, Dayton-based software company. As part of the contracts, Wright State would employ software engineers, obtain H-1B visas for the employees, and pay their respective salary and benefits as employees of the university.
The H-1B visa program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s or higher degree in a specific specialty. As an institute of higher learning, Wright State was “ cap exempt” from limits on the number of H-1B visas it could obtain, unlike other types of organizations.
Wright State University employed 24 foreign employees – who were selected and approved by Webyoga – through H-1B visas. The university used its “cap exempt” status to apply for the visas. In doing so, Wright State submitted a signed employment offer letter from the university indicating the visa employee would be working for the university and under the supervision of university employees.
Wright State did not disclose in the visa applications that it knew the employees would actually be working for Webyoga. In fact, the university further specified the visa employees would not be working offsite, but would be physically working on the school’s campus in Fairborn.
Rather than develop the software programs named in the contracts, the visa employees worked as consultants on behalf of Webyoga in various cities throughout the country, including Atlanta, Orlando and New York City.
Over the course of the contracts, Wright State invoiced Webyoga for more than $1.8 million for the fees associated with the employees’ visas, the employees’ salaries and benefits, and administrative costs for the university.
Between 2010 and 2015, Wright State also entered into similar arrangements with other companies wherein it would apply for H-1B visas for individuals, knowing the individuals were going to work on a routine basis for another company that would then reimburse the school.
“Visa fraud in higher education undermines the integrity of our immigration laws,” said U.S. Attorney Glassman. “Today’s agreement ensures that will not happen again at Wright State. It also serves as a warning to other institutions that participate in the H-1B visa program that fraud in the administration of the program leads to consequences.”
“The federal agreement ordering Wright State University to admit to H1-B visa fraud violations and pay a $1 million dollar fine is the largest sanction imposed by HSI in Ohio relating to a visa-fraud investigation,” said Steve Francis, special agent in charge for HSI in Michigan and Ohio. “This outcome should serve as a warning to entities who may be seeking to exploit the U.S. Visa process.”
“Wright State University’s agreement to pay $1 million to the Government is a result of a visa fraud investigation that found the university grossly misused the H1-B visa cap exemption. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously pursue those who defraud worker visa programs for their own personal gain,” stated James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Wright State University acknowledges that the placement of H-1B visa employees with other companies and in locations other than Fairborn violated the terms of their visa applications. As a result, the companies who were subject to the numerical H-1B visa limitation were able to use H-1B employees through their contracts with Wright State.
Upon being notified by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the federal investigation, the school’s Board of Trustees immediately addressed the H-1B visa employment issues by removing the faculty and employees responsible for the contracts. This included restructuring key departments such as the General Counsel’s Office and the Department of Compliance in order to insure all existing and future H-1B employee applications comply with all federal laws and regulations.
Glassman added: “Several factors were important in the decision to resolve the matter with Wright State by agreement, rather than prosecution. These factors include Wright State’s immediate cooperation upon being notified by federal authorities of the investigation, the removal or demotion of the responsible employees, Wright State’s remedial measures, including the university’s commitment to audit and compliance, and consideration of the Wright State student body’s wellbeing as part of the public interest.”
The University will pay the federal government $1 million in three installments. The first of those installments is due within 60 days and the second is due within 12 months. The final installment must be paid within 12 months of the second payment.
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Woman Behind Dixon, Vallejo Movie Studio Scams Sentenced to 6.5 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carissa Carpenter, 55, formerly of Malibu, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to six years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $3,642,755 in restitution in connection with her conviction for mail fraud and lying to a federal agent, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, from 1997 until October 24, 2014, Carpenter represented to investors and others that she had a project to build a movie studio in Northern California. As a result of the scheme, investors, firms who did work for Carpenter, and municipalities collectively lost millions on the project.
According to her plea agreement, Carpenter claimed that her projected movie studio complex was supported by well-connected people in the entertainment industry and that she had invested hundreds of millions of dollars of her own money in the project. She also claimed that she had arranged financing for the project but needed investment or bridge loans until the alleged financing was complete. The purported locations of the project varied: El Dorado Hills, north of the Sacramento International Airport in Sutter County, Lathrop, the former naval base on Mare Island in Vallejo, and Dixon, among other places. Additionally, Carpenter represented that reputable architecture, construction, design, and public relations firms were involved in the project, and that she had or was in the process of finalizing the purchase of the land where the studio would be built. As a result, investors gave Carpenter millions of dollars to invest in her studio project.
In fact, Carpenter used investor money to fund her personal expenses and extravagant lifestyle. Contrary to her claims, the Hollywood people were not involved in the project at all or had little involvement. Similarly, the architecture, construction, design, and public relations firms were not involved or had done only preliminary work on the project. Carpenter also did not own or purchase property for the studio.
Further, during the investigation in July 2013, Carpenter told an FBI agent that she told investors that she was going to use their money for personal expenses and that she had used 50 to 75 percent of investor money for the project. These statements were false.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd A. Pickles and Rosanne L. Rust prosecuted the case.
Wilmington Man Sentenced to 252 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced JOAQUIN R. ORTEGA, 36, of Graham, North Carolina, to 252 months imprisonment followed by 60 months of supervised release.
ORTEGA was charged in a five-count Indictment that was issued by the grand jury for the Eastern District of North Carolina on January 12, 2017. The indictment charged him with multiple drug trafficking counts relating to the distribution of crystal methamphetamine and with firearms charges relating to drug trafficking.
In 2015 and 2016, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that primarily operated in Virginia and North Carolina. The DTO was known to distribute large quantities of crystal methamphetamine through multiple distribution points in both Virginia and North Carolina. On September 22, 2016, the DEA and local law enforcement ordered five (5) pounds of crystal methamphetamine from a member of the DTO who lived in Alamance County, North Carolina. When the ordered methamphetamine was being delivered, law enforcement observed ORTEGA and four (4) other individuals in separate vehicles meet the undercover informant in a parking lot before completing the deal. Law enforcement arrested ORTEGA and the other four individuals with whom ORTEGA was working with to make the delivery.
At sentencing, the Court found that ORTEGA was the leader of the DTO who was responsible for supplying and distributing large quantities of crystal methamphetamine throughout the Southeastern United States.
This case was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office through partnership with the Clayton Police Department, Alamance County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brad Knott.
Wilmington Man Sentenced to 190 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced TALIH RIK ANTHONY REEVES, 36, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 190 months imprisonment, followed by 48 months of supervised release.
REEVES was charged in a ten-count Indictment that was issued by the grand jury for the Eastern District of North Carolina on February 22, 2018. The indictment charged him with multiple drug trafficking counts relating to the distribution of heroin, powder cocaine, and cocaine base crack. All of the charged crimes took place in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In early 2017, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Wilmington Police Department conducted multiple controlled purchases of cocaine and cocaine base crack from REEVES and individuals who worked with REEVES. After these controlled purchases and many hours of surveillance, law enforcement took down the REEVES organization on May 25, 2017. In the take down, law enforcement made multiple arrests at two residences, and recovered significant quantities of heroin, cocaine, firearms and cash. REEVES was arrested at a Wilmington Motel where agents recovered over 14,000 bindles of heroin, nearly 700 grams of cocaine, and $19,500.00 in U.S. currency.
This case was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office through partnership with the Wilmington Police Department and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brad Knott.
Whitinsville Woman Charged with Conspiring to Distribute AdderallRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Whitinsville woman was charged in federal court in Boston with multiple drug offenses relating to a conspiracy to distribute the amphetamine Adderall.
Meghan Giacomuzzi, 36, was charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Adderall and six counts of distributing and dispensing Adderall.
According to court documents, Giacomuzzi conspired with others between approximately October 2016 and February 2018 to distribute Adderall, an amphetamine, for uses other than a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of medical practice.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute, dispense, and possess with intent to distribute Adderall carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of distributing, dispensing, and possessing with the intent of distributing Adderall also carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Washington County Businessman Admits Defrauding the IRS and Making a False Declaration in a Bankruptcy ProceedingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH –A resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and of false bankruptcy declaration, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
George Retos, Jr. 70, of Washington, Pa., pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Retos agreed with another individual to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by failing to pay over to the IRS payroll and employer taxes of Prime Plastics, Inc. and Plastic Power, Inc., two companies controlled by Retos. Specifically, to avoid ongoing collection efforts by the IRS related to unpaid taxes of Prime Plastics, Inc., Retos and his co-conspirator arranged for employees of Prime Plastics, Inc. to be transferred to Plastic Power, Inc., which, in turn, also failed to pay employer and payroll taxes to the IRS. The unpaid employer and payroll taxes totaled more than $250,000.
At Retos’ direction, Prime Plastics, Inc. filed for bankruptcy and, in its court filings, stated that there had been no withdrawals from the entity outside the normal course of business during the preceding two years. In fact, Retos was responsible for numerous such expenditures, including thousands of dollars belonging to Prime Plastics, Inc. spent by Retos at casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere.
In addition, Retos accepted responsibility for a charge of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment compensation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for employees of Prime Plastics, Inc. and, later, employees of Plastic Power, Inc. Retos reduced the salaries of numerous employees and instructed them to seek unemployment from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to make up the difference, knowing full well that the employees were ineligible for such unemployment compensation. During the execution of the scheme, Retos siphoned company funds for his personal benefit.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for March 20, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, 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.
Pending sentence, the court released Retos on bond.
Assistant United States Attorneys Mary McKeen Houghton and Eric G. Olshan are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, conducted the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Retos.
Virginia Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Prison for $5 Million Employment Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Collinsville, Virginia, pharmacist was sentenced to 41 months in prison today for failing to account for and pay over employment taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen for the Western District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Jerry R. Harper, Jr., 61, owned and operated Family Discount Pharmacy Inc. (FDP) in Stanleytown, Virginia, with multiple pharmacy locations in Stuart, Rocky Mount, Chatham, and Brosville, Virginia. As owner of FDP, Harper was responsible for collecting and paying over FDP’s employment taxes. From 1998 through 2014, FDP accrued employment tax liabilities of more than $5 million. Harper withheld these taxes from FDP employees’ wages, but did not pay the taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In over 15 years, Harper only filed one quarterly employment tax return with the IRS.
Harper admitted that instead of paying the employment taxes to the IRS, he caused FDP to pay his personal expenses, including the purchase of a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a jet ski. For example, Harper wired over $1 million to his personal bank account, made over $500,000 in stock market investments, spent over $100,000 on his son’s pharmacy school tuition, and purchased over $370,000 of real property in Virginia and North Carolina.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon ordered Harper to serve 2 years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $5,069,555.73 and a fine of $25,000.00. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Cullen commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Allison Garnett, former Tax Division Trial Attorney Daniel McGraw, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlene Day, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
United States Files Suit Against Franklin, Tennessee-Based Pain, MD, LLC and Related Pain Clinics and OwnersRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – November 16, 2018 –U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee announced today that the United States has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against Franklin, Tennessee-based Pain, MD, LLC and related companies, and their owners Michael Kestner and Lisabeth Smolenski Williams. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants knowingly and routinely submitted, or caused to be submitted, false claims to Medicare and TRICARE for single tendon origin or insertion injections (“TOI”) that they knew or should have known were not provided to patients. TOI injections are pain-relieving injections commonly used to treat such tendon related conditions as tendonitis and are not limited by Medicare or TRICARE as to the allowable number billed. In contrast, other treatments, such as trigger point injections are limited to four per year.
According to the complaint, Michael Kestner is a non-practicing attorney with no medical training, who owns, operates and controls MedManagement, Inc. (“MMI”), a management company located in Franklin, Tennessee. Lisabeth Williams is a physician and the Chief Medical Officer and minority owner of Pain, MD. She also served as a supervising physician or medical director for the pain clinics at certain times, with oversight for provision of all of the medical care and services provided by the pain clinics to their patients. MMI manages and has managed Pain, MD, Mid-South Pain Management, P.C.; Cumberland Back Pain Clinic, P.C.; Lebanon Back Pain Clinic, P.C.; Blue Mountain Medical Group, P.C.; Natural Bridge Medical Group, P.C.; and Rock Island Medical Group, P.C.
The United States alleges that from at least 2010 through October 2018, Kestner and Williams devised a scheme to operate interventional pain management clinics in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, and fraudulently bill Medicare and TRICARE for TOI injections that were not actually injections into tendons at all. Through this scheme, Kestner and Williams recruited providers, including mid-level medical providers such as nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, to the pain clinics and trained, pressured, and coerced them into performing high numbers of injections into patients’ back muscles, and then bill for these injections as if they were TOIs. The corporate pressure to meet the targeted goal of being within 15% of the top-biller of TOIs resulted in the pain clinic providers routinely giving patients six to eight injections per visit and sometimes as many as 12 injections into the back muscles, which were then billed as TOIs. During parts of the time period alleged in the lawsuit, patients were required to submit to the injections as a condition of treatment and remaining a patient of the practice. As a direct result of these practices, the defendants, either directly or indirectly, submitted false claims to Medicare and TRICARE and received millions of dollars in reimbursement from federal health care programs to which they were not entitled.
For the period from June 1, 2010 through December 31, 2015, the Medicare program paid the defendant pain clinics approximately $3 million for fraudulent services billed for Medicare beneficiaries treated at the clinics. For the period from March 6, 2014 through October 18, 2018, the TRICARE program paid Pain, MD approximately $288,000 for fraudulent services billed for TRICARE beneficiaries treated at clinics under their control.
Congress established the Medicare Program in 1965 to provide health insurance coverage for people age 65 or older and for people with certain disabilities or afflictions. Medicare Part B covers services like doctors’ and nurse practitioners’ visits and medical supplies. TRICARE (formerly known as CHAMPUS) is a federal health care program that provides health care insurance for active duty military personnel, military retirees, and military dependents.
The case is docketed as United States v. Michael Kestner, et al. (M.D. Tenn.). Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Bowden McIntyre represents the United States. Investigative support is provided by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
United States Attorney Announces Settlement with Anderson County Board of Voter Registration and Elections to Ensure Compliance with Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ----- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today a settlement with the Board of Voter Registration and Elections for Anderson County to ensure accessibility of polling locations to persons with disabilities.
The agreement requires the Board to ensure that every polling site is accessible to persons with disabilities by elections starting in 2019. The Board will provide training to all precinct coordinators on how to install and maintain any temporary measures needed to increase accessibility, such as wheelchair ramps, cones to designate accessible parking, or the placement of mats over thresholds. On Election Day and during early-voting periods, the Board must maintain in working order all facilities and equipment—including lifts, elevators, and ramps—necessary to make polling locations accessible.
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the County’s voting program, including its polling places, must be accessible to voters with disabilities. During the June 2018 primary elections, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Department of Justice reviewed 15 polling places in Anderson County and concluded that many were inaccessible to voters who have mobility impairments.
The Board cooperated fully with the investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in reaching a voluntary settlement agreement, which became effective on November 9, 2018. In response to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s initial findings, the Board expressed its commitment to making all polling locations accessible. It made improvements and continued to do so prior to the Settlement Agreement becoming finalized.
“The right of individuals to participate in our democratic system of government includes full and equal access to polling places for all voters,” said U.S. Attorney Lydon. “This agreement represents an important step toward guaranteeing voting access to all of our citizens. I commend the Board for its commitment to providing equal access to polling places and for recognizing its obligations and moving promptly to take these steps.”
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Sneed of the Greenville office.
Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities, such as the Anderson County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, from discriminating against people with disabilities in their programs, services, and activities. With respect to voting programs, public entities are required to select and use polling places that are accessible. To learn more about the ADA and other laws protecting the rights of voters with disabilities, log on to www.ada.gov/ta-pubs-pg2.htm or call the Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).
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USAO NDTX Weekly Roundup -- 11/16/18Read the Press Release
SENTENCING – Eddie Galindo-Mendez, 44
On Nov. 9, Eddie Estuardo Galindo-Mendez was sentenced to just under 5 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery. He admits that he robbed Lubbock’s Happy State Bank in November 2017. Dressed in a large coat, gloves, hat, and sunglasses, Mr. Galindo approached a teller and handed him a note threatening an active bomb. He then placed what appeared to be a pipe bomb next to the teller’s computer. After the teller surrendered the money, Mr. Galindo took the note and fled on a bicycle, leaving the purported bomb at the bank. (The bomb squad later determined the device – galvanized pipe and wires wrapped in duct tape and connected to a cell phone – was inert.) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms conducted the investigation..PLEA – Michael Asagba, 20
On Nov. 13, Michael Asagba of Mesquite, TX pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of using a firearm, during a crime of violence on November 13. Mr. Asagba admits to a string of food store robberies in Mesquite in late February. He now faces a minimum of 7 years and a maximum of 67 years in prison. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms investigated.INDICTMENT* -- Adrian Martinez, 44
On Nov. 14, a federal grand jury indicted Adrian Martinez, a CPS worker, on one count of enticement of a child. In September, Martinez contacted an undercover officer, who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, through the Skout social networking application and stated that he was looking for a friends-with-benefits situation. He engaged in sexually explicit communications with the undercover officer and asked if the girl would skip school to meet him. They agreed to meet at a Quik Trip in Haltom City on September 25. When Martinez arrived, he was arrested. During his interview later that day, Martinez stated that he had been chatting with five to six underage girls at the time of his arrest. The Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI investigated the case.* An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Two felons plead guilty, one sentenced for possessing firearmsRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES/SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that two felons pleaded guilty and one was sentenced for possession of firearms.
Starks man pleads guilty to possessing three firearms
Ronald Joseph Guillory, 44, of Starks, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter. According to the guilty plea, when Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s officers responded to a disturbance on April 6, 2018 at a home near Vinton, Louisiana, they found Guillory sitting inside of his truck in the driveway. After the officers approached the vehicle, they noticed drug paraphernalia and arrested Guillory. They found a Stevens .16-gauge single-shot shotgun, a Marlin .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle, a Cobra .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol and ammunition on the back seat. Guillory admitted to the officers he was in possession of the weapons. Guillory was convicted in February of 2007 of simple burglary, which is a felony.
Guillory faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for March 25, 2019. The ATF and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly P. Uebinger is prosecuting the case.
Felon from Plain Dealing pleads guilty to possessing shotgun
Johann Gary Barnes, 47, of Plain Dealing, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. According to the guilty plea, Benton police pulled over Barnes’ pickup truck on January 29, 2018. During a search of the truck, officers noticed a small amount of marijuana in the center console and found a loaded sawed-off shotgun at the foot of the driver’s seat. Barnes was convicted on March 1, 2004 in Caddo Parish for possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I drug, and was also convicted on September 27, 2005 for possession of a firearm by a felon.
Barnes faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for February 28, 2019. The ATF and the Benton Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.
New Iberia felon sentenced for possessing firearm purchased at Lafayette store, later used in video
Jaymie Williams, 22, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the August 22, 2018 guilty plea, Williams was present when a Century Arms, Model RAS47 firearm was purchased on March 11, 2018 at a sporting goods store in Lafayette. After the firearm was purchased, Williams possessed it on numerous occasions and featured it in one of his music videos entitled “BG Flow.” In the video, Williams handled the firearm in many scenes, and confirmed that the firearm in the video was the actual RAS47 and not a prop. He also possessed the firearm on April 18, 2018 when he entered a Lafayette gun shop with the firearm in his hands. Williams was convicted of a felony in 2017 that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
The ATF and Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.
Thes cases were brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Justice Department has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, PSN was reinvigorated and all U.S. Attorney’s Offices were directed to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
Two Men Plead Guilty to Defrauding the United States Regarding the Immigration, Visa, and Employment LawsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Asher Sharvit, age 29, formerly of New York, New York, and Oren Sharvit, age 28, formerly of Dover, Delaware, pleaded guilty yesterday to recruiting and hiring aliens for their Maryland business for purposes of profit. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Asher Sharvit to 36 months and Oren Sharvit to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the offense.
Rona Zhfani, who was indicted with them, has pleaded not guilty.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Edwin Guard of U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Washington Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Robin Blake of Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Washington, D.C. Regional Office.
According to the defendants’ plea agreements, Asher Sharvit, Oren Sharvit, and Rona Zhfani operated multiple businesses in Maryland and elsewhere, including Unlimited Treasures. Inc. Unlimited 13 Corp., Deja Vu Cosmetics, and BH Distribution Group LLC (collectively ''Unlimited''). Deja Vu sold wholesale cosmetics with an emphasis on products originating from the Dead Sea region of Israel. Unlimited purchased product for resale from Deja Vu. The Defendants' Companies often used the trade names Deja Vu and BioXage when opening stores and selling products.
They knowingly agreed to recruit, hire, employ, house, and transport aliens who did not have lawful authority to work in the United States.
The defendants understood that the United States required foreign citizens desiring to work in the United States to obtain specific authorization and provide truthful information in support of their requests. Nevertheless, they intentionally hired aliens lacking lawful authority and assisted some of them in obtaining visitor visas and visitor visa extensions.
Pursuant to their plea agreements, the defendants admitted that the conspiracy lasted from approximately 2008 to 2017, and was motivated by commercial gain, i.e. maximizing the revenue and profit of Unlimited. The co-conspirators recruited aliens overseas to travel to the United States on visitor visas to work, caused the employees to work in the United States without lawful authority, and encouraged and assisted some of the aliens in making materially false statements in visa applications, visa extensions and other documents required by the immigration laws. The co-conspirators paid the aliens on a commission basis, with no deductions for taxes, social security and other required employee deductions.
The defendants admitted that the conspiracy involved the unlawful employment of more than 100 aliens who lacked the authority to work in the United States and involved the transportation or harboring of a minor. Asher Sharvit further admitted that he obstructed justice in February 2017 by participating in the destruction of Unlimited documents. In an effort to destroy evidence of the conspiracy, Asher Sharvit sent messages with another Unlimited employee and co-conspirator, resulting in the destruction of more than 25 boxes of materials at a commercial shredding location.
The court has set a trial date for Rona Zhfani in March 2019.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DSS, HSI, and DOL-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry Gruber, and Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting the federal case.
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Two Keshena Men Sentenced for Firearms Offenses on the Menominee Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Bobby Joe Sanapaw (age: 33) and Jeremy Fish (age: 34), both of Keshena, recently received sentences after convictions for firearms offenses on the Menominee Indian Reservation. The sentences were the result of July 12, 2018, guilty pleas entered by both men before Chief United States District Judge William C. Griesbach. Sanapaw was placed on probation for a period on one year on October 31, 2018 after a conviction for Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun. Fish was sentenced on November 9, 2018 to 18 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release after a conviction for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
The investigation revealed that on July 12, 2017, Fish armed himself with a rifle and provided Sanapaw with a short-barreled shogun in order to confront residents at a nearby home about the neighbors’ dog. After entering the neighbors’ home and indicating a desire to kill the dog, Fish fatally shot the dog. The two fled the area after one of the residents retrieved a handgun. The resident shot and seriously wounded Sanapaw.
In sentencing Fish and Sanapaw, Chief Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of the offense. Chief Judge Griesbach also noted that the combination of alcohol and firearms led to a “catastrophe,” and observed the need to deter others who might consider similar actions in dealing with neighbors.
The case was investigated by the Menominee Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier.
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For additional information contact:
Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig at 414 297-1700
Two Jamestown Residents Charged with Witness RetaliationRead 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 a federal grand jury has indicted Bobby Hunt, Jr., 26, and Amy Dean, 29, both of Jamestown, NY, on charges of conspiracy to retaliate against witnesses, witness retaliation, and taking action harmful to a witness. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Astorga and Emmanuel Ulubiyo, who are handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on or about October 25, 2018, the defendants threatened to and caused bodily injury to an individual in retaliation for information relating to the commission of a federal offense given to a law enforcement officer.
The defendants were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder and are being held pending a detention hearing on November 20, 2018, 10:45 a.m.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Harry Snellings, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt.
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.
Two District Men Sentenced to Prison Terms for Crime Spree in the District of Columbia and MarylandRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - David Sutton, 22, and Dacquan Gregory, 20, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms on charges stemming from a broad daylight, 100-minute crime spree that included the theft of a car and three armed robberies and that finally ended with a car crash that seriously injured a woman.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Both men were found guilty on Aug. 14, 2018, of one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery, theft, and unauthorized use of a vehicle to commit a crime of violence, two counts each of armed robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses. Sutton also was found guilty of charges of aggravated assault while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The Honorable Ronna L. Beck sentenced Sutton to a prison term of 18 years and Gregory to 11 years of incarceration. Following their prison terms, each defendant will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, the chain of events began at about 3:55 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2016. At that time, Sutton and Gregory stole a running Nissan Rouge SUV in the 3400 block of Holmead Place NW. They then used that vehicle to approach three victims with a firearm, robbing them at gunpoint. The robberies took place within just 25 minutes in the 1400 block of Rock Creek Church Road NW, the 1400 block of Tuckerman Street NW, and the 700 block of Sheridan Street NW.
Following these crimes, Sutton and Gregory drove into Maryland, where they tried to rob a former police officer in Mount Rainier at gunpoint. He was able to disarm them and take the magazine out of the gun. They then fled back into the District of Columbia, where they ran red lights and stop signs, and sped through a residential area. They finally crashed into another vehicle at about 5:35 p.m. in the 2600 block of 18th Street NE. The driver of the car they struck was a woman on her way home from work; she was transported to the hospital and had her spleen, gallbladder and part of her liver removed. She was in the hospital for two weeks.
Gregory was found by police within minutes of the crash, crawling on the ground, with a gun on him. Sutton was arrested three days later. Both have been in custody ever since.
Video surveillance captured the vehicle traveling throughout the city, and surveillance video showed defendant Sutton following one victim into his apartment building. DNA evidence tied the defendants to the robberies and the Nissan Rogue.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences and the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department.
They commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Keil and Melissa Jackson, who investigated and prosecuted the case. Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of those who provided assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Rosen and Ahmed Baset; Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa; Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith and Anisha Bhatia, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames.
Two Defendants Sentenced for Narcotics Conspiracy and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced today that ANDRE STAGGERS, a/k/a “Dre,” age 44, and GREGORY LONDON, JR., a/k/a “Lil Gregg,” age 43, were sentenced Wednesday, November 14, 2018 after having been convicted after a five-day trial that was held in August 2018 before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon. STAGGERS and LONDON were two of four defendants who were convicted.
STAGGERS, a resident of LaPlace, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and five hundred grams or more of cocaine, along with firearms charges. Judge Lemmon sentenced STAGGERS to a term of life imprisonment plus five years. The additional five-year sentence was mandatory for having been convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
LONDON, also of LaPlace, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and use of a communications facility in furtherance of drug trafficking. Judge Lemmon sentenced him to 120 months in prison and eight years of supervised release.
According to evidence presented at trial, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an investigation from January 2015 through February 2016, concerning distribution of cocaine and heroin in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes. The federal investigation, which was conducted in coordination with state and local law enforcement, resulted in the seizure of nearly one kilogram of heroin along with scales, money counters, firearms, and over $480,000.00 in cash.
The sentencing of two other defendants who were convicted at trial, COREY SESSION, age 44, of St. Rose, and LEONARD MORRISON, a/k/a “Leonard London,” age 36, also of St. Rose, is scheduled for November 29, 2018, before Judge Lemmon.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the conviction as the result of a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program. The DEA’s HIDTA Group #11, operating out of the New Orleans Field Division, includes members from DEA, U.S. Border Patrol, Louisiana State Police, St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Gretna Police Department, Kenner Police Department, and St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office. U.S. Attorney Strasser extended his thanks to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for their assistance in this investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne, Brittany L. Reed, and David Howard Sinkman handled the prosecution and trial. Also assisting in the prosecution was Special Assistant United States Attorney Andre Gaudin, who is assigned from the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office to the DEA HIDTA Group.
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Two Bozeman men sentenced for discharging lead contaminated wastewater into public sewer systemRead the Press Release
MISSOULA—Two operators of USA Brass, Inc., a former Bozeman company that cleaned and recycled spent ammunition casings, were sentenced this week in U.S. District Court after they admitted to illegal discharges of lead contaminated water into a public sewer system, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced.
Chief U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen on Thursday sentenced Zachary Daniel Flanagan, 27, of Bozeman, to five years of probation and imposed a $50,000 fine.
On Friday, the judge sentenced co-defendant Nolan Michael Schimpf, 27, of Bozeman, to five years of probation and imposed a $50,000 fine.
Flanagan, the chief executive officer, pleaded guilty on Aug. 9, 2018 to making a false statement, a felony, while Schimpf, the company’s chief production officer, pleaded guilty the same day to negligent discharge of pollutants, a misdemeanor.
“The defendants violated the city’s wastewater pretreatment program when they discharged lead contaminated wastewater into the public sewer system,” said Jeffrey Martinez, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigative Division in Montana.
“Defendant Flanagan falsified information to obtain permission for the discharges, and in doing so jeopardized the public’s health and safety. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that violators can expect to face prosecution,” Martinez said.
An investigation found illegal discharges into the City of Bozeman’s public wastewater treatment system occurred in the fall of 2013. USA Brass brought in spent ammunition casings from military bases, shooting ranges and recycling centers, cleaned and polished the brass casings and then sold them for reuse. The casings were placed in cement mixers where they were cleaned in a water and vinegar solution. After cleaning, the wastewater was drained from the cement mixers and collected in blue totes, which held about 300 gallons each. During the cleaning process, the wastewater became contaminated with lead, which is a toxic metal. The lead in the wastewater was high enough to be considered a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.
In November 2013, Flanagan contacted by email Dustin Johnson, the pretreatment coordinator of the Bozeman wastewater facility, to try to get permission for USA Brass to discharge lead wastewater into the city sewer system. Johnson told Flanagan he would have to get the wastewater analyzed and submit test results. Flanagan submitted lab test results and a signed wastewater survey in which he maintained the information about the cleaning process was true and accurate. Flanagan asked to dispose of the wastewater through the sewer saying it met all city standards.
Flanagan followed up the request in December with another email to Johnson seeking approval to dispose the wastewater through the sewer and told him that an environmental analyst who reviewed the lab results said it would be fine to send the wastewater down the sewer.
However, Flanagan’s statements to Johnson were false because he knew that an environmental consultant had not reviewed the lab results and concluded the wastewater would be fine for discharge to the public system.
On the same day in December, Johnson responded to Flanagan’s email and, based on Flanagan’s false statements, authorized the discharge of the lead wastewater into the sewer system.
When Johnson learned that Flanagan had provided him false information, he told investigators he would never have granted the company permission to discharge the wastewater.
The investigation also found that in September 2013, USA Brass installed a sink in the facility to dispose of the lead wastewater into the city sewer system. Employees reported that the blue totes containing the wastewater were moved to the sink on a forklift and the contents were pumped into the sink until the totes were empty. A filtration system was abandoned after a few days because it got clogged.
Flanagan and Schimpf were present on more than one occasion as the wastewater was being pumped down the sink but neither stopped the discharge or sought permission for the discharge.
By being present and doing nothing to stop the unauthorized discharges, Schimpf negligently causing the wastewater to be discharged.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Whittaker and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric E. Nelson and investigated by the EPA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot represented the U.S. Attorney’s Office at sentencing.
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Two Alleged Associates of Gambino Organized Crime Family Indicted for Arson and ExtortionRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Peter Tuccio and Jonathan Gurino with arson and arson conspiracy, extortion and extortion conspiracy and using fire to commit a felony. The defendants were arrested today and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants delivered a frightening message in the form of fire to force a businessman to pay protection money to a high-ranking gangster,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Today’s charges against two alleged crime family associates demonstrate that whether you are a made member or a young associate looking to advance in a crime family, the end result is the same – prosecution and prison.” Mr. Donoghue thanked the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Investigation for their assistance in the investigation.
“Organized crime families have long relied on extortion and threats of violence in exchange for so-called ‘protection,’” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “As alleged, the defendants set a man's car on fire to send a message, but now they are the ones feeling the heat as they face justice for their crimes. As long as organized crime families and their associates continue to act outside the law, the FBI and our partners will investigate and bring charges against them.”
As alleged in court filings, a captain in the Gambino Organized Crime Family (referred to herein as Co-Conspirator-1), had been extorting a local businessman $400 per year. During 2015, the businessman began dodging Co-Conspirator-1 to avoid making payments. On December 3, 2015, Tuccio, Gurino and Gino Gabrielli observed the businessman leave a smoke shop in Howard Beach and drive away. The three men followed at a high rate of speed and confronted him outside a pizzeria. Tuccio asked, “how’s Co-Conspirator-1?” and commented on the business owner’s car, a 2014 Mercedes Benz. The businessman fled into the pizzeria. Later that night, the businessman heard a loud noise and saw that his car was on fire. Shortly thereafter, the businessman paid Co-Conspirator-1. As detailed in court filings, the businessman’s home security video system had recorded Gabrielli pouring a substance on the Mercedes, the car erupting in flames, and Gabrielli running away with his pant leg on fire. Shortly thereafter, Gabrielli and Tuccio were caught on surveillance video entering Jamaica Hospital.
Gabrielli pleaded guilty to arson in August 2016.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants each face a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorney Nadia E. Moore is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
PETER TUCCIO
Age: 25
Queens, New YorkJONATHAN GURINO
Age: 25
Queens, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-610 (LDH)
Tohono O’Odham Nation Man Charged with Multiple Counts of AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging ADRIAN JOSEPH VALDEZ, 33, with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.[1] VALDEZ was previously charged via federal compliant on October 18, 2018. He made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Jon T. Huseby in U.S. District Court on October 24, 2018.
According to documents filed with the court, including a law enforcement affidavit, on August 10, 2018, law enforcement responded to a call from a female who reported an ongoing incident at a residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Responding officers found a man, who later identified himself as ADRIAN JOSEPH VALDEZ, walking down the driveway. VALDEZ, who had blood on his arm, stated, “I stabbed them, handcuff me and take me to jail! I’m a bad guy, take me to jail.” VALDEZ was taken into custody at the Red Lake Detention Center.
According to documents filed with the court, including a law enforcement affidavit, responding officers found two stabbing victims at the residence who were taken to the hospital. Witnesses reported that after drinking alcohol together, a disagreement turned into a physical fight, and VALDEZ began stabbing one of the victims. A second man who attempted to break up the fight also was stabbed by VALDEZ.
During a post-Miranda interview, VALDEZ admitted to getting into a fight and subsequently stabbing the two identified victims. VALDEZ is a member of the Tohono O’Odham Nation tribe located in Southwestern Arizona.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Department of Public Safety and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.
Defendant Information:
ADRIAN JOSEPH VALDEZ, 33
Tohono O’Odham Nation, Ariz.
Charges:
- Assault with a dangerous weapon, 2 counts
- Assault resulting in serious bodily injury, 2 counts
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.