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28 June 2017
Post falls woman sentenced for bankruptcy fraudRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ ALENE - Rebecca C. Buell, 48, of Post Falls, Idaho, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge in Coeur d’Alene for concealing assets in a bankruptcy proceeding. She was sentenced to three years probation, including 150 hours community service, and ordered to pay $38,960.53 in restitution. Buell pleaded guilty to the felony charge on January 31, 2017.
According to court records, while in bankruptcy proceedings, Buell failed to disclose to the bankruptcy trustee $38,960.53 she received in an inheritance. After discovering the concealment, the trustee referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney' Office for investigation and prosecution.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation section.
Phony Jury Duty ScamRead the Press Release
Citizens of the Treasure Valley are once again being victimized by a phone scam involving federal grand jury duty. Individuals are contacted by telephone from an imposter posing as an Ada County deputy sheriff demanding payment for failing to appear for federal grand jury service. The scam artist then demands payment via cash card or green dot card. After victims purchase the cash cards they are advised to call the imposters back to provide them with the numbers on the back of the card, allowing them to access the money immediately. Individuals are then directed to complete the transaction at a “bond kiosk” located at the Ada County Courthouse.
According to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, deputies will never threaten citizens for missing jury duty, ask citizens to place funds on pre-paid credit cards or make payments at a courthouse kiosk. Further, the federal jury office will never threaten citizens for missing jury duty or ask for funds. If you do legitimately miss jury duty, you will receive a letter in the mail.
The Better Business Bureau advises that citizens can protect themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft by never disclosing personal information from unsolicited telephone callers.
Please contact the Ada County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 377-6790 or visit the Better Business Bureau online at https://www.bbb.org/snakeriver/.
Pennsylvania Man Charged with Defrauding Baton Rouge Business in Fraudulent SchemeRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson announced today that his office has charged a Pennsylvania man by Bill of Information with a wire fraud scheme for allegedly defrauding a Baton Rouge company and causing more than $500,000 in loss. If convicted, the defendant could face imprisonment for up to 20 years, a significant fine, restitution, forfeiture, and supervised release following imprisonment.
The Bill of Information filed today charges MURRAY CARL NEEREN, age 68, of Holland, Pennsylvania, with devising a scheme to defraud, and to obtain money and property from Edgen Murray Corporation of Baton Rouge (“Edgen”), by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses. Edgen is a global supplier of specialized products for energy and infrastructure markets, and supplies steel plate, pipes, fittings, flanges, valves, and other products to customers all over the world.
The Bill alleges that NEEREN worked for Edgen as an independent contractor and was based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. According to the Bill, NEEREN devised a scheme, using email and telephonic communications, to mislead Edgen regarding NEEREN’s work. NEEREN intentionally misled Edgen with respect to the cost of materials he was purchasing, for instance, and caused Edgen to believe that it was making a profit on subsequent sales involving the materials, when in fact NEEREN was re-selling the materials at a small profit or even at a loss. The bill alleges that NEEREN’s scheme caused Edgen to pay him $157,152.31 in fraudulent commission payments, and caused a total loss to Edgen of $592,584.07.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Pete Smyczek and Rene Salomon.
NOTE: A bill of information is an accusation by the Acting U.S. Attorney. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.
Operation Riptide Takedown Results in 16 ConvictionsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Over 150 law enforcement agents and officers executed a takedown on March 1, arresting dozens of individuals for their respective roles in selling drugs and guns in Norfolk. Today, the final federal defendant pleaded guilty to firearm and drug charges, bringing the total number of convictions to 16 within four months of their arrest.
“Operation Riptide was a significant and expertly coordinated takedown of dangerous criminals here in Hampton Roads,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Public safety is our top priority, and through the combined efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners we will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who seek to bring harm to this community. I want to thank our investigative partners for their extraordinary efforts on this case.”
“My top priority as Attorney General is to keep Virginians and their families safe, and Operation Riptide has been an important step in getting dangerous weapons and drugs out of Hampton Roads,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “The cooperation and collaboration between our local, state, and federal partners shows that we all share the commitment to keeping our Commonwealth safe, and I am proud to be a part of the team that took these criminals off our streets.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) began Operation Riptide in the Fall of 2016, and in collaboration with the Norfolk Police Department, Virginia State Police, and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, identified more than 30 individuals throughout Hampton Roads who were illegally selling firearms, heroin, and/or other narcotics. Operation Riptide resulted in the recovery of over 50 firearms (including at least 3 assault rifles, 2 sawed off shotguns, and 47 hand guns, 18 of which had obliterated serial numbers or were stolen), over 170 grams of heroin, 65 grams of powder cocaine, 290 grams of crack cocaine, and a bullet proof vest.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard accepted the guilty plea of Michael Ovall Jackson, 34, of Norfolk, who is the 16th federal defendant.
This case was investigated by the ATF’s Norfolk Field Office, the Norfolk Police Department, and the Virginia State Police with the assistance of the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake Police Departments, the Norfolk and Chesapeake Sheriff’s Offices, and the Virginia National Guard. Attorneys from the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Unit, John F. Butler and James F. Entas, are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of Norfolk Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Catherine Paxson, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Kevin M. Comstock, Joseph E. DePadilla, Kevin Hudson, William B. Jackson, William D. Muhr, and Daniel T. Young.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:17-cr-21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 54, 64.
Name, AKA
Age, Hometown
Pleaded Guilty to the Following Charge(s)
Date of Guilty Plea
Darryl Moore,
aka “Little Darryl”
28, Norfolk
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
March 16
Kejuan Dante Perry,
aka “KP”
25, Chesapeake
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
March 21
Maurice Owen Johnson,
aka “Dink”
28, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
March 22
Leonard Lee Brickhouse,
aka “Leo Brixx”
24, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
March 29
Evrick Speight
aka “P”
23, Virginia Beach
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
April 5
Jason Gilliard,
aka “Hoodro Wilson”
32, Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin
April 10
Lamare Pierre Jordan,
aka “L”
30, Norfolk
Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
April 11
James Andre Martin,
aka “Big Buff”
44, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Firearm
April 10
Keone Devon Perry
23, Chesapeake
Transfer of Firearm to Prohibited Person
April 10
Carl Lee Walton,
aka “CJ”
22, Virginia Beach
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
April 11
Demetrius Lamont, Davis
aka “Meat”
39, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
April 26
James Curtis Lamb
28, Chesapeake
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
May 2
Adrean Lamont Hall
25, Virginia Beach
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
May 15
James Edward Hill
43, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
May 18
Joseph Maurice Dobey
38, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
May 30
Michael Ovall Jackson
34, Norfolk
Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base
June 28
New York Notary Public Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Abetting VISA FraudRead the Press Release
Concord, N.H. — Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced that Mohammed Abdul Baten, 65, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting visa fraud.
According to court records and statements in court, the case arose out an investigation into falsely notarized documents used to obtain visas. Specifically, when a legal immigrant seeks to petition to have other alien relatives admitted into the country, the National Visa Center (“NVC”) requires that the petitioner demonstrate a sufficient income level to support the relatives upon their arrival. This process is intended to ensure that the new immigrants will not become public charges after they enter the country. If the petitioner does not have enough income, he or she may submit paperwork in which another person, i.e. the “joint sponsor,” agrees to provide financial support for the new arrivals. The joint sponsor also is required to document his or her own income and assets to ensure sufficient resources will be available. The joint sponsor is required to complete an I-864 form under penalties of perjury.
In this case, a number of submissions to the NVC contained repeat joint sponsors appearing to support large numbers of petitioners. Further investigation revealed that many of these joint sponsors had not, in fact, agreed to serve as joint sponsors and did not sign the I-864 forms purporting to bear their signatures. Rather, the I-864 forms had been forged and were falsely notarized by Baten in his capacity as a notary public in Brooklyn, New York. In this respect, Baten’s notarizations were a material aid to the petitioners’ submissions of false and misleading documents to the NVC.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 3, 2017.
This matter was investigated by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.
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New York City School Guidance Counselor Sentenced to Five Years’ Imprisonment for Posting of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Earlier today, John Capuano, a New York City school guidance counselor and teachers’ union representative, was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, to five years’ imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release following his March 2016 guilty plea to Transportation of Child Pornography in Interstate and Foreign Commerce. The sentencing proceeding was held before United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley. During his supervised release, Capuano must register as a sex offender, and he will not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors.
The sentence was announced by Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York.
“As a school guidance counselor and educator, Capuano had a mandatory obligation in New York State to report child abuse,” stated Acting United States Attorney Rohde. “Instead, he victimized children by sharing images of their rape and abuse with others online. Protection of our children remains a top priority of this Office, and we will continue to vigorously prosecute such offenses.” Ms. Rohde extended her grateful appreciation to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, for its assistance in the investigation.
“Capuano had been a trusted educator within the community while posting pornographic images of children as young as three,” stated ICE-HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Melendez. “Further, he used his work phone as a teachers’ union rep to download images. Protecting children is a priority and we will relentlessly investigate and pursue cases of child predators who hide behind their computer screens and bringing them into the light.”
As set forth in the charging instruments and at the defendant’s plea allocution, in April 2015, an undercover HSI agent, as part of an ongoing effort to locate individuals sharing child pornography, found child pornography images and videos involving children as young as 3-5 years’ old which had been posted by Capuano to a chat room in a publicly available Internet application. After tracing location information for the account used to post the images, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on May 28, 2015, at Capuano’s residence in Valley Stream, New York.
During the search, Capuano spoke with law enforcement personnel following a waiver of his Miranda rights and admitted that he used the Internet application to trade child pornography and posted the images located by the undercover agent. Capuano also identified his personal telephone and his work telephone as a teachers’ union representative as devices he used to access these materials. Capuano was arrested at that time and remains incarcerated.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Allen Bode is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOHN CAPUANO
Age: 44
Valley Stream, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15 CR 312 (DRH)
New Orleans Man Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment for Possession of Child Pornography and Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DWIGHT JOSEPH, JR., age 34, of New Orleans, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to a two-count Indictment charging him with possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve and failure to register as a sex offender.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced JOSEPH to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment. Additionally, JOSEPH was ordered to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. A hearing on restitution is pending.
According to court documents, JOSEPH was convicted in 2005 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, for dissemination of photo/film of child sex acts, which required him to register as sex offender for at least ten years. Notwithstanding that obligation, JOSEPH temporarily resided in New Orleans beginning in about April 2015, without notifying the appropriate authorities in either Louisiana or Pennsylvania.
Additionally, on about September 9, 2015, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at JOSEPH’S residence, during which time they seized numerous electronic items. A forensic examination of the device revealed that JOSEPH used the devices to download and save images and videos of children as young as less than one-year old engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including being raped, forced to perform oral sex on adult men, and being forced to engage in acts of incest. The forensic examination located approximately 725 images and 69 videos depicting prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit on JOSEPH’S digital devices.
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 United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to 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.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit and the United States Marshals Service, with assistance from the United States Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.
New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to Two Bank Robberies During Spring 2016 Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
Concord, N.H.—Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Michael Munroe (also known as Michael Monroe), 34, previously of Raymond, New Hampshire, has pleaded guilty to two bank robberies.
According to court records and statements in court, Munroe robbed a Northway Bank branch location in Ossipee, NH on March 28, 2016 and a Granite State Credit Union branch location in Seabrook, NH on April 1, 2016. He committed each robbery by passing a demand note to the teller threatening that he had a gun and demanding money. Following each robbery, Munroe fled the scene.
The two bank robberies were part of a larger two-state multi-week crime spree perpetrated by Munroe in March and April 2016. As part of his plea today and to resolve his pending liability in other jurisdictions, Munroe also has admitted to other criminal conduct, including: (1) the March 19, 2016 assault on an individual in his home in Epping, NH; (2) the March 27, 2016 taking of a victim’s Honda Pilot from her possession in Manchester, NH; (3) the March 30, 2016 taking of a victim’s Lexus ES300 from her possession in Tewksbury, MA; (4) the March 31, 2016 attempted taking of a victim’s Toyota Highlander from her possession in Reading, MA; and (5) the April 1, 2016 theft of a Honda CRV while it was parked in Derry, NH. Munroe has been in custody since his arrest by Hancock Police on April 2, 2016.
As part of his plea agreement, Munroe has agreed to pay $1,645 in restitution to Northway Bank and $8,099 in restitution to Granite State Credit Union. He also has agreed to pay restitution to the victims of the uncharged additional criminal conduct detailed above.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 3, 2017.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Manchester Police Department, the Ossipee Police Department, the Seabrook Police Department, the Hancock Police Department, the Tewksbury, MA Police Department, and the Reading, MA Police Department. Assistance was provided by the County Attorney’s Offices for Hillsborough, Carroll, and Rockingham Counties in New Hampshire and the Middlesex County, MA, District Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.
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Monroe County Tobacco Store Owner Sentenced to 54 Months’ Imprisonment for Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Aggravated Identity Theft OffensesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that United States District Judge James M. Munley sentenced Rehan A. Merchant, age 40, of Bushkill Falls, Pennsylvania, to 54 months’ imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release, for conspiring to commit wire fraud and for committing aggravated identity theft.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Merchant was the owner and operator of the Cigar and Tobacco Outlet in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. Merchant pleaded guilty in June 2016, admitting that from September 2014, through September 2015, he and his co-conspirators used and attempted to use counterfeit and stolen credit and debit cards to make fraudulent purchases at the Cigar and Tobacco Outlet. Merchant and his co-conspirators also forged the names of cardholders on the associated credit and debit card receipts. The conspirators further trafficked tobacco between Pennsylvania and New York. Merchant obtained $193,219.76 from the fraudulent scheme, and attempted but failed to obtain an additional $983,811.59.
Investigators were able to seize and forfeit $82,762.67 of fraudulently-obtained funds. In pronouncing the sentence of imprisonment, Judge Munley emphasized the number of victims who suffered from Merchant’s criminal activities. Judge Munley also imposed a $193,219.76 order of restitution as part of Merchant’s sentence.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.
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Middlesex County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Stealing $184,936 in Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man charged with stealing his late great aunt’s Social Security benefits for 18 years made his initial court appearance today, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Lance Nelson, 56, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with stealing $184,936 in benefits from the Social Security Administration between 1998 and 2016. Nelson appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Nelson’s great aunt received Social Security benefits, which were sent to a joint bank account that she shared with Nelson at Bank of America. In February 1998, Nelson’s great aunt died, and the Social Security Administration, unaware of her death, continued to issue her monthly retirement benefits. From March 1998 until February 2016, the Social Security Administration sent $184,936 to the joint account. Nelson, who was not entitled to receive his great aunt’s retirement benefits, used the money for his own benefit. Between August 2009 and March 2016, Nelson caused $52,367 to be transferred from the joint account into Nelson’s individual savings and checking accounts. He also used ATMs to withdraw approximately $30,000 from the joint account between April 2011 and October 2015. Since at least 1998, Nelson earned $36,868 to $64,272 per year as an assistant zoning officer for the City of Perth Amboy.
The theft of federal funds charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss associated with the offense.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents with the Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John F. Grasso of the New York Field Division, with the investigation leading to the charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cari Fais of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mexican National Sentenced for Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 24-year-old woman from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction on two different assaults of federal officers, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Maribel Tejeda-Fomperosa pleaded guilty in February 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera ordered Tejeda-Fomperosa to serve 21 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, she is expected to face deportation proceedings following her release from prison. Tejeda-Fomperosa’s sentence includes upward adjustments or increases in her calculated sentencing guideline range because she was found to have made physical contact with the victims and because each victim sustained bodily injury. Tejeda-Fompersa also received an upward adjustment because she assaulted two different federal officers.
Border Patrol (BP) agents arrested Tejeda-Fomperosa on Oct. 24, 2016, after she made an illegal entry into the United States by wading across the Rio Grande River near Brownsville. She became physically and verbally aggressive after being placed in a holding cell following that arrest. As a result, she physically assaulted a BP agent attempting to restrain her and spat at a second agent. The evidence also indicated that on Nov. 15, 2016, while in custody for the Oct. 24, 2016, assault, Tejeda-Foromperosa again became physically and verbally aggressive and assaulted a corrections officer while being held at the Willacy County Regional Detention Center. Tejeda-Frompersoa was indicted separately for both assaults.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Castro is prosecuting the case.
Member of Camden, New Jersey, Drug Trafficking Organization Admits Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man today admitted selling crack cocaine, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Nafeez Griffin, a/k/a “Feez,” 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Griffin admitted that on Nov. 30, 2015, he sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer on the 1100 block of Lansdowne Avenue, which was then under the control of a drug distribution organization of which he was a member. Griffin also admitted that other members of the organization supplied drugs to him, and that he made sales of crack cocaine on other occasions. Griffin and others were originally charged by complaint on Sept. 9, 2016, following a long-term investigation by the FBI’s South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force. Law enforcement officers seized drugs and recovered two handguns that were kept by members of the conspiracy in connection with the organization’s drug trafficking activities. Investigators also intercepted communications pursuant to court-authorized wiretaps on cellular telephones used by several members of the conspiracy.
The count to which Griffin pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2017.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief J. Scott Thomson; the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Rick Fuentes, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
He also thanked the Camden County Sheriff’s Department, the Cherry Hill Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Justin T. Loughry Esq., Camden
McKean, Pa., Man Indicted on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of McKean, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
The three-count indictment named Nathan Mark Williams, 37, of McKean, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, Williams distributed, received and possessed computer images and movies depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Manchester Physician Agrees to Pay $133,464 to Settle Civil Health Care Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy today announced that Charles G. Landry, D.O. (“Dr. Landry”) has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States in which he will pay $133,464 to resolve allegations that from January 2011 through August 2014 he submitted false claims to Medicare.
According to a civil complaint, Dr. Landry is alleged to have violated the federal False Claims Acts by submitting claims for certain evaluation and management (“E&M”) services that were not eligible for payment under Medicare and submitting those claims knowing, deliberately ignoring or recklessly disregarding that they were false. Dr. Landry was not entitled to be paid for those E&M services because they were provided in connection with, and integral to, osteopathic manipulative treatment Dr. Landry performed on the same day. In total, Dr. Landry received $66,732 from the Medicare Trust Fund to which he was not entitled. The settlement amount represents twice the amount of damages incurred by the Medicare program.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The civil action is docketed United States v. Charles G. Landry, D.O., 17-cv-243 (D. Me.).
Man who spent eight years as a fugitive convicted of drug traffickingRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Blas Aleman has been sentenced to 17 years, 11 months in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Aleman participated in the drug conspiracy in 2008, and after that time was believed to be on the run in Mexico. In March 2016, following his apprehension in Mexico, Aleman was extradited to the United States to face the federal drug trafficking charge.
“We will pursue international drug traffickers who distribute their illegal narcotics in this country and take refuge outside of the United States,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Thanks to the diligence of our federal and state law enforcement partners, this drug trafficker has been brought to justice after spending almost eight years as a fugitive.”
Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, “This cocaine trafficker eluded justice and ran to what he considered a place of refuge (Mexico). With patience, investigative skill and relentless pursuit, this fugitive was captured. This is a shining example of how DEA and its law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to pursue the far stretching tentacles of drug traffickers who seek to run from justice.”
“This is yet another case where federal law enforcement was and will continue to be relentless in finding those who cause drugs to be brought into our neighborhoods,” said Beverly Harvard, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In or around early 2008, in Marietta, Georgia, Aleman met with, and recruited, an individual to become a courier for his drug trafficking organization. Aleman then purchased a car in Smyrna, Georgia, and had it registered and insured in the courier’s name. In early May 2008, Aleman traveled with the courier to Guerrero, Mexico, and oversaw the delivery of the car to his fellow drug traffickers.
While in Mexico, Aleman was responsible for hiding 11.8 kilograms of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine inside of an after-market compartment installed in the vehicle. Aleman then returned the car to the courier at a hotel on the Mexican side of the U.S. border. Aleman ordered the courier to drive across the U.S. border and to deliver the drugs to Aleman’s conspirators in Atlanta, where the drugs would be further distributed. Although the courier crossed the U.S. border without being detected, he was stopped by a police officer in Mississippi for a traffic violation while traveling eastbound on Interstate 20. During a search of the car, law enforcement discovered the hidden compartment containing the drugs.
In June 2008, a grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment charging Aleman, the courier, and three other conspirators with drug conspiracy in relation to the narcotics seized from the car. The U.S. Marshals Service soon determined that Aleman was in rural Mexico and believed to be in hiding. After a multi-year effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, Aleman was extradited to the United States to face the federal drug charge in March 2016.
U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. sentenced Blas Aleman, 38, of Guerrero, Mexico, to 17 years, 11 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Court also ordered that Aleman be deported from the United States once he completes his prison term. Aleman was found guilty by a jury on April 13, 2017, following a four-day trial.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Man Who Laundered Millions from Massive Computer Hacking and Telecommunications Fraud Scheme Gets 48 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Pakistani citizen was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for laundering more than $19.6 million on behalf of the perpetrators of a massive international computer hacking and telecommunications fraud scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Muhammad Sohail Qasmani, 49, formerly of Bangkok, Thailand, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
This massive international telecommunications fraud scheme, allegedly led by Noor Aziz, 55, of Karachi, Pakistan, and responsible for total losses exceeding $70 million, involved unauthorized access to the computer systems – commonly known as PBX systems – that ran the internal telephone networks of numerous businesses and organizations in the United States. Foreign-based hackers targeted the telephone systems of the victim corporations and placed calls to those systems in an attempt to identify unused telephone extensions. Once the hackers identified unused extensions, they illegally reprogrammed the telephone systems so that they could be used to make unlimited long distance calls, all of which were ultimately charged back to the victim corporations.
The hacked telephone systems were then used to make calls to premium telephone numbers – such as purported chat lines, adult entertainment, and psychic hotlines – that generated revenue based on the calls’ duration and were set up and controlled by Aziz. In actuality, the numbers provided no actual services. Telephone company representatives who suspected fraudulent activity and called the numbers heard recordings of fake rings, fake password prompts, fake voicemail messages, music, or dead air on continuous loops.
In 2008, Qasmani, who operated a money laundering and smuggling business in Thailand, agreed to launder proceeds of the scheme for Aziz. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Qasmani established multiple bank accounts to receive the money generated by the illicit telephone traffic. Qasmani also paid the hackers and dialers who worked for Aziz to keep the scheme going.
Specifically, over nearly four years, Qasmani initiated money transfers to approximately 650 unique transferees, located in at least 10 countries, including the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Italy. Qasmani moved a total of approximately $19.6 million in fraud proceeds from November 2008 through Dec. 31, 2012. Qasmani kept laundering the money even after Aziz was arrested in connection with this scheme and later released by foreign authorities.
On Dec. 22, 2014, Special Agents of the FBI arrested Qasmani at Los Angeles International Airport after he arrived on a flight from Bangkok.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Qasmani to two years of supervised release. Qasmani must also forfeit $25,000 and pay restitution of $71,761,956.34.
Aziz was charged by indictment on June 20, 2012 and remains a fugitive. For more information, visit the FBI Cyber's Most Wanted list. The charges and allegations against him are merely accusations, and he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their assistance in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Judson Welle, coordinator of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section of the Economic Crimes Unit.
Defense Counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Lisa Mack Esq., Newark
Madison County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography CrimesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Brent Dale, 40, of Earlville, NY, was sentenced yesterday to serve 210 months in federal prison following his plea of guilty to all counts of a five-count indictment charging him with child pornography offenses, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. He will be placed on a lifetime period of supervised release following the end of his prison sentence. Dale was a registered sex offender at the time he committed the offenses of conviction, and will be required to continue that registration after his release.
Dale’s sentencing yesterday follows his September 2016 pleas of guilty to the distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography stemming from his trading images of child pornography with other users on the Internet, and amassing a collection of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
This case was investigated by the New York State Police, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher.
This multi-agency approach is a hallmark of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Los Zetas Drug Cartel Sicario and Piedras Negras Plaza Boss Sentenced to Life in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, a federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Marciano Millan Vasquez, a high ranking member and a former sicario for the Los Zetas drug cartel, to seven (7) consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence, drug trafficking and weapons trafficking in Northern Mexico in furtherance of a drug distribution operation announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division; Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden; and, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw.
“Without mercy or compunction he brutally murdered anyone and everyone as it suited him and his cartel, at times inflicting the cruelest of pain, forcing relatives to watch their loved ones murdered before he turned his blades on them,” stated United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr. “Today’s sentence marks an end to his reign of terror over the drug plaza in Piedras Negras.”
On July 19, 2016, following a three-week trial, the jury found Vasquez (aka “Chano”), guilty on all charges including killing while engaged in drug trafficking; conspiracy to distribute and import marijuana; distribution of controlled substances outside the U.S. intending that they be imported into the U.S.; employing minors in a drug crime; conspiracy to distribute cocaine; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and, making a false statement to a federal official.
Testimony during trial revealed that Vasquez was a member of Los Zetas and served as a sicario (or assassin), drug trafficker and weapons distributor until 2013 when he took over control of the Piedras Negras “Plaza” (or drug trafficking corridor) for the Los Zetas led by Miguel Trevino Morales (aka “Z-40”) and his brother, Oscar Omar Trevino Morales (aka “Z-42”). Testimony also revealed that as the “Plaza boss,” Vasquez oversaw the importation and distribution of more than 100,000 kilograms of marijuana, tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States and obtained and distributed firearms amongst Los Zetas members. Vasquez also personally distribute multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the United States. Furthermore, testimony revealed that Vasquez was responsible for the murders of at least 29 individuals in Northern Mexico between January 2009 and July 2015.
In one incident, testimony revealed that in 2013, Vasquez murdered a young girl by dismembering her with an axe and burning her body in front of her parents while laughing and saying, “so you’ll remember me.” Vasquez then ordered that the mother be killed in similar fashion while forcing the father to watch. Vasquez then ordered that the father be killed. According to testimony, Vasquez did so because he and other Los Zetas wanted the father to suffer. In a prior incident, testimony revealed that Vasquez participated in the massacre of numerous people in Piedras Negras and Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, at the hands of Los Zetas members in March of 2011.
Vazquez has remained in federal custody since his arrest in San Antonio on July 15, 2015.
“The life sentence imposed on Vasquez should be a reminder to all criminals that violence and victimization of the public will not be tolerated and will be met with the full weight of the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden, HSI San Antonio. “HSI and its law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring the safety and security of our communities in south Texas.”“Marciano Millan Vasquez’s sentence to life in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities. It is another example of our success in the fight against major Mexican drug cartels operating in the United States,” stated Joseph M. Arabit, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Houston Field Division.
This case was investigated by the DEA, HSI, and the Texas Rangers together with the U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Border Patrol; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); HSI Office of the Chief Counsel; Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS); Texas National Guard; Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office; Maverick County Sheriff’s Office; Maverick County Constable’s Office; and the police departments of Austin, San Antonio, Hollywood Park, Castle Hills, Live Oak, Leon Valley, Eagle Pass, Eagle Pass Independent School District, and Richland (MS).
The Los Zetas is a powerful drug trafficking organization operating out of Mexico, which funnels thousands of kilograms of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and other narcotics into the United States each year. Los Zetas are one of the largest drug cartels operating in Mexico today, with their influence stretching from Central America through Mexico and into cities throughout the United States. organization is based in the city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and has control over several other Mexican cities located on the United States-Mexico border, including Ciudad Acuna and Piedras Negras—both located in Coahuila, Mexico. large-scale drug trafficking of this organization generates multi-million dollar revenues.
The Los Zetas were first established to be the lethal enforcers for another Mexican drug cartel: The Gulf Cartel. The leaders of the Gulf Cartel recruited former members of the Mexican Army Special Forces from the Groupo Aeromovil de Fuerza Especiales (GAFES) in the late 1990s. However, over time the Los Zetas broke away from the Gulf Cartel and began to operate independently. Heriberto Lazcano, aka Z-3, was the leader of the Los Zetas from 2004 until his death on October 7, 2012 in Coahuila, Mexico. After his death, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, aka Z-40 and his brother Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, aka Z-42 assumed the leadership positions. In April 2009 the President of the United States identified the Los Zetas as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Z-40 and Z-42 as specially designated narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in July 2009 and March 2010, respectively.
The Los Zetas is organized in a hierarchical structure with certain groups or cells operating in tiers of command. Its members purchase bulk quantities of narcotics and sell them abroad as well as to other non-Los Zetas drug traffickers operating in Mexico. In addition to those considered actual members of the Los Zetas, any large scale narcotics trafficker operating in a region controlled by the Los Zetas must support and associate with the Los Zetas or risk execution. The Los Zetas not only supplies the drugs (marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.) to the traffickers, they charge the traffickers a fee (called the “quota”) for the privilege of operating in Los Zetas territory. That fee includes cash payments as well as firearms and other munitions (ammunition, magazines, etc.). In addition to allowing these traffickers to operate in their territory, the Los Zetas had control of law enforcement entities and political subdivisions within the State of Coahuila, which allowed them to operate with impunity and to obtain real-time intelligence about the movement and location of the Mexican military and law enforcement within the State.
Los Angeles Hospital Agrees to Pay $42 Million to Settle Alleged False Claims Act Violations Arising from Improper Payments to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
PAMC Ltd., and Pacific Alliance Medical Center Inc., which together own and operate Pacific Alliance Medical Center, an acute care hospital located in Los Angeles, California, have agreed to pay $42 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced today. Of the total settlement amount, $31.9 million will be paid to the Federal Government, and $10 million will be paid to the State of California.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations brought in a whistleblower lawsuit that the defendants submitted false claims to the Medicare and MediCal Programs for services rendered to patients referred by physicians with whom the defendants had improper financial relationships. These relationships took the form of (1) arrangements under which the defendants allegedly paid above-market rates to rent office space in physicians’ offices, and (2) marketing arrangements that allegedly provided undue benefit to physicians’ practices. The lawsuit alleged that these relationships violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, both of which restrict the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them.
“This is another example of how the False Claims Act whistleblower provisions can help protect the public fisc,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This recovery should help to deter other health care providers from entering into improper financial relationships with physicians that can taint the physicians’ medical judgment, to the detriment of patients and taxpayers.”
The lawsuit was filed by Paul Chan, who was employed as a manager by one of the defendants, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The United States may intervene in the lawsuit, or, as in this case, the whistleblower may pursue the action. Mr. Chan will receive over $9.2 million as his share of the federal recovery.
“Federal law prohibits improper financial relationships between hospitals that receive federal health care funds and medical professionals – this is to protect the doctor-patient relationship and to ensure the quality of care provided,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown for the Central District of California. “Patients deserve to know their doctors are making health care decisions based solely on medical need and not for any potential financial benefit.”
“This settlement is a warning to health care companies that think they can boost their profits by entering into improper financial arrangements with referring physicians,” said Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to crack down on such deals, which work to undermine impartial medical judgement, drive up health care costs, and corrode the public’s trust in the health care system.”
The case, United States ex rel. Chan v. PAMC, Ltd., et al., Case No. 13-cv-4273 (C.D. Cal.), was monitored by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and HHS-OIG. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Los Angeles Hospital Agrees to Pay $42 Million to Settle Allegations Arising from Improper Financial Arrangements with PhysiciansRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The owners of Pacific Alliance Medical Center, an acute care hospital located in the Chinatown District of Los Angeles, have agreed to pay $42 million to settle allegations that they were involved in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced today.
PAMC, Ltd. and Pacific Alliance Medical Center Inc., the owners of the hospital, agreed to pay the settlement to resolve a lawsuit that alleged they had violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare and MediCal programs.
The settlement, which was finalized this week, calls for PAMC Ltd. and Pacific Alliance Medical Center Inc. to pay $31.9 million to the United States and $10 million to the State of California.
The settlement resolves allegations brought in a “whistleblower” lawsuit that the defendants submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to Medicare and MediCal for services rendered to patients who had been referred by physicians with whom the defendants had improper financial relationships.
These improper relationships took the form of (1) arrangements under which the defendants allegedly paid above-market rates to rent office space in physicians’ offices, and (2) marketing arrangements that allegedly provided undue benefit to physicians’ practices.
The lawsuit alleged that these relationships violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, both of which restrict the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them.
“Federal law prohibits improper financial relationships between hospitals that receive federal health care funds and medical professionals – this is to protect the doctor-patient relationship and to ensure the quality of care provided,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “Patients deserve to know their doctors are making health care decisions based solely on medical need and not for any potential financial benefit.”
The whistleblower lawsuit was filed by Paul Chan, who was employed as a manager by one of the defendants, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The United States may intervene in the lawsuit, or, as in this case, the whistleblower may pursue the action. Mr. Chan will receive over $9.2 million as his share of the federal recovery.
“This is another example of how the False Claims Act whistleblower provisions can help protect the public fisc,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This recovery should help to deter other health care providers from entering into improper financial relationships with physicians that can taint the physicians’ medical judgment, to the detriment of patients and taxpayers.”
“This settlement is a warning to health care companies that think they can boost their profits by entering into improper financial arrangements with referring physicians,” said Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to crack down on such deals, which work to undermine impartial medical judgement, drive up health care costs, and corrode the public’s trust in the health care system.”
The case, United States ex rel. Chan v. PAMC, Ltd., et al., CV13-4273 (C.D. Cal.), was monitored by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, and HHS-OIG.
The defendants have until July 7 to make the settlement payments.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and the defendants did not admit liability in settling the action.
Lockport Man Sentenced in Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ALLEN GAUTREAUX, age 36, of Lockport, was sentenced today after having previously pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced GAUTREAUX to 37 months of incarceration, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to court documents, GAUTREAUX conspired to distribute between 30 grams and 40 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine throughout the New Orleans area.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Louisiana State Police (LSP), and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long was in charge of the prosecution.
Local Restaurant Owner Sentenced on Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition ChargeRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that Nigel Michael Sandiford, a/k/a “Marvin H. Rogers,” a/k/a “Cecil Price,” age 43, of Columbia, was sentenced today in federal court after earlier pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, of Columbia, sentenced Sandiford to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment along with a $5,500.00 fine and $100 special assessment. Sandiford, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, waived deportation proceedings and agreed to be deported immediately following his service of the imposed term of imprisonment.
Evidence presented in court during the March 2017 guilty plea hearing established that after receiving information from New Jersey law enforcement, federal agents obtained and executed a federal search warrant at Sandiford’s Montego Bay restaurant on Parklane Road in Columbia on July 18, 2016. Inside the restaurant, agents located a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun, a Glock .45 caliber handgun, along with rounds of 12 gauge shotgun shells, .40 caliber ammunition, .45 caliber ammunition, and a 30-round high capacity magazine containing 9mm ammunition. Sandiford admitted to possessing the firearms and ammunition and to having a prior Richland County drug conviction under the alias “Marvin H. Rogers,” as well as prior New York convictions under the alias “Cecil Price.”
Sandiford is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior state convictions, which includes a South Carolina conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and New York convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell 3rd degree, criminal possession of a weapon 3rd degree – defaced for concealment, and menacing.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Panda ExpressRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. (Panda Express), a restaurant chain with over 1,800 locations in the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Panda Express discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when reverifying their permission to work.
The department’s investigation concluded that Panda Express unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired. The investigation also revealed that Panda Express routinely required other non-U.S. citizen workers to produce immigration documents to reverify their ongoing work authorization despite evidence they had already provided sufficient documentation. The antidiscrimination provision of the INA prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin.
Under the settlement, Panda Express will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 to the United States, establish a $200,000 back pay fund to compensate workers who lost wages due to the company’s practices, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
“Employers should ensure that their reverification practices comply with laws that protect workers against discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department applauds Panda Express for its cooperation during this investigation and its commitment to compensating workers who may have lost wages due to its documentary practices.”
Work authorized non-U.S. citizens who lost work at Panda Express between May 31, 2014, and June 28, 2017, due to Panda Express’ documentary practices may be eligible for back pay for the wages they would have earned. For more information, email [email protected].
The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected] (link sends e-mail); or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Panda ExpressRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. (Panda Express), a restaurant chain with over 1,800 locations in the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Panda Express discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when reverifying their permission to work.
The department’s investigation concluded that Panda Express unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired. The investigation also revealed that Panda Express routinely required other non-U.S. citizen workers to produce immigration documents to reverify their ongoing work authorization despite evidence they had already provided sufficient documentation. The antidiscrimination provision of the INA prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin.
Under the settlement, Panda Express will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 to the United States, establish a $200,000 back pay fund to compensate workers who lost wages due to the company’s practices, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
“Employers should ensure that their reverification practices comply with laws that protect workers against discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department applauds Panda Express for its cooperation during this investigation and its commitment to compensating workers who may have lost wages due to its documentary practices.”
Work-authorized, non-U.S. citizens who lost work at Panda Express between May 31, 2014, and June 28, 2017, due to Panda Express’ documentary practices may be eligible for back pay for the wages they would have earned. For more information, email [email protected].
The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected] (link sends e-mail); or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.
Applicants or workers who believe they were subjected to different documentary requirements based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral, should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Panda ExpressRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. (Panda Express), a restaurant chain with over 1,800 locations in the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Panda Express discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when reverifying their permission to work.
The department’s investigation concluded that Panda Express unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired. The investigation also revealed that Panda Express routinely required other non-U.S. citizen workers to produce immigration documents to reverify their ongoing work authorization despite evidence they had already provided sufficient documentation. The antidiscrimination provision of the INA prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin.
Under the settlement, Panda Express will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 to the United States, establish a $200,000 back pay fund to compensate workers who lost wages due to the company’s practices, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
“Employers should ensure that their reverification practices comply with laws that protect workers against discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department applauds Panda Express for its cooperation during this investigation and its commitment to compensating workers who may have lost wages due to its documentary practices.”
Work-authorized, non-U.S. citizens who lost work at Panda Express between May 31, 2014, and June 28, 2017, due to Panda Express’ documentary practices may be eligible for back pay for the wages they would have earned. For more information, email [email protected].
The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected] (link sends e-mail); or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.
Applicants or workers who believe they were subjected to different documentary requirements based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral, should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Panda ExpressRead the Press Release
NOTE: The Settlement Agreement is attached as a PDF.
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. (Panda Express), a restaurant chain with over 1,800 locations in the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Panda Express discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when reverifying their permission to work.
The department’s investigation concluded that Panda Express unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired. The investigation also revealed that Panda Express routinely required other non-U.S. citizen workers to produce immigration documents to reverify their ongoing work authorization despite evidence they had already provided sufficient documentation. The antidiscrimination provision of the INA prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin.
Under the settlement, Panda Express will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 to the United States, establish a $200,000 back pay fund to compensate workers who lost wages due to the company’s practices, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
“Employers should ensure that their reverification practices comply with laws that protect workers against discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department applauds Panda Express for its cooperation during this investigation and its commitment to compensating workers who may have lost wages due to its documentary practices.”
Work-authorized, non-U.S. citizens who lost work at Panda Express between May 31, 2014, and June 28, 2017, due to Panda Express’ documentary practices may be eligible for back pay for the wages they would have earned. For more information, email [email protected].
The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected] (link sends e-mail); or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.
Applicants or workers who believe they were subjected to different documentary requirements based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral, should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.
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Jicarilla Apache Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Intimate PartnerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rode Lyle Enjady, 38, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an assault charge.
Enjady was arrested in Oct. 2016, on an indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, with intent to do bodily harm, assault with a dangerous weapon, a metal weight, with intent to do bodily harm, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault of an intimate partner by strangling or suffocating. According to the indictment, Enjady committed the crimes between Feb. 11, 2016 and Feb. 17, 2016, on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.
On Feb. 7, 2017, Enjady pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Enjady admitted that between Feb. 11, 2016 and Feb. 17, 2016, he physically abused his intimate partner, a Jicarilla Apache woman, by physically assaulting her. Enjady also admitted that he caused the victim to lose a tooth, suffer from bruising to the face, head, abdomen, back, pubic region, and legs as well as suffer from stab wounds to her legs.
This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall.
This case was brought as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native American women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Jacksonville Heroin Dealer Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Cordelle Joseph (45, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) to six years and three months in federal prison for possessing more than 100 grams of heroin with the intent to distribute it. He pleaded guilty on May 13, 2016.
According to court documents, during January 2016, a narcotics task force comprised of detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and special agents from the DEA and the FBI began investigating Joseph and others, who were suspected of supplying heroin in Jacksonville. The officers intercepted and arrested Joseph after he had flown to Los Angeles and returned to Jacksonville aboard a Greyhound bus; he was transporting almost a kilogram of heroin in his luggage. After his arrest, Joseph admitted that he had traveled to California to purchase heroin and that he had been living in the United States under a false identity. Following his prison sentence, Joseph will be deported.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.
Indictment: Former Highway Patrol Trooper Used Excessive ForceRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging a former Kansas Highway Patrol trooper with violating an individual’s civil rights by using excessive force.
The indictment was announced by Thomas E. Wheeler, II, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Tom Beall, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas and Darrin E. Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI.
The indictment alleges that James Carson, 43, Independence, Kan., while acting under color of law as a trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol, used excessive force amounting to punishment against a victim identified in court records as R.T. The indictment further alleges that Carson’s use of excessive force resulted in bodily injury to R.T. The crime is alleged to have occurred June 25, 2013, in Labette County, Kan.
If convicted on the civil rights charge, Carson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Trial Attorney Rose Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Richard A. James, Jr., 26, an inmate in custody of the Bureau of Prisons, is charged with assaulting a BOP unit manager. The crime is alleged to have occurred June 1, 2017, in Leavenworth County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.
Joshua R. Sawyer, 27, who is in custody in the Shawnee County Jail, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction and one count of unlawful possession of a sawed off shotgun. The crimes are alleged to have occurred May 9, 2017, in Topeka, Kan.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Michael Louis Lipp, 63, Lawrence, Kan., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Aug. 25, 2016, in Lawrence, Kan.
If convicted, he faces not less than five years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $5 million. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Michael Allen Carter, 29, Salina, Kan., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. The crimes are alleged to have occurred May 30, 2017, in Salina, Kan.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Hobbs Man Facing Federal Drug Trafficking Charge Arising Out of Seizure of 13 Pounds of CocaineRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Eric Angel Estrada, 31, of Hobbs, N.M., with a cocaine trafficking offense. Estrada was remanded into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.
Estrada was arrested on June 22, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing approximately six kilograms (13.2 pounds) of cocaine in Otero County, N.M. According to the complaint, Estrada was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 54, allegedly seized five bundles containing approximately six kilograms of cocaine from Estrada’s vehicle.
If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Estrada faces a statutory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Alamogordo station of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Green Cove Springs Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced James Donald Jacola (54, Green Cove Springs) to five years in federal prison for receiving images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children over the Internet. He must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and forfeit his computer equipment.
According to court documents and information disclosed in court, FBI agents began an online undercover investigation to identify individuals who were using a particular website to access images and videos depicting child pornography. The agents determined that Jacola, using the pseudonym “mooncalf,” had accessed this website. On March 10, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Jacola’s residence and agents seized two computers. Forensic analyses of the computers revealed that they contained at least 3 videos and at least 784 images depicting child pornography. One of these videos depicted a toddler being molested; it had been downloaded and viewed twice by Jacola on the day before the agents executed the search warrant.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Gans Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Methamphetamine Distribution, Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that JAMES WESLEY JACOBS, age 38, of Gans, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 87 months imprisonment, and 3 years of supervised release for POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2; and for FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), as to each count to run concurrently.
The Indictment alleged that on or about August 30, 2016, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The Indictment further alleged that on or about August 30, 2016, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, firearms which had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.
The charges arose from an investigation by the District 27 Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the nonparoleable sentence will be served.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Hammer represented the United States.
Gameday Entertainment Chairman of the Board Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding San Antonio Victim of Millions of DollarsRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, 49-year-old investment counselor Charles Augustus Banks, IV, an executive with Gameday Entertainment, LLC (Gameday), was sentenced to four years in federal prison for defrauding a San Antonio victim of millions of dollars announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
In addition to the prison term. United States District Judge Fred Biery ordered that Banks pay $7.5 million restitution and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term. Judge Biery also ordered Banks, who is currently on bond, to report to federal authorities as early as August 28, 2017, to begin serving his sentence.
According to court records, Banks encouraged the victim to loan $7.5 million to Gameday in 2012. Subsequently, Banks encouraged the victim to personally guarantee another $6 million loan made to Gameday by Comerica Bank in 2013. During this time frame, Banks was Chairman of the Board of Gameday and personally benefitted, in the form of millions of dollars in loans and commissions, from the proceeds of these loans made to Gameday.
On April 3, 2017, Banks pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. By pleading guilty, Banks admittedly manipulated the victim into guaranteeing Gameday’s $6 million debt by misrepresenting the true nature of the transaction. Furthermore, Banks failed to fully disclose the commissions, payments and loans he was receiving from Gameday that were specifically tied to these transactions. On June 26, 2013, Banks also caused two pages relating to the $6M loan guarantee and subordination agreements, which contained his victim’s signature, to be faxed from San Antonio to Bank’s employees in California and Comerica bank employees in California.
The FBI conducted this investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory J. Surovic and Tom Moore prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Four Previously Deported Aliens Charged with Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that four previously deported aliens were indicted separately by a federal grand jury with illegal re-entry into the United States by a previously deported alien.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Jose Perez-Verdugo, age 37, a citizen of Mexico, was previously deported from the United States to Mexico on three prior occasions in August 2008, September 2013, and March 2014. He is alleged to have illegally re-entered the United States sometime after March 2014, and was found in the United States in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania after eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers.
Under federal law, Perez-Verdugo faces a maximum penalty of two years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
Jose Arguelles-Varillas, age 53, a citizen of Mexico, was previously deported from the United States to Mexico in May 2012. He is alleged to have illegally re-entered the United States sometime after May 2012, and was found in the United States in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania after eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers. In May 2012, he was convicted in the Third District Court, Salt Lake County, State of Utah for child abuse and attempted forcible sexual abuse, offenses which subject him to enhanced penalties in the current case.
Because of Arguelles-Varillas’ previous conviction, under federal law he faces a maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
Maximino Mota-Ortiz, age 43, a citizen of Dominican Republic, was previously deported from the United States to the Dominican Republic in May 1997. He is alleged to have illegally re-entered the United States sometime after May 1997, and was found in the United States in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania after eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers. In July 1995, he was convicted in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Middlesex Superior Court, for trafficking in a controlled substance, offenses which subject him to enhanced penalties in the current case.
Because of Mota-Ortiz’s previous conviction, under federal law he faces a maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian G. McDonnell is prosecuting the cases.
Francisco Michaca-Dominguez, age 41, a citizen of Mexico, was previously deported from the United States on three separate occasions on January 2006, August 2013, and December 2013. He is alleged to have illegally re-entered the United States in Monroe County, Pennsylvania after he was arrested for a summary offense on April 30, 2017.
Under federal law, Michaca-Dominguez faces a maximum penalty of two years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley is prosecuting the case.
The cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Four More Indicted in Conspiracy to Lure Robbery Victims with Online Ads for EscortsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that four additional defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a conspiracy to use online escort and massage ads to lure robbery victims.
Rodney E. Brock, 20, of Blue Springs, Mo., Melissa C. Cummins, 23, and Daphne J. Fruean, 37, both of Independence, Mo., and Michele R. Shatto, 34, of Kansas City, Mo., were charged in a 12-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. The second superseding indictment replaces a Nov. 1, 2016, superseding indictment and contains additional defendants and charges (bringing the total number of defendants to 10). Today’s second superseding indictment also includes Kenneth W. Sexson, 33, of Sugar Creek, Mo., Ray J. Mahurin, 34, of Blue Springs, Serina M. Campos, 23, of Independence, with the same charges contained in the previous indictment, but does not include three co-defendants who have pleaded guilty.
Today’s indictment alleges that Sexson, Brock, Cummins, Fruean and Shatto participated in a conspiracy to commit armed robbery from April 1, 2015, to June 7, 2016. They allegedly used several websites (including craigslist.org, backpage.com and skout.com) to make connections with their victims and arrange meetings at local hotels, residences and apartments. When customers arrived for the meetings, the indictment says, conspirators would be lying in wait, armed with firearms, and rob the customers.
The indictment specifically refers to seven armed robberies that occurred in September and October 2015 at various locations in Kansas City, Mo., Independence, and North Kansas City, Mo. Six of the robberies in October 2016 were included in the earlier indictment. A Sept. 26, 2016, robbery at an Independence hotel is added in the current indictment.
In one of those robberies, a victim jumped from his moving vehicle on the highway in fear of his life and was transported to the hospital. According to court documents, conspirators lured a victim to meet Cummins at a Kansas City, Mo., apartment on Oct. 9, 2015. When he arrived at the apartment, court documents say, he was greeted at the door by Cummins. Sexson, Brock and a third person, armed with handguns, allegedly pulled him into a room and threw him on the bed. They demanded his phone and money, then took him to his vehicle (a Chevrolet Silverado pickup) and searched it. Afterwards, Brock directed the victim into the passenger seat and drove off in the vehicle. While driving, Brock allegedly demanded the title to the vehicle and threatened to shoot the victim, who jumped from the moving vehicle in the area of I-670 and 71 Highway in fear for his life.
Brock was arrested on Nov. 5, 2015, when an Independence police officer saw him driving a stolen vehicle. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but Brock began to flee at a high rate of speed, driving into opposite lanes of traffic to avoid stop sticks. After a lengthy pursuit into Kansas, Brock bailed from the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. He entered a nearby body of water, and was later recovered from that body of water. Inside the stolen vehicle, officers discovered a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
The indictment charges Sexson, Mahurin and Campos together in one count of being unlawful users of a controlled substance who aided and abetted each other to possess firearms and ammunition. The indictment alleges they were in possession of a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a Marlin 30-30 caliber rifle, a Glock 9mm pistol, a Springfield 9mm pistol, and ammunition.
In addition to the conspiracy, Sexson, Brock and Cummins are charged together with one count of aiding and abetting an armed robbery. Sexson and Brock are charged together with one count of aiding and abetting an armed robbery. Sexson and Fruean are charged together with one count of aiding and abetting an armed robbery.
Sexson is also charged with three additional counts of aiding and abetting an armed robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Brock is also charged with one count of carjacking (related to the Oct. 9, 2015, armed robbery) and one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm. Brock allegedly possessed a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol when he was arrested on Nov. 5, 2015.
Larson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew P. Wolesky. It was investigated by the FBI, and the Independence, Mo., Police Department, with assistance from the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the North Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department.
Four Members of Methamphetamine Distribution Ring Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced the sentencing of four individuals for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. MIGUEL RIOS-QUINTERO, 26, HERNESTO JESUS MONTES, 22, ERIVAN ARGENIX GOMEZ, 21, and HANNAH LEE DALTON, 26, all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and have been sentenced before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.
According to the defendants’ guilty pleas and documents filed in court, in March 2016, the four defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine throughout the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and surrounding areas. On March 8, 2016, law enforcement officers conducted two simultaneous traffic stops of two vehicles traveling together from the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. As a result of the traffic stops on the two vehicles - occupied by RIOS-QUINTERO, MONTES, and GOMEZ - law enforcement officers seized more than 1,400 grams of methamphetamine that had been thrown into a wooded area, approximately 3.5 pounds of marijuana, and more than $5,000 in cash. That same day, upon execution of a search warrant of co-defendant DALTON’S residence, law enforcement officers recovered an additional 452 grams of methamphetamine.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force, Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, Leech Lake Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted this case.
Defendant Information:
MIGUEL RIOS-QUINTERO, 26
Minneapolis, MN
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 1 count
Sentenced:
-
108 months in prison
- Three years of supervised release
HERNESTO JESUS MONTES, 22
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 1 count
Sentenced:
-
60 months in prison
- Three years of supervised release
ERIVAN ARGENIX GOMEZ, 21
Minneapolis, Minn.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 1 count
Sentenced:
-
78 months in prison
- Three years of supervised release
HANNAH LEE DALTON, 26
Cass Lake, Minn.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 1 count
Sentenced:
-
78 months in prison
-
Three years of supervised release
###
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Former WellCare, Inc. General Counsel Pleads Guilty to Making A False Statement to Florida Medicaid ProgramRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that WellCare's former General Counsel, Thaddeus M.S. Bereday (52, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the Florida Medicaid program. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
On March 2, 2011, Bereday and four other individuals, Todd S. Farha, Paul L. Behrens, William L. Kale, and Peter E. Clay, were indicted on various federal criminal violations relating to a scheme to defraud the Florida Medicaid program (from the summer of 2003 through the fall of 2007) by making false and fraudulent statements relating to expenditure information for behavioral health care services.
WellCare operates Health Maintenance Organizations (“HMOs”) in several states targeted to government-sponsored health care benefit programs like Medicaid. Two WellCare HMOs operating in Florida, StayWell and Healthease, contracted with the Agency for Health Care Administration (“AHCA”), the agency that administers the Medicaid program in Florida, to provide recipients with an array of services, including behavioral health services.
In 2002, Florida enacted a profit-capping statute that required Florida Medicaid HMOs to expend 80% of the Medicaid premium paid for certain behavioral health services on the provision of those services. If the HMO expended less than 80% of the premium, the difference was required to be returned to AHCA. The indictment alleged the ways in which the defendants falsely and fraudulently schemed to submit inflated expenditure information in the company’s annual reports to AHCA in order to reduce the WellCare HMOs’ contractual payback obligations for behavioral health care services.
On May 5, 2009, the United States filed related charges in an Information and Deferred Prosecution Agreement ("DPA") against WellCare. Pursuant to that DPA, WellCare was required to pay $40 million in restitution, forfeit another $40 million to the United States, and cooperate with the government’s criminal investigation. The company complied with all of the requirements of the DPA. As a result, the government filed a motion requesting that the Court dismiss the Information against WellCare, which the Court granted.
After a 13-week trial in 2013, a jury returned verdicts against four individuals. Todd S. Farha of Tampa (former WellCare CEO) was found guilty of two counts of health care fraud; Paul L. Behrens of Odessa (former WellCare CFO) was found guilty of two counts of making false statements relating to health care matters and two counts of health care fraud; William L. Kale of Oldsmar (former WellCare VP) was found guilty of two counts of health care fraud; and Peter E. Clay of Wellesley, Massachusetts (former WellCare VP) was found guilty of two counts of making false statements to a law enforcement officer.
Bereday did not participate in the 2013 trial due to health-related issues. His case was scheduled to be tried in September of this year. As part of his plea, Bereday admitted that he, along with others, knowingly and willfully had caused the submission of Healthease’s false 2006 expenditure report to the Florida Medicaid program.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay Trezevant and Cherie Krigsman, along with Department of Justice Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich and Special Assistant United States Attorney John Bowers.
Former VA Nurse Re-Sentenced for Stealing and Tampering with Patient MedicationsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Nathan Baum, age 32, of East Greenbush, New York, was sentenced today to serve 38 months in prison for tampering with a consumer product and obtaining controlled substances by deception.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; Special Agent in Charge Donna L. Neves of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Ebersole of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office.
Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn also imposed a $2,000 fine and a 3-year term of supervised release, to begin after Baum’s release from prison.
Baum was originally sentenced, on June 22, 2016, to 82 months in prison. With the government’s consent, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the sentence in May 2017 and remanded the case for resentencing. Baum has been in custody since his original sentencing date.
Baum pled guilty in February 2016 to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining controlled substances by deception and subterfuge. Baum, a licensed practical nurse who worked at the hospice ward of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Albany, improperly accessed syringes that contained oxycodone hydrochloride. These syringes were stored in locked containers that Baum was able to access using his individually assigned password. Between April 8, 2014 and May 16, 2014, Baum removed the oxycodone hydrochloride from at least 25 syringes and replaced it with haloperidol.
Oxycodone hydrochloride, a Schedule II controlled substance, is a highly addictive narcotic analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain. Haloperidol, often marketed as Haldol, is an anti-psychotic medication used to treat certain mental/mood disorders and to treat uncontrolled movements or agitation.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe.
Former State Street Executive Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud Clients Through Secret Trading CommissionsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former executive of Boston-based State Street Corporation pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud at least six of the bank’s clients through secret commissions applied to billions of dollars of securities trades. A second executive of the bank has agreed to plead guilty to participating in the conspiracy at a hearing scheduled for later this month.
Edward Pennings, 46, of Surrey, England, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2017.
According to admissions made in connection with the guilty plea, Pennings, a former senior managing director of State Street Corporation and the head of its Portfolio Solutions Group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, conspired to add secret commissions to fixed income and equity trades performed for at least six clients of the bank’s “transition management” business, which helps institutional clients move their investments between and among asset managers or liquidate large investment portfolios. The commissions were charged on top of fees the clients had agreed to pay the bank, and despite written instructions to the bank’s traders that generally reflected that the clients were not to be charged trading commissions.
Richard Boomgaardt, 44, of Sevenoaks, England, a former managing director of State Street who reported to Pennings, was separately charged on June 6, 2017, with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Boomgaardt is scheduled to plead guilty on July 12, 2017 before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper.
In March 2016, Pennings and Ross McLellan, 45, of Hingham were charged in a five-count indictment. The charges against McLellan, a former executive vice president of State Street and president of its broker-dealer subsidiary in the United States, are pending.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb of the District of Massachusetts, Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Frank, Chief of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit, and Trial Attorney Aisling O’Shea of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The charges contained in the charging documents are merely accusations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former State Street Corporation Executive Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud Clients Through Secret Trading CommissionsRead the Press Release
A former executive of Boston-based State Street Corporation pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud at least six of the bank’s clients through secret commissions applied to billions of dollars of securities trades.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb of the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Harold M. Shaw of the FBI’s Boston Field Office made the announcement.
Edward Pennings, 46, of Surrey, England, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the District of Massachusetts to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Pennings is scheduled to be sentenced on December 11.
According to admissions made in connection with the guilty plea, Pennings, a former senior managing director of the bank and the head of its Portfolio Solutions Group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, conspired to add secret commissions to fixed income and equity trades performed for at least six clients of the bank’s “transition management” business, which helps institutional clients move their investments between and among asset managers or liquidate large investment portfolios. The commissions were charged on top of fees the clients had agreed to pay the bank, and despite written instructions to the bank’s traders that generally reflected that the clients were not to be charged trading commissions.
In March 2016, Pennings was charged in a five-count indictment along with Ross McLellan, 45, of Hingham, Massachusetts. The charges against McLellan, a former executive vice president of State Street and president of its broker-dealer subsidiary in the U.S., remain pending.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Aisling O’Shea of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Economic Crimes Unit Chief Stephen E. Frank of the District of Massachusetts.
Former San Antonio Attorney Todd Prins Pleads Guilty to Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Former San Antonio lawyer Todd Prins faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 after pleading guilty earlier today to one count of wire fraud announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge John Primomo, Prins, age 51, admitted that from August 16, 2013, to December 22, 2016, he defrauded multiple victims of their money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.
According to court records, Prins led clients to believe that a lawsuit Prins filed on their behalf was successful, resulting in a judgment in their favor. To convince his clients, Prins fraudulently created forged court rulings, opinions and orders, purportedly issued by various state and federal courts bearing the signatures of the respective judges. Those courts included Bexar County District Court, the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits.
Furthermore, Prins caused an entity which had purchased real estate in a foreclosure sale conducted by Prins’ law firm to wire transfer approximately $2,400,000 to Prins’ law firm’s trust account. Rather than maintaining those funds in his trust account for proper distribution, Prins caused approximately $2,000,000 of that money to be wire transferred to another bank account he controlled. During October and November 2016, Prins misappropriated and converted to his own use approximately $800,000 of the $2,400,000. Prins, having improperly transferred the $2,000,000 from his trust account to his other account, falsely told a principal of his client-seller that the purchaser’s $2,400,000 was still in his trust account. To support that false claim, Prins fraudulently created and sent by e-mails and text messages what appeared to be screen shots of the trust account showing the balance in the trust account to be in excess of $3,000,000. In fact, the true balance of the trust account was less than $1,000, having been $2,041.17 prior to the receipt of the $2,400,000.
Prins remains on bond pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for September 18, 2017, before Senior United States District Judge David A. Ezra.
The FBI conducted this investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jay Hulings and William R. Harris are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
Former Packaged Seafood Executive Pleads Guilty to Price FixingRead the Press Release
A former senior vice president of sales for a packaged seafood company pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix the price of packaged seafood, such as canned tuna, sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to documents filed in this case, Stephen Hodge and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of packaged seafood from as early as 2011 through 2013. He pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information filed on May 30, 2017, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Hodge has agreed to pay a criminal fine and cooperate with the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation. He will be sentenced by the court at a later date.
“With today’s plea, the Antitrust Division continues to send a strong signal that senior executives will be held accountable for their actions,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The division, along with our law enforcement colleagues, will continue to investigate price fixing among packaged seafood companies and the executives who worked at those companies.”
“The FBI will not tolerate the reprehensible behavior of company executives who abuse the trust of the American public for personal gain,” said FBI San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. “We, along with our Justice Department partners, are dedicated to our ongoing investigations into price fixing and will bring these companies to justice.”
According to court documents, Hodge and his co-conspirators discussed the prices of packaged seafood sold in the United States and agreed to fix the prices of those products. Hodge and his co-conspirators negotiated prices and issued price announcements for packaged seafood in accordance with the agreements they reached. Including Hodge, three executives have pleaded guilty for their participation in this conspiracy. Bumble Bee Foods LLC has also been charged for its role in the price-fixing conspiracy. Bumble Bee Foods has a court appearance scheduled for August 2, 2017.
Today’s plea is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into the packaged seafood industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging or other anticompetitive conduct related to the packaged seafood industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at (888) 647-3258, visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations, or call the FBI tip line at (415) 553-7400.
Former Orange County Income Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison for Filing Fraudulent ReturnsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Orange County man who prepared tax returns for clients after falsely claiming to be a certified public accountant and a former IRS agent was sentenced this morning to serve 21 months in federal prison for preparing and filing fraudulent federal income tax returns.
Michael Raymond Martinez, 48, of Fullerton, was sentenced by United States District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell. In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Connell ordered Martinez to pay $205,465 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Martinez – who operated his tax preparation business under the names Your Home Tax Service, Great Tax Services and Great Tax Solutions – pleaded guilty in February to one count of aiding and abetting in the preparation of a false income tax return. In marketing materials provided to clients and potential clients, Martinez claimed he could get them “The Largest Refund…Guaranteed!!!”
Martinez, who often met with clients at their homes or at public locations, admitted that he prepared and filed with the IRS at least 245 false federal income tax returns that resulted in tax losses to the United States of approximately $1,155,006.
According to a plea agreement filed in this case, from the beginning of 2009 through April 2015, Martinez had brief meetings with clients to obtain their documents and to receive his payment. Martinez typically prepared and electronically filed the tax returns, but he would not review the returns with his clients.
According to documents filed with the court, Martinez prepared and filed tax returns that claimed false deductions and expenses that his clients were not entitled to receive. The tax returns included fraudulent moving expenses, education expenses and itemized deductions. The fraudulent deductions and expenses lowered the taxpayers’ income tax liability.
In addition to the 245 fraudulent tax returns filed for clients, Martinez failed to report his own taxable income from his tax preparation business for the years 2011 and 2012, which caused a loss to the government of approximately $85,000.
This case is the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul Rochmes and Benjamin Tompkins of the Tax Division.
Former Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Indicted for Using Excessive ForceRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Topeka, Kansas, returned an indictment charging Former Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper James Carson with violating an individual’s civil rights by using excessive force, announced Thomas E. Wheeler, II, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Thomas E. Beall, United States Attorney for the District of Kansas; and Darrin E. Jones, Special Agent in Charge for the Kansas City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The indictment alleges that James Carson, while acting under color of law as a Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol, used excessive force amounting to punishment against R.T. The indictment further alleges that Carson’s use of excessive force resulted in bodily injury to R.T. If convicted on the civil rights charge, Carson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the Topeka Resident Agency of the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI. The case was initially investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag of the United States Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Rose Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Former Jersey City Police Officer Admits Conspiracy to Commit Fraud and Accept Corrupt PaymentsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former Jersey City police officer today admitted accepting approximately $55,000 in corrupt payments in exchange for helping employers operate at worksites without the required presence of an off-duty police officer and for helping a police officer obtain compensation for off-duty work he did not perform, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Anthony Iannicco, 48, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Iannicco was a police officer with the Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) from 1995 to 2016. From 2008 through 2016, his duties included serving as the “assistant pick coordinator” for Jersey City’s West District. As the assistant pick coordinator, Iannicco assigned police officers to off-duty details.
Under Jersey City’s municipal code, off-duty police officers were not permitted to receive cash payments directly from off-duty employers. Rather, the employers were supposed to pay Jersey City, which would then pay the off-duty police officers, minus certain fees, taxes and deductions, including an administrative fee payable to Jersey City per hour that the off-duty police officers worked.
Iannicco conspired with numerous employers to cut Jersey City out of the process of hiring and compensating off-duty police officers. Generally, Iannicco permitted these employers to operate at worksites without the presence of a police officer when such a presence was required. In exchange, Iannicco accepted cash payments directly from these employers in violation of Jersey City rules and regulations.
In addition, Iannicco provided fraudulent off-duty employment vouchers to another police officer, identified in the information as “Co-Conspirator 1,” falsely representing that Co-Conspirator 1 completed off-duty assignments that Co-Conspirator 1 never worked. Jersey City subsequently paid Co-Conspirator 1 based on these fraudulent vouchers. In exchange for providing these fraudulent vouchers, Iannicco accepted cash payments from Co-Conspirator 1.
Altogether, from 2011 to 2016, Iannicco collected payments of approximately $55,000 directly from off-duty employers and from Co-Conspirator 1.Iannicco faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Iannicco is required to forfeit the $55,000 that he received. Sentencing is set for Oct. 3, 2017.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy A. Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation.
JCPD is cooperating with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: John A. Azzarello Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Former JPD Officer Sentenced to Prison for BriberyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss - Former Jackson Police Officer Melvin Williams, 48, was sentenced on June 27, 2017, by Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee, to serve 27 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for bribery, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Harold Brittain and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze. He was also ordered to pay a $1500 fine.
In February, 2016, Williams contacted a local businessman and threatened to execute an arrest warrant if the businessman did not pay Williams a sum of money. During the investigation, the FBI determined that the arrest warrant was not valid. The businessman agreed to cooperate with the FBI and Officer Williams was paid a total of $6,000 over three separate days.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Patrick Lemon.
Former Fugitive Mauricio Sanchez-Garza Sentenced to Federal Prison for Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
In San Antonio this afternoon, United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentenced 46-year-old Mexican National Mauricio Sanchez-Garza to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for laundering millions of dollars in Sinaloa Cartel drug proceeds United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division; Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Cotter; and, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On October 20, 2016, Sanchez-Garza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court records (SA11CR616), from 2005 until July 2011, Mauricio Sanchez-Garza, Jorge Sanchez and Mauricio’s brother, 47-year-old Mexican National Alejandro Sanchez-Garza, conspired to transport into the United States and conduct financial transactions with proceeds derived from illegal drug trafficking in order to conceal the nature of the funds. Specifically, the defendants entered into joint ventures with drug traffickers by funneling proceeds generated from drug trafficking through their businesses and corporate entities to make the proceeds appear to be legitimate and lawful; insulate the drug traffickers from evidence of criminal involvement in the proceeds; and, to attempt to make a profit for both the defendants and the drug traffickers.
Mauricio Sanchez-Garza had remained a fugitive since fleeing the United States to avoid prosecution in 2010. He was extradited to the United States from Mexico in July 2016 and has remained in federal custody since.
On August 19, 2014, Alejandro Sanchez-Garza was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
On June 12, 2013, Jorge Sanchez was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of extortion.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office investigated this case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition.
Fenton Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud ChargeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Tricia Siems, 35, Fenton, MO, pled guilty today to one charge of wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud her Webster Groves employer, Rex Encore LLC. Siems appeared before United States District Judge Henry E. Autrey. Sentencing is set for September 26, 2017.
According to court documents, Siems was a bookkeeper for Rex Encore which is a holding company with a portfolio of investments including an automobile dealership and the Marion Miners minor league baseball team in southern Illinois. She was responsible for paying the bills of Rex Encore and keeping the books. Starting in 2010 and continuing up to January 2016 when she left the business, Siems wrote a series of unauthorized checks and made a series of unauthorized debit/wire transactions on the Rex Encore account at First Clover Leaf Bank in Edwardsville, IL, all for her personal benefit. She then made false entries in the business’s QuickBooks in order to conceal her scheme. Siems pled guilty to wire fraud involving a debit/wire transaction made in January, 2016, in which she made an online payment from the Rex Encore account to her Chase credit card account in the amount of $5,500.00. She booked that expenditure as a payment on the Rex Encore medical insurance.
It was determined that Siems stole $209,486.23 as part of her scheme.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney James Crowe is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Federal jury finds Sierra Leone national guilty of resisting deportation ordersRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a federal jury found a Sierra Leone national guilty Tuesday of refusing to leave the country twice after being ordered to depart.
Sheku Kumalah, 31, of Sierra Leone, was found guilty of two counts of failure to depart. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial, which started Monday and ended Tuesday. The jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for approximately an hour. Evidence admitted at trial revealed that on two occasions U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempted to remove Kumalah via an escorted commercial flight from the Alexandria International Airport. The defendant hampered officers’ efforts on July 12, 2016 and August 16, 2016 by verbally and physically resisting attempts to escort him onto the plane.
Kumalah faces four years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count. Sentencing has been set for September 29, 2017.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Ayo and Joseph T. Mickel are prosecuting the case.
Federal Search Warrants ExecutedRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA - On Wednesday, June 28, 2017, federal search warrants were executed at the following locations in Iowa:
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5600 block of Douglas Avenue, Des Moines
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1800 block of Frazier Avenue, Des Moines
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1000 block of East Walnut Street, Des Moines
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3900 block of Southeast 25th Street, Des Moines
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600 block of 22nd Street, West Des Moines
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2000 block of 7th Street, Des Moines
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1000 block of East 7th Street, Des Moines
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2300 block of Morton Avenue, Des Moines
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2200 block of East Grand Avenue, Des Moines
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1900 block of East 22nd Street, Des Moines
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500 block of Northeast Jacob Street, Grimes
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3700 block of East Sheridan Avenue, Des Moines
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4300 block of Parkridge Avenue, Pleasant Hill
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800 block of East 6th Street North, Newton
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2900 block of Indianapolis Avenue, Des Moines
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1200 block of East Emma Avenue, Des Moines
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3600 block of Southeast 11th Street, Des Moines
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1800 block of East Army Post Road, Des Moines
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3300 block of 1st Street, Des Moines
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2900 block of East 22nd Court, Des Moines
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11000 block of Northeast 166th Avenue, Maxwell
The searches at these locations were an official law enforcement action involving officers, agents, and investigators from the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE); Iowa State Patrol (ISP); Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force – East (MINE – East); and Central Iowa Drug Task Force (CIDTF).
The following individuals were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine:
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Shannon Lee Paxton, 46, of Des Moines
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Kerry Drew Haegele, 47, of Des Moines
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Fidel Rios, Jr., 34, of Pasco, Washington
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Kira Fallis, 26, of Elkhart
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John Archer, 52, of Des Moines
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Charles Astley, 63, of Des Moines
The public is reminded that a charge is merely an accusation, and individuals are innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No other information or comments will be released until documents have been filed with the court as part of the public record.
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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at [email protected].
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