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21 August 2018
Westchester Attorney Indicted for Fraud and False Statement Charges Arising from His Attempt to Embezzle from A Decedent’s Estate for Which He Was Court-Appointed AdministratorRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller, announced that a federal grand jury in White Plains, New York returned an Indictment yesterday charging GUY PARISI, a Westchester attorney, with conspiracy, mail fraud and false statements. These charges arise from PARISI’s attempt to embezzle funds from a decedent’s estate for which he served as a court-appointed administrator. PARISI was arrested yesterday morning and was presented before the United States District Judge Paul E. Davison
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Guy Parisi, a Westchester attorney, allegedly embezzled funds from an estate which he was a court-appointed fiduciary. Parisi allegedly shirked his responsibilities to the estate in order to serve his own greed. Now he faces justice in a criminal court.”
Inspector-in-Charge Peter R. Rendina said: “Mr. Parisi allegedly took advantage of the trust given to him by his client, when instead of doing the right thing, he created a company to greedily enrich himself of fees he would not lawfully be entitled to receive. Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners uphold the truth and those who do not must face justice.”
Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said: “Instead of protecting the interests of the estate, Mr. Parisi abused the trust placed in him by allegedly attempting to pocket millions of dollars meant for the beneficiaries by using a fictitious company. Thanks to my ongoing partnerships with United States Attorney Geoffrey Berman and the United States Postal Inspection Service, he will now be held accountable for his actions. My office will continue to work with law enforcement across the State to protect unclaimed funds in our custody.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]
PARISI, an attorney in Westchester County, was appointed administrator of the estate of a former resident of Mt. Vernon, in or about April 2017. His duties as administrator included collecting the assets of the estate. As an administrator, PARISI had a fiduciary duty to the estate and to the decedent’s son, the sole beneficiary of his father’s will. New York law provided for a fee for estate administrators like PARISI based on a percentage of the value of the estate’s assets.
A substantial part of the estate’s assets escheated to the State of New York as abandoned property between 2000 and 2008, when the estate was first presented to the Surrogate’s Court. These assets were held in the custody of the New York State Comptroller.
In or about June 2017, PARISI, on behalf of the estate, retained Stokes Asset Recovery Services (“Stokes”) as the estate’s abandoned property location service in exchange for a fee of fifteen percent of the value of the estate’s assets held by the Comptroller, which is the maximum fee allowed by New York law. PARISI did not disclose, and actively concealed, that Stokes was owned by his relative, and that he and the relative had formed Stokes less than two weeks before he notified the Comptroller of his retention of Stokes, as he was required to do under New York law. PARISI and the relative named Stokes after a Southampton, New York, street on which PARISI owned a waterfront vacation home. At the time he retained Stokes, PARISI knew that the estate’s assets held by the Comptroller were worth several million dollars.
PARISI was interviewed by a Postal Inspector in or about November 2017. He falsely told the Postal Inspector that he had worked with Stokes in the past and that Stokes’s fee was five percent of the value of the assets held by the Comptroller.
* * *
PARISI, 71, of Rye, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of making a false statement, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentence will be determined by the court.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Postal Inspection Service and the New York State Comptroller.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment 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 Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Warsaw Man Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND - Darin Devon Hurd, age 26, of Warsaw, Indiana was sentenced before South Bend District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession with intent to distribute heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
Darin Devon Hurd was sentenced to 248 months in prison followed by 6 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Kirsch said, “Heroin overdoses are an epidemic in our country, and the Northern District of Indiana is not immune. Mr. Hurd’s conduct contributed to a premature death that left a small child without a mother. Consequences like these are too often present in cases involving heroin distribution and use. The sentence today reflects the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Hurd and the permanent damage that his conduct has inflicted on the lives of others.”
According to documents in this case, Hurd began dealing heroin in January of 2017. He distributed approximately 50 grams of heroin every two weeks for the next eight months. In September of 2017, Hurd used heroin with the mother of his child and then left the home that he shared with her, leaving behind approximately 7 grams of heroin. That day, the mother of Hurd’s child passed away from a heroin overdose while home with their toddler son, who subsequently tested positive for heroin metabolite. A firearm was then found while investigators were recovering items from Hurd’s home.
This case was investigated by ATF with the assistance of Winona Lake Police Department, Warsaw Police Department, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, and the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly E. Donnelly.
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Upshur County man sentenced to 14 years for child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – James Andrew Smith, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 168 months incarceration for a child pornography charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Smith, age 58, pled guilty to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography” in May 2018. Smith, having previously been convicted of possession of child pornography, admitted to having computer disks and other materials containing child pornography in his possession. The crime occurred in November 2015 in Upshur County.
Smith was also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution and ordered to forfeit computers, cameras, and other items.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Upshur County man sentenced for more than 10 years for his role in a methamphetamine distribution operationRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Reggie Joe McLain, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 123 months incarceration for distributing methamphetamine, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
McLain, age 38, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” in December 2017. McLain admitted to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine in Upshur County and elsewhere from March 2016 to September 2017.
McLain was also ordered to forfeit $20,674 seized from his vehicle in October 2016.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.United States Attorney and Cherokee Nation Attorney General Voice Support for Significant Opioid Manufacturing Reduction in 2019Read the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – United States Attorney Trent Shores and Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree joined together to voice their support for a Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposal for a reduction of controlled substances that may be manufactured in the United States next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases manufacturing quotas for the most six frequently misused opioids for 2019 by an average ten percent as compared to the 2018 amount. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) marks the third straight year of proposed reductions, which help reduce the amount of drugs potentially diverted for trafficking and used to facilitate addiction.
On July 11, 2018, the Justice Department announced that DEA was issuing a final rule amending its regulations to improve the agency’s ability to consider the likelihood of whether a drug can be diverted for abuse when it sets annual opioid production limits. The final rule also promotes greater involvement from state attorneys general, and today’s proposed reduction will be sent to those offices.
In setting the aggregate production quote (APQ), DEA considers data from many sources, including estimates of the legitimate medical need from the Food and Drug Administration; estimates of retail consumption based on prescriptions dispensed; manufacturers’ disposition history and forecasts; data from DEA’s own internal system for tracking controlled substance transactions; and past quota histories.
The DEA has proposed to reduce more commonly prescribed schedule II opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, morphine, and fentanyl:
Ultimately, revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potential addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.
Tribal communities throughout the United States have also been impacted by the deadly opioid epidemic. The Cherokee Nation is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in northeast Oklahoma and is one of the largest Indian tribes in the United States. Cherokee officials have noted that their communities are grappling with the financial and social burdens of the opioid epidemic. On Tuesday, the Cherokee Nation hosted more than 30 United States Attorneys from across the United States who work in federal districts with Indian tribes and tribal land. These U.S. Attorneys comprise the Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS), the longest standing subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. The Cherokee Nation Principal Chief and Attorney General spoke to the NAIS about the impact of the opioid epidemic on the Cherokee people, especially as it affects Cherokee children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate at which babies have been born with a drug withdrawal syndrome that can occur because they were exposed to prescription painkillers or heroin in the womb has quadrupled over the course of 15 years in the U.S.
"The opioid epidemic that we are facing today is the worst drug crisis in American history," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "President Trump has set the ambitious goal of reducing opioid prescription rates by one-third in three years. We embrace that goal and are resolutely committed to reaching it. According to the National Prescription Audit, we have already made significant progress in reducing prescription rates over the past year. Cutting opioid production quotas by an average of ten percent next year will help us continue that progress and make it harder to divert these drugs for abuse. The American people can be confident that federal law enforcement and the Trump administration are taking action to protect them from dangerous drugs. These smarter limits bring us one big step closer to President Trump's goal of finally ending this unprecedented crisis. I congratulate Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon and his team for taking action.”
United States Attorney Shores stated, “Drugs are killing more Oklahomans than ever before. We must work together with our state and tribal partners to combat this overdose epidemic. This social catastrophe is literally killing our younger generations before their time. I am proud to work with the Cherokee Nation to stop the proliferation of these dangerous drugs. I applaud Attorney General Sessions and DEA Acting Adminstrator Dhillon for their leadership to reduce prescription rates.”
“The Cherokee Nation and eastern Oklahoma have been at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic. This has effected countless families and threatens a generation of Cherokee mothers and children who’ve been exposed to these drugs,” Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree said. “I applaud the efforts of United States Attorney Shores in acting in coordination with tribes to end this epidemic. By limiting the amount of opioid drugs that may be manufactured we can begin to curb the flow of such drugs into our tribal communities.”
“We’ve lost too many lives to the opioid epidemic and families and communities suffer tragic consequences every day,” said Acting Administrator Dhillon. “This significant drop in prescriptions by doctors and DEA’s production quota adjustment will continue to reduce the amount of drugs available for illicit diversion and abuse while ensuring that patients will continue to have access to proper medicine.”
Once the aggregate quota is set, DEA allocates individual manufacturing and procurement quotas to those manufacturers that apply for them. DEA may revise a company’s quota at any time during the year if change is warranted due to increased or decreased sales or exports, new manufacturers entering the market, new product development, or product recalls.
When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, the quota system was intended to reduce or eliminate diversion from “legitimate channels of trade” by controlling the quantities of the basic ingredients needed for the manufacture of controlled substances.
The Proposed Aggregate Production Quotas for schedule I and II controlled substances published in the Federal Register reflects the total amount of controlled substances necessary to meet the country’s medical, scientific, research, industrial, and export needs for the year and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks. DEA establishes an APQ for more than 250 schedule I and II controlled substances annually.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to practitioners recommending a reduction in the prescribing of opioid medications for chronic pain. DEA and its federal partners have increased efforts in the last several years to educate practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, distributors, and the public about the dangers associated with the misuse of opioid medications and the importance of proper prescribing.
U.S. Attorney Attends Eighth Circuit Judicial ConferenceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons attended the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference held in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 15-17, 2018. The conference is a gathering of federal judges and attorneys in the Eighth Circuit, which consists of South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas.
The conference featured an address from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as an appearance by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Additional speakers included two native Iowans: Internationally renowned opera star Simon Estes and Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta. The conference was presided over by the Honorable Lavenski R. Smith, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Of special note, Randy Seiler, former U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, received the Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service. Judge Richard S. Arnold (1936-2004) of Texarkana, Arkansas, served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1980 until his death in 2004. Recipients are honored for their professional excellence, leadership in the legal community, significant contributions of volunteer legal services in underserved communities, and service as a mentor to less-experienced lawyers or law students, all characteristics of Judge Arnold. Mr. Seiler is only the fourth South Dakotan to receive this coveted award.
Two Sentenced for Their Roles in an Opioid Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.- United States Attorney Trent Shores announced the sentencing of Jennifer Elizabeth Boyce and Christina Ann Dempsey for their participation in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone resulting in death. Today, United States District Judge John E. Dowdell sentenced Christina Ann Dempsey to eight years imprisonment for her role in supplying 80mg oxycodone pills (Oxy80s) to Boyce, who then sold the Oxy80s to customers for profit. Yesterday, Judge Dowdell sentenced Boyce to ten years imprisonment for her role in selling the Oxy80s she received from Dempsey to Jennifer Blake McNulty, who subsequently overdosed and died on October 24, 2014.
Both Dempsey and Boyce accepted responsibility, cooperated fully in the federal investigation, and provided sworn testimony against themselves and others before the filing of federal charges. The third conspirator is Michael Allen Miers, whose case is still pending before Judge Dowdell.
U.S. Attorney Shores stated, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed United States Attorneys to consider every lawful tool at our disposal to combat the deadly opioid epidemic. We have taken that direction to heart by using all available criminal and civil remedies to stop opioid abuse and distribution in the Northern District of Oklahoma. We are pleased with the sentences in these cases. Illegal opioid distributors must be held accountable in courts of law. It is a matter of saving lives.”
In commenting about the extent of the opioid epidemic nationwide, U.S. Attorney Shores recounted the staggering statistics:
- Since 2009, drug overdose deaths have outpaced traffic accidents as the leading cause of injury death in the United States.
- Nearly 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016–more drug related deaths in one year when compared to total number of combat losses during the entire Vietnam War.
- Emergency Department visits for opioid overdoses rose 30% in all parts of the country from July of 2016 through September of 2017.
- Life expectancy in the United States dropped for two years in a row after more than a century of steady progress.
- The number of children admitted to hospitals for opioid overdose has nearly doubled since 2004, according to a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Pryor Police Department, and the Mayes County District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy L. Faerber, the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Brian Surber, the First Assistant District Attorney for Mayes County and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney Shores observed, “Collaborative law enforcement is good law enforcement. I want to express my deep appreciation and profound thanks to all the women and men of law enforcement–federal, state, and local–for working together on this investigation. The Mayes County District Attorney’s Office has also been a great partner. The work they did on this case was essential.”
Tulsa is One of Five Cities Selected by Attorney General Jeff Sessions for National Public Safety PartnershipRead the Press Release
Tulsa, Okla.– Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced that Tulsa is one of five cities selected to the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) as the Department of Justice continues its efforts to fulfill President Trump’s commitment to reducing violent crime in America.
PSP delivers a framework for enhancing federal support of state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials and prosecutors as they aggressively investigate and pursue violent criminals, specifically those involved in gun crime, drug trafficking, and gang violence.
PSP provides cities the opportunity to consult with, receive coordinated training and technical assistance from, and have access to an array of resources from the Justice Department and its law enforcement components. The partnership will further enhance the ability of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Oklahoma and its local, state, and federal partners to investigate and prosecute violent crime.
“Attorney General Sessions meant business when he directed United States Attorneys to target alpha criminals and reduce violent crime across America. The Public Safety Partnership will bring resources to Tulsa to aid us in that effort. I am proud to bring these crime fighting tools to northeastern Oklahoma.” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “When I was sworn in as United States Attorney, I pledged to combat violent crime. These resources will enhance our ability to partner with the Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and federal law enforcement agencies to keep citizens safe. I have assembled a dedicated and talented team of federal prosecutors. They stand ready to enforce the law and fight for justice for all.”
PSP offers two separate approaches to the assistance provided by the Justice Department, the Diagnostic Approach and the Operations Approach:
- PSP Diagnostic teams help participating cities develop tools to diagnose and address violent crime issues.
- PSP Operations teams partner directly with federal, state, local, and tribal officials to strategically address violent crime issues.
Five sites have been selected to receive this significant assistance:
2018 PSP Diagnostic Sites:
- Saginaw, Michigan
- Salisbury, North Carolina
2018 PSP Operations Sites:
- Kansas City, Missouri (participated as a PSP Diagnostic Site in 2017)
- Miami, Florida
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
“Reversing the recent troubling increase in violent crime in our country is a top priority of the Department of Justice as we work to fulfill the President’s promise to make America safer,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Cooperation with our fabulous state and local partners is the single most important aspect of our strategy to reduce crime. The National Public Safety Partnership program will help five American cities to build up their own capacity to fight crime by using DOJ expertise and resources as well as evidence-based strategies customized to meet their needs. We want to be a force multiplier for them, and under PSP, we will.”
In June 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the PSP program during remarks at the National Summit on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. The twelve sites announced in 2017 continue to participate in 2018, and have resulted in a number of success including, but not limited to:
- Birmingham, Alabama: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama established a public safety task force of local, state, and federal partners to improve data and intelligence sharing, complement community outreach, and improve prevention efforts. As a result of coordinated efforts among local and federal law enforcement, homicides in Birmingham are down 12 percent year to date in June.
- Indianapolis, Indiana: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have enhanced coordination with each Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department patrol district to help identify and prioritize drug and gun crime cases appropriate for federal prosecution. ATF has also assigned a crime analyst to focus solely on National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) cases. NIBIN is a national program that assists law enforcement agencies in making connections among crimes involving firearms. As of July 2018, Indianapolis reports an increased homicide clearance rate from 40 percent to 70 percent year to date, which it attributes to increased collaboration among local and federal partners.
- Memphis, Tennessee: Identified one precinct and geographical area in South Memphis for PSP engagement—the Raines Street Station—to focus increased local and federal enforcement efforts. The Raines Street Station experienced approximately 22 percent of the city’s homicides in 2016. As a result of PSP involvement in the Raines Street Station area, homicides are down approximately 27 percent and aggravated assault are down 11 percent, as of July 31, 2018.
Partner sites are selected through a process that considers both quantitative and qualitative measures, including sustained levels of violent crime that far exceed the national average. PSP sites must demonstrate a commitment to reducing violent crime, and in August 2017 that commitment was extended to include reducing violent crime stemming from illegal immigration.
The Justice Department agencies involved in PSP are: the United States Attorneys’ Offices; the Office of Justice Programs; the FBI; the ATF; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Office on Violence Against Women; and the Office of Community Oriented Policing.
For more information about additional PSP sites, their designations and DOJ’s work to reduce violent crime and enhance public safety, visit https://www.nationalpublicsafetypartnership.org/
Three More Defendants Sentenced for Participation in Cocaine and Crack ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Three residents of the Western District of Pennsylvania were sentenced yesterday in federal court for violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone sentenced Jack Brown, 37, of Pittsburgh, to serve 24 months in prison and pay a $2,500 fine following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy. Judge Cercone also sentenced Dwight Wright, 41, of Canonsburg, and Kenya Mickens, 40, of Pittsburgh, to serve one day in federal custody each, followed by 12 months and 10 months, respectively, of a combination of community and home confinement. Wright was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine. Wright and Mickens, like Brown, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.
In connection with his earlier guilty plea, Brown admitted that from in and around April 2016, and continuing thereafter to in and around October 2016, he conspired with others, including Mickens and Wright, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance. At the time of his guilty plea, Brown admitted that he was responsible for between 500 grams and 2 kilograms of powder cocaine during the conspiracy. Likewise, during their plea colloquies, Mickens and Wright admitted that they were each responsible for between 100 and 200 grams of cocaine.
Brown, Mickens, and Wright were charged as part of a nine-defendant indictment returned by a federal grand jury on August 1, 2017. To date, six defendants have pleaded guilty.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
A federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. The task force is headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and comprises members drawn from the Borough of Baldwin Police Department, McKees Rocks Police Department, Munhall Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. The Stowe Township Police Department also provided assistance in this investigation. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty in Cocaine Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Texas man pleaded guilty today to driving a load of cocaine to Kansas, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Ricardo Daniel Ruiz, 20, El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking. In his plea, he admitted that a police officer in Elkhart stopped him for speeding. A search of the vehicle turned up 6.8 kilos (about 15 pounds) of cocaine wrapped in six bundles and hidden beneath the back seat.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 6. He faces a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. McAllister commended the Elkhart Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.
Texas Couple Sentenced for Alien Harboring Scheme Involving Labor ExploitationRead the Press Release
Defendants required Cambodian victim to work long hours for minimal pay both in their home and at their business in Texas to repay purported debt
Tyno Keo, 38, and, Phearom Lay, 34, of Nacogdoches, Texas, were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, after previously pleading guilty to alien harboring for financial gain, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown of the Eastern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Eric Jackson of the FBI in Dallas.
U.S. District Court Judge Ron Clark for the Eastern District of Texas sentenced Defendant Keo to six months incarceration and Defendant Lay to six months incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Judge Clark also ordered the defendants to pay $5,000 each in fines and $41,024.31 in joint restitution.
According to court documents, between September 2012 and May 2013, the defendants harbored the victim and required her to work long hours for little pay performing childcare, cleaning their home, and as an employee at their business, the Donut Palace. The scheme started in Cambodia, where Defendant Lay’s sister owed the defendants $50,000 for shared family medical expenses. To satisfy her debt, Lay’s sister arranged for the victim to obtain a temporary tourist visa and travel from Cambodia to the United States to work for the defendants. As a result, the $50,000 debt was transferred to the victim. Once the victim arrived in the United States, the defendants took possession of her passport and visa, and continued to harbor and employ her after her visa expired in December 2012. The defendants paid the victim $1,000 a month for her labor and withheld a portion of it to repay the purported $50,000 debt.
“The defendants violated immigration laws and exploited a vulnerable individual who lacked immigration status, requiring her to work long hours for little pay,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “This Justice Department will not tolerate this type of immigration and labor exploitation, and is committed to aggressively pursuing and prosecuting individuals who engage in such crimes.”
“These types of crimes happen more than people know,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Brown. “There are populations that are vulnerable to this type of exploitation, and it is a good thing that federal law enforcement is making people who engage in this conduct aware that the laws against it will be enforced.”
“We need to bring these types of crimes out of the shadows of darkness and resolve it from not only a law enforcement concern, but identify the community’s role in stopping such a heinous crime,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Jackson.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Gaston of the Eastern District of Texas, and William E. Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A St. Louis, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute at least a kilogram of heroin in Greene County, Mo.
Michael L. Hester, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to his role in the conspiracy to distribute heroin in Greene County from Sept. 1, 2012, to April 3, 2017.
Conspirators purchased heroin in Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis then transported it to the Springfield, Mo., area by vehicle. Hester admitted that he personally transported heroin from St. Louis to Springfield and supplied mid-level heroin dealers, including co-defendant Kenneth M. Smith, 60, of Springfield. Hester also admitted that he distributed heroin to an undercover law enforcement officer on several occasions.
Smith had multiple suppliers of heroin, including Hester and co-defendants Roosevelt Simpson, 60, and Najee Boston, 37, both of Springfield. Smith would in turn supply other mid-level heroin dealers, including co-defendant Antonio J. Jones, 43, of Springfield.
Hester, Smith, Simpson, Boston and Jones are among six defendants to plead guilty in this case. Co-defendant Romele E. Freeman, 53, of Springfield, also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Under federal statutes, Hester is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant 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 United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Sixteen People Charged in Second Takedown of Newark Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
Total of 27 Individuals Charged to Date
NEWARK, N.J. – Sixteen people were charged today in connection with their alleged roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin and crack cocaine in Newark, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Anthony Brinson, 27; Kayron Caldwell, 26; Calvin Cheek, 47; Murad Fleming, 18; Sherod Green, 25; Furad Loyal, 30; Jaquwin Marlin, 30; Khalif Nash, 20; Zahir Nash, 19; Dimani Newby, 25; Nasir Sanders, 21; Shawn Scott, 32; Kahlid Windley, 31; Stephan Young, 19; all of Newark, and Jeray Alson, 28; of Vauxhall, New Jersey, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. Loyal was additionally charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Sean Collins, 50, of East Orange, New Jersey, was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 280 grams of more of cocaine base, or “crack” cocaine.
Nine of the defendants are currently in custody, six of whom – Cheek, Loyal, Marlin, Scott, Windley and Young – are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court today.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:The defendants are allegedly members of a drug trafficking organization that sold heroin and crack cocaine in and around Newark, specifically Hayes Street and 14th Avenue in the area of the New Community Corp. (NCC) community development. The organization also supplied drugs to customers and other distributors elsewhere. The organization is comprised of members of the Brick City Brim set of the Bloods street gang
On March 5, 2018, 11 defendants, including Keith Herd, the alleged leader of the organization were charged in connection with the investigation. On Aug. 1, 2018, Martin Pettiford, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin. The charges against the other individuals remain pending.
The investigation revealed that in addition to selling narcotics, Herd and the other members of the organization alerted each other to police and rival gang member or drug dealer presence within NCC, shared narcotics supply, narcotics proceeds, and customers, and raised bail money for each other. Members of the organization have also engaged in violence and been the subject of violence in connection with their narcotics trafficking activities.
An investigation led by the FBI used physical and video surveillance, confidential informants, cooperating witnesses, dozens of controlled narcotics purchases, record checks, narcotics seizures, including of heroin, and multiple telephone wiretaps to uncover the operations of the drug trafficking organization.
The drug trafficking conspiracy counts carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. The illegal possession of a firearm count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime count carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and members of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Director Anthony F. Ambrose, with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the N.J. Department of Corrections, N.J. State Parole Board, and the U.S. Marshals for their assistance.
Keith Herd and the NCC drug trafficking organization were part of the original Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) targets. The VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around the Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is comprised of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine K. Lou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Significant opioid manufacturing reduction proposed for 2019Read the Press Release
ATLANTA – The Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently announced a proposed reduction for controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. The proposal decreases manufacturing quotas for the six most frequently misused opioids for 2019 by an average ten percent as compared to the 2018 amount.
“In 2017, nearly 1,050 Georgians died as a result of opioid overdoses,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Paky. “We must continue to fight this epidemic on all fronts. The proposed decrease in opioid production is a step in the right direction to potentially save lives, while also minimizing the illegal distribution of these drugs within our community.”
“DEA recognizes we must fight this epidemic on multiple fronts,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “This latest action is another tool to prevent others from falling victim to this deadly addiction to opioids.”
In setting the aggregate production quote (APQ), DEA considers data from many sources, including estimates of the legitimate medical need from the Food and Drug Administration; estimates of retail consumption based on prescriptions dispensed; manufacturers’ disposition history and forecasts; data from DEA’s own internal system for tracking controlled substance transactions; and past quota histories. The DEA has proposed to reduce more commonly prescribed schedule II opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, morphine, and fentanyl.
Ultimately, the revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potential addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to practitioners recommending a reduction in the prescribing of opioid medications for chronic pain. In the last several years, efforts have been to educate practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, distributors, and the public about the dangers associated with the misuse of opioid medications and the importance of proper prescribing.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Aggregate Production Quota for Opioids
Aggregate Production Quota for Opioids.pdfShelton Resident Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Defrauding Owner of Stamford Ice Skating RinkRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARK J. ZITO, 55, of Shelton, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for defrauding the owner of a Stamford ice skating facility that he managed.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from October 1999 to August 2014, ZITO was the general manager of Stamford Twin Rinks, an ice skating facility in Stamford. The facility is owned and operated by RivCan Associates, LLC (“RivCan”). ZITO was responsible for managing and overseeing the ice skating facility’s operations, and he had a written contract with RivCan in which he would be paid commissions for securing agreements from third party vendors to place advertising at the ice skating facility. ZITO created and utilized AAZ Consulting, an unincorporated entity controlled by him, to bill RivCan for these commissions.
During his employment, ZITO submitted to RivCan numerous fraudulent invoices, primarily for services that RivCan neither requested nor authorized, or for commissions that were either fraudulent or grossly inflated. As general manager, ZITO approved the payment of these invoices and directed his subordinates to issue him checks payable to AAZ Consulting.
The total loss from ZITO’s illegal conduct is $490,468.81, which also includes funds he received by claiming payments for purportedly maintaining and updating the skating rink facility’s internet website, and through unauthorized benefits in the form of excess salary payments, excess vacation pay, and cellular telephone reimbursements.
Chief Judge Hall ordered ZITO to make full restitution.
On December 20, 2017, ZITO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
ZITO, who is released on bond, was ordered to report to prison on September 25, 2018.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, Stamford Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.
Serial Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to Five Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Wesley Allen Krohn was sentenced to five years in prison for perpetrating a bank robbery spree, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Special Agent in Charge John Bennett of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s San Francisco Division and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Division. The Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge, handed down the sentence on August 20, 2018.
Krohn, 34, of San Jacinto, California, pleaded guilty to the robberies on April 23, 2018. According to his plea agreement, Krohn admitted that between December 2015 and January of 2016, he went on a bank robbery spree across northern California. In two of the robberies, Krohn used an object that appeared to be a black pistol. During some of the robberies, Krohn entered the banks wearing a fake beard and a baseball hat in an attempt to disguise himself, approached the victim tellers, and presented a note that demanded money, indicating that he had a gun. Krohn robbed, or attempted to rob, banks in Sonoma, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Solano, and San Joaquin counties:
- On December 3, 2015, Krohn robbed an Exchange Bank in Rohnert Park, California, of $9,000. Krohn’s demand note said, essentially, “Put $10,000 in an envelope quickly and you won’t get hurt.” When the victim teller pushed back from the counter after reading the note, Krohn noticed, and told the victim teller, “No quick movements.”
- On December 21, 2015, Krohn robbed a Tri Counties Bank in Brentwood, California, of $496. Krohn used a folded-up check as a demand note, which said, “I HAVE A GUN.” The blank check was filled out for $10,000. Krohn said, “Give me all your money.” Krohn kept his hand in his jacket pocket when he said, “Hurry up, I have a gun.”
- On December 22, 2015, Krohn robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in Pleasant Hill, California, of $650. Krohn pointed an object that appeared to be a black semi-automatic pistol at the victim teller and handed the teller a note that read, “No dye packs, $20,000.”
- On December 31, 2015, Krohn robbed a Bank of Rio Vista in Walnut Grove, California, of $1,439. Krohn approached the victim teller, brandished an object that appeared to be a black semi-automatic pistol, and said, in a low voice, something to the effect of, “This is a stick-up. Give me your [ ] money.” Krohn raised his weapon, pointed it in the direction of the victim teller, and ordered her to open the bottom two drawers.
- On January 9, 2016, Krohn robbed a US Bank in Suisun City, California, of $884. Krohn approached the victim teller, wearing a fake beard and a baseball cap, and presented a note that threatened he had a gun and demanded money. Krohn also verbally demanded money and said he had a gun.
- On January 19, 2016, Krohn attempted to rob a US Bank in Lodi, California. He presented a note stating “I have a gun. Give me all the money.” The teller pointed out that the bank had not yet opened and the cash drawers did not have money. Krohn fled without any money from the bank.
- On January 19, 2016, Krohn robbed a Tri Counties Bank in Elk Grove, California, of $2,144. Krohn approached the victim teller with a note that said something to the effect of, “I have a gun on me, hurry up, and give me all the money. This is not a joke.” While the teller was attempting to read the note, Krohn whispered to her, “Hurry up, I have a gun.”
Krohn was later identified as the bank robbery suspect who appeared in FBI flyers. He self-surrendered to federal authorities on December 8, 2017, following the grand jury’s return of an indictment. On April 19, 2018, Krohn was charged by Superseding Information with five counts of actual or attempted bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and two counts of armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (d).
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gilliam ordered Krohn to serve a three-year term of supervised release, and ordered him to pay full restitution to the victim banks. The defendant has been in custody since his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Quant. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, the Rohnert Park Police Department, the Brentwood Police Department, the Pleasant Hill Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the Suisun City Police Department, the Elk Grove Police Department, the Lodi Police Department, and the Clearlake Police Department.
Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Counterfeit Air Bag Covers and Nameplate BadgesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Pavel Ryzhenkov, 32, of Sacramento, California, pleaded guilty today to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
According to court documents, between December 2015 and September 2017, Ryzhenkov sold counterfeit air bag covers on eBay. He purchased the counterfeit covers from manufacturers in China and in turn advertised and sold them as genuine with the trademarks of various auto manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
Air bag covers made by unauthorized manufacturers can malfunction causing serious injury or death. Upon deployment of an air bag in a crash, counterfeit air bag covers can shatter, sending shrapnel into a vehicle’s passenger compartment.
“Mr. Ryzhenkov did not disclose the origin of the counterfeit air bag covers and thereby caused consumers to unknowingly operate vehicles not equipped with properly functioning air bags, posing a serious risk to their safety,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
“Counterfeit products pose real safety risks. In this case, counterfeit air bag covers could mean the difference between life and death,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle, which oversees the agency’s Portland office that conducted this investigation. “This investigation represents HSI’s commitment to protecting consumers. No one wants to be behind the wheel when an air bag doesn’t function properly.”
Ryzhenkov faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $2 million fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on December 12, 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.
HSI in Portland, Oregon, investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Quinn Harrington and Scott Bradford, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Consumers who have had their air bags or air bag covers serviced by a repair shop that is not part of a new car dealership or who have purchased an air bag or air bag cover online should contact their auto manufacturer to have their vehicle inspected and their air bag or air bag cover replaced if necessary. The responsibility for replacing a counterfeit air bag or air bag cover will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the original installation of the part. More information can be found on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website at www.nhtsa.gov.
Richard Monroe Sentenced to Twenty-Five Years in Prison in Connection with Murder of Kevin DeOliveiraRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that today Richard Monroe, age 26, was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont, for possessing firearms in furtherance of his cocaine trafficking and discharging a handgun and killing Kevin DeOliveira on January 2, 2015. At the time of his death, DeOliveira was 23 years old and enrolled at the University of Vermont. In April, Monroe pleaded guilty to two federal crimes in front of Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford. He admitted to conspiring with Zachery Hust and others to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine during the second half of 2014. He also pleaded guilty to a firearms charge that he carried, used and possessed firearms during, and in furtherance of, the cocaine conspiracy, and, in particular, that he discharged a handgun on January 2, 2015, resulting in the death of Kevin DeOliveira.
In court, Monroe admitted participating in the cocaine conspiracy. During 2014, Monroe regularly obtained quantities of cocaine from DeOliveira and redistributed part of that cocaine to various customers in the Burlington area. In late 2014, Hust joined the conspiracy. For example, Hust and Monroe planned to obtain a kilogram of cocaine to sell to a marijuana customer of Hust, though that deal never came to fruition. During 2014, the conspiracy involved well over 500 grams of cocaine.
Monroe also acknowledged carrying, using, and possessing firearms in furtherance of this cocaine conspiracy. In 2014, the defendant possessed several firearms, including two handguns, a Glock and a Browning Buckmark .22. He regularly carried the Glock or displayed it in his residence when distributing cocaine. Monroe also admitted shooting DeOliveira and killing him on January 2, 2015. In late 2014, Monroe had a financial dispute with DeOliveira over several ounces of cocaine that had been damaged. DeOliveira claimed that the defendant owed him several thousand dollars for the cocaine. Monroe disputed this debt. On the morning of January 2, 2015, Monroe approached the door of DeOliveira's residence at 58 Green Street in Burlington. When DeOliveira opened the door of his apartment, the defendant discharged his Browning Buckmark .22 pistol, firing one bullet into DeOliveira’s eye. This shot killed Kevin DeOliveira.
U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan stated: “we commend our law enforcement partners in the Burlington Police Department and ATF for their collaboration and dogged investigation, which resulted in justice for Kevin DeOliveira and his devoted family. We know they continue to grieve, but we hope today’s significant sentence gives them some peace and an opportunity to move forward. This was a senseless crime of terrible violence that rocked the Burlington community. We hope the resolution of this case will be a signal to that community and the entire state that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners at all levels will not tolerate violence in connection with the drug trade or in any other context, and that we will always join together to rectify this form of injustice and keep our communities safe. We also thank the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office for its early assistance with this important case.”
The charges Monroe pleaded guilty to carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years, with a maximum sentence of life. Monroe, however, pleaded guilty pursuant to a binding plea agreement in which the parties agreed to a sentence of 25 years in prison. Today, the court accepted the plea agreement after a hearing before the court where both Monroe and Kevin’s mother addressed Chief Judge Crawford. Monroe has been detained since his arrest on June 12, 2017.
“Richard Monroe murdered Kevin DeOliveira in 2015. Proving this beyond a reasonable doubt and holding him accountable for this killing was not a simple matter, but that is why the men and women of the United States Attorney's Office and the Burlington Police Department are relentless in seeking justice for the crime victims in our city," said Brandon del Pozo, the Chief of Police of Burlington, Vermont. "Monroe's sentencing today will not bring Kevin back, but it will remind those who loved him that we did not forget that the government had a duty to hold his assailant responsible. And so he will be."
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates ATF’s commitment to targeting violent criminals who possess firearms in furtherance of narcotics trafficking”, said Mickey Leadingham, ATF Special Agent in Charge Field of the Boston Field Division. “Additionally, ATF’s forensic laboratory played a pivotal role in this investigation as they did specialized ballistic comparisons to the recovered firearm. ATF will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to eliminate these type of crimes and keep our communities safe.”
The arrest of Monroe was the culmination of a multi-agency investigation that began in early 2015. The collaborative effort was led by the Burlington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan and Assistant United States Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf prosecuted the case. Monroe is represented by Attorneys Mark Kaplan and Natasha Sen.
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.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter and Wife Indicted for Converting Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Campaign Funds and Falsifying Campaign Finance RecordsRead the Press Release
Kelly Thornton, Director of Media Relations (619) 546-9726
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 21, 2018
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter and his wife, Margaret E. Hunter, were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges that they converted more than $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses and filed false campaign finance records with the Federal Election Commission.
A 48-page indictment details scores of instances beginning in 2009 and continuing through 2016 in which the Hunters illegally used campaign money to pay for personal expenses that they could not otherwise afford. The purchases included family vacations to Italy, Hawaii, Phoenix, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho; school tuition; dental work; theater tickets; and domestic and international travel for almost a dozen relatives. The Hunters also spent tens of thousands of dollars on smaller purchases, including fast food, movie tickets, golf outings, video games, coffee, groceries, home utilities, and expensive meals.
To conceal their personal spending, the Hunters mischaracterized the purchases in FEC filings as “campaign travel,” “dinner with volunteers/contributors,” “toy drives,” “teacher/parent and supporter events,” “gift cards” for charitable donations, and “gift basket items,” among other false descriptions. Family dental bills paid with campaign funds were characterized as a charitable contribution to “Smiles for Life.” Theater tickets were mischaracterized as “holiday gift certificates.” Tickets for the family to see Riverdance at the San Diego Civic Theater became “San Diego Civic Center for Republican Women Federated/Fundraising.” And to disguise their children’s tuition payments to Christian Unified Schools in El Cajon, the Hunters provided a number of conflicting explanations, including that the payments were charitable contributions.
The Hunters’ improper use of campaign funds for personal expenses occurred despite numerous warnings about the prohibition against using campaign funds for personal expenses and repeated inquiries from Duncan Hunter’s campaign treasurer about questionable purchases. According to the indictment, the Hunters knew that many of their desired purchases could be made only by using campaign funds, since they did not otherwise have sufficient personal funds to pay for their purchases. The criminal investigation began in June of 2016, two months after the Federal Election Commission and the San Diego Union-Tribune questioned some of Hunter’s campaign expenses as potentially personal.
“The indictment alleges that Congressman Hunter and his wife repeatedly dipped into campaign coffers as if they were personal bank accounts, and falsified FEC campaign finance reports to cover their tracks,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman. “Elected representatives should jealously guard the public’s trust, not abuse their positions for personal gain. Today’s indictment is a reminder that no one is above the law.”
The Hunters are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo. They are charged with Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the United States, Wire Fraud, Falsification of Records and Prohibited Use of Campaign Contributions.
This case was investigated by the San Diego Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Phillip Halpern, Emily Allen and Mark Conover. The United States Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, Election Crimes Branch for their assistance in this matter.\
Indictment Document (click
HERE )DEFENDANTS Case Number 18cr3677
Duncan D. Hunter Age: 41 Alpine, CA
Margaret E. Hunter Age: 43 Alpine, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the United States – Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 371
Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1343
Falsification of Records – Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 1519
Prohibited Use of Campaign Contributions – Title 52 U.S.C., Secs. 30109(d) and 30114(b)
Aiding and Abetting – Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 2
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Project Huntington Update: Four More Operation Saigon Sunset Defendants Plead Guilty to Federal Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Four more individuals indicted for their roles in a major, multi-state heroin and fentanyl distribution network pled guilty today to a federal drug conspiracy charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. To date, 8 of the 15 defendants charged in connection with the Peterson drug trafficking organization have entered guilty pleas. Stuart commended the joint investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West.
“The Peterson drug trafficking organization operated for years, selling deadly drugs in Huntington,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “This is, however, not a time to celebrate. We need to ramp up our efforts, take back our streets, and send the drug thugs packing for good. Our good citizens have had enough, been terrorized enough, and their anger and determination fuels my efforts.”
Manget Peterson, also known as “Money,” 45, from Detroit, entered his guilty plea to the indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of fentanyl. Peterson admitted that between August 2017 and April 2018 he conspired with individuals to distribute heroin and fentanyl in Huntington, West Virginia. Peterson admitted that he obtained heroin from Willie Peterson, also known as “Chill,” in Detroit to sell in Huntington and would send drug proceeds to Willie Peterson. Peterson also admitted that between September 2017 and April 2018 he supplied Lonnie Berry, II with heroin to sell in exchange for money. Peterson faces between 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 3, 2018.
David Miller, also known as “John,” 26, from Huntington, entered his guilty plea to the indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Miller admitted that between August 2017 and April 2018 he conspired with Willie Peterson, also known as “Chill,” and Manget Peterson, also known as “Money,” to distribute heroin and fentanyl in Huntington, West Virginia. Miller admitted that he would travel to Detroit to obtain heroin and fentanyl and then return to Huntington to sell the heroin and fentanyl. As part of the plea agreement, Miller admitted that in March 2018 he traveled to Detroit and purchased fentanyl and cocaine. Michigan State Police conducted a traffic stop on Miller and recovered 195 grams of fentanyl and 27 grams of cocaine. Miller admitted he intended to transport the substances to Huntington to sell. Miller faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 3, 2018.
Silas Pardue, 34, and Ashley Pardue, 33, from Barboursville, entered guilty pleas to the indictment charging them with conspiracy to distribute heroin.
Silas Pardue admitted that between August 2017 and April 2018 he conspired with individuals to distribute heroin in Huntington. As part of his plea agreement, Silas Pardue admitted that Manget Peterson, also known as “Money,” supplied him with heroin to use or to sell. Pardue admitted to selling heroin to a male in January 2018 at the WalMart on Route 60 in Huntington.
Ashley Pardue admitted that between August 2017 and March 2018 she conspired with Manget Peterson, also known as “Money,” to distribute heroin in Huntington. As part of her plea agreement, Ashley Pardue admitted that Manget Peterson, also known as “Money,” supplied her with heroin to use or to sell. Pardue admitted to selling heroin to a female in January 2018 at the WalMart on Route 60 in Huntington.
Silas and Ashley Pardue both face up to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced on December 3, 2018.
This investigation was the result of a joint effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West. The plea hearings were held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor is handling the prosecution.
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Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
Philadelphia – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Jonathan Foggie, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today to a Superseding Information charging him with two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery, two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Earlier this year, the defendant participated in numerous armed robberies. On January 11, 2018, the defendant, along with others, robbed Harris Hair Styling at gunpoint in Philadelphia. At the time, there were employees and several customers inside the salon, including a young child. When a customer placed himself between the gunmen and the child, the customer struggled with one of the robbers, and the robber shot the customer, causing permanent incapacitating injury. On January 26, 2018, the defendant, along with another individual, robbed Mike’s Service Center at gunpoint in Philadelphia. As an employee attempted to flee, the defendant hit the employee in the head with a firearm, tackled the employee to the ground, and shot the employee in his side.
Under the terms of the guilty plea, Foggie faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, with 35 years’ mandatory minimum imprisonment, a mandatory minimum five years supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a $1,250,000 fine, and a $500 special assessment. A sentencing hearing is scheduled on December 10, 2018 before the Honorable Michael M. Baylson. Law enforcement continues its investigation into the other individuals responsible for these crimes.
“The defendant was a menace to the City of Philadelphia, terrorizing multiple victims and leaving some permanently injured,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “He clearly has no respect for the law, and we are pleased that he is now off the streets and in a jail cell.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. LaBar.
Owners of Pennsylvania Based Internet Floral Company Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Pennsylvania couple that owned and operated an internet floral business were sentenced to prison today for failing to pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for filing fraudulent personal and corporate tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Andrew Bassaner (aka Andrew Bunchuk) was sentenced to 42 months in prison, and his wife and business partner, Vicki Bunchuk, was sentenced to six months in prison. The defendants were convicted in February 2018 following a jury trial.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Andrew Bassaner and Vicki Bunchuk owned and operated Florist Concierge Inc. (FCI). For tax years 2010 through 2012, Bunchuk, aided and assisted by Bassaner, filed fraudulent corporate and personal income tax returns with the IRS. They diverted funds from FCI, which they falsely deducted as business expenses on FCI’s corporate returns and did not report as income on their personal returns. The expenses included over $200,000 in personal expenditures such as luxury cars, the down payment on a multimillion-dollar house, tickets to sporting events, and home repairs.
In addition, Bassaner and Bunchuk filed fraudulent employment tax returns for FCI that falsely classified its employees as independent contractors. Based on this fraudulent classification, Bassaner and Bunchuk claimed not to owe employment taxes on the wages paid to those individuals.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney McSwain thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorneys Christopher O’Donnell and Jack Morgan of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
Opinion: Charlottesville, One Year LaterRead the Press Release
By Thomas T. Cullen
United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
The one-year anniversary of the odious “Unite the Right” (UTR) rally in Charlottesville thankfully passed without incident. Marked by mainly peaceful marches and rallies on the grounds of the University of Virginia and the Downtown Mall, this weekend’s events stood in stark contrast to the ugly and violent episodes of last year.
Law enforcement—particularly the Virginia State Police (VSP)—deserves enormous credit for planning, organizing, and implementing a security apparatus that provided a safe environment for protected First-Amendment activities and deterred those individuals intent on further violence from appearing and carrying out their nefarious plans.
As the U.S. Attorney for Western Virginia, I had the opportunity to observe this planning up close. Under the leadership of Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran, VSP Superintendent Gary Settle, and newly appointed Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney, law-enforcement officials marshalled myriad state and local government agencies under one unified command structure.
This group of law enforcement had been preparing for the anniversary weekend since last fall. Drawing on the painful but important lessons of 2017, the unified command recognized the importance of cooperation and coordination in every aspect of this huge undertaking.
The results speak for themselves. Operating out of a make-shift command center at a local park, state and local officials executed the security plan nearly to perfection. By Friday afternoon, over 700 state troopers and police officers from across the Commonwealth arrived in Charlottesville to augment local police forces. These officers and troopers, including some from the Roanoke Valley, monitored the security perimeter around Court Square Park and the Downtown Mall, redirected vehicular traffic away from protected areas, conducted continuous bike patrols, and generally provided a reassuring presence for protesters, citizens, and business owners alike. Although focused on maintaining order and safety, these officers, who were working long shifts, away from home, in 90-degree heat, were cheerful, courteous, and professional.
The weekend was not without its challenges or controversy. On Saturday evening, some participants at a planned “Rally for Justice” event near UVA’s Rotunda, agitated by the security measures and strong police presence, loudly—and, in some cases, vulgarly—protested officers posted along the Lawn. Cooler heads quickly prevailed, and rally participants eventually made their way, under police protection, downtown. On Sunday, approximately 150 people gathered for a peaceful community event in Washington Park and, later, for a memorial service for Heather Heyer near the intersection of Fourth and Water Streets, where, last August 12, she was murdered by an avowed white supremacist. Police, ever vigilant, made sure both events occurred without incident.
In the wake of last weekend’s events, some Charlottesville residents and organizers have criticized what they perceived as the unwarranted and heavy-handed role of law enforcement. These voices, many of whom, it must be said, are hostile to law enforcement generally, questioned why these security measures were necessary given the absence of white supremacists from this year’s anniversary. This criticism is, in my view, both ironic and unjustified.
Indeed some of these critics are among the same people who loudly criticized Charlottesville officials and the VSP for a perceived passive response to the events of last summer. And even though UTR organizer Jason Kessler had withdrawn his application to hold an official event this year, law enforcement had no choice but to carry out the security plan based on the well-reasoned assumption, informed by intelligence received in the days and weeks leading up to the anniversary weekend, that potentially violent individuals and groups could still descend on Charlottesville. Simply put, in light of what had occurred last year and the real potential for violence to reoccur, it would have been a gross dereliction of duty for law enforcement to do anything else.
As Charlottesville continues to heal from the events of last summer, it is my hope that members of the community recognize the vital role and contributions of law enforcement. Thanks in no small part to their efforts, Charlottesville was able to mark this solemn occasion with the peace and reflection it deserved.
Oklahoma City Multi-Level Marketing Company Agrees to Distribution of $610,800 in Seized Funds to Alleged Fraud VictimsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – TREVO, LLC, and it principals, MARK STEVENS and HOLLI STEVENS, have agreed not to contest the distribution of $610,800 to victims of an alleged email fraud scheme.
In a civil forfeiture complaint filed in July 2016, the United States alleged that $610,800 in a bank account at Wells Fargo Bank in Trevo’s name were the proceeds of wire fraud. Trevo is a multi-level marketing company based in Oklahoma City, with its primary international office in Nigeria. Founded by Mark and Holli Stevens in 2009, its main product is nutritional supplement juice.
According to an affidavit incorporated into the government’s forfeiture complaint, perpetrators of a number of email fraud schemes instructed multiple victims to send money to various bank accounts under Trevo’s control at Wells Fargo Bank and BancFirst. In some instances, perpetrators pretended to strike up romantic relationships with victims. In others, they offered fictitious economic opportunities. In both cases, victims agreed to send money to bank accounts as instructed. In 2014, Trevo closed its BancFirst accounts and transferred its assets to Wells Fargo Bank.
After the United States filed its complaint and froze certain Trevo funds at Wells Fargo Bank, five individuals and one corporation notified the government they were victims of the alleged frauds and entitled to a portion of the seized funds. Trevo also filed a claim to the seized funds.
On August 14, 2018, the United States, Trevo, and Trevo’s principals agreed the seized funds will be distributed to the six victims and that Trevo’s claim should be dismissed. In reaching this settlement, Trevo and its principals did not admit any involvement in wire fraud and the United States did not concede its allegations lack merit. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty of litigating the proper distribution of the seized funds.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson D. McGarry, Don Evans, and Brandon Hale worked on the case in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Northern Florida U.S. Attorney Supports DOJ/DEA Proposal to Reduce Opioid Manufacturing in 2019Read the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida supports the proposal from the Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to reduce controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases manufacturing quotas for the most six frequently misused opioids for 2019 by an average ten percent as compared to the 2018 amount. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) marks the third straight year of proposed reductions, which help reduce the amount of drugs potentially diverted for trafficking and used to facilitate addiction.
Christopher P. Canova, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said: “Northern Florida communities and our neighbors across the country have suffered from the abuse of these highly addictive drugs, which can quickly destroy lives, families, friends, and careers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to supporting strategies that fight the epidemic. Some of these strategies include: limiting the production and prescription of opioids, prosecuting drug trafficking organizations and medical professionals who illegally divert controlled substances, raising public awareness especially among young people, and strengthening law enforcement and public health agency partnerships to use every available resource to monitor and combat the opioid crisis.”
On July 11, 2018, the Justice Department announced that DEA was issuing a final rule amending its regulations to improve the agency’s ability to consider the likelihood of whether a drug can be diverted for abuse when it sets annual opioid production limits. The final rule also promotes greater involvement from state attorneys general, and today’s proposed reduction will be sent to those offices.
In setting the aggregate production quote (APQ), DEA considers data from many sources, including estimates of the legitimate medical need from the Food and Drug Administration; estimates of retail consumption based on prescriptions dispensed; manufacturers’ disposition history and forecasts; data from DEA’s own internal system for tracking controlled substance transactions; and past quota histories.
The DEA has proposed to reduce more commonly prescribed schedule II opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, morphine, and fentanyl:
Ultimately, revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potential addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.
“The opioid epidemic that we are facing today is the worst drug crisis in American history,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “President Trump has set the ambitious goal of reducing opioid prescription rates by one-third in three years. We embrace that goal and are resolutely committed to reaching it. According to the National Prescription Audit, we have already made significant progress in reducing prescription rates over the past year. Cutting opioid production quotas by an average of ten percent next year will help us continue that progress and make it harder to divert these drugs for abuse. The American people can be confident that federal law enforcement and the Trump administration are taking action to protect them from dangerous drugs. These smarter limits bring us one big step closer to President Trump’s goal of finally ending this unprecedented crisis. I congratulate Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon and his team for taking action.”
“We’ve lost too many lives to the opioid epidemic and families and communities suffer tragic consequences every day,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. “This significant drop in prescriptions by doctors and DEA’s production quota adjustment will continue to reduce the amount of drugs available for illicit diversion and abuse while ensuring that patients will continue to have access to proper medicine.”
Once the aggregate quota is set, DEA allocates individual manufacturing and procurement quotas to those manufacturers that apply for them. DEA may revise a company’s quota at any time during the year if change is warranted due to increased or decreased sales or exports, new manufacturers entering the market, new product development, or product recalls.
When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, the quota system was intended to reduce or eliminate diversion from “legitimate channels of trade” by controlling the quantities of the basic ingredients needed for the manufacture of controlled substances.
The Proposed Aggregate Production Quotas for schedule I and II controlled substances published in the Federal Register reflects the total amount of controlled substances necessary to meet the country’s medical, scientific, research, industrial, and export needs for the year and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks. DEA establishes an APQ for more than 250 schedule I and II controlled substances annually.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to practitioners recommending a reduction in the prescribing of opioid medications for chronic pain. DEA and its federal partners have increased efforts in the last several years to educate practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, distributors, and the public about the dangers associated with the misuse of opioid medications and the importance of proper prescribing.
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 available 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.
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Everton Ellis, 41, of Yonkers, New York, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2017 and January 2018, in Nashua, New Hampshire, defendant Ellis conspired with others to steal identification information of other persons and use those identities to establish new Sprint accounts. They then caused Sprint to ship thousands of dollars’ worth of iPads and iPhones on credit. As part of the scheme, Ellis and his co-conspirators: (1) obtained large numbers of Vanilla Visa debit cards; (2) used the debit cards to establish Sprint accounts in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen; (3) pretending to be the victims whose identities they had stolen, purchased large quantities of iPhones and iPads on credit; (4) caused Sprint to ship the purchased iPhones and iPads to residences in New Hampshire; (5) soon after the goods were delivered, traveled to the New Hampshire addresses where the goods were shipped, trespassed on the properties, and took the packages into their possession; (6) rented a vehicle and a motel room in Nashua for use in the scheme; and (7) manufactured and possessed false photo ID cards in the names of New Hampshire residents.
Ellis is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2018.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to coordinate closely with our law enforcement colleagues to thwart fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “We particularly focus on cases where individuals’ identities are stolen or compromised. I commend the law enforcement officers whose work disrupted this significant fraud scheme.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail. We will continue to conduct investigations that seek prosecution of those who fraudulently use the U.S. Mail by working with our federal and local law enforcement partners.” Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Nashua Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.
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New Mexico Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter Related to Drunk DrivingRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On August 20, 2018, Christopher Cortines, 26, of Santa Fe, N.M. and a member of the San Idelfonso Pueblo Tribe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi to 40 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Cortines had previously pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter.
Cortines, who was driving his vehicle within the confines of the Navajo Nation near Dennehotso, Ariz., with a BAC level of between .118 and .151, caused his vehicle to crash, killing his sole passenger, his friend and a member of the Navajo Nation.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The prosecution was handled by Sharon K. Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-8316-PCT-JJT
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-112_ Cortines
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Eight Counts, Including Criminal Tax Evasion and Campaign Finance ViolationsRead the Press Release
Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James D. Robnett, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced today the guilty plea of MICHAEL COHEN to charges of tax evasion, making false statements to a federally-insured bank, and campaign finance violations. The plea was entered followed the filing of an eight-count criminal information, which alleged that COHEN concealed more than $4 million in personal income from the IRS, made false statements to a federally-insured financial institution in connection with a $500,000 home equity loan, and, in 2016, caused $280,000 in payments to be made to silence two women who otherwise planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate, thereby intending to influence the 2016 presidential election. COHEN pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III.
Attorney for the United States Robert Khuzami said: “Michael Cohen is a lawyer who, rather than setting an example of respect for the law, instead chose to break the law, repeatedly over many years and in a variety of ways. His day of reckoning serves as a reminder that we are a nation of laws, with one set of rules that applies equally to everyone.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “This investigation uncovered crimes of fraud, deception and evasion, conducted through a string of financial transactions that were carefully constructed and concealed to protect a variety of interests. But as we all know, the truth can only remain hidden for so long before the FBI brings it to light. We are all expected to follow the rule of law, and the public expects us - the FBI - to enforce the law equally. Today, Mr. Cohen has been reminded of this important lesson, as he acknowledged with his guilty plea.”
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett said: “Today’s guilty plea exemplifies IRS Special Agents' rigorous pursuit of tax evasion and sends the clear message that the tax laws apply to everybody. Mr. Cohen’s greed to hide his income from the IRS cheats all the honest taxpayers, and we should not expect law abiding citizens to foot the bill for those who circumvent the system to evade paying their fair share.”
According to the allegations in the Information unsealed today as well as statements made in Manhattan federal court:
From 2007 through January 2017, COHEN was an attorney and employee of a Manhattan-based real estate company (the “Company”). COHEN held the title of “Executive Vice President” and “Special Counsel” to the owner of the Company (“Individual-1”). In January 2017, COHEN left the Company and began holding himself out as the “personal attorney” to Individual-1, who by that time had become the President of the United States.
In addition to working for and earning income from the Organization, at all times relevant to this Information, COHEN owned taxi medallions in New York City and Chicago worth millions of dollars. COHEN owned these taxi medallions as investments and leased the medallions to operators who paid COHEN a portion of the operating income.
The Tax Evasion Scheme
In late 2013, COHEN retained an accountant (“Accountant-1”) for the purpose of handling COHEN’s personal and entity tax returns. After being retained, Accountant-1 filed amended 2011 and 2012 Form 1040 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). For tax years 2013 through 2016, Accountant-1 prepared individual returns for COHEN and returns for COHEN’s medallion and real estate entities. To confirm he had reviewed and approved these returns, both COHEN and his wife signed a Form 8879 for tax years 2013 through 2016, and filed manually for tax year 2012. Between 2012 and the end of 2016, COHEN earned more than $2.4 million in income from a series of personal loans made by COHEN to a taxi operator to whom COHEN leased certain of his Chicago taxi medallions (“Taxi Operator-1”), none of which he disclosed to the IRS.
As a further part of the scheme to evade paying income taxes, COHEN also concealed more than $1.3 million in income he received from another taxi operator to whom COHEN leased certain of his New York medallions (“Taxi Operator-2”). This income took two forms. First, COHEN did not report the substantial majority of a bonus payment of at least $870,000, which was made by Taxi Operator-2 in 2012 to induce COHEN to allow Taxi Operator-2 to operate certain of COHEN’s medallions. Second, between 2012 and 2016, COHEN concealed nearly $1 million in taxable income he received from Taxi Operator-2’s operation of certain of COHEN’s taxi medallions.
To ensure the concealment of this additional operator income, COHEN arranged to receive a portion of the medallion income personally, as opposed to having the income paid to COHEN’s medallion entities. Paying the medallion entities would have alerted Accountant-1, who prepared the returns for those entities, to the existence of the income such that it would have been included on COHEN’s tax returns.
As a further part of his scheme to evade taxes, COHEN also hid the following additional sources of income from Accountant-1 and the IRS:
- A $100,000 payment received, in 2014, for brokering the sale of a piece of property in a private aviation community in Ocala, Florida.
- Approximately $30,000 in profit made, in 2014, for brokering the sale of a Birkin Bag, a highly coveted French handbag that retails for between $11,900 to $300,000, depending on the type of leather or animal skin used.
- More than $200,000 in consulting income earned in 2016 from an assisted living company purportedly for COHEN’s “consulting” on real estate and other projects.
In total, COHEN failed to report more than $4 million in income, resulting in the avoidance of taxes of more than $1.4 million due to the IRS.
False Statements to a Bank
In 2010, COHEN, through companies he controlled, executed a $6.4 million promissory note with a bank (“Bank-1”), collateralized by COHEN’s taxi medallions and personally guaranteed by COHEN. A year later, in 2011, COHEN personally obtained a $6 million line of credit from Bank-1 (the “Line of Credit”), also collateralized by his taxi medallions. By February 2013, COHEN had increased the Line of Credit from $6 million to $14 million, thereby increasing COHEN’s personal medallion liabilities at Bank-1 to more than $20 million.
In November 2014, COHEN refinanced his medallion debt at Bank-1 with another bank (“Bank-2”), who shared the debt with a New York-based credit union (the “Credit Union”). The transaction was structured as a package of individual loans to the entities that owned COHEN’s New York medallions. Following the loans’ closing, COHEN’s medallion debt at Bank-1 was paid off with funds from Bank-2 and the Credit Union, and the Line of Credit with Bank-1 was closed.
In 2013, in connection with a successful application for a mortgage from another Bank (“Bank-3”) for his Park Avenue condominium (the “2013 Application”), COHEN disclosed only the $6.4 million medallion loan he had with Bank-1 at the time. As noted above, COHEN also had a larger, $14 million Line of Credit with Bank-1 secured by his medallions, which COHEN did not disclose in the 2013 Application.
In February 2015, COHEN, in an attempt to secure financing from Bank-3 to purchase a summer home for approximately $8.5 million, again concealed the $14 million Line of Credit. Specifically, in connection with this proposed transaction, Bank-3 obtained a 2014 personal financial statement COHEN had provided to Bank-2 while refinancing his medallion debt. Bank-3 questioned COHEN about the $14 million Line of Credit reflected on that personal financial statement, because COHEN had omitted that debt from the 2013 Application to Bank-3. COHEN misled Bank-3, stating, in writing, that the $14 million Line of Credit was undrawn and that he would close it. In truth and in fact, COHEN had effectively overdrawn the Line of Credit, having swapped it out for a fully drawn, larger loan shared by Bank-2 and the Credit Union upon refinancing his medallion debt. When Bank-3 informed COHEN that it would only provide financing if COHEN closed the Line of Credit, COHEN lied again, misleadingly stating in an email: “The medallion line was closed in the middle of November 2014.”
In December 2015, COHEN contacted Bank-3 to apply for a home equity line of credit (“HELOC”). In so doing, COHEN again significantly understated his medallion debt. Specifically, in the HELOC application, COHEN, together with his wife, represented a positive net worth of more than $40 million, again omitting the $14 million in medallion debt with Bank-2 and the Credit Union. Because COHEN had previously confirmed in writing to Bank-3 that the $14 million Line of Credit had been closed, Bank-3 had no reason to question COHEN about the omission of this liability on the HELOC application. In addition, in seeking the HELOC, COHEN substantially and materially understated his monthly expenses to Bank-3 by omitting at least $70,000 in monthly interest payments due to Bank-2 on the true amount of his medallion debt.
In April 2016, Bank-3 approved COHEN for a $500,000 HELOC. By fraudulently concealing truthful information about his financial condition, COHEN obtained a HELOC that Bank-3 would otherwise not have approved.
Campaign Finance Violations
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, Title 52, United States Code, Section 30101, et seq., (the “Election Act”), regulates the influence of money on politics. At all relevant times, the Election Act set certain limitations and prohibitions, among them: (a) individual contributions to any presidential candidate, including expenditures coordinated with a candidate or his political committee, were limited to $2,700 per election, and presidential candidates and their committees were prohibited from accepting contributions from individuals in excess of this limit; and (b) Corporations were prohibited from making contributions directly to presidential candidates, including expenditures coordinated with candidates or their committees, and candidates were prohibited from accepting corporate contributions.
On June 16, 2015, Individual-1 began his presidential campaign. While COHEN continued to work at the Company and did not have a formal title with the campaign, he had a campaign email address and, at various times, advised the campaign, including on matters of interest to the press, and made televised and media appearances on behalf of the campaign.
In August 2015, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Corporation-1, a media company that owns, among other things, a popular tabloid magazine (“Chairman-1” and “Magazine-1,” respectively”), in coordination with COHEN and one or more members of the campaign, offered to help deal with negative stories about Individual-1’s relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. Chairman-1 agreed to keep COHEN apprised of any such negative stories.
Consistent with the agreement described above, Corporation-1 advised COHEN of negative stories during the course of the campaign, and COHEN, with the assistance of Corporation-1, was able to arrange for the purchase of two stories so as to suppress them and prevent them from influencing the election.
First, in June 2016, a model and actress (“Woman-1”) began attempting to sell her story of her alleged extramarital affair with Individual-1 that had taken place in 2006 and 2007, knowing the story would be of considerable value because of the election. Woman-1 retained an attorney (“Attorney-1”), who in turn contacted the editor-in-chief of Magazine-1 (“Editor-1”), and offered to sell Woman-1’s story to Magazine-1. Chairman-1 and Editor-1 informed COHEN of the story. At COHEN’s urging and subject to COHEN’s promise that Corporation-1 would be reimbursed, Editor-1 ultimately began negotiating for the purchase of the story.
On August 5, 2016, Corporation-1 entered into an agreement with Woman-1 to acquire her “limited life rights” to the story of her relationship with “any then-married man,” in exchange for $150,000 and a commitment to feature her on two magazine covers and publish more than 100 magazine articles authored by her. Despite the cover and article features to the agreement, its principal purpose, as understood by those involved, including COHEN, was to suppress Woman-1’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.
Between late August 2016 and September 2016, COHEN agreed with Chairman-1 to assign the rights to the non-disclosure portion of Corporation-1’s agreement with Woman-1 to COHEN for $125,000. COHEN incorporated a shell entity called “Resolution Consultants LLC” for use in the transaction. Both Chairman-1 and COHEN ultimately signed the agreement, and a consultant for Corporation-1, using his own shell entity, provided COHEN with an invoice for the payment of $125,000. However, in early October 2016, after the assignment agreement was signed but before COHEN had paid the $125,000, Chairman-1 contacted COHEN and told him, in substance, that the deal was off and that COHEN should tear up the assignment agreement.
Second, on October 8, 2016, an agent for an adult film actress (“Woman-2”) informed Editor-1 that Woman-2 was willing to make public statements and confirm on the record her alleged past affair with Individual-1. Chairman-1 and Editor-1 then contacted COHEN and put him in touch with Attorney-1, who was also representing Woman-2. Over the course of the next few days, COHEN negotiated a $130,000 agreement with Attorney-1 to himself purchase Woman-2’s silence, and received a signed confidential settlement agreement and a separate side letter agreement from Attorney-1.
COHEN did not immediately execute the agreement, nor did he pay Woman-2. On the evening of October 25, 2016, with no deal with Woman-2 finalized, Attorney-1 told Editor-1 that Woman-2 was close to completing a deal with another outlet to make her story public. Editor-1, in turn, texted COHEN that “[w]e have to coordinate something on the matter [Attorney-1 is] calling you about or it could look awfully bad for everyone.” Chairman-1 and Editor-1 then called COHEN through an encrypted telephone application. COHEN agreed to make the payment, and then called Attorney-1 to finalize the deal.
The next day, on October 26, 2016, COHEN emailed an incorporating service to obtain the corporate formation documents for another shell corporation, Essential Consultants LLC, which COHEN had incorporated a few days prior. Later that afternoon, COHEN drew down $131,000 from the fraudulently obtained HELOC and requested that it be deposited into a bank account COHEN had just opened in the name of Essential Consultants. The next morning, on October 27, 2016, COHEN went to Bank-3 and wired approximately $130,000 from Essential Consultants to Attorney-1. On the bank form to complete the wire, COHEN falsely indicated that the “purpose of wire being sent” was “retainer.” On November 1, 2016, COHEN received from Attorney-1 copies of the final, signed confidential settlement agreement and side letter agreement.
COHEN caused and made the payments described herein in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. In so doing, he coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. As a result of the payments solicited and made by COHEN, neither Woman-1 nor Woman-2 spoke to the press prior to the election.
In January 2017, COHEN in seeking reimbursement for election-related expenses, presented executives of the Company with a copy of a bank statement from the Essential Consultants bank account, which reflected the $130,000 payment COHEN had made to the bank account of Attorney-1 in order to keep Woman-2 silent in advance of the election, plus a $35 wire fee, adding, in handwriting, an additional “$50,000.” The $50,000 represented a claimed payment for “tech services,” which in fact related to work COHEN had solicited from a technology company during and in connection with the campaign. COHEN added these amounts to a sum of $180,035. After receiving this document, executives of the Company “grossed up” for tax purposes COHEN’s requested reimbursement of $180,000 to $360,000, and then added a bonus of $60,000 so that COHEN would be paid $420,000 in total. Executives of the Company also determined that the $420,000 would be paid to COHEN in monthly amounts of $35,000 over the course of 12 months, and that COHEN should send invoices for these payments.
On February 14, 2017, COHEN sent an executive of the Company (“Executive-1”) the first of his monthly invoices, requesting “[p]ursuant to [a] retainer agreement, . . . payment for services rendered for the months of January and February, 2017.” The invoice listed $35,000 for each of those two months. Executive-1 forwarded the invoice to another executive of the Company (“Executive-2”) the same day by email, and it was approved. Executive-1 forwarded that email to another employee at the Company, stating: “Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses. Put ‘retainer for the months of January and February 2017’ in the description.”
Throughout 2017, COHEN sent to one or more representatives of the Company monthly invoices, which stated, “Pursuant to the retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for” the relevant month in 2017, and sought $35,000 per month. The Company accounted for these payments as legal expenses. In truth and in fact, there was no such retainer agreement, and the monthly invoices COHEN submitted were not in connection with any legal services he had provided in 2017.
During 2017, pursuant to the invoices described above, COHEN received monthly $35,000 reimbursement checks, totaling $420,000.
* * *
COHEN, 51, of NEW YORK, NEW YORK, pleaded guilty to five counts of willful tax evasion; one count of making false statements to a bank; one count of causing an unlawful campaign contribution; and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution.
COHEN’S sentencing is scheduled for December 12 at 11 a.m.
A chart identifying the charges and the maximum penalties applicable to COHEN is below.
Count
Charge
Maximum Penalty
1-5
Tax Evasion
5 years in prison
6
Making false statements to a federally insured bank
30 years in prison
7
Causing an unlawful corporate contribution
5 years in prison
8
Making an excessive campaign contribution
5 years in prison
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Khuzami praised the work of the FBI, the IRS, and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea M. Griswold, Rachel Maimin, Thomas McKay, and Nicolas Roos are in charge of the prosecution.
Mexican National Arrested for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Mexican national was arrested yesterday in connection with drug trafficking activities that resulted in the seizure of approximately four kilograms of suspected heroin.
Miguel Angel Torres Morales, 39, was charged today by criminal complaint with possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.
According to court documents, a cooperating witness arranged to purchase four kilograms of “china white,” referring to fentanyl, from a large-scale narcotics distributor for $55,000 per kilogram. The distributor agreed to deliver the drugs to the cooperating witness using a courier. On Aug. 20, 2018, Torres Morales drove a tractor trailer to the area of the “Park and Ride” parking lot on Granite Avenue in Milton to deliver the drugs. Federal agents stopped the tractor trailer and, in a cabinet behind the driver’s seat, located four brick-packed kilograms of tan powder wrapped in cellophane. A field test of the powder tested positive for heroin.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. Torres Morales will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren A. Graber of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mexican Lawyer Heads to Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 30-year-old Mexican resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiring to import and importing nearly 15 kilograms of heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Nestor Omar Dueñas-Jimenez, of Villa de Alvarez, Colima, Mexico, pleaded guilty May 1, 2018.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo handed Dueñas-Jimenez a 63-month sentence. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face deportation proceedings following the sentence. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that given his education and background, Dueñas-Jimenez should have known better.
Dueñas-Jimenez is licensed to practice law in Mexico.
On March 4, 2018, Dueñas-Jimenez applied for admission into the United States from Mexico via the Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge driving a Chevrolet Cruze. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers referred him to secondary inspection, during which time they discovered 14.66 kilograms of heroin hidden in his vehicle.
At the hearing, Dueñas-Jimenez said he tried smuggling the narcotics because he wanted money to buy a new car.
Authorities estimate the drugs have a street value of $450,000.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Giselle S. Guerra prosecuted the case.
Married Couple Who Teamed up to Run Floral Business and to Commit Tax Fraud Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced today that Andrew Bunchuk a/k/a/ Andrew Bassaner, 45, and Vicki Bunchuk, 45, both of Southampton, Pennsylvania, were sentenced to 42 months’ and 6 months’ imprisonment, respectively, for tax fraud. The defendants were tried together and were convicted in February 2018; Andrew Bunchuk was convicted of six counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, and Vicki Bunchuk was convicted of six counts of filing false income tax returns. Both defendants were convicted of failing to collect, account for, and pay over taxes for employees.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Bassaner and Bunchuk were the owners and operators of Florist Concierge Corporation, a company incorporated in Pennsylvania but located in Orlando, Florida. The company was a telephone call center and internet service that accepted floral arrangement orders from customers throughout the United States. The defendants fraudulently deducted more than $200,000 in personal expenses on their income taxes, claiming they were legitimate business expenses. The expenses included luxury cars, a down payment on a multimillion-dollar house, tickets to sporting events, and home repairs.
In addition, the evidence at trial showed that the defendants failed to collect and pay over employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes, and federal unemployment taxes on behalf of employees who worked for Florist Concierge for fourteen consecutive quarters from 2001 through 2014. The defendants mischaracterized employees as contractors in an attempt to avoid collecting and paying over employment taxes.
“Our tax collection system relies on citizens playing by the rules. And the system only works if fraudsters like these defendants pay the price for lying and cheating the government out of paying their fair share of taxes,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “These defendants have earned their time behind bars to think long and hard about what they did.”
"The defendants’ actions resulted in the loss of tax revenue to the United States government and the loss of future social security and Medicare benefits for their employees," said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Guy Ficco. “Let this serve as a strong reminder that the payment of individual and business taxes is an obligation, not a choice.”
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Ignall and trial attorneys Christopher P. O’Donnell and Jack A. Morgan of the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice.
MS-13 Member Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for racketeering conspiracy.
Modesto Ramirez, a/k/a “Snoopy,” 28, a Honduran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 97 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ramirez will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In May 2018, Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.
After a multi-year investigation, Ramirez was one of dozens of leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 named in a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2016 that targeted MS-13’s criminal activities in Massachusetts. According to court documents, MS-13 members in Massachusetts engaged in a variety of racketeering acts and crimes of violence, including six different murders between October 2014 and January 2016, as well as numerous attempted murders and conspiracies to commit murder.
Ramirez was a member of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha or TLS clique of MS-13. The racketeering evidence against Ramirez included a recording made by a cooperating witness in which Ramirez discussed his intention and willingness to kill a gang rival.
Many other members of the TLS clique were also prosecuted as part of this case. In total, 49 defendants have been convicted as part of this ongoing prosecution. Of the 49 convictions, 40 were the result of guilty pleas like in the case of Ramirez, while nine others were convicted after trial.
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 Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today.
Ludlow Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Richard R. Hemingway, 22, of Ludlow, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to providing false information to a federal firearms licensee (“FFL”) and filling out a false Firearms Transaction Record during the purchase of two firearms. Hemingway was indicted in June 2018.
According to court records, on October 4, 2017, Hemingway purchased a Windham Weaponry ‘WW-15’ .300BLK caliber AR-15 style rifle and a Sig Sauer ‘MCX’ .300BLK caliber AR-15 style rifle from an FFL. In doing so, he completed a Firearms Transaction Record form in which he falsely reported that he was the actual purchaser of the firearms. In fact, Hemingway was buying the firearms for another individual.
Hemingway faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for making false statements to an FFL and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 on the false record charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
Local Man Sentenced for Drive-By Shooting Conspiracy to Distribute Synthetic NarcoticsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 19-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Moises Alvarado pleaded guilty May 16, 2018.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey sentenced Alvarado to 108 months for the synthetic cannabinoid offense as well as a 120-month consecutive term for discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The total 228-month prison term will be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
On Nov. 15, 2017, Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) officers responded to a drive-by shooting in the 400 block of Breckenridge in Corpus Christi. Upon arrival, officers discovered that gunfire had struck a woman and child inside the residence. At the scene, officers recovered a total of 47 shell casings from two different caliber assault rifles.
Two days later, CCPD responded to an accidental shooting that occurred in the 5800 block of Weber Road in Corpus Christi. At that time, they discovered that Alvarado had been shot and that Librado Esquivel, 24, and Henrey Ayala III, 26, both of Corpus Christi, dropped him off at a local urgent care center.
As part of the investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and CCPD SWAT Team executed search warrants at area residences on Dec. 7, 2017. At that time, law enforcement arrested Esquivel on a criminal complaint and seized several firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, firearm parts and magazines, U.S. currency and multiple packages of synthetic cannabinoids. Ayala was arrested on a criminal complaint the following week.
As a result of the federal investigation, agents determined Esquivel was a large supplier and distributor of synthetic cannabinoids in the area and was owed a debt related to his drug trafficking. Ayala and Alvarado agreed to commit the shooting and were promised a quantity of synthetic cannabinoids among other things as payment.
Ayala and Esquivel also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense and are set for sentencing before Judge Rainey on Sept. 17, 2018.
Synthetic cannabinoids are chemical compounds that mimic the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. These chemical compounds can be applied to carrier mediums such as plant material and ingested using rolling papers, pipes, vaporizers or otherwise taken orally. Synthetic cannabinoids are usually sold in small, foil or plastic bags containing dried leaves (resembling potpourri) and is marketed as incense that can be smoked. It is commonly sold and known on the street as synthetic marijuana, fake weed, legal and by its popular brand names such as Spice, K2, Kush, Klimaxx and many others.
Alvarado will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future. Ayala and Esquivel are also in custody.
ATF, HSI and CCPD conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.
Local Man Sentenced for Armed Drug Trafficking of Synthetic NarcoticsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 35-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Andrew Hernandez pleaded guilty Feb. 20, 2018.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey sentenced Hernandez to 70 months for the synthetic cannabinoid offense as well as a 60-month consecutive term for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The total 130-month prison term will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
On Feb. 27, 2017, Hernandez was arrested at a local restaurant in Corpus Christi for an outstanding felony warrant. As he was taken into custody, officers removed a loaded .380 caliber handgun from his pocket. As a previously convicted felon, Hernandez is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition per federal law. At the time of arrest, officers also discovered several thousand dollars in U.S. currency and 72 packets of synthetic cannabinoids. Laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of FUB-AMB, which is controlled under the Controlled Substance Analog Act.
Synthetic cannabinoids are chemical compounds that mimic the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. These chemical compounds can be applied to carrier mediums such as plant material and ingested using rolling papers, pipes, vaporizers or otherwise taken orally. Synthetic cannabinoids are usually sold in small, foil or plastic bags containing dried leaves (resembling potpourri) and is marketed as incense that can be smoked. It is commonly sold and known on the street as synthetic marijuana, fake weed, legal and by its popular brand names such as Spice, K2, Kush, Klimaxx and many others.
Hernandez was taken into federal custody in December 2017 as part of Operation City Shield, a coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement operation designed to identify violent offenders, stop gun violence and protect the community.
Hernandez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.
The Corpus Christi Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.
Lenox Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MACON: Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that on August 21, 2018, Robert Shawn Parker, age 32, Lenox, Georgia, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson in Macon to 61 months imprisonment, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for a conviction of Possession of Child Pornography.
In his plea agreement, Mr. Parker admitted that in May 2015, a law enforcement officer identified an Internet Protocol (IP) address that was using an online peer-to-peer file-sharing site to make child pornography files available for download. The officer was able to access and download numerous files containing child pornography that were available from that IP address. The IP address was later linked to Mr. Parker’s name and home address.
Based on that information, federal agents executed a search warrant at Mr. Parker’s residence in Lenox, Cook County, Georgia on July 28, 2015. During the search, agents located a Toshiba laptop computer which Mr. Parker admitted he used to search for and download child pornography. Forensic analysis of the laptop determined that it contained videos and images of child pornography, including prepubescent minors engaged in sexual activity.
“My office will vigorously seek to prosecute those who harm children,” said United States Attorney Charles E. Peeler. “I commend the FBI for bringing Mr. Lenox to justice.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. McCullers is prosecuting 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.
Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Fentanyl Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Concord – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Jepherson Emanuel Cabrera, 18, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, a drug trafficking organization that authorities allege was led by Sergio Martinez, employed the defendant to sell fentanyl to customers from various New England States, including New Hampshire. On each day that the defendant worked, the Martinez organization provided him with at least one 200-gram bag of fentanyl and expected him to sell it and return approximately $6,000 in proceeds. On more than 20 days, Cabrera sold at least one 200-gram bag of fentanyl. Cabrera employed at least one runner to conduct actual hand-to-hand transactions with customers.
Cabrera is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2018. Cabrera faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life, a fine up to 10 million dollars and a term of supervised release of at least five years and as much as life.
Thirty-three additional defendants have been charged in the fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. Cabrera is the first to plead guilty.
“Fentanyl trafficking has caused tremendous damage in New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “In order to protect the citizens of the Granite State, we will continue to work closely with the entire law enforcement community to stop the flow of this deadly drug. It is imperative that we dismantle the criminal organizations that profit from the sale of illegal substances.”
This investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; the Lowell (MA) Police Department; and the Maine State Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Seth R. Aframe.
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Kayenta Woman Sentenced to 84 Months in Federal Prison for Shooting DeathRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – Yesterday, Georgina Warren, 34, of Dennehotso, Ariz., and a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan to 84 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Warren had previously pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The case involved Warren firing a .22 caliber rifle at her brother, who was about 40 yards away.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement. The prosecution was handled by Sharon K. Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-8315-PCT-SPL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-113_Warren
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Jury Convicts Centerville Felon for Possessing A GunRead the Press Release
MACON: Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Marcus Veal, age 33, of Centerville, Georgia was convicted of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm today by a jury in Macon. The verdict was handed down following a trial before U.S. District Court Judge Tilman E. Self, III. Mr. Veal is facing a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Sentencing is set for November 27, 2018 in Macon.
At trial, the Government presented evidence that Mr. Veal was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Trooper for having a suspended registration. Mr. Veal exited his vehicle and fled on foot. Mr. Veal ultimately got into a physical altercation with the GSP Trooper, who arrested Mr. Veal and found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the ground by Mr. Veal’s waist.
“Mr. Veal is exactly the sort of defendant who deserves federal prosecution,” said United States Attorney Charles E. Peeler. “Not only did Mr. Veal flee from law enforcement and resist arrest while possessing a loaded gun, but he also has a 2004 conviction for criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, a 2007 conviction for possession of cocaine and financial transaction card fraud, and at the time of his arrest, he had outstanding warrants in Bibb and Henry County.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
The case was investigated by the Georgia State Patrol, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Easterling and Tamara Jarrett.
Questions regarding this case should be addressed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, at 478-731-1824 or [email protected].
Jackson Man Sentenced to Nearly Five Years in Prison under Project EJECTRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Marcus Reese, 38, of Jackson, was sentenced today, by United States District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to 57 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Reese was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.
In September 2016, Reese was arrested for selling illegal drugs and possessing drug paraphernalia and drug proceeds. He spent only a few days in jail before being released on bond.
Within months, in February 2017, Reese was again arrested for selling illegal drugs from his home. Both illegal drugs and a loaded pistol were found in his living room. He again spent only a few days in jail before being released on bond.
Not long after, in September 2017, law enforcement officers attempted to execute a search warrant at Reese’s apartment on O’Bannon Street due to continuing illegal drug activity. As officers approached the apartment, Reese fled on foot through his apartment and out the back door. Officers ultimately stopped Reese and arrested him. Reese had a loaded Taurus .357 revolver and additional rounds of ammunition in his pants pocket. He had illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, and several thousand dollars in drug proceeds and counterfeit money in his home. Officers also collected ammunition and illegal drugs from Reese’s car, a vehicle from which he sold illegal drugs.
Reese has a previous conviction in Hinds County, Mississippi, for the felony offense of conspiracy to commit murder.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jackson Police Department. It is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together." PSN is 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.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the work of the Jackson Police Department and their cooperation with ATF agents and Project EJECT task force members in the investigation of this case.
Indiana County Man Admits Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Indiana County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Robert Neal Fiasco, 40, of Cherry Tree, Pa., pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on Dec. 21, 2015, Fiasco distributed less than 100 grams of heroin.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Jan. 3, 2019, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior 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 Fiasco.
Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Access Device Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Ricardo Arcanjo Ramos, age 37, an illegal alien and a former citizen of Brazil, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
In July of 2017, Ramos and others placed skimmers and cameras on Automated Teller Machines at a credit union in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Ramos obtained over 15 account numbers, electronic serial numbers and personal identification numbers. He and others used these numbers to obtain money and transfer funds days later in Florida at two banks and a resort. In the process of committing this fraud, Ramos possessed and used, without lawful authority, the identification of another person, committing aggravated identity theft.
Ramos will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on December 3, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for access device fraud, and a mandatory sentence of 2 years for aggravated identity theft in addition to the sentence imposed for access device fraud.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.
Hudson County Man Admits Role in Conspiracy to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy operating in Jersey City, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Rayfeal Roman, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Roman admitted that from September 2017 through Feb. 7, 2018, he conspired with others to distribute cocaine. Roman also admitted that in February 2018 he spoke on the telephone with a conspirator and agreed to sell that person one kilogram of cocaine for $29,500. Law enforcement officials intercepted these conversations using a court order to intercept wire and electronic communications on Roman’s cellular phone.
On Feb.7, 2018, before Roman and the conspirator could complete the cocaine sale, law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for Roman’s apartment in Jersey City. They found approximately 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, approximately $30,000 in cash, and various other materials commonly associated with drug distribution, such as an electronic money-counting machine, a digital scale, and drug-packaging materials.
The distribution conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office under the leadership of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan W. Romankow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Gerald Krovatin Esq., Newark
Herrin Resident Pleads Guilty to Robbery of Marion Gas StationRead the Press Release
On August 15, 2018, Travis J. Taylor, 38, of Herrin, Ill., pled guilty to a one-count federal indictment charging Interference with Commerce by Robbery, in violation of the Hobbs Act, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Steven D. Weinhoeft announced today. Evidence at the plea hearing established that, on April 25, 2018, Taylor robbed the Valero Gas Station in Marion, Williamson County.
Taylor is currently being held without bond pending a November 20, 2018, sentencing hearing. The robbery offense carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Marion Police Department, Herrin Police Department, Carbondale Police Department, Murphysboro Police Department, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police, Jackson County States Attorney’s Office, and Williamson County States Attorney’s Office are also assisting in the investigation.
Henderson Woman Indicted for Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in the Death of A PersonRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A federal grand jury returned a 10-count superseding indictment today on charges related to opioid drug trafficking, including the distribution of fentanyl resulting in the 2017 death of a person, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daniel W. Neill for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The superseding indictment charges Tianna Christina Cordova, 34, of Henderson, with one count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of illegal use of a communication facility. The superseding indictment charges co-defendant Robert James Thornburg, 36, of Henderson, with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Cordova and Thornburg were previously charged by a seven-count indictment in July 2018. The superseding indictment also includes the prior charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance – oxycodone and amphetamine, five counts of distribution of a controlled substance – oxycodone, amphetamine, and fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to information contained in the complaint and superseding indictment, on June 21, 2018, a search warrant was executed at Cordova and Thornburg’s residence in Henderson. Law enforcement found varied amounts of oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam, four firearms, and cash. As alleged, they conspired with each other to distribute oxycodone and amphetamine (Adderall). On March 14, 2017, it is alleged that Cordova distributed a controlled substance containing fentanyl that led to the overdose death of an individual. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is 20 years and a $1,000,000 fine for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance, the mandatory minimum penalty is 20 years up to life in prison and a $1,000,000 fine for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, the mandatory minimum penalty is five years up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and the maximum penalty is four years in prison and a $250,000 fine for illegal use of a communication facility.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the DEA, with assistance from the Clark County Coroner’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon C. Jaroch is prosecuting the case.
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Hammonton, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Crystal MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A Hammonton, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for engaging in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crystal methamphetamine in Atlantic County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Ignacio Cuesta, 42, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cuesta was arrested on June 24, 2016, in Hammonton, New Jersey, after agreeing to sell two pounds of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover narcotics detective. The two pounds of crystal methamphetamine were seized from Cuesta’s Ford Expedition, along with approximately $9,000 in cash. Several additional pounds of crystal methamphetamine possessed by Cuesta were found hidden in vehicles and buried in a bucket in the ground in a parking lot for a local business in Hammonton. Law enforcement officers also recovered additional cash inside the trunk of a vehicle owned and used by Cuesta, which was parked in the same parking lot in Hammonton. The total seized from Cuesta and this property was more than $100,000.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Cuesta to five years of supervised release. As part of the plea agreement, Cuesta agreed to forfeit all of the cash and two vehicles that were seized on the day of the arrest.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo, for its assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Askin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Patrick Duffy Esq., Audubon, Pennsylvania
HOPE Clinic Nurse Practitioner Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Teresa Emerson, 59, of Bristol, Virginia, pled guilty today to aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Stuart praised the investigation conducted by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Food and Drug Administration, the West Virginia State Police, the Kentucky State Police, the Beckley Police Department, the Virginia State Police, the Charleston Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“It’s tragic to think that any medical professional would continue to write prescriptions with no legitimate medical purpose to individuals suffering from addiction,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “I will use every available resource to combat the opioid epidemic which has caused so much death, despair and devastation throughout West Virginia. This includes holding medical professionals accountable when they violate federal laws designed to protect the health and safety of patients.”
Teresa Emerson worked as a licensed family nurse practitioner at the HOPE Clinic in Wytheville, Virginia, where she was authorized to write prescriptions for controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes in the usual course of professional practice. Emerson admitted that on February 4, 2015, while working at the clinic, she signed a prescription for 145 oxycodone compound 32mg to patient J.W. that was not for a legitimate medical purpose. Emerson admitted that she simply signed the prescription for what J.W. had previously been prescribed and intentionally ignored the fact that J.W. had at least three abnormal drug screens, including testing positive for drugs she had not been prescribed and testing negative for drugs that she was prescribed. Emerson further admitted that J.W.’s chart reflected that she had admitted to getting drugs off the street and during one of her visits, a staff member noted “track marks on her right arm.” During the plea hearing, Emerson admitted that despite these “red flags” she did not discuss the possibility of addiction with J.W. and that J.W.’s medical records did not support the initial prescription for pain medicine or any of the subsequent prescriptions for pain medicine. Emerson admitted that J.W. filled a prescription for oxycodone she provided to J.W. on February 4, 2015 at a pharmacy in Gilbert, Mingo County, West Virginia. J.W. has since admitted to being an addict and seeking the pills from HOPE Clinic for the purpose of feeding her addiction.
Emerson faces up to four years in prison when sentenced on November 29, 2018 and she has also agreed to surrender her DEA registration.
Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman and Steven I. Loew are handling the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene Berger presided over the plea hearing.
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Greenville Man Sentenced to 46 Months for $700,000 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today that Calvert J. Drummond, Jr., age 35, of Greenville, was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment in federal court in Anderson related to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain, of Anderson, imposed sentence and also ordered Drummond to pay $742,000 in restitution to his victims.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Drummond represented to clients that he could obtain alternative financing for various projects that required large amounts of capital. In exchange for a fee of several hundred thousand dollars, Drummond promised to secure bank guarantees worth millions.
Drummond would create fraudulent financial documentation regarding the alternative financing and show them to the clients. When pushed by clients on the delay of the financing or for a return of the fee paid, Drummond would blame the delays and other issues on various banks.
Drummond had no mechanism to obtain the alternative financing promised; this was a fictitious story created to persuade clients to pay fees that Drummond used to pay personal expenses, travel, and obtain jewelry and other high-end items.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.
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Glade Spring Man Sentenced on Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A Glade Spring man, who was on federal supervised release when authorities discovered him illegally in possession of a firearm, was sentenced last week to 27 months in prison on a federal firearms charge and an additional 18 consecutive months on a supervised release revocation, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today.
Joseph A. Routh, 41, pleaded guilty on May 21, 2018 to being a previously convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. Routh was on federal supervised release at the time of his guilty plea for a previous conviction of being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm.
According to information presented at previous hearings by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell, in February 2018 during a vehicle stop, federal authorities executed an arrest warrant on Routh. During the arrest and a subsequent search of the vehicle, Routh was found in possession of a .22 caliber rifle and ammunition.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell prosecuted the case for the United States.
Galva Man Pleads Guilty to Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty on August 21, 2018, in federal court in Sioux City.
Lee Charles Mercer, 42, from Galva, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mercer was previously convicted of three separate felony drug offenses in the Iowa District Court in 2013, 2004 and 1998.
At the plea hearing, Mercer admitted that from November 2017 through March 2018, he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 2500 grams of methamphetamine mixture in and around Galva, Iowa. On March 12, 2018, Mercer was stopped for a traffic violation in Woodbury County, Iowa. During law enforcement’s consent to search Mercer’s vehicle, approximately 4 ounces of methamphetamine was seized in four separate baggies, along with $5,000 in cash. Mercer admitted he planned to distribute the methamphetamine to other persons. Mercer further admitted that he planned to use the $5,000 to purchase a pound of methamphetamine later in Sioux City, Iowa.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Mercer remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Mercer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least ten years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux City Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-4018.
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