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Monday 13 August 2018
Idaho Man in Custody on Terrorism Charges Sentenced to an Additional 20 Years for Attacking Federal Prison WardenRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A man who was already serving a 25-year sentence for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization was sentenced today to serve an additional 20-year prison term for trying to kill the warden of the federal prison where he was housed.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, 36, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.
Kurbanov pleaded guilty on March 13 to one count of attempted murder of a federal officer. As part of his plea, Kurbanov admitted making and using a prison-made knife to attack the warden at the Federal Correctional Institute-II in Victorville on May 31, 2016, and attempting to slit his throat. The warden suffered serious injuries in the attack but has since recovered and now serves at another United States Bureau of Prisons facility.
At today’s hearing, Kurbanov, speaking through an interpreter, told the court he was not sorry for his actions and that the victim was supposed to die. Kurbanov also expressed extreme animosity toward the United States.
In handing down the maximum possible sentence for the attempted murder offense, Judge Phillips noted the impact to the victim and his family, and she concluded Kurbanov remains an extreme danger. Judge Phillips ordered that today’s 20-year sentence run consecutively to the 25-year sentence imposed in the previous case and that he be on lifetime supervised release once he completes the prison terms.
The investigation into the attack on the warden was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by the National Security Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.
Grand Rapids Man Sentenced for Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — United States Attorney Andrew Byerly Birge announced today that Kahwahnas Nucumbhi Potts, age 39, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 9 years’ imprisonment for his aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud. The court also ordered Potts to pay restitution to the victims of his offense in the amount of $17,955.50. In sentencing Potts, U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff remarked that Potts’ brazen conduct "was among the most serious stolen mail conduct she has seen in eleven years, but that his act of breaking into the home of one of his victims and then impersonating that victim while talking to his credit card company was outrageous." The judge also noted that Potts previously appeared before her on federal charges of identity theft and that she sentenced Potts to two years’ imprisonment for his prior offense.
From at least March 2015, until April 2016, Potts stole mail belonging to West Michigan residents from their mailboxes. In December 2015, Potts stole a credit card after breaking into the home of a victim in Grand Rapids who was vacationing out of state. Potts used the means of identification of the victim and pretended to be the victim when calling the credit card company from the victim’s home phone to activate the card. Potts used that credit card without authorization to withdraw over $16,000.00 at automated teller machines (ATM) in December 2015 and January 2016. Potts disguised himself with a mask, a stolen license plate on his vehicle, and gloves, when making the ATM withdrawals. Potts again used the means of identification of the victim and pretended to be the victim on several occasions to persuade the credit card company to remove a block on the credit card when it suspected fraudulent activity.
Using the means of identification of many other individuals obtained from the stolen mail, Potts applied for and obtained credit cards in their names. Potts completed credit card applications over the internet and used the names, dates of birth and social security account numbers of such individuals to make it appear to the credit card companies that he truly was those individuals. In an effort to avoid detection, Potts accessed the wireless internet service of an area business to apply for the credit cards using his cellular phone and directed the credit card companies to mail the credit cards to a fictitious address that he created on Division Avenue in Grand Rapids.
"Today, Mr. Potts learned what it means when I say my office will not tolerate anyone stealing the identity of a resident of this district," commented U.S. Attorney Birge. "The significant sentence handed down by the court justifiably recognizes that identity theft is a serious crime with real consequences and that those consequences are even more significant for a repeat offender who commits this crime after breaking into the victim’s home."
The Grand Rapids Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Police Department Metropolitan Fraud and Identity Theft Team, conducted the investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Stella prosecuted the case.
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Gilbert Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On Aug. 10, 2018, Cory Ryan Williams, 40, of Gilbert, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to seven years in prison. A restitution hearing has been scheduled for September, where Williams will be ordered to pay restitution up to $13.5 million. Williams had previously pleaded guilty to one count of transactional money laundering.
For over two years, Williams lied to his family, friends, and fellow church members about the profitability of his investment scheme. He solicited and obtained more than $13 million from over 50 victims. To entice potential victims, Williams told them he consistently earned a five percent return each week and all investments were safe and would not lose money. In reality, he lost more than $8 million by attempting to trade stock market futures. He also concealed his fraudulent scheme by making Ponzi payments to investors - Williams paid earlier investors by using new capital from later investors. He also diverted more than $800,000 of the victims’ funds to his own personal use.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Andrew C. Stone and Peter Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-01279-PHX-DLR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-105_ Williams
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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.
French National Charged with Parental KidnappingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A French national who previously resided in East Boston was charged today in federal court in Boston in connection with kidnapping his three-year-old child in violation of court orders.
Malik Benhamza, 33, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of international parental kidnapping. Benhamza is currently a fugitive and believed to be in Algiers, Algeria.
As alleged in charging documents, on Feb. 2018, Essex County Family and Probate Court granted Jerusha Hall sole legal custody of her and Benhamza’s three-year-old child, and granted Benhamza visitation rights during specific days and times. The judgement also stated that neither parent could travel outside of Massachusetts with the child without written notice/consent to the other parent. On July 1, 2018, Benhamza did not return the child to Hall following a scheduled visit. Hall contacted law enforcement who traced Benhamza’s cell phone the following day to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Law enforcement reviewed records of flights originating from JFK Airport and discovered that on July 1, 2018, Benhamza departed aboard Royal Air Moroc Flight 201 with the child and disembarked in Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, Algeria. According to court documents, Hall did not give permission to Benhamza to take the child out of the United States, and has neither seen, nor heard from the child since July 1, 2018.
The charge of international parental kidnapping provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, three years 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 Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Salem Police Department provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are 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.
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Fourth Defendant Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Defrauding Clifton-Based Trucking Company of More Than $900,000Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Clifton, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud a New Jersey-based trucking company of more than $900,000, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lisa Popewiny, 56, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to Count One of an indictment charging her with wire fraud. Brothers Miguel Vidal, Angel D. Vidal, and Angel Gabriel Vidal previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges for their roles in the scheme. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in Court:
Popewiny was the payroll clerk at Clifford B. Finkle Jr. Inc., a Clifton company that provided transportation and freight services to various public and private entities located in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere. From June 2012 to April 2015, Popewiny, and the Vidals, including Miguel Vidal – a former truck driver for the Company – engaged in a scheme to defraud the company of $920,380.
Popewiny falsified payroll records in order to generate fraudulent paychecks payable to non-existent employees, including the Vidal brothers. All of the Vidal brothers have admitted to allowing the use of their personal identifying information to generate the fraudulent paychecks. The three men then converted the fraudulent paychecks, many of which were deposited into their bank accounts and then funneled out of the accounts in cash. Miguel Vidal admitted to recruiting other individuals to provide their personal information so that Popewiny could falsely add them to the payroll. Popewiny input false hours for at least 12 different individuals. The scheme came to light when owners of the company, in an effort to investigate suspected fraud, distributed the payroll checks to employees – a task normally completed by Popewiny. After all of the payroll checks had been distributed, several paychecks remained unclaimed that turned out to be fraudulently issued.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Popewiny to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $920,379 in restitution and $735,591 in forfeiture.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited criminal investigators in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Judy Ramos, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cari Fais, of the Special Prosecution Division, and Lee M. Cortes Jr., Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel: Christopher D. Adams Esq., Holmdel, New Jersey
Four people indicted for immigration-related offensesRead the Press Release
Four people were indicted for immigration-related offenses.
Anita Marin-Arres, 61, of Mexico, was indicted on charges of making a false statement of citizenship to obtain to fraudulently obtain a valid Ohio driver’s license and fraud and misuse of visas and other documents related to her use of a forged Lawfully Admitted Permanent Resident (LAPR) card to obtain employment.
Misael Vargas-Samano, 34, of Mexico, was indicted on charges of making a false statement of citizenship to obtain employment and fraud and misuse of visas or other documents related to his use of a forged Social Security card to obtain employment.
David Delgado-Salazar, 34, of El Salvador, was indicted on charges of making a false statement of citizenship to obtain employment and fraud and misuse of visas or other documents related to his use of a forged Social Security card to obtain employment.
Nora R. Galvez-Roblero, 44, of Mexico, was indicted on charges of fraud and misuse of visas and other documents related to her use of forged LAPR cards to obtain employment.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah P. Hood and Michael Freeman following investigations by Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection,and Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Each of these defendants was administratively detained following an enforcement action in the Sandusky area in June 2018.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former attorney indicted for using dozens of his clients’ identities to obtain fraudulent litigation advancesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Chalmer “Chuck” Detling, II has been arraigned on seven counts of wire fraud and eight counts of aggravated identity theft. Detling was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 8, 2018, for using the identities of 36 former clients without their knowledge or authorization in order to apply for and obtain 50 fraudulent litigation advances, totaling hundreds of thousands dollars.
“Lawyers are supposed to assist their clients, not use their identities to commit fraud.” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Detling allegedly violated his ethical and fiduciary duties by using his clients’ personal information to apply for litigation advances in their names. He then kept the money for himself.”
“Detling’s alleged actions displayed a complete disregard for his clients by stealing their identities to enrich himself,” said J. C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to hold those accountable who choose to exploit their trusted positions for their own personal financial gain.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Detling was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2004. In May 2012 through December 2016, Detling was the owner and operator of the Detling Law Group, a law firm based in Marietta, Georgia. Detling primarily engaged in personal injury law. On October 31, 2016, the Supreme Court of Georgia accepted Detling’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license. He is no longer licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia.
Various financing companies offer “litigation advances” to cover non-litigation related expenses (e.g., living and medical expenses) for plaintiffs who typically have a pending personal injury or worker’s compensation lawsuit. Typically, a plaintiff applies for litigation advance financing by submitting a signed financing agreement that includes, among other things, the amount of money being advanced to the plaintiff and a repayment schedule. Although the financing agreement contemplates that a plaintiff will repay the litigation advances with interest, the litigation financing entities do not consider such financing to be “loans.” Instead, they characterize the financing as “investments” or “advances” because a plaintiff who has no recovery would not be obligated to repay the litigation financing entity. The litigation advances typically range from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
From October 2014 through April 2016, Detling allegedly devised a scheme to defraud several litigation financing entities by obtaining fraudulent litigation advances in the names of his law firm’s clients without the clients’ knowledge or authorization. During this period, Detling allegedly obtained 50 fraudulent litigation advances totaling more than $383,000 in the names of 36 clients. Detling applied for the fraudulent litigation advances using personal identifying information of his clients, including their names and Social Security numbers. He allegedly submitted applications that were purportedly signed and executed by his respective clients, but Detling knew when he submitted the agreement paperwork that the clients had not actually executed the agreements. Detling was able to secure these fraudulent litigation advances without his clients’ knowledge in part because the litigation financing entities did not require the clients to be present when applying for the litigation advances or receiving the disbursements.
In order to further conceal that he applied for and received the fraudulent litigation advances, Detling allegedly had the loan proceeds wired directly to his law firm’s Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (“IOLTA”) or he personally picked up checks from the lending entity and deposited the funds into the IOLTA account. The fraudulently obtained litigation advances would then be transferred from the IOLTA account to Detling Law Group’s operating accounts or other Detling Law Group accounts. Detling allegedly further concealed that he applied for and received the fraudulent litigation advances in his clients’ names without their knowledge or authorization by often providing inaccurate contact information to the litigation financing entities for the clients who were purportedly seeking the litigation advances. This included providing fake phone numbers and/or email addresses in the financing applications.
Chalmer “Chuck” Detling, II, 42, of Marietta, Georgia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas on seven counts of wire fraud and eight counts of aggravated identity theft on August 10, 2018. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the State Bar of Georgia.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and John S. Ghose are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former L.A. County Deputy Sheriff Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Escort Interstate Narcotics Shipments in Exchange for more than $250,000Read the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana as part of an interstate drug trafficking scheme in which the deputy agreed to use his position as a law enforcement officer to ensure the successful transport of narcotics.
Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Collins, 50, of Chino, who separated from the LASD in late February, admitted that he conspired with at least two other individuals to accept cash payments in exchange for distributing large quantities of controlled substances and actively thwarting the enforcement of state and local law – in exchange for cash payments as high as $250,000.
According to a plea agreement filed in federal court, during an FBI undercover operation, Collins agreed that he and his team would provide an armed escort for the narcotics and take calculated steps to prevent legitimate law enforcement from intercepting the shipments.
Collins pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Otis D. Wright, II, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 19, 2018. As a result of today’s guilty plea, Collins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and he could be sentenced to as much as life without parole.
“Law enforcement officers are sworn to uphold the law, which is why we hold them to a higher standard of conduct,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “Deputy Collins didn’t just break the law, he trampled his oath by agreeing to sell his badge to assist drug traffickers.”
"Former Deputy Collins broke the law he swore to uphold by misusing his badge as a guarantee that crimes would go undetected, while enriching himself in the process," said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "The cooperation with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department during this investigation was instrumental to the resolution of this case."
In January, special agents with the FBI arrested Collins and two co-defendants – David Easter, 52, of the Hyde Park District of Los Angeles, and Grant Valencia, 34, of Pomona – after they arrived in Pasadena to provide security for the transport of nearly 45 pounds of cocaine and more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine to Las Vegas, Nevada. Unbeknownst to Collins and his co-defendants, the narcotics transport was part of an FBI sting operation. Collins had previously negotiated a cash payment of $250,000 for this transport with an undercover FBI agent posing as the partner of a wealthy investor financing a drug trafficking operation.
Collins had met Valencia through a life-skills class called the Emerging Leaders Academy where Collins was an instructor, according to court documents. The purpose of the academy was for LASD deputies to teach and mentor adult ex-offenders, like Valencia, in order to help those ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into society.
Collins admitted in court that he and his two co-defendants previously provided security in November 2017 for a shipment of what Collins believed to be six kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as marijuana and counterfeit cigarettes, from Pasadena to Las Vegas. In exchange for his team’s security services that day, Collins received $25,000 in cash.
In justifying the high fees for his services, Collins told the undercover agent “we’re cops” and “all of our transports make it through.” During a recorded meeting with the undercover agent, Collins displayed his Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department badge and firearm to prove that he was, in fact, a law enforcement officer, thereby rendering his services more valuable to a drug trafficking organization.
In October 2017, Collins sold two pounds of marijuana to the undercover agent for $6,000 as a “test run” to entice the undercover agent to purchase larger quantities of marijuana in the future. Collins also offered to facilitate the sale of up to $4 million of marijuana to the undercover agent every month, according to court documents. Collins claimed to have a “connection” through which he could secure up to 2,000 pounds of marijuana every month.
In his plea agreement, Collins further admitted that, while on duty in May 2014, he conducted an unlawful traffic stop of a vehicle and illegally seized approximately $160,000 in cash from the vehicle. Prior to the traffic stop, Collins was aware that there would be a large sum of cash in the vehicle. Collins conducted the bogus traffic stop to illegally seize the cash, which was never reported to the LASD.
Easter and Valencia are scheduled to be tried in this case before Judge Wright on October 23.
The case against Collins and his co-defendants is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department cooperated in the federal investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
Former C.E.O. of Cocoa Trading Company Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for $350 Million FraudRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that PETER G. JOHNSON was sentenced to 36 months in prison for leading a scheme to defraud a group of lenders (the “Banks”) by submitting false “borrowing base” reports designed to secure and maintain a $400 million line of credit for his cocoa trading company, Transmar Commodity Group Ltd. (“Transmar” or the “Company”). JOHNSON pled guilty on March 9, 2018, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Peter G. Johnson, CEO of Transmar, a commodities trading company specializing in cocoa trading, previously admitted to his role in a scheme to defraud the banks which extended high lines of credit to Transmar. Johnson and his co-defendants fudged the company’s required reports, which banks used to gauge the amount they extended Transmar, to make the company seem financially healthier, thus receiving higher credit than deserved. All told, Johnson’s scheme led to the bankruptcy of Transmar, unpaid debt of over $350 million, and now he has been sentenced to 36 months in prison time.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
Transmar was a closely-held, family-run cocoa commodity trading company. PETER G. JOHNSON was Transmar’s founder, President, and chief executive officer.
From at least 2014 through at least December 2016, Transmar maintained a credit facility from the Banks that varied from approximately $250 million to approximately $400 million. To secure and maintain these hundreds of millions of dollars in credit, PETER G. JOHNSON, his son, Peter B. Johnson, Transmar’s Vice President of Finance, Thomas Reich, and others schemed to misrepresent material information about Transmar’s finances, making it appear that Transmar had far more credit-eligible collateral than it actually had.
The scheme centered on periodic “borrowing base” reports (“BB Reports”) that the Banks required Transmar to submit, sometimes as frequently as weekly, as a condition to continued credit extension. The BB Reports were supposed to accurately reflect and quantify those portions of Transmar’s collateral that qualified for financing under the terms of credit agreements between Transmar and the Banks.
Beginning no later than 2014, Transmar employees, acting with JOHNSON’s knowledge and at his direction, manipulated the BB Reports and related documents to give the false impression that Transmar had sufficient eligible collateral to support the amount of credit the Banks were extending. The manipulation involved, among other devices, counting inventory that Transmar had already sold or was otherwise ineligible for inclusion, counting accounts receivable for which Transmar had already received payment, recording fake accounts receivable, and arranging “circle” transactions through which amenable third-party intermediaries agreed to “buy” goods from Transmar with Transmar’s own money, funneled to the third parties through Euromar Commodities GMBH, Transmar’s affiliate.
Following the discovery of the fraud, Transmar filed for bankruptcy in December 2016. At that time, the Company owed the Banks approximately $360 million.
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In addition to the prison term, JOHNSON, 69, of Harding Township, New Jersey, was sentenced to two years of supervised release.
Peter B. Johnson, 39, of Morristown, New Jersey, and Thomas Reich, 60, of Montvale, New Jersey, each pled guilty to the same offenses for their participation in the scheme to defraud the Banks. They are scheduled to be sentenced on September 17 and 21, 2018, respectively.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benet J. Kearney and Daniel M. Tracer are in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Law Enforcement Targets Marijuana Grown on Federal LandRead the Press Release
DENVER – Federal authorities today announce prosecution results from marijuana grows on federal public land last year, as they prepare for this year’s marijuana harvest season. U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, U.S. Forest Service Special Agent in Charge Kent Delbon, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Special Agent in Charge Gary Mannino announced all three agencies are working together with local law enforcement to make public lands safer, to prevent environmental damage, and to combat illegal marijuana trafficking. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) provided substantial assistance.
During 2017, Forest Service agents and BLM officers, in concert with local law enforcement, dismantled marijuana operations on public land throughout the state, with several defendants receiving sentences of up to five years in prison. In Colorado, the marijuana growing season typically runs from early summer through the fall, which is when the cases listed below were brought last year:
United States v. Santos Ramirez-Alvarez and Santos Ramirez-Carrillo, Case No. 17-cr-338: On two islands in the Colorado River near DeBeque, Colorado, approximately 9,100 marijuana plants were found growing on BLM land. Water from the Colorado river was diverted to irrigate the grow, while money derived from the grow went to individuals in Sinaloa, Mexico. Two defendants were arrested, charged, and pled guilty to a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. They were sentenced to 57 months and 60 months in prison, respectively.
United States v. Fernando Esquivel Herrera, No. 17-cr-402: In the White River National Forest, near Placita, Colorado, approximately 2,700 marijuana plants were found growing on about 8 acres of public land, with another 3,000 plants already harvested. Multiple bottles of WD-40 were found at the site. The defendant was charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana plants, along with other crimes. He was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
United States v. Neil Andrew McKay, No. 17-cr-403: On BLM land near Whitewater, Colorado, approximately 100 marijuana plants were located. The defendant – who was homeless -- was found with a loaded handgun in his possession. He was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison.
United States v. Vincente Medrano Duque, No. 17-cr-320: In the San Isabel National Forest near Rye, Colorado, approximately 7,500 plants were located on a grow affecting approximately four acres. The defendant was charged and pled guilty to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana plants, land depredation, and illegal reentry. Sentencing is scheduled for the end of August.
United States v. Danilo Jemenez-Lopez and Margarito Yepez-Sanchez., No. 17-cr-372: In the San Isabel National Forest near Rye, Colorado, approximately 14,000 marijuana plants were located on a grow affecting approximately twelve acres. Two defendants were charged, and one pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess marijuana, as well as land depredation. The case against defendant Jemenez-Lopez is still pending.
United States v. Cutberto Reyes-Martinez, Gildardo Mendez-Arizmendi, Martin Sandoval-Arizmendi, and Pedro Fernando Segovia Rosales., No. 17-cr-375: In the San Isabel National Forest near Salida, Colorado, approximately 4,000 marijuana plants were located on a grow affecting approximately seven acres. Four defendants were charged and pled guilty to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana plants. Two defendants were also charged and pled guilty to illegal reentry. The defendants were sentenced individually to 20, 24, 60 and 24 months in prison.
United States v. Virgilio Alain Reyes Cervantes and Erik Pimental Magana Plata, No. 17-cr-431: In the San Isabel National Forest near Rye, Colorado, approximately 9,000 marijuana plants were found on a grow affecting approximately seven acres. Two defendants were charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. They were sentenced to 15 and 21 months in prison, respectively.
In addition to the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, Homeland Security Investigations assisted with a number of the investigations mentioned above.
More than 71,000 marijuana plants were removed from approximately 38 acres of Colorado public lands (not including the islands on the Colorado river) during last year’s growing season. The environmental impact was significant. From marijuana grows in the San Isabel National Forest, for example, the Forest Service estimates that approximately 5,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure were found at each grow site. Man-made reservoirs and numerous structures were built from cut pine timber. Pesticides and other chemicals were also found and removed. It took hundreds of hours to clean up each site to mitigate the environmental harm to the public lands.
“Public lands are just that – they’re public and belong to all of us,” said U.S. Attorney Troyer. “These black marketers abuse our land, our water, our animals and plants. With these prosecutions we motivate black marketers to make less harmful occupational choices.”
“We appreciate the continued support and commitment from the US Attorney’s Office working with the USDA Forest Service along with our state and local partners to dismantle and disrupt illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands,” said Forest Service Special Agent in Charge Kent Delbon. “The continued success of these eradications and prosecutions protects forest visitors, employees, nature, and wildlife from the harmful effects of illegal marijuana cultivation on national forests.”
“Illegal marijuana grows on public lands pose safety and environmental risks to all of us," said Gary Mannino, BLM Colorado Special Agent in Charge. "We will continue to work with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that the public is safe when they recreate on their lands, and that we protect the natural resources in our care.”
“Our special agents from Homeland Security Investigations — along with our law enforcement partners — pooled our unique experience and expertise to effectively investigate each of these marijuana-grow cases,” said Steven W. Cagen, special agent in charge of HSI Denver. “Allowing such criminal activity to exist without aggressive law enforcement invites more crime into our state and into our communities.”
These cases are handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys who specialize in prosecuting those responsible for illegally growing marijuana, polluting our public lands and selling the marijuana to the black market.
Euclid, Ohio, Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Fentanyl that He Ordered from China and Sold Domestically, Including in Western PARead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A Euclid, Ohio, man pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl that he ordered from China and sold domestically, including to an undercover FBI agent in Pittsburgh, U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman of the Northern District of Ohio and U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania announced today.
Antoin Austin, 28, is scheduled be sentenced Nov. 5.
Austin used the online moniker "DARKKING22" on the dark web. DARKKING22 advertised some of the following items for sale this year: "Fentanyl Pure HCL, Methozymethylfentanyl ‘30490’, molly, pure lofentanil, and MMAF New Product." Methozymethylfentanyl, pure lofentanil, and MMAF New Product are known to be various types of fentanyl analogues, according to court documents.
Undercover law enforcement agents made multiple purchases of opioids from DARKKING22 on the Dark Web in 2018. The purchases were made using bitcoins and the shipments indicated the letters carrying the drugs originated in the Cleveland area. The initial undercover purchase from Austin occurred in March of 2018 when undercover FBI special agents based in the Western District of Pennsylvania purchased and received cyclopropyl fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance, from Austin.
According to court documents, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspectors tracked the March shipment of fentanyl from DARKKING22 to the U.S. Post Office in Wickliffe, Ohio. They observed Austin travel from his home in Euclid to the Wickliffe Post Office, where he attempted to mail packages using false return addresses. These packages were intercepted by agents and were found to contain fentanyl consistent with the undercover purchases. In October 2017, law enforcement also seized a package shipped from a known Chinese fentanyl distributor to Austin which contained 10 grams of fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania charged Austin by Information with distribution of fentanyl in July 2018 and that case was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio and consolidated with the Ohio distribution case for purposes of Austin’s guilty plea and upcoming sentencing.
"This defendant ordered thousands of deadly doses of fentanyl from China, brought it to a residential neighborhood in Euclid and then mailed the dangerous drugs all over Ohio and across the country," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. "Drug traffickers like this have enriched themselves while causing so much pain in our community."
"DARKKING22 is one of the first defendants in the country to be investigated, charged and convicted since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) initiative in Pittsburgh earlier this year," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "Through our office’s expertise in opioids and cybercrime, we are disrupting illegal opioid sales on the Darknet by dismantling these marketplaces and criminal enterprises."
"Online drug trafficking takes the risk out of dealing drugs face to face," said FBI-Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. "But we want to send a clear message to those buying and selling drugs on the Darknet. You are not anonymous and we will find you. Shutting down this on-line illegal activity is a coordinated effort and all of our law enforcement partners are committed to stopping the opioid epidemic."
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service as part of the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) initiative aimed at targeting drug trafficking of fentanyl and other opioids on the Darknet. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cronin of the Northern District of Ohio and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Euclid man pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl that he ordered from China and sold domesticallyRead the Press Release
A Euclid man pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl that he ordered from China and sold domestically, including to an undercover FBI agent in Pittsburgh, U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman of the Northern District of Ohio and U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania announced today.
Antoin Austin, 28, is scheduled be sentenced Nov. 5.
Austin used the online moniker “DARKKING22” on the dark web. DARKKING22 advertised some of the following items for sale this year: “Fentanyl Pure HCL, Methozymethylfentanyl ‘30490’, molly, pure lofentanil, and MMAF New Product.” Methozymethylfentanyl, pure lofentanil, and MMAF New Product are known to be various types of fentanyl analogues, according to court documents.
Undercover law enforcement agents made multiple purchases of opioids from DARKKING22 on the Dark Web in 2018. The purchases were made using bitcoins and the shipments indicated the letters carrying the drugs originated in the Cleveland area. The initial undercover purchase from Austin occurred in March of 2018 when undercover FBI special agents based in the Western District of Pennsylvania purchased and received cyclopropyl fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance, from Austin.
According to court documents, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspectors tracked the March shipment of fentanyl from DARKKING22 to the U.S. Post Office in Wickliffe. They observed Austin travel from his home in Euclid to the Wickliffe Post Office, where he attempted to mail packages using false return addresses. These packages were intercepted by agents and were found to contain fentanyl consistent with the undercover purchases. In October 2017, law enforcement also seized a package shipped from a known Chinese fentanyl distributor to Austin which contained 10 grams of fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania charged Austin by information with distribution of fentanyl in July 2018 and that case was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio and consolidated with the Ohio distribution case for purposes of Austin’s guilty plea and upcoming sentencing.
“This defendant ordered thousands of deadly doses of fentanyl from China, brought it to a residential neighborhood in Euclid and then mailed the dangerous drugs all over Ohio and across the country,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “Drug traffickers like this have enriched themselves while causing so much pain in our community.”
“DARKKING22 is one of the first defendants in the country to be investigated, charged and convicted since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) initiative in Pittsburgh earlier this year,” said U.S. Attorney Brady. “Through our office’s expertise in opioids and cybercrime, we are disrupting illegal opioid sales on the Darknet by dismantling these marketplaces and criminal enterprises.”
"Online drug trafficking takes the risk out of dealing drugs face to face," said FBI-Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. "But we want to send a clear message to those buying and selling drugs on the Darknet. You are not anonymous and we will find you. Shutting down this on-line illegal activity is a coordinated effort and all of our law enforcement partners are committed to stopping the opioid epidemic."
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service as part of the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) initiative aimed at targeting drug trafficking of fentanyl and other opioids on the Darknet. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cronin of the Northern District of Ohio and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Duquesne Men Indicted on Firearms and False Statements ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – Two Duquesne, Pa., residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearms laws and making false statements to federal law enforcement United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The five-count indictment, returned on March 21 and unsealed on August 9, 2018, named Khalil Armstrong, 26, and Melvin Bowles, 24, as the defendants.
According to the indictment, in February 2018, Armstrong and Bowles conspired to make false statements in the acquisition of a firearm. On February 7, 2018, Armstrong made false statements to a licensed firearm dealer in the acquisition of a firearm. On February 12, 2018, Armstrong made false statements to federal law enforcement. On February 15, 2018, Bowles allegedly possessed a firearm as a convicted felon.
The defendants face a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $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 criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Drug Distribution Conspirator Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced DARWIN A. ELPHAGE a/k/a “Zero,” age 40, of Gonzales, Louisiana, to 120 months in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 18 U.S.C. § 2; distribution of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and unlawful use of communication facilities, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b).
ELPHAGE was charged in an extensive federal, state, and local investigation aimed at dismantling a large scale heroin trafficking network based in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas. The indictment charges significant drug trafficking, racketeering, firearm, and conspiracy charges. To date, investigative efforts have resulted in the seizure of over one and a half kilograms of heroin, substantial amounts of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and oxycodone. Authorities have also seized seven firearms, over $314,000 in drug proceeds, and three vehicles allegedly used in the drug trafficking venture: a 2013 Porsche 911, a Mercedes CLS550, and a GMC Hummer.
From September 22, 2015 to April of 2016, ELPHAGE conspired with eleven additional members of the drug trafficking organization to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin, in the Middle District of Louisiana, as set forth in the Indictment.
As part of the conspiracy, Jason Muse purchased kilogram quantities of heroin from Morito Tobar, Aron Winter Mosquera-Castro, Santos Mosquera-Candelo, and Fabio Zuniga-Caicedo. ELPHAGE, working under the direction of Jason Muse, distributed the heroin to Jason Muse’s customers and his own customers for further distribution in Baton Rouge, Ascension Parish, and elsewhere.
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “There is no room for this kind behavior in our communities…none. Fortunately, when it comes to kilo-level drug dealers like this defendant, there is room in the federal penitentiary. This is yet another reminder that bad behavior by dangerous felons results in significant sentences in federal court. Removing deadly drugs like heroin, oxycodone, crack, and meth from the streets of Ascension Parish makes our communities safer. I am extremely proud of the efforts of the many law enforcement partners on the local, state and federal levels who joined forces in an effort to dismantle this operation.”
“The sentencing today of DARWIN A. ELPHAGE a/k/a “Zero, sends a clear message to all who engage in the distribution of illegal drugs and to those who plague our neighborhoods with violence that we will work together to see that you are brought to justice. Federal and local law enforcement successfully collaborated in order to put ELPHAGE in federal prison for 120 months as a result of his involvement with a violent drug trafficking organization in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area,”said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Brad L. Byerley.
This operation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Baton Rouge City Police Department, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, and the Gonzales Police Department. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kleinpeter, who also serves as a deputy criminal chief.
The investigation is another effort by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program that was established in 1982 to mount a comprehensive attack against organized drug traffickers. Today, the OCDETF Program is the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises. The OCDETF Program operates nationwide and combines the resources and unique expertise of numerous federal, state, and local agencies in a coordinated attack against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
Defendant sentenced to federal prison for using stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returnsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Abdulrahman Tijani has been sentenced for his role in a scheme to file fraudulent tax returns, using the stolen personally identifiable information (PII), such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers of taxpayers. Tijani then used some of the funds to pay fees for his immigration application, in which he made false representations concerning prior crimes.
“Tijani victimized numerous taxpayers by filing fraudulent tax returns with their stolen identities,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “He then used some of the stolen funds to pay for his immigration application fees, on which he denied committing any crimes. Tijani is now headed to federal prison for his role in this scheme, and he will be turned over to the Department of Homeland Security for potential deportation proceedings.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration remains committed to investigating and pursuing all criminal abuses of the federal system of tax administration, including the digital tax administration system,” said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “Let this case serve as a warning to others who are interested in exploiting the Internal Revenue Service’s computer systems to commit identity theft and other forms of criminal activity. I wish to thank my investigators for their excellent work on this case and the U.S. Attorney’s office for helping bring this individual to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Tijani was a member of a group which used stolen PII to file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS. He then directed the refunds into fraudulently obtained bank accounts or debit cards. Between February 16, 2015 and April 6, 2015, 47 fraudulent returns were filed, which totaled $265,960 in attempted tax refunds. The IRS flagged 35 of these returns as being potentially fraudulent.
An email account linked to Tijani was used in connection with obtaining a fraudulent refund in the amount of $6,063.10 from a victim in Gretna, Louisiana. The refund was deposited into a bank account on March 13, 2015. On the same day, Tijani withdrew $791.65 from this account to pay for his federal immigration application fees. He then falsely answered “no” on the application to the question asking whether he had committed a crime of moral turpitude for which he had not been arrested.
Another email account linked to Tijani was used to open a separate bank account where another fraudulent refund was directed. Two telephone numbers associated with Tijani were then used to conduct balance checks on the account. The investigation also revealed that Tijani downloaded stolen files containing victims’ PII from a New York tax firm.
Abdulrahman Tijani, 41, of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $50,221. Tijani pleaded guilty on March 30, 2018 to theft of public money, aggravated identity theft, and making a false statement on his immigration application.
The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz, Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Council Bluffs Man Sentenced for Felon in Possession of a Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – On August 10, 2018, Terry Hannan, age 39, of Council Bluffs was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Robert W. Pratt to 63 months in prison for a felon in possession of a firearm charge announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Hannan was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term.
Hannan pleaded guilty to the offense on March 13, 2018. On December 29, 2017, the Council Bluffs Police and Fire Departments responded to a fire at Hannan’s home. Officers entered the house and observed ammunition and a gun safe, but did not locate anyone in the residence. As the fire inspector investigated the cause of the fire, Hannan was seen in a car near the home. The car left abruptly when the fire inspector approached Hannan, and a short pursuit ensued. When the vehicle was stopped, Hannan was found in possession of a loaded Taurus Titanium .38 revolver.
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.
This case was investigated by Council Bluffs Police Department, Council Bluffs Fire Department, and The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Congress can help us keep career criminals in prisonRead the Press Release
D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney Western District Tennessee
Guest columnist (The Commercial Appeal)From 1964 to 1980, the violent crime rate tripled in this country. So did robbery. The murder rate doubled. Aggravated assault nearly tripled.
This was an alarming time for communities across this country. In 1984, Congress passed the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which gave federal prosecutors a powerful new tool to fight the rise in crime. This law helped prosecutors put away the most violent criminals by requiring a minimum 15-year sentence for felons who were caught with a firearm after their third robbery or burglary conviction.
United States Attorneys put this new tool to use, going after violent offenders and putting them in jail. By 1992, violent crime had begun a historic decline. From 1991 to 2014, violent crime fell by half; murder fell by half; aggravated assault fell by 47 percent and robbery by nearly two thirds.
I have no doubt that much of this decline was due to keeping the most violent criminals off the streets for a longer time. Here in West Tennessee, the ACCA has long been a key tool used by prosecutors in our Project Safe Neighborhoods unit, which aggressively targets repeat violent offenders and removes them from our streets.
But in 2015—after 30 years on the books—one line of the ACCA was struck down by the Supreme Court as being too vague. Because of this significant ruling in Johnson v. United States, every federal prosecutor lost one of our most valuable tools.
Now is the time for Congress to fix the ACCA and restore this tool to our toolbox.
More than 1,400 criminals—each convicted of at least three prior felonies—have been let out of jail since the ruling in Johnson. So far, more than 600 have been arrested again. On average, these 600 criminals have reoffended or been arrested three times since 2015. A majority of those who have been out of prison for two years have already been arrested again.
Federal courts in West Tennessee released numerous prisoners due to the Supreme Court’s ruling. Many of these releasees, who were initially prosecuted under the ACCA, have reoffended and violated terms of their supervised release.
For example, one defendant—about a year after being released—was charged with murder and firearm offenses in Shelby County Criminal Court. Another was sentenced to almost two additional years in federal prison after he (again) illegally possessed a firearm. And a third released defendant had his supervised release revoked twice for drug crimes, before being sent back to prison.
These statistics and examples of recidivism are shocking, but they are likely an underrepresentation of these criminals’ illegal activity. Any prosecutor will tell you that criminals rarely get caught on their first offense and that they often make plea bargains in which they admit to one of their lesser crimes rather than to their most serious crime.
Those plea bargains are a big reason why prosecutors need to have ACCA in our toolbox again. When we’re negotiating with a serious, repeat offender, we have a lot more leverage when they’re facing a 15-year sentence than when they’re facing, for example, a 5-year sentence.
I’ve seen time and again that members of violent criminal conspiracies are more likely to cooperate with us and hand over their ringleaders and kingpins when they’re facing long sentences than when they have hope of getting off early. They might serve two years for their bosses, but they won’t serve 30.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke in Little Rock and called for Congress to fix ACCA. As he correctly stated, keeping violent career criminals off of our streets “shouldn’t be controversial.” It has been approximately three years since the Supreme Court’s ruling and hundreds of Americans have already been needlessly victimized by released violent felons. How many more will be victimized this year? Or the next? Or the next?
With every day that passes, the likelihood goes up that these repeat-felons will commit more crimes. So this is urgent, and time is of the essence. Congress needs to fix ACCA so that we prosecutors can keep the most violent offenders behind bars and get more criminals to hand over their leaders. One more victim is too many.
Central Iowa Insurance Agent Convicted of Defrauding ClientsRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – On August 9, 2018, following a four-day trial, a jury found Roger Duane Goodwin, age 59, of Windsor Heights, guilty of seven counts of mail fraud announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. The jury also determined Goodwin’s residence in Windsor Heights and two Harley Davidson motorcycles are subject to forfeiture
During trial, the government presented evidence Goodwin owned and operated “Goodwin Network of Advisors, Inc.” which was also referred to as “Goodwin Network”, “GN of A”, and “GNA Corp.” and sold life insurance and annuities to individuals in the Des Moines and Houston, Texas areas. From February 2013 through August 2016, Goodwin advised several of his clients to surrender or cash out existing investments—totaling over $1 million—in order to use those funds to purchase insurance products from him. Instead of purchasing insurance policies or annuity contracts for the clients as promised, Goodwin deposited the clients’ checks into a bank account associated with Goodwin Network of Advisors – which only Goodwin and his spouse could access.
“The evidence showed the defendant preyed on older and vulnerable victims, and he used their hard-earned savings to line his own pockets and fund his lavish lifestyle,” said United States Attorney Krickbaum. “Those like Goodwin who prey upon older individuals should know that we will hold them accountable.”
Goodwin kept all or large portions of the funds and used the money for unauthorized purposes that were not for the benefit of the affected clients. Goodwin used his clients’ money, unbeknownst to them, for his personal expenses including paying his mortgage, making vehicle payments, remodeling his residence, and other lavish personal expenditures. He also used client funds to repay other clients of Goodwin’s and to make payments to the insurance companies for the benefit of clients whose money Goodwin had failed to earlier send to the insurance company.
Mail fraud is punishable by a maximum prison term of twenty years and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. Sentencing is scheduled for December 19, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., before United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
California Man Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
MISSOULA - Joseph Brent Loftis, 63, of Corona Del Mar, California, was sentenced on Friday, August 10, for multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Loftis to 97 months in prison on all counts of conviction, to run concurrently, three years of supervised release and a $700 special assessment. Loftis stipulated to a forfeiture order of $1,662,749.10. Chief Judge Christensen further ordered Loftis to pay $7,831,666.55 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.
Loftis was convicted by a Montana jury in April of 2018 of five counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering following an eight-day trial with testimony from thirty-two government witnesses. Evidence presented at trial showed that from 2009 through 2013 Loftis solicited approximately $3 million from investors based upon false representations that he owned leases on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Loftis also made misrepresentations regarding the amounts of oil produced from these oil wells. Loftis also falsely represented to investors that he owned oil and gas leases in Oklahoma and Texas though Loftis had defaulted on purchase agreements for the leases.
As part of his scheme, after receiving investor funds, Loftis typically provided investors with a few checks totaling about $1000 and then stopped payments altogether. Once investors complained, Loftis provided excuses regarding disputes about ownership or issues with drilling. In some instances, Loftis offered to return the investors’ money and entered a rescission agreement for the investment. Loftis, however, failed to return the investors’ money or issued a check cancelled through a stop payment.
In 2011, Loftis took steps to complete a transaction known as reverse merger in which his shell company, Prism, would become a subsidiary of a publically traded company. Based upon Loftis’s representations that he needed capital to continue Prism’s operations until his company could receive equity in the public markets, Loftis obtained a $1.9 million bridge loan from investor funds. After Loftis received the loan proceeds, he failed to carry out the steps needed to complete the merger and kept the bridge loan proceeds while spending $190,000 of the funds on a luxury RV and other personal expenses.
Also in 2011, Loftis relocated to Texas and began soliciting funds from investors in a newly formed company Great Northern Energy. Loftis continued to misrepresent his education and denied having a criminal record despite a 1995 felony conviction for bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution.
This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chad Spraker and Adam Duerk.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Scheme Based on Confidential Information Misappropriated from an Investment BankRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JEFFREY ROGIERS pled guilty today before United States District Judge Alison J. Nathan to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and fraud in connection with a tender offer for his role in an insider trading scheme relating to material nonpublic information misappropriated from an investment bank by Daniel Rivas, a former employee at the bank. In August 2017, ROGIERS, as well as Michael Siva, Roberto Rodriguez, Rodolfo Sablon, and Jhonatan Zoquier, were arrested and charged in a 54-count Indictment for their involvement in three overlapping insider trading chains, all stemming from information misappropriated by Rivas. Prior to the unsealing of the Indictment last year, Rivas and another participant in the scheme, James Moodhe, pled guilty and both have been cooperating with the Government in this investigation. Since the unsealing of the Indictment, Sablon and Zoquier, in addition to ROGIERS, have pled guilty and will be sentenced by Judge Nathan.[1]
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Jeffrey Rogiers traded on stolen confidential corporate information that he received, through a friend, from an insider at an investment bank in order to generate illicit profits. Our Office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to identifying and prosecuting those who engage in such abuses of our nation’s securities markets.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment filed against ROGIERS and his co-conspirators, and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
The Investment Bank and Rivas
From August 2013 through May 2017, Rivas was employed as a technology consultant in the Research and Capital Markets Technology Group of an investment bank (the “Investment Bank”). In this role, Rivas had access to an internal, proprietary system maintained by the Investment Bank (the “Deal Tracking System”) containing material nonpublic information (“Inside Information”) about potential and unannounced merger and acquisition transactions, including tender offers, involving the Investment Bank. The Investment Bank’s written policies prohibited the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, which included Inside Information. Rivas had a duty, among other obligations, to maintain the confidentiality of all of the Investment Bank’s confidential information, including the Inside Information.
Overview of the Insider Trading Schemes
From August 2014 through April 2017, Rivas violated the duties of confidentiality he owed to the Investment Bank by serially misappropriating material nonpublic information from the Investment Bank’s Deal Tracking System and passing that information along to friends so that they could utilize it to make profitable trades. On more than 50 occasions between August 2014 and April 2017, Rivas provided Inside Information about contemplated but unannounced merger and acquisition (“M&A”) transactions and tender offer transactions involving clients and prospective clients of the Investment Bank to friends who used that information to purchase and sell securities. In total, the insider trading based on the misappropriated Inside Information by Rivas resulted in illicit profits of more than $5 million through trading in more than two dozen securities. The Inside Information was passed through three tipping chains.
The Rogiers Tipping Chain
With respect to ROGIERS, Rivas passed inside information to his close friend Zoquier, who passed inside information to his close friend ROGIERS.
From at least 2013 through August 2017, Rivas and Zoquier, who lives and works in New Jersey, had a close relationship. ROGIERS lived and worked in California as a computer and network security analyst and had a close relationship with Zoquier. In or about 2013, Zoquier introduced Rivas to ROGIERS. In or about 2015, at Zoquier’s request, Rivas and ROGIERS met in person and Rivas explained to ROGIERS the nature of the Inside Information to which he had access. Between at least in or about March 2016 and in or about April 2017, Rivas repeatedly provided Zoquier with Inside Information misappropriated from the Investment Bank so that Zoquier could execute profitable trades. Beginning in approximately March 2016, Zoquier began sharing the Inside Information he received from Rivas with ROGIERS so that ROGIERS could execute profitable trades for himself. Throughout the time that ROGIERS was obtaining Inside Information from Zoquier, ROGIERS understood that Rivas was the source of the Inside Information. In addition to trading himself, ROGIERS also caused at least one other individual to execute profitable trades based on the Inside Information.
In total, Zoquier and ROGIERS caused trades generating more than $200,000 in illicit profits based on Rivas’s Inside Information.
* * *
ROGIERS, 34, of Oakland, California, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and fraud in connection with a tender offer (Count Thirty-Nine of the Indictment), which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain from the offense. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. ROGIERS will be sentenced before United States District Alison J. Nathan later this year.
Sablon and Zoquier, two of the co-defendants named in the Indictment along with ROGIERS, have also pled guilty and will be sentenced by Judge Nathan. Any trial of the remaining co-defendants, Siva and Rodriguez, will occur next year before Judge Nathan, on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and fraud in connection with a tender offer, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of securities fraud, and tender offer fraud. The allegations contained in the Indictment as to those defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance. He added that the investigation is continuing.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea M. Griswold and Samson Enzer are in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As for the defendants who have not pled guilty (Michael Siva and Roberto Rodriguez), the charges described herein constitute only allegations.
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski Announces Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike ForceRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today announced the formation of the Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force (Regional Strike Force), a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (HCF Unit), the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as law enforcement partners at the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski was joined in the announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey; U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Assistant Administrator John Martin of the DEA.
“The devastation the opioid epidemic is inflicting on communities across the country and here in the Mid-Atlantic region is staggering—and health care fraud has played a role in feeding that epidemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “It is estimated that each year tens of billions of dollars in American taxpayer money are lost to fraud, waste, abuse and improper payments. According to the CDC, in 2016, more than 40 percent of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid. Our Medicare Fraud Strike Forces, which we have now expanded into Newark and Philadelphia, constitute one of our most important and effective means for containing these threats to the American people.”“New Jersey is home to some of the best healthcare facilities and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the country,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “Unfortunately, that also means that we offer substantial targets for those who would try to defraud the health care system or try to profit from the misery of people battling addiction to opioids. We’ve already developed one robust unit to go after these criminals, the Healthcare & Government Fraud Unit, and I added another, the Opioids Unit, in February upon rejoining the office as U.S. Attorney. The arrival of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in our District will serve as an additional force-multiplier and enable us to do even more of these cases, further protecting the citizens of New Jersey from this kind of fraud and abuse.”
“Medicare fraud costs our government billions of dollars,” Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie of the Newark FBI Field Office said. “The Medicare Strike Force will aggressively target waste, fraud and abuse in federal health care programs ameliorating the intolerable burden on the taxpayer and Health Care System.”
“The proven-effective Strike Force model combining specialized investigators and prosecutors will no doubt be highly successful in the ongoing fight against health care fraud in the District of New Jersey,” said Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We look forward to working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI, DEA, and other law enforcement partners to protect taxpayer-funded federal health care programs and the millions who rely on those benefits.”
“The Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a great opportunity for collaboration with our partners to share vital information,” Valerie A. Nickerson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division said. “This Strike Force can be an effective tool to combat these crimes by combining the resources of the agencies that are responsible for detecting, enforcing and prosecuting violations of these regulations and laws.”
Prior to this announcement, the HCF Unit operated Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s in 10 cities across the United States including Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Brooklyn, New York; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; Tampa, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Dallas, Texas, along with a Corporate Strike Force located in Washington, D.C. The Strike Forces represent a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG.
The Regional Strike Force will be made up of prosecutors and data analysts with the HCF Unit, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and special agents with the FBI, HHS-OIG and DEA. In addition, the Regional Strike Force will work closely with other various federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units. The Strike Force will focus its efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting cases involving fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs, and cases involving illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other dangerous narcotics.
In June, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar III noted the success of the Strike Force model while announcing the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. More information can be obtained at https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-june-28-2018.
The Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the prosecutors in the 10 Medicare Fraud Strike Force locations have charged over 3,700 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $14 billion.
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski Announces Newark/Philadelphia Medicare Fraud Strike Force to Focus on Health Care Fraud and Illegal Opioid PrescriptionsRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today announced the formation of the Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force (Regional Strike Force), a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (HCF Unit), the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as law enforcement partners at the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski was joined in the announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey; U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Assistant Administrator John Martin of the DEA.
“The devastation the opioid epidemic is inflicting on communities across the country and here in the Mid-Atlantic region is staggering—and health care fraud has played a role in feeding that epidemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “It is estimated that each year tens of billions of dollars in American taxpayer money are lost to fraud, waste, abuse and improper payments. According to the CDC, in 2016, more than 40 percent of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid. Our Medicare Fraud Strike Forces, which we have now expanded into Newark and Philadelphia, constitute one of our most important and effective means for containing these threats to the American people.”
“New Jersey is home to some of the best healthcare facilities and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the country,” said U.S. Attorney Carpenito. “Unfortunately, that also means that we offer substantial targets for those who would try to defraud the health care system or try to profit from the misery of people battling addiction to opioids. We’ve already developed one robust unit to go after these criminals (the Healthcare & Government Fraud Unit), and I added another (the Opioids Unit) in February upon rejoining the office as U.S. Attorney. The arrival of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in our District will serve as an additional force-multiplier and enable us to do even more of these cases, further protecting the citizens of New Jersey from this kind of fraud and abuse.”
“Combatting the opioid epidemic and healthcare fraud abuses are major priorities of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Healthcare fraud schemes are driven by greed, and all American taxpayers pay the price for criminals who prey on providers and beneficiaries alike. My Office is honored and proud to welcome the DOJ Medicare Fraud Strike Force to our District in order to attack these problems with our law enforcement partners.”
“Healthcare fraud touches every corner of the United States and not only costs taxpayers money but can have deadly consequences; it is not a victimless crime,” said FBI Assistant Director Johnson. “Through investigations, outreach, partnerships, and education, the FBI is committed to combating health care fraud and the growing opioid epidemic that faces the United States. We look forward to the addition of the Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force and continuing our work with our partners to positively impact the fight against fraud and abuse.”
“Fraudulent activity remains a significant threat to federal health care programs’ stability and the millions of beneficiaries who rely on such programs,” said HHS-OIG Deputy Inspector General Cantrell. “This joint initiative enables us to marshal resources with other law enforcement agencies, resulting in even more impressive investigative outcomes against health care fraud. As members of the Strike Force, OIG will continue to play a vital role in fighting health care fraud and holding criminals accountable.”
“DEA is committed to ending the opioid crisis occurring in our communities and preventing prescription drug misuse,” said DEA Assistant Administrator Martin. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will work to bring down those medical professionals who seek to do harm while ensuring that patients have adequate access to critical medications.”
Prior to this announcement, the HCF Unit operated Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s in 10 cities across the United States including Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Brooklyn, New York; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; Tampa, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Dallas, Texas, along with a Corporate Strike Force located in Washington, D.C. The Strike Forces represent a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG.
The Regional Strike Force will be made up of prosecutors and data analysts with the HCF Unit, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and special agents with the FBI, HHS-OIG and DEA. In addition, the Regional Strike Force will work closely with other various federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units. The Strike Force will focus its efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting cases involving fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs, and cases involving illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other dangerous narcotics.
In June, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III noted the success of the Strike Force model while announcing the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. More information can be obtained at https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-june-28-2018.
The Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the prosecutors in the 10 Medicare Fraud Strike Force locations have charged over 3,700 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $14 billion.
Friday 10 August 2018
Wilmington Gang Member Sentenced to More Than 8 Years for Heroin Distribution and Weapon ViolationsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced DIQUELLE SWEET, 22, of Wilmington to 105 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.
On May 1, 2018, SWEET entered a plea of guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Heroin, five counts of Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin, and to Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.
Between April 2015 and October 2017, DIQUELLE SWEET, Deandre Sweet, Kyeric Sweet and others were responsible for the distribution of significant amounts of heroin in the Wilmington, NC area. Law enforcement responded by targeting SWEET, a validated gang member, and his co-conspirators for investigation and prosecution.
From June of 2017 through August of 2017, officers of the Wilmington Police Department Gang Unit made five undercover purchases of heroin from SWEET.
SWEET was also the subject of other criminal investigations. On June 27, 2017, witnesses reported that SWEET was involved in a shootout with another individual who SWEET shot in the chest.
On October 10, 2017, Bladen County Sheriff’s deputies and Elizabethtown police officers conducting a license checkpoint encountered a car occupied by SWEET. The driver failed to stop the car at the checkpoint. Once stopped by law enforcement the car was searched and two loaded firearms were found. SWEET had previously been convicted of a felony and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
On October 11, 2017, New Hanover County Detectives observed a hand-to-hand exchange of drugs between SWEET and another individual. When detectives attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle driven by SWEET, SWEET drove over a curb, onto the sidewalk and crashed into another vehicle before coming to a stop. SWEET then fled on foot before being apprehended in possession of $2,945 in U.S. currency. The driver of the second vehicle was injured and transported to Cape Fear Memorial Hospital for treatment.
This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative, which was newly implemented by United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
This investigation was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department Gang Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street’s Task Force, New Hanover and Bladen County Sheriffs’ Offices and the Elizabethtown Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Severo handled the prosecution of this case for the government.
Violent Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that BRYAN COMEAUX, age 26, of Baton Rouge, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick to 42 months in federal prison as a result of his conviction for possessing a firearm while a convicted felon. The Court further sentenced COMEAUX to three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
On November 11, 2017, in Baton Rouge, deputies with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office stopped a black Dodge Challenger after it swerved across the center lane. For the safety of both the deputies and the driver, deputies asked COMEAUX who was the Challenger’s sole occupant, to exit the vehicle. Deputies saw in plain view a black semi-automatic pistol protruding from beneath the driver’s seat. Deputies took possession of the pistol, a Smith & Wesson, 9 millimeter.
In 2015, COMEAUX was convicted of both conspiracy to commit second degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “We must enforce our nation’s gun laws to keep our law abiding citizens safe from those who present the greatest dangers. Armed convicted felons certainly fall into that category. I thank the hard working professionals who quickly resolved this important matter.”
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyman E. Thornton III.
United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Trinity Medical Pharmacy and Principals for More Than $2.2 MillionRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces today that Trinity Medical Pharmacy, LLC, (TMP) and several of its principals have agreed to pay the United States $2,244,270.14 to resolve allegations that TMP violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing TRICARE and other government programs for claims generated by illegal kickbacks and by knowingly omitting material information from TMP’s application to become a certified Express Scripts provider.
The settlement relates to TMP’s marketing and sale of compounded medicine that should be uniquely tailored to an individual patient’s need and is often extremely expensive. Between 2013 and 2015, TMP, formerly located in New Port Richey, billed TRICARE seeking millions of dollars in reimbursement for compounded medicine. At the time, Krutika Patel was TMP’s president and chief executive officer, Devan Patel was the company’s chief operating officer, Jay Martinez was TMP’s national sales director, and Nicholas Petrillo was the national account director and top sales representative.
The United States alleges that TMP and these individuals knowingly sought reimbursement for compounded medicine claims generated through illegal kickbacks to patients and providers. The United States also alleges that TMP knowingly failed to disclose a material fact—COO Devan Patel’s previous felony conviction—when seeking to become an authorized provider with Express Scripts. Express Scripts is the pharmacy benefit manager for TRICARE and several carriers associated with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
“Protecting TRICARE and other federal health care programs from fraud is a priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. “Those who defraud TRICARE misappropriate money intended to provide quality health care to members of our military and their families. We will continue to protect those who serve our country.”
“This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to ensure that precious taxpayer dollars are not used for unjust enrichment by fraudulent providers. DCIS protects the integrity of DoD programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse which negatively impacts critical programs such as TRICARE,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.
“I would like to commend the work of our criminal investigators, their law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their tireless efforts on this case,” said U.S. Office of Personnel Management Acting Inspector General Norbert E. Vint. “Their excellent work safeguards the integrity of the FEHBP and serves to protect the millions of Federal employees, retirees, and dependents who benefit from the program.”
“The improper CHAMPVA billings made by Trinity Medical Pharmacy diverted funds intended for the care of Veterans who honorably served in the Armed Forces of the United States,” stated David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge, VA Office of Inspector General. “The continued oversight of the companies that do business with VA, as shown in this investigation, safeguard the integrity of VA programs and funding.”
The government’s action in this matter illustrates the emphasis on combating health care fraud, and one of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
This settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General; and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay Saxe Griffin led the investigation.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
U.S. Attorney Dunavant meets with Choctaw Indian Tribal Chief and the Native American Issues Subcommittee to Reduce Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Fighting violent crime and combating the drug epidemic are two of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s top priorities. The Department is actively addressing violence against women and children in Indian country through partnerships with federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement, investigating and prosecuting crimes, grant programs, training and technical assistance, and information sharing with tribes. Approximately 85 percent of the Department’s pending Indian country investigations relate to violate crime. The Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has funded Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) to enhance prosecution of Indian country cases and strengthen relations and cooperation between federal and tribal law enforcement.
In April of 2018, U.S. Attorney Dunavant was selected to serve on three subcommittees of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), including the Native American Issues Subcommittee. The AGAC was created in 1973 to serve as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys and to advise the Attorney General on policy, management and operational issues impacting the offices of the U.S. Attorneys.
The Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) is the oldest subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and is vital to the Department’s mission in Indian Country to build and sustain safe and secure communities for future generations. The NAIS is made up of U.S. Attorneys from across the United States whose districts contain Indian country or one or more federally recognized tribes. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General regarding public safety and legal issues that affect tribal communities. In the Western District of Tennessee, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians maintains a tribal reservation and population in Lauderdale County, just outside of Henning, Tennessee.
"On July 5, 2018, I was honored to meet with U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Southern District of Mississippi, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Chief Phyliss Anderson. I look forward to working with Chief Anderson to promote public safety in our Choctaw tribal community in West Tennessee. I also look forward to meeting with my U.S. Attorney colleagues from across the country in Tulsa, Oklahoma next week to discuss crime reduction strategies in Indian Country."
U.S. Attorney Attends OCDETF Conference in Kansas CityRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, MO – United States Attorney Ron Parsons attended the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) West Central Regional Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 7-8, 2018. Also in attendance was Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Criminal Chief John E. Haak, who is the OCDETF Coordinator for the District of South Dakota.
The OCDETF Program was established in 1982 to mount a comprehensive attack against organized drug traffickers. Today, the OCDETF Program is the centerpiece of the U.S. Attorney General's drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises.
The Program operates nationwide and combines the resources and unique expertise of numerous federal agencies in a coordinated attack against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The OCDETF strategy, under the direction of the Deputy Attorney General, aims to focus federal drug resources on reducing the flow of illicit drugs and drug proceeds by identifying and targeting the major trafficking organizations, eliminating the financial infrastructure of drug organizations by emphasizing financial investigations and asset forfeiture, redirecting federal drug enforcement resources to align them with existing and emerging drug threats, and conducting expanded, nationwide investigations against all the related parts of the targeted organizations.
Two Garrard County Men Indicted for $14.6 Million Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – According to court records unsealed yesterday, two Garrard County, Ky. men have been charged with engaging in a massive tax fraud scheme, involving more than $14 million.
As alleged in the indictment, 47-year-old Clarence Michel Jr. and 49-year-old Warren Griffin II failed to pay $14,671,184 in payroll taxes, owed by various staffing companies that they operated between 2012 and 2016. Specifically, the indictment alleges Michel and Griffin withheld payroll taxes from their employees’ paychecks; but instead of paying that money over to the Internal Revenue Service, they instructed an employee to write checks to them. The indictment further alleges that, to hide this scheme, Michel and Griffin changed the names of their companies and started new companies under the names of various nominee owners. Similarly, the indictment charges Michel and Griffin with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false personal tax returns, for tax years 2012 through 2015.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Christopher Altemus, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, jointly announced the indictment.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dmitriy Slavin.
Michel is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30PM, today. Griffin previously appeared in the Southern District of Illinois, where he was arrested. His appearance in Kentucky has not yet been set. For the conspiracy charge and the charges of failing to pay over payroll taxes, each defendant faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. For the false statements on their personal taxes, each faces 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.
Any indictment is an accusation only. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Two District Men Sentenced to 8 1/2-Year Prison Terms for Armed Home Invasion on Capitol HillRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Barrett Harrington, 31, and Germar Fox, 35, both of Washington D.C., were sentenced today to 8 ½-year prison terms on charges stemming from an armed home invasion that took place in July 2016 near Capitol Hill, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.
Harrington and Fox pled guilty in June 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to the charge of first-degree burglary while armed. The pleas, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for each defendant to be sentenced to 102 months of incarceration. The Honorable Kimberly S. Knowles accepted the pleas and sentenced the defendants accordingly. Following their prison terms, both men will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, the burglary took place at about 5:30 p.m. on July 15, 2016, with both Harrington and Fox conspiring to take items of personal property from the victim while he was present in his apartment in the 1000 block of New Jersey Avenue SE. Fox was armed with a firearm during the crime. According to the evidence, Harrington, Fox, and a third man conspired to commit the crime. The third man previously befriended the victim, but that was actually a ruse. On the day of the home invasion, the third man and the victim were together. The third man stepped out and informed Harrington and Fox that he was alone with the victim in the apartment. Harrington and Fox then barged into the apartment, bound the victim with duct tape, placed a pillow case over his head, assaulted him with the gun, and robbed him of his safe with thousands of dollars in cash and other items.
As they made their escape, a passerby noted the license plate of the getaway car, and provided it to police. Further investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including fingerprint and DNA evidence, led to the arrests of the defendants. Harrington was arrested on June 24, 2017 and Fox was arrested on July 11, 2017. Both have been in custody ever since. The case against the third man remains pending.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Veronica Sanchez, Denise Cheung, and Stephen Rickard; Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Donice Adams; Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan; Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh.
Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kamil Shields, Alyse Constantinide and Louis Manzo, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the matter.
Tucson Refugees Arrested for Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. - On August 8, 2018, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an eleven-count indictment against Mohamed Abdirahman Osman, 28, and Zeinab Abdirahman Mohamed, 25, both living in Tucson, Ariz., for violations of false swearing in an immigration matter and false statements to a government agency.
The indictment alleges that Osman and Mohamed, while living in China, applied for and were granted refugee status in 2014. The husband and wife entered the United States and have been living in Tucson since the time of their entry. In June 2015, Osman and Mohamed submitted applications for Legal Permanent Residence Status to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The indictment further alleges that material submitted in support of their refugee applications and their applications for Legal Permanent Residence Status contained false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements. The alleged fraudulent statements included Osman’s true name and nationality and denial of his association with members of a designated terrorist organization. Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 10, 2018.
An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation in this case was conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The prosecution is being handled by Beverly K. Anderson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR 17-01145-TUC-RCC (DTF)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-102_ Osman_ Mohamed
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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.
Tonawanda Man Sentenced for Distributing Child PornographyRead 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 Dakkar Young, 23, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of distribution of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 168 months in prison and lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that in May 2017, the defendant uploaded eight pictures containing child pornography onto a social networking site. In December 2017, a search warrant was executed at the Young’s home and various electronics were seized. A forensic examination of the defendant’s cell phone revealed images of child pornography as well as videos of Young sexually abusing a child under the age of 16. As part of the plea, the defendant admitted to producing child pornography of the child.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police ICAC Task Force, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy, and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.
Three Men Indicted on Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Three men were indicted yesterday in federal court in Boston with aggravated identity theft and false representation of a Social Security number. All three individuals were arrested and charged by criminal complaint on July 26, 2018, in a federal document and benefit fraud sweep.
Jose Lopez Rosado, 54, of Worcester; John Doe, whose true identity remains unknown, but who was residing in Lynn; and James Alfred Pena Guerrero, 30, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, were each indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number. All three defendants are currently in custody.
According to court documents, Lopez Rosado escaped from prison in Puerto Rico in 1994 while serving a 40-year sentence for second degree murder. His true identity was discovered during the federal investigation into document and benefit fraud. He is currently in state custody on unrelated charges. The indictment alleges that Lopez Rosado falsely represented a number to be the Social Security number assigned to him on an application submitted to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) when the Social Security number was not his. By submitting the Social Security number of another individual on his application, he committed identity theft.
John Doe and Pena Guerrero were charged in separate indictments with falsely representing a number to be the Social Security number assigned to them on applications they submitted to the Massachusetts RMV when the Social Security numbers were not theirs; by doing so, they also committed identity theft.
The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. False representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years 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; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki is prosecuting the cases.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sumrall Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm and Unregistered SilencerRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Asa Jefferson Sanford, Jr., 60, of Sumrall, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to one count of being a felon in possession of firearms, and one count of possessing a firearm which was not registered to Sanford in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF").
On July 20, 2015, Sanford, a previously convicted felon, came in contact with law enforcement officers which resulted in the obtaining and execution of state search warrants on Sanford’s vehicle and home. State and federal agents seized numerous firearms and ammunition in Sanford’s possession, as well as a silencer that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Sanford will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on October 16, 2018 at 9:45 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.
St. Petersburg Man Convicted of Federal Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury has found Tyrone Walker (36, St. Petersburg) guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Walker faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2018. Walker was indicted on March 22, 2018.
According to evidence presented at trial, Walker possessed a firearm that he used to shoot and kill another man during a dispute. At the time of the incident, Walker had a prior felony conviction and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Callan Albritton and James Preston.
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.
South Abington Man Sentenced to over 19 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Hiteshkumar Patel, age 52, a resident of South Abington Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on August 9, 2018, by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to serve 234 months in prison on the charges of conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Patel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft in November 2017. The investigation revealed that beginning in or about August 2015 through May 2016, Patel was involved in a multi-faceted international conspiracy and devised a scheme to defraud that included individuals who falsely represented themselves as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, as well as individuals associated with an illegitimate online loan business.
Individuals who falsely claimed to represent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contacted unsuspecting victims throughout the United States. The victims were told that they had to immediately make a monetary payment in order to satisfy outstanding IRS tax debt and/or IRS penalty fees. Victims were told that there would be severe consequences if they did not immediately comply, such as federal agents knocking on their door, notification to employers, garnishment of wages, and even arrest.
Victims of the online loan fraud scheme were instructed that in order to receive the proceeds of their online loan application, they had to first make monetary payments associated with the processing of the application, such as fees for expediting the loan and insurance. Some victims of the loan fraud scheme were also told that outstanding IRS debt had to be satisfied before their loan application could be processed.
All of the victims were instructed to remit monetary payments to a number of different individuals via the U.S. Mail, Western Union, MoneyGram, and/or RIA (Walmart to Walmart). The monetary payments were received by Patel, or by members of the unlawful telemarketing organization and unindicted co-conspirators. The investigation identified 634 individuals directly tied to Patel’s criminal conduct from across the country. The victims collectively sustained a loss of nearly $900,000.
At sentencing, Judge Mariani stated that “Telephone schemes and online fraud have become a scourge in our society.” He described Patel’s crimes as “reprehensible” and “lacking in human decency.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Mariani ordered that Patel be supervised by a probation officer for three years following his release from prison and further ordered that Patel pay restitution in the amount of $896,112.33.
Patel was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 20, 2017, after an investigation jointly conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of the Treasury - Treasury Inspector General, and the South Abington and Scranton Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
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Seven Sent to Prison for Katy Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The seven men involved in the July 2017 armed robbery of First Community Credit Union in Katy have been ordered to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A jury deliberated for approximately two hours following a four-day trial before convicting Walter Freeman Jordan aka “Wacko,” 31, and Johnathon Nico Wise, 27, both of Houston, on Jan. 25, 2018.
Both were charged and convicted of aiding and abetting aggravated bank robbery. Jordan was also convicted of aiding and abetting the unlawful use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.
Five others - Jaylen Christine Loring, 22, Daryl Carlton Anderson, 33, Deandre Bendard Santee, 27, Raymond Demond Pace, 21, and Zelmer Samuel Bonner, 27, all of Houston, had pleaded guilty prior to trial.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, who presided over the trial, handed Jordan a 262-month sentence for the bank robbery as well as another 84 months for the firearms offense which must be served consecutively. Wise received a 121-month-term of imprisonment. Both will also be required to serve a term of five years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
Pace received a 50-month sentence for the underlying bank robbery, while Loring, Santee, Anderson and Bonner were sentenced to 12, 105, 70 and 70, months, respectively. Pace and Bonner were also convicted on firearms charges and each received 84 months which must be served consecutively resulting in total sentences of 134 and 154 months, respectively.
At trial, the jury heard that at approximately 12:52 p.m. on July 25, 2017, a stolen black Toyota Tundra drove to the front of the First Community Credit Union located at 23120 Cinco Ranch Boulevard in Katy. Once there, Jordan, Bonner and Pace entered the bank and ordered everyone to get on the ground. While inside, Jordan and Bonner jumped the teller counter and demanded credit union employees to open the teller drawers. When one of those employees did not comply quickly enough, Bonner punched the employee in the head while yelling “hurry up!”
Pace kept customers and employees on the ground during the robbery. Soon thereafter, he yelled “the cops are down the street, let’s go!”
The robbers were communicating with the lookouts - Wise, Santee, Anderson and Loring - outside of the credit union via cell phone during the crime.
The robbers returned to the Toyota Tundra and fled the scene along with three other vehicles – a silver Chevrolet Malibu, silver Nissan Rogue and a maroon Volkswagen Jetta. Loring was apprehended a short time later in the Malibu as was Anderson who was driving the Jetta. Shortly thereafter, officers also stopped the Rogue and arrested Santee and Wise.
Authorities pursued the Tundra for 19 miles, which was travelling at speeds up to 120 mph east on I-10. Authorities were eventually able to apprehend Pace, Bonner and Jordan at the North Post Oaks Lofts apartment complex in Houston. Officers located a Springfield semi-automatic pistol from the Toyota Tundra as well as a Stoeger Cougar .40 Caliber semi-automatic pistol from inside the apartment where Jordan had been hiding.
During trial, the jury heard from Loring and Anderson who testified about the robbery plan and what transpired. Additional testimony came from more than 10 officers as well as an expert who explained how the cell phones were identified and used during the crime.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that Jordan and Wise had been mis-identified and had no knowledge of the robbery plan. They did not believe their claims and found them guilty as charged.
With the exception of Loring, who was permitted to remain on bond, all have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case is the result of the Houston Law Enforcement Violent Crime Initiative created to proactively fight violent crime across the Greater Houston area. The FBI and the Houston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard D. Hanes and Heather Rae Winter are prosecuting the case.
Schenectady Man Sentenced to 21 Months on Fentanyl ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Anthony M. DeRose, age 24, a/k/a “Gus,” of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for possessing and intending to sell less than 2 grams of furanyl fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith.
United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino ordered that DeRose’s 21-month sentence start only after he finishes a term of imprisonment he is currently serving for a state attempted assault conviction. Judge D’Agostino also imposed a 3-year term of supervised release, to begin after DeRose is release from prison.
On August 21, 2017, Schenectady County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested DeRose on an outstanding warrant. They searched him and found, inside his right pants pocket, one clear plastic bag containing 145 smaller white bags or envelopes, each of which contained furanyl fentanyl. As part of his guilty plea, DeRose admitted that he intended to distribute the furanyl fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that has been a Schedule I controlled substance since November 29, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Salvadoran Citizen Sentenced for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Roberto Alexander Herrera Carballo, age 27, and of a citizen of El Salvador, was sentenced today to time served (116 days in jail) for illegally re-entering the United States.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Thomas R. Decker, Director of the New York Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
ICE Officers arrested Herrera Carballo on April 16, 2018 in Kingston, New York. He had previously been removed from the United States, on August 2, 2009, and did not have permission to re-enter.
Herrera Carballo will be remanded to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, for removal proceedings.
This case was investigated by ICE-ERO and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
River Parish Defendants Convicted of Narcotics Conspiracy and Firearms Violations after Five-Day TrialRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ANDRE STAGGERS, a/k/a “Dre,” age 44, COREY SESSION, age 44, GREGORY LONDON, JR., a/k/a “Lil Gregg,” age 42, and LEONARD MORRISON, a/k/a “Leonard London,” age 36, were convicted today after a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon.
According to evidence presented at trial, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an investigation from January 2015 through February 2016 concerning distribution of cocaine and heroin in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes. The federal investigation, which was conducted in coordination with state and local law enforcement, resulted in the seizure of nearly one kilogram of heroin along with scales, money counters, firearms, and over $480,000.00 in cash.
STAGGERS, a resident of LaPlace, and SESSION, a resident of St. Rose, were convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, along with firearms charges. They face a minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000.00 fine, and at least five years of supervised release. LONDON, a resident of LaPlace, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and he faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, a $5,000,000.00 fine, and at least four years of supervised release. MORRISON, a resident of St. Rose, was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon. He faces up to ten years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the conviction as the result of a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program. The DEA’s HIDTA Group #11, operating out of the New Orleans Field Division, includes members of the Louisiana State Police, St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Gretna Police Department, and other local agencies. U.S. Attorney Evans extended his thanks to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for their assistance in this investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne, Brittany L. Reed, and David Howard Sinkman are in charge of the prosecution.
Queens Man Sentenced to More than 10 Years in Prison for Armed Bank Robbery and Weapons PossessionRead the Press Release
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, United States District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Pedro Benitez to 130 months’ imprisonment for his role in the September 20, 2017 gunpoint robbery of the Queens County Savings Bank in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Benitez had previously pleaded guilty on March 20, 2018 to armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The sentence also included a term of three years of supervised release and $71,395 in restitution.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentence.
On September 20, 2017, Benitez entered the Queens County Savings Bank, ordered customers and employees of the bank to the floor at gunpoint and gained access to the area behind the tellers’ counter. Once in the tellers’ area, Benitez stole over $50,000 in cash that had been delivered to the bank earlier in the day and was laid out on a table in a room adjacent to the teller’s area. At his guilty plea, Benitez admitted that he had also participated in three additional robberies in Nassau County during the summer of 2017. In each of those robberies, Benitez was the gunman who entered the banks and robbed the employees of the banks’ cash. In total, Benitez and the crew stole over $70,000 from four banks between July and September of 2017.
“Pedro Benitez thought committing armed bank robberies was a good way to get money, but he learned that it is just a good way to end up in prison,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The cooperative efforts of federal and local law enforcement agencies brought this crew to justice and prevented them from endangering other bank employees, customers, law enforcement officers and innocent bystanders.”
“The value of a dollar was worth more to Benitez than the value of someone’s safety. For the sake of quick and easy cash, Benitez placed bank customers and employees in grave danger, displaying a gun at each robbery,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “After stealing over $70,000 with his crew, Benitez may have believed his actions proved him successful, but his prison sentence clearly proves otherwise. The FBI New York Joint Violent Crimes Task Force will rigorously investigate bank robberies, ensuring these robbers reap what they sow.”
“The arrest and conviction of defendant Pedro Benitez is a classic example of the effective cooperation and information sharing between numerous law enforcement agencies,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “Through our diligence, we have taken a violent felon off the streets, thus making our communities safer. Defendant Benitez showed no regard for the safety of our residents and will now spend many years behind bars.”
Two other members of the bank robbery crew previously pled guilty and are awaiting sentence. Two additional members of the robbery crew are awaiting trial.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Maffei is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
PEDRO BENITEZ
Age: 21
Far Rockaway, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-572 (JS)
Previously Convicted Bank Robber Thwarted by Law Enforcement During Cedar Grove Bank Robbery AttemptRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hoboken man was arrested today while allegedly trying to rob a Cedar Grove bank, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Frank Meletti, 53, is charged by complaint with one count of attempted bank robbery. He will appear in Newark federal court at a later date.
According to the complaint:
Meletti was previously convicted of bank robbery in June 2009 in the District of New Jersey. He was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
In early August 2018, Meletti allegedly asked another individual to act as the getaway driver for an upcoming bank robbery and provided the individual with details about the plan, including the name of the target bank and where to park during the robbery.
On Aug. 9, 2018, Meletti and the other individual went to the Investors Bank in Cedar Grove to investigate whether the bank had an armed guard or other security. Meletti instructed the other individual to pick him up for the bank robbery the following morning.
Earlier today, the individual picked up Meletti at the agreed upon time and asked Meletti if he was sure that he wanted to go through with the plan. Meletti responded affirmatively. During the ride to Cedar Grove, Meletti drafted numerous versions of a demand note that he would use for the robbery.
At approximately 10 a.m., Meletti exited the vehicle from a parking lot adjacent to the bank. He was wearing dark sunglasses, a black hat, and a black sweatsuit, and carrying a bag to hold proceeds from the robbery.
Meletti approached the front entrance to the Investors Bank and attempted to open the exterior door, tugging on it several times and attempting to look through the windows, whereupon he was arrested. The final version of the demand note was recovered from his person and read, “Place money in bag. No dye. No cops. No alarms.”
The attempted bank robbery charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked the Verona and Cedar Grove Police Departments for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Feldman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Protection Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pittsburgh Man Who Conspired to Distribute Painkillers Gets 7+ Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 92 months’ imprisonment and six years of supervised release on his conviction of conspiracy to possess and distribute prescription opiate pain killers, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Mark Coleman, 39.
According to information presented to the court, Coleman participated in a criminal network of individuals who obtained large quantities of prescription opiates through a variety of means and illegally distributed those opiates to users in the Pittsburgh area. Coleman delivered pills and collected drug proceeds on behalf of higher-level members of the conspiracy.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Coleman.
Pittsburgh Man Admits Involvement in Heroin Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Brent Williams, age 32, of pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Brent Williams was indicted in connection with a DEA wiretap investigation. The intercepted wiretap communications revealed that Williams and others conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute heroin between January and September 2016.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for January 3, 2019. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the defendant’s bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises. United States Attorney Brady commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Williams.
Physician Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – United States District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Franklin, Kentucky, physician, Roy D. Reynolds, to federal prison for 50 months with no probation in the federal system on 15 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances by way of prescribing opiate pain medications outside of the course of professional medical practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.
“What this conviction is not,” stated U.S. Attorney Russell “is targeting of a physician who prescribed opioids in the course of professional practice and for a legitimate medical purpose. It is, however, sending a doctor to federal prison who became a drug dealer with a medical license. Our Commonwealth is blessed with many ethical and responsible medical practitioners; Roy Reynolds is not one of those”
Roy D. Reynolds was a doctor practicing in Franklin, Kentucky, in Simpson County during the time of the illegal activity. Reynolds was treating patient Jackie Hughes at the time of his death; court records show Reynolds doubled Hughes’ prescription for oxycodone twice in his final five-months alive. Reynolds also prescribed oxycodone, hydrocodone and Xanax to an additional four patients without a legitimate medical purpose. Those patients had medical histories of mental illness, doctor-shopping, and additional risk factors for opiate abuse and addiction.
One former patient had five drug overdoses while under Reynolds’s care, yet he continued to prescribe opioids and benzodiazepines after each overdose. Reynolds took his patient, Hughes, to a rock concert and saw that Hughes was high, and later admitted in a letter that “we reminisced this frequently . . . about how he was snowed the evening we went to Nashville.” Nonetheless, Dr. Reynolds continued prescribing opioids to Jackie Hughes until the patient died of an overdose.
From 2010 through 2012, the period of illegal activity covered at trial, Dr. Reynolds was in the top 2 percent of all Kentucky doctors for oxycodone prescriptions, the top 5 percent for hydrocodone prescriptions, and the top 4 percent for benzodiazepine prescriptions. In 2011, Reynolds prescribed 132,372 oxycodone pills (second most prescribed oxycodone pills by a primary care physician in Simpson County was 9,765) and in 2012 Reynolds prescribed 139,667 pills (second most oxycodone pills prescribed by a primary care physician in Simpson County was 11,794). In February of 2013, Reynolds lost his DEA license to prescribe opiate pain medications. However, during the first five week period, Reynolds prescribed more opiate pain medications than any other Simpson County physician prescribed during 2013. Reynold was convicted April 23, 2018 on 15 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances by way of prescribing opiate pain medications outside of the course of professional medical practice following a nine day trial.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Weiser and Rob Bonar with assistance from paralegals Mary Kennedy and Jane Bauer, and was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kentucky State Police, the Kentucky Office of Inspector General, Division of Audits and Investigations, Drug Enforcement and Professional Practice Branch.
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Owner of Now-Defunct Real Estate Escrow Company Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
The owner of a former real estate escrow firm was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 24 months in prison for bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. LORI LYNN ANDREW, 49, of Cashmere, Washington, the owner of Hartman Escrow, Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. ANDREW stole more than $2.1 million through a variety of techniques, including making false entries in escrow closing documents, altering accounting records, and depositing checks into the general account instead of the trust account. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said, “Every single time you had an opportunity to change your mind and say ‘this is wrong,’ you kept doing it.”
“This defendant chose to victimize people when they were buying or selling a home–often the most important financial transaction of their lives,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Like all real estate escrow agents, the defendant was responsible for ensuring large amounts of money went where they belonged. When she decided to line her own pockets rather than do her job, she crossed the line and earned the prison sentence that the court imposed today.”
According to records in the case, beginning in about January 2011, and continuing until July 2012, ANDREW used a variety of means to defraud financial institutions and individual home buyers and sellers who were involved in various real estate transactions. ANDREW made, or had others make, false settlement statements on closing transactions listing false or inflated fees and charges. ANDREW forged signatures on various statements and created false invoices, statements, and bills; she altered and deposited checks to her company account that should have gone to others; and she took client funds from her trust account and transferred them to her personal account for her own use. ANDREW used the money for casino payments, credit card bills, and other personal expenses. ANDREW defrauded individual customers, as well as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Chase, and GMAC.
In all ANDREW defrauded the financial institutions and other customers of $2.185 million. In July 2012, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions arranged for a receiver to take over the Tukwila, Washington, escrow company after finding evidence of fraud. ANDREW had her license to act as an escrow agent suspended in 2013, and her license has since been revoked. The receiver was able to recover some funds for unsecured claimants, but just over $1 million is still owed to defrauded clients.
The case was investigated by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Hugo Torres. Mr. Torres is a King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute financial fraud cases in federal court.
Oregon Domestic Terrorism Suspect in Custody After 12 Years on the RunRead the Press Release
Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 50, of Seattle, Washington, an accused domestic terrorist and 12-year fugitive, has been apprehended and returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges in Oregon, California and Washington State.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams for the District of Oregon, and Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon of the FBI in Oregon made the announcement.
“Whatever the motivation, terrorism is simply unacceptable,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “Domestic terrorism is no exception. Because of the close cooperation between our international and intergovernmental partners, Dibee will now face the consequences for his crimes. This should send a clear message to all other criminals on the run: no matter how long it takes, we will find you and we will bring you to justice.”
“We will always continue in our mission to locate and bring to justice those who threaten our national security or seek to harm the American people,” said FBI Assistant Director McGarrity. “We thank all of the agents, analysts, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who have worked tirelessly on this case over the years.”
“More than two decades ago, a loosely affiliated group of environmental extremists set out to express their views using force, violence, sabotage, mass destruction, intimidation, and coercion,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Thankfully no innocent lives were taken by these senseless acts. Today we recognize the FBI’s unwavering pursuit of justice in returning longstanding fugitive Joseph Dibee. Dibee will now, as many of his co-conspirators have before, face the consequences of his actions. Using violent means to express one’s views will never be tolerated nor forgotten. We will bring every last person responsible for these crimes to justice.”
“Every act of violence comes with a choice—a choice to do harm,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Cannon. “A choice to do what may be irreparable damage to a family, a business, or a researcher’s life work. A choice to risk the lives of the firefighters who will respond to an incident. Most of the defendants in the FBI's long-running Operation BACKFIRE investigation have answered for those decisions they made with significant prison sentences and millions of dollars in fines. Mr. Dibee, who traveled the world to avoid capture, will now, finally, have to answer to the allegations of violence he faces.”
Dibee, an American citizen, is charged in the District of Oregon with one count of conspiracy to commit arson, one count of conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, and one count of arson. He also faces one count each of conspiracy to commit arson, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence in the Western District of Washington and one count each of conspiracy to commit arson, arson of a government building, and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence in the Eastern District of California.
Dibee will make an initial appearance in federal court today at 1:30 p.m. before a federal magistrate judge in the District of Oregon. The government will seek his continued detention.
According to court documents, federal authorities learned Dibee was traveling through Central America on his way to Russia with a planned stop in Cuba. With the assistance of the Cuban authorities, particularly the Ministries of the Interior and Exterior, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security including the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations and the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the FBI arranged for Cuban authorities to detain Dibee before he boarded a plane bound for Russia, and return him to the United States. Dibee fled the United States in December 2005.
In 2006, a federal grand jury in Oregon indicted Dibee and 12 coconspirators as part of Operation BACKFIRE, a long-running FBI domestic terrorism investigation. The conspirators, known as “The Family,” have been linked to more than 40 criminal acts ranging from vandalism to arson between 1995 and 2001, causing more than $45 million in damages.
Many of the Dibee’s crimes were linked to the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Dibee’s “captured” poster can be seen at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/dt/joseph-mahmoud-dibee.
One fugitive remains at large from Operation BACKFIRE. Josephine Sunshine Overaker, an American citizen believed to be either 43 or 46 years old, fled to Europe in late 2001. Overaker faces 19 felony charges including conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, attempted arson, and arson in the District of Oregon, the Western District of Washington, and the District of Colorado. Overaker speaks fluent Spanish and may seek employment as a firefighter, midwife, sheep tender, or masseuse. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to her arrest.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey Barrow of the District of Oregon, Andrew Friedman and Thomas Woods of the Western District of Washington and Heiko Coppola of the Eastern District of California, along with Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.Oregon Domestic Terrorism Suspect in Custody After 12 Years on the RunRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 50, of Seattle, Washington, an accused domestic terrorist and 12-year fugitive, has been apprehended and returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges in Oregon, California and Washington State.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams for the District of Oregon, and Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon of the FBI in Oregon made the announcement.
“Whatever the motivation, terrorism is simply unacceptable,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “Domestic terrorism is no exception. Because of the close cooperation between our international and intergovernmental partners, Dibee will now face the consequences for his crimes. This should send a clear message to all other criminals on the run: no matter how long it takes, we will find you and we will bring you to justice.”
“We will always continue in our mission to locate and bring to justice those who threaten our national security or seek to harm the American people,” said FBI Assistant Director McGarrity. “We thank all of the agents, analysts, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who have worked tirelessly on this case over the years.”
“More than two decades ago, a loosely affiliated group of environmental extremists set out to express their views using force, violence, sabotage, mass destruction, intimidation, and coercion,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Thankfully no innocent lives were taken by these senseless acts. Today we recognize the FBI’s unwavering pursuit of justice in returning longstanding fugitive Joseph Dibee. Dibee will now, as many of his co-conspirators have before, face the consequences of his actions. Using violent means to express one’s views will never be tolerated nor forgotten. We will bring every last person responsible for these crimes to justice.”
“Every act of violence comes with a choice—a choice to do harm,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Cannon. “A choice to do what may be irreparable damage to a family, a business, or a researcher’s life work. A choice to risk the lives of the firefighters who will respond to an incident. Most of the defendants in the FBI's long-running Operation BACKFIRE investigation have answered for those decisions they made with significant prison sentences and millions of dollars in fines. Mr. Dibee, who traveled the world to avoid capture, will now, finally, have to answer to the allegations of violence he faces.”
Dibee, an American citizen, is charged in the District of Oregon with one count of conspiracy to commit arson, one count of conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, and one count of arson. He also faces one count each of conspiracy to commit arson, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence in the Western District of Washington and one count each of conspiracy to commit arson, arson of a government building, and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence in the Eastern District of California.
Dibee will make an initial appearance in federal court today at 1:30 p.m. before a federal magistrate judge in the District of Oregon. The government will seek his continued detention.
According to court documents, federal authorities learned Dibee was traveling through Central America on his way to Russia with a planned stop in Cuba. With the assistance of the Cuban authorities, particularly the Ministries of the Interior and Exterior, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security including the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations and the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the FBI arranged for Cuban authorities to detain Dibee before he boarded a plane bound for Russia, and return him to the United States. Dibee fled the United States in December 2005.
In 2006, a federal grand jury in Oregon indicted Dibee and 11 coconspirators as part of Operation BACKFIRE, a long-running FBI domestic terrorism investigation. The conspirators, known as “The Family,” have been linked to more than 40 criminal acts ranging from vandalism to arson between 1995 and 2001, causing more than $45 million in damages.
Many of the Dibee’s crimes were linked to the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Dibee’s “captured” poster can be seen at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/dt/joseph-mahmoud-dibee.
One fugitive remains at large from Operation BACKFIRE. Josephine Sunshine Overaker, an American citizen believed to be either 43 or 46 years old, fled to Europe in late 2001. Overaker faces 19 felony charges including conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, attempted arson, and arson in the District of Oregon, the Western District of Washington, and the District of Colorado. Overaker speaks fluent Spanish and may seek employment as a firefighter, midwife, sheep tender, or masseuse. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to her arrest.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey Barrow of the District of Oregon, Andrew Friedman and Thomas Woods of the Western District of Washington and Heiko Coppola of the Eastern District of California, along with Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.Onondaga County Man Sentenced on Child Pornography ChargeRead 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 Donald J. Gardner, Jr., 42, of Lafayette, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison and five years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. Penrose, who handled the case, stated that in late January 2014 to early February 2014, Gardner pretended to be a 10 to 12 year-old boy and used his Facebook account to solicit child pornography images from three 10 year-old girls in the Town of Niagara, NY. Knowing that the girls were 10 years-old, the defendant directed them to create and send him child pornography images. One of the 10 year-old girls did send Gardner child pornography images via Facebook.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the Direction of Special Agent-in- Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff James R. Voutour.
Ohio Resident Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography Using TwitterRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former Henderson resident who distributed sexually explicit photos of children via a Twitter account was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada.
Mark Alan Stoneking, 40, previously of Henderson, Nevada, now a resident of Elyria, Ohio, pleaded guilty on March 1, 2018, to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II sentenced him to lifetime supervised release and he will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
In his plea agreement, Stoneking admitted that, on December 20, 2014, and January 6, 2015, he distributed sexually explicit photos of children via a Twitter account. Those images were accessible to the account’s “followers.” On January 12, 2016, members of the Henderson Police Department and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force executed a search warrant at Stoneking’s residence in Henderson. They seized four electronic devices containing more than 600 videos and more than 200,000 images of child pornography.
A FBI task force arrested Stoneking on these charges in April 2017. Before the officers entered his residence, Stoneking unsuccessfully tried to hide his cell phone in the attic. A forensic examination showed that Stoneking stored sexually explicit photos of children on that phone as well.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Henderson Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez prosecuted the case.
If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, make a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by calling the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or by making a CyberTipline report at www.cybertipline.com.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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North Country Man Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $3.5 Million for Contraband Cigarette SalesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jeffrey Lazare, age 48, of Hogansburg, New York, was sentenced yesterday to one year and one day in prison, and to pay a money judgment of $3.5 million, for failing to maintain required records relating to the manufacture and sale of cigarettes.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ronald N. Hancock, Acting Assistant Administrator for Field Operations, U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB).
Lazare pled guilty on February 14, 2018 before United States District Judge David N. Hurd. He admitted that from January 2014 through August 2014, in Franklin County, and as part of an effort to defraud the United States, he shipped, sold, and distributed quantities of cigarettes in excess of 10,000 in single transactions and failed to maintain required records. These records include the identity of, and shipping information for, each purchaser.
During this period, Lazare’s business, Braves Manufacturing and Braves Packaging, generated proceeds of at least $3.5 million from his unlicensed cigarette manufacturing operation.
Lazare’s failure to maintain required records was part of an effort to avoid paying the federal excise tax (FET) on the cigarettes he manufactured and distributed. His 38 separate sales of 10,000 or more cigarettes were subject to an FET of at least $247,623.60 that he did not pay.
The forfeiture figure of $3.5 million included $957,065.00 seized from Lazare’s bank account in 2013.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Eurenius.