Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Tuesday 23 October 2018
Preble County Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Jeremiah Armstrong, 29, of West Alexandria, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 72 months in prison for possessing images and videos of child pornography, including those of prepubescent children.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.
According to court documents, in January 2016, two undercover officers from the Belmont and Hamilton county sheriff’s offices downloaded child pornography from Armstrong’s BitTorrent account. For example, one file includes a video depicting an Asian female minor and an adult male. The male sexually abuses the victim for more than an hour by performing oral sex on the child, having the child perform oral sex on him, engaging in vaginal and anal intercourse with the child, digitally penetrating the child and placing a vibrator in the victim’s vagina.
In December 2016, FBI agents seized Armstrong’s computer and discovered more than 600 videos and 200 images of child pornography. One such video is described to as “tied 8yo Cambodian boom-boom girl…raped by sex-tourist” and depicts an adult white male raping a child whose wrists are bound to her ankles by duct tape.
“Armstrong’s child pornography collection contained 87 identified series, with approximately 72 identified victims. These are real children who were sexually abused because people like Armstrong created a demand for the content to satisfy their own desires,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “Armstrong’s prolific collection included images of children bound by tape or rope, having sex objects used on them or involved in acts of bestiality. This is simply heinous.”
Armstrong pleaded guilty in January 2018 to possessing child pornography. He has been in custody since October 2017.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI and Belmont and Hamilton county sheriff’s offices, and the assistance of the West Alexandria Police Department and Preble County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Assistant United States Attorney SaMee Harden, who is representing the United States in this case.
###
Pocatello Man Sentenced to 17.5 years in Federal Prison for Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Christopher L. Holtry, 41, of Pocatello, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 210 months in federal prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for transportation of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Holtry to forfeit the computer used in the commission of the charged offense. Holtry pleaded guilty to the crime in May.
According to the plea agreement, Homeland Security Investigations received an investigative lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre regarding users of a chatroom called “Tabou5.” In the chatroom, a user shared an image of child pornography and made assertions that the female child depicted in the image was his daughter. The internet protocol addresses associated with the chatroom user’s online activity were registered to Holtry at his Pocatello residence. When law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Holtry’s residence, they seized a number of phones and computers. A forensic search of these devices revealed 134 images and 20 videos of child pornography. In an interview, Holtry admitted to uploading and receiving child pornography. He estimated having viewed and possessed approximately 1,000 images of child pornography.
“This sentence sends a strong message to those who seek to harm our most innocent and vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Davis. “We and our investigative partners will diligently continue our efforts to bring these criminals to justice.”
“Those who exploit children must be stopped,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Seattle. “These types of operations are imperative to safeguarding our children and we, alongside our partners, are committed to finding and putting a stop to these crimes.”
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Pocatello Police Department and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal 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.”
# # #
Pittsburgh Man Sentenced for Assaulting Two Federal Officers in Federal CourthouseRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court for assaulting two federal officers, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak sentenced Leonard Rushin-Felder, 22, to one year and one day of imprisonment for each of two counts of assault of a federal officer. The sentences will run concurrently. Rushin-Felder previously pleaded guilty before Judge Hornak on June 14, 2018.
In connection with his guilty plea, Rushin-Felder admitted that on May 2, 2017, he appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell in the Joseph F. Weis, Jr., United States Courthouse for a detention hearing related to separate drug trafficking and firearms charges pending against him. At the conclusion of the detention hearing, Judge Mitchell ordered that the defendant be detained pending trial. The defendant further admitted that when two Deputy United States Marshals attempted to escort him from the courtroom, he forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, and interfered with the Deputy Marshals while they were engaged in the performance of their official duties as federal law enforcement officers. During the ensuing struggle, the defendant made physical contact with the two Deputy Marshals. As part of his guilty plea, the defendant acknowledged that additional law enforcement and court personnel were needed to restrain him and assist with his removal from the courtroom.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Rachael L. Dizard prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation of Rushin-Felder.
Ozark Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Roy Breedlove, age 54, of Ozark, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison without the possibility of parole followed by five years of supervised release on Possession of Child Pornography. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III, Chief United States District Judge presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.
According to court records, in May of 2017, federal law enforcement developed information that Breedlove was in possession of child pornography. During the ensuing investigation, a federal search warrant was obtained by the FBI to search his residence. Upon execution of the warrant, law enforcement located several items of digital evidence. A subsequent forensic examination of the confiscated items revealed multiple images of child pornography, including images of adult males engaging in various sex acts with prepubescent females.
Breedlove was indicted by a federal grand jury in April of 2018 and entered a guilty plea in June of 2018. During his change of plea, the Government presented the Court with evidence that Breedlove had previously been convicted of Sexual Abuse and Attempted Rape.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Driver prosecuted the case for the United States.
Oklahoma City Man Receives 18 Months in Prison for Use of Credit Profile NumbersRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – CALVIN WAYNE CADE, JR., 28, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison for using credit profile numbers, or CPNs, to falsely report his Social Security Number in credit applications, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to charges filed in November 2017, Cade used CPNs, also known as "credit privacy numbers" or "credit protection numbers," instead of his own Social Security Number when he applied for financing at retailers and financial institutions. CPNs, which are actually stolen Social Security Numbers, are marketed to individuals with poor credit history as a way to get a fresh start and establish a new credit identity. The CPNs used by Mr. Cade were stolen Social Security Numbers belonging to children born in 2006 and 2008. By using CPNs instead of his own Social Security Number on credit applications, Cade deceived retailers, credit card companies, banks, and credit unions into believing he had a better credit history than he had actually earned. He purchased five vehicles, household furnishings, televisions, computers, and other goods, and then made little to no payments on the credit accounts, which caused financial losses to his creditors.
On March 5, 2018, Cade pleaded guilty to knowingly making a false statement to a financial institution after he used a CPN instead of his own Social Security Number when he applied for an auto loan from BBVA Compass Bank.
Today U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced him to eighteen months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay $112,924.54 in restitution to BBVA Compass Bank and the other creditors he defrauded.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, the FBI, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Perry.
Reference is made to public filings for further information.
Oil-and-Gas Businessman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Investors out of MillionsRead the Press Release
Texas oil-and-gas mogul Christopher A. Faulkner has pleaded guilty to securities fraud, engaging in illegal monetary transactions, and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox announced today.
A frequent media commentator and self-proclaimed “frack master,” Faulkner, 41, admits he bilked investors out of millions of dollars and concealed millions more from the IRS.
According to documents unsealed today, from 2011 to 2016, Faulkner raised more than $71 million from working interest investors, who took on a fixed portion of projected drilling costs in exchange for a share in his oil and gas profits.
But in marketing materials distributed to these investors, Faulkner inflated the estimated drilling cost by as much as 800 percent, allowing his three companies – Breitling Energy Corp., Crude Energy, LLC and Patriot Energy, Inc. – to pocket the difference between his projections and the actual cost of the wells.
He also gave would-be investors a “Geology Report,” ostensibly prepared by an independent expert, estimating future production for each well. Unbeknownst to them, the report was generated by a geologist on Faulkner’s payroll, and consistently overstated the wells’ potential.
Faulkner routinely oversold shares, then transferred investment funds into comingled accounts, despite promising investors their money would be deposited in a segregated bank account used only to pay for drilling activities.
Over a five-year period, he admits, he diverted approximately $23 million for his own personal benefit, shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time for luxury travel, professional concierge services, maintenance of multiple residences, and at least seven vehicles, including an Aston Martin, a Bentley, and a Mercedes Benz. During that time, his companies paid out just $6.2 million to investors, according to the criminal complaint filed in June.
“As Mr. Faulkner continued to deceive his investors about drilling expenses and potential oil well output, he spent their millions of investment dollars on his lavish lifestyle, ” said Nealy Cox. “Let this case send a message that this type of egregious investor fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In 2014, Faulkner says, he concealed at least $4.5 million in taxable income from the federal government, failing to file a return or pay income tax.
Following an FBI raid on his offices in Dallas in April 2016, Faulkner was arrested in June 2018 at the Los Angeles International Airport, and later transported to Texas. He is currently in federal custody at FCI Seagoville, and now faces 12 years in prison and $350,000 in fines. According to the terms of his plea agreement, he will be required to pay restitution to those he defrauded.
Faulkner’s guilty plea comes on the heels of a civil settlement with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which filed a complaint in June 2016 alleging multiple violations of federal securities laws. Faulkner’s settlement with the SEC, which is subject to court approval, orders him to disgorge $23.8 million; permanently enjoins him from violating, among other things, the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and from participating in any unregistered securities transactions; and bars him from serving as an officer or director of any SEC-reporting company and from participating in any offering of a penny stock.
The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the criminal investigation; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Stokes, Katherine Miller, and Mark Tindall prosecuted the criminal case.
Nixa Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Nixa, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.
Jeffrey Scott Seaton, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Seaton to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.
On May 21, 2018, Seaton pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography. Seaton admitted that he downloaded child pornography from the internet and traded child pornography via a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.
Law enforcement officers identified Seaton’s computer during an undercover investigation and downloaded images and videos of child pornography from Seaton’s computer. Officers executed a search warrant at Seaton’s residence on Jan. 9, 2018, and seized a laptop computer, which contained images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Nigerian Immigrant Pleads Guilty to Day Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Nigerian owner of a day care center in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to submitting false information to the government as part of a fraud scheme to receive federal child care subsidies.
Hauwa Al-Hassan, 49, of Raymore, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to making false statements to the government.
Al-Hassan, a Nigerian immigrant, is the owner and CEO of Guidance Child Care Center, LLC, a child day care center at 8101 E. Bannister Rd., Kansas City, Mo. Al-Hassan is also the vice president of Guidance Academy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
By pleading guilty today, Al-Hassan admitted that she engaged in a pattern of fraudulent billing in order to receive funding to which she was not entitled under the federal Child Care and Development Fund grant program. Al-Hassan filed claims that reported more hours and children than actually attended her daycare center.
The Child Care and Development Fund provides daycare subsidies for low-income families where the parents are employed or engaged in job training. Providers, such as Guidance, contract with the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and submit claims electronically. Al-Hassan signed a contract with the Missouri Department of Social Services on May 3, 2010, to operate Guidance as a licensed childcare center providing childcare services to low-income families.
Al-Hassan admitted that she deliberately filed false attendance reports for children for more hours than they actually attended Guidance, causing a loss totaling $74,000. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Al-Hassan must pay that amount in restitution to the Department of Health and Human Services. She must pay $10,000 of that restitution amount prior to her sentencing hearing.
Since 2013, Guidance has been audited formally or informally by the state on four occasions. Each audit found many hours inaccurately billed for childcare services. Based on Guidance’s history of billing for services not rendered and sharing of employees and billed children with other daycares believed to be running fraud schemes on the CCDF program, two pole cameras were installed near Guidance from Feb. 11, 2016 to March 20, 2016. One camera focused on the front doors of Guidance; the second camera showed the parking lot and rear doors. All doors in and out were covered by a pole camera. Timesheets submitted with the billing were compared with the information on the timesheets to the children seen on the pole cameras being dropped off and picked up from Guidance during that time. There were significant discrepancies between the timesheets submitted and the pole camera footage.
This case is the result of a nationwide sweep that targeted childcare center fraud schemes. The national law enforcement operation in Missouri and six other states was the result of separate, but related, federal investigations into childcare center fraud that resulted in a loss of more than $1 million to the government.
Under federal statutes, Al-Hassan is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant 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 United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes, IV. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, the FBI, the Missouri Department of Social Services – Division of Legal Services Investigations, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Raymore, Mo., Police Department.
New London Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANTHONY WHITLEY, 35, of Hartford and New London, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 3, 2017, a court-authorized search of a New London apartment connected to Whitley and his nephew, Bashon Whitley, revealed approximately 14 grams of heroin, approximately 27 grams of cocaine, approximately 150 grams of crack cocaine, items used to process and package narcotics for street sale, a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun, ammunition and $9,180 in cash. Anthony and Bashon Whitley were arrested on state charges at that time.
Anthony Whitley has been detained since his arrest on March 3, 2017. On July 31, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”).
Whitley has eight prior convictions, including state felony convictions for drug and firearm offenses.
On May 30, 2018, Bashon Whitley pleaded guilty to the same charge. On September 5, he was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment.
This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force East, and New London Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth.
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from A Decedent’s Estate for Which He Was Court-Appointed AdministratorRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”) and Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller, announced that GREGORY BAYARD pled guilty to wire fraud today in White Plains federal court. The charge arose out of BAYARD’s embezzlement of approximately $1.4 million from a decedent's estate for which he served as a court-appointed administrator.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As a fiduciary of an estate, Gregory Bayard’s duty was to protect the assets of the decedent and ensure that the rightful beneficiaries receive their inheritance. Instead, Bayard violated his obligation and used the estate for his own use, spending nearly more than $1 million of the estate’s money on home renovations, college tuition, and other personal expenses. Bayard now faces significant prison time for his crimes.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “Instead of being satisfied with the fees the law prescribed as an estate administrator, Gregory Bayard decided to steal from the fund he was hired to manage to bankroll his lavish lifestyle. This case highlights the need for proper checks and balances to mitigate the risk of theft. Inspectors caught this entrusted administrator with his hand in the cookie jar.”
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said: “Administrators should protect an estate and serve its heirs, not steal from them. This is the second individual charged in trying to allegedly exploit this estate identified as part of our joint investigation. I thank both U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their collaboration on this case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Information:
BAYARD was appointed administrator of the estate of a former resident of Mt. Vernon by the Surrogate’s Court in 2008. His duties as administrator included collecting the assets of the estate. As an administrator, BAYARD had a fiduciary duty to the estate and to the decedent’s son, the sole beneficiary of his father’s will. New York law provides, for a fee, estate administrators like BAYARD based on a percentage of the value of the estate’s assets.
In 2009, the decedent’s son retained an attorney and filed a motion in the Surrogate’s Court to remove BAYARD as the administrator of his father’s estate. While the motion was pending, BAYARD embezzled more than $1.4 million from the estate’s bank account. From June 2011 to June 2012, BAYARD wrote approximately 14 checks totaling more than $435,000 from the estate’s account to himself. From December 2012 to May 2016, BAYARD caused more than 70 electronic wire transfers of a total of more than $1 million from the estate’s account to his personal account. BAYARD spent the money on home renovations, college tuition, and other personal expenses and transferred some of the money to family members.
* * *
BAYARD, 58, of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentence will be determined by the court.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Postal Inspection Service and the New York State Comptroller.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.
Mexican National Sentenced to over 12 Years in Prison for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Martin Gasca-Rojas, 49, of Mexico, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, for distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, between October 2016 and May 2017, Gasca-Rojas distributed nearly 4 pounds of methamphetamine on three occasions. In October 2016, Gasca‑Rojas sold 1 pound of methamphetamine for $3,300. In November 2016, he arranged a sale of 2 pounds of methamphetamine for $6,500, and had two other individuals deliver the methamphetamine. Finally, in May 2017, he sold 1 pound of methamphetamine for $3,600.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey B. Hemesath prosecuted the case.
Mexican Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Baltimore County Cocaine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – On October 22, 2018, Gary Gaines-Hidalgo, age 26, of Baja California, Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to Gaines’s plea agreement, HSI and the Baltimore County Police Department were investigating a drug trafficking organization in Baltimore County. Gaines was identified as a member of the organization, along with Tony Lee Bauer and four others. In December 2017, Gaines arranged to purchase kilograms of cocaine for $26,500/kilogram from a confidential source (CS), who was working with law enforcement. Thereafter, Gaines arranged to resell the cocaine to several associates for $28,000/kilogram. Gaines arranged to have 10 kilograms of cocaine delivered to him in Baltimore.
As detailed in his plea, on January 26, 2018, Gaines and a co-conspirator entered the United States from Mexico, then traveled to Baltimore. Gaines and his co-conspirator agreed to sell three kilograms of cocaine to their associates, with additional sales of kilograms of cocaine to follow the initial purchase. Gaines agreed to meet the CS in the parking lot of a Baltimore hotel, and told the associates to whom he was selling three kilograms of cocaine to also meet him there.
Three cars arrived at the agreed-upon location, one driven by the CS and two other vehicles being operated by Gaines’ associates. Gaines was in the rear passenger seat of a car being driven by Bauer. The CS opened the trunk of his car, which contained two kilogram-shaped packages, one of powder cocaine and one kilogram of “sham,” or fake narcotics. Gaines placed his hand in the bag containing the packages and members of HSI and the MSP Tactical Team approached. The vehicles being driven by Gaines’ associates attempted to drive away, but were stopped. In the first car, which is the car Gaines had been riding in, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol was recovered from the center console and a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol was recovered from the rear passenger-side floor of the vehicle. On the rear seat was a vinyl bank bag containing bank-banded cash and a white bag also containing cash. A search of Bauer also recovered banded up amounts of cash. In all, law enforcement recovered $129,583 in cash from the defendants, their vehicles, and their residences.
As part of his plea agreement, Gaines must forfeit the two loaded firearms, the cash recovered after the arrests of Gaines and his co-defendants, and four vehicles, including a Range Rover, a Mercedes Benz, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Cadillac CTS.
Gaines faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for January 2, 2019 at 12:00 p.m.
Tony Lee Bauer, age 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Judge Russell has scheduled sentencing on January 2, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Romano and Derek E. Hines, who are prosecuting the case.
Mexican Citizen Pleads Guilty to Faking His Own Kidnapping in an Attempt to Obtain an Immigration VisaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty plea of ALEJANDRO MARIO CORTES, 46, to one count of visa fraud and one count of illegally reentering the United States. CORTES, who was initially charged via criminal complaint on August 28, 2018, pleaded guilty earlier today before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea, between April 11, 2018 and August 29, 2018, CORTES conspired with another individual to fraudulently apply for and obtain a U Visa based on the false claim that CORTES was kidnapped from his home in Chicago, Illinois and taken against his will to St. Paul, Minnesota. As part of the scheme, CORTES and his co-conspirator traveled together from Illinois to Minnesota and stayed in a storage facility for several days. On April 17, 2018, the co-conspirator drove CORTES to St. Paul and, at CORTES’ request, bound the defendant’s mouth and hands with duct tape and left him near Randolph Avenue in St. Paul. Law enforcement officers responded to a report made by a snowplow driver and located the individual, who later identified himself as CORTES.
In his guilty plea, CORTES admitted to telling local and federal law enforcement officers that he had been kidnapped from Chicago and transported to Minnesota against his will, and that he received multiple threatening text messages in the days leading up to the fabricated kidnapping. CORTES also admitted that he sought medical treatment at Regions Hospital for injuries he claimed to have sustained during the kidnapping, and he obtained gift cards for personal items from an organization providing services to crime victims.
CORTES is a citizen of Mexico with no lawful status in the United States. CORTES was removed from the United States in 2001, and again in 2010.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Saint Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Munoz-Kaphing is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
ALEJANDRO MARIO CORTES, 46
Chicago, Ill.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to commit visa fraud, 1 count
- Reentry of removed alien, 1 count
###
Additional news available on our website.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Member of Winn Parish methamphetamine distribution ring pleads guiltyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that the last defendant in a Winn Parish methamphetamine distribution ring pleaded guilty Monday before he was scheduled to go to trial.
Jeremy Laraun Mamon, 36, of Winnfield, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mamon was one of 11 defendants named as part of an indictment filed September 28, 2017. According to the guilty plea, Mamon and 10 other defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in the Winn Parish area from October 2015 to September 2017. Ladarrius James Street, 35; Dexter Jerome Sapp, 39; Destiny Hamilton, 33; Kendrick Lamont Davenport, 44; Stephen Duncan Jr., 26; Delano C. Hall, 49; Michael Deangelo Hall, 33; and Xavier Deandre Powell, 29; all of Winnfield, as well as Cristina Daniela Santos, 26, of Los Angeles, California; and Rafael M. Powell, 33, of Atlanta, Louisiana, were also indicted.
Mamon faces 20 years to life in prison, at least 10 years of supervised release and a $20 million fine. The remaining defendants also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count. Santos, Street and Rafael Powell pleaded guilty on September 10, 2018 and are scheduled to be sentenced December 14, 2018. Sapp pleaded guilty April 16, 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced November 20, 2018. Hamilton and Duncan pleaded guilty on July 5, 2018. Hamilton is scheduled to be sentenced November 19, 2018. Davenport pleaded June 27, 2018 and was sentenced on September 28, 2018 to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Delano Hall pleaded guilty on June 27, 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced November 20, 2018. Michael Hall pleaded guilty on July 13, 2018. Xavier Powell pleaded guilty on August 27, 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2018.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Louisiana State Police-Alexandria Field Office Narcotics participated in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Earl M. Campbell and Jessica D. Cassidy are prosecuting the case.
Marion County Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Willie Iva Jennings (35, Reddick) today pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Jennings faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on July 15, 2018, law enforcement officers discovered Jennings behind the wheel of a recently stolen vehicle. Investigators had been led to the location using the car’s global positioning system. Jennings, the sole occupant of the car, did not have a valid Florida driver license.
While taking Jennings into custody, investigators found a loaded semi-automatic firearm in his pocket. Jennings, a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law, admitted that the firearm belonged to him. In addition, Jennings’s criminal history, including at least three felony convictions for the sale of cocaine and a separate felony conviction for resisting an officer with violence, qualifies him for enhanced sentencing as an Armed Career Criminal.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ocala Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
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.
Mansfield Man Sentenced to 13 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Mansfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.
Clinton Campbell, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 13 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Campbell to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.
On May 25, 2018, Campbell pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography. Campbell admitted that he shared child pornography over a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.
Campbell’s computer was identified during an undercover law enforcement investigation and an officer downloaded 74 complete files and 22 partial files of child pornography from Campbell’s computer. Several of the files contained depictions of children as young as five years old being sexually assaulted.
On July 18, 2017, officers executed a search warrant at Campbell’s residence and seized a laptop computer and several digital storage devices. Campbell’s laptop computer contained approximately 1,483 images and 48 videos of contraband imagery. According to court documents, Campbell digitally altered some of the images by placing the faces of children he knew (whose photos Campbell took himself) onto images of another child being sexually assaulted in order to make his experience “more real.” In some of the images, Campbell manipulated the image of the perpetrator to replace the original face with his own photograph. Other images of children appear to have been taken surreptitiously as they passed in front of his house. More than 90 children have been identified in Campbell’s collection of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Mansfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Man Who Ran from the Cops and Tried to Ditch a Gun Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Waterloo man who possessed a gun after two previous felony convictions and ran from the police during a traffic stop was sentenced October 16, 2018, to more than two years in federal prison.
Denzale Ratliff, age 24, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 25, 2018 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ratliff was in possession of a gun while traveling in a car in Waterloo. Waterloo police officers stopped the car. Ratliff got out and ran from officers into a nearby residential area. Ratliff dropped the gun in the backyard of one of the houses. Officers recovered the gun and caught Ratliff. Ratliff had two prior felony convictions for burglary in state court.
Ratliff was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Ratliff was sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.
Ratliff is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Waterloo Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-cr-02017.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Leader of Armed Robbery Crew who Committed a String of 10 Armed Robberies of Convenience Stores Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Tyrone Jason Murphy, age 27, of Washington, D.C., to 11 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, on federal charges of robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The federal charges arose from a series of 10 armed robberies of 7-Eleven convenience stores.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Interim Chief Amal Awad of the Hyattsville Police Department.
According Murphy’s plea agreement, from May 17, 2017 through June 16, 2017, Murphy conspired with Kione Anthony Banks, Leighton Cordell Williams, Banks’ brother, Khiry Delonte Banks, and others, to commit 10 armed robberies of 7-Eleven convenience stores. The defendants wore clothing to partially conceal their faces. Murphy drove the robbers to the store in each robbery. During seven of the robberies, Murphy brandished a firearm and ordered the store employees to open their cash registers at gunpoint. In the three other robberies, one or more of Murphy’s co-defendants brandished a firearm.
Specifically, Murphy admitted committing the following armed robberies:
- Robberies in Gaithersburg and Derwood, Maryland, on May 17, 2017, with Kione Banks and Williams;
- A robbery in Hyattsville, Maryland, on June 11, 2017, with a co-conspirator;
- A robbery in Gambrills, Maryland, on June 13, with Khiry Banks and Williams; and
- Two robberies on June 14, 2017, first in Kettering, Maryland, with Khiry Banks and Williams, then in Rockville, Maryland with Khiry Banks.
- Also, on June 16, 2017, Murphy committed three additional robberies in Glen Burnie, Millersville, and Morningside, Maryland, with all three of his co-defendants.
In all of the June robberies, Murphy brandished a firearm. After the robbery in Morningside, Murphy drove his co-defendants onto Suitland Parkway and Prince George’s County Police officers executed a traffic stop on the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle recovered two firearms, cash, and cigarettes stolen during the robberies. Members of this group robbed a total of ten 7-Elevens throughout Maryland.
Khiry Banks, age 29, and Williams, age 32, both of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to the same federal charges of robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in relation to their participation in the 7-Eleven robberies. Each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for robbery and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, and up to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for using, carrying and brandishing a firearm. Judge Chuang has scheduled sentencing for Khiry Banks on November 5, 2018. No date has been set yet for Williams. Kione Anthony Banks, age 21, also of Washington, D.C., also pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on October 10, 2018.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI Cross Border Task Force; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the City of Hyattsville Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan, who is prosecuting the case.
# # #
Last of the Co-Defendants Sentenced to 16 Years for Large-Scale Meth RingRead the Press Release
Starlet J. Howie, a/k/a "Star Oettle," and "Star Miller," 49, of Sparta, Illinois, has been sentenced to 192 months in federal prison for her role in a methamphetamine conspiracy, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Steven D. Weinhoeft, announced today. Howie previously pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging her and nine others with conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
The indictment alleged that the offense occurred between 2015 and April 2017, in Perry, Randolph, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Howie was involved with numerous other persons in the distribution of ice. Ice is methamphetamine, which has a purity level of at least 80%. At sentencing, the district court found that Howie was responsible for the distribution of approximately 22.7 kilograms of ice. She also received an enhanced sentence for obstructing justice during the investigation.
Howie was the tenth and final co-defendant sentenced in this case. Previously sentenced co-defendants were Jeremy J. Humphries (235 months); Garrick E.R. Recker (188 months); Derek L. Sumpter (188 months); Rodney V. Howie (174 months); Jeremy S. Copple (168 months); Paige M. Gleghorn (140 months); Jordan P. Leggans (135 months); Daniel M. Dortch (120 months); and Mandy L. Hagen (84 months).
The investigation was conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office Drug Tactical Unit, Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois, Chester Police Department, Coulterville Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Lenzburg Police Department, Perry County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office, and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Randolph County States Attorney’s Office and the Monroe County States Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
KC Man Convicted of Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was convicted at trial today of striking two federal officers with his vehicle.
Geno A. Williams, 53, was found guilty during a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough of one count of assaulting a federal officer or employee.
According to evidence introduced during the trial, Williams entered the Social Security Administration office at 2021 Independence Ave., Kansas City, Mo., at about 10:30 a.m. on May 29, 2015. Williams checked in then sat down with his two minor children. Williams was agitated and confrontational toward the Federal Protective Service officers on duty and began filming them with his cell phone. When the officer told Williams he could not record within the facility, Williams complained he was being harassed and said the officer could not tell him what to do. The officer then told Williams he needed to leave the property.
As Williams was leaving, he told the officers that he “knew who they were,” which was taken as a threat to the officers. Two officers followed Williams out of the facility to his vehicle and were ordered by a supervisor to detain him. One of the officers went to the driver’s side door to talk to Williams, who had gotten into the vehicle and locked the doors. The officers attempted to open the vehicle’s doors while an officer walked to the rear of the vehicle and called in the license plate to headquarters.
At that point, Williams backed up the vehicle into the officer, who told Williams, “You just hit me with your vehicle, stop!” Williams continued to back up, however, continually hitting the officer and causing injury. Another officer walked in front of the vehicle. Williams sped forward, forcing the officer to dive out of the way to avoid being run over.
The incident was captured on video. Williams was arrested later that day at his residence.
Under federal statutes, Williams is subject to a sentence of up to eight years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant 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 United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Federal Protective Service.
Jersey City Police Officer Sentenced to 23 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Fraud and Accept Corrupt PaymentsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City police officer was sentenced today to 23 months in prison for accepting corrupt payments in exchange for helping employers operate at worksites without the required presence of an off-duty police officer, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Juan Berrios, 42, of Rahway, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Berrios was a police officer with the Jersey City Police Department from 2004 to 2017. Under Jersey City’s municipal code, police officers performing off-duty work were not permitted to receive cash payments directly from other employers. Rather, the employers were supposed to pay Jersey City, which would then pay the off-duty police officers, minus certain fees, taxes and deductions.
Berrios agreed with numerous off-duty employers to accept payments directly from them and cut Jersey City out of the process. In exchange for the payments, Berrios permitted off-duty employers to operate at worksites without the presence of a police officer when such a presence was required.
On several occasions, Berrios submitted off-duty vouchers seeking and obtaining compensation for working as a traffic director or security guard. Berrios also sought and received overtime compensation for appearing in court at the same time he was purportedly performing off-duty work. As a result, Berrios fraudulently obtained compensation from Jersey City for separate assignments that occurred at the same time.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Berrios to three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $50,000 and restitution of $34,951.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Vikas Khanna, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit, in Newark.
Defense counsel: Danny J. Welsh Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey
Jefferson County man admits to fentanyl distributionRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Corey Robert Clark Ford, of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, has admitted to distributing fentanyl, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Ford, age 29, pled guilty today to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.” Ford admitted to distributing fentanyl in Jefferson County in January 2017.
Ford faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Aggravated Sexual Abuse by Force on Cruise ShipRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Brian James Holland (23, Jacksonville) to 10 years in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse by force. A federal jury found Holland guilty on July 18, 2018.
According to evidence presented at trial, on February 27, 2018, a passenger with an intellectual disability, onboard the Carnival Cruise Line vessel Elation reported an incident of sexual abuse by force. The victim testified that she had been in the cruise ship’s hot tub when Holland attempted to put his arm around her and she attempted to move further away from him. Holland then tried to put his hand on her shoulder and pull her back towards him. Two passengers that were in the hot tub at the time of the incident corroborated the victim’s claim.
The victim further testified that Holland also had touched her genitals both over and under her bathing suit, digitally penetrating her by force. The victim then left the hot tub and reported the incident to her family, who reported it to ship security. An examination of the victim was by the ship’s medical personnel revealed abrasions on the victim’s genitals consistent with digital penetration by force.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Carnival Cruise Line’s Security Department also provided assistance during the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Washington and Jay Taylor.
Houston Pair Charged with Defrauding Dr. Pepper SnappleRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two people have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud for their participation in a scheme to defraud Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPSG), announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Authorities took Joseph A. Isaac, 52, of Houston, into custody today, He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson at 2:00 p.m. Co-defendant Anna Maria Sites, 41, of Friendswood, is expected to make her initial appearance in the near future.
The indictment, returned under seal Oct. 17 and unsealed today, alleges Isaac and Sites defrauded DPSG from 2010 through Feb. 17, 2015. The pair worked at FulFill Plus Inc., a company which administered rebate campaigns for DPSG, according to the charges.
DPSG paid money to Fulfill Plus to fund rebates for those who had requested them. However, the rebates were not paid, according to the indictment. Isaac and Sites allegedly used the money not paid out in rebates for their own personal expenses and non-rebate related expenses of FulFill Plus.
Conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, upon conviction. Each also faces up to 20 years for each count of mail fraud. Both charges also carry a potential $250,000 maximum fine.
The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Braddock is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Honduran Man Sentenced for Illegal Re-entry into United StatesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jose Isaias Guerrero, also known as Jose Isaia Herrera, age 41, and a citizen of Honduras, was sentenced today to time served (6 months in jail) for illegal re-entry into the United States.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Thomas E. Feeley, Director of the Buffalo Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Guerrero was ordered removed by an Immigration Judge in Georgia on October 5, 2010, and he was removed to Mexico on October 19, 2010. Guerrero was arrested by Border Patrol in Texas after he swam across the Rio Grande River from Mexico on November 25, 2010. He was removed to Mexico a second time on November 26, 2010. On April 20, 2018, he was arrested by an ICE Officer. Guerrero admitted that he was actually Honduran, not Mexican, and that he returned to the United States without permission following the 2010 removals.
Following the sentencing, Guerrero was remanded to the Department of Homeland Security, for removal proceedings.
This case was investigated by ICE-ERO and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.
High-Ranking North Carolina Bloods Gang Leader Sentenced to 19 Years for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A high-ranking North Carolina leader of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy. Also sentenced today were two other members of the Bloods gang. Sixty-seven defendants have now either pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina, and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte, North Carolina Field Division, made the announcement.
Cynthia Gilmore, aka Cynthia Young and Lady Bynt, 43, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was sentenced by Chief Judge Frank D. Whitney to serve 228 months in prison. Gilmore had been convicted, together with UBN Godfathers Pedro Gutierrez and James Baxton, by a federal jury sitting in Charlotte on May 17, following a two-week trial. In addition, two other Bloods members were also sentenced today. Robert Allen McClinton, aka Trigga, 29, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced by Judge Whitney to serve 43 months in prison. Renaldo Rodregus Camp, aka Rodeo and Drop, 40, of Shelby, North Carolina, was sentenced by Judge Whitney to serve 70 months in prison.
“As a trusted leader of the Nine Trey Gangsters, Cynthia Gilmore played an integral role in the gang’s violent mission by trafficking narcotics, robbing other drug dealers, and acting as a communications conduit for Pedro Gutierrez, the gang’s incarcerated leader who had previously ordered a gang war,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “Now totaling 67 defendants adjudicated guilty, the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the Nine Trey Gangsters continues to disrupt and weaken this violent prison and street gang, and serves as a testament to what cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement can accomplish.”
“Cynthia Gilmore was a gang member who had risen to the leadership ranks within the Nine Trey Gangsters, a powerful set of the Bloods in North Carolina, said U.S. Attorney Murray. “As a gang member, Gilmore engaged in racketeering criminal acts, including robbery and drug trafficking, to support the gang and pay her dues. As a trusted gang leader, Gilmore had direct access to the gang’s highest leadership, including to the Bloods’ Godfather, Pedro Gutierrez, with whom she had face-to-face meetings while he was incarcerated in New York. As the Godfather’s messenger, Gilmore assisted Gutierrez in maintaining control over the gang, and made certain that other gang members knew, understood, and executed Gutierrez’s orders. With another Bloods leader and two more gang members put behind bars, my office continues our work to dismantle criminal enterprises and to protect the people of the Western District from violent street gangs.”
In February 2017, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice “to reduce crime in America,” and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made violent crime reduction and eliminating gangs a priority during his tenure. In June 2018, the Attorney General announced the largest increase in Assistant U.S. Attorneys—311 new prosecutors, including eight in North Carolina—to combat violent crime and carry out other Department priorities.
Additionally, Attorney General Sessions last year announced a reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods program aimed at reducing the rising tide of violent crime in America. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina is an active participant in PSN.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein mentioned many of these announcements and more when he delivered remarks in August to the 17th Annual Gangs Across the Carolinas Conference, a conference which Attorney General Sessions delivered remarks to in August 2017.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993. UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks. Examples include: a three-circle pattern, usually burned onto the upper arm, known as a “dog paw”; the acronym “M.O.B.,” which stands for “Member of Bloods”; the words “damu,” or “eastside”; the number five; the five-pointed star; and the five-pointed crown. UBN members have distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members. The Nine Trey Gangster set of the UBN refer to themselves as “Billies.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the UBN is governed by a common set of 31 rules, known as “The 31,” which were originally written by the founders of the UBN. Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders. Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93. A percentage of these funds are transferred to incarcerated UBN leadership in New York; these funds also are used locally to conduct gang business. UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies, wire fraud, and bank fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activities.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Nine Trey Gangsters’ leadership proceeds in rank, from lowest to highest, from “Scrap,” “1-Star General” through “5-Star General,” “Low,” “High,” and “Godfather.”
Evidence at trial established that Gilmore was a high-ranking leader of the Nine Trey Gangsters in North Carolina with the rank of “Low,” and that she was involved in drug trafficking and the robbery of other drug dealers. Evidence also established that Gilmore traveled regularly between North Carolina and New York State, where she met with Pedro Gutierrez, the highest ranking leader of the United Blood Nation, who was incarcerated at the time. Evidence further established that Gilmore assisted Gutierrez’s control of the Bloods organization in North Carolina by sending him dues and by passing along communications from Gutierrez to other gang leaders and members.
In all, 67 defendants have been adjudicated guilty in this case, including the three defendants who were found guilty at trial; 64 defendants have pleaded guilty in this investigation. Twelve defendants in high-ranking leadership positions have been convicted:
- Montraya Antwain Atkinson, aka Hardbody, 31, of Raleigh, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. According to the factual basis of his plea agreement, Atkinson admitted to holding the leadership rank of “High,” and admitted to possessing marijuana and cocaine with intent to distribute, and to purchasing and selling powder cocaine. Atkinson was sentenced on Aug. 21 to a term of 208 months in prison;
- James Baxton, aka Frank White and Grown, 44, of New York City, New York, was convicted at trial on May 17. Trial evidence established that Baxton was a “Worldwide High” of the Nine Trey Gangsters and that, while incarcerated in the New York State Department of Corrections, Baxton trafficked heroin within the prison system and engaged in wire fraud by threatening the relatives of other incarcerated inmates. Baxton was sentenced on Sept. 4 to a term of 240 months in prison, to be served federally after completing a term in New York State prison;
- Adrian Nayron Coker, aka Gotti, 28, of Gastonia, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and three counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics. According to the factual basis of his plea agreement, Coker admitted to holding the leadership rank of “Low,” and to possessing a stolen firearm and ammunition, despite having previously been convicted of a felony. Coker was also recorded discussing a potential murder of a rival gang member. Coker was sentenced on June 18, to a term of 140 months in prison;
- Pedro Gutierrez, aka Magoo, Light, and Inferno, of New York City, New York, was convicted at trial on May 17. Based on evidence introduced during the trial, Gutierrez was a “Godfather” of the Nine Trey Gangsters and had served since 2003 as the “Chairman” of the council that governs the UBN. As the Godfather of the set, Gutierrez, along with Baxton, conducted gang business and participated in the distribution of gang dues while incarcerated in the New York State Department of Corrections. Trial evidence also established that Gutierrez ordered a gang war in North Carolina in 2011, directing that members of the Bloods gang attack and kill members of a renegade gang called Pretty Tony. The war resulted in numerous injuries among inmates and the lockdown of five North Carolina prisons for six months. Gutierrez was sentenced on Sept. 4 to a term of 240 months in prison, to be served consecutively to the remainder of a New York State sentence for murder;
- Bianca Kiashie Harrison, aka Lady Gunz, 28, of Midway Park, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. According to the factual basis of her plea agreement, Harrison admitted to holding the leadership rank of “High,” and to participating, at facilities within the New York Department of Corrections, in gang leadership meetings with alleged UBN Godfathers Gutierrez and Baxton. Harrison was sentenced on June 18, to a term of 32 months in prison;
- Quincy Delone Haynes, aka Black Montana, 39, of Lawndale, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and three counts of trafficking cocaine. According to the factual basis of this plea agreement, Haynes admitted to holding the leadership rank of “Low.” Haynes was sentenced on Aug. 15, to a term of 64 months in prison;
- Bobby Earl Hines, aka Swahili Red, 35, of North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. According to the factual basis of his plea agreement, Hines admitted to holding the leadership rank of “High;”
- Barrington Audley Lattibeaudiere, aka Bandana and Bobby Seale, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the factual basis of his plea agreement, Lattibeaudiere admitted to holding the leadership rank of “High,” and coordinating the transmission of hundreds of dollars of UBN gang dues to Gutierrez and Baxton. Lattibeaudiere further admitted to participating in a scheme to make and attempt to make over $64,000 in purchases using fraudulent credit and gift cards. Lattibeaudiere was sentenced on June 19, to serve 56 months in prison;
- MyQuan Lamar Nelson, aka Dripz, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and according to the factual basis of his plea agreement admitted to holding the leadership rank of “Low;”
- Omari Rosero, aka Uno B, 41, of Elmira, New York, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. During his plea, Omari Rosero admitted to holding the leadership rank of “High,” and to serving as an acting “Godfather” of the entire UBN. Rosero was sentenced on July 31, to 87 months in prison, to be served federally after completing a sentence in New York State;
- Porsha Talina Rosero, aka Lady Uno B, 35, of Syracuse, New York, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Rosero admitted to participating in the distribution of gang dues, and to participating in a phone call during which Omari Rosero stated that a suspected cooperator would be “faded straight up.” Porsha Rosero was sentenced on July 31, to serve 21 months in prison; and
- Tywlain Wilson, aka 5 Alive, 25, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and firearm possession in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to the factual basis of his plea agreement, Wilson admitted to holding the leadership rank of “Low.” Wilson was sentenced on July 30, to serve 82 months in prison.
The following 34 defendants have also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced in this investigation:
- Sherman Devante Addison, aka Ace, 24, of Lawndale, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Addison was sentenced on Aug. 15, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Freddrec Deandre Banks, aka Drec and Banga, 22, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Banks was sentenced on Aug. 14, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Destinee Danyell Blakeney, aka Lady Rude, 23, of Morven, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Blakeney was sentenced on July 31, to serve 18 months in prison;
- Shakira Monique Campbell, aka Lady Rage, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine. Campbell was sentenced to serve eight months in prison;
- Brandon Khalil Covington, aka Blokka, 25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Covington was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison;
- Alex Levi Cox, aka Quick, 28, of Loris, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Cox was sentenced on Aug. 21, to serve 17 months in prison;
- Richard Diaz, aka Damu, 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Diaz was sentenced on Aug. 15, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Christopher Dentre Hamrick, aka Red Dot, 29, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hamrick was sentenced on May 30, to serve 64 months in prison;
- Lavaughn Antonio Hanton, aka Killem and Billy-D, 35, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Hanton was sentenced on Aug. 21, to 216 months in prison;
- Anthony ONeil Harrison, aka Ant, 20, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Harrison was sentenced on June 25, to serve 27 months in prison;
- Delonte Maurice Hicks, aka BBB Shooter and Black, 29, of Bennettsville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Hicks was sentenced on May 31, to serve 24 months in prison;
- Raheam Shumar Hopper, aka Bone, 24, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Hopper was sentenced on June 20, to serve 27 months in prison;
- Donl Lequintin Hunsucker, aka Remy, 31, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Hunsucker was sentenced on Aug. 15, to serve 52 months in prison;
- Muhammad John Jackson, aka Picasso, 33, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Jackson was sentenced on Aug. 21, to serve 27 months in prison;
- Terrence Thomas Johnsom, aka Sypher, 41, of Durham, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Johnsom was sentenced on May 30, to serve 57 months in prison;
- Joe Tarpeh Johnson, aka JR, Big Pusha and Kutthroat, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Johnson was sentenced on April 28, to serve 31 months in prison;
- Latif Nakia Antoine Johnson, aka Billy Solo, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Johnson was sentenced on July 9, to serve 18 months in prison;
- Rashad Monte King, aka Billy Kilo Montana, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. King was sentenced on July 30, to serve 25 months in prison;
- David Matthew Lowe, aka Gucci, 26, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Lowe was sentenced on May 29, to serve 24 months in prison;
- Charles Kenyon Lytle, aka Kam, 40, of Concord, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Lytle was sentenced on Aug. 22, to serve 46 months in prison;
- Brandon Theodore Manning, aka Billy B, 29, of Columbia, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Manning was sentenced on July 31, to serve 21 months in prison;
- Travis McClain, aka Fridaay Daa Thuurteenth, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. McClain was sentenced on Aug. 14, to serve 27 months in prison;
- Isaac Nabah McIntosh, aka Mac, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. McIntosh was sentenced on July 30, to serve 18 months in prison;
- D’Angelo De’Mara McNeil, aka Dutch, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. McNeil was sentenced on June 20, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Kolawole Olalekan Omotosho, aka Rugged Red, 19, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Omotosho was sentenced on May 29, to serve 33 months in prison;
- James Brandin Pegues, 31, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Pegues was sentenced on May 29, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Deshawn Deonta Peterkin, aka Proo, 29, of Wallace, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Peterkin was sentenced on June 25, to serve 21 months in prison;
- Austin Demontry Potts, aka Big Tek and B-Tek, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Potts was sentenced on May 29, to serve 30 months in prison;
- Rashad Sattar, 20, of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sattar was sentenced on Aug. 22, to serve 33 months in prison;
- Anthony Bernard Smith, aka Redd Lion, 25, of Gastonia, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Smith was sentenced on April 23, to serve 44 months in prison;
- Cedric Surratt, aka Hollywood, 5-Star and Lingo, 30, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Surratt was sentenced on June 20, to serve 28 months in prison;
- Peatrez Lamar Teaste, aka P-Wheezy, 25, of Loris, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Teaste was sentenced on Aug. 21, to serve 109 months in prison;
- Lavon Christopher Turner, aka Hungry, 28, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Turner was sentenced on April 23, to serve 35 months in prison; and
- Jesse James Watkins, aka Showtime, 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Watkins was sentenced on July 30, to serve 27 months in prison.
The following 19 defendants have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in this case:
- Aaron Demitri Alexander, aka A Dawg, 25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on July 9, to racketeering conspiracy;
- Antarious Quashard Byers, aka Bang, 25, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on Aug. 28, to racketeering conspiracy;
- Renaldo Rodregus Camp, aka Rodeo and Drop, 40, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to possession with intent to distribute cocaine;
- Marquel Michael Cunningham, aka Omega, 22, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- James Walter Dowdle, aka Staxx, 25, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence;
- John Paul Durant, aka JP, Glock and Gudda, 29, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Shamon Movair Goins, aka Rugie, 28, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Jasmin Reikeem Hicks, aka Rude, 28, of Morven, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Wesley Javon Howze, aka Drama, 22, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Juan Cruz Leon, aka Jefe, 22, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Terry Lavon Maddox, aka Turbo, 27, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base;
- Robert Allen McClinton, aka Trigga, 29, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base;
- Christopher Lashon Miller, aka Dro, 24, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Johnny Thomas Mitchell, aka Joker, 38, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Christopher O’Brien Moore, aka Ratchet, 23, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Kenneth Marquise Ruff, aka Red Hot, 28, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy;
- Isaiah Devon Stallworth, aka Zay and Juice, 25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, to racketeering conspiracy and to use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence;
- Jhad Elijah Thorbourne, aka Flight, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on July 19, to racketeering conspiracy; and
- Patrick Wray, aka Ike and Murda, 30, of Shelby, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice; the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations. Trial Attorneys Andrew L. Creighton and Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
Four Additional Latin Dragon Members Charged with Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Four additional members of Chicago area criminal street gang, the Latin Dragons Nation, have been charged with racketeering conspiracy and other related offenses in a second superseding indictment unsealed today, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana announced.
According to the second superseding indictment, the Latin Dragons Nation is a criminal street gang that originated in Chicago and spread to other areas, including the Northern District of Indiana. Members and associates of the Latin Dragons Nation allegedly engage in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, witness tampering, and assault, to protect the gang’s territory and drug operations. Latin Dragons Nation gang members are required by gang rules to take immediate violent action against anyone who threatens them, and gain respect and status within the gang by doing so.
The four additional defendants charged in the nine-count indictment are Gustavo Colunga aka “Barkley,” 25, of Hammond, Indiana; Joshua Harris-White aka “BJ,” 24, of Chicago, Illinois; Mario Colunga, 30, of Whiting, Indiana; and Luis Colunga, aka “Panson,” 28, of Chicago, Illinois.
Among the various alleged offenses that the second superseding indictment added are:
- On or about July 27, 2015, allegedly Gustavo Colunga and Joshua Harris-White approached Victim #6, a juvenile, whom Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White believed was a rival gang member. Harris-White held Victim #6 down, while Gustavo Colunga stabbed Victim #6 in the throat. Both Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White fled in a vehicle driven by a third Latin Dragon Nation member.
- On or about Nov. 22, 2017, allegedly while Mario Colunga was driving a vehicle occupied by Ralph Mendez Jr., another Latin Dragon Nation member and three female associates, Mendez Jr. did a drive-by shooting in a rival gang neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois.
- On different occasions, allegedly Luis Colunga delivered an H&R .38 caliber revolver, and Gustavo Colunga delivered a Smith & Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and Inter Ordnance .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a quantity of cocaine to an undercover ATF special agent.
- On or about Aug. 13, 2018, Gustavo Colunga and Joshua Harris-White sold a Ruger .44 magnum revolver and a quantity of marijuana to an ATF undercover special agent.
The previously indicted defendants, charged in this case are Manuel Diaz aka “Smiley,” 27, of Hammond, Indiana; Eduardo Diaz-Corral aka “Lalo,” 20, of Calumet City, Illinois; Ralph Mendez Jr. aka “Lil Devious,” 22, of Chicago, Illinois; and Joseph Roggenkamp aka “Dro,” 21, of East Chicago, Indiana. Diaz-Corral and Diaz allegedly participated, respectively, in the murders of Paul Cruz on Nov. 20, 2016, in Chicago, and Charles Berrios on Sept. 30, 2017, in Hammond, Indiana. These murders and other acts of violence are charged in this second superseding indictment.
The second superseding indictment is part of ongoing efforts to curb the activities of violent street gangs in the Northern District of Indiana.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum penalty for murder in aid of racketeering is death or in the alternative a mandatory life sentence.
This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; the Hammond Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the Merrillville Police Department; the Hobart Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department along with the Chicago and Calumet City, Illinois Police. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Robert S. Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and David J. Nozick of the Northern District of Indiana.
Four Additional Latin Dragon Members Charged with Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Four additional members of Chicago area criminal street gang, the Latin Dragons Nation, have been charged with racketeering conspiracy and other related offenses in a second superseding indictment unsealed today, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana announced.
According to the second superseding indictment, the Latin Dragons Nation is a criminal street gang that originated in Chicago and spread to other areas, including the Northern District of Indiana. Members and associates of the Latin Dragons Nation allegedly engage in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, witness tampering, and assault, to protect the gang’s territory and drug operations. Latin Dragons Nation gang members are required by gang rules to take immediate violent action against anyone who threatens them, and gain respect and status within the gang by doing so.
The four additional defendants charged in the nine-count indictment are Gustavo Colunga aka “Barkley,” 25, of Hammond, Indiana; Joshua Harris-White aka “BJ,” 24, of Chicago, Illinois; Mario Colunga, 30, of Whiting, Indiana; and Luis Colunga, aka “Panson,” 28, of Chicago, Illinois.
Among the various alleged offenses that the second superseding indictment added are:
- On or about July 27, 2015, allegedly Gustavo Colunga and Joshua Harris-White approached Victim #6, a juvenile, whom Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White believed was a rival gang member. Harris-White held Victim #6 down, while Gustavo Colunga stabbed Victim #6 in the throat. Both Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White fled in a vehicle driven by a third Latin Dragon Nation member.
- On or about Nov. 22, 2017, allegedly while Mario Colunga was driving a vehicle occupied by Ralph Mendez Jr., another Latin Dragon Nation member and three female associates, Mendez Jr. did a drive-by shooting in a rival gang neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois.
- On different occasions, allegedly Luis Colunga delivered an H&R .38 caliber revolver, and Gustavo Colunga delivered a Smith & Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and Inter Ordnance .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a quantity of cocaine to an undercover ATF special agent.
- On or about Aug. 13, 2018, Gustavo Colunga and Joshua Harris-White sold a Ruger .44 magnum revolver and a quantity of marijuana to an ATF undercover special agent.
The previously indicted defendants, charged in this case are Manuel Diaz aka “Smiley,” 27, of Hammond, Indiana; Eduardo Diaz-Corral aka “Lalo,” 20, of Calumet City, Illinois; Ralph Mendez Jr. aka “Lil Devious,” 22, of Chicago, Illinois; and Joseph Roggenkamp aka “Dro,” 21, of East Chicago, Indiana. Diaz-Corral and Diaz allegedly participated, respectively, in the murders of Paul Cruz on Nov. 20, 2016, in Chicago, and Charles Berrios on Sept. 30, 2017, in Hammond, Indiana. These murders and other acts of violence are charged in this second superseding indictment.
The second superseding indictment is part of ongoing efforts to curb the activities of violent street gangs in the Northern District of Indiana.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum penalty for murder in aid of racketeering is death or in the alternative a mandatory life sentence.
This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; the Hammond Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the Merrillville Police Department; the Hobart Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department along with the Chicago and Calumet City, Illinois Police. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Robert S. Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and David J. Nozick of the Northern District of Indiana.
###
- On or about July 27, 2015, allegedly Gustavo Colunga and Joshua Harris-White approached Victim #6, a juvenile, whom Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White believed was a rival gang member. Harris-White held Victim #6 down, while Gustavo Colunga stabbed Victim #6 in the throat. Both Gustavo Colunga and Harris-White fled in a vehicle driven by a third Latin Dragon Nation member.
Founder of Swiss Brokerage Firm Indicted in Connection with Global Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The founder and operator of a Swiss asset management firm has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of engaging in a massive global securities fraud scheme that netted trading proceeds of approximately $164 million.
Roger Knox, 47, a citizen of the United Kingdom who resides in Switzerland, was indicted on one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. On Oct. 3, 2018, Knox was arrested and charged by criminal complaint.
Knox, together with others, operated a purported asset management firm based in Switzerland called Silverton, and later renamed Wintercap. Knox allegedly helped facilitate pump-and-dump, and other market manipulation schemes, by selling massive quantities of microcap securities on behalf of “control groups” who secretly owned the stock through nominee shareholders and who simultaneously orchestrated promotional campaigns and other efforts to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of those shares.
It is further alleged that Knox then funneled the proceeds of the securities fraud—totaling an estimated $164 million over the last three years—to co-conspirators in the United States and elsewhere through a complex money transfer system that disguised the source and nature of the funds.
The charge of securities fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $5 million. The charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Boston Regional Office provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Utility Official Admits to False StatementRead the Press Release
St. Louis - Dale Johansen, 63, of Rocky Mount, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to making a false statement during the course of an investigation of the Rogue Creek water and sewer system.
Johansen admitted in his plea agreement that Rogue Creek is a vacation community in Potosi, Missouri. Johansen’s company, Johansen Consulting Services, LLC, became the receiver for the water and sewer provider and was responsible for overseeing the drinking and wastewater utilities beginning in 2012. Since 1994, drinking water in Rogue Creek had been treated for lead after high levels of lead were detected in the water supply. A treatment system was first used and later replaced with a lead reduction system under the supervision of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Johansen’s duties at Rogue Creek included the operation of the drinking water facilities and sampling and testing of the drinking water for lead. A routine inspection of Rogue Creek drinking water in March 2016 revealed that the lead reduction system was not operational. A subsequent investigation revealed that the Rogue Creek drinking water had not been treated for lead for approximately six months. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources imposed a DO NOT DRINK order for the Rogue Creek system which was not lifted until May 2017.
Johansen admitted making a false statement to investigators in March 2016 that the lead reduction system had only been offline for six to eight weeks when in truth it had been offline for nearly six months.
The maximum penalty for making a false statement is five years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both. Johansen appeared before U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig, who accepted his plea and set his sentencing date of January 29, 2018.
The case was investigated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The defendant’s actions exposed the residents of the Rogue Creek community to elevated levels of lead in their drinking water,” said EPA Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Martinez. ” This case shows that EPA and our law enforcement partners are committed to taking action to protect the public from lead exposure.”
Former Presidio County Official Pleads Guilty to Federal Bribery Related ChargeRead the Press Release
In Alpine today, 66-year-old Carlos Eduardo Nieto, former Special Projects Coordinator for the City of Presidio and former Presidio Independent School District trustee, entered a guilty plea to federal charges related to a public corruption investigation, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash and F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie, Jr., El Paso Division.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge David Counts, Nieto pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and deprivation of honest services. By pleading guilty, Nieto admitted that he and 56–year-old former Presidio County Precinct 3 Commissioner Lorenzo Padilla Hernandez conspired since May 10, 2016, to defraud Presidio County and its citizens of money by corruptly ensuring, through their positions and influence, that a particular company would be awarded a County contract for a document management system. Hernandez and Nieto solicited and received $19,800 and $8,300, respectively, for their efforts. On May 9, 2017, Hernandez voted to award the contract to that particular company.
On August 3, 2018, Hernandez pleaded guilty to the same charge.
Nieto faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Judge Counts scheduled sentencing for Nieto on February 19, 2019, in Pecos. Sentencing for Hernandez, who also faces up to 20 years in federal prison, has yet to be scheduled.
The F.B.I. with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division investigated this case. Individuals who have first-hand information about corruption, fraud, or bribery related to Presidio County are urged to contact the F.B.I. at (915) 835-5000. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Monty Kimball and William F. Lewis are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
Former Middlesex Borough Fire Inspector Sentenced to 34 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Commit Strongarm ExtortionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former fire inspector for Middlesex Borough and other New Jersey municipalities was sentenced today to 34 months in prison for conspiring with another person to commit a strongarm extortion, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Billy A. Donnerstag, 50, of Hackettstown, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an indictment charging him with conspiring to commit extortion using threats of force, violence, and fear. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From December 2016 through June 2017, Donnerstag conspired with Joseph P. Martinelli of Kenvil, New Jersey, to extort the owner and operator of a real estate development and construction company – referred to in the indictment as “Individual 1” – using threats of physical harm if Individual 1 did not pay Donnerstag and Martinelli thousands of dollars. In a series of telephone and in-person conversations with Individual 1, Donnerstag and Martinelli told Individual 1 that, in addition to being a fire inspector for Middlesex Borough, Donnerstag also collected debts. Donnerstag and Martinelli wanted Individual 1 to pay Martinelli, stating that Individual 1 had not paid Martinelli enough money for the sale of a property a decade earlier. During the course of the conspiracy, both Donnerstag and Martinelli made a series of threatening statements to Individual 1 that the consequences of failing to pay Donnerstag and Martinelli would involve physical harm to Individual 1.
Donnerstag told Individual 1:
• “if you were in front of me right now, you’d be on the floor. Okay? Cause I don’t talk—I don’t get talked to like that. You don’t know who I am.”
• “You need to iron this out with Joe. Again, if, if I have to come meet you now—again, it, it, it, it’d become, it’s gonna be a problem.”
• “What I do, is I make sure that people don’t take advantage of other people. Do you understand that? Now I also do other things, but this is one of the things that I do. Now, again if you’re not figuring wh, what my business is by now, you’re either, and again I, I say this with as much respect as I can, either an idiot, or you’re just lying because you don’t want to, to, to understand that I come from somewhere that most people don’t wanna see.”
Ultimately, over two separate meetings (both of which were lawfully recorded), Donnerstag and Martinelli obtained $15,000 in cash from Individual 1. The cash had been provided by the FBI.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Donnerstag to three years of supervised release.
Martinelli pleaded guilty before Judge Arleo on March 2, 2018, to conspiring with Donnerstag to commit extortion and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, New Jersey, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr., Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Zahid N. Quraishi Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Former IRS-CI Special Agent Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax Returns, Theft of Government Money and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
A former special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Alena Aleykina, 45, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration, filed six false tax returns – three personal tax returns for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and three in the names of trusts she created for years 2010 and 2011. On her personal tax returns, Aleykina fraudulently claimed the head of household filing status, listed false dependents, and claimed deductions for education expenses to which she was not entitled. Aleykina also obtained a fraudulent legal separation decree from the California Superior Court for Yolo County so that she and her husband could claim rental real estate loss deductions to which they were not entitled. Further, on a trust tax return, she falsely claimed to be paying wages to her mother and her sister to care for her son and father.
Additionally, Aleykina stole government funds and obstructed justice during the investigation. She stole from the IRS’s Tuition Assistance Program, a program created to allow IRS employees to take job-related classes from local colleges and educational institutions. Aleykina falsely claimed to be taking English classes from a trust registered to her sister. As a result of these fake classes, Aleykina recieved $4,000 in tuition reimbursement from the Tuition Assistance Program. When criminal investigators approached Aleykina to retrieve her government laptop, Aleykina lied to the agents about the location of the laptop and deleted dozens of files from the computer after the agents left. The total loss to the government from Aleykina’s conduct is more than $50,000.
Aleykina was previously convicted in June after a two-week federal jury trial in the Eastern District of California of filing false tax returns, destroying records in a federal investigation, and theft of government money.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, Aleykina was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Tse commended special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Frentzen and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Arthur J. Ewenczyk and Charles O’Reilly, who prosecuted the case.
Former IRS-CI Special Agent Sentenced to over Four Years in Prison for Filing False Tax Returns, Theft of Government Money, and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO— Alena Aleykina, a former special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money, announced U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable John A. Mendez, U.S. District Judge, following a two-week jury trial after which the defendant was found guilty of the charges.
On June 15, 2018, a federal jury in the Eastern District of California convicted Aleykina, 45, of Sacramento, Calif., for filing false tax returns, destroying records in a federal investigation, and theft of government money. According to the evidence introduced at trial, Aleykina, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration, filed six false tax returns: three personal tax returns for years 2009, 2010, and 2011 and three in the names of trusts she created for years 2010 and 2011. On her personal tax returns, Aleykina fraudulently claimed the head of household filing status, listed false dependents, and claimed deductions for education expenses to which she was not entitled. Aleykina also obtained a fraudulent legal separation decree from the California Superior Court for Yolo County so that she and her husband could claim rental real estate loss deductions to which they were not entitled. Further, on a trust tax return, she falsely claimed to be paying wages to her mother and her sister to care for her son and father.
Additionally, Aleykina stole government funds and obstructed justice during the investigation. She stole from the IRS’s Tuition Assistance Program, a program created to allow IRS employees to take job-related classes from local colleges and educational institutions. Aleykina falsely claimed to be taking English classes from a trust registered to her sister. As a result of these fake classes, Aleykina recieved $4,000 in tuition reimbursement from the Tuition Assistance Program. When criminal investigators approached Aleykina to retrieve her government laptop, Aleykina lied to the agents about the location of the laptop and deleted dozens of files from the computer after the agents left.In sentencing Aleykina, Judge Mendez stated his concern that defendant was a federal law enforcement officer and emphasized the importance of that fact when considering the defendant’s betrayal of the public’s trust. Judge Mendez stated that such fraud and misconduct from a federal agent cannot be tolerated and that the defendant’s behavior shocked the conscience. In addition to the term of prison imposed, Judge Mendez ordered Aleykina to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Frentzen and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Arthur J. Ewenczyk and Charles O’Reilly are prosecuting the case. The case was investigated by special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS-Criminal InvestigationThe United States Attorney’s Office in San Francisco, California, is prosecuting this case with the Tax Division; the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California is recused from this matter.
Former Allentown Mayor Sentenced in Pay-to-Play SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Edwin Pawlowski, the former Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today for his role in an extensive pay to play scheme occurring between 2012 and 2015. Chief United States District Judge Juan A. Sanchez sentenced Pawlowski to 180 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Chief Judge Sanchez ordered the former mayor to report to prison immediately following the hearing.
Pawlowski was the Mayor of Allentown from January 1, 2006, until his resignation on March 8, 2018. A federal jury convicted him on March 1, 2018 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services mail fraud, honest services wire fraud, bribery, and Travel Act bribery; 11 counts of bribery/soliciting; two counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion; six counts of mail fraud; nine counts of wire fraud; two counts of honest services mail fraud; six counts of honest services wire fraud; three counts of Travel Act bribery; and seven counts of material false statements to the FBI.
Pawlowski’s co-conspirators included the following individuals, all of whom previously pleaded guilty: Michael Fleck, a campaign consultant; Garrett Strathearn, Allentown Director of Finance; James Hickey, a business consultant; Francis Dougherty, the Allentown Managing Director; and Dale Wiles; an Allentown Assistant City Solicitor. These defendants steered contracts to companies who would contribute money to Pawlowski’s failed campaigns to become the Governor of Pennsylvania and then to become a United States Senator. In addition to taking campaign contributions to fund his campaigns, Pawlowski’s steering of City of Allentown contracts worth more than $5,000,000 defrauded other companies bidding on these contracts under the assumption that the contracting process would be fair and honest. When questioned by the FBI about his actions in July 2015, Pawlowski lied about what he knew and what he had done.
“Pawlowski’s actions eroded the trust that citizens should have in their government,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Williams. “Taxpayers have a right to expect that their elected officials are acting in the interests of the entire city and not for their own personal advancement. And businesses have a right to expect that when they submit contract proposals, they will be judged on the merits rather than on the size of their campaign contributions.”
Williams further said that “[e]very public official and every business development person seeking municipal contracts must understand the serious consequences that result from engaging in a bribery and fraud scheme rather than fair and honest competition.”
“Ed Pawlowski sold the city of Allentown out,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “He used his position as mayor to further his political career, coolly embracing the practice of ‘pay to play.’ Though his actions have sorely betrayed the public trust, Pawlowski has expressed neither regret nor remorse. The FBI will never stop investigating public corruption and bringing to justice those toxic officials willing to break the law.”
“Today’s sentencing confirms that public officials who break the rules and violate the public’s trust will be held accountable for their actions,” said Guy Ficco, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “The Special Agents of IRS-CI remain committed to rooting out public corruption in an attempt to promote honest and ethical government on behalf of America’s law-abiding taxpayers.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony J. Wzorek and Michelle L. Morgan.
Former Alabama Resident Charged by Criminal Complaint with Attempting to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Alaa Mohd Abusaad was charged today by criminal complaint in Birmingham, Alabama with attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and aiding and abetting others, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339B and 2. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, United States Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. of the Birmingham Division made the announcement today.
As set forth in the complaint, Abusaad instructed an FBI undercover employee (UCE) about how to send money to the mujahedeen—fighters engaged in jihad. Abusaad told the UCE that money “is always needed. You can’t have a war without weapons. You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.” Abusaad also advised the UCE on how to send money in a manner that would avoid detection by law enforcement, including by using fake names and addresses when conducting electronic money transfers. Subsequently, Abusaad introduced the UCE to a financial facilitator who could route the UCE’s money to “brothers that work with aq” (meaning al Qaeda).
If convicted, Abusaad faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to a life term supervised release. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the assigned judge.
Investigation of the case was conducted by the FBI, including FBI offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Cleveland, and Toledo, Ohio. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Cornelius and Manu Balachandran, and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charges contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Five Men Indicted for Carjacking and Armed Robbery in MemphisRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Five individuals have been indicted for carjacking and armed robbery. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee announced the indictments today.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee has responded to a recent increase in the number of carjackings in the district by obtaining indictments against five individuals each responsible for violent carjacking incidents involving the possession and use of firearms within the past year.
The five defendants listed are currently in custody:
- Jherrick Grimes, 25, Memphis, TN
- Lorenzo Davis, 29, Memphis, TN
- Angelo Bunting, 20, Memphis, TN
- DeQuan Blackmon, 19, Memphis, TN
- Harry French, 20, Memphis, TN
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "While recent reports indicate that violent crime rates in all major categories are declining, carjacking offenses in Memphis have spiked and increased an alarming 87% in the past year. This trend cannot continue, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is coordinating with our federal and local law enforcement partners to prioritize and target carjacking cases for aggressive federal prosecution. These cases demonstrate our resolve to incapacitate the most violent offenders, uphold the rule of law, deter criminal conduct with a strong message of significant consequences, and make us all safer."
Jherrick Grimes
Count 1 charges that on August 6, 2018, Jherrick Grimes being aided and abetted by others, took a motor vehicle, a 2004 Audi A4, by force, violence and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 2 charges that on August 6, 2018, Jherrick Grimes brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Count 3 charges that on August 15, 2018, Jherrick Grimes was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Lorenzo Davis
Count 1 charges that on July 26, 2018, Lorenzo Davis committed bank robbery by taking by force from a person money belonging to MetaBank, and put in jeopardy the life of another person by use of a dangerous weapon.
Count 2 charges that on July 26, 2018, Lorenzo Davis brandished a firearm during a bank robbery.
Count 3 charges that on July 27, 2018, Lorenzo Davis took a motor vehicle, a 2001 Toyota Solara, by force, violence and intimidation, resulting in serious bodily injury.
Count 4 charges that on July 27, 2018, Lorenzo Davis discharged a firearm during a carjacking.
Counts 5 and 6 charge that on July 26 and July 27, 2018, Lorenzo Davis was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Angelo Bunting
Count 1 charges that on June 28, 2018, Angelo Bunting, being aided and abetted by unknown others, took a motor vehicle, a 2014 Toyota Corolla, by force, violence, and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 2 charges that on June 28, 2018, Angelo Bunting brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Count 3 charges that on July 6, 2018, Angelo Bunting, being aided and abetted by unknown others, took a motor vehicle, a 2011 Chevrolet Impala, by force, violence, and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 4 charges that on July 6, 2018, Angelo Bunting brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Count 5 charges that on July 13, 2018, Angelo Bunting, being and aided by unknown others took a motor vehicle, a 2013 Volkswagen Passat, by force, violence, and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 6 charges that on July 13, 2018, Angelo Bunting brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Dequan Blackmon and Harry French
Count 1 charges that on August 4, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French, being aided and abetted by unknown others, took a motor vehicle, a 2015 Dodge Journey, by force, violence, and intimidation with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 2 charges that on August 4, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Count 3 charges that on August 23, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French, being aided and abetted by unknown others, took a motor vehicle, a 1991 Jeep Cherokee, by force, violence and intimidation with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm.
Count 4 charges that on August 23, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
Count 5 charges that on August 23, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French being aided and abetted by unknown others, took a motor vehicle, a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban, by force, violence, and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm
Count 6 charges that on August 23, 2017, Dequan Blackmon and Harry French brandished a firearm during a carjacking.
If convicted of all counts, the defendants face possible sentences of not less than seven years, and up to life imprisonment, $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release. Sentencing for each defendant is individual, and is based upon a number of statutory factors under the federal sentencing guidelines, including but not limited to prior conviction history, which may enhance or mitigate the ultimate sentence imposed by the Court.
These cases were investigated by ATF and Memphis Police Department Violent Crime Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Rogers and Marques Young are prosecuting these cases on the government’s behalf.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Filipino Woman Sentenced to Time Served for Passport FraudRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Emelita Ignacio Arindela, a/k/a “Esperanza Ignacio Arindela,” “Esperanza Hooper,” “Emily I. Arindela,” and “Emily Ignacio Arindela,” 43, of Mount Desert Island, Maine, and previously of the Philippines, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to time served (10 days) and one year of supervised release for passport fraud. Arindela pleaded guilty on April 12, 2018.
According to court records, in 2000, the defendant assumed the name and date of birth of her older sister in order to marry a U.S. citizen in the City of Valenzuela, Philippines. In 2002, she entered the United States under her sister’s identity. In 2009, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen using her sister’s identity. Later that year, she legally changed her name to Emily I. Arindela. In 2010, she applied for a U.S. passport using her new name and her sister’s date of birth.
The case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State.
Felon sentenced to federal prison for gun possessionRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Kenneth Copeland was sentenced to federal prison on October 22, 2018, for being a felon in possession of a firearm after bringing an assault rifle into the Dunbar Recreational Center Gymnasium.
“Our community centers are designed to be a place where the public—especially our children—can safely play and gather together,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “By bringing a loaded assault rifle into the gymnasium, Copeland put all those present in danger and took from the community its sense of safety.”
“The illegal possession of a firearm is a crime in itself” said Arthur Peralta, ATF Special Agent in Charge. “However, taking a firearm into a place where children are present and leaving it in plain view, recklessly endangering everyone, is shocking. In this case, a concerned citizen saved the day and the defendant is no longer in a position to endanger anyone else.”
“There’s no place on our streets for guns to be in the hands of convicted felons, and certainly no place for guns of any kind to be in a place that’s supposed to be a safe haven for so many of our children,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “This is great teamwork by our officers and the U.S. Attorney's Office to once again assist us in getting dangerous and irresponsible individuals out of our communities.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On April 28, 2015, Copeland came to the Dunbar Center Gymnasium with a loaded assault rifle in a shopping bag. Despite the presence of approximately 20 members of the public, including children, Copeland left the assault rifle on the bleachers and went to play basketball. A concerned citizen called 911 to alert law enforcement that the assault rifle was inside the gymnasium. Atlanta Police Department officers arrived, detained Copeland, and successfully secured the loaded assault rifle. Copeland was convicted of multiple felonies prior to April 28, 2015, and as a result, he is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
Kenneth Copeland, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to five years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Copeland pleaded guilty to one count of a felon in possession of a firearm on July 25, 2018.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Atlanta Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine I. Terry and Kim Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Section, prosecuted the case. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office and the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance with 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.
Felon Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Antonio Travis Steward, 41, of Anchorage, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, to serve 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, on numerous occasions that involved criminal activity in Anchorage.
According to court documents, on April 30, 2017, APD officers responded to a report of a male, later identified as Steward, who was passed out in the Driver’s seat of a vehicle. Steward appeared impaired and was therefore asked to participate in standardized field sobriety tests. When officers conducted a search, they recovered from Steward a stolen Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol, along with quantities of marijuana and cocaine.
On Sept. 5, 2017, APD was dispatched to a report of a stolen vehicle. Officer’s blocked in the vehicle and contacted the driver, identified as Steward. When the vehicle was searched, officers recovered a stolen Tanfoligo 9mm pistol from underneath the driver’s seat, which was loaded with an extended magazine that contained 16 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia were found inside the vehicle.
On Feb. 5, 2018, APD was dispatched to a residence for an assault involving a firearm, where Steward had repeatedly struck the victim and then pointed a black handgun at her, and stated he was going to shoot her. The victim ran to a neighbor and Steward left the scene.
On March 11, 2018, APD was dispatched to an Anchorage hotel regarding a suspicious person in a vehicle. Officers arrived and observed Steward slumped over in the driver’s seat. Steward was difficult to wake up and was asked to participate in standardized field sobriety tests. When Steward exited the vehicle, officers observed he had been sitting on a Colt .45 caliber pistol. During a pat search, officers discovered quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
After each of these offenses, Steward had been arrested and released on bail. Due to the serious and repetitive nature of Steward’s criminal activity, the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office referred the matter for federal prosecution. Steward has multiple prior felony convictions for crimes involving theft, robbery, and bank robbery, as well as several misdemeanor convictions. As a convicted felon, Steward was prohibited from possessing firearms.
The Anchorage Police Department (APD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. The case was developed through cooperation with the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Stinson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 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.
Federal Jury Convicts Pocatello Man on Anabolic Steroid ChargesRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – A federal jury in Pocatello convicted Travis M. Newbold, 47, on Friday, of conspiracy to import anabolic steroids, importation of anabolic steroids, and possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. Newbold was charged by indictment on November 28, 2017.
According to the evidence presented at trial, on October 25, 2017, investigators from Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Pocatello Police Department conducted a controlled delivery of a package that was destined for Newbold’s address. The package contained over three pounds of powdered anabolic steroids.
Investigators searched Newbold’s home that day pursuant to a search warrant. They found over three pounds of additional anabolic steroid powders, liquid vials of anabolic steroids, recipes for making oral and injectable anabolic steroids, and other steroid dispensing paraphernalia. A search of Newbold’s phone revealed that he was ordering the anabolic steroids from China, and helping to trans-ship packages for a China-based anabolic steroid supplier.
Sentencing is set for January 10, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in Pocatello before the Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Newbold faces up to ten years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and at least three years supervised release.
“I want to thank the agencies and dedicated law enforcement officers who helped bring this case to trial,” said U.S. Attorney Davis. “Helping to ban the flow of illegal imported drugs into Idaho is a high priority to our office. We are proud the partnership with local and federal law enforcement yielded a conviction in this important case.”
“The United States Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to enforcing the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal or dangerous use and ensure public trust in the mail by holding those persons accountable who attempt to utilize the United States Postal Service to traffic illicit controlled substances,” said Anthony Galetti, Postal Inspector in Charge for the Seattle Division of U.S. Postal Investigation Service.
“The international importation of these dangerous performance-enhancing drugs pose a serious public health and safety risk to our community,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Seattle. “We are proud to be part of the group of highly-motivated, professional agents and law enforcement partners who have worked to remove these hazardous, unregulated substances from our streets.”
“The teamwork of the police officers and the federal partners has been outstanding,” said Pocatello Police Sergeant Nathan Diekemper. “We applaud the diligent efforts of the prosecutors and public servants who helped obtain this conviction. Pocatello is a safer place through this combined effort.”
This case was investigated through the combined efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Pocatello Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Eastern Idaho Partnership. The Eastern Idaho Partnership is a collaborative effort among local communities, law enforcement, the State of Idaho, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. The Partners combine efforts to fund and support a Special Assistant United States Attorney, or “SAUSA.” The SAUSA, Bryan Wheat, works with local prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute serious local crimes in federal court. The Partnership focuses its efforts on regional drug trafficking, gun and gang violence, internet based crimes against children, and other serious crimes with a federal nexus that affect the southeast Idaho region.
# # #
Fayetteville Social Security Employee Indicted on Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Theft of Government Property ChargesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that a Federal grand jury in Raleigh has returned a thirteen-count indictment charging STEPHANIE CHAVIS, age 42, of Saint Pauls, North Carolina, with ten counts of Wire Fraud, two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, and one count of Theft of Government Property.
The indictment alleges that beginning in or about August 2010, and continuing until in or about April 2018, CHAVIS engaged in a scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration by using her supervisory position to divert more than $700,000 in funds meant for SSI beneficiaries into bank accounts controlled by CHAVIS. The indictment further alleges that CHAVIS advanced this scheme by convincing unsuspecting employees to manually process unauthorized payments on SSI beneficiary accounts using the beneficiaries’ personal identifying information and CHAVIS’s bank account information.
If convicted of all counts, CHAVIS faces a maximum penalty of twenty-four years imprisonment. She also faces a minimum two-year consecutive term of imprisonment on each aggravated identity theft count.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Special Assistant United States Attorney Tamika Moses is prosecuting the case for the government.
Fairport Man Pleads Guilty to False Claim of PTSD to Get VA Disability PaymentsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced that Michael Pecka, 33 of Fairport, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa to making a false official statement. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that Pecka filed a claim for VA Disability Benefits in 2011 claiming that he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from witnessing the suicide of two fellow soldiers while deployed to Kuwait in 2004-2005 with the Army Reserve. In support of his claim for PTSD, the defendant described in detail the two suicides that he claimed to have witnessed to include his distance from the soldiers, the manner in which they each committed suicide, his observation of the bodies, and his role in the investigations. As a result of this claim, Pecka received a high disability rating and was awarded tax free disability benefits of $3,167 per month. The defendant filed the initial claim while he was an inmate in federal prison for an unrelated bank fraud conviction.
Pecka repeated his false claims about observing the suicides on Official VA Forms, signed under penalty of perjury, in 2011 and 2014. However, an investigation by Special Agents of the VA Office of Inspector General determined that the defendant lied about being present for either suicide, lied about observing either suicide, lied about being involved in the investigation of either suicide, and in the case of one of the soldiers, was not even in the same country at the time he committed suicide. Pecka repeatedly stated under oath that he watched this soldier commit suicide, when in fact, the defendant was stationed over 6,000 miles away in Kuwait when the soldier committed suicide near Ft. Drum, NY.
On May 24, 2018, Pecka provided statements to an undercover VA Office of Inspector General Special Agent whom the defendant believed to be a VA Field Examiner conducting a routine file update for his compensation claim. During that meeting, Pecka falsely told the agent that he personally witnessed the suicide of one of the soldier, now claiming that it happened while they were “on a mission” together. Pecka described the incident stating that soldier shot himself with his pistol without warning, and that he reported the incident to his First Sergeant. None of that was true. Regarding the second suicide, the defendant falsely claimed that he saw the muzzle fire from the discharge of that soldier’s rifle, discovered that victim in his vehicle, and then reported the suicide to Military Police. This too was a lie.
After making these statements to the undercover VA-OIG Special Agent, Pecka completed a new VA Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Form, in his own hand. In that statement, the defendant again falsely claimed that he saw both soldiers shoot themselves.As a result of his false statements to the VA, Pecka received over $92,000 in tax free VA Disability benefits to which he was not legally entitled.
According to the National Center for PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat. The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions. Symptoms may include nightmares or unwanted memories of the trauma, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, heightened reactions, anxiety, or depressed mood. For further information on PTSD, treatment options, and how to obtain help from the Department of Veterans Affairs, please go to https://www.ptsd.va.gov/
The plea is the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Sean J. Smith.
Pecka also has a pending violation of his supervised release conditions from the prior federal bank fraud conviction.
The defendant was ordered detained pending sentencing on both cases, which is scheduled for January 24, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.
# # # #
Fairfax Bookkeeper Sentenced to Prison for $540,000 Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced the sentencing of THERESA ERNESTINE LINSMEIER, 59, to 27 months in prison for embezzling $540,000 from her former employer. LINSMEIER, who pleaded guilty on June 7, 2018, to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, was sentenced earlier today before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, from 1998 to 2016, LINSMEIER was employed as a bookkeeper at Farm Mercantile, Inc., a hardware store located in Fairfax, Minn. In her position, LINSMEIER had access to and was an authorized signatory on Farm Mercantile’s bank accounts and had authority to sign and issue checks on behalf of the company. From about 2011 through 2016, LINSMEIER devised a scheme to embezzle more than $500,000 from Farm Mercantile. As part of the scheme, LINSMEIER transferred money to her personal credit cards directly from the bank accounts to which she had access. LINSMEIER attempted to conceal her embezzlement by creating false entries in Farm Mercantile’s general ledger to make it look like the money she stole had actually been used to pay legitimate business expenses. In total, LINSMEIER stole approximately $540,063, which she used for online gambling.
LINSMEIER did not report the money she embezzled from Farm Mercantile on her federal income tax returns. LINSMEIER instead filed tax returns that falsely reported and understated her income. These false returns allowed her to avoid more than $100,000 in federal income taxes from 2012 through 2016.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph H. Thompson prosecuted this case.
Defendant Information:
THERESA ERNESTINE LINSMEIER, 59
Fairfax, Minn.
Convicted:
- Wire fraud, 1 count
- Filing a false tax return, 1 count
Sentenced:
- 27 months in prison
- Three years of supervised release
- $540,063 in restitution
###
Additional news available on our website.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Eye Centers of Florida Agrees to Pay $525,000 to Settle False Claims Act Liability for Medically Unnecessary Cataract SurgeriesRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces today that Eye Centers of Florida has agreed to pay the United States $525,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly falsifying medical records in order to bill for cataract surgeries on patients that would not have otherwise qualified for the surgery.
Founded in 1971, Eye Centers of Florida is an ophthalmology practice owned by David C. Brown, M.D. Eye Centers of Florida currently has 11 office locations throughout southwest Florida, with the main clinic located in Fort Myers.
The term “visual acuity” refers to the sharpness or clarity of vision. An individual’s visual acuity is generally measured using vision-testing charts to determine the person’s ability to distinguish letters or other images of various sizes at a fixed distance. “Normal” vision is 20/20. Generally, Medicare will consider a cataract surgery medically necessary and reasonable if, among other things, a patient has a visual acuity worse than 20/40 with impairment of ability to carry out needed or desired activities.
According to the settlement agreement it was the United States contention that, from January 1, 2012, through March 1, 2014, employees of Eye Centers of Florida knowingly falsified the medical records of certain Medicare Advantica patients that were referred to Dr. Brown for a cataract surgery evaluation in order to make it appear that the patients had a worse visual acuity score than they had actually received. The United States contended that as a result of these practices, Eye Centers of Florida was able to bill for cataract surgeries for patients that would not have otherwise qualified under Medicare guidelines.
“Altering records in order to justify billing for unnecessary invasive medical procedures is a violation of the trust we place in our health care providers and potentially places lives at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. “Our Civil Division works tirelessly in the pursuit of providers who fraudulently bill Medicare, or any other federal health care program, for services that are medically unnecessary.”
“Altering results of examination scores to conduct invasive ocular procedures, as alleged, threatens the health of those patients, the public’s faith in the medical profession, and the financial integrity of Medicare and Medicaid,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to safeguard these taxpayer-funded programs and the beneficiaries who rely on them.”
The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by two former employees of Eye Centers of Florida, Patti Nilsson and Joann Smith. Nilsson and Smith sued under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act permitting a private citizen to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in the recovery. The Act also allows the United States to intervene and prosecute the action. Nilsson and Smith will receive $115,500 of the proceeds from the settlement with Eye Centers of Florida.
This settlement resulted from an investigation coordinated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle S. Cohen and David Sullivan, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
The government’s action in this matter illustrates the emphasis on combating health care fraud, and one of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The case is captioned U.S. ex. rel. Nilsson and Smith v. Eye Centers of Florida, Docket Number 2:13-cv-842-FtM-38CM. The settlement resolves the United States’ claims in that case. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Edward A. Baza Sentenced to Prison in Ice Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant EDWARD A. BAZA (“BAZA”), age 65, originally from Guam but residing in Hesperia, California, was sentenced on October 22, 2018, in District Court to a 45-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and 50 hours of community service. The Court also ordered BAZA to pay a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants who are convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.
On June 12, 2018, BAZA pled guilty to the charge of Unlawful Use of the Mail to Facilitate the Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1952(a)(3)(A). The investigation revealed that BAZA and other individuals used the mail system in an attempt to distribute methamphetamine on Guam. On August 19, 2013, a package addressed to BAZA’s girlfriend was searched pursuant to a federal search warrant. Agents found methamphetamine concealed inside a Chips Ahoy cookie container. BAZA and his girlfriend went to the post office to claim the package. The substance was later determined to contain 137.3 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, with a 90% purity. The drugs had a street value of up to $123,000.
The U.S. Postal Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Belinda Alcantara, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.
Donora Man Pleads Guilty as part of Lightfoot/Mendoza Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa – A resident of Donora, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics charge, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Michael Tirpak, age 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distributing cocaine before United States District Judge Mark Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from March 2017 to December 2017, Brandon Thomas, a mid-level distributor in the Lightfoot/Mendoza DTO, would receive large quantities of cocaine from Jamie Lightfoot, Jr. before redistributing the cocaine to Tirpak and other co-conspirators. Tirpak would travel to and from Thomas’ house in order to purchase the cocaine.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for January 22, 2019. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior record, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation - The Monongahela Valley Residential Agency, and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the South Strabane Police Department, the Elizabeth Borough Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department and the Perryopolis Police Department, conducted the investigation that led to the guilty plea in this case.
Dominican Republic Citizen Pleads Guilty to Human SmugglingRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Yerdinson Rodriguez-Tavarez, a 24 year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic and lawful permanent resident of the U.S. living in Texas, pled guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to the crime of transporting an illegal alien within the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
Rodriguez-Tavarez is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on January 24, 2019. He faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, along with special assessments that could total $5,100. He also will be subject to Department of Homeland Security immigration removal proceedings.
On August 6, 2018, a South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team Agent, who also is an officer with the Gautier Police Department, was on duty along Interstate 10 eastbound in Jackson County. The Metro Enforcement Team is an interagency task force that patrols known smuggling routes in Jackson County including I-10. Around 7:45 a.m., the agent stopped a 2015 Toyota Corolla with a fraudulent Texas license paper tag. The task force agent’s training and experience led him to believe that he had interrupted an alien smuggling event in progress, and he called the U.S. Border Patrol.
Ultimately, the driver was arrested for transporting illegal aliens. His five passengers were arrested for being illegally present in the United States, and all were transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol Station for processing. At the Border Patrol Station, two of the five illegal alien passengers were identified as having been previously lawfully removed from the United States.
U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the coordinated work of the United States Border Patrol, the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team, and the Gautier Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Dominican National Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
Casimiro Zapata-Martinez, 50, was sentenced to three months in prison and two years of supervised release. Zapata-Martinez will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In 2018, Zapata-Martinez pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien.
Zapata-Martinez was previously deported on April 8, 2002. Law enforcement officers encountered Zapata-Martinez on April 11, 2018, and determined him to be illegally present in the United States.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Todd M. Lyons, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
District Court Orders Tennessee Personal Care ProductsManufacturer to Comply with Drug Safety RequirementsRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A federal court permanently enjoined a Memphis, Tennessee company from distributing misbranded drugs and drugs manufactured under insanitary conditions, the Department of Justice announced today.
In a complaint filed September 25, 2018, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United States alleged that Keystone Laboratories, Inc., the company’s owner, Melinda Menke, and its operator, Elizabeth Jumet, violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by distributing hair care and skin care products that were not manufactured, processed, packaged, or held subject to current good manufacturing practices for drugs. The complaint alleged that FDA inspections of Keystone’s facilities and products revealed numerous problems, including an instance in which the company released a batch of hair products despite test results that suggested contamination by the potentially harmful bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The defendants agreed to be bound by a consent decree filed with the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
"The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that manufacturers and sellers of over-the-counter drugs follow safety laws that protect consumers," said Assistant Attorney General Joseph H. Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. "We will continue to work with the FDA to ensure that over-the-counter drugs are manufactured under safe conditions and are properly labeled."
"Ensuring that consumers are protected from adulterated and contaminated over-the-counter drugs and products is a concern in this district. We will continue to partner with the Department of Justice Civil Division and the FDA to pursue these cases in an effort to protect consumers," said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee.
The consent decree entered by the court permanently enjoins the defendants from violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. As part of the settlement, the defendants may not manufacture or distribute their over-the-counter drug products from any facility owned or operated by the defendants unless they comply with specific remedial measures set forth in the injunction. The order also provides safeguards in the event that the defendants contract with third parties to manufacture similar products.
Trial attorney Claude Scott of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Canale of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee represented the United States, along with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel for Litigation Rosselle Oberstein of the FDA’s Office of the General Counsel.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.