Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Monday 5 November 2018
U.S. Attorney Shappert Announces the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Solicitation and Encourages Interested Agencies and Organizations to ApplyRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) grant solicitation for the Virgin Islands PSN initiative. The U.S. Virgin Islands PSN Task Force was recently awarded a grant of $ 64, 458 from the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to support local law enforcement efforts and projects contributing to violence prevention and intervention. The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for this initiative. Local law enforcement agencies/departments, social service-providing entities, non-profit organizations, neighborhood associations, community boards, religious institutions, and schools are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to projects that strengthen community outreach and engagement within the Territory’s public housing communities where large numbers of violent crimes are occurring. Applicants will be expected to describe how their efforts will support one or more of the PSN priorities, such as effective intervention and outreach to support public safety in public housing communities, to include the Bovoni Public Housing Community. To submit an application for consideration, interested persons must complete the online forms available here. For law enforcement agencies, applications are sent to http://bit.ly/PSNLEEgrantapp and for agencies and organizations applying to support outreach and prevention efforts, applications should be sent to http://bit.ly/PSNOPgrantapp. The deadline for applications in November 18, 2018.
"The grant solicitation process is an important component of our PSN strategy in the Territory," Shappert said. "This is a process by which interested law enforcement agencies, local public service agencies, non-profits and other community organization can receive funding to optimize their public safety and community outreach efforts. We are grateful for our collaboration with CFVI in this initiative."
Individuals with questions about the grant solicitation process can contact CFVI Grants and Programs Manager Khadija De Lagarde at [email protected] or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Dunavant | How we are reducing gun crimes in Memphis Michael Dunavant, Guest Columnist Published 4:52 p.m. CT Oct. 31, 2018, Commercial AppealRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN - The first Executive Order issued by President Trump in February 2017 was to reduce crime and restore public safety to communities across the nation.
Under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nation’s 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Department of Justice have responded and charged the largest number of violent crime and firearm defendants in its history in FY 2018.
Since taking office last September, I have made prosecution of gun crimes in the federal system a top priority. Under our violence reduction strategy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has dramatically increased the number of firearms prosecutions filed, and seeks maximum sentences on firearms offenses because guns are a common denominator in many violent crimes, including murder, robbery, drug trafficking and aggravated assault.
During FY 2018, the Western District of Tennessee ranks No. 1 among all 25 medium districts in the country and No. 1 among all 9 districts in the 6th Circuit for number of firearms and violent crime cases and defendants filed. The office also ranks 6th among all districts in the nation in firearms prosecutions. The Department of Justice is open for business, and it shows.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a proven violent crime reduction strategy that works, and is now reinvigorated with additional resources and commitment from our partners at the ATF, Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
Since October 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has increased the number of federal firearms cases filed by over 58 percent, and the number of defendants charged with firearms offenses has increased over 68 percent.
These efforts provide targeted prosecution of the worst-of-the-worst offenders in order to enhance public safety in Memphis and West Tennessee by removing guns from the hands of dangerous people and removing violent offenders from our communities. We are imposing real consequences for criminal behavior, and it shows.
Our enhanced PSN Task Force also utilizes the full range of available data, methods, and advances in technology to identify the locations with significant violent crime issues (hot spots) and the offenders that are driving violent crime there ("trigger-pullers and traffickers").
On Sep. 24, the DOJ awarded over $1.1 million in grant funding to Memphis to hire personnel to utilize the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), to purchase technology required to operate a Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) and ammunition for ballistic tests of recovered weapons, and to provide for enhanced Justice information sharing technology for the collection, storage, sharing and analysis of criminal justice data. We are getting smarter about firearms investigations, and it shows.
While we have dramatically increased our output (number of prosecutions), we know that focus is only meaningful if it results in better outcomes -- reduction in violent crime rates. I am happy to report that, as expected and proven in the past, more firearms prosecutions actually works to lower violent crime rates.
In the first three quarters of 2018, Memphis and unincorporated parts of Shelby County reported 3,659 gun crimes, which represents a 17.3 percent decrease from the same period in 2017, when 4,422 such crimes were reported.
The reduction in reported crimes with guns is consistent with the reduction in reported violent crimes.
During the first nine months of this year, reported violent crimes in Memphis were down in the major categories of murders (down 17.6%), robberies (down 12.4%), rapes (down 18.2%), and domestic violence incidents (down 11.1). Even aggravated assaults remained flat, with only a slight increase of 1.9%. We are achieving better public safety results, and it shows.
Under PSN, we have also stepped up our prevention of additional violence by engaging in increased and consistent public awareness efforts. With the "Fed Up" campaign that communicates that Gun Crime is Max Time, we are warning people of real consequences. With our adult and juvenile Ceasefire program, we are educating young people in our communities to make wise future choices.
Partnering with the ATF, the "Don’t Lie for the Other Guy" campaign seeks to prevent straw purchases of firearms for felons. And with our increased media releases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is telling the public about federal indictments, convictions, and sentences that create general and specific deterrence. We are sending a strong message, and it shows.
These sustained decreases in reported gun crimes and major violent gun crime categories are encouraging, and shows that our return to proven enforcement policies under PSN is working. Putting the right people in prison incapacitates the most violent offenders, upholds the rule of law, deters criminal conduct with a strong message of significant consequences, and makes us all safer. We are on the right track, and it shows.
D. Michael Dunavant is United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
U.S. Attorney Appoints District Election Officer to Lead District's Election Day ProgramRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – United States Attorney Dayle Elieson announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Allison Reese has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Nevada, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington. As DEO, AUSA Reese will lead the District’s efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 6, 2018, general elections.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
“Few things are more important than a citizen’s right to cast a ballot on Election Day without fear of interference or discrimination. Nevadans can be confident that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will work to protect the integrity of the election process,” said U.S. Attorney Elieson.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to make their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 8, 2016, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, U.S. Attorney Elieson stated that AUSA/DEO Reese will be working hand-in-hand with the FBI in this District while the polls are open. If there are complaints or concerns about Election Day, the public should contact the FBI who will have special agents in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The FBI Las Vegas field office can be reached at (702) 385-1281 or at TIPS.FBI.GOV.
United States Attorney Elieson said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in part on the electorate’s cooperation. Those who have information about discrimination or election fraud should immediately contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office or the FBI.”
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC, by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
###
Two Bloomington, Ill., Men Arrested, Charged with Conspiring to Distribute Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – Raymone Stephens and Khalil Rhasad Hood, both of Bloomington, Ill., have been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine in the Bloomington area. Stephens, 30, of the 1100 block of Ekstam Dr., and Hood, 23, of the 700 block of Fairmont Dr., were arrested on Nov. 2, 2018, and made their initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley.
Judge Hawley today ordered Stephens to remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A detention hearing is scheduled on Nov. 8, for Hood. A preliminary hearing for both is scheduled on Nov. 16.
The complaint charges the men with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine. If convicted, the offense carries a statutory penalty of five years to 40 years in prison; if a defendant has one or more prior felony drug convictions, the penalty is 10 years to life in prison.
The charges are the result of an ongoing investigation by the Bloomington Police Department’s Vice Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Illinois State Police Tactical Response team, the U.S. Marshals Task Force, and the Bloomington Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team assisted in the arrests and execution of related search warrants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam W. Ghrist is representing the government in the prosecution in federal court in conjunction with the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Members of the public are reminded that a complaint is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Topeka Man Sentenced in Pizza Parlor Drug RingRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking organization that operated out of a pizza parlor, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Michael Price, 43, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted he was part of a drug trafficking ring headed by co-defendant Adolfo Barragan-Rodriguez, who ran the operation from a Pronto Pizza restaurant he owned in Topeka.
In his plea, Price admitted he bought methamphetamine from co-defendant Michelle Belair and then sold it. He also assisted Belair and Barragan-Rodriguez with distributing methamphetamine.
Barragan-Rodriguez and Belair already were sentenced. He was sentenced to 180 months and she was sentenced to 156 months.
McAllister commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Topeka Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Skip Jacobs for their work on the case.
Three Florida Men Plead Guilty in Connection with Multi Million Dollar Fraud Scheme Against the Xerox CorporationRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that David Haynes, Kyle Haynes, and Bryan Day, all of Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford involving a scheme to defraud the Xerox Corporation of more than $20,000,000. Kyle Haynes and Bryan Day pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false tax return. David Haynes pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the tax charge carries a maximum of penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who is handling the case, stated that the defendants reside near Daytona Beach, Florida. Another co-conspirator Robert Fisher, owns RBM Imaging, an authorized reseller of Xerox office equipment. The three Florida defendants own Haynes Brother Furniture in Daytona, along with another co-defendant Jason Haynes.
Xerox, which has a location in Webster, NY, sells and leases office equipment, including printers. Xerox sells or leases the office equipment directly to end-user customers or to authorized resellers, like Fisher, who then resell or lease the office equipment to end-user customers, like the defendants. The office equipment requires toner and other products to operate. End-user customers order the toner for their printers from Xerox. Rather than pay Xerox upfront for the toner, the end-user customers pay Xerox based on the number of prints made with the toner. However, at all times, the toner belongs to Xerox until consumed by the end-user customers. At no time may the end-user customers sell the toner.
Kyle Haynes and Bryan Day set up a sham company, HDH Graphics, to obtain approximately 63 Xerox printers from Fisher. Although HDH Graphics made few, if any, prints with the printers, the defendants fraudulently represented to Xerox that HDH Graphics was making prints, using much more toner than the industry average, which deceived Xerox into shipping approximately $25,000,000 worth of toner to HDH Graphics. The defendants then sold the fraudulently obtained toner for approximately $11,000,000 to an individual in Miami, Florida. Kyle Haynes, Bryan Day, and Fisher shared the profits from the fraudulent sale of the Xerox toner.
In executing the scheme, the defendants repeatedly misrepresented to Xerox that they were making millions of prints with the toner, even though they never took most of the printers out of their boxes. The defendants provided Xerox with false usage profiles from the printers and false print samples that made it appear that the defendants were making the millions of prints and using much more toner than the industry average for each print.
The defendants also filed false personal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for the years 2008 through 2013. Their personal tax returns failed to report net income earned by HDH Graphics from the fraudulent sale of the Xerox toner. Because HDH Graphics was a partnership, all of its net income flowed through to the defendant’s personal tax returns. Therefore, the underreporting of the net income on HDH Graphics tax returns resulted in the underreporting of the income on the defendant’s personal tax returns.
The defendants underreported the net income earned by HDH Graphics by falsely claiming that they had personally paid and incurred travel and shipping expenses on behalf of HDH Graphics. The defendants then had HDH Graphics reimburse them for the falsely claimed expenses and falsely reported such expenses as deductions on HDH Graphics tax returns. The falsely reported deductions on HDH Graphics tax returns were approximately $265,154. As a result, approximately $66,288.50, should have flowed through as income to the defendant’s personal tax returns.
As part of their plea agreement, the defendants will forfeit millions of dollars in funds and assets that were previously seized by the government.
“It’s often said that money is the root of all evil, and in this case, it was certainly the root of the defendants’ criminal behavior,” said U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “These defendants worked, plotted, and schemed to steal millions of dollars from a business that has been a solid corporate citizen in our community. When individuals like these seek to enrich themselves by stealing from a business, both the business and consumers end up paying the price—through lower profits and higher costs.”
“Financial fraud schemes like this not only rob the government of vital revenues, they also penalize businesses who typically pass on losses to the consumer in the forms of higher prices, which is why we must hold the operators of these schemes accountable,” said Kevin Kelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI Buffalo. “HSI special agents dedicated to uncovering financial fraud will continue to aggressively investigate those who seek to blatantly disregard the law for their own financial gain.”
Charges remain pending against Robert Fisher and Jason Haynes. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The pleas are the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigation, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of James Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2019, a 2:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.
# # # #
Taos Man Sentenced to Five Years for Federal Armed Bank Robbery ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joaquin Romero, 30, of Taos, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison for his conviction on an armed bank robbery charge. Romero will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
Romero was arrested on Jan. 13, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the People’s Bank located inside a supermarket at 710 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, in Taos on Jan. 10, 2016.
Romero was subsequently charged in a three-count indictment on Jan. 27, 2016, with armed bank robbery, brandishing and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to the indictment, Romero committed the crimes on Jan. 10, 2016, in Taos County, N.M. Romero was prohibited from possessing firearm or ammunition on Jan. 10, 2016, because of his prior felony conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
During today’s proceedings, Romero pled guilty to armed bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Romero admitted that on Jan. 10, 2016, he robbed the People’s Bank branch with a working shotgun by walking up to a bank teller’s window, “racking” his gun twice to make clear that he was robbing the bank through violence, shoved a bank customer aside, grabbed money from the bank teller’s counter and left the bank with money and the shotgun.
Romero remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Taos Police Department and the Taos County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Seminole Hard Rock CasinoRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Dirk Lawrence Davis (25, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to robbery and to brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 7 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has been set for February 6, 2019.
According to court documents, on February 2, 2018, Davis entered the poker room of the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. He walked up to the teller window, brandished a firearm, and stated, “I don’t want to cause a scene. Give me hundreds.” The teller complied, giving Davis $20,000 in cash. Davis fled the casino on foot. Surveillance cameras captured the robbery. Multiple friends and family members of Davis identified him to law enforcement after seeing the surveillance footage on the news.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Seminole Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
TSA Employee Sentenced to 15 years in Prison for Attempted Production of Child Pornography and Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
Gary Linder, Jr., a TSA employee, was sentenced in federal court on Friday to fifteen years in prison for enticing a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity and attempting to produce child pornography.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Thomas J. Jones, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and W. Howard Harrison, Chief, Plantation Police Department, made the announcement.
Gary Linder, Jr., 27, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged with attempted production of child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity in violation of, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and 2422(b). Linder pled guilty to both charges on July 26, 2018. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom sentenced Linder to fifteen years’ imprisonment, followed by fifteen years of supervised release.
According to court records, in February 2018, Linder initially began communicating with an eleven-year old female child via text message. The child’s telephone was turned over to law enforcement. Over the course of the next several months, Linder discussed sexually explicit content with the individual he believed to be the minor child via text message. On several occasions, Linder requested nude photos of the minor child engaged in sex acts.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, including the FBI Miami Child Exploitation Task Force, and the Plantation Police Department. U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan also thanked the Coral Springs Police Department and Miramar Police Department for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi L. Anton.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Syracuse Man Sentenced for Attempting to Have Sex with A MinorRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Charlie P. Conant, 27, of Syracuse, NY, who was convicted of attempted online enticement of a minor, was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison and 25 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that on February 27, 2018, an undercover New York State Police Investigator (UC) discovered a personal ad traced to the defendant on a Syracuse, NY, website that appeared to be targeting minors for sex. Posing as a 12-year-old female, the UC began communicating with Conant who asked for pictures. Communication between the UC and Conant continued via text message, as the defendant also asked for more pictures including naked photos.
On May 15, 2018, the defendant sent text messages to the UC indicating that he wanted to meet with the child in Seneca Falls, NY, for the purpose of having sex. On June 14, 2018, the defendant traveled to Seneca Falls to meet the UC while “the minor’s” grandmother was supposedly at work. After Conant arrived, he was arrested.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eric Laughton, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
# # # #
Sonoma County Resident Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Passport Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Ronald Victor Solakian was sentenced to 30 months in prison for making a false statement on a passport application and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Special Agent in Charge Matthew Perlman of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) San Francisco Field Office. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Susan Illston, United States District Judge.
Solakian, 70, pleaded guilty to the charges on August 17, 2018. According to the plea agreement, Solakian admitted that on March 23, 1995, and in August of 2004, and on September 25, 2017, he applied for a United States passport using the name and date of birth of another person. Solakian admitted he used this method of applying for a passport because he did not want his true identity to be known. According to court filings, on September 23, 1994, Solakian was charged in the Central District of California with conspiracy to import marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He failed to appear for a jury trial in that case and, according to his filings, “has lived in the Sonoma County area for the past 20 years prior to being arrested.”
On February 15, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted defendant (as John Doe), charging him with two counts of making a false statement in a passport application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A. On February 16, 2018, DSS agents arrested Solakian and his true identity as a federal fugitive from the Central District of California (CDCA) was discovered. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Solakian pleaded guilty to one count each of making a false statement and identity theft. The charges against him in the CDCA were dismissed on August 2, 2018.
In addition to the prison term, on Friday, November 2, 2018, Judge Illston ordered the defendant to serve a year of supervised release and to pay a fine of $5,000. Defendant has been in custody since his arrest and will begin serving the sentence immediately.
Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kimberly Richardson. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DSS.
Serial Check Thief Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDWARD WILLIAMS, 58, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to bank fraud and identity theft offenses stemming from a mail theft and check cashing scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Williams stole checks in a variety of ways and altered or filled out the checks to make them payable to him, his co-conspirators, or stolen identities that he has used.
The victims of this scheme include a Windsor resident who had written a check payable to American Express, mailed the check with his American Express bill, and later discovered that the check had been altered and cashed for $985.30; a West Hartford couple who had left a holiday card containing a $15 check for their newspaper delivery person outside of their mailbox, and later discovered it had been altered and cashed for $870; a West Hartford resident who learned that she had a box of checks she ordered stolen after Williams attempted to cash one of the checks for $400; and an individual who had personal checks stolen from a book he kept at his business, and was subsequently informed that Williams had deposited four of the checks totaling more than $5,000 into a bank account Williams had opened.
In total, between August 2016 and June 2017, Williams, or his co-conspirators, successfully cashed $33,756.07 in fraudulently obtained checks. He, or others working with him, also attempted to cash $16,068.96 in fraudulently obtained checks.
Williams pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and one count of aggravated identity theft, and offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years. A sentencing date is not scheduled
Williams has been detained since his arrest on October 18, 2017.
Williams’ criminal history includes numerous convictions, including convictions for forgery, larceny and burglary offenses.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of several police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarala V. Nagala and Elena L. Coronado.
Rochester Woman Pleads Guilty to Assisting in Fentanyl TransactionRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Tasha Loaiza, 25, of Rochester, pleaded guilty in federal court to aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 17, 2018, Loaiza met with a cooperating individual, and directed the individual to an address in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, Loaiza introduced the cooperating individual to a third person, from whom the individual bought a quantity of fentanyl.
Loaiza is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2019.
“Fentanyl trafficking is a complex criminal activity that often involves many individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Those who participate in the distribution of this deadly drug will be held accountable for their conduct. In order to maintain public safety and the quality of life in New Hampshire, we will work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who are responsible for selling fentanyl and other deadly opioids.”
“This case shows the seriousness the FBI places on the upward trend of opioid addiction here in New Hampshire. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and arrest those responsible for illegally distributing synthetic opioids in our neighborhoods at the expense of the law-abiding people who live in them,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Dronzek.
###
Red River Army Depot Contractor Guilty of Assaulting Police OfficerRead the Press Release
TEXARKANA, Texas – A 32-year-old Red River Army Depot contractor has pleaded guilty to assaulting a Red River Army Depot Police Officer in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Dontrell McChester, of Hooks, Texas, pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline M. Craven.
According to information presented in court, on Sep. 11, 2018, McChester attempted to enter the Red River Army Depot in his vehicle when Red River Army Depot Police Officers at the main gate smelled the odor of marijuana coming from his vehicle. Officers directed McChester to exit the vehicle for further inspection. While officers were conducting that inspection, McChester ran from officers, re-entered the vehicle, and attempted to drive away. McChester began kicking an officer, who was struggling with him to stop the vehicle. While attempting to flee, McChester drove the vehicle in a manner that could have easily killed or seriously injured the officers at the scene. Officers were finally able to restrain McChester by using pepper spray. The assaulted officer received injuries and was also pepper sprayed during the altercation.
Under federal statutes, McChester faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Red River Army Depot Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan R. Hornok and Allen Hurst and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ivor Jorgensen.
####
Project Charleston: Investigation into Drug Trafficking on Charleston's West Side Nets Several Arrests and Seizure of Large Quantities of Fentanyl, Heroin and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Charleston and Akron Drug Network Shut Down
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced several arrests today of drug traffickers operating between Charleston, West Virginia, and Akron, Ohio. The multi-state Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) is responsible for distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Joining United States Attorney Stuart in the announcement were Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) David Gourley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Resident Agent in Charge Matthew Perry, Charleston Police Chief Steve Cooper, Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford and Chief Deputy Sheriff Greg Young, Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Chris Leachman, as well as representatives from the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
Today’s arrests are the result of a long-term investigation led by DEA and MDENT into Eugene Wells, a poly-drug distributor from Akron, Ohio, and other members of his drug trafficking organization located in Charleston. Multiple individuals have been charged in federal criminal complaints. During the course of the investigation, investigators made controlled purchases of methamphetamine and heroin from the Wells DTO and identified a drug stash house on Charleston’s west side.
On September 28, 2018 DEA agents and MDENT officers executed a search warrant on Miranda Brandon’s residence on Charleston’s West Side, leading to the arrest of Wells, Brandon and Sherry Gray. The search of Brandon’s residence resulted in the seizure of over 600 grams of suspected fentanyl, approximately 1,400 grams of heroin and over 700 grams of methamphetamine. Brandon, Gray, and Wells were each present at Brandon’s residence when the warrant officers executed the warrant. Each has a prior felony conviction, and each is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearm. Police, however, recovered four guns from Brandon’s residence. Agents with DEA’s Cleveland District Office also executed a warrant on Wells’ Akron residence on September 28, recovering over 400 grams of heroin and four firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) provided assistance during the investigation.
“287,000 people. 287,000,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “If the fentanyl in this case had hit the streets, it could have been a disaster. I grew up with the three “R’s” – reading, writing and the road map to Akron. Now it’s time for reading, writing and the roadmap back to Akron. For Eugene Wells and his trafficking buddies, Akron is no longer an option. If convicted their roadmap heads directly to the federal pen. I want to thank all of my federal, state and local partners who participated in today’s actions including the excellent investigative work of the DEA and MDENT. I also want to thank my prosecution team led by Assistant United States Attorneys Matt Davis, Drew Inman and John Frail.”
The arrests and seizures relating to the investigation are as follows:
- Multiple individuals have been charged by criminal complaint in the Southern District of West Virginia with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine;
- Over 600 grams of suspected Fentanyl were seized;
- Approximately 1400 grams of heroin were seized;
- Over 700 grams of methamphetamine was seized;
- Over $12,000 in United States Currency was seized; and
- 8 guns were seized.
“When I announced Project Charleston a little more than a month ago, I promised swift and certain action on Charleston’s West Side,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Promise made. Promise kept. I intend to continue to focus federal resources on ridding the West Side of criminal elements, violent crime, drug thugs, and hooligans that cause chaos, fear and despair for law abiding families. The days of lawlessness on the West Side are soon to end. A basic human right is to live safely and peaceably in your home and community. We will maintain a sense of urgency until every violent element is incarcerated or driven out of Charleston. If you are a drug dealer or criminal operating within Charleston’s West Side and we did not arrest you today, do not think for a moment that we aren’t aware of you. We have more operations ongoing at this moment than at any time in the history of the West Side. Let me be absolutely clear, if you are dealing drugs or causing trouble on Charleston’s West Side, we will arrest you and, if convicted, incarcerate you as long as possible.”
“The partnership between the Charleston Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office under Mike Stuart has never been stronger,” said Police Chief Steve Cooper. “Together we are making community in the capital city safer, one block at a time.”
“DEA remains committed to bringing violent drug traffickers to justice,” said DEA Assistant Special in Charge David Gourley.
The investigation is ongoing and could result in additional federal and state charges in the future.
Please Note: The charges contained in the criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
###
Philadelphia Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing Meth, Cocaine and a PistolRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Pennsylvania man was indicted on October 16, 2018, by a federal grand jury in Johnstown, on charges of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The three-count indictment named John T. Terry, 43, of Philadelphia, Pa.
According to the indictment presented to the court, on April 4, 2018, Terry possessed with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine. Also, on April 4, 2018, he was found in possession of a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. On June. 2, 1998, Terry was convicted in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, which is a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Federal law prohibits persons who have been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing firearms. Terry is also charged with possessing that same firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The law provides for a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of $10,500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Arnold Bernard, Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police, Somerset Turnpike Barracks, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Terry.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Patient Recruiter Convicted in $1.1 Million Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
On Friday, Nov. 2, a federal jury found a patient recruiter guilty for her role in a scheme involving approximately $1.1 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for home health care that were procured through the payment of kickbacks.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Timothy Slater of the FBI’s Detroit Division, Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Detroit Office, made the announcement.
Sophia Eggleston, 56, of Detroit, Michigan, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks and two counts of receipt of health care kickbacks following a three-day trial. Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 6, 2019 before U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman of the Eastern District of Michigan, who presided over the trial.
According to evidence presented at trial, from 2009 to 2012, Eggleston and her co-conspirators engaged in an illegal kickback scheme to defraud Medicare of approximately $1.1 million through fraudulent home health claims. The evidence showed that Eggleston solicited and received kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to serve as patients at a home health agency owned by her co-conspirators. Eggleston’s co-conspirators then submitted claims to Medicare for home health services that were purportedly provided to those beneficiaries.
The FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Stephen Cincotta and Howard Locker of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.
Palm Beach County Resident Pleads Guilty to Possessing Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine with Intent to Distribute and Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Lucius Brown III, 35, of Riveria Beach, pled guilty today to possessing fentanyl and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), made the announcement.
According to the court docket, including the agreed upon factual proffer, on June 8, 2018, PBSO deputies conducted a traffic stop in Lake Worth, Florida. Law enforcement smelled the odor of marijuana and found Brown to be in possession of narcotics. During arrest processing, deputies learned that Brown may have left his one-month old baby alone in a hotel room. Based on their concerns for the safety of the child, law enforcement went to the hotel and entered Brown’s hotel room. Inside the hotel room, they found cocaine and marijuana in plain-view on a desk and Brown’s baby lying face down on the bed. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed in the hotel room and other items, including fentanyl and materials for drug distribution, were discovered. Additionally, located in the desk near the sleeping baby was Brown’s semi-automatic pistol, containing six rounds of ammunition. A hollow-point round was in the chamber of the firearm.
Brown had previously been convicted of several felony offenses and was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced to by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on January 31, 2019 at 10 a.m. He faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years for the narcotics conviction. Because Brown qualifies as an armed career criminal, he faces a mandatory minimum term of fifteen years in prison for being a felon in possession. These sentences can be imposed consecutively.
This case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises. This case is part of OCDETF’s strategic initiative to combat heroin and opioid related addiction and drug trafficking and results from the collective enforcement efforts of Operation Strike Out and Operation White Dragon.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of the DEA and PBSO in this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Chase.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Opa-Locka Resident Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Possession of an Unregistered FirearmRead the Press Release
An Opa-Locka resident was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in federal prison, after having been convicted at trial of possession of an unregistered firearm.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Daniel Giustino, Chief, Pembroke Pines Police Department, made the announcement.
On February 9, 2017, Adrian Tremayne Wilson, 39, of Opa-Locka, was convicted at trial by a federal jury of possession of an unregistered firearm, commonly referred to as a sawed-off shotgun, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(d) and 5871. Yesterday, United States District Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Wilson to 63 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to court records, including evidence presented during the defendant’s trial, on June 12, 2016, an officer of the Pembroke Pines Police Department approached Wilson inside a Speedway gas station and convenience store intending to issue traffic citations to him. Before Wilson pulled into the gas station, he had been observed speeding and committing other traffic infractions. When the officer asked Wilson for his driver’s license, Wilson began cursing at the officer, calling him a racist, claiming he was being harassed, and he refused to provide his driver’s license, which at the time he had in his pocket.
The officer told Wilson that if he refused to produce his driver’s license, he would be arrested. Wilson replied, “Then arrest me.” After Wilson was arrested, the officer impounded his vehicle. During a routine inventory of the contents of Wilson’s vehicle, the officer discovered a firearm located next to the driver’s seat. The firearm was loaded with four 12 gauge shotgun shells, one of which was in the firing chamber. The firearm was not registered to Wilson in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by law.
This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of ATF and the Pembroke Pines Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Nurse sentenced for taking fentanyl for personal useRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – The U.S. Attorney’s office announced today that on Nov. 2, Donald Friedlich Mills, III, a nurse who admitted stealing fentanyl, a highly addictive and dangerous synthetic opioid pain reliever, for his own use, was sentenced to a five-year term of probation with six months in home confinement.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the hearing.
Mills, 33, of Billings, pleaded guilty on May 22 to tampering with consumer products and to acquiring fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery and deception. There was no plea agreement.
The investigation began on March 21, 2017, when the Billings Clinic, where Mills worked, notified the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that it had lost 200 mL of fentanyl from employee pilferage. In a recorded interview with DEA on March 28, 2017, Mills, after being advised of his rights, said he had neck pain and anxiety and thought he could self-medicate through injections.
Mill told law enforcement officers he started taking fentanyl and replacing it with saline beginning in February 2017 and ending on March 13, 2017, when he was confronted about discrepancies.
Mills further told officers that he would divert fentanyl most times that he worked, remove the fentanyl from the vials and replace it with saline. He said that if the case was his, he made sure the patients got a full vial along with whatever he had switched.
DEA took into evidence suspected tampered vials of fentanyl, syringes and vials labeled as saline. The evidence included 22 packages of fentanyl suspected of having been tampered. A DEA lab tested 15 of the packages and found that no fentanyl remained inside them.
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Godfrey said Mills could have taken the fentanyl without replacing it with saline but that would have led to the tampering being discovered sooner. “The defendant chose to be deceptive and replace the fentanyl with saline water in order to continue to have access to the drug, knowing the risk it would pose to patients,” Godfrey said.
AUSA Godfrey prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the DEA.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, “This is a serious crime. By replacing fentanyl with saline, Mills put patients at risk of not having their severe pain properly treated. In addition, diverting fentanyl from its intended use can have lethal consequences to a community. Thankfully, that did not occur in this case. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Godfrey, the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, for their successful investigation and prosecution of the case, after being alerted to the theft of fentanyl by Billings Clinic.”
“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care,” said Lisa
L. Malinowski, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Los Angeles Field Office. “We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with drugs needed by their patients, especially when such tampering causes unnecessary pain and suffering.”
DEA Resident Agent-in-Charge Stacy Zinn-Brittain stated, “DEA is committed to working this type of investigation to keep patients safe during medical procedures. We appreciated Billings Clinic’s cooperation in working with DEA on this investigation.”
XXX
November 6, 2018, ElectionsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Irene Gonzalez will lead the efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 6, 2018, general election. AUSA Gonzalez has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
United States Attorney Strasser said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, 2018, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Strasser stated that AUSA/DEO Gonzalez will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. She can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: 504-680-3077.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 504-816-3000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
United States Attorney Strasser said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
New Milford Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that WILLIAM F. ANDERSON, 50, of New Milford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to one count of tax evasion.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Anderson owns several companies, including W.F. Anderson, LLC, a landscaping and excavation business based in Danbury; 1959, LLC; Retaining Wall Solutions; Wil-Rent; and Jacobs Creek Farm, LLC. In pleading guilty, Anderson admitted that he failed to pay more than $1.2 million in federal income taxes for the 2007 through 2014 tax years. Anderson committed multiple acts of evasion including, using business income to purchase cashier’s checks to keep income out of his accounts, conducting structured transactions to avoid the filing of Currency Transaction Reports (“CTRs”), and misrepresenting on a form that was filed with the IRS in May 2015 that he had less than $1,000 in a business checking account when, in fact, he had written checks for tens of thousands of dollars shortly before the submission of that form to conceal those assets from the IRS.
Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (“CTR”) for currency transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000. Structuring involves the repeated depositing or withdrawal of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements.
Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport on January 28, 2019, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Anderson also has agreed to cooperate with the IRS to pay all outstanding taxes, interest and penalties.
This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
Navajo Man from Albuquerque Pleads Guilty to Failing to Update Sex Offender RegistrationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Erick McDonald, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.
McDonald was charged by indictment on Aug. 28, 2018, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration from Oct. 30, 2017 through April 21, 2018, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, McDonald pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. In its proffer of evidence, the United States indicated that McDonald is required to register under SORNA because of his conviction on July 17, 2013, for two counts of abusive sexual contact. At sentencing, McDonald faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence pursuant to his previous conviction. McDonald remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.
Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Abuse ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Theisman Tsosie, 26, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Pueblo Pintado, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a child abuse charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Tsosie will be sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Tsosie was arrested on Feb. 23, 2018, and charged in a federal criminal complaint with slapping and kicking a six-year-old Navajo child requiring that the victim be sent to the hospital. According to court documents, the victim suffered multiple injuries including: a complex occipital skull fracture, bruising on the face, abrasion on the left hip, bruise on the inner thigh, scab on the scalp, bruise on the left ear, linear bruise with quality of an overlying abrasion on the right cheek and jaw, scab on the chin, bruise on the right cheek, injured lip with bruising, bruise under the left nostril, bruise under the nasal bridge, bruise with abrasion under the left eye, bruise with abrasion on the left forehead and left eyebrow area, and a large left posterior flank contusion.
Tsosie was subsequently indicted on March 13, 2018, and charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm. According to the indictment, Tsosie committed the offense on Feb. 21, 2018, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Tsosie pled guilty to an information charging him with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Tsosie admitted that on Feb. 21, 2018, he pushed and hit a child under the age of 16-years, resulting in the victim sustaining a fractured skull and other contusions and abrasions.
Tsosie remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison Jaros and Kyle T. Nayback 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/.
Mitzi Bickers arraigned on new bribery charge relating to Mississippi pay-to-play schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Mitzi Bickers has been charged in a superseding indictment with an additional bribery charge relating to an alleged Jackson, Mississippi pay-to-play scheme. In April 2018, Bickers was charged with 11 other federal offenses, including conspiring to commit bribery, wire fraud, money-laundering, federal obstruction and tax fraud. The federal grand jury investigating this matter returned the superseding indictment on October 22, 2018.
“Bickers allegedly provided flights, limousines, hotel rooms, expensive food and entertainment to Jackson’s mayor and other city officials in an attempt to secure lucrative government contracts,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Her plans eventually unraveled though when she publically bragged that the mayor promised her the contracts and she just needed to ensure the paperwork looked good enough.”
“It is vitally important that government contracts go to the most qualified bidders through a fair and transparent process,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities, and along with our partners in law enforcement, we will not tolerate those who try to circumvent proper government procedures.”
“This latest indictment represents a pattern and practice when it comes to Bickers’ political activities of pay-to-play,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS- Criminal Investigation. “We are going to continue our efforts and we will not leave a stone unturned until all those who have engaged in corrupt political practices for personal gain are brought to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: In February 2014, the former mayor of the City of Jackson died in office. As a result of the incumbent mayor’s death, the City of Jackson held a Special Mayoral Election in the spring of 2014. In March and April 2014, Bickers assisted a candidate with his campaign for mayor of the City of Jackson. On April 22, 2014, the candidate (“Mayor”) was elected Mayor of the City of Jackson.
Beginning in March 2014, Bickers allegedly hosted parties and paid for food, airline flights, hotels, chauffeured car services, entertainment, fundraisers and campaign services for the Mayor and other City of Jackson officials in an effort to influence and reward these public officials, all in an effort to secure government contracts. Elvin R. Mitchell, Jr. helped to fund many of these activities. Mitchell was convicted in this case of conspiring to bribe City of Atlanta officials and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Bickers then allegedly met with the Mayor and other City of Jackson officials to discuss city contracts. In May 2015, as she was preparing to submit a contract proposal, Bickers met with a city official. During this meeting, she allegedly bragged that the Mayor had promised her the city contract and that she simply needed to ensure that her paperwork looked good enough to pass muster. In June 2015, Bickers teamed with another company and ultimately submitted a proposal for work relating to Jackson’s Wastewater Consent Decree Program Management Services Contract.
Mitzi Bickers, 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine; Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section Jeffrey W. Davis; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Sanders are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Mexican National Residing in Merced County Pleads Guilty to Large Toxic Marijuana Grow in Sequoia National ForestRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Maximiliano Farias-Martinez (Farias), 49, a Mexican national residing in Stevinson, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to cultivate marijuana, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Farias supervised Jose Manuel Sanchez-Zapien (Sanchez), 38, of Dos Palos, who delivered supplies to growers at a marijuana cultivation site in the Sequoia National Forest. The drop point has been used numerous times in the past to supply marijuana growers in the Slick Rock Creek drainage. Law enforcement officers found over 20,000 marijuana plants at the site.
The cultivation operation caused significant damage to public land. Approximately three acres were stripped of vegetation and the ground was terraced to accommodate the marijuana plants. Large amounts of ammonium nitrate and other fertilizers were found at the site. Insecticide containers were found scattered around the site and trash was scattered throughout the grow site. The cost to clean up the area is $8,665. Farias has agreed to make restitution to the Forest Service in that amount.
Farias is scheduled for sentencing on January 22, 2019, in federal court in Fresno by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd. He faces a minimum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, along with a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Earlier this year, Sanchez pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to the Forest Service.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Office of Investigations of Social Security Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET). Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Media Advisory -- United States Attorney Mike Stuart and Law Enforcement Partners to Hold Press Conference TodayRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart will hold a press conference today, Monday, November 5, at 10:30am, to discuss significant law enforcement actions.
WHO: United States Attorney Mike Stuart, Southern District of West Virginia
Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Gourley, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Chief Steve Cooper, Charleston Police Department
Chief Deputy Sheriff Greg Young, Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department
Resident Agent in Charge Adam Black, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Resident Agent in Charge Matthew Perry, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Leachman, United States Marshals Service
Other Law Enforcement Officials
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Monday, November 5, 2018 @ 10:30am
WHERE: U. S. Attorney’s Office
Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse
300 Virginia Street, Room 400
Charleston, WV
Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart
###
Maysville Man Sentenced to 240 Months for Drug Trafficking that Resulted in Fatal OverdoseRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – Iseral Jordan Grayson, 24, of Maysville, Ky., was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison, by United States District Judge David L. Bunning, for drug distribution that resulted in an overdose death.
Grayson pled guilty in March 2018 and admitted that he conspired with others to distribute controlled substances that caused the death of Jazlyn Dudley. Specifically, Grayson obtained heroin and other drugs in Cincinnati and brought it back to Maysville, Kentucky, to use and distribute on September 29, 2016. He distributed some of the drugs that evening to multiple individuals, including Jazlyn Dudley. The drugs contained heroin and fentanyl and caused Ms. Dudley to suffer a fatal overdose.
Under federal law, Grayson must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for five years.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, jointly made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Tony Bracke.
MS-13 Member Sentenced to over 20 Years in Prison for Role in 2015 MurderRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston on charges of racketeering conspiracy involving murder.
Jose Andrade a/k/a “Inocente,” 27, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Denis Saylor IV to 268 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Andrade will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In March 2018, Andrade pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO, and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Andrade was a member of the Everett Locos Salvatrucha, or ELS clique, of MS-13. As part of his plea, Andrade admitted that his racketeering activity, on behalf of MS-13, including his involvement in the murder of a teenager who was associated with MS-13 and wrongly suspected by the gang of cooperating with law enforcement. On July 5, 2015, the victim was murdered in Lawrence by Josue de Paz, a/k/a “Gato,” and another MS-13 member. Evidence showed that Andrade was involved in planning the murder and shared the intent to have the victim killed. The evidence also showed that Andrade was part of the original plan to kill the victim, but was unable to participate in the murder because he was arrested in June 2015. The gang then recruited de Paz to commit the murder.
Andrade was also charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana after evidence revealed that he and other MS-13 members distributed marijuana on behalf of the gang.
On July 8, 2015, de Paz was arrested in Somerville in a raid that resulted in the recovery of a firearm, several large knives, photographs of MS-13 members flashing gang signs, and a large volume of MS-13 paraphernalia, including blue and white hats, bandanas and rosary beads. De Paz pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy involving murder and is awaiting sentencing.
Andrade was one of 49 defendants convicted as part of this case. All nine defendants who went to trial were convicted and 40 others pleaded guilty. In all, 16 defendants, including de Paz, were found to have committed or knowingly participated in murders.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today. The U.S. Marshals Service has provided crucial assistance with the case.
KCK Man Who Sold a Pound of Meth a Week Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas City, Kan., man who admitted selling a pound of methamphetamine a week was sentenced Monday to 13 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Joseph L. Cornejo, 30, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. When investigators served a search warrant at his home in the 5000 block of Parkview, they found methamphetamine, almost $2,000 in cash and nine firearms including handguns and rifles. Cornejo told investigators he had been selling about a pound of methamphetamine a week and sometimes he traded meth for guns.
McAllister commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for their work on the case.
Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws on Election DayRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced its Election Day plans for the Nov. 6, 2018 general election. The Civil Rights Division will monitor compliance with the federal voting rights laws by deploying personnel to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states.
“Voting rights are constitutional rights, and they’re part of what it means to be an American,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “The Department of Justice has been entrusted with an indispensable role in securing these rights for the people of this nation. This year we are using every lawful tool that we have, both civil and criminal, to protect the rights of millions of Americans to cast their vote unimpeded at one of more than 170,000 precincts across America. Citizens of America control this country through their selection of their governmental officials at the ballot box. Likewise, fraud in the voting process will not be tolerated. Fraud also corrupts the integrity of the ballot.”
State and local governments have primary responsibility for administering elections in the United States. The Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot on Election Day. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Division has regularly monitored all kinds of elections in the field around the country throughout every year to protect the rights of all voters, and not just in federal general elections. On Nov. 6, the Division again will be monitoring in the field around the country.
On Election Day, the Division staff members will be available all day by telephone to receive complaints from the public related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767 or TTY 202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and by a complaint form on the Department’s website: www.justice.gov/crt/votercomplaint.
Allegations of election fraud are handled by the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country and the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Complaints may be directed to the local U.S. Attorneys’ Office or local FBI office. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/find-your-united-states-attorney. A list of FBI offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
Complaints related to disruption at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local election officials (including officials in the polling place). Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. These complaints should also be reported to the Department after local authorities have been contacted.
On Election Day, the Civil Rights Division plans to deploy personnel to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states to monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws:
- Bethel Census Area, Alaska;
- Dillingham Census Area, Alaska;
- Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska;
- Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska;
- Apache County, Arizona;
- Cochise County, Arizona;
- Maricopa County, Arizona;
- Navajo County, Arizona;
- Sacramento County, California;
- San Mateo County, California;
- DeSoto County, Florida;
- Palm Beach County, Florida;
- Pinellas County, Florida;
- Fulton County, Georgia;
- Gwinnett County, Georgia;
- Buena Vista County, Iowa;
- Ford County, Kansas;
- Lowell, Massachusetts;
- Malden, Massachusetts;
- Clark County, Nevada;
- Washoe County, Nevada;
- Middlesex County, New Jersey;
- Union County, New Jersey;
- Erie County, New York;
- Benson County, North Dakota;
- Rolette County, North Dakota;
- Texas County, Oklahoma;
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island;
- Buffalo County, South Dakota;
- Harris County, Texas;
- Tarrant County, Texas;
- Waller County, Texas;
- San Juan County, Utah; and
- Fairfax County, Virginia.
The Civil Rights Division will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act; whether jurisdictions permit a voter to receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter has a disability or is unable to read or write; whether jurisdictions provide polling locations and voting systems allowing voters with disabilities to cast a private and independent ballot; whether jurisdictions comply with the voter registration list requirements of the National Voter Registration Act; and whether jurisdictions comply with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act. Division personnel will also maintain contact with local election officials.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Acts. The Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote. Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act and about how to file a disability related complaint can be found at www.ada.gov. The Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.
Last week, the Justice Department announced efforts to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process. More information about the federal voting rights laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws on Election DayRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced its Election Day plans for the Nov. 6, 2018 general election. The Civil Rights Division will monitor compliance with the federal voting rights laws by deploying personnel to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states.
“Voting rights are constitutional rights, and they’re part of what it means to be an American,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “The Department of Justice has been entrusted with an indispensable role in securing these rights for the people of this nation. This year we are using every lawful tool that we have, both civil and criminal, to protect the rights of millions of Americans to cast their vote unimpeded at one of more than 170,000 precincts across America. Citizens of America control this country through their selection of their governmental officials at the ballot box. Likewise, fraud in the voting process will not be tolerated. Fraud also corrupts the integrity of the ballot.”
State and local governments have primary responsibility for administering elections in the United States. The Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot on Election Day. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Division has regularly monitored all kinds of elections in the field around the country throughout every year to protect the rights of all voters, and not just in federal general elections. On Nov. 6, the Division again will be monitoring in the field around the country.
On Election Day, the Division staff members will be available all day by telephone to receive complaints from the public related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767 or TTY 202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and by a complaint form on the Department’s website: www.justice.gov/crt/votercomplaint.
Allegations of election fraud are handled by the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country and the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Complaints may be directed to the local U.S. Attorneys’ Office or local FBI office. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/find-your-united-states-attorney. A list of FBI offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
Complaints related to disruption at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local election officials (including officials in the polling place). Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. These complaints should also be reported to the Department after local authorities have been contacted.
On Election Day, the Civil Rights Division plans to deploy personnel to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states to monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws:
- Bethel Census Area, Alaska;
- Dillingham Census Area, Alaska;
- Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska;
- Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska;
- Apache County, Arizona;
- Cochise County, Arizona;
- Maricopa County, Arizona;
- Navajo County, Arizona;
- Sacramento County, California;
- San Mateo County, California;
- DeSoto County, Florida;
- Palm Beach County, Florida;
- Pinellas County, Florida;
- Fulton County, Georgia;
- Gwinnett County, Georgia;
- Buena Vista County, Iowa;
- Ford County, Kansas;
- Lowell, Massachusetts;
- Malden, Massachusetts;
- Clark County, Nevada;
- Washoe County, Nevada;
- Middlesex County, New Jersey;
- Union County, New Jersey;
- Erie County, New York;
- Benson County, North Dakota;
- Rolette County, North Dakota;
- Texas County, Oklahoma;
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island;
- Buffalo County, South Dakota;
- Harris County, Texas;
- Tarrant County, Texas;
- Waller County, Texas;
- San Juan County, Utah; and
- Fairfax County, Virginia.
The Civil Rights Division will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act; whether jurisdictions permit a voter to receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter has a disability or is unable to read or write; whether jurisdictions provide polling locations and voting systems allowing voters with disabilities to cast a private and independent ballot; whether jurisdictions comply with the voter registration list requirements of the National Voter Registration Act; and whether jurisdictions comply with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act. Division personnel will also maintain contact with local election officials.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Acts. The Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote. Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act and about how to file a disability related complaint can be found at www.ada.gov. The Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.
Last week, the Justice Department announced efforts to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process. More information about the federal voting rights laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Jury Convicts Walterboro Man of Federal Narcotic and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Charleston, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Marion Katrell Campbell, 38, of Walterboro, South Carolina, was convicted in federal court of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence presented at the trial established that on July 8, 2017, Campbell was the driver and sole occupant of a car stopped by officers with the Walterboro Police Department for a defective headlight. Campbell was placed under arrested for driving with a suspended license and failure to pay multiple traffic citations, and a K9 search was conducted on his vehicle. After the K9 alerted, officers searched the vehicle and discovered a loaded .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver under the driver’s seat, extra ammunition on the driver’s side floorboard and in the driver’s door, plastic bags containing methamphetamine in the driver’s door and center console, and additional plastic baggies used for packaging drugs for distribution on the front passenger seat and in the passenger door. In total, five plastic bags containing 42 prepackaged smaller bags of methamphetamine were found in the car. The total net weight of the methamphetamine was a little less than 37 grams.
After Campbell was arrested, he placed numerous phone calls to his friends and family from jail trying to convince other people to claim the firearm found in the vehicle that night. He also openly discussed how much he was paying for his drugs and boasted about the quality. The Government’s expert in drug trafficking was able to explain to the jury how the prices he quoted and the terms he used showed the conversations were about methamphetamine.
Campbell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston presided over the trial and will sentence Campbell after receiving and reviewing a presentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Walterboro Police Department and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted pursuant to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone’s longstanding partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office to target career criminals in Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Colleton, and Allendale Counties in federal court. Solicitor Stone stated, “The partnership between our office and the United States Attorney’s Office has been tremendously successful and continues to make the 14th Circuit a safer place to live.”
This case was also prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is 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. Attorney General Jeff Sessions 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, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001. Special Assistant United States Attorney Carra Henderson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Schoen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charleston prosecuted the case.
#####
Judge Sentences Businessman for Defrauding the City of San Antonio with Respect to an Alamodome Janitorial Services ContractRead the Press Release
In San Antonio this morning, 54-year-old Geoffrey Comstock, owner and operator of the Frio Nevado Corporation (Frio Nevado), was sentenced on his conviction for overbilling the City of San Antonio by more than $350,000 for janitorial services at the Alamodome announced United States Attorney John F. Bash and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden.
United States District Judge David C. Guaderrama sentenced Comstock to 25 months imprisonment followed by a three year supervised release term. Judge Guaderrama also ordered Comstock to pay $358,454 in restitution.
On December 13, 2017, a jury convicted Comstock of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six substantive counts of wire fraud. Testimony during trial revealed that from 2002 to 2016 Frio Nevado had a contract to provide janitorial services to the City of San Antonio at the Alamodome on a daily basis and for special events. Between June 2014 and January 2016 Comstock implemented a scheme to submit fraudulent invoices to the City of San Antonio that inflated the number of man hours of janitorial work performed at the Alamodome. A contract review in 2016 by the City of San Antonio Financial Department revealed that in July 2015 Comstock began preparing, or directed other employees to prepare and submit, timesheets that did not accurately reflect the names of employees, number of employees, or number of man hours expended to justify the previously submitted false invoices. Based upon those fraudulent invoices the City of San Antonio overpaid Frio Nevado by more than $350,000. The jury acquitted Comstocks’s former billing coordinator, 58-year-old Anna Becerra, of all charges.
“This sentencing serves as a real warning to those who defraud the financial system for personal gain,” said Shane Folden, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio. “HSI is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to pursue thieves such as Mr. Comstock who brazenly enrich themselves through fraud. Today’s sentence clearly holds the defendant accountable for his actions while providing the San Antonio taxpayers some relief from the fraud he committed.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case with the cooperation of the City of San Antonio. Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory Surovic and Bud Paulissen prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.Illegal alien indicted for attempting to send prohibited rifle scope to MexicoRead the Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis – Josh J. Minkler, the United States Attorney, announced today that ALFREDO DIMAS-LEYVA, a Mexican citizen illegally in this country, has been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for multiple crimes, including attempting to send a rifle scope to Mexico.
According to court documents, DIMAS-LEYVA placed false information on a United States Customs Declaration on August 20, 2018 when he attempted to mail a Field & Stream 4x32 telescopic sight to an individual in Mexico. Such items are prohibited for export to Mexico, due to the state of violence in that country.
DIMAS-LEYVA was encountered and arrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at his place of employment in Brownsburg. During his arrest, DHS Agents discovered that DIMAS-LEYVA is a convicted felon who had been previously deported from this country and was using multiple false identity documents to illegally work and stay in this country.
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.
In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the office’s firm commitment to utilize and partner with law enforcement agencies to prosecute illegal immigration cases, to prosecute our most violent criminals and focus local prosecutions on illegal gun possession. See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan Section 1.8, 2.2 and 2.9.
###
Hungarian Nationals Charged with Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced the filing of a bill of information on Wednesday, October 31, 2018 charging two Hungarian nationals with aggravated identity theft.
The bill of information charges DANIEL TANASE, age 39, and GABRIELLA TEKSE, age 31, with one count each of aggravated identity theft. Should they be convicted, they each face a mandatory term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum $250,000.00 fine, and up to one year of supervised release.
According to court documents, the defendants were arrested after an investigation initiated by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office based on reports that two individuals were attempting to use stolen debit card information to withdraw money at ATMs in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. Members of the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force arrested the defendants on June 19, 2018, at an Airbnb in Jefferson Parish where they were found with $32,612.00 in cash and approximately 81 gift cards that had been encoded with stolen bank account information.
U.S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that the bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Strasser also praised the agencies that contributed to this bill of information. This prosecution represents a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force. The Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department, and the New Orleans Police Department. Additionally, U.S. Attorney Strasser thanked the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
Holly Springs Man Sentenced to over Four Years in Federal Prison under Project EJECTRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Marquavius Dewante Morrow, 25, of Holly Springs, was sentenced Friday by Chief United States District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to fifty-four months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for carjacking, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Morrow, also known as "Peanut," was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.
On November 8, 2017, Morrow and Gathern McClain carjacked a victim at knifepoint near the Regions Bank ATM located at 947 North State Street in Jackson. The victim later identified Morrow in a photo lineup. Each of the defendants confessed to their involvement in the carjacking. McClain was sentenced in July to eighty-four months imprisonment for his involvement in the crime.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Jackson Police Department. It is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together." PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Head of Stock Trading Operation Was Sentenced Today to 30 Months in Prison for Trading on Inside InformationRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – The owner and operator of a stock trading operation was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for trading on inside information related to confidentially marketed stock offerings as part of a multimillion-dollar insider trading scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Steven Fishoff, 61, of Westlake Village, California, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to Count Four of an indictment, charging him with securities fraud. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On numerous occasions between May 2010 and August 2013, Fishoff, Ronald Chernin, Steven Costantin, Paul Petrello, and Joseph Spera short sold the securities of numerous public companies, on the basis of inside information obtained by Fishoff and others acting with or on behalf of Fishoff.
For each of these offerings, Fishoff or one or more of the day traders that he employed —including his friend, Chernin, and his brother-in-law, Costantin — entered into confidentiality or “wall-crossing” agreements as representatives of Fishoff’s trading entities, whereby they agreed not to disclose or trade on inside information concerning the offerings, such as the name of the issuers and the timing and pricing of the transactions, and were “brought over the wall” for the narrow purpose of determining whether to purchase the offered securities.In breach of the confidentiality and trading restrictions of the wall-crossing agreements, Fishoff tipped Petrello and Spera (who is identified as CC-1 in the indictment), either directly or through Petrello, with the inside information about the confidentially marketed offerings — specifically, advising them of the stock trading symbols of the companies, and the timing and sometimes the pricing of the upcoming offerings.
Fishoff shorted the stock of the public companies, including Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based on the inside information, in anticipation of a drop in the stocks’ price when the stock offerings were disclosed to the public. Fishoff and his co-defendants traded through the accounts of their respective trading entities or through related accounts that they controlled, shorting the securities and covering the short positions after the stock offerings were publicly announced.
By trading on this valuable, nonpublic information in violation of the confidentiality agreements, Fishoff and his co-defendants gained more than $3.9 million in profits over the course of the three-year scheme. Petrello and Spera split their profits with Fishoff, generally on a 50-50 basis, as compensation to Fishoff for the inside information that he provided to them. Chernin and Costantin, who executed trades using Fishoff’s capital, also split their combined profits with Fishoff on a 50-50 basis.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Fishoff to three years of supervised release and fined him $50,000. Fishoff also agreed to settle the parallel civil forfeiture action, United States of America v. The Contents of Wedbush Securities Account Number 8313 et al., Civil Action No. 17-5334, and to forfeit the property named as defendants in rem in the verified complaint filed in the parallel civil forfeiture action.
Chernin, Costantin, Petrello, and Spera also have pleaded guilty in the insider trading scheme and are awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office under the direction of Sanjay Wadhwa.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shirley U. Emehelu, Chief of the Asset Recovery Money Laundering Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin of the Asset Recovery Money Laundering Unit.
Defense counsel: Daniel Brown Esq. and Lionel André Esq., Washington, D.C.
Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DENROY FABLE, also known as “Kik,” 35, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to firearm and narcotics offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in late December 2017, members of the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force and the Hartford and Manchester Police Departments were involved in a search of a fugitive who was wanted in connection with a homicide in Manchester. Investigators developed information connecting Fable to the fugitive being sought.
On January 2, 2018, investigators stopped Fable’s car in the vicinity of Airport Road in Hartford. A search of Fable’s jacket revealed a loaded Ruger 9mm handgun and quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana. After Fable was arrested, investigators searched Fable’s residence on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford and located the fugitive. A search of the residence also revealed resale quantities of cocaine, crack and fentanyl/heroin; other evidence of narcotics trafficking, and multiple rounds of assorted ammunition.
Fable’s criminal history includes state convictions for criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit.
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.
Fable pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base (“crack”) and heroin, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for January 28, 2019.
Fable has been detained since his arrest.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force and the Hartford and Manchester Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone.
Hammond Man Indicted for Theft of More Than $240,000.00 in Social Security FundsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DANNY L. LETARD (“LETARD”), age 57, of Hammond, Louisiana, was indicted Friday, November 2, 2018 by a federal grand jury for Theft of Government Funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.
According to the indictment, beginning in 1989, LETARD filed for and later became eligible for Social Security Administration disability benefits of approximately $2,177.30 per month. During this period, LETARD formed a number of businesses including, but not limited to, Excavation/Dozer Company, Virginia Shop Site Cleaning Services, Virginia’s Job Site Cleaning, Virginia Cleaning Services, and R & D Dozer Excavation & Pipe Fabr. LETARD’s businesses were registered in the names of LETARD’s family members rather than in his name to conceal his employment. LETARD’s businesses performed demolition work and the cleaning of job sites according to occupational license applications filed with Tangipahoa Parish. LETARD also operated heavy construction equipment as part of his businesses. Accordingly, LETARD fraudulently received approximately $242,000.00 in Social Security Administration disability benefits he was not entitled to due to his employment.
U.S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, LETARD faces a maximum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment, followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Supervisor of the Financial Crimes Unit.
Granite Bay Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Product Substitution Fraud on Federal Government AgenciesRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jim A. Meron, 54, of Granite Bay, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud related to a government-procurement fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, between May 2011 and July 2017, Meron used two office supply businesses he operated to defraud federal government agencies out of as much as $3.5 million, in thousands of transactions, by substituting and delivering cheaper, generic versions of expensive, name-brand products his customers ordered, and pocketing the price difference. As part of his plea, Meron agreed to forfeit more than $1.7 million in assets seized during the investigation of his crimes.
Meron’s companies, WOW Imaging Products LLC and Time Enterprises LLC, contracted to sell office supplies to federal agencies through two web-based government sales portals, GSA Advantage, operated by the General Services Administration, and DOD EMall, operated by the Department of Defense. After Meron received payments for the premium products his customers ordered, he obtained compatible products from his suppliers that cost him a fraction of what his customer paid for the brand-name products they ordered. Meron then substituted and delivered those cheaper products for the more expensive products his customers ordered, and retained the difference in cost. Over time, Meron extended his substitution scheme to nearly all orders for those name-brand products, and never intended to deliver what his customers ordered.
This case is the product of an investigation by the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Kevin Khasigian are prosecuting the case.
Meron is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on February 4, 2019. Meron faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of conviction. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Government Forfeits More Than $143 Million in Fraud Proceeds Seized from David H. BrooksRead the Press Release
Earlier today, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert entered an order forfeiting more than $143 million in assets that had been seized from David H. Brooks, the now-deceased founder and former Chief Executive Officer of DHB Industries, Inc. (DHB), a supplier of body armor to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies. In 2010, following an eight-month trial, Brooks was convicted of mail and wire fraud, securities fraud and obstruction of justice. He subsequently pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns. The Court had ordered the seized assets to be used to pay forfeiture and victim restitution as part of Brooks’s sentence. Brooks appealed his fraud convictions and sentence, but died in prison while that appeal was pending. As a result, his fraud convictions and sentence were vacated. The seized assets, however, remained restrained in a parallel civil forfeiture action previously filed by the government. Pursuant to a global settlement agreement reached in the civil forfeiture action, the forfeited assets will be made available to compensate close to 90 percent of the approved losses suffered by thousands of investor victims and by DHB’s successor, SS Body Armor I, Inc. (SSBA), through the remission process administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
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 forfeiture.
“This case demonstrates the critical role that civil forfeiture plays in depriving criminals of their ill-gotten gains and putting those funds back in the hands of victims,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Brooks’s sentence – which justly included criminal forfeiture and victim restitution – was frustrated for reasons having nothing to do with his well-established guilt. While justice may have been delayed, it will not be denied. Our Office remains dedicated to vindicating the rights of victims and insuring that crime does not pay.” Mr. Donoghue thanked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance in this case.
“Brooks was rightfully sentenced to a lengthy prison term and ordered to pay more than $90 million in victim restitution following his conviction, but, due to circumstances out of the government’s control, the restitution order was abated,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Today’s civil forfeiture order effectively reinstates the financial sanctions imposed on Brooks and will allow the government to compensate Brooks’s victims for the bulk of their losses. Through these type of civil forfeiture actions, the FBI will continue to seek justice for victims and remind criminals that their misdeeds will not be rewarded.”
As proven at his criminal trial, Brooks committed a series of fraud schemes that were varied and pervasive. Brooks, along with his co-conspirators, manipulated DHB’s books and records and then lied to auditors in an effort to cover-up the schemes. In late 2004, by which time the accounting fraud had inflated the price of DHB stock to over $20 per share, Brooks began selling millions of DHB shares, netting him over $185 million. After these insider sales, the price of DHB stock fell to pennies on the dollar and the stock was de-listed from the American Stock Exchange. In another scheme, Brooks looted DHB by using corporate funds to finance his family’s lavish lifestyle, including a multi-million-dollar bat mitzvah party for his daughter, vacations in exotic locations and cosmetic surgery.
In August 2013, Brooks was sentenced to 17 years in prison. As part of his sentence, the Court ordered Brooks to: forfeit approximately $65 million; pay an $8.7 million fine; pay approximately $2.9 million in restitution to the IRS; and pay approximately $91.5 million in restitution to thousands of investor victims and to SSBA, which sought bankruptcy protection in the wake of Brooks’s fraud. The forfeiture and restitution were to be satisfied from the assets that the government seized from Brooks, including funds in accounts at a number of financial institutions, foreign currency, gold Krugerrands, luxury cars, jewelry and a commissioned replica of the famous Wall Street “Charging Bull” statue.
Brooks died in prison in October 2016. In September 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Brooks’s obligation to pay approximately $91.5 million in victim restitution abated because he died before the completion of his appeal. With the abatement of the restitution order, along with the fraud convictions, forfeiture and fine, Brooks’s death effectively erased more than $165 million in criminal penalties and victim restitution. Brooks’s tax convictions and tax restitution order, however, survived his death as they were based on his guilty plea to separate tax charges.
Following Brooks’s death, the government prosecuted its civil forfeiture action, which was not abated, against the seized assets. The civil forfeiture action proceeded on many of the same fraud allegations presented in the criminal case as well as on allegations that Brooks and his family laundered the fraud proceeds through a web of trusts, tax shelters and shell companies that Brooks created and placed in his family members’ names. The global settlement resolves the civil forfeiture action as well as other litigation involving Brooks’s victims and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forfeiture of more than $143 million represents the largest civil forfeiture recovery by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Pursuant to the remission process, the DOJ has exercised its discretion to use the forfeited assets to compensate victims. It is expected that the funds to be remitted to investors and SSBA will reimburse these victims for approximately 90 percent of their DOJ-approved losses. The settlement further provides for the full payment of the approximately $2.9 million tax restitution order to the IRS.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura D. Mantell, Tanya Y. Hill, Karin Orenstein and Artemis Lekakis.
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 10-CV-4750
Gooding Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOISE – Yazmani Gomez-Sandoval, 36, of Gooding, Idaho, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boise to 240 months in prison to be followed by a life term of supervised release, for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Gomez-Sandoval pleaded guilty on June 13, 2018.
According to court records, in June 2017, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified Gomez-Sandoval as one of many individuals accessing an online chat room and trading images and videos of child pornography. On at least five occasions, Gomez-Sandoval posted digital video files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of toddlers and infants and sadistic and masochistic abuse, in the chat room.
In December 2017, HSI agents obtained a search warrant for Gomez-Sandoval’s residence in Gooding. They seized and searched Gomez-Sandoval’s cellphone, where they discovered approximately 71 images and 15 videos depicting child pornography. Gomez-Sandoval admitted to agents that he accessed the online chat room and traded images of child pornography with other individuals. He also admitted to agents that he had recently sexually abused a six or seven year old child in Gooding, and had sexually abused three other children between the ages of 4 and 6 while in Mexico between 2003 and 2006.
“This case demonstrates the importance of investigating those persons involved in possessing, receiving, distributing and producing child pornography,” U.S. Attorney Davis said. “Often, persons involved in child pornography also have committed hands-on sex offenses. By focusing on these investigations, we may be preventing the future sexual abuse of a child. I commend Homeland Security Investigations for their efforts in this case. Thanks to their diligence, Mr. Gomez-Sandoval was held responsible for his actions, and no longer represents a threat to children in Idaho.”
“We are dedicated to removing these dangerous predators from the community,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Seattle. “Combatting individuals who prey on our most vulnerable, our children, is of the utmost importance to HSI and our law enforcement partners. We must protect our children from those who seek to harm them.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
# # #
Former St. Martinville, Louisiana, Deputy Chief Found Guilty of Excessive Force, Obstruction, and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Former St. Martinville, Louisiana, Police Department (SMPD) Deputy Chief of Investigations Codi Dodge, 35, was found guilty today in the Western District of Louisiana of four felony counts, including a civil rights violation for using excessive force against an arrestee, and three counts of obstruction and conspiracy to cover up the incident.
After five days of trial, the jury convicted Dodge of using excessive force on an arrestee, in violation of the arrestee’s Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable force. The jury also convicted Dodge of obstructing justice by falsifying records related to the unlawful use of force incident, and by conspiring with other members of the St. Martinville Police Department to cover up his actions.
“Illegal conduct by officers who abuse their power and violate the civil rights of the citizens they promise to serve harms the public trust and will not be tolerated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “The Department will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws and hold officers who break the law accountable.”
“Law enforcement officers are sworn to uphold and defend the laws of our nation,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. “When they themselves break those laws, they violate not just the rights of their victims, but also compromise the public's trust in law enforcement. My office will hold them accountable.”
Evidence presented at trial established that, on Aug. 13, 2016, Dodge forced entry into the home of an individual he suspected had stolen from him. After unlawfully entering the individual’s home, Dodge threatened the individual before striking him in the face with a firearm, causing bodily injury. Dodge then arrested the individual, and brought him back to the St. Martinville Police Department, where Dodge continued to threaten him. After learning that the incident had been reported to the FBI, Dodge conspired with other members of the St. Martinville Police Department to falsify reports regarding the incident, and to mislead the FBI in its investigation of the matter.
Dodge faces a statutory maximum of 55 years in prison, though the actual sentence will be set by the court at a later date.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Lafayette, Louisiana, Resident Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein and Trial Attorney Tim Visser of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker of the Western District of Louisiana. Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Civil Rights Division participated in the investigation of the case.
Former Financial Manager Admits Embezzling $82K from Steel Valley AuthorityRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of bank fraud and mail fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Nicolette Gizzi, 44, pleaded guilty on Friday to two counts before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.
In connection with the guilty plea to bank fraud, the court was advised that from December 2009 through approximately June 2016, Gizzi, who was employed as the Financial Manager for Steel Valley Authority, embezzled $82,060.50, which was under the control of PNC Bank. She perpetrated the embezzlement by issuing checks to herself and her credit card company, without authorization, and forging the required signatures. The Court was further advised that the funds at issue were primarily public funds, as Steel Valley Authority obtains it operating funds through grants from the United States Department of Labor.
In connection with the guilty plea to mail fraud, the court was advised that Gizzi had a prior federal court conviction in South Carolina for embezzling from an employer and owed $141,480.60 in restitution. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina attempted to collect the restitution by issuing a writ of garnishment to Steel Valley Authority. Gizzi, however, received the writ of garnishment and undertook several fraudulent actions to minimize her garnishment payments and to conceal her previous conviction from Steel Valley Authority.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2019 at 2:15 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both for bank fraud and 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both for mail fraud. 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.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Nicolette Gizzi.
Former FBI San Diego Paralegal Specialist Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
A former paralegal specialist for the San Diego Division of the FBI was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for embezzling nearly $250,000 in government funds. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge James K. Cheng of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (DOJ-OIG) Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
Lynn M. Morris, 56, of San Diego, California, pleaded guilty on March 7 to one count of embezzlement of government property. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Larry Alan Burns ordered Morris to pay $278,000 in restitution.
“Lynn Morris capitalized on her position at the FBI to line her own pockets with stolen government funds,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “This conviction demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting government employees who abuse their authority. Individuals who violate the public trust will be held accountable.”
“Lynn Morris abused her position for personal gain and betrayed the trust of her FBI colleagues,” said DOJ-OIG Special Agent in Charge Cheng. “The Office of the Inspector General is resolute in its commitment to protecting the integrity of the Department of Justice by investigating those engaged in corruption.”
“After Lynn Morris’ guilty plea in March of this year, the San Diego FBI worked closely with the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General in order to fully investigate the conduct of our employee,” said FBI San Diego Division Special Agent in Charge John Brown. “We were resolute to restoring the integrity and trust that these criminal actions had tarnished by locating every dollar she had stolen from the government.”
According to documents submitted in connection with her plea, between July 2014 and November 2016, Morris embezzled approximately $159,821.90 that belonged to the United States and converted the funds for her own personal use. The funds were held in an account owned by the FBI San Diego Division’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), where Morris was a paralegal specialist and the AFU’s designated coordinator. The court found that Morris also embezzled $92,010.92 from an additional AFU account and stole $26,351.10 from FBI evidence rooms. Morris admitted that to convert government funds to her own use, she used her knowledge and position within the FBI to withdraw cash from the AFU’s account undetected and deposited portions of the stolen proceeds into her personal checking account.
This case was investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the FBI San Diego Division. Trial Attorneys Marco A. Palmieri and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.
Former Employee of Dunbar Armored Named in Federal Indictment Alleging $300,000 Theft from Company’s Cash Storage FacilityRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Dunbar Armored employee has pleaded not guilty to federal conspiracy and bank theft charges contained in a grand jury indictment that alleges a scheme to smuggle $300,000 in cash out of Dunbar’s storage facility in Vernon.
Eric Miranda, 37, of East Los Angeles, was arraigned on November 2 and, while bond was set, he remains in federal custody at this time.
Miranda was arrested on October 21 as he entered the United States from Mexico, and he subsequently made his first court appearance in federal court in San Diego. He was arraigned after being transported to Los Angeles by the United States Marshals Service.
Miranda is named in a four-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank theft from the Dunbar cash storage facility. He also is charged with three counts of bank theft.
The indictment alleges that Miranda stole cash from the Dunbar vault by using “dummy” stacks of $100 bills that he switched out for real stacks of $100,000. First, Miranda created “dummy” stacks of $100,000 by taking hundreds of $1 bills and sandwiching them between $100 bills – in order to make them appear to be stacks of $100 bills totaling $100,000. Miranda allegedly then smuggled the “dummy” stacks into the Dunbar vault, where he and his co-conspirator switched them for real stacks of $100,000. Miranda and his co-conspirator then marked the dummy stacks to ensure they were not placed into circulation. Finally, Miranda smuggled the real stacks of money out of the vault room by hiding it in a postal box. On more than three occasions in late 2017 and early 2018, Miranda smuggled a total of approximately $300,000 out of the Dunbar facility.
At his arraignment on Friday, Miranda was ordered to stand trial on December 18.
If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Miranda would face a statutory maximum sentence of 35 years in federal prison.
Miranda’s alleged co-conspirator – Monique Castruita, 35, of Maywood – has also been charged in relation to this case and is scheduled to be arraigned later this month.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who received substantial assistance from the City of Vernon Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky and Joseph D. Axelrad of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
Former Captain with Bristol County Sheriff’s Office Sentenced for Smuggling Profits to PortugalRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced today in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, known as the Codfather in the fishing industry, and the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the U.S., smuggle the profits of his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal.
Jamie Melo, 46, of North Dartmouth, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to one year of probation, with the first eight months to be served in home confinement. In June 2018, Melo was convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one count of structuring the export of monetary instruments. The jury acquitted Melo of one count of bulk cash smuggling.
During the trial, evidence showed that while at Logan International Airport Melo asked his friends and travel companions to carry envelopes of cash for Rafael on a flight to the Azores in Portugal. At the time, Melo was an Administrative Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and was traveling to the Azores with Rafael for a charity event sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to the flight, Melo asked three of his travel companions to follow him into the men’s bathroom at Logan Airport before going through the TSA Security Checkpoint. In the bathroom, Melo distributed four envelopes of cash to his companions, taking one for himself. Two days after arriving in Portugal, bank records demonstrate that Rafael deposited $76,000 in U.S. currency into his Portuguese bank account.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Mark Tasky, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Philadelphia Field Office; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil Gallagher and Justin O’Connell of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Florida Tax Return Preparer Convicted of Filing False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Port St. Lucie, Florida, man was convicted by a federal jury today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida of ten counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false income tax returns and three counts of filing false income tax returns announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2012 through 2015, Richard Maurival prepared income tax returns for clients that claimed false education credits and false business expenses, and other deductions to inflate by thousands of dollars refunds paid by the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to filing fraudulent income tax returns for his clients, Maurival falsified his own income tax returns, by not fully reporting the fees he earned in his tax preparation business for tax years 2012, 2013, and 2014.
U.S. District Judge James Ivan Cohn for the Southern District of Florida set sentencing for January 17, 2019. The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 3 years in prison on each count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Orshan commended special agents of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Grace Albinson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Acosta, who prosecuted the case.
Florida Resident Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to Federal Government to Defraud USVI ContractorRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Adrian L. Foster, 50, of Florida, pleaded guilty in United States District Court before Judge Curtis Gomez, to one count of making a false statement to a federal agency, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.
According to court documents, Foster was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Construction of South Florida, Inc., located in Miami, FL. In 2013, Foster entered into contracts to facilitate the completion of two projects in the Virgin Islands National Park in Cruz Bay, St. John, VI. Between 2013 and 2016, Foster falsified multiple certifications to the National Park Service (NPS) and misappropriated federal funds from NPS that were designated to a U.S. Virgin Islands construction company.
Foster faces a maximum sentence of 5 year’s incarceration. She also faces a minimum period of supervised release of 3 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Additionally, Foster has agreed to pay full restitution, plus interest, to the victim construction company. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2019.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of the Interior - Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr.