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29 August 2017
Former Union Treasurer Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling more than $80,000Read the Press Release
The former Treasurer of a small union in Snohomish County was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five months in prison for theft of union funds, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. PASCALE MCATEE, 58, of Lynnwood, Washington, pleaded guilty in April 2017, admitting that between 2011 and 2015 she embezzled more than $82,903 from a transportation union in Snohomish County. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said you “embezzled $75,000 from a bunch of lower paid employees who were (your) friends. . . . Stripped of everything else, that’s what this is about.”
According to records filed in the case, MCATEE was elected Treasurer of SMART LU 161 in 2010. The union was formed in 2008 and represents approximately 90 members, mostly working in transportation jobs in the Snohomish County area. Members pay approximately $47 a month in union dues. MCATEE embezzled the money transferring funds from the union bank accounts to her own bank account and her husband’s bank account, and by writing checks and depositing them to her personal account. Over the four years she embezzled more than $53,000 via wire transfer and wrote herself checks totaling more than $27,000. A union investigation uncovered the thefts in 2015. In 2016, while the law enforcement investigation was underway, MCATEE led an effort to decertify the union in an apparent effort to avoid criminal charges. The grand jury returned an indictment in December 2016.
The embezzlement has demoralized union membership and resulted in the union being hit with penalties for overdue taxes.
Judge Robart ordered MCATEE to be on supervised release for three years following her prison term.
The case was investigated by U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney André Peñalver.
Former UAW Official Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Accept Illegal Payments from Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesRead the Press Release
A former Assistant Director of the UAW Chrysler Department pleaded guilty today to committing violations of the Labor Management Relations Act, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch.
Joining in the announcement was James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Ian Burg, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards, David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations,
Virdell King, 65, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge John Corbett O’Meara for her role in a multiyear conspiracy in which UAW officials accepted money and things of value from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US (FCA) between 2011 and 2015.
According to court documents, Virdell King was one of the senior UAW officials responsible for negotiating and administering the national collective bargaining agreements with FCA on behalf of tens of thousands of UAW members. Virdell King was also a member of the UAW’s National Negotiating Committees in 2011 and 2015 that negotiated the collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and FCA.
According to the Superseding Information Virdell King accepted thousands of dollars in designer shoes, clothing, jewelry, luggage and other personal items, all of which were purchased using credit cards issued through the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center. According to court documents, FCA Vice President Alphons Iacobelli told senior UAW officials that they could use their NTC credit cards to make personal purchases, stating “if you see something you want, feel free to buy it.”
Beyond the purchases for herself, the Superseding Information charges Virdell King with making over $40,000 of additional purchases between December of 2012 and August of 2015 at the direction and for the benefit of other senior UAW officials. Those additional purchases included a shotgun, golf equipment, luggage, concert tickets, theme park tickets and other personal items. All of the credit card purchases were paid for with funds provided by FCA.
“Union rank and file members deserve the undivided loyalty of their leadership. Collusion between management and labor, that serves to line the pockets of corrupt individuals, is a breach of trust and will be prosecuted”, said Daniel L. Lemisch, Acting U.S. Attorney.
Today's guilty plea is another step towards ending a culture of corruption between some leaders at the UAW and FCA responsible for collective bargaining agreements, said David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI."
“Virdell King’s plea casts a dark shadow on UAW contracts negotiated while she was a member of the International Union’s collective bargaining team. As a high ranking official, she was entrusted to negotiate contracts and implement them to serve the union members she represented, but instead she traded away their trust for more than $40,000 in shoes, jewelry, clothing and other things that were ultimately paid for by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. We will continue to investigate corrupt union officials who violate their duty to the members they represent for personal gain” stated James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Sentencing of King is set for January 3, 2018.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lemisch commended the outstanding work of the US Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations for continuing to conduct a comprehensive criminal investigation into labor corruption activities involving a vital sector of the local and national economy
Former InSouth Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Almost $900,000Read the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A former bank employee has pled guilty to embezzlement. Lawrence J. Laurenzi, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the plea today.
Lauren Melissa McDivitt, 46, of Covington, Tennessee, appeared before United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman and entered a guilty plea to a one-count information alleging she embezzled $888,470 between 2006 and 2016, from InSouth Bank where she was employed as the Branch Administrator at the Atoka, Tennessee branch.
According to information presented in court at the time of her plea, McDivitt accomplished the theft by creating false and fraudulent withdrawal tickets to make it appear that bank customers with IRA and CD accounts were withdrawing funds. To conceal theft, McDivitt signed customers up to receive monthly statements online via e-mail, and linked the customer accounts to a dummy/fake e-mail account where the statements, which reflected the unauthorized withdrawals would be e-mailed.
McDivitt thereafter prepared fraudulent monthly statements, which reflected interest accrued, but omitted her unauthorized withdrawals. McDivitt mailed the fraudulent statements to the customers. In some instances, McDivitt also made internal transfers between accounts of various customers to cover amounts she had taken from other customers.
McDivitt faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment; one million dollar fine and 5 years supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carroll L. Andre III is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
Former Honduran Cabinet Official Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Money Laundering ChargeRead the Press Release
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that Yankel Rosenthal Coello pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to attempting to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from drug trafficking offenses in 2013, and Andres Acosta Garcia previously pled guilty to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from drug trafficking offenses between 2004 and September 2015. ROSENTHAL, who was arrested at Miami International Airport on October 6, 2015, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. Acosta, who surrendered in the United States on December 29, 2015, pled guilty on August 16, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As they admitted in Manhattan federal court, Yankel Rosenthal and Andres Acosta sought to assist Honduran drug traffickers in laundering the proceeds of their crimes. Rosenthal tried to conceal drug-tainted money through the purchase of U.S. real estate, political contributions in Honduras, and even investment in a professional soccer team. Acosta worked with other members of the Rosenthal family to assist the Cachiros, a notoriously brutal Honduran drug trafficking organization. Despite their attempts to launder these ill-gotten gains, with these pleas Rosenthal and Acosta face significant time in prison.”
According to the Superseding Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings[1]:
Beginning in at least 2009, ROSENTHAL provided financial services in Honduras to multiple significant Honduran drug traffickers, which related principally to real estate transactions. In 2013, ROSENTHAL attempted to launder over a million dollars of drug money by accepting the tainted funds from drug traffickers in Honduras and using his own access to credit to finance a real estate deal in Doral, Florida, which was to involve the same drug traffickers obtaining untainted property assets. ROSENTHAL also funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bribes from drug traffickers seeking official protection, which were styled as purported campaign contributions, to his cousin and co-defendant Yani Benjamin Rosenthal Hidalgo, which Rosenthal Hidalgo used in connection with failed efforts to become the President of Honduras. In addition, ROSENTHAL obtained a purported investment from a drug trafficker, comprising hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug money, in C.D. Marathón, the Honduran soccer club ROSENTHAL controlled.
During a recorded meeting in Honduras with several significant Honduran drug traffickers, including one of the leaders of the Cachiros, a prolific and violent Honduran criminal syndicate that distributed huge quantities of cocaine before being dismantled by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), ROSENTHAL discussed some of these bribes and the possibility of obtaining assistance from one or more Honduran politicians so that the drug traffickers could avoid being targeted by law enforcement and extradited to the United States. In an April 2013 email, ROSENTHAL solicited a bribe for another high-ranking Honduran politician from a U.S.-based company (“Company-1”), which was seeking oil-exploration rights in Honduras, explaining:
[L]ike I told you a couple of years ago sadly in our countries politicians expect colaboaration [sic] to their campains [sic] when approached for a business proposal, I have all the confidence in this friend he has power now and will have much more later on (Nov 2013), can he count on a contribution for his campain [sic] and at the same time with the unde[r]standing he will help with the exploration and ambient permits requi[r]ed?
In September 2013, one of Company-1’s principals informed ROSENTHAL via email that he was prepared “to contribute to your friend’s election for President,” and subsequently wrote a $100,000 check to one of ROSENTHAL’s shell companies, Shelimar Investments.
ACOSTA worked with his co-defendants, including Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva, a former Vice President and congressman in Honduras, and Rosenthal Hidalgo, also a former congressman and two-time candidate for President of Honduras, to use entities controlled by the Rosenthal family to launder drug proceeds for the Cachiros. Rosenthal Hidalgo pled guilty on July 26, 2017, to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from drug trafficking offenses between 2004 and September 2015. Several aspects of the Cachiros money-laundering scheme that ACOSTA participated in also received support from Fabio Porfirio Lobo, the son of a former President of Honduras. Lobo is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in United States v. Lobo, No. 15 Cr. 174 (LGS), based on his conviction for participating in a conspiracy with members of the Cachiros and others to import cocaine into the United States.
ROSENTHAL remains designated as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, along with Rosenthal Oliva (ROSENTHAL’s uncle), Rosenthal Hidalgo (ROSENTHAL’s cousin), and Shelimar Investments, as announced in October 2015 by the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
* * *
ROSENTHAL, 48, pled guilty to one count of attempting to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. The charge carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. ACOSTA, 42, pled guilty to one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. The charge carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. ROSENTHAL is scheduled to be sentenced on January 19, 2018, and ACOSTA is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2018. Both defendants are to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as OFAC and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III, Jane Kim, and Matthew J. Laroche are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment against Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva are merely accusations, and Rosenthal Oliva is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] The descriptions set forth below of conduct by co-defendant Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation with respect to Rosenthal Oliva.
Former Financial Advisor Charged with Fraud in an Alleged Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Greenbelt, Maryland – On August 25, 2017, Dawn J. Bennett, age 55, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was arrested in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to a previously filed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint, Bennett has also been charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, bank fraud, and false statements in relation to loan and credit applications.
The arrest 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 to the criminal complaint, Bennett is the owner and operator of DJB Holding, LLC, d/b/a DJBennett.com. DJBennett.com is an internet retail website for luxury sportswear.
The criminal complaint alleges account activity consistent with a Ponzi scheme and misappropriation of investor funds. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme where the operator of the scheme solicits investors by promising high rates of return with little risk. The scheme operator then funds payments to the older investors through funds obtained through new investors. Typically, the operator of the scheme will use investment funds for purposes other than what was conveyed to the investors.
According to the criminal complaint, Bennett solicited individuals to invest money into her internet clothing business, offering an annual interest rate of 15% via convertible or promissory notes. For instance, between December 17, 2014 and October 29, 2015, 28 individuals made deposits of over $5 million into the DJBennett.com operating account. The complaint alleges that Bennett would repay investors with funds she received from new investors and used funds sourced from individual investors to fund her personal legal expenses, among other things.
The criminal complaint further alleges that in May 2015, DJB Holdings, LLC obtained a $750,000 line of credit secured by the inventory of DJB Holdings LLC/DJBennett.com. In support of this line of credit, one of Bennett’s employees provided the lender a brokerage statement in Bennett’s name that listed a net portfolio value of over $4 million. In reality, Bennett’s net portfolio value for that same account was only $35. In February 2016, the lender declared the loan in default. Bennett responded to the lender that she was unaware of the default and claimed she had been in China for the preceding eight months. A search of FBI databases was unable to firm any international travel for Bennett during the time in which she claimed to be in China, and her personal American Express card showed numerous transactions in the Chevy Chase, Maryland and Washington, D.C. area.
On August 25, 2017, the SEC filed a related action against Dawn J. Bennet and DJB Holdings, LLC d/b/a/ DJBennett and DJBennett.com alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning thanked the SEC and the FBI. Mr. Schenning praised Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Pulice and Thomas Windom who are prosecuting the case.
Former Executive Director of St. Clair Housing Commission Pleads Guilty to Federal Program FraudRead the Press Release
The former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit federal program fraud, Acting United States Attorney Daniel Lemisch announced.
Lemisch was joined in the announcement by Brad Gary, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Lorena Loren, 55, of Nicholls, Georgia admitted to conspiring with several family members to steal federal funds provided to the Commission by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (‘HUD”) to administer HUD’s low-income housing programs within St. Clair County. Loren admitted to engaging in various fraudulent schemes to unlawfully obtain over $336,000 in federal funds.
According to court records, Loren stole approximately $162,000 earmarked for HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program, commonly known as Section 8 housing, which allows low-income families to lease privately owned rental properties with the assistance of HUD rental subsidies administered by the Commission. As part of this fraudulent scheme, between August of 2008 and August of 2016, Loren fraudulently entered into Section 8 contracts from which, at various times, she and nearly all of her immediate family members directly benefitted, in violation of HUD’s regulations and guidelines. In addition to falsifying Section 8 housing contracts and lease agreements by using nominees for lease agreements for Loren’s son, Loren and several relatives falsely claimed they owned rental properties which were, in fact, owned by others; where former Section 8 tenants resided; and, owned by Loren herself. Loren, as executive director, then fraudulently issued Section 8 rental subsidy payments to relatives, in some instances, even in the names of former Section 8 tenants who were no longer in the program. Loren also directed family members to establish joint bank accounts to facilitate access to the ill-gotten funds by various members of her family. In addition, between 2010 and 2016, Loren used the Commission’s two credit cards to make unauthorized purchases of personal items for herself and relatives from Amazon.com, Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. Loren purchased, among other things, adult and infant clothing, furniture, food, beauty supplies, medications, other household items, and alcoholic beverages on the Commission’s cards. Loren had some of those purchases, totaling approximately $60,000, shipped to some of the same relatives involved in the Section 8 housing scheme at their residences in Georgia and Florida. Loren used the Commission’s operating budget, provided by HUD to maintain the Commission’s public housing facility, Palmer Park Manor, to pay for all the unauthorized purchases, which totaled nearly $166,000. Lastly, Loren also pocketed approximately $8,500 of the Commission’s petty cash funds.
HUD Special Agent in Charge Gary stated, ““At such a critical time for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with programs that are vital to the well-being of so many in our communities, it is critical that those entrusted to public service are completely dedicated to those in need. The HUD Office of Inspector General is committed to partnering with Federal prosecutors and fellow law enforcement to aggressively pursue those engaged in activities that harm HUD’s Public Housing programs.”
As part of her guilty plea, Loren agreed to pay $336,240.62 in restitution to HUD.
A sentencing date has been set for January 23, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.. Loren faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General and the Macomb Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Former Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $213,000+ from BankRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A Labette County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of embezzling more than $213,000 from the bank where she worked, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Debra J. Nading, 59, Oswego, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of theft by a bank employee. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred while she worked as an assistant cashier and bookkeeping supervisor for the Labette Bank in Parsons, Kan. She used her access to the bank’s credit card accounts to make false entries to cover up the theft.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 17. She faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. Beall commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.
Former Angola Prison Supervisor Sentenced for Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson announced that Senior U.S. District Judge James J. Brady sentenced SHIRLEY WHITTINGTON, age 46, of St. Francisville, Louisiana, to serve 5 years of probation following her conviction for wire fraud. WHITTINGTON was ordered to make restitution to the Angola Employees Recreation Committee (“AERC”) totaling $115,519.98, and to pay a $100 special assessment. WHITTINGTON was ordered to forfeit an additional $115,519.98 as the proceeds of her criminal activity.
While serving as a Colonel at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, WHITTINGTON also served as Treasurer of the AERC, a limited liability company formed to enrich its members through recreational activities and community events. The AERC raised funds from various sources and its finances were subject to internal audits and review. On February 15, 2017, WHITTINGTON pled guilty to wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Specifically, WHITTINGTON admitted that while serving as Treasurer of the AERC from 2009 through 2016, she fraudulently diverted organization funds for her own benefit and for the benefit of her associates through online and local retailer purchases, ATM withdrawals, cash back and counter check transactions, and by removing cash from rodeo concession sale deposits. Throughout the course of her scheme, she fraudulently diverted thousands of dollars in AERC funds and concealed her misuse of funds through material misrepresentations in the organization’s accounting log.
Acting U.S. Attorney Amundson stated, “This investigation and prosecution demonstrate a continued commitment to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting individuals who abuse positions of trust to line their own pockets, regardless of rank or official status. Public corruption and white collar crime remain top priorities for this office. This defendant has now been removed from her position of public trust and, through today’s sentence, will be responsible for repaying the victim that she defrauded over many years. I sincerely appreciate the dedicated work of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office, the FBI, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, and the other state and local partners who committed their resources to addressing this fraudulent scheme.”
Louisiana Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera stated, “The Legislative Auditor’s Office will continue working with our federal, state and local partners to identify and investigate public servants who violate the public trust. Our state is fortunate to have many good public servants. I hope those few who decide to violate the public trust realize that we will do everything we can to see that they are held accountable.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Sallet stated, “The taxpayers of Louisiana deserve that their public officials serve them with respect and honesty. In partnership with its law enforcement partners, the New Orleans Division of the FBI will continue to aggressively pursue any public official who chooses to abuse the public’s trust and illegally use their position for personal gain.”
The matter is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana and the Baton Rouge Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with substantial assistance provided by investigative auditors from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Dippel, who serves as a Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
Florida Men Sentenced for Assault and Cross Burning Aimed at Intimidating an Interracial Couple Living Next DoorRead the Press Release
Today, United States District Judge Mary S. Scriven of the Middle District of Florida sentenced Thomas Herris Sigler, III, 46, and William A. Dennis, 56, to serve 33 and 21 months incarceration, respectively. Sigler and Dennis both pled guilty to civil rights violations for their roles in attacking and intimidating an interracial couple in Port Richey, Florida. A third co-defendant, Pascual Carlos Pietri also pled guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment on March 23, 2016. All three of the co-defendant’s sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release. A fourth co-conspirator is now deceased.
According to the evidence presented in court proceedings and documents, in September 2012 an interracial couple moved in next door to Sigler and Dennis. Sigler and Dennis began regularly harassing the African-American male neighbor shortly after the couple moved in with racial slurs and derogatory statements. Then in mid-October 2012, Sigler physically attacked the African-American neighbor, while Dennis looked on and prevented another neighbor from intervening.
On Halloween night, Sigler and Dennis attended a party at the home of the fourth co-conspirator. The men made a plan to intimidate the couple into moving from their residence by burning a cross in their front yard. Using wood and tools from the fourth co-conspirator, Sigler and Dennis constructed a wooden cross, and Dennis poured gasoline on the cross. Dennis and Pietri carried the cross to the victims’ front yard, leaned it against their mailbox, and Dennis instructed Pietri set the cross on fire, which he did.
“The victims were attacked and threatened in their own neighborhood and home because of their race,” said John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights. “Such violence and intimidation has no place in our society, the Justice Department is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, and will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who commit such atrocious acts of hate.”
“Acts of intimidation and violence perpetrated against people because of their race, ethnicity, color, or creed are reprehensible,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “Individuals and families should have the right to live wherever they choose, without fear. Acts of hatred such as this simply cannot be tolerated and we will investigate and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josephine W. Thomas and Simon A. Gaugush of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney William E. Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Florida Men Sentenced for Assault and Cross Burning Aimed at Intimidating an Interracial Couple Living Next DoorRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Thomas Herris Sigler, III, 46, and William A. Dennis, 56, to serve 33 and 21 months incarceration, respectively. Sigler and Dennis both pleaded guilty to civil rights violations for their roles in attacking and intimidating an interracial couple in Port Richey, Florida. A third co-defendant, Pascual Carlos Pietri also pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment on March 23, 2016. A fourth co-conspirator is now deceased.
According to the evidence presented in court proceedings and documents, in September 2012 an interracial couple moved in next door to Sigler and Dennis. Sigler and Dennis began regularly harassing the African-American male neighbor shortly after the couple moved in with racial slurs and derogatory statements. Then in mid-October 2012, Sigler physically attacked the African-American neighbor, while Dennis looked on and prevented another neighbor from intervening.
“Acts of intimidation and violence perpetrated against people because of their race, ethnicity, color, or creed are reprehensible,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “Individuals and families should have the right to live wherever they choose, without fear. Acts of hatred such as this simply cannot be tolerated and we will investigate and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”
On Halloween night, Sigler and Dennis attended a party at the home of the fourth co-conspirator. The men made a plan to intimidate the couple into moving from their residence by burning a cross in their front yard. Using wood and tools from the fourth co-conspirator, Sigler and Dennis constructed a wooden cross, and Dennis poured gasoline on the cross. Dennis and Pietri carried the cross to the victims’ front yard, leaned it against their mailbox, and Dennis instructed Pietri set the cross on fire, which he did.
“The victims were attacked and threatened in their own neighborhood and home because of their race,” said John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights. “Such violence and intimidation has no place in our society, The Justice Department is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, and will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who commit such atrocious acts of hate.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josephine W. Thomas and Simon A. Gaugush of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney William E. Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Farmingdale, New Jersey, Man Charged with Robbing Two Monmouth County BanksRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Farmingdale, New Jersey, man appeared in federal court today to face charges that he recently robbed TD Banks in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and Wall, New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Michael R. Volek, 53, was arrested yesterday and charged by complaint with one count of bank robbery. He appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Arpert in Trenton federal court and was detained.
According to the complaint:
On Aug 25, 2017, Volek allegedly entered a TD Bank in Tinton Falls and handed a teller a note that read “put the money in bag now and nobody get hurt.” Volek then told the bank teller “put the money in the bag. Come on, I’m desperate.” The teller handed Volek some cash and he left the bank.
On Aug. 28, 2017, Volek allegedly entered another TD Bank in Wall and handed a teller a note that read “Put the money in bag now. This is no joke. I will shoot you. $100. $50.” Volek then told the teller “Give me money. If you don’t, I’m going to cut you.” The teller handed Volek some cash and he left the bank. Volek was arrested later that day at a motel in Neptune, New Jersey.
The charge in the complaint carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Red Bank Resident Agency, Jersey Shore Gang and Criminal Enterprise Task Force (to include representatives from Bradley Beach Police Department, Brick Police Department, Marlboro Police Department, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, and Toms River Police Department), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher; the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni; the Tinton Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief John A. Scrivanic; the Wall Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ken Brown; and the Neptune Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief James M. Hunt Jr., with the investigation leading to Volek’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Joseph Gribko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Defense counsel: Andrea Bergman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
Eritrean National Sentenced for Visa FraudRead the Press Release
PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Mohammed Nurey Ibrahim, age 41, an Eritrean national and resident of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was sentenced today to time served (about 4 months in jail) for presenting a fraudulently obtained visa to a United States Border Patrol Agent in Champlain, New York
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Acting Director Christian J. Schurman of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.
As part of his July 18, 2017 guilty plea, Ibrahim admitted that he fraudulently obtained a United States non-immigrant tourist visa in September 2016 from a United States consulate in Saudi Arabia. On January 5, 2017, he presented that visa to a Border Patrol Agent in Champlain as he attempted to illegally cross the border in order to claim asylum in Canada.
Following sentencing, Ibrahim was remanded to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, for removal proceedings.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Horsman.
District Man Sentenced to 28 ½ Years in Prison for Armed Home Invasion in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Tracy Medina-Winfield, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 28 ½-year prison term for his role in an armed home invasion that took place last year in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Medina-Winfield was found guilty by a jury in June 2017 of first-degree burglary while armed, armed kidnapping, armed robbery, and other offenses. A co-defendant, Jamal Hill, 25, of Laurel, Md., was found guilty of fleeing a law enforcement officer and destruction of property for his role as the getaway driver in the crime. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson sentenced Medina-Winfield today. Following his prison term, Medina-Winfield will be placed on a period of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 3, 2016, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Medina-Winfield, while armed with a handgun and wearing a mask, entered a private home in the 4200 block of Hildreth Street SE while a man and woman were inside. Medina-Winfield pointed the gun in their faces and said, “You know what time it is.” He then asked for the keys to the Audi that was parked outside. While doing this, an unknown suspect entered the home and began looking around for items. Medina-Winfield and his accomplice then asked for the keys to the car that was parked outside, but the victims responded that the car did not belong to them.
At this point, Medina-Winfield escorted the victims to the upstairs bathroom and made them kneel in the bathtub. One victim told the jury that he believed he was going to die in that moment. They were subsequently asked for the location of their phones. The unknown suspect then found the phones, yelled “got them” to Medina-Winfield, and they left. The male victim followed them outside. According to the government’s evidence, Jamal Hill was in the drivers’ seat of a waiting car. Medina-Winfield, who was seated in the passenger seat, saw the victim, pointed his gun at him and ordered him to get back inside. He and the others then drove off.
Hill, who had been free on personal recognizance, did not return to court midway through the trial and a bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Daphne Nelson and Antoinette Sakamsa; Litigation Technology Specialists William Henderson, Paul Howell, and Anisha Bhatia, and Summer Law Clerk William Omorogieva. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anwar Graves and Rizwan Qureshi, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to Keynote FBI-BCRI Hate Crimes Conference in SeptemberRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM –Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be the keynote speaker for the opening session of the 2017 annual Conference on Civil Rights and Law Enforcement sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Division, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
The two-day conference will focus on hate crimes. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church, with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein delivering his address at 4 p.m.
The conference continues on Monday, Sept. 18, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include a case study on the 2015 hate-crime massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., from a federal prosecutor and investigators who worked the case. The gunman, a 21-year-old white supremacist, killed nine people during a Bible study at the church. The speakers will include Nathan Williams, who prosecuted the case, Brian Womble, supervisory FBI Special Agent, and Gregory Mullen, the recently retired Charleston Chief of Police. Each will speak about the role he played in the tragic event.
The conference is free, but registration for each day is required at www.bcri.org.
“Hate crimes have devastating effects beyond the harm inflicted on any one victim,” stated Andrea L. Taylor, BCRI President and CEO. “They reverberate through families, communities, and the entire nation.”
“Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI's civil rights program and the objective of this conference is to create open, honest dialogue between law enforcement officials and the community, promote cooperation, and share with the community what a federal hate crime is and how to report it,” said FBI Birmingham Division Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
Monday’s session will begin with Dr. Andrew Baer, assistant professor, Department of History, University of Alabama at Birmingham, who will speak about the history of hate. Dr. John Gampher, UAB Department of Psychology, will follow with his presentation, “Inside the Mind of Hate.”
Dr. Shay DeGolier, Outreach and Organizing Specialist with the Southern Poverty Law Center, will deliver Monday’s luncheon address.
Monday’s program also will include a panel discussion addressing what hate looks like from the perspective of various minority communities within the Greater Birmingham metro area. Dr. G. Christine Taylor, Vice President and Associate Provost, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, at the University of Alabama, will moderate the panel.
- Special Agent Gerome Lorrain, Jackson Division, will conclude Monday’s session with a case study on the 2015 death of Mercedes Williamson, which resulted in the first conviction on federal hate crime charges arising from the murder of a transgender woman.
For more information on the conference, contact Paul Daymond, at [email protected] or (205) 279-1457, or Charles Woods III, at [email protected] or 205-328-9696 x246.
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Cynthiana Man Sentenced to 150 Months for Robbing Lexington Pharmacy and Possession with Intent to Distribute HydrocodoneRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Miguel David Ayala, 38, of Cynthiana, Ky., was sentenced yesterday to 150 months in federal prison for robbing a pharmacy and possession with intent to distribute Hydrocodone . Ayala was also ordered to pay $3,219.61 in restitution.
Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood formally sentenced Ayala after he was convicted by a jury, following a three-day trial. The evidence at trial established that, on July 8, 2015, Ayala robbed the Rite Aid Pharmacy on Executive Drive in Lexington, Kentucky. During the robbery, Ayala, who was armed with a handgun, stole approximately 4,000 Hydrocodone pills, a Schedule II controlled substance. The evidence also established that following the robbery Ayala possessed these stolen pills with intent to distribute them.
Under federal law, Ayala must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Timothy J. Plancon, DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division; Mark G. Barnard, Chief of the Lexington Division of Police; and Ray Johnson, Chief of the Cynthiana Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, the Lexington Police Department, and the Cynthiana Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr.
Cincinnati Man Pleads Guilty to Using Counterfeit Checks at Gaming CasinosRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
James Brown, 59, of Cincinnati, OH, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that between May 2014 through February 2017, Brown and others negotiated counterfeit checks at gaming casinos along the east coast from Florida to New York, using false identification documents produced with the names of real persons to negotiate the counterfeit checks. Some of those checks were negotiated at the River’s Casino in Pittsburgh. Fraud losses total several hundred thousand dollars.
Judge Fischer scheduled the sentencing for December 21, 2017 at 11 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence for the bank fraud conspiracy is 30 years in prison, and a minimum sentence of 24 months incarceration for aggravated identity theft, and fines for both crimes totaling $1,250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of James Brown.
Carson Nathan Martin Sentenced to over Twenty-Eight Years in Federal Prison for Producing and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On August 29, 2017, Carson Nathan Martin, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve 345 months in prison for producing child pornography. Following his release from prison, Martin will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for the rest of his life and required to register with the sex offender registry in any state in which he resides, works, or attends school.
Martin pleaded guilty in March 2017 to federal charges stemming from his use of a minor female to make pornographic videos and pictures and his distribution of those depictions to others via the Internet. Investigators with the Massachusetts State Police discovered depictions of the of the sexual abuse of the minor that Martin had made and alerted investigators with the Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (KPD-ICAC) that someone in the Knoxville area was circulating child pornography. A search of Martin’s residence resulted in the seizure of evidence confirming that he had been sexually abusing the minor and recording the abuse on his cellular telephone. He was arrested and has been in custody since the search of his residence.
This investigation was conducted by KPD-ICAC and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Cape May County, New Jersey, Man Gets 66 Months in Prison for Operating Payroll Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Sea Isle City, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for operating a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme through his former payroll company, Innovative Payroll Services LLC (IPS), Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
John Scholtz, 68, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of transacting in criminal proceeds. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Scholtz owned and operated IPS, a company that provided payroll services to clients – including municipalities, educational institutions, and various small to medium-sized privately held companies – in New Jersey and elsewhere. Each payroll period, IPS provided its clients with a summary setting forth the payroll taxes owed for that period. IPS clients then deposited the specified payroll taxes into an IPS bank account, where IPS held the funds until they were remitted to the taxing authorities.
Scholtz admitted that from February 2012 to January 2016, he withdrew or directed others at IPS to withdraw client tax funds from IPS’ Tax Impound Accounts, knowing that these funds constituted client tax funds, and used these funds instead for IPS operating expenses and his own personal expenses, including payments for homes, cars, boats, airplanes and credit cards.
This ongoing misappropriation of funds caused many IPS clients to be in delinquent status with the IRS and state and local taxing authorities. As clients’ tax deposit funds came in, IPS used such funds to pay other clients’ taxes owed for prior pay periods, as well as penalties and interest. As a result, at least 103 IPS clients lost more than $8.4 million worth of federal, state and local tax deposits that IPS failed to make, as well as more than $578,000 in associated penalties and interest. The City of Trenton was an IPS client from July 2009 to January 2016, and is one of is the IPS clients whose tax deposit funds were misappropriated by Scholtz.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Scholtz to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $9,566,460.79.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, Newark Division; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, Newark Division; and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Wolfe of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Brian Reilly Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
Canadian Man Sentenced for Attempted Illegal Re-entry into the United StatesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mohammed Muniru Bichi, age 62, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced today to time served (29 days in jail), followed by a 3-year period of supervised release, for attempting to illegally re-enter the United States.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Steven Bronson, United States Customs and Border Protection Port Director for the Champlain Port of Entry.
As part of his guilty plea, Bichi admitted that he is a citizen of Canada, and that he attempted to illegally return to the United States after he was removed to Canada on July 7, 2017. On August 1, 2017, Bichi was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States by train at the Rouses Point Rail Port of Entry. Bichi said that he was traveling to New York City.
Following the sentencing, Bichi was remanded to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, which will place him into removal proceedings.
The case was investigated by United States Customs and Border Protection and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.
Calais Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
Bangor, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Amy Lynn Holmes, 45, of Calais, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to stealing Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. SSI benefits are paid to people with limited income who are blind, disabled or elderly.
Court records reveal that between February 2004 and May 2016, Holmes falsely represented to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that she was living alone and not receiving help or money from any person. In fact, she was living with her husband who was providing her with financial assistance. She told investigators that she knew that she would have been ineligible for SSI if she had disclosed her husband’s income and that they were living together.
defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She will be sentenced after completion of presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the SSA, Office of the Inspector General.
Businessman Pleads Guilty to Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of bank and wire fraud conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
James Nassida, 49, of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Judge Donetta Ambrose.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Nassida owned operated a mortgage brokerage business called Century III Home Equity (Century III), which assisted borrowers in obtaining loans collateralized by real estate. At the time of the events at issue, which was between 2002 and 2008, Century III was one of the largest mortgage broker businesses in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and during the course of that timeframe brokered hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loans using more than a dozen different lenders. Many of those loans, however, involved one or more aspects.
Some of the aspects of the fraud included the following:
- Appraisals that fraudulently inflated the true value of the properties;
- Settlement statements that falsely reflected that the borrowers made substantial payments associated with the purchases of real estate;
- Settlement statements that failed to disclose secondary financing;
- Settlement statements that failed to include cash payments charged by Century III and paid by the borrowers;
- Settlement statements and closing documents that were backdated to reflect that the settlements had occurred on a date prior to the actual settlement date; and
- Various loan documents, including loan approval forms, good faith estimates, and underwriting transmittal forms, that failed to disclose secondary financing and falsely represented the combined loan-to-value ratio.
The fraud also involved misrepresentations to some of the borrowers to induce them to enter into the transactions, including concealing the fees Century III received from lenders for the borrowers’ transactions and the impact of those fees on the borrowers’ interest rates; and concealing the nature of the mortgage products, including that some of the mortgage products could negatively amortize. Lastly, the fraud also involved James Nassida’s receipt of kickbacks from the settlement company that he failed to disclose to the borrowers and lenders, as required.
James Nassida submitted multiple fraudulent documents associated with loans in which he served as a loan officer. In addition, loan officers working under his direction regularly submitted false information to lenders and borrowers. Nassida also caused the submission of fake documents to the lender in connection with his purchase of a $300,000 vacation home near Seven Springs, including the following: (1) a settlement statement that overstated the sales price; (2) a loan application that falsely stated his income and assets; and (3) fake statements from an investment company that falsely verified that he had more than $600,000 in investment when he really had about $15,000. In the loan application, James Nassida reported that he earned approximately $980,000 in 2006, but he did not even file his tax returns in 2006, and his reported taxable income in 2004 and 2005 was not even close to that figure.
Judge Ambrose scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2018. The law provides for a total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Cindy Chung are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Mortgage Fraud Task Force, in conjunction with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Nassida. The Mortgage Fraud Task Force is comprised of investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and others involved in the mortgage industry. Federal law enforcement agencies participating in the Mortgage Task Force include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and the United States Secret Service. Other Mortgage Fraud Task Force members include the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office; the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Consumer Protection; the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation; and the United States Trustee's Office. The primary investigators from this case were from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.
Bullhead Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact of a Person Incapable of ConsentRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Bullhead, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact of a Person Incapable of Consent was sentenced on August 17, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Jimmie High Cat, age 29, was sentenced to 26 months in custody, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
High Cat was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 12, 2015. He pled guilty on May 18, 2017.
The conviction stems from an incident on December 7, 2013, when the victim was out for a walk in Bullhead, and a car pulled up to her and asked her if she wanted to come hang out. She accepted the invitation and went back to a private social gathering. Present at the residence were approximately six people, including High Cat.
As the evening wore on, the victim drank to the point of passing out. She awoke to find that her pants and underwear had been removed and she was lying on her back with a person touching her genitalia. The victim was able to get away and fled to her home in Bullhead, disclosed she was raped, and immediately notified law enforcement to report the sexual assault. The victim was transported to Mobridge Regional Hospital and a sexual assault examination was performed.
The victim identified her attacker as a brother of a person she knew. Law enforcement located High Cat as a possible suspect in the incident. High Cat initially denied the incident, but later admitted to having abusive sexual contact with the victim, stopping after about five minutes because he knew it was wrong.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
High Cat was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-305BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jose Feliciano-Miranda, 36, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin and cocaine: and possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that between April 2015, and April 2016, co-defendant Manuel Freire coordinated the receipt, and subsequent distribution, of wholesale quantities of heroin and cocaine in Buffalo from sources in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Feliciano-Miranda assisted Freire in both receiving and distributing the drugs.
On April 24, 2015, federal law enforcement officers intercepted a parcel that was mailed from Puerto Rico and destined for a residence on Hudson Street in Buffalo. A half a kilogram of cocaine was hidden in speakers contained in the parcel. Two other co-conspirators, who, at Freire’s direction, went to retrieve the parcel were arrested.
On May 7, 2015, federal law enforcement officers intercepted a parcel that was mailed from Puerto Rico and destined for a residence on Manhattan Avenue in Buffalo. Once again, cocaine (one kilogram) was hidden in speakers in the parcel. However, Manuel Freire noticed what he believed to be police surveillance and the package was not retrieved.
In early 2016, Feliciano-Miranda and Freire began selling heroin out of 247 Niagara Street in Buffalo. A search warrant was executed on April 1, 2016, and officers recovered a kilogram of heroin that Freire had stored there. Another search warrant was executed at a residence on Byrd Way, which led to the recovery of a loaded firearm.
Manuel Freire has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Timothy Howard; the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen; and the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Boston Division Inspector-in-Charge Shelly A. Binkowski.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 12, 2017, before Judge Wolford.
Bronx Man Sentenced on Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-305BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Christian O. Dalmau, 31, of Bronx, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to 120 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who handled the case, stated that on the night of January 5, 2014, Dalmau was the sole passenger in a GMC Yukon vehicle that was being driven by another individual when the Yukon was stopped by Buffalo Police officers near Bailey and Cloverdale Avenues. The Yukon contained a hydraulic hidden compartment or “trap” in its cargo area. Inside the trap was a Taurus, 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition.
Also inside the trap in the Yukon were three foil packets that each contained eight oxycodone pills, pills, which were consistent in appearance with other oxycodone pills Dalmau left in the backseat of the Buffalo Police car in which he had been placed. Dalmau admitted to being addicted to the pills.
The traffic stop occurred less than 20 minutes after the shooting murder of Dustin Ortiz-Maldonado on Newfield Street. After a sentencing hearing, Judge Arcara declined to find whether Dalmau used the firearm in the commission of the murder, that is, to find whether Dalmau was the shooter. The Court, however, did find by a preponderance of the evidence that Dalmau possessed the firearm in connection with the murder. Therefore, the Court sentenced Dalmau in accordance with the homicide guidelines.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division: the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction Chief Daniel Derenda: and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.
Bismarck Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Discharging a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
BISMARCK – U.S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on August 28, 2017, Vernon Valentino Pook Jr. was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland to serve 10 years in prison for Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Judge Hovland also sentenced Pook Jr. to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.
In the early morning hours of June 5, 2016, Pook Jr. fired 14 rounds from a Springfield XD 9mm handgun into an occupied residence on Center Street, Bismarck, ND and vehicles parked outside, for an untimely repayment for an ounce of marihuana.
This case was investigated by the Bismarck Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Dawn Deitz prosecuted the case.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nd/
Bishopville Man Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government MoneyRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Preston Alexander Elmore, age 35, of Bishopville, pled guilty in federal court in Columbia to Theft of Government Money, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 641. Senior United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will sentence him at a later date.
Elmore received farm loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency office in Bishopville in 2012. The loans were to be used to purchase a tractor, a combine, grain heads, an irrigation system, a generator, and to dig a well.
On April 2, 2012, Elmore requested $19,800 from the USDA for the purchase of farm equipment. Specifically, he planned to purchase two John Deere tractors, a John Deere grain head implement, and a John Deere corn head implement from his parents. He did not use the loan money to make these purchases.
On June 27, 2012, Elmore was loaned $59,900 for the remainder of money owed to Palmetto Irrigation for a generator and irrigation system. None of the money went to pay for these items. Instead, the money went to Elmore’s account, and he used it for his own purposes.
Elmore defaulted on both loans. Furthermore, Elmore damaged, destroyed, removed, or sold the collateral for the irrigation system and the generator.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty faced by Elmore is imprisonment for ten years and a fine of $250,000.
The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Winston David Holliday, Jr., of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.
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Baton Rouge Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Gun and Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson announced today that Chief United States District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson has sentenced Ashford Harris, 33, formerly of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to serve over 14 years in prison following his convictions for federal drug and firearm charges. HARRIS was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following imprisonment, to forfeit all property involved in his crimes, and to pay a $300 special assessment.
On November 2, 2016, Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, diazepam, and marijuana, one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On May 2, 2017, the defendant pled guilty as charged to all three counts. During his guilty plea hearing, Harris, a convicted felon, admitted to possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, marijuana, synthetic marijuana and diazepam. He further admitted to possessing two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns, and over 200 rounds of ammunition. HARRIS admitted that he possessed these firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime.
Acting U.S. Attorney Amundson stated, “This successful prosecution and the defendant’s lengthy sentence should send a strong message about our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to get armed drug traffickers off of our streets. Through this prosecution, we were able to get semi-automatic rifles and guns out of HARRIS’s hands and stop him from victimizing our community with his drugs. I sincerely appreciate the hard work by the ATF and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office in bringing HARRIS to justice.”
This matter was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth White.
Attempted Bank Robber Sentenced to 64 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Yesterday, Richard Ortega Elenes, Jr., 41, of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 64 months in prison. Elenes had previously pleaded guilty to attempted bank robbery.
On June 29, 2015, Elenes entered a Wells Fargo Bank in Tucson, Ariz., and handed a note to a bank teller which stated: “I need all of your money now.” The teller pressed an alarm button and announced that she was being robbed. Elenes then walked out of the bank and entered a waiting taxicab. He was captured by police within 30 minutes.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Tucson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Raquel Arellano, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-15-01971-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-081_Elenes
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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.
Albuquerque Man Sentenced for Federal Bank Robbery ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Gallegos, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court to 57 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on an armed bank robbery charge.
Christopher Gallegos was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him and four co-defendants, Greg Miera, 51, Martin Huertta, 43, Christian Herrera, 21, and Isaiah Gallegos, 22, all of Albuquerque, with robbing the US Bank branch located at 5620 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, on March 30, 2016. According to the complaint, Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers conducted surveillance as a vehicle with four men pulled up to the US Bank on the afternoon of March 30, 2016. Three of the men remained in the vehicle while the fourth entered the bank, threatened to shoot the bank employees, and demanded that two bank tellers place cash into a plastic bag.
Christopher Gallegos, Huertta, Miera, Herrera and Isaiah Gallegos were indicted on April 27, 2016, and were charged with bank robbery.
On Feb. 13, 2017, Christopher Gallegos entered a guilty plea to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Christopher Gallegos admitted aiding and abetting the armed robbery of the U.S. Bank branch on March 30, 2016, by conducting surveillance of various potential banks in the two days leading up to the robbery.
Christopher Gallegos’ four co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and three have been sentenced. Huertta pled guilty on Sept. 9, 2016 and was sentenced on March 14, 2017 to 108 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Miera pled guilty on Oct. 11, 2016, and was sentenced on June 8, 2017, to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Isaiah Gallegos entered a guilty plea on April 25, 2017, and was sentenced on Aug. 15, 2017, to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Herrera entered a guilty plea on Feb. 24, 2017. At sentencing, Herrera faces a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison; he remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia C. Simms is prosecuting the case.
Alachua County Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Operating Illegal Internet PharmacyRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Larry Burstein, 69, of Alachua, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison after pleading guilty in November 2016, to involvement in a drug conspiracy arising from his operation of a multi-million dollar internet pharmacy. The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Co-conspirator Edward Leonforte, 56, of Gainesville, pled guilty in September 2016 to conspiracy, distribution of the controlled substance codeine, and money laundering. Leonforte is scheduled to be sentenced September 25, 2017, at 3:30 p.m.
Leonforte and Burstein operated multiple internet pharmacy websites from various locations in the Alachua, Florida area. Between 2007 and 2014, Burstein’s websites sold more than $7 million in prescription drugs without requiring customers to provide a prescription. Through his website, Burstein made nationwide sales of more than 148,000 pills containing codeine, a Schedule II opiate. On several occasions in 2012 and 2013, an undercover DEA agent was able to order and receive codeine pills from Burstein’s websites without providing a prescription.
This case resulted from a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Gainesville Police Department, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, the Alachua Police Department, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Florida Department of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Jason S. Beaton is prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
12 Members and Associates of Violent Bronx Street Gang Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Racketeering and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing today of an Indictment charging 12 members and associates of a Bronx-based street gang known as “Square Gang” with racketeering conspiracy and a firearms offenses.
A total of seven defendants were taken into custody today; one other defendant was already in federal custody. Seven of the 12 defendants were presented and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox today. REGGIE GOODWIN was arrested in the Western District of New York and was presented and arraigned before Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York today. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As alleged in the indictment, these gang members wreaked havoc in the Patterson Houses in the Bronx for years. Thanks to the terrific work of the NYPD and the DEA, the defendants will now face justice in federal court and the Patterson Houses will be safer.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said: “Allegedly, the Square Gang was a menacing force, threatening the residents of the Patterson Houses in the Bronx with drug trafficking and violence. By collaborative efforts with our NYPD partners and the Southern District of New York, seven members of this gang have been arrested this morning on federal charges.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and in other court papers[1]:
Square Gang was a criminal enterprise involved in committing numerous acts of violence, including murder and attempted murder, in the vicinity of the Patterson Houses in the Bronx. Members and associates of Square Gang enriched themselves by committing robberies and selling drugs, such as crack cocaine and marijuana.
Count One of the Indictment charges DAMAR MORALES, TAVON GODFREY, a/k/a “Tay,” HECTOR FIGUEROA, a/k/a “Hec,” GEORGE MCKELVEY, a/k/a “Tyleek,” JUAN CASTILLO, a/k/a “Obama,” JOSEPH RATTI, a/k/a “Yum Yum,” QUADAE BERGER, a/k/a “Icy Day,” RAKIM MOSELY, REGGIE GOODWIN, CURTIS CLARK, a/k/a “Tom,” BRITAIN KELLY, a/k/a “Brit,” and JAREL SABLE, a/k/a “Shoes,” with participating in a racketeering conspiracy for criminal involvement in Square Gang
Count Two of the Indictment charges MORALES, GODFREY, FIGUEROA, MCKELVEY, CASTILLO, RATTI, MOSELY, GOODWIN, CLARK, KELLY, and SABLE, with using and carrying firearms, which were discharged, in connection with the racketeering conspiracy and a narcotics conspiracy.
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Charts containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of NYPD and the DEA.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Estes and Lauren Schorr are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
28 August 2017
West Texas Methamphetamine Distributors SentencedRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK — Two defendants were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings for their role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Saul Blanco-Gallegos, 37, of Grand Prairie, and Juan Rodriguez Galindo, aka “Johnny,” 43, of Amarillo, both pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 108 months and 130 months in federal prison, respectively.
Last week, Judge Cummings sentenced the following defendants, who all pleaded guilty in April 2017 to their roles in the conspiracy, to the following:
Isaias Perez-Benito, 32, of Amarillo, 210 months
Corina Villalpando, 51, of Plainview, 188 months
Dusty Lee Stowers, 30, of Friona, 108
Mona Lesa Thomas, aka “Lisa,” 52, of Lubbock, 46 months
According to plea documents filed in the case, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an investigation into a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy involving suspects in Amarillo, Plainview, Lubbock, and several other cities in the Texas Panhandle.
Through the use of various investigative techniques – including multiple undercover purchases and residential search warrants – agents were ultimately able to seize a total of approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine, nine firearms, and nearly $20,000 in cash.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety, Friona Police Department, and Plainview Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long prosecuted.
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Violent Crime Spree in J.C. Napier Neighborhood Results in 35 Year Prison Sentence for Nashville ManRead the Press Release
Calvin Starks, 23, of Nashville, Tenn., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for series of federal crimes including using a firearm to commit a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and extortion; and conspiracy to tamper with a witness, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee.
Starks pleaded guilty in June of this year and his crime spree included the shooting of two people in 2014, in and around the J.C. Napier neighborhood.
Starks and his cousin, Darryl Starks shot Joshua Woods on October 16, 2014, while in the J.C. Napier neighborhood. During this assault, they fired a total of 16 rounds. Woods survived the assault and after identifying the Starks’ as the shooters, he was threatened and bribed by the Starks’ mother, Ivy Starks, in an attempt to prevent him from testifying truthfully at subsequent court proceedings.
On November 26, 2014, Starks and Terrance Kimbrough planned to rob Brendon Leggs of drugs and money at a market on Lewis St., near the J.C. Napier neighborhood. During the robbery attempt, Leggs was shot multiple times as he tried to flee and later died from his wounds.
On December 3, 2014, Monte Watson was shot and killed by Terrance Kimbrough, near Lewis and Robertson St., in close proximity to the J.C. Napier neighborhood. Prior to this shooting, Calvin Starks and Kimbrough had looked for Watson in order to keep him from cooperating with law enforcement because they believed he may have seen them kill Brendon Leggs.
Ivy Starks pleaded guilty in July 2017 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Darryl Starks has also pleaded guilty to charges related to this case and is awaiting sentencing. Terrance Kimbrough is awaiting trial. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunny A.M. Koshy is prosecuting the case.
Two defendants sentenced to federal prison for drug crimesRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two defendants were sentenced to prison today for federal drug crimes, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Malik Muhammad Abdull Williams, 24, of Michigan, was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack. In a separate prosecution, Jessica Ann Barnett, 29, of South Point, Ohio, was sentenced to six months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin.
On May 2, 2016, members of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force were conducting surveillance at the Greyhound Bus Station in Ashland, Kentucky, after receiving information that Williams would be arriving on a bus in possession of drugs. Agents observed Williams exit a bus and enter a vehicle that traveled to Huntington. Agents conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle at 1st Street and 4th Avenue in Huntington and discovered Williams in possession of approximately 31 grams of heroin and 41 grams of crack concealed in his pants. Williams admitted that he intended to sell the drugs in Huntington.
In a separate prosecution, between November 2014 and June 8, 2016, Barnett participated with multiple individuals in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in the Huntington area. At various times during the conspiracy, Barnett was provided with cash that constituted proceeds from heroin sales. Barnett would then wire the money to a third party in Michigan via money transfer companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Barnett transferred proceeds from heroin distributions on at least 27 occasions totaling approximately $26,410. On multiple occasions, Barnett also sold small amounts of heroin.
The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled these prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentences.
These cases were brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Two Plead Guilty in Operation of Butane Hash Oil LabRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – Two men pleaded guilty today in federal court in Providence, admitting to their roles in the operation of a butane hash oil (BHO) manufacturing laboratory inside a former warehouse in Providence. Investigators believe that a March 9, 2015 fire, which destroyed the Kinsley Avenue warehouse, began in a room where the BHO lab was located.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Christopher White, 51, of Warwick, pleaded guilty to endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance. Graeme Marshall, 52, of Cranston, pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Christopher White and Graeme Marshall’s guilty pleas are announced by Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Mickey Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division; Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare; and Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Rhode Island Public Safety Commissioner and Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
According to court documents and information presented to the court, White and Marshall operated Grosca, LLC, a company that leased the warehouse where White and Marshall operated a business that designed, produced and sold indoor equipment and supplies for indoor marijuana cultivation.
According to court documents, White and Marshall used a portion of the warehouse to operate a BHO lab, which, over a period of approximately two years, was used to manufacture over 1,000 grams of hash oil that was sold for between $15 and $30 per gram. Proceeds from the sale of hash oil were deposited into a Grosca, LLC, bank account, comingled with proceeds from the sale of equipment and other Grosca, LLC ventures. The transactions were designed to conceal the nature, source, ownership and control of the proceeds of the hash oil sales.
White and Marshall are scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2017.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Providence Police Department; Providence Fire Marshal’s Office; Rhode Island State Police; and the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal’s Office.
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Two Men Ordered Detained; 12 Kilograms of Cocaine SeizedRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – An investigation by U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Inspectors and members of the Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force has resulted in the seizure of more than 12 kilograms of cocaine allegedly shipped to Rhode Island from Puerto Rico, and the arrest and federal detention of two Florida men.
The two men, Rinaxo M. Rufino, 33, of Miramar, FL., and Gabriel Concepcion, 27, of Kissimmee, FL., arrested on August 26, 2017, were ordered detained in federal custody following initial appearances on Monday in U.S. District Court in Providence.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police announce the arrest and detention of Rufino and Concepcion on criminal complaints charging each with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Additionally, Concepcion is charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Since August 7, 2017, USPIS Inspectors have intercepted three shipments of cocaine in various sized packages allegedly shipped from Puerto Rico to addresses in Providence, Woonsocket and Central Falls. Each of the packages were addressed to individuals not associated with the address to which the packages were shipped. In each instance, a police K-9 detected the odor of narcotics in each package prior to delivery. The packages were seized by law enforcement.
Rinaxo M. Rufino was arrested on August 26, moments after he allegedly took possession of a package he believed to contain approximately 3 kilograms of cocaine at a Central Falls residence. Gabriel Concepcion was arrested moments later after he was stopped by a Rhode Island State Police Trooper as he allegedly drove away from the area of the residence. A loaded firearm was allegedly located in Conception’s vehicle.
It is alleged in court documents that Rufino and Concepcion, who had been under law enforcement surveillance for some time, were seen surveilling the area of the Central Falls residence prior to and after the package was left on the doorstep of the residence by a U.S. Postal carrier. Prior to the delivery of the package, USPIS Inspectors had removed the cocaine.
Earlier in the investigation, USPIS Postal Inspectors in Providence took custody of packages allegedly containing cocaine, which were earmarked for delivery to residences in Providence and Woonsocket. In each instance, a police K-9 allegedly detected the odor of narcotics in each package.
On August 4, 2017, USPIS Inspectors took possession of a package addressed to a residence in Providence. The package allegedly contained 8.16 kilograms of cocaine. On August 10, USPIS Inspectors took possession of a package addressed to a residence in Woonsocket. The package allegedly contained 1.2 kilograms of cocaine.
According to court documents, the investigation began in April 2017, when a package mailed from Providence to Puerto Rico was intercepted by USPIS Inspectors after a police K-9 allegedly reacted positively for the presence of the odor of narcotics. Acting on a federal court authorized search warrant, postal inspectors opened the package and discovered $58,010 in cash.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch acknowledges and thanks the Cranston Police Department and Rhode Island State Police K-9 Units for their assistance in this investigation.
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Two Men Charged in Conspiracy to Distribute over 140 Kilograms of Heroin and CocaineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two California men who were arrested in Essex County, New Jersey, with over 140 kilograms of narcotics in their possession made their initial appearances today in Newark federal court, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Abraham Castro, 33, of San Diego, California, and Hector Leonel Lucas-Ramos, 42, of National City, California, are charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute approximately 141 kilograms of suspected cocaine and heroin. They appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson and were detained.
According to the complaint:
On Aug. 27, 2017, Castro and Lucas-Ramos were arrested in Essex County while they were driving a tractor trailer. After the tractor trailer was seen committing several traffic violations, law enforcement conducted a motor vehicle stop. As law enforcement approached the driver, Castro, they observed Lucas-Ramos run to the cabin-area of the tractor trailer, where he was allegedly trying to close a large bag containing packages of a white powdery substance.
During a subsequent search of the tractor trailer, law enforcement recovered approximately five large duffle bags containing a total of 141 packages. Lab testing later confirmed the presence of heroin and cocaine in the packages.
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, with the investigation.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel:
Castro: John Yauch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Lucas-Ramos: Alyssa Cimino Esq., Fairfield, New Jersey
Sullivan County Designated as Newest Member of Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking AreaRead the Press Release
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Sullivan County was recognized today as the newest county in east Tennessee to become a member of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr, along with Second Judicial District Attorney Barry Staubus and Appalachia HIDTA Tennessee State Coordinator Joel Reece, made this announcement at a press conference in Blountville.
The HIDTA Program began in 1988 when Congress authorized the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to designate areas within the United States which exhibited serious drug trafficking problems and harmfully impacted other areas of the country as HIDTAs. The HIDTA Program provides additional federal resources to those areas to help eliminate or reduce drug trafficking and its harmful consequences. Appalachia HIDTA, which consists of counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, was created in 1998.
In the Eastern District of Tennessee, HIDTA funds DEA and FBI led drug task forces in Johnson City, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, as well other initiatives to reduce drug crime in the HIDTA. Most recently, to battle the overdose epidemic, the Knoxville Police Department teamed up with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, Knox County Medical Examiner's Office, Sheriff's Office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to form the Overdose Death Investigation Task Force, which is funded by Appalachia HIDTA.
The Appalachia HIDTA mission is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to deal with the ongoing threats to public health and safety, particularly as it regards prescription drug diversion, the emerging threat of heroin, as well as the continued threats of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and synthetic drugs. The Appalachia region is arguably the epicenter of this crisis, and requires unprecedented multi-disciplined cooperation to effectively address the many faceted health and public safety problems that result from this daunting threat. The Appalachia HIDTA will serve as the conduit for this cooperation.
In addition to Sullivan County, other previously designated Appalachia HIDTA counties in east Tennessee include Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Franklin, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hawkins, Jefferson, Knox, Marion, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Unicoi and Washington. An additional eight Tennessee counties in the middle district, including Cumberland, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, and White, are also designated as members.
U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr said, “Sullivan County’s designation as an Appalachia HIDTA county will allow resources for the critical fight against opioids, including heroin and fentanyl, as well as other illegal substances that drug dealers are bringing into our communities every day. Appalachia HIDTA and the Rocky Top Task Force are national award winning programs that are making an impact against the spread of illegal drugs in eastern Tennessee. The District Attorney’s Office and Sullivan County law enforcement agencies have shown the initiative and ability to use these HIDTA resources to stop the ravaging effects of opioid addiction in our Appalachian area. We salute their past efforts and look forward to their success in the future.”
“Having Sullivan County designated as a member of HIDTA has been an important goal of this office since my becoming the District Attorney General in 2011. HIDTA can assist my office, and local law enforcement agencies, in investigating and prosecuting serious drug trafficking by providing much needed federal resources to combat our methamphetamine and opioid epidemic as well as the sale and distribution of cocaine and marijuana,” said Barry P. Staubus, District Attorney General, Second Judicial District
“We are very excited to receive this designation. This will go a long way, in our fight against illegal drugs in Sullivan County!” said Wayne Anderson, Sullivan County Sheriff.
Please visit http://ahidta.org for more information about the Appalachian HIDTA.
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Social Security Administration Employee Convicted of Bank Fraud and False StatementsRead the Press Release
A jury has convicted a Social Security Administration (SSA) employee of bank fraud and making false statements, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Regional Special Agent in Charge Floyd Sherman of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson of the SSA’s OIG Atlanta Field Division.
Darryl Williams, 52, of Tallahassee, Fla., was convicted on August 25, of one count of bank fraud and nine counts of making false statements to a federally insured financial institution for the purpose of obtaining loans and credit. Sentencing has been set for November 17, before Judge Mark E. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
The evidence at trial revealed that from approximately November 2010 to October 2016, Williams submitted a series of applications for loans and credit to Envision Credit Union (“Envision”), a financial institution with branches in Tallahassee, in which he repeatedly lied about his employment with the federal government, his pay grade, his salary and his job title. For example, evidence at trial demonstrated that Williams falsely claimed he was making over $115,000 annually, when, in fact, the highest federal government salary that he ever received was less than $60,000 and he was not employed by the federal government when he submitted several of the applications. In addition to these false statements, Williams submitted false bank statements and earnings and leave statements to Envision in support of some of his applications. The trial evidence demonstrated that Williams applied for more than $140,000 worth of loans between late 2010 and late 2016, and Envision relied upon Williams’ false representations and fake documents in granting these applications.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the DOT-OIG, the SSA’s OIG Atlanta Field Division and Trial Attorney Peter Halpern of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Heidi Boutros Gesch and Todd Gee of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Shrewsbury Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Counterfeit Steroid SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Shrewsbury man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for his role in a conspiracy to traffic counterfeit steroids, including testosterone and trenbolone, to bodybuilders.
Tyler Bauman, a/k/a “musclehead320,” 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute counterfeit testosterone, trenbolone, and other steroid compounds; conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs; conspiracy to launder money; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (steroids); and trafficking in counterfeit drugs. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for Nov. 29, 2017.
In April 2017, Bauman and five others were arrested and charged with various offenses related to the steroid operation. According to court documents, from approximately May 2015 until April 12, 2017, the defendants manufactured steroid products - made from raw materials purchased overseas - and marketed them as “Onyx” steroids using “Onyx” labels that were also ordered from overseas suppliers. Onyx, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen Inc., was a global biopharmaceutical company that did not manufacture steroids.
Bauman had a robust social media following on Instagram and other social media platforms under the moniker “musclehead320” and derivations of that name. Baumann used the “musclehead 320” persona to promote Onyx by claiming to be an “Onyx Sponsored Athlete.” As “musclehead 320,” he publicly denied any suggestion that he was directly involved with making or selling Onyx; however, at the same time, he was in fact marketing Onyx injectable steroids through other social media accounts, including Instagram accounts in the name of “onyx_roid” and “onyxpharma.” Through these accounts, Bauman provided customers with email addresses to place orders, received steroid orders, and then communicated with customers via these email addresses.
Baumann directed other members of the conspiracy to ship steroids to customers using the U.S. Postal Service. Customers paid for the steroids via money remitters, such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Baumann then directed other members of the conspiracy to pick up payments at multiple remitter locations using false identifications to attempt to avoid suspicion while picking up the significant proceeds.
Bauman purchased both the oral steroids (tablets) and the raw materials to manufacture the injectable steroids from overseas suppliers. He also ordered the counterfeit Onyx labeling and packaging from overseas suppliers. The injectable steroids advertised and sold by the members of this conspiracy bore trademarks of Onyx Pharmaceuticals.
Further, Bauman also laundered proceeds from the steroid sales through Wicked Tan LLC, a tanning salon located in Beverly, which he and a co-conspirator owned and operated specifically to launder the proceeds of the steroid operation.
The charges of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances provide for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss of the conspiracy. The charge of possession of a controlled substance provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss of the conspiracy. The charge of trafficking in counterfeit drugs provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $5 million. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss of the conspiracy. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Jeffrey Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Harman Burkart and David J. D’Addio of Weinreb’s Cybercrime Unit are prosecuting the case.
Randolph County man sentenced for his role in a meth distribution operationRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Jerry “Jake” Wilson Hartley of Elkins, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 240 months incarceration for methamphetamine distribution, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.
Hartley, age 36, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine,” in April 2017. Hartley admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in the Northern District of West Virginia and elsewhere. The crime occurred from May 2013 until October 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.Prince George’s Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison for Assault with A Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4811
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Joseph Axzavis Stewart, Sr. age 58, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to 11 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Chief Robert D. MacLean of the U.S. Park Police.
According to Stewart’s plea agreement, on July 31, 2016, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Stewart stabbed an individual who was seated in the passenger seat of a friend’s truck at a construction site near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, where the friend worked. Stewart, who worked for the same construction company, previously had a brief romantic relationship with the individual’s friend. After other employees from the construction company intervened, Stewart fled the scene in a gray truck. The victim was transported to the hospital, suffering from stab wounds to the arm and back. As a result of the stabbing, the victim underwent several surgeries, and lost partial feeling in both arms. Law enforcement executed a search warrant and recovered the knife Stewart used to stab the victim from Stewart’s gray truck.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the U.S. Park Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hollis R. Weisman and Thomas M. Sullivan, who prosecuted the case.
Portland Woman Sentenced to 135 Months in Prison for Distributing Fentanyl Inside Multnomah County JailRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – On Monday, August 28, 2017, United States District Court Judge Marco A. Hernandez sentenced Channing Lacey, 30, of Portland, to 135 months in prison for distributing fentanyl inside the Multnomah County Jail. The fentanyl use resulted in the death of one inmate and the non-fatal overdoses of three others. Upon her release from prison, Lacey will be on supervised release for three years.
On March 5, 2015, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent and Portland Police Officers assigned to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Taskforce (HIT) arrested Lacey on allegations that she had been tampering with evidence related to a pending federal case involving her boyfriend who had previously been arrested for distributing fentanyl on the dark web. When Lacey was arrested, she was found in possession of 33 packages of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, with a net weight of approximately 35 grams. A “typical illegal user” amount of fentanyl is one milligram or less. A single gram of fentanyl can sell for up to $1,000 on the street.
Following her arrest, Lacey was taken to and held in the Multnomah County Jail. Unbeknownst to the jail staff, Lacey had concealed an amount of fentanyl within her body. Deputies later learned that after being brought to the jail, and prior to her initial court appearance on March 6, 2015, Lacey retrieved the fentanyl and distributed it to another inmate. The other inmate in turn distributed the fentanyl to additional inmates. Three inmates overdosed on the fentanyl between March 7 and 9, 2015. All three victims required immediate life-saving medical attention and the administration of Narcan to reverse the overdose and prevent their death. On March 21, 2015, another inmate overdosed on the fentanyl and died as a result.
On March 10, 2015, Lacey was indicted by a federal grand jury for the distribution of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury (Count 1) and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance (Count 2), in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C).
On April 15, 2015, a Superseding Indictment was returned by a federal grand jury charging the defendant with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury to three individuals (Count 1), distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death of another individual (Count 5) and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance (Count 6), all in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C).
On March 28, 2017, the defendant pleaded guilty to Count 1 and Count 5 of the Superseding Indictment.
“The illegal distribution of fentanyl and other opioids are carving a deadly path through our country,” said Billy J. Williams, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We continue to work with partners at all levels of government to combat this national crisis and hold these drug dealers accountable. Those who deal in opioids deal in death,” continued U.S. Attorney Williams, “and will face severe consequences for their actions.”
On average, more than 90 Americans die every day from opioid related overdoses.
This case was the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) joint investigation involving HSI, the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force and Police Department, Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division, Portland HIDTA Interdiction Task Force, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, and the United States Attorney’s Offices in Oregon and North Dakota. The case was prosecuted by Scott Kerin, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Pakistani Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison in Axact Diploma Mill ScamRead the Press Release
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that UMAIR HAMID was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for his role in an international diploma mill scheme operated through the Pakistani company Axact. HAMID pled guilty on April 6, 2017, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HAMID entered the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who imposed today’s sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Umair Hamid and Axact operated a massive diploma mill that preyed on consumers who thought their tuition would pay for a college education. Instead, Hamid provided victims with worthless fake diplomas. Defendants like Hamid who profit from fake schools face very real penalties, including prison time.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:
HAMID helped run a massive diploma mill through his employer, Axact, which has held itself out as one of the world’s leading information technology providers. HAMID and his co-conspirators deceived individuals across the world, including throughout the United States, into enrolling in supposed high schools, colleges, and universities. Consumers paid upfront fees, believing that in return they would be enrolled in real educational courses and, eventually, receive legitimate degrees. Instead, consumers received no instruction and worthless diplomas.
HAMID, who served most recently as Axact’s Assistant Vice President of International Relations, helped Axact conduct the fraud in the United States, among other locations. On Axact’s behalf, he served as the primary contact during negotiations with a former competitor for Axact’s acquisition of websites for fake educational institutions. Under Axact’s control, those websites then continued to deceive consumers into paying upfront enrollment fees for non-existent educational programs.
In May 2015, Pakistani authorities shut down Axact and arrested multiple individuals associated with the company for participating in the diploma mill operation. But HAMID, who was not arrested at that time, continued to work in furtherance of the fraudulent business, even personally traveling to the United States in 2016 to open a bank account used to collect money from defrauded consumers.
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In addition to the prison term, HAMID, 31, of Karachi, Pakistan, was ordered to forfeit $5,303,020.
Mr. Kim praised and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their outstanding investigative work.
If you believe you were a victim of this crime, including a victim entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, please contact the Victim/Witness Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, at (866) 874-8900. For additional information, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward A. Imperatore, Noah D. Solowiejczyk, Katherine Reilly, Patrick Egan, and David Abramowicz are in charge of the prosecution.
Operation "Golden Pony": Five Individuals Indicted for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that KELLY RAY POTTER JR., age 41, of McAlester, Oklahoma; RACHEL MARIE WHITE, age 38, of El Reno, Oklahoma; HEIDI SANCHEZ, age 31, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; ANTONIA SANCHEZ age 52, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and LASHEA DANNETTE HARRIS age 32, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, were each indicted for DRUG CONSPIRACY, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B) and 841(b)(1)(C), punishable by not less than 5 years, and not more than 40 years imprisonment (methamphetamine), and up to 20 years imprisonment (heroin), and up to a $5,000,000.00 fine or both.
The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about July 2016 and continuing until on or about November 29, 2016, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendants, KELLY RAY POTTER JR., RACHEL MARIE WHITE, HEIDI SANCHEZ, ANTONIA SANCHEZ, and LASHEA DANNETTE HARRIS, did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate and agree together, and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to commit offenses against the United States in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846, as follows: to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance.
The charges arose from a joint investigation entitled “Golden Pony” coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. OCDETF is an initiative led and coordinated by the Office of the United States Attorney. The agencies involved in the investigation were, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the arraignment of POTTER on August 22, 2017 and HEIDI SANCHEZ & ANTONIA SANCHEZ on August 21, 2017.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Hammer represented the United States.
Omaha Man Indicted for Multiple RobberiesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Robert C. Stuart announced that Edward Sherrod, age 36, of Omaha, Nebraska, was detained at his initial appearance today by Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson. Sherrod was recently indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of interference with commerce by robbery. The penalty on each count is a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Sherrod is charged with robbing the Baker’s at 5555 North 90th Street on July 5, 2017; the same Baker’s on July 20, 2017; and the Mega Saver at 1357 NW Radial Highway on July 24, 2017.
The Omaha Police Department Robbery Unit initiated the investigation of Sherrod and then worked in conjunction with the Greater Omaha Bank Robbery Task Force to secure the indictment. The task force was formed earlier this year and is made up of officers representing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Omaha Police Department, Sarpy County Sheriff’s Department, La Vista Police Department, Papillion Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, Ralston Police Department, Council Bluff’s Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol.
In announcing Sherrod’s charges, Acting U.S. Attorney Robert Stuart remarked that “the indictment and arrest of Mr. Sherrod by the Greater Omaha Robbery Task Force demonstrates the successful coordination of member agencies to arrest the violent offenders in our community.” FBI Omaha Division, Special Agent in Charge Randall Thysse stated “We are grateful for the diligent and collaborative work with the Omaha Police Department Robbery Unit in apprehending this violent criminal in addition to their key participation in the Greater Omaha Bank Robbery Task Force.”
Okmulgee Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Material Involving Sexual Exploitation of MinorsRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that JOHN CARL BERRYHILL, age 53, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, pled guilty to POSSESSION OF CERTAIN MATERIAL INVOLVING THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF MINORS, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and 2252(b)(2), punishable by a minimum of 10 years to 20 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000.00 fine or both.
The Superseding Indictment alleged that from between on or about January 8, 2014 to on or about February 2, 2017, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, JOHN CARL BERRYHILL, did knowingly possess, attempt to possess and access with intent to view, matters which contained visual depictions, as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 2256(5), which said visual depictions involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2256(2)(A)-(B), and said visual depictions were of such sexually explicit conduct and had been transported in interstate commerce by computer.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant United States Attorney Edward Snow represented the United States.
Oklahoma Doctor Agrees to Pay $580,000 to Settle Allegations of Submitting False Claims to MedicareRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Dr. Gordon P. Laird has agreed to pay $580,000 to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Laird is a physician licensed in the State of Oklahoma. He is a former owner and employee of the companies Blackwell Feet Plus, LLC, and Feet Plus, LLC, which later did business as Prevention Plus.
The United States alleges Laird caused false claims to be submitted to the Medicare Program for services he did not provide or supervise. First, the United States alleges that in 2011, he allowed Prevention Plus to use his National Provider Identifier numbers (NPIs) to bill Medicare for evaluation and management physical therapy services that he did not provide or supervise. Second, the United States alleges that in December 2011, he separated from Prevention Plus, did not provide any additional services for Prevention Plus, and deactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus. However, Laird reactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus around March 2012 so Prevention Plus could use them to bill Medicare for services in January and February 2012 that he did not perform or supervise.
To resolve these allegations, Laird agreed to pay $580,000. In reaching this settlement, he did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Maule and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.
Oakland Resident Pleads Guilty to Role in Interstate Gun Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Edgar De La Cruz pleaded guilty this afternoon to committing several crimes related to his role in an interstate firearms trafficking conspiracy announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder. De La Cruz also pleaded guilty to participating in an armed robbery and acknowledged possessing cocaine and marijuana for sale. The plea was accepted by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., U.S. District Judge.
According to the plea agreement, De La Cruz, 19, from Oakland, Cal., admitted that from at least March of 2015 until the date of his arrest in January of 2017, he was involved in a conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. De La Cruz acknowledged that he agreed with two or more other people to purchase firearms in the Reno, Nevada, area for sale in Oakland. Specifically, the defendant admitted that the Nevada-based coconspirators purchased firearms at his request and that he wired money to pay for the gun purchases. De La Cruz then picked up the guns, brought them to Oakland, and resold them to others for a profit. De La Cruz admitted the conspiracy was responsible for trafficking more than 60 firearms from Reno to Oakland.
De La Cruz also pleaded guilty to armed robbery. De La Cruz admitted that on November 21, 2015, he committed the armed robbery of an Oakland gas station. De La Cruz and an accomplice were both carrying guns when they entered the gas station store and demanded cash from the cash registers at gunpoint. After receiving cash, the defendant then ran out of the store with his accomplice. In addition to the armed robbery, De La Cruz admitted that on October 20, 2016, he possessed three Glock firearms and possessed cocaine and marijuana for distribution. The defendant also admitted to possessing cocaine for sale and, at times, trading guns for drugs. In sum, De La Cruz acknowledged he possessed firearms for multiple purposes: to engage in illegal firearms trafficking, to commit robbery, and to protect himself and his drug stash when he engaged in narcotics dealing.
On April 20, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted De La Cruz and seven alleged coconspirators with numerous crimes related to the conspiracy. For his role, De La Cruz was charged with conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 195l(a) and 2; carrying or brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(l)(A); two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 84l(a)(l) and (b)(l)(C); 54 counts of dealing in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(l)(A) and 2; two counts of traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking; and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 84l(a)(l) and (b)(l)(D). Pursuant to today’s plea agreement, De La Cruz pleaded guilty to one count each of robbery affecting interstate commerce, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, and traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking.
Judge Gilliam has scheduled De La Cruz’s sentencing for November 13, 2017, at 2 p.m. The maximum statutory penalty for robbery affecting interstate commerce is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence is life in prison (with a 7-year mandatory minimum, consecutive to sentence imposed on any other count), a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license is 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release. Additional fines, forfeitures, and special assessments also may be imposed. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center.
Nigerian Man Sentenced for Role in “Business Email Compromise” Scheme That Caused $3.7 Million Loss to U.S. CompaniesRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Nigerian citizen in the U.S. on a student visa was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $615,555.12 in restitution for his role in what has become known as a “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) scheme, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Amechi Colvis Amuegbunam, 30, of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty in March 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2015.
According to plea documents in the case, from November 2013 through August 2015, Amuegbunam and other individuals, sent fraudulent emails to companies in the Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, containing misrepresentations that caused the companies to wire transfer funds as instructed on a pdf document that was attached to the email.
The investigation of this particular scheme began when two companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area reported to the FBI Dallas office that they had received targeted spear phishing emails. These emails appeared to be a forwarded message, allegedly from a top executive at the company, sent to an employee in the company’s accounting department who had authority to make financial transfers for the company. Although the emails appeared to be coming from a company executive, the messages were actually coming from a false email account fraudulently created to look like a legitimate company email account. A fraudulent domain name was used that contained one small difference from the true company’s email address – such as transposed letters. After complying with the spear-phishing email instructions to transfer funds, the companies became victims of the BEC scheme. The investigation traced the creation of some of the pdfs to Amuegbunam.
According to the factual resume, the scheme involved at least ten victims totaling a loss of approximately $3,700,000.
The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath prosecuted. In May 2017, the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement about the BEC scheme. https://www.ic3.gov/media/2017/170504.aspx
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