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7 September 2018
Versailles Man Sentenced to 48 Months for Emailing Threats to Member of CongressRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Scott W. Sulik, 54, of Versailles, Ky., was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison, by United States District Judge Danny C. Reeves, for sending a series of emails containing threats to a Member of Congress.
Sulik pled guilty, in June 2018, and admitted to one count of cyberstalking. Beginning in September 2017, Sulik used an email account hosted by Google to send threats to an email address associated with a Member of the United States Congress. Sulik sent threatening emails to this address through December 2017. Among other things, Sulik threatened the Member of Congress by stating: “You put your family at risk . . .”; “. . . I’m threatening you.”; “What are you going to do before I erase you?”; and “Show me anyone who is going to protect you against me . . . .”
Under federal law, Sulik must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the United States Capitol Police, jointly made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the United States Capitol Police. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew T. Boone.
United States Files Complaint Against Hawaii Fishing Companies, Managers, and Vessel Operator over Illegal Oil Discharges and Lodges Partial Settlement with ManagersRead the Press Release
The United States filed a civil enforcement action against Azure Fishery LLC, the company’s managers, the operator of the commercial fishing vessel Jaxon T, and the new owner of the vessel for violations of the federal Clean Water Act, the Department of Justice and U.S. Coast Guard announced today. Along with the filing of the complaint, the United States also lodged a partial settlement to resolve the claims against the two company managers, Hanh Nguyen and Khang Dang, who have agreed to pay $475,000 in civil penalties and reimbursements. The managers also committed to perform operational improvements and other compliance measures to their entire fleet of 25 longline fishing vessels based in Honolulu. The claims against the rest of the defendants remain for future adjudication.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii today, alleges five causes of action against six defendants: Azure Fishery LLC, company managers Nguyen and Dang, company member and prior owner Tuan Hoang, vessel operator Andy Hoang and current owner Linh Fishery LLC. The complaint alleges willful discharges of oil, including oily bilge water, from the commercial longline fishing vessel Jaxon T, now known as the St. Joseph, into the ocean offshore of Hawaii, as well as related violations of the Coast Guard’s longstanding spill prevention and pollution control regulations, including failure to provide sufficient capacity to retain all oily mixtures on board. The complaint further alleges that in order to extend the length of fishing voyages, the defendants routinely pumped a mixture of fuel oil, lubricating oils, water, and other fluids from the vessel’s engine room bilge into the Pacific Ocean rather than retain the waste on board. The United States alleges that Azure Fishery LLC and the company managers and vessel operator are each liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for discharging oily mixtures into the waters off Hawaii. The United States also seeks injunctive relief from these same defendants and Linh Fishery LLC, the current owner of the vessel.
“A thriving commercial fishing sector in Hawaii and other parts of the United States largely depends upon keeping our ocean environments free of harmful pollution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s action shows that the Justice Department is as committed as ever to enforcing the nation’s vessel pollution laws in close partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
“This is the fourth case we have brought this year involving illegal oil discharge practices in the Honolulu-based longline fishing fleet,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, Commander, Coast Guard 14th District. “All vessel owners and operators are responsible for maintaining their vessels and preventing illegal discharges of oily wastes into the ocean. We are committed to the people of Hawaii to protect our waters and the Pacific Ocean from the damage caused by illegal pollution.”
“We will continue to protect our precious natural resources by enforcing the Nation’s environmental laws,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenji M. Price. “This settlement, and the other tremendous work performed by the law enforcement community in this area, should encourage owners and operators to proactively make necessary repairs and improve their waste disposal practices. Violators who fail to act on this message will face similar, or more severe, consequences.”
The complaint further alleges that company managers Nguyen and Dang fraudulently transferred the vessel to the current owner, Linh Fishery LLC, shortly after the Coast Guard discovered the violations in March 2017. Because the sale of the vessel and distribution of the proceeds to company members rendered Azure Fishery LLC insolvent and thus otherwise unable to pay a civil penalty, the complaint seeks recovery of the value of the fraudulently transferred vessel from the beneficiaries of the transfer, Linh Fishery LLC, Hanh Thi Nguyen, Khang Nguyen Dang, and Tuan Ngog Hoang, under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (“FDCPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.
Contemporaneously with the filing of the complaint, the United States has lodged a partial consent decree addressing the claims against company managers Nguyen and Dang. Under the settlement, Nguyen and Dang will each pay $211,000 for the Clean Water Act penalty claims against them and they will jointly pay an additional $53,000 for their apportioned share of the fraudulent transfer claim under the FDCPA. Moreover, they will perform corrective measures across their fleet of 25 Hawaii-based longline fishing vessels. The corrective measures are designed to ensure safe and lawful operations going forward and include (1) repairing the vessels to reduce the quantity of oily waste generated during a fishing voyage; (2) obtaining independent verification of repairs; (3) providing crewmembers with training on the proper handling of oily wastes; (4) documenting proper oily waste retention during voyages and disposal after returning to port; and (5) submitting periodic compliance assurance reports to the Coast Guard and the Department of Justice.
Section 311(b) of the Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge oil or hazardous substances into or upon the waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to the environment or public health. Under the act, the Coast Guard also has promulgated spill prevention and pollution control regulations for vessels and other facilities. Overboard discharges of oily mixtures, whether by directly pumping out oily bilge water that has not been properly treated, or by attempting to pump only the portion of the oily bilge water beneath a floating oil layer in the bilge (so-called decanting), has long been unlawful under federal law. Eliminating oil discharges into the ocean helps protect people, birds, fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and other natural resources.
Under the terms of the Clean Water Act, the penalties paid for these violations will be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Funds Center. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is used to pay for federal response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
The proposed partial consent decree, lodged in the District of Hawaii, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. Copies of the consent decree are available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
United States Attorney’s Office to Deploy Resources to Underserved Areas in the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, and Route 29 CorridorRead the Press Release
Roanoke, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today a plan that will provide greater prosecutorial resources to underserved areas of the Western District of Virginia and allow his office to more efficiently prosecute federal crimes throughout the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg Divisions.
The WDVA Consolidation and Winchester Expansion Plan will take unprecedented steps to place Assistant United States Attorneys directly into the communities that have the greatest law enforcement needs, while also consolidating resources to ensure efficient management and coordinated strategy.
The United States Attorney announced the first step of the plan today, which entails merging staff from the Harrisonburg and Charlottesville offices into one combined office in Charlottesville. That office will be supervised by Managing Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber. Importantly, prosecutors from the combined office will continue to work out of office space in the Harrisonburg federal courthouse as needed and will continue to prosecute Harrisonburg Division criminal cases. In addition, a federal grand jury will continue to be convened at the Harrisonburg federal courthouse, and criminal cases will be tried there.
U.S. Attorney Cullen also announced that two Assistant United States Attorneys will be dedicated to spending one day per week in new office space in Winchester, where they can focus on meeting with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the area.
“By combining our prosecutors in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, we can more efficiently and effectively deploy our limited resources to parts of these court divisions that, historically, have been underserved by our office,” U.S. Attorney Cullen stated. “Importantly, the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who have traditionally worked out of our Harrisonburg office will continue to prioritize cases originating in that community and work closely with our state and local law-enforcement partners there. I do not anticipate a decline in the number of criminal cases filed in that court.”
Cullen added, “Our prosecutors will also, for the first time, work out of new office space in Winchester, an area that has long been the epicenter of the opioid epidemic and organized drug trafficking. I am confident that, with these structural changes, we are better positioned to service the Harrisonburg and Charlottesville court divisions as a whole, including Waynesboro, Staunton, Augusta County, Nelson County, Winchester, Frederick County, Front Royal, and the Route 29 corridor.”
United States Attorney's Office, HSI, and FBI to Host Human Trafficking Training for Foreign DignitariesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Matthew Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today that a special Human Trafficking Training Program will be held on September 10-11, 2018 at the Federal Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave. Members of the United States Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI will be training prosecutors and law enforcement officers from Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia. The training will address the best practices for prosecuting Human Trafficking crimes, ways to assist crime victims, the importance of partnering with other agencies, and other topics.
The media is invited to attend the opening ceremony on Monday, September 10, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Welcoming remarks will be provided by United States Attorney Matthew Krueger, Resident-Agent-in-Charge Brandon Bielke of Homeland Security Investigations, and Special-Agent-in-Charge Justin Tolomeo of the FBI. Opening remarks will last approximately 30 minutes. After the opening remarks, members of the press will have an opportunity to interview the speakers and members of the foreign delegation.
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For additional information contact:
Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig at (414) 297-1700
Two Rosebud Men Charged with Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that two Rosebud, South Dakota, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault With a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. Dallas Burning Breast, age 25, and Ervin Burning Breast, Jr., age 23, were indicted on February 14, 2018. Ervin Burning Breast, Jr., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on June 12, 2018, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
Dallas Burning Breast made his initial appearance on the Indictment on April 10, 2018. On September 5, 2018, he appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange, and pled guilty to Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about July 2, 2017, Dallas Burning Breast and Ervin Burning Breast, Jr., assaulted an individual with brass knuckles with the intent to do bodily harm, and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury.
The investigation is being conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson is prosecuting the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered for Dallas Burning Breast and a sentencing date was set for November 26, 2018. Dallas Burning Breast was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Ervin Burning Breast, Jr., was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial, which has been set for November 13, 2018.
Two Chicago Police Officers Indicted on Federal Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted two Chicago Police Department officers for allegedly providing information from non-public traffic crash reports to the owner of an attorney-referral service in exchange for money.
Officers KEVIN TATE and MILOT CADICHON provided information from the crash reports to RICHARD BURTON, who owned and operated Bloomingdale-based National Attorney Referral Service, the indictments allege. In exchange, Burton allegedly paid a total of at least $7,350 to Cadichon, and at least $6,000 to Tate. Burton then used the information to solicit accident victims as clients for attorneys, the charges state.
The indictments were returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Tate, 47, of Chicago, Cadichon, 46, of Chicago, and Burton, 55, of Bloomingdale, are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. Tate and Cadichon also face an additional count of bribery. Arraignments in federal court have not yet been scheduled.
The indictments were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrianna D. Kastanek and Ankur Srivastava.
Traffic crash reports in Chicago are either filled out by a police officer who appears on the scene of an accident, or by a complainant appearing in person at a local police station. Although the reports are not publicly available during a processing period ranging from 24 hours to several weeks, police officers can access them for legitimate law enforcement reasons. Officers are not permitted to access or disclose the reports for non-law enforcement purposes.
According to the indictments, Tate and Cadichon provided information from the reports to Burton from 2015 to 2017. The information was conveyed in various ways, including using a cell phone to text Burton the crash victims’ contact information, the indictments state. Burton paid the officers via cash bribes and wire transfers, the charges allege.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, while the bribery charge is punishable by up to ten years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Turtle Creek Teen Pleads Guilty to Possessing Loaded AR-15 and Handgun to Protect Crack Cocaine and Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa – A former resident of Turtle Creek, PA pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to federal narcotics and firearms charges, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
William Thomas Spencer, age 19, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on February 11, 2017, North Versailles police conducted a traffic stop on Spencer while he was driving a BWM SUV. Police then found a large amount of crack cocaine on Spencer’s person and heroin inside the center console of the car. In the cargo area in the back of the SUV, police recovered a loaded Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle and a loaded handgun.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for February 1, 2019. The law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison, a fine of $2,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior record, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the North Versailles Police, and the Duquesne Police conducted the investigation that led to the guilty plea in this case.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Landmark Cyberstalking Resulting in Death Conviction in Matusiewicz CaseRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the criminal convictions and life sentences of David T. Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez for their roles in stalking and killing Christine Belford in the New Castle County Courthouse in February 2013. After killing Ms. Belford and her friend, Laura “Beth” Mulford in the Courthouse, the Defendants’ father, Thomas Matusiewicz, took his own life following a gun battle with Delaware Capitol Police Officers. Defendants’ mother, Lenore Matusiewicz, was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison for her role in this crime, but died while her appeal was pending.
Following a five week jury trial in the summer of 2015, Defendants were convicted of all charges, including cyberstalking resulting in death. This was the first such case in the history of the nation.
In a seventy-seven page precedential opinion, a unanimous panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed these convictions and sentences “in all respects” and specifically recognized the trial judge for handling this “complicated case” – involving “numerous issues of first impression” – with “exceptional precision and care.” Regarding the landmark charge of “cyberstalking resulting in death,” the Third Circuit concluded that the Government sufficiently proved its case, stating that the defendants stalking conduct was the “actual” and proximate” cause of Ms. Belford’s death.
The Court specifically found David’s conduct included, among other things:
directing his family to send letters to Belford’s acquaintances accusing Belford of sexual abuse; setting up the in-person court hearing that brought Belford to the courthouse where Thomas shot her; lying to probation officers about the need to attend the hearing in person; and traveling from Texas to Delaware in two vehicles that were filled with numerous weapons.
The Court specifically found Amy’s conduct included, among other things:
spreading false accusations of child abuse by creating online postings and YouTube videos, and sending defamatory emails and letters to Belford’s acquaintances; preparing false polygraph reports about these accusations; recruiting third parties to surveil and report on Belford and the children; providing Thomas with temporary cell phone number and cleaning his safe when he traveled to Delaware in 2011 and showed up at Belford’s house; and filing numerous petitions for custody of the children beginning two days after Belford was killed.
Ultimately, the Court found that there was “overwhelming, uncontradicted evidence” that the accusations against Ms. Belford were false and that “both David and Gonzalez were intimately involved in this stalking campaign and conspiracy.”
United States Attorney Weiss stated the following: “As the Court of Appeals observed, this is a watershed case of national importance. Cyberstalking is a form of psychological terror that deeply impacts its victims. Individuals who engage in such conduct are on notice that the Department of Justice will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. This outcome can never bring back Christine Belford and her courageous friend, Laura ‘Beth’ Mulford, or compensate their families for their loss – but it does rightly hold those responsible for these heinous acts. I want to thank once again the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Delaware State Police for their superb investigative work in this matter.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall and Shawn A. Weede, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. McAndrew, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware State Police.
Suspended Attorney Indicted for Securities FraudRead the Press Release
Today, before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon, suspended attorney Christopher Davies was arraigned on a four-count indictment charging securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a market manipulation scheme. A federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned the indictment on August 30, 2018. Davies was previously arrested on a complaint in April 2018.
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 Edward Gallashaw, Assistant Postal Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), announced the indictment.
“As alleged in the indictment, Davies used both sophisticated means and some of the oldest tricks in the book, including backdating documents and forging signatures, to deceive the investing public and manipulate the price and ownership of a public company’s stock,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The defendant’s scheme ultimately failed as a result of the outstanding investigative work by our prosecutors and our law enforcement partners, who are committed to protecting the integrity of public markets.” Mr. Donoghue also expressed his gratitude to the New York Office of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance during the investigation.
“Criminals take what isn’t theirs and have no regard for victims they harm in the process,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Mr. Davies allegedly pumped up the price of the stock for a public company because he controlled the information being made public, he knew exactly when to sell to make the most money, leaving other investors in the lurch. Instead of enjoying the large sum of money he made, he now faces time in prison.”
“This is a classic case of greed overcoming honest business practices,” stated USPIS Assistant Postal Inspector-in-Charge Gallashaw. “Mr. Davies allegedly used his knowledge of the market to ‘increase’ the value of stock he knew was worth pennies, taking money from investors he knew would result in a loss. While Mr. Davies tried to cover his illegal tracks with bogus documents, he couldn’t cover-up his crimes from Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners.”
Davies, an attorney whose law license was suspended, controlled a publicly traded company, American Transportation Holdings Inc. (“ATHI”), and manipulated the price of its stock in a pump-and-dump scheme. Beginning in 2012, Davies exercised secret control over ATHI and its predecessor companies (collectively “ATHI” or the “company”) through a series of nominal Chief Executive Officers. As a part of his scheme, Davies accumulated a large number of shares in the company by fraudulently converting corporate debt into stock at no cost. To effect these fraudulent debt-to-stock conversions, Davies forged the signatures of purported ATHI board members and backdated documents. After accumulating large amounts of ATHI stock, Davies artificially increased the price of ATHI’s stock through false and misleading press releases claiming that ATHI had developed proprietary gaming and live-streaming app technology. Although ATHI’s stock had historically traded for pennies, its price rose to $12 per share at the height of the pump, resulting in a market capitalization of over $3 billion. Davies’ coconspirators then dumped ATHI stock at a profit, causing heavy losses to investors.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of wire fraud, the top count in the indictment, Davies faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin Farrell and Mark Bini are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant: CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
Parkland, Florida
Age: 50E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-479 (FB)
Statement from U.S. Attorney John H. Durham on Ongoing White Powder Letter InvestigationRead the Press Release
The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police, Hartford Police Department anjd New Haven Police Department, in coordination with other federal, state and local law enforcement and emergency services agencies, continue to investigate several incidents of letters containing white powder that were mailed to government facilities and non-governmental organizations in Connecticut and elsewhere in the U.S., and began arriving on September 5, 2018. It is alleged that many of these letters were mailed by an individual who has been in federal custody since his arrest, for alleged violations of his supervised release, on September 5.
Through the course of the investigation, investigators have seized unmailed letters, notified numerous potential recipients of letters, and successfully removed some letters from the mail stream prior to their delivery. However, letters continue to arrive in various locations.
Although the seized and retrieved letters have caused no illness or injuries to date, we strongly urge anyone who receives a suspicious letter or package not to handle it further, and immediately call 911. This will permit law enforcement and emergency services personnel to investigate the matter safely.
Finally, I note that these letters have caused emotional distress for recipients and have consumed valuable time and resources of our first responders. This crime, and others like it, will be vigorously prosecuted.
Statement by Attorney General Sessions on Chinese Narcotics SchedulingRead the Press Release
Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on Chinese Narcotics Scheduling:
“The Trump Administration is fighting back against the opioid crisis, and the Department of Justice has taken a number of aggressive and innovative steps to combat many of the contributing factors to the havoc inflicted in our neighborhoods and communities across the country.
“However, full cooperation on an international level is required to eradicate the scourge of fentanyl and opioids from the world. In recent weeks, as the Justice Department announced multiple accomplishments in the fight against opioids, I expressed hope that China’s Ministry of Public Security would schedule fentanyl-based substances as a class.
“The Ministry of Public Security announced—effective September 1, 2018—the scheduling of 32 substances, including two opioids, as narcotics. This is an important step in the global fight against opioids and, by providing Chinese law enforcement additional tools, it affords our federal law enforcement authorities a greater opportunity to continue working on important joint investigations. I thank the Government of China for this action and I look forward to further cooperation.”
State Department Official Sentenced to Prison for Engaging in Honest Services Wire Fraud and Theft of Federal FundsRead the Press Release
A program manager for the U.S. Department of State was sentenced to 13 months in prison today for accepting kickbacks and stealing federal funds intended for a foreign exchange program maintained by the U.S. Department of State. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Inspector General Steve A. Linick of the U.S. Department of State and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
Kelli R. Davis, 49, of Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III of the Eastern District of Virginia. On May 24, Davis pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging her with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and theft of public money.
According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Davis was a Program Specialist for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She also served as the Program Manager and Grants Officer Representative for the Sports Visitors Program, which sponsored foreign exchanges for emerging youth athletes and coaches from various countries. The exchange program was managed by George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, through a federal grant and cooperative agreement with the State Department.
Davis admitted that between February 2011 and March 2016, she conspired with others to steal portions of the federal money allocated to the Sports Visitor Program by, among other things, falsifying vendor-related invoices and making fraudulent checks payable to a government contractor, Denon Hopkins, who supplied transportation services for the program. In total, Davis and Hopkins stole approximately $17,335 from the State Department. They have both admitted that Hopkins used portions of the funds to pay kickbacks to Davis to retain his transportation contract. In addition, Davis stole an additional $17,777 from the program over a multi-year period.
The Department of State’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case. Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly R. Pedersen of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Spartanburg Man Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ------ United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Tory Ray Watkins, age 40, of Spartanburg, was sentenced in federal court in Anderson for distribution of controlled substances. United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain, of Anderson, sentenced Watkins to 210 months in federal prison followed by 6 years supervised release.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing and sentencing hearing established that on September 24, 2016, Spartanburg Police officers were on routine patrol when they observed Tory Watkins driving a white van. Officers confirmed that Watkins had a suspended driver’s license, then initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. Watkins was detained and gave consent to search his person. Officers found a small plastic baggie in his right change pocket containing a tan substance. This substance was submitted to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab for analysis. This was determined to be .43 grams of fentanyl.
On May 26, 2017, Investigators with the Spartanburg Police Department met with a confidential, reliable, informant, to discuss the purchase of U-47700, also commonly referred to as “pink”, from Watkins. The informant, acting under the direction of law enforcement, placed a consensual recorded telephone call to Watkins. Watkins instructed the informant during the phone call to meet at a location in Spartanburg. The informant next began travelling to the aforementioned meet location and was contacted by Watkins telephonically who informed the informant that they would need to travel with Watkins to another location in Spartanburg in order to complete the purchase of “pink”. After arrival at the other location, the informant gave Watkins the recorded US currency and Watkins walked to an unknown apartment. A short while later, Watkins was observed by members of law enforcement walking back to and entering the informant’s vehicle. Watkins provided the informant with the purchased product once inside the vehicle. The informant was next followed to a pre-determined location where they turned over a quantity of substance believed to be U-47700 or “pink” to Spartanburg Police Department. The substance purchased from Watkins was submitted to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) for further testing and chemical analysis. The SCSO lab report indicated that Ketamine, Tramadol, and Fentanyl were all discovered in the substance that Watkins sold to the informant.
On June 29, 2017, investigators with the SCSO met with an informant working at the direction of the SCSO to make a controlled purchase of heroin from a subject known to the informant as “Chewy.” The informant was searched both before and after the controlled purchase with negative results. The informant was equipped with a recording device and provided with US Currency to facilitate the purchase. The buy took place at a restaurant parking lot on Reidville Road in Spartanburg. The informant returned with a clear plastic bag containing a brown powder substance. The informant was shown a photo of Watkins and confirmed that Watkins was the individual from which the informant made the controlled purchase. The powder was tested by the SCSO Crime lab and was confirmed to be .36 grams of heroin.
On June 29, 2017, deputies with the SCSO received a call about an unconscious individual in a roadway. The person died as a result of a drug overdose. The boyfriend of the individual told deputies that he knew the heroin the individual ingested prior to their death came from Watkins.
The case was investigated by agents of the Spartanburg Police Department and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office. Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Wells of the Greenville office prosecuted the case.
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South Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Waddah Siedahmed, 23, of South Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
According to court records, on November 17, 2017, the defendant and another person agreed to rob a Key Bank branch in Portland. That afternoon, the other person entered the Key Bank branch wearing a black sweatshirt, black gloves, black glasses, dark colored jeans, and what appeared to be a long black wig. The other person also carried and used what appeared to be a firearm and absconded with $1,721. Following the robbery, the defendant received a share of the stolen money. Within hours of the robbery, police located the defendant and recovered from him some of the stolen money.
The defendant faces up to five years in jail, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Portland Police Department and the FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force which is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland, South Portland, and Lewiston Police Departments.
South Florida Pharmacist Convicted of Health Care Fraud for Role in $5 Million Compounding Pharmacy SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury found a South Florida pharmacist guilty today of health care fraud for his role in a $5 million compounding pharmacy scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)’s Miami Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General – Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS)’s Southeast Field Office and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi made the announcement.
After a four-day trial, Stephen Chalker, 42, of Wellington, Florida, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and two substantive counts of health care fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 15 before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the Southern District of Florida, who presided over the trial.
According to evidence presented at trial, from approximately September 2014 to August 2016, Chalker engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare, TRICARE and Medicaid by submitting false and fraudulent claims for compounded drugs and other prescription medications that were not medically necessary and/or never provided. The evidence established that in his role as the pharmacist-in-charge at Pop’s Pharmacy, a now-defunct pharmacy located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Chalker submitted or caused the submission of claims in the amount of several thousands of dollars each for a single tube of pain and scar creams that patients did not want, did not need, and in some cases did not receive. Chalker and his co-conspirators ran a nationwide telemarketing and telemedicine scheme in which there was no real patient-prescriber relationship or actual patient care. As a result of claims submitted in connection with the scheme, Medicare, TRICARE and Medicaid made payments totaling nearly $5 million, the evidence showed.
Two other defendants have been charged in this case. Christopher Liva, 40, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Elaina Liva, 66, of Pompano Beach, Florida, both of whom pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, DCIS and the State of Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Trial Attorneys Jim Hayes and Leslie Wright of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in 12 cities across the country, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
South Florida Doctor Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Participating in a Conspiracy to Illegally Dispense Opioids and Other DrugsRead the Press Release
Dr. Andres Mencia, 64, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was sentenced today to 78 months in prison, after having been convicted by a federal jury in South Florida, of participating in a conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Mark Selby of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
“Dr. Mencia has been held accountable in a court of law for casting aside his medical ethics to illegally distribute controlled substances and fuel the opioid epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney Greenberg. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to do everything possible to protect the community from the dangers of opioid abuse and addiction.”
“The opioid epidemic is ravaging communities across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “It is especially disturbing when doctors — like Andres Mencia — disregard their oaths to ‘do no harm’ in exchange for lining their pockets with illicit profits. The Criminal Division is dedicated to fighting the opioid epidemic by aggressively investigating and prosecuting those healthcare providers who, rather than help those in need, contribute to the opioid epidemic by writing medically unnecessary prescriptions for highly addictive and harmful painkillers. Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Mencia now faces serious consequences for his crimes.”
“Today’s sentencing of Dr. Mencia serves as evidence that medical professionals who unethically and illegally dispense highly addictive opioid medication unnecessarily will be subject to prosecution.” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wright. “Together with our law enforcement partners, the DEA Miami Field Division continues its commitment to protecting our communities from all forms of illegal practices that result in drug addiction.”
“Dr. Mencia violated the law and his Hippocratic oath to do no harm,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Richmond. “Health professionals who profit by prescribing poisonous opioids can expect to face the law’s full weight.”
According to evidence admitted at trial, Dr. Mencia ran Adult & Geriatric Institute of Florida lnc, d/b/a AGI Medical & Dental (AGI), in Oakland Park, Florida. Beginning in or around January 2014 and continuing through October 2017, Dr. Mencia, and office personnel Oscar Luis Ventura-Rodriguez, 41, of Ft. Lauderdale; Nadira Sampath-Grant, 51, of Margate, and John Mensah, 50, of Miami, conspired to perform sham consultations with cash-paying patients. The evidence showed that the true and intended purpose of the consultations was to improperly issue the patients’ prescriptions for opioids and narcotics, such as Oxycodone, OxyContin and Percocet, in exchange for cash payments. Pursuant to Dr. Mencia’s instructions, co-conspirators kept track of the drug-seeking patients by identifying them as “CS” (controlled substance) “patients.” On occasion, Dr. Mencia provided his co-conspirators pre-signed prescriptions to issue the “CS” patients prescriptions for controlled substances in his name. During the course of the conspiracy, Dr. Mencia was not providing a medically meaningful consultation but was in fact acting outside the scope of his professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose.
Ventura-Rodriguez, Sampath-Grant and Mensah previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States by unlawfully distributing controlled substances. U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas sentenced the conspirators as follows:
Dr. Mencia was sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, along with a $4,800 forfeiture and $250,000 fine. Ventura-Rodriguez was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $396,428.18 in restitution, jointly and severally. Sampath-Grant was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $396,428 in restitution. Mensah was sentenced to time-served, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $132,142 in restitution.
The investigation was conducted by DEA, HHS-OIG and HSI. The Aventura Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, and Miami Gardens Police Department assisted in the investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gilfarb of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.
South Florida Doctor Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Participating in a Conspiracy to Illegally Dispense Opioids and Other DrugsRead the Press Release
Dr. Andres Mencia, 64, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was sentenced today to 78 months in prison, after having been convicted by a federal jury in South Florida, of participating in a conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Mark Selby of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
“The opioid epidemic is ravaging communities across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “It is especially disturbing when doctors — like Andres Mencia — disregard their oaths to ‘do no harm’ in exchange for lining their pockets with illicit profits. The Criminal Division is dedicated to fighting the opioid epidemic by aggressively investigating and prosecuting those healthcare providers who, rather than help those in need, contribute to the opioid epidemic by writing medically unnecessary prescriptions for highly addictive and harmful painkillers. Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Mencia now faces serious consequences for his crimes.”
“Dr. Mencia has been held accountable in a court of law for casting aside his medical ethics to illegally distribute controlled substances and fuel the opioid epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney Greenberg. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to do everything possible to protect the community from the dangers of opioid abuse and addiction.”
“Today’s sentencing of Dr. Mencia serves as evidence that medical professionals who unethically and illegally dispense highly addictive opioid medication unnecessarily will be subject to prosecution.” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wright. “Together with our law enforcement partners, the DEA Miami Field Division continues its commitment to protecting our communities from all forms of illegal practices that result in drug addiction.”
“Dr. Mencia violated the law and his Hippocratic oath to do no harm,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Richmond. “Health professionals who profit by prescribing poisonous opioids can expect to face the law’s full weight.”
According to evidence admitted at trial, Dr. Mencia ran Adult & Geriatric Institute of Florida lnc, d/b/a AGI Medical & Dental (AGI), in Oakland Park, Florida. Beginning in or around January 2014 and continuing through October 2017, Dr. Mencia, and office personnel Oscar Luis Ventura-Rodriguez, 41, of Ft. Lauderdale; Nadira Sampath-Grant, 51, of Margate, and John Mensah, 50, of Miami, conspired to perform sham consultations with cash-paying patients. The evidence showed that the true and intended purpose of the consultations was to improperly issue the patients’ prescriptions for opioids and narcotics, such as Oxycodone, OxyContin and Percocet, in exchange for cash payments. Pursuant to Dr. Mencia’s instructions, co-conspirators kept track of the drug-seeking patients by identifying them as “CS” (controlled substance) “patients.” On occasion, Dr. Mencia provided his co-conspirators pre-signed prescriptions to issue the “CS” patients prescriptions for controlled substances in his name. During the course of the conspiracy, Dr. Mencia was not providing a medically meaningful consultation but was in fact acting outside the scope of his professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose.
Ventura-Rodriguez, Sampath-Grant and Mensah previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States by unlawfully distributing controlled substances. U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas sentenced the conspirators as follows:
Dr. Mencia was sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, along with a $4,800 forfeiture and $250,000 fine. Ventura-Rodriguez was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $396,428.18 in restitution, jointly and severally. Sampath-Grant was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $396,428 in restitution. Mensah was sentenced to time-served, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $132,142 in restitution.
The investigation was conducted by DEA, HHS-OIG and HSI. The Aventura Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, and Miami Gardens Police Department assisted in the investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gilfarb of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Second Guilty Plea in Department Store Break-in, ATM & Pharmacy RobberyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – The second of two men charged with cutting their way through a roof into a Target department store in Smithfield, R.I., prying open an ATM inside the store and stealing more than $14,000, and cutting through a wall into a CVS Pharmacy located inside the store and stealing a controlled substance pleaded guilty today in federal court in Providence.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Liridon Gashi, 33, of Bronx, NY, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit larceny from a financial institution, bank larceny, conspiracy to commit burglary involving controlled substances, and burglary involving controlled substances.
Gashi’s guilty plea is announced by United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch, Smithfield Police Chief Richard P. St. Sauveur, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Harold H. Shaw.
A co-defendant in this matter, Epirot Krasniqi, 27, of Brooklyn, NY, pleaded guilty on May 11, 2018.
According to court documents, in the early morning hours of October 10, 2017, Gashi and Krasniqi, equipped with hand tools and two-way radios, cut through the roof of the Target store and then forced open an ATM from which they stole $14,720. The two men then cut through the wall of a CVS Pharmacy inside the store, broke open a locked cabinet holding controlled substances and stole a prescription package of Oxycodone. The two men then fled to the roof of the store.
While the burglary and robbery were taking place, Smithfield police officers responded to a report of an electronic burglary alarm and began to search the premises. After discovering the hole in the roof, officers began searching approximately 30 air conditioning units located on the roof. The two men were found hiding inside separate air conditioning units. Also discovered inside the store and in various air conditioning units on the roof were the tools used in the break-in of the store and the ATM, the cash stolen from the ATM, and the drugs stolen from the pharmacy.
Krasniqi and Gashi were charged and arraigned in Rhode Island state court and released on bail. Federal arrest warrants were issued for both men following the return of a federal indictment on November 7, 2017. Krasniqi was arrested by FBI agents in New York that same day. Gashi was located and arrested by FBI agents in San Francisco, CA, on March 7, 2018.
Krasniqi is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on September 20, 2018. Gashi is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2018.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ly T. Chin and Denise M. Barton.
Gashi is detained in federal custody. Krasniqi is detained in Pennsylvania state custody awaiting trial for burglary and related charges in connection with a break-in at a Turkey Hill, Pa., convenience store that occurred on November 24, 2014.
The matter was investigated by the Smithfield Police Department, with the assistance of the Rhode Island FBI Safe Streets Task Force.
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Scarborough Woman Sentenced to Two Years for Embezzlement and Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Carrie Caporino, 46, of Scarborough, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling from two health care providers and for using the social security number of another person. She was also ordered to pay $549,468.80 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on April 30, 2018.
According to court records, between 2014 and November 2016, the defendant worked as the office manager for a southern Maine dental practice and embezzled over $293,000 by using office credit cards for personal expenses, using the office checkbook to pay rent and other personal expenses, and by making internet transfers from an office bank account to pay a personal credit card and her PayPal account.
Between December 2016 and 2017, the defendant was the office manager for a Falmouth physician and embezzled more than $255,000 from his practice by stealing checks mailed to the office by patients and insurance companies and then mobile depositing them to her own bank accounts using her smart phone.
In January 2014, the defendant fraudulently used the social security number of an individual living in southern Maine on a health insurance application.
In announcing her sentence, Judge Woodcock told Caporino that it takes a special kind of dishonesty to steal from someone who hired you and paid you to do a job. In effect, he said, her victims “paid her to steal from them.” He also found it particularly reprehensible that she victimized a dentist and a doctor. He stated that the defendant’s actions resulted in a “catastrophic victimization of two fine gentlemen who dedicated their lives to helping others.”
Both employers are now closed.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on September 6, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Phillip Little Hoop, age 36, was sentenced to 17 months in federal prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Little Hoop was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 12, 2017. He pled guilty on July 10, 2018. Little Hoop was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in December 2008. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. In April 2017, Little Hoop was released from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Adult Corrections Facility after serving a tribal custody sentence. He was aware of his obligation to update his sex offender registration after his release from custody, but he failed to do so. Between April 7, 2017 and May 11, 2017, Little Hoop failed to update his registration.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Little Hoop was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rosebud Man Pleads Guilty to Voluntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Dallas Burning Breast, age 25, of Rosebud, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on September 5, 2018, and pled guilty to an Indictment that charged him with Voluntary Manslaughter.
Burning Breast was indicted on March 13, 2018, and made his initial appearance on the Indictment on April 10, 2018.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 15 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
In the early morning hours of March 5, 2018, Burning Breast was arguing with another man, the victim, at a house in Rosebud. The argument turned into a physical altercation and Burning Breast picked up a knife, which he used to stab the victim in the upper thigh. The knife penetrated the victim’s femoral artery, causing significant blood loss. The victim was subsequently pronounced dead at the Rosebud Indian Health Services Hospital in Rosebud.
The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson is prosecuting the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for November 26, 2018. Burning Breast was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Robstown-Based Heroin Leader Heads to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The leader of a massive heroin and money laundering conspiracy has been ordered to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Jesus Gutierrez, 46, of Corpus Christi, pleaded guilty April 26, 2018, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and conspiracy to launder money.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced him to 84 months in prison.
At the time of his plea, the court learned that he had been part of a significant, long-term heroin distribution ring operating in Robstown. Evidence also showed that on Oct. 4, 2017, authorities seized approximately a kilogram of heroin and almost $100,000 during the arrests related to this investigation.
Gutierrez and his nephew, Enrique Gutierrez Jr., regularly obtained kilogram quantities of heroin during the conspiracy that was then distributed via the other defendants. The overall scope of the conspiracy was estimated to be between 10-30 kilograms of heroin. The conspiracy operated between April 2016 and October 2017.
On May 9, 2018, Judge Ramos sentenced Enrique Gutierrez Jr., 31, of Sandia, to 13 years imprisonment. He had previously pleaded guilty to the same heroin conspiracy as well as conspiracy to launder money.
Also previously sentenced were Sakhone Chanrattana, 35, of Jarrell, who was ordered to serve 97 months, and Tim Molina, 34, of Robstown, who received a sentence of 18 months.
In assessing the sentences, Judge Ramos pointed to the large amount of heroin distributed in this conspiracy and its devastating impact on the community and families.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Muschenheim is prosecuting the case.
Rapid City Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on September 6, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Joseph Blue Bird, age 31, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Blue Bird was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 14, 2018. He pled guilty on June 27, 2018.
Blue Bird was convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact in February 2014. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. He began his term of supervised release on November 9, 2017. He initially registered his address. On December 10, 2017, he absconded from supervision and did not update his registration as required by law.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Blue Bird was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Postal Annex Owner Sentenced for Structuring Currency TransactionsRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 7, 2018
SAN DIEGO – Lahkwinder Singh was sentenced in federal court today to 36 months in federal prison and a forfeiture of $1,955,521 to the United States for structuring approximately $2,955,521 in currency transactions with domestic financial institutions. The 36-month sentence is one of the longest imposed in the Southern District of California for a structuring conviction. Singh’s closely held corporation, Lovely Singh, Inc., was ordered to forfeit $1,000,000, and serve a 5-year term of probation.
Singh and Lovely Singh, Inc., owned and operated Postal Annex franchises in Lemon Grove, California. Singh also acted as the Chief Financial Officer of Lovely Singh, Inc. In 2006, Singh began operating the Postal Annexes as an agent of Western Union, which required that he operate under a federal license as a money transmitting business, and required that the Postal Annexes maintain a comprehensive Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) program to ensure that the Postal Annexes were vigilant in preventing unlawful funds from passing through Western Union, and the financial system at large. Singh was the designated BSA/AML Officer responsible for ensuring the Postal Annexes complied with all US financial and banking laws.
Instead of protecting the financial system, by no later than 2011, Singh engaged in a multi-year pattern of cash transactions below the $10,000 threshold to avoid detection by banks and law enforcement, with the intent to deposit Lovely Singh, Inc.’s cash proceeds free from scrutiny.
As Singh and Lovely Singh, Inc. admitted in each of their plea agreements, Singh and his co-defendant distributed Schedule II controlled substances from the Postal Annexes to persons located throughout the United States. Couriers smuggled controlled substances into the United States from Mexico, and delivered them to the Postal Annexes. Over the course of 2011 through 2016 Singh admitted that he was aware of a high probability that hundreds of packages sent from the Postal Annexes contained a prohibited controlled substance, and he deliberately avoided learning the truth of their contents.
As he further admitted in his plea agreement, Singh structured and attempted to structure $2,955,521 of currency transactions over the course of 469 cash deposits at several domestic financial institutions such as Bank of America, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Singh conducted multiple deposits of less than $10,000 in cash on the same day, and over the course of several business days, into at least 19 different bank accounts with the purpose of avoiding a Currency Transaction Report, which is the report a financial institution must file for cash deposits exceeding $10,000 during any banking day.
The structured cash deposits included cash received in return for shipping the controlled substances from the Postal Annexes stores, as well as Western Union money transfer funds.
At sentencing, Judge Bashant stated that, with his millions of dollars in structured deposits, Singh “knew exactly what he was doing” – namely “avoiding detection from the government … for shipping drugs” out of the Postal Annex. The sentence imposed, as Judge Bashant stated, serves as a “very important deterrent” to third-party money launderers who are the gateway to the financial system, who like Singh, are engaged in playing a “shell game” of transactions.
This case was a joint investigation with IRS-Criminal Investigation, HSI, DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and California DOJ.
“The U.S. mail is not a delivery service for drug traffickers, and our banking system is not meant to launder millions of dollars of drug money,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman. “Together with our law enforcement partners we have put a stop to this brazen scheme and kept our institutions from being exploited by criminals.”
Postal Inspector in Charge Nichole Cooper stated, “Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners will vigorously investigate, arrest, and prosecute anyone who willfully allows the introduction of a controlled substance into the U.S. Mail. Today’s sentencing sends a strong message to drug traffickers that Postal Inspectors stand ready to protect the sanctity of the mail.”
“In this investigation, HSI and our law enforcement partners uncovered a sophisticated financial scheme aimed at providing cover for cash transactions that were tied to the illicit distribution of controlled substances in cities throughout the United States,” said Dave Shaw, HSI Special Agent in Charge in San Diego. “HSI continues to remind the community of the serious public health threat, as well as warn individuals who put consumers at risk for their own financial gain. We are committed to working closely with all of our law enforcement partners, both domestic and abroad, to prevent counterfeit drugs from being smuggled into the U.S. and distributed illegally over the internet.”
“Lahkwinder Singh thought he had the perfect scam going when he started using his postal annex to hide money earned by drug traffickers from the IRS," said Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe, IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office. "Thanks to the hard work of IRS CI special agents and their law enforcement partners, Singh is now paying the price for his scheme and drug traffickers have lost another venue to launder their ill-gotten gains.”
“Mr. Singh utilized a legitimate mail delivery business to distribute prescription drugs, including fentanyl and Oxycontin, throughout the United States in order to avoid detection by law enforcement,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Karen Flowers. “Mr. Singh’s actions directly contributed to the devastation of our American communities caused by the opioid epidemic. DEA will continue to investigate those seeking to profit from the illegal distribution of drugs and destruction of our communities.”
“Trafficking pharmaceutical drugs and illegally selling them without a prescription is dangerous and will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Let this sentence send a message: if you attempt to unlawfully manipulate our financial system and fuel prescription drug abuse for a quick buck, federal and state law enforcement will hold you accountable."
DEFENDANTS Case Number 16cr729-BAS
Lahkwinder Singh Age: 59 Scripps Ranch, CA
Lovely Singh, Inc. California Corporation
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Structuring Currency Transactions with One or More Financial Institutions – Title 31, U.S.C., Sections 5324(a)(3), (d)(2).
Maximum penalty for Singh: Ten years in prison, $500,000 fine, forfeiture of all property, real or personal, involved in the offense and any property traceable thereto, and a term of supervised release of up to three years.
Maximum penalty for Lovely Singh, Inc.: $1 million fine, forfeiture of all property, real or personal, involved in the offense and any property traceable thereto, and a term of probation of up to five years.
AGENCIES
Internal Revenue Service
Homeland Security Investigations
Drug Enforcement Administration
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
California Department of Justice
Oscar Ferrer Rivera Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Mail Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – Today, Oscar Ferrer-Rivera pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Marshal D. Morgan to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, twelve counts of mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
As a part of the guilty plea, Ferrer-Rivera admitted that from January 2011 to January 2016, in the District of Puerto Rico, he engaged in a scheme to defraud and conspired with others to engage in a scheme to defraud by lying and materially misrepresenting to individuals residing in Puerto Rico that he would invest the individual’s money in stocks, funds, securities, and other financial products (“investment vehicles”) with guaranteed principal and a fixed rate of return.
In furtherance of the scheme to defraud, Ferrer-Rivera falsely represented that the investment vehicles were safe, that all principal was guaranteed, and that the investment vehicle would earn a fixed rate of return. Ferrer-Rivera also falsely represented that the individual’s money would actually be invested in an investment vehicle. Ferrer-Rivera created corporations in Puerto Rico and Florida to open bank accounts and to deposit individual’s investment payments. These corporations, named Reco Financial, Inc., National Western HIA, Inc., and CGB Financial, Inc., were then used by Ferrer-Rivera to transfer investor’s funds to himself and others. Ferrer-Rivera then mailed false investment statements and interest payments to investors that falsely represented that funds were invested, falsely identified a type of investment, and falsely characterized the investment as having guaranteed principal and interest. In fact, Ferrer-Rivera failed to invest the investor’s money. The government estimates that the total amount invested in this fraudulent scheme exceeds $5 million, mainly from victims residing in the Cabo Rojo area of Puerto Rico.
Ferrer-Rivera also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft in relation to his July 7, 2016 use of another individual’s social security card and birth certificate to obtain a Puerto Rico identification from the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation. This occurred while Ferrer-Rivera was released on bail pending trial. The illegally obtained Puerto Rico identification was utilized by Ferrer-Rivera to flee the jurisdiction in violation of his pretrial conditions of release and to illegally obtain a Florida driver’s license. Ferrer-Rivera was arrested in Florida in March 2017 and remains detained pending sentencing.
If you think you have been defrauded by defendant Oscar Ferrer-Rivera please call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (787) 766-5656 or the FBI at (787) 754-6000 to report that you suspect you are a victim of fraud.
Sentencing will be scheduled by the presiding District Judge, the Honorable Pedro A. Delgado. Ferrer-Rivera faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment for each of the conspiracy and mail fraud charges and two mandatory consecutive years of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft count. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Erbe and was investigated by the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
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Olathe Man Sentenced for Filing a False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An Olathe man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay more than $454,000 in restitution.
Daniel Forster, 58, Olathe, Kan., pleaded guilty to causing a false tax return to be submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. In his plea, he admitted the crime occurred while he was one of three shareholders who owned an S corporation located in Olathe. Forster was responsible for the financial operations of the business, including overseeing corporate books and records and submitting tax information to a professional tax preparer.
Forster used funds belonging to the business to pay personal expenses such as credit card payments and then falsely represented those payments as deductible expenses.
McAllister commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton for their work on the case.
Northborough Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Northborough man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for possession of child pornography.
Joshua Lundberg, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. In April 2018, Lundberg pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
In May 2016, law enforcement began an investigation of peer-to-peer file sharing networks used to share and obtain child pornography. On May 15, 2016, a member of law enforcement reviewing available public files on one such peer-to-peer network located several files he suspected to contain child pornography and was able to partially download one of the files. Law enforcement then traced the IP address used to share the partially downloaded video to Lundberg’s residence.
A search of Lundberg’s home in Northborough resulted in the seizure of a laptop that was hidden on top of the kitchen cabinets in a tight space against the ceiling. Forensic analysis of that computer revealed the presence of the peer-to-peer file sharing program that had been used to share the partially downloaded video along with dozens of digital files containing child pornography, one of which depicted the rape of a child between the ages of six and eight-years-old by an adult male.
At the time of Lundberg’s arrest, he was on probation for a 2012 conviction in Worcester Superior Court for charges relating to the possession and dissemination of child pornography.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.
North Kingstown Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE - A North Kingstown, R.I., man whose social media user name was identified by Canadian authorities and provided to Homeland Security Investigations during an investigation into online sharing of child pornography in Saskatchewan, Canada, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence to 30 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
Shaun M. Swant, 28, was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents and members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force on September 19, 2017, after their investigation identified his social media user name and IP address as a person using online programs to discuss and share child pornography online.
On the date of Swant’s arrest, HSI agents and members of the ICAC Task Force executed a court-authorized search of Swant’s resident and seized several computers and electronic devices. A forensic audit of the equipment determined that Swant possessed numerous images and videos of child pornography.
Swant pleaded guilty on February 27, 2018 to possession of child pornography.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Swant to serve 5 years supervised release upon completion of his term of incarceration, and to pay a mandatory assessment of $5,000 as provided for in the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act.
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment in this matter is 97-121 months. The government and the defendant recommended the court impose a sentence of 30 months in prison.
Swant’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh, and Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert.
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Nine people indicted for conspiracy to launder $2 million stemming from the shipment of one ton of marijuana from California to Wickliffe, Willoughby and EuclidRead the Press Release
Nine people were indicted in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to launder more than $2 million in drug profits stemming from the shipment approximately one ton of marijuana from California to warehouses in Wickliffe, Willoughby and Euclid.
Indicted are: Aaron L. Eisenberg, 39, of California and formerly of Lake County; Jack Morgan, 53, of California; Jacob Lesiak, 40, of Chardon, Margaret Garcia, 40, of Chardon; Gary Baldwin, 43, of Huntsburg; Trevor Marlyne, 32, of Cleveland Heights; Robert Ross, 47, of Florida; Brian Teachout, 38, of Mentor, and Richard Warren, 43, of Willoughby. All nine are charged with engaging in a money laundering conspiracy, while Eisenberg, Morgan, Jacob Lesiak, Garcia, Baldwin, Warren and Teachout are charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Two more people – Corrie Lesiak, 40, of Chardon, and Cynthia Hounshell, 61, of Concord – are indicted on related money laundering charges.
Teachout is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Teachout had a Bushmaster AR-15, Smith & Wesson M & P 15-22, an AK-47, Glock model 17 pistol, SCCY 9 mm pistol, Walther P22 .22 caliber pistol, Kimber .45-caliber pistol, Magnum Desert Eagle .50-caliber pistol and ammunition on July 29, 2015, despite a previous conviction for marijuana trafficking, according to the indictment.
According to the seven-count indictment:
Eisenberg, Morgan and others used a commercial carrier called Specialized Transportation Inc. (STI) to send pallets filled with packages of marijuana from California to warehouses on Anderson Drive in Wickliffe, Airport Parkway in Willoughby and Tungsten Road in Euclid. This began in 2014
Jacob Lesiak, Garcia, Baldwin, Warren and others received the packages of marijuana. Jacob Lesiak, Teachout, Warren, Marlyne and Ross then distributed the marijuana throughout Northeast Ohio.
Jacob Lesiak, Teachout, Warren, Marlyne, Ross and others then pooled their proceeds and sent the money back to Eisenberg and Morgan in California on pallets via STI. They labelled the pallets as computer parts and/or with names of companies that did not exist in an effort to conceal the identity of the sender.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of 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 maximum.
This cases is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron P. Howell following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Lake County Narcotics and Geauga County Narcotics.
An indictment is only a charge. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nine Arrested on Federal Narcotics Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
OXFORD, MS. William C. Lamar, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, announced today that four criminal defendants were held without bond pending trial in the Northern District of Mississippi following their arrests for drug trafficking. The defendants were among nine defendants arrested and fifteen charged in the Northern District of Mississippi for conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and crack cocaine. The arrests were made as part of a joint, ongoing investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN), United States Marshals Service, Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office, and the Marshal County Sheriff’s Office.
All nine defendants arrested are facing federal drug trafficking charges. They include:
- Richard Smith, a.k.a.”Che,” age 36, of Cordova
- Mardrequs McKinney, a.k.a. “Dreek,” age 26, of Byhalia
- Cornelius McKinney, a.k.a. “Fruit,” age 36, of Memphis
- Alvin Rhyan, age 39, of Holly Springs
- Tynisha Dennis, age 27, of Memphis
- Jerrod Kinkle, age 31;
- Herbert Luellen, age 62;
- Charles Ratliff, age 61, of Corinth
- Samuel Nathan Clark, age 43
United States Magistrate Judge Roy Percy ordered that Richard Smith, Mardrequs McKinney, Cornelius McKinney and Alvin Rhyan should all be held pending their trials without bond after a hearing in federal court on Friday morning. Judge Percy ordered the detention of the defendants after finding that each of the four defendants presented a danger to the community.
U.S. Attorney Lamar stated: “This was truly a collaborative effort between federal, state and local law enforcement officers. This is another of many operations we are conducting in our district. Under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Taskforce and Project Safe Neighborhoods, these operations are targeted toward removing violent offenders from our communities. Working together, we will make and keep our neighborhoods safe.”
This case is being prosecuted for the United States by AUSA Scott Leary and AUSA Chad Doleac.
The public is reminded that all charges are merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New Orleans Man Charged with Trafficking in Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MAHIR SALIM (a/k/a MAHER SALEM, MIKE SALEM), age 40, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged today by a federal grand jury in a one-count Indictment with trafficking in counterfeit goods.
According to the Indictment, beginning at a time unknown and continuing until about January 19, 2017, SALIM trafficked and attempted to traffic in approximately 111 pair of “True Religion” blue jeans, 50 pair of “Rock Revival” jeans, 8 “Michael Kors” purses, 19 “Coach” wallets, 2 “Michael Kors” wallets, 8 “Louis Vutton” purses, 6 “Gucci” purses, 177 “Polo” sweatshirts, 41 pair of “Polo” sweatpants, 24 “Polo” jogging suits, 44 pair of “Timberland” boots, 336 “New Era” hats, 473 pair of “Nike” shoes, 21 “Adidas” jogging suits, 114 pair of “Adidas” shoes, 6 bottles “Dolce & Gabbana” perfume, 110 “Mitchell & Ness” hats, 24 “North Face” vests, and 43 “Nike” hats.
If convicted, SALIM faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, three years supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
U. S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U. S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
New Haven Printing Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax OffenseRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that LOUIS GOLDBERG, 71, of New Haven, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, GOLDBERG owns Good Copy Printing Center Inc. (GCP), a printing company located in New Haven. GCP employed GOLDBERG’s nephew, Ira Malkin, as a principal salesman, and Malkin earned substantial commissions from GCP based on sales made to customers. Between approximately 2003 and 2012, GOLDBERG was aware that GCP paid many of Malkin’s personal expenses. With Malkin’s consent, GCP reduced his commissions by the amount of personal expenses the company paid. GCP then reported to the IRS through filed W-2 forms that Malkin had earned substantially less income than he truly earned. By reporting lower commissions paid, GCP also improperly reduced the amount of Medicare Payroll Taxes it reported and paid to the IRS.
In addition, GCP handled printing jobs for Comcast, which included GCP mailing out flyers and paying the relevant postage expense with the expectation that GCP would subsequently be reimbursed for that expense. GOLDBERG knew that Malkin had GCP pay the postage expense for the Comcast mailings, had Comcast reimburse Malkin for the cost of the mailings, and then had GCP reduce Malkin’s earned commissions by the amount of postage paid by GCP. Through this arrangement, between approximately 2009 and 2012, GCP further underreported Malkin’s income on W-2 forms filed with the IRS. By reporting lower income, GCP again improperly reduced the amount of Medicare Payroll Taxes it reported and paid to the IRS.
Between 2003 and 2012, GCP underreported a total of $40,490 in Medicare taxes.
GOLDBERG is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on November 29, 2018, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years.
On February 27, 2018, Malkin pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and admitted that he failed to pay $484,581 in federal income taxes on more than $1.5 million in unreported income. On August 9, he was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and six months of home confinement. Malkin has repaid the IRS all of his back taxes, but still owes more than $700,000 in interest and penalties.
This matter has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.
Mexican National Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
Defendant had a prior removal for illegally entering the United States
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Ezequias De Los Santos-Ruiz was sentenced for the felony offense of Reentry of a Removed Alien, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Santos-Ruiz, 23, of Oaxaca, Mexico received a “time served” sentence and was immediately remanded into ICE custody for administrative deportation proceedings. He has been in federal custody since March 15, 2018—over five months. United States Attorney Mike Stuart praised the work of the West Virginia State Police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We have prosecuted a significant number of immigration cases since I became United States Attorney,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We will continue to prosecute every one of these cases until all those entering this country do so by abiding by the laws of the United States of America.”
On March 15, 2018, Santos-Ruiz was a passenger in a car that was stopped by the West Virginia State Police near Beaver, Raleigh County, West Virginia. Once stopped, he offered to the Trooper a Mexican Identification document. The Trooper immediately contacted ICE agents to confirm alienage. ICE spoke to Santos-Ruiz and confirmed that he was not legally present in the United States. ICE agents drove to the area and placed Santos-Ruiz under arrest. ICE agents further submitted Santos-Ruiz’s fingerprints for a forensic examination. The results of the examination matched him to a prior removal from the United States in 2017 from Kingsville, Texas. After being deported, Santos-Ruiz illegally reentered the United States without lawful permission from the Secretary of Homeland Security. Santos-Ruiz is a citizen of Mexico. He entered a guilty plea on June 13, 2018.
Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution. Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.
Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart
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Mexican National Brothers Guilty of Trafficking Firearms in Southeast TexasRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A pair of Mexican national brothers have pleaded guilty to firearms charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Julio Ceasar Martinez-Rivas, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn. His brother, 31-year-old Eric Martinez-Rivas, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Sep. 5, 2018.
According to information presented in court, between March 2014 and March 2015, the brothers operated a firearms trafficking organization from their apartment in Houston, using money from Mexico to smuggle firearms from the United States to Mexico. To acquire firearms, the Martinez-Rivas brothers recruited co-conspirators from the Houston-area and used electronic money transfers from co-conspirators in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, to fund the scheme. The brothers arranged for electronic money transfers to be sent directly to the co-conspirators in the Houston area, who in turn used the money to purchase high caliber firearms from licensed and unlicensed firearms dealers in the Eastern District of Texas and elsewhere in the United States.
On June 17, 2015, the Martinez-Rivas brothers and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas and charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms. The five co-conspirators have previously pleaded guilty and are serving federal prison sentences.
Under federal statutes, the defendants each face up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security–ICE, and the Houston Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John B. Ross and Randall L. Fluke.
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Men Indicted for Providing Falsely-Labeled Body ArmorRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Florida executives made their initial appearance in federal court today on charges related to falsely-labeled hard body armor plates they provided to the United States government.
According to allegations in the indictment, Dan Thomas Lounsbury, Jr., 49, of South Palm Beach, is the founder, sole owner, and CEO of Tactical Products Group, LLC (TPG), a Florida-based manufacturer and re-seller of various products to military, law enforcement, and private security clients. Andres Lopez-Munoz, 34, of Boynton Beach, is TPG’s Vice President for Sales and Federal Contracting. In 2012, TPG was selected as a sub-contractor on a contract to provide certain goods, including ten sets of hard body armor plates, to the United States government. The government had requested a specific type of plate, and Lounsbury and Lopez-Munoz both knew that no substitutions were allowed. Furthermore, Lounsbury and Lopez-Munoz both knew that these plates would be used to protect government personnel. The consequence of a failure of body armor is death or serious bodily injury. Nevertheless, Lounsbury and Lopez-Munoz worked together to procure cheaper substitute plates, and then to put fraudulent labels on these substitute plates falsely stating that they were the type of plates that the government had required. Some of these cheaper substitute plates were far outside their warranty period, and were not as protective as the false labels claimed.
Lounsbury and Lopez-Munoz are both charged with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and wire fraud. Lounsbury is additionally charged with false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grace L. Hill and Raj Parekh are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-301.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Massachusetts Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Sending Threatening Letters Containing Suspicious White PowderRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Beverly, Mass., man agreed to plead guilty today in connection with mailing six threatening letters containing suspicious white powder to high-profile individuals and to sending another seven threatening letters to law enforcement officials and others.
Daniel Frisiello, 25, has agreed to plead guilty to 13 counts of mailing a threat to injure the person of another and six counts of false information and hoaxes. On March 1, 2018, Frisiello was arrested and charged with five counts of mailing a threat to injure and five counts of false information and hoaxes. He has since remained in home detention under restrictions.
Law enforcement originally connected Frisiello to mailing five high-profile individuals around the country an envelope that contained suspicious white powder and a note indicating that the powder was dangerous or intended to cause harm. There were notable commonalities among the envelopes, including a Boston postmark. Further investigation revealed that one victim had also received a “glitter bomb,” that is, an envelope containing glitter sent to an unsuspecting individual that, when opened, spills out onto the recipient. Law enforcement traced financial records to Frisiello, who had ordered and paid for the glitter bomb to be delivered to the victim. Furthermore, agents recovered trash from Frisiello’s residence that appeared to contain remnants of the cut-out messages that Frisiello sent to some victims.
Frisiello also sent a white-powder letter to members of the First Family during the 2016 presidential campaign, which caused a significant hazardous material response by law enforcement. Additional evidence then demonstrated that Frisiello had sent multiple other threatening letters to other victims, including two letters in 2015 to the manager of a Massachusetts company that had recently terminated one of Frisiello’s family members, and five letters in 2016 and 2017 to members of law enforcement in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The charge of mailing a threat to injure the person of another provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, or 10 years in prison for threats addressed to a federal official, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of false information and hoaxes 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; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Raymond Moss, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Stephen Marks, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office and Beverly Police Chief John G. LeLacheur made the announcement today. This investigation was conducted by the FBI Boston Division’s Joint Terrorism Task Force led by members of the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service and the Beverly Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Garland of Lelling’s National Security Unit is prosecuting the case.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Stealing $668,000 from Employer and Incapacitated RelativeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Zevi Chaim Mehlman, 53, of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for a pair of schemes in which he stole $96,000 from a school where he was working and an additional $572,000 from a relative.
U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, and Eric Shen, Acting Inspector in Charge, Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement.
Mehlman pled guilty in March 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Under the plea agreement, he is required to pay a total of $668,000 in restitution and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment. He was sentenced by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, one scheme was carried out by Mehlman against his then-employer, the Washington International School. Mehlman worked for the school from September 2008 until November 2015, initially running its computer network before becoming Assistant Director of Information Services.
At Mehlman’s request, the school provided him with two credit cards so that he could assist in the purchase of computers. From August 2014 until October 2015, Mehlman used the credit cards to make approximately 50 unauthorized purchases of Apple computer equipment. This equipment was not purchased for the school’s use. Instead, Mehlman returned the equipment to Apple and instructed Apple to place the credit onto his own personal debit cards. The total amount that Mehlman generated through this scheme was approximately $96,000.
The school’s leadership confronted Mehlman about the purchases in November 2015, and he admitted his actions and apologized. The school terminated his employment soon afterward.
According to the statement of offense, Mehlman carried out the second scheme against his uncle. In 2003, his uncle gave power of attorney to Mehlman to conduct financial affairs for him. In 2012, the District of Columbia’s Adult Protective Services filed a court petition seeking the appointment of a guardian and conservator for the uncle. The agency filed the petition after it was informed that approximately $1.2 million had been withdrawn from his brokerage accounts in 2010 and 2011. In the petition, the agency alleged that the uncle was an incapacitated individual who needed 24-hour care and who was unable to handle his finances and living arrangements. On May 3, 2012, the Court appointed co-guardians and co-conservators and revoked Mehlman’s power of attorney.
A copy of the Court’s order was mailed to Mehlman. Despite that order, and without the knowledge of the guardians and conservators, from May 17, 2012 until May 28, 2016, Mehlman wrote dozens of checks and stole approximately $572,000 from one of his uncle’s accounts.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Ebert, and Acting Inspector in Charge Shen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Secret Service. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, including Grace Gale, Investigative Support Analyst. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the matter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator Nicole Hinson, Paralegal Specialists Kristy Penny and Joshua Fein, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marina Stevenson, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Maryland MS-13 Program Leader Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios (a/k/a Joseph Morales-Martinez, Angel Salvador Gutierrez, Yankee, and Kean), age 25, of Severn, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
“Salmeron-Larios’s arrest and conviction have dealt a significant blow to MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “As the founder and leader of the Maryland Program, Salmeron-Larios organized and coordinated violence, drug trafficking and extortion among six cliques operating in the Maryland area. His arrest helped to dismantle the Maryland Program and the effort to create a permanent structure under which these cliques worked.”
“MS-13 is an organization ruthlessly committed to living up to its motto—‘Kill, Steal, Rape, Control,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “Fortunately, today’s plea demonstrates that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to relentlessly pursuing the gang and its leadership.”
“DEA and our partners work hard every day to ensure the safety of our communities,” state DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke. “Following this case through to a guilty plea shows our commitment to hold accountable those who jeopardize the safety of our neighborhoods. We will continue to investigate criminal enterprises that have a callous disregard for the destruction they cause.”
MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”). MS-13 cliques often combine and work together as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity. A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.
To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”
According to his plea agreement, from at least January 2015 through September 2016, Salmeron-Larios was a member of the PVLS clique and served as the MS-13 Maryland Program Leader. Salmeron-Larios admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy.
For example, in April 2015, Salmeron-Larios and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to New York, met with MS-13 members there and discussed MS-13 business. Salmeron-Larios admitted that on November 7, 2015, he and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to Hyattsville, Maryland, intending to murder Victim 1, who was believed to be a member of the 18th Street Gang. Two MS-13 co-conspirators lured Victim 1 to a location in Hyattsville. Salmeron-Larios and two MS-13 co-conspirators, all armed with firearms, went to the meeting location. Salmeron-Larios and the armed MS-13 co-conspirators got out of the car while another MS-13 accomplice waited in the vehicle. The victim arrived in a car driven by another person and one of Salmeron-Larios’s MS-13 co-conspirators fired his handgun into the vehicle, attempting to kill Victim 1, who was struck in the face by one of the gunshots. Salmeron-Larios and his accomplices returned to their vehicle and left the area. The guns used during this crime, including the gun possessed by Salmeron-Larios, were taken to the residence of the co-conspirator who shot Victim 1. Victim 1 survived the shooting, but lost an eye, sustained loss of hand and leg function, and was permanently disfigured as a result of the shooting. Salmeron-Larios participated in the shooting in order to gain entrance to, maintain, and increase his position in MS-13.
Salmeron-Larios admitted that in January 2016, he traveled to Florida and obtained firearms, which were distributed to MS-13 members for use in Maryland. In addition, during the time of the conspiracy, Salmeron-Larios possessed and distributed controlled substances, including cocaine, for the benefit of MS-13. Finally, on June 8 and June 9, 2016, Salmeron-Larios discussed an attack upon suspected rival gang members with other MS-13 members. During several conversations, Salmeron-Larios discussed providing a firearm to a member of the Sailors Clique to be used against rival gang members in the area of 23rd Avenue in Langley Park “by the towers.” Salmeron-Larios instructed one individual where to find the gun and that it was loaded, and instructed another MS-13 member to loan a gun to a member of the Sailors Clique.
Salmeron-Larios faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise; a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison, for using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Salmeron-Larios for December 7, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. Salmeron-Larios remains detained pending sentencing.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski commended the DEA; HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski also recognized the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick with the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Maryland MS-13 Program Leader Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios aka “Joseph Morales-Martinez,” “Angel Salvador Gutierrez,” “Yankee,” and “Kean,” 25, of Severn, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; attempted murder in aid of racketeering and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland, Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement.
“MS-13 is an organization ruthlessly committed to living up to its motto—‘Kill, Steal, Rape, Control,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “Fortunately, today’s plea demonstrates that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to relentlessly pursuing the gang and its leadership.”
“Salmeron-Larios’s arrest and conviction have dealt a significant blow to MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “As the founder and leader of the Maryland Program, Salmeron-Larios organized and coordinated violence, drug trafficking and extortion among six cliques operating in the Maryland area. His arrest helped to dismantle the Maryland Program and the effort to create a permanent structure under which these cliques worked.”
“DEA and our partners work hard every day to ensure the safety of our communities,” said DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Hoernke. “Following this case through to a guilty plea shows our commitment to hold accountable those who jeopardize the safety of our neighborhoods. We will continue to investigate criminal enterprises that have a callous disregard for the destruction they cause.”
MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”). MS-13 cliques often combine and work together as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity. A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.
To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”
According to his plea agreement, from at least January 2015 through September 2016, Salmeron-Larios was a member of the PVLS clique and served as the MS-13 Maryland Program Leader. Salmeron-Larios admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy.
For example, in April 2015, Salmeron-Larios and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to New York, met with MS-13 members there and discussed MS-13 business. Salmeron-Larios admitted that on Nov. 7, 2015, he and other MS-13 members and associates traveled to Hyattsville, Maryland, intending to murder Victim 1, who was believed to be a member of the 18th Street Gang. Two MS-13 co-conspirators lured Victim 1 to a location in Hyattsville. Salmeron-Larios and two MS-13 co-conspirators, all armed with firearms, went to the meeting location. Salmeron-Larios and the armed MS-13 co-conspirators got out of the car while another MS-13 accomplice waited in the vehicle. The victim arrived in a car driven by another person and one of Salmeron-Larios’s MS-13 co-conspirators fired his handgun into the vehicle, attempting to kill Victim 1, who was struck in the face by one of the gunshots. Salmeron-Larios and his accomplices returned to their vehicle and left the area. The guns used during this crime, including the gun possessed by Salmeron-Larios, were taken to the residence of the co-conspirator who shot Victim 1. Victim 1 survived the shooting, but lost an eye, sustained loss of hand and leg function, and was permanently disfigured as a result of the shooting. Salmeron-Larios participated in the shooting in order to gain entrance to, maintain, and increase his position in MS-13.
Salmeron-Larios admitted that in January 2016, he traveled to Florida and obtained firearms, which were distributed to MS-13 members for use in Maryland. In addition, during the time of the conspiracy, Salmeron-Larios possessed and distributed controlled substances, including cocaine, for the benefit of MS-13. Finally, on June 8 and June 9, 2016, Salmeron-Larios discussed an attack upon suspected rival gang members with other MS-13 members. During several conversations, Salmeron-Larios discussed providing a firearm to a member of the Sailors Clique to be used against rival gang members in the area of 23rd Avenue in Langley Park “by the towers.” Salmeron-Larios instructed one individual where to find the gun and that it was loaded, and instructed another MS-13 member to loan a gun to a member of the Sailors Clique.
Salmeron-Larios faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise; a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison, for using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Salmeron-Larios for Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. Salmeron-Larios remains detained pending sentencing.
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.
The investigation was conducted by DEA, HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. The Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit provided investigative assistance. This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan of the District of Maryland.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition of Alleged Russian Hacker Responsible for Massive Network Intrusions at U.S. Financial Institutions, Brokerage Firms, A Major News Publication, and Other CompaniesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and David E. Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service New York Field Office (“USSS”) announced today that ANDREI TYURIN, a/k/a “Andrei Tiurin,” was extradited from the country of Georgia. TYURIN was arrested by Georgian authorities at the request of the United States for charges arising from his participation in a massive computer hacking campaign targeting U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, financial news publishers, and other American companies. These hacks included the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history. TYURIN is charged with committing these crimes with Gery Shalon, a/k/a “Garri Shalelashvili,” a/k/a “Gabriel,” a/k/a “Gabi,” a/k/a “Phillipe Mousset,” a/k/a “Christopher Engeham”; Joshua Samuel Aaron, a/k/a “Mike Shields”; and Ziv Orenstein, a/k/a “Aviv Stein,” a/k/a “John Avery,” in furtherance of securities market manipulation, illegal online gambling, and payment processing fraud schemes perpetrated by Shalon, Aaron, Orenstein, and their co-conspirators.
TYURIN, a Russian citizen, arrived in the Southern District of New York earlier today, and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman. TYURIN is expected to appear before United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on September 25, 2018, at 2:00 PM.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Andrei Tyurin, a Russian national, is alleged to have participated in a global hacking campaign that targeted major financial institutions, brokerage firms, news agencies, and other companies. Tyurin’s alleged hacking activities were so prolific, they lay claim to the largest theft of U.S. customer data from a single financial institution in history, accounting for a staggering 80 million-plus victims. As Americans increasingly turn to online banking, theft of online personal information can cause devastating effects on their financial wellbeing, sometimes taking years to recover. Today’s extradition marks a significant milestone for law enforcement in the fight against cyber intrusions targeting our critical financial institutions.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Andrei Tyurin allegedly engaged in a long-running effort to hack into the systems of U.S. based financial institutions, brokerage firms and financial news publishers, all from the perceived safety of operating outside our borders. As alleged, his illegal acts included the historically largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution. Today’s charges and extradition should serve as a lesson to all those who would conspire to engage in similar activity that the FBI and our partners will continue to bring these hackers to justice, regardless of where they may hide. I’d like to specifically thank our partners with the United States Secret Service, whose collaboration was crucial to seeing this case to fruition.”
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge David E. Beach said: “This case represents the core of the U.S. Secret Service’s integrated mission to secure our nation’s cyber related financial infrastructure and protect our nation’s leadership. The collaboration between the Secret Service New York Field Office Electronic Crimes Task Force, FBI New York Office Cyber Division and our global law enforcement partners demonstrates the commitment to combating cyber-enabled financial crimes and ensuring those responsible are held accountable.”
According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictments unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1], other filings in this case, and statements made during court proceedings:
From approximately 2012 to mid-2015, TYURIN engaged in an extensive computer hacking campaign targeting financial institutions, brokerage firms, and financial news publishers in the United States, including the theft of personal information of over 100 million customers of the victim companies. TYURIN’s hack of one financial institution headquartered in Manhattan resulted in the theft of personal information of over 80 million customers, making it the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history. TYURIN engaged in these crimes at the direction of Shalon and in furtherance of other criminal schemes overseen and operated by Shalon and his co-conspirators, including securities fraud schemes in the United States. For example, in an effort artificially to inflate the price of certain stocks publicly traded in the United States, Shalon and his co-conspirators marketed the stocks in a deceptive and misleading manner to customers of the victim companies whose contact information TYURIN stole in the intrusions.
In addition to the U.S. financial sector hacks, TYURIN also conducted cyberattacks against numerous U.S. and foreign companies in furtherance of various criminal enterprises operated by Shalon and his co-conspirators, including unlawful internet gambling businesses and international payment processors. Nearly all of these illegal businesses, like the securities market manipulation schemes, exploited the fruits of TYURIN’s computer hacking campaigns. Through these various criminal schemes, TYURIN, Shalon, and their co-conspirators obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds.
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TYURIN, 35, of Moscow, Russia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, which carries a maximum prison term of five years; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years; four counts of computer hacking, each of which carries a maximum prison term of five years; one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of five years; one count of conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which carries a maximum prison term of five years; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by Judge Swain.
Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service, and expressed his sincere gratitude to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia for their support and assistance with the extradition proceedings. He also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, Homeland Security Investigations, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice for its assistance with the extradition, and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which significantly aided the investigation by facilitating information-sharing among the victim institutions.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eun Young Choi, Noah Solowiejczyk, and Sarah Lai are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Tracer is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.
The charges contained in the indictments are merely accusations and TYURIN is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the texts of the Superseding Indictments and the descriptions of the Superseding Indictments set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Major Illegal Distributor of Prescription Painkillers Changes Plea to Guilty After Government Begins Presenting Evidence at TrialRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, distribution and possession with the intent to distribute oxycodone or oxymorphone, conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone, and felon in possession of firearms, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
William Richardson, age 57, pleaded guilty to eight counts before United States District Judge Mark Hornak.
"William Richardson was among Pittsburgh’s largest illegal distributors of the prescription painkillers oxycodone and Opana, and the crime he perpetrated can be described as taxpayer-funded drug dealing," stated U.S. Attorney Brady. "We have made the aggressive prosecution of opioid traffickers our top priority. Whether you are illegally selling opioids on the street or the Darkweb, or from a doctor’s office, we will find and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
"We will continue to investigate and take action against those who commit health care fraud," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. "We’re all victims of this crime. The community sees more dangerous, addictive drugs on the streets and the Medicaid and Medicare system taxpayers fund is cheated. That's why the FBI will use every investigative technique possible to stop these types of crimes from happening."
"Individuals responsible for the reckless distribution of powerful opioids and those that abuse taxpayer-funded insurance programs must be held accountable," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Jonathan A. Wilson. "DEA, along with our federal, state and local partners, will continue to make these cases a priority as part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and health of our communities".
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Richardson coordinated with numerous individuals who sold to him, for redistribution, oxycodone and oxymorphone that those individuals had acquired through taxpayer-funded medical insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Richardson also acquired prescription opiate medication from Kavon Dawkins, a large-scale illegal opiate pill distributor from Detroit, Michigan, and through obtaining opiate pills through his own opiate-pill prescriptions, which he obtained fraudulently.
In August 2014, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police arranged for three controlled purchases from Richardson, and on August 15, 2014, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police executed a search warrant at Richardson’s home and seized his inventory of oxycodone and oxymorphone pills, along with five firearms. Prior to August 15, 2014, Richardson had been convicted of numerous felony offenses and he was therefore precluded from possessing firearms under federal law. After his arrest by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and while on house arrest pending the disposition of those charges, Richardson continued to distribute large quantities of oxycodone and oxymorphone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an investigation of Richardson that included, among other investigative techniques, intercepting the communications of Richardson and his conspirators. Those communications revealed that Richardson, on a nearly continuous basis, was selling oxycodone and oxymorphone from his home. That investigation led to the execution of a second search warrant at Richardson’s home on June 7, 2016, which led to the seizure of Richardson’s inventory of oxycodone and oxymorphone, along with cash and a cellular telephone used during Richardson’s pill distribution business.
Richardson’s trial began on Thursday September 6, 2018, but Richardson elected to change his plea to guilty after the government began to present its evidence. The investigation led to the conviction of 15 other individuals, including Dawkins and Antoinette Adair, who was, at one time, a major pill distributor from Pittsburgh’s East End and the dismantlement of Richardson’s extensive pill-distribution network. Both Richardson and Adair were former patients of Dr. Oliver Herndon, who supplied both Richardson and Adair with large amounts of oxycodone. Herndon was previously convicted in connection with illegally supplying individuals like Adair and Richardson with opiate pills
The law provides for a total sentence of 180 years in prison, a fine of $10,750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Jeffrey Bengel are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Castle Shannon and New Castle Police departments, and the Michigan State Police, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Richardson.
Lover and Co-Conspirator of U.S. Army Sergeant who Murdered his Wife Sentenced to 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Dolores Delgado, age 33, of San Antonio, Texas, today to 17 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in death, in connection with the death of Karlyn Ramirez. Army Sergeant Maliek Kearney, age 37, of San Antonio, Texas, with whom Delgado had a romantic relationship, was convicted by a federal jury on August 9, 2018, for the murder and a related gun charge.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Major General David P. Glaser, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.
According to Delgado’s plea agreement, Karlyn Ramirez was an active-duty soldier of the United States Army assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland. Ms. Ramirez was found shot to death in her off-post residence on the morning of August 25, 2015. Her four-month old daughter had been placed in her arms. Forensic evidence estimated the likely time of death was during the late evening hours of August 24, 2015.
At the time of her death, Ramirez was married to another active-duty soldier, Sergeant Maliek Kearney, who was the father of her four-month old daughter. They had recently separated and Ramirez had obtained a protective order through the Army prohibiting all contact between Ramirez and Kearney.
According to Delgado’s plea agreement and evidence presented at Kearney’s trial, Kearney was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. On August 24, 2015, he finished work in the early afternoon and traveled from South Carolina to Severn, Maryland. He entered Ramirez’s townhouse using his key and brandishing a Taurus .357 caliber revolver. Ramirez attempted to calm her husband but reiterated that she did not want to see him again. Kearney shot Ramirez three times, killing her. He then took off her pants and pulled down her underwear in an attempt to make it look like a sexual assault. Kearney also placed their 4-month old daughter in Ramirez’s arms.
Delgado admitted that she provided the firearm that Kearney used to murder Ramirez and allowed Kearney to drive her car from South Carolina to Maryland to commit the murder. Delgado also purchased large gas cans for Kearney to take with him, so that he would not have to stop for gas and risk being seen. During the murder, Delgado (who lived in Florida at the time) stayed at Kearney’s apartment in South Carolina with his phone and vehicle so that it would appear that he was in South Carolina at the time of the murder. After the murder, Delgado and another individual traveled to a waterway in Florida and disposed of the firearm, shell casings, the clothing Kearney wore during the murder, and the key he used to enter Ramirez’s townhouse. Delgado also dismantled the revolver and took steps to obliterate the serial number. Law enforcement divers recovered the firearm and forensic testing determined that it was indeed the gun Kearney used to shoot Karlyn Ramirez to death.
Judge Russell has scheduled sentencing for Maliek Kearney on November 30, 2018, at noon. Kearney remains detained pending sentencing.
Delgado has been detained since her arrest.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI Baltimore, the Army CID, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and FBI San Antonio for their assistance. Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Kenneth S. Clark, who are prosecuting the case.
Lockport Man Sentenced for His Role in Narcotics ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Joseph Thompson, 61, of Lockport, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl, was sentenced to serve 72 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan A. Tokash and Michael P. Felicetta, who handled the case, stated that between June 2013 and September 2015, the defendant conspired with others to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.
On February 13, 2015, the Niagara County Drug Task Force conducted a controlled buy at Thompson’s residence on Elmwood Avenue. The drug sold by the defendant tested positive for fentanyl. On March 4, 2015, the task force conducted a second controlled buy at Thompson’s residence. The drug sold by the defendant during the second buy tested positive for heroin.
On March 10, 2015, a New York State search warrant was executed at Thompson’s residence. Law enforcement officers recovered approximately 88 grams of fentanyl, 60 grams of heroin, and 17 grams of crack cocaine. A digital scale, baggies, and $1,955.00 in cash were also seized.
During the course of the conspiracy, the defendant distributed various types of drugs to as many as 10 customers daily.
Thompson was one of 17 defendants indicted in August of 2016 for his role in a drug trafficking organization that utilized contacts and sources of supply from Mexico, California, and elsewhere. The organization trafficked thousands of kilograms of illegal narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine throughout the United States, including Lockport, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo. A total of seven defendants have been convicted.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.
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Lexington Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison After Pleading to Firearm and Ammunition ChargeRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated that Brandon Shane Kolesar, age 30, of Lexington, was sentenced in federal court to 70 months imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Kolesar plead guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, of Columbia, imposed the sentence.
Evidence presented in court established that on the evening of March 29, 2018, deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call about someone breaking into cars. Upon arriving at the scene, witnesses said they observed a man, later identified as Kolesar, attempting to get into a vehicle. When confronted by the men, Kolesar presented a handgun and threatened to “blow their brains out”. Deputies searched the area and found Kolesar on a porch of a residence. As deputies approached, Kolesar ran and a .380 caliber handgun fell from his waistband. Deputies recovered the firearm and later apprehended Kolesar through the use of a K-9. A search incident to arrest also revealed approximately 25 grams of marijuana on Kolesar. Kolesar was arrested on state charges and thereafter, a federal arrest warrant and complaint was issued.
Kolesar is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior state convictions, which include convictions for burglary 2nd degree (three separate counts)(2006), ill treatment of animals, where he shot and killed a homeowner’s dog during a burglary of a dwelling (2006), pointing and presenting a firearm (2014), and assault and battery 2nd degree (2014). At the time of the current offense, Kolesar was on state probation, stemming from a September 2017 state conviction for unlawful carrying of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and was prosecuted as part of Project CeaseFire, a joint federal, state and local initiative focused upon aggressively prosecuting firearm cases in an effort to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority and reinstituted PSN nationwide. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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Leaders in St. Mary’s County Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy Each Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Joseph Darren Brooks, age 42, of California, Maryland, and Marvin Leon Young, age 42, of Lexington Park, Maryland, each to 11 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute powder and crack cocaine. Brooks was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Hazel sentenced co-conspirator Brandon Darnell Bowman, age 32, of Great Mills, to 86 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Brooks and Young were sentenced on September 5th and 6th respectively, and Bowman was sentenced today.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to Young’s plea agreement and information presented to the Court, from at least February 2015 through December 2016, Brooks and Young conspired with others, including Darryl Michael Franklin and Brandon Darnell Bowman, to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine primarily in St. Mary’s County. During the course of the conspiracy, Young and Brooks were business partners and Franklin was their source of supply for cocaine. Young would typically acquire kilograms of cocaine from Franklin, which he would split with Brooks. Brooks sold smaller distribution quantities of cocaine to other members of the conspiracy and to his own customers. On occasion, Brooks would cook the powder cocaine into crack cocaine and distribute the crack cocaine. The conspirators used Bowman’s residence as a stash house and to cook the powder cocaine into crack.
For example, on November 2, 2016, Young, acting on behalf of himself and Brooks, arranged to purchase two kilograms of cocaine from Franklin. Prior to meeting Franklin, Young picked up cash from Brooks at Bowman’s house. Young met Franklin to deliver the cash and received the cocaine in return. Young dropped off one kilogram of cocaine to Brooks at the home of another conspirator and retained one kilogram to sell to his own customers. Later that day, Brooks informed Young that he had already sold a good portion of his kilogram of cocaine. Between October 5 and November 2, 2016, Young and Brooks purchased at least six kilograms of cocaine from Franklin.
On December 15, 2016, law enforcement executed search warrants at the homes of Brooks, Young, Bowman and other conspirators. At Brooks’ home they recovered a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, three .50-caliber rifles, a shotgun, and a variety of ammunition. Brooks, who was not home at the time of the search, was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of a previous felony convictions, including a previous conviction in St. Mary’s County for drug distribution.
When officers searched Bowman’s residence in Great Mills, Maryland, they located Brooks in the living room. From Bowman’s residence, law enforcement recovered a total of 228 grams of cocaine, drug distribution paraphernalia, $11,490 in cash hidden in a speaker, and $2,165 in cash from Brooks. From the search of Young’s residence, law enforcement recovered $5,743 in cash and three cell phones. The cash represented proceeds of their drug dealing.
Based upon the length of the drug trafficking conspiracy, recorded telephone conversations, surveillance, and information provided by others, the quantity of cocaine involved in the offense and foreseeable to Young and Brooks was between 15 and 40 kilograms of cocaine.
Darryl Michael Franklin, age 44, of Waldorf, Maryland, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin B. Pulice and Gregory Bernstein, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Leader of Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, as part of a coordinated law enforcement takedown codenamed Operation Tin Panda, that to date has resulted in 39 defendants convicted on federal firearms and drug charges.
According to court documents, Rashourn Niles, 37, pleaded guilty on April 17 to conspiring to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and 100 grams or more of heroin. He was the main source of cocaine supply for Tarvell Vandiver, who is his stepson and the regional leader of the Imperial Gangsta Bloods. He taught Vandiver how to manufacture “crack” cocaine from the cocaine, and he also put Vandiver in contact with heroin distributors. At all times, Niles knew that Vandiver distributed the controlled substances while armed.
Niles also regularly sold large quantities of cocaine and heroin to other drug distributors operating within the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere. During the conspiracy, Niles stored controlled substances and drug proceeds at multiple residences, and used the proceeds from his drug distribution to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, Range Rover, Jaguar, and BMW X6, and expensive jewelry, including Rolexes and a necklace worth $45,000.
Niles was arrested in December 2017, when over 300 law enforcement agents and officers executed a coordinated takedown as part of Operation Tin Panda. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force began Operation Tin Panda in the spring of 2017. In collaboration with federal and local law enforcement, investigators and prosecutors began jointly investigating Blood gangs and other drug distributors involved in violent crime and other criminal activity in northern Virginia. Multiple criminal acts were tied to gang and drug activity, including homicide, malicious wounding, robbery, shootings, and drug and firearms distribution. During the course of this investigation, more than 40 individuals throughout Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and California, who were illegally selling firearms and controlled substances or were involved in other criminal acts, were arrested on federal firearms and drug charges.
Operation Tin Panda also resulted in the seizure of over 95 firearms, $150,000 in cash, nine vehicles with an estimated value of over $300,000, and approximately 3 pounds of cocaine base, 10 pounds of cocaine, 7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 5 pounds of heroin, 4 pounds of ecstasy, 227 pounds of marijuana, and 79 pounds of THC.
Operation Tin Panda was led by the ATF’s Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force. The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Prince William County Police Department, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, Stafford County Sherriff’s Office, Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, King George County Sheriff’s Office, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, provided significant assistance during the operation.
Operation Tin Panda was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
For more information, please see the table below, which lists the name, age, hometown, respective charge(s), and resulting or potential sentence for each federal defendant convicted as part of Operation Tin Panda.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carina A. Cuellar and Colleen E. Garcia prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER.
Name, Age, City
Conviction(s)
Result
Sade Anglin, 28, Woodbridge
Maintaining a Drug Premises.
Sentenced to 18 months.
Ishmil Hardwick, 25, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 78 months.
Rashourn Niles, 37, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base, 5 kilograms or more of Cocaine, and 100 grams or more of Heroin.
Sentenced to 20 years
Raheem Kelly, 39, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 28 grams or more of Cocaine Base.
Faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years on Sept. 7.
Michael Lederer, 31, Woodbridge
Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.
Faces a maximum of 10 years on Sept. 21.
Tarvell Vandiver, 29, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base, 5 kilograms or more of Cocaine, 100 grams or more of Heroin, and Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Faces 20 years on October 19.
Montreus Peterson, 23, Stafford
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base
Faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life on Oct. 19.
Tyus Terrell, 22, Woodbridge
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Faces a maximum of 10 years on Dec. 14.
Jorge Lozada, Jr., 22, Woodbridge
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of life.
Frederick Preston Gaarsoe Turner, 36, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute, two counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 40 years.
Nasiru Carew, 35, Dale City
Conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of Marijuana and THC.
Sentenced to 16 years.
Ja’vell Johnson, 26, Falls Church
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin.
Sentenced to 6 years.
Bassam Hassan Ramadan, 31, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 16 years.
Cory Patterson, 34, Fredericksburg
Conspiracy to Distribute one kilogram or more of Heroin, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to Drug Trafficking.
Sentenced to 15 years.
Marcus Andrei Harris, 27, Washington, D.C.
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 15 years.
Brandon Edler, 23, Fredericksburg
Conspiracy to Distribute 28 grams or more of Cocaine Base, Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 12 years.
Cydrick Delrosario, 58, Springfield
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine.
Sentenced to 11 years.
Chennor Bah, 30, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 500 grams or more of Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 10 years.
Anthony Lozada, 18, Woodbridge
Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 10 years.
Devon Byrd, 26, King George
Possession of THC with the Intent to Distribute, and Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 112 months.
Teodoro Gonzales, 37, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of a Mixture of Methamphetamine, Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 9 years.
Tayvon Patterson, 24, Elkridge, Maryland
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 90 months.
Jerry McAllister, 42, Laurel, Maryland
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Mark Ketter, 39, Alexandria
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Nathaniel Bruce Cobbold, 27, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Jamar Cox, 30, Hyattsville, Maryland
Use and Carry of Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Deion Wright, 25, Alexandria
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Kelvin Bennett, 27, Washington, D.C.
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Ezana Demisse, 25, Alexandria
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to Drug Trafficking.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Alpha Kamara, 20, Woodbridge
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Orean Anthony Hayden, 29, Alexandria
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Bryan Matthews, 19, Alexandria
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Shannon Marie Sisney, 44, Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine.
Sentenced to 50 months.
Izeah Williams, 31, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC.
Sentenced to 38 months.
Robert Evans, 27, Woodbridge
Conspiracy to Distribute THC.
Sentenced to 30 months.
Tavon Bailey, 27, District Heights, Maryland
Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 30 months.
Tavon Ferguson, 24, Triangle
Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 27 months.
Derek Harden, 22, Woodbridge
False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 18 months.
Kaitlyn McCabe, 19, Woodbridge
False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm.
Sentenced to 6 months.
Samantha Winter, 22, Culpepper
Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm, False Statement to a Licensed Firearms Dealer.
Sentenced to 2 years of probation.
Laurel Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Drug PossessionRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Cedric Walker, 30, of Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett, to serve 120 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Derryle Smith with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Walker was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, Lamar County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shundral H. Cole.
Larose Man Pleads Guilty to Violation of the Federal Gun Control ActRead the Press Release
TODD DELAUNE age 53, a resident of Larose, Louisiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to a one-count indictment before the Honorable Carl J. Barbier for violation of the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, DELAUNE was arrested by detectives of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office’s on February 12, 2018 for simple assault, telecommunications harassment and threatening a public official. Subsequent to his arrest, a search warrant was executed at DELAUNE’s residence and the following ammunition was discovered and seized: one box of Winchester 12 gauge shotgun shells (8 in box); two full boxes of Winchester 12 gauge shotgun shells (50 rounds), one full box of Federal 12 gauge shotgun shells (25); one hundred and eighty .22 caliber Remington bullets; one full box of Eley .22 caliber bullets (50 rounds); one Promag 50 round .22 caliber magazine; two Eagle 35 round .22 caliber magazines. A review of DELAUNE’s criminal history revealed that he pled guilty on August 7, 2013 to simple battery of his ex-wife (a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence), which prohibits him from possessing firearms and ammunition.
If convicted, DELAUNE faces a ten year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a three year term of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. DELAUNE will be sentenced on November 29, 2018.
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 ride 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.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Michael E. McMahon.
Kansas Man Arrested and Charged with Murdering Girlfriend on Board Cruise ShipRead the Press Release
A Topeka, Kansas man made his initial appearance Thursday on an indictment charging him with murdering a woman on board a cruise ship in January 2018. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas and Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI Jacksonville, Florida Field Office made the announcement.
Eric Newman, 53, was charged with murder in the second degree. The initial appearance was held before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters.
The indictment alleges that on or about Jan. 19, Newman was travelling on board the Carnival Elation, a foreign vessel registered in Panama, on a voyage with both a scheduled departure from and arrival in Jacksonville, Florida. During the voyage, Newman is alleged to have killed Tamara Tucker, 50, of Lawson, Missouri.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Jacksonville Field Office with the assistance of the FBI Topeka Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rami S. Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine E. Kenney of the District of Kansas.
Illegal Alien Sentenced for ATM Skimmer FraudRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Claudio Fontes Ferreira a/k/a Michael Camargo Stanford, 31, an illegal alien from Brazil, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to serve 39 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for fraud in connection with access devices, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Ferreira was also ordered to pay $46,265 in restitution to a victim.
On December 7, 2017, D’Iberville police officers saw a Lincoln Navigator leaving the Keesler Federal Credit Union Automated Teller Machine ("ATM") on Automall Parkway in D’Iberville, Mississippi. This automobile fit the description of one being used the night before in placing access devices, "skimmers," on an ATM in Gulfport. The officers stopped the vehicle and identified Ferreira and two co-defendants as the occupants. In the Navigator officers found glue, black electrical and double-sided tape, box cutters, credit cards in alias names, a card with sand paper attached to it, other credit cards, gift cards, and a micro SD card. Officers also found the ATM with a skimmer on it and altered with the privacy shield cut off so that a camera placed above could see the ATM key pad as customers enter their account PIN numbers.
Co-defendant Taise Braganca Moscon, 26, also an illegal alien from Brazil, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 11, 2018, to serve 13 months in federal prison for possession of device-making equipment. Co-defendant Rodrigo D. Ferrareze, 37, of Delray Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 18, 2018, to serve 10 months in federal prison for possession of device-making equipment.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the D’Iberville Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.