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Wednesday 18 July 2018
Ballston Spa Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jason Novoa, age 37, of Ballston Spa, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Charles Margiotta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea, Novoa admitted that, over a period of at least five years, he used a laptop computer equipped with peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download videos and images depicting child pornography. Novoa further admitted that between June 9 and June 13, 2017, he made available for download over 800 images of child pornography. Novoa possessed approximately 30 video files and 310 image files depicting child pornography on June 29, 2017, when the laptop was seized by investigators pursuant to a federal search warrant executed at his residence.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2018, in Albany, New York.
Novoa faces a minimum term of imprisonment of five (5) years on the charge of receipt of child pornography and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years on both counts.The Court is also required to impose a term of supervised release between five (5) years and life, and Novoa will be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc
Baker County Man Indicted on Federal Charge of Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Joshua Dale Whitt (25, Macclenny) with failing to register as sex offender. If convicted, Whitt faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the indictment, on or about January 2, 2013, Whitt was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Clermont County, Ohio. Subsequent to his conviction and between January 22, 2018, and May 2, 2018, he traveled from Ohio to Florida and failed to register as a sex offender as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.
This case was investigated by the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 180 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore announces that United States District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Dustin Lee McLellan on July 18, 2018 to serve a term of imprisonment of 180 months followed by 5 years of supervised release for the illegal possession of firearms as a convicted felon during two separate incidents occurring in 2016 and 2017.
On August 7, 2017, a federal jury found the defendant guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded firearm in Brewton, Alabama. The trial evidence in the case revealed that on March 22, 2017, police officers from the Brewton Police Department were on patrol in an area that was known for narcotics activity. While on patrol, the officers encountered the defendant, who appeared passed out in his Chevrolet Corvette. As the officers investigated the scene, they observed that the defendant was in possession of a loaded Davis Industries, model P32, .32 caliber, with one round in the chamber. Furthermore, the testimony elicited at trial established that the defendant was also in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the time of his arrest.
Subsequently, on October 23, 2017, the defendant entered a guilty plea for illegally possessing a loaded Highpoint, model C-9, 9mm in Atmore, Alabama on or about August 19, 2016. The firearm was found as a result of a traffic stop.
The Court found that the defendant was an Armed Career Criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) because of his prior violent felony and serious drug offense convictions. The defendant had two prior felony convictions in Alabama for first degree burglary and one for attempted manufacture of a controlled substance in the second degree. As a result of his status as an Armed Career Criminal, the defendant was subject to a fifteen year mandatory minimum term of incarceration for his firearm convictions. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Brewton Police Department, and the Atmore Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant United States Attorney George F. May, Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard, and U. S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Megan S. Lewis for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Anchorage Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Ronald Teekell, 53, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve 97 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for the distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, Teekell was first brought to law enforcement’s attention in 2009 when law enforcement received a report that child pornography was being distributed from the open wireless at Jewel Lake Bowl. Teekell became the subject of a federal investigation when law enforcement received child pornography from Teekell’s computer in 2014, and again in 2016. The investigation revealed that Teekell had previously used computers located at both Jewel Lake Bowl and the adjacent Storite Storage companies to receive, access, and distribute images of child sexual exploitation as early as 2009.
Specifically, in November 2014, an FBI Special Agent working in an undercover capacity received hundreds of images and videos depicting child sexual exploitation from an IP address assigned to Jewel Lake Bowl. Additionally, in May 2016, an APD Detective observed a suspect device distributing hundreds of images and videos of child sexual exploitation by means of an online file-sharing network. The IP address in this instance was assigned to Teekell’s home address, rather than the business accounts at either Jewel Lake Bowl or Storite Storage. Both companies are partially owned and operated by Teekell.
In August 2016, APD and FBI executed search warrants at Teekell’s residence, workplace, and storage unit. A subsequent analysis of Teekell’s devices revealed corroborating evidence of his distribution of images of child sexual exploitation between 2009 and 2016.
Pursuant to a plea agreement in this case, Teekell admitted to knowingly receiving, possessing, and distributing more than 500 images and videos depicting child sexual exploitation during the relevant periods. He also agreed to forfeit his ownership in Jewel Lake Bowl and associated entities.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Burgess noted that offenses related to child pornography are extremely serious and that the abuse depicted “haunts the victims” for their entire lives. Judge Burgess stated that there was “no doubt” in his mind that Mr. Teekell’s predilection for child pornography had been a long running addiction.
The Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Alexander.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Akron woman indicted for stealing $164,000 from Social SecurityRead the Press Release
An Akron woman was indicted today for theft of government funds.
Jacqueline R. Acklin, 66, fraudulently converted to her own use her father’s Title II Retirement Insurance benefits after her father passed away. The Social Security Administration was not made aware of the death and continued to pay benefits a joint account held by Acklin and her late father. For nearly thirteen years, Acklin withdrew more than $164,000 in federal benefits from the account for which she was not entitled.
Special Agent Manuel Muniz from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney Payum Doroodian is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the Court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a 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. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Akron man indicted for making threats involving explosives and killing police officersRead the Press Release
An Akron man was indicted in federal court for making threats involving explosives and interstate threats stemming from posts he made on Facebook in which he referenced making explosives and shooting police officers.
Wesley B. Esper, 33, was indicted on one count of interstate threats involving explosives and one count of interstate communications of threats.
Esper made numerous postings on Facebook on June 21 which included messages such as: “Kids the gov. is wrong and it’s time. Stand up fight. Ohio is the key state. Shoot cops and politicians and any corrupt perversion of our liberty to life and freedom. Be John Dillinger, be a cowboy and don’t give up the revolution. Am will to help assemble automatics and bombs. Thank you and bless. Tyrants and alike must answer to patriots and the people,” according to the indictment.
Another post stated: “Ohio is the most corrupt and has sold off our public institutions. Go out and shoot your governor. That piece of (expletive) should hang along with many local authoritarian creatures. Thank you. Please send me pics of your progress…Strategic acts of violence to put these tyrants in their place,” according to the indictment.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a 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 violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation was conducted by the Massillon Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Riley.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ATF Undercover Operation Leads to Hattiesburg Guilty PleasRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss – Santoria L. French, 41, of Hattiesburg, and Lemont Antoine Jackson, 37, of Jackson, each entered guilty pleas to felony charges yesterday before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett, announced U. S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
French entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Jackson, a three time convicted felon, pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Jackson transported from the City of Jackson to Hattiesburg a Yugoslavian 7.62 caliber rifle with two 30 round magazines which he sold an undercover agent for $530 on May 25, 2017.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms conducted an undercover operation in Hattiesburg during 2016-2017 targeting persons selling illegal narcotics and firearms. French, who had no prior felony convictions, sold a confidential informant cocaine and firearms on at least 12 different occasions between October 17, 2016, and February 9, 2017. Agents were also able to identify and purchase narcotics from French’s supplier Thomas Michael Jordan, a/k/a "Big Mike," who entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy charge in June 2018.
French will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on October 2, 2018, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Jackson will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on September 18, 2018, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
30 Years in Federal Prison for Fort Worth Man Convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a ChildRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Ira Alan Arias, age 42, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Sisseton, South Dakota, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison following a federal jury’s guilty verdicts on three counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child.
U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange pronounced the sentence in federal court in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Arias was also ordered to serve six years of supervised release after his release from prison and to pay $300 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
On or about May 3, 2015, Arias forcefully engaged in three sexual acts with the victim, who was 14 years old at the time of the sexual abuse. Arias was the victim’s uncle. The sexual abuse occurred in a hotel room in Codington County.
At the sentencing hearing, the district judge stated that Arias “not only used but dehumanized” the victim. The district judge also stated that the sentencing “brings some sort of closure” and that our “system of justice does work.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri.
Arias was immediately remanded to custody to continue serving his sentence.
144 Months in Federal Prison for McLaughlin Man Convicted of Voluntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Sinjin Cameron, age 25, of McLaughlin, South Dakota, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for his conviction of Voluntary Manslaughter.
U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann pronounced the sentence in federal court in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Cameron was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
According to court filings, between the 2nd and 3rd days of September, 2017, at McLaughlin, in Corson County, South Dakota, the defendant, Sinjin Cameron, committed voluntary manslaughter by unlawfully killing a human being, upon a sudden quarrel and heat of passion. Cameron continued assaulting the victim after he was knocked unconscious. The victim died from blunt force trauma to the head.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri.
Cameron was immediately remanded to custody to continue serving his sentence.
Tuesday 17 July 2018
Woman Sentenced for Firearms Conspiracy and ObstructionRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk woman was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison and six months under house arrest for helping her husband possess firearms after he was convicted of a felony and attempting to obstruct the investigation against him.
According to court documents, Christina Danielle Patterson, 42, helped her husband and co-defendant buy, sell, and keep in their home more than 20 guns. She then lied about doing so during an interview with ATF agents; attempted to contact a witness in a ploy to have him generate a false sales receipt showing that she, rather than her husband, was the seller of a gun; changed the registered business address of the family business in an attempt to invalidate a federal search warrant; and stole business records and other evidence from a third party, among many other acts of obstruction carried out at her husband’s direction.
Once Patterson was charged in a superseding indictment and detained pending trial, she agreed to cooperate, but then continued to undermine the investigation against her husband by giving statements to law enforcement that contradicted several other cooperating witnesses and that falsely exonerated her from wrongdoing. As her husband’s trial approached, she rejected her signed statement of facts and denied committing any crimes, all while under oath during a social security administrative proceeding for disability benefits.
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.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-114.
United States Attorney announces joint efforts to increase violent crime prosecutions in ShreveportRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that efforts to increase violent crime prosecutions in the Shreveport area are having a positive effect on crime rates.
United States Attorney Joseph’s focus on violent crime is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing effort to increase targeted prosecutions of violent crime through the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. In the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana has prosecuted more than 200 defendants throughout the district, approximately 100 of which are in the Shreveport area, for firearm related offenses, including felons and drug dealers in possession of firearms. These prosecutions represent approximately three times the number of such cases than have been brought in previous years.
The PSN program is a collaborative effort led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office involving local, state and federal law enforcement. In Shreveport, participants include the ATF, FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Shreveport Police Department and Shreveport Mayor’s office. The program has been proven to be successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a crime reduction strategy involving PSN.
“The aim of these targeted prosecutions is to remove the most violent and dangerous offenders from our streets,” Joseph stated. ”We stand with our federal and local partners in facing the threats of violence, gun crimes and drug abuse in our communities. We will not be deterred, and we will continue to step up the pressure on these bad actors. The message is clear, if you threaten the safety and security of innocent people in our communities, you will face the consequences.”
The Western District of Louisiana consists of 42 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes and encompasses two-thirds of the State of Louisiana. This area covers the cities of Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport.
Tallahassee Tax Preparer Charged with Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Kenneth Alexander, 46, of Tallahassee, was arraigned today in the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with nine counts of preparing false tax returns, filing a false tax-related document, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that Alexander, the sole shareholder of Wizard Business Center, a tax preparation business in Tallahassee, prepared and filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for various individuals between 2012 and 2016. The indictment alleges that Alexander falsely represented the taxpayers’ Schedule A itemized deductions, Schedule C and E losses, and marital status.
The maximum penalty for each count of preparing false tax returns and filing a false tax-related document is three years in prison. The maximum penalty for theft of government funds is 10 years in prison. The penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The trial is scheduled for September 10 at 8:15 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee.
This case resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation and the Emerald Coast Financial Crimes Task Force, which includes IRS Criminal Investigation and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Treasury Inspector General’s Office for Tax Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Gary Milligan is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Substitute Teacher Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact MARCIA MURPHY
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4854
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Christopher Harris Speights, age 35, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, today to 35 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release for production of child pornography, and production and attempted production of child pornography.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; and Acting Worcester County State’s Attorney William H. McDermott.
According to his plea agreement, on December 13, 2016, the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit received a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and began an investigation into the production and possession of images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors associated with a specific IP address. Further investigation revealed that the sexually exploitive images were associated with Speights’ residence. On April 20, 2017, Maryland State Police (MSP) troopers and Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant at Speights' residence.
During the execution of the search warrants at his home, Speights confirmed to law enforcement that he was a permanent substitute teacher, working full-time, at Bradbury Heights Elementary school, located in Capitol Heights, Prince George's County, Maryland. Speights also confirmed that he coached boys youth basketball with a traveling team.
Speights admitted to possessing child pornography on the iPad recovered from his residence, and to surreptitiously filming some of the minors he coached while the minors were staying in North Carolina for a basketball team trip in March 2016. Speights placed his backpack in the hotel room's bathroom, with his iPad video recording from a hole in the exterior mesh pocket of the backpack.
Speights also produced images documenting himself sexually exploiting three minor males. Speights produced two of the images on June 21, 2015, in Ocean City Maryland, which resulted in a state charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the Circuit Court of Worcester County. Speights produced another image on August 3, 2015, at his residence, and produced an additional image on December 14, 2015, while he was chaperoning a Bradbury Heights fifth grade class trip. Those images resulted in two charges of sexual abuse of a minor being filed against Speights in the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County. Judge Grimm ordered that Speights’ federal sentence will be served concurrent to any sentence imposed in his pending cases in Prince George’s and Worcester Counties.
MSP conducted a digital forensic analysis of the media and devices recovered from Speights’ home. Law enforcement determined that Speights adopted the online identities of fictitious minors, then solicited minor males and females online to produce images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and transmit those images via social media. According to the plea agreement, Speights (using the assumed online identity of a minor) threatened minor boys on more than one occasion that if they did not comply with his demands to create and send images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, he would tell "Coach Speights" about the inappropriate online conversations. As a result of the investigation, law enforcement was able to positively identify over 20 minors from whom Speights requested images of sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the Maryland State Police, HSI Baltimore, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the Worcester and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Hagan and Lindsay Kaplan, who prosecuted the federal case.
Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office on the Convictions of State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and His Son AdamRead the Press Release
Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, said: “Yet again, a New York jury heard a sordid tale of bribery, extortion, and the abuse of power by a powerful public official of this State. And yet again, a jury responded with a unanimous verdict of guilt, in this case of Dean Skelos and his son Adam – sending the resounding message that political corruption will not be tolerated.”
St. Thomas Man Indicted for Transporting a Minor for Illegal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Osvaldo Tavarez, 48, appeared for his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller after a Federal Grand Jury returned a two-count indictment charging transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. Tavarez remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday July 18, 2018.
According to court records, Tavarez transported a minor who had not obtained the age of eighteen to an area in St. Thomas and engaged her in illegal sexual activity. Under federal law, Tavarez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Shappert reminds the public that an indictment is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Suspected child exploitation or missing children cases may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children via its toll-free 24–hour hotline at 202-514-5678, or to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at (340) 693-2250.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Everard E. Potter.
St. Louis Woman Sentenced on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Carol J. Dotson was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment on wire fraud charges. She was also ordered to pay restitution in excess of $2,043,248 million dollars.
According to court documents, from July 2003 to February 2017, Doston embezzled more than $2 million dollars from a commercial real estate property management company in Olivette, Missouri where she was the office administrator. Dotson wrote multiple checks to herself, withdrew large sums of cash to spend on elder care for her mother, mortgage payments, home renovations, home cleaning services, law services and shopping at local stores.
Dotson, 71, St. Louis, pled guilty in March to one felony count of wire fraud. She appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Webber.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Olivette Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dianna Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
South Carolina Man Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Firearms TraffickingRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the arrest of DAYVON CHESTNUT, a/k/a “Dayvon Denaris Wynez Chestnut,” for trafficking in firearms, including the trafficking of firearms from South Carolina to the New York City area. CHESTNUT was arrested this morning in South Carolina by the ATF and the NYPD, and will be presented today on a complaint in federal court in the District of South Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “A big part of keeping our city safe is curtailing the flow of illegal guns to our streets. As alleged, until today, trafficking in illegal firearms was Dayvon Chestnut’s stock in trade. Now, thanks to the ATF and NYPD, he is in custody and awaiting prosecution by our Office.”
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said: “As alleged, Dayvon Chestnut conspired to traffic firearms into the state of New York. Those who traffic in firearms are a direct focus of the ATF mission to combat violent crime. ATF and its partners at the NYPD work together every day to disrupt and dismantle these organizations and groups that circumvent the law by putting illegal firearms on the streets of New York. I would like to thank the Special Agents and NYPD Detective Task Force Officers of the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center for their diligent work on this case. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint[1]:
Since in or about 2016 through the present, CHESTNUT has been purchasing firearms in South Carolina, and directing others to purchase firearms in South Carolina, and selling those firearms to other individuals. CHESTNUT utilizes Facebook communications and phone communications, among other methods, to communicate with some of his co-conspirators. In April and May 2018, CHESTNUT traveled to the New York City area on at least four occasions to distribute those firearms.
* * *
CHESTNUT, 25, of Bishopville, South Carolina, is charged with conspiracy to traffic in firearms and firearms trafficking, each of which carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the efforts of the ATF and NYPD in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Krissoff in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
South African Man Sentenced for Assaulting A Federal Officer with FecesRead 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 Ziyaya Mtola, 44, of Capetown, South Africa, who was convicted following a jury trial of assaulting a federal officer and destroying government property, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Following the completion of his sentence, the defendant will be deported to South Africa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Cantil, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that, on May 14, 2017, the defendant threw feces in the face and on the body of a female corrections officer at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, NY. After this incident, and continuing over the following 10 days, Mtola destroyed two sprinkler systems in the detention facility, smeared feces on a cell door, and destroyed a cell window.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director Thomas Feeley.
Smith County Woman Guilty of Federal ViolationsRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 47-year-old Whitehouse, Texas woman has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Shelly Hunter pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen funds before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell on July 16, 2018.
According to information presented in court, from March 2005 until February 2017 Hunter was employed as the Business Office Manager for Peltier Chevrolet, Inc., an automotive dealership located in Tyler, Texas. Beginning March 2011, Hunter embezzled and stole funds belonging to the dealership. She did so by way of nearly 250 unauthorized transactions, including ACH payments and checks. Hunter then used the stolen funds to pay her personal credit cards. In some instances, she mailed checks to pay her accounts. She also directly wired funds from the dealership’s bank account to her credit card accounts. Hunter used various means to conceal the theft of funds from the dealership. These efforts included forging the signature of Peltier’s manager, initiating authorized payments, creating fraudulent entries in Peltier’s general ledger, and generating false bank reconciliations.
Under federal statutes, Hunter faces up to 10 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. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.
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Sewickley Man Charged with Evading Taxes for Himself and His Cleaning BusinessRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA -- A resident of Sewickley, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on charges of tax evasion and obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The three-count indictment named Mark Stanford as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, Stanford evaded payment of both his personal income taxes and the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes that he should have paid by virtue of owning and operating a cleaning business during the period 2009 through 2013. He is alleged to have made large personal expenditures (such as Bentley automobiles) rather than pay the taxes due and owing. He is also alleged to have lied to the IRS about his ability to pay his tax obligations and to have filed a false report with the IRS regarding his personal and business financial situation.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (or both) for each tax evasion count and up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (or both) for the obstruction count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney James R. Wilson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Second Honduran Congressman Charged with Conspiring to Import Cocaine into the United States and Related Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Raymond P. Donovan, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today that charges have been filed in Manhattan federal court against Honduran congressman MIDENCE OQUELI MARTINEZ TURCIOS and, in a separate indictment, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO. The charges in each indictment include conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related weapons offenses involving the use and possession of machineguns and destructive devices. The United States is seeking the defendants’ extraditions from Honduras.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants include a Honduran congressman and a former Honduran mayor. All are charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S. and conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of cocaine importation. Politically connected defendants in Honduras allegedly working in league with violent drug cartels is a recipe for harm here in the U.S. We are committed to working with the DEA to police and prosecute such conduct.”
Special Agent in Charge Raymond P. Donovan said: “DEA and our partners continue to expose drug-related corruption across the world, which fuels violence and insurgency while upending the rule of law. These Honduran elected officials and their associates allegedly conspired with the Sinaloa Cartel and flooded American communities with huge amounts of deadly poison. DEA looks forward to their extradition to the United States to face American justice and answer for their many alleged crimes.”
As alleged in the Indictments unsealed in federal court:[1]
From at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2014, multiple drug trafficking organizations in Honduras and elsewhere worked together, and with support from MARTINEZ TURCIOS, the Urbina Soto defendants, and others, to receive multi-hundred-kilogram loads of cocaine sent to Honduras via air and maritime routes from, among other places, Venezuela and Colombia. The cocaine shipments were transported westward within Honduras toward the border with Guatemala and eventually imported into the United States, often in coordination with high-ranking members of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
MARTINEZ TURCIOS is a legislator, referred to as a diputado, in the National Congress of Honduras. MARTINEZ TURCIOS is the second Honduran congressman to be charged in connection with the DEA’s investigation of politically connected drug trafficking in Honduras. In January 2018, Honduran congressman Fredy Renan Najera Montoya was also charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related firearms offenses. See United States v. Najera Montoya, S1 15 Cr. 378 (PGG).
MARTINEZ TURCIOS was a member of a violent Honduran drug trafficking organization known as the Cachiros. Between in or about 2004 and in or about 2014, MARTINEZ TURCIOS received a total of over $1 million in bribes and other payments from the leaders of the Cachiros, which he used to, among other things, enrich himself and fund his campaign activities and political operations. MARTINEZ TURCIOS helped provide the appearance of legitimacy to the leaders of the Cachiros by virtue of his political position and authority, and by acting at times as a nominal partial owner of one of the organization’s money laundering front companies, Ganaderos Agricultores del Norte, S. de R.L. de C.V. MARTINEZ TURCIOS also provided direct support for violent drug trafficking activities by the Cachiros. For example, MARTINEZ TURCIOS personally escorted some Cachiros cocaine shipments as they were transported through Honduras, managed heavily armed security teams responsible for protecting large quantities of drugs, participated in weapons training provided to paid Cachiros assassins recruited from the gang known as Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and helped plan and participated in acts of violence perpetrated by members and associates of the Cachiros.
As alleged in a separate Indictment, between in or about 2005 and in or about 2014, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO operated a drug trafficking organization based in Yoro, Honduras, where ARNALDO URBINA SOTO acted as mayor between in or about 2009 and in or about 2014. The Urbina Soto defendants capitalized on their power in the Yoro Department and aligned with other major Honduran criminal syndicates, such as the Cachiros and the Copan-based group led by Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle and Luis Alonso Valle Valle, to receive cocaine-laden aircraft at various locations in Honduras, including clandestine airstrips in remote areas as well as public roads in the vicinity of Yoro. The Urbina Soto defendants coordinated – and at times personally joined – heavily armed security details that oversaw the unloading of the planes and the transportation of the illicit cargo in connection with importing massive quantities of cocaine into the United States.
* * *
MARTINEZ TURCIOS, 57, is charged in three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, (2) using and carrying machineguns and destructive devices during, and possessing machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, and (3) conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices during, and to possess machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy. If convicted, MARTINEZ TURCIOS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count Two, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three.
The second Indictment charges CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, 44, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO, 39, with violating the same statutes as MARTINEZ TURCIOS. ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, 37, is charged in two counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, and (2) conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices during, and to possess machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy. If convicted, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count Two, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three. If convicted, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office. Mr. Berman also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
These cases are being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and Mathew J. Laroche are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment charging Martinez, and the separate Indictment charging Arnaldo Urbina Soto, Carlos Fernando Urbina Soto, and Miguel Angel Urbina Soto, as well as the descriptions of the Indictments set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Schuele Boys Gang Member Sentenced for His Role in Cocaine 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 Schuele Boys Gang member Antwon Steward, a/k/a Stacks, 35, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who handled the case, stated that Steward participated in a cocaine distribution operation with co-defendant Michael Robertson, a/k/a Bones. The defendant cooked powder cocaine into “crack” for Robertson. Steward and Robertson also shared supplies of cocaine, locations for storing and selling cocaine, and customers. The investigation utilized court-ordered interceptions of wire and electronic communications between Robertson, the defendant, and customers. Robertson was previously convicted and sentenced to 97 months in prison.
Steward was one of 28 Schuele Boys Gang members, associates and other individuals arrested and convicted in this case. The Schuele Boys Gang, which operated in the Schuele Street area of the East Side of Buffalo, was responsible for multiple acts of violence, including murder, and the distribution of illegal narcotics including cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.
School Owner Pleads Guilty to Bribing Public Official at VA Program for Disabled Military VeteransRead the Press Release
The owner of Eelon Training Academy (“Eelon”), a privately owned, non-accredited school purporting to specialize in digital media courses, pleaded guilty today to bribing a public official at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for the public official’s facilitation of payments to Eelon that were supposed to be dedicated to providing vocational training for military veterans with service-connected disabilities. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia made the announcement.
Michelle Stevens, 57, of Waldorf, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of bribing a public official. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia. In April 2018, two other individuals, Albert Poawui and Sombo Kanneh, pleaded guilty in related cases to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, respectively.
The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program is a VA program that provides disabled U.S. military veterans with education and employment-related services. VR&E program counselors advise veterans under their supervision which schools to attend and facilitate payments to those schools for veterans’ tuition and necessary supplies.
According to admissions made in connection with Stevens’ plea, she created Eelon Training Academy after learning about the VR&E program from a VR&E program counselor. In or about September 2016, the VR&E program counselor facilitated the first tuition payment from the VA to Eelon. Shortly after receiving this payment, the VR&E program counselor told Stevens that she should give him seven percent of the monies paid by the VA to Eelon.
Stevens admitted to later making two cash payments of $1,500 to the VR&E program counselor in furtherance of her scheme to bribe the VR&E program counselor in exchange for the VR&E program counselor sending veterans under his supervision to Eelon and facilitating the VA’s payments to Stevens. In total, Stevens received approximately $83,000 from the VA for education that she purported to provide to veteran students. Stevens submitted invoices to the VA amounting to no less than $300,000 for the tuition and equipment of seven students, but was not paid the balance of the invoice amount due to the VA’s ongoing investigation into Eelon following complaints by students about the poor quality of education.
In an effort to procure the outstanding payments from the VA, Stevens made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations to the VA, and maintained fraudulent student files in the event of an audit by the VA. For example, Stevens emailed to the VA an “attendance” sheet for eight students. The attendance sheet was created by Stevens and included handwritten check marks purporting to represent the dates that the students attended class. In fact, as Stevens well knew, the students had not attended class on many of those dates nor was class even held on many of those dates.
Stevens’ plea is the third guilty plea in an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the VA Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonali D. Patel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Simon J. Cataldo of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou and Paralegal Specialist Joshua Fein also assisted in the prosecution of this case.
School Owner Pleads Guilty to Bribing Public Official at VA Program for Disabled Military VeteransRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The owner of Eelon Training Academy (“Eelon”), a privately owned, non-accredited school purporting to specialize in digital media courses, pleaded guilty today to bribing a public official at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for the public official’s facilitation of payments to Eelon that were supposed to be dedicated to providing vocational training for military veterans with service-connected disabilities. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia made the announcement.
Michelle Stevens, 57, of Waldorf, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of bribing a public official. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia. In April 2018, two other individuals, Albert Poawui and Sombo Kanneh, pleaded guilty in related cases to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, respectively.
The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program is a VA program that provides disabled U.S. military veterans with education and employment-related services. VR&E program counselors advise veterans under their supervision which schools to attend and facilitate payments to those schools for veterans’ tuition and necessary supplies.
According to admissions made in connection with Stevens’ plea, she created Eelon Training Academy after learning about the VR&E program from a VR&E program counselor. In or about September 2016, the VR&E program counselor facilitated the first tuition payment from the VA to Eelon. Shortly after receiving this payment, the VR&E program counselor told Stevens that she should give him seven percent of the monies paid by the VA to Eelon.
Stevens admitted to later making two cash payments of $1,500 to the VR&E program counselor in furtherance of her scheme to bribe the VR&E program counselor in exchange for the VR&E program counselor sending veterans under his supervision to Eelon and facilitating the VA’s payments to Stevens. In total, Stevens received approximately $83,000 from the VA for education that she purported to provide to veteran students. Stevens submitted invoices to the VA amounting to no less than $300,000 for the tuition and equipment of seven students, but was not paid the balance of the invoice amount due to the VA’s ongoing investigation into Eelon following complaints by students about the poor quality of education.
In an effort to procure the outstanding payments from the VA, Stevens made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations to the VA, and maintained fraudulent student files in the event of an audit by the VA. For example, Stevens emailed to the VA an “attendance” sheet for eight students. The attendance sheet was created by Stevens and included handwritten check marks purporting to represent the dates that the students attended class. In fact, as Stevens well knew, the students had not attended class on many of those dates nor was class even held on many of those dates.
Stevens’ plea is the third guilty plea in an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the VA Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonali D. Patel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Simon J. Cataldo of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou and Paralegal Specialist Joshua Fein also assisted in the prosecution of this case.
San Jose Resident Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Role in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Julio Camacho Pacheco was sentenced today to 140 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, United States District Judge.
Pacheco pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy on April 3, 2018. According to his plea agreement, Pacheco admitted that between February 10 and February 17 of 2017, he conspired and collaborated with others to sell a pound of methamphetamine to a confidential informant working for the DEA. Pacheco admitted he delivered approximately 430.5 grams of 100% pure “crystal meth” (d-methamphetamine hydrochloride) to the informant’s car at a Burger King restaurant in San Jose where he and his co-conspirators exchanged the drugs for $4,000. Further, Pacheco acknowledged that after he was identified as the supplier for the transaction, he participated in another transaction on May 3, 2017, in which he sold a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover officer for $3,200. On July 19, 2017, Pacheco was arrested after agreeing to sell another two kilograms of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. At the time of his arrest, Pacheco was at the site arranged for the transaction and in possession of approximately 1,954 grams of crystal methamphetamine. In all, Pacheco was responsible for the actual and attempted sale of over three kilograms of methamphetamine.
On October 19, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging Pacheco with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841; two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841; and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Pacheco pleaded guilty to all four counts.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Freeman sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release and forfeiture of digital scales and U.S. currency recovered during a search of his home. Pacheco has been in custody since his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris prosecuted the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Salvadoran National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Salvadoran national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
Jose Antonio Reyes-Ramos, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to time served (approximately 81 days) and one year of supervised release. Reyes-Ramos will be subject to deportation proceedings. On June 28, 2018, Reyes-Ramos pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien.
Reyes-Ramos was deported from the United States to El Salvador in 2011 and then again in 2012. In 2017, after Reyes-Ramos had illegally returned to the United States, he was arrested on Cape Cod for sexual conduct for a fee. On April 19, 2018, Reyes-Ramos was taken into immigration custody.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Rebecca J. Adducci, Interim Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison for Nationwide Debit Card Fraud Scheme Targeting Apple StoresRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marcus Israel Butler, 33, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay over $353,000 in restitution for fraud involving a debit card, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Butler traveled from Sacramento to cities throughout California and the rest of the United States, including the East Coast, Midwest, and Alaska, using a revoked debit card to purchase products from Apple stores. Butler told store associates that there was a problem with his debit card and invited the associates to call his bank. In fact, it was Butler’s conspirator with whom the associates spoke. The conspirator gave the sales associates a false code that allowed the transactions to be completed on Butler’s revoked debit card. Butler was arrested in Colorado after attempting further fraudulent purchases at Apple stores.
Butler also used the revoked debit card to purchase other goods and services. All totaled, the loss caused by Butler’s fraud scheme was approximately $353,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Todd A. Pickles prosecuted the case.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marcus Israel Butler, 33, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay over $353,000 in restitution for fraud involving a debit card, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Butler traveled from Sacramento to cities throughout California and the rest of the United States, including the East Coast, Midwest, and Alaska, using a revoked debit card to purchase products from Apple stores. Butler told store associates that there was a problem with his debit card and invited the associates to call his bank. In fact, it was Butler’s conspirator with whom the associates spoke. The conspirator gave the sales associates a false code that allowed the transactions to be completed on Butler’s revoked debit card. Butler was arrested in Colorado after attempting further fraudulent purchases at Apple stores.
Butler also used the revoked debit card to purchase other goods and services. All totaled, the loss caused by Butler’s fraud scheme was approximately $353,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Todd A. Pickles prosecuted the case.
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Images of Child RapeRead the Press Release
A registered sex offender with prior convictions for raping a 12-year-old girl he met via the internet, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 years in prison for two federal felonies involving his receipt and possession of images of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. RICHARD DAVID BLICK, 65, formerly of Edmonds, Washington was indicted in September 2017, following an investigation by the King County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). BLICK was convicted in March 2018 following a two-day trial. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered BLICK to be supervised by federal probation for the rest of his life following the prison sentence.
“Despite incarceration, treatment, supervision, and sex offender registration, this defendant remains a predator, using the internet to seek out children that he can exploit,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “He has proved time and again that he poses an ongoing and substantial threat to community safety. As a result, this long prison sentence is the only way to protect our kids from his crimes.”
According to records in the case and testimony at trial, the electronic service provider Dropbox made a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an account later linked to BLICK was uploading pictures of child pornography. The subsequent law enforcement investigation revealed BLICK owned the Dropbox account and that he was a Level 3 registered sex offender with a 2001 conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl. In August 2017, law enforcement served search warrants on BLICK’s residence, an RV in Edmonds. On BLICK’s various electronic devices were thousands of images of child pornography as well as chats and videos with a 14-year-old California child whom BLICK convinced to send him sexually explicit images. BLICK has been in federal custody since his arrest in August 2017.
“Each time an image of child exploitation is shared online, the child in that image is victimized all over again. Law enforcement discovered thousands of images on Blick’s electronic media, including the fact that he convinced a minor to send him sexually explicit images. He represents the worst kind of criminal, one who preys on innocent children. Let today’s sentencing be a warning to other child predators; law enforcement officers are actively looking for you and will ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Seattle.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc
The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Cecilia Gregson. Ms. Gregson is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.
Pelham Recidivist Drug Dealer Found GuiltyRead the Press Release
ALBANY: Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Joshua Griffin, age 32, of Pelham, Georgia was found guilty by a jury of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine (Count 1), Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana (Count 2) and Possession of Cocaine (Count 3). The trial was held July 16-17, 2018 before United States District Judge Leslie J. Abrams in Albany.
Evidence presented during the trial of the case showed that Pelham Police conducted a search at Griffin’s residence at 515 Lee Williams Road, Pelham, Georgia on January 11, 2017. They recovered approximately 48 grams of marijuana, approximately 20 grams of 80% pure methamphetamine, less than 1 gram of cocaine, digital scales, plastic baggies, a ledger and approximate $1000 in United States Currency.
Prior to the trial, the Government had served notice that it intended to seek increased punishment in his case based on his prior conviction in 2010 for Distribution of Cocaine Base.
Mr. Griffin faces a minimum mandatory term of incarceration of ten years and maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment on Count 1, a maximum potential sentence of ten years on Count 2 and a maximum sentence of three years on Count 3. Sentencing in the case will be held in about 60 days following a pre-sentence investigation and report.
“Repeat drug offenders in the federal system get harsher sentences as a matter of law and, as in this case, oftentimes face stiff mandatory minimum sentences upon conviction. Others in the illicit drug trade would be wise to pay heed to Mr. Griffin’s fate,” said United States Attorney Charles Peeler.
The case was investigated by the Pelham Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Leah E. McEwen prosecuted the case for the United States.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.
Owner of Queens Construction Company Indicted for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Rafal Ziolkowski, the owner of Oliwa Construction, Inc., in Queens, with seven counts of willfully failing to collect and pay taxes, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making false statements to federal agents. Ziolkowski was arrested earlier today and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the indictment, Ziolkowski defrauded the United States by not reporting cash wages paid to his company’s employees,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Today’s indictment serves as notice that this Office is committed to prosecuting those who seek to profit at the expense of the United States and honest taxpayers.”
“As alleged, evading Employment Taxes has an impact on all taxpayers not only in the present but the future as well,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Robnett. “Both retired citizens and some dependent children depend on this assistance, which plays a critical role in the financial security of all Americans.”
According to the indictment, between January 2010 and December 2013, Ziolkowski failed to pay a total of approximately $650,000 in Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes by understating the wages paid to Oliwa employees. To avoid his tax liability, Ziolkowski paid Oliwa’s workers millions of dollars in cash obtained by cashing commercial checks. When the IRS confronted Ziolkowski about his scheme, he falsely denied having ever visited a check cashing establishment.
If convicted of these charges, Ziolkowski faces a maximum sentence of 45 years’ imprisonment.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Moscow is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
Rafal Ziolkowski
Age: 41
Ridgewood, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-347 (FB)
Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-State Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Blacklick, Ohio, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy, transfer of a false identification document, mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Albert McCall, 55, pleaded guilty to six counts before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab after jury selection and opening statements, but before the presentation of any evidence.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that McCall engaged in a conspiracy to violate various federal identity theft laws, harming victims from across the country. McCall and his co-conspirators obtained the victims’ personal identification information by purchasing the information on the dark web or through a variety of other means. Using embossing machines and card reader/writer tools, McCall created counterfeit identification documents, such as Ohio drivers’ licenses, and produced fraudulent credit cards that functioned as though they were real. McCall and his co-conspirators then used the counterfeit driver licenses and credit cards to purchase merchandise and rent hotel rooms and cars in the victims’ names. Further, they used the counterfeit identification documents to open lines of credit in victims’ names and without their knowledge, including a line of credit used to purchase more than $7,000 worth of jewelry from the Kay Jewelers in the Ross Park Mall. Investigators interrupted McCall’s criminal plot to use victims’ identities to purchase vehicles using the counterfeit driver licenses and stolen personal identification information.
The investigation included the use of an undercover federal law enforcement officer, who communicated with McCall and purchased from McCall a counterfeit Ohio driver’s license. McCall was arrested by the police department in Warren, Michigan, and the cellular telephones found on his person at the time of his arrest linked him to much of the criminal conduct at issue. Search warrants executed both in Ohio and in Pennsylvania provided further evidence of McCall’s extensive multi-state identity-theft scams.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for November 27, 2018 at 9:30 AM. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than two years and up to 82 years in prison, a fine of $1,500,000.00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court ordered McCall detained.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Christy C. Wiegand are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service, in conjunction with multiple police departments in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including police departments from Columbus, Ohio, Canfield, Ohio, Bucks County, Ohio, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ross Township, Pennsylvania, and Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of McCall.
O.C. Pro Poker Player Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges for Theft of over $6 Million Dollars in Sales Scheme Related to Super Bowl and World Cup Ticket SalesRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man has pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud offense and admitted operating a $6 million scheme that bilked investors who were promised large profits from the resale of tickets to high-profile sporting events, including the Super Bowl and the World Cup.
Seyed Reza Ali Fazeli, 49, of Aliso Viejo, a professional poker player, ran a Las Vegas-based ticket business called Summit Entertainment, which also operated under the names onlinetickets.com and pacertickets.com.
According to court records, from May 2016 through May 2017, Fazeli solicited investors in Orange County, Houston and Las Vegas to send approximately $6 million to Summit Entertainment to purchase tickets to the 2017 Super Bowl and the 2018 World Cup games. Fazeli told the victims that Summit Entertainment would resell the tickets at a substantial profit and share the proceeds with them.
After numerous investors wired approximately $6 million to Summit for sports tickets, Fazeli failed to provide any profit distribution. Fazeli falsely told the victims that the ticket sales went poorly because the NFL prohibited their resale and that he was negotiating a settlement with the NFL.
According to court documents, Fazeli never purchased large numbers of Super Bowl or World Cup tickets as promised. Instead, he used the money for gambling expenses at Las Vegas Casinos and for personal expenses.
United States District Judge David O. Carter set sentencing for January 28, 2019. Fazeli faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Anyone who may have been victimized by Summit Entertainment or Fazeli is encouraged to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at 310-477-6565.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally of the Santa Ana Branch office.
Northwest Arkansas Man Sentenced to over 5 Years in Federal Prison for Money Laundering and Filing A False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, AR – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Darrell Rosen, age 59, formerly of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in federal Prison followed by three years supervised release and ordered to pay a total of $1,851,990.05 in restitution for one count of Money Laundering and one count of Filing a False Income Tax Return. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, from October 2010 through August 2014, Rosen solicited individuals in Arkansas, Texas, and elsewhere to invest in a business centered on training dogs. Rosen represented that he had contracts with governmental entities as well as some private companies that would allow him to train and then sell dogs to the government for profit. Rosen intentionally made false promises that he would invest the money in the dog training business when, in fact, he used much of the money on his personal expenses. In addition, Rosen caused his 2013 Federal Income Tax Return to be filed with false information by both failing to report income he received from investors and for claiming Schedule A deductions for which he was not entitled.
Rosen was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2017 and entered a guilty plea in January 2018.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brice R. White prosecuted the case for the United States.
Michael Brooks a/k/a Michael Sandifer Sentenced to 65 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND – Michael Brooks, 30 years old, of Lynwood, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen after pleading guilty to Hobbs Act Robbery and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
Brooks was sentenced to 65 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, Brooks and two others robbed Tobacco City, located at 5935 State Line Road, Hammond, Indiana, on August 13, 2016 at gunpoint. Brooks and the other robbers took U.S. Currency and merchandise from the store.
This case was investigated by the FBI GRIT Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang.
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Mexican Woman Sentenced to Time Served for Entering the U.S. After RemovalRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Idabeel Rios-Zendejas, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torreson to time served (81 days) for entering the United States after being removed or deported. Rios-Zendejas pled guilty on May 22, 2018.
According to court records, Rios-Zendejas unlawfully entered the United States, was ordered removed to Mexico in 2015, and left. She did not apply for permission to reenter the United States. On April 27, 2018, she was arrested in Clinton, Maine, after a Clinton Police officer stopped a vehicle in which he was a passenger. She admitted to U.S. Border Patrol that she reentered the United States without being inspected and without legal authority.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Clinton Police Department.
Mexican Man Sentenced to Time Served for Entering the U.S. After RemovalRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Fausto Rivera-Rivera, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torreson to time served (81 days) for entering the United States after being removed or deported. Rivera-Rivera pled guilty on June 21, 2018.
According to court records, Rivera-Rivera unlawfully entered the United States, was ordered removed to Mexico in 2013, and left. He did not apply for permission to reenter the United States. On April 27, 2018, he was arrested in Clinton, Maine, after a Clinton Police officer stopped a vehicle in which he was a passenger. He admitted to U.S. Border Patrol that he reentered the United States in Arizona in 2015 without being inspected and without legal authority.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Clinton Police Department.
Mexican Man Sentenced for Unlawfully Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont and the Swanton Sector Office of the United States Border Patrol announce that Zein Diaz-Ventura, 27, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted and sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland for reentering the United States after having previously been removed from the country. United States District Court Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford sentenced Diaz-Ventura to time served. Diaz-Ventura has been held without bail since his arrest on May 11, 2018. Custody of Diaz-Ventura will be transferred from the United States Marshal’s Service to the Department of Homeland Security for removal proceedings.
According to court records, Diaz-Ventura was the passenger in a vehicle with license plates “not on file” traveling on State Route 105 in Richford, Vermont in the evening on May 11, 2018. U.S. Border Patrol pulled over the vehicle and subsequently determined that Diaz-Ventura has two prior 2012 misdemeanor convictions for illegal entry into the United States and has been removed from the United States on three occasions. In addition, Diaz-Ventura was convicted of misdemeanor battery (domestic violence) in Florida in 2012.
The Swanton Sector Border Patrol is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont as well as New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The assistance of citizens is invaluable in helping the U.S. Border Patrol accomplish their border security mission and they welcome community members to help them keep our nation’s borders safe by reporting suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.
For more on CBP’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.
Diaz-Ventura is represented by Assistant Federal Defender David McColgin. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate.
Mexican Man Sentenced for Immigration OffenseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that JOEL FLORES-GONZALES, age 42, a native of Mexico, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment for illegal reentry of a removed alien.
United States District Court Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced FLORES-GONZALES to eight months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee. The defendant will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
According to court documents, on March 12, 2018, FLORES-GONZALES was found in the United States after having been previously deported from the United States on June 20, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Using Another Person's Identity on U.S. Passport ApplicationRead the Press Release
RENO Nev. – A man unlawfully in the United States who used another man’s personal identifying information on his U.S. passport application was sentenced to two years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Matthew Perlman of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) San Francisco Field Office.
Alberto Jacinto-Rios, aka Manuel Lorenzo Diaz, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben. Following his prison sentence, Jacinto-Rios will be deported from the United States. He pleaded guilty in April 2018 to one count of aggravated identity theft.
On March 6, 2017, Jacinto-Rios applied for a U.S. passport at the University of Nevada, Reno using the name, date of birth, Social Security number, and birth certificate of a U.S. citizen. He provided the passport acceptance agent with a California birth certificate and a Nevada Identification Card, both in the name of the other. The passport application was referred to DSS because a passport and passport card had been previously issued. Jacinto-Rios was positively identified as the fraudulent passport applicant through photographs. He was arrested on the same day he was indicted in December of 2017.
The case was investigated by DSS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian L. Sullivan prosecuted the case.
If you are aware of, or have been a victim of, fraud or fraudulently issued U.S. passports, contact [email protected].
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MS-13 Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for RICO Conspiracy Involving Two MurdersRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The leader of a violent MS-13 clique was sentenced today to life in prison.
Noe Salvador Perez Vasquez, a/k/a “Crazy,” 27, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to life in prison and five years of supervised release. In April 2018, Perez was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy, and of committing or knowingly participating in two murders. Perez also was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana.
Co-defendants Luis Solis Vasquez, a/k/a “Brujo,” 27, a Salvadoran national, and Hector Enamorado, a/k/a “Vida Loca,” 39, a Honduran national, were also convicted of RICO conspiracy and of committing or knowingly participating in murder. Solis is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11, 2018, and Enamorado is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2, 2018.
MS-13 is a violent transnational criminal organization whose branches, or “cliques,” operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts. In furtherance of its mission, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, specifically against rival gang members; kill informants; and support and defend fellow MS-13 members in attacks. MS-13 rewards members who commit acts of violence with promotions within the gang and punishes members who break gang rules.
At trial, Perez was identified as a leader of the Everett Locos Salvatrucha (ELS) clique, which was one of the largest, most active, and most violent MS-13 cliques in Massachusetts. Perez was furthermore considered to be a strict leader, demanding that clique members hunt down rival gang members and frequently subjecting younger clique members to harsh punishments.
On Dec. 14, 2014, Perez, Solis, and Enamorado worked together to murder a 29-year-old male victim at an apartment in Chelsea. According to testimony and exhibits introduced at trial, Solis was a full member, or homeboy, with the Eastside Locos Salvatrucha (ESLS) clique and Enamorado was a homeboy with the Chelsea Locos Salvatrucha (CHS) clique. Enamorado and the victim had engaged in a gang-related fight the night before the murder, and when Enamorado encountered the victim again, Enamorado called Perez to ask him for a gun. Perez delivered the murder weapon, a .380 caliber pistol, to Enamorado in Chelsea. Solis armed himself with a gun and went with Enamorado into the apartment to provide backup and necessary support for the attack. Enamorado used Perez’s gun to fatally shoot the victim three times. Enamorado also shot and wounded a second victim who was inside the apartment at the time of the murder. Following the murder, Perez arranged for Enamorado to flee to New Jersey. Federal agents, however, intercepted the car and arrested Enamorado before he could leave Massachusetts.
On July 5, 2015, a 16-year-old mid-level member of the ELS clique was stabbed to death in a park in Lawrence, Mass. by two members of his clique. Perez and other MS-13 members targeted the 16-year-old for murder because they believed, incorrectly, that he was cooperating with law enforcement. Perez planned and encouraged the murder. After the two ELS clique members stabbed the 16-year-old to death, Perez promised to promote them to homeboy status.
Perez was one of 49 defendants to be convicted as part of this case. All nine defendants who went to trial were convicted and 40 others pleaded guilty. In all, 16 defendants, including Perez, were found to have committed or knowingly participated in murders.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; and Wes Adams, State’s Attorney, Anne Arundel County (Maryland), Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, made the announcement today.
Las Cruces Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Using Interstate Communications to Threaten Elementary School StudentsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Anthony Estrada, 24, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court to 30 months in prison for his conviction on a felony information charging him with using interstate communications to threaten the lives and safety of children at a Las Cruces public elementary school. Estrada will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
Estrada was arrested on a criminal complaint on Sept. 15, 2017, for using social media platforms to post threats to shoot children at a Las Cruces public elementary school. According to the complaint, the threats posted by Estrada led local schools authorities in Las Cruces to shelter students in place and shut down operations until Estrada was apprehended.
On Dec. 11, 2018, Estrada pled guilty to a felony information charging him with threatening to injure through the use of interstate communications. In entering the guilty plea, Estrada admitted that on Sept. 15, 2017, he posted a threat on social media that he was going to shoot up a Las Cruces public elementary school. Estrada further admitted that as a result of his actions, the elementary school he threatened and several other Las Cruces elementary schools were placed on lock down.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
Kingsmen Member Pleads Guilty to Rico 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 Jack Wood, 47, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi and Brendan T. Cullinane, who are handling the case, stated that the defendant was a Kingsmen Motorcycle Club (KMC) member, and served as the Sergeant at Arms of the Arcade KMC Chapter. KMC members and associates used and distributed marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other controlled substances at the Delevan/Arcade KMC Chapter Clubhouse. KMC members, including Wood, maintained access to firearms on their person and inside KMC Chapter Clubhouses, including the Delevan/Arcade KMC Chapter Clubhouse.
On August 3, 2013, KMC Nomads used the defendant’s van without his knowledge to drive from Wood’s house in Delevan, NY to Springville, NY, to conduct a drive-by shooting. In 2015, when the defendant was questioned about the shooting, Wood made evasive and misleading statements. When the defendant was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury, Wood once again made evasive, incomplete, and misleading statements in an effort to prevent apprehension of those responsible. There were no injuries as a result of the shots fired.
Wood is one of 20 KMC members and associates charged in this case. To date, 18 have been convicted, including National President David Pirk, who was recently convicted following a four-month jury trial. Charges remain pending against two other defendants. The fact that the defendants have been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert. Assisting in the investigation were the following: the FBI Knoxville, TN, and Jacksonville, FL Field Offices; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office; the Buffalo Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the New York State Police; the Olean Police Department; the Lancaster Police Department; the Amherst Police Department; the City of North Tonawanda Police Department; the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police; the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department; and the Hamburg Police Department.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 24, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.
Kentucky Doctor Pleads Guilty in Johnstown to Conspiring to Defraud the U.S.Read the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Dr. John R. Baird, 52, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with Dr. Baird’s guilty plea to conspiring to commit an offense against the United States:
Universal Oral Fluid Labs ("UOFL") was a clinical drug testing and drug screening laboratory located in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. UOFL was located at 475 Willow Crossing Road, Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Dr. Baird was a physician licensed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of Indiana, who specialized in physical medicine, rehabilitation and pain treatment. Dr. Baird’s primary medical practice was located at 3012 East Point Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40223.
Both Dr. Baird and UOFL were enrolled providers in the Medicare program and the Kentucky Medicaid program. As a condition of becoming a Medicare provider and being authorized to bill Medicare, Dr. Baird and UOFL, like all other providers of health services to Medicare patients, were required to certify on their enrollment applications that they would comply with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and program requirements.
UOFL billed, and was paid by, Medicare for performing drug tests and related services for Medicare beneficiaries who were referred to UOFL by physicians enrolled in the program, including Dr. Baird.
From on or about May 1, 2012, and continuing thereafter until at least July 31, 2013, in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Dr. Baird conspired with persons at UOFL and others to commit offenses against the United States, that is, to solicit and receive kickbacks from UOFL in return for referring patients to UOFL for the referral of patient lab
work, for which payment was made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program, namely, Medicare and Medicaid, contrary to Title 42, United States Code, Section 1320a- 7b(b)(1)(A).
It was a part of the conspiracy that Dr. Baird received monthly checks from UOFL in exchange for referrals, including Medicare and Medicaid referrals. Specifically, the monthly kickback checks UOFL paid to Dr. Baird were paid pursuant to the terms of a "joint venture" that Dr. Baird entered into with UOFL. Under this "joint venture," Dr. Baird referred all of his patients, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, to UOFL for drug testing and related services. UOFL, in turn, billed third-party payors, including Medicare and Medicaid, for such tests, and then kicked back to Dr. Baird, for each referred patient, reimbursement amounts for the tests that exceeded agreed upon thresholds, which were typically between $100.00 and $150.00. Dr. Baird received these "joint venture" payments from UOFL solely in exchange for the referrals Dr. Baird provided to UOFL, and not in exchange for the performance of any other services. Between May 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013, Dr. Baird received $567,609.36 in kickbacks from UOFL in return for Dr. Baird referring his patients' lab work to UOFL.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 6, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Section conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Dr. Baird.
Johnstown Woman Admits Possessing and Distributing Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Sabrina L. Rogers, 35, pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on July 6, July 10, and July 11, 2017, Rogers distributed less than 28 grams of cocaine base, also known as "crack," and on July 12, 2017, Rogers possessed with the intent to distribute less than 28 grams of "crack."
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 12, 2018, at 11 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison and a fine of $4,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cambria County Drug Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Rogers.
Johnstown Woman Admits Distributing Cocaine and Using her Residence as a Drug HouseRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Patricia Ann Hawes, 54, pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on May 11, 2016, Hawes distributed less than 500 grams of cocaine. Likewise, between April 22, 2016 and June 7, 2016, Hawes maintained her residence in Johnstown, Pa., for the purpose of distributing and using heroin and cocaine.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a fine of $1,500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cambria County Drug Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hawes.
Johnstown Woman Admits Distributing Cocaine and Using her Residence as a Drug HouseRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Patricia Ann Hawes, 54, pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on May 11, 2016, Hawes distributed less than 500 grams of cocaine. Likewise, between April 22, 2016 and June 7, 2016, Hawes maintained her residence in Johnstown, Pa., for the purpose of distributing and using heroin and cocaine.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2018, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a fine of $1,500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cambria County Drug Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hawes.
Johnstown Man Admits Distributing Heroin on Four Occasions, Once within 1,000 Feet of a PlaygroundRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Cambria County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Charles A. Meyer, 37, of Johnstown, Pa. pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on Oct. 20, 2015, within 1,000 feet of a playground, and on Dec. 22, 2015, and Jan. 22, 2016, Meyer distributed less than 100 grams of heroin on each of those dates. Also on Jan. 22, 2016, Meyer possessed with the intent to distribute less than 100 grams of heroin.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2018, at 11 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison and a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cambria County Drug Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Meyer.
Johnson City Woman Sentenced for Preparing False Federal Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK - Lavyette Garcia, age 41, of Johnson City, New York, was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison and to pay $72,452.00 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury Department following her guilty plea to Preparing False Federal Income Tax Returns and Making False Claims Against the United States government, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James D. Robnett, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). Garcia was also ordered to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following her prison sentence.
The defendant was arrested by Special Agents of the IRS-CI at her home in Johnson City, New York, on November 17, 2017 and subsequently pled guilty. In admitting her guilt, Ms. Garcia acknowledged that from 2011 to 2014 she knowingly and intentionally prepared and filed 110 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns for others. These false returns included fictitious income levels and falsely claimed eligibility for tax credits in an effort to qualify for tax refunds totaling $848,196.00. The IRS was able to identify some income tax returns as containing false information and halted some refund payments. In many cases where refunds were issued, Lavyette Garcia kept as much as half of the refunded money for herself.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick.
Johnny C. Black Detained on Federal Assault Charge Arising from Shots Fired at New Mexico State Police Officer on Santa Clara Pueblo LandRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Johnny C. Black with committing an assault with a dangerous weapon by allegedly firing shots at a New Mexico State Police officer on Santa Clara Pueblo land. Black, 32, an enrolled member of the Noorvik Native Community Tribe in Alaska who resides in Santa Fe, N.M., was ordered detained pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled, based on judicial findings that he poses a risk of flight and a danger to the community.
The FBI arrested Black on July 11, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. According to the complaint, Black allegedly used a firearm to fire multiple shots at a New Mexico State Police officer after fleeing from a routine traffic stop. Black allegedly committed the offense on June 25, 2018, on Santa Clara Pueblo in Santa Fe County, N.M.
The FBI took custody of Black on July 11, 2018, after he was arrested by Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department on Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
If convicted of the charge in the complaint, Black faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police with assistance from the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.
Indictments Target North Sound Drug Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
A 6-month investigation of significant heroin and methamphetamine trafficking in the north Puget Sound region culminated in eleven federal arrests today and the serving of search warrants on thirty locations, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. The local leader of the drug trafficking ring, JOSE VERDUZCO URIAS, 40, was arrested along with seven other defendants named in the ten-person indictment. Three people were arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint. Additionally, a dozen people were arrested on state and local charges. Those arrested on federal charges will appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 2:00 today.
“The people we charged today were moving up to 2 kilos of heroin a week into our neighborhoods, feeding addictions whose terrible impacts we see all around us,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “They distributed in urban centers, small towns, and tribal communities, demonstrating yet again the sad fact that no place is immune from the scourge of opioid addiction.”
JOSE VERDUZCO URIAS has homes in both Snohomish, Washington and in Sedro Wooley, Washington. He had crossed the radar of law enforcement in previous investigations, and thus became the target of increased investigation in late 2017. Members of the VERDUZCO URIAS distribution group named in the indictment include:
BELINDA CRUZ, 40, Sedro Wooley, Washington
ALBERTO CRUZ REYES, 52, Phoenix, Arizona
FERNANDO SANTACRUZ, 27, Mount Vernon, Washington
RIGOBERTO PONCE SANCHEZ, 28, Sedro Wooley, Washington
JOSE URENA VERDUZCO, 32, Kirkland, Washington
JULIAN ZAMORA GARCIA, 34, Seattle
JULIO CESAR FIERRO-VEGA, 33, Mount Vernon, Washington
IVAN VALDEZ SOTO, 34, Salem, Oregon
VICTOR MARTINEZ, 23, Mount Vernon, Washington
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement utilized information from a number of people working with law enforcement some of whom made drug buys from members of the organization.
During today’s searches law enforcement seized 18 firearms, ten pounds of heroin, twenty pounds of methamphetamine and more than $500,000 in cash.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis of the Pacific Northwest region said, “This north sound criminal enterprise has been on our radar for a very long time and the surgical removal of this group will thwart the flow of foreign sourced heroin endangering our communities.”
“The FBI worked side-by-side with the DEA and other federal, state, and local partners to execute today's arrests, which significantly impact this drug trafficking organization's ability to operate in the north Puget Sound region,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay S. Tabb Jr., of the FBI's Seattle Field Office."
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.
The investigation was led by DEA and FBI with significant participation from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force (WGDTF), Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit (SCIDEU), Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force (SRDGTF), ATF, U.S. Border Patrol, Washington State Patrol, Everett Police, North Sound SWAT, Seattle Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and NW High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NW HIDTA).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Vaughan and Nicholas Manheim.