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27 July 2018
St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Two Bank Robberies while on Parole for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – David T. McGee, 47, of St. Louis, pled guilty to two counts of committing a bank robbery. He appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.
According to court documents, on April 17, 2017, McGee entered the Great Southern Bank in Ferguson and slid a piece of paper to the teller stating that she should give him some money. McGee wanted large bills and provided a plastic bag for the teller to put the money in. The teller grabbed a large stack of U.S. Currency and asked if that was enough to which McGee responded yes and left the bank.
On May 8, 2017, McGee entered the Bank of America in St. Charles and handed a teller a plastic bag and a note, which read that he needed straps of $100s, $50s and 20s. The teller gave him the U.S. Currency and McGee left the bank. McGee was on supervised release for a bank robbery in Illinois.
McGee faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both on each count. Restitution to the victim is also mandatory. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Tom Mehan is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Bank Robbery, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his sixth bank robbery and for illegally possessing a firearm.
Anthony Carlton Dunlap, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Dunlap was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On Nov. 15, 2017, Dunlap pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Dunlap entered Bank of America, 633 W. Kearney St., Springfield, at about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2017. Dunlap, wearing his hoodie up covering his head, approached a teller and handed her a piece of paper that said, “stay calm.” Dunlap looked toward his hand that was in his coat pocket, causing the teller to believe he made the gesture to indicate he was armed.
The teller removed cash from her teller drawer and placed it on the counter in front of Dunlap. He then demanded more money, so the teller removed more cash from her teller drawer. Dunlap stuffed the cash into his pockets and left the bank. An audit of the victim teller’s drawer revealed that $3,910 was taken in the robbery.
Dunlap was found a short time later, hiding in the back seat of his girlfriend’s car, which was parked in front of a Springfield residence. As Dunlap was removed from the car, a large amount of loose cash was dragged out with him. Cash was also on the back floor boards of the car. The total amount recovered was $3,910. A loaded Hi Point .40-caliber pistol was also located on the backseat of the car. Dunlap told law enforcement officers that he robbed the bank in order to get money to buy heroin.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Dunlap has five prior felony convictions for five separate bank robberies committed between Nov. 19, 2001, and Feb. 19, 2002.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Slidell Couple Pleads Guilty to Violations of Federal Gun Control ActRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that CHRISTOPHER MAZUR, age 34, and REBECCA COMSTOCK, age 36, pleaded guilty today to violations of the Federal Gun Control Act. MAZUR pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 922(g)(9), and 924(a)(2). COMSTOCK pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer, or a straw purchase, in violation of Title 18, United States code, Sections 922(a)(6), 924(a)(2), and 2.
According to court documents, COMSTOCK falsely stated in paperwork submitted to a federally licensed firearms dealer that she was the actual purchaser of three firearms that were intended for MAZUR. MAZUR could not purchase the firearms for himself because of his previous felony convictions in Louisiana and Mississippi, and because of a previous Louisiana conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. In addition to the three guns purchased from the federally licensed firearms dealer, federal agents seized seven firearms and 2,825 rounds of ammunition from MAZUR and COMSTOCK’S residence.
MAZUR and COMSTOCK face as to each count a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney J. Ryan McLaren is in charge of the prosecution.
Schenectady Man Arrested for Receipt and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert Kirk, age 35, of Schenectady, New York, appeared yesterday in federal court on charges that he received and distributed child pornography over the internet.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to the federal criminal complaint, Kirk used an anonymous account on Kik Messenger, an instant messaging application, to receive and distribute child pornography. Kirk also had, on his cell phone, hundreds of image files and videos depicting child pornography. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, Kirk faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Additionally, if convicted, Kirk would be required to register as a sex offender.
Kirk appeared yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart. Kirk waived his detention hearing and was ordered detained pending further proceedings.
This case is being investigated by HSI, with assistance from the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Giglio Suarez.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Salem Man Pleads Guilty to EscapeRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Liam Delorey, 37, of Salem, pleaded guilty in federal court to escape, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Delorey had been in federal custody since 2017. He was serving a sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release following a federal felony conviction for narcotics distribution. In May of 2018, he was transferred from a Bureau of Prisons facility to a residential reentry center in Manchester, New Hampshire, to start pre-release programming. On June 18, 2018, the defendant signed out of the center to go to work. Although he knew he was required to return by 8:00 p.m. that night, he did not do so. His whereabouts were unknown until he self-surrendered to the U.S. Marshals in Concord, New Hampshire on the evening of June 19, 2018.
Delorey is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2018.
This matter was investigated by the United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Dronzek.
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Russian Hacker Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Prison in Scheme that Caused $4.1 Million in Losses with Fraudulent Debit CardsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Russian national was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for hacking into the accounts of two companies and issuing unauthorized debit cards associated with dependent care accounts to conspirators around the world, leading to losses of more than $4 million.
Mikhail Konstantinov Malykhin, 36, an illegal alien who was living in the Park La Brea district of Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee after admitting to hacking into the accounts and conspiring to use the fraudulent debit cards.
In addition to the 70-month sentence, Judge Gee ordered Malykhin to pay $4,131,731 in restitution. Malykhin has agreed to forfeit approximately $1.3 million in cash and more than $22,000 in gift cards previously seized by FBI agents from Malykhin’s safe deposit boxes, as well as several gold bars, nearly $30,000 that Malykhin sent to a plastic surgery center, and a 1966 Ford Mustang.
Judge Gee today described Malykhin’s offenses as “reprehensible,” noting that he had “caused much pain” and “ruined the lives of many of his victims.”
Malykhin pleaded guilty in 2016 to two felony offenses – conspiracy to use unauthorized access devices (the stolen debit cards) and unauthorized access to a protected computer.
According to court documents, in late 2015 and early 2016, Malykhin used login credentials supplied to him by another hacker to illegally access the online software platform of a Massachusetts company, which other companies used to manage flexible spending accounts and dependent care accounts. Once he illegally accessed the platform, Malykhin reactivated dormant dependent care accounts associated with an Oregon company and issued debit cards from these accounts with limits of up to $5 million. Malykhin also illegally accessed the platform and issued debit cards linked to a Colorado company that later went out of business as the result of the losses suffered through the hack.
Malykhin caused the debit cards to be sent to conspirators around the world, including to people in the United States and Russia, where the cards were used to purchase big-ticket items at retail stores, such as Best Buy and Apple in the Los Angeles area. For his part, Malykhin received cash payments, luxury items, and gift cards obtained when items purchased with the fraudulent debit cards were returned.
Malykhin’s conduct resulted in over $4 million in losses, with the now-defunct Colorado company suffering the bulk of those loses, which had to be shouldered by the Massachusetts company in the wake of the primary victim’s insolvency. As a result of the losses caused by Malykhin, employees of the Oregon and Colorado companies lost their jobs, as well as investments in those small businesses and retirement savings.
Judge Gee today described some of the victim-impact letters submitted to the court as “heart-breaking” and noted the “lasting emotional harm” that Malykhin had caused the victims.
Last year, five local “runners” who used the fraudulent debit cards at retail locations were sentenced to federal prison.
The case against Malykhin was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case against Malykhin was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anil J. Antony of the Cyber & Intellectual Property Crimes Section, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Galatzan of the Asset Forfeiture Section.
Rochester Man Convicted by A Federal Jury of Bank Robbery SentencedRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Joseph W. Peeples, III, 44, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted following a jury trial of robbing the Chase Bank located at 1 South Clinton Avenue, Rochester, NY, was sentenced to 264 months in prison by Chief Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa M. Marangola and Katelyn Hartford, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on January 5, 2017, the defendant robbed the Chase Bank. Peeples was tracked by law enforcement to Binghamton, NY where he was arrested approximately 13 hours later. The defendant left approximately $43,000 in a bathroom at the Trailways Bus Station and $10,000 in a taxi cab. Upon Peeples arrest, law enforcement officers searched his hotel room and found $52,000.The defendant had just been released from federal prison six days prior to robbing the Chase Bank for an unrelated bank robbery. During the trial, Peeples acted as his own attorney. A jury deliberated for under one hour and returned a verdict on March 30, 2018.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Michael Ciminelli.
Revere Men Sentenced for Trafficking OxycodoneRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A father and son from Revere were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for trafficking oxycodone.
Mario Scata, 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years in prison and two years of supervised release. His son, Manuele Scata, 45, was sentenced by Judge O’Toole to eight years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release. In December 2017, Mario Scata pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone and one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. In February 2018, Manuele Scata pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
In 2014 and 2015, agents observed foot and vehicle traffic consistent with street-level drug sales coming and going from the Scata home and from Manuele Scata’s business, D & M Auto Doctor, on Bennington Street in East Boston. While investigating the Scatas’ oxycodone trafficking, Scatas’ pill supplier, Bregu, was identified through surveillance and phone analysis. After obtaining a search warrant to track the precise location of Bregu’s phone, it was determined that every two-to-three weeks, Bregu drove his vehicle from Staten Island to Revere or East Boston, met with one or both of the Scatas, and then returned to Staten Island.
On July 16, 2015, a series of search warrants were executed after tracking Bregu’s phone from Staten Island to East Boston and then watching as Bregu met with Mario and Manuele Scata at D & M Auto Doctor. During the searches, a sophisticated hidden compartment was discovered in Bregu’s vehicle, which contained $37,800. In addition, approximately 1,900 oxycodone pills, a loaded firearm, and a machete were recovered from Manuele Scata’s vehicle and additional oxycodone pills, a hand-written drug ledger, and nearly $12,000 were recovered from the Scatas’ home.
On June 8, 2018, Bregu was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Revere Police Chief James Guido; Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Redfield Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Drug, Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – David James Lister, age 53, formerly of Redfield, Iowa, was sentenced on July 26, 2018, by United States District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 210 months in prison for charges related to the possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and the unlawful possession of firearms, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum.
In August of 2016, law enforcement made two undercover purchases of methamphetamine from David Lister at his apartment in Redfield, Iowa. A search warrant was executed at the residence on August 23, 2016, where approximately 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine was discovered in Lister’s safe. Also seized from the safe was over $2,000 in currency, which Lister has admitted came from the sale of methamphetamine. Lister consented to search of a nearby storage facility, which resulted in the seizure of numerous firearms. Lister acknowledged being a multi-pound methamphetamine dealer, indicating that he typically would purchase 2 pounds of meth for $20,000 from his supplier every two weeks, and then distribute the drugs to 12 to 15 customers in the Redfield area. Lister also stated that the firearms in the storage unit were received in trade for methamphetamine.
This matter was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Recidivist Securities Fraudster Charged with Multi-million Dollar Stock Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Howard M. Appel, 57, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, was charged today in a criminal information with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
The information alleges that Appel—a former licensed stockbroker with two prior securities-fraud related convictions—secretly acquired large blocks of stock in publicly traded companies, including Virtual Piggy, Inc. (ticker symbol “VPIG”), and Red Mountain Resources, Inc. (ticker symbol “RDMP”), to manipulate the market in those stocks. As alleged, Appel acquired title to the shares in the names of nominees in order to hide his ownership block from investors and made between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 from his scheme. Using nominee accounts was necessary because he previously lost his license and was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) from selling securities or associating with any member firm.
The information further alleges that Appel and his co-schemers manipulated the stock price by taking numerous actions that were hidden from investors and security regulators including: working as a paid “consultant” to recruit investors, raise capital, and get the companies running; engaging in coordinated buying and selling, which he closely monitored, to raise the share price; and preventing co-conspirators from selling their shares without his permission. The information further alleges that Appel encouraged unwitting investors to buy large blocks of stock by touting the companies’ supposed impending success while, at the same time, selling off shares from his nominee accounts—sometimes to those same investors. Appel also allegedly traded on inside information that he obtained as a result of his “consulting” work for the companies, including the status of the companies’ efforts to get listed on NASDAQ. As alleged, none of these facts was disclosed to the investing public in any of the public filings the company and Appel were required to make.
Appel faces a maximum sentence of five years’ incarceration, a three-year period of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greatest, and a $100 special assessment.
“As alleged, Appel orchestrated an end run around his FINRA bar by conspiring with others, at least one of whom was a licensed stockbroker, to use nominee accounts to manipulate the market and turn an illegal multi-million dollar profit,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Apparently undeterred, this habitual fraudster once again used his market know-how to further his own self-interest and to violate the law. The efforts of our Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Office demonstrate our steadfast commitment to using all of the tools at our disposal—both civil and criminal—to enforce the federal securities laws.”
The criminal case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe. The parallel civil enforcement proceeding was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, under the direction of Mark P. Berger.
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Rankin County Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Leon Brown, 51, of Rankin County, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 60 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine, for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith.
This case is the result of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed "Rock Bottom," which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in the central Mississippi area. During the investigation, agents intercepted telephone calls wherein Brown was distributing kilogram amounts of cocaine. Based on his role in the conspiracy, Brown was responsible for as much as 15 kilograms of cocaine.
The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from: the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Ridgeland Police Department, the Jackson Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Brandon Police Department, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Pearl Police Department, the Flowood Police Department, the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol, and the DEA Houston Field Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wansley.
Postal Service Employee and His Half-Brother Face Charges in Scheme that Stole nearly $240,000 from USPS TrucksRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A United States Postal Service employee and his half-brother were arraigned this morning after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of participating in a conspiracy that caused nearly a quarter million dollars in losses in two armed robberies and the burglary of USPS trucks carrying cash.
William Crosby, 31, the USPS employee, and Myron Crosby, 27, both of Inglewood, were named in a four-count indictment filed on Tuesday. At today’s arraignment, both men pleaded not guilty and were ordered to stand trial on September 18.
The Crosbys allegedly participated in the armed robbery of a USPS truck driver on March 1 after the vehicle was forced to stop on an off-ramp of the Harbor Freeway. The indictment also alleges that William Crosby participated in the February 1 armed robbery of a Postal Service driver, as well as the burglary of a Postal Service truck on August 1, 2017.
As a former supervisor, William Crosby knew when the USPS transported cash generated from the sale of money orders and USPS merchandise – information that is not known to all Postal Service employees, according to the indictment, which alleges that the burglary and two armed robberies caused cash losses of $238,457.
According to the indictment:
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On August 1, 2017, William Crosby told unknown co-conspirators that a Postal Service truck carrying a large amount of cash was on the loading dock at the Dockweiler Post Office in South Los Angeles. A man wearing a Postal Service shirt walked onto the loading dock and stole a container inside the truck that contained more than $128,000 in cash. About a month after this burglary, Myron Crosby allegedly used Instagram to send his half-brother a photo of stacks of $100, $50 and $20 bills with the caption “the count.”
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On February 1, William Crosby, then assigned to the Wagner Post Office in Los Angeles, provided information to unknown co-conspirators that a USPS truck carrying cash was leaving the facility. During an incident in which William Crosby acted as a lookout, a minivan blocked the USPS truck just outside the Wagner Post Office, a man threatened the truck driver at gunpoint, and the robber stole over $37,000 in cash.
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On March 1, William Crosby again acted as a source of information and a lookout in a robbery of a USPS truck that departed from the Dockweiler Post Office. Myron Crosby allegedly rented a Mercedes SUV and used that vehicle to box in the truck when it exited the southbound 110 Freeway at Slauson Avenue, which allowed another unidentified man to brandish a gun and steal over $72,000 in cash.
The indictment charges both Crosbys with conspiracy and robbery of United States property in relation to the March 1 incident. William Crosby is additionally charged with theft of government property and an additional count of robbery of United States property.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If they were to be convicted of the crimes alleged in the indictment, William Crosby would face a statutory maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison, and Myron Crosby would face up to 30 years in prison for the conspiracy count.
The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
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Olton Man Admits to Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — Jimmy Kit Fields, 37, of Olton, Texas, appeared today in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr., and pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Fields faces not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and not less than five years nor more than a lifetime of supervised release. Fields has been in custody since his arrest on June 15, 2018, and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
According to the plea agreement factual resume filed in the case, in March 2018, Fields gave Jane Doe, a 13-year-old minor, a cell phone. Jane Doe’s father had suspected an inappropriate relationship between his 13-year-old daughter and Fields, and reported the incident to the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) in New Mexico. The RCSO conducted a search on the contents of the cell phone given to Doe by Fields, but were unable to find any evidence of a crime.
On May 30, 2018, the RCSO responded to a call to investigate a report that Doe was missing. Doe’s parents believed their daughter may be trying to meet with Fields, and believed she had been communicating with him on her laptop computer. Doe later returned to the residence and provided the RCSO the password to her Facebook account.
A review of Doe’s Facebook account by the RCSO revealed Fields had numerous sexually explicit conversations with Doe since May 29, 2018, and leading up to their contact the following morning at 1:00 a.m. During that contact, Fields provided alcohol to Doe during their encounter. In the factual resume, Fields admitted to having sexual contact with Doe on four occasions.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood leverages federal, state and local resources to better investigate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children. Project Safe Childhood also prioritizes identifying and rescuing victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO), the Lamb County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is in charge of the prosecution.
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Okmulgee Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Brett Wayne Pigeon, age 32, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Felon In Possession Of Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00 or both.
The Indictment alleged that on or about March 23, 2018, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, a firearm, to-wit: One (1) Charles Daly, 12 gauge pump action shotgun, serial number 950658, which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.The charges arose from an investigation by the Okmulgee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Nine Defendants from Ohio Arrested for Gun TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Deonte “Terry” Cooper, 23, Ricky Turner, 48, Argentis Albino Herrera, 24, Diones Bowens, 22, Shane Shumaker, 31, Victoria Orlando, 36, Vicky Hoffstetter, 37, Koree Runyan, 24, and Jenna Ann Redding, 31, all of Ashtabula, Ohio, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to traffic in firearms. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a 250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmanuel O. Ulubiyo, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in November 2017, defendant Herrera purchased 29 firearms in Ashtabula, Ohio. On March 23, 2018, one of those firearms, a Glock pistol, was recovered in Buffalo, NY.
In April and May of 2018, some of the defendants purchased guns for Robert L. Williams, Jr., who resides in Buffalo and who himself has been previously charged with firearms trafficking. Those individuals include:
• Defendant Bowens; who purchased 12 firearms for Williams from Gun Brothers, in Eastlake, Ohio; • Defendant Shumaker; who purchased 14 firearms for Williams from Point Blank Range & Gun Shop, in Mentor, Ohio; • Defendant Orlando; who purchased 16 firearms for Williams from Excalibur Outdoors LLC, in Circleville, Ohio; • Defendant Hoffstetter; who purchased 11 firearms for Williams in Eastlake, Ohio; • Defendant Runyan; who purchased 10 firearms for Williams in Perry, Ohio; and
• Defendant Redding; who purchased eight firearms for Williams from MGA Arms, in Perry, Ohio.All told, the defendants are accused of illegally purchasing a total of 100 firearms. 10 of those firearms have been recovered in Buffalo, and another firearm was recovered in Youngstown, Ohio.
In connection with the purchase of these firearms, defendants Cooper, Turner, Herrera, Bowens, Shumaker, Orlando, Hofstetter, Runyan, and Redding falsely represented on an ATF Form 4473 that they were the actual purchaser of the firearm, when, in fact, the defendants purchased the firearms for Williams and Deonte Cooper.
Defendants Herrera, Runyan, Hoffstetter, Shumaker, Orlando, and Cooper were arraigned this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer. All defendants, except for Orlando, were released on conditions. Defendant Orlando is being held pending a detention hearing on August 6, 2018 at 9:30 a.m.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Nigerian Nationals Sentenced, Face Deportation Proceedings in Bank Fraud, Counterfeit Passport SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – Two Nigerian nationals who participated in a large-scale bank fraud and counterfeit passport scheme, with an intended loss of more than $1.2 million dollars, were sentenced today to 13 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh.
Olugboyega Akinloye Fasanya, 36, of Woonsocket and Anthony Chidozie Ezike, 36, of Pawtucket, previously admitted to the Court that they participated in a scheme to defraud banks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts by acquiring and altering lawfully passed checks between commercial entities. The checks were altered to be made out to aliases used by Fasanya, Ezike and others, and deposited into bank accounts opened using the aliases. The accounts were opened using counterfeit passports from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa as forms of identification. The funds were removed from the accounts prior to the fraud being detected by the financial institutions.
According to information presented to the Court, participants in the scheme deposited fraudulent checks and wires totaling approximately $1,267,000 and successfully obtained approximately $487,000 through withdrawals and debit purchases.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith ordered Fasanya and Ezike to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of their terms of incarceration. Additionally, Fasanya was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $379,362 and Ezike was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $228,730 to the banks they defrauded.
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment in the matter of the United States of America v. Olugboyega Akinloye Fasanya is 18-24 months. The government recommended the court impose a sentence of 21 months in prison. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment in the matter of the United States of America v. Anthony Chidozie Ezike is 21-27 months. The government recommended the court impose a sentence of 13 months in prison.
Fasanya and Ezike face deportation proceedings upon completion of their term of incarceration.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Woonsocket, Pawtucket and Warwick Police Departments.
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Nigerian National Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud and Money Laundering SchemesRead the Press Release
In Austin today, a federal judge sentenced 42-year-old Nigerian National and Canadian resident Ochuko Sylvester Eruotor to 168 months in federal prison for his leadership role in multi-million dollar fraud and money laundering schemes, announced United States Attorney John F. Bash and Special Agent in Charge Shane M. Folden, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), San Antonio Division; Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Goss, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Houston Field Office; and, Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Houston Division.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Sam Sparks ordered Eruotor to pay restitution in the amount of $1,672,805.51 and be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
“If you are a foreign national contemplating defrauding vulnerable Americans from abroad, know this: We will identify you, find you, bring you here, prosecute you, and punish you. Your location abroad will not save you,” said U.S. Attorney John F. Bash.
In December 2017, Eruotor was extradited from Germany to the United States after being arrested with assistance from Interpol. On February 1, 2018, Eruotor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in furtherance of the fraudulent schemes.
Court documents showed that this investigation targeted a money laundering network that laundered the proceeds of various fraud schemes perpetrated against U.S. victims by scammers based in Canada, Nigeria, and the United States. The schemes included: “grandson-in-jail” frauds over the phone targeting elderly victims; fake investment scams; business email compromise scams; Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) tax filing scams; and, romance victim scams.
The money launderers opened bank accounts, sometimes using fraudulent passports in false names, or hired others to open bank accounts in order to facilitate their scheme. Those U.S.-based bank accounts would receive the fraudulently obtained funds from the victims. The U.S.-based conspirators quickly withdrew the money from the bank accounts with a portion of the fraud proceeds kept as a fee. Then the remainder of the funds were sent to Canada or Nigeria. To date, law enforcement has identified in excess of $3.5 million dollars of fraud proceeds from hundreds of victims laundered by the conspiracy.
“Financial crimes and identity theft have a devastating effect on the victims and our financial institutions. HSI and its enforcement partners will continue to do everything possible to stop this kind of fraud,” said Shane Folden, Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Antonio. “The defendant exploited people for his own personal gain.”
“The Postal Inspection Service takes it very seriously when the U.S. Mail is used to defraud innocent American citizens, especially our elderly. The sentence handed down today is the result of our ongoing mission to prosecute those who commit these types of fraud schemes. We would like to thank all of the other agencies that worked so diligently to bring justice to the victims of this criminal enterprise,” said USPIS Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez.
Eruotor is the eighth defendant to be convicted and sentenced to federal prison as a result of this investigation. Other prison terms handed down range from ten months to 108 months.
Agents with HSI, IRS-CI, and UPSIS investigated this case. The U.S. Marshals Service and D.O.J.’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with respect to the extradition. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Galdo prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Nigerian Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sweepstakes SchemeRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States District Court Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr. sentenced Kingsley I. Ekpendu, a Nigerian national, to 15 months in prison yesterday for his participation in a sweepstakes scheme that resulted in over 50 victims sending him cash in the mail, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.
Ekpendu, 42, was charged in an indictment and pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud. As part of the plea agreement, Ekpendu, who is a United States Permanent Resident, agreed to his removal from the United States after the completion of his 15-month prison sentence. Chief Judge McKinley also ordered Ekpendu to pay $257,916.15 in restitution to victims of the scheme.
According to the plea agreement, from on or about February 22, 2016, through October 4, 2017, Ekpendu participated in a scheme to defraud victims by making them believe they had won a sweepstakes or lottery. Ekpendu and others mailed letters to potential victims around the nation. Each letter stated the recipient had won a lottery or sweepstakes prize, listed a phone number for a “claims manager,” and included a check for several thousand dollars to cover “insurance and legal fees.” When the victim called the “claims manager,” the “claims manager” would tell the victim that in order to receive the prize, the victim needed to deposit the check and send several thousand dollars cash to an address in Louisville, Kentucky. The defendant would then pick up the parcels containing cash from the Louisville address, keeping a share of the cash for himself and sending the remainder to other participants in the scheme. Ultimately, the checks Ekpendu and others mailed to the victims were fraudulent, but the victims would not realize this until after they had sent cash to the Louisville address and it was too late for them to recover the funds.
Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Gregory prosecuted the case. The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Louisville Metro Police Department conducted the investigation.
Montgomery County Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Frank A. Dunn, Jr., age 60, of Burtonsville and Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Stephen Niemczak, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to the statement of facts that is part of Dunn’s plea agreement, on May 31, 2017, law enforcement executed search warrants at Dunn’s residences in Burtonsville and Silver Spring and recovered more than 14,000 images and 285 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images and videos included approximately 1,123 files involving minors identified as victims of child pornography by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, files depicting the abuse of infants and toddlers, and files depicting sadomasochism or violence against children.
Dunn also admitted that he distributed child pornography over the Internet from his Burtonsville residence using peer-to-peer file sharing software. Between April 2016 and August 2016, an undercover law enforcement officer downloaded approximately 500 images and 15 videos that Dunn made available for sharing over the Internet.
As part of his plea agreement, Dunn must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Dunn and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Dunn will be sentenced to between four and nine years in prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for November 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the HHS-OIG and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Joseph Baldwin, who are prosecuting the federal case.
Man Sentenced to Prison for Trafficking Cocaine through MailRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to six years in prison for using the United States Postal Service to traffic multiple kilograms of cocaine.
According to court documents, David T. Coffey, 26, distributed between five and 15 kilograms of cocaine from Texas into the Eastern District of Virginia. For two years, from 2015 to December 2017, Coffey received multiple shipments of cocaine from another individual in Texas, distributed the drug throughout the Virginia, and sent bulk shipments of cash back to Texas. When he was arrested, law enforcement found two kilograms of cocaine and $4,000 in cash in his possession.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Eric Shen, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Troy A. Edwards, Jr. and Speare Hodges, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary K. Daly prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-64.
Man Sentenced to over Twenty-Seven Years in Federal Prison for Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
A man who was involved in heroin distribution was sentenced on July 25, 2018, to more than 27 years in federal prison.
Donald Johnson also known as “Scony”, age 52, most recently from Cedar Rapids, and originally from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a March 12, 2018, guilty plea to a three-count Information charging two counts of distribution of heroin causing serious bodily injury, and one count of distribution of heroin causing death. Johnson’s has been selling heroin in and around Cedar Rapids since at least 2015. Johnson received gram quantities of heroin, and broke them into smaller quantities for resale purposes. Johnson was fronted the drugs for resale on multiple occasions and had more than one supplier of heroin during his drug dealing activities. Johnson’s heroin distribution resulted in two victims suffering overdoses. Both received attention from emergency responders and were transported to the hospital where they each were revived by medical personnel. One of these victims later died from a second overdose after Johnson sold her drugs.
Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. He was sentenced to 325 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 17-cr-97.
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Lexington Couple Sentenced for Drug Trafficking, Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Brandi Stamper, 30, of Lexington, was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in federal prison, by Chief United States District Judge Karen K. Caldwell, for conspiring to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, more than an ounce of crack cocaine, and more than half a kilo of cocaine. Stamper was also sentenced for being a felon in possession of firearms and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of her drug trafficking crime.
On Monday, Stamper’s co-defendant, Michael D. Jackson, 37, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to the charges. Jackson’s convictions, combined with his criminal record, qualified him as both an Armed Career Criminal and Career Offender.
Jackson and Stamper previously admitted that, in early 2017, members of the Lexington Police Department (LPD), Narcotics Unit began an investigation into the residence they shared. The residence was located on Norway Street, near Lafayette High School. During the investigation, LPD stopped and searched Jackson’s vehicle, discovering a 9 mm firearm and large quantities of drugs. LPD detectives also executed a search on their residence where Stamper was located. LPD located quantities of a fentanyl mixture and cocaine, more than $80,000 in cash, a loaded Taurus handgun, a loaded Glock semi-automatic pistol, a loaded Cobra semi-automatic pistol, which was determined to have been stolen, and a vehicle that had been purchased with proceeds from Jackson and Stamper ’s drug trafficking.
Jackson admitted that he had prior drug trafficking convictions in Fayette Circuit Court. Stamper also admitted that she had prior felony convictions for Trafficking in Cocaine and Possession of Cocaine in Fayette Circuit Court. Jackson and Stamper pleaded guilty to these federal charges in April 2018.
“The Defendants’ drug trafficking activities, possession of firearms, and past criminal histories have led to this result,” stated Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “The sentences imposed should serve as warning to those who engage in similar criminal activities. If you illegally possess firearms, particularly if you are engaged in drug trafficking, you are putting yourself at risk for a substantial stay in federal prison.”
“I want to commend the work of the ATF and the Lexington Police Department on this investigation and prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Duncan. “The partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement is vitally important in preventing violent crime and reducing the danger caused by drug trafficking activities.”
Under federal law, Jackson and Stamper must serve 85 percent of their respective prison sentences. Upon release, Jackson and Stamper will both be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for eight years.
United States Attorney Duncan; Stuart Lowery, Special Agent in Charge, ATF; and Chief Lawrence Weathers of the Lexington Police Department, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF and the Lexington Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. West.
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.
Lewiston Man Indicted for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Keith Phillips, 57, of Lewiston, Maine, was charged by indictment in U.S. District Court with bank robbery.
According to court records, on June 6, 2018, Phillips entered Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston, approached a teller, passed a note that contained a demand for money and a threat of a gun, and absconded with $2,000.
If convicted, Phillips faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Lewiston Police Department; the FBI; the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Portland, South Portland, and Lewiston Police Departments; and the Central Maine Violent Crime Task Force.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Lake Charles woman sentenced to 22 months in prison for stealing more than $332,000 from law firmRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Lake Charles law firm employee was sentenced Thursday to one year and 10 months in prison for stealing more than $332,000 from the firm.
Pamela Ann Fayko, 54, of Lake Charles, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of wire fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $332,110 restitution. According to the February 9, 2018 guilty plea, Fayko worked for a Lake Charles law firm as a bookkeeper and office manager from 2008 to 2016. As part of her job duties, she paid all the bills with a checkbook and had access to the company credit card. From 2011 to 2016, Fayko wrote fraudulent checks and made fraudulent purchases with the credit card, which cost the firm $332,110.30.
The U.S. Secret Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.
Kenner Man Sentenced to Arson and Possessing a Destructive DeviceRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that RYAN SCOTT, age 40, of Kenner, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to one count of federal arson and one count of weapon violations.
U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk sentenced SCOTT to 120 months incarceration as to each count, to run concurrently, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, SCOTT set fire to an apartment building in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 13, 2017, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i). SCOTT also possessed a destructive device, a Molotov cocktail, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5861(d), on the same date. SCOTT threw the destructive device at a vehicle in Kenner, Louisiana, causing a fire.
U. S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal, the Kenner Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Office for St. John the Baptist Parish in investigating this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria M. Carboni and Myles Ranier.
Kansas City Area Laboratory Owner Convicted of Illegally Storing Hazardous WasteRead the Press Release
Yesterday, a federal judge found Ahmed el-Sherif, the owner, operator, and radiation safety officer for Beta Chem Laboratory in Lenexa, Kansas, guilty of illegally storing hazardous waste in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister for the District of Kansas, and Jessica Taylor, Director of the Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Honorable Julie A. Robinson issued a written verdict following the trial, which took place in February 2018. El-Sherif wanted, and was permitted, to waive his right to a jury trial and the case was heard by Judge Robinson in what is known as a “bench trial.”
El-Sherif, a trained chemist of Leawood, Kansas, started Beta Chem in the mid-1990s after having worked at several other radioactive synthesis laboratories. He used radioactive Carbon-14 and solvents in his operation, under license by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). KDHE has assumed regulatory authority for these purposes from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under the Atomic Energy Act.
After Beta Chem was unable to provide KDHE with the required financial assurances regarding decommissioning the lab in the event that it was closed, KDHE inspected Beta Chem and discovered extensive radioactive contamination throughout the laboratory, including some parts of the lab with levels so high their instruments could not accurately read them. The radioactive contamination extended to the laboratory furniture, the equipment, including refrigerators, and containers of chemicals that were supposed to be non-radioactive. The next day, KDHE issued an Emergency Order of Suspension of License.
EPA conducted a hazardous waste inspection the same month, and subsequently notified el-Sherif of hazardous waste violations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA also informed el-Sherif of his legal obligation to properly manage hazardous waste under RCRA. During the ensuing years, KDHE communicated with el-Sherif about the radioactive contamination at Beta Chem and they entered into a consent agreement in which he agreed to come up with a plan to remediate and dispose of the radioactive waste. While he engaged a number of consultants, el-Sherif never took any action to actually clean up the lab.
On October 4, 2013, after issuing an Emergency Order to Seize and Secure Radioactive Materials, KDHE took control of Beta Chem and secured the facility. EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant at Beta Chem on January 22, 2014, where agents discovered numerous containers containing hazardous wastes and contaminated with radiation. EPA determined there to be 1,138 containers at the lab, of which 886 had intact manufacturer labels with no handwriting, which showed many of those to be hazardous. The other containers were field tested for hazardous characteristics before being disposed of. In total, EPA determined there to be over two hundred pounds of hazardous waste, some of which was acute hazardous waste. All of the containers tested were radioactive, and forty-five percent of the contents tested were radioactive.
EPA’s Superfund program spent over $760,000 to remove and dispose of the hazardous waste.
“The public expects and deserves that those in the business of using dangerous radioactive materials do so in compliance with law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This defendant breached that trust, deliberately disobeyed the law, and ignored requests by KDHE and EPA to bring his laboratory into compliance with statutes and regulations designed to protect the public and the environment.”
“For years, the defendant knowingly stored hazardous waste with no regard to the serious public health and environmental dangers it posed,” said Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program for the EPA Regions covering Kansas Jeff Martinez. “Even when told to stop his dangerous practice, Mr. el-Sherif continued to ignore the risks. Yesterday’s guilty verdict should send a clear message that EPA will hold accountable those who willfully violate the law.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood and U.S. Attorney McAllister thanked the U.S. EPA and the FBI for their work in this investigation. This case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice. Senior Counsel Krishna S. Dighe and Trial Attorney John E. Arbab with the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in Washington, D.C., aided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mattivi, are in charge of the prosecution.
Justice Department Announces Resolution with Swiss Financial and Asset Management Firm Mirelis Holding S.A.Read the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Swiss-based Mirelis Holding S.A. reached a resolution with the Tax Division.
“The agreement reached today demonstrates the Department’s resolve toward ending the practice of using Swiss bank accounts to evade one’s taxes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The Department will continue to pursue culpable banks and asset management and investment advisory firms that assist U.S. clients in their concealment of assets and the evasion of their U.S. tax obligations.”
According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement signed today, Mirelis Holding S.A. (formerly known as Mirelis InvestTrust S.A.) agrees to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, demonstrate its implementation of controls to stop misconduct involving undeclared U.S. accounts, and pay $10.245 million to the United States, in return for the Department’s agreement not to prosecute this entity for tax-related criminal offenses.
Mirelis operated as a Geneva-based securities trading institution licensed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”). Mirelis was established in 1997 to provide independent portfolio and asset management services following the sale of a minority ownership interest held by Mirelis’s controlling family and associates in Société Bancaire Julius Baer S.A. After its establishment, Mirelis was initially permitted to offer its independent portfolio and asset management services to certain clients of the Geneva branch of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd (which was formerly Société Bancaire Julius Baer S.A.) with whom the employees or officers of Mirelis had a previous relationship. The assets of clients who accepted the offer of Mirelis’s asset management services remained custodied at the Geneva branch of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (“Julius Baer”), which has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. In addition to providing services to individuals and entities based in Switzerland, at all relevant times, Mirelis provided custodial and independent portfolio and asset management services to U.S. taxpayer-clients.
At the end of 2012, Mirelis and Atlas Capital S.A. (“Atlas”), another securities trading institution based in Geneva licensed by FINMA, entered into a share purchase agreement, pursuant to which Mirelis acquired, and subsequently merged with Atlas effective in May of 2013. Mirelis continued to serve clients as both an independent asset manager and as a custodian until May of 2014 when Mirelis transferred its activities to Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève S.A. (“Hyposwiss”), a Swiss private bank that has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department, pursuant to a reverse merger and acquisition of Hyposwiss by Mirelis.
During the Applicable Period, August 1, 2008, through December 31, 2014, the aggregate maximum balance of the assets under management of Mirelis’s U.S. taxpayer-clients was in 2008 and was approximately $315 million, consisting of both assets held in custody at Mirelis and assets held at third-party depository institutions. Mirelis provided custodial account services for approximately 177 U.S. Related Accounts and portfolio and asset management services to an additional approximately 95 U.S. Related Accounts that were custodied at third-party banks. Following the transfer of its activities to Hyposwiss in 2014, Mirelis ceased to conduct any of its former activities (including its provision of independent portfolio and asset management services and its custody of client assets) except for the custody of the accounts of 17 U.S. taxpayer-clients on a temporary basis prior to closure.
Since it began its operations, Mirelis was aware that its U.S. taxpayer-clients had a legal duty to report to the IRS, pay taxes on the basis of, all of the income, including income earned in accounts at Mirelis. Despite being aware of the obligations of its U.S. taxpayer-clients to report to the IRS and pay taxes on income earned in accounts maintained outside of the United States, Mirelis opened, maintained, and serviced accounts for U.S. taxpayer-clients where Mirelis knew or had reason to know that the U.S. taxpayer-clients were not complying with these obligations or were using their accounts outside of the United States to evade U.S. taxes and reporting requirements, filing false tax returns with the IRS, and/or concealing assets maintained outside of the United States from the IRS (hereinafter, “undeclared assets”).
On several occasions, Mirelis facilitated the concealment of U.S. taxpayer-clients’ undeclared accounts through the closure of accounts and transfer of account funds (in whole or in part and temporarily or permanently) to other accounts held at Mirelis where the named account holder and/or beneficial owner were not U.S. persons and may or may not have been related to the U.S. taxpayer-client.
On at least four occasions, in or about 2011 or 2012, Mirelis facilitated the introduction of U.S. taxpayer-clients to the Singapore-based representatives of a trust company, who advised the U.S. taxpayer-clients to create non-U.S. trusts and fund non-U.S. life insurance policies. Mirelis agreed to accept and effect the transfer of the funds held in the U.S. taxpayer-clients’ accounts pursuant to instructions despite knowing or having reason to know that these U.S. taxpayer-clients were likely to use the advice received from the trust company to conceal their ownership of undeclared assets. The funds were transferred to accounts at a third-party depository financial institution outside of Switzerland in the name of a non-U.S. life insurance company that had issued policies owned by the non-U.S. trusts created by Mirelis’s U.S. taxpayer-clients. Mirelis provided independent portfolio and asset management services for these accounts and listed the account holders and clients as the life insurance company. In all four instances, Mirelis believes that the U.S. taxpayer-clients subsequently entered into an offshore voluntary disclosure program (the “OVDP”) offered by the IRS.
In order to reduce the chances of undeclared accounts being discovered, Mirelis opened and falsely designated at least one account as a non-U.S. account when it knew the account holder was in fact a U.S. person. Prior to August 2008, Mirelis opened an account using the client’s U.S. passport. When this account was closed in 2009, the account holder withdrew all funds in cash. In 2010, Mirelis opened another account for the same client, but this time used the client’s non-U.S. passport. The account documents were completed without mention of the client’s U.S. citizenship, which was then known to Mirelis.
On at least five occasions, Mirelis effected the transfer of funds from one U.S. Related Account owned or beneficially owned by individual U.S. taxpayer-clients to other U.S. Related Accounts maintained at Mirelis owned by U.S. limited liability companies, which in turn were owned by U.S. trusts with U.S. beneficiaries. The accounts owned by the limited liability companies were all later closed and the custody of their funds transferred to another Swiss bank (a so-called Category 1 bank) while the independent portfolio and asset management services were provided by Mirelis Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary that is a registered investment adviser with the SEC. Mirelis effected these transfers without knowing or checking whether the U.S. taxpayer-clients of the original accounts were compliant with their U.S. tax and reporting obligations.
In order to assist U.S. taxpayer-clients for whom Mirelis provided independent portfolio and asset management services, Mirelis agreed to accept custody of at least eight U.S. Related Accounts from Julius Baer, despite knowing that the beneficial owners of such accounts were U.S. taxpayers, that the accounts held undeclared assets, and that the accounts were being terminated by Julius Baer due to the U.S. taxpayer-client’s U.S. citizenship or residency. Mirelis agreed to accept these accounts at least in part on the assurances of its U.S. taxpayer-clients that they would enter into the OVDP. Mirelis’s Management Committee put in place a special policy for such accounts requiring the provision of IRS Forms W-9 and waivers of bank secrecy under the QI regime; however, in certain instances, the Form W-9 was not signed or the account did not hold U.S. securities. At least seven of the U.S. taxpayer-clients associated with these accounts ultimately entered into the OVDP.
Even after instituting a policy to only serve U.S. taxpayer-clients in full compliance with U.S. tax and securities laws in 2010, during a transition period of one year, Mirelis continued to provide both custodial and independent portfolio and asset management services to U.S. taxpayer-clients despite knowing or having reason to know that the U.S. taxpayer-clients were not in full compliance with their U.S. tax and information reporting obligations with respect to several accounts maintained at Mirelis and several accounts maintained at third-party banks.
The services provided by Mirelis to its clients also included a number of traditional Swiss banking services that Mirelis knew or had reason to know could and did in fact assist its U.S. taxpayer-clients in holding undeclared assets, including providing “hold-mail” services whereby Mirelis would hold all account correspondence and statements at its offices until physically retrieved by the client in Switzerland. In addition, Mirelis provided or assisted in the provision of “numbered” account services whereby the account holder’s name was replaced on all correspondence with just the account number or a code name even though Mirelis’s internal records would show the name and identity of the account holder. These services aided in reducing or eliminating paper trails and beneficial ownership information for undeclared accounts and assets of certain of Mirelis’s U.S. taxpayer-clients.
Mirelis also assisted in the establishment of trusts and entities (collectively, “structures”) for U.S. taxpayer-clients with both accounts maintained at Mirelis and accounts maintained at third-party depository financial institutions, in particular at a Category 1 Bank, by making referrals to known purveyors of such structures both within and outside of Switzerland. Mirelis knew or had reason to know that these purveyors often operated structures in contravention of corporate formalities and/or Mirelis’s own policies and procedures and that one purpose of these structures was to add an additional layer of nominal ownership to conceal the U.S. taxpayer-clients’ ownership of undeclared accounts.
With respect to at least 24 U.S. Related Accounts maintained by Mirelis, Mirelis obtained or accepted IRS Forms W-8BEN (or substitute self-certification forms) from these entity account holders that falsely indicated the beneficial owner of the undeclared account was the non-U.S. entity itself and not the U.S. taxpayer-client. These false Forms W-8BEN directly contradicted the Swiss Forms A that Mirelis obtained identifying the U.S. taxpayer-clients as the true beneficial owners of the accounts. Despite knowing that one of the purposes of these arrangements was to further conceal the ownership of undeclared accounts, Mirelis did not contest the claims made on the Forms W-8BEN or equivalent.
With respect to its asset management services to U.S. taxpayer-clients, Mirelis’s responsibility was solely to manage the investment of the assets of the external U.S. taxpayer-clients held on deposit at the third-party financial institutions. Those institutions undertook all other aspects of managing the client relationship, including the responsibility for procuring, updating, and maintaining all “know your customer” and anti-money laundering and terrorism financing information regarding account holder and beneficial owner.
Mirelis, in connection with the due diligence performed following the Atlas acquisition, learned, among other things, that Atlas provided hold mail and numbered account services, assisted in the establishment of structures for U.S. persons, accepted (or did not contest) false IRS Forms W-8BEN regarding the true beneficial ownership of the account; and opened at least 107 accounts in the names of Panamanian corporations in which the beneficial owners were U.S. persons. Most of those 107 accounts were established by one Swiss attorney.
Mirelis took remedial steps starting in 2011 with respect to its then-existing U.S. taxpayer-clients, including implementing a new cross-border policy in June 2011, encouraging clients to enter the OVDP, and shifting its declared clients to its then-newly SEC-registered subsidiary, Mirelis Advisors, S.A.
Mirelis submitted a letter of intent to participate as a Category 2 bank in the Department’s Swiss Bank Program in December 2013. Although it was ultimately determined that Mirelis was not eligible for the Swiss Bank Program due to its structure as both an asset management firm and a bank, Mirelis is required under today’s agreement to fully comply with the obligations imposed under the terms of that program. Mirelis has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice in this investigation, including undertaking a separate and thorough review of the provision of independent portfolio and asset management services to U.S. taxpayer-clients with accounts maintained at third-party depository financial institutions and encouraging a significant number of its remaining non-compliant U.S. taxpayer-clients to participate, or provide proof of prior participation, in OVDP covering many of the U.S. Related Accounts maintained by Mirelis during the Applicable Period.
While U.S. account holders at Mirelis who have not yet declared their accounts to the IRS may still be eligible to participate in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, the price of such disclosure has increased. Most U.S. taxpayers who enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to resolve undeclared offshore accounts will pay a penalty equal to 27.5 percent of the high value of the accounts. On Aug. 4, 2014, the IRS increased the penalty to 50 percent if, at the time the taxpayer initiated their disclosure, either a foreign financial institution at which the taxpayer had an account or a facilitator who helped the taxpayer establish or maintain an offshore arrangement had been publicly identified as being under investigation, the recipient of a John Doe summons or cooperating with a government investigation, including the execution of a deferred prosecution agreement or non-prosecution agreement. With today’s announcement of this non-prosecution agreement, noncompliant U.S. clients of Mirelis must now pay that 50 percent penalty to the IRS if they wish to enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. The IRS recently announced that the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program will close on September 28, 2018.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division thanked the IRS and in particular, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the IRS Large Business & International Division for their substantial assistance. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman also thanked Trial Attorneys Charles M. Duffy and Henry C. Darmstadter, who served as counsel on this matter, as well as Senior Counsel for International Tax Matters and Coordinator of the Swiss Bank Program Thomas J. Sawyer, Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette L. Davis, and Attorney Kimberle E. Dodd.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Jury Finds in Favor of ATF Agent in Civil SuitRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – A federal jury in St. Louis returned a verdict today in favor of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) agent who was accused of using excessive force in shooting into a vehicle during an undercover operation in 2012. Myron Pollard of St. Louis was killed in the incident and his mother was seeking $6 million in damages from the agent and the United States. The case was tried before U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Jr.
On August 29, 2012, Special Agent Bernard Hansen was part of an ATF Special Response Team undercover operation which was targeting subjects suspected of preparing a home invasion to rob the occupants of drugs and money. The SRT agents planned to arrest the subjects at the gathering point located near the intersection of Grand and Iron in the south city neighborhood of Holly Hills. As Special Agent Hansen emerged from the SRT truck to effect an arrest, one of the subjects, Dametrius Creighton, accelerated his Grand Prix in the direction of the special agent and the other members of the SRT team. Special Agent Hansen fired several times into the vehicle in an effort to stop it. One of the rounds fatally struck Myron Pollard who was riding in the front passenger seat of the Grand Prix. The Government argued that the agent’s use of deadly force was reasonable under all of the circumstances and the jury agreed. Creighton was convicted of conspiracy and firearms charges based on this incident and is serving a sentence at the federal prison facility in Marion, Illinois.
The case was tried by Karin Schute and Nicholas Llewellyn of the United States Attorney’s Office who were assisted by Stephen Brodsky who is an ATF area counsel.
Junction City Man Sentenced to 292 Months for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Junction City man, Gene Paul Pendygraft, 46, has been sentenced to 292 months in federal prison, to be followed by a life term of supervised release, for knowingly receiving child pornography.
On Friday, United States District Judge Danny C. Reeves formally sentenced Pendygraft, who must serve 85 percent of his federal prison sentence.
Pendygraft previously admitted that, in November of 2016, he knowingly received images of child pornography on his laptop computer. A forensic examination of Pendygraft’s device revealed seven videos of child pornography, including some that depicted children under the age of 12 and some that depicted sadistic or masochistic conduct.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Steve Igyarto, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI), and Rick Sanders, Commissioner, Kentucky State Police (KSP), jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by HSI and the KSP. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney David Marye.
Joplin Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man and a Philippi, West Virginia, man were sentenced in federal court today for sexually abusing a child.
Ronald Lee Fields, 56, of Joplin, and Shannon Calhoun, 33, of Philippi, formerly of Joplin, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark. Fields was sentenced to 20 in federal prison without parole. Calhoun was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Fields and Calhoun to each spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.
Fields and Calhoun each pleaded guilty in November 2017 to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child.
Officers with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force executed a search warrant at Fields’s residence on July 31, 2017, and seized various electronic devices, including a computer. Images of child pornography were found on those devices, which depicted Fields in a motel room with a child about five years old. Some photos depicted Fields and Calhoun sexually abusing the child. The photographs were taken at a variety of locations in Jasper and Newton Counties between April 20 and July 21, 2014.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Ingalls, Indiana fire chief faces federal child exploitation chargesRead the Press Release
Alleged to have had a sexual relationship with a 17 year old female under his supervision
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis-United States Attorney Josh Minkler announced today that the former Fire Chief of Ingalls, Indiana has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child. Brian Cushman, 29, Ingalls, had his initial appearance in federal court last week and was released on GPS monitoring today.
“This office will not tolerate the sexual abuse of our children by those who are supposed to lead our children from positions of trust,” said Minkler. “Giving a child a learning opportunity, career guidance, or athletic training should not come at a cost of a child’s innocence.”
Indiana State Police received information from the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office that there were allegations of underage alcohol consumption and sexual misconduct at Cushman’s residence in Ingalls during a time when Cushman was the fire chief of the Ingalls Fire Department.
After interviewing several witnesses and victims, law enforcement officials determined that Cushman allegedly provided alcohol to Minor Victim 1 and another child. Police also learned that Cushman had sexual contact with Minor Victim 1 in the course of his employment with the Fire Department. Search warrants were obtained for Cushman’s residence and cell phone. Forensic examiners discovered sexually explicit images of Minor Victim 1 and Cushman on his cell phone dating back to January 2018.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Indiana State Police.
“The sexual victimization of a child is a heinous crime,” said Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter. “And in this particular case, it’s even worse the crime is alleged to have been committed by a public safety official that we encourage our youth to seek out when they need help.” Carter concluded, “I’m grateful to the dedicated state police forensic computer experts that were able to aid in the recovery of evidence of the alleged crimes.”
According to Assistant United States Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who is prosecuting this case for the government, Cushman could face up to 30 years imprisonment if convicted.
A criminal complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the Office’s firm commitment to prosecuting those who exploit or harm children and to work closely with Project Safe Childhood. See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan 4.1.
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Illegal alien from Mexico arrested in Calcasieu Parish sentenced for illegally re-entering U.S.Read the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison for re-entering the United States after being deported.
Raul Delacruz-Valdez, 31, of Fresnillo, Zacatescas, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. According to the March 13, 2018 guilty plea, Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop on Delacruz-Valdez’s vehicle on March 20, 2017 in Calcasieu Parish. He was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. After his arrest, law enforcement agents discovered that he was an illegal alien who had re-entered the United States without obtaining permission. He had previously been removed on October 18, 2010.
Homeland Security Investigations and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.
Illegal Alien Arrested for Unlawfully Returning to the United States After Prior Drug ConvictionsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A man from the Dominican Republic who was previously convicted of federal and state drug crimes made his initial court appearance today on charges he unlawfully returned to the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Francisco Nicholas Brito, a/k/a “Nicholas Brito,” a/k/a “Jose,” 51, is charged by complaint with one count of aggravated illegal re-entry into the United States. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge James B. Clark III and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Brito illegally re-entered the United States after being deported to the Dominican Republic following a 46-month prison sentence in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a five-year prison sentence in New Jersey for committing drug crimes. After his deportations, Brito illegally re-entered the country and was found in New Jersey, where he was located and arrested in June 2018.
The count of illegal re-entry carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited deportation officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), under Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Lisa Mack Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Hattiesburg Man Sentenced to 30 years for Human TraffickingRead the Press Release
OXFORD, Miss: Raymorris Asencio, 32, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison following his conviction for human trafficking and transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Christopher Freeze and Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.
Ascencio was convicted at trial in March of 2018 for trafficking a minor female for sex. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson presided over Ascencio’s trial and sentenced him on Thursday in Federal Court in Oxford, Mississippi. In total, Judge Davidson sentenced Ascencio to 30 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment.
U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar said, “Combatting human trafficking is a top priority for the Department of Justice and our office. Through collaborative efforts with our state and local law enforcement partners in Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Safe Childhood we will do just that. We must protect our children from predators like Asencio. I want to thank the private citizens in Oxford who noticed the minor and Asencio and notified the Oxford Police Department of their concerns for the minor's safety. I also want to commend the quick action of the Oxford Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other police departments in Hattiesburg, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who all worked together to locate and rescue the minor.”
“It is nearly unthinkable that trafficking a minor for prostitution still happens in Mississippi, but the jury in this case agreed that the charges against Asencio were warranted,” said Special Agent in Charge Freeze. “Our Child Exploitation Task Force constantly focuses on those that prey on children. I want to personally thank the special agents, task force officers and partner law enforcement agencies that assisted with this case, because without these partnerships, these types of verdicts would not be possible.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Roberts and Michael Hallock prosecuted the case for the United States. The case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which is made up of agents from the FBI, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and officers from the Prentiss County Sheriff’s Office and Southaven Police Department.
Guilty Verdict Against New York Man for Possessing Firearm as A Previously Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Yonkers, New York, man was convicted by a federal jury of possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Francisco Vallejo, 28, was convicted of possessing a firearm despite his three prior felony convictions in Passaic County Superior Court. Vallejo was convicted on July 26, 2018 following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial, on June 7, 2015, Vallejo was arrested in Passaic, New Jersey, after reports of a disturbance and gunshots were made to the Passaic Police Department. Responding officers detained Vallejo on the street, and thereafter located a loaded .25 caliber firearm in a nearby garbage can. A nearby security camera captured Vallejo stashing the firearm in the garbage can, and he was later found to have gunpowder residue on his hands.
Vallejo faces a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, officers of the Passaic Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Luis A. Guzman, and officers of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, with the investigation leading to the guilty verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brendan Day and Senior Litigation Counsel R. Joseph Gribko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Pasquale Giannetta Esq., Newark
Guatemalan Man Admits Robbing and Threatening Happy State Bank Employee with a Pipe BombRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — Eddie Estuardo Galindo-Mendez, age 44, a Guatemalan citizen, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr., to bank robbery through the threatened use of a pipe bomb, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Galindo-Mendez has been in custody since his arrest in March and will remain in federal custody. Galindo-Mendez faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing will be set by Senior United States District Judge Sam R. Cummings at a later date.
According to the plea agreement factual resume filed in the case, on November 20, 2017, about 3:00 p.m., Galindo-Mendez entered the Happy State Bank at 4402 19th Street, Lubbock, Texas and handed a note to a teller. The note contained words to the effect of: “There is a bomb. It is activated. Don’t push the button. No bait money. No ink.” Galindo-Mendez then placed an item that appeared to be a pipe bomb next to the teller’s computer. The device was made of capped galvanized pipes, duct tape, and wires connecting the device to a cell phone. Based upon Galindo-Mendez’s demands, the teller surrendered the money.
Surveillance videos later revealed the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle. Later review of the purported pipe bomb left at the bank determined it was inert.
Earlier that same day, at 1:46 p.m., the Texas Tech University Police Department (TTU PD) was notified of a suspicious package at Talkington Hall, Z2-D Parking Lot, 1803 Boston Avenue, Lubbock, Texas. TTU PD officers responded to that location and saw a gray Ford F-150 with its gas tank lid open. There were galvanized pipes with caps on both ends and duct tape around them hanging from the gas tank lid by a string. There was also a cell phone on the pipes with wires going from the phone to the pipes. TTU PD evacuated Merket Alumni Center, Talkington Hall, Horn Hall, and Knapp Hall. Upon further examination, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad determined that the device was inert and processed it for evidence.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, the Lubbock Police Department, and Texas Tech University Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is in charge of the prosecution.
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Former Physician’s Office Employee Sentenced in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Gloria Harris, 56, of Memphis was sentenced to serve 64 months in federal prison on bank fraud charges arising from her theft of approximately $292,500 from her former employer, United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced today.
Harris, a former data entry clerk for Crescent Medical Corporation, was indicted by a federal grand jury in December of last year, and pled guilty in April to allegations that she fraudulently obtained $292,500 between January 2016 and March 2017. The indictment alleged that Harris stole checks payable to Crescent and deposited them to bank accounts at Trustmark Bank and Suntrust Bank which she had fraudulently opened in the name of Crescent without the knowledge of Crescent’s owner, Dr. Ashan Kathawala.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Fraudulent schemes and crimes of dishonesty do not pay, and will be exposed. We are pleased to achieve justice for the victim in this case."
In addition to her prison sentence, United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman ordered Harris to serve a term of five years supervised release following her release from custody and to pay restitution in the total amount of $292,500 to Trustmark, Suntrust and Crescent.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service Economic Crimes Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carroll L. André III is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
Former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Sentenced to 7 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that former New York State Assembly Speaker SHELDON SILVER was sentenced this afternoon to seven years in prison after having been found guilty a second time by a federal jury of using his official position to obtain nearly $4 million in bribes in exchange for his official acts and obtaining another $1 million through laundering the proceeds of his crimes. SILVER had previously been found guilty of the same offenses by a jury in November 2015, but the conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States.
SILVER was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, who also presided over the two-week jury trial.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “When he assumed his powerful position at the top of New York State government, Sheldon Silver took an oath to do the work of the people. Instead, he leveraged his tremendous influence to pad his bank account and line his pockets. Sheldon Silver has been given a lengthy sentence of seven years in federal prison. We hope today’s fittingly stiff sentence sends a clear message: brokering official favors for your personal benefit is illegal and will result in prison time. I thank the career prosecutors of this Office for their perseverance in this important case for the people of New York.”
According to the evidence introduced at trial, court filings, and statements made in Manhattan federal court:
For more than two decades, SHELDON SILVER served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly, a position that gave him significant power over the operation of state government. SILVER used this immense power – including, in particular, his power over the real estate industry and his control over certain health care funding – to unlawfully and corruptly enrich himself. Among other things, SILVER unlawfully solicited and obtained client referrals worth millions of dollars in exchange for his official acts, and attempted to disguise this money as legitimate outside income earned from his work as a private lawyer. In particular, SILVER claimed, on financial disclosure forms required to be filed with New York State and in public statements, that the millions of dollars he received in outside income while also serving as Speaker of the Assembly came from a Manhattan-based law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg P.C., where SILVER claimed to work representing individual clients in personal injury actions. These claims were materially false and misleading – and made to cover up unlawful payments SILVER received due to his official power and influence as an elected legislator and the Speaker of the Assembly.
The schemes provided SILVER with two different streams of unlawful income: (i) approximately $700,000 in kickbacks SILVER received by steering two real estate developers with business before the state legislature to a law firm with which he was associated, and (ii) more than $3 million in asbestos client referral fees SILVER received by, among other official acts, awarding $500,000 in state grants to a university research center of a physician who referred patients made ill by asbestos to Weitz & Luxenberg.
Unlawful Income From a Real Estate Law Firm
SILVER, a lawyer, entered into a corrupt relationship with Jay Arthur Goldberg, P.C., later known as Goldberg & Iryami, P.C., which specialized in making applications to New York City to reduce taxes assessed on properties. Beginning in at least approximately 2000, SILVER approached a prominent developer of residential properties in Manhattan, Glenwood Management Corp. (“Glenwood”), and later approached another developer, The Witkoff Group LLC (“Witkoff”), and asked them to hire Goldberg & Iryami. The developers – both of whom lobbied SILVER and others on real estate issues because their businesses depended heavily on favorable state legislation – agreed to use Goldberg & Iryami as SILVER had requested. Over the years, Witkoff and Glenwood paid millions of dollars in legal fees to Goldberg & Iryami. SILVER received a cut from the legal fees amounting to nearly $700,000. SILVER had no public affiliation with Goldberg & Iryami and performed no legal work to earn those fees, which were payments for SILVER having arranged the business through his official power and influence.
While continuing to receive the fees and in furtherance of the scheme, SILVER took official action beneficial to Glenwood and Witkoff. For example, while SILVER was publicly associated with advocating for tenants, a proposal that benefitted Glenwood was in substantial part enacted in real estate legislation in 2011 with SILVER’s support. SILVER also approved more than $1 billion dollars in state financing for Glenwood.
Unlawful Income From Asbestos Client Referrals
SILVER also entered into a corrupt arrangement with Dr. Robert Taub, who was a leading physician specializing in the treatment of asbestos-related diseases, through which SILVER issued state grants and otherwise used his official position to provide favors to Dr. Taub and his family so that Dr. Taub would refer and continue to refer his patients to SILVER at Weitz & Luxenberg, a firm with which SILVER was affiliated as counsel. Specifically, SILVER arranged for New York State to fund two grants – each for $250,000, and paid out of a then-secret and un-itemized pool of funds controlled entirely by SILVER – for a research center Dr. Taub had established. SILVER used his official position to provide Dr. Taub with other benefits as well, including helping to direct $25,000 in state funds to a not-for-profit organization for which one of Dr. Taub’s family members served on the board, and asking the CEO of a second not-for-profit to hire a second family member of Dr. Taub.
From approximately 2005 until his arrest, SILVER received more than $3 million from legal fees Weitz & Luxenberg received from patients Dr. Taub had referred to SILVER at the firm while SILVER was agreeing to and taking official actions to benefit Dr. Taub. SILVER did no legal work whatsoever on these asbestos cases, his sole role having been to use his official position and access to state funds to induce Dr. Taub to provide him with these lucrative referrals.
Silver’s Efforts to Cover Up the Schemes
SILVER took various efforts to disguise his unlawful outside income and prevent the detection of his criminal schemes. For years, SILVER listed on his official public disclosure forms that his outside income consisted of “limited practice of law in the principal subject area of personal injury claims on behalf of individual clients,” which was false and misleading. Beginning in 2010, SILVER’s disclosures changed to state that the source of his legal income was a “Law Practice” that “includ[ed]” being of counsel to Weitz & Luxenberg. SILVER never disclosed his relationship with Goldberg & Iryami or any work beyond what he claimed was a “personal injury” practice.
SILVER also repeatedly made false and misleading statements about his outside work and income in his public statements, including the following:
- SILVER claimed he performed legal work consisting of spending several hours each week evaluating legal matters brought to him by potential clients and then referring cases that appeared to have merit to lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg. In fact, SILVER did no such work on the asbestos cases and obtained those referrals to Weitz & Luxenberg based on his corrupt arrangement with Dr. Taub.
- SILVER claimed his law practice involved the representation of “plain, ordinary simple people.” In fact, SILVER steered legal work to Goldberg & Iryami for some of the largest real estate developers in the state, for which favorable state legislation was critical to their business interests.
- SILVER claimed through his spokesperson that SILVER principally found clients by virtue of his having been a “lawyer for more than 40 years,” in a manner that was “not unlike any other attorney in this state, anywhere.” In fact, SILVER received money from referring his lucrative asbestos and real estate developer clients solely by virtue of his official position.
- SILVER stated through his spokesperson that “[n]one of his clients have any business before the state.” In fact, SILVER’s outside income included millions of dollars of fees obtained through Glenwood and Witkoff, both of which had significant business before the state, and Dr. Taub, to whose benefit SILVER provided state funding and other benefits related to SILVER’s official position.
In addition, SILVER attempted to thwart the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, by filing legal motions on behalf of the Assembly and taking other action to block the Moreland Commission’s investigation into legislators’ outside income.
Finally, SILVER laundered part of crime proceeds through private investment vehicles, not available to the public, which yielded him another $1 million in ill-gotten gains.
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In addition to the prison sentence, SILVER, 74, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
SILVER was found guilty by a unanimous jury on May 11, 2018, of two counts of honest services wire fraud, two counts of honest services mail fraud, two counts of extortion under color of official right, and one count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions.
U.S. Attorney Berman praised the work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which jointly conducted this investigation.
This case was prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Richenthal and Damian Williams are in charge of the prosecution.
Former New Jersey Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former officer with the N.J. Department of Corrections today admitted receiving images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Stephen Salamak, 38, of Lodi, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Salamak used email to seek and obtain images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children.
The receipt of child pornography charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Salamak will be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Nov. 15, 2018.U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Protection Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Brian Neary Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey
Five Flordia Residents Sentenced for Committing Credit Card Fraud in Northern KentuckyRead the Press Release
Three men and two women pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess Counterfeit and Unauthorized Access Devices in March 2018
COVINGTON, Ky. – Jose Valdes, Jairo Castro, Yanetsi Sanchez, Arnado Salazar and Dianey Quintero, all residents of Tampa, Fla., were sentenced yesterday, to a range of 37 months to 46 months in federal prison, by United States District Judge David L. Bunning, for committing credit card fraud.
According to their guilty pleas, the Defendants were responsible for mailing a package containing 227 blank credit cards from Tampa, to a Florence, Ky. motel, using a local shipping company. Due to suspicious markings on the package, law enforcement began an investigation that ultimately led to a search of the package. Law enforcement tracked the package to the motel, and found the Defendants waiting, in three vehicles located nearby. A search of those vehicles resulted in the discovery of laptops and a thumb drive containing approximately 2,000 stolen account numbers. Also located were skimmer devices (used at gas stations to record account numbers from unsuspecting customers using the pumps), equipment designed to download the stolen account numbers onto blank cards, and seven money orders that had been purchased with stolen account numbers. The Defendants were arrested before they could unlawfully use the credit cards in the package.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Yvonne Dicristoforo, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, jointly made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Police and the United States Secret Service. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Voorhees.
Final Defendants Sentenced in Pharmacy Roberries CaseRead the Press Release
DAYTON – The final two of eight defendants were sentenced in U.S. District Court today for their roles in pharmacy robberies in Fairfield, Middletown, Franklin, Hamilton, Westerville, Trotwood, Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering, Beavercreek, Moraine, Vandalia, Union Township and Cincinnati.
Tiwonne Montgomery, 22, of Dayton, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and Martez Henderson, 21, of Dayton, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Montgomery’s sentence will be served concurrently with a state sentence for a separate pharmacy robbery.
Benjamin C. Glassman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati and Middletown Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw announced the sentences handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.
In May 2017, a federal grand jury returned indictments charging individuals with robbing two Middletown pharmacies and stealing prescription drugs including morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone for the purpose of selling the drugs on the street.
The grand jury charged two Dayton men, Calvin Cavonte Tribble and Savon Anthony Davis, with attempted robbery of a pharmacy in Middletown on April 18, 2017 and robbing the pharmacy on April 19. Tribble and Davis were each sentenced to 16 months in prison.
In July, a 10-count superseding indictment added six defendants who also allegedly conspired to rob pharmacies between March and June 2017 in Fairfield, Middletown, Franklin, Hamilton, Westerville, Trotwood, Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering, Beavercreek, Moraine, Vandalia, Union Township and Cincinnati.
It was part of the alleged conspiracy that defendants would approach the pharmacy counter at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Best Pharmacy locations as if to turn in a prescription to be filled. In actuality, the slip of paper included a note that this was an armed robbery and the pharmacist would be harmed if they did not comply. The note demanded pharmacy employees to fill two bags with a list of controlled substances identified by name, amount and prescription dosage.
Those charged in the superseding indictment include Henderson; Montgomery; Kenneth Evans, Jr., who was sentenced to 42 months in prison; Brandon Freeman, who was sentenced to 27 months in prison; David Harris, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison and Jamar Warren, who was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation of this case by the Middletown Police and the FBI, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy M. Smith and Brent Tabacchi, who are representing the United States in the case.
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Essex County Man Gets 12 Years in Prison for Possessing Firearm as Previously Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon for a second time and violating his supervised release, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
John Cottle, 47, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of violation of supervised release from his first felon in possession of a firearm conviction from 2010. U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In December 2016, investigators from the Newark and Hillside police departments responded to reports of a robbery in the area of South 13th Street, near Avon Avenue, in Newark. Officers encountered Cottle in the area and upon investigation found him to be in possession of a loaded .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun.
Cottle has numerous prior felony convictions, including a 2010 felon in possession of a firearm conviction in the District of New Jersey – from which he was still on supervised release at the time of the 2016 arrest – and is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.
Judge Hillman also sentenced Cottle to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino; the Newark Police Division, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan; and the Hillside Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Vincent Ricciardi, for their assistance.The government is represented by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Intrater.
Defense counsel: Thomas Young Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, CamdenEdwardsville Resident Sentenced for Bank Robberies in Lebanon and O'FallonRead the Press Release
Marcus J. Thornton, 38, of Edwardsville, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court today to 19 years in prison, for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Steven D. Weinhoeft, announced. The sentence includes a five-year term of supervised release immediately following Thornton’s imprisonment. Thornton had previously pled guilty to these charges on March 22, 2018 and April 27, 2018.
Documents filed in the U.S. District Court establish that on October 13, 2016, Thornton entered the Regions Bank located at 107 E. Schuetz Street, Lebanon, Illinois, and demanded money from bank tellers. Thornton took a total of $13,710.90 in United States currency before fleeing in a vehicle.
On February 9, 2017, Thornton entered the U.S. Bank located at 400 South Lincoln Avenue, O’Fallon, Illinois, brandished a silver and black semi-automatic handgun, and demanded money from bank tellers. Bank tellers gave $10,720 in United States currency to
Thornton, who then put the U.S. currency into a white plastic bag, and fled in a vehicle.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Illinois State Police, and Lebanon and O’Fallon Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel T. Kapsak and James G. Piper, Jr.
Dual Iranian/Canadian National Pleads Guilty to International Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A dual citizen of Iran and Canada pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to international money laundering.
Omid Mashinchi, 35, pleaded guilty to five counts of international money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2018. Mashinchi was charged in a sealed indictment in January 2018 and arrested in April 2018, when he flew into the United States; he has been in federal custody since.
On five occasions in 2017, Mashinchi transferred funds from a bank in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to a bank in Boston knowing that the money was derived from unlawful activity. On Jan. 28, Mashinchi transferred $37,794; on July 28 he made two transfers, one for $49,915 and another for $49,445; and on Aug. 3, he made two more transfers, one for $49,930 and another in the amount of $49,645.
The charge of international money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and up to a $500,000 fine. 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 Susan Winkler of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
District Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for OfferUp Armed Robbery SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Derkwon Johnson, 18, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to six years in prison for a pair of armed robberies committed in March 2016 in which he lured unsuspecting victims to his neighborhood in Southeast Washington and robbed them at gunpoint or knifepoint, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Johnson pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to seven charges, including, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery while armed, possession with the intent to distribute PCP, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas J. Motley. Upon completion of his prison term, Johnson will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Johnson and several unidentified individuals created fake accounts on OfferUp, an online marketplace to buy and sell goods. They did so for the purpose of luring unsuspecting victims to their neighborhood and robbing them at gunpoint. Johnson and at least one other individual began posting items for sale in March 2016. Throughout the course of the scheme, Johnson posted items for sale, including, but not limited to, iPhones, expensive shoes, dirt bikes, and high-end cars such as an Audi A6.
On March 3, 2016, one victim believed he was traveling to the 1200 block of Easton Road SE in order to buy an iPhone from an individual using the OfferUp screen name “Larry.” When the victim arrived on the block, Johnson came to his car with a bag, sat in the car, and immediately pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the victim’s head, declaring, “Give me the --- money or I’m gonna --- kill you.” Johnson stole $300 and cut the victim’s hand with a knife during a brief struggle.
Three days later, Johnson lured another victim to the same block for the purpose of buying a dirt bike. This victim arrived at the location, exited his truck, and was quickly grabbed by two individuals, one of whom stuck a knife to his chest. They dragged him back to his pick-up truck where a third individual approached and broke the passenger side window. One of the individuals stated, “Where’s the money, don’t lie to me or I’ll kill you.” The victim told the assailants where the money was hidden inside of his truck, and they escaped with $1,000.
Johnson was soon identified through fingerprints that he left at both crime scenes. Additionally, he used his mother’s Internet IP address to set up the OfferUp accounts.
MPD officers attempted to arrest Johnson for these robberies on July 31, 2016. Johnson attempted to flee but was apprehended. Upon arrest, he had PCP in his pocket, and a loaded firearm tucked in his compression shorts. He has been in custody since his arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and Brittany Keil, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Bach, who supervised the prosecution.
District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Chicago Companies to Stop Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Dietary Supplements and Unapproved and Misbranded DrugsRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has entered a permanent injunction against three related Chicago companies — Global Marketing Enterprises, Inc., Lifeline Nutrients, Corp., and Pronto Foods Company — as well as their owner Eduardo S. Chua, and their operations manager Haidee V. Dawis. The injunction prevents the defendants from manufacturing, selling, and distributing adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements and unapproved and misbranded drugs, the Department of Justice announced today.
The Department filed a complaint on July 26, 2018, alleging that defendants manufacture, package, label, and distribute numerous products in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The complaint further alleges that defendants’ dietary supplements were adulterated because they were not manufactured, prepared, packed, labeled or held in compliance with federal current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations. FDA inspections of defendants’ plant in 2015 and 2017 revealed numerous failures to comply with CGMP regulations, including the failure to establish specifications for the identity, strength, composition and purity of their products and the failure to establish and follow written sanitation procedures. The complaint also alleges that many of the labels on defendants’ supplements were deficient, and caused the products to be misbranded under the FDCA.
Additionally, defendants marketed numerous products as drugs, according to the complaint, by making claims that these products could help treat or prevent a host of serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and Parkinson’s disease. Defendants sold these products to the public using these claims despite not having the required FDA approval.
The complaint alleges that defendants’ disease-related treatment claims were unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation. Additionally, defendants’ products did not contain adequate directions for such uses. The complaint asserts that directions for use, including dosages, warnings, and side effects, must be premised on clinical data derived from scientifically controlled investigation, and since defendants made disease-related treatment claims about their products in the absence of any such clinical data, the products were misbranded.
The defendants agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The consent decree requires that if the defendants wish to resume manufacturing and distributing dietary supplements in the future, they must implement the remedial measures set forth in the consent decree, notify the FDA of the measure they have taken, and obtain written approval from the FDA that they appear to be in compliance with both the terms of the consent decree and the provisions of the FDCA.
“Consumers must be able to trust that the products they buy are safe and the claims on the product's label can be relied on,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with FDA to take action against manufacturers that employ substandard practices, so that the public can rely on the safety and integrity of the products they buy.”
“Marketing medical products that were not manufactured in compliance with FDA regulations and making unsubstantiated claims about those products can lead to serious consequences for unsuspecting buyers,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois. “This case reflects our office’s ongoing commitment to safeguard consumers.”
“Companies that market dietary supplements with unproven health claims and also continue to violate manufacturing regulations put consumers’ health in jeopardy,” said Melinda Plaisier, FDA associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “The FDA will take the enforcement actions necessary to protect consumers from this undue risk.”
This matter was handled by Trial Attorney James Harlow of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Lorenzen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Julie Lovas of the FDA’s Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-ndil.
Deville man sentenced to 27 months in prison for possessing an unregistered silencerRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Deville man was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in prison for possessing a silencer that had not been registered.
Jonathan Hayes, 32, of Deville, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release. According to the April 16, 2018 guilty plea, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents arrested Hayes on June 1, 2016 in the Camp Beauregard Wildlife Management Area. Agents found him in possession of a Ruger .22 caliber rifle, a Savage .22 caliber rifle and a firearm silencer. The silencer, which is a firearm under federal law, had no manufacturer’s mark of identification or serial number. The silencer was not registered in the National Firearms and Transfer Record.
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 ATF and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.
Charleston Doctor Arrested TodayRead the Press Release
Multiple Count Indictment Including Illegal Distribution of Opioids Resulting in DeathCHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Charleston returned a 15-count indictment against Muhammed Samer Nasher-Alneam, M.D. Stuart commended the agencies that conducted the investigation leading to the indictment: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the West Virginia State Police.
The indictment charges Dr. Nasher with 9 counts of distribution of Schedule II controlled substances, including the opioids hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, and oxymorphone, not for legitimate medical purposes and beyond the bounds of medical practice. Two of those counts allege that the unlawful distribution of opioids resulted in the death of the patient. The indictment also alleges that Dr. Nasher maintained two different office spaces for the purpose of illegally distributing drugs. Finally, the indictment alleges that Dr. Nasher transferred proceeds from drug distribution to Turkey for the purpose of concealing the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the proceeds.
The indictment is the result of the formation of the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU), a Department of Justice initiative that uses data to identify and prosecute individuals that are contributors to the national opioid crisis. The Southern District of West Virginia is one of 12 districts nationally to participate in the pilot program.
“This United States Attorney plans to hold accountable medical providers that chose greed over patient care,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Due to the funding provided because of the incredible commitment of this administration and Attorney General Sessions, we are aggressively going after doctors, pharmacies and other medical providers that contribute to the opiate epidemic purely for money. No medical provider should prey on individuals suffering from drug addiction for reasons rooted in personal greed. Far too many West Virginians lose their lives every year to opioid overdoses. The resources of the OFADU will make a big difference in our state and enable us to reverse the trend of overdose deaths. Drug dealers with a medical degree are still drug dealers.”
"This investigation highlights the FBI's commitment to combating the illegal distribution of opioids and narcotics by doctors," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nick Boshears. "Patients put their trust in doctors, and the FBI will continue to investigate those who exploit that trust and jeopardize the health of patients."
Assistant United States Attorneys Haley Bunn and Meredith George Thomas are handling the prosecution.
The indictment can be found
here .Please note: An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in Cocaine Conspiracy and to Fleeing from AuthoritiesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Lawrence Russell, a/k/a Mucho, 41, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and failure to appear after pre-trial release. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that between January 2013 and January 23, 2015, the defendant conspired with others to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine.
On six occasions between May 2014 and January 2015, Russell personally, or with a co-defendant, sold quantities of cocaine and/or crack cocaine to an individual working with the FBI. Four of the six sales occurred at 165 14th Street in Buffalo, the defendant’s residence. Prior to these controlled purchases, the individual working with the FBI purchased cocaine and crack cocaine weekly from the defendant and a co-defendant for at least a full year between January 2013 and January 2014.
Russell was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 15, 2017. On March 3, 2017, the defendant was released on conditions, including electronic monitoring. On December 1, 2017, Russell cut his ankle monitor and fled after admitting to his United States Probation Officer that he had violated a no-alcohol condition of release. During that conversation, the Probation Officer directed the defendant to report to the United States Probation Office immediately but the defendant failed to comply. On January 9, 2018, Russell failed to appear for a scheduled change of plea hearing Judge Vilardo, and remained at large until May 23, 2018, when he was apprehended by the United States Marshals Service in North Carolina.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, the U.S. Probation Department, under the direction of Anthony SanGiacomo, and the United States Marshals Service in North Carolina.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 29, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.
Boston Gang Member Sentenced for Distributing Drugs in and Around Public Housing DevelopmentRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Heath Street gang member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing drugs in and around the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments in Jamaica Plain.
Kevin Smith, a/k/a “Works,” 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 18 months in prison and six years of supervised release. In May 2018, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and to distributing cocaine base within 1000 feet of a public housing facility.
Following a two-year investigation, Smith and eight co-defendants were charged in January 2018 in connection with illegal drug distribution and firearm possession within and near the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments, formerly known as the Bromley Heath Housing Development.
On March 24, 2017, Smith arranged a drug sale for co-defendant Javonte Robinson, 21, who sold crack cocaine to a cooperating witness near the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments. In sum, Smith and Robinson also accepted responsibility for two additional sales that were not charged in the indictment. All of the sales took place either inside or within a 1000 feet of the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments.
According to court documents, Smith served 18 months in jail after he was convicted of carrying a firearm and resisting arrest. Although Smith was on Boston Housing Authority’s No Trespass List at one time, records show that he was arrested in the hallways and courtyards of the housing development at least seven times.
The investigation and arrests sought to reduce violence and improve the quality of life for residents in and around the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments by removing individuals who trafficked drugs and who were actively involved in violence and gang disputes.
On July 19, 2018, Robinson was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and six years of supervised release.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Boston Housing Authority’s Department of Police and Public Safety.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.