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29 May 2018
Maryland Man Indicted for Cyberstalking and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of A ChildRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Marc Punzalan, age 24, of Rockville, Maryland, was indicted on May 24, 2018, by a federal grand jury on one count of stalking and one count of the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that in June 2013, Punzalan used an internet messaging service to harass and intimidate a 13-year-old female in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, causing her substantial emotional distress and resulting in her death. The indictment also alleges that Punzalan attempted to persuade, entice and induce the minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct using a video web camera.
The case was investigated by the South Williamsport Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur is prosecuting the case.
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."
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Punzalan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a potential 30-year maximum sentence for the attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and up to life imprisonment for cyberstalking the victim. The maximum possible fine for these offenses is $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Local Man Charged with Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DAYTON – A federal grand jury has charged Travis E. Walker, 35, of Miami Township, Ohio, with producing, distributing and possessing child pornography in a six-count indictment returned here.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer and Miami Township Police Chief Ronald L. Hess announced the charges.
According to the indictment, beginning in at least January 2018 and continuing through May 7, 2018, Walker allegedly sexually abused a minor in order to create child pornography. He is also charged with distributing and possessing child pornography.
Producing child pornography is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison. Distributing child pornography carries a potential sentence of five to 20 years in prison. Possessing child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office RANGE Task Force and Miami Township Police, as well as Assistant United States Attorney SaMee Harden, who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Justice Department Secures Largest Negotiated Merger Divestiture Ever to Preserve Competition Threatened by Bayer’s Acquisition of MonsantoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring Bayer AG to divest businesses and assets collectively worth approximately $9 billion in order to proceed with its proposed $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Company. The proposed divestiture to BASF, an experienced chemical company with a substantial crop protection business, will fully resolve all horizontal and vertical competition concerns. As a result, American farmers and consumers will continue to benefit from competition in this industry.
“This comprehensive structural solution to significant horizontal and vertical competition concerns—the largest negotiated merger divestiture ever required by the United States—preserves competition in the sale of these critical agricultural products and protects American farmers and consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division. “We commend the parties for working with the Antitrust Division to resolve our concerns on behalf of American consumers.”
The Department’s Antitrust Division today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction while simultaneously filing a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s competitive concerns.
Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, and Monsanto, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, are two of the largest agricultural companies in the world. They compete to provide farmers with a broad range of seed and crop protection products. Bayer and Monsanto also have been leaders in developing technologies that have allowed farmers to increase significantly crop yields and improve efficiency. Without the agreed-to divestitures, the proposed merger would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, and fewer choices across a wide array of seed and crop protection products. The merger also threatened to stifle the innovation in agricultural technologies that has delivered significant benefits to American farmers and consumers.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Bayer must divest those Bayer businesses that compete with Monsanto today. These include Bayer’s cotton, canola, soybean, and vegetable seed businesses, as well as Bayer’s Liberty herbicide business, a key competitor of Monsanto’s well-known Roundup herbicide.
The settlement also requires structural divestitures to remedy the competitive harm that would result from the vertical integration of certain significant Bayer seed treatment businesses with Monsanto’s leading seed businesses. Additionally, because Bayer and Monsanto currently compete to develop new products and services, the settlement requires the divestiture of certain intellectual property and research capabilities, including “pipeline” R&D projects. Finally, in order to fully prevent competitive harm from the merger, the settlement requires the divestiture of additional complementary assets that are needed to ensure that BASF has the same innovation incentives, capabilities and scale that Bayer would have as an independent competitor including, most notably, Bayer’s nascent “digital agriculture” business.
The settlement also includes, consistent with other settlements in this Administration, several provisions designed to improve the effectiveness of the decree and the Division’s future ability to enforce it.
The Department expressed thanks to its enforcement partners around the world, especially its counterparts at the European Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau, and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) of Brazil, for their close and constructive collaboration on this matter.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Kathleen S. O’Neill, Chief, Transportation, Energy & Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.
NOTE: The original version of this release inadvertently did not include the term 'negotiated' in the title of the release or the Assistant Attorney General's quote.
Jury Convicts Two Men of North Country Crack Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK - A jury on Friday voted to convict Gary Dickens, age 29, of Brasher Falls, New York, and Richard Cruz, age 36, of the Bronx, New York, of conspiracy to traffic cocaine base (crack cocaine) in the Massena, New York, area.
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.
The evidence presented at the 5-day trial demonstrated that between January 2017 and September 4, 2017, Cruz supplied Dickens with crack cocaine on a regular basis. Dickens picked up the crack cocaine himself and transported it to Massena or employed couriers, including Andre Murray and Emely Rosario, to transport the cocaine to Massena. Dickens then distributed the drugs throughout the greater Massena area. Carri Poliski and Tammy Phillips drove Dickens around the Massena area to help him distribute the drugs. Dickens also directed the wiring of money via Western Union to Cruz in order to purchase more crack cocaine.
The jury found Dickens not guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The following people have pled guilty or been convicted at trial of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine base, before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino:
Name
Age
Residence
Charge
Sentencing Date
Gary Dickens
29
Brasher Falls, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy > 28 grams
10/5/2018
Richard Cruz
36
Bronx, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy > 28 grams
10/5/2018
Andre Murray
19
Bronx, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy
8/7/2018
Emely Rosario
30
Bronx, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy
7/12/2018
Tammy Phillips
48
Norwood, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy
7/12/2018
Carri Poliski
46
Norwood, NY
Cocaine base conspiracy
6/28/2018
Dickens faces at least 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. Cruz faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $8 million, and a supervised release term of at least 8 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case is the result of the close cooperative efforts of HSI, led by the Massena Resident Office, in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, New York State Police, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Massena Police Department, Potsdam Police Department, and Ogdensburg Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Rabe and Katherine Kopita.
Judge Sentences Federal Inmate to 2 Additional Months in Prison for Possessing ContrabandRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to two months in jail on his conviction of possession of contraband in prison, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Francisco Uresti, 43. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Uresti is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, on or about August 31, 2017, Uresti was in possession of contraband, namely a quantity of marijuana while an inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Uresti.
International Hacker-For-Hire Who Conspired with and Aided Russian FSB Officers Sentenced to 60 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Karim Baratov, aka Kay, aka Karim Taloverov, aka Karim Akehmet Tokbergenov, 23, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a fine, which encompasses all of his remaining assets.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California, and Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office made the announcement. The sentence was handed down today by U.S. District Judge the Honorable Vince Chhabria.
“Criminal hackers and the countries that sponsor them make a grave mistake when they target American companies and citizens. We will identify them wherever they are and bring them to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “I would like to thank Canadian law enforcement authorities for their tremendous assistance in bringing Baratov to justice. We will continue to work with our foreign partners to find and prosecute those who would violate our laws.”
“The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of hacking for hire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tse. “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.”
“It's difficult to overstate the unprecedented nature of this conspiracy, in which members of a foreign intelligence service directed and empowered criminal hackers to conduct a massive cyber-attack against 500 million victim user accounts,” said Special Agent in Charge Bennett. “Today's sentencing demonstrates the FBI's unwavering commitment to disrupt and prosecute malicious cyber actors despite their attempts to conceal their identities and hide from justice.”
Baratov, a Canadian national and resident, and three other defendants, including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s domestic law enforcement and intelligence service, were charged with a number of offenses relating to the hacking of webmail accounts at Yahoo and other service providers. In particular, the defendants were charged in a computer hacking conspiracy in which the two Russian FSB officers hired criminal hackers to collect information through computer intrusions in the United States and abroad, which resulted in the unauthorized access of Yahoo’s network and the spear phishing of webmail accounts at other service providers between January 2014 and December 2016.
Baratov’s role in the charged conspiracy was to hack webmail accounts of individuals of interest to his coconspirator who was working for the FSB and send those accounts’ passwords to Dokuchaev in exchange for money.
The Indictment is available here, and its allegations are summarized in greater detail in the press release that attended the unsealing of the Indictment on March 15, 2017.
Baratov has been detained since his arrest in Canada in March 2017. Baratov waived extradition to the United States and was transferred to the Northern District of California in August 2017. In November 2017, Baratov pleaded guilty to Count One and Counts Forty through Forty-Seven of the Indictment. Count One charged Baratov, Dokuchaev, Sushchin and Belan with conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by stealing information from protected computers and causing damage to protected computers. Counts Forty through Forty-Seven charged Baratov and Dokuchaev with aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea agreement, Baratov not only admitted to agreeing and attempting to hack at least 80 webmail accounts on behalf of one of his FSB co-conspirators, but also to hacking more than 11,000 webmail accounts in total from in or around 2010 until his March 2017 arrest by Canadian authorities. In addition to any prison sentence, Baratov agreed to pay restitution to his victims, and to pay a fine up to $2,250,000, at $250,000 per count, with any assets he has remaining after satisfying a restitution award.
The FBI, led by the San Francisco Field Office, conducted the investigation that resulted in the charges in the Indictment. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
International Hacker-For-Hire Who Conspired with and Aided Russian FSB Officers Sentenced to Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Karim Baratov, aka Kay, aka Karim Taloverov, aka Karim Akehmet Tokbergenov, 23, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, which encompasses all of his remaining assets.
The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, and Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge.
“The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of hacking for hire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tse. “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.”
“Criminal hackers and the countries that sponsor them make a grave mistake when they target American companies and citizens. We will identify them wherever they are and bring them to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “I would like to thank Canadian law enforcement authorities for their tremendous assistance in bringing Baratov to justice. We will continue to work with our foreign partners to find and prosecute those who would violate our laws.”
“It's difficult to overstate the unprecedented nature of this conspiracy, in which members of a foreign intelligence service directed and empowered criminal hackers to conduct a massive cyber-attack against 500 million victim user accounts,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. “Today's sentencing demonstrates the FBI's unwavering commitment to disrupt and prosecute malicious cyber actors despite their attempts to conceal their identities and hide from justice.”
Baratov, a Canadian national and resident, and three other defendants, including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s domestic law enforcement and intelligence service, were charged with a number of offenses relating to the hacking of webmail accounts at Yahoo and other service providers. In particular, the defendants were charged in a computer hacking conspiracy in which the two Russian FSB officers hired criminal hackers to collect information through computer intrusions in the United States and abroad, which resulted in the unauthorized access of Yahoo’s network and the spear phishing of webmail accounts at other service providers between January 2014 and December 2016.
Baratov’s role in the charged conspiracy was to hack webmail accounts of individuals of interest to his coconspirator who was working for the FSB and send those accounts’ passwords to Dokuchaev in exchange for money. The Indictment and additional documents setting out the allegations are available at www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-dmitry-dokuchaev-et-al.
Baratov has been detained since his arrest in Canada in March 2017. Baratov waived extradition to the United States and was transferred to the Northern District of California in August 2017. In November 2017, Baratov pleaded guilty to Count One and Counts Forty through Forty-Seven of the Indictment. Count One charged Baratov, Dokuchaev, Sushchin, and Belan with conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by stealing information from protected computers and causing damage to protected computers. Counts Forty through Forty-Seven charged Baratov and Dokuchaev with aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea agreement, Baratov not only admitted to agreeing and attempting to hack at least 80 webmail accounts on behalf of one of his FSB co-conspirators, but also to hacking more than 11,000 webmail accounts in total from in or around 2010 until his March 2017 arrest by Canadian authorities. In addition to any prison sentence, Baratov agreed to pay restitution to his victims, and to pay a fine up to $2,250,000, at $250,000 per count, with any assets he has remaining after satisfying a restitution award.
The FBI, led by the San Francisco Field Office, conducted the investigation that resulted in the charges in the Indictment. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Illegal Alien Sentenced to More Than 20 Years for Carjacking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rodolfo Joel Ulloa-Paz, 30, of Mexico, was sentenced today to 247 months in prison on carjacking and firearms offenses, announced R. Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Wayne Dixie Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division; Colonel Glenn McNeill, Commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s court proceedings, on the evening of August 10, 2016, CMPD officers located a GMC Sierra truck whose passengers were suspected of being involved in multiple shootings. Court records show that Paz was the driver of the truck, and his co-conspirator, Alan Israel Chavez-Cruz, also an illegal alien, was the front seat passenger. There were four other passengers in the back of the truck. Court records show that when CMPD officers attempted to stop the truck, Paz sped off and attempted to flee. During the flight, the truck was involved in two traffic collisions, however Paz did not stop following either collision.
According to court records, after the truck became inoperable Paz pulled it into the driveway of a residence on East W.T. Harris Boulevard, in Charlotte. Paz then exited the truck holding a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Cruz also got out of the vehicle holding a black 9mm handgun. The remaining four passengers fled the scene. Court records show that Paz and Cruz decided to steal a vehicle in order to flee the scene. Cruz approached the homeowner, R.B., placed his handgun against R.B.’s stomach, and demanded the keys to his nearby 2016 Mazda. R.B. told Cruz that he did not have the keys on him and Cruz rummaged through R.B.’s pockets but was unable to find the car keys.
Paz then attempted to carjack a 2003 Ford Ranger traveling southbound on W.T. Harris Boulevard. E.H. was driving the vehicle and L.B. was the front seat passenger of the moving Ford Ranger. Paz fired his shotgun at the Ford Ranger’s window, and was yelling for E.H. and L.B. to get out of the truck. Birdshot from the shotgun discharge struck the Ford Ranger’s windshield, causing bodily injury to both victims. E.H. continued driving the vehicle down W.T. Harris.
Next, Paz and Cruz approached a parked 2001 Chevrolet Silverado truck. As he approached, Paz fired his shotgun in the air. Cruz, with his handgun visible, told the passenger of the vehicle, K.T., to leave and K.T. fled on foot. With Paz as the driver and Cruz in the front passenger seat, the two men fled the scene.
CMPD officers located the two men. After attempting to stop the vehicle several times, the stolen Chevy Silverado drove erratically and in excess of the speed limit. While traveling down Highway 16, Cruz disassembled his handgun and discarded the parts out of the window and along the side of the road. The vehicle entered Catawba County, and Paz eventually lost control and struck a power pole that left the truck disabled.
After the collision, Cruz got out of the passenger side of the truck and was arrested immediately. Paz got out of the truck holding the 12-gauge shotgun, which he pointed at surrounding officers. Three CMPD officers discharged their weapons, striking Paz who continued to struggle while the officers were trying to arrest him. Ultimately, law enforcement apprehended Paz.
Ulloa-Paz pleaded guilty in November 2017 to conspiracy to commit carjacking, two counts of attempted carjacking, carjacking, and discharging a firearm during, in relation to and in furtherance of a crime of violence. In March 2018, Cruz was sentenced to 147 months in prison. Both men will be subject to deportation proceedings upon the completion of their federal sentence.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ATF, CMPD, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for their investigation of the case.
The prosecution was handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Erik Lindahl. Mr. Lindahl is a state prosecutor with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office, and was assigned to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
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.
Huntsville Man Indicted for February Robbery of Woodforest BankRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a north Alabama man for a February bank robbery in Huntsville, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges KEON LADELL REED, 38, with the Feb. 15 robbery of a Woodforest Bank branch on University Drive in Huntsville.
The maximum penalty for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell E. Penfield is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Huntington Man Sentenced for Role in Federal Pill ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man caught in 2017 assisting in the illegal sale of pain pills was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Joseph W. Melbar, 54, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute oxycodone in federal court in Huntington. U.S. Attorney Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the West Virginia State Police.
“We continue to shut down drug networks in Huntington – no matter the size of the organization or whether the dealers are local or out-of-state -- one by one, we are putting them out of business,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.
On September 15, 2017, Melbar helped arrange the sale of oxycodone pills to a confidential informant working with the DEA. The drug deal was scheduled to take place at Melbar’s residence on Collis Avenue in Huntington, where the informant met with Melbar and codefendants Lorie Mayhon and Curtis Holcomb to complete the transaction. After discussing the terms of the deal – 500 oxycodone pills in exchange for $20,000 cash, Mayhon and Holcomb left Melbar’s residence to pick up another codefendant to acquire the pills. After the codefendants picked up the pills, a trooper with the West Virginia State Police conducted a traffic stop on their vehicle on Artisan Avenue in Huntington. During the stop, the trooper seized 454 thirty mg oxycodone pills that Holcomb had concealed in his sock.
Holcomb was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison on May 14, 2018, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.
Mayhon is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4, 2018, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is responsible for the prosecutions. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Harrison County man admits to role in heroin distribution operationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Bridgeport, West Virginia man has admitted to his role in a heroin distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
David C. Chalfant, age 25, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Heroin” Chalfant admitted to selling heroin in March 2016 in Harrison County.
Chalfant faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.Guntersville Man Indicted for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Guntersville man on charges of distributing methamphetamine in Blount County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
An indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DANIEL DAVID GUGER, 35, with four counts of possessing with intent to distribute or distributing methamphetamine in March 2017. Two counts charge Guger with distributing five grams or more of the drug, and one count charges him with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. A fourth count charges distribution of the drug without specifying an amount.
The penalty for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison, and a maximum $10 million fine. Distributing or possessing with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine carries a prison penalty of at least five and up to 40 years in prison and maximum $5 million fine. Distributing or possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the Marshall County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting the case.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Greenwich Store Agrees to Comply with ADA and Permit Service AnimalsRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with The UPS Store #1217 in the Riverside section of Greenwich (the “Riverside UPS Store”), to resolve allegations that the store was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual with disabilities alleging that the Riverside UPS Store required her to remove her service animal from the store as a condition of service. As a result of the settlement agreement, the store is in the process of posting signage indicating “Service Animals Welcome,” implementing a “Service Animal Policy,” which includes the types of legally permissible inquiries store employees may make of a customer who enters the store with a service animal, and training employees regarding the policy. Additionally, the Riverside UPS Store will compensate the complainant in the amount of $1,000.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including retail stores, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages and civil penalties.
U.S. Attorney Durham noted that the owner of the Riverside UPS Store has worked cooperatively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to promptly address the ADA issues without litigation.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that individuals are able to access our state’s retail stores, service establishments and other places of public accommodation,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to enforcing the ADA, which requires businesses to appropriately serve the diverse populations of patrons who live, work and visit Connecticut. We appreciate the Riverside UPS Store’s commitment to increasing access to its store for individuals with disabilities who require service animal assistance.”
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica H. Soufer of the District of Connecticut in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Green Bay Man Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Mathew D. Krueger announced that on May 22, 2018, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Luca DaPra (age: 34) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, charging him with attempted production of child pornography in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2251. If convicted of the charge, DaPra faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervised release.
DaPra was also charged with distribution of child pornography in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2252A(a)(2)(A) and possession of child pornography in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2252A(a)(5)(b). The distribution of child pornography charge subjects DaPra to a five year mandatory minimum and up to 20 year maximum term of imprisonment and the possession of child pornography charge subjects him to a 20 year maximum term of imprisonment.
On May 24, 2018, DaPra appeared before the Honorable James Sickel, Magistrate Court Judge, and was ordered to be held in jail pending trial in the matter. A trial date is set for July 16, 2018, before the Honorable Chief Judge William C. Griesbach and a final pretrial conference is set for July 3, 2018 at 2:30 p.m.
This case was investigated by the Green Bay Police Department, Brown County Sheriffs Department and Neenah Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Roach.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Gerard Terry, Former Chairman of the North Hempstead Democratic Party and Nassau County Board of Elections, Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Gerard Terry, former Chairman of the Democratic Party in North Hempstead and head of the Nassau County Board of Elections, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years’ supervised release, $992,057 in restitution and $31,000 in forfeiture, following his guilty plea on October 12, 2017 to tax evasion. The sentencing proceeding was held before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the sentence.
“Gerard Terry lived by a different standard than the taxpayers he served, taking money from them in payment for the numerous governmental and quasi-governmental jobs he held, while failing to pay the taxes he owed on those jobs,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to ensure that there is one standard and one standard only — that taxpayers, regardless of who they are, will have to pay their fair share or be held to account.”
“While reaping the benefits of a salary funded by taxpayer dollars, Gerard Terry rendered himself exempt from paying taxes on this earned income,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “It seems today he has learned his lesson—the time to pay up has come.”
“Our politicians and county officials hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Robnett.” “Mr. Terry, a licensed attorney, went to great lengths to evade his tax obligations with the United States, but he ultimately hurt all American citizens who work for a living and pay their fair share for the government services and protections we enjoy.”
Terry, an attorney licensed to practice in New York State, willfully evaded substantial income tax owed by him, having earned income from numerous government and quasi-government positions in Nassau County, including the Democratic Party in the Town of North Hempstead, the Nassau County Board of Elections, the Town of North Hempstead, the Long Beach Housing Authority, the North Hempstead Housing Authority, the Freeport Community Development Agency, the Roosevelt Public Library, the Village of Port Washington, and the Village of Manorhaven. Since January 2000, Terry has failed to pay a federal tax debt of almost $1.4 million, despite earning over $250,000 per year.
According to court documents, during the period charged in the indictment, Terry failed to file personal Form 1040 tax returns, filing years later and only after vigorous pursuit by the IRS. Even then, Terry filed Forms 1040 that contained false information and failed to report income. Terry has still failed to file returns for tax years 2009 and 2010.
Terry also evaded the IRS’s attempts at levy collection, cashing hundreds of wage and compensation checks worth over $500,000, rather than depositing them into checking or savings accounts where they could be seized. When he did deposit checks into his checking account, he did so in the minimum amounts necessary to cover checks and payments for his own personal expenses, making sure there were not sufficient funds upon which the IRS could levy. Terry also created and utilized a checking account in the name of a corporate shell and had one of his employers make direct payments to his credit card rather than issuing him a paycheck. He also pressured colleagues at his various government and publicly funded jobs not to report wages paid to him and not to comply with IRS notices of levy.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Artie McConnell is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
GERARD TERRY
Age: 62
Roslyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-37 (JS)
Franconia Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD- United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Jared Peterson, 28, of Franconia, pleaded guilty in federal court fentanyl trafficking charges.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 18, 2017, law enforcement officers from the Franconia, Sugar Hill, and Littleton, New Hampshire police departments executed a search warrant for an apartment in Franconia, New Hampshire that was leased by Peterson. In that apartment, officers found approximately 118 grams of fentanyl. The defendant admitted that he traveled to Massachusetts to purchase the fentanyl and bring it to Franconia, where he and others intended to sell it.
Peterson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2018.
“Fentanyl continues to present a very serious threat to public safety in New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working without our law enforcement partners throughout the Granite State to identify and prosecute those who are distributing this deadly drug. I am grateful for the work of the law enforcement officers in this case whose efforts prevented the distribution of a very sizable amount of fentanyl.”
This matter was investigated by the Franconia Police Department, with assistance from the Sugar Hill and Littleton Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Dronzek.
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Four people sentenced to prison for taking job training money from Toledo-based nonprofit and using it to fund lavish lifestylesRead the Press Release
Four people were sentenced to prison for taking federal money earmarked for job training and instead using the money to pay for personal expenses, including vacations, investments, real estate purchases and salaries for people who did not work at the company.
James D. Moody, 58, of Toledo, was sentenced today to 66 months in prison. Victoria Hawkins, 31, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced last week to 54 months in prison. Angela Bowser, 46, of Toledo, was sentenced last week to 36 months in prison.
All three were convicted by a jury late last year for their activities related to Toledo-based Business Rehabilitation Informed Decisions Guiding Employment Strategies, Inc. d/b/a B.R.I.D.G.E.S., Inc..
Company founder and general manager Daniel E. Morris, 68, of Maumee, previously pleaded guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
“These defendants stole millions of dollars targeted to help the least among us learn job skills, and instead used the money to fund lavish lifestyles and pay for no-show jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “They ripped off taxpayers and betrayed the trust placed in them.”
“This was a transparent scheme to defraud the taxpayers of Northwest Ohio,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Ryan Korner. “Today’s guilty verdicts brings justice to thieves who enriched themselves on the backs of those struggling to survive.”
According to court documents and trial testimony:
BRIDGES operated at 242 Reynolds Road and 310 Reynolds Road. The company was in the business of providing work placement and work training services to public assistance recipients, and nearly all of its revenue came from public funds.
Morris was the co-founder and general manager of BRIDGES. Moody was co-founder and sole-shareholder. Hawkins was an employee from 2008 through 2012, while Bowser was an employee from 2008 through 2014.
BRIDGES was funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF was a welfare program that provided cash assistance to qualifying households with minor children or pregnant women. TANF provided federal block grants to states each year to cover benefits, administrative expenses and services targeted to needy families.
One of TANF’s goals was reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. TANF recipients must work as soon as they are job ready and no later than two years after commencing assistance. BRIDGES placed public assistance recipients at “job sites,” where the recipients would work for free to obtain job training and as a condition of receiving public assistance benefits like cash assistance or SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps).
BRIDGES received more than $15.7 million in funding from several entities between 2004 and 2015, including the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Works First and others. This funding was based in part on BRIDGES’ grant proposals. The majority of BRIDGES’ stated administrative costs were payroll and transportation.
BRIDGES provided job training and work placement services but at substantially lower costs than those stated in its budgets and invoices. The defendants fraudulently inflated BRIDGES payroll costs, transportation and mileage.
Morris, BRIDGES and others maintained false personnel files, timesheets, mileage records and reimbursement forms for nonexistent employees. They included fake, former or nonexistent employees on the payroll. For example, BRIDGES paid Moody a salary even though he did not work there, and later continued to pay him by issuing payroll checks to Moody’s wife.
During trial, Moody testified that he placed the salary in his wife’s name in order to distance himself from BRIDGES while running for mayor in 2009 and so that she could receive Social Security benefits despite not otherwise being eligible. Moody also received non-payroll checks, which he used to purchase and rehabilitate an investment property in Toledo, purchase an interest in his real estate company, Flex Realty, and pay for legal fees.
BRIDGES, Morris, Moody, Hawkins and Bowser used TANF funds to pay for personal living expenses including groceries, dental care, medical care, resort vacations, pharmaceuticals, clothing, toys, designer bags, furniture, video streaming services, credit card bills, legal fees unrelated to BRIDGES’ business, tattoos, cosmetic surgery, real estate, vehicles, investments and jewelry, according to court documents and trial testimony.
For example, between February 2013 and October 2014, Hawkins accessed a BRIDGES business account to make approximately $18,200 in cash withdrawals. Hawkins also had access to a debit card through which she accessed and spent approximately $750,000 in a two-year timeframe. Hawkins and co-defendant Morris also purchased two houses, including a $400,000 house in the Point Place neighborhood of Toledo.
Bowser, a program manager at BRIDGES, received numerous non-payroll checks from the company, some of which were used to purchase a house in Toledo. Bowser continued to receive bi-weekly payments from the company after she stopped working there in 2014.
Each defendant that went to trial was convicted of conspiracy to commit federal program theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses, substantive federal program theft counts, and substantive money laundering counts.
Morris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft and mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and willful failure to pay over withheld payroll tax.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah P. Hood and Gene Crawford following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations with the assistance of the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office, Public Integrity Assurance Team.
Former Treasurer for Newark Mayor Election Campaign Admits Embezzling over $220,000Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted embezzling over $220,000 in campaign funds while serving as the treasurer for a Newark mayoral campaign, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Frederick Murphy Jr., 56, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court to Counts One, Two, and Five of an information charging him with wire fraud, bank fraud, and tax evasion.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between January 2014 and March 2017, Murphy served as the treasurer for election campaign accounts associated with a Newark mayoral candidate. Murphy admitted that during that time, he embezzled over $220,000 from those accounts by writing phony checks in the names of various consultants and vendors for services that were never performed.
Murphy cashed the checks by presenting them to a bank in Essex County with the forged signature of the check payees as well as Murphy’s own signature as a double endorsement. Murphy then reported the fraudulent checks as legitimate campaign expenditures in quarterly filings with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. The false reports were uploaded by the Election Law Enforcement Commission onto its website for public reference.
Murphy also admitted under-reporting $102,954 in embezzled campaign funds on his personal income tax return for 2016.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The bank fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Murphy also faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the tax evasion charge. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Sept. 11, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bryant Jackson in Newark, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacques S. Pierre and Jihee G. Suh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel: Alan Dexter Bowman Esq., Newark
Former State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Drug-Trafficking, Witness-Tampering, Firearms Charges; 3 Others Plead Guilty to Related ChargesRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Former Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Jason J. Delcol and co-defendants Stevedore Crawford, Jr., Carlos Carvalho and Benjamin J. Owings pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today for their roles in a drug-trafficking ring.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and members of the Delaware County Drug Task Force announced the pleas offered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King.
The men are four of six who were charged in February 2018 in the drug-trafficking operation in Delaware, Ohio.
According to the Statement of Facts, in 2017 and 2018, Delcol engaged in a drug-trafficking conspiracy with co-defendants Owings and Nicholas Glassburn. Delcol engaged in the conspiracy while serving as a Trooper in the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Delcol obtained drugs from Owings – namely, testosterone, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone – and then provided them to Glassburn. Likewise, he obtained separate drugs – hydrocodone, oxycodone and Xanax – from Glassburn and provided them to Owings. Most of the time, Delcol distributed the substances at Glassburn’s residence on Rheem Street, which is near Conger Elementary School in Delaware.
In August 2017, Delcol committed witness tampering by engaging in misleading conduct toward local law enforcement to help Glassburn avoid arrest and prosecution. According to the Statement of Facts, on August 5, 2017, police encountered Glassburn asleep at the wheel and when officers searched his vehicle, they found cocaine and crack cocaine. Glassburn untruthfully told law enforcement he had found the drugs in one of his children’s rooms and had removed them. He said he had called a friend who was a state trooper, Delcol, and Delcol told him to destroy the drugs or take them to a police station. Law enforcement called Delcol to confirm the story and Delcol identified himself as a state trooper and lied on Glassburn’s behalf. Four days later in a follow-up call, Mr. Delcol again lied to police to help Glassburn.
In February 2018, when law enforcement searched Delcol’s home, they discovered a machine gun and a silencer, neither of which was registered.
Delcol pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a public elementary school, witness tampering and possession of an unregistered machine gun and an unregistered silencer. The drug-trafficking conspiracy charge carries a potential maximum of 40 years in prison. Witness tampering is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Possessing an unregistered machine gun and silencer carries a potential maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Delcol also agreed to forfeit the illegally possessed weapons.
Crawford engaged in the drug-trafficking conspiracy by distributing cocaine and crack cocaine to Glassburn and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a public elementary school. The conspiracy charge in Crawford’s case is punishable by a range of five to 80 years in prison.
Carvalho pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. According to his Statement of Facts, from 2016 to 2018, Carvalho supplied Glassburn with marijuana. He would often travel to Colorado to purchase multiple pounds of marijuana and instructed Glassburn to transfer drug proceeds from Ohio to Colorado to further the drug-trafficking operation.
Owings distributed testosterone, anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and oxycodone pills to Delcol. He also received hydrocodone, oxycodone and Xanax from Delcol. Owings pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI and Delaware County Drug Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, who is prosecuting the case.
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Former Professional Trustee of Sacramento-Based Trust Charged with Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An eight-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday following the arrest of Loretta Darlene Stewart-Cabrera, 52, of Sacramento, for her role in a scheme to defraud beneficiaries of a trust she administered as a professional fiduciary, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
On April 26, 2018, a federal grand jury returned an 8-count indictment, charging Stewart‑Cabrera with mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
According to court documents, Stewart-Cabrera was a professional fiduciary who served as the trustee of a trust. The trust owned a Sacramento property. After the trust grantor died in December 2012, Stewart-Cabrera executed a scheme to obtain and spend the trust assets. Stewart-Cabrera did this by selling the trust’s property, distributing to the trust beneficiaries only approximately $30,000 of the more than $300,000 she received from the sale of the property, and spending the remaining money without the permission or knowledge of the trust beneficiaries. At the time, Stewart-Cabrera was in financial distress. She used a portion of the trust funds to gamble and dine in Las Vegas casinos, pay family members, and purchase merchandise.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Fogerty is prosecuting the case.
If convicted of the mail fraud and wire fraud counts, Stewart-Cabrera faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of the money laundering counts, Stewart-Cabrera faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering transactions. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Clovis Resident Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison for Running $24 Million Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Seth Adam Depiano, 37, formerly of Clovis, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 12 years and seven months in prison following his guilty pleas to mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charges, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Depiano operated a Ponzi scheme that lured real estate investors to give money to Depiano and the businesses he controlled, including The Rental Group, US Funding and Home Services LLC, and Draymond Homes. Depiano fraudulently promised investors that he would use their money to purchase residential properties and either manage the properties for rental income or arrange for them to be renovated and resold. In many cases, Depiano promoted the properties to investors with documents that falsely represented high occupancy rates. Depiano oftentimes had no authority to purchase or sell the properties and misled investors with fraudulent documents misrepresenting the properties’ ownership. Some of the properties Depiano marketed to investors did not even exist.
Depiano frequently used the investors’ money to pay his personal expenses, fund his gambling activities, and finance the settlement of the investors’ civil lawsuits against him. He also paid investors purported rental income that, in fact, was money other investors gave to Depiano for investment purposes.
Depiano admitted to defrauding investors of approximately $24 million and was ordered by the court to pay restitution to investors of more than $19.6 million. Depiano also was ordered to forfeit more than $700,000 seized from several bank accounts and cash, and a baseball card collection valued at more than $31,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker prosecuted the case.
Erie Man Sentenced to 2 Years Probation for Exchanging Food Stamps for CashRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to two years probation on his conviction of conspiracy to defraud the United States, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on John L. McDowell, 68.
According to information presented to the court, McDowell’s three co-defendants were engaged in food stamp fraud primarily involving exchanging food stamps for cash. John McDowell was enlisted to submit a fraudulent application for a food stamp license so that the food stamp terminals in use at the convenience stores owned and operated by two of the co-defendants would not be in their names. The defendants then used the food stamp terminals at locations where they were not authorized.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, the Erie Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of McDowell.
Erie Man Pleads Guilty in Food Stamp Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Jibul R. Jibul, 29, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Jibul and two-defendants were all engaged in food stamp fraud primarily involving exchanging food stamps for cash. Jibul and his co-defendants also used the food stamp terminals at locations where they were not authorized.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2018 at 12:45 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, the Erie Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Jibul.
Erie Gang Member Caught Selling Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal drug laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Paris Xavier Boyd, 29, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the FBI’s Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement (EAGLE), Safe Streets task force conducted an investigation into the drug dealing and violent crime activity of members of a local gang identifying itself as "1800". The court was advised that court authorized intercepts of telephone communications between members of the group and others revealed Boyd selling crack cocaine in the Erie area. The court was advised that Boyd took over the role as the crack cocaine distributor when another member of the group was arrested after shooting at rival gang members in Erie. Boyd pleaded guilty to conspiring with his co-defendants to possess with intent to distribute and distribute the crack cocaine.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Boyd on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The EAGLE task force, which is comprised of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and the Erie Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Boyd. The Erie County District Attorney’s County Detectives Bureau also assisted in the investigation.
El Salvador citizen admits to cocaine distributionRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – An El Salvador citizen has admitted to his role in a cocaine distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Jose Wil Castro, a/k/a “William”, age 29, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine” Castro admitted to selling cocaine in May 2016 in Hampshire County.
Castro faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn M. Adkins and Lara K. Omps-Botteicher are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.Dearborn Man Sentenced to 41 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of Children, Production and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on May 29, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, TIMOTHY ALLEN WEAVER, a 36-year-old resident of Dearborn, Montana, was sentenced to a term of:
•Prison: 500 months
•Special Assessment: $300
•Restitution: $3,000
•Forfeiture: computer, tablet and cell phone
•Supervised Release: lifetime
WEAVER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to two counts of sexual exploitation of children (production of child pornography) and one count of receipt of child pornography. WEAVER sexually exploited a child in Montana, and victimized other children outside of Montana through the images he received via the internet.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In August 2016, the Cascade County Sheriff’s office was conducting a criminal investigation, and Defendant Timothy Weaver’s residence in Cascade, Montana, was searched pursuant to a search warrant. Items were seized including an eMachines computer, a Polaroid Tablet, and a Microsoft cellular telephone. The items were submitted for forensic analysis and review. The examiner located files that depicted children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The child pornography files include images of WEAVER engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a child. In addition to those images, WEAVER possessed images of other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and that WEAVER received those images between 2010 and 2016.
In its Sentencing Memorandum, the United States stated that Weaver engaged in a repeated pattern, covering a period of approximately five years, of sexual exploitation of a child. He violently abused the child victim multiple times per week, including choking. During the abuse and humiliation, the victim would close her eyes and cry.
This case was a cooperative effort between the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigations. Both agencies are members of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
“The efforts of the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office in promptly searching Weaver’s residence and then requesting the assistance of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and HSI have not only rescued this child from Weaver’s on-going abuse but it also protected other children from victimization." said U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that Weaver will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Weaver does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.
Colona Woman Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Prison for Tampering with a Federal WitnessRead the Press Release
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Charity Ann Engholm, 31, of Colona, Ill., was sentenced on May 24, to 42 months in prison for attempting to tamper and conspiring to tamper with a witness in a federal home invasion robbery case. U.S. District Judge Sara L. Darrow also ordered Engholm to serve a three-year term of supervised release following her prison sentence.
Following the arrests of Dalvent Jackson, Deaunta Tyler, and Ledell Tyler on Jan. 8, 2017, for a violent, shots-fired home invasion robbery in Rock Island, Jackson arranged for his girlfriend, Engholm, to approach one of the robbery victims in an attempt to convince the victim to renounce her identification of Jackson as one of the robbers. On Jan. 13, Engholm contacted the victim, offering to pay her $5,000 to renounce the identification. Instead of taking the money, the victim notified the police.
After Engholm initially was charged with state witness tampering offenses, she agreed to cooperate in the federal investigation of the home invasion robbery. However, in May 2017, having been released on bond from her state charges, Engholm fled to Chicago. Engholm then was charged in federal court with attempting to tamper and conspiring to tamper with a federal witness. She was arrested in Chicago on the federal charges on July 14, 2017, and held in custody. On Oct. 17, 2017, Engholm pleaded guilty to both charges.
Jackson, Deaunta Tyler, and Ledell Tyler were tried and convicted on federal robbery and firearms charges in November 2017. Jackson and Deaunta Tyler each were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Sentencing for Ledell Tyler is scheduled for June 29, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Rock Island.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Don Allegro, Ryan Finlen, and Kevin Knight. The charges were investigated by the Rock Island Police Department, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Banker Shaun Hayes Gets Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Shaun R. Hayes, 58, of Frontenac, was sentenced to 68 months in federal prison today after pleading guilty to participating in a scheme to defraud Excel Bank and to profit from illegal insider loans. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig who also ordered Hayes to pay restitution in the amount of $5,048,003.67.
Hayes was charged in April, 2016, along with real estate developer Michael Litz on bank fraud and related charges involving a series of insider loans and straw party loans at Excel Bank. The bank failed in October 2012 and Simmons Bank succeeded it. Hayes and Litz each entered guilty pleas in January. Litz was sentenced earlier this month to 36 months in prison. Hayes has been incarcerated since April 2017 when a U.S. Magistrate Judge ruled that he had violated the conditions of his bond by participating in investment activities without getting clearance from his bond officer. There is no parole in federal prison sentences.
Excel Bank was a federally insured bank with main offices in Sedalia, Missouri. Hayes held a controlling stock interest in the bank which, by 2009, had opened a Loan Production Office (LPO) in Clayton. Hayes controlled the loan activities at the LPO. At Hayes’s direction the commercial and residential real estate lending at Excel Bank increased dramatically through the operation of the LPO. As part of his guilty plea, Hayes admitted that many of the loans made through the LPO were substandard and placed the bank at risk. He also admitted that he engaged in unlawful self-dealing by causing loans to be made which directly benefitted him and his associates while concealing his interest in the loans.
As part of his guilty plea, Hayes admitted that he helped set up a loan at Excel Bank to a straw party in the amount of $3.3 million and caused some $906,000.00 of the proceeds of that loan to be paid to Centrue Bank to pay off a loan he and his business associate, Michael Litz, had guaranteed for their entity McKnight Man I LLC. Hayes admitted that his interest in the loan was concealed from bank officials and he and Litz made no payments to Excel Bank. Court documents made part of the guilty plea record also show that Hayes assisted in causing Excel Bank to make the above loan and millions of dollars in other loans to straw parties in order to cover the delinquent and substandard loans owed by Litz’s business, Eighteen Investments, at other banks. According to the charges, Excel Bank lost substantial amounts on these loans.
Hayes was also sentenced on an illegal insider loan through which he and Litz each received $300,000.00. In April, 2009, they caused Excel Bank to make a loan to Rolling Hills Apartments LLC which operates an apartment complex in north county. They caused Excel Bank to loan much more than was needed by the apartment complex in order to create a pool of money for them. Hayes and Litz structured the payout through several entities so as to insure that their interests were concealed.
In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, the Government informed the court that Hayes was a principal at three banks which failed in 2011-2012---Excel Bank, Sun Security Bank and Truman Bank. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the federal insurance fund loss for those three banks was estimated at slightly more than $160 million at the close of 2017. It was also noted to the court that Hayes was paid $1,863,076 by Excel bank in dividends and fees from late 2007 when he gained control of the bank through March 2010 when regulators ordered a stop to the payments.
In its memorandum, the Government also identified the losses suffered by the longtime employees of Excel Bank when the bank failed and the bank stock in their retirement plan had become worthless. These employees relied upon the bank’s stock to provide security for their retirement.
"Shaun Hayes abused his position and defrauded Excel Bank to enrich himself and his co-defendants. Their unlawful actions not only caused the bank to fail, but cost hard-working St. Louisans their jobs, homes and financial security," said Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division. "This case is but one example of how the FBI, along with its law enforcement partners, will relentlessly bring to justice those who harm our communities."
“The conviction and sentence of Shaun Hayes is an important reminder that the FHFA-OIG and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue justice in fraud cases which undermine the integrity of and confidence in our banking system, including those that affect the Federal Home Loan Banks. We thank our law enforcement partners for their efforts in bringing justice in this case,” said Catherine Huber, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General for the Central Region.
David Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Region of the FDIC Office of Inspector General said, “Those individuals who engage in bank fraud schemes undermine the integrity of the banking and financial services industry. The FDIC OIG is committed to stopping these illegal acts.”
“As the majority shareholder who virtually had complete control of Excel Bank, Shaun Hayes caused devastation by repeatedly abusing his power to commit fraud,” said Special Inspector General Christy Goldsmith Romero. “His crime caused millions in losses, threatened the very soundness of the bank that later failed, and caused bank employees to lose much of their nest eggs. The bank failure meant that TARP was never repaid and taxpayers suffered $5 million in TARP losses, all while he profited from concealing the fraud from regulators. This case is a great example of law enforcement collaborating to bring justice and I thank our partner U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and other inspector general offices.”
The restitution amount ordered by the court consisted largely of losses incurred by Excel Bank on the straw party loans with most of the restitution being owed to the FDIC.
Timothy Murphy, the former Executive Vice president at Excel bank, pled guilty earlier this year to defrauding Excel Bank and was sentenced to probation based on his cooperation in the investigation.
This case has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Criminal Chief James E. Crowe, Jr., and Assistant United States Attorney Gilbert C. Sison are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Alien Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Judicially Ordered Deported to MexicoRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that JOSE HERNANDEZ-RAMIREZ, age 31, of Mexico, illegally present in the United States and residing in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison, after a February 5, 2018 guilty plea to one count of illegal and unlawful alien in possession of a firearm. According to court records, HERNANDEZ-RAMIREZ discharged the firearm into an occupied dwelling.
HERNANDEZ-RAMIREZ was sentenced in Greenville by Senior United States District Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard who in addition to the term of incarceration also issued a judicial order of deportation ordering the defendant’s prompt removal from the United States to Mexico upon release from federal custody.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Tarboro Police Department.
Accokeek Man Pleads Guilty to Drug MisbrandingRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Greenbelt, Maryland – Jonathan Gonzales, age 50, of Accokeek, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. The charges stem from a scheme to sell mislabeled drugs via the Internet.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Mark S. McCormack of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations – Metro Washington Field Office.
According to his plea agreement, beginning in 2009, Gonzales began selling products marketed as dietary supplements through eBay and his personal website, helptomakelifebetter.com. Gonzales received these products from sources in China.
In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to investigate Gonzales for multiple products and found that some of the products contained active pharmaceutical ingredients, in particular sibutramine and/or phenolphthalein. Sibutramine is a Schedule IV controlled substance and the active ingredient in Meridia, a prescription drug produced by Abbott and approved by the FDA in 1997 to treat obesity. Abbott voluntarily stopped marketing Meridia at the request of the FDA after clinical data indicated an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events, including heart attacks and strokes. Phenolphthalein was an ingredient in some over-the-counter laxatives until 1999, when the FDA reclassified the drug as not generally recognized as safe and effective.
Upon discovery of the two drugs, the FDA sent Gonzales an e-mail with the results of their analyses of Gonzales’s products and noting that it was Gonzales’s responsibility under federal law to ensure that the products he distributed did not contain any undeclared and potentially harmful ingredients. The FDA also explained the dangers of the drugs and his responsibilities to follow Federal law. Gonzales responded to the e-mail, acknowledging that he would remove any products for sale that may be harmful.
Gonzales told the FDA employee that only a few product listings remained and that he would sell those products and would not replace them. Gonzales also told the FDA that he had told his distributors in China that he would not be ordering any more products from them. He asked FDA personnel to contact him if they found any issues with his website. However, Gonzales continued to market and sell the products he had promised not to sell.
Federal law enforcement officers searched Gonzales’s home pursuant to a warrant on January 14, 2016. A substantial amount of misbranded products were found in the home, seized, and tested. The misbranded products contained sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra), sibutramine and phenolphthalein.
Gonzales faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for September 10, 2018 at 2:30 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FDA for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pelletierri, who are prosecuting the case.
A Monongalia County man admits to firearms conspiracy chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Morgantown, West Virginia man has admitted to a charge involving an illegal firearms operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Tommy Calhoun, age 52, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Violate Federal Firearms Laws.” Calhoun admitted to being involved in a conspiracy that included making false statements to purchase firearms, trading firearms for controlled substances, and transporting and selling the firearms in New York. The crime occurred in Morgantown, Monongalia County and elsewhere from May 2017 to June 2017.
Calhoun faces up to five years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated.U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
28 May 2018
Two Individuals Plead Guilty to Concealment of A FelonyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Robert Prag, age 46, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Snaysha Russell, age 27, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, both pled guilty to Misprision Of A Felony, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 4, punishable by not more than 3 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, or both.
The Indictment alleged that between April 26, 2017 and June 20, 2017, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendants, Robert Prag and Snaysha Russell, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, to wit, Arson, did conceal the same by disposing of evidence related to the Arson, and did not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the pleas and ordered the completion of the presentence investigation reports.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Tahlequah Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Bruce Aaron Bardesis, age 53, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), punishable by not more than 20 years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000.00 fine, or both.
The Indictment alleged that on or about October 26, 2017, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, Bruce Aaron Bardesis, did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, 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.
25 May 2018
“Stackz Squad” Street Gang Member Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN. A member of the “Stackz Squad” street gang has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for being a drug user in possession of firearms. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee announced the sentence today.
The defendant was convicted after a jury trial on the following facts: On May 27, 2017, detectives with the Multi-Agency Gang Unit were on patrol during the funeral of a known gang member at a church in Raleigh. While at the scene, detectives observed a silver Toyota Camry enter the church parking lot in which Jamal Bowens and Lee Hope were passengers. Detectives then approached the vehicle and observed a marijuana cigar and a Rossi .357 revolver on the floorboard under Bowen’s feet. Upon search of Hope’s person, a stolen Smith and Wesson .40 caliber pistol was recovered from the front of his pants. The Smith and Wesson pistol was reported stolen out of Mississippi. A video posted on social media showed Hope in possession of both firearms earlier in the day.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: “Now more than ever, it is crucial that we remove firearms from dangerous and prohibited people, and remove violent and unstable offenders with firearms from our communities. This conviction and sentence demonstrates our commitment to use all of the laws provided by Congress to target and incapacitate violent gang members with guns. We are Fed Up with gun crime in Memphis, and we are doing something about it.” Gun Crime is Max Time.
At sentencing, the proof showed Bowens was a member of the street gang Stackz Squad and frequently possessed firearms with other gang members. Bowens possession of firearms occurred while the defendant was on bond in state court. Currently, Bowens has charges of Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Assault pending in state court.
On May 22, 2108, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Bowens to 41 months imprisonment for being a drug user in possession of two firearms.
Lee Hope, 20, a co-defendant, was also convicted for possessing a firearm while being a drug user. Hope is set for sencting on June 13, 2018.
The Multi-Agency Gang Unit investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marques T. Young prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.
Wood County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Joseph Daniel Mills, 40, of Walker, was sentenced yesterday to 9 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force and the FBI.
Mills pled guilty in July 2017, admitting that on May 12, 2017, he possessed approximately 10 ounces of methamphetamine, 21 firearms, body armor, and scales when law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at his residence.
“21 firearms. Body armor. Methamphetamine. Mills was a danger to law enforcement and our good citizens and we will never tolerate risks to law enforcement or the public,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We are aggressively prosecuting dangerous drug dealers like Mills throughout the Southern District of West Virginia, from Parkersburg to Williamson, Huntington to White Sulphur Springs and everywhere in between.”
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence in federal court in Charleston. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks prosecuted the case.
Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart
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Wilson Man Sentenced After Conviction of Felon in Possession ChargeRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, MAURICE MONTRAE PARKS, 36, of Wilson, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt for one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Judge Britt sentenced PARKS to 90 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.
PARKS was convicted after a three-day jury trial on February 7, 2018. The evidence at trial showed that shortly after midnight on September 5, 2015, PARKS was seen banging on the door of a residence in Wilson while holding a firearm. After a neighbor called 911, Officers of The Wilson Police Department arrived, and PARKS fled the scene in his car. During the brief chase, PARKS took several turns along residential streets and cut through the lawn of a vacant home that sat at the corner of an intersection. A pursuing officer observed PARKS’ vehicle stop briefly beside that vacant home. PARKS drove back to the street where he had been seen with the gun and jumped and ran from his car. Police apprehended PARKS on the driveway of the house whose resident had placed the 911 call. Officers returned to the vacant home that PARKS had driven around and found a Ruger Mini-14 rifle lying in the grass. The firearm was near fresh tire marks in the yard and in the area where PARKS had momentarily stopped his car.
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.
In support of PSN, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has implemented the Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Wilson Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Jake D. Pugh represented the government in this case.
Wayne County Man Accused of Sexually Abusing a Minor Arrested on Federal Criminal ComplaintRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that Joshua Morrison, 21, of Wayne County, was arrested on a federal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a minor. The complaint alleges that on or about January 9, 2016, Morrison sexually abused a minor female while aboard a cruise ship in international waters. Morrison faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.
“Protecting children, the most vulnerable victims, is my greatest priority. My office takes all allegations of crimes against children very, very seriously,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “I will always do all in my power to bring to justice those who victimize our children.”
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The victimization of children can have a devastating impact for years," said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nick Boshears. "Our children are among the most vulnerable members of our community, and we must protect them any way we can. No matter where the crime occurs, we will work with partner agencies to exhaust all investigative resources to apprehend those responsible."
Assistant United States Attorney Emily Wasserman is handling the prosecution.
Note: The charge contained in the complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart
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Virginia Man Sentenced to 94 Years to Life in Prison for Triple Homicide in Northeast Washington in 1991Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Benito Valdez, 47, formerly of Arlington, Va., was sentenced today to a term of 94 years to life in prison for killing three people in 1991 in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Valdez was found guilty by a jury in February 2018 of multiple counts of first-degree murder while armed, three counts of kidnapping while armed and one count of sodomy while armed. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of April 23, 1991, Curtis Pixley, Keith Simmons, and Samantha Gillard went to Langdon Park in the 1800 block of Franklin Street NE to purchase crack cocaine. Mr. Pixley, 29, and Mr. Simmons, 26, approached Valdez while Ms. Gilliard, 23, waited at a distance. The drug deal went bad very quickly when Valdez accused Mr. Pixley of stealing drugs from him. Valdez threatened Mr. Pixley that he was going to pay for the drugs one way or another. When Mr. Pixley could not pay with cash, Valdez raped Ms. Gillard at gunpoint. Then, according to the government’s evidence, Valdez forced all three to lie on the ground and shot each one execution-style.
Valdez was charged with the crimes in February 2016 and has been in custody.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Cold Case Unit as well as the U.S. Park Police. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Stephanie Siegerist, Alesha Matthews, Meridith McGarrity, and Sharon Newman; Criminal Investigator Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura A. Bach and Lindsey Merikas, who prosecuted the case.
Uvalda Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: On Wednesday, May 23, 2018, Betty Mclain, 66, pled guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen, Jr.
According to the evidence presented at the plea hearing, Mclain operated Betty’s Tax Service next to her home in Uvalda, Georgia. To increase her business and attract more clients, Mclain prepared tax returns that falsely claimed the taxpayer and dependents attended and spent money on colleges at which they were never enrolled. The vast majority of the 2,000 returns filed by Mclain since 2011 claimed these education tax credits. Following an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division into the accuracy of the returns, a grand jury in Savannah charged Mclain in February 2018 with twenty-four counts of preparing false tax returns for others and three counts of filing her own false tax returns. In each count, Mclain was alleged to have prepared a tax return that claimed education credits to which the taxpayer was not entitled.
As a result of the fraudulent tax returns she prepared, Mclain defrauded the IRS out of nearly $1,000,000. Mclain pled guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the preparation of a tax return for a client whom she falsely claimed was entitled to education credits totaling $5,119. In pleading guilty, Mclain agreed to never again prepare tax returns for anyone else.
Mclain faces a statutory maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. Parole has been abolished in the federal system.
United States Attorney Bobby L. Christine stated, “Teamed with our dedicated partners at IRS, our Office will work to ensure that corrupt tax return preparers are put out of business and behind bars. Tax cheats have no place in the Southern District of Georgia.”
"Mclain's plea is a victory for the United States Taxpayer. Not only did Mclain admit to the allegations against her, but she also agreed to never prepare tax returns again," said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. "IRS, Criminal Investigation will continue to utilize its resources and stop these fraudulent return preparers in their tracks".
Return preparer fraud, identity theft, and inflated refund schemes are three of the Internal Revenue Service’s Dirty Dozen List of Tax Scams for 2018. The IRS has some information on its website about selecting a return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. Also, the IRS has a list of steps on its website that you can take in anticipation of filing your federal income tax return and ten tips for choosing a tax preparer.
The investigation was led by IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Savannah. For additional information, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (912) 652-4422.
United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Riverside Spine & Pain Physicians for More Than $1.2 MillionRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces today that Riverside Spine & Pain Physicians, LLC (RSPP), a pain management practice principally located in Jacksonville, Florida, has agreed to pay the United States $1,204,415.60 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing the government for medically unnecessary urine drug tests.
The settlement relates to RSPP’s use of quantitative drug tests, which identify and assess the amount of drugs in a patient’s urine. Quantitative drug tests are very specific, very expensive, and necessary only if an individualized patient assessment supports further testing. Routine quantitative testing for all patients in a practice is unnecessary. Similarly, testing every patient for the same physician-defined panel of drugs is unnecessary. The United States contends that RSPP performed quantitative testing on all of their patients for the same panel of drugs regardless of individual patient history and risk.
“A primary mission of the United States Attorney’s Office is protecting Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “Our Civil Division works tirelessly in the pursuit of providers who perform tests indiscriminately and regardless of patient need.”
“This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to ensure that medical service providers do not unjustly enrich themselves by diverting precious taxpayer dollars from where they are needed most. DCIS protects the integrity of the Department of Defense enterprise by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that negatively impacts critical programs such as TRICARE,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.
“This settlement highlights our commitment to hold accountable providers who place profits over patients,” said Shimon Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Paying medically unnecessary claims or those stemming from improper referrals is an injustice to the Medicare program and the beneficiaries it serves.”
The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by a former employee of RSPP, Dr. Carissa Stone. She sued under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act permitting a private citizen to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in the recovery. The Act also allows the United States to intervene and prosecute the action. Dr. Stone will receive roughly $240,000 of the proceeds from the settlement with RSPP.
The government’s action in this matter illustrates the emphasis on combating health care fraud, and one of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
This settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay Saxe Griffin led the investigation.
The case is captioned United States ex rel Carissa Stone vs. Riverside Spine & Pain Physicians, LLC, dba Riverside Spine & Pain Physicians PL, Case No. 8:16-cv-945-T36EAJ. The settlement resolves the United States’ claims in that case. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
United States Moves to Forfeit Antiquity from Time of Roman Empire that was Looted from Syria and Recovered from High Desert HomeRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The United States this week filed an asset forfeiture complaint against an ancient mosaic depicting Hercules, believed to have been made in the 3rd or 4th Century, that likely was looted from war-torn Syria, allegedly illegally imported into the United States, and seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at a Palmdale residence.
The mosaic, which is approximately 18 feet long and weighs approximately one ton, was seized by FBI and HSI special agents in March 2016 as part of an investigation into the “smuggling [of] looted items believed to be from a foreign conflict area into the United States.”
The complaint, which was filed Wednesday in United States District court under the caption United States v. One Ancient Mosiac, alleges that a Palmdale man smuggled the antiquity into the United States with false and fraudulent documents with the intent to avoid import duties.
The complaint alleges that Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi further violated federal law by concealing the mosaic at his residence.
After the mosaic was seized, an expert retained by the government concluded that that the artwork “was an authentic mosaic from the Byzantine Period depicting Roman mythology, and was consistent with the iconography of mosaics found in Syria, in particular in and around the city of Idlib, Syria.” The complaint alleges that the mosaic was imported into the United States with paperwork indicating that it was part of a shipment of vases and mosaics worth only about $2,200, but Alcharihi later admitted paying $12,000 for the items. Preliminary estimated values for the mosaic at issue in this case are much higher, according to the complaint.
The United States has adopted import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material from Syria, according to the complaint, which quotes a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stating: “[f]or decades, the United States has shared the international concern for the need to protect endangered cultural property. The appearance in the United States of stolen or illegally exported artifacts from other countries where there has been pillage has, on occasion, strained our foreign and cultural relations. This situation, combined with the concerns of museum, archaeological, and scholarly communities, was recognized by the President and Congress. It became apparent that it was in the national interest of the United States to join with other countries to suppress illegal trafficking of such objects in international commerce.”
The civil forfeiture case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Katharine Schonbachler of the Asset Forfeiture Section.
The mosaic at issue in this case is approximately 18 feet in length, 8 feet in height, and weighs approximately 2,000 pounds. This photograph was taken by FBI after the mosaic was seized pursuant to a federal warrant:
Two Maryland Men Charged in EB-5 Visa Scheme to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that WILLIAM B. “BART” HUNGERFORD, JR., age 57, and TIMOTHY O. MILBRATH, age 62, both residents of Maryland, were charged today in an eight-count indictment alleging violations of federal law in connection with a scheme to defraud immigrants who sought to invest money in job-creating companies in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
According to the indictment, HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH conspired together to defraud immigrants who sought to apply for EB-5 visas. The visa program permits immigrants to invest a minimum of $1,000,000.00 in a United States job-creating enterprise and obtain permanent residency if, after two years, that investment created or preserved ten American jobs. The minimum investment required was lowered to $500,000.00 if the investment was made in a targeted employment area (“TEA”), defined as an area with an unemployment rate of 150% of the national average.
HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH formed a company called NobleOutReach to operate an investment fund, and they contracted with the City of New Orleans to operate a regional center in the Parish of Orleans. Because New Orleans was a designated TEA in the years after Hurricane Katrina, immigrant investors only had to invest $500,000.00 in order to qualify under the EB-5 visa program. The indictment alleges that HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH represented to investors that their $500,000.00 investment would be used to create jobs in New Orleans and contribute to the rebuilding of the City. A total of thirty-one immigrants invested a total of $15.5 million in the defendant’s investment fund.
The indictment alleges that, instead of investing the entire $15.5 million into New Orleans-based job-creating enterprises, HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH fraudulently misappropriated investor funds for their own personal gain and to use for their personal companies. HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH are alleged to have written checks, disguised as “loans” or “loan repayments,” to themselves from investor funds, income that was in addition to their salaries. The defendants are alleged to have created multiple companies in order to obscure and conceal the path of investor funds, and they allegedly spent investor funds to purchase vacation and rental properties for their own benefit. The indictment alleges that, in the course of perpetrating the fraud, the defendants made material misrepresentations to investors, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the City of New Orleans.
HUNGERFORD and MILBRATH are both charged in all eight counts of the indictment returned by the grand jury. Among other charges, they are alleged to have committed conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and they are charged with five counts of wire fraud. Should they be convicted, each of these counts carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
The defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit immigration fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum of five years of imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. Lastly, they are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the New Orleans Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Greenfield and Matthew Payne are in charge of the prosecution.
Twenty-three Defendants Charged in Drug IndictmentsRead the Press Release
Assistant United States Attorneys A. Dale Blankenship (619) 546-6705 and Jonathan Shapiro (619) 546-8225
SAN DIEGO – Twenty-three defendants were charged in five indictments unsealed in federal court with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (“crack”), distribution of cocaine and cocaine base, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and money laundering.
Beginning early yesterday morning, members of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, plus other law enforcement agencies, made numerous arrests stemming from the indictments. As of noon today, nineteen of the twenty-three defendants are either in federal or state custody. Authorities are continuing to search for four defendants.
The crackdown announced today is the latest in a series of efforts by the Department of Justice to turn the tide of the drug epidemic and reduce the inevitable violent crime that accompanies widespread drug trafficking by gangs.
“Today’s announcement is another strong message to those gang members that operate on the streets of San Diego,” said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman. “If you peddle drugs, we will come after you with the full force of the federal government.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge John Brown commented, "The FBI is proud to be in the fight to keep our communities safe, free from drug trafficking and associated dangerous criminal activity. Yesterday's arrests demonstrates the unwavering commitment, between and among the FBI and our law enforcement partners, to address these dangerous threats facing our community."
This case is also the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
The United States is represented in court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Shapiro and A. Dale Blankenship.
Defendant Information
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 18CR2490-GPC
Name
Age
Hometown
Norman Cluke
28
San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1), 846); Distribution of Cocaine (Title 21, U.S.C, Secs. 841(a)(1)).
Maximum Penalties: 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 18CR2491-GPC
Name
Age
Hometown
Fernando Cruz-Chavez aka “Fredy”
31
San Diego, CA
Sitlali Lopez
25
San Diego, CA
Armando Ceja Gonzalez
Aka “Pistolerin”
31
San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine (Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846);
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute (Title 21, U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1)).
Maximum Penalties: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 18CR2492-GPC
Name
Age
Hometown
Henry Hendrix
aka “Feeny Boy”
56
San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine (Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846);
Distribute of Methamphetamine (Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1)).
Maximum Penalties: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 18CR2493-GPC
Name
Age
Hometown
Roshawn Maurice Walls
aka “Ray Dog”
49
San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Cocaine (Title 21, U.S.C, Secs. 841(a)(1))
Maximum Penalties: 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 18CR2494-GPC
Name
Age
Hometown
Joshua Eugene Quipp
aka “QTip”
33
San Diego, CA
Edna Monserrat Perez-Tapia
aka “Monsay”
31
San Diego, CA
Jose Antonio Jacinto Jr.
23
San Diego, CA
Cuathemoc Solis
aka “Jr.” aka “Temo”
38
San Diego, CA
Corey Michael Davis
aka “Word”
35
San Diego, CA
Darius Latrell King
aka “Tiny Mike”
31
San Diego, CA
Alejandro McFadden
aka “Flav”
47
San Diego, CA
Charles Joseph Brimmer
aka “Demon”
31
San Diego, CA
Myron Xavier Castro Jr.
aka “Hard Dog”, aka “HD”
32
San Diego, CA
Julius Davis
aka “Labacl”
58
San Diego, CA
James Edward Staton
aka “State Rock”
58
San Diego, CA
Anthony Ray Rhodes
aka “Big A”
55
San Diego, CA
Anthony Frederick Miller
aka “Dread”
62
San Diego, CA
Richard Kelvin Brown
aka “Dreads”
60
San Diego, CA
Shawn Monique King
aka “SK”
48
San Diego, CA
Timothy Raynard Moore
29
San Diego, CA
Linda Quipp
28
San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Base (Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1), 846); Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base (Title 21, U.S.C, Secs. 841(a)(1));
Conspiracy to Launder Money (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs 1956(h), 1956(a)(1)(A)(i).
Maximum Penalties: For cocaine charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For money laundering conspiracy charges: 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force – Gang Group, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
San Diego Police Department,
San Diego County Sheriff’s Office,
National City Police Department,
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
United States Bureau of Prisons,
San Diego Probation Department, and
San Diego District Attorney’s Office
Syracuse Man Sentenced to 87 Months on Gun and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Calvin Weaver, age 27, of Syracuse, was sentenced yesterday to serve 87 months in prison, as well as a 3-year term of supervised release, in connection with his convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and simple possession of cocaine.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), New York Field Division; and Frank Fowler, Chief of the Syracuse Police Department.
Weaver pled guilty to all three charges following a decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby denying Weaver’s motion to suppress evidence found on the day of his arrest by Syracuse Police. As part of his guilty plea, Mr. Weaver admitted that on February 15, 2016, after he had been convicted of a felony, the defendant possessed a handgun with an obliterated serial number as well as a small amount of cocaine.
This case was investigated by the ATF and the Syracuse Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Levine.
Statement by United States Attorney William M. McSwain Regarding the Sentencing of Wheeler Neff to 8 Years’ Imprisonment in “Payday Lending” CaseRead the Press Release
“We see few cases in which a defendant has victimized so many that the number of those impacted is too high to count. This is one such case.
Wheeler K. Neff used his law license to help clients prey on the financial desperation of people all across the country. He helped so-called payday lenders evade the law and, in the process, collected hundreds of millions of dollars in debt on loans with interest rates that would make Tony Soprano blush – typically exceeding 780 percent.
The defendant drafted sham contracts for payday lenders like Charles M. Hallinan and Adrian Rubin – each of whom were convicted and are awaiting sentencing. These contracts were designed to give the false impression that Hallinan and Rubin’s companies were owned by Indian tribes that could claim ‘sovereign immunity’ from laws the defendants wanted to evade.
As an attorney, Mr. Neff should realize that a civilized society requires obedience to the law, including those laws he didn’t happen to like.
Neff drafted these contracts to help clients collect unlawful debt for as long as possible without getting caught. In return, Neff received hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in legal fees.
The defendant’s schemes pushed the limits of creative deception.
For example, he helped Hallinan defraud some 1,400 people who had brought a class action lawsuit in Indiana against one of Hallinan’s companies, Apex 1 Processing, Inc. Fearing that Hallinan could face personal exposure of $8 to $10 million if the plaintiffs could prove that Hallinan owned Apex 1, Neff conspired with Hallinan to make it appear that Apex 1 had no assets, employees, or officers, and was owned by an Indian chief living in Canada in order to entice the plaintiffs to accept a discounted settlement on their claims. To further this scheme, Neff told Hallinan to change his tax returns and retroactively transfer business activity from Apex 1 to another of Hallinan’s companies. Neff also directed people to transfer all documents relating to Apex 1 to tribal lands in Canada, where they would never be found by the plaintiffs.
The defendant preyed on the vulnerable -- those who were desperate and struggling. Consider, for example, the story of one of Neff’s victims, Dawn Schmitt, the Nebraska school teacher who testified that she turned in desperation to payday loans after her abusive partner left her broke and without credit. Schmitt testified that she wound up taking out about five payday loans, including one from a Hallinan company, and fully intended to pay them all back. But she could not do so, despite her best efforts, because she was trapped in a cycle of debt caused by Neff and his co-conspirators. As a result, she was forced to declare bankruptcy and move home to North Dakota.
But rather than an apologize to Schmitt and his other victims, the defendant doubled down on the kind of treachery that helped collect more than $490 million in debt, between 2008 and 2013, from hundreds of thousands of customers, including residents of Pennsylvania, a state which prohibits payday loans.
Over four days of trial testimony, Neff lied over and over again under oath. But to its great credit, the jury saw through Neff’s perjury. We hope that the verdict and today’s sentencing of 8 years in a federal prison provide some measure of justice to the victims.
And it was only through the hard work and dedication of our partners with the FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations that we were able to unravel this complicated scheme and bring this defendant, and others charged in connection with this case, to justice. All involved in this exhaustive investigation should be congratulated.
And I would especially like to thank our trial team of Assistant United States Attorneys Mark B. Dubnoff and James Petkun who not only expertly and successfully prosecuted a very complex case, but who also saw and brought to light, in human terms, the damage the defendant has done to the lives of those who reached out in desperation, and found only more heartache.”
State Department Official Pleads Guilty to Honest Services Wire Fraud and Theft of Federal FundsRead the Press Release
A program manager for the U.S. Department of State pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing federal funds intended for a foreign exchange program maintained by her employer, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division and Inspector General Steve A. Linick of the U.S. Department of State.
Kelli R. Davis, 48, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of public funds and engage in honest services wire fraud before U.S. Senior District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 24.
According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Davis was a Program Specialist for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges. She also served as the Program Manager and Grants Officer Representative for the Sports Visitors Program, which sponsored foreign exchanges for emerging youth athletes and coaches from various countries. The exchange program was managed by George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, through a federal grant and cooperative agreement with the State Department.
Between February 2011 and March 2016, Davis conspired with others to steal portions of the federal money allocated to the Sports Visitor Program by, among other things, falsifying vendor-related invoices and making fraudulent checks payable to a government contractor, Denon Hopkins, who supplied transportation services for the program. In total, Davis and Hopkins, stole approximately $17,335 from the State Department. They have both admitted that Hopkins used portions of the funds to pay kickbacks to Davis to retain his transportation contract. In addition, Davis stole an additional $17,777 from the program over a multi-year period.
The Department of State’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case. Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly R. Pedersen of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
St. Clair County Resident Sentenced for Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
On May 24, 2018, Garrick E.R. Recker, a/k/a "Curtis Lowe," 28, of Lenzburg, Illinois, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine offense, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today. Recker previously pled guilty to a one-count second superseding indictment charging conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. His sentence includes eight years of supervised release and a $600.00 fine.
The indictment alleged that the offense occurred between 2015 and April 2017, in Perry, Randolph, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Recker was involved with numerous other persons in the distribution of ice in southern Illinois. Ice is methamphetamine with a purity level of at least 80%. At sentencing, the district court found that Recker was responsible for the distribution of over three kilograms of ice. Recker’s sentence was enhanced because he recklessly endangered others during an October 2016 pursuit in Monroe County.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office Drug Tactical Unit, Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois, Chester Police Department, Coulterville Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Lenzburg Police Department, Perry County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Randolph County States Attorney’s Office and the Monroe County States Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
South Florida Resident Charged with Religious Obstruction Offenses in Connection with Mosque Bomb ThreatsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Dustin Allen Hughes, 26, of Cutler Bay, Florida, with four counts of obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs through threatening the use of a dangerous device and explosive, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 247(a)(2) and (d)(3), and four counts of making threats by telephone, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 844(e).
Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
“Everyone has the right to practice their religion and visit places of worship without having to fear for their physical safety,” said United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg. “This office, with the assistance of our law enforcement partners, will aggressively defend these rights and prosecute those who commit hate crimes of any kind.”
“Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI’s Civil Rights program,” said Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. "Hate crimes have a devastating impact on families and communities and we are committed to thoroughly and vigorously investigating these offenses.”
According to the indictment, between May 2, 2018, and May 5, 2018, Hughes made four separate threats by telephone to Jamaat Ul Muttaqeen Mosque of Pembroke Pines, Florida. According to the indictment, each time, Hughes left a voicemail message containing bomb threats and derogatory language towards Muslims.
If convicted of the charge of obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs through threatening the use of a dangerous device and explosive, Hughes faces a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison. If convicted of the charge of making a threat by telephone, Hughes faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.
An indictment and criminal complaint merely contain allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mr. Greenberg commended the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI and members of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force. He also thanked the Pembroke Pines Police Department, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the City of Miami Police Department for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Davis and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
Shawn Alonso and Tamara Moody Sentenced for Selling over 3 Kilograms of Heroin in VermontRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Shawn Alonso, 35, of Corona, New York, was sentenced today for conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin. District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Alonso to a 120-month term of incarceration, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. Previously, on May 10, 2018, District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Tamara Moody, 38, of Richmond Hill, New York, to an 87-month term of incarceration, followed by a 4-year term of supervised release. As part of their plea agreements, Alonso and Moody agreed to the forfeiture of jewelry appraised at $241,915 which was seized from their persons, as well as $13,653.65 seized from their bank accounts.
According to Court records, Alonso and Moody were arrested on March 18, 2017, in Colchester, Vermont, while attempting to deliver 1.106 kilograms of heroin. This amount of heroin would equate to approximately 35,000 dosage units of heroin, and retail on the streets of Vermont for approximately $350,000. At the time of their arrests, Alonso was wearing jewelry with an appraised value of $208,990, and Moody was wearing jewelry with an appraised value of $32,925. The government’s investigation revealed that Alonso and Moody had traveled extensively in the year prior to their arrests, including trips to Saint Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Las Vegas, and multiple cities in Florida. A search of the couples’ Atlanta apartment revealed Moody had recently spent over $12,000 to purchase furs, Alonso had purchased season tickets to the Atlanta Hawks, and both Alonso and Moody had paid over $50,000 of payments to a contractor in Atlanta for renovations of a tattoo parlor. Banking records revealed over $100,000 of cash deposits into Alonso’s bank account, with suspicious banking activity in Vermont dating back to September of 2012. Alonso and Moody were found to have transported over three kilograms of heroin into Vermont for the purpose of its distribution to Vermonters.
Acting United States Attorney Eugenia A. P. Cowles commended the investigative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Vermont State Police (VSP); the Colchester Police Department; Vermont Fish and Game; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (ATF); the Winooski Police Department; the United States Border Patrol the Essex Police Department; the Williston Police Department, the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office; and the Burlington Police Department, in the successful arrests and prosecutions of Alonso, Moody, and others in this investigation. She added, “the United States Attorney’s Office remains committed to apprehending and prosecuting those who distribute heroin for profit. With the help of our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue defendants like these who endanger Vermonters and exacerbate the opiate epidemic to line their own pockets.”
“DEA is committed to investigating and dismantling Drug Trafficking Organizations and individuals like Mr. Alonso and Ms. Moody, who are responsible for distributing lethal drugs like heroin to the citizens of Vermont,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. “Let these sentences be warnings to those traffickers who are coming from out of state to distribute this poison in order to profit and destroy people’s lives. DEA’s top priority is combatting the opioid epidemic by working with our local, county, state, and federal partners to bring to justice anyone who distributes deadly drugs.”
Alonso was represented by Lisa Shelkrot, Esq. Moody was represented by Maryanne Kampmann, Esq. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt.
Sentencings for May 17 - May 22, 2018Read the Press Release
TAYLOR MICHELLE BOWMAN, 26, of Upland, California was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 18, 2018 for transportation in interstate commerce for the purposes of prostitution or other unlawful sexual activity. Taylor was arrested in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She received eighteen months of imprisonment, to be followed thirty-six months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $300.00 fine, and a $100.00 special assessment. The Cheyenne Police Department, FBI, and US Office of Homeland Security investigated this case.
ANTHONY JAMES KELLEY, 27, formerly of Casper, Wyoming was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 17, 2018 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Kelley was arrested in Casper, Wyoming. He received thirty months of imprisonment, to be followed by thirty-six months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $300.00 fine, and a $100.00 special assessment. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case.
ANTHONY MARTIN LAVADOUR, 64, of Salt Lake City, Utah was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 22, 2018 for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Lavadour was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received sixty months of imprisonment, to be followed by forty-eight months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case.
JEROME MARTIN LAVADOUR, 39, of Kearns, Utah was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 22, 2018 for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Lavadour was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received sixty months of imprisonment, to be followed by forty-eight months of supervised release, and ordered to pay community restitution in the amount of $500.00 and a $100.00 special assessment. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case.
KEVIN ALAN SWENSEN, 57, of Taylorsville, Utah was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 22, 2018 on four counts of distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of distribution of heroin. Swensen was arrested in Fremont County, Wyoming. He received ninety-six months of imprisonment, to be followed by thirty-six months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $500.00 fine, restitution in the amount of $11,300.00 and a $700.00 special assessment. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation investigated this case.
TROY ALLEN WATKINS, 50, of Rock Springs, Wyoming was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 22, 2018 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Watkins was arrested in Torrington, Wyoming. He received twenty-three months of imprisonment, to be followed by thirty-six months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100.00 fine. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case.
MAICON AVILA-PEREZ, 25, of Mexico and Salt Lake City, Utah was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on May 18, 2018 for possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. Avila-Perez was arrested in Evanston, Wyoming. He received eighty-four months of imprisonment, to be followed by forty-eight months of supervised release. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation investigated this case.