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Tuesday 1 August 2017
Three Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute SteroidsRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On July 28, 2017, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced Jeffrey B. Lackas, Stanley Szeto, and Daniel Cruz-Bonilla for conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Lackas, Szeto, and Cruz-Bonilla were members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of anabolic steroids and human-growth hormones throughout the country. Between July of 2011, and March of 2015, the organization operated under the internet name of “Brinkkmann Pharma,” and the defendants distributed anabolic steroids and human growth hormones obtained from a source in China.
Lackas, 31, from Bettendorf, Iowa, was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Szeto, 39, from Iowa City, Iowa, was sentenced to 25 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $6,000 fine. Cruz-Bonilla, 30, from Fontana, California, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Each defendant was ordered to pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.
The Omaha Police Department in Nebraska, Douglas County Nebraska Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotic Enforcement, Nebraska State Patrol, Iowa City Police Department, United States Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at [email protected].
The Ninth Circuit Court Appeals Affirms the Denial of a Preliminary Injunction Seeking to Stop an Ecosystem Restoration Project in the Colville National ForestRead the Press Release
Spokane– Joseph H. Harrington, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that, on August 1, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed United States District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson’s order denying a preliminary injunction in the Alliance of the Wild Rockies’ (AWR) challenge to the Colville National Forest’s North Fork Mill Creek A to Z Project.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, AWR filed a lawsuit in August of 2016 challenging the Colville National Forest’s decision to approve the North Fork Mill Creek A to Z Project. That project was carefully designed through a multi-entity cooperation between the Forest Service, the timber industry and a variety of environmental organizations that formed the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition (NWFC). The project is designed to provide ecosystem restoration through the rebuilding of roads, fish habitat improvements, thinning of overstocked tree stands, pre-commercial thinning of congested young trees, and some aspen restoration in the North Mill Creek drainage of the Three Rivers Ranger District in the Colville National Forest. Forest Supervisor Rodney Smoldon approved the project in June of 2016.
AWR sued the Forest Service in 2016 claiming that the Forest Service violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) by allowing local Colville lumber operators, Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company, to arrange for a private contractor to conduct the environmental analysis and the writing of an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed project. AWR also claimed that the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) because the EA allegedly did not properly: address the cumulative effects of the North Fork Project in connection with other projects planned in adjacent watersheds; failed to protect habitat for fisher and pine marten animals (two small forest furbearers) under the NFMA; failed to protect snow-intercept cover used by deer and elk on the winter range; and increased sediment production that allegedly could injure local fish species.
AWR sought a preliminary injunction from the district court, arguing its lawsuit would likely succeed on the merits and that serious questions existed going to the merits of the Forest Service’s NFMA and NEPA compliance. AWR also argued that allowing the first phase of the three-phase project to continue forward would cause irreparable harm and damage in the Mill Creek area, which did not serve the public’s interest. Judge Peterson rejected AWR’s position and denied the request for a preliminary injunction.
The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Following briefing, Rudy J. Verschoor, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, argued the case on June 13, 2017. Both the reforestation project and AWR’s challenge to the project have drawn significant local interest. The Ninth Circuit argument was attended by Pend Oreille County Commissioner Karen Skoog, Brian Todd of The Nature Conservancy, Russ Vaagen and Josh Anderson of Vaagen Brothers and others.
Writing for a unanimous panel, Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr., found that AWR “had not demonstrated serious questions, much less a likelihood of success, with respect to the merits of any of its NFMA and NEPA claims.” The panel found that the Alliance had not shown a likelihood of success on the issues related to fisher and pine marten, wildlife cover in winter range, road density in winter range, or sediment projection in streams as a result of the proposed activities.
The case will now continue in the District Court for further proceedings before Judge Peterson, where AWR and the Forest Service will brief the remaining claims in the case. A schedule for that briefing has not yet been announced.
This case is being defended by Rudy J. Verschoor and Vanessa R. Waldref, Assistant United States Attorneys in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Stolen Identity, International Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
PHOENIX– Yesterday, Paula Anthony, 65, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 36 months in prison for her role in a stolen identity and money laundering scheme.
Anthony, formerly a registered tax return preparer, was found guilty following trial on multiple counts, including conspiracy, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Anthony was a key participant in the scheme, in which the conspirators stole the identities of dozens of taxpayers and filed fabricated income tax returns to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax refunds in the victims’ names. Anthony and others obtained the fraudulent refunds through online accounts set up with prepaid debit cards and utilized multiple bank accounts to convert the refund money into cash. Once Anthony obtained the cash, she, or people she recruited, laundered the money out of the United States by wiring most of the funds to Nigeria.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Monica Edelstein and William Voit, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-16-00083-PHX-DLR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-068_Anthony
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
St. Francis Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Aiding and AbettingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Aiding and Abetting, was sentenced on July 31, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Mary Left Hand Bull, age 26, was sentenced to time served, 3 years of supervised release, a fine of $500, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Left Hand Bull is to be on home confinement until placed in inpatient treatment.
Left Hand Bull was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 9, 2016. She pled guilty on May 31, 2017.
The conviction stems from a traffic stop that occurred on March 7, 2016, during which Left Hand Bull was found to be in possession of several baggies containing methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Springfield Man, Willard Woman Plead Guilty to Meth, Money Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man and a Willard, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County, Mo., and in a money-laundering conspiracy.
Patrick R. Brigaudin, 55, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charges contained in a Sept. 28, 2016, federal indictment.
Gayla Rochelle Phillips, 42, of Willard, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the same charges.
Brigaudin and Phillips admitted they participated in the methamphetamine conspiracy from October 2013 to Feb. 29, 2016. In total, the amount of pure methamphetamine involved in the conspiracy weighed in excess of 4.5 kilograms.
In March 2015, a shipment of approximately 15 pounds of pure methamphetamine was interdicted by law enforcement officers. Three persons were arrested following a controlled delivery of the methamphetamine to a Springfield hotel. Brigaudin admitted that he attempted to possess some or all of the methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute to others. Brigaudin also admitted to distributing methamphetamine on several occasions in 2015 and 2016.
On Feb. 29, 2016, two individuals transported approximately 12 pounds of methamphetamine to Brigaudin’s residence. While they were removing the methamphetamine from a vehicle, they and Brigaudin were arrested.
Phillips admitted that she obtained methamphetamine from Brigaudin on Feb. 19, 2016, which she then distributed to another person.
Brigaudin and Phillips also admitted they purchased a 2006 Lincoln Mark LT pickup truck by paying an automobile dealer $7,200 in cash and an $8,500 check drawn on Phillips’s bank account. They conducted this financial transaction with drug-trafficking proceeds in order to conceal the nature and source of the funds and to avoid a transaction reporting requirement.
Under federal statutes, Brigaudin is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in prison without parole. Phillips is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Garrison. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Ozark, Mo., Police Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, COMET (the Combined Ozarks Multijurisdictional Enforcement Team) and the South Central Drug Task Force.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms.
Christopher M. Behn, 40, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Behn was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On May 4, 2017, Behn pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.
Springfield police officers executed a search warrant at Behn’s residence on Nov. 4, 2015. Officers found a Springfield Armory .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a portable trailer in the driveway and a DSA .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle in a metal outbuilding on the south side of the trailer.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Behn has three prior felony convictions for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, and prior felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, car theft, threatening with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of a methamphetamine precursor drug with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, and resisting arrest.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Southland Man Arrested for Alleged Scheme to Smuggle Export-Controlled Rifle Scopes and Tactical Equipment to SyriaRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – The chief executive officer of an Orange County check-cashing business was arrested this morning on federal charges that accuse him of procuring and illegally exporting rifle scopes, laser boresighters and other tactical equipment from the United States to Syria in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Rasheed Al Jijakli, 56, of Walnut, is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in the United States District Court on a three-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on July 14. The indictment was unsealed this morning after Jijakli was taken into custody without incident by law enforcement authorities.
The indictment accuses Jijakli of violating IEEPA, which authorizes the president to impose economic sanctions on a foreign country in response to an unusual or extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States. In accordance with that authority, the president issued an executive order that included broad restrictions on exports to Syria. The Department of Commerce subsequently issued corresponding regulations restricting exports to Syria of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
Jijakli also faces charges of conspiring to violate IEEPA and smuggling.
From January 2012 through March 2013, Jijakli and three other individuals purchased and smuggled export-controlled items to Syria without obtaining licenses from the Department of Commerce. Jijakli and others allegedly hand-carried the items through Istanbul, Turkey and provided them to fighters in Syria. Those items allegedly included day- and night-vision rifle scopes, laser boresighters (tools used to adjust sights on firearms for accuracy when firing), flashlights, radios, a bulletproof vest and other tactical equipment.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If he is convicted of all three charges in the indictment, Jijakli would face a statutory maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.
This case is the result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
The case against Jijakli is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Takla of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Trial Attorney Christian Ford of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
South Texas Woman Convicted of Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 55-year-old Brownsville woman has entered a plea to one count of sex trafficking of a nine-year-old girl, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Maria Candelaria Losoya appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington and admitted she was responsible for the continued sexual assault of a nine-year-old victim which began in Brownsville in 2012. Later, she traveled with the victim so that the assault could continue. She further admitted that she did so in exchange for money.
“Rescuing the children from these situations is our immediate concern,” said Mark Dawson, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston. “While we cannot give back the innocence that's been stolen from them, we can make sure that those who commit these horrible crimes are brought to justice.”
Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos on Nov. 16, 2017. At that time, Losoya faces a minimum of 15 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,00 maximum fine. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, Losoya also faces a maximum of life on supervised release during which time the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. Losoya will also be required to register as a sex offender.
She was permitted to remain on bond pending her sentencing hearing.
HSI, Texas Rangers and police departments in Brownsville and Rockport conducted the investigation.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."
Sioux Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Kidnapping ChargeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Sioux Falls, SD, man pleaded guilty in federal court to Kidnapping.
Jon Henri Bryant, Sr., age 61, was indicted on November 9, 2016. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on August 1, 2017, and pled guilty to the Kidnapping charge alleged in the Superseding Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to Life in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
According to the indictment, on October 25, 2016, Bryant forcefully and violently took a motor vehicle from the victim, who was forced by Bryant into the vehicle's trunk. The victim suffered serious bodily injury. Bryant committed the kidnapping for revenge and he transported the victim over state lines.
The investigation is being conducted by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.
Bryant was returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service. A sentencing hearing has been set for October 23, 2017.Scotia Man Indicted for ArsonRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – On July 27, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Duane E. Griffin, 35, of Scotia, New York with arson, announced Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division.
The indictment alleges that on March 17, 2012, Griffin set fire to the building at 605 Union Street, Schenectady, New York.
The charge filed against Griffin carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Griffin was arraigned on July 31, 2017 in Albany, New York, before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, and released pending a trial scheduled for October 2, 2017 before Senior United States District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe.
The charge in the indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the ATF and the Schenectady Fire Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss.
Rochester Area Men Plead Guilty to Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley today announced that
two men from the Rochester, New Hampshire area pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges based upon their possession of heroin and cocaine. Timothy W. Kondroski, 42, previously of Rochester and Jason L. Brewer, 34, of Milton each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
According to court documents and statements made during today’s plea hearings, on July 12, 2016, a New Hampshire State Police Trooper observed Brewer commit multiple motor vehicle violations while driving northbound on Interstate 95. The trooper executed a traffic stop of Brewer’s car near the Hampton tolls. Kondroski was a passenger in the car. During the traffic stop, the trooper observed evidence of drug possession. While the trooper questioned Brewer and Kondroski, Kondroski fled and darted across four lanes of the interstate highway toward the barriers that divided the cash tolls from the open road tolling lanes. The trooper chased Kondroski, yelling at him to stop. The trooper eventually caught up to Kondroski at the barriers, which Kondroski was attempting to climb over. The application of a Taser was necessary to subdue Kondroski. During the chase, Kondroski’s sneakers fell off. When retrieving them from the roadway, the troopers found a bag approximately 35 grams of heroin. A second bag containing approximately one ounce of cocaine was recovered from inside one of Kondroski’s sneakers. Kondroski and Brewer both eventually admitted to buying the drugs in Lawerence, Massachusetts. Kondroski further acknowledged that he paid $2700 for the drugs and intended to sell them.
Kondroski and Brewer are both scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2017.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who are distributing drugs in the Granite State,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “I commend the troopers involved in this matter for their quick and decisive actions.”
This matter was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.
Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Cumberland, R.I., man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for participating in a bi-coastal conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine through the United States mail.
Steven Marszalkowski, 58, formerly of Provincetown, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On May 9, 2017, Marszalkowski pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine.
Marszalkowski and his co-conspirators used the United States mail to send packages containing methamphetamine from San Diego and Seattle to various locations in Massachusetts. Co-defendants Leonard Leseman of San Diego, Calif.; Robert Annette, of Somerville and Provincetown; Lawrence Ligocki, of Chelsea; and Scott Hill of Somerville have pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with the investigation.
Leseman was a San Diego-based supplier of methamphetamine and was responsible for sending more than 30 packages of methamphetamine to various addresses in Massachusetts that had been provided to him by Annette. Marszalkowski was one of several individuals recruited by Annette to receive the methamphetamine packages mailed by Leseman and deliver them to Annette.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Field Division; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. Assistance with the investigation was provided by Postal Inspectors in San Diego and Pennsylvania, the Provincetown and Truro Police Departments, the Massachusetts State Police Narcotics Task Force in Hyannis, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Arnold of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
Resident Alien Heads to Federal Prison for Importing HeroinRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 54-year-old legal permanent resident alien who was living in Alabama has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of importing heroin in to the country, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Baltazar Vazquez-Vargas pleaded guilty April 4, 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia-Marmolejo sentenced him to 70 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face loss of his legal status and deportation proceedings following his release from prison. During the hearing, Judge Garcia-Marmolejo asked Vazquez-Vargas if he had thought about what would happen to his life before he committed the crime. Later, the defense attorney noted the defendant’s embarrassment at the situation and that his family had to see it. “This is what happens when you get involved in drug trafficking,” responded Judge Garcia-Marmolejo.
On Nov. 12, 2016, Vazquez-Vargas entered the United States via the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge in Laredo as the driver and sole occupant of a grey 2007 Chevrolet Impala. At that time, he claimed ownership of the vehicle. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered an anomaly in the vehicle’s battery. Upon further inspection, officers determined there was a non-factory compartment within the battery containing six bundles, the contents of which tested positive for heroin. The total combined weight was approximately 3.05 kilograms.
Vazquez-Vargas stated that he had recently purchased the Impala and an individual in Georgia had hired him to transport the heroin from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to Peachtree City, Georgia, for $5,000. While in Nuevo Laredo, people he did not know changed out the existing battery for another one containing the heroin. He admitted knowing there were narcotics in the battery.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and CBP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bukiewicz is prosecuting the case.
Repeat Drug Dealer Sentenced to 140 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – On Tuesday, August 1, 2017, United States District Court Judge Michael J. McShane sentenced Florentino Ambriz-Banderas, 49, to 140 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and illegal reentry. Following his prison sentence, Ambriz-Banderas will be on supervised release for 5 years.
On April 7, 2016, a traffic stop in California led to the discovery of 15 pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle. The driver admitted to transporting the methamphetamine for Ambriz-Banderas, and making multiple similar trips in the past several months. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and California law enforcement officers transported the vehicle and driver to Springfield, Ore., where Ambriz-Banderas arrived to meet him and was arrested. Ambriz-Banderas had $5,303 on his person and two digital scales with methamphetamine residue at his house.
Ambriz-Banderas has a 2011 federal conviction in Oregon for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and was deported in 2015 after serving his sentence. He subsequently reentered the United States unlawfully prior to being arrested for this offense.
This case was investigated by the DEA, the California Highway Patrol, the Siskiyou Unified Major Investigations Team and the Lane County Interagency Narcotics Team and prosecuted by Jeffrey Sweet, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Randolph County Man Sentenced on Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
On July 27, 2017, Colty T. Peak, 32, of Red Bud, was sentenced to federal prison for a methamphetamine offense, Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
Peak, who had previously pled guilty to a one-count superseding indictment charging conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, was sentenced to 140 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 4 years’ supervised release, and was fined $300.00. The indictment alleged that the offense occurred between November 2013 and August 2015, in Perry, Randolph, Monroe, Jackson and St. Clair Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Peak was involved with other persons in manufacture of methamphetamine and distribution of ice in southern Illinois. Ice is methamphetamine which has a purity level of at least 80%. At sentencing, the district court found that Peak was responsible for the possession or distribution of 240.8 grams of ice and 332.4 of pseudoephedrine. Co-defendant Dyllan Wayland was previously sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment for his role in the ice conspiracy. Co-defendant Joseph Hatley has pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Percy Police Department, Steeleville Police Department, Sparta Police Department, and Illinois Department of Corrections. The Randolph County States Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
Radford Nurse Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A former nurse, who previously pled guilty to tampering with a consumer product, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.
Christina Lovern Calloway, 40, of Radford, Virginia, was sentenced today to imprisonment for a term of 48 months. Calloway previously pled guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.
Calloway, while working as a nurse in a nursing home, diverted liquid morphine intended for patients to her own use. The defendant, on more than one occasion, took some of the liquid morphine from a bottle and used it herself. She then used tap water to refill the bottle in an attempt to hide her crime. The diluted morphine was then administered to patients.
Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. The case was investigated by the United States Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations and the Virginia State Police.
Pursuant to Executive Order on Public Safety, Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Release Data on Incarcerated AliensRead the Press Release
President Trump’s Executive Order on Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. The data in this release shows a significant prison population of incarcerated aliens.
Below is a summary of data collected under Section 16 of the Order, which directs “the Secretary [of Homeland Security] and the Attorney General . . . to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports” regarding the following subjects: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.
Information Regarding Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated Under the Supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a daily basis, BOP supplies this information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that information to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.
As a part of satisfying the Justice Department’s second quarterly report of this information, below is information regarding aliens currently incarcerated under the supervision of BOP.[1] This information is current as of June 24:
Out of the 187,855 inmates in BOP custody, 42,034 are foreign-born. The breakdown of the 42,034 aliens is as follows:
- 19,749 (46.9%) are aliens who have received final orders of removal;
- 21,121 (50.2%) are aliens who are under ICE investigation for possible removal;
- 1,157 (2.8%) are aliens whose cases are pending adjudication before an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR); and
- Seven (.0002%) are aliens who have been granted relief.
Information Regarding the Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated as Federal Pretrial Detainees
The U.S. Marshal Service (USMS), the Department of Justice’s component charged with the housing and care of federal pretrial detainees, recently instituted a program to capture data regarding the immigration status of these detainees.
Based upon records current as June 14, USMS identified 12,005 “self-reporting” foreign-born prisoners (aliens) out of 50,135 arrested and detained at USMS facilities. Further details follow for the 12,005 detained aliens:
- 9,857 (82.1%) are aliens who have received final orders of removal;
- 2,047 (17.1%) are aliens whose cases are still pending adjudication before an Immigration Judge in the EOIR; and
- 101 (.8%) are aliens still pending adjudication (ICE has charged these aliens as removal cases, but a final disposition has not yet been reached.)
Immigration Status of All Convicted Aliens Incarcerated in State Prisons and Local Detention Centers throughout the United States
The Department continues to progress towards establishing data collection of the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers through its Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
[1] The previous report is available at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pursuant-executive-order-public-safety-department-justice-releases-data-incarcerated-aliens-0
Pottawattamie County Man Sentenced to Prison for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On July 28, 2017heather Jean Reekr, Hubert Theodore Carter, III, 35, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 27 months in prison for bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Carter was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
On January 27, 2017, Carter entered the U.P. Connection Federal Credit Union and handed a teller a handwritten note stating he had a firearm, and instructed the teller to fill a bag with money. Carter left the credit union with approximately $3,500 and was quickly apprehended with the stolen money by the Council Bluffs Police Department.
The Council Bluffs Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at [email protected].
Pike County Woman Sentenced to 19 Years’ Imprisonment for Drug Distribution Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Brittany Banscher, age 23, a resident of Hawley, Pennsylvania was sentenced on July 28, 2017, by United States District Court Senior Judge James M. Munley to serve 19 years’ imprisonment for drug distribution resulting in death.
According to United States Attorney, Bruce D. Brandler, Banscher pleaded guilty in December 2016, to distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin to a 21-year-old woman, who overdosed and died on September 4, 2015.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Munley also ordered that a probation officer supervise Banscher for three years following her release from prison, and that Banscher pay restitution in the amount of $7,213.
The case was investigated by the Scranton Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration - Scranton office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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Physician Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Distribution of OxycodoneRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Nevada physician practicing as a specialist in pain management was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for distribution of large quantities of highly addictive prescription opioids, including oxycodone, and other controlled substances without a medical purpose, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson ordered a fine in the amount of $2.5 million.
Following a 10-week jury trial, on March 23, 2017, Dr. Henri Wetselaar, 93, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (oxycodone); distribution of controlled substances; money laundering; and structuring of money transactions. Co-defendant, David A. Litwin, 58, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5, 2017.
According to the indictment, Wetselaar performed house calls and maintained a medical practice on the east side of Las Vegas. He prescribed large amounts of prescription drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax and Soma, to persons for no legitimate medical purpose. Wetselaar and Litwin conspired with each other and local drug dealers to distribute the prescription drugs prescribed by Wetselaar in and around Las Vegas. Additionally, Wetselaar wired $105,000 for the purchase of a house using money obtained from the drug distribution activities. He also attempted to evade the bank reporting requirements by making dozens of cash deposits less than $10,000 in a 12-month period to three different banks.
The case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigations, the Nevada Department of Public Safety, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor-OIG, and the U.S. Human and Health Services-OIG. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cristina Silva and Andrew Duncan.
The Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to combat the prescription opioid epidemic and continues to charge local physicians who illegally sell or distribute prescription opioids for a non-medical purpose. Wetselaar is the fifth doctor sentenced for illegal distribution of drugs in recent years. Other cases include:
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In April 2016, Dr. Robert Rand and eight others were charged with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription drugs. Rand is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23, 2017.
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In December 2015, Dr. Sebastian Paulin Jr. was sentenced to 24 months in prison for selling prescription pain medications and Dr. Mahesh Kuthuru was sentenced to 28 months in prison for the unlawfully distributing prescription painkillers.
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In October 2014, Dr. Victor Bruce was sentenced to 46 months for unlawfully writing oxycodone prescriptions for persons with no medical need for it.
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In September 2014, Dr. Vinay Bararia was sentenced to 44 months in prison for unlawfully selling hydrocodone and oxycodone, both prescription opioids.
The overdose rates for synthetic opioids and pain relievers have continued to rise over the past several years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 144 drug overdose deaths every day and 63% of those deaths are pharmaceutical opioids or heroin related. Approximately 75% of new heroin users report having abused prescription opioids before using heroin. Heroin-related overdose deaths have more than quadrupled since 2010. For information on opioid overdose and how you can manage pain without prescription drugs, go to http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/index.html. If you have a tip or information about illegal sales or distribution of prescription opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, etc., by doctors and pharmacies call the DEA at 1-877-RX-Abuse (1-877-792-2873).
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Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for Using Stolen ID’s to Seek Fraudulent Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
A Philadelphia man was sentenced to eight months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and to aiding and abetting the filing of false claims for tax refunds, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division
According to documents filed with the court, Shamback Francois, 28, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain income tax refunds through the filing of false tax returns using stolen personal identifying information. At least one of Francois’s co-conspirators electronically filed the returns, which directed that the fraudulently claimed refunds be deposited into a bank account in the name of Shamback Tax Services. Francois did not have a tax preparation service, but had opened up the account in order to facilitate the crime. Francois withdrew funds from this account to pay his co-conspirators. He admitted to causing a loss of $425,841.14.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge John R. Padova of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered Francois to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $425,841.14 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Acting U.S. Attorney Lappen and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Parma man sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison for sexually exploiting teen girlRead the Press Release
A Parma man was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl, said Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office.
A jury last year convicted Richard Purnell, 56, of sex trafficking of children.
“This is a child rapist who deserves every day of this prison sentence,” Sierleja said. “This case is further proof that human trafficking happens all around us. We will go after customers as well as people who profit from human trafficking.”
“Purnell chose to repeatedly victimize a 14-year-old girl for his own sexual gratification without any regard for what is legally or morally acceptable," said Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony of the FBI Cleveland Division. "His actions are reprehensible and unacceptable. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who engage in human trafficking.”
Purnell repeatedly engaged in commercial sex acts with the 14-year-old, whose images were posted on the website backpage.com by Ronnie Pratt. He continued to engage in commercial sex acts with the girl even after she told him she was only 14 years old, according to trial testimony.
Pratt is serving 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges.
The Purnell case is the first time a customer has been prosecuted federal in a human trafficking case in the Northern District of Ohio.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bridget M. Brennan and Linda Barr following an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. The Child Exploitation Task Force is comprised of the FBI, Adult Parole Authority, Cleveland Metro Housing Authority, Cleveland Police Department and Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. The Parma Police Department provided substantial assistance to the investigation.
Park River Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Analogue Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Park River Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Analogue Resulting in Death
FARGO – U.S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on July 31, 2017, Zachary David Chyle, age 26, Parker River, ND, was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 15 years in prison for Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Analogue Resulting in Death, and a second count of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Analogue Resulting in Death. Judge Erickson also sentenced Chyle to five years of supervised release, ordered him to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund, and a Restitution of $7894.58.
Chyle admitted that he provided Mr. Eugene D. Mecham, age 30, of Grafton, ND Furanyl Fentanyl that resulted in the August 26, 2016, overdose death of Mecham. Mecham was discovered by his father in the basement of his parents’ Grafton home, dead of an apparent drug overdose. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as sudden and unexpected death associated with furanyl fentanyl intoxication and a blood toxicological analysis was positive for this analogue drug. An investigation revealed Chyle had introduced Mecham to the opioid and later acquired more through the DarkNet, which Chyle prepared and provided to Mecham.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security; North Dakota Bureau of Investigation and Crime Lab; Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force; Walsh County Sheriff’s Office and State’s Attorney; and the Grafton Police Department, with forensic and autopsy assistance from the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences Department of Pathology.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jake Rodenbiker.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nd
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to 5 years in Prison for Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy was sentenced today to a total of 60 months in prison by United States District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks after previously admitting to the Court that he had provided personally identifying information to another individual who used that information in an identity theft scheme.
Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Sean Scheller, Chief, Town of Lantana Police Department, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.
On March 23, 2017, Frantz Felisma, 42, of Boynton Beach, a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, initially pled guilty to access device fraud in connection with the identity theft scheme, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2) and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1) (Case No. 17-CR-80008). However, following his plea hearing Felisma moved to withdraw his guilty plea and the matter was set for trial. On June 29, 2017, in advance of the trial date, Felisma re-affirmed his guilt by pleading to the initial charges of conviction. Judge Middlebrooks sentenced Felisma to 36 months in prison for access device fraud and a consecutive term of 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft. Following his release from incarceration, Felisma will be on supervised release for three years. Felisma was also ordered to pay $175,000 in restitution.
According to the court record, over the span of approximately eighteen months, Deputy Felisma used his police department issued laptop computer to access a law enforcement database in order to obtain personally identifying information (PII) belonging to numerous individuals. Felisma sold this information to his co-conspirator, who then used the identities of at least 15 of these victims to set up credit card and bank accounts, stealing tens of thousands of dollars in the names of the victims. Felisma’s criminal conduct caused between $150,000 and $250,000 in financial losses.
Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the Lantana Police Department, IRS-CI and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Jorgensen and Rinku Tribuiani.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Orange County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Failing to Properly Overhaul Part Used on Apache HelicoptersRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Yorba Linda man who owns a Gardena company that contracted with the U.S. Army to overhaul linear actuators used on Apache helicopters pleaded guilty to violating his contract with the military by making unauthorized repairs to motors inside the part.
Bahram Bordbar, 62, the owner of Prototype Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc., pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of making false statements involving aircraft. Bordbar admitted that his fraudulent conduct led to him improperly receiving approximately $320,000 from the Army.
Prototype had a contract to overhaul and repair linear actuators that were used on the Army’s AH-64-A Apache helicopter. Prototype was not authorized to repair DC motors used in the linear actuators unless the company received specific authorization from the Army.
According to a plea agreement filed in United States District Court, Prototype used an outside contractor to repair 105 DC motors when those repairs had not been approved by the military. Those repaired motors were installed into overhauled linear actuators which were delivered to the Army.
Bordbar also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting in the filing of a false tax return related to an employee’s tax return. Bordbar paid the employee $100,000, but told the employee the money was a gift and that he would pay the taxes, which prompted the employee to not report the money as income on a federal tax return. Bordbar has agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $28,000 to pay the employee’s back taxes.
Bordbar pleaded guilty before United States District Judge John F. Walter, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on October 16. At sentencing, Bordbar will face a statutory maximum sentence of 13 years in federal prison.
In a parallel civil investigation under the False Claims Act, Bordbar in June agreed to pay over $900,000 after the government determined that he had caused Prototype to submit false claims to the U.S. Army. The civil investigation found that, in addition to improperly installing repaired DC motors, Prototype also installed cheaper replicas of a jacket-and-nut assembly component, rather than purchasing that component from the original manufacturer. As part of the civil settlement, Prototype agreed to cease doing business and dissolve, and Bordbar agreed that he will no longer solicit, accept or perform any federal government or military contract.
This case was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and IRS Criminal Investigation.
The criminal case was handled by the Major Frauds Section. The civil settlement was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Donald W. Yoo of the Civil Fraud Section.
Naval Employee Pleads Guilty to Accepting More Than $250,000 in Cash Bribes from Unauthorized Liquor BuyersRead the Press Release
An employee of the U.S. Department of the Navy pleaded guilty today to accepting more than $250,000 in cash bribes from three people making unauthorized liquor purchases from the Navy Exchange Service Command where he worked, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Leo Lamont of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s (NCIS) Northeast Field Office.
Eric Jex, 29, of Uniondale, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert of the Eastern District of New York. Sentencing is set for Feb. 2, 2018.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, as a supervisory sales associate at the NEX at Mitchel Field in Garden City, New York, Jex was responsible for preparing and processing retail transactions, and he had direct authority to make decisions concerning large liquor orders and shipments from the NEX’s warehouse. He was also subject to policies limiting access to the NEX’s goods to authorized personnel, such as Navy service members, and requiring NEX employees to check purchasers’ IDs. In connection with his guilty plea, Jex admitted that from approximately November 2015 through December 2016, he agreed with three unauthorized purchasers, one of whom had a New York State Liquor License, to arrange repeated large purchases of liquor from the NEX. He allowed the three unauthorized purchasers access to the NEX’s low prices and frequently provided additional price-matching discounts to which the purchasers were not entitled. In exchange, the three unauthorized purchasers paid cash bribes to Jex, typically $5 to $20 per case of liquor. According to plea documents, these bribes added up to more than $250,000 for the period of the scheme.
The NCIS; U.S. Treasury Department, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Criminal Investigations Division investigated this case. Trial Attorneys Luke Cass and Andrew Laing of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Nashville Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Robert J. Spears, 35, a Nashville resident and tax return preparer, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of preparing a false tax return for his client and one count of filing his own false tax return, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to court documents, Spears worked as a salesperson and manager at a call-center. From 2010 through 2012, Spears prepared and filed materially false tax returns for his coworkers at the call-center by claiming bogus education credits, student-loan interest deductions, and child-care expenses. Without his clients’ knowledge, Spears diverted a substantial portion of the refunds issued in his clients’ names to bank accounts under his control. Spears did not report the diversions on his own personal income tax returns, which he was required to do, nor did he include any of the money he earned preparing returns on his own tax returns.
In total, Spears caused a tax loss of over $180,000.
Spears will be sentenced on December 13, 2017 and faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison on each false return count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan R. Raybould of the Middle District of Tennessee is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Murrieta Man Sentenced to 17 years in Federal Prison for Enticing Girl to Take Pictures while Engaged in Sexually Explicit ActsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Murietta man has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to enticing a girl who lived in the Seattle area to engage in sexually explicit activity that resulted in the production of child pornography.
Curtis Audun Larssen, 33, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge S. James Otero to 210 months in prison.
Larssen pleaded guilty in June 2017 to one count of using the internet to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
According to court documents, Larssen directed a girl, who is described as being no older than 13, to have sexual contact with adult men. Larssen encouraged the victim to allow him to watch the sexual conduct, and to take photos and videos to send to Larssen. In one case, the girl sent Larssen a photo showing her engaged in sexual activity with a 35-year-old man.
In a plea agreement, Larssen admitted that he used a peer-to-peer network to trade child pornography. During a search of his residence in 2014, authorities found in his possession approximately 470 videos depicting child pornography.
Once he completes his prison sentence, Larssen will be on supervised release for the rest of his life.
Larssen was one of 11 defendants arrested in April 2016 as part of Operation Wide Net, an investigation conducted by the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC includes special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. These federal law enforcement agencies work with local law enforcement partners, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
The case against Larssen was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
More Operation Trena Sin Trono Defendants Head to PrisonRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Four more defendants who were convicted in a marijuana trafficking and money laundering conspiracy have been ordered to federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Ricardo Ramirez, 31, and Leslie Bernice Trejo, 24, both of Laredo; and Salvador Saldana Medrano, 38, and Laura Heredia Garcia, 52, both of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, had all previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the respective conspiracies.
At a hearing that concluded late today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Medrano to a total of 57 months in prison for his convictions of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Garcia and Trejo were convicted in the money laundering conspiracy and will serve respective sentences of 40 and 12 months, while Ramirez received a 37-month-term for his conviction in the drug conspiracy. The court further issued a final order of forfeiture as to Medrano in the amount of $262,000 and $260,000 as to Garcia.
Erasmo Trejo-Nava was the head of a drug trafficking organization that received marijuana loads from Mexico and arranged to transport the marijuana to the Dallas area for himself and others to include Jaime Montalvo Ruiz and Ovidio Rodriguez. The organization used various stash houses and business fronts in the Laredo area to receive and prepare the marijuana for transportation via personal vehicles to a local warehouse where it was unloaded and reloaded onto tractor trailers for transportation to the Dallas area. Following delivery of marijuana loads in the Dallas area, the Trejo-Nava Organization collected drug proceeds and arranged to have the drug proceeds transported by couriers via personal vehicle or tractor trailers to Laredo and then Nuevo Laredo. Over the course of the conspiracy which spanned from June 10, 2011, through June 4, 2013, authorities made multiple seizures of marihuana that totaled in excess of 21,000 pounds.
Ramirez was identified as being involved in the distribution of one of the marijuana loads transported by the Trejo-Nava Organization between May 15-17, 2012, which amount totaled 568 kilograms.
Medrano was involved in coordinating the delivery of marijuana loads for Ruiz to the organization for transportation to the Dallas area and then coordinating the receipt of drug proceeds from the Trejo-Nava Organization on behalf of Ruiz.
Heredia was a money courier for the organization who was primarily tasked with transporting bulk cash drug proceeds from Laredo to Nuevo Laredo. She would hide the proceeds in her personal vehicle and transport the cash through the international bridge in Laredo.
Trejo was Trejo-Nava’s daughter who had knowledge of her father’s illicit activity and whose role was to assist another identified money courier in the transportation and concealment of drug proceeds totaling $73,240.
To date, a total of 20 defendants have been convicted for their respective roles in the overall conspiracy. Nine have now been sentenced.
The last 11 defendants are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20, 2017, to include Trejo-Nava, 44, Rodriguez, 42, both of Laredo, and Montalvo-Ruiz, 45, of Nuevo Laredo.
The charges were the result of a long term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation dubbed Operation Trena Sin Trono spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and IRS - Criminal Investigation with the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Laredo Police Department and the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Lou Castillo is prosecuting the case.
Monroe County Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years’ Imprisonment for Interstate Prostitution and Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Thurman Stanley, age 40, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley, to 188 months’ imprisonment for transporting women in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution and trafficking in heroin, “molly,” and crack cocaine.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, between January 2013 and December 2015, Stanley transported at least four women from Pennsylvania to New York, Iowa, and North Dakota for purposes of prostitution, and also provided illegal drugs to them.
Judge Munley also ordered Stanley to be placed on three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Stanley was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2016, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, Monroe County Detectives, and police in Bismarck, North Dakota. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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Mexican Truck Driver and a Laredo Woman Sentenced for Trafficking DrugsRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A Nuevo Laredo man and a Laredo woman have been ordered to federal prison for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic drugs via the World Trade Bridge, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Daniel Rodirugez Reyna, 45, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to posses with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine April 4, 2017. On that same date, Vanessa Bernal, 34, pleaded guilty for her participation as a co-conspirator in the methamphetamine conspiracy.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo handed Reyna a 135-month sentence, while Bernal was ordered to serve 90 months. At the hearing, the Judge considered that while Bernal had no prior criminal history, she had admitted to receiving drugs and transporting drugs to the Nashville, Tennessee, area on two other occasions which warranted the sentence imposed. Judge Marmolejo noted Reyna also had no prior criminal history, but had admitted to transporting drugs for a two-year-period via the World Trade Bridge as a commercial truck driver. Reyna and Bernal will also be required to serve four years of supervised release following completion of the prison term. Not a U.S. citizen, Reyna is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
The investigation began in 2014 when authorities learned of a possible drug transaction with a commercial truck driver expected to be crossing drugs via the World Trade Bridge in Laredo. Upon conducting surveillance, they observed Reyna meet with a confidential source at a warehouse in Laredo as he placed a white plastic bag inside the source’s front passenger window. After he departed the area, authorities were able to obtain the bag, which contained three bundles wrapped in clear cellophane wrap and black electrical tape. Laboratory analysis confirmed the three bundles all contained heroin with a net weight of 2.85 kilograms.
On March 25, 2015, agents conducted surveillance of the same white semi-truck Reyna was driving after it crossed in to the United States from Mexico via the World Trade Bridge. Law enforcement followed Reyna as he drove the a warehouse on El Gato Road in Laredo. Shortly thereafter, a red Dodge Journey arrived. Bernal was later identified as the driver. Reyna then exited his vehicle, carrying a plastic shopping bag and placed it in the back seat of Bernal’s vehicle.
After they departed, authorities conducted a traffic stop and found the plastic bag. Inside, they discovered four bundles wrapped in brown tape which all contained crystal methamphetamine with a net weight of 3.9 kilograms.
Previously released on bond, Bernal was taken into custody following the sentencing today where she will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Reyna has been and will remain in custody.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of task force members of the Webb County District Attorney’s Office and the Laredo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Lou Castillo is prosecuting the case.
Maryland Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Pandering and Child CrueltyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Branden Dixon, 24, who led police on a pursuit earlier this year with a one-year-old girl in his car, has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of pandering and first-degree cruelty to children, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.
Dixon, of Waldorf, Md., pled guilty in June 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Hiram E. Puig-Lugo sentenced him on July 28, 2017 to three years in prison for pandering and an additional four years for the child cruelty charge. Following his prison term, Dixon will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in October 2016, Dixon took pictures of a woman and posted her on a known prostitution site. He and the woman resided at a motel in Northeast Washington, where several of the commercial sex encounters occurred. Dixon directed the woman to provide commercial sex to customers and he kept all proceeds. Dixon was arrested on Nov. 3, 2016 and charged with pandering. He was released, but then failed to show up for a hearing set for Jan 4, 2017. A judge issued a bench warrant that day for his arrest.
Later, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2017, Dixon picked up a man and the man’s one-year-old daughter from a restaurant in Maryland and drove them to the 1600 block of Morris Road SE. The father left Dixon with the girl in the car while he went inside an apartment building to retrieve some belongings. While the father was away, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) saw Dixon’s Audi and believed its out-of-state tag looked fake.
The police officers pulled behind Dixon’s car, and at that point, Dixon began to drive away. The child was still in the car and not in a car seat. Officers followed Dixon a short distance, while trying to run the tags on the vehicle. Dixon pulled into the 1800 block of Gainesville Road SE, which is a dead-end street. An officer exited the marked police car to approach Dixon’s car, but Dixon slammed the Audi in reverse, ramming into two police cars and almost striking an officer before he managed to maneuver out of the block.
The pursuit continued as it traversed into Maryland then into Virginia. During the pursuit, Dixon placed the little girl in the front seat with him and strapped her into the front passenger-side seat belt because she was crying. He crossed the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Virginia, where he wrecked the vehicle near Exit 176 of I-495 in Fairfax County, Va.
Dixon and the child were taken to a hospital. The girl was seriously injured, suffering a concussion and a fractured left femur that required multiple surgeries, an almost complete body cast, and weeks of physical therapy.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the cases from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Virginia State Police. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Alexandria, Va. Police Department, and Fairfax County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Marin Hoplamazian. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Jones and Victim/Witness Advocate Tracy Owusu. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Price and Kenya Davis, who prosecuted the matters.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest in Scheme to Defraud Investors in Purported Medical and Pharmaceutical BusinessesRead the Press Release
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a criminal Complaint charging PATRICK MURACA with wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in purported medical and pharmaceutical companies owned and controlled by MURACA. MURACA was arrested this morning in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and is expected to be presented in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts, later today.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Patrick Muraca promised investors their money would be used to expand his businesses, but as alleged, he instead used those funds to line his pockets. Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, Muraca must now answer for his fraud.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said: “The prevalence of fraud in today’s society is simply troubling. Misappropriating investor funds for one’s own indulgences will never be taken lightly, and fraud of any kind will be thoroughly investigated.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
MURACA, the former President of Nuclea Biotechnologies, Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in August 2016, founded two new businesses in 2016: NanoMolecularDX LLC (“NanoMolecular”) and MetaboRx LLC (“Metabo”). In sworn testimony during a deposition conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in April 2017, MURACA stated that NanoMolecular’s primary business is to develop medical diagnostic tests and that Metabo is a pharmaceutical company.
From at least in or about May 2016 up to and including in or about June 2017, MURACA solicited and received a total of more than approximately $1 million from investors by making false and misleading representations that the investors’ money would be used to expand the business of NanoMolecular and Metabo. MURACA then misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars of these investors’ funds and used the misappropriated money for personal expenses. For example, MURACA spent tens of thousands of dollars of investor funds on rent, utilities, and food distributor expenses related to the operation of a restaurant owned by his fiancée. In addition, MURACA wrote approximately $176,000 in checks to himself from the bank accounts associated with NanoMolecular and Metabo, and he used investor funds to make purchases of hundreds of dollars each at a cigar store, an online ticket retailer, and a tattoo and piercing establishment, among other businesses.
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MURACA, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is charged in the Complaint with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the investigative work of the FBI in this case, and thanked the SEC, which has filed civil charges in a separate action.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney David Abramowicz is in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Kansas City Man Sentenced in Leawood Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City man was sentenced Monday to more than five years in federal prison for bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Terry Lovelady, 58, Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 70 months. Lovelady pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. He admitted that on Aug. 24, 2016, he robbed the Central Bank of the Midwest at 4801 Town Center Drive in Leawood and fled in a getaway car driven by a co-defendant. The robbers led police on a high-speed chase, running red lights and cutting off other drivers. Eventually, the getaway car jumped a curb, rolled down a hill and came to a stop in a parking lot at St. Joseph Medical Center in Missouri. The robbers fled the car on foot and were soon arrested.
Co-defendant Chad English, 43, Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced in May to 52 months.
Beall commended the FBI, the Leawood Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton for their work on the case.
Justice Department Continues Aggressive Prosecutions of Transnational Criminal Organizations and Their SubsidiariesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today released a report detailing the convictions of members of transnational criminal organizations during the third quarter of the Fiscal Year 2017. The report highlights this Administration and the Justice Department’s aggressive pursuit of criminal groups seeking to cause Americans harm.
On Feb. 9, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order on Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking. The Department of Justice is working together in partnership with the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to implement Executive Order 13773.
Included in the report are 506 convictions in cases targeting transnational criminal organizations in the third quarter, together with additional reporting from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces for the second quarter. This brings the number of convictions in the second quarter to 754. In all, the Department of Justice has reported 1,260 convictions of members of transnational criminal organizations and their subsidiaries since Jan. 1, 2017.
“At a time when homicide rates are up in 27 of our 35 biggest cities and violent crime is rising, the Trump administration has made it a top priority to deter and reduce violent crime through enforcing our laws,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “One of the gravest threats we face is from transnational criminal organizations, and the Department of Justice is taking on this threat, convicting more than 1,260 gang members already this year. These convictions send a clear message to gang members and would-be criminals through this country: we will find you and bring you to justice.”
The accompanying report, provided in accordance with Section 3 (g) of the Executive Order, provides information pertaining to the number of convictions in investigations involving transnational criminal organizations as reported by the Department of Justice, for the period beginning April 1, 2017 and ending June 30, 2017.
Highland Heights man faces likely sentence of 12 years in prison for selling fentanyl that killed Cleveland teenRead the Press Release
A Highland Heights man pleaded guilty to selling furanyl fentanyl that resulted in the fatal overdose of a Cleveland teen, said Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja and Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams.
Alec J. Steinberger, 22, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct 31. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces a likely sentence of 12 years in prison.
Steinberger pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance the resulted in death, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug offense.
“We continue to go after drug dealers who sell opioids that kill our children, friends and neighbors,” Sierleja said. “Aggressive prosecution, combined with increased treatment, prevention and changes in prescribing practices are key to turning the tide on the heroin and opioid epidemic.”
“Investigators of the Heroin Death Investigation Team are trained to investigate heroin overdose cases and link the victims back to the dealers,” said Cleveland Division of Police Chief Calvin D. Williams. “It is through the combined efforts of law enforcement, at the local, state and federal levels, and prosecutors of the U.S. Attorney’s Office that these indictments are secured and convictions are won. It is the hope that these examples will deter others from continuing this deadly cycle.”
Beginning on Jan. 30, 2016, Steinberger received Alprazolam (also known as Xanax) and furanyl fentanyl for distribution. Furanyl fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid. These drugs came to Steinberger through the mail, according to the indictment.
On Feb. 23, 2016, Steinberger texted an associated: “I just got a pack bro.” He then informed several people that he had drugs for sale, including a man identified in the indictment only as L.H.
Steinberger texted L.H. repeatedly the next day. Messages included: “bro I did it last night any my pupils got so small they disappeared and then I was nodding for 18 hrs,” “Bro this is uncut from the road” and “this is uncut from china,” according to the indictment.
Steinberger then repeatedly texted L.H. if he knew anyone that could cut or dilute the drugs and repackage it for sale. Steinberger texted: “We gonna chill tmr” “and go to the hood and give samples” and “try and find out how to cut and re rock,” according to the indictment.
Shortly after midnight on Feb. 25, Steinberger texted L.H.: “Find me customers and tell them you’re the plug and I’ll get it to you and then sell it and cut u in a tiny bit and throw u a free (Klonopin) and dope,” according to the indictment.
On Feb. 25, L.H. fatally overdosed on furanyl fentanyl he bought from Steinberger, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Cronin following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Cleveland Division of Police.
Garland Couple Who Stole/Unlawfully Obtained Patient Identification Information Sentenced to Federal Prison TermsRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A former employee at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas (Parkland), Viju Mathew, and his wife, Mariamma Viju, a registered nurse who worked at Baylor University Medical at Dallas (Baylor), who pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from their theft/unlawfully obtaining patient identification information, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Viju Mathew, 52, and his wife, Mariamma Viju, also 52, were sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $297,957.89 in restitution to Medicare. Mathew pleaded guilty in November 2014 to one count of fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features and information (identity theft) and Viju pleaded guilty in May 2016 to one count of wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information (HIPAA violation). Both defendants reside in Garland, Texas. Judge Boyle ordered they surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on August 30, 2017.
According to plea documents filed in the cases and the evidence produced during the sentencing hearing, which spanned four days, Mathew and Viju both stole patient identities from their jobs at local hospitals and used the stolen patient information to solicit patients for the home health care agency they jointly owned and operated, Dallas Home Health. Mathew worked as a registration specialist at Parkland, where he was responsible for entering patient information into Parkland’s computer system. Mathew used his position to obtain confidential information for more than 3,000 patients, including patients’ names, telephone numbers, dates of birth, participation in the Medicare program, and government-issued health insurance claim numbers. Mathew admitted that he knowingly removed the confidential information intending to use it to gain an economic benefit by contacting prospective patients for his home health care business, Dallas Home Health.
Viju worked as a registered nurse at Baylor until she was terminated in October 2012. While employed at Baylor, she surreptitiously collected Baylor patient identification information, specifically, identifying health information, to recruit them as patients of Dallas Home Health, where she served as Director of Nursing.
The evidence also showed that Dallas Home Health obtained patient certifications from a number of doctors who have been convicted or charged in other health care fraud cases in the Northern District of Texas including Nicholas Padron (Case No. 3:12-CR-310), Jacques Roy (3:12-CR-054-L), and Hector Molina (Case No. 3:15-CR-163-K).
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Brasher prosecuted the cases.
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Former Pastor of St. Mary’s County Church Sentenced to 18 Months Home Confinement for Federal Bank Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4855
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced John S. Mattingly, age 71, of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, to 3 years supervised release that includes 18 months of home confinement for bank fraud in connection with a scheme to steal funds from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, while he was the pastor. Judge Chasanow also ordered Mattingly to pay $400,000 in restitution, which Mattingly paid prior to the sentencing hearing.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron, and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Richard Fritz.
According to his plea agreement, Mattingly was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1972 and was the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church (St. Francis), in Leonardtown, Maryland, from 1994 until September 1, 2010, when he resigned. While serving as a parish priest, Mattingly was paid a salary and stipend by St. Francis.
From September 2006 through September 2010, Mattingly fraudulently deposited checks from parishioners made payable to St. Francis and to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which were intended by the St. Francis parishioners to be charitable donations, into a bank account he controlled. In order to conceal the scheme, Mattingly falsely represented that that the checks he deposited into his bank account would be used for charitable purposes and/or church maintenance and renovations. Mattingly did not use the charitable contributions from the St. Francis parishioners for their intended purposes, but instead transferred the fraudulently obtained funds from his bank account to his personal individual retirement account. He also wrote unauthorized checks from the St. Francis bank account payable to himself and deposited those checks into his personal individual retirement account.
Mattingly fraudulently deposited more than 500 checks, totaling at least $400,000, written by more than 135 parishioners and made payable to St. Francis or the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and not to Mattingly.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan E. Foreman, who prosecuted the case.
Former Ft. Myers Housing Director Pleads Guilty to Embezzling ThousandsRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Twaski Jackson (38, Lee County) today pleaded guilty to a two count information charging him with stealing and embezzling thousands of dollars from the City of Fort Myers Housing Authority and the Lee County Housing Authority. Both agencies receive federal funds to further their mission of providing affordable housing to low income families. Jackson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the
plea agreement , Jackson served as the Director of Client Services for both housing authorities from 2012 until 2016. As part of his position, he had the authority to approve credit card disbursements and checks written on behalf of the agencies. Jackson used that authority to approve expenditures that benefited himself and his friends. Various personal charges were made, including payments of his own college tuition and personal trips. He also improperly paid a “vendor” (actually Jackson’s friend) who performed no services for the agencies, without authorization. The two then split the money.Over a three-year period, Jackson bilked the agencies for over $86,000. Jackson’s plea agreement requires him to forfeit the proceeds of his crime and to repay his victims.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.
Former Executive Director of Jersey City Child Development Centers Gets 18 Months in Prison for Stealing More Than $250,000Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Jersey City, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing more than $250,000 from the Jersey City Child Development Centers Inc. (JCCDC), an organization that provided early childhood development services and education to under-privileged children, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Robert E. Mays, 40, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Mays was the executive director of JCCDC from Sept. 2013 to May 2014. Mays admitted that he stole more than $250,000 from JCCDC by unilaterally increasing his annual salary from $96,500 to $155,000 after being employed by JCCDC for only two months. He also admitted that he created false board of director’s minutes to give the impression JCCDC authorized the salary increase.
In addition, Mays admitted he withdrew funds from a JCCDC bank account to pay for unauthorized personal expenses, including a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte and a fur coat worth thousands of dollars.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Mays to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $257,418.20.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation. He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, for its assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Sarah Devlin of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Alexander W. Booth Jr., Union City, New Jersey
Former Deputy Executive Director of USAID Contractor Sentenced for Theft of Grant FundsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Eugene Sickle, the former deputy executive director of a South African research institute, was sentenced today to seven months of incarceration and ordered to pay $206,250 in restitution for a scheme in which he stole grant funds originating with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The sentencing, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by Channing D. Phillips, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Jonathan Schofield, Special Agent in Charge for the USAID Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations.
Sickle, 47, a chemist and a citizen of South Africa, pled guilty in May 2017 to a charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of six months to 12 months and a day of incarceration. The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson accepted the plea today and sentenced Sickle accordingly. In addition to the restitution order, the judge issued a forfeiture money judgment of $206,250. Following his release, Sickle will be subject to deportation proceedings.
Based in Washington, D.C., USAID is a U.S. government agency that provides international development assistance and humanitarian aid worldwide. It implements and administers foreign assistance programs and funds, including those supporting global health, from dedicated offices (“missions”) around the world. USAID’s South Africa mission is one such office that works with local organizations in that country. USAID’s Office of Inspector General bases investigators in 11 countries outside the United States, including South Africa, and provides oversight of USAID programs and operations around the world.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Sickle was deputy executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a South African research institute focusing on sexual and reproductive health as well as vaccine-preventable diseases. Its primary source of funding is USAID, and Sickle administered grant funds for projects. One such project involved a mobile electronic device software application, in connection with the South African National Department of Health, which would help facilitate safer childbirth deliveries in South Africa.
On Oct. 2, 2015, according to the statement of offense, Sickle and the institute’s chief executive officer signed a contract with a company called Alzar Consulting Services Ltd. to develop the childbirth app. Likewise, an individual named “Dr. Carla Das Neves” Alzar’s purported director, signed the contract. Pursuant to this contract, the institute made two payments to Alzar totaling $206,250. However, the childbirth app has never been developed.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Sickle created Alzar in the British Virgin Islands. Unbeknownst to anyone at the research institute, he was the sole owner of the company. Sickle also created e-mail accounts for Alzar and fake Alzar employees, including “Carla Das Neves.” He created a fake LinkedIn page for “Carla Das Neves,” which had a beach scene for a picture, and falsely claimed that “Carla Das Neves” was a trained expert in aid/relief work.
Sickle shepherded the research institute’s contract with Alzar through the approval and compliance process. He signed the contract both as himself and also as “Carla Das Neves.”
According to the statement of offense, Sickle did not perform any of the work required under the contract, nor did anyone else. None of the USAID money was used for its intended purpose to facilitate safer childbirth in South Africa. Instead, Sickle diverted the money to himself personally, and an associate.
Sickle resigned from his position last year. Agents with the USAID Inspector General’s Office arrested him in Washington, D.C., in February 2017. He has been in custody ever since.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Marston and Denise Simmonds and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Vesna Harasic-Yaksic of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Former City of Vallejo Employee Pleads Guilty to Accepting a BribeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Donald Burton, 51, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty today for his part in a bribery scheme involving city contracts, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Burton was previously employed in the Public Works Engineering Division of the City of Vallejo as the landscape manager. In that position, Burton regularly contracted with local landscape companies to provide services for Vallejo. The City of Vallejo received substantial federal funding, including over $500,000 in Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In the Spring of 2017, Burton solicited a bribe from the owner of a company that provides maintenance services, requesting a 10 percent kickback in exchange for steering contracts to that company. The business owner complained to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and assisted in the investigation by meeting with Burton in an undercover capacity. During those meetings, Burton directed that additional days of work be added to contracted jobs so that Burton and the owner could divide up the profit. Burton stated that the excess amount in the contracts would generally add up to $5,000, and that Burton would take $2,000.
According to the plea agreement, the business owner provided the written contracts that inflated the number of days required to do a job from 10 days to 15, and Burton approved and signed the contracts. On June 7, 2017, the business owner met with Burton and gave him the $2,000 bribe payment. Burton was arrested after taking the payment.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Dolan is prosecuting the case.
Burton is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on November 7, 2017. Burton faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Former Bullitt County Sheriff’s Special Deputy Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Money Laundering, Trafficking in Meth and MarijuanaRead the Press Release
Co-defendants admitted to concealing the criminal activities from law enforcement
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. today announced the sentencing of a former Bullitt County, Kentucky, Special Sheriff’s Deputy, to 36 months in prison, followed by a five year period of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, by United States District Judge David J. Hale, for trafficking in marijuana and methamphetamine and concealing the financial proceeds (money laundering). Two co-defendants admitted to concealing the criminal activities from law enforcement during a 15 month period.
Christopher A. Mattingly, 40, of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, admitted that between March 2014 and June 2015, he conspired with other named defendants to knowingly and intentionally distributing more than 1000 kilograms but less than 3000 kilograms of marijuana imported from California and distributed in the Western District of Kentucky and elsewhere. At trial, the United States would have proved these facts by introducing recordings of conversations between the defendant and a co-conspirator, and between the defendant and a reliable confidential informant, wherein the defendant makes statements probative of knowledge and intent to distribute large quantities of marijuana.
Additionally, Mattingly admitted that between March 2014 and June 2015, he conspired with the other named defendants to conduct financial transactions with monetary proceeds derived from trafficking in marijuana, by depositing some proceeds in the bank and by using other proceeds to pay for marijuana shipments. The United States would have proven these facts by introducing the defendant’s bank records and eliciting testimony from a reliable confidential informant.
Finally, Mattingly admitted that between February 2015 and June 2015, he conspired with other persons to knowingly and intentionally distributing more than 500 grams but less than 1.5 kilograms of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. The United States would have proven these facts by eliciting testimony from unindicted co-conspirators and from a reliable confidential informant.
Ronald A. Shewmaker and Eddie Whitfill, both from Bullitt County, previously admitted to concealing their knowledge of Mattingly’s illegal activities from law enforcement between March 2014 and June 2015. They were sentenced to probation. Co-defendants Hector Renato Orozco Landa and Raymond Carillo remain at large. Both are charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Larry E. Fentress and was investigated by DEA and the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Department.
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Former BP Agent Sentenced for Attempting to Entice a ChildRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 50-year-old former Border Patrol (BP) agent has been ordered to federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Salvador Contreras pleaded guilty March 7, 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ordered Contreras to federal prison for 132 months. He will also serve 15 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will further be ordered to register as a sex offender.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Marmolejo referenced the defendant's claim that this was all part of a fantasy, noting he travelled a very long way to make the fantasy a reality. She further commented that she did not sense any real empathy from Contreras for what he was going to do and mentioned that some of his comments at the hearing were troubling. Contreras called himself a sex addict and that he was just "looking for his next high."
Contreras was arrested Dec. 2, 2016, in Cotulla. Prior to that, he had been in contact with an undercover agent whom he believed had an eight and 14-year-old daughters. During their conversations, Contreras transmitted numerous images of child pornography. He then travelled from Del Rio to Cotulla believing he would be engaging in sexual activity with both minor females. He was arrested upon his arrival and resigned shortly thereafter.
Customs and Border Protection - Office of Inspector General and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa prosecuted the case.
Firearms Smuggler Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 27-year-old Laredoan has entered a guilty plea for his role in recruiting and leading a firearms smuggling ring, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Between March 2016 and November 2016, Juan Diego Madrid recruited several individuals, including two of his brothers, to purchase civilian variants of firearms currently issued to military forces from various local firearms dealers. Madrid then conspired to smuggle the firearms into Mexico.
The straw purchasers Madrid recruited bought at least 36 AR-15 and AK-47-type semiautomatic rifles, Beretta 92FS and DPMS AR-type rifles from Academy and Kirkpatrick Guns & Ammo stores in Laredo and San Antonio. Madrid would purchase the firearms from the straw purchasers and then re-sell them at a profit to a co-conspirator who would then arrange for the firearms to be smuggled into Mexico. Madrid, already a convicted felon, is prohibited from purchasing, owning or possessing firearms.
Madrid will be sentenced before United States District Court Judge Diana Saldana at a date to be determined in the near future. He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Homero Ramirez and Special AUSA Lisa Ezra are prosecuting the case.
- Firearms Crime Report
Federal Inmate Charged with Possession of A WeaponRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Dejuan Leonard, age 23, a prisoner at Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood (FCI Allenwood) was indicted on July 27, 2017, by a federal grand jury for possessing a weapon in prison.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the indictment alleges that Leonard was found in possession of a homemade sharpened piece of plastic, commonly referred to as a “shank,” during a search conducted on May 4, 2017.
The charges stem from an investigation by FCI Allenwood and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alisan VanFleet is prosecuting the case.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The defendant is facing a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Federal Grand Jury Indicts 18 in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On July 11, 2017, a federal Grand Jury in Greeneville returned a 49-count indictment against the following individuals for their roles in the distribution of methamphetamine:
David Byron Jones, 60, of Chatsworth, Georgia;
Jonathan Delph, 50, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Clay Seals, Jr., 50, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee;
Stephanie Bailey, 49, of Hawkins County, Tennessee;
Donna Strong, 53, a.k.a. Donna Dunbar, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee;
Curtis Carpenter, 42, of Whitesburg, Tennessee;
Jerry Robinette, 49, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Edward Smith, 51, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Tyler Delph, 24, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Scottie Delph, 48, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
James Michael Whitaker, 54, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Paul Bledsoe Jr., 43, of Morristown, Tennessee;
William West, 57, a.k.a. Bump, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Frankie Benton, 33, of Hawkins County, Tennessee;
James Dwayne Byington, 49, of Rogersville, Tennessee;
Leonard Brad Eidson, 42, of Bull’s Gap, Tennessee;
Phillip Burton, 48, a.k.a. Burger, of Rogersville, Tennessee; and
Toby Jones, 39, of Chatsworth, Georgia.
Trial before the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, has not yet been set.
The indictment, on file with the U.S. District Court, alleges that each of these individuals was involved in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere. Carpenter, Robinette, Smith, Burton, Tyler Delph, and Seals were also each charged with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The indictment also alleges other charges related to the distribution and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine as well as the unlawful possession firearms.
If convicted of the methamphetamine conspiracy charge, each faces a minimum mandatory prison term of at least 10 years and up to life, at least five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $10,000,000, any applicable forfeiture, and a $100 special assessment. The punishment for the firearm charges returned against Carpenter, Robinette, Smith, Burton, Tyler Delph, and Seals is a minimum mandatory term of at least five years and up to life in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed, up to five years supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
The on-going investigation leading to the indictment was the product of a partnership between Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Third Judicial Drug Task Force, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, Conasauga (Georgia) Safe Streets Task Force, U.S. Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Lampe will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
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Ellicott City Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for $4.4 Million Insurance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell sentenced Glenn R. Fischer, age 70, of Ellicott City, Maryland, to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from a scheme to defraud businesses seeking insurance. Fischer admitted that he fraudulently collected more than $4.4 million in insurance premiums, which he did not remit to an insurance company, causing losses in that amount to the victims who thought they were insured.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
According his plea agreement, from 2002 to about 2014, Fischer was a partner at TriArc Financial Services, Inc. (TriArc Services), which provided automotive and mortgage insurance products, including residual value insurance. Residual Value Insurance (“RVI”) helped companies leasing vehicles to consumers to manage the risk from decreases in the value of the vehicle during the term of an auto lease. RVI typically provided for payments to the owner of a leased vehicle if the value of the vehicle at the end of the lease was less than a certain amount specified in the terms of the insurance coverage when the lease began. In the early 2000s, RVI policies were widely issued by insurance companies and TriArc Services generated substantial revenue for the company and its partners, including Fischer, who served as insurance brokers for RVI products. In 2008 and 2009, in conjunction with the financial recession and changes in consumers’ desires for used automobiles, many insureds suffered substantial losses under RVI insurance policies.
Fischer admitted that from 2009 until 2014, he persuaded victim businesses to purchase RVI insurance coverage, which Fischer knew did not exist, so that Fischer could use a substantial portion of the victims’ insurance premiums for his personal benefit. Specifically, in the summer of 2009, Fischer created a Nevada corporation called TriArc Marketing Solutions (TriArc Solutions) and opened bank accounts for TriArc Solutions. During the course of the scheme, Fischer caused prospective insureds to believe that he that he was authorized to issue RVI policies on behalf of TriArc Services, a multinational property and casualty insurance company specializing in coverage for small to medium sized businesses, and one of that business’ subsidiaries. Fischer also concealed the creation and use of TriArc Solutions from his partners at TriArc Services.
Fischer created and sent false insurance coverage documents, fraudulent emails, premium invoices, lists of covered vehicles, and other documents to victim companies, causing them to falsely believe that they had purchased RVI insurance through Fischer. Fischer used the identity of an employee of a multinational property and casualty insurance company in furtherance of the fraud, including his name, title and purported signature on the declaration pages of the fake insurance policies. Fischer concealed from the employee and the company that Fischer was pretending to issue RVI insurance policies on behalf of the company.
Fischer collected more than $4.4 million in RVI insurance premiums from the victims, which he deposited into the TriArc Solutions bank accounts. Fischer and his relatives used the proceeds of the insurance premium payments for their personal benefit.
Fischer also admitted that he failed to report a significant portion of the money he obtained from the fraud on his annual tax returns for the 2009 through 2014 calendar years. The total income Fischer received, but did not report to the IRS for these tax years exceeded $3.3 million, which generated a substantial tax loss to the United States.
As part of his plea agreement, Fischer will be required to forfeit all property constituting, derived from, or traceable to the proceeds of the fraud, in the amount of $4.4 million. In addition, Fischer was ordered to pay $3,823,529.00 in restitution.
Today’s sentence is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber and David Metcalf, who prosecuted the case.
Elk City Man Sentenced to Five Years for Theft and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – JACOB SHANE McCAIN, 28, of Elk City, Oklahoma, was sentenced on July 27, 2017, to 60 months in prison for transporting stolen property across state lines and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
On September 6, 2016, McCain pled guilty to two separate crimes: transporting stolen goods across state lines and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to court filings, McCain rented a 2012 skid steer valued at $73,000 from Warren Caterpillar in Oklahoma City in February 2015. A few days later, he sold the skid steer to an individual in Kansas for $10,000. Warren Caterpillar promptly reported the theft to the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the skid steer was recovered and returned. Further investigation determined that McCain had pawned two firearms in the summer of 2015. Because he had two felony convictions out of Beckham County, Oklahoma, he committed a federal felony when he possessed these weapons.
On July 27, 2017, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced McCain to 60 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After his prison term, McCain will serve three years on supervised release. McCain was also ordered to pay $258,616 in restitution, based in part on similar crimes he committed.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Major Theft Task Force, which consists of partners from Oklahoma City FBI, OSBI, the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry. The Tulsa Police Department also provided investigative assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Kumiega prosecuted the case.