Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Thursday 20 September 2018
Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Kanawha County man pled guilty yesterday to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Fabian Lee Woodson, 36, of Elkview, entered his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
“Yet another heroin dealer off the streets,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We are laser focused on removing these poison peddlers from our communities.”
Woodson admitted that in early January of 2016, he possessed over 50 grams of heroin for distribution at his home in Elkview, West Virginia. He further admitted that he had four firearms in his home. Woodson also admitted that on two occasions in December 2015, he sold .8 grams of heroin to a confidential informant. Officers with MDENT conducted these controlled purchases and then executed the search warrant on Woodson’s home where the drugs and guns were recovered.
Woodson faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 19, 2018.
The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
###Justice Department Will Award up to $246 Million in Grants to Improve Public Safety in American Indian and Alaska Native CommunitiesRead the Press Release
ARIZONA – The District of Arizona’s First Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange joined the Department of Justice today in announcing more than $113 million in grant awards to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The tribes in Arizona receiving grants that were announced today are Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Hualapai Tribe, Navajo Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Havasupai Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and Yavapai-Apache Nation. The link below shows estimated award amounts.
“These awards to nine Arizona tribes demonstrate our continued support and commitment to improving public safety in Indian Country,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange. “These resources will help our tribal partners to combat violent crimes and domestic abuse, which predominantly target women and children, as well as to provide expanded services for the victims of these crimes.”
Nationwide, grants were awarded to 133 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and other tribal designees through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CSTAS), a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs. Of the $113 million, just over $53 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs, more than $35 million from the Office on Violence Against Women, and more than $24.7 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
In addition, the Department is in the process of allocating up to $133 million in a first-ever set aside program to serve victims of crime in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The awards are intended to help tribes develop, expand and improve services to victims of crime by providing funding, programming and technical assistance. Recipients will be announced in the near future.
“With these awards, we are doubling the amount of grant funding devoted to public safety programs and serving victims of crime in Native American communities,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, who made the announcement during his remarks at the 26th Annual Four Corners Indian Country Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “There is an unacceptable level of violent crime and domestic abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This increase in resources, together with our aggressive investigation and prosecution of crimes, shows how seriously Attorney General Sessions and the entire Department of Justice take these issues. We are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety.”
The Four Corners Conference is facilitated annually by U.S. Attorneys from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to provide a forum for discussion of justice-related topics with a large number of populous and diverse tribal nations located in the region.
CTAS awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.
Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
A specific listing of today’s announced CTAS awards is available at: www.justice.gov/tribal/page/file/1095161/download.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-122_ Public Safety Awards (IC)
# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Justice Department Will Award up to $246 Million in Grants to Improve Public Safety in American Indian and Alaska Native CommunitiesRead the Press Release
BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis joined the Department of Justice yesterday in announcing more than $113 million in grant awards to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Two tribes in the District of Idaho, the Nez Perce and the Shoshone-Bannock, were awarded grants totaling $1,852,587.
North Idaho’s Nez Perce Tribe will receive a $236,687 Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse grant. East Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock Tribe will receive a $750,000 Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse grant and an $865,900 Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program grant.
“Providing these grants to our tribes in Idaho reinforces that my office and the Department of Justice are committed to protecting and providing victim services to our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Bart Davis. “These resources will help strengthen Idaho tribal communities for years to come.”
Nationwide, grants were awarded to 133 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and other tribal designees through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs. Of the $113 million, just over $53 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs, more than $35 million from the Office on Violence Against Women, and more than $24.7 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
In addition, the Department is in the process of allocating up to $133 million in a first-ever set aside program to serve victims of crime in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The awards are intended to help tribes develop, expand and improve services to victims of crime by providing funding, programming and technical assistance. Recipients will be announced in the near future.
“With these awards, we are doubling the amount of grant funding devoted to public safety programs and serving victims of crime in Native American communities,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, who made the announcement during his remarks at the 26th Annual Four Corners Indian Country Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “There is an unacceptable level of violent crime and domestic abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This increase in resources, together with our aggressive investigation and prosecution of crimes, shows how seriously Attorney General Sessions and the entire Department of Justice take these issues. We are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety.”
The Four Corners Conference is facilitated annually by U.S. Attorneys from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to provide a forum for discussion of justice-related topics with a large number of populous and diverse tribal nations located in the region.
CTAS awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.
Yesterday's announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
A listing of yesterday’s announced CTAS awards is available at: www.justice.gov/tribal/page/file/1095161/download.
# # #
Justice Department Will Award up to $246 Million in Grants to Improve Public Safety in American Indian and Alaska Native CommunitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams joined the Department of Justice in announcing more than $113 million in grant awards to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including: the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission; Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation; Coquille Indian Tribe; Cowcreek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians; and Klamath Tribes.
“Pursuing justice on behalf of tribal communities and supporting the development and growth of tribal law enforcement agencies, courts, and victim services has been a key focus of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for many years,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “These awards mark the Justice Department’s continued commitment to ensuring all tribes have the resources necessary to keep their communities safe and effectively enforce the administration of justice on tribal land.”
Nationwide, grants were awarded to 133 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and other tribal designees through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs. Of the $113 million, just over $53 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs, more than $35 million from the Office on Violence Against Women, and more than $24.7 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
In addition, the Department is in the process of allocating up to $133 million in a first-ever set aside program to serve victims of crime in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The awards are intended to help tribes develop, expand and improve services to victims of crime by providing funding, programming and technical assistance. Recipients will be announced in the near future.
“With these awards, we are doubling the amount of grant funding devoted to public safety programs and serving victims of crime in Native American communities,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, who made the announcement during his remarks at the 26th Annual Four Corners Indian Country Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “There is an unacceptable level of violent crime and domestic abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This increase in resources, together with our aggressive investigation and prosecution of crimes, shows how seriously Attorney General Sessions and the entire Department of Justice take these issues. We are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety.”
The Four Corners Conference is facilitated annually by U.S. Attorneys from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to provide a forum for discussion of justice-related topics with a large number of populous and diverse tribal nations located in the region.
CTAS awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.
This announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
A listing of the announced CTAS awards is available at: go.usa.gov/xP2uc.
Jury convicts Maple Heights man of leading a conspiracy in which they filed more than 800 tax returns to falsely claim $15 million in refundsRead the Press Release
A Maple Heights man was convicted by a jury for leading a conspiracy in which they filed more than 800 tax returns annually between 2012 and 2015 resulting in approximately $15 million in refunds being issued, a portion of which neither they nor their clients were entitled.
Keith Jeffries, 44, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and multiple counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of false tax returns. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 8.
Defendants Brian Peacock, of Sandusky, Linnette Coleman, and Nicole Pugh, both of Cleveland, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.
Jeffries operated a tax preparation business under the name Krew Time, LLC. Jeffries, Peacock, Coleman and Pugh all prepared returns for Krew Time clients. The company operated out of three locations – from Jeffries’ residence on Friend Avenue in Maple Heights, from the back offices of a MetroPCS store on East 71st Street in Cleveland and from a commercial building on East 140th Street in Cleveland, according to court documents.
The defendants filed false, fictitious and fraudulent tax returns in the name of Krew Time clients. The clients received the majority of the refunds with the defendants receiving a portion of the refund as their tax preparation fee, according to court documents.
They did this by filing false itemized deductions, business income expenses, tax credit information, medical expenses, false filing status and other information to obtain income tax refunds to which the taxpayers were not entitled. This took place between 2011 and 2016, according to court documents.
“This group spent years riping off the federal government by filing hundreds of fake tax returns,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “These defendants took advantage of programs designed to help sick people or struggling students and instead used them to enrich themselves.”
“These defendants wreaked havoc on the IRS by misusing their Electronic Filing Identification Number and Preparer Tax Identification Number to electronically file fraudulent income tax returns for their clients that generated inflated false income tax refunds,” said Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen Henderson and Alejandro Abreu.
Jury Convicts Stockton Special Education Teacher on Charges Related to Long-Term Sexual Abuse of MinorsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal jury has found Rodney Flucas, 49, of Stockton, guilty of transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of transporting an adult daughter across state lines with intent to engage in incest, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
“Cases like these are difficult to investigate. We must ask the victims to relive trauma and face a person they would rather forget. Rodney Flucas underestimated the strength and grace of his victims, and we thank them for their courage,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “We are grateful for opportunities to investigate crimes against minors-often in concert with local, state, and federal partners — to ensure those who exploit their naiveté and innocence face justice.”
According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, Flucas engaged in long‑term, concurrent sexual abuse of three of his daughters and two others, all of whom were minors when he began abusing them. The abuse came to light in February 2017 when his teenaged daughter tried to commit suicide by driving into a lamppost hoping that her death would lead to the discovery of the abuse. She was transported to the hospital where she disclosed the abuse to authorities. After this, five other victims began disclosing the sexual abuse Flucas inflicted on them since they were children. They made such disclosures despite Flucas’s aggressive campaign to get them to lie to child protection authorities and the police, and despite the family mantra Flucas had programmed into minors in his home from a young age: “what happens in the family, stays in the family.” DNA testing confirmed that Flucas is the father of 10 children born to victims who testified in this case.
According to evidence produced at trial, Flucas began abusing four of his victims when the family lived in Valdosta, Georgia around the year 2000. He owned or controlled upward of four houses on the same street in Valdosta where his wife, ex-wife, other partners and children lived. In 2014, the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services began to investigate allegations of child abuse, made by a grandmother of four of Flucas’s children, including allegations that Flucas had impregnated two of his daughters, but closed its investigation. In August 2014, Flucas moved his family to Americus, Georgia where he continued to sexually abuse some of his children. He began working as a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing but was fired after one month amidst sexual abuse allegations.
By September 2014, Flucas moved the family, including four of his victims, to Klamath Falls, Oregon and continued the abuse. Once in Oregon, Flucas also began sexually abusing a 15‑year-old girl, who had befriended Flucas’s daughter at school. That girl moved into Flucas’s home, and Flucas eventually impregnated her when she was 16. He also impregnated an adult daughter for the third time in Oregon. Flucas continued his abuse of his victims throughout their entire time in Oregon.
After more allegations arose in Oregon in 2015, Flucas moved his family to Stockton. He moved his victims, including the then-pregnant family friend, and continued to sexually abuse them in California until the car crash that brought the allegations to light.
Evidence at trial also demonstrated that on the heels of his daughter’s disclosure to police in Stockton, Flucas began searching the internet for places to move overseas, including China, Kenya, Ethiopia, Canada, Panama, and Nepal. He also searched for the U.S. dollar to Mexican peso conversion rate.
According to evidence presented at trial, in addition to his ties to Georgia, Oregon, and California, Flucas has ties to or has lived in Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; he has a current Pennsylvania driver’s license and testified at trial he has a home there and travels there often. Additionally, Flucas has fathered at least 23 children, including three who were the subject of this trial, by numerous women. Also presented at trial was evidence that Flucas had visited a website that provided information about the statute of limitations for rape in the state of Texas.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which originated from an investigation by the Stockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nirav Desai and Jeremy Kelley are prosecuting the case. The defendant is also the subject of charges filed by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, as a result of the Stockton Police Department’s separate investigation.
Flucas is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on December 17, 2018. Flucas faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of transportation minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. On June 26, a separate jury had found Flucas guilty of one count of attempted witness tampering, and he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for that count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
Joseph Percoco, Former Executive Aide and Campaign Manager to N.Y. Governor, Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSEPH PERCOCO, the former executive deputy secretary to the Governor of the State of New York, was sentenced to six years in prison for soliciting and accepting more than $315,000 in bribes in return for taking official state action to benefit energy company Competitive Power Ventures (“CPV”) and Syracuse-based real estate developer COR Development (“COR”). On March 13, 2018, PERCOCO was convicted of two counts of honest services fraud conspiracy and one count of bribery following an eight-week trial before United States District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Joseph Percoco, the former executive deputy secretary to the Governor, was a powerful New York State official who sold his influence and his office in exchange for more than $300,000 in bribes. For those crimes, he will now serve time in federal prison. Today’s sentence sends a strong message that public officials who violate their duties to faithfully serve the citizens of New York will be held accountable for their corrupt actions.”
Judge Caproni stated during the sentencing: “I hope this sentence will be heard in Albany.”
According to the evidence introduced at trial, other proceedings in this case, and documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:
PERCOCO, who served as the executive deputy secretary to the Governor between January 2012 and mid-2014, and again in 2015, abused his official position and extensive influence within the executive branch of New York State (the “State”) by seeking and accepting bribe payments from executives at companies that were seeking benefits and business from the State, in exchange for PERCOCO’s use of his official authority and influence to benefit those companies.
PERCOCO solicited the bribe payments from executives at two clients of Todd Howe – CPV and COR – both of which had retained Howe as a consultant to help them obtain official State action. In email correspondence between PERCOCO and Howe, PERCOCO and Howe referred to the bribe payments as “ziti,” a reference to a term for money used by the characters in the television show “The Sopranos.”
Bribes from CPV
PERCOCO, Howe, and others conspired for PERCOCO to receive more than $287,000 in bribe payments in exchange for PERCOCO’s official assistance for CPV on an as-needed basis.
State action was critical to CPV’s business. Starting as early as 2010, CPV provided personal benefits to PERCOCO, including expensive meals and a Hamptons fishing trip, in an effort to cultivate access to PERCOCO. In response to CPV’s requests for official State assistance, PERCOCO, who was experiencing financial difficulties at the time, requested that CPV hire his then-unemployed wife. In or around the end of 2012, CPV executive Peter Galbraith Kelly Jr. created a position for PERCOCO’s wife that paid approximately $90,000 per year while requiring PERCOCO’s wife to do little work. In exchange for these payments, PERCOCO agreed to use his official position and influence, and did in fact use his official position and influence, to help CPV with specific State matters as the opportunities arose.
Among other things, PERCOCO agreed to use his official position and influence to assist the CPV’s efforts to obtain (i) a valuable agreement from the State allowing CPV to buy lower-cost emissions credits in New York for a power plant proposed to be built in New Jersey and (ii) a long-term power purchase agreement with the State guaranteeing a buyer for the power to be produced at a power plant proposed to be built in New York, which was expected to save CPV approximately $100 million in development costs.
CPV’s payments to PERCOCO’s wife were concealed in various ways to hide their true source. For example, monthly payments to PERCOCO and his wife were made through a consultant who worked for CPV in order to disguise the source of the payments. For his part, PERCOCO concealed the criminal scheme by failing to include CPV as the source of payments on his State-mandated financial disclosure forms.
Bribes from Aiello and the Syracuse Developer
Beginning in early 2014, PERCOCO was also paid bribes totaling approximately $35,000 from COR. These bribe payments were orchestrated by Steven Aiello, the COR president. Aiello arranged for the payment of these bribes in exchange for PERCOCO’s official assistance for COR on an as-needed basis.
Specifically, PERCOCO agreed to, and did, take official action for the benefit of COR to (a) reverse an adverse decision by the Empire State Development Corporation, which is the State’s main economic development agency, that would have required COR to enter into a costly labor peace agreement for a development project in Syracuse, (b) free up a backlog of more than $14 million in State funds that had already been awarded to COR but were delayed in payment, and (c) secure a substantial pay raise for Aiello’s son, who worked in the executive chamber.
To disguise the nature and source of the bribe payments, COR’s bribes to PERCOCO were funneled through bank accounts and a shell company set up by Howe.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, PERCOCO, 49, of South Salem, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Restitution and forfeiture amounts will be determined at a later date.
PERCOCO is the first defendant who has been sentenced after being convicted in this case. Steven Aiello, who was found guilty at the same trial of one count of honest services fraud conspiracy, will be sentenced on November 29, 2018. Peter Galbraith Kelly Jr., who pled guilty on May 11, 2018, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, will be sentenced on October 16, 2018.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the Buffalo Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, as well as the Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who jointly conducted the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Janis Echenberg, Robert Boone, David Zhou, and Matthew Podolsky are in charge of the prosecution.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Federal Prison for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida– U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Daryl D. Shack (28, Jacksonville) to four years and three months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Shack pleaded guilty on May 15, 2018.
According to court documents, on July 17, 2017, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a car in which Shack was a passenger. The driver’s two-year-old daughter was also in the car. Shack possessed a loaded Beretta pistol, which had previously been reported stolen, between his feet. He also had a baggie of cocaine in his pocket. Officers later recovered a baggie of marijuana, a knife, and an axe from the vehicle. At the time, Shack had a previous conviction for armed robbery, and therefore, was prohibited from possessing a firearm by federal law.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
Illegal Alien Sentenced to Prison for Document FraudRead the Press Release
A Guatemalan man who used false identification documents to obtain a job was sentenced today to more than two months in federal prison.
Melvin Caguach-Samol, age 21, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and living in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 9, 2018, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of identification documents.
At the guilty plea, Caguach-Samol admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card and a fraudulent permanent resident card, also known as a “green card,” when he completed an employment form on May 10, 2018, at a business in Independence, Iowa. The Social Security number and the Alien Registration number on the “green card” were issued to other persons. Caguach-Samol also used the same fraudulent Social Security card and “green card” when applying for work in Garnavillo, Iowa, in April 2016.
Caguach-Samol was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Caguach-Samol was sentenced to 72 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Caguach-Samol is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-CR-2035-LTS. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Hurricane Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Hurricane man pled guilty today to a federal gun charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Michael Shawn Alford, 38, entered his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office, the Dunbar Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Another felon in possession conviction,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “ATF and our state and local law enforcement partners have intensified their efforts and worked a significant number of gun crime cases over the last nine months. By doing so, they are making West Virginia safer for all of us.”
Alford admitted that On September 24, 2017, he was riding a motorcycle in the area of Dry Ridge Road in Milton. The motorcycle broke down and Alford began to push it down the road. When a deputy from the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene, Alford went behind a tree in the woods close to the road. The deputy heard Alford in the woods and asked him to come out to the road. The deputy then went behind the tree where Alford had been and recovered a Smith and Wesson, Model M&P Shield, 9mm handgun. Alford was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of felony convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court for aggravated robbery in 2001 and for unlawful assault in 2009.
Alford faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on January 14, 2019.
Assistant United States Attorneys Clint Carte and Stephanie Taylor are responsible for the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
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.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
###Hudson County, New Jersey, Woman Charged with Using U.S. Mails to Promote Voter Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey woman was arrested and charged today for promoting a voter bribery scheme by use of the U.S. mail, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lizaida Camis, 55, of Hoboken, is charged by complaint with a violation of the Travel Act for causing the mails to be used to aid voter bribery contrary to New Jersey state law. She is scheduled to have her initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their county clerk’s office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot.
From October 2013 through November 2013, Camis agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Camis provided these voters with VBM Applications and then delivered the completed applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Camis went to their apartments and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for the candidates for whom Camis was working. Camis promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at an office on Jefferson Street in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters living in Hoboken received $50 checks from entities associated with the campaigns that employed Camis.
Camis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Houston Physician and a Pain Management Clinic Owner Each Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Running Pill Mill That Provided Unlawful Prescriptions for Millions of Doses of Opioids and Other Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
A Houston physician and the owner of a pain management clinic were each sentenced to 420 months in prison today for their roles in running a pill mill that provided tens of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for millions of doses of opioids and other controlled substances.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick of the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Houston Field Office made the announcement.
Gazelle Craig D.O., 42, and Shane Faithful, 49, both of Houston, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. Craig and Faithful were convicted at trial in March 2018 of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and three counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances. The defendants were charged in an indictment returned on July 6, 2017.
“Today’s sentences should serve as a stark warning to any medical professional considering exploiting the opioid crisis for profit: you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will pay a steep price for abusing your prescription power for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “In the midst of the deadliest drug crisis in our country’s history, Gazelle Craig and Shane Faithful sold millions of opioids and endangered the safety of an untold number of Americans. We should all be proud of the hard work being done by DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad and the prosecutors in the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section.”
“Dr. Craig, along with clinic owner Shane Faithful, used their position of trust to illegally distribute over 2 million dosage units of hydrocodone into local communities across Houston,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Glaspy. “It is this kind of illegal distribution of prescription drugs that feed the opioid epidemic and destroys families. The sentencing of Dr. Craig and Mr. Faithful is a victory for our communities while at the same time making a nationwide statement that the DEA and DOJ will not tolerate this type of illegal activity.”
According to evidence presented at trial, from March 2015 through July 2017, Craig and Faithful ran Gulfton Community Health Center (Gulfton), which operated as an illegal pill mill. The evidence showed that Craig unlawfully wrote approximately 18,252 prescriptions for over 2.1 million dosage units of hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and approximately 15,649 prescriptions for over 1.3 million dosage units of carisporodal, a Schedule IV controlled substance. The combination of hydrocodone and carisoprodol is a dangerous drug cocktail with no known medical benefit, the evidence showed.
Craig regularly issued unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances to more than 60 patients a day, the evidence showed. “Crew leaders” ferried numerous patients to Gulfton so that Craig could provide them with unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances. Faithful and Craig charged approximately $300 for each prescription and required payment in cash. The defendants divided each day’s cash proceeds, often in excess of $15,000, from the sale of the unlawful prescriptions.
This case was investigated by the DEA. Trial Attorneys Scott Armstrong and Devon Helfmeyer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in 12 cities across the country, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Houston Attorney Charged in Offshore Tax Evasion SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in Houston, Texas returned an indictment today charging a Houston attorney with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and three counts of tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas.
According to the indictment, Jack Stephen Pursley, also known as Steve Pursley, conspired with another individual to repatriate more than $18 million in untaxed earnings from the co-conspirator’s business bank account located in the Isle of Man. Knowing that his co-conspirator had never paid taxes on these funds, Pursley allegedly designed and implemented a scheme whereby the untaxed funds were made to appear to be stock purchases in United States corporations owned and controlled by Pursley and his co-conspirator.
The indictment alleges that Pursley received more than $4.8 million and an ownership interest in the co-conspirator’s ongoing business for his role in the fraudulent scheme. The indictment further alleges that for tax years 2009 and 2010 Pursley evaded the assessment of and failed to pay the incomes taxes due on this money by, amongst other means, withdrawing the funds as purported non-taxable loans or returns of capital. Pursley allegedly used the money he received to purchase personal assets, including a vacation home in Vail, Colorado and property in Houston.
If convicted, Pursley faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, and five years in prison for each count of tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.
An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Patrick commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis, Trial Attorney Grace Albinson, and Trial Attorney Sean Beaty of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.Honduran Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
A Honduran man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to almost five months in federal prison.
Edi Lenin Chirinos-Najera, age 26, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Muscatine, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 23, 2018, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.
At the guilty plea, Chirinos-Najera admitted he had previously been deported from the United States in 2014 and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government in 2017. Chirinos-Najera was found by immigration agents in April 2018 following Chirinos-Najera’s arrest for public intoxication. That matter remains pending. While Chirinos-Najera initially denied ever being deported, an analysis of his fingerprints confirmed that he had been deported in 2014.
Chirinos-Najera was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Chirinos-Najera was sentenced to 143 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Chirinos-Najera is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-CR-41-LTS. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Haitian Citizen Sentenced for Illegal Re-entry into United StatesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Obanette Jean, age 35, and a citizen of Haiti, was sentenced today to time served (55 days in jail) for illegal re-entry into the United States.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Robert N. Garcia, Acting Chief Patrol Agent, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector.
Jean was ordered removed from the United States to Haiti on April 1, 2015. On October 12, 2017, Jean departed the United States while the removal order was pending, and entered Canada. On July 27, 2018, she was arrested by a Border Patrol Agent just south of the border after she entered the United States from Canada without inspection approximately one-quarter mile west of the Champlain Port of Entry. Jean admitted that she returned to the United States without permission.
Following the sentencing, Jean was remanded to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, for removal proceedings.
This case was investigated by Border Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.
Greenwich Man Charged with Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on September 12, 2018, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging LEONID POLLAK, also known as “Lenny,” 58, of Greenwich, with federal offenses related to an investment fraud scheme.
POLLAK was arrested this morning. He appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and was ordered detained.
As alleged in the indictment, POLLAK owned a Norwalk-based company that organized trade shows and expositions throughout the U.S. In mid-2013, POLLAK induced an acquaintance to invest $290,000 in a new business venture that was supposed to organize similar expositions in Ukraine. Instead of using the money to build the new business, POLLAK spent nearly all of it on unrelated business and personal expenses, including POLLAK’s home mortgage loan, groceries and clothing, automobiles, and private school tuition.
The indictment charges POLLAK with six counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and two counts of illegal monetary transactions, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the Greenwich Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.
Ft. Mitchell Man Sentenced to 97 Months for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jeffrey W. Harney, 53, of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, was sentenced today to 97 months in federal prison, by United States District Judge David L. Bunning, for receipt of child pornography. Harney was also order to pay $18,964.93 in restitution to the victims in this case.
Harney pled guilty in March 2018 and admitted that he used computer equipment to download child pornography from the internet. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on his residence and located approximately 3,640 images (including 1,199 videos) of child pornography on Harney’s computer equipment.
Under federal law, Harney must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for 15 years. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Mike Christman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Tony Bracke.
Former Police Officer Charged with Using Unreasonable Force, Obstructing JusticeRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged Robert Wells, 49, of Pataskala, Ohio, with crimes related to using excessive force as a law enforcement officer in an indictment returned here today.
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, and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced the charges.
According to the indictment, on May 1, while acting in his then official capacity as a Franklin County Township Police Officer, Wells kicked an individual in the head while the victim was lying handcuffed on the ground. This deprived the victim of his Constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer and resulted in bodily injury to the victim.
Additionally, the indictment alleges that Wells then made false and misleading statements in his report relating to the arrest of the victim in order to cover up the excessive force and create a false understanding of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and injury.
Deprivation of rights under color of law is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison when it results in bodily injury. Obstructing a federal investigation carries a potential maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Chief Kenneth L. Parker and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, who has been designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
# # #
Former Missouri County Executive and His Chief of Staff Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Campaign ContributionsRead the Press Release
A former elected county executive for Jackson County, Missouri and his chief of staff were sentenced to 27 months and six months in prison, respectively, for engaging in a scheme to steal campaign contributions, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Michael Sanders, 51, of Independence, Missouri, and Calvin Williford, 60, of St. Joseph, Missouri, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark of the Western District of Missouri. Sanders was sentenced on Wednesday to serve 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $40,000 in forfeiture. Williford was sentenced today to serve six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $36,000 in forfeiture. The defendants each pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Jan. 26.
According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, Sanders was the elected County Executive for Jackson County from January 2007 until December 2015. Prior to serving as County Executive, Sanders was the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County. Williford was a senior staff member for Sanders, and then later chief of staff, in the Office of the County Executive from 2007 to December 2015. Prior to then, Williford served as Sanders’s Director of Public Affairs at the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Sanders and Williford defrauded political committees with which Sanders was affiliated by converting campaign contributions for their personal use. Sanders and Williford misappropriated the money by directing the political committees to issue checks to certain individuals who performed little or no campaign-related work. Instead, the individuals cashed the checks and then returned a portion of the money to Sanders or Williford, who used the cash at times to pay for personal expenses.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Lauren Bell and Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Former Employee of Restaurant Reservation Company Charged with Fraud for Intentionally Disrupting the Business of a CompetitorRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An employee of a restaurant-reservation company used fake names and email addresses to create hundreds of fraudulent restaurant bookings through a competitor’s system, according to a criminal charge filed today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
STEVEN ADDISON worked as an Enterprise Operations Specialist in the Chicago office of a San Francisco-based company that provides an online reservation system for restaurants. From November 2017 until February 2018, Addison booked more than 300 fraudulent reservations at Chicago restaurants that use Reserve, a competing reservation service, according to a criminal information filed in federal court in Chicago. Many of the bogus reservations were made on busy days, including New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day, when Addison knew restaurants would suffer financial losses when no diners showed up to claim the reservation, the information states. Addison’s scheme intended to demonstrate to Chicago restaurants that Reserve had an inferior reservation system, the charge alleges.
The information charges Addison, 30, of Chicago, with one count of wire fraud. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunil R. Harjani represents the government.
According to the information, Addison began his scheme after discovering that Reserve’s software did not prevent reservations from users who entered a fake email address or a fake phone number. Addison made reservations using names such as “Hans Gruber,” “Richard Ashcroft” and “Jimmy Smits,” bogus email addresses such as “[email protected],” and fake phone numbers such as “199-999-99999,” the information states.
Addison made the reservations on his own accord and did not personally profit from the scheme, the information states.
The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Former Elementary School Teacher Charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor and Viewing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Andrew Stephen Lund, 36, of Vallejo, charging him with attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and accessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, in April 2018, Lund, attempted to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. Between April 2016 and April 2018, Lund also accessed and viewed child pornography. Until his resignation in April 2018, Lund was an elementary school teacher in Vallejo.
This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Schuller Hitchcock is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with relevant information in this case is urged to call the Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE.
If convicted, Lund faces a mandatory statutory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, as well as a fine up to $250,000. 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 defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety.
Former Detroit Man Admits Role in Jared Jewelry Store Robbery in North Fayette in 2015Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – An inmate who is now serving a prison sentence at FCI McKean pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of robbing a Jared Jewelry store in 2015, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Lonnie James Moton, age 28, formerly of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery before United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on October 23, 2015, Moton and three other men robbed Jared-The Galleria of Jewelry store located at the Pointe in North Fayette. The robbers entered the store and used sledgehammers to smash the glass display cases inside the store. The robbers were able to get away with jewelry and precious stones with an approximate retail value of $680,000. Moton is currently serving a sentence at FCI McKean for two other "smash and grab" robberies he committed in North Carolina and Michigan.
Judge Ambrose scheduled the sentencing for January 8, 2019 at 1 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Fayette Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Lonnie James Moton.
Former Comptroller of Poughkeepsie Companies Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court for Multimillion-Dollar FraudRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MARK CINA, a former comptroller of two Poughkeepsie companies, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for mail fraud and tax evasion. CINA pled guilty on April 11, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated: “Mark Cina embezzled millions of dollars to line his pockets at the great expense and suffering of his trusting employer, a Hudson Valley entrepreneur and small businessman. Theft like the defendant’s is intolerable, and today’s sentencing shows that an employee’s choice to engage in such a crime is a choice to go to prison.”
As set forth in the Complaint and Information in the case, other court filings, and during court proceedings:
During all times relevant to the case, two manufacturing companies were in operation, with plants located in the Town of Poughkeepsie (“Company-1” and “Company-2,” collectively the “Companies”). Company-1 designed and manufactured solar energy products such as solar-powered roof shingles. Company-1’s work included, for example, a solar-powered ring of lights encircling the top of MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey. Company-2 fabricated molded plastic.
The Companies were founded by an entrepreneur (“Victim-1”). Victim-1 was the primary investor in, and owner of, the Companies.
In 2008, Victim-1 hired CINA as a part-time bookkeeper for Company-1. In 2010, CINA became employed full-time for the Companies as comptroller. In his position, CINA was responsible for the day-to-day financial operations of the Companies. CINA had authority to sign checks for the Companies and to carry and use the Companies’ credit cards and ATM cards. CINA remained so employed until August 2015, when he was terminated.
In September 2015, Victim-1 appeared at a New York State Police barracks in Dutchess County. Victim-1 reported, in part and substance, that a former employee of the Companies had stolen company funds. Thereafter, the New York State Police commenced an investigation, which federal law enforcement officers later joined. As summarized in the Complaint, the investigation yielded voluminous evidence showing that CINA had defrauded Victim-1, via the Companies, of millions of dollars over the course of at least seven years. CINA did so by, among other things, using the Companies’ funds for himself to gamble, pay his rent, drive rental cars, dine out, get his car washed, bail out an arrestee, and, in one instance, pay a phone charge for an inmate’s call.
According to, among other things, business and financial records obtained during the criminal investigation, and a forensic report prepared by an accounting firm, CINA made the following disbursements of the Companies’ funds, from 2009 through 2015, which were not authorized, and which had no apparent or recorded business purpose:
- Payments to a mini-mart (approximately $457,000)
- Payments to a gas station (approximately $180,000)
- Payment of CINA’s rent (approximately $25,000)
- Payment of CINA’s personal credit card bills (approximately $125,000)
- Checks payable to CINA (non-payroll) (approximately $599,000)
- Checks payable to cash (approximately $282,000)
- Cash withdrawals (approximately $825,000)
- Additional unauthorized charges (including charges to pharmacies, medical and dental facilities, a rental car company, a car wash facility, an inmate phone service, and for purported loans from family members of CINA)
* * *
In addition to the prison term, CINA, 56, of Poughkeepsie, New York, ordered to pay restitution in the total amount $3,385,665 and forfeiture in the total amount $2,548,820.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Office’s Special Agents. He also thanked the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Martin and Benjamin Allee are in charge of the prosecution.
Former CFO of Vancouver Business Management Company Indicted for Certifying False Financial ReportsRead the Press Release
The former Chief Financial Officer of a Vancouver, Washington business management company was indicted yesterday in connection with his false certifications of the company’s periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. JAMES DOUGLAS MILLER, 54, of Washougal, Washington, served as the CFO of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) from 2008 to 2016. MILLER was fired in 2016 when he disclosed to the company that he had falsified entries in the company’s books to improperly report workers’ compensation expenses as payroll taxes and fees. As a result of MILLER’S accounting improprieties, BBSI underreported approximately $12 million in workman’s compensation expenses in 2013. At the same time as he falsified BBSI’s books and falsely certified the periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, MILLER profited on BBSI stock, by exercising stock options worth 35,300 shares for $467,261 and selling it for more than $2.4 million.
MILLER is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma at 2:30 this afternoon.
According to records filed in the case, on four different occasions in 2013 and 2014, MILLER falsely certified periodic reports filed with the SEC. MILLER’s certifications contained a number of false statements, including, among others, statements that BBSI’s periodic reports fairly presented, in all material respects, the results of BBSI’s operations, that BBSI had designed and maintained effective internal controls over its financial reporting to ensure that BBSI’s financial statements complied with generally accepted accounting principles, and that MILLER had reported any fraud, whether or not material, that involved management who had a significant role in BBSI’s internal control over financial reporting. Contrary to his representations, MILLER knew that during each calendar quarter of 2013, he had circumvented BBSI’s internal controls and created a number of accounting entries that improperly classified workers’ compensation expenses as payroll and payroll tax expenses in violation of generally accepted accounting procedures.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a civil complaint following their separate investigation.
Willful certification of a false periodic report is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold and Francis Franze-Nakamura
Foreign National Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Conspiring to Bribe a Public OfficialRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley sentenced Constantin Schiller, 65, of Romania, today to two years in prison for conspiracy to commit bribery, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Schiller and co-defendants Anamaria Cruceru, 51, and Marcelle Banaga, 43, also of Romania, were employees of a Romanian company, Polaris M. Holdings, owned and operated by co-defendant Dumitru Martin, 57, of Romania. Between June 2014 and December 2015, the defendants conspired with each other to bribe a high-level United States Air Force contracting officer in an effort to win multiple multimillion-dollar contracts for Polaris. The defendants offered to pay the contracting officer a bribe, which they called a “commission,” equal to 10 percent of the amount of any contract awarded. The defendants also suggested that the contracting officer use a fictitious consulting contract and other commercial contracts and documents to conceal payment of the bribe.
In July 2015, the defendants caused Polaris to submit a bid to the USAF to supply storage containers to the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania. The contract was valued at over $10 million. In September 2015, Martin traveled to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California to sign the documents relating to the bid as well the fictitious contracts meant to conceal various bribe payments totaling just over $1 million. Thereafter, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants caused Polaris to wire $100,000 from Romania to a bank account in the United States as the initial bribe payment to the USAF contracting officer. Unbeknownst to the defendants, the USAF contracting officer was working with federal law enforcement, and there was no contract to be awarded to Polaris.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Beckwith and Todd Pickles are prosecuting the case.
On April 6, 2017, Martin was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Banaga and Cruceru have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Nunley on November 8, 2018, and November 15, 2018, respectively. They each face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Surreptitiously Producing and Distributing Pornographic Audio and Video Recordings of Himself Engaged in Sexual Activity with at Least 80Read the Press Release
A Homestead, Florida man who was charged with surreptitiously producing and distributing pornographic audio and video recordings of himself engaging in sexual activity with multiple men, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Miami.
Bryan Deneumostier, 32, also known by the screen name “susanleon33326,” pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal interception of oral communications.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Mark Selby of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office, made the announcement today. Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga scheduled the sentencing hearing for Nov. 29. Deneumostier was arrested in July 2018 and has been held in custody since then.
According to the indictment to which Deneumostier pleaded guilty and to other facts he admitted in his plea agreement, Deneumostier assisted in the operation of a subscription-based pornography website. The site offered for streaming approximately 619 “hook up” videos that depicted sexual activity between Deneumostier and other men. The defendant had surreptitiously made audio and video recordings of the sexual encounters, without the victims’ knowledge or consent. He later sold the “hook up” videos to a third party located overseas and caused them to be posted onto the website. The indictment and plea agreement refer to three known victims whose identities are being withheld to protect their privacy. Deneumostier admitted that he recorded himself engaging in sexual activity with approximately 150 men that were featured on his website and that approximately 80 of those did not know that he was recording them.
The investigation was conducted by HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cary Aronovitz of the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and are prosecuting the case.
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.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Surreptitiously Producing and Distributing Pornographic Audio and Video Recordings of Himself Engaged in Sexual Activity with at Least 80 OthersRead the Press Release
A Homestead, Florida man who was charged with surreptitiously producing and distributing pornographic audio and video recordings of himself engaging in sexual activity with multiple men, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Miami.
Bryan Deneumostier, 32, also known by the screen name “susanleon33326,” pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal interception of oral communications.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Mark Selby of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office, made the announcement today. Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga scheduled the sentencing hearing for Nov. 29. Deneumostier was arrested in July 2018 and has been held in custody since then.
According to the indictment to which Deneumostier pleaded guilty and to other facts he admitted in his plea agreement, Deneumostier assisted in the operation of a subscription-based pornography website. The site offered for streaming approximately 619 “hook up” videos that depicted sexual activity between Deneumostier and other men. The defendant had surreptitiously made audio and video recordings of the sexual encounters, without the victims’ knowledge or consent. He later sold the “hook up” videos to a third party located overseas and caused them to be posted onto the website. The indictment and plea agreement refer to three known victims whose identities are being withheld to protect their privacy. Deneumostier admitted that he recorded himself engaging in sexual activity with approximately 150 men that were featured on his website and that approximately 80 of those did not know that he was recording them.
The investigation was conducted by HSI. Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cary Aronovitz of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Federal Jury Finds Federal Probationer Guilty of Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – After a two-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict for the United States finding Philandias Samuel Calvin guilty of assaulting federal law enforcement officers as they attempted to arrest him pursuant to two valid arrest warrants.
According to evidence at trial, on December 6, 2017, Calvin was present inside the United States Probation Office located in the Thomas F. Eagleton federal courthouse. Days earlier, two arrest warrants had been issued as a result of Calvin’s continued violations of his federal supervised release. (Calvin had previously been convicted of at least two separate federal crimes and, as part of his sentence following incarceration, Calvin was placed on federal supervised release.)
As two United States Probation Officers and three Deputy United States Marshals informed Calvin of his arrest warrants, Calvin became verbally combative. Calvin then punched one Deputy United States Marshal in the face. Calvin continued to resist arrest as the federal officials attempted to arrest him, injuring two other federal officials.
U. S. Attorney Jeff Jensen applauded the courage, efforts and support of the United States Marshal Service and United States Probation Office that directly resulted in this verdict, “The evidence showed these federal officers and professionals were injured in the course of their duties which included trying to help the Defendant through his court supervision. I am pleased the jury agreed and vindicated their efforts.”
Calvin, 33, St. Louis, MO, was indicted on January 10, 2018 charging him with one felony count of assaulting a federal official engaged in their duties.
He faces up to eight years of imprisonment for the conviction, and a potential fine of $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provides recommended sentencing ranges.
Sentencing has been set for December 20, 2018 before the Honorable Catherine D. Perry.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshal Service with the assistance of the United States Probation Office.
###
Federal Indictment Charges Minneapolis Man in Lakeville Gun Store BurglaryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging PRESLEY AARON PELTIER, 22, with stealing four firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. PELTIER, who was arrested on August 17, 2018, made his initial appearance earlier today before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
According to the indictment and law enforcement reports, on August 3, 2018, PELTIER and another individual, drove a stolen SUV into the rear entrance of a federally licensed firearms dealer’s storefront in Lakeville, Minnesota, causing significant damage. PELTIER and the other individual stole four firearms from the store, including a Beretta, model 9000S, .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger, model SR45, .45ACP-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Smith & Wesson, model 5906, nine-millimeter-caliber semiautomatic pistol, and a Ruger, model SR45, .45ACP-caliber semiautomatic pistol, and fled the scene in the stolen SUV. PELTIER and the other individual then abandoned the stolen SUV in a south Minneapolis school parking lot.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lakeville Police Department, and the Minneapolis Police Department. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
PRESLEY AARON PELTIER, 22
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
- Theft of firearms from a federally licensed dealer, 1 count
- Possession of stolen firearms, 1 count
###
Additional news available on our website.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
FCI-Greenville Inmate Pleads Guilty to AssultRead the Press Release
A former inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Illinois, pled guilty earlier today to assaulting a fellow inmate. Michael Griesinger, 23, admitted striking the victim – identified only as J.B. in court records – with his fists. As a result of the assault, J.B. suffered a broken jaw.
Griesinger’s sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2018, in East St. Louis, Illinois. He faces up to 10 years on the charge, in addition to the time remaining on his original sentence.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Special Investigations Section. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Durham Man Arrested for Mailing Bomb Threat HoaxesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces that MICHAEL DEXTER BRODIE was arrested today, September 20, 2018.
On September 6, 2018, a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned an indictment charging BRODIE with two counts of mailing bomb threat hoaxes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(e). As stated in open court during the initial appearance, the alleged conduct includes bomb threats received by government offices in the Raleigh area, resulting in multiple evacuations. If convicted, BRODIE would face as to each charge a maximum term of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of up to three years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Investigation of this case is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Raleigh Police Department, with assistance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Dubai Man Indicted for Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Dubai man was indicted today for his alleged participation in a long-running credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Olusegun Akinlade, a/k/a “Shadow Walker,” 29, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is charged by indictment with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment:
From October 2015 to January 2018, Akinlade, Henry Abdul, a conspirator who pleaded guilty in August 2018 to his role in the scheme, and others participated in a conspiracy to obtain control of and use credit card accounts of others through a fraudulent scheme commonly referred to as a “credit card takeover.” As part of the scheme, a person who is not the account owner or authorized user of a credit card account contacts the financial institution and poses as the account owner in order to change the personal information associated with the account to information familiar to the unauthorized user. This may include the residence, email address, or telephone number associated with the account. These changes to the account are designed to give the unauthorized user control of the account without the actual account owners’ knowledge or authorization, and may permit the unauthorized user to receive new credit cards associated with the compromised accounts. Once in control of the account, the unauthorized users make purchases, transfer funds to other accounts under their control, or sell the account information to third parties.
Akinlade and his conspirators allegedly purchased the victim account holders’ personal identifying information from hackers located outside of the United States. They then used the stolen information when contacting victim banks to carry out the account takeovers, or to open new accounts. Akinlade, who was in Dubai during the scheme, received from Abdul and other conspirators merchandise that they had purchased with the compromised credit card accounts, and a percentage of any profits the conspirators made selling such merchandise.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed by the Court.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas P. Grippo and David M. Eskew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Drug User Who Possessed Sawed-Off Shotgun Sent to Prison for Violating ProbationRead the Press Release
A Cedar Rapids man who was sentenced to three years of probation on November 10, 2016, for possession of a sawed off shotgun and being an unlawful user of drugs in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison today for violating his probation.
Mario Jerel Harper, age 41, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a probation revocation hearing. Evidence at the hearing showed that Harper used controlled substances on a number of occasions, failed to tell the truth to his probation officer, and refused to participate in drug testing.
At Harper’s guilty plea in 2016, he admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana and that he had a sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him in accordance with federal law.
Harper was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Harper was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment, and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
Harper is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Harper was under supervision by the Northern District of Iowa United States Probation Office in Cedar Rapids.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is CR 16-00040-LRR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Drug Task Force Operation in Central NebraskaRead the Press Release
Today, the Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force conducted a multiple agency operation in the Central Nebraska region that led to the federal arrests of 12 individuals for charges including possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, distribution of methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. One defendant was also arrested on a state charge of distribution of cocaine. The operation included the execution of 4 federal search warrants and 1 state search warrant in Grand Island, which resulted in the recovery of a significant amount of U.S. Currency, over 2 pounds of methamphetamine, and a yet to be determined amount of cocaine. Court appearances for defendants arrested on federal charges will occur in Lincoln.
The Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force consists of the following agencies: The Grand Island Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Kearney Police Department, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Hastings Police Department, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Hall County Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office.
Other law enforcement agencies involved in the operation include the Aurora Police Department and the Merrick County Sheriff’s Office.
Arrested Individuals:
Rodrigo Bolanos
Juan Corado Arriaza
Gustavo Cruz Hernandez
Jose Donato
Daniel Espinoza-Garcia
Arturo Javier Garcia
Judith Leyva-Reynoso
Erick Lozano
Miguel Luna
Juan Medina
Miguel Mendez
Manuel Sanchez
Lynie Chanthavong
Donora Woman Played Role in Lightfoot/Mendoza Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa – A resident of Donora, PA pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics charge, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Renee Kinder, age 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distributing cocaine before United States District Judge Mark Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from March 2017 to December 2017, Brandon Thomas, a mid-level distributor in the Lightfoot/Mendoza Drug Trafficking Organization, would receive large quantities of cocaine from Jamie Lightfoot, Jr. before redistributing the cocaine to Kinder and other co-conspirators. Kinder’s role in the conspiracy was to travel Brandon Thomas’ home in Donora, PA on multiple occasions to purchase cocaine. After purchasing the cocaine from Brandon Thomas, Kinder would then redistribute it to other co-conspirators.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for January 22, 2019. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior record, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation - The Monongahela Valley Residential Agency and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the South Strabane Police Department, the Elizabeth Borough Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department and the Perryopolis Police Department, conducted the investigation that led to the guilty plea in this case
Dominican National Charged with Making False Statements and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Dominican national was indicted today in federal court in Boston in connection with making false statements in an application for a replacement Social Security card and aggravated identity theft.
Francis Yohan Mateo Guerrero, 29, a Dominican national formerly residing in Lawrence, was indicted on one count of making a materially false statement and one count of aggravated identity theft. Mateo Guerrero was previously charged by complaint and arrested on Aug. 22, 2018, and has been in custody since.
According to charging documents, in August 2017, Mateo Guerrero applied for a replacement Social Security card by submitting the name of a U.S. Citizen from Puerto Rico. As proof of identity to support his application, Mateo Guerrero provided a Massachusetts Driver’s License in the name of a U.S. Citizen from Puerto Rico as his own.
The charge of making materially false statements provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Defendants Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
Eddie Balderramas, Michael Balderramas, and Michelle Martinez-Marte Assisted Illegal Aliens in Obtaining Michigan Driver’s Licenses in the Identities of Other Individuals
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Michelle Martinez-Marte, 37, of Rhode Island, Eddie Michael Balderramas, 51, and his son, Michael James Balderramas, 28, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, recently pled guilty to a federal indictment charging conspiracy to transfer identification documents and the means of identification of others to obtain Michigan driver’s licenses. According to the plea agreements, between at least April 4, 2016, and July 20, 2017, defendants conspired to assist illegal aliens, mostly from the Dominican Republic, in obtaining Michigan driver’s licenses using the identities of others. Martinez-Marte acquired Puerto Rican birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and social security account number cards in the names of actual individuals from a source in Puerto Rico. Martinez-Marte then referred the illegal aliens to Eddie Balderramas. Either Eddie Balderramas, or his son Michael Balderramas, would travel to New York City and transport the illegal aliens to Michigan where they would be harbored at a home in Kalamazoo. Eddie Balderramas produced false leases, paystubs, and other documents to make it appear as if the illegal aliens were truly Michigan residents. Eddie and Michael Balderramas would then transport the illegal aliens to Michigan Secretary of State Offices and would use the Puerto Rican documents, the social security numbers, and the counterfeit documents of Michigan residency, to acquire an authentic Michigan driver’s license for the illegal aliens using the names and personal identifiers of other individuals. The illegal aliens paid Eddie Balderramas and Michelle Martinez-Marte for their assistance so that they could live in the country under the names of others and avoid detection by immigration authorities.
Eddie Balderramas will be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on January 22, 2019. Michael Balderramas will be sentenced on January 28, 2019, and Martinez-Marte on February 1, 2019. All defendants face up to 15 years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy charge. Martinez-Marte and Eddie Balderramas both face an additional penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment for their aggravated identity theft convictions, which sentence must be served consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed for the conspiracy conviction. Finally, Martinez-Marte faces up to 2 years’ imprisonment for her additional conviction of illegally reentering the United States after her prior removal from the country.
The investigation of the case is being handled by the Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations, Grand Rapids; Michigan Department of State-Office of Investigative Services; Southwest Enforcement Team; Michigan State Police; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Stella is handling the prosecution.
END
David Larson Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Possession of Pseudoephedrine Knowing it Would Be Used to Manufacture MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
HAMMOND – David Larson, 35 years old, of Shelby, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 87 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to knowingly possessing pseudoephedrine knowing it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
According to documents in the case, from 2012 through 2017, Larson purchased a total of 120 grams of pseudoephedrine, with the purchases occurring on 58 separate occasions at 10 different pharmacies in 4 different counties, with Larson knowing the psuedoephedrine would be used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the DEA, Indiana State Police, Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, and Newton County Sheriff’s Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Nozick and Dean R. Lanter.
###
DOJ Office on Violence Against Women Awards $700,593 to Jefferson County’s One PlaceRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women has awarded One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center $700,593 to support its mission as the comprehensive service provider for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in Jefferson County. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and One Place Executive Director Allison Dearing announced the grant.
OVW issued the award through its Improving Criminal Justice Responses grant program. One Place, in collaboration with Jefferson County, will use this award to provide a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner to coordinate and manage the SANE program operated by the Crisis Center at One Place. The grant funding also enables One Place to provide trauma-informed advocacy training for Rape Response medical advocates and law enforcement; support a staff attorney from the YWCA Central Alabama to work onsite at One Place and provide comprehensive legal assistance; and sustain quarterly events to promote community awareness and engagement with One Place.
“One Place is a vital resource in our community to ease the impact and trauma that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault suffer,” Town said. “Often victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are forced to relive horrific experiences as they recount the story of their assault to healthcare providers, crisis managers, law enforcement, and prosecutors. One Place is a national model where all domestic violence and sexual assault responders are gathered to coordinate services and limit the additional trauma suffered by victims. This grant will further enhance One Place’s ability to address the harm suffered by victims of violent crime and to best support their recovery.”
“The awarded funds will allow One Place to expand its current on-site resources to offer increased support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault,” Dearing said. “This award affirms and advances the mission of our collaboration — which is to make the process less intimidating and more efficient for the survivors we serve.”
OVW’s Improving Criminal Justice Responses program is designed to encourage partnerships between state and local governments, courts, victim service providers, coalitions, and rape crisis centers to ensure that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are treated as serious violations of criminal law.
At One Place, victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault receive wraparound services from one central location, with an emphasis on maintaining a survivor-centered approach, which reduces barriers to seeking help in the Birmingham area.
The mission of One Place is to provide coordinated services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through a multi-disciplinary team of agency professionals who are co-located and working together under roof. The founding agencies at One Place include the Birmingham Police Department, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the YWCA Central Alabama and the Crisis Center, Inc.
One Place is the only agency in the state of Alabama to receive this OVW grant award in 2018.
For more information on One Place and its services contact (205) 453-7261.
###
Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a GunRead the Press Release
A convicted felon who has repeatedly unlawfully possessed firearms was sentenced on September 19, 2018, to more than two years in federal prison.
Dezarris Shemeek Wilkerson, age 26, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 5, 2018, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In a plea agreement, Wilkerson admitted he possessed a pistol on June 4, 2017. At the time he possessed the pistol, Wilkerson was a convicted felon. When officers made contact with Wilkerson on June 4, he was drunk and possessed marijuana.
Previously, in 2011, Wilkerson was convicted in federal court with being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. In that case, he admitted to stealing a shotgun from a vacant house. In 2012, Wilkerson was convicted of carrying weapons in state court. In that case, he was found with a loaded revolver that had the serial number scratched off. In his plea agreement in the current case, Wilkerson also admitted that police found him in a vehicle on January 5, 2016, and that officers found a handgun under the seat in that same vehicle.
Wilkerson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Wilkerson was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
Wilkerson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 17-cr-02082.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Columbia Man Indicted for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Missouri was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for receiving child pornography.
Steven D. French, 60, of Columbia, Mo., was charged by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., with one count of receiving or distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
The federal indictment charges French with downloading child pornography from, and uploading child pornography to, the internet. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at French’s residence on Aug. 29, 2018. Officers seized computers and other electronic media from his residence and submitted them for forensic examination. Forensic examination revealed images depicting child pornography as well as evidence of receipt of child pornography.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 168 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Terron Taylor, 23 years old, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jon E DeGuilio after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, announced U. S. Attorney Kirsch.
Taylor was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Kirsch said, “Drug dealers target areas of cities and towns for drug distribution. We are targeting them. As we catch them, we will seek lengthy penalties for spreading poison on our streets. This case is a prime example of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working together to combat the drug epidemic.”
According to documents in the case, from March 2017 up to and including October 2017, Taylor conspired with a group of other dealers to distribute over 1 kilogram of heroin to drug customers on the streets of South Bend. Customers would call a drug phone and order heroin. Whichever dealer had the phone at the time would arrange to meet with the customer and complete the heroin sale. The business model was efficient: transactions were quick and without hassle. All of the heroin was pre-packaged in ½ gram quantities. The price remained uniform regardless of which dealer showed up to sell. Investigators conducted numerous controlled purchases by calling the drug phone and ordering heroin. Investigators met with and identified different dealers, most of which were from Chicago. On four occasions in September 2017, Taylor was involved in selling heroin to the investigators. Taylor has a lengthy criminal history that qualifies him as a career offender under the guidelines.
This case was investigated by the ATF and DEA with assistance from several local law enforcement agencies including the Elkhart Police Department, Indiana State Police, the St. Joseph County Drug Investigations Unit and the St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel R. Gabrielse and Molly E. Donnelly.
###
Charleston Woman Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for a federal drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Baylee Gibson, age 19, of Bench Road, previously pled guilty in April 2018 to distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine. Stuart praised the investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
“This young woman made a terrible decision when she decided to sell meth,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “But make no mistake, we prosecute drug dealers – young, old and every age in between – for peddling their poisons in our communities.”
On August 25, 2017, an agent with MDENT arranged to meet Gibson and purchase one ounce of methamphetamine for $1200. The agent had spoken to Gibson on the telephone and had arranged the price and quantity.. Gibson told the agent to meet her at a parking lot just off the campus of West Virginia State University (WVSU) on Baron Drive in Institute, West Virginia.. This was the site of a previous methamphetamine sale by Gibson.
The agent met Gibson as planned. After a brief discussion, Gibson took $1200.00 of prerecorded buy money, got out of the agent' s car and walked towards the campus of WVSU. Additional MDENT agents were positioned around the campus conducting surveillance. Gibson then met with another individual, later identified as her co defendant, Kyle Keith Russell, and returned to the agent's car. There, Gibson provided the agent with a clear plastic bag with a substance that field tested positive as methamphetamine. The substance was sent to the Mid-Atlantic DEA laboratory where it was tested. The testing showed the substance was 23.39 grams of pure methamphetamine. Gibson arranged and sold methamphetamine to the same undercover agent on August 22, 2017, and twice on August 30, 2017. The agent arranged all three of those additional sales directly with Gibson. Those sales took place in the same manner and at the same location as the count of conviction. Kyle Keith Russell was Gibson’s source of supply for those sales. Russell pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Russell’s sentencing is scheduled for November 14, 2018.
United States District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the case. Assistant United States Attorney R. Gregory McVey handled the prosecution.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
###
Byron Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Federal Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
MACON: Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Charlie Lee Harvey, Jr., age 45, of Byron, Georgia was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine before U.S. District Court Judge Marc T. Treadwell in Macon, Georgia on September 19, 2018.
In his plea agreement, Mr. Harvey admitted to being a passenger in a truck that was stopped for a window tint violation on July 15, 2016. A drug detection dog alerted on the truck, and a search revealed a gallon-size Ziploc bag containing suspected methamphetamine in the center console. Mr. Harvey told the police that the driver knew nothing about the drugs. A subsequent search of Mr. Harvey’s residence revealed $2,700 (all in one hundred dollar bills), two sets of digital scales, two boxes of plastic heat seal food bags, and one vacuum food sealer. Lab test results from the DEA confirmed the drugs were 986.2 grams of d-methamphetamine hydrochloride (“Ice”) with an 89% purity. Mr. Harvey waived his Miranda rights and confessed to possessing the methamphetamine and intending to sell it. Mr. Harvey has previous felony convictions for Sale of Cocaine, Trafficking in Cocaine, and Criminal Attempt to Commit Trafficking in Cocaine.
“Methamphetamine is pure poison in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Charles E. Peeler. “I commend the DEA, the Georgia State Patrol, the Peach County Sheriff’s Office, the Byron Police Department, and the Fort Valley Police Department for their investigation and efforts to bring Mr. Harvey to justice and to get this poison off our streets.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia State Patrol, the Peach County Sheriff’s Office, the Byron Police Department, and the Fort Valley Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Easterling is prosecuting the case.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.
Brother and Sister Charged with ConspiracyRead 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 Jeriel Slay, 28, of Brooklyn, NY, and his sister, Angela Slay, 28, of Jamaica, NY, were charged by criminal complaint with engaging in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P Cantil, who is handling the case, stated that between December 2016 and September 2018, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to defraud multiple victims. As a part of their scheme, Jeriel and Angela Slay, who are siblings, stole the identities of unsuspecting victims and created fictitious Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), with company names indicating ownership by the victims. The defendants then opened bank accounts under the names of the LLCs and fraudulently transferred money from a victim’s actual bank account to the LLC bank account.
In August 2018, search warrants were executed at two residences occupied by the defendants in Miami Beach and Miramar, Florida. During those searches, investigators recovered:
• dozens of fraudulently created credit cards in the names of multiple individuals, including blanks, partially completed cards, and fully completed cards;
• dozens of fraudulently created driver's licenses including licenses with pictures of Jeriel Slay;
• over $45,000 in cash;
• financial statements including bank statements, utility bills, retirement account information, and other identifying information which corresponded with fraudulently created ID's and credit cards;
• financial documents including statements for fraudulently created bank accounts and LLC documentation;
• a card embosser, card printer, stamping machine, and supplies including blank cards, security chips, and ink; and
• a social security card for an individual not tied to the residence.The defendants made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and were released.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
# # # #
Brooklyn Man Sentenced for Stealing from a Disabled Army Veteran and the VARead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kevin Green, age 57, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today to 3 years of probation for his theft of disability compensation benefits from a disabled and elderly Army veteran and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”).
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Special Agent in Charge Sean Smith of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office.
Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also ordered Green to pay $39,500 in restitution and a $6,000 fine.
A federal jury convicted Green following a 5-day trial in April 2018. The evidence established that Green received approximately $71,000 in disability compensation benefits from the VA as fiduciary for a disabled 73-year-old Army veteran between March 2011 and May 2013, and was required to spend the money solely for the benefit of the veteran. The veteran initially lived in a cottage on Green’s property in Kerhonkson, New York, but moved into a Vermont veterans’ home in April 2012. All of the veteran’s expenses at the veterans’ home were paid by the VA, but Green continued to collect the veteran’s disability compensation benefits. When asked for an accounting, Green misrepresented how he had spent the VA benefits, and the evidence demonstrated that he had spent tens of thousands of dollars on himself.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.
Bloomington man indicted for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
Public encouraged to notify law enforcement if they have any further information
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis-United States Attorney Josh Minkler announced today that a Bloomington, Indiana, man has been indicted for possession of matter containing child pornography. James Hans Huffman, 47, was arrested this morning by local and federal law enforcement officials. He had an initial appearance before a federal magistrate this afternoon and remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Protecting minor victims from sexual predators will always remain a top priority of this office,” said Minkler. “Those who are not able to protect themselves are the victims for which we will advocate the hardest.”
According to the indictment, from November 6, 2017, through December 19, 2017, Huffman possessed one or more matters which contained visual depictions of minors under the age of 12 years old engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
The public is encouraged to call law enforcement officials if they have any reason to believe Huffman may have had inappropriate contact with their children or other youth in the community. The FBI’s toll-free number is 800-CALLFBI (225-5324) or www.fbi.gov/tips. Concerned citizens may also call the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-4477.
This case is being investigated by the Bloomington Police Department and the FBI.
“Today’s charge illustrates the FBI’s ongoing commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our society, our youth, from those who would attempt to exploit them,” said Grant Mendenhall, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Division. “This arrest also demonstrates the strong partnerships we have with our law enforcement partners and our continued efforts to identify and hold accountable those who prey on children.”
According to Assistant United States Attorney Bradley P. Shepard who is prosecuting this case for the government, Huffman faces up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted.
An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the Office’s firm commitment to prosecuting those who exploit or harm children and to work closely with Project Safe Childhood. See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan 4.1 and 4.2
###
Atwater Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Children Through Instagram, Omegle, Kik, and Other AppsRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Nikko Adolfo Perez, 26, of Atwater, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of children, one count of coercion or enticement of a minor, and one count of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Perez, using the Instagram screen name captainamerica272018, victimized two boys, ages 8 and 10, in Utah by coercing them into creating and then sending to him images of them engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Perez offered to pay the boys with Google Play credits if they engaged in requested sexual acts or poses. When one of the victims said he would “call 911,” Perez threatened to disseminate images of the victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He also threatened to harm family members of the victims. Perez used Omegle, Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, and other social media apps.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Salt Lake City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Salt Lake City and Fresno. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Perez faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for the sexual exploitation count, a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison for the coercion and enticement count, and five to 20 years in prison for the count of receipt of child pornography. For all counts there is a potential $250,000 fine and a lifetime term of supervised release. 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 defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
Arkansas Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Exploiting MinorsRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Austin McMahill, age 30, of Wideman, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole followed by five years of supervised release on one count each of Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. The Honorable Chief Judge P. K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.
According to court records, in September of 2017, the Arkansas State Police received a report that Austin McMahill made and distributed via Facebook a video portraying him and a minor female engaging in a sexually graphic act. During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement applied for and obtained a search warrant allowing for the seizure and analysis of McMahill’s cellular phone. A subsequent forensic examination of the device revealed numerous videos and photographs of McMahill and the minor female engaged sexual activity. Per the forensic analysis, law enforcement was able to confirm that several images were taken when the minor female was fifteen-years of age. Law enforcement also located approximately 70 images depicting other minors, between 5 and 10 years of age engaging in various sex acts. At sentencing, the Government presented the Court with evidence that McMahill had sexually abused and taken images of an approximately 5 year old female.
McMahill was indicted in December 2017 on federal charges and plead guilty in April 2018.
This case was investigated by Arkansas State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.
Wednesday 19 September 2018
Weld County Man Sentenced to over 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DENVER – Frank Steven Wietecha, Jr., age 49, of Weld County, Colorado, was sentenced late last week by U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer to serve 130 months (over 10 years) in federal prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Calvin Shivers announced. Judge Brimmer ordered Wietecha to serve 15 years on supervised release following his prison sentence. The defendant appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody and was remanded at its conclusion.
Wietecha was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 7, 2018. He pled guilty to possession of child pornography on May 3, 2018. He was sentenced on September 14, 2018. Wietecha, according to court records, has a prior state misdemeanor conviction for possession of child pornography.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on November 27, 2017, Wietecha’s daughter was in possession of the defendant’s cell phone and discovered it contained images of child pornography. She surrendered the phone to police. A federal search warrant was obtained to search the device as well as SD cards, which were also recovered.
A forensic review of the cell phone and associated SD cards revealed the presence of child pornography. There were over 1,000 images of child pornography, as well as several thousand images of child erotica. The earliest image located was captured on September 14, 2013. Analysis of the phone also showed internet activity accessing child pornography websites. Wietecha also used his phone to take screen shots of child pornography from his computer.
“Our prosecutors and the FBI leave no stone unturned when it comes to protecting children,” said U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer.
“The FBI remains committed to ensuring those responsible for sexually exploiting innocent children are aggressively investigated and brought to justice,” said Calvin Shivers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Denver Division. "This sentence demonstrates that those who possess child pornography will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
This matter was investigated by the FBI, and the Fort Lupton Police Department with support from the Weld County District Attorney's Office. The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Spencer.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”