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Friday 19 January 2018
Kentwood Man Indicted for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
RANDOLPH ARD (“ARD”), age 62, of Kentwood, Louisiana, was indicted today for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
On November 22, 2017, law enforcement officers with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested ARD at his Kentwood home after finding that ARD was in possession of several items, including a laptop computer and thumb drive that contained images depicting the sexual victimization of prepubescent children.
Court records also revealed that ARD was previously convicted in Tangipahoa Parish Criminal District Court for pornography involving juveniles and indecent behavior with juveniles on March 6, 2013. ARD was on state parole supervision at the time of his arrest.
U. S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Due to his prior conviction, if convicted, ARD faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment up to twenty (20) years, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.
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."
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and Louisiana Probation and Parole in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
Kentucky Man Charged with Assaulting a Member of CongressRead the Press Release
Victim attacked while mowing his yard.
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis-Josh J. Minkler, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced today that Rene A. Boucher, 58, Bowling Green, Kentucky, has been charged with assaulting a member of congress resulting in personal injury, a felony under federal law.
“Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable.”
According to court documents, Boucher and the victim are neighbors in Bowling Green, Kentucky. On November 3, 2017, the victim was mowing his yard while wearing headphones. Boucher allegedly witnessed the victim stack brush onto a pile near the victim’s property and “had enough.” Boucher ran onto the victim’s property and tackled the victim. As a result of this assault, the victim suffered multiple fractured ribs and subsequently contracted and required medical attention for pneumonia. Boucher admitted the assault but denied it was politically motivated.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana was assigned the case following the recusal of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky where the offense is alleged to have been committed.
Boucher has signed a plea agreement but no date has been set for the taking of his guilty plea and the imposition of sentence.
This case was investigated by the Louisville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Just as we are committed to protecting the American people, the FBI will not tolerate violence directed against members of Congress," said Special Agent in Charge Amy S. Hess of the FBI's Louisville field office. "Those who choose to assault any federal official are certain to face serious consequences."
No future court dates have been set.
An information is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Bradley P. Shepard of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana who is prosecuting this case as a Special Attorney to the United States Attorney General, Boucher faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
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Jemez Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Voluntary Manslaughter ChargeRead the Press Release
Charge
ALBUQUERQUE – Raymond Gachupin, 23, an enrolled member and resident of Jemez Pueblo, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a voluntary manslaughter charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Gachupin will be sentenced within the range of 18 to 78 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
The FBI and Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department arrested Gachupin in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Jemez Pueblo man by suffocating him on July 1, 2016, in Jemez Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M. Gachupin subsequently was indicted on July 28, 2016, and was charged with second-degree murder.
During today’s proceedings, Gachupin pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter. In entering the guilty plea, Gachupin admitted that on July 1, 2016, he strangled the victim during a physical altercation. Gachupin further admitted that the victim became unconscious, suffered a cardiac event, and died as the result of Gachupin’s actions. Gachupin remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Spindle and Elisa Dimas and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy B. Solimon are prosecuting the case.
Jacksonville Women Sent to Prison After Embezzling More Than $425,000 from UnionRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Michelle Hussar, District Director for the United States Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards, announced today that Chief United States District Judge Brian S. Miller sentenced Jeni May Hughes, 51, of Jacksonville, to 30 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $425,000 from Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 155 (Local 155).
In addition to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, Judge Miller ordered Hughes to pay $428,874.47 in restitution. Hughes served as the office manager for Local 155 for more than 15 years. Her official duties included collecting monthly dues from the organization’s roughly 900 members, depositing the funds, and maintaining Local 155’s ledger.
On the eve of an outside audit in March 2016, Hughes abruptly tendered her resignation. In the weeks that followed, auditors gradually uncovered a $428,874.47 shortfall in union receipts. This prompted a formal Department of Labor investigation. It revealed that from January 2005 until her departure in March 2016 Hughes routinely failed to deposit Local 155’s cash dues, instead diverting the funds into her own personal account.
"We are a Local Union made up of hard working men and women who are not looking for a hand out," said Local 155 in a letter to the Court signed by more than 100 of its members. "The money [Hughes] stole came from our members" and was to be used to "train all members, provide[] health insurance, and a pension. The same benefits we provided for her."
The Office of Labor Management Standards makes available labor union reports, compliance tips and other publications on its website, www.dol.gov/olms. The United States Department of Labor conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander D. Morgan prosecuted the case for the United States.
Investment Adviser and Broker Sentenced for Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHRISTOPHER CERVINO, a/k/a “Smitty,” was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and SHEIK F. KHAN, a/k/a “Abida Khan,” was sentenced to 53 months in prison for their roles in a securities fraud scheme involving the shares of a publicly traded company called VGTel, Inc. (“VGTL”). CERVINO and KHAN were convicted after a three-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, who imposed yesterday’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Securities broker Christopher Cervino and investment adviser Sheik Khan created a massive web of lies to defraud investors of millions of dollars. They manipulated the market, and their clients’ trust, to ensure they made money. Thankfully their days of deceptive trading and investing are over, and they will spend time in prison for their crimes.”
According to the Indictment other filings in Manhattan federal court, evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:
The securities fraud scheme was conceived and led by Edward Durante, a recidivist securities fraud defendant, who pled guilty in August 2016 to various crimes related to the scheme, including conspiracy, securities fraud, money laundering, and perjury. As part of the scheme, Durante, CERVINO, KHAN, and others conspired to control and manipulate the public stock of VGTL in order to artificially inflate the stock price and trading volume so as to profit from sales of VGTL stock and to further induce investments in private shares of VGTL.
Durante, through entities he controlled, held a majority of the publicly traded stock of VGTL. Durante recruited CERVINO, a broker, to open brokerage accounts associated with Durante-controlled entities and investors who were clients of KHAN, an investment adviser. Many of KHAN’s clients had no idea that KHAN and Durante had opened accounts on their behalf with CERVINO. KHAN, along with Durante, then induced her clients to purchase VGTL stock through CERVINO – sometimes without the clients’ knowledge or permission – while Durante and CERVINO ensured that many of these purchases were matched with sales of VGTL stock by Durante-controlled accounts. The reality of these transactions was that Durante and his co-conspirators were effectively taking both sides of a single transaction in VGTL stock in order to artificially control VGTL’s stock price. The defendants’ efforts to artificially inflate the market for VGTL increased the stock price from approximately $.25 per share to as much as $1.90 during the course of the scheme, and dramatically inflated the trading volume, which increased the defendants’ abilities to raise private investments in VGTL and to unload Durante-controlled shares at artificially high prices at the expense of victim investors. To compensate CERVINO for his efforts to control and manipulate the market in VGTL, Durante made at least two cash payments to CERVINO totaling $35,000, in addition to the substantial commissions CERVINO received for executing trades in VGTL. For her part, KHAN received more than $400,000 from Durante, including more than $100,000 in payments for liquidating her clients’ investments in safe annuities so that the money could then be invested into VGTL. In total, CERVINO purchased more than $3.5 million of VGTL shares in client accounts controlled by KHAN and/or Durante. The VGTL shares were ultimately worthless and clients lost the entirety of their investments.
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In addition to the prison term, CHRISTOPHER CERVINO, 45, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $35,000.
In addition to the prison term, SHEIK F. KHAN, 54, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $290,787.
Restitution for both defendants will be determined at a later date.
Mr. Berman praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea M. Griswold and Rebecca Mermelstein are in charge of the prosecution.
Indiana Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Bringing Guns and Ammunition to Chicago Area and Illegally Selling ThemRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An Indiana man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for bringing firearms and ammunition across the border into Chicago and illegally selling them.
DARICK HUDSON, 47, of Michigan City, Ind., sold six firearms and ammunition on three occasions in the fall of 2015. The weapons included five handguns and a rifle. Unbeknownst to Hudson, the buyer was cooperating with law enforcement.
Hudson also agreed to sell to the cooperating individual four additional firearms – two shotguns, a rifle and a handgun – but he fled from the transaction location when Chicago Police officers approached his vehicle. Hudson drove into Indiana, where law enforcement officers ultimately stopped his vehicle and apprehended him.
Hudson previously pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. On Jan. 10, 2018, U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer imposed a 96-month prison sentence.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Celinez Nunez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The LaPorte County (Ind.) Sheriff’s Office and the Lake County (Ind.) Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance.
“The defendant trafficked in and attempted to profit from violence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian S. Wallach argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “There is a need to make clear to individuals who find themselves in a similar position that a decision to pick up firearms – whether for personal use or to sell – will have serious consequences.”
The three successful sales occurred in October and November 2015. The transactions occurred in a store parking lot on Torrence Avenue in south suburban Lansing, a store on 83rd Street in Chicago, and a store parking lot on River Oaks Drive in south suburban Calumet City. In exchange for the six firearms and ammunition, the informant paid Hudson a total of $2,550 in cash.
The fourth sale was supposed to have occurred in a store parking lot on 79th Street in Chicago. When the informant arrived at the meeting, Hudson directed him to an alternative location – a store on 159th Street in Calumet City. Shortly after Hudson arrived at the new location, Chicago Police officers approached his vehicle, and Hudson fled to Indiana. Law enforcement officers subsequently stopped his vehicle in Michigan City, Ind., and took him into custody.
Indiana Man Sentenced on Charges Relating to a Kickback Scheme at the John Cochran VA CenterRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Tony Pedretti was sentenced to 20 months in prison to his role in a kickback scheme that ran for three years while he supervised the HVAC shop and the John Cochran Veterans Administration Medical Center in St. Louis from 2012 to 2015.
According to court documents, Pedretti conspired with Scott Geary, David Graham and others to collect kickbacks for work done at the HVAC shop. Pedretti was authorized to pay up to $2500 to outside contractors without prior approval and most of the jobs involved in the scheme were near that limit. It was a part of the parties’ agreement that, for each job, Pedretti would receive a cash kickback. In all, Pedretti admitted that more than $270,000 in work was let by him in furtherance of the kickback scheme.
Pedretti, 43, of Whiting, Indiana, pled guilty in May 2017
Scott Geary and David Graham have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of the Inspector General and the FDIC – Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Idaho Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Attempting to Entice A Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Scott Foster (50, Caldwell, Idaho) to 15 years in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The Court also ordered him to forfeit a cell phone, that had been was used in connection with the offense.
Foster pleaded guilty on October 4, 2017.
According to court documents, between January 18, 2017, and March 29, 2017, Foster exchanged over 100 email and text communications with an undercover agent posing as the father of a 12-year-old fictitious minor, with the purpose of coordinating a sexual encounter with the minor. Foster then traveled to Orlando, and thereafter to a meeting location where he believed he would meet the minor. When he arrived at the location, Foster was arrested. During an interview with law enforcement, Foster admitted that he enjoyed “family taboo” and that he had received child pornography and talked to other individuals via the Internet about sexual activity with children. The investigation further revealed that Foster had emailed another individual about his desire to engage a 10-year-old female in sadistic sexual activity.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.
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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Horry County Man Pled Guilty to Illegal Re-entry ChargesRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Miguel Pedroza-Naquid, age 29, from Horry County, pled guilty in federal court in Florence, South Carolina, to Illegal Re-Entry into the United States after deportation, a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2). United States District Judge Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on August 20, 2017, ICE-Enforcement Removal Operations Officers in Charleston, SC, discovered Miguel Pedroza-Naquid, while he was in custody at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on state charges. Records checks revealed that Pedroza-Naquid was a native and citizen of Mexico who had previously been deported from the United States. Pedroza-Naquid has never received permission to enter or remain in the U.S.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty Miguel Pedroza-Naquid can receive is imprisonment for 2 years and a fine of $250,000.00.
The case was investigated by the Myrtle Beach Police Department and agents of ICE-Enforcement Removal Operations. Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case.
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Horry County Man Pled Guilty in Federal Court to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Artemio Bustos Solano, age 40, of Horry County, S.C., pled guilty in federal court in Florence, South Carolina. Solano pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. United States District Judge Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that in the later part of 2010, agents learned from a confidential informant that Solano and a co-defendant, who previously pled guilty and has been sentenced, were involved in the distribution of multiple kilograms of cocaine in the Horry County area. The informant was able to approach Solano and the co-defendant and arrange for the controlled purchase of two kilograms of cocaine from them. Solano negotiated the details of the deal which was to take place on April 8, 2011, in the parking lot of a grocery store on Highway 701N in Conway. On April 8, the informant brought the “buy money” to the grocery store parking lot and showed it to the co-defendant who then left to retrieve the cocaine from Solano’s residence. After the co-defendant returned to the grocery store with the cocaine, agents arrested the co-defendant and seized the two kilograms. However, agents were not able to apprehend Solano at the scene. He was not arrested until September 2017.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty Solano can receive is imprisonment for 20 years and a fine of $1,000,000.00.
The case was investigated by agents of ICE- Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the 15th Circuit Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU). Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office handled the case.
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Honduran Congressman Charged with Conspiring to Import Cocaine into the United States and Related Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Raymond Donovan, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that Honduran congressman Fredy Renan Najera Montoya (“NAJERA”) was charged yesterday in Manhattan federal court with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related weapons offenses involving the use and possession of machineguns and destructive devices.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Fredy Renan Najera Montoya used his power and influence as a Honduran congressman to help facilitate the transport of huge quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Honduras, and ultimately to the streets of the United States. Along with the DEA, we are committed to attacking the drug trade at every level, regardless of a defendant’s status. We look forward to trying Najera on U.S. soil.”
Special Agent in Charge Raymond Donovan said: “As alleged, Fredy Renan Najera Montoya used his position in the Honduran Congress to facilitate huge amounts of drug trafficking and corruption, while using security teams possessing dangerous and deadly weapons that threaten the rule of law and innocent lives. DEA will continue to go after these dangerous criminal individuals and their violent networks with our counterparts across the world utilizing every law enforcement tool at our disposal.”
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed in federal court:[1]
From 2009 up to 2014, multiple drug trafficking organizations in Honduras and elsewhere worked together, and with support from NAJERA and others, to receive multi-hundred-kilogram loads of cocaine sent to Honduras from, among other places, Colombia via air and maritime routes, and to transport the drugs westward in Honduras toward the border with Guatemala and eventually to the United States. For protection from official interference, and in order to facilitate the safe passage through Honduras of multi-hundred-kilogram loads of cocaine, drug traffickers paid bribes to public officials, including certain members of the National Congress of Honduras.
NAJERA is a member of the National Congress of Honduras who participated in and supported the drug trafficking activities of large-scale drug traffickers in Honduras and high-ranking members of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. For example, NAJERA facilitated the receipt of cocaine-laden aircraft at clandestine landing strips in Honduras that were protected by heavily armed security personnel so that the cocaine could be transported through Honduras, sold to the Sinaloa Cartel, and imported into the United States. NAJERA also participated in a maritime cocaine trafficking venture that involved a $50,000 bribe paid to Fabio Porfirio Lobo, whose father was the President of Honduras at the time of the payment. On September 5, 2017, in United States v. Lobo, No. 15 Cr. 174 (LGS), U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield sentenced Lobo principally to 24 years in prison based on his conviction for participating in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.
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The Superseding Indictment charges NAJERA, 41, with three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment; (2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment; and (3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum term of life imprisonment.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and Mathew J. Laroche are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The potential mandatory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Hendricks County man indicted on tax evasion chargesRead the Press Release
Alleged to owe over $1 million in taxes
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis-Josh J. Minkler, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced today the indictment on federal tax evasion charges against a Brownsburg man. Scott C. Cole, 53, was indicted on two counts of tax evasion.
“We all have an obligation to pay our share of taxes to keep our government operating,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to steal from the government and expect others to carry the tax burden will be held accountable.”
The indictment alleges that on April 11, 2008, the IRS mailed a notice to Cole and his wife stating they omitted approximately 1.2 million of income and approximately $1.3 million in self-employment income from their 2001 tax return. The IRS assessed an income tax deficiency of $556,187 and a fraud penalty of $417,140. Further, the tax court ruled that Cole’s 2002 tax return was deficient by nearly $54,000, assessing a penalty of $40,458 in addition to the $14,261 that was due. Cole disputed his tax liability but the Federal Tax Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the IRS assessment.
The indictment further alleges that Cole attempted to evade and defeat tax payments by opening bank accounts with artificial company names and directed payment for services he rendered to the same artificial companies. He paid personal expenses through third-party business accounts, dealt extensively in cash and filed false 1040 tax returns understating taxable income.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Gabriel Grchan, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation stated, "I am pleased to join the United States Attorney in announcing tax evasion charges against Mr. Cole. IRS-Criminal Investigation is the first line of defense against those that choose to evade their federal tax obligations. With the 2018 tax filing season upon us, these charges should send a strong warning that those who illegally hide their income will be held accountable."
Cole had his initial appearance before a magistrate judge yesterday. He was released on GPS monitoring and must follow a strict curfew. His trial date is set for March 19, 2018.
An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.
According to Assistant United States Attorney James M. Warden who is prosecuting this case for the government, Cole faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count if convicted as well as full restitution to the government.
In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the office’s firm commitment to utilize and partner with the law enforcement agencies to prosecute individuals engaged in income tax evasion. See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan Section 5.4.
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Harrison County man admits to illegal firearms chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Shinnston, West Virginia man has admitted to unlawfully possessing a firearm, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Steven Scott Nestor, age 35, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Nestor, having previously been convicted of a felony in Harrison County Circuit Court, admitted to possessing a 9mm caliber pistol. The crime occurred in May 2017 in Harrison County, West Virginia.
Nestor faces up to 10 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Government Files Intent to Seek Death Penalty Against Champaign Man Charged with Kidnapping, Death of Chinese ScholarRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – The government today filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Brendt A. Christensen, 28, of Champaign, Ill. Christensen is charged with the kidnapping resulting in death of visiting Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang on June 9, 2017.
The filing, a copy of which is attached, follows the decision and directive by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to seek the death penalty against Christensen.
In seeking a sentence of death, the government states that the circumstances of the offense of kidnapping resulting in death, as charged in count one of the superseding indictment returned on Oct. 3, 2017, are such that, in the event the defendant is convicted of committing the crime, a sentence of death is justified.
The superseding indictment returned against Christensen alleges that he held Yingying Zhang, identified as Y.Z. in court filings, on June 9, 2017, and that he used a cellular telephone and Saturn Astra motor vehicle, both instruments of interstate commerce, to commit and in furtherance of the commission of the offense; and, that the kidnapping resulted in the death of Zhang.
The notice to seek a sentence of death includes intent factors that allege Christensen acted with intent against the victim, Y.Z.; and that his intentional acts of violence resulted in the victim’s death. The notice sets forth statutory aggravating factors including that Y.Z.’s death occurred during the commission of a kidnapping; that the offense was committed in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse; and, that Christensen committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation.
In addition, the notice alleges non-statutory aggravating factors that were not previously asserted, including victim impact evidence related to Y.Z.’s loss and the impact of her death upon her family, friends, and co-workers; the future dangerousness of the defendant; his lack of remorse; other serious acts of violence allegedly committed by Christensen; the vulnerability of the victim, Y.Z., due to her small stature and limited ability to communicate in English; and, the defendant’s alleged attempt to obstruct the investigation by making false statements to investigators, destroying or concealing the victim’s remains, and sanitizing the crime scene.
Christensen was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on June 30, 2017. On July 5, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long ordered that Christensen remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Illinois Police Department conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan D. Freres and Eugene L. Miller are representing the government on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Urbana Division.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Glenburn Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison for Unlawfully Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that yesterday, United States District Judge John A. Woodcock sentenced Jonathan Gardiner, 31, of Glenburn, to 100 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing firearms. Gardiner pleaded guilty to the charges on April 24, 2017.
According to court records, on November 13, 2014, Penobscot County Sherriff’s Office deputies went to Gardiner’s residence in Glenburn in response to the discharge of a firearm. Gardiner ran away from the deputies and disposed of a 9 mm pistol outside of the residence. Deputies entered the residence and located a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun hidden above Gardiner’s bedroom. Forensic testing revealed that Gardiner’s DNA was on the trigger of the sawed-off shotgun and his fingerprints were on the sawed-off shotgun and on the pistol. Gardiner was prohibited from possessing firearms because of Maine felony convictions for burglary, aggravated assault, theft by unlawful use of property, and drug trafficking. In imposing sentence, Judge John Woodcock reviewed Gardiner’s extensive criminal history and noted that he had long been prohibited from possessing any firearms.
The investigation was conducted by the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory. 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.
Gangster Disciple “Governor” Sentenced to 360 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – A Gangster Disciple member was sentenced to 360 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge, Michael T. Gavin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack Webb of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.
Byron Montrail Purdy, a/k/a "Lil B" or "Ghetto," 38, of Jackson, Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. Purdy previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.
United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Attorney General Sessions has made it clear that the top priority for the Department of Justice is violent crime reduction, and here in the Western District of Tennessee, we are vigorously pursuing that priority by using the full complement of government resources and partnering with local and state law enforcement to disrupt racketeering conspiracies and dismantle criminal gangs. This case demonstrates our resolve to aggressively prosecute those who engage in organized criminal enterprises and gang conspiracies to commit violent crimes and narcotics and weapons offenses in furtherance of racketeering. This office is proud to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to disrupt the Gangster Disciples gang and hold them accountable for the violence and lawlessness that they perpetrate across West Tennessee. The message from this case is clear: If you are a member of a criminal gang, your days are numbered, and there will be a reckoning."
The Gangster Disciples is a highly organized national gang active in more than 24 states. The scope of the Gangster Disciples’ crimes is wide-ranging and consistent throughout its national operation. The gang protects its power through threats, intimidation, and violence, including murder, attempted murder, assault, and obstruction of justice. Members and associates of the gang are subject to a strict code of discipline and are routinely fined, beaten, and even murdered for failing to follow the gang’s rules. The Gangster Disciples promotes its enterprise through member-only activities and provides financial and other support to members charged with or incarcerated for gang-related offenses or who are fugitives from law enforcement.
The highest-ranking Gangster Disciple within the State of Tennessee holds the title of "Governor." The Governor manages gang activities within Tennessee and is responsible for coordinating much of the criminal activity that occurs within the state.
Acting ATF Special Agent in Charge Jack Webb remarked, "ATFs priority of reducing violent crime is a result of the sentencing of the criminal element that have preyed on our communities. The collaborative efforts of law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office continue to provide a safe environment for the public."
"We focus our investigations on the leadership of the criminal organizations that sell and distribute illegal drugs and use violence against anyone who gets in their way," said Michael T. Gavin, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "This sentencing is the result of the dogged efforts and precision investigating by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that prey on our communities."
According to his plea agreement, Purdy was a ranking member of the Gangster Disciples and at time of indictment and arrest on this case served as the Governor for the State of Tennessee. As the highest leader for the Gangster Disciples, Purdy directed other members and associates of the gang to carry out unlawful activities in furtherance of the conduct of the gang’s affairs. Purdy was responsible for coordinating criminal activities with other Gangster Disciples gang leaders throughout the United States, supervising the criminal activities of the gang, issuing orders to kill rivals and disobedient gang subordinates, and presiding over Gangster Disciples meetings.
Captain Phillip Kemper of the Jackson Police Department’s Special Operations Division said: "Today’s sentence of 30 years for Byron Purdy’s gang activity should send a serious warning to gang members of all factions in Jackson, Memphis and throughout West Tennessee that their continued reign of terror through actions of violence, intimidation, and all manner of firearms and narcotics trafficking will eventually come to an end. This investigation of Purdy included crimes involving racketeering activity, which spanned two and half decades. Byron Purdy, who was the head of the Gangster Disciple enterprise for the State of Tennessee will now spend the majority of his adult life in Federal Prison. Gang life only leads to two places: the grave, or prison for an extended period of time. Jackson, West Tennessee and the United States of America are safer places today as a result of this sentence."
Purdy also participated directly in the activities of the gang, including acts involving murder, kidnapping, assault, narcotics distribution, intimidation of witnesses, and weapons trafficking. Purdy’s participation in the criminal activities of the Gangster Disciples spanned approximately twenty years.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Memphis Multi-Agency Gang Unit; Memphis Police Department; Shelby County Sheriff’s Office; Jackson Police Department Gang Enforcement Team; Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Madison County Sheriff’s Department; 28th District West Tennessee Drug Task Force; Tipton County Sheriff’s Office; 26th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office; 25th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office; Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office; and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Beth Boswell of the Western District of Tennessee and Samuel Stringfellow of the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
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Franklin Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced that Brad Smith, 33, of Franklin, New Hampshire was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. A jury previously found Smith guilty of six counts of producing child pornography after a three-day trial in April 2017.
Evidence presented at trial showed that in January of 2016, law enforcement officers in Lafayette, Louisiana received a tip that an email address associated with the defendant was distributing child pornography. Officers traced the email address to a farm in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where the defendant was living at the time. With the defendant’s consent, officers conducted an analysis of a hard drive owned by the defendant and uncovered a series of videos apparently created by the defendant. The investigation determined that the defendant had filmed himself engaging in multiple sexual acts with a three-and-half-year-old child in Loudon, New Hampshire. The defendant saved the videos to a hard drive and took them with him to Louisiana.
“Today's sentence demonstrates that this community will not tolerate the horrific acts that the defendant committed against a defenseless young child,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to prosecute individuals who steal the innocence of young victims. I commend the performance of the law enforcement officers and prosecutors whose work secured this very substantial sentence. I hope that the sentence provides some comfort to the victim’s family.”
“This case, which involved dedicated work from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) both in Louisiana and in New Hampshire, as well as local, state and other federal law enforcement, serves as a testament to what persistent, professional investigative work can achieve,” said Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent–In -Charge, HSI, Boston. “HSI is proud to be part of the team that helped bring about justice in this truly disturbing case of child victimization.”
The investigation in this case was led by Homeland Security Investigations in Lafayette, Louisiana and Manchester, New Hampshire, the Louisiana State Police, and the Concord, New Hampshire Police Department with the assistance of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Aframe and Georgiana Konesky.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Former Middle School Teacher Sentenced to over 12 Years for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Paul G. Byron yesterday sentenced Andres Fernando Cabezas (34, Leesburg) to 12 years in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit a cell phone that had been used in connection with the offense.
Cabezas pleaded guilty on October 18, 2017.
According to court documents, on or about May 8, 2017, Cabezas retrieved and viewed a video known as “Daisy’s Destruction” via the Dark web, which depicts a female toddler (approximately 18 months old) being severely whipped, burnt, and sexually abused by a young female. The investigation also revealed that Cabezas had engaged in text communications with an undercover agent posing as a 12-year-old female. In those communications, Cabezas attempted to groom the “minor” and persuade her to have oral and vaginal sex with him. He also bought an emergency contraceptive pill for the “minor.”
After Cabezas’ arrest, he admitted to being attracted to girls approximately 12 years old since he was that age. Cabezas was a teacher at Carver Middle School in Leesburg, Florida.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.
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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former Fitchburg Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of MailsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Fitchburg postal employee pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to obstruction of mails.
Stephen Lehto, 37, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of obstruction of mails. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy scheduled sentencing for April 13, 2018.
While working as a postal carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS) at the Fitchburg Post Office between June 2016 and January 2017, Lehto began taking mail home instead of delivering it along his route. Law enforcement agents received a tip and interviewed Lehto at his home. Lehto admitted to taking mail home and provided consent to the agents to search his vehicle for mail. The agents located and recovered a total of 758 pieces of mail from Lehto’s vehicle, 341 pieces of which were first class pieces of mail.
The charge of obstruction provides for a sentence of no greater than six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $5,000. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal magistrate judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Eileen Neff, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Area Field Office, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Former Department of Veterans Affairs Police Officer Indicted for Civil Rights Violation and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
A former police officer with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Police Department in Indianapolis, Indiana, has been indicted on federal civil rights and obstruction charges, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division John Gore, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Josh J. Minkler, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the Indianapolis Division W. Jay Abbott.
The indictment charges that on April 18, 2017, Michael Kaim, 27, assaulted a patient whom he was in the process of arresting outside of the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center. As a result of the assault, the patient sustained bodily injury. The indictment also charges the defendant with obstructing justice by writing a false report about the arrest.
The civil rights charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, and the obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years.
This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anita T. Channapati of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division with assistance from the United States Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Chief-Of-Staff for Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) and Former D.C. Attorney Charged with Healthcare Fraud and Thefts from LIUNARead the Press Release
A former chief-of-staff for LIUNA in Washington D.C. was charged yesterday with health care fraud and stealing from LIUNA.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; District Director Mark Wheeler of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards Washington, D.C., District Office; Regional Director Michael Schloss, Washington District Office, of the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Special Agent in Charge Robin Blake of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement.
On Jan. 18, a grand jury in Washington, D.C. indicted Roderick Marvin Bennett, 49, of Alexandria, Virginia, the former chief-of-staff for LIUNA, in a five-count indictment with three counts of theft from a labor organization, one count of health care fraud conspiracy and one count of health care fraud. Mr. Bennett will appear before U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper at a later date.
LIUNA is a labor organization that represents more than 580,000 laborers in the construction industry in the United States and Canada. For approximately four years, until October 2016, Bennett served as the chief-of-staff at LIUNA headquarters in Washington, D.C. According to the indictment, from December 2013 to October 2016, Bennett made numerous unauthorized personal charges on his LIUNA-issued AMEX card totaling at least $170,000, which was contrary to the rules of LIUNA governing use of the AMEX card and which provided no benefit to LIUNA. The alleged unauthorized charges by Bennett included:
- Personal trips to Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando, Florida;
- Boat slip charges in Prince William Marina for his private boat;
- More than $33,000 in hotel and restaurant charges in Washington, D.C.;
- Personal electronics and toys, storage space, lawn care and furniture and antiques for his home;
- Private school tuition;
- A puppy and veterinary and kennel services;
- Lavish jewelry, luxury wristwatches and gold-flecked makeup; and
- Personal clothing, shoes, and dry cleaning services.
In addition, the indictment charge Bennett and Aimee Occhetti of The Villages, Florida, an attorney formerly of the District of Columbia, with health care fraud conspiracy and health care fraud. According to the allegations, Bennett arranged for Occhetti to be fraudulently placed on the LIUNA Healthcare Plan even though Occhetti was not a full-time employee of LIUNA and therefore not eligible to participate in the plan. The indictment further alleges that Occhetti obtained more than $66,000 in medical reimbursements from Aetna to which she was not entitled.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Vincent Falvo of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
Former Bank Teller Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Stealing More Than $185,000 from Homeless CustomerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former bank teller was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution for stealing more than $185,000 from a longtime customer of the bank, a homeless man, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Phelon Davis, 30, of District Heights, Md., pled guilty in September 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to interstate transportation of stolen property. He was sentenced by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. Following his prison term, Davis will be placed on two years of supervised release; the first six months of that time is to be spent on home confinement. Davis already has paid $6,000 in restitution, and the judge today ordered him to pay an additional $179,440. Judge Sullivan also ordered Davis to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $179,440 and to perform 100 hours of community service.
According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, Davis worked in 2014 as a teller at a national bank in Washington, D.C. One of the bank’s longtime customers, who was homeless and earned money as a street vendor, maintained more than one account with the bank. However, by October 2014, his accounts had gone dormant due to a lack of activity.
In October 2014, the customer attempted to deposit thousands of dollars into one of his accounts. Because he lacked identification and the accounts had gone into dormant status, Davis instructed the customer where to go to obtain identification documents and a Social Security card. In reviewing the customer’s accounts, Davis noticed that the customer had a surprisingly large balance. As a result, Davis devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain the customer’s money.
Later that month, Davis used the identification means of the customer to fraudulently open a new account in the customer’s name. He forged the customer’s signature on the application and had an ATM card issued for the newly opened account. Over the next two years, without the customer’s knowledge, Davis logged into the customer’s accounts online and transferred money between the accounts. All told, from approximately Oct. 22, 2014 through Oct. 26, 2016, Davis used ATMs on 144 occasions to withdraw $185,440 from the customer’s accounts. The customer, meanwhile, did not receive bank statements during this time, did not use e-mail, and did not have access to a computer.
Davis used the stolen money for his personal benefit, including funding a down payment on his residence, paying off personal debt, and paying for vacations in Jamaica, Aruba, and Mexico.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge Vale commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Zia M. Faruqui and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendrack D. Lewis, who handled forfeiture issues; Criminal Investigator Shannon Alexis, and Paralegal Specialist Jessica Mundi.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Federal Prisoner Gets a Year and a Day More in Prison for Assaulting an OfficerRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A federal prisoner at McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 12 months and 1 day in jail on his conviction of assaulting a federal officer, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today. The sentence imposed will be consecutive to the sentence the defendant is presently serving.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence Wednesday on Rogelio Muniz-Valdez, 42.
According to information presented to the court, on March 15, 2017, while incarcerated at FCI-McKean, Muniz-Valdez threw urine at a federal officer who was engaged in her official duties.
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 Muniz-Valdez.
Federal Correctional Officer Convicted of Repeatedly Raping Female InmateRead the Press Release
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UPDATE
Following an order granting the defendant a new trial on certain charges, in February 2020, the defendant was again convicted of deprivation of civil rights, aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse.
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Earlier today, after a two week trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict against Carlos Richard Martinez, a federal correctional officer employed by the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on charges of deprivation of civil rights, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual abuse of a ward. The 20-count indictment covered four sexual assaults by Martinez from December 13, 2015 to April 2016, involving five separate sexual acts. Martinez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ronald G. Gardella, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Office (OIG), and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.
“As found by the jury, Carlos Richard Martinez willfully abused his position of power as a federal correctional officer by repeatedly raping a female inmate entrusted to his care at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Martinez exploited the victim’s fear of being punished with additional jail time and other disciplinary action, but his attempts to intimidate the victim into silence ultimately failed as evidenced by her brave testimony at the trial. Martinez has now been held to account for violent, criminal misconduct that will never be tolerated in a correctional institution.”
“Martinez’s conduct was reprehensible. Today’s verdict sends a clear message that no correctional officer is above the law,” stated OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Gardella. “The OIG is fiercely committed to working with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute instances of sexual abuse and abuse of power within our federal prison system.”
“While already serving time in prison, Martinez’s victim found herself trapped behind the bars of his abhorrent behavior,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Not only did Martinez engage in an outrageous act of sexual abuse, but he threatened the victim with severe punishment should she reveal his crime. There is only one place in society for those who use positions of power to violate the civil rights of others, especially in cases of outright forcible abuse, and that place is behind bars—not in front of them violating the rights of those they’re charged to watch.”
The evidence at trial established that over a five-month period from December 2015 to April 2016, Martinez, while serving as a lieutenant at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC) with supervisory and disciplinary authority over inmates, used physical force and fear to repeatedly rape a sentenced female prisoner. The victim, who is identified in the indictment as “Jane Doe,” and testified at trial using the name “Maria,” spoke little English and worked as a cleaner inside the prison. Martinez directed Jane Doe and other female prisoners to clean on the second floor of the MDC’s East Building, including the lieutenant’s office. On December 13, 2015, Martinez’s sexually inappropriate remarks to Jane Doe escalated to violent, criminal conduct. While Jane Doe was preparing to clean the lieutenants’ office on that Sunday, Martinez exposed his erect penis, forcibly grabbed Jane Doe by the back of her head and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Then Martinez pulled down Jane Doe’s pants and underwear and raped her. Jane Doe expressed concern that she might become pregnant and begged Martinez to give her an emergency contraceptive pill, which he purchased at Rite Aid store near his home in Brooklyn. Martinez warned Jane Doe that she would be placed in the Special Housing Unit (SHU), and receive additional jail time to serve, if she told anyone what he had done. In the ensuing months, Martinez repeatedly raped Jane Doe while she cleaned on the weekend, when the lieutenants’ office area of the second floor of the MDC is generally empty. Jane Doe testified that during the attacks in his office, Martinez monitored security video footage on his computer of the area surrounding the lieutenants’ office to make sure that no one would discover him sexually assaulting her.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole M. Argentieri and Nadia I. Shihata are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
CARLOS RICHARD MARTINEZ
Age: 48
Residence: Brooklyn, New York,E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-281 (ERK)
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.
John L. McDowell, 68, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that 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.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for May 21, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of five 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.
Pending sentencing, the court continue McDowell on bond.
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 McDowell.
Epsom Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. - David Frediani, 28, of Epsom, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the investigation began when the defendant sold fentanyl to a cooperating individual. In September of 2017, police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence and found four firearms, ammunition, over 511 grams of fentanyl, and approximately $24,000.
The defendant’s plea agreement includes a binding stipulated sentence of 150 months’ imprisonment. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 14, 2018.
“Opioids are killing hundreds of residents of New Hampshire each year,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “The danger posed by drug trafficking is further increased when drug dealers use firearms to further their unlawful activities. I commend the law enforcement officers for protecting the community from the dangers posed by the fentanyl and firearms in this case.”
This matter was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana Konesky.
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Eight charged in drug distribution operationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Eight people have been indicted by a grand jury on January 9, 2018 for drug distribution charges, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
The 30-count indictment alleges a conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl, as well as marijuana in Harrison County from an unknown date to September 2017. Those named in the indictment are:
- Ernest Russell Claypool, Jr., age 53, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Michelle Elaine Queen, age 46, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Chadley Russell Claypool, age 31, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Armand Taylor, also known as Scrap, age 24, of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania
- Jordan Michael Conaway, age 23, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Colton Justice Kallel, age 21, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Zachery Allen Queen, age 25, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Kamesha Sherrail Claypool, age 23, of Clarksburg, West Virginia
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The case was investigated by the Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
Francisco Siri, a/k/a Javier Ciravello Perez, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for April 5, 2018.
In 1983, Siri was admitted to the United States as an immigrant or lawful permanent resident. Siri lost that status in 1989 after being convicted in Essex County Superior Court of trafficking cocaine. On Nov. 9, 1992, Siri was deported to the Dominican Republic. In October 2017, law enforcement officers in Springfield encountered Siri at Hampden County Jail and determined him to be unlawfully present in the United States. Siri is currently facing state charges for distributing and trafficking cocaine.
Siri faces a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
District Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Brazen Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Charles Smoot, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to eight years in prison for a broad-daylight robbery of a bank in the Brentwood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Smoot pled guilty to bank robbery in September 2017. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Following his prison term, Smoot will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $5,121 in restitution.
The government’s evidence established that on July 5, 2017, at approximately 9:45 a.m., Smoot entered a TD Bank in the 900 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE and handed two notes to the bank tellers that stated, “No Die pack, No police, All your money.” With a bank full of customers, Smoot threatened the tellers with words to the effect of: “Give me all the money or I’ll kill everyone in here.”
In response, the bank tellers – with their hands raised in fear for their lives – gave Smoot approximately $5,121. Smoot put the money in a black gym bag and walked out of the bank. The bank tellers immediately advised law enforcement of the robbery and members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes MPD detectives, responded to the bank.
Law enforcement tracked Smoot to a residence on 60th Street NE, and immediately began conducting surveillance outside of the residence. Although Smoot had changed some of his clothing, he could be seen wearing the same watch and light grey shoes that could be seen on the TD Bank surveillance video. A search warrant was executed at the residence and the gym bag and pants worn by Smoot in the bank surveillance video were also recovered. Law enforcement also later recovered property taken from the bank from a storm drain in front of the residence.
The bank was processed by crime scene investigators and additional evidence was recovered that ultimately linked Smoot to the bank robbery. Specifically, an expert identified four fingerprints that were left by Smoot on a magazine that was left on the teller’s counter with the notes demanding the money. Additionally, a handwriting expert compared the handwriting on the two demand notes to known handwriting samples authored by Smoot and concluded that Smoot had authored the two notes that were left behind at the scene.
Smoot was arrested on July 7, 2017, and has been in custody ever since. At the time of his arrest, Smoot was on supervised release for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Smoot now faces formal revocation of his supervised release and additional incarceration, separate from the above-referenced sentence.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and MPD officers in the Fifth and Sixth Districts in quickly investigating and arresting Smoot. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kara Traster, Laura Crane, and Anthony Scarpelli of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marina Stevenson, Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Rommel Pachoca, and Legal Assistants Kate Abrey and Peter Gaboton.
District Man Indicted on Charges in 2006 Sexual Assault of Woman in Woodley ParkRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Harold Luckett, 50, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted on felony charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman during a home invasion burglary in the Woodley Park area of Northwest Washington in November 2006, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Luckett was indicted on Jan. 17, 2017, by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on one count of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, one count of first-degree burglary, and related charges. He pled not guilty at his arraignment today and remains held pending a detention hearing on Feb. 2, 2018. If convicted of the charges, he faces a maximum sentence of life without possibility of release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 10, 2006, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Luckett entered an apartment in the 3000 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, where the victim was home alone. According to the evidence, Luckett was a stranger to the victim and did not have permission to enter the apartment. He allegedly attacked her in the bathroom and sexually assaulted her by force. The victim fought back during the assault, and her attacker ultimately fled the scene. The victim immediately ran out of her apartment into the hallway to get help.
The victim made an immediate report to the police, who responded promptly. Evidence was collected during the investigation that was later sent for forensic testing. That testing revealed an unknown male DNA profile developed from the evidence. That unknown male DNA profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes that is used as an investigative tool. According to the government’s evidence, the profile from the assailant matched the DNA profile of Luckett.
Luckett was arrested on Jan. 18, 2018.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit and Second Police District. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Executive Assistant Shelia Miller.
Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky, who is investigating and prosecuting the case.
District Court Awards $5 Million in Civil Penalties and Enters Permanent Injunction to Prevent Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. from Distributing Prescription Drugs Not in Child-Resistant PackagingRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that a federal court in New Jersey imposed a $5 million civil penalty and entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. Dr. Reddy’s is the North American subsidiary of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in India. The case involves allegations that Dr. Reddy’s failed to comply with the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Under the terms of the consent decree, Dr. Reddy’s will implement a compliance program designed to ensure compliance with the PPPA and the CPSA.
The Department filed a complaint in the District of New Jersey on Dec. 18, 2017 on behalf of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As alleged in the complaint, Dr. Reddy’s knowingly violated the CPSA with respect to household oral prescription drugs in blister packs that were not child resistant as required by the PPPA. As set forth in the complaint, Dr. Reddy’s distributed such prescription drugs until 2012, despite being previously warned by its own employees that the blister packs had not been tested for PPPA compliance and that certain blister packs were expected to fail the PPPA’s child test protocol.
In addition, the complaint charges that Dr. Reddy’s failed to notify the CPSC “immediately,” as required by law, that its products were not compliant with the PPPA, that the products contained a defect presenting a substantial product hazard, and that the products created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. The complaint further asserts that Dr. Reddy’s failed to certify that its products were in conformance with the PPPA.
“Dr. Reddy’s failed to ensure that children were protected from potentially harmful prescription drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The government will continue to take seriously alleged violations of laws meant to protect consumer safety.”
“Child-resistant packaging is a critical safety measure put in place to protect our country’s children,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle. “I appreciate and value the support from and collaboration with the Department of Justice.”
In addition to the $5 million civil penalty, the consent decree generally enjoins Dr. Reddy’s from distributing household oral prescription drugs in violation of the PPPA and CPSA and requires Dr. Reddy’s to implement a compliance program. The injunction further requires Dr. Reddy’s to maintain internal controls and procedures designed to ensure timely, truthful, complete, and accurate reporting to the CPSC as required by law.
In agreeing to settle this matter, Dr. Reddy’s has not admitted that it violated the law.
The matter is being jointly handled by Trial Attorneys Claude Scott and Shannon Pedersen, from the Civil Division’s Consumer Production Branch. Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judith Amorosa, Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey Charles Graybow, and Patricia Vieira with the CPSC’s Office of the General Counsel, provided significant assistance.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Defendant with History of Domestic Violence Sentenced in Federal Court to a Prison Term of 42 Months for the Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Adam Edgar Stagner on January 18, 2018 to serve a term of imprisonment of 42 months followed by 3 years of supervised release for illegally possessing a Browning, 12 gauge, Gold Star Shotgun, serial Number 113MX13529. The defendant who had several prior misdemeanor domestic violence convictions was prohibited from possessing a firearm. The defendant possessed the weapon in Chunchula, Alabama on July 19, 2017 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(9).
The defendant entered a guilty plea before the Court on October 19, 2017. According to court records, during the guilty plea hearing the defendant admitted in open court that on the date of incident he not only possessed the firearm, but he pointed it at the victim’s head and stated “You know I am going to kill you”. The victim was a family member.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Dedication Ceremony in Memory of Deborah A. JohnstonRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
DEDICATION CEREMONY IN MEMORY OF DEBORAH A. JOHNSTON
Baltimore/ Greenbelt, Maryland - The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has the distinct honor of announcing the dedication of the main conference room in the Greenbelt Office of the Southern Division in memory of its former Chief, Deborah Ann Johnston. The dedication will take place Friday, January 19, 2018 at 4 p.m. at the United States Attorney’s Office in Greenbelt, steps away from the office where Debbie worked until her untimely death on November 1, 2017, at the age of 64.
Deborah Ann Johnston was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Holy Name High School in Reading, Penn. in 1971. After high school, she attended Catholic University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Economics, followed by her J.D. Debbie served as a judicial law clerk in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County. Debbie began her career at the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1988 and was eventually promoted to Chief of the Homicide/Narcotics Unit and then named Deputy State’s Attorney. During her time at the State’s Attorney’s Office, Debbie successful prosecuted high-profile defendants including Kirk Bruce, and Alphonso Quinn.
In November 1994, Debbie began her career at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Highly decorated and honored, during her 23 years in federal service, she served as Chief of the Southern Division of the United States Attorney’s Office, as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice, and as Senior Litigation Counsel for now Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.
Debbie’s cases at the United States Attorney’s Office included dismantling narcotics organizations and prosecuting large multi-defendant drug cases such as Borda, Osorio, Nicholson, Bivins, Hernandez, Changtin, Minnick, Paulette Martin and Omar Steele et al. Though Debbie’s work in narcotic cases was legendary, she also expertly handled capital murder, drug diversion, kidnaping, and fraud cases. Her last trial, in January 2017, resulted in the conviction of a well-known Philadelphia criminal defense attorney for money laundering and obstruction of justice.
Indeed, some of Debbie’s notable prosecutions included her work on death penalty cases which led who to the successful prosecution of the sole two death row defendants in the District of Maryland, ensuring that the interests of the United States were fully vindicated. One of those cases, against Dustin Higgs and Willis Mark Haynes involved the notorious execution of three innocent young girls found dead in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in 1996.
Debbie’s sustained exceptional performance in the most complex and difficult cases over the years was unmatched. She worked tirelessly, putting in long hours, and seven-day work weeks. She was the epitome of a dedicated public servant.
Debbie was the first active prosecutor and the second female trial lawyer in Maryland to be offered fellowship in the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership is offered "only by invitation, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality."
Debbie also spent years teaching criminal procedure for undergraduate students at the University of Maryland, where she was highly regarded and sought by students interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement.
Debbie’s trial skills were well known. She had instant credibility with judges and juries. Though a zealous advocate for the United States, Debbie’s reputation was as a fair and honorable litigant.
Debbie is greatly missed by family, friends and colleagues. The United States Attorney’s Office celebrates her life and her contribution to the community through the naming of the Deborah A. Johnston conference room.
Credit card theft ringleader sentencedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Quentin Pickett has been sentenced for operating a credit card theft ring that stole hundreds of credit cards that were being mailed to accountholders. Pickett and his co-conspirators stole credit cards from the secured baggage loading area of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. After stealing the credit cards, Pickett and his co-conspirators used them at ATMs and elsewhere, attempting over $2.3M in fraudulent transactions and succeeding in extracting approximately $1.7M in funds.
“The harm caused to the citizens and financial institutions affected by this ring is substantial,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “People expect their mail to be handled securely, especially within the protected areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Pickett led a ring of thieves that circumvented the protocols for secure handling of mail, with no care for those affected by this theft. Citizens must be diligent and continually monitor their own accounts as criminals look for new ways to victimize the public.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the U.S. Mails are not utilized as a tool to defraud victims in these types of schemes. This investigation is an excellent example of a partnership between law enforcement agencies working together and I fully commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all the law enforcement agencies involved, which resulted in bringing these individuals to justice,” said David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“The United States Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will continue to take an aggressive approach to arrest individuals who violate their positions of trust to illegally enrich themselves,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “This sentence should be a warning to Pickett, Herring, and other like-minded criminals that when they steal from the American people they will be punished for their wrongdoings.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From December of 2015 until April of 2017, the defendants stole credit cards from the secured baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. The stolen credit cards were being shipped via the U.S. Postal Service to the rightful accountholders, who were located throughout the United States.
Pickett was involved in almost every aspect of the scheme, interfacing with co-conspirators who stole credit cards and those who were involved in extracting value from the stolen credit cards. Cornelius Henderson, through his employment at the airport, had access to the airport’s secured baggage loading areas, where he stole mail that contained credit cards. Treveyon Herring worked at a private mail sorting facility where he also stole mail containing credit cards. LaSuhn Turner and Brandon Foster participated in the scheme by assisting Pickett in obtaining cash from the stolen credit cards. Turner used stolen credit cards at ATMs to obtain cash advances. Foster, through his employment as a bank teller, executed fraudulent transactions at the bank when presented with stolen credit cards by other co-conspirators.
Quentin Pickett, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross, to six years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,758,476.67. Pickett’s co-defendants have also been sentenced:
- On January 9, 2018, Cornelius Henderson, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, was sentenced to serve five years and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $478,222.97.
- On January 10, 2018, Treveyon Herring, 22, of Forest Park, Georgia, was sentenced to serve two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,329,334.41.
- On December 7, 2017, LaSuhn Turner, 25 of Stockbridge, Georgia, was sentenced to three years’ probation, with eight months’ home confinement. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $70,483.50.
- On January 16, 2018, Brandon Foster, 25, of Stockbridge, Georgia, was sentenced to three years’ probation, with eight months’ home confinement. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,831.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 84 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Bobby Joe Drakeford, Jr., age 27, of Wallace, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Florence, South Carolina, for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. United States District Judge Bryan Harwell, of Florence, sentenced Drakeford to 84 months in federal prison with 3 years of supervised release to follow.
The evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that on January 5, 2017, deputies with the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office observed a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle involved in an attempted sale of suspected stolen firearms. After deputies attempted to make a stop on the vehicle, Drakeford, who was driving the vehicle, failed to stop, and a vehicle chase ensued. During the vehicle chase, Drakeford ran a stop sign, slammed the driver side of his car into the passenger side of a deputy’s patrol vehicle, struck a metal light pole, and caused his vehicle to roll into a parked car after exiting the vehicle and fleeing on foot. During the foot chase, a deputy observed Drakeford throw a small pistol over a fence and then climb over the fence. Eventually, Drakeford succumbed to verbal commands to stop, and deputies were able to detain Drakeford and recover the pistol he had thrown over the fence. The evidence presented also established that Drakeford had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cheraw Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Hummel of the Florence office prosecuted the case.
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.
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Columbia Man Sentenced to 22 Years for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today on charges related to child pornography and the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Jayme Nathaniel Walker, 43, of Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 22 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Walker to a term of supervised release for 25 years following incarceration.
On March 22, 2017, Walker was found guilty of producing child pornography, receiving child pornography and transferring obscene materials to a minor.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Walker communicated with a 14-to-15-year-old victim in Illinois, texting and exchanging pornographic photos and videos. The investigation began on June 13, 2014, when the child victim’s parents contacted Illinois State Police officers. The parents turned over a laptop computer, two cell phones and an iPod to investigators.
The child victim gave information to the investigators regarding his online relationship with Walker. He stated that he never met Walker in person, although they talked about meeting several times. He stated that he told Walker his true age. They had numerous conversations, including sexual conversations, and exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos.
Investigators discovered 77 images and six videos exchanged between Walker and the child victim, although not all of the images depicted child pornography.
According to court documents, investigators also found evidence on Walker’s cell phone that he had a pattern of seeking out minor children through the internet in order to engage in sexual activity. Walker used the Kik app to communicate with a 17-year-old victim and exchange sexually explicit photographs. This victim told investigators that he and Walker met in Columbia and engaged in sex, which is corroborated by the chats. A 13-year-old victim told agents he recalled chatting with Walker, who attempted to arrange a sexual rendezvous with him.
Today’s sentence includes an adjustment for obstruction of justice. The court found that Walker perjured himself by fabricating information while testifying under oath at trial in two instances. The government dismissed a fourth count from the indictment (possession of child pornography) prior to the jury’s deliberations because it could not refute Walker’s testimony. However, following the trial, an FBI agent investigated Walker’s claims and found evidence that Walker’s testimony was false.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Turner and Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the FBI, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Illinois State Police.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Columbia Man Pleads to Heroin and Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that Abdullah Jabbar Aquil, a/k/a “Wap,” age 42, of Columbia, plead guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute heroin and to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, all in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 851 and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented in court established on February 3, 2017, after making several controlled buys of heroin from Aquil, deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department executed a state search warrant upon one of Aquil’s residences. Inside they found a Glock .40 caliber firearm, ammunition, and digital scales. A further search of Aquil’s vehicle revealed a little over 9 grams of heroin.
Aquil is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior state convictions for distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana 2nd offense, possession of crack cocaine 2nd offense, and possession of a stolen pistol. At the time of the incident, Aquil was on federal supervised release for a 2009 federal conviction for felon in possession of a firearm, for which he previously served a 70 months’ term of imprisonment. Aquil’s federal supervised release was revoked in April 2017, and he is currently serving 24 months’ term of imprisonment for that revocation.
Aquil faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release on the felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge. On the heroin charge, Aquil faces maximum of 30 years imprisonment, a fine of $2,000,000, and 6 years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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Clairton Man Pleads Guilty in Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Clairton, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to conspiring to distribute narcotics, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Samuel Lopresti, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, between March and August 2017, to distribute cocaine. In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Lopresti was responsible for the distribution of between 400 and 500 grams of cocaine, which he purchased from his codefendant, Skyler Carter, in the Clairton, Pennsylvania area. He is the third of 21 defendants charged in the conspiracy to enter a plea of guilty.
Judge Arthur J. Schwab scheduled sentencing for July 11, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will depend upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Lopresti remains on bond pending the sentencing hearing.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Allegheny County Police Department, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises. Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Chula Vista Man Sentenced in Computer Hacking and Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Sabrina Feve (619) 546-6786
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – January 19, 2018
SAN DIEGO – Victor Alejandro Fernandez was sentenced in federal court today to 129 months in custody for his involvement in a conspiracy to steal and misuse mortgage customers’ sensitive personal information.
Fernandez was charged along with Jason Ray Bailey, John Gordon Baden and Joel Nava with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer hacking. Fernandez was also charged with aggravated identity theft. All four defendants have pleaded guilty.
According to charging and sentencing documents, between 2011 and 2014, Fernandez and his coconspirators were part of a Tijuana-based conspiracy that hacked the computer servers of major U.S. mortgage brokers, stole over 4,200 customers’ mortgage applications, and then used the victims’ social security numbers, addresses, dates of birth and personal information to open unauthorized lines of credit and take over and drain victims’ retirement and brokerage accounts.
For example, according to Fernandez’s plea agreement, he identified multiple victims’ brokerage accounts and fraudulently took control of the victims’ accounts by first calling the brokerage companies and providing the victims’ personal identification information, and then changing the victims’ passwords and contact information. Once he and his codefendants gained control of the accounts, members of the conspiracy wired funds from the victims’ brokerage accounts to coconspirators’ U.S. bank accounts in the San Diego and Calexico areas. Several of these wires were over $20,000 and $30,000 each.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14cr0277GPC
Victor Alejandro Fernandez Age: 42 Chula Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349
Maximum Penalties: Up to 30 years in prison and $1,000,000 fine.
Count 2: Computer Hacking – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1030 (a) (4) and (c) (3) (A)
Maximum Penalties: Up to five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Count 5: Aggravated Identity Theft – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1028A
Maximum Penalties: 24 months’ consecutive sentence
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Chugiak Man Sentenced for Threatening Smithsonian Institution Employee by EmailRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that a Chugiak man was sentenced for emailing threats to a local Smithsonian Institution employee.
Brandon McElroy, 33, of Chugiak, Alaska, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to five years of probation with conditions that McElroy undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. He was also ordered to not comment about the case, directly or indirectly, on social media. McElroy previously pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2016, to one count of transmitting threatening communication in interstate commerce.
According to court documents, McElroy worked for several years on a project filming rural Alaska for the Smithsonian Institution’s Arctic Studies Center. As the project began to wind down, McElroy became upset and sent a Smithsonian employee several threatening emails beginning on Feb. 1, 2016. In one email, McElroy stated “I very seriously thought about driving to your house and killing you tonight” and in another “This wasn’t going to go away until one of us was dead.” At sentencing, Judge Burgess noted that McElroy’s threats placed the Smithsonian employee in fear. Even after his guilty plea, McElroy made several social media posts which falsely and intentionally impugned the Smithsonian employee’s integrity and professionalism.
Prior to sentencing, McElroy was ordered by the court to undergo a mental health assessment with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Schroder commends the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Anchorage Police Department, and Municipal Prosecutors Office for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
Chinese National Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court for Economic Espionage and Theft of A Trade Secret from U.S. CompanyRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced that XU JIAQIANG was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for economic espionage and theft of a trade secret, in connection with XU’s theft of proprietary source code from XU’s former employer, with the intent to benefit the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China. XU previously pled guilty to all six counts with which he was charged. Yesterday’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he previously admitted in federal court, Xu Jiaqiang stole high-tech trade secrets from a U.S. employer, intending to benefit the Chinese government. The laws governing economic espionage and trade secrets exist, in part, to protect the sanctity of American ingenuity and property. Xu’s prison sentence should be a red flag for anyone attempting to illegally peddle American expertize and intellectual property to foreign bidders.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Dana J. Boente said: “Xu, a Chinese national, is being held accountable for engaging in economic espionage against an American company. Xu not only stole high tech trade secrets from his U.S. employer – a federal crime – he did so both for his own profit and intending to benefit the Chinese government. Xu’s sentence clearly demonstrates that the National Security Division will not hesitate to pursue and prosecute those who steal from American businesses. I thank the many people who worked hard to bring this result.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and the Superseding Indictment filed against XU, as well as statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
From November 2010 to May 2014, XU worked as a developer for a particular U.S. company (the “Victim Company”). As a developer, XU enjoyed access to certain proprietary software (the “Proprietary Software”), as well as that software’s underlying source code (the “Proprietary Source Code”). The Proprietary Software is a clustered file system developed and marketed by the Victim Company in the United States and other countries. A clustered file system facilitates faster computer performance by coordinating work among multiple servers. The Victim Company takes significant precautions to protect the Proprietary Source Code as a trade secret. Among other things, the Proprietary Source Code is stored behind a company firewall and can be accessed only by a small subset of the Victim Company’s employees. Before receiving Proprietary Source Code access, Victim Company employees must first request and receive approval from a particular Victim Company official. Victim Company employees must also agree in writing at both the outset and the conclusion of their employment that they will maintain the confidentiality of any proprietary information. The Victim Company takes these and other precautions in part because the Proprietary Software and the Proprietary Source Code are economically valuable, which value depends in part on the Proprietary Source Code’s secrecy.
In May 2014, XU voluntarily resigned from the Victim Company. XU subsequently communicated with one undercover law enforcement officer (“UC-1”), who posed as a financial investor aiming to start a large-data storage technology company, and another undercover law enforcement officer (“UC-2”), who posed as a project manager, working for UC-1. In these communications, XU discussed his past experience with the Victim Company and indicated that he had experience with the Proprietary Software and the Proprietary Source Code. On March 6, 2015, XU sent UC-1 and UC-2 a code, which XU stated was a sample of XU’s prior work with the Victim Company. A Victim Company employee (“Employee-1”) later confirmed that the code sent by XU included proprietary Victim Company material that related to the Proprietary Source Code.
XU subsequently informed UC-2 that XU was willing to consider providing UC-2’s company with the Proprietary Source Code as a platform for UC-2’s company to facilitate the development of its own data storage system. XU informed UC-2 that if UC-2 set up several computers as a small network, then XU would remotely install the Proprietary Software so that UC-1 and UC-2 could test it and confirm its functionality.
In or around early August 2015, the FBI arranged for a computer network to be set up, consistent with XU’s specifications. Files were then remotely uploaded to the FBI-arranged computer network (the “Xu Upload”). Thereafter, on or about August 26, 2015, XU and UC-2 confirmed that UC-2 had received the Xu Upload. In September 2015, the FBI made the Xu Upload available to a Victim Company employee who has expertise regarding the Proprietary Software and the Proprietary Source Code (“Employee-2”). Based on Employee-2’s analysis of technical features of the Xu Upload, it appeared to Employee-2 that the Xu Upload contained a functioning copy of the Proprietary Software. It further appeared to Employee-2 that the Xu Upload had been built by someone with access to the Proprietary Source Code who was not working within the Victim Company or otherwise at the Victim Company’s direction.
On December 7, 2015, XU met with UC-2 at a hotel in White Plains, New York (the “Hotel”). XU stated, in sum and substance, that XU had used the Proprietary Source Code to make software to sell to customers, that XU knew the Proprietary Source Code to be the product of decades of work on the part of the Victim Company, and that XU had used the Proprietary Source Code to build a copy of the Proprietary Software, which XU had uploaded and installed on the UC Network (i.e., the Xu Upload). XU also indicated that XU knew the copy of the Proprietary Software that XU had installed on the UC Network contained information identifying the Proprietary Software as the Victim Company’s property, which could reveal the fact that the Proprietary Software had been built with the Proprietary Source Code without the Victim Company’s authorization. XU told UC-2 that XU could take steps to prevent detection of the Proprietary Software’s origins – i.e., that it had been built with stolen Proprietary Source Code – including writing computer scripts that would modify the Proprietary Source Code to conceal its origins.
Later on December 7, 2015, XU met with UC-1 and UC-2 at the Hotel. During that meeting, XU showed UC-2 a copy of what XU represented to be the Proprietary Source Code on XU’s laptop. XU noted to UC-2 a portion of the code that indicated it originated with the Victim Company as well as the date on which it had been copyrighted. XU also stated that XU had previously modified the Proprietary Source Code’s command interface to conceal the fact that the Proprietary Source Code originated with the Victim Company and identified multiple specific customers to whom XU had previously provided the Proprietary Software using XU’s stolen copy of the Proprietary Source Code.
* * *
In addition to the five-year prison term, XU, 32, formerly of Beijing, China, was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
Mr. Berman and Mr. Boente praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s outstanding investigative efforts. He also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit and its White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Allee and Ilan Graff, with assistance from Trial Attorney David Aaron of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are in charge of the prosecution.
Canfield physician incarcerated for tax crimesRead the Press Release
A physician from Canfield was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay $105,673 after failing to pay over Social Security, Medicare and employment taxes collected from his employees, said U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman and Ryan L. Korner, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
Nicholas M. Garritano, 55, previously pleaded guilty to willful failure to pay over taxes.
"This doctor took out the taxes from his employees but kept the money for himself," Herdman said. "He victimized his workers and those who paid their fair share of taxes."
"As the person who controlled the finances on behalf of Dr. N.M. Garritano, Inc., Dr. Garritano was entrusted with the significant responsibility to collect and turn over all IRS withholding taxes," said Korner. "His failure to pay over the withheld taxes not only affected the revenue to the United States government, but more importantly, it affected the employees’ Medicare and Social Security benefits."
During 11 quarters spanning from 2009 through 2012, Garritano was president and sole shareholder of a corporation run by the name “Dr. N.M. Garritano, Inc.,” located in Canfield. Garritano was responsible for the corporation’s business and financial operations. Garritano caused the corporation to pay taxable wages and salaries to its employees, from which federal income and FICA taxes were withheld, according to court documents.
Garritano filed quarterly forms with the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the corporation relating to the employment taxes. Although the corporation withheld substantial employment taxes from the wages of its employees for each quarter, the defendant failed to pay over the full amount of the withheld taxes to the IRS, according to court documents.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Kall following an investigation by IRS-CI.
Camden County, New Jersey, Woman Gets 12 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Produce Sexually Explicit Images of Two ChildrenRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Audubon, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for conspiring with her former boyfriend to produce sexually explicit images of two children, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Janine Kelley, 36, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to an information charging her with one count of conspiring with Alexander Capasso, 44, of Collingswood, New Jersey, to engage in the sexual exploitation of two children. Judge Simandle imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Kelley, a registered nurse, entered into a sexual relationship with Capasso in or about 2011, during which Capasso expressed an interest in engaging in sexual conduct with children. From November 2011 through October 2012 Kelley took, and allowed Capasso to take, recorded images of her engaged in sexually explicit conduct with two children. Kelley also took, or allowed Capasso to take, images of Capasso engaged in sexually explicit conduct with one of the children.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Simandle sentenced Kelly to 10 years of supervised release.
Capasso previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced Jan. 17, 2018 to 20 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster, and the FBI Washington D.C., Field Office, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diana Carrig and Sara Aliabadi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden
California Man Sentenced for Identity Theft, Conspiracy as Part of Scheme to File False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that a California man was sentenced for his scheme to use illegally obtained personal identity information of others to prepare false W-2’s and then file false individual income tax returns in order to get refunds due to others.
Demetrick Ruffin, 43, from Los Angeles, CA, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to serve 95 months (just under 8 years) in prison, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. As a condition of his supervised release, Ruffin is prohibited from accessing, by any means, the internet. A later hearing will determine the amount of restitution to be paid by Ruffin to the victims. Ruffin previously pleaded guilty on April 12, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Ruffin conspired with others to obtain identity information, such as names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, which were then used to prepare false IRS W-2 Forms that contained fabricated wage and withholding amounts. The co-conspirators then took the identity information and falsified documents to tax return preparation services in Anchorage, Eagle River, and Palmer, Alaska, as well as in Los Angeles and Orange County, California, to have tax returns prepared and electronically submitted to the IRS.
The false returns requested refunds totaling between $1,400 and $8,600. In some instances, Ruffin and his co-conspirators used the stolen identity information to claim that the “taxpayers” had dependent children that they did not, in fact, have. By claiming additional dependents, the co-conspirators were able to increase the amount of refunds that the returns generated. In many cases, the defendants applied for refund anticipation loans and had the fraudulently obtained tax refunds loaded onto stored value cards allowing them instant access to the money even if the IRS later rejected the falsely filed returns.
To date, the following co-conspirators have been sentenced as part of this case:
- Jameane Bolton-Williams, of Los Angeles, CA, was previously sentenced to 82 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $91,927.65;
- Joe Douglas, of Los Angeles, CA, was previously sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $43,043.55;
- Lucille Stansberry, of Los Angeles, CA, was previously sentenced to 36 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $48,619.95.
In imposing the sentence Judge Burgess noted that because of the seriousness of the offenses and the need for deterrence of others, the sentence was at the top of the Sentencing Guideline range. Most importantly Judge Burgess stated, the public needed to be protected because Ruffin had committed part of his crimes while incarcerated in Los Angeles, “undeterred even by jail bars.” Because of the rampant increase in stolen identity tax refund fraud via the internet, Judge Burgess ordered Ruffin to have no access to the internet while on court supervision after serving his sentence.
“The sentence handed down today recognizes the arrogance of Mr. Ruffin’s conduct,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Mr. Ruffin demonstrated a brazen disregard of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable damage to his victims. Together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to identify and investigate those who defraud the American taxpayers by stealing identities and filing false tax returns.”
U.S. Attorney Schroder commends the IRS Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.
Belgrade Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Drug OffenseRead the Press Release
BUTTE – Shannon Marie Leavitt, a 30-year-old resident of Belgrade, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison followed by four years supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen handed down the sentence.
In late September 2016, investigators from the Missouri River Drug Task Force used a confidential informant to purchase methamphetamine. The confidential informant used Leavitt to arrange the drug deal. Again on October 3, 2016, investigators again used a confidential informant to purchase methamphetamine from Leavitt. The informant and Leavitt went to her father’s, Richard Clarke, house to pick up the methamphetamine. During that transaction, Leavitt told the informant that she was in business of dealing meth with her father.
Investigators also learned that methamphetamine was being shipped through the United States Mail to the Clarke/Leavitt address. Investigators were then notified by the U.S. Postal Service about an express mail package being shipped to that address. Investigators had a K9 from the Bozeman Police Department sniff the package. The K9 positively alerted on the package for the presence of drugs. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Clarke/Leavitt residence. They then delivered the package to the residence. Later that afternoon, Richard Clarke returned to the home, retrieved the package, and went inside. Investigators then executed the search warrant at the house and found evidence of drug dealing. When they searched the Express Mail package, investigators found that it contained a candle and a tennis ball. There was an obvious hole in the tennis ball and investigators pulled a package out of it that contained 10.4 grams of methamphetamine. The candle was cut open which revealed the bottom half had been hollowed out and then resealed in a manner which made it look as though it had not been tampered with. The hollowed out portion of the candle held a package with 29.1 grams of methamphetamine.
Leavitt was interviewed after the search and admitted her role in the conspiracy. She said she was getting an ounce of methamphetamine a week for the past month from her source in Salt Lake City. She further said that she had previously driven to meet her source halfway between Montana and Salt Lake to get methamphetamine. Leavitt also stated that she would send her source the money through Western Union or Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart.
Richard Clarke has also pled guilty to his role in the drug conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 21, 2017.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan R. Whittaker and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Bozeman Police Department, and the United States Postal Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime. Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
Baltimore Man Sentenced to Two Life Sentences Plus 10 Years in Prison for Murdering A Witness in Exchange for Money and DrugsRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Greenbelt / Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Troy Allen Lucas a/k/a “Troy Madron,” age 49, of Baltimore, Maryland to two life sentences and a consecutive ten year sentence in prison for the murder-for-hire of Robert Long. At the time of his death, Long was a cooperating witness in several cases pending in 2007 and 2008 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
The sentence was announced by the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Colonel Woodrow Jones, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to evidence presented at the two-week trial, Lucas was a member of "Dead Man Inc." (DMI), a criminal street and prison gang. Lucas symbolized his allegiance to DMI while in prison in 2007 by having a large tattoo of a hangman’s noose around his neck and on his chest.
Jose Morales solicited Lucas and his now deceased brother to kill Morales’s employee, Robert Long, in order to retaliate for Long’s cooperation with the police and to prevent Long from testifying against Morales. Morales paid Lucas in cash and cocaine to kill Long. The federal case focused on the use of cellular telephones with the intent to have Long murdered and the evidence showed that Lucas and Morales used cell phones to contact one another regarding Long’s cooperation and Long’s whereabouts. Minutes after the murder, Lucas called Morales to advise that the “job” was done.
Long was shot twice in the head on March 24, 2008, in an open area behind Traci Atkins Park in southwest Baltimore known as the “Lumber Yard.” The evidence presented at trial showed that Long was shot with a .25 caliber handgun at close range and that Lucas used, carried, and discharged the gun that caused Long’s death.
Jose Joaquin Morales, age 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, was convicted at trial by a federal jury for using a cell phone to arrange the murder-for-hire of Robert Long, and was sentenced to life in prison on December 9, 2013.
The prosecution of Morales resulted in the exoneration of Demetrius Smith, who was serving life in state prison for the murder -- a crime he did not commit.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the DEA, Maryland Transportation Authority Police and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Martin Clarke, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Arkansas Man Charged in the Kidnapping of Edina WomanRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced a federal criminal complaint charging JOSEPH SEAN ANTHONY PORTER, 25, with the kidnapping of an Edina woman. PORTER is currently in custody in Little Rock, Arkansas and will make an initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge at a later date.
Alleged in the criminal complaint and law enforcement affidavit is a detailed timeline of PORTER’S actions related to the kidnapping offense. The criminal complaint (including the affidavit) is attached as a pdf document.
The Edina Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are leading the investigation with assistance from various other state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen B. Schommer.
Defendant Information:
JOSEPH SEAN ANTHONY PORTER, 25
Jacksonville, Ark.
Charges:
- Kidnapping, 1 count
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Appeals Court Upholds BP Oil Spill Compensation Fund Fraud ConvictionsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Thursday upheld the convictions and sentences for three south Alabama family members who schemed to steal $2 million from the fund established by British Petroleum to compensate victims of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town.
The appellate court affirmed sentences of 12 years and a month in prison for MARCELLA TRUSS, 57, 13 years and three months for her husband, MARTEE DAVIS, 45, and seven years and eight months for Truss’ brother, HOWARD LENARD CARROWAY, 45. A federal jury in Birmingham convicted the trio in October 2014 of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud between August 2010 and December 2011 by filing false claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Separately, the jury convicted each of the defendants on other counts underlying the scheme.
During the course of the scheme, Truss and Davis lived in Grand Bay, Ala., and Birmingham, and Carroway lived in Mobile.
“The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the righteous prosecution of these defendants who chose to exploit a tragedy for their personal gain and at the expense of all of the true victims of this disaster,” Town said. “The FBI led a thorough investigation that enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to successfully bring these individuals to justice.”
The overall conspiracy involved the filing of more than 50 fraudulent claims in the names of 37 people alleging damages in the form of lost earnings from the oil spill. All of the claims were purported to be from individuals employed by, or otherwise associated with, a company named Built By Request, which Truss formed in 2006. All 37 people had supposedly worked for, or held an ownership interest in, Built By Request, and claimed they had lost earnings from the company due to the oil spill. All of the claims were indisputably false.
To get the false claims filed, Truss, Davis and Carroway all solicited the participation (and the needed personal information) of others. When the money came in, Truss, Davis or Carroway always took substantial portions of the payments.
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Albuquerque Woman Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Federal Law Enforcement OfficerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Charmaine Peralta, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in to assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.
Peralta was charged in Jan. 2017, by criminal complaint with assaulting a federal officer in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, Peralta assaulted a Task Force Officer of the South West Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) of the U.S. Marshals Service by biting the Task Force Officer on the arm resulting in bleeding and bruising, and by kicking the Officer repeatedly in the chest. According to the complaint, Peralta committed the assault when SWIFT Officers were executing an arrest warrant on Peralta for the underlying charge of possession of a controlled substance and she became combative and actively resisted arrest when confronted by the Officers.
Peralta subsequently was indicted on March 14, 2017, and was charged with assaulting and resisting a federal officer involving physical contact on Jan. 19, 2017, in Bernalillo County. During today’s proceedings, Peralta pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
At sentencing, Peralta faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the South West Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) of the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of New Mexico with assistance from the New Mexico Department of Corrections and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh.
2 Los Angeles-Area Men Charged with Conspiring to Illegally Obtain Technology and Computer Chips that Were Sent to ChinaRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities this morning arrested two local men on federal charges that allege a scheme to illegally obtain technology and integrated circuits with military applications that were exported to a Chinese company without the required export license.
Yi-Chi Shih, 62, an electrical engineer who is a part-time Los Angeles resident, and Kiet Ahn Mai, 63, of Pasadena, were arrested this morning without incident by federal agents.
Shih and Mai, who previously worked together at two different companies, are named in a criminal complaint unsealed this morning that charges them with conspiracy. Shih is also charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a federal law that makes illegal, among other things, certain unauthorized exports.
The complaint alleges that Shih and Mai conspired to illegally provide Shih with unauthorized access to a protected computer of a United States company that manufactured specialized, high-speed computer chips known as monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). The conspiracy count also alleges that the two men engaged in mail fraud, wire fraud and international money laundering to further the scheme.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Shih and Mai executed a scheme to defraud the U.S. company out of its proprietary, export-controlled items, including technology associated with its design services for MMICs. As part of the scheme, Shih and Mai accessed the victim company’s computer systems via its web portal after Mai obtained that access by posing as a domestic customer seeking to obtain custom-designed MMICs that would be used solely in the United States. Shih and Mail allegedly concealed Shih’s true intent to transfer the U.S. company’s technology and products to the People’s Republic of China.
“This case outlines a scheme to secure proprietary technology, some of which was allegedly sent to China, where it could be used to provide companies there with significant advantages that would compromise U.S. business interests,” said United States Attorney Nicola T. Hanna. “The very sensitive information would also benefit foreign adversaries who could use the technology to further or develop military applications that would be detrimental to our national security.”
“According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly schemed to illegally export semiconductors having military and civilian applications to a Chinese company,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente. “Protecting this type of technology and preventing its illegal acquisition by our adversaries remains a key priority in preserving our national security.”
The victim company’s proprietary semiconductor technology has a number of commercial and military applications, and its customers include the Air Force, Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. MMICs are used in electronic warfare, electronic warfare countermeasures and radar applications.
“The FBI, working jointly with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to bringing to justice those who seek to illegally export some of our nation’s most sensitive technologies to the detriment of our national security and hard-working United States companies,” said Paul Delacourt, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Rest assured, the FBI will continue to diligently pursue any and all leads that involve the illegal exportation of U.S. technology which will cause harm to our long-term national security interests.”
The computer chips at the heart of this case allegedly were shipped to Chengdu GaStone Technology Company (CGTC), a Chinese company that established a MMIC manufacturing facility in Chengdu. Shih was the president of CGTC, which in 2014 was placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, according to the affidavit, “due to its involvement in activities contrary to the national security and foreign policy interest of the United States – specifically, that it had been involved in the illicit procurement of commodities and technologies for unauthorized military end use in China.” Because it was on the Entity List, a license from the Commerce Department was required to export U.S.-origin MMICs to CGTC, and there was a “presumption of denial” of a license.
The complaint outlines a scheme in which Shih used a Los Angeles-based company he controlled – Pullman Lane Productions, LLC – to funnel funds provided by Chinese entities to finance the manufacturing of MMICs by the victim company. The complaint affidavit alleges that Pullman Lane received financing from a Beijing-based company that was placed on the Entity List the same day as CGTC “on the basis of its involvement in activities contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”
Mai acted as the middleman by using his Los Angeles company – MicroEx Engineering – to pose as a legitimate domestic customer that ordered and paid for the manufacturing of MMICs that Shih illegally exported to CGTC in China, according to the complaint. It is the export of the MMICs that forms the basis of the IEEPA violation alleged against Shih. The specific exported MMICs also required a license from the Commerce Department before being exported to China, and a license was never sought or obtained for this export.
“Today’s actions serve as a reminder that the government will hold individuals accountable who fraudulently procure and export unlawfully protected United States technology and attempt to conceal their criminal activity through international money laundering,” stated Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe with IRS Criminal Investigation. “The IRS plays an important role in tracing illicit funds through both domestic and international financial intuitions. The IRS is proud to partner with the FBI and Department of Commerce and share its world-renowned financial investigative expertise in this investigation.”
“Today’s arrests demonstrate the Office of Export Enforcement’s strong commitment to enforcing our nation’s export control and public safety laws,” said Richard Weir, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, deter, and keep the most sensitive U.S. origin goods and technology out of the most dangerous hands.”
Shih and Mai are expected to make their first court appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If they were to be convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Mai would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, and Shih could be sentenced to as much as 25 years in prison.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; and IRS Criminal Investigation.
The case against Shih and Mai is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Judith A. Heinz, Melanie Sartoris and Khaldoun Shobaki of the National Security Division, and Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.