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Thursday 4 October 2018
Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Biodiesel Tax ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, EPA Criminal Investigation Division Director Jessica Taylor, and U.S. Attorney David J. Freed for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
According to documents and information provided to the court, David Tielle served as Director Business Development at Keystone Biofuels Inc. (Keystone), located in Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania, and later in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Keystone purported to be a producer and seller of biodiesel, a type of renewable fuel. Between 2009 and 2012, Tielle participated in a conspiracy to fraudulently claim tax refunds based on the Biodiesel Mixture Tax Credit – a federal excise tax credit for persons or businesses who mix biodiesel with petroleum and use or sell the mixture as a fuel.
“Fraud committed against the United States Government, making all of us victims, is always disappointing,” said U.S. Attorney David J. Freed. “It is particularly so when the fraud is connected to a program with the laudable aim of encouraging renewable fuel production. The defendant in this case nefariously turned a program meant to benefit our community into a scheme to enrich himself and his partners, at our expense. I commend the tireless work of all of our partners in this case, especially the investigators with IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation.”
“A strong enforcement program is essential to maintaining the integrity of the renewable fuel program,” said EPA Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Lynn. “Today’s guilty plea should send a clear message that EPA and our law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing these criminal cases.”
As part of the conspiracy, Tielle caused inflated fuel amounts to be reported to the IRS in order to fraudulently claim tax refunds on fuel Keystone was not producing. To account for the inflated fuel amounts, Tielle created false books and records and engaged in a series of sham financial transactions intended to mirror the false books and records. Tielle also caused Keystone to fraudulently claim tax refunds on fuel that did not meet the quality standards needed to qualify for the Biodiesel Mixture Tax Credit and on fuel Keystone had not mixed with petroleum. The total loss resulting from Tielle’s conduct is approximately $4,149,983.41.
Tielle faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood, and U.S. Attorney Freed thanked agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey MacArthur, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lastra, Trial Attorneys Mark Kotila and Kimberly Ang of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Senior Litigation Counsel Howard P. Stewart of the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, who prosecuted the case.
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Parkersburg Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Anthony Michael Mowery, 42, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. Stuart commended the efforts of the Parkersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
“Between his federal convictions for meth trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Mowery will now serve a total of almost 15 years in federal prison,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “No doubt Parkersburg is a safer city with Mowery behind bars.”
Mowery pled guilty in July 2018, admitting that he possessed a Hi Point 9mm semiautomatic pistol during an argument he had with Joseph Daniel Mills near the little league baseball field in the vicinity of Buckeye Street and Camden Avenue in Parkersburg. Video evidence provided by Mills showed Mowery brandishing a pistol at Mills from the passenger seat of a vehicle. During the altercation, Mowery fled with the driver, abandoning the vehicle at the scene. Police recovered nine millimeter ammunition from the vehicle and a Hi Point pistol and magazine in the field nearby. Mowery was prohibited from possessing the firearm as a result of his previous felony convictions for child abuse and unlawful assault. In an unrelated matter, Mills has since been convicted of methamphetamine trafficking and was sentenced on May 25, 2018 to 108 months in federal prison.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks is responsible for the prosecution.
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.
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Operator of Precious Metals Brokerage in New York Found Guilty of Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A federal jury sitting in Brooklyn, New York, convicted a former Brooklyn resident today of tax evasion and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2010 and 2011, Christopher Wolf operated Rothchild & Associates LLC, in Brooklyn, New York. Rothchild was in the business of selling precious metals to investors over the telephone. Wolf earned commissions from Rothchild, but took steps to conceal this income by directing that it be paid to shell corporations he created. Wolf then caused the filing of false individual and corporate income tax returns that underreported his commission income and claimed phony expense deductions. Wolf’s fraudulent conduct resulted in a tax loss of approximately $240,000.
Wolf faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion and three years in prison for aiding and assisting the preparation or presentation of a false tax return. Wolf also faces a three-year period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Sean Green and Mark Kotila of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Officer of North Carolina Mental Health Service Provider Pleads Guilty for Failure to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
A Raleigh, North Carolina, man pleaded guilty today to one count of willful failure to pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
According to court documents, from 2010 to 2013, Sainte Deon Robinson failed to pay over federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes withheld from the wages paid to employees of his mental health service provider, OneCare Inc. Robinson served in various positions at OneCare Inc., including President, and was obligated to pay over to the IRS such payroll taxes on behalf of the company. Robinson failed to pay over $1.6 million in employment taxes for OneCare Inc. and other companies he controlled.
Robinson's sentencing is scheduled for January 7, 2018, and faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Higdon commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Lauren Castaldi and Michael Boteler, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Nine-Time Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man pleaded guilty today to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Earlon Delton Mitchell, 28, was arrested by Norfolk Police for trespassing and having outstanding arrest warrants. Mitchell, who is a self-admitted general of the Nine Trey Blood Set, resisted and attempted to flee. After a two-minute struggle, the officers detained Mitchell and found a loaded semi-automatic handgun tucked into his pant leg. Mitchell was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 2007 conviction for which he sentenced to 11 years in prison on nine gang-related felony charges, including malicious wounding by mob, using and discharging a firearm while committing a felony, gang participation, and robbery.
Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on January 10. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-118.
Multi-Kilogram Drug Trafficker from Mexico Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving the distribution of kilogram-level amounts of controlled substances on behalf of co-conspirators located overseas and throughout the United States.
According to court documents, Gilberto Paz Madrid, 33, traveled to northern Virginia in June 2018 with another citizen of Mexico to distribute controlled substances, including heroin, on behalf of co-conspirators located in Mexico, the Washington, D.C. area, and elsewhere. Following a successful operation, law enforcement agents from Homeland Security Investigations interdicted and seized nearly nine kilograms of heroin.
In June, the Virginia State Police attempted a traffic stop of a sport utility vehicle that Madrid was driving along the Capital Beltway after he and a co-conspirator paid thousands of dollars for what they believed were numerous bricks of illicit narcotics. Madrid accelerated away from a law enforcement vehicle that activated its blue emergency lights. Madrid’s vehicle then collided into several cars and continued to flee from law enforcement until officers successfully contained the threat and arrested both individuals.
Madrid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and attempted possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 4, 2019. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Virginia State Police as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C., Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-317.
Middletown Drug Ring Leader Connected to Sinaloa Drug Cartel Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – Donte Holdbrook, 24, of Middletown, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to his role in a local narcotics conspiracy tied to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel in Mexico.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac, Middletown Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw, Preble County Prosecuting Attorney Martin P. Votel and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Paul A. Pride announced the plea entered into yesterday before U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black.
Holdbrook was one of 12 individuals charged by a Cincinnati federal grand jury in March in a narcotics and money laundering conspiracy. Members of the group distributed fentanyl from Mexico in Middletown and sent proceeds back to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel in Mexico. A number of others were charged in San Diego, Calif. in a related case.
This investigation began when undercover FBI agents in San Diego learned that a known Sinaloa Cartel money-laundering boss, Jose Lopez-Albarran, coordinated and conducted multiple bulk cash pickups from a drug trafficking organization within the Southern District of Ohio.
Lopez-Albarran was one of 40 defendants charged in the Southern District of California. According to court documents there, he and other members of the Cartel allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds from the United States to Mexico between 2015 and 2018. Through the investigation in California, law enforcement discovered multiple drug-trafficking cells throughout the United States.
The Middletown, Ohio drug-trafficking cell led by Holdbrook sent drug proceeds back to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico via Lopez-Albarran.
Holdbrook was found to be in possession of 366 grams of fentanyl during a traffic stop on December 2, 2017, and in the plea also admitted he arranged for multiple shipments of fentanyl into the Middletown area.
Holdbrook pleaded guilty to the narcotics conspiracy and faces 10 years to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of the cases by the FBI – including FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force, FBI Cincinnati Division and FBI Cleveland Division, Cincinnati and Middletown police departments, Ohio State Highway Patrol and Warren County Drug Task Force, as well as the coordination of Preble County Prosecutor Votel. Glassman also commended Assistant United States Attorney Karl P. Kadon, who is representing the United States in this case.
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Miami Resident Convicted at Trial of Owning and Operating Fraudulent Community Retail PharmacyRead the Press Release
Following a two-week jury trial, on October 1, 2018, Nieves Suarez, 48, of Miami, Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four substantive counts of health care fraud.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office and Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), made the announcement.
According to evidence presented at trial, Suarez owned and operated a fraudulent community retail pharmacy. Suarez was the president, director, and registered agent of Golden Owl Pharmacy & Discount Corp., located at 1874 SW 57th Ave, Miami, Florida, from January 3, 2011, through November 30, 2012, and secretary from November 30, 2012 through March 10, 2015. From November 2011 through August 2014, the Medicare Part D program reimbursed Golden Owl Pharmacy & Discount Corp approximately $1.6 million. Although Golden Owl Pharmacy & Discount Corp did make some drug purchases, audits revealed shortages totaling $915,784.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 12, 2018, 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke (Case No. 18-20175-CR). Suarez faces up to twenty years in prison for the conspiracy charge and ten years in prison for each substantive health care fraud count of conviction.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG in this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Member of Large Lebanon County Drug Trafficking Operation Sentenced to 151 Months’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Michael Millan-Miranda, age 31, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 151 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release by United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III for various drug trafficking offenses.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Millan-Miranda was convicted on April 11, 2017, along with codefendants Julio Aviles, Sr. age 49, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Israel Nazario, age 62, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, all members of a Lebanon County Drug Trafficking Organization, of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram and more of heroin. The parties stipulated that Millan-Miranda was responsible for at least three but less than 10 kilograms of heroin (which is equivalent to approximately 120,000 to 400,000 individual doses of heroin). Millan-Miranda was also convicted of possession with the intent to distribute heroin and the distribution of heroin. The six-day trial was held in federal court in Harrisburg before United States District Judge John E. Jones, III.
The two-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lebanon County Drug Task Force culminated with the execution of search warrants at 513 Arnold Street and 443 North 6th Street, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2015. During the search at 513 Arnold Street, law enforcement agents discovered a “heroin mill” where kilogram amounts of heroin were being processed on a weekly basis. The evidence at trial revealed that Julio Aviles, Sr., a previously convicted drug dealer, owned and operated the heroin mill and employed a network of sellers, packagers, brokers and testers to conduct this illegal enterprise. Packagers were paid approximately $500 a week like factory workers to process and package the heroin for later distribution. The testers operated as quality assurance inspectors to ensure the heroin was of sufficient quality. At the time of the searches, law enforcement agents found over 400 grams of heroin, over 85 grams of cocaine powder, and over 71 grams of crack cocaine. A kilogram of heroin, which weighs approximately 2.2 pounds is equivalent to approximately 40,000 to 50,000 individual doses of heroin, any one of which can be fatal depending on its purity and the nature of its other ingredients. In this case the evidence established that the drug trafficking organization was mixing the heroin with Fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone and Lidocaine. Law enforcement agents estimated that this drug operation was distributing heroin, crack cocaine, and cocaine for a two-year period and during the last few months was distributing kilogram quantities of heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine powder. The value of the drugs distributed has a conservative street value of between $3 million and $5 million.
Located in the processing room were over 52,000 small Ziploc style bags, 37,000 small glassine bags and over 28,000 rubber bands that are used to package controlled substances. Each rubber band was used to package ten individual bags of heroin, called a bundle.
Law enforcement also located three handguns, ten rifles, six shotguns and paraphernalia consistent with a large-scale drug trafficking operation. During the search at 443 North 6th Street, law enforcement officers located additional quantities of heroin, cocaine powder, and crack cocaine along with drug packaging materials.
Thirteen individuals, all together were charged as part of this operation:
- Julio Aviles, Sr., age 49, sentenced to life imprisonment;
- Isrrael Nazario, age 62, sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment;
- Julio Aviles, Jr., age 24, sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment;
- Leandro Nazario, age 30, sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment;
- Suheidy Soto-Concepcion, age 35, sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment;
- Eliezer Soto-Concepcion, age 36, sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment;
- Brenda Soto, age 35, sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison;
- Geidy Arroyo, age 37, time served;
- Brittany Rivera, age 24, sentenced to one year and one day in prison;
- Brent Moyer, age 22, sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment;
- Carlos Nazario, age 72; pending sentencing; and
- Kengie Millan-Miranda, age 27, remains a fugitive. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Kengie Millan-Miranda, please contact Crime Stoppers at 717-270-9800.
Julio Aviles, Jr., Brittany Rivera, Brent Moyer, Carlos Nazario, Brenda Soto and Geidy Arroyo all pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 grams and more of heroin. On the day of trial, Leandro Nazario, Eliezer Soto-Concepcion and Suheidy Soto-Concepcion all pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 grams and more of heroin, 280 grams and more of cocaine base, or crack cocaine and an unspecified quantity of cocaine hydrochloride or powder cocaine.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Lebanon County Drug Task Force, Lebanon County Detective Bureau, Lebanon City Police Department, Cornwall Borough Police Department, and assisted by the Lebanon County Probation Department. Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom, Chief of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force and Special Assistant United States Attorney Nichole Eisenhart who also serves as the First Assistant District Attorney in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania prosecuted the case.
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McLaughlin Man Sentenced to Sixty Months in Federal Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact of ChildrenRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann sentenced a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of abusive sexual contact on October 1, 2018.
Silas Ortley, age 36, was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
In July 2017, Ortley engaged in sexual acts with juveniles. At the times of Ortley’s conduct, the victims were twelve and thirteen years of age.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri.
Ortley remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service to serve his sentence.
Man Guilty of Attempted Enticement of Minor and Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with MinorRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Alexander Davis, 32, of Monsey, New York, was found guilty after a jury trial for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and for travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The trial took place in Easton, Pennsylvania before United States District Judge Edward G. Smith.Between December 4 and December 20, 2017, the defendant began communicating online via Craigslist with a person he believed to be a 14-year old female named “Marisa.” In fact, “Marisa” was a Special Agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office acting in an undercover capacity. Both in online chats and later in text messages, the undercover agent repeatedly told Davis that she was a 14-year old girl. Davis asked to meet “Marisa” multiple times and peppered their communications with sexual innuendo, including volunteering to bring condoms to their first sexual encounter. Davis traveled to a McDonald’s restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on the agreed-upon date with condoms and was arrested.
“This predator traveled to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with condoms in his pocket and illegal sex with a minor on his mind,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “At trial, he claimed that he was role-playing, thinking that he was actually communicating with an adult, but the jury did not buy that excuse. This sort of depravity has no place in our communities. Thanks to smart detective work and collaboration between state and federal law enforcement agencies, Davis’s plan never came to fruition.”
“Homeland Security Investigations leaves no stone unturned in identifying and arresting perpetrators who seek to prey upon vulnerable children in our communities,” said Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “Thanks to HSI’s partnership with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and the diligent teamwork of federal, state, and local law enforcement in this case, a potentially dangerous child predator has been convicted and will now be held accountable for his actions.”
The case was investigated by Special Agent Kathryn Murray of Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Special Agent Daniel Block of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh Davison.
Local Lawyer Sentenced for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scott W. Atway, 44, of Powell, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 12 months and one day in prison, four months of community confinement and eight months of house arrest for filing a false tax return. Atway was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $600,000.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, announced the sentence handed down yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
According to the statement of facts in this case, for several years, including 2010 through 2013, Atway owned multiple Verizon Wireless stores in Central Ohio aside from being a self-employed attorney who operated his own law practice. In 2013, he also generated income from a real-estate holding company for his rental properties.
Atway provided incomplete or false documents to his tax-return preparer for these years. He further made false statements to her when asked to justify how he paid for his lifestyle.
During this timeframe, Atway was building and improving upon a luxury home in Powell. He paid more than $800,000 to contractors for additions including an enclosed tennis court, basketball court, in-ground pool, six-car garage and an elevator. These expenses could not have been covered by the amount of taxable income Atway reported to the IRS.
He was also buying high-end cars, including a $99,000 Land Rover, a $50,000 Porsche 911, a $24,000 Lexus IS250, a $71,000 BMW X6 and a nearly $143,000 Audi R8. (The purchase prices of some of the cars were partially offset by trade-ins.) For these cars, he either received no financing or paid off the loans early, and the income he reported to the dealerships was much greater than what he reported on his tax returns.
“Instead of paying the taxes that he owed, Atway bought high-end vehicles and built an extravagant home for himself,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “Atway stole from all of us—to the tune of over half a million dollars. He deserves the term of incarceration he received.”
“The license to run a business is not a license to avoid paying taxes,” said Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “By filing false tax returns, he cheated all Americans, since we all pay our fair share for the government services and protections that we enjoy.”
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, who is representing the United States in this case.
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Leader of Valley Street Drug Trafficking Network Sentenced to 70 MonthsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced that U.S. District Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced ERIC LASHAWN WILLIAMS, a.k.a. “E” and “EZ,” age 35, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 70 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
On July 2, 2018, Williams, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 46.5 grams of heroin, 285 grams of cocaine and 28.35 grams of marijuana, one count of the unlawful use of a communication facility, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. WILLIAMS also pled guilty to a Bill of Information charging him with violating the Federal Animal Welfare Act by possession of animals in animal fighting ventures.
WILLIAMS was the organizer and leader of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for the distribution of cocaine, marijuana and heroin in the Valley Park neighborhood of Baton Rouge.
During the investigation into WILLIAMS’ drug trafficking, law enforcement agents became aware that WILLIAMS was also involved in an illegal dog-fighting operation. Law enforcement intercepted WILLIAMS and others over numerous telephone conversations regarding the results of dogfights in states including Louisiana, Arkansas, and Georgia, future fights, the stakes (cash) wagers on upcoming fights, as well as the breeding, sale, and training of dogs for dogfighting.
On August 24, 2017, law enforcement agents conducted a search at two residences in Baton Rouge and seized 13 pit bull dogs. The dogs belonged to the defendant WILLIAMS and were related to dog-fighting activities.
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “The honest, law abiding people in the Valley Park community can sleep well tonight knowing that a convicted felon who possessed firearms and sold deadly drugs in their neighborhood is behind bars. This sentence should serve as a reminder to those who engage in criminal wrongdoing that we will not tolerate such behavior in our community. I am grateful to our prosecutors and staff along with the FBI who worked tirelessly on this very important matter.”
This investigation is another effort by the OCDETF Program, which was established in 1982 to mount a comprehensive attack against organized drug traffickers. Today, the OCDETF Program is the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, money laundering organizations, and related criminal enterprises. The OCDETF Program operates nationwide and combines the resources and unique expertise of numerous federal, state, and local agencies in a coordinated attack against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
This OCDETF operation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana and the FBI Baton Rouge Capitol Area Gang Task Force. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyman E. Thornton III.
Leader of Laurel and Whitley County Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 17 YearsRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. — April Sizemore Bowling, 31, of Corbin, Kentucky, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in federal prison, by United States District Judge Robert E. Wier, for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
A federal investigation revealed that, for more than a year, Bowling lead a drug trafficking organization that was importing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into the Eastern District of Kentucky, from a source of supply in Georgia. Bowling worked together with Jeffrey Cole, Jessica Flannery, and Melody LeMar to obtain, transport, and sell that methamphetamine in Laurel, Whitley, and Clay counties. The conspiracy was responsible for bringing in excess of 45 kilograms of methamphetamine from Georgia to Kentucky.
Bowling, Cole, LeMar, and Flannery pled guilty to the charges against them earlier this year. Cole was previously sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, while LeMar and Flannery were each sentenced to 38 months and 33 months, respectively. Under federal law, the defendants must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence; and upon their release, they will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael Christman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI; Chris Evans, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration; Derrick House, Chief of the London Police Department; and John Root, Laurel County Sheriff, jointly made the announcement. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew H. Trimble.
Las Cruces Felon Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Edward Hartley, 37, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the federal firearms laws by being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Hartley was arrested on June 27, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on June 8, 2018, in Dona Ana County, N.M. According to the complaint, Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) officers responded to a weapons call at a residence in Las Cruces that an individual allegedly pointed a gun at a female and a child. When the LCPD officers arrived at the scene, they observed Hartley walking down the street, and after seeing the LCPD officers, Hartley attempted to flee the area and was seen throwing a firearm into the front yard of a residence. Officers subsequently located a handgun magazine loaded with ammunition and a loaded firearm in front yards near the area where Hartley was running.
According to the criminal complaint, Hartley, who was then under state indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device, had multiple prior felony convictions including convictions for second degree murder, drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions.
During today’s change of plea hearing, Hartley pled guilty to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In entering the guilty plea, Hartley admitted that on June 8, 2018, he fled from LCPD officers, and during his flight, discarded a firearm. Hartley acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.
At sentencing, Hartley faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez is prosecuting the case.
Kyle Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Raymond Bull Bear, age 35, was sentenced on October 2, 2018, to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bull Bear was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury on December 15, 2015. The charge related to Bull Bear conspiring with others to distribute more than 80 kilograms of marijuana in the District of South Dakota between 2012 and 2015.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Bull Bear was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Jury Finds District Man Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Killing of Man in Navy Yard Area of Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Babajide Pittman, 33, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder while armed and other charges in a mid-day shooting that took place on a Southeast Washington corner on Thanksgiving weekend of 2016, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Pittman also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed and related firearms offenses. The verdict was returned on Oct. 3, 2018, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2018. Pittman faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the crimes.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 27, 2016, at approximately 1 p.m., Pittman was standing on the corner of 7th and L Streets SE, outside the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks Annex. The homicide victim, Anthony Young, Jr., was the passenger in a car being driven by his girlfriend. They were headed to a friend’s house nearby. Pittman and Mr. Young knew each other, and had been in a prior argument. Mr. Young got out of the car and argued on the sidewalk with Pittman for about two minutes.
When Mr. Young opened the passenger door of the car to leave, Pittman ran up behind him and fired 12 shots into the car. Mr. Young was struck eight times, in the back, arm, and legs, and his girlfriend was struck once in the leg.
Mr. Young, 27, died within minutes of being shot. His girlfriend was transported to Howard University Hospital, where she was treated for the gunshot wound. She sustained permanent nerve damage in her foot.
Pittman fled the area on foot. He was arrested early the following morning, and has been held in custody since.
Personnel from the U.S. Marine Corps assisted the victims and the responding police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police.
A homeowner who lived down the street from the shooting had a Nest surveillance system, with audio and high-definition video, that captured the shooting. This video was instrumental in investigating and prosecuting the case. This prosecution reflects the value of the District of Columbia’s Private Security Camera Incentive Program, which encourages residents to install security cameras to assist law enforcement.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metro Transit Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mannarino, Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman, Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity, Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim, Supervisory Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, and intern Cara Clark.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Nestler and Seth Gilmore, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Jury Convicts Arizona Man of Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Alonzo Harris, age 43, of Youngtown, Arizona, was convicted today of drug trafficking and money laundering charges following a four-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt of the New York Division, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Joseph Cronin, and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.
The evidence at trial proved that Harris used the U.S. Postal Service to mail more than 50 multi-pound packages of methamphetamine from the Phoenix, Arizona, area to Broome County New York, where members of his drug trafficking organization distributed it to local dealers and users. The trial evidence also established that Harris, along with his co-conspirators, generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine.
The conviction in this case was the result of a multi-agency investigation, Operation Hailstorm, which resulted in charges against 10 individuals involved in the illegal methamphetamine trafficking activity. The other nine defendants all previously pled guilty.
Sentencing for Harris is scheduled for February 6, 2019 in Syracuse before Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. At sentencing, Harris faces a mandatory term of 10 years and up to life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the United States Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, the Broome County Special Investigations Unit Task Force, and the Vestal Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Commandeur and Michael Gadarian.
Joint Press Conference AnnouncementRead the Press Release
- WHO: U.S. Attorneys from the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama, along with representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery District Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
- WHAT: Joint press conference to announce the statewide progress of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) one year after the revitalization of the violent crime reduction program.
- WHEN: Friday, October 5, 2018 at 10:30am. (CDT)
- WHERE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, 131 Clayton Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104
- NOTE: All media members must have credentials and a government issued photo ID. An RSVP is requested. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled conference start time. A press release and interview opportunities will be available at the end of the press conference.
- WHO: U.S. Attorneys from the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama, along with representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery District Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Jamaican National Sentenced for Drug Trafficking and BriberyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Damion Christopher Alexander Brown, 43, a Jamaican national residing in Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and bribery of a public official, was sentenced to 60 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Murray and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Bonanno and Wei Xiang, who handled the case, stated that over a nine-month period between 2012 and 2013, Brown trafficked 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and bribed a United States Postal Service (USPS) carrier to deliver U.S. priority mail parcels filled with marijuana. The defendant paid the postal carrier to provide addresses of unsuspecting citizens, who lived along the carrier’s route in Buffalo, to which parcels filled with marijuana could be mailed. When the boxes arrived in Buffalo, the postal carrier did not deliver them to the listed recipient address, but instead, held on to the boxes and handed them directly to Brown in exchange for cash payments.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge, Kevin Kelly; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Joseph W. Cronin, Boston Division; the United States Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kenneth G. Cleevely; and the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey.
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Inmate, Girlfriend Sentenced to Federal Prison for Attempting to Smuggle Drugs into Mat-Su PretrialRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that two Alaska residents have been sentenced to federal prison for attempting to smuggle drugs into the State of Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) Mat-Su Pretrial Correctional Facility (Mat-Su Pretrial) in Palmer.
Joshua Jacob Reed, 31, an inmate at Mat-Su Pretrial at the time of the offense, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to serve 33 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for attempting to possess contraband in prison. Reed’s federal prison sentence is to be served consecutively to the state sentence he is currently serving for trying to smuggle drugs into another DOC facility in 2016. Reed is a four-time felon, and has 14 prior convictions in all.
Reed’s then-girlfriend and co-defendant Olivia Danielle Blake, 27, of Wasilla, was sentenced by Chief Judge Burgess on Sept. 24, 2018, to serve five months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of a controlled substance. Blake had no criminal history prior to this offense.
According to court documents, on Feb. 28, 2017, Blake attempted to pass drugs to Reed, who was an inmate at Mat-Su Pretrial at the time. Blake did so at Reed’s direction on the morning that Reed was to stand trial in State of Alaska v. Reed, 3PA-16-824CR, for attempting to smuggle drugs into DOC’s Goose Creek Correctional Center when he was incarcerated there in January 2016. Trial in that case was set to begin the morning of Feb. 28, 2017. The day before, Reed spoke with Blake and directed her to buy him clothes to wear in court during his trial. In coded language, Reed told Blake to hide drugs inside the shoes she brought him, and to deliver the items to Mat-Su Pretrial the following morning.
On the morning of Feb. 28, 2017, Blake arrived at Mat-Su Pretrial and dropped off a bag for Reed, which contained a pair of shoes, clothes, and a Walmart receipt showing the items purchased at 4:30 a.m. that morning. When Mat-Su Pretrial personnel searched the bag before passing it to Reed, they detected the odor of glue in the shoes and subsequently discovered the drugs. In all, DOC personnel found and seized the following hidden beneath the left shoe’s insole: (1) 2.6 grams of methamphetamine, (2) 0.41 grams of heroin, and (3) a quantity of Buprenorphine, which is one of the narcotic drugs in Suboxone.
In imposing sentence as to Reed, Chief Judge Burgess recognized how “very dangerous” the presence of drugs in our prison system is and the seriousness of the offenses committed by Reed and Blake.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation, with assistance from DOC and the Alaska State Troopers (AST), leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea W. Hattan.
Indictment Unsealed Following Arrests for International Lottery Fraud Scheme That Preyed on Elderly in California and ElsewhereRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An indictment was unsealed following the arrests today of two defendants in Medellin, Colombia, for a lottery fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
On August 23, 2018, a federal grand jury returned a 41-count indictment against Alexander Franco Gutierrez, 40, of Medellin, Colombia; Eduardo Cartagena, 43, of Medellin, Colombia; and Oldaim Lopes, 39, of Calgary, Canada, charging them with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering related to a fake sweepstake scheme that targeted victims over the age of 55. Gutierrez and Cartagena were arrested in Colombia. Lopes remains out of custody in Canada and is being informed of the charges.
According to court documents, Gutierrez and his co-conspirators contacted elderly individuals in the Eastern District of California and elsewhere telling them that they had won a lottery or sweepstakes in the millions of dollars, but had to prepay taxes or insurance fees prior to getting their prize. The conspirators used various means to convince the victims of the lottery or sweepstakes’ authenticity and to avoid detection, including using false aliases, having one victim mail another checks disguised as “investments,” and instructing victims to lie to bank tellers and family members about what purpose the checks or money orders served. In all, dozens of victims over the age of 55 were targeted in the telemarketing scheme, which caused actual losses of at least $1.4 million.
Lopes and Cartagena then conspired with Gutierrez to move the resulting money out of the United States and conceal its nature and source.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation. Significant assistance was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Gutierrez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the mail and wire fraud counts as well as the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. All three defendants face a maximum of 20 years of in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved, whichever is greater, for the conspiracy to commit money laundering. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The U.S. Department of Justice has partnered with Senior Corps, a national service program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency, to educate seniors and prevent further victimization. The Senior Corps program engages more than 245,000 older adults in intensive service each year, who in turn, serve more than 840,000 additional seniors, including 332,000 veterans. Using its vast network operating in more than 30,000 locations, Senior Corps volunteers will communicate about elder fraud to potential victims across the country and will use their skills, knowledge and experience to educate their peers and caregivers about the most prolific types of schemes and how to avoid them.
Hermosa Man Sentenced for Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Hermosa, South Dakota, man convicted of Access Device Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Tobin Nettifee, age 40, was sentenced on October 2, 2018, to 3 years and 9 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $19,159.57 in restitution.
Nettifee was charged on March 20, 2018. The charges related to Nettifee using another person’s identity to obtain three credit cards and using those credit cards for various purchases, totaling more than $19,000. Additionally, Nettifee stole a gift card from a mailbox and used that card to make a purchase.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Nettifee was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Harrison County residents indicted on drug distribution and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Philip K. Finley and Nicoma L. Knight, both of Clarksburg, West Virginia, were indicted this week by a federal grand jury sitting in Wheeling on drug distribution and firearms charges, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Finley, age 51, is charged with one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine,” one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine – Aiding and Abetting,” four counts of “Distribution of Methamphetamine,” two counts of “Possession With the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine,” one count of “Possession With the Intent to Distribute Heroin,” one count of “Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Crime,” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.”
Knight, age 23, is charged with one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine.”
Finley and Knight are accused of distributing methamphetamine in Harrison County from March until September 2018.
Finley and Knight face 10 years to life 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.
The government is also seeking forfeiture of the following:
• $173,442 in cash;
• Smith & Wesson 5-shot revolver, model 60, .38 Special caliber;
• Taurus International MFG., INC. 5-shot revolver, model 650, .357 Magnum caliber;
• Beemiller, INC. semi-automatic pistol, model CF380, .380 ACP caliber;
• Savage Arms, INC. bolt-action rifle, model 93R17, .17 HMR caliber;
• Savage Arms, INC. bolt-action shotgun (“Stevens”), model 59A, .410 gauge;
• Stevens, J., Arms Company pump-action shotgun, model 620, 12-gauge;
• Union Firearms Company pump-action shotgun, model 24, 12-gauge;
• Harrington & Richardson, INC. break-open action shotgun, model 158, 12-gauge;
• Crescent Firearms Company break-open action shotgun (“Sears, Roebuck and Company”) model: Unknown, 16-gauge;
• Winchester break-open action shotgun, model 840, 12-gauge;
• Stevens, J., Arms Company break-open action shotgun (“Off-Hand”), model NO. 35, 12-gauge;
• Sturm, Ruger & Co. semi-automatic rifle, model Mini-Thirty, 7.62x39 caliber, with high capacity magazine;
• Cobray Industries single-shot pistol, model D, .45 caliber;
• Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC semi-automatic pistol, model Colt Automatic, .25 caliber;
• Taurus International MFG., INC. 6-shot revolver, model 669, .357 Magnum caliber;
• Lorcin Engineering Co., INC. semi-automatic pistol, model L-22, .22 caliber;
• Beretta semi-automatic pistol, model Px4 Storm, .40 S&W caliber;
• Nine (9) assorted .40 caliber pistol cartridges;
• Five (5) CBC –Brazilian Cartridge Company pistol cartridges;
• Nine (9) .357 caliber pistol cartridges;
• Five (5) Aguila .380 pistol cartridges
• Four (4) assorted .25 caliber pistol cartridges; and
• One-Hundred Sixty (160) assorted multi-caliber pieces of ammunition.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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until prove
Guatemalan National Man Pleads Guilty to Immigration CrimeRead the Press Release
Defendant had a prior deportation in 2012
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Guatemalan national man entered a guilty plea to the felony offense of Reentry of a Removed Alien, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Domingo Celestino Pacheco-Us, 37, faces up to two years of incarceration when he is sentenced on February 19, 2019. Pacheco-Us is also subject to deportation proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I applaud ICE agents for ensuring our immigration laws are followed by individuals entering the United States,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “ICE is a critically important enforcement tool for the United States. We have been and will continue to prosecute those that violate those laws and enter this great country illegally.”
On August 15, 2018, Pacheco-Us was found in Ripley, Jackson County, West Virginia by members of ICE after receiving a tip that individuals were in the country illegally and working at a restaurant in Ripley, West Virginia. Pursuant to this investigation, ICE agents approached Pacheco-Us and he surrendered to them, offering a Guatemalan identification document. Agents immediately confirmed that Pacheco-Us was not in the United States legally, and took him into federal custody.
Pacheco-Us fingerprints matched him to a 2012 prior encounter where he was found in South Komelik, Arizona on October 8, 2012 and deported from the United States to Guatemala on October 31, 2012. He illegally reentered the United States prior to his capture in 2018. Pacheco-Us had not obtained permission to legally enter the United States and had not sought legal status or citizenship. Pacheco-Us admitted to ICE agents that he was a Guatemalan citizen and subject to deportation proceedings both in 2012 and also in 2018.
Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.
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Greensburg Doctor Charged with Illegally Distributing Controlled Substances and Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A family practice physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The 54-count indictment, returned on October 2, 2018 and unsealed today, named Milad Shaker, 49, of Greensburg, PA, as the sole defendant.
According to indictment, from 2014 to 2017, Shaker, a licensed physician, unlawfully distributed controlled substances, including Vicodin, Percocet, Tramadol and others, in return for sexual favors provided to him either physically or by electronic communication, such as text messaging. Shaker is also charged with health care fraud for causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to Highmark Health Plan and Aetna Health Plan for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed controlled substances.
The law provides for a maximum per count sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both, for counts 1-36 and a maximum per count sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for counts 37-52. Shaker faces an additional maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of $250,000 for the health care fraud charges at counts 53 and 54. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from the following agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Great Falls woman sentenced for methamphetamine distributionRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 63-year old Jewell Kipp of Great Falls was sentenced to 94 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.
Beginning in the fall of 2017, and continuing into early 2018, Kipp distributed large quantities of methamphetamine in Great Falls, Montana. The Russell Country Drug Task Force ultimately seized approximately 220 grams of actual methamphetamine from Kipp over the course of five months. The defendant was held responsible for distributing this amount of methamphetamine, which converts to 1,760 individual doses of the drug.
Through this investigation, law enforcement further learned the defendant had numerous customers throughout Great Falls, and she had access to pound quantities of methamphetamine. Kipp also has numerous prior felony convictions for methamphetamine.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Russell Country Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime. Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
Four Louisiana Businessmen Charged with Conspiracy and Bribery of Former Mississippi Corrections Commissioner and Kemper County SheriffRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Four Louisiana businessmen have been indicted and arrested for conspiracy, paying bribes, and attempting to pay bribes to former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher B. Epps and current Kemper County Sheriff James Moore in exchange for receiving contracts involving the MDOC and a regional detention facility located in Kemper County, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Christopher Freeze, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
A three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on September 19, 2018, charges the four businessmen with conspiracy to defraud the United States, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. They are identified as:
• Michael LeBlanc Sr., 70, of Baton Rouge, La.
• Michael LeBlanc Jr., 40, of Prairieville, La.
• Tawasky L. Ventroy, 59, of Opelousas, La.
• Jacque B. Jackson, 50, of Laplace, La.
Between 2012 and 2015, the four are alleged to have conspired to pay bribes to former MDOC Commissioner Epps and Kemper County Sheriff Moore. Sheriff Moore voluntarily assisted the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and was never a subject of this investigation.
"As long as public corruption continues to be an issue in our state, I can promise you that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will be here to root it out, prosecute it, and ensure that justice is done. I want to personally thank Kemper County Sheriff James Moore for coming forward and working with us to catch those who violate our corruption laws," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
According to the indictment, LeBlanc Sr., LeBlanc Jr., Ventroy and Jackson were associated with Brothers Commissary Services and American Phone Systems, both located in Louisiana but operating in the state of Mississippi.
The indictment states that LeBlanc Sr. allegedly used corrupt means in an attempt to secure lucrative jail and detention facility contracts for commissary and other services throughout Mississippi. Ventroy worked for LeBlanc Sr. to help secure the contracts.
According to the indictment, on or about October 20, 2014, LeBlanc Sr. called Epps to confirm Ventroy would be meeting with Epps. On or about October 21, 2014, Ventroy brought a $2,000 cash bribe or gratuity to former Commissioner Epps. LeBlanc Sr. and Ventroy also agreed to give something of value of $5,000 or more with the intent to influence Epps for awarding and retention of the contracts for LeBlanc Sr.’s company for inmate commissary services.
The indictment alleges that LeBlanc Jr. used corrupt means in an attempt to secure lucrative jail contracts for commissary and inmate telephone services with the Kemper County Regional Correctional Facility and elsewhere. Jackson worked for LeBlanc Jr. to help secure the contracts.
According to the indictment, on or about December 8, 2014, LeBlanc Jr. obtained $2,000 in casino chips at a Biloxi, Mississippi, casino. LeBlanc Jr. provided a minimum of four $500 chips to Jackson. Jackson gave Sheriff Moore a total of $2,000 in casino chips in the men’s restroom of the casino because the inside of the restroom was not covered by casino surveillance cameras. LeBlanc Jr. and Jackson also agreed to give something of value of $5,000 or more with the intent to influence Moore for awarding and retention of the contracts for LeBlanc Jr.’s company for inmate telephone and commissary services at the Kemper County Regional Correctional Facility.
LeBlanc Sr., LeBlanc Jr., Ventroy and Jackson are appearing today before United States Magistrate Judges in the Louisiana districts where they were arrested. Each will appear for their arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi, on October 16, 2018, at 1:30 p.m.
LeBlanc Sr. and Ventroy are charged in Counts 1 and 2, which carry a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 5 years and 10 years each, respectively. LeBlanc Jr. and Jackson are charged in Counts 1 and 3, which also carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment of 5 years and 10 years each, respectively. Each count carries a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the work of the special agents with the FBI’s Jackson Division who investigated the case, along with assistance from Kemper County Sheriff James Moore. The FBI New Orleans Division assisted with the arrests. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay Golden and Kathlyn Van Buskirk.
The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Fort Myers Durable Medical Equipment Providers Sentenced to Prison for Payment of Illegal KickbacksRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Court Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Ryan Williamson (50, Fort Myers) and William Pierce (50, Virginia) to one year in prison, and nine months’ imprisonment, respectively, for conspiring to pay unlawful kickbacks to a local doctor for referring patients to A&G Spinal Solutions, LLC (“A&G Spinal”) – the defendants’ durable medical equipment company. As part of their sentences, the Court also entered money judgments against Williamson in the amount of $1,593,564.54, and against Pierce in the amount of $803,007.25, the proceeds of the conspiracy. Both men had previously pleaded guilty.
According to the plea agreements, beginning in 2010, Williamson and Pierce conspired with Dr. Michael Frey, an interventional pain management doctor operating in Fort Myers, to pay compensation to Frey in exchange for referrals to their company (A&G Spinal). A&G Spinal then paid a percentage of the resulting profits via checks (made payable to Frey’s wife), who was unaware of the scheme and was not associated with A&G Spinal. In addition, from 2013 to 2015, Williamson also paid kickbacks to Frey in exchange for patient referrals for compound pharmaceutical pain cream prescriptions.
Frey has pleaded guilty for his role in both schemes and is currently awaiting sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Jones and Simon Eth, with the assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General.
Today’s resolution illustrates the government’s commitment to combating improper practices that implicate the nation’s federally subsidized health care programs, using all statutory and common law remedies available to address such schemes. 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 claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Fort Knox Soldier Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Porn by Parent, Transportation and Possession of Child PornRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Fort Knox, Kentucky soldier pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, to five counts of production of child pornography by a parent, 10 counts of transportation of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.
Andrew Paul Schmidt, 40, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on December 4, 2017. A federal grand jury indicted Schmidt on six counts on December 20, 2017, and returned a superseding indictment with additional charges on March 21, 2018.
According to the criminal complaint, on December 4, 2017, Schmidt utilized KiK messenger to communicate with an individual online, which unbeknownst to Schmidt, was an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent. During the course of the online conversation, Schmidt sent the undercover agent images of his five-year-old daughter.
Schmidt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could be sentenced up to 370 years in prison. Further, Schmidt faces a minimum term of 5 years supervised release up to a maximum term of supervised release for life, and a $4 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for January 17, 2019, at 10 AM in Louisville before Judge Jennings.
Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Judd and United States Army Captain Greta L. Mattessich, Special Assistant United States Attorney, are prosecuting the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
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This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Former State Criminal Investigator Charged with ExtortionRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Frank Saddler, 52, of Ridgeland, was charged by Criminal Information with one count of Extortion Under Color of Official Right, relating to his former job with the Mississippi Department of Human Services investigating fraud related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze, and Dax Roberson, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Inspector General, United States Department of Agriculture.
"There is almost nothing more corrosive to our democratic form of government than one who abuses his position of authority and public trust. Prosecuting public corruption is a priority of this U.S. Attorney’s Office, and those who abuse their power should be on notice that they will be held to account by this Justice Department," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
As set forth in the Criminal Information, Saddler was a Branch Director with the Mississippi Department of Human Services ("MDHS"), which has oversight of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP") of the United States Department of Agriculture in Mississippi. Saddler’s duties included investigating violations of the SNAP regulations and pursuing criminal charges against violators.
As charged in the Criminal Information, from July 23, 2014 through June 12, 2015, Saddler extorted money from the owners of convenience stores who violated SNAP regulations and who had been charged with criminal violations relating to SNAP.
A violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), as charged in the Criminal Information, carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to three years. Restitution is mandatory by law. The Criminal Information also seeks forfeiture of all proceeds of the extortion.
The public is reminded that a Criminal Information merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Agriculture. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher.
Final Defendant Sentenced to Prison in All About Giving FraudRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – October 4, 2018 – Tammy Young, 49, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 15 months in federal prison for her role in defrauding the government of more than $2 million, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee. Young is the final defendant to be sentenced in the conspiracy, which resulted in charges against eight other individuals. U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger also ordered $550,001 in forfeiture and restitution.
According to court documents, All About Giving, Inc. was formed by LaShane Hayes and incorporated as a non-profit agency in September 2014. The entity was registered as a sponsor agency in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP), which is administered by the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS). The CACFP was created to reimburse child care providers for meals served to low-income children and other qualifying individuals.
Between January 2015 and July 2016, Tammy Young used her residence as the Knoxville office for All About Giving, Inc. and enrolled other individuals as providers for the purpose of submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims to TDHS, representing that the funds had been used to provide meals for eligible CACFP participants. Young pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted that she registered individuals as providers, knowing that they were not providing child care and overstated the number of providers who actually furnished meals to children and inflated the number of children who actually received meals. During the course of this conspiracy, Young personally received checks totaling more than $54,000.
The other eight defendants charged in this case previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced by the court.
The case was investigated by the USDA Office of Inspector General and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Leventis and Sara Beth Myers.
Federal jury in Helena convicts two in home invasion caseRead the Press Release
A federal jury in U.S. District Court in Helena on Thursday convicted two defendants of robbery and firearms charges in a drug-related home invasion. The four-day trial that began on Monday.
The jury found Gabriel Elijah Kane Arkinson, 32, Billings, and Jamie Nicole Milsten, 35, Helena, each guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce, robbery affecting commerce and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Each defendant faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release for the conspiracy and robbery convictions, plus a mandatory minimum seven years to life in prison consecutive to any other charge on the firearm charge.
A third defendant, Melissa Dawn Shurtliff, 28, Helena, pleaded guilty earlier to robbery affecting commerce and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Prosecutors at trial presented evidence that Arkinson and Milsten entered the residence of a Helena drug dealer on April 23, 2017 to steal drugs and drug proceeds. Arkinson was armed with a sawed-off shotgun, and Milsten searched the residence for drugs and money. A small amount of methamphetamine, U.S. currency and a cell phone were stolen. Shurtliff planned the robbery and acted as the getaway driver.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided at the trial. Sentencing for the three defendants is scheduled for April 9, 2019. The defendants are in custody.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson and investigated by the FBI and the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and to make communities safer. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department of Justice’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.
Federal District Court Upholds Forest Service’s Northfork Ecosystem Restoration ProjectRead the Press Release
Spokane– Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that United States District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest regarding an ecosystem restoration project challenged by the Alliance of the Wild Rockies.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, the Alliance filed a lawsuit in August 2016 challenging the Colville National Forest’s decision to approve the North Fork Mill Creek A to Z Project. That project had been carefully designed through cooperation between the Forest Service, timber industry, and a variety of environmental organizations that had formed the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition. The Forest Service used a Stewardship Contract authorized by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) that proposed ecosystem restoration involving rebuilding of roads, fish habitat-improvement projects, thinning of overstocked stands of trees, pre-commercial thinning of young trees, and some aspen restoration in the North Mill Creek drainage of the Three Rivers Ranger District on the Colville National Forest. The Forest Service had approved the project in June 2016.
The Alliance sued the Forest Service in August 2016, claiming that the Forest Service had violated the NFMA by allowing Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company to select and pay for a contractor to conduct the environmental analysis and writing of an environmental assessment (EA) for the project. The Alliance also claimed that the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) because the EA did not properly disclose cumulative effects of the North Fork Project with other projects planned in adjacent watersheds, would not protect habitat for fisher and pine marten (two small forest carnivores) under the NFMA, would reduce snow-intercept cover used by deer and elk on winter range, and would increase sediment production that could injure fish species.
The Alliance previously sought a preliminary injunction from the district court, which Judge Peterson denied in October 2016. The Alliance appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington. The Ninth Circuit ruled against the Alliance on August 1, 2017. The case then returned to the district court for a determination on the merits.
Judge Peterson first found that the awarding of the Stewardship Contract to Vaagen Brothers Lumber in Colville, Washington was based on open and fair bidding and did not violate the NFMA. Judge Peterson also found there was no conflict of interest in letting Vaagen Brothers select the subcontractor to prepare the EA under NEPA because the extensive record in the case showed that the objectivity and integrity of the NEPA process had not been compromised.
Judge Peterson also found that the Forest Service had not violated NEPA when it analyzed impacts of sedimentation in the streams in the North Fork drainage and that the cumulative effects analysis complied with NEPA. Judge Peterson determined the Forest Service’s approach to analyzing impacts to furbearing species such as pine marten and fisher was proper and complied with NEPA and NFMA.
Joseph H. Harrington stated, “Sound forest management benefits the American public and provides needed resources and recreational experiences close to our communities. Natural resource managers should be commended for developing this collaborative project which provides timber and jobs while protecting the natural environment.”
This case was defended by Rudy J. Verschoor and Vanessa R. Waldref, Assistant United States Attorneys in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Father Admits to Assisting Son with 17 RobberiesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Duane Loyd, 47, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years, in prison, a maximum penalty of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Felicetta, who is handling the case, stated that Loyd robbed the Key Bank located at 4248 Delaware Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda on December 7, 2015. In a rental car, the defendant drove his son Brandon, who was 19-years-old at the time, to the bank and provided him with a respirator mask and a firearm to commit the crime. Brandon Loyd pointed the firearm at the tellers and several bank customers before fleeing with money in his father’s waiting vehicle. Officers from the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Tonawanda Police Departments pursued the fleeing vehicle and tackled the defendant and his son after they crashed the rental car. Officers recovered the loaded firearm, a 9mm pistol, and the money stolen from the bank.
Following their arrest, Town of Tonawanda police officers and FBI and agents uncovered 16 additional robberies at local stores that the father and son committed prior to the bank robbery. In each of the robberies, the defendant drove the getaway car while his son entered the store and robbed the clerks of cash. Surveillance images assisted law enforcement with solving the previous robberies.
A total of approximately $4,500 was stolen during the course of the 16 robberies which occurred between November 22, 2015, and December 7, 2015, prior to the Key Bank robbery. In eight of those robberies, Brandon Loyd displayed a firearm to intimidate the clerk into handing over the cash. Duane Loyd also admitted his role in the 16 robberies.
Brandon Loyd was previously convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Duane Loyd’s plea is the result of an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Jerome C. Uschold, III; the City of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Strassburg; the Town of Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; the Village of Kenmore Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Breitnauer; the Town of West Seneca Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Denz; the City of Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Michel; the Town of Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; and the Erie County Crime Analysis Center.
Duane Loyd is scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2019, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
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Eighth Member of Southeastern New Mexico Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Robert C. Ponce, 43, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Ponce is the eighth of the ten defendants charged as the result of a multi-agency investigation into a criminal organization that was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and firearms in southeastern New Mexico to plead guilty.
The investigation initiated by the DEA, ATF and the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization operating in southeastern New Mexico that was supplied by Daniel P. Bruton, 39, of Artesia, N.M., and Marcos A. Martinez, 31, of Roswell, N.M. The investigative team quickly expanded to include HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, and the investigative targets expanded to include other drug traffickers in Eddy and Chaves Counties. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. During the investigation, law enforcement authorities seized more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 44 firearms.
Ponce, Bruton and Martinez were charged along with seven other co-defendants in a 34-count indictment filed on Oct. 3, 2017. The indictment alleged that Martinez, Bruton and their co-defendants conspired to violate the federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws from May 2017 through Oct. 2017 in Eddy and Chaves Counties and elsewhere in New Mexico. The indictment includes 55 overt acts that discussed the conspiracy’s operations, including the quantities of methamphetamine, ranging from multiple ounces to five pounds, allegedly distributed by the defendants on a routine basis. It also describes the firearms, including assault rifles that allegedly were to be smuggled into Mexico, allegedly used by the defendants in relation to their drug trafficking activities.
During today’s proceedings, Ponce pled guilty to conspiracy, use of a communication facility to further the commission of a drug trafficking crime, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In entering the guilty plea, Ponce admitted that during July 2017, he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Eddy County. Ponce further admitted that on July 28, 2017, he was in possession of approximately two ounces of methamphetamine and a loaded firearm located in his vehicle when he fled from law enforcement officers. Ponce admitted that if the methamphetamine had not been seized by law enforcement, it was his intention to distribute the methamphetamine to other individuals. Ponce acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition in July 2017, because of his prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and forgery.
At sentencing, Ponce faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.
Seven of Ponce’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and three have been sentenced: Chelcy A. Vasquez, 26, of Dexter, N.M., pled guilty on Feb. 5, 2018, and was sentenced on July 18, 2018; Erick L. Miranda-Santos, 22, of Artesia pled guilty on April 5, 2018, and was sentenced on Sept. 18, 2018; Kenneth R. Dickerson, 57, of Carlsbad, pled guilty on June 27, 2018, and was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2018; Isela Hernandez, 27, of Roswell pled guilty on April 16, 2018; Martinez pled guilty on June 14, 2018; Linda M. Watts, 28, of Carlsbad pled guilty on June 20, 2018; and Burton pled guilty on July 6, 2018.
Sentencing hearings for Ponce, Burton, Martinez, Watts and Hernandez have yet to be scheduled.
Two co-defendants, Jerry O. Twaddle, 38, and Ethan G. Watts, 28, both of Carlsbad, have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against them. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
These cases were investigated by the DEA, ATF, HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the HIDTA Region VI Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clara N. Cobos and Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the cases filed as the result of the investigation.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Eight Therapists Arrested in Scheme to Defraud Program for Developmentally Disabled ChildrenRead the Press Release
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Kaderrah Doyle, Cara Steinberg, Marina Golfo, Ego Onaga, Lyubov Beylina, Danielle Scopinich, Patricia Hakim and Enock Mensah with stealing more than $600,000 in funds from Medicaid and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene through fraudulent billing practices in connection with the New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP). The EIP is a New York State program that provides remedial services to developmentally delayed children from birth to age three. The defendants, all EIP therapists, were arrested earlier today and are scheduled to make their initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants defrauded government agencies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds designated for therapeutic care for developmentally disabled children,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The victims of this fraud include not only the children and their families who were deprived of the therapeutic care that these defendants claimed to have performed, but ultimately the taxpayers whose taxes support Medicaid. This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring that those who defraud benefit programs will be held accountable.” Mr. Donoghue also expressed his appreciation to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for its assistance during the investigation.
“As we allege today, these defendants stole hundreds of thousands of government dollars from a program designed to aid some of our city’s most vulnerable residents,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Rather than provide honest services, they chose to line their own pockets at the expense of taxpayers and the developmentally-delayed children and their families for whom these funds were targeted. Today’s arrests should serve as a reminder that the FBI will continue to be vigilant in our effort to root out fraud and abuse in programs intended to serve the public when these programs are corrupted by greed.”
“These eight therapists shamefully benefited by stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds while developmentally disabled and delayed children in their care were denied thousands of crucial therapy sessions, according to the charges,” stated DOI Commissioner Peters. “DOI thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for its prosecution of these crimes.”
According to the complaint, between approximately 2012 and 2018, the defendants submitted thousands of fraudulent session notes and accompanying invoices for non-existent EIP therapy sessions. As a direct result of their fraudulent submissions, the defendants received hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements from Medicaid and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. On many occasions, the defendants were not present at the place where the therapy sessions supposedly occurred, including instances in which they were outside of New York State or even outside of the United States. For example, Beylina allegedly submitted approximately 51 fraudulent invoices for EIP therapy sessions that purportedly occurred when she was in the Dominican Republic. On other occasions, the defendants submitted documentation containing the forged signatures of the children’s caretakers, including parents, guardians, teachers and daycare providers. In other instances, the defendants falsely claimed to have performed EIP therapy sessions for two different children at two different locations at the exact same time. Many of the defendants also falsely claimed to have performed EIP therapy sessions when they were, in fact, at work elsewhere, including as full-time teachers with the New York City Department of Education.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Harris and Erin Reid are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
KADERRAH DOYLE
Age: 41
Bronx, New YorkCARA STEINBERG
Age: 40
Old Bridge, New JerseyMARINA GOLFO
Age: 44
North Pelham, New YorkEGO ONAGA
Age: 45
Staten Island, New YorkLYUBOV BEYLINA
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New YorkDANIELLE SCOPINICH
Age: 35
Ozone Park, New YorkPATRICIA HAKIM
Age: 54
Forest Hills, New YorkENOCK MENSAH
Age: 58
Mount Olive, New JerseyE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-MJ-927
East Lyme Man Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Heroin to Overdose VictimRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTOPHER STEVENS, 27, of East Lyme, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing heroin to an overdose victim.
This prosecution is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
According to court documents and statements made in court, early in the morning of June 4, 2016, East Lyme Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a vehicle parked on the side of a road with its engine running and found a 25-year-old male slumped over dead in the driver’s seat, and a young child in the rear seat. Investigators also found a torn wax paper baggy in the man’s hand and several other baggies under his body.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Connecticut subsequently determined that the victim died from acute heroin and fentanyl toxicities.
The investigation revealed that, shortly before he overdosed, the victim met STEVENS at STEVENS’ East Lyme residence, and STEVENS provided heroin to the victim at that time.
STEVENS was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 8, 2016. On May 11, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin.
STEVENS who is released on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on November 8.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force with the assistance of the East Lyme Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Laraia.
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Malicious MischiefRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Malicious Mischief was sentenced on October 2, 2018, by U.S. District Court Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lawrence Parker III, age 27, was sentenced to 3 years of probation, restitution in the amount of $2,536.24, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Lawrence Parker III, was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 12, 2016. He pled guilty on July 23, 2018.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on June 4, 2016, when Parker used an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) belonging to the State Bank of Eagle Butte to attempt to withdraw money from his account. When he was unable to do so, due to reaching his daily withdrawal limit, Parker destroyed the screen on the ATM.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Parker was released following sentencing.
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Heroin that Killed Hoover ManRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Birmingham man to 24 years and four months in prison on charges that included selling heroin that caused the death of a 22-year-old Hoover man, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced EDWARD LEE HENDERSON JR., 31, for selling heroin on Dec. 30, 2016, that caused the Hoover man’s death. The young man’s father found his son unresponsive in the parking lot of a Hoover business on Jan. 2, 2017. Forensic medical examination concluded the man would not have died “but for the heroin” found in his system.
Judge Bowdre also sentenced Henderson for distributing heroin and cocaine and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Henderson, also known as Hot Boi Eddy, pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
“Overdoses from heroin and other opioids killed more people in America in 2017 than either car crashes or guns,” Town said. “This defendant pushed his deadly poison hard. My office and our law enforcement partners are deep into the fight against the country’s opioid epidemic. Drug dealers should be getting the message that if they cause an overdose death, they will spend time, possibly the rest of their lives, in federal prison.”
“The successful prosecution of Edward Lee Henderson should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you sell drugs, and that drug causes a death, you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence,” Hamilton said. “This ‘career offender’s’ sentence in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities.”
According to evidence presented in court, the overdose victim was a heroin addict who checked himself out of a rehabilitation facility in Bessemer on Dec. 7, 2016. On Dec. 30, 2016, he traveled to Birmingham to buy heroin from Henderson, whose number was saved in the victim’s cell phone as Hot Boi Eddy.
Investigators found text messages to and from Henderson on the victim’s phone discussing the potential sell of heroin between Dec. 24, 2016, and Dec. 27, 2016, according to evidence in court. One of the texts from Henderson said: “Christmas Eve deals goin today but deals only start when u get 3 or[sic] them today!”
A Christmas Eve text from the victim to a friend asked the friend to call 911 if he had not heard back from him in 15 or 20 minutes. The victim gave his friend an address for his location. The address was Henderson’s residence, according to evidence.
About a month after the victim’s overdose death, a Birmingham Police detective began making undercover drug buys from Henderson, according to evidence. The officer bought heroin from Henderson three times that February. In May 2017, the undercover bought heroin and cocaine from Henderson.
On July 4, 2017, when Birmingham Police stopped Henderson riding an all-terrain vehicle on Sixth Avenue South, he had a Smith & Wesson pistol in his waistband. Henderson had a previous felony conviction in Jefferson County Circuit Court in April 2012 for discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and an October 2010 conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted the case.
Dozens Arrested in and Around City of Lawrence as Part of Project Safe Neighborhood SweepRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Dozens of individuals were arrested today on federal drug, firearms, and immigration offenses, as well as state warrants. In addition, 11 criminal aliens were arrested and will be processed administratively. Today’s sweep, netting more than 35 criminals in and around the City of Lawrence, is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative (PSN), which aims to bring together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime.
As part of today’s sweep, approximately 35 defendants were charged with federal and state offenses, and nine are still at large. Eleven criminal aliens were arrested by ICE and will be processed administratively for removal from the United States, and 13 are currently at large.
The arrests are the culmination of a number of federal investigations dubbed Operation Law and Order, which targeted impact players and repeat offenders in and around the City of Lawrence, all of whom have prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses and/or drug trafficking, and those with criminal records who are in the United States illegally.
Today’s operation involved over 200 federal law enforcement agents from all over New England, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; Homeland Security Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
During the investigations, law enforcement officers bought or seized approximately 10 kilos of fentanyl.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; United States Marshal John Gibbons of the District of Massachusetts; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett made the announcement today.
The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit, Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit, and the Major Crimes Unit. The state cases are being prosecuted by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. Administrative arrests made by ICE will be handled in Immigration Court.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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. Oct. 3, 2018, marked one year since Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN 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.
The following defendants were charged in federal court:
- Johan Abreau, 23, a Dominical national, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Sabrina Aixa Ramos, 27, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl, two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl and heroin – aiding and abetting;
- Carolina Alonzo, 36, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments;
- Oscar Antigua, 37, of Lawrence, charge with distribution of 40 or more grams of fentanyl;
- Jose Aquino Camilo, a/k/a “Keko,” a/k/a “Kiko,” 39, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Santo Eulogio Baez-Calbojal, a/k/a “Jamaican Freddy,” 47, of Haverhill, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Juan Brito, a/k/a “Juan Bota,” a/k/a “Manual Lugo,” a/k/a “One Eye,” a/k/a “Bolivar Cruz,” a/k/a “Roberto Quinonez-Pomale,” 36, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien;
- Edilberto Calle-Alvarez, 23, of Lowell, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Antonio Camillo, 21, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Rafael Cintron, 25, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Carlos Cosme Cuevas, 34, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Caonabo Cruz, 52, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Yunior De La Cruz-Zapata, 20, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Jesus Figueroa , a/k/a “Chuy,” a/k/a “Chuito,” 28, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Cesar Franco Lara, 34, Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with one count of misuse of Social Security number and aggravated identity theft;
- Identity unknown, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments;
- Jose Hernandez, a/k/a “Fatty Mexicano,” 40, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Elvi Lajara, 23, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Franklyn Laras, 21, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition;
- Sergio Manuel Lara-Suarez, a/k/a “Sergio Manuel Lara-Juarez,” 42, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, was charged with charged with heroin and fentanyl distribution offenses;
- Alan Christopher Pascual Sanchez, 30, a Dominican national formerly residing in Lawrence, currently in ICE custody, charged with one count of illegal reentry;
- Juan Algenis Perez Bernabel, 36, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with drug offenses, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine;
- Kadeem Pimentel, 23, of Haverhill, currently in state custody, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun;
- Jonathan Platon, 31, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Daniel De Jesus Polonia Morillo, 57, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with one count of false statement on an application for Social Security benefits and aggravated identity theft;
- Manuel Rivera, 35, of Lawrence/Lynn, for federal probation violation resulting from a felon in possession of a firearm convictions;
- Wilmer Rogue, 22, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm;
- Leonardo Santos, 47, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with a drug offense, specifically cocaine; and
- Isua Torres-Pineda, a/k/a “Edwin Carmona,” 26, of Salem, charged with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
The following defendants were arrested on state charges:
- Nick Castillo, 29, a Canadian national, charged with fentanyl conspiracy;
- Celestino Escalera, 24, of Lawrence, for assault to murder – firearm;
- Luis Enrique Herrera, 26, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Roberto Estrada-Alfaro, 54, of Haverhill, for failure to register as a sex offender;
- Paul Lapointe, 55, of Lawrence, for failure to register as a sex offender; and
- Jose Mulero-Nieves, a/k/a “Flaco,” 37, of Methuen, charged with drug offenses.
In addition, approximately 11 criminal aliens, all of whom have prior convictions for offenses ranging from drug distribution to assault and battery, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and will be processed administratively.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Charges in Fatal Stabbing at Northwest Washington Bar and GrillRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antoine Byrd, 38, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to fatally stabbing one man and wounding two others at a bar and grill in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Byrd pled guilty on Oct. 3, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of voluntary manslaughter while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence in the range of 10 to 14 years. The Honorable Craig Iscoe set a hearing for Jan. 11, 2019, to determine whether to accept the plea and sentencing range.
According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, the stabbing took place at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2016. That evening, the homicide victim, Robinson Pal, 32, had been with friends at the “Bar Code” bar and restaurant, in the 1100 block of 17th Street NW. Byrd was also at the club that night. At some point during the evening, Mr. Pal pointed out Byrd to his friends, and accused Byrd of having previously robbed him.
A short time later, Mr. Pal and Byrd encountered one another again. This time, they got into a physical altercation, and at some point, Byrd yelled, “I’m going to kill you.” Byrd then stabbed Mr. Pal one time in his chest area. Mr. Pal slumped over and fell to the floor. During that altercation, Byrd also stabbed a second man in the back, and a third man in the hand. Both of those victims survived.
Byrd then fled the scene on foot. He was later identified by individuals who had been at the establishment that night. DNA evidence also linked Byrd to the handle of the knife that was recovered on scene from underneath Mr. Pal. Byrd was arrested on Feb. 17, 2016, and has been in custody ever since.
Mr. Pal died from his injuries on Feb. 1, 2016.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura A. Bach and David Gorman, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Nestler, Alicia Long, and Ellen D’Angelo, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
District Man Charged in Investigation of Illegal Posting of Restricted Personal Information of U.S. Senators on WebsiteRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A volunteer on the staff of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives made his first court appearance today on charges stemming from the illegal posting of restricted personal information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website, as well as related conduct.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on Oct. 3, 2018 by the U.S. Capitol Police. He is charged in a criminal complaint with five federal offenses: making public restricted personal information; making threats in interstate commerce; unauthorized access of a government computer; identity theft; and witness tampering. The complaint also charges him with second-degree burglary and unlawful entry, both District of Columbia offenses.
Cosko appeared this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The judge ordered that Cosko remain detained pending a hearing set for Oct. 9, 2018.
According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Then, on Oct. 1, 2018, according to the affidavit, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.
“Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.
On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the affidavit, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in the office of a U.S. Senator who had once employed him. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. An investigation led to Cosko’s arrest by the U.S. Capitol Police.
The charges in criminal complaints are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The statutory maximums for the crimes are as follows:
Federal Offenses:
Making public restricted personal information – five years.
Threats in interstate commerce – two years.
Unauthorized access of a government computer – one year.
Identity theft – five years.
Witness tampering – 20 years.
District of Columbia Offenses:
Second-degree burglary – 15 years.
Unlawful Entry – Six months.
The maximum statutory federal sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any federal offense, a sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police. The case is being prosecuted by the Cyber Crime and National Security Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Detroit City Council Member Indicted for Taking BribesRead the Press Release
Today a federal grand jury indicted Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland, 35, of Detroit, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the Indictment, beginning in May 2017, and continuing through August 2017, Councilman Leland conspired with Elisa Grubbs, a campaign worker, to solicit and accept bribes consisting of $15,000 in cash and free auto body work from a local business owner. The indictment further alleges that Leland agreed to help delay or prevent the City’s sale of property that the business owner believed he owned in exchange for the bribes. Leland is charged with taking a $7,500 cash bribe on
August 4, 2017, just four days before the primary election for Detroit City Council.
United States Attorney Schneider stated, “A sitting member of the Detroit City Council engaging in bribery is an extreme breach of the trust of the people of Detroit that badly undermines their faith in local government. As was starkly demonstrated by the prosecution of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several corrupt members of his Administration, federal law enforcement is dedicated to rooting out and severely punishing corruption at every level of City governance.”
“The public demands and is entitled to honest public servants. Today’s indictment of Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland underscores the fact that individuals who hold a position of public trust - and who betray that trust - will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating allegations of public corruption. If you are aware of a government official engaging in illegal conduct, I encourage you to notify the FBI’s multi-agency Public Corruption Task Force.”
Leland faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for each bribery count, and up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the bribery conspiracy count.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta and Steven Cares.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Hickey of the National Security Division Delivers Remarks at CyberNext DCRead the Press Release
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Thank you, to the Cybersecurity Coalition and the Cyber Threat Alliance, for the invitation to speak at CyberNext DC.
When I was preparing my remarks, I noticed that the theme of the conference is “Privacy, Partnerships, Protection.” That’s a helpful framework for my remarks today, because I want to talk about all three of those.
Protection
I will start with protection, which is at the core of law enforcement’s mission. Investigating crimes, building cases, and holding individuals, entities, and even nations, accountable, is a large part of how the Justice Department protects the public and contributes to cybersecurity.
It is fairly straightforward why: criminal prosecution is a means of reinforcing the difference between right and wrong, between acceptable state behavior, on the one hand, and that which violates accepted norms of conduct on the Internet.
And imposing consequences, whether through imprisonment, fines or sanctions, or other tools, is a way of deterring malicious conduct, by raising its costs (personal, reputational, financial, and otherwise). As the First Pillar of the Administration’s recent National Cyber Strategy puts it, “Law enforcement actions to combat criminal cyber activity serve as an instrument of national power by, among other things, deterring those activities.”
The last year has seen significant prosecutions of foreign hackers, including those acting on behalf of foreign governments, for computer intrusions and attacks. It is worth recounting some of them, for what they show about the Department’s priorities and the lengths we will go in doing our part to enforce the law and protect the public.
Boyusec
In October 2017, the Department announced charges against three Chinese nationals and residents who worked for a purported Internet security firm known as Guangzhou Bo Yu Information Technology Company Limited (a/k/a “Boyusec”).
The defendants are accused of computer hacking and trade secret theft between December 2015 and March 2016. Among other things, the indictment alleges they stole a prominent economist’s e-mail messages and trade secrets related to global navigation technology that “had no military application,” but was marketed to construction, land survey, and agricultural sectors.
Now, the Indictment does not allege action by the Chinese state. But what made the defendants’ alleged trade secret theft notable (besides the fact that they worked for a firm that marketed its cybersecurity services), was that it continued after China committed in September 2015 (1) not to steal trade secrets or confidential business information “with the intent of providing competitive advantages” to its own companies, and (2) to cooperate with requests to investigate cybercrimes emanating from its territory, which this did.
The September 2015 commitment ushered in broad, public acceptance of a norm against computer espionage for economic benefit (soon accepted by all of the other members of the G-20). And it was incumbent on the U.S. government to hold China to the commitments it made.
As we previously revealed, the Boyusec indictment was returned under seal, while we sought China’s assistance in investigating and putting a stop to Boyusec’s activities. When we received “no meaningful response” to those requests, there was no longer a basis to keep the charges sealed, and we made them public.
Thereafter, the U.S. Trade Representative cited the Boyusec indictment in its March 2018 study of China’s trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which concluded that a combination of China’s practices are unreasonable, including its outbound investment policies and sponsorship of unauthorized computer intrusions.
In this way, you can draw a direct line from the DOJ’s indictment of China’s military officers in 2014, through China’s commitments in 2015, to our monitoring for compliance with those commitments, and this Administration’s response to China’s economic aggression, which includes state-sponsored theft of intellectual property.
Mabna Institute
In March of 2018, the Department announced charges against nine Iranian nationals associated with the Mabna Institute in Iran for a massive coordinated hacking campaign that targeted intellectual property and other research at more than 300 colleges and universities around the world.
The very purpose of the Mabna Institute, according to the indictment, was to assist Iranian universities and scientific and research organizations obtain access to scientific resources outside Iran. It contracted with the Iranian government (including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.) as well as private organizations, and it sold some of the stolen data on websites marketed to Iranian customers.
The indictment alleges the campaign was executed in three phases:
- First, the defendants researched which university professors were doing work of interest to the Iranians. The defendants targeted data across all fields of research and academic disciplines, including science and technology, engineering, medicine, and the social sciences.
- Next, they e-mailed the authors, feigning interest in their work, and tricking them into clicking on malicious links, and stealing their credentials.
- Finally, they used those credentials to steal academic journals, theses, dissertations, and books they would not otherwise have access to.
Over the course of four years, the Mabna Institute and these nine individuals are accused of stealing more than 31 terabytes of academic data, intellectual property, and communications. That amounts to 7.75 trillion sheets of paper. (And that’s printing double-sided.) U.S. universities had collectively spent $3.4 billion to have access to that intellectual property.
The charges themselves virtually guarantee the defendants cannot leave Iran without arrest. And on the day they were announced, the Department of the Treasury, leveraging our investigation, sanctioned the Mabna Institute and the defendants “for engaging in malicious cyber-enabled activities related to the significant misappropriation of economic resources or personal identifiers for private financial gain,” under a provision of Executive Order 13694 (2015).
DPRK
In September, the Department unsealed a massive complaint, outlining some of the government’s proof behind its prior, higher-level attribution that North Korea launched a destructive malware attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, stole $81 million from the Bank of Bangladesh in 2016 (and attempted to steal at least $1 billion from other banks), and created the malware used in the WannaCry 2.0 global ransomware attack last year.
The complaint lays out more than 170 pages of evidence that a single conspiracy, backed by the North Korean government, was responsible for those crimes among others, and it identifies one of the men who was a member of that conspiracy.
As the complaint makes clear, however, the U.S. government was not alone in this investigation. The complaint cites to security researchers whose expertise and dogged pursuit of the threat was critical to the allegations of the complaint. Our investigative efforts not only validate theirs, they yield specific information that expanded the security community’s understanding of the Lazarus Group (a popular name for the intrusion set) and how best to protect against it.
USADA, et al.
Finally, this brings me to this morning’s announcement of an indictment in Pittsburgh (where the first public national security cyber case was unsealed in 2014).
A grand jury there has indicted seven Russian GRU officers with an international hacking conspiracy targeting international anti-doping organizations, among others.
Among the conspiracy’s goals: to publicize stolen information as part of an influence and disinformation campaign designed to undermine, retaliate against, and otherwise delegitimize those organizations, which had publicly exposed Russia’s state-sponsored athlete doping program; and to damage the reputations of athletes around the world by falsely claiming that such athletes were using banned or performance-enhancing drugs.
The indictment also alleges how, when the efforts to obtain remote access failed to achieve their objectives, the GRU sent several of the defendants to locations where their targets were physically located. Then, using specialized equipment, those close access teams hacked the WiFi networks used by the victim organizations or their personnel (like hotel networks where they were staying).
There are some who question this approach, of criminally investigating and charging hackers sponsored by foreign states, often because we have not yet arrested the defendants I have described above.
It is probably easy to forget that, until relatively recently, such charges were unheard of, because for a long time, we viewed the problem of foreign state-sponsored hacking through the lens of intelligence collection alone, without regard to disruption and deterrence (which are our objectives in confronting terrorism, espionage, and other challenging national security threats).
But imagine a world in which there are no criminal charges, no detailed, formal allegation of wrongdoing (which the government is prepared to stand behind in court). The private sector would be left alone to accuse the guilty, without recourse. What message does that send to a foreign hacker?
Certainly not the same message we have sent to Karim Baratov, the 23-year-old hacker who worked with FSB officers to hack into e-mail accounts around the world, who was recently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after being arrested in Canada and waiving extradition. Or to Ardit Firizi, the Kosovar who was arrested in Malaysia, pled guilty here, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, for giving ISIS PII for 1,300 military and government personnel, which he stole from the network of a U.S. retailer. Or to countless other hackers arrested on purely criminal charges, who thought they were safe from the consequences for their actions, because they operated under regimes that ignored (if not sponsored) their crimes.
And even in the cases above (where we have yet to apprehend a defendant), the charges were never the end of the story: whether it is trade remedies, sanctions, contributions to network defense, or diplomatic efforts to rally likeminded nations to confront an adversary together, all of those charges served a greater purpose.
Privacy
So often, privacy is spoken about as if it is a value opposed to law enforcement. But each of the cases I described vindicates the right to privacy, whether it is the right of a company to control who has access to its trade secrets, or of professors to prevent their hard-earned research from being stolen, preempted, and plagiarized; the expectation of privacy we have in our e-mail communications or our medical records.
Privacy isn’t dead, but it is under attack, and much of what we are doing through law enforcement honors the privacy of innocent persons, by investigating those who would breach it. As the Sony case as well as the GRU cases illustrate, data breaches are not just trees that fall in forests when no one else is around; their consequences are often painfully visible to their victims (and the rest of the world).
But leaving aside these examples of DOXing, I want to shift gears for a moment, to talk about the Department of Justice’s changing approach to personal privacy, and why the privacy of your personal information can be a matter of national security.
This portion of my remarks comes from a different vantage point, from my experience with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (or CFIUS), where I represent the Department.
Now CFIUS, for those of you who are not familiar, is a committee of federal departments that reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses for national security risk. When it finds risks that cannot be mitigated, it recommends actions to the President, who has the authority to prohibit a transaction.
CFIUS does not review the vast majority of foreign investments in the United States. Even among those transactions we do review, we usually conclude that there are no unresolved national security concern.
A classic example of the risk CFIUS examines arises when the target of an acquisition is in close proximity to a DOD facility. But an increasing focus of DOJ’s work on the committee relates to data security, to the potential national security consequences of personal information ending up in the wrong hands. The kind of information I am talking about is collected every day, from thousands or even millions of consumers. Transaction information, PII, health information, even smartphone habits.
Now you might ask why the security of that kind of consumer data would be relevant to CFIUS, whose mission is to protect national security. And ten years ago, or so, such information did not seem like it would be. But a few things have changed.
First, the volume and variety of data has increased exponentially. Information that was not previously stored in a digital form now is. And the rate at which data are being created, the velocity of data growth, is increasing.
Consider the increasing connectedness of physical devices and sensors, often referred to as the Internet of Things. Everything from medical devices, such as pacemakers, to fitness trackers, to the control systems that deliver water and power to our businesses and homes. One estimate predicts the number of Internet-connected devices will reach more than 20 billion by 2020. These Internet-connected devices have increased the volume, variety, and velocity of information.
Take cars, for example. Not long ago, a car was essentially a mechanical device, an engine with seats that moved you from point A to point B. Whatever limited electronic components it had were self-contained.
Today’s cars, by contrast, contain communication devices, sensors, GPS navigation, and other computers with a variety of functions. They allow drivers to check fuel levels and tire pressure on their cell phones, track a stolen vehicle over the Internet, call for help from the car in an emergency, and access the same entertainment they’re used to enjoying in their home.
Another example: the universe of health information is rapidly expanding. More people are taking advantage of DNA testing to learn about their health, longevity, paternity, and ancestry. According to one 2017 report, the market for testing has become an $830 million industry. Meanwhile, our smartphones and watches are accruing ever more precise information about our health and habits.
New forms and pools of data merely add to what has been collected for years, and it remains possible for a determined adversary to steal it, given enough time and resources.
A second insight we have developed is that information that seems unimportant, or purely personal, or irrelevant, can, in fact, be used to threaten national security.
In January, a 20-year-old Australian student discovered that open source maps of where Fitbit and other fitness device users frequently go could be used to identify military facilities in remote areas. As the Washington Post put it, “In war zones and deserts in countries such as Iraq and Syria, the heat map becomes almost entirely dark — except for scattered pinpricks of activity. Zooming in on those areas brings into focus the locations and outlines of known U.S. military bases, as well as other unknown and potentially sensitive sites — presumably because American soldiers and other personnel are using fitness trackers as they move around.”
Some data might be valuable, in and of themselves, like a military secret or the admin password to an industrial control system. But other data are valuable because they are part of what a hacker or other malicious actor needs to achieve their objective, to get to their target.
The information a modern car collects provides insight into the users’ network of contacts, entertainment preferences, driving habits, and locations visited on a regular basis.
In the aggregate, this information provides commercial and cultural insights that might have monetary or other use. But this information about the “pattern of life” of a company’s CEO or government official could also be used to target that individual.
By themselves, the music you favor, your children’s birthdates, your anniversary, and the addresses you’ve lived at—these are not national security secrets.
But with that information, a criminal hacker could answer password reset questions or use a password cracker to obtain control of your accounts. And even if it is a personal (as opposed to a professional) account, and I might not care about the last photo you posted from your vacation, masquerading as you online makes it that much easier to trick the people who know you into clicking on a link or otherwise compromising their network security.
Our third insight is this: the fact that most people in a data set might not be targets themselves (in fact, that only a few might be) provides little comfort. Anyone on any form of social media has learned that we are more connected than it seems. In 2016, Facebook reported that its American users were separated by fewer than 3.5 degrees of separation on average. Extrapolating what that means offline, anyone’s information can be useful more for what it tells us about her brother, the CISO at a major bank, or her aunt in the intelligence community.
Our concerns are exacerbated by the fact that traditional methods of de-identification of data (such as anonymization or encryption of content) may be defeated, by, for example, sensor and geolocation data, or by cross-referencing sanitized data sets against others.
Researchers from two studies several years ago reported that, with a sufficient pool of data, they could distinguish a unique user of a cellphone, or a credit card, based on just four geolocations or transactions, respectively, with at least 90 percent accuracy. I cannot vouch for the methodology of those studies, but they give me pause when I think about the potential that nefarious actors could have access to large pools of such data without legal process.
What does this mean for companies, and the way they should think about their data?
First, and most important, they should not assume that hackers are not interested in the data or that it cannot be used to threaten national security.
Second, cybersecurity policies and practices need to keep pace as businesses grow and deploy new technologies, such as biometric identification or artificial intelligence.
Third, joint ventures or other arrangements with foreign parties may provide network access or other elements of control over data. Businesses should consider the ways an aggressive foreign intelligence service could exploit that data, in light of other data it might have from other sources.
Fourth, and finally, report computer intrusions, because the breach you think is merely a private matter, may in fact be a matter of national security.
Partnerships
This brings me to the final theme, partnerships. The cases we bring require true partnerships, between law enforcement and the victims who cooperate with us; between us and the intelligence community and other components of the government; and, increasingly, between our government and the governments of likeminded nations, whether in gathering and sharing information, validating our conclusions, extraditing defendants, or imposing other consequences.
But as much as I believe in the value of criminal prosecutions, we have always known that we will not prosecute our way to cybersecurity. The partnership that may be most critical to our future is among the professionals in and out of government who share common goals. Which is why one of the National Security Division’s greatest successes this year did not result in a criminal charge.
In May, agents of the FBI were tracking a virulent botnet infecting home and office routers around the world, attributed to the same group responsible for today’s indictment, known to some as “Fancy Bear.”
The botnet was growing at an alarming rate by that point, and private sector researchers studying it told us they felt an increasing urgency to publish what they knew, so that affected router manufacturers, ISPs, and others could take steps to protect the public before it was too late.
There was no easy technical solution to this pernicious malware. Its second stage (which could steal information and even brick the device) could be cleared from memory with a simple restart, but if a router were infected, complete mitigation could be virtually impossible, short of replacement, because the first stage of malware (the actors’ toe-hold in the system) would just call out for instructions to reinfect.
With no time to waste, in little more than a week (including late nights and a weekend), agents and prosecutors devised the best mitigation plan they could under the circumstances.
In a coordinated action,
- one company would shut down the accounts that would be the primary means of reinfection, if the second stage of the malware were purged;
- the FBI obtained an order, allowing it to seize control of a domain that was the secondary means reinfection, and allowing it to record the IP addresses of routers that attempted to reinfect;
- finally, by partnering with the non-profit Shadowserver Foundation, FBI ensured that IPs of infected devices would be shared with those who could best assist their remediation, including foreign CERTs and ISPs.
Researchers drew attention to the botnet at the same time that the FBI executed the orders and blasted out a public service advisory to restart your router, purging the second stage of malware and causing the first stage to call out for instructions, now to the FBI’s server, so that help could be alerted. These efforts were our best effort to identify and remediate the infection worldwide in the time available, before Fancy Bear actors learned of the vulnerabilities in the C2 infrastructure through the research firm’s imminent announcement.
Last week, Cisco Talos, the research firm I mentioned, published a follow-up to its original report. It found that the VPNFilter malware possessed even greater capabilities than previously identified, in the form of third-stage malware modules that provide additional capabilities to map networks, exploit systems connected to infected devices, and obfuscate or encrypt malicious traffic.
But Cisco Talos also reported, based on information from partners as well as its own analysis, that “it appears that VPNFilter has been entirely neutralized since” the effort I described earlier by a coalition of international partners (which included the Cyber Threat Alliance). So far, they said, there have been no signs of the actors attempting to reconnect with the devices that remain infected with the pernicious first stage of the malware. Not bad, for the first (but I promise you, not the last) effort to mitigate a botnet tied to nation-state actors.
Once, there was no one. Attribution was whispered in classified channels alone. We spoke, haltingly at first, of cyber threats “emanating from Asia.” Then the U.S. led the way, calling out the malicious behavior of specific foreign states, first in speeches, then by indictment.
Today, we are joined by three other nations in attributing specific conduct to Russia.
I cannot tell you where our commitment to partnership will take us next. But I can tell you, based on this, that there is reason for hope, and to continue working together to maintain an “open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.”
Defendants in Three Separate Cases Plead Guilty to Federal Fentanyl Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Over the past three days, three separate defendants have pleaded guilty to federal charges relating to the distribution of fentanyl. First, Leslie Patillo, Jr. age 36, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl. Second, on October 3, 2018, Kamalah Nicole Cordell, age 31, also of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Third, on October 2, 2018, Robert Luke Simpson, age 24, of Gambrills, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose. Each of these three defendants distributed at least 32 grams of fentanyl, or enough to kill 16,000 people.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr.; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution. We’re also targeting drug dealers who use guns and increase the risk of gun violence in Maryland, as well as those who buy fentanyl on the dark web and re-sell this poison to our citizens. Working together with our local, state, and federal partners, we are determined to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.”
Kamalah Nicole Cordell
According to her plea agreement, from at least 2017 through January 2018, Cordell conspired with others, including Antoine Henderson, to distribute fentanyl and other drugs in the area of Washington County, Maryland. In August and September 2017, investigators conducted at least six controlled purchases of either fentanyl or crack cocaine from Cordell and/or Henderson. According to their plea agreements, the controlled purchases were supposed to be heroin, but lab results showed that the substances provided by Cordell and/or Henderson were in fact fentanyl, not heroin. On January 17, 2018, search warrants were executed at two locations and three vehicles associated with Cordell and Henderson. At the stash house, located on Atlantic Drive in Hagerstown, agents recovered 80.22 grams of fentanyl, located in the bottom compartment of a Coca-Cola vending machine in the garage. Cordell and Henderson own and operate a vending machine company. The agents also recovered 9 mm ammunition, a drug press, digital scales, cellular phones, and other drug paraphernalia. At Cordell and Henderson’s primary residence, located on Lantern Lane in Hagerstown, the agents recovered additional cellular phones, a currency counter, jewelry, and a garage opener that opened the garage at the stash house. Cordell admitted that her participation in the conspiracy involved at least 32 grams but less than 40 grams of fentanyl.
Leslie Patillo, Jr.
Patillo was part of the same drug organization and admitted that he distributed fentanyl and other drugs in the Washington County, Maryland area. According to his plea agreement, on April 10, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Patillo’s residence and recovered 99.44 grams of a combination of fentanyl and heroin, as well as drug paraphernalia. In addition, a knotted baggie was found on Patillo’s person that contained .82 grams of a combination of heroin and fentanyl. Investigators also recovered $26,680 in cash from the home, believed to be the proceeds of Patillo’s drug distribution. A storage unit in Patillo’s name was also searched and three guns, each packaged with a loaded magazine, were seized from the unit. One of the magazines, packaged with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, was loaded with six rounds of hollow-point ammunition.
Robert Luke Simpson
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Simpson’s residence and found 6,200 fentanyl pills weighing approximately 369 grams, in a hidden compartment in a wall-mounted shelf and on a desk. Officers also found $8,578 in cash, as well as cell phones, computers, iPads, and Bitcoin cryptocurrency mining equipment. Simpson admitted that he purchased 10,000 fentanyl pills from a dark web marketplace for approximately $10,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Simpson sold the fentanyl pills for $5 to $10 each to customers in Maryland. Simpson admitted that he sold between 400 grams and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.
Antoine Jamel Henderson, age 35, of Hagerstown, Maryland previously pleaded guilty. Henderson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Henderson will be sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for both Cordell and Patillo on January 3, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively. Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Simpson on March 2, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr. for their work in the Cordell and Patillo investigation. U.S. Attorney Hur commended HSI Baltimore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for the work in the Simpson investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joan C. Mathias and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting the Cordell and Patillo Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas A. Mitchell, who is prosecuting the Simpson case.
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Dallas Texas Man Sentenced to over 6 Years in Federal Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Juan Francisco Alcocer, age 32, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to 75 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, during January 2018, investigators received information that Alcocer was distributing methamphetamine in Northwest Arkansas. During the course of the investigation, probable cause was established to support a search warrant for Alcocer’s hotel room. During the search of the hotel room, law enforcement officers revealed pipes, digital scales, and bags of methamphetamine. The DEA Crime Lab results confirmed that the substance seized weighed and contained 480.03 grams of actual methamphetamine.
Alcocer was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2018 and entered a guilty plea in June 2018.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Springdale Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Driver prosecuted the case for the United States.
DOJ Awards more than $3.5 Million to Improve Forensic Science and Address DNA BacklogRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice has awarded grants worth more than $3.5 million to improve forensic science and address DNA testing backlogs in Washington State, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. The grants will help the Washington State Patrol keep up with an increasing number of referrals for DNA testing, and will improve toxicology testing related to the opioid epidemic.
“We are seeing how advanced DNA testing is leading to major breaks in long unsolved criminal investigations,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “These Department of Justice grants will increase the capacity of WSP and will assist individual counties as they complete investigations. In addition, the funding for quicker turnaround of toxicology screening is critical to all of our efforts to address the impact that fentanyl and other dangerous drugs are having on Washington communities.”
The Washington State Patrol Crime Labs will receive a total of $2,347,180 to enhance their capacity to analyze DNA and reduce a backlog of samples waiting for analysis. There are five casework DNA laboratories in Washington: Seattle, Tacoma, Marysville, Vancouver and Spokane. The grant monies will pay for new equipment and space renovation in the Vancouver lab to increase capacity, and will pay additional staff to work there. The grant will also pay for training for workers on the latest DNA advances and will pay for overtime to keep up with cases.
Despite an increase in productivity, the backlog of cases waiting for analysis continues to increase. In 2017, the backlog of cases waiting for analysis increased from 3,168 to 4,562 and the number of new cases sent to the lab was 5,197. The number of new cases was just slightly below the number of new cases submitted in 2016. The turnaround time for requests increased from 83 days to 208 days.
Legislation in 2015 and 2016 increased the number of sexual assault kits that must be analyzed for DNA with the resulting data entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. The DOJ funding is critical for the WSP labs to keep up with the increased caseload.
A second $500,125 grant is aimed at post-conviction testing of DNA for cases where such testing may exonerate a wrongfully convicted individual.
Finally, a $250,000 grant will pay for additional staff and equipment for the WSP Toxicology Laboratory. The lab currently has a backlog of more than 2,650 cases with a turnaround of 75 days. The opioid crisis has increased requests for analysis 45 percent over the last five years. The lab is critical to identifying new synthetic opioids that are being trafficked in our communities.
Additional information about the grant and WSP forensic laboratories please contact WSP’s Phil Hodge (206) 262-6020 or Mary Keller (206) 262-6005.
Continued Increase in Federal Regional Violent Crime ProsecutionsRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – The United States Attorney’s Office will prosecute aggressively violent criminals and drug dealers. Federal prosecution is a powerful tool in the fight to reduce violent crime. At least 85% of federal sentences must be served; there is no parole in the federal system. None. Sentences are served in prisons far from St. Louis. Below is a list of defendants prosecuted federally in September as a result of the hard work of police and agents:
Charles T. Currie, 30, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Adam Francisco, 34, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Derrick Franklin, 29, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Shawn Gordon, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Earl Murray, 37, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm.
Myron Coffee, 26, Creve Coeur, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one felony count of possession of felon in possession of a firearm.
Stanford Morris, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl and cocaine base (crack).
Quincy Nelson, 38, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Jametric A. Steele, 48, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Akenele Williams, 32, University City, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Melvin Willis, 47, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of one or more firearms; possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base; and possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Antonio Ball, Jr., 20, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Jermaine Clay, 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Damon Douglas, 30, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
William Jones, 27, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Clyde Lockett, 46, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Malachiah Williams, 22, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Carman Ford, 38, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Manuel Francisco, 47, Edgar Springs, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm; unlawful to receive a firearm not registered; and fraud and misuse of Visas/Permits.
Reginald Holmes, 36, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of one or more firearms.
Calvin Johnson, 60, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Harold Lee, 26, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Herbert Palmer, 57, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Lavon Washington, 32, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Wilton Fortson, 61, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Myron Gunter, 37, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Wendell Corey Jones, 58, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Arvell Keithley, 21, Woodson Terrace, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Marqus Parker, 19, Ferguson, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Braylon Roberts, 31, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of armed robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Charles Lamar Roby, 30, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm; possessed one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Angelina Jones, 36, Florissant, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Calvin Monger, Jr., 32, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Earnest Harris, 27, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Tyrone Davis, 46, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Darion Johnson, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Lorenzo Luna-Espinoza, 22, Midland, TX, pled guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by illegal immigrant.
Glenn Reynolds, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Marquise Q. Dukes, 28, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Dirrell Taylor, 26, Wentzville, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Jamel Green, 27, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Deandre Johnson, 24, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Glenn Reynolds, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Robert Goss, 23, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Darian Clark, 25, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terry Stubblefield, 47, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Daylin L. Crafton, 30, Florissant, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terry Parker, 34, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Savon Durphey, 24, pled guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possessing with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Rafael Foster, 32, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
William C. Howard, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
David Staples, 49, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Vergil Thomas, 29, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Roland Garner, 33, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Charles G. Ivy, 46, Sullivan, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Jeremiah Hart, 22, St. Peters, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Armon Harris, 39, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
Ernis Basic, 30, St. Louis, pled guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of one or more drug trafficking crimes.
Michael Brown, 21, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Ameche W. Baldwin, 32, Olivette, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Bryian T. Fips, 37, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terrence Akins, 26, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Darkel D. Martin, 32, East St. Louis, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Cortez Cooper, 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Andre Legardy, 25, St. Louis, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for stealing a firearm which is moving in interstate commerce.
Devoshia Gray, 20, St. Louis, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Marlon Adams, 37, St. Louis, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Charles D. Smith, 29, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Deandre Thompson, 46, St. Louis, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Terran Eggleston, 32, St. Louis, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Michael Guest, 61, St. Louis, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Markquis Bryant, 29, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Acotra Weaver, 28, St. Louis, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Andre Adams, 33, St. Louis, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Maurice Cooper, 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Deon D. Story, Jr., 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Justin I. Morrow, 20, St. Louis, was sentenced to 144 months in prison for robbery and discharging a firearm during the commission of a federal crime.
Darrius T. Shannon, 37, St. Louis, was sentenced to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Christopher Wilson, 29, Omaha, NE, was sentenced to 38 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Darryl E. Allen, 50, was sentenced to 13 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Tito Santiago, 34, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Kevin Nailor, 24, St. Louis, was sentenced to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm.
Trevon Sykes, 26, St. Louis, was sentenced to 180 months for felon in possession of one or more firearms.
Cleveland man sentenced to 12 ½ years in federal prison for stealing a firearm from a gun show in BereaRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was sentenced to 12 ½ years in federal prison for stealing a firearm from a gun show in Berea.
Anthony Lett, 41, was convicted by a jury earlier this year on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being in possession of a stolen firearm following a two-day trial in U.S. District Court.
"This is a person with a long history of violence who has no business having a firearm," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. "Our community is safer with him behind bars."
Lett stole a Kahr Arms .45-caliber pistol from a gun show in Berea on April 30, 2016. Lett has prior convictions that make it illegal for him to have a firearm, including convictions for kidnapping, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, drug trafficking and other crimes, according to court documents.
Lett is currently serving 20 years in state prison for unrelated convictions including attempted murder, aggravated robbery and other crimes, according to court documents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Galvin and Elliot Morrison following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Berea Police Department, with assistance from the Cleveland Division of Police.