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Monday 27 February 2017
Two Plead Guilty to Marijuana Cultivation in Giant Sequoia National MonumentRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Audencio Pineda-Gaona, 37, and Candelario Jimenez-Ramirez, aka Candelario Rodriguez-Jimenez, 55, both of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute and manufacturing marijuana in the Sequoia National Forest, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, the defendants and several other men were found trimming marijuana buds in the grow site in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in Tulare County. As the agents approached, the men fled. The defendants were apprehended, but the other men got away. Agents found 5,707 marijuana plants and 200 pounds of processed marijuana. They also found a large box of 9 mm ammunition, a holster and a shoulder rig for a 9 mm handgun.
The marijuana cultivation operation caused extensive damage to the land and natural resources. Native trees and shrubs had been cut down to make room for the marijuana plants. Water had been diverted from a tributary stream of the Kern River, which supports Kern River rainbow trout, a “Species of Special Concern” in the state of California due to habitat loss. Agents also found harmful banned pesticides and large amounts of trash. In pleading guilty, the defendants agreed to pay $5,252 in restitution to the U.S. Forest for the damage caused by their marijuana cultivation activities.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Justice’s Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.
The defendants were previously ordered detained as a flight risk and danger to the community. The men are scheduled for sentencing on May 22, 2017. They face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Two Men Sentenced for Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SCRANTON-The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Ronald Drayton, age 48, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Marcal Fraction, age 36, of Hudson, Pennsylvania, were sentenced on February 23, 2017, by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion. Judge Mannion sentenced Drayton to 57 months’ imprisonment and Fraction to 120 months’ imprisonment for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Drayton and Fraction were indicted along with seven co-conspirators in November 2014, and both pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy. All seven co-conspirators charged in the case have pleaded guilty.
The investigation revealed that Drayton distributed between 500 grams and two kilograms of cocaine and Fraction distributed between 100 and 200 grams of cocaine in Northeastern Pennsylvania between January 2013 and November 2014. The cocaine was shipped to Pennsylvania from Puerto Rico.
The case was investigated by the Scranton Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Evan Gotlob prosecuted the case.
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Three Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences for Their Roles in a Child Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — This morning, U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced three defendants, with ties to the Polywood Crips street gang in Fort Worth, Texas, for their respective roles in a child sex trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Chad Johnson, a/k/a “Ocho Hood Fame,” 24, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of children in November 2016.
Deon Bonner, a/k/a “Spanish Fly,” 26, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children in November 2016.
Stanley Johnson, a/k/a “Pee Wee,” 24, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children in October 2016.
All three defendants received lifetime sex offender registration.
Co-defendants Audry Lane, a/k/a “Spud,” 29, Diwone Nobles, a/k/a “Pooh,” 32, Katelyn Micelle Ward, a/k/a “KD,” 24, Jessica Arnold, 23, Serrah Arnold, a/k/a “Kristen,” 28 and Alvin Lane, a/k/a “Spank,” 32, have also pleaded guilty to varies offenses relating to their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.
According to documents filed in the case, in November 2015, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that a 16-year-old runaway, Jane Doe 1, was being trafficked by a group of people in Fort Worth, Texas; that group included the defendants. The investigation revealed that from approximately October 1, 2013, through April 16, 2016, the members of this group facilitated the commercial sex acts of several minor and adult females.
Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Audry Lane and Alvin Lane, acted as pimps for the girls and women they trafficked. They instructed them on how much to charge and they kept proceeds from transactions. They also provided the girls and women with condoms, cellular phones and hotel rooms. Some of the members of the group bought and sold the girls and women they were trafficking amongst themselves.
To locate commercial sex customers, Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Audry Lane and Alvin Lane facilitated the placement of advertisements on various commercial websites, including Backpage.com. In many instances, rather than placing the Backpage.com advertisement themselves, sisters Serrah Arnold and/or Jessica Arnold, who acted as “bottom girls,” were told to post the advertisements using Backpage.com accounts belonging to the Arnolds.
On approximately October 10, 2015, friends Deon Bonner and Stanley Johnson met 17-year-old Jane Doe 2 and her 16-year-old friend Jane Doe 1 in Fort Worth. They took the girls to a motel on Meacham Street in Fort Worth. Shortly thereafter, Stanley Johnson told Jane Doe 2 that he wanted her to engage in commercial sex acts, and he sought help from Audry Lane and Alvin Lane to post commercial sex ads for her on Backpage.com. Stanley Johnson told Jane Doe 2 how much to charge and he bought condoms for her; he also kept the money she made from engaging in commercial sex acts.
While Stanley Johnson was causing Jane Doe 2 to engage in commercial sex acts at a Fort Worth motel, Bonner was causing Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts in another nearby room. After several days, Bonner left the hotel, and then Chad Johnson caused Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts. Next, Nobles began causing Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts. Chad Johnson and Nobles eventually took both Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 to another hotel in Fort Worth where Chad Johnson continued to cause Jane Doe 2 to engage in commercial sex acts.
When an adult female victim engaged in commercial sex acts at Chad Johnson’s direction, he physically assaulted her if she did not follow his instructions. On one occasion, Chad Johnson punched her in the ear hard enough to cause her eardrum to burst and bleed. Chad Johnson also raped her, and when he believed she had attempted to “renegade,” he had several friends gang rape her as punishment. “Renegade” is a term used to describe attempting to engage in commercial sex acts for money outside the knowledge or control of a pimp.
Some of the six pimp’s Facebook pages contained online posts, visible to the public, that reference making a lot of money through criminal activity, namely “pimping.” Chad Johnson’s Facebook page contained photos of him posing with large sums of cash while referencing commercial sex. Several of Chad Johnson’s Facebook friends were females observed in Backpage.com ads for commercial sex.
Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, and Audry Lane had several photos on their Facebook pages in which they can be observed flashing gang signs referencing the “Polywood Crips” street gang.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ICE HSI and the Fort Worth Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce prosecuted.
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Three Rochester Residents Charged with Tax FraudRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jason Jimenez, 38, Jessica Rosario, 36, and Ashley Walker, 32, all of Rochester, NY, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and preparing fraudulent tax returns. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who is prosecuting the case, stated that according to the criminal complaint, between 2012 and 2015, defendant Jimenez oversaw the tax preparation service “Fast Cash Tax.” Defendants Rosario and Walker were employed as tax preparers. Law enforcement officers were notified by some customers of the defendants that information, including earnings income, included on their tax returns was fraudulent and inflated which resulted in a higher tax return.
The defendants made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian Payson. They were released and will return to court on March 24, 2017, for a status conference.
The arrest was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kathy A. Enstrom.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Three Luzerne County Men Indicted on Heroin ChargesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Edirso De Leon Frias, age 25, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, Nathaniel Murphy, age 41, and Roy Seabrook, age 43, both of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, were indicted on February 21, 2017, by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges.
The indictment was unsealed on February 24, 2017, following the arrests of defendants. The defendants were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr. and were ordered detained pending a detention hearing.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the indictment alleges that De Leon Frias, Murphy, and Seabrook conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin. De Leon Frias was allegedly responsible for distributing over 100 grams of heroin (which is the equivalent of approximately 4,000 individual doses).
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Teller Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Bamberg BankRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Winston David Holliday, Jr. (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Jennifer Lyons Martin, age 34, of Ehrhardt, pled guilty in federal court in Columbia to Theft by a Bank Employee, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 656. United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs of Columbia accepted the guilty plea and will sentence her at a later date.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Jennifer Lyons Martin worked for South State Bank in the Bamberg Branch as a vault teller. During an audit in 2015, over $100,000 was discovered missing. Martin was approached and confessed to taking almost $300,000 beginning in 2013 and lasting through September 2015. She had two personal checking accounts and four savings accounts at South State that she funneled the money into. She spent almost all of it on restaurants, shopping, travel, and living expenses.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty for this offense is imprisonment for thirty years and a fine of $1,000,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Winston David Holliday, Jr. of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.
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Technology Company Owner Admits Paying Bribes to Secure Contract with Medical Device CompanyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Stamford, Connecticut, man today admitted paying bribes in order to secure a contract between his metallurgical technology company and a medical device company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Eugene Ostrovsky, 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with violating the Federal Travel Act.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ostrovsky was a principal at a metallurgic technology company in New York. Ostrovsky admitted that he and others sought a multimillion-dollar supply contract with a medical device company in New Jersey. From 2012 through 2013, Ostrovsky and others paid approximately $70,000 in illicit bribes to an employee of the medical device company – Daniel Lawrynowicz, 47, of Monroe, New York – in return for Lawrynowicz’s assistance in securing the contract.
The count of violating the Federal Travel Act carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Ostrovsky must also forfeit $1.1 million as part of today’s guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2017.
On March 23, 2016, Lawrynowicz was charged by complaint with accepting the bribe payments. The charge and allegations against him are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Corcione of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jafer Aftab of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
Defense counsel: Paula M. Junghans Esq.
Takata Corporation Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Pay $1 Billion in Criminal Penalties for Airbag SchemeRead the Press Release
Tokyo-based Takata Corporation, one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive safety-related equipment, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the company’s conduct in relation to sales of defective airbag inflators.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge David Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Regional Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Ullom of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Field Office made the announcement.
“For over a decade, Takata lied to its customers about the safety and reliability of its ammonium nitrate-based airbag inflators,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco. “Takata abused the trust of both its customers and the public by allowing airbag inflators to be put in vehicles knowing that the inflators did not meet the required specifications. Today’s sentence shows that the department will work tirelessly to hold responsible those who engage in this type of criminal conduct.”
“We hope that today's guilty plea and sentence will send a message to suppliers of consumer safety products that they must put safety ahead of profits,” said U.S. Attorney McQuade.
“The commission of fraudulent activity by the Takata Corporation to generate corporate profits jeopardized the safety of American consumers,” said Special Agent in Charge Gelios. “Today's guilty plea should reassure American consumers that the FBI and its federal law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue corporations and their employees when they violate federal laws.”
“Today’s sentencing of Takata Corporation for wire fraud related to sales of defective airbag inflators is a clear signal to all whose duty it is to protect the public: your most solemn obligation is to public safety,” said Regional Special Agent in Charge Ullom. “As is true for Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation, safety is and will remain the highest priority for OIG, and we remain committed to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in pursuing those who commit criminal violations of transportation-related laws and regulations.”
Takata pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh of the Eastern District of Michigan to a one count criminal information charging the company with wire fraud. After accepting Takata’s guilty plea, Judge Steeh, consistent with the terms of the plea agreement, sentenced Takata to pay a total criminal penalty of $1 billion, including $975 million in restitution and a $25 million fine, and three years’ probabtion. Under a joint restitution order entered at the time of sentencing, two restitution funds will be established: a $125 million fund for those individuals who have been physically injured by Takata’s airbags and who have not already reached a settlement with the company, and a $850 million fund for airbag recall and replacement costs incurred by those auto manufacturers who were victims of Takata’s fraud scheme. A court-appointed special master will oversee administration of the restitution funds. Takata will also implement rigorous internal controls, retain an independent compliance monitor for a term of three years and cooperate fully with the department’s ongoing investigation, including its investigation of individuals.
According to admissions made during the course of the guilty plea, from 2000 through and including 2015, Takata carried out a scheme to defraud its customers and auto manufacturers by providing false and manipulated airbag inflator test data that made the performance of the company’s airbag inflators appear better than it actually was. Even after the inflators began to experience repeated problems in the field – including ruptures causing injuries and deaths – Takata executives continued to withhold the true and accurate inflator test information and data from their customers.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Brian K. Kidd, Christopher D. Jackson and Andrew R. Tyler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John K. Neal, Erin S. Shaw and Andrew J. Yahkind of the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Springfield Man Sentenced for Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Michael Greinke, 29, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to eight years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Greinke to pay $5,000 in restitution to one of his victims.
On May 16, 2016, Greinke pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet between Jan. 1, 2014, and April 6, 2015.
On April 6, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Greinke’s residence after his computer was identified by investigators in Canada as having uploaded child pornography to an online social media platform. Officers seized a desktop computer, a laptop computer, two hard drives, three SD cards and a cell phone that were used to commit the offense.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force and the York Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
South Florida Tobacco Importer Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Violating Probation and Failing to Pay over $13 Million in Federal Excise TaxesRead the Press Release
Gitano Pierre Bryant, Jr., 56, of Palmetto Bay, was sentenced today to a consecutive term of 48 months’ imprisonment, by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, for fraudulently evading $13 million in Federal taxes on imported cigars. Bryant, who was on probation at the time of the offense, was previously sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment, by Chief U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, for violating the terms of his probation.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Tom Crone, Assistant Administrator for Field Operations, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), and Thomas J. Holloman, Interim Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement.
Bryant previously pled guilty to one count of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. According to court documents, Bryant unlawfully enriched himself by evading Federal Tobacco Excise Tax properly due and owing on imported cigars. According to court documents, Bryant lied about the price he paid for the cigars and the price for which he sold them.
According to the court record, including the factual proffer supporting his guilty plea, Bryant was the owner of Havana ’59 Cigar Company (“Havana 59”). Between 2008 and 2014, Havana 59 was a licensed importer of tobacco products, including cigars. Bryant consistently underpaid the Federal Tobacco Excise Tax due on imported cigars and, in an attempt to cover up the scheme, altered documents to conceal the price he paid for foreign-made cigars. Bryant continued to underpay taxes on imported cigars after May of 2015, when he was convicted and placed on Federal probation for evading Federal Tobacco Excise Tax due on cigarettes. Between January of 2012 and June of 2016, Bryant evaded over $13 million in Federal Tobacco Excise Tax.
In addition to the imposed prison sentence, Bryant was also ordered to pay over $9 million in restitution to U.S. Customs and Border Protection—the agency tasked with collecting excise tax on imported tobacco products.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the TTB and IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher B. Browne.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
San Francisco Resident Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for String of Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Yolanda Brown, AKA Yo-Yo, was sentenced today to 130 months in prison, and ordered to pay $19,285.00 in restitution, for five robberies of Bay Area banks and credit unions, the unlawful possession of a firearm, and distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.
Brown, 48, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to the charges on November 21, 2016. According to the plea agreement, Brown admitted to robbing the following banks and credit unions:
Date
Bank / Credit Union
Location
January 11, 2016
Wells Fargo
2055 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA
January 13, 2016
Patelco Credit Union
1358 Fairmont Drive, San Leandro, CA
February 19, 2016
Patelco Credit Union
1358 Fairmont Drive, San Leandro, CA
June 9, 2016
Citibank
2400 19th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
June 16, 2016
Wells Fargo
3365 Deer Valley Road, Antioch, CA
In her plea agreement, Brown also admitted to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possessing with intent to distribute and distributing more than fifty grams of methamphetamine.
On October 20, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Brown for the robberies and unlawful possession of a firearm. The indictment charged her with five counts of bank or credit union robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Further, on September 15, 2015, Brown was indicted for distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Under the plea agreement, Brown pleaded guilty to all charges in both indictments.
The sentence of 130 months’ imprisonment was handed down by the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, U.S. District Judge, in San Francisco. Judge Henderson also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott D. Joiner prosecuted the case with the assistance of Lance Libatique and Linda Love. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Leandro Police Department, and the Antioch Police Department.
San Antonio Man Charged with Kidnapping ChildRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 36-year-old man has been arrested on charges of international parental kidnapping, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Ismail Khaleel Al Gebory was arrested in Mexico City, Mexico, on Feb. 24, 2017. He is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy at 10:00 a.m. in Houston today.
The criminal complaint filed in Brownsville alleges Al Gebory had taken the child after a weekend visitation and fled to Mexico.
The mother had sole custody of the child, but Al Gebory had regular visitation. He would travel from his residence in San Antonio to Brownsville on Friday evenings and would return the child to the mother on Sundays, according to the charges. On Friday, Feb. 17, Al Gebory allegedly picked up the child but did not return her that weekend.
The mother contacted authorities and told them Al Gebory had relatives in Iraq, according to charges. The criminal complaint further alleges that while in Mexico, Al Gebory attempted to obtain an Iraqi passport for the minor child.
At the time of the arrest, the child was with him, but has since been returned to the mother.
The FBI, Department of State and the Brownsville Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of Mexican Customs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Esquivel Jr. is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Palm Beach Resident Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Her Participation in a Fraud Scheme that Targeted Nursing StudentsRead the Press Release
On February 24, 2017, Marie M. Jean-Francois, 31, of Boca Raton, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for her involvement in a scheme to obtain unauthorized loans for students in a licensed practical nurse (“LPN”) program by defrauding the Department of Education.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Yessyka Santana, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (ED-OIG), made the announcement.
Jean-Francois, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.
According to court documents, Jean-Francois engaged in a scheme to defraud the Department of Education by submitting fraudulent student loan applications on-line. Jean-Francois was an employee/director of the Coral Ridge Training School, an institution that offers a licensed practical nurse training program. Jean-Francois falsely told students that they would receive a grant that would cover the costs of the program. One evening, during a training class, Jean-Francois demanded that the students provide their personal identification numbers (PIN), identification information that is issued to students when they file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Jean-Francois then used the students’ PINs and other personal information to electronically sign promissory loan notes without the students’ consent or authorization. Many students did not learn that the unauthorized loans had been taken out in their names until they began receiving letters from the loan servicing companies.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the ED-OIG. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia R. Wood.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Orange County Man Sentenced to 190 Years in Federal Prison for Traveling to Philippines to Molest Young Girls and Filming the AbuseRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A onetime school teacher who traveled to the Philippines to engage in sex with two girls and produced videos of the abuse was ordered today to serve 190 years in federal prison.
Robert Ruben Ornelas, 66, of Santa Ana, who has a long history of abusing children, received the 2,280-month sentence from United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney.
During today’s hearing, Judge Carney said Ornelas molested children in a “cruel manner” and the defendant demonstrated a complete disregard for his victims’ humanity.
Ornelas was found guilty in November by a federal jury of seven counts – two counts of engaging in sexual conduct in a foreign place, three counts of producing child pornography, and two counts of possessing child pornography.
The evidence presented during a six-day trial showed that Ornelas traveled to the Philippines on multiple occasions. He was convicted in relation to three specific trips – in 2006, 2008 and 2012 – where he sexually assaulted two girls who were as young as approximately eight. During all three trips, Ornelas took videos of the molestation and brought the images with him when he returned the U.S.
The two victims travelled to the United States to testify during the trial about the sexual assaults, and made statements at today’s hearing. One of the victims said: “Why did I meet this person? He destroyed my dreams.”
“Today’s sentence ensures life imprisonment for this predator whose history of abusing minors began a half-century ago,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “For seven years, this defendant repeatedly travelled to the Philippines, where he paid family members for sexual access to little girls who were living in poverty. The defendant claimed to be an attorney and promised to help the victims by funding their educations, but he brought trauma and anguish to their lives for which no amount of money could compensate.”
The investigation into Ornelas began in 2013 when federal authorities received a tip that he possessed a large quantity of child pornography. During the execution of a search warrant, investigators found images, videos and information on Ornelas’ computer and digital media.
In sentencing papers filed with the court, prosecutors pointed out that Ornelas’ history of sexually abusing minors extended back to the 1960s.
The federal charges are the product of an investigation by the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Newport Beach Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
“This sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to child predators who mistakenly believe the internet and a plane ticket will enable them to indulge their perverse desires with impunity,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. “HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners here in the U.S. and around the world to hold these dangerous sexual predators accountable for their actions. There can be no place for the abuse of foreign children by our citizens.”
“Defendant Ornelas took advantage of impoverished children in a foreign country, away from the scrutiny of the United States, where his past involved abusing children,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “His young victims demonstrated tremendous bravery by traveling to a foreign country to testify about the crimes perpetrated against them, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for assisting the government in putting Ornelas away for the rest of his life.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sandy N. Leal and Anne C. Gannon of the Santa Ana Branch Office.
Ohio man pleads guilty to identity theftRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Tyree Skipper, 44, of Euclid, Ohio, was convicted for aggravated identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Skipper admitted to obtaining identifying information of individuals to file fraudulent tax returns in Ohio, South Carolina and Hawaii from December 2012 to May 2013 in Gilmer County, West Virginia. He pled guilty to two counts of “Aggravated Identify Theft.” He faces a mandatory two years in prison for each count.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Internal Revenue Service and the Special Investigative Services Unit of the Bureau of Prisons investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Notice of Court ProceedingsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Jim May (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina---------Change of plea hearings have been scheduled for some 22 defendants who were previously indicted on racketeering charges arising from a criminal enterprise that operates in the North Augusta area of South Carolina.
WHEN: Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., 12:00p.m. and 3p.m.
WHERE: Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Courthouse
901 Richland Street, Courtroom # 3
Columbia, SC 29201
#####New Haven Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Trafficking CocaineRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CARLOS PEREZ, also known as “Carlito,” 43, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2015, the DEA New Haven Task Force initiated an investigation into a cocaine trafficking organization headed by Halby “Harv” Lopez. The investigation revealed that Lopez, and his associates, Omar Polanco-Mendez and Bernardo “Benny” Roman-Rolan, were obtaining bulk quantities of cocaine from multiple suppliers and redistributing the cocaine to a network of New Haven-area street-level dealers, including PEREZ. The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of drugs and the seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine.
On March 24, 2016, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 13-count indictment charging PEREZ, Lopez, Polanco-Mendez, Roman-Rolan and six other individuals with various narcotics offenses. All of the defendants pleaded guilty.
PEREZ has been detained since his arrest on March 16, 2016. On September 27, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute between 200 and 300 grams of cocaine.
On February 24, 2017, Polanco-Mendez was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment. Lopez and Roman-Rolan await sentencing.
The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden and Derby Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Caruso and Jennifer Laraia.
Missouri Resident Sentenced for Committing Two Bank Robberies in IllinoisRead the Press Release
Brendon M. Collier, 39, of St. Louis, MO, was sentenced on February 24, 2017, on two counts of bank robbery, Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today. Collier was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 36 months on each count, to run concurrently to each other but consecutively to the sentence he is currently serving in Missouri for a bank robbery. He was also sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release on each count, also to run concurrently. Finally, Collier was ordered to pay a $200 special assessment. Collier has been held without bond since his arraignment on July 16, 2015.
On January 28, 2015, Collier, aided and abetted by another individual, went to a US Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store in Edwardsville, Illinois. Collier entered the bank and approached the teller claiming that he needed to make a withdrawal. Collier then handed the teller a note written on the back of a used envelope that demanded loose bills that were $20s or over, and said "no alarm."
On February 10, 2015, Collier and his accomplice went to a second US Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store, this time in Fairview Heights, Illinois. During the second robbery, Collier again told a teller that he needed to make a withdrawal. Collier handed
the teller a note written on a deposit slip hidden under an envelope that said something to the effect of, "give me all the money out your top drawer, tens and up, do it quick and no one gets hurt."
Collier was apprehended after the pair robbed a third US Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store in St. Peters, Missouri. Collier confessed to the St. Peters robbery as well as the two bank robberies in Illinois, claiming that the robberies were motivated by his need to buy heroin, hotel rooms and food. Collier also admitted using his accomplice’s car to commit the robberies.
The case was investigated by the Edwardsville Police Department, the Fairview Heights Police Department, the Illinois State Police Metro-East Forensic Laboratory, the St. Peters, Missouri, Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Medical Doctor Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for Fentanyl-Related Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a complaint charging AVINOAM LUZON with selling fentanyl that resulted in the death of an Upper West Side man.
The complaint alleges that, on or about October 22, 2016, LUZON distributed fentanyl that resulted in the death of Gabriel Tramiel, age 32, of Manhattan. LUZON was arrested this morning and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As a medical doctor and graduate student in public health, Avinoam Luzon was supposed to help the sick get healthy, but instead he allegedly helped fuel the nation’s most serious health crisis, the opioid abuse epidemic. As an alleged drug dealer with a medical degree, Luzon sold fentanyl to Gabriel Tramiel, a 32-year-old New Yorker, and it allegedly killed him.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “We will continue to investigate every single overdose across this city and to make arrests like this. Our goal: to protect life and deter those who peddle these deadly opioids.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint[1] filed in federal court:
Gabriel Tramiel was found dead by his wife in the early morning hours of October 23, 2016. Tramiel was transported to the hospital and was examined by a medical examiner from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who determined that a fentanyl overdose was the cause of Tramiel’s death. Text messages recovered from Tramiel’s phone show a conversation with LUZON the evening of October 22, 2016, in which LUZON requested payment from Tramiel for narcotics and the two arranged a meeting to exchange narcotics for payment. Surveillance video recovered from the apartment building where Tramiel died shows Tramiel inhaling the contents of a nasal spray bottle in the building elevator several hours before he was found dead.
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LUZON, 32, of New York, New York, has been charged with one count of narcotics distribution resulting in the death of another, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence for the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the NYPD for its investigative efforts and ongoing support and assistance with the case. He also thanked the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement for their assistance with this investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Portlock is in charge of the case.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the descriptions of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Martinsburg doctor pleads guilty to illegal distribution of alprazolam and lorazepamRead the Press Release
MARTISNBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Dr. Christopher J. Murphy, 53, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was convicted of unlawfully distributing alprazolam and lorazepam, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Murphy pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Aplrazolam” and one count of “Distribution of Lorazepam.” The crime took place in Berkeley County in August 2016. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Luzerne County Man Charged with Bank FraudRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Scott Capparell, age 46, of Drums, Pennsylvania, the former administrator of Heritage Mills Personal Care, Inc. (“HMPC”), was charged in a criminal information on February 23, 2017, with committing bank fraud.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Capparell worked from April 2013 through July 2016 as the administrator of HMPC, which provides personal care services to its residents. During that time period, it is alleged that Capparell diverted $394,517 worth of HMPC residents’ monthly rent checks to an account at PNC Bank under Capparell’s control, instead of to the HMPC account at Mid Penn Bank. Capparell allegedly withdrew all of the diverted funds for his use and the use of other unnamed individuals. To conceal the scheme, Capparell allegedly lied to HMPC owners and managers, and falsified HMPC’s books and records.
The government also filed a plea agreement which is subject to approval of the court. A date for Capparell’s initial appearance has not been set.
The investigation was conducted by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.
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.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the charge is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Jury Convicts Mims Man of Drug Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Benjamin Jenkins (36, Mims) guilty of distributing and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it, possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug-trafficking crime, and using a telephone in committing the drug offense. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 15, 2017. Jenkins was indicted on November 22, 2016.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on October 11, 2015, Jenkins, who was a Titusville High School football coach and Brevard County teacher’s aide at the time, sold 28 grams of cocaine to a confidential informant for $1,300 in the parking lot of a Titusville Wal-Mart. While Jenkins sat in his car and counted the money for the cocaine, he had a Springfield Arms .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his lap. The transaction was arranged over Jenkins’s cellphone.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Titusville Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr.
Judge Sentences Johnstown Heroin Dealer to PrisonRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months in prison and three years’ supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Vantroy Godboat, 45.
According to information presented to the court, on Jan. 27, Feb. 2, and Feb. 4, 2016, Godboat distributed less than 100 grams of heroin on each of those dates, and on Feb. 5, 2016, Godboat possessed with the intent to distribute less than 100 grams of heroin.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie L. Haines prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Ms. Song commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cambria County Drug Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Godboat.
Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution Charge Stemming from Middletown Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that, on February 24, 2017, YACOV OCASIO, also known as “Little,” 21, of Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin.
This prosecution is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 26, 2016, Middletown Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a Middletown apartment on the report of a possible overdose and found an unresponsive 28-year-old male lying in a bed. Medical intervention was unsuccessful and the victim was pronounced dead. Officers located and seized one torn baggy, commonly used to package heroin, from the victim’s pants pocket. Officers also seized the victim’s iPhone.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Connecticut subsequently determined that the victim died from acute heroin and fentanyl toxicities.
The investigation revealed that, on August 25, 2016, the victim arranged to purchase heroin from OCASIO, and then drove to Hartford to complete the purchase.
In November 2016, investigators conducted a controlled purchase of heroin from OCASIO.
OCASIO was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 18, 2017.
Judge Thompson scheduled sentencing for May 24, 2017, at which time OCASIO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. OCASIO is released on a $50,000 bond.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad and the Middletown Police Department. The Tactical Diversion Squad includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, Greenwich, Shelton, Bristol, Vernon, Wilton, Milford, Monroe, Fairfield and Manchester Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Spector and Jocelyn Kaoutzanis, and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Eugene Calistro, who is cross-designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in this matter.
Harrison County man indicted for heroin distribution and firearms violationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Christopher C. Cozad, of Mount Clare, West Virginia, has been indicted for distributing heroin and illegal possession of a firearm, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Cozad, age 32, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Wheeling on February 7, 2017 for three counts of “Distribution of Heroin” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March and April 2016 in Harrison County.
Cozad faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for each heroin count. He faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the firearm violation. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Gloucester County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for 2015 South Jersey Bank Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Deptford, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for robbing five New Jersey banks and one Pennsylvania bank between June 2015 and September 2015, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Michael A. Fanelli, a/k/a “Michael Carducci,” 37, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Reneé Marie Bumb to an information charging him with six counts of bank robbery. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Fanelli robbed the following banks on the dates set forth below:
Bank
Location
Date
Cornerstone Bank
West Deptford, New Jersey
June 2, 2015
Fulton Bank
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
June 5, 2015
Malvern Federal Savings Bank
Concordville, Pennsylvania
July 22, 2015
Susquehanna Bank
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
July 28, 2015
Susquehanna Bank
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
Aug. 21, 2015
National Penn Bank
Florence, New Jersey
Sept. 24, 2015
Fanelli typically robbed each bank by approaching a teller, displaying what appeared to be a firearm, and demanding money.
Fanelli robbed the same Susquehanna Bank on July 28, 2015 and August 21, 2015. Immediately following his robbery of National Penn Bank on Sept. 24, 2015, Fanelli was followed by law enforcement officers to his residence, where he was taken into custody.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Fanelli to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster in Philadelphia, with the investigation. He also thanked the West Deptford, Harrison Township, and Florence Township police departments, as well as the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police for their assistance.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin C. Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Lisa Lewis Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
Glen Carbon Retirement Center Employee Admits to Embezzlement, Making a False Bankruptcy Declaration and Filing False Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Danielle D. Clark, a/k/a Danielle D. Markiewicz, a/k/a Danielle D. Cantrall, 37, of Edwardsville, Illinois, entered pleas of guilty to an Information charging two counts of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud the Eden Village Care Center, a not-for-profit retirement community in Glen Carbon, Illinois, and one count of making a false bankruptcy declaration, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today. Clark faces a statutory maximum prison sentence of up to 45 years, a fine of up to $750,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for June 20, 2017. As part of the plea, Clark admitted to filing a false 2015 federal income tax return and agreed to plead also to that charge in the future.
Clark was the Director of Human Resources and the Accounts Payable Clerk for the Eden Village Care Center. As the Director of Human Resources and the Accounts Payable Clerk, she was in a position of trust to act for the benefit of the Eden Village Care Center. As part of the plea, Clark admitted engaging in a scheme to defraud from 2011 continuing through May of 2016 where she made unauthorized credit transactions using an Eden Village Care Center credit card issued through the Bank of Edwardsville and a Sam’s Club/Walmart credit card, causing a loss to Eden Village Care Center in excess of $700,000. As part of the scheme Clark prepared fake credit card statements to cover up and continue her embezzlement, forged signatory names on Eden Village Care Center checks to pay for the unauthorized charges using Eden Village Care Center funds, and manipulated the accounting books and created fake invoices for Eden Village Care Center to hide the expenses for the credit card transactions.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Glen Carbon Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.
Gans Man Pleads Guilty to 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, pled guilty to POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2, punishable by no more than 40 years imprisonment, and up to a $5,000,000.00 fine or both; and to FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000.00 fine or both.
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 Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant will remain in custody pending a sentencing hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Hammer represented the United States.
Former Titusville Football Coach and Teacher’s Aide Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell today sentenced Leonard Charles Agee Jr. (40, Titusville) to 36 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. At the time of his arrest on June 29, 2016, Agee was a Titusville High School football coach, a teacher’s aide, and an employee of the Brevard County Schools. He pleaded guilty on November 9, 2016.
According to his plea agreement, in January 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Titusville Police Department began investigating Agee. In September 2015, officers made controlled purchases of heroin from him. Agee had also obtained marijuana from Colorado for redistribution in Florida and sold cocaine obtained from South Florida for redistribution in Central Florida. He was responsible for the possession and/or distribution of over 100 grams of heroin, more than two kilograms of cocaine, and over 75 pounds of marijuana.
This case was investigated by the Titusville Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr.
Former NASA Employee Sentenced to Serve Ten Years in Federal Prison for Coercion of a MinorRead the Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Thomas de Matteis, 54, of Hazel Green, Ala., was sentenced on Feb. 27, 2017, by the Honorable Harry S. Mattice, Jr., U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 10 years in federal prison for coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. Matteis pleaded guilty to this charge in November 2016.
At the time of his offenses, Matteis was employed by NASA in Alabama. An investigation started by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed that he communicated online, both from his home and office in Alabama, with a law enforcement agent posing as a 14-year old girl. Matteis drove to Chattanooga, Tenn., expecting to meet the 14-year old and engage in sexual activity with her.
In addition to the TBI and HSI, once it was discovered that some of the criminal activity occurred in Alabama using his office computer, the NASA Office of Inspector General joined the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra L. Bay represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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Former Deputy Attorney General Selected as Corporate Monitor over Pacific Gas and Electric CompanyRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO— Former Acting Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Mark Filip, now a Chicago-based partner with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, has been jointly selected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to serve as Compliance and Ethics Monitor of PG&E. On January 26, 2017, the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, Senior United States District Judge, ordered PG&E to submit to a five-year period of monitorship as a condition of the company’s probation following its five felony convictions for willful violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act. The jury also convicted PG&E of corruptly obstructing the federal investigation of the 2010 gas transmission line explosion in San Bruno. Mr. Filip previously served as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as well as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Former Bayonne Official Sentenced to 21 Months Prison for Accepting $65,000 in Bribes for Awarding HUD Grant FundsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man, who served as the senior accountant of the City of Bayonne Department of Community Development (CBDCD) was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for accepting $65,000 in bribe payments in exchange for his assistance in awarding projects funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Anselmo Crisonino, 56, of Bayonne, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to a four-count information charging him with one count of accepting bribe payments totaling approximately $65,000 from Joseph Arrigo, the owner of a contracting company in Bayonne. Crisonino also pleaded guilty to one count of theft and conversion of federal funds ($422,360), one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, and one count of submitting a false tax return for tax year 2011.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The CBDCD was an agency that received funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under a federal program that provided grants up to $20,000 to low income families to rehabilitate their homes and to repair conditions affecting health and safety, accessibility, energy efficiency or code compliance. The CBDCD also provided these HUD funds under the same federal program to nonprofit organizations. Crisonino was responsible for reviewing applications and awarding such funds to qualified applicants.
In September 2010, Crisonino solicited cash bribe payments from Arrigo in exchange for Crisonino’s assistance in awarding HUD grant funds from the CBDCD to Arrigo as the owner of Shadow Contracting LLC. From September 2010 to February 2013, Crisonino received cash payments from Arrigo totaling approximately $65,000 in exchange for Crisonino’s assistance in awarding HUD grant funds from the CBDCD to Arrigo that totaled approximately $426,000.
Between September 2010 and February 2013, Crisonino awarded HUD grant funds to several contractors and plumbers in Bayonne through the CBDCD, despite the fact that Crisonino knew that the submitted bids for the projects were fraudulent and were the result of collusion by the contractors and plumbers. Crisonino also approved change orders on projects where little to no legitimate work had been done by the contractors and plumbers at the job sites. The approved change orders allowed the CBDCD to disperse additional HUD grant funds to the projects that had already reached the maximum $20,000 grant allotment.
Crisonino also pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling business in northern New Jersey. The illegal gambling business was administered and managed through a website that Crisonino and others accessed through usernames and passwords.
He admitted making and subscribing a U.S. Individual Tax Return, Form 1040, for tax year 2011 filed with the IRS, which he did not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter, including approximately $65,000 in unreported income through the bribe payments.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Crisonino to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $439,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark: special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacques S. Pierre of the Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel: Daniel J. Welsh Esq., Jersey City, N.J.
El Dorado Springs Man Sentenced to 19 Years for Meth Conspiracy, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an El Dorado Springs, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing a firearm.
Daniel A. Crawford, 37, of El Dorado Springs, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 19 years in federal prison without parole.
On Sept. 8, 2016, Crawford pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Crawford was arrested on Jan. 22, 2015, when Vernon County, Mo., sheriff’s deputies were called to a burglary in progress. The victim (and caller) had blocked Crawford and another person in the driveway. Crawford was sitting in the driver’s seat of the blocked-in Chevrolet truck when deputies arrived. Crawford had a piece of glass in his pocket that field tested positive for methamphetamine.
Deputies searched the truck and found 11 grams of methamphetamine in a Mountain Dew bottle with a false compartment, scales, baggies, a Mountain Arms .22-caliber rifle, ammunition and stolen property.
Crawford admitted that he and co-defendant Marklee Eugene Bogart, 36, of Nevada, Mo., had an agreement to deal methamphetamine with and for one another. When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bogart’s residence on Aug. 20, 2014, they found 176 grams of pure methamphetamine, 22 firearms, a grenade and $9,400, which was determined to be the proceeds of drug trafficking. Later in August, after listening to his jail phone calls, law enforcement seized another $41,380 from Bogart.
Bogart was sentenced on Jan. 19, 2017, to five years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and to possessing firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Josephine M. Larison. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Vernon County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Bates County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies of Commercial Establishments in Washington, D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gregory Hull, 22, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to offenses stemming from his role in a series of armed robberies that targeted commercial businesses in Washington, D.C. and Maryland during a four-week period in 2015.
The guilty plea was announced by Channing D. Phillips, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Hull pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery and two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery. He is to be sentenced on May 16, 2017, by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. He faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces a likely range of 57 to 71 months in prison and a potential fine of $20,000 to $200,000. Hull remains held without bond pending sentencing.
According to the government’s evidence, Hull and his co-defendants, Anthony Burns, 23, Bradley Lee, 21, and Lee’s brother, Breyon Lee, 23, committed a series of armed robberies of commercial businesses in November and December 2015.
On Nov. 27, 2015, at approximately 2 p.m., store surveillance video captured Hull and two other men, who were armed with handguns, as they robbed the City Beats shoe store, located in the 3000 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. The men ordered everyone in the store to get on the floor, and forced a store employee to open the cash register. Hull and the two other men fled with approximately $1,594 in stolen cash and several pairs of stolen shoes.
On Dec. 21, 2015, at approximately 8:30 p.m., four men entered the Rite Aid pharmacy located in the 4000 block of South Capitol Street SW. Surveillance video showed that two of the men had handguns. One of the men pointed a gun at a store employee and demanded money from a cash register. The employee was unable to open the register before the men fled together from the store. One of the men jumped over a pharmacy counter and grabbed several bottles, including a bottle of promethazine with codeine. Witnesses observed the men enter a stolen white BMW and flagged down MPD officers who were driving nearby. The police officers followed the BMW until it crashed in the Barry Farm neighborhood of Southeast Washington. All of the men fled on foot and escaped, except for Hull who was caught nearby and had the key to the stolen BMW on his person.
The co-defendants, also of Washington, D.C., have pled not guilty to charges.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Acting Chief Newsham commended the actions of those who worked on the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Barr, Paralegal Specialist Catherine O’Neal, and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamila Hodge, who is prosecuting the case.
Detroit man pleads guilty to federal gun crimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man pleaded guilty today to a drug-related gun charge, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Thomas Lee Nelson, 48, entered his guilty plea to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
On March 10, 2016, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted a search at Nelson’s residence located at 1830 10th Avenue in Huntington. During the search, agents located and seized a loaded Cobray Model DD .410/.45 caliber handgun from a room later identified as Nelson’s bedroom. Agents also located and seized heroin from the same room. Nelson admitted that he possessed the handgun as protection for himself and for the heroin.
Nelson faces at least five years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 5, 2017.
The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney R. Gregory McVey is responsible for the prosecution. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the plea hearing.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime. This case was also brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Detroit Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Role in Smash-and-Grab Robbery of Stamford Jewelry StoreRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRANDON PAUL QUAINTON, 23, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a smash-and-grab robbery of a Stamford jewelry store in November 2014.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 26, 2014, Dajuhn Griffin, stole a Stamford resident’s SUV and then drove with QUAINTON, Richard Mathew Bailey and Brian Moore to the Stamford Town Center Mall during regular business hours. At the mall, QUAINTON stayed in the car while Griffin, Bailey and Moore, armed with hammers, entered Sidney Thomas Jewelers. The three then used hammers to smash open a jewelry display case and removed more than $250,000 worth of Rolex watches. They then fled with security guards in pursuit. Bailey was caught and apprehended inside the mall while fleeing, but QUAINTON, Griffin and Moore eluded capture at that time.
After the robbery, Stamford Police found the stolen SUV running in the mall’s parking garage.
The investigation revealed that QUAINTON and Moore organized the robbery and solicited others to participate in it.
QUAINTON was arrested in Detroit on November 30, 2015. On July 21, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with commerce by robbery.
Bailey, Griffin and Moore, also from Detroit, pleaded guilty to the same charge. On November 23, 2015, Moore was sentenced to 48 months of imprisonment; on January 28, 2016, Griffin was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment and, on September 6, 2016, Bailey was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stamford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy C. Brown and Gabriel J. Vidoni.
Columbia Man Charged with Sex Trafficking a MinorRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Columbia, Mo., man has been charged in federal court with sex trafficking a minor.
Kenneth Ronald Jones, 25, of Columbia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Jones was arrested today at the Boone County Courthouse (where he appeared on an unrelated matter). Jones, who remains in federal custody, will have his initial appearance in federal court at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017.
According to an affidavit that was filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, FBI agents learned on June 29, 2016, that a 17-year-old runaway from Wisconsin – identified in court documents as “L.V.” – was being held against her will and forced into prostitution by Jones. She was located at a residence in Columbia and removed by law enforcement agents.
L.V. told investigators that she met Jones in May 2016 at a party in Milwaukee, Wis., and agreed to travel with him to Columbia to engage in prostitution. Within a few minutes of arriving at a Columbia residence that was used as a brothel, the affidavit says, a man arrived soliciting prostitution. This man selected L.V. from the approximately five prostitutes present, and paid to have sex with her. L.V. subsequently engaged in prostitution almost every day, averaging two or three clients per day.
Although Jones knew that L.V. was 17 years old, the affidavit says, he told everyone else at the brothel that L.V was 18 years old so she would be allowed to work there. L.V. reported that escort advertisements were purchased on Backpage, a classified advertising website frequently utilized by prostitutes.
Jones became increasingly verbally abusive and cruel, the affidavit says, and pressured L.V. to see more clients. L.V. said she wanted to stop prostituting herself after two weeks and told Jones on multiple occasions she did not want to prostitute anymore because it was sad and degrading. Jones did not care, the affidavit says, and instructed L.V. to keep making money. She feared repercussions from Jones if she attempted to leave him.
L.V. told investigators that Jones had left for Milwaukee the day before law enforcement took her from the Columbia residence. Before he left, the affidavit says, Jones instructed L.V. to send the money she earned prostituting herself to him while he was in Milwaukee. L.V. told investigators that she had planned to flee from the residence the following day. Jones was arrested when he returned from Milwaukee for a Boone County court appearance today on an unrelated matter.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI.
Columbia Man Charged with Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Steven D. Blosser, 40, of Columbia, IL, was arraigned on February 24, 2017 on federal indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography, Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
The indictment alleges that, from on or about September 16, 2015, until on or about February 19, 2016, Blosser knowingly received child pornography, to include four image files listed in the indictment.
Trial is scheduled for May 1, 2015. The penalty for Receipt of Child Pornography is a term of imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than twenty 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five years to life.
An indictment is merely the method by which federal charges are lodged. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case was investigated by the Columbia, Illinois, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Springfield Child Exploitation Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Columbia County Man Indicted for Two Drug Overdose DeathsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jacob Ebel, age 29, of Niverville, New York, was arraigned today on charges that he distributed heroin and fentanyl that caused two overdose deaths in Columbia County in July 2016.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II, Columbia County Sheriff David P. Bartlett, and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Ebel appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, who ordered Ebel detained pending a trial scheduled before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. Ebel has been in custody since July 26, 2016, when he was arrested on state drug charges.
According to the indictment, on July 3, 2016, Ebel distributed heroin and fentanyl to Victim 1, who died as a result of taking the drugs. Between July 18 and July 23, Ebel distributed heroin and fentanyl to the spouse of Victim 2. Victim 2 took the drugs and died as a result. Ebel is also charged with possessing heroin and fentanyl with the intent to distribute them, and conspiring to possess and distribute heroin and fentanyl. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted of all charges, Ebel would face at least 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 3 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the DEA, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police, with assistance from the office of Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Co-Defendants in Kidnapping Case of Wake Forest Man Sentenced to 286 Years of ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
- RALEIGH The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today, eight co-defendants in the kidnapping case of a Wake Forest man were sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, for their role in the conspiracy to seize, kidnap, and abduct Frank Janssen from Wake Forest, North Carolina and transport him to Atlanta, Georgia.
The following sentences were imposed:
JAKYM TIBBS, 23 of Atlanta, GA; 52 years imprisonment
TIANNA MAYNARD 33 of Warner Robins, GA; 50 years in conjunction with a life sentence imposed by the State of Georgia for a homicide conviction.
QUANTAVIOUS THOMPSON, 21 of Atlanta, GA; 42 years imprisonment
CLIFTON ROBERTS, 32 of Atlanta, GA; 37 years imprisonment in conjunction with a life sentence imposed by the State of Georgia for a homicide conviction.
PATRICIA ANN KRAMER,30 of Austell, GA; 30 years imprisonment
MICHAEL GOODEN, 24 of Atlanta, GA; 30 years imprisonment in conjunction with a life sentence imposed by the State of Georgia for a homicide conviction.
JENNA MARTIN, 23 of Georgia; 25 years imprisonment
JEVANTE PRICE, 23 of Marietta, GA; 20 years imprisonment
United Blood Nation (UBN) 1-8-Trey Gang Leader KELVIN MELTON was found guilty in a jury trial of Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping and Aiding and Abetting, Kidnapping and Aiding and Abetting, and Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to, and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of, a Crime of Violence, that being Kidnapping and Aiding and Abetting on June 21, 2016. On November 10, 2016 MELTON was sentenced to life imprisonment in a Federal Super Max Facility.
Frank Janssen was taken from his home against his will on April 5, 2014. One Eight Trey Blood member MELTON, used a cell phone that he illegally possessed while serving a life sentence in North Carolina’s Polk Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, to transmit instructions to co-conspirators in the plot who then sent threats to Janssen’s wife. Specifically, MELTON gave instructions on how to kill Mr. Janssen, dispose of his body and sanitize the crime scene.
Through a coordinated effort involving many federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team rescued Mr. Janssen at 11:55 pm on April 9, 2014, at a residence in Southeast Atlanta.
United States Attorney John Stuart Bruce stated, “The federal prosecution of Kelvin Melton’s accomplices is now nearly complete, and justice has been served. The credit for this successful prosecution goes to the hard-working prosecutors in our office, the dedicated agents of the FBI, and scores of officers from state and local agencies who worked together to rescue the victim and solve the case.”
Co-defendants Dewayne Seymore and Shameika Goodall are set for sentencing later this Spring.
The case was investigated by the FBI Charlotte, FBI Atlanta, the Wake Forest Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation with assistance by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, Raleigh Police Department, Durham Police Department, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, Garner Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol, RDU Police, City County Bureau of Investigation, the Cobb County Police Department, Alpharetta Police Department, Atlanta Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina is handling the prosecution of these cases.
Clinic Owner Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Five Years in Prison in $70 Million Scheme to Defraud Medicare and MedicaidRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that VICTOR LIPKIN, a former owner of a health care clinic in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a massive health care fraud scheme through which three medical clinics in Brooklyn and Queens submitted over $70 million in fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare. On August 3, 2016, LIPKIN pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud. LIPKIN was sentenced last Friday, February 24, in Manhattan federal court by the Honorable Ronnie Abrams.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Victor Lipkin spearheaded a scheme that involved recruiting disadvantaged and homeless people to undergo expensive and unnecessary medical tests. Lipkin and his co-defendants submitted over $70 million in bogus claims to Medicare and Medicaid, burdening those programs while enriching themselves.”
According to the Superseding Indictment to which LIPKIN pled guilty, and other publicly filed information in this case:
The Heath Care Fraud Scheme
From 2005 to November 2014, LIPKIN, Vadim Zubkov, Eduard Zavalunov, Nikoloz Chochiev, Anatoliy Fatkhov, Mariana Swaffar, Jacqueline Pinez, Jonathan Oliver, Jason Brissett, Gilbert Trotman, and Giorgi Buleishvili engaged in a scheme to operate three medical clinics in Brooklyn and Queens, through which they recruited financially disadvantaged and homeless people insured by Medicare and/or Medicaid (the “Phony Patients”) to undergo unnecessary medical tests, typically performed by unlicensed personnel, at the clinics in exchange for cash, and then billed the insurers for administering those unnecessary tests. Beginning in or about 2005, LIPKIN and Zubkov recruited and paid a particular licensed physician (the “Doctor”) to act as the nominal owner and/or physician under whose name three purported medical clinics would bill Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance providers (the “Insurance Providers”) for unnecessary services and tests – including sleep tests and stress tests – performed at the clinics. The clinics were located on Avenue V in Brooklyn, New York – the clinic owned and operated by LIPKIN – and on Hillside Avenue and Elmhurst Avenue, respectively, in Queens, New York. LIPKIN and Zubkov were, in fact, the beneficial owners of the clinics, but they concealed their ownership through the Doctor’s nominal affiliation with the clinics, and by laundering the proceeds of the clinics’ operation through shell companies that they owned and controlled. LIPKIN, Zubkov, Zavalunov, and Buleishvili operated and controlled the clinics, and ran the clinics’ day-to-day operations, despite the fact that they were not licensed physicians, as required by New York law.
At the direction of LIPKIN, Zubkov, Zavalunov, and Buleishvili, other members of the scheme, including Oliver, Brissett, and Trotman (the “Runners”), as well as Chochiev, recruited financially disadvantaged individuals with Medicaid and/or Medicare insurance to act as Phony Patients and undergo unnecessary medical tests at the clinics in exchange for cash payments. The Runners often recruited such individuals from soup kitchens and local welfare offices, and coached them on what to say on various medical forms in order to make it falsely appear that the medical tests to which the defendants intended to subject them were medically necessary. In furtherance of the scheme, Chochiev also made threats of physical violence to individuals who Chochiev believed owed money to the scheme members.
Also in furtherance of the scheme, before the medically unnecessary tests were performed on the Phony Patients, Swaffar and Pinez obtained the Phony Patients’ Medicaid and/or Medicare insurance information, and then contacted the Insurance Providers to confirm that the Insurance Providers would reimburse for the tests. Swaffar and Pinez engaged in such conduct knowing that the Phony Patients were being recruited and paid by the Runners to undergo the tests. Once they determined that a particular Phony Patient’s insurance would pay out claims made by the clinic for the planned medical tests, Swaffar and Pinez notified the Runners that the individuals were eligible and could be brought to the clinic to undergo such tests.
After the Phony Patients had been recruited, confirmed to be Medicare and/or Medicaid eligible, and transported to one of the clinics by the Runners or Chochiev, in many instances certain individuals who were not physicians administered a host of unnecessary medical tests to them. In particular, for example, Fatakhov administered unnecessary medical tests, including stress tests, to the Phony Patients of the Elmhurst Avenue Clinic. Fatakhov administered these tests outside the presence and supervision of the Doctor or other licensed physician, despite knowing that the presence or supervision of a licensed physician was required. After the unnecessary medical tests were administered, the Phony Patients were paid cash kickbacks. The defendants, through the clinics, then submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare seeking reimbursement for the unnecessary medical tests. In total, in the course of the scheme, the defendants fraudulently billed over $70 million to Medicaid and Medicare, for which they received over $25 million in reimbursements.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, Judge Abrams ordered LIPKIN, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, to serve three years of supervised release and to pay over $8 million in restitution and forfeiture
As set forth below, all of the other defendants charged in this matter have pled guilty. On January 13, 2017, Pinez was sentenced to six months in prison. The remaining defendants are pending sentencing.
Vadim Zubkov, 49, pled guilty on January 13, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Nikoloz Chochiev, 42, pled guilty on August 11, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Anatoliy Fatakhov, 59, pled guilty on July 28, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Mariana Swaffar, 51, pled guilty on August 15, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Jacqueline Pinez, 33, pled guilty on July 11, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Jonathan Oliver, 53, pled guilty on September 6, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Giorgi Buleishvili, 42, pled guilty on January 31, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Eduard Zavalunov, 35, pled guilty on February 7, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He also thanked the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General for its assistance.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Tehrani, Patrick Egan, and Timothy T. Howard are in charge of the prosecution.
Building Contractor Company Executive Sentenced to 68 Months in Prison for Theft from Labor Union, Making Unlawful Labor Payments, Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
The owner and CEO of a Greenbelt, Maryland building contracting company was sentenced to 68 months in prison for stealing more than $1.7 million from Local 657 of the Laborers Union of North America (LIUNA) and other related offenses.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Robin Blake of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General Washington, D.C., Regional Office; and District Director Mark Wheeler of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards Washington, D.C., District Office made the announcement.
Gary Amoes Cooper, 57, of Kettering, Maryland, the owner and CEO of STS General Contracting, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta of the District of Columbia, who also ordered Cooper to pay $1.632 million in restitution to Local 657 and to forfeit $1.734 million of criminally-derived proceeds.
Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Cooper and his co-defendant, Christopher Andrew Kwegan, conspired with Anthony Wendel Frederick Sr., the former business manager of Local 657 of LIUNA, to convert for personal use $1.7 million in funds stolen from Local 657. LIUNA’s Local 657, now merged into LIUNA Local 11, represents construction laborers in Washington, D.C., and five adjacent counties.
According to the evidence at trial, from May 2013 to June 2014, Frederick directed more than $1.7 million in Local 657 funds to STS General Contracting for an unauthorized construction project and other work which STS General Contracting did not intend to perform. Cooper and Kwegan then made a number of financial payments to Frederick with the funds stolen from Local 657, including a down payment of $225,000 on a home Frederick purchased and directed more than $600,000 to a corporation owned in part by Frederick’s wife.
Frederick, 51, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to the same offenses and was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.632 million in restitution to Local 657 and to forfeit $1.734 million on Feb. 7. Kwegan, 58, of Randallstown, Maryland, also previously pleaded guilty to the same offenses and was sentenced on Feb. 8. Both Frederick and Kwegan were sentenced by Judge Mehta.
The FBI and Department of Labor investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Vincent J. Falvo and David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.
Buffalo Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Rose Smith, 66, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fetanyl, oxymorphone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone, before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that on February 7, 2014, a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s residence on Littlefield Avenue in Buffalo. Officers recovered a large number of prescription pills, patches and two firearms. Subsequent analysis determined that the drugs and patches contained oxycodone, fentanyl, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and marijuana. Smith admitted that she sold the majority of her own prescriptions of fentanyl and oxycodone to drug customers. The defendant also sold prescription narcotics she received from at least two other people.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Divison and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.
Augusta Man Pleads Guilty to ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact Person: John C. Potterfield (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake today announced that Phillip Thompson, age 67, of Augusta, Georgia, pled guilty to his role in a conspiracy involving theft of government funds. Thompson admitted that he and another man conspired to defraud the government by creating fraudulent invoices for payment of what appeared to be goods needed for work at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savanah River Site. He further admitted that no goods were ever received and that the loss in the case was over $5,000,000.00.
The sentencing date will be set after the court reviews a pre-sentence report.
The case was investigated by Special Agents with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John Potterfield is prosecuting the case.
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Albuquerque Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Nathan Jensen, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Jensen was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the complaint, Jensen allegedly committed the offense while on supervised release from a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Court records reflect that the court issued a warrant for Jensen’s arrest on May 4, 2016, based on a petition filed by the U.S. Probation Office to revoke his supervised release. The petition alleges that Jensen had been released from the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on April 25, 2016, after completing an 84-month prison sentence, with directions to report to his probation officer and a half-way house at which he was to reside for up to six-months. Jensen allegedly failed to report either to his probation officer or to the halfway house. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team (USMS-SWIFT) arrested Jensen on the warrant on May 16, 2016.
Jensen was subsequently indicted on June 14, 2016, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the indictment, Jensen was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses in the state courts of New Mexico in addition to his federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
During today’s proceedings, Jensen pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on May 16, 2016, members of USMS-SWIFT arrested him for violating the conditions of his supervised release. Incident to his arrest, USMS-SWIFT seized a firearm and ammunition from Jensen which he was not permitted to possess because of his status as a convicted felon. At sentencing, Jensen faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and the USMS-SWIFT. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard is prosecuting the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, N.M., under this initiative.
Friday 24 February 2017
Younstown store owner sentenced to prison for $2.8 million in food stamp fraudRead the Press Release
A Youngstown convenience store owner was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for nearly $2.8 million in food stamp fraud, including paying cash for food stamps and accepting them for prohibited items, including alcohol and tobacco, said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon and USDA-OIG Special Agent in Charge Anthony V. Mohatt.
George Rafidi, 62, was sentenced to 33 months in prison. That sentence will be served after he completes a 94-month prison sentenced for using a firearm to assault federal agents. Rafidi was convicted of that crime following a jury trial in which evidence showed he brandished a firearm to federal agents executing a search warrant at Rafidi’s home in Warren as part of the fraud investigation.
“This case sends a message that we will not tolerate the criminal abuse of a system designed to help the most vulnerable in our society meet their most basic needs,” Rendon said.
"SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net, and retailers who prey on the poor by illegally purchasing SNAP benefits erode public trust in the program,” Mohatt said. “As we conduct investigations throughout the State of Ohio, we appreciate the support of our federal and state law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office's long-term commitment to prosecuting SNAP fraud."
Rafidi operated the former Breaden Market since 2010. USDA began investigating the store after audits revealed the store redeemed more than 10 times as much in benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- formerly known as food stamps -- as much larger stores in the area, according to court documents and testimony.
Agents learned Rafidi exchanged food stamps for cash and allowed food stamps to be used to purchase prohibited items such as alcohol and tobacco. On some occasions, agents observed people lined up outside the door to exchange food stamps for case, according to court documents and testimony.
Rafidi was also ordered to pay nearly $2.8 million in restitution and forfeited more than $23,000 in cash.
A store clerk and 29 food stamp recipients, who each received at least $5,000 in cash, were also prosecuted.
This case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Toepfer and Benedict S. Gullo following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General.
Youngsville man sentenced to 220 months in prison for distributing, possessing child pornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Youngsville man was sentenced Thursday to more than 18 years in prison for distribution and possession of child pornography.
Thomas Hanes, 49, of Youngsville, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release. According to the November 7, 2016 guilty plea, Hanes was identified through an investigation as distributing thousands of files of child pornography using an online peer-to-peer network. Law enforcement agents searched his home in Youngsville on February 26, 2016 and found sexually explicit images of children as young as two and three years of age on electronic media.
Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Police and the Youngsville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
Wichita Man Convicted on Federal Human Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A jury on Thursday found a Wichita man guilty on federal human trafficking charges, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Daederick Lacy, 25, Wichita, Kan., was convicted on one count of sex trafficking of a minor, one count of sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud or coercion and one count of interstate transportation of a minor in furtherance of prostitution.
During trial prosecutors, presented evidence that three female victims – two minors and an adult – worked as prostitutes under Lacy’s direction. Lacy advertised victims on an adult Web site, rented rooms at motels for sex, transported victims to meetings with men who paid for sex, and drove a minor victim from Kansas to Texas to serve as a prostitute.
Sentencing is set for May 11. He faces a penalty of not less than 10 years on the first and third counts, and not less than 15 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the second count. Beall commended the Wichita Police Department, the Mesquite (Texas) Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Walla Walla Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Spokane–Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Kevin Michael Dettmer, age 34, of Walla Walla, Washington, was sentenced today for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. sentenced Dettmer to a five-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a ten-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. Dettmer will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, in the fall of 2015, Dettmer responded to a personal ad posted by an undercover task force officer working with Homeland Security Investigations and the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is composed of law enforcement officers from the Richland Police Department, the Kennewick Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. During the course of the communications with the undercover officer, Dettmer repeatedly solicited images of the undercover officer’s fictitious twelve and thirteen-year-old children. Dettmer also provided graphic images of himself and of an adult female that he purported to be fifteen years old. Eventually, Dettmer asked the undercover officer for contact information for the fictitious thirteen-year-old child. The undercover officer provided such information to Dettmer, who proceeded to contact the fictitious child via email and text message.
During his communications with the fictitious child over an approximately one-month period, Dettmer asked the child to take pornographic images utilizing a phone or camera to send to him. Dettmer also encouraged the child to travel to Walla Walla to engage in sexual contact, and discussed providing her with a phone and money upon her arrival. Dettmer was later arrested in Walla Walla, Washington, after arriving to meet the fictitious child. On May 27, 2016, Dettmer pled guilty to Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography.
Michael C. Ormsby said, “This case is an fine example of the great work that can be done when state and federal law enforcement officers work together. Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to those who think they are acting with immunity when using email and text messages to send or receive child pornography or attempting to do so; such criminals will be actively and aggressively pursued by federal and state law enforcement.”
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States 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. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:
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Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
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Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
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Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
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Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
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Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Laurel J. Holland, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
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Virginia Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 26, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison and 10 years supervised release for attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and making false statements to the FBI.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement, after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.
Elhassan, who is originally from Sudan, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2016. According to court documents, Elhassan aided and abetted the attempt of Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, of Woodbridge, to travel from the U.S. to Syria in order to fight on behalf of ISIL. As part of their plan, Farrokh would travel first, followed by Elhassan at a later date. Farrokh and Elhassan spoke in detail about their potential travel, including discussing the different routes each would take to travel to Syria. Farrokh also provided $600 to Elhassan to aid in Elhassan’s future travel to Syria. Both men spoke openly with each other about supporting ISIL and violent jihad, with Farrokh saying on Oct. 2, 2015, that he had no patience and wanted to go right away and “chop their heads.”
According to the statement of facts, in an effort to conceal their plans to support ISIL, Farrokh and Elhassan communicated using apps they believed were safe from law enforcement detection. In the summer of 2015, Farrokh and Elhassan talked more seriously about going to join ISIL and concluded that they needed someone to help them do so. Elhassan contacted like-minded people all over the world and the men pursued two separate plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, but neither plan worked out.
According to the statement of facts, Farrokh and Elhassan conspired with other persons they believed would help facilitate their travel to Syria. Over the course of many meetings, the men discussed in detail their travel plans and efforts to avoid law enforcement detection, including Farrokh shaving his beard and flying out of Richmond International Airport, where they believed there would be less security. Farrokh and Elhassan agreed that Farrokh should tell his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.
According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan picked up Farrokh at his home in Woodbridge and drove him to Richmond to a location approximately one mile from the airport. Farrokh then took another cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and (unbeknownst to Elhassan) was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate. When approached by investigators later that day, Elhassan falsely stated to special agents of the FBI that (a) Joseph Hassan Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; (b) Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; (c) neither he nor Farrokh supported ISIL; and (d) neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL territory.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Andrew Sigler and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.