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11 April 2017
Palm Harbor Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding More Than 1,000 Companies Promising Contracting Preferences with FEMARead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Michael Pirolo (48, Palm Harbor) has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, Pirolo served as the president of Government Contract Registry, Inc. (“GCR”), doing business as FEMA Contract Registration. He employed telemarketers who, during communications with victim-companies, falsely and fraudulently claimed that, for a fee, GCR would “register” the companies with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enable them to receive preference in obtaining contracts from FEMA. The GCR telemarketers’ communications were based on instructions and scripts that they had received from Pirolo. In particular, the GCR telemarketers falsely and fraudulently stated that for a one-time fee of $500, the customer would be registered with FEMA, and that this registration would place the customer company on a list of preferred vendors. When the need for a vendor arose, the GCR telemarketer falsely stated that FEMA would bypass the contract acquisition process, contact the registered victim-company, and then offer a no-bid contract. At times, Pirolo also instructed GCR telemarketers to go back to victim-companies that had already paid the $500 one-time fee and seek renewal and payment of another fraudulent $500 fee.
To further the scheme, the GCR telemarketers provided victim-companies with an online GCR form that requested the same information as a form on FEMA’s website. FEMA does not charge a fee to companies to complete its form, which assists the agency with market research and does not “register” companies. Completing this form is not part of the United States government’s contract acquisition process. Once GCR telemarketers received the victim-companies’ information, GCR completed and submitted the online FEMA form that then enabled emails to then be sent from FEMA to the victim-companies, giving the appearance that the companies had been “registered.” The FEMA emails gave GCR the appearance of legitimacy.
Approximately 1,200 victim-companies were misled by this scheme, paying GCR at least $604,500.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General and the General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam M. Saltzman.
Owner of Trash Company Pleads Guilty to FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of a trash company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with defrauding the operator of the Fall River Landfill out of approximately $473,000 in disposal fees.
Stephen P. Aguiar, Jr., 47, of Westport, pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for July 17, 2017.
Aguiar was one of the owners and operators of Cleanway Disposal & Recycling, Inc., a trash removal and recycling company, and JS Aguiar Enterprises, Inc., a construction and equipment rental company, which were both located in Westport. Aguiar contracted with the company operating the Fall River Landfill to dispose of trash collected from his private clients in Fall River for one rate, and to dispose of trash collected from his private clients outside of Fall River for a higher rate. Aguiar also contracted with the City of Fall River to collect trash from the Fall River Housing Authority (FRHA) and dispose of the trash at the landfill. The company operating the landfill allowed the City of Fall River to dispose of trash collected from FRHA properties at no charge. Between 2009 and 2014, Aguiar misrepresented the origin of a significant portion of the trash he disposed at the landfill. Aguiar claimed he was disposing trash from the FRHA, when in fact he was disposing trash collected from his private clients, thereby defrauding Fall River Landfill of approximately $473,000 in revenue.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, restitution and forfeiture. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha; and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Weinreb’s Public Corruption Unit is prosecuting the case.
One Individual Indicted in April 2017 Federal Grand JuryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office announced today the results of the April 2017 Federal Grand Jury.
“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A Grand Jury indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A Grand Jury indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.”
DANIELLE ROSE ESCALANTE, age 31, of Garland, Texas
Possession Of A Counterfeit Obligation (4 Counts)The Indictment alleges that on or about December 13, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the Defendant, DANIELLE ROSE ESCALANTE, did with intent to defraud, possess four counterfeit obligations of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 472, punishable by no more than 20 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00 or both for each count.
The charges arose from an investigation by the District 18 Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Secret Service.
Assistant United States Attorney Melody Nelson
Oklahoma Hospital, Former Hospital Administrator, and Physicians Agree to Pay $1,618,750 to Settle Allegations of Submitting False Claims for Medical Services Provided to Medicare PatientsRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma –NORMAN REGIONAL HOSPITAL AUTHORITY d/b/a NORMAN REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM; GREG TERRELL; CHADWICK WEBBER, M.D.; MERL KARDOKUS, M.D.; RICK WEDEL, M.D.; GAUTHAM DEHADRAI, M.D.; BARBARA LANDAAL, M.D.; and SANJAY NAROTAM, M.D., have agreed to pay $1,618,750 to the United States to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that the hospital submitted false claims to Medicare, Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today.
Norman Regional Hospital Authority d/b/a Norman Regional Health System ("Norman Regional") operates Norman Regional Hospital (the "Hospital"), which provides radiological and other services to patients in Norman, Oklahoma. Greg Terrell is a former Hospital administrator employed by Norman Regional, and the physicians are radiologists employed by Norman Regional (collectively the "Individuals").
Norman Regional previously employed radiological practitioner assistants ("RPAs") in its radiology department. RPAs are not physicians, and the services RPAs provide to Medicare beneficiaries cannot be billed to Medicare unless done under the appropriate level of supervision by a physician. There are certain radiological diagnostic services that require "personal" supervision. This means that a physician must be in the room supervising the RPA when the RPA performs the service. If a physician is not in the room, the service cannot be billed to Medicare.
The United States alleges that from January 1, 2008, through September 30, 2016, Norman Regional and the Individuals submitted, or caused to be submitted, false claims for payment to Medicare for radiological services performed by RPAs without the proper supervision by a physician. Specifically, the RPAs performed radiological services that required "personal" supervision, but a physician was not in the room supervising the RPA when the service was performed.
After being notified of the allegations, Norman Regional cooperated with the United States’ investigation.
In order to resolve the United States’ allegations, Norman Regional and the Individual Defendants have agreed to pay $1,618,750.
The settlement resolves allegations filed in Federal District Court in Oklahoma City by Dr. Lance Garber, a physician formerly employed by Norman Regional as a radiologist. This qui tam, or whistleblower, suit under the False Claims Act permits private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in the recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene in the lawsuit, which the government did in this case.
In reaching this settlement, Norman Regional did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions regarding the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ronald R. Gallegos and Scott Maule.
Nineteen Defendants Charged in Federal Investigation That Disrupted Mexico-To-Chicago Narcotics Pipeline; 190 Kilograms of Heroin SeizedRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Federal authorities have seized more than 190 kilograms of heroin as part of an investigation that disrupted a Mexico-to-Chicago narcotics pipeline and resulted in drug charges against 19 defendants.
The investigation, dubbed “Operation Over the Top,” spanned more than a year and included a seizure last month of 80 kilograms of heroin from a residence in Hanover Park. As part of the investigation, authorities shut down a heroin stash house in Bensenville and removed an additional 85 kilograms of heroin and cocaine from warehouses in St. Charles and Sugar Grove, and from a vacant lot on the West Side of Chicago. Law enforcement uncovered the alleged criminal activity through the use of wiretapped cellular phones, undercover narcotics purchases and extensive surveillance. The probe was led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
The investigation resulted in drug charges against 19 defendants in federal court in Chicago. Several of the defendants were arrested within the past two weeks, including one this past weekend. Others were charged and arrested earlier in the investigation, including five defendants who recently pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.
The charges were announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA; and James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Substantial assistance was provided by the San Antonio, Texas, office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“This investigation is an example of the extraordinary determination and cooperation among our law enforcement partners,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Levin. “Our office remains committed to halting the stream of heroin and other dangerous narcotics into our communities.”
“Too many lives are lost to heroin and too many families forever scarred,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wichern. “I'm proud of the work done by these agents, officers and prosecutors who have worked tirelessly to achieve these results, and I’m confident that with our continued partnership, we will have increasing success.”
“These charges and seizures are an example of how successful partnerships among law enforcement agencies can be in removing drug traffickers from our community,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Gibbons. “Our agents will continue to be relentless in their pursuit to target criminal enterprises that threaten public safety.”
The charges describe various narcotics-distribution organizations operating in the Chicago area. Last month, JULIO CESAR FLORES SAENZ, 29, of Hanover Park, was arrested with approximately 80 kilograms of heroin hidden in his residence and a vehicle compartment. In October 2016, Flores Saenz distributed four kilograms of heroin to RAMON GARCIA, 30, of Riverside, Calif., and two kilograms of heroin to VICTOR MANUEL VAZQUEZ-MORALES, 33, of Philadelphia, Penn., according to criminal complaints and affidavits filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. In December 2016, NOEL MIRANDA, 36, of Chicago, sold a kilogram of heroin to a buyer outside the Ford City Mall in Chicago, and a few weeks later attempted to obtain an additional seven-and-a-half kilograms of heroin, according to the charges. The deals were allegedly set up by Noel Miranda’s cousin, LUIS MIRANDA, 30, of Chicago, who was arrested last month with a kilogram of heroin in his possession, the complaints state. Flores Saenz, Noel Miranda and Luis Miranda are each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance.
JUAN CONTRERAS, 35, of Aurora, and JESUS ALBERTO MARTINEZ-REYES, 39, of Schiller Park, allegedly led a separate faction of narcotics dealers who unloaded heroin at warehouses in Naperville, Sugar Grove and St. Charles. The heroin had been shipped to Chicago from Mexico in secret compartments of semi-tractor trailers. Juan Conteras’ brother, DAVID CONTRERAS, 39, of Aurora, and Juan Contreras’ nephew, EDGAR RODRIGUEZ CONTRERAS, 32, of Aurora, along with Martinez-Reyes and HEDILBERTO VEGA-ROCHA, 47, of Schiller Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to their roles in the distribution conspiracy. In written plea agreements, David Contreras, Martinez-Reyes, Edgar Contreras and Vega-Rocha admitted that they conspired with Juan Contreras and each other to distribute heroin that had been shipped from Mexico. After the heroin was unloaded, the secret compartments were stuffed with cash proceeds from the drug sales, and the trucks would return to Mexico, according to the plea agreements. David Contreras, Martinez-Reyes, Edgar Contreras and Vega-Rocha are awaiting sentencing. Juan Contreras is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance. His case is set for trial on Oct. 16, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve.
The charges also identify a Bensenville man who ran a stash house where heroin and cash from drug sales were stored. JESUS SALGADO, 24, ran the Bensenville stash house and sold narcotics in the Chicago area, according to the complaints and an indictment returned in federal court in Chicago. Jesus Salgado’s drug-dealing operation was overseen by his father, LORENZO SALGADO, 54, who resides in Mexico but communicated with his son via phone, according to the charges. U.S. law enforcement last year obtained court authorization to surreptitiously record conversations between the father and son, during which the pair discussed selling narcotics, according to the complaints.
The charges describe instances in which Jesus Salgado and his girlfriend, RUBY JOY BUENAVENTURA, 26, of Chicago, delivered drugs to customers in the Chicago area after having the deal arranged remotely from Mexico by Jesus Salgado’s father. One of the deals occurred in the parking lot of a Bensenville strip mall in May 2016 when Jesus Salgado delivered two kilograms of heroin to SERGIO AREVALO-GOMEZ, 22, of Chicago. Arevalo-Gomez pleaded guilty earlier this year to distribution of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee on May 2, 2017.
An indictment also identifies JOSE LUIS RIVERA JR., 39, of Lawton, Okla., as an alleged courier who traveled to New Jersey, Arizona & Mexico on behalf of the Salgado family. Jesus Salgado, Lorenzo Salgado and Rivera Jr. are each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance. Lorenzo Salgado is considered a fugitive, while Jesus Salgado and Rivera Jr. are in federal custody and scheduled to appear for a status hearing on May 3, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Robert Blakey.
Also charged with various narcotics offenses are ALEXANDER LAGUNAS, 26, of Midlothian; SYLVIA JIMENEZ-CELEDON, 37, of Eagle Pass, Texas; WILLIE G. POWELL JR., 47, of Sandstone, Minn.; and MONIQUE FORTNEY, 37, of Dearborn Heights, Mich.
The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the OCDETF program, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of OCDETF is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations.
The public is reminded that complaints and indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Greening, Misty Wright and John Cooke.
Nigerian Citizen Indicted on Charges of Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Olusola Luke, 38, a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Guatemala, was ordered held and transferred to St. Louis for further proceedings on an Indictment charging him with conspiracy and theft of government funds in connection with a Stolen Identity Refund Fraud scheme he and others are alleged to have perpetrated between 2013 and 2015.
“Investigating refund fraud and identity theft is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation,” said Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge. “Stealing identities and filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. The arrest of Mr. Luke should serve as a strong warning to those who are considering similar conduct.”
According to the Indictment, Luke and others misused the identifiers of dozens of individuals to seek and obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funds by filing false tax returns in the names of the identity theft victims. The Indictment alleges Luke and his co-conspirators sought more than $734,000 in refunds. Luke was arrested at Dulles International Airport late on the evening of April 6, 2017 and was taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service at that time. Today, he waived his right to a detention hearing in the Eastern District of Virginia and agreed to be transferred to St. Louis in custody to answer for the charges.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation as part of its Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) Initiative which seeks to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar enterprise whereby Americans’ identities are compromised and used to defraud the government through the income tax system.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Jersey Man Admits Wire FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael Pampalone, age 34, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pled guilty today to defrauding a Rensselaer, New York, resident of $132,450.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Boston Division.
As part of his guilty plea, Pampalone admitted that he stole money that he had promised to hold in escrow for a client seeking a mortgage. After the client sent him two wires totaling $132,450, Pampalone withdrew the money and used it for his own purposes.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. Pampalone faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release. 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 was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.
Navajo Man from Shiprock Pleads Guilty to Federal Involuntary Manslaughter and Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Travis Arthur Mustache, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty this morning in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal involuntary manslaughter and assault charges.
Mustache was arrested in March 2017, on an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the complaint, Mustache killed one victim and seriously injured another while driving his vehicle under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on June 15, 2016.
During today’s proceedings, Mustache pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing one victim and assaulting the second victim, causing her to sustain serious bodily injury, by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol. Mustache acknowledged that the alcohol rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle. According to plea agreement, the second victim suffered from rib fractures, a liver laceration, bruised lung tissue and scalp bruises.
At sentencing, Mustache faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the New Mexico State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.
Monmouth County, New Jersey, Man Admits Multimillion-Dollar Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man admitted today that he conspired to defraud 76 victims of more than $4 million and evaded paying more than $273,000 in taxes, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Peter Zuck, 66, of Middletown, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of tax evasion.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Zuck was a co-founder of Osiris Partners LLC and Osiris Partners Fund Limited. Starting in 2009, Zuck was employed in a management role with Osiris Partners LLC and Osiris Partners Fund Limited, including as a managing member and portfolio manager of the fund. Between June 2009 and November 2011, Osiris Fund Limited Partnership solicited 76 investors to invest $12 million in the Fund. Zuck, Michael Spak, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the scheme, and other conspirators defrauded investors by concealing investments losses in the fund, misappropriating assets from the fund for their own personal use, and obtaining management fees based on a fraudulently inflated net asset value.
Zuck admitted that members of the Osiris Fund Limited Partnership diverted $4 million in investors’ funds from the fund and fraudulently drew $3.9 million in management fees to which they were not entitled.
Zuck also admitted that he was issued $1.3 million in checks in connection with his employment at Osiris Partners LLC and Osiris Fund Limited Partnership, which he used to pay for personal expenditures but which he did not report as income to the IRS. Instead, Zuck concealed his income by causing the checks to be deposited in an account that he controlled but that was in his son’s name and falsely assigning the income to his son on IRS forms. He admitted that he attempted to evade $273,417 in income tax.
The charge of wire fraud conspiracy to which Zuck pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greater. Each charge of tax evasion carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greater. The information also includes a forfeiture provision for the fraudulent payments Zuck received from the scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2017.
Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine K. Lou, David M. Eskew, and Shirley Emehelu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Tim Anderson Esq., Red Bank
Mishongnovi Man Sentenced to 46 Months for Assaulting Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – This week, Jarvis Cook, 45, of Mishongnovi Village, Second Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton to 46 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Cook, an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe, had previously pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On Feb. 10, 2016, an officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services (Hopi Agency) responded to a call at the Cook residence. When the officer attempted to arrest Cook, who had an active arrest warrant, Cook resisted arrest and assaulted the officer. The officer, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, successfully arrested Cook only after a lengthy struggle, suffering serious injuries during the assault.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services (Hopi Agency). The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-16-8156-PCT-SRB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-029_Cook
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Midland Man Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking a ChildRead the Press Release
In Midland today, a federal judge sentenced 43-year-old Irick Dron Oneal to life in federal prison for sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Douglas E. Lindquist, El Paso Division.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Robert A. Junell ordered that Oneal pay a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA).
On November 18, 2016, a federal jury convicted Oneal of one count of sex trafficking of a child. Evidence presented during trial revealed that on October 14, 2016, investigators took custody of the victim when she appeared at an Odessa hotel room. Previously, investigators responded to advertisements for sex with the minor posted on the Internet site Backpage.com. Authorities discovered Oneal in the hotel parking lot while waiting for the victim.
Oneal has remained in custody since his arrest in October 2016.
The investigation was developed as part of Operation Cross Country, a nation-wide operation conducted October 13-14, 2016 by the FBI to locate and rescue child victims of sex trafficking. The FBI was assisted by the Odessa Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Harwood prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
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 United States 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html.
Miami-Dade County Resident Convicted of Running a Drug Enterprise and Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
Following a five-day jury trial, a jury convicted a Miami-Dade resident of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, promethazine with codeine, and alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, maintaining a premises for the purpose of distributing marijuana and promethazine with codeine, possession with the intent to distribute alprazolam, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Troy Walker, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Miami Regional Operations Center, and Ian A. Moffett, Chief, Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, made the announcement.
Harrison Garcia, 27, faces consecutive statutory mandatory minimum sentences of 5 and 25 years as to the armed narcotics trafficking charges. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz.
According to the court record, including evidence presented during the trial, between February 2013 and October 18, 2016, Garcia - with the assistance of at least two associates - distributed a variety of controlled substances, including marijuana, promethazine with codeine, commonly referred to as “lean” or “drank,” alprazolam, lorazepam, and Percocet. To that end, Garcia maintained two Miami residences: at the first, he possessed narcotics, namely marijuana and promethazine with codeine, digital scales, hand-written ledgers, narcotics packaging material, and multiple semi-automatic pistols, including an FN 5.7, which shoots armor-piercing ammunition; at the second, he possessed more than 3,000 alprazolam pills, an UZI submachine gun and AK47 pistol - loaded and readily accessible, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and over one hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry and merchandise with original receipts, all purchased with drug proceeds.
At trial, the evidence showed that Garcia, who went by the alias “muhammad_a_lean” often posed on Instagram with large amounts of “lean” and other drugs, cash, and firearms, and boasted of owning fancy cars, including a Porsche Panamera and a Polaris Slingshot.
Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, FDLE and the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan K. Osborne and Rilwan Adeduntan.
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.
Mexican National Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE –Javier Amador-Flores, 50, a permanent resident from Mexico who lived in Denver City, Tex., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Amador-Flores will be deported after he completes his prison sentence
Amador-Flores was arrested on July 29, 2015, on an indictment charging him and four co-defendants, Joel Dominguez-Morales, 41, Maria Marcelina Cardoza-Burciaga, 41, Jose Manuel Trujillo, 42, all Mexican nationals, and Myrna Orozco, 32, a U.S. citizen, with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Lea County, N.M., from May 1, 2015 through May 6, 2015.
Amador-Flores elected to proceed to trial and was found guilty July 20, 2016. The evidence at trial established that participated in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy by receiving and storing shipments of methamphetamine at the residence he shared with Orozco. Other members of the conspiracy distributed the methamphetamine in Lea County.
According to court documents, on May 1, 2015, an undercover agent arranged to purchase methamphetamine from Trujillo. On May 6, 2015, Trujillo informed the undercover agent that Dominguez-Morales would deliver the methamphetamine to the agent. Thereafter, Dominguez-Morales met with the undercover agent at a restaurant in Hobbs and directed the agent to meet him at an abandoned bar in a rural area outside of Hobbs, where a woman would deliver the methamphetamine. Later that day, law enforcement officers arrested Dominguez-Morales and Cardoza-Burciaga near the abandoned bar and seized almost four kilograms of methamphetamine.
Dominguez-Morales pled guilty on Sept. 4, 2015, and was sentenced on Sept. 21, 2016, to 145 months in prison. Cardoza-Burciaga pled guilty on Aug. 26, 2015, and was sentenced on Aug. 17, 2016. Orozco pled guilty on Nov. 6, 2015, and was sentenced on March 29, 2017.
Trujillo has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. The charges against Trujillo are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Lea County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the Yoakum County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock Taylor and Matthew Beck of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Maryland Man Indicted on Cyberstalking Charges and for Sending Threatening Communications over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced today the return of an indictment charging Seyed Ali Soroushjou (36, Cockeysville, Maryland) with two counts of cyberstalking and sending threatening communications over the Internet. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison on each charge.
On April 7, 2017, FBI agents arrested Soroushjou at his residence in Maryland. He made his initial appearance in Baltimore and has been detained pending his transport to Jacksonville for further court proceedings.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
Luzerne County Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution Resulting in Death of Pregnant Woman and Unborn FetusRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Luis Antonio Zayas, age 47, of Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on April 10, 2017, before United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to drug distribution resulting in death.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Zayas pleaded guilty to knowingly and intentionally possessing with intent to distribute and distributing fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance, resulting in the death of another. Zayas was indicted by a grand jury in Scranton in August 2016.
Zayas admitted in court that he sold what he believed to be heroin to the victim on July 6, 2016. In reality, the drug was 100 percent fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller. The victim, who was 33 weeks pregnant at the time, overdosed and died. Toxicology results showed that both the mother and unborn fetus died from lethal levels of fentanyl in their systems. Zayas arranged the drug deal with the victim via text messages and proclaimed at one point that he had “damm good shit…….good enough to get way higher than intended lol.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Scranton, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski 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.
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 drug delivery charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature 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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Lansdale Man Charge with Social Security Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Jon Vincent, a/k/a “Nathan Laskoski,” 44, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, was charged by criminal Information today with one count of Social Security fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced Acting United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen. According to the information,[1] after being convicted in the state of Texas, the defendant served a prison term, then escaped from a Texas halfway house in 1996. The information charges that shortly after his escape, the defendant stole the name of the deceased Nathan Laskoski to craft a new identity, obtaining a birth certificate for Laskoski, which he used to apply for a Social Security number in Laskoski’s name. According to the information, the defendant has been living using the deceased victim’s stolen identity since mid-1996. His alleged use of the stolen identity was discovered when a relative of the deceased victim discovered information on the ancestral website “Ancestry.com” indicating that someone was impersonating the decedent.
If convicted, the defendant faces a substantial period of incarceration, a three-year period of supervised release, a fine of up to $500,000 and a special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Lansdale Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.
[1] An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
KC Man Sentenced for Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy in which he operated a flop house where he paid drug addicts for stolen identity information that was used to create counterfeit checks.
Tyler Sutton, 55, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to eight years and four months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Sutton to pay $39,927 in restitution to his victims.
On Sept. 19, 2016, Sutton pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possession of counterfeit checks, possession of stolen mail, and identity theft. Sutton also pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Sutton led a crime wave in his northeast Kansas City neighborhood. Sutton was a property manager residing in the 400 block of Gladstone Boulevard, although he only paid rent for one month and was evicted in October 2014. He used the house to conduct his illegal business by operating it as a flop house where he offered cash and/or drugs to drug addicts who brought him stolen mail, identities, addresses, credit card numbers and bank account information. Sutton often allowed the addicts to stay at the residence.
Sutton also unlawfully obtained identity and account information belonging to other persons and businesses by stealing these items from businesses and from the mail. Sutton and co-conspirators used the stolen identity information to create counterfeit identifications and checks, which were cashed at retail stores and financial institutions.
Court documents state that, besides the banks and merchants who accepted the counterfeit and stolen checks, people who lived in Sutton’s neighborhood were victimized by his crimes. Because Sutton used his rental home as a flop house to attract addicts and paid them to commit crimes, the neighborhood was rife with drug, property, and sometimes more violent crime. Between July 16, 2013, to July 9, 2014, police were dispatched to Sutton’s residence an incredible 73 times for a wide variety of crimes, such as disturbances, residential burglaries, suspicious parties, stolen autos, forgeries and a dead body (a drug overdose).
Sutton did not usually create counterfeit identifications and checks himself, nor did he personally present counterfeit identifications and cash checks. Rather, he instructed others in the making and presenting of counterfeit identifications and checks, and shared the illegal proceeds with his co-conspirators. In this manner, Sutton attempted to insulate himself from liability.
Sutton admitted that the intended loss from the scheme totaled $83,980; the actual loss was $39,927.
Co-defendants Gary K. Keesler, 37, and Chad M. Mills, 28, both of Kansas City, Mo., and Christopher Hite, 34, of Windsor, Mo., have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and have been sentenced.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Justice Department Seeks to Stop Louisiana Tax Return Preparer from Preparing Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Louisiana tax return preparer, Finecia Draper of Simmesport, Louisiana prepares fraudulent tax returns for her customers, according to a new civil suit filed by the Justice Department. The suit, filed in federal court in Alexandria, Louisiana asks the court to permanently bar Draper from preparing federal tax returns for others. The suit also asks the court to order Draper to turn over a list of all taxpayers for whom she has prepared returns since Jan. 1, 2013.
The complaint alleges that Draper, who prepares returns through her business Unlimited Fashion located at 245 Moreau St. in Simmesport, prepares returns that fraudulently understate her customers’ income tax liabilities and/or overstates the refunds they are entitled to receive. According to the complaint, Draper does so by fabricating or inflating business losses claimed on her customers’ returns. In many of the examples cited in the complaint, the taxpayer did not even own or operate a business. The bogus losses that Draper claims fraudulently understate the income her customers earned which results in underreporting their tax liabilities and overstating the refunds they are due, according to the complaint.
The complaint additionally alleges that Draper also fraudulently claims and/or inflates the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on returns she prepares. The EITC is a benefit for working taxpayers with low to moderate income. The amount of EITC a taxpayer can claim is determined by the amount of income the taxpayer earned and the number of dependents a taxpayer claims. The complaint alleges that Draper uses false business losses to improperly reduce the earned income on her customers’ returns and claims improper dependents, to maximize the EITC. The complaint alleges that Draper does so without doing the due diligence required by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations and despite being previously penalized over $97,000 by the IRS for failure to exercise the required due diligence.
From 2011 to 2015, Draper prepared over 2,000 returns, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that audits of 163 returns prepared by Draper in 2011, 2012, and 2013 revealed that she overstated refunds and understated tax liability on 134 (82 percent) of these returns which resulted in a tax loss of over $275,000 in the aggregate.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017 and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has tips on its website for choosing a return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Jury Convicts Linn County Woman of Welfare FraudRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – On Thursday, April 6, 2017, a federal jury found a Lebanon, Ore. woman guilty of wire fraud and theft. Jamie Faye Cobat, 52, was convicted of stealing approximately $29,000 in welfare benefits by making false claims about her household composition and resources.
Federal and state agents began investigating Cobat in 2014 after social workers received allegations that Cobat’s teenage son could no longer live with her because she was living with a convicted sex offender. Further investigation determined that Cobat told the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Oregon Department of Human Services (Oregon DHS) that her son was living her, which enabled her to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits. In fact, her son had not lived with her for more than two years.
According to court records and trial testimony, Cobat began living with her partner at his home in Lebanon in August 2012 after his release from prison. At that time, Cobat’s son went to live with his father due to the partner’s post-prison supervision conditions prohibiting his contact with minors. In August 2014, Cobat and her partner married. Between August 2012 and November 2014, Cobat made repeated false statements to SSA and Oregon DHS that her son was living with her, that she and her husband did not live together and that she was not married. As a result, she received $19,247 in SSI, $5,825 in SNAP (commonly referred to as food stamps), and $2,845 in TANF benefits.
Cobat will be sentenced on July 13, 2017 before United States District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman.
The case was investigated by the SSA Office of Inspector General and Oregon DHS, and prosecuted by Helen Cooper and Gavin Bruce, Assistant United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Itasca County Felon Indicted for Possession of Methamphetamine and FirearmsRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker announced an indictment charging JAYSEN LANE HEYER, 38, with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On April 13, 2017, HEYER made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Duluth, Minn.
According to the indictment, on December 28, 2016, HEYER was found to be in possession of approximately 210 grams of methamphetamine, a Smith and Wesson M&P 40 pistol and a Luger 9mm Tech 9 pistol. Because he is a felon, HEYER is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm at any time.
If convicted, HEYER faces a potential maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for drug possession and up to 10 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Marshall’s Service.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.
Defendant Information:
JAYSEN LANE HEYER, 38
Squaw Lake, Minn.
Charges:
- Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
- Felon in Possession of a Firearm, 2 counts
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Information Technology Firm Pays $1 Million to Settle Allegations of Visa FraudRead the Press Release
DALLAS—Sistemas Globales S.A., an Argentine information technology and consulting firm, has agreed to a civil settlement of allegations that it and its corporate affiliates, including U.S. affiliate Globant LLC (collectively “Globant”), violated the False Claims Act and the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, announced U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
The settlement relates to Globant’s use of B-1 visas for certain of its foreign national employees. Foreign nationals admitted to the United States on a B-1 visa are permitted to engage in certain short-term business activities like negotiating contracts, consulting with business associates, or attending conventions or conferences. However, a B-1 visa is not proper for foreign nationals who are seeking to perform skilled or unskilled labor in the United States. Companies wishing to employ foreign nationals in the United States must seek proper work visas for their employees, at a higher cost and with additional requirements to protect U.S. workers.
With respect to Globant, the United States contended that Globant caused certain of its foreign-national employees to apply for and obtain B-1 visas to travel into the United States for the stated purpose of “training” or “knowledge transfer,” but that the true purpose of travel was to perform information technology work in the United States that was not permissible on a B-1 visa. The United States further contended that the Globant employees would not have met the requirements for the issuance of B-1 visas if the true facts regarding their intended activities had been disclosed. Globant agreed to pay $1 million to settle the matter. Globant denies the United States’ allegations and fully cooperated with the investigation and, by settling, did not admit any wrongdoing or liability.
The investigation was initiated after U.S. Department of State consular officials in Argentina reported unusual visa application activity by Globant employees in that country. The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Stoltz. The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service investigated, and attorneys from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security also participated in the resolution of the matter.
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Houston Man Sentenced for East Texas Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas - A 41-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to prison for federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Jesus Najar Silva pleaded guilty on Nov. 29, 2016, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.
According to information presented in court, Jesus Najar Silva was identified as a supplier during an investigation into the distribution of multi-kilograms of methamphetamine in Houston and the Eastern District of Texas. Silva made four deliveries of more than one pound of methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Houston and Cleveland, Texas. Based on Title III wiretaps and other investigative tools, agents learned that at least three other individuals were involved in this organization. The recorded calls revealed that Silva negotiated the sale of a total of 6.1 kilograms of methamphetamine and four kilograms of cocaine during this conspiracy. These calls also led to the identification, arrest and prosecution of Silva's source of supply, and two other members of this conspiracy.
This case is the result of an extensive joint investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Englade.
Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegally ReentryRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that RONNEL OMAR SANCHEZ-VILLAFRANCA, age 37, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information for illegal reentry of removed alien.
According to court documents, on or about March 8, 2017, SANCHEZ-VILLAFRANCA was found in the United States after having been officially deported and removed on or about August 9, 2013.
After accepting his guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced SANCHEZ-VILLAFRANCA to time served, ordered him to serve one year of supervised release, and pay a $100 special assessment. SANCHEZ-VILLAFRANCA will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene González was in charge of the prosecution.
Hingham Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Hingham man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with defrauding neighbors and other acquaintances by agreeing to invest their money which he then stole for his own use or to pay off earlier investors.
Stephen S. Eubanks, 48, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud after being charged and arrested in November 2016. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for July 11, 2017.
In February 2010, Eubanks opened Eubiquity Capital LLC, a hedge fund that, by 2016, took in approximately $529,000 in investor funds. Eubanks was previously a registered broker with several large brokerage firms, but was terminated in the wake of customer complaints and other disciplinary issues. In 2013 and 2014, Eubanks nonetheless told two acquaintances that he was a registered financial advisor running a hedge fund affiliated with Goldman Sachs, TD Ameritrade, UBS Bank and Fidelity Investments. One of the acquaintances invested $125,000 with Eubanks, while the other invested $20,000. A third person, living in Florida, invested $50,000 with Eubanks in 2013.
Eubanks invested some of his clients’ funds, but used a significant portion for personal expenses. Moreover, when asked for account statements summarizing the fund’s performance, Eubanks fabricated account statements or used account statements from unrelated accounts to deceive his clients into believing that their money had earned a healthy return. In some instances, Eubanks ran the fund as a Ponzi scheme, using money deposited with him by newer investors to pay returns to earlier investors. Eubanks defrauded 32 people of approximately $435,000.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The Massachusetts Securities Division, which conducted an earlier civil investigation of Eubanks, provided significant assistance to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Grant County man guilty of firearm chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A Petersburg, West Virginia man was convicted today of a firearm violation, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Benjamin Wayne Hyre, 37, pled guilty to one count of “Felon in Possession of a Firearm.” Hyre, having previously been convicted of two separate felonies in Grant County Circuit Court, admitted to having in his possession a .22-250 caliber rifle. The crime occurred in March 2016 in Grant County.
Hyre faces up to ten 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 Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Georgetown, Indiana man sentenced for bank robberyRead the Press Release
Sentenced for his role in two Posey County Community State Bank incidents.
PRESS RELEASE
Evansville – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today the sentencing of a Georgetown, Indiana, man on one count of bank robbery and one count of entering a bank with the intent to commit robbery. Patrick Leo Sandmann, 26, was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young.
“Maintaining the safety of our Southern Indiana communities remains a top priority of this office,” said Minkler. “If you rob a bank in this district, you can be certain, we will arrest you, convict you and send you to federal prison for a very long time. “
On September 24, 2015, Sandmann entered the Community State Bank branch located on Evansville Street in Cynthiana, Indiana, and approached the teller’s window and handed the bank employee a note. The note contained the statements “give me all the money in your drawer” and “if you call the cops I will take you hostage.” The employee then removed all the cash, placed it in a bag, and handed it to Sandmann. Sandmann took the money and his note, leaving the bank with over $7,000.
On June 8, 2016, Sandman returned to Posey County to commit a second bank robbery. In that incident, Sandmann walked into the St. Wendel Community State Bank Branch and asked to use the restroom. A teller who witnessed the September 2015, robbery recognized Sandman and reported the situation to her manager. The manager approached Sandmann and told him there was no public restroom and he needed to leave.
The manager then called 911 and followed the suspect with his vehicle after he left the bank, reporting the suspect’s locations to law enforcement. The suspect crashed his vehicle in Posey County and then left the vehicle. Sandmann, fled into a nearby wooded area and was apprehended by a law enforcement canine officer shortly thereafter. A note was located on the ground near where Sandmann was apprehended which stated, “This is a robbery. Please remain calm. I need the money in the register. I don’t want to shoot anyone or take hostages.” Also located in the vehicle during the execution of a search warrant was a six-inch long knife and numerous personal documents belonging to Sandmann.
The case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Indiana State Police and the Posey County Sheriff’s Department.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela S. Domash, who prosecuted the case for the government, Sandmann must also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
Georgetown Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling over $60,000 Dollars from EmployerRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Georgetown woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to embezzling over $60,000 from her former employer.
Michelle Higson, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and two counts of uttering a forged security. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for July 26, 2017.
Higson worked as a part-time bookkeeper at a Rowley-based company where she was responsible for handling the company’s accounts payable, and used the company’s accounting software program to do so. From December 2013 through January 2015, Higson stole a series of the company’s checks and made them payable to cash. Higson then forged her employer’s signatures on the stolen checks, endorsed them herself, and deposited them for cash, which she used for personal expenses.
To conceal her criminal conduct and avoid detection by company officials, Higson falsified entries in the company’s general ledger to make it appear as if the stolen checks had been issued to satisfy payment to bona fide vendors. In total, Higson embezzled over $60,000.
The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charge of uttering a forged security provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Gainesville Tax Preparer Charged with Tax Fraud CrimesRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Belinda Gail Sheppard-Lewis, 59, of Gainesville, was arraigned today in the U.S. District Court in Gainesville after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging her with filing a false tax return (four counts), wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that Sheppard-Lewis, an owner of a tax preparation business, filed false personal individual income tax returns for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, and under reported her income and tax liability. The indictment also alleges that Sheppard-Lewis fraudulently used another person’s social security number to claim the person as a dependent.
Sheppard-Lewis was released, pending trial. The trial is scheduled for May 23 at 8:30 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville.
This case resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jason S. Beaton is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact: Amy Alexander, Public Information OfficerFinal Defendant in Heroin Conspiracy SentencedRead the Press Release
Roanoke, VIRGINIA – The final defendant in a conspiracy that brought heroin into the Roanoke region from New York and Maryland was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.
Juan Reyes, 35, of Bronx, New York, who previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, was sentenced today in District Court to 38 months in federal prison.
Several co-conspirators convicted as part of the case were previously sentenced in U.S. District Court. Kelly Marie Combs, 28, of Salem, Va., was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison. Hameen Shahid Irvin, 41, of Roanoke, Va., who was sentenced 90 months in federal prison. Devona Sue Terry was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Cleveland Terry was sentenced to 132 months in prison.
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley B. Neese and Jennie L. M. Waering, members of the conspiracy were responsible for trafficking large amounts of heroin into the Roanoke region from New York and Baltimore. Evidence showed members of the conspiracy regularly drove to New York and Baltimore to buy heroin and returned to Roanoke with the drug for redistribution.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Roanoke County Police Department and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley B. Neese and Jennie L. M. Waering prosecuted the case for the United States.
Federal Felon Pleads Guilty to New Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Haverhill man, with prior criminal convictions in New York, pleaded guilty recently in U.S. District Court in Boston to drug and firearm offenses.
Gamal Jones, 37, pleaded guilty on Friday, April 7, 2017, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for July 6, 2017.
On Jan. 14, 2016, Jones was arrested following an investigation into cocaine distribution in Haverhill. Jones was found in possession of over 80 grams of crack cocaine, a Taurus .45 caliber handgun and a box of .45 caliber ammunition. Jones was previously convicted in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in addition to prior convictions for criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, and assault in the third degree.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of distribution of a controlled substance provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Soivilien and John T. McNeil of Weinreb’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
Fayetteville Man Sentenced for Car Jacking & Man and Woman Also Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
GREENVILLE – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today in Federal court, Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard sentenced BOBBY DESHAWN BAILEY, 22, of Fayetteville, North Carolina to 144 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Also sentenced was ERICKA ANDREA MONIQUE JOHNSON, 22, of Shannon, North Carolina to 14 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
BAILEY was named in an Indictment on September 7, 2016 charging him with Carjacking and Brandishing a Firearm During and In Relation To a Crime of Violence, and he pled guilty to those charges on February 13, 2017.
On January 5, 2015, an ex-boyfriend of ERICKA JOHNSON’s and his two sons, ages 8 and 14, exited their residence in St. Pauls, North Carolina, and walked towards their vehicle. As they did, BOBBY BAILEY (JOHNSON'S boyfriend at the time) and three other men, who were armed with handguns, approached the victims and yelled, "Police!"
BAILEY and the other men attempted to force the adult victim back into his residence; however, the door was locked. The victim’s girlfriend was inside the residence, but she refused to unlock the door. BAILEY and the others forced the ex-boyfriend and his children into the ex-boyfriend’s vehicle. The ex-boyfriend was bound with his own shoelaces, and he was repeatedly hit during the ordeal; his sons witnessed the abuse.
The victims were driven around the area while the armed kidnappers demanded money from them. The men pointed firearms at the victims and threatened that the victims would be harmed or killed if the kidnappers’ demands were not met. The kidnappers used the ex-boyfriend’s cellular telephone to call his girlfriend to demand money. The kidnappers also used the victim’s phone to call a friend of the victim, and the kidnappers demanded $10,000.00. The victim’s friend was informed that the victim and his children were going to be killed if he did not "hurry up."
The victim and his children were eventually taken to a wooded area in Fayetteville. The victims escaped, and the kidnappers fled with the victims' cell phones and the vehicle.
BAILEY and JOHNSON were also charged in a separate Indictment filed on June 1, 2016. The indictment charged them with two counts of Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, and the indictment charged JOHNSON with Access Device Fraud and Aiding and Abetting. BAILEY pled guilty to the Bank Fraud counts on August 8, 2016. JOHNSON pled guilty to the three charges she faced on January 12, 2017.
The fraud investigation revealed in December 2015, BAILEY and JOHNSON, along with several unindicted co-conspirators, perpetrated a scheme to defraud banks, including the United States Automobile Association Federal Savings Bank (USAA) and other banks.
To perpetuate the fraud scheme, BAILEY and JOHNSON deposited stolen or counterfeit checks into automatic teller machines (ATMs) located throughout North Carolina and Virginia. As soon as the stolen or counterfeit checks were deposited, BAILEY, JOHNSON, and others involved in the conspiracy would withdraw funds from an ATM, or they would attempt to obtain the money via debit purchases and “cash back” at stores. They also moved money between accounts in order to make the transfer more difficult to track and to circumvent USAA's maximum ATM withdrawal policy.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of the Treasury--Office of Inspector General, the Fayetteville Police Department, the St. Pauls Police Department, and the Hope Mills Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Lemmon is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Espanola Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Bank Robbery Charge Arising Out of Robbery of Bank in Taos CountyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Troy Montoya, 24, of Espanola, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a bank robbery charge. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Sheriff Jerry L. Hogrefe of the Taos County Sheriff’s Department and Town Marshal David Smith of the Red River Marshal’s Office.
Montoya, and co-defendants Jennifer Marissa Miera, 23, of Questa, N.M., and Shawn Michael Goodrum, Jr., 20, of Pima, Ariz., were arrested in Oct. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with offenses arising out of the robbery of the People’s Bank located at 121 East Main Street in Red River, N.M., on Oct. 6, 2016.
According to the complaint, Miera, conspired with Montoya to rob the bank by planning the robbery and purchasing items used to carry out the robbery, including gloves and medical masks, on Oct. 5, 2016. It further alleged that Miera and Montoya robbed the bank on Oct. 6, 2016. At the time, Miera was employed as a personal banker by the bank. The complaint alleged that Miera had attempted unsuccessfully to solicit Goodrum’s participation in the bank robbery conspiracy. Instead, Goodrum allegedly blackmailed Miera into giving him part of the proceeds from the robbery by threatening to report her role in the robbery to the police.
Montoya, Miera and Goodrum were indicted on Nov. 1, 2016. The three-count indictment charged Miera and Montoya with conspiracy to rob the bank and with bank robbery, and Goodrum with receiving proceeds from the bank robbery. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Taos County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Montoya pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy. In entering the guilty plea, Montoya admitted that from Oct. 5 through 11, 2016, he acted with Miera and helped her facilitate the robbery of the People’s Bank in Red River on Oct. 6, 2016. Montoya did so by meeting with Miera to plan the bank robbery, purchasing disguise items, preparing a demand note and serving as the get-away driver of the bank robbery. At sentencing, Montoya faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
On March 14, 2017, Miera pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charging her with conspiracy and bank robbery without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Miera faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Goodrum has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge against him in the indictment and is pending trial, which currently is scheduled for May 22, 2017 in Santa Fe, N.M. Charges in criminal complaints and indictment are merely accusations. Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, and the Red River Marshal’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.
Davenport Woman Sentenced to Prison for Stealing from the Scott County JailRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA - On April 10, 2017, Jennifer Wierson, age 43, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 21 months in prison for theft from a government agency receiving federal program funds, announced United States Attorney Kevin VanderSchel.
Wierson, a former Scott County Jail Senior Account Clerk, admitted stealing from different jail programs from as early as 2011 until April of 2015. The Scott County Sheriff’s office receives federal assistance in currency over $10,000 every calendar year and did so from 2011 through 2015, which makes Wierson’s thefts a federal offense. Wierson was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following her imprisonment and to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims’ Fund.
In April of 2015, Scott County Jail employees discovered irregularities in the financial handling of various jail programs managed by Wierson. McGladrey LLP conducted a forensic audit to investigate these irregularities. That investigation revealed Wierson had stolen or misappropriated more than $160,000. On September 16, 2016, the United States Attorney filed a felony information, charging Wierson with theft from a government agency receiving federal program funds.
On September 29, 2016, Wierson pled guilty to a charge admitting she stole or misappropriated at least $169,000 from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. After pleading guilty, Wierson was released and will report to the designated facility within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
This investigation was conducted by the Davenport Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at [email protected].
Davenport Man Sentenced to 130 Months in Prison for Two Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA - On April 10, 2017, Shawn Eugene Lee, age 39, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 130 months in prison for each of two separate bank robberies, announced United States Attorney Kevin VanderSchel. The sentences were ordered to run at the same time. Lee was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment and to pay $200 towards the Crime Victims’ Fund. Lee was ordered to pay restitution to both banks. In addition, $733 found on Lee when arrested was ordered forfeited to the United States.
On June 22, 2016, the grand jury returned a two-count indictment. Lee was charged with taking money by intimidation from the Northwest Bank and Trust on West Locust Street in Davenport on April 25, 2016, and with taking money by intimidation from the US Bank on North Division Street in Davenport on April 27, 2016. Both banks were then insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. On November 10, 2016, Lee entered guilty pleas to both bank robberies.
This investigation was conducted by the Davenport Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at [email protected].
Dallas County Men Sentenced for Jacksonville Bank BurglaryRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – Two Dallas men have been sentenced to federal prison for burglarizing a bank in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Curtis Eugene Thomas, 32, pleaded guilty on Sep. 29, 2016 to bank burglary and was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.
Dominic Dennard Green, 31, pleaded guilty on Nov. 29, 2016 to bank burglary and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by Judge Clark.
Both men were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $58,376.75.
According to information presented in court, on Feb. 9, 2016, Thomas, Green and two others broke into the Jacksonville branch of Austin Bank early in the morning before the bank had opened for business. Three of the individuals were dropped off at the bank while the other waited nearby with a getaway car. After disabling the bank’s surveillance cameras and security system, the defendants stole more than $30,000 from the bank’s automated teller machine cash drawers. They then left the bank, returned to the getaway car and left the area. A local patrol unit attempted a traffic stop and a high speed chase ensued. During the chase, all four men bailed out of the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. One individual was apprehended at the scene and the others were arrested later
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.
Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Meth Trafficking Charges in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Saul Cerros, 36, of Northglenn, Colo., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. The guilty plea was entered under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Cerros was arrested on Sept. 28, 2016, on a four-count indictment charging him with methamphetamine trafficking charges. Count 1 charged Cerros with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in March 2015. The indictment also charged Cerros with distributing methamphetamine twice on March 27, 2015, and again on March 31, 2015. According to the indictment, Cerros committed the offenses in Dona Ana County, N.M.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Cerros pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Cerros admitted selling an aggregate of 891.56 grams of pure methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents on three separate occasions; twice on March 27, 2015, and a third time on March 31, 2015. Cerros further admitted that he personally smuggled the methamphetamine involved in one of the drug deals into the United States from Mexico.
At sentencing, Cerros faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years to a maximum of life in federal prison. Cerros remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Clearwater Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Travis Lemart Hayes (21, Clearwater) has pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, following a traffic stop, police officers found crack cocaine and nearly $1,000 in cash in Hayes’s pockets. Inside the car that Hayes was driving, officers found a loaded .45 caliber pistol.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Port Richey Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout.
Charleston woman pleads guilty to federal heroin chargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston heroin dealer pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Tara Shepherd, 26, entered her guilty plea to distribution of heroin.
Shepherd admitted that on August 26, 2016, she sold heroin a confidential informant working with Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. The drug deal took place at her apartment on Washington Avenue in Charleston.
Shepherd faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on June 26, 2017.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
This case is being prosecuted 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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Charleston felon pleads guilty to federal gun crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Shon Wayne Cobbs, 45, entered his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On February 3, 2013, Cobbs shot a .40 caliber pistol inside his kitchen three times during an argument with a woman who was standing in the kitchen doorway. The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department arrested Cobbs at the residence without further incident. While executing a search warrant, deputies located a Beretta .40 caliber pistol, three spent shell casings, and bullet fragments from the kitchen. A spent bullet was also recovered from the adjacent living room. Furthermore, deputies seized an additional 16 firearms from several locations throughout the residence.
Cobbs was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because he was convicted in 2008 of the felony offense of unlawful wounding in Kanawha County Circuit Court after a jury found him guilty of assaulting a woman and breaking her arm by twisting it behind her back.
In August 2013, Cobbs pleaded guilty to wanton endangerment in Kanawha County Circuit Court as a result of the same conduct giving rise to the federal prosecution. He was sentenced to home confinement.
Cobbs faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 6, 2017.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
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Carbon County Man Sentenced to 16 ½ Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Grant Harris, age 38, formerly of Albrightsville, was sentenced on April 10, 2017, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley to 16 ½ years in prison for producing child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Harris previously pleaded guilty to persuading and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual image of that conduct. Harris committed the crime between 2008 and 2009, when the victim was eight-years-old. Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2015, shortly after agents and police discovered the child pornography on a computer used by the defendant.
Judge Munley also ordered Harris to serve 15 years on supervised release following his prison sentence. Harris will also be subject to the restrictions and requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
In imposing a sentence above the 15-year mandatory minimum sentence required by law, Judge Munley characterized Harris’ conduct as “monstrous,” and noted the harm inflicted on the victim and the victim’s family.
The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
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."
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California Men Sentenced for Internet Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Julian Villa-Gomez Lemus (32, Visalia, CA) and Fadhle Muqbel Saeed (31, Porterville, CA) for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. For their respective roles in the conspiracy, Lemus was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and Saeed was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. A third co-defendant, Alfonso Bojorquez-Vazquez (30, Porterville, CA), was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in federal prison for the same offense on March 27, 2016. As part of Saeed’s sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $1.9 million, the proceeds of the drug conspiracy.
Saeed and Bojorquez-Vazquez previously pleaded guilty. Lemus proceeded to trial and was found guilty by a jury on January 4, 2017.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, between May 2012 and March 2015, Saeed, Lemus and Bojorquez-Vazquez conspired to distribute drugs over the Internet using illicit online drug marketplaces such as Silk Road and Evolution Marketplace. These marketplaces were websites where individuals could buy and sell drugs anonymously. Payment for Silk Road transactions were conducted using Bitcoin, a semi-anonymous electronic form of payment, which allowed users to purchase drugs without disclosing their financial information or identity. The conspirators used the pseudonym “darkexpresso” to conduct over 1,300 Silk Road drug transactions, resulting in gross proceeds of over $1.9 million. These transactions included methamphetamine, hydrocodone, marijuana, steroids, cocaine, and other controlled substances. The drugs were concealed using various methods, and sent to purchasers throughout the United States and Australia.
After law enforcement officials shut down and seized the Silk Road website, Saeed and Bojorquez-Vazquez continued the operation on the Evolution Marketplace. Undercover DEA agents contacted Saeed and Bojorquez-Vazquez on the website and purchased a total of approximately 96 hydrocodone pills and approximately 473 grams of methamphetamine from them over the course of several online transactions.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vincent S. Chiu and Alejandro J. Salicrup.
Calera Man Convicted of Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal jury today convicted a Calera man of possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Hyche.
Following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins, the jury convicted VAUGHN ALEXANDER CROPPER, 28, of possessing a pistol after being convicted of a felony. Cropper had elected to represent himself.
According to the evidence at trial, Birmingham police arrested Cropper in the early morning hours of Sept. 25, 2016, in the parking lot of the USA Economy Lodge on Crestwood Boulevard in Irondale. Officers were responding to a complaint of a disturbance involving a man with a gun. The police, who were wearing body cameras, captured video of the defendant reaching into his pocket before officers seized the gun and placed him under arrest. Cropper, who has multiple drug-trafficking felonies, likely will qualify as an armed career criminal and face a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Cropper is scheduled for sentencing July 25.
The ATF and Birmingham Police Department investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted.
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Business Owner Pleads Guilty in Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Portage, Pa. pleaded guilty in federal court in Johnstown to a charge of conspiring to commit money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
Tonia Vaughn, 41, of Portage, Pa., pleaded guilty to the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
Gary and Tonia Vaughn were the owners and operators of Gary’s Steals and Deals, a business located in Portage, PA, that dealt in new and used merchandise. The way the business operated was for “customers” to come to the store with new stolen items of merchandise (the great majority of which were still in the package from local stores) and present it for purchase by Gary’s. The store clerks, knowing the merchandise was stolen, would then give a percentage of the value for the new stolen items to the “customer.” The great majority of this business involved the same “customers” bringing in dozens of identical, “new in package” stolen items (i.e., razor blades, pet products, teeth whitening strips, ink cartridges, jackets, Lego sets, etc.) on the same day or subsequent days, which were purchased by Gary’s Steals and Deals. The stolen new merchandise was then listed for sale on Ebay or Amazon. Once purchased, the stolen merchandise was then shipped to the purchaser via use of the mail. The money received from the sale of the stolen merchandise over the internet was used to either purchase new stolen items from “customers” coming into the store, or was received by the employees as proceeds of this conduct.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for August 9, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laurel Highlands Resident Agency, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Seymore.
Brothers Plead Guilty to Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that TERRELL TATE, age 26, and GEREME TATE, age 25, brothers from New Orleans, pled guilty today to being felons in possession of firearms.
According to the court documents, on July 4, 2016, the TATE brothers, both of whom had been previously convicted of felonies in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, possessed a Glock Model 19C semiautomatic pistol and a Taurus Model PT111, 9mm pistol.
Each defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown set sentencing for July 27, 2017.
A third brother, MICHAEL TATE is scheduled for trial on June 5, 2017.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih and Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley, of the Department of Justice, Organized Crime and Gang Section, are in charge of the prosecution.
Brattleboro Man Convicted of Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. - Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Jeremiah Pless, 33, of Brattleboro, Vermont, was convicted by a jury after a two-day trial of possessing child pornography. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 25, 2017.
The jury was presented with evidence that, in February 2015, the Hinsdale Police Department obtained a search warrant to search a residence at 31 Gateway Drive in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, based on probable cause that the residence was connected to the downloading of child pornography. Chief Todd Faulkner and Commander Tom Grella assembled a team of specially trained officers from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to assist in the search. While at the residence on February 18, 2015, the search team found evidence that Pless possessed child pornography that he had downloaded using the Shareaza file sharing program. A review of the hard drive taken from Pless’ computer later confirmed that the images of child pornography included images of known minor children.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The investigation was led by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Hinsdale Police Department. The ICAC Task Force provided invaluable assistance from the Portsmouth Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, the Nashua Police Department, the Hampton Police Department, the New Hampshire State Police and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
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Bradford County Man Sentenced to 77 Months’ Imprisonment for Stealing 48 Firearms and Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that on April 10, 2017, United States District Judge A. Richard Caputo sentenced Aaron L. Vanderpool, age 35, of Wysox, Pennsylvania, to 77 months’ imprisonment, for stealing 48 firearms and for distributing heroin.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Vanderpool pleaded guilty to burglarizing Fulmer’s Sporting Goods, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Wysox, Pennsylvania, on or about May 24, 2015. Vanderpool admitted to stealing 48 firearms and to conspiring to transport 47 of them to New York, where they were sold and traded for heroin. Only three of the 48 firearms have been recovered by law enforcement. Vanderpool also admitted to distributing heroin on May 8, 2015.
Judge Caputo also ordered Vanderpool to pay $27,383.75 to the victims of his crimes.
Two other individuals have been charged in relation to the Fulmer’s Sporting Goods burglary. Jared Miller was charged in August 2016 and has entered a plea agreement to firearms and heroin trafficking offenses. Luis Mercado was charged in April 2017 and also has entered a plea agreement to firearms and heroin trafficking offenses.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and by the Pennsylvania State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo.
This case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (“VCRP”), a district wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the VCRP consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose mission is to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes with firearms.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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Berkeley County man guilty of firearm chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Martinsburg man was convicted today on a firearm violation, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Michael Eugene Decker, age 37, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, pled guilty to one count of “Possession and Sale of a Stolen Firearm.” The crime occurred on December 1, 2016 in Berkeley County.
Decker faces up to ten 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 Lara K. Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Bay Point Resident Sentenced to More Than Nine Years in Prison for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Joseph Edward Conner was sentenced to 112 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael Batdorf, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Inspector in Charge Rafael E. Nuñez, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director of Field Operations Brian J. Humphrey, and Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Ryan L. Spradlin. The sentence was handed down yesterday by the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, U.S. District Judge, following a guilty plea entered August 22, 2016, in which Conner admitted he intended to possess and distribute the drugs.
According to his plea agreement, Conner, 47, of Bay Point, Calif., acknowledged that he negotiated the sale of methamphetamine on three separate occasions. On August 22, 2014, Conner negotiated the sale of a half-pound of 99% pure methamphetamine for $3,000. Conner sold the drugs to an undercover DEA Task Force Officer in the parking lot of the Sun Valley Mall in Concord, Calif. Later, Conner used text messages to arrange another meeting with the undercover officer that would take place on November 6, 2014, at the same parking lot. Upon meeting with the undercover officer, Conner handed the officer a pound of 99.5% pure methamphetamine in exchange for $5,400. The third transaction occurred on December 16, 2014, for three pounds of 97.5% pure methamphetamine. On this occasion, Conner sought to sell the drugs for $14,400, but was arrested prior to completing the sale.
Conner was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 2, 2015. He was charged with three counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Under the plea agreement, Conner pleaded guilty to all three counts alleged in the indictment.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gilliam sentenced Conner to a 3-year period of supervised release. Following his arrest on December 16, 2014, Conner was released on a $150,000 secured bond. Judge Gilliam ordered the defendant to surrender on or before June 9, 2017, to begin serving his sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Claudia A. Quiroz, Andrew Dawson, and David Countryman are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lance Libatique and Carolyn Jusay. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA, assisted by IRS Criminal Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, South San Francisco Police Department, Oakland Police Department, Oakland School Police Department, Walnut Creek Police Department, and San Ramon Police Department.
Bay Area Doctor Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Dr. John Compagno was sentenced today to 37 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,426,239 announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.
Compagno, 70, of Napa, Calif., pleaded guilty on December 14, 2016, to income tax evasion. According to his plea agreement, Compagno is a medical physician specializing in pathology. He is also the owner and operator of three corporations located in Hercules, Calif., including John Compagno, M.D., Inc., West Coast Pathology Laboratory, Inc., and Histopathology Reference Laboratory, Inc.
“As Dr. Compagno learned, no amount of success will insulate you from your civic responsibility to accurately report and pay your taxes,” said U.S. Attorney Stretch. “The three-year prison term handed down by Judge Alsup is a fitting sentence for an individual who cheated the government out of millions of dollars of tax payments.”
“In today’s economic environment, it is more important than ever that the American people feel that everyone is playing by the rules and paying their fair share,” said Michael T. Batdorf, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Dr. Compagno overstated expenses and omitted dividends to avoid paying taxes to the IRS. The prosecution of individuals who intentionally evade taxes is vital in maintaining public confidence in our tax system.”
In his plea agreement, Compagno admitted he submitted both corporate and individual tax returns that understated his liability to the IRS. For the tax years 2005 through 2011, Compagno caused a corporate tax return preparer to overstate the amount of expenses on the corporate tax return by including $10,679,080 in non-deductible expenses. Because the amounts of non-deductible expenses were overstated, the amount of income taxes due were understated. This resulted in additional tax due of $3,859,060. In addition, Compagno omitted $10,505,091 in constructive dividends from his 2006 through 2011 individual income tax returns. This resulted in additional tax due of $1,567,179. In sum, Compagno acknowledged in his plea agreement he owed more than $5.4 million in unpaid taxes.
Compagno was charged in an information filed November 16, 2016, with one count of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. He pleaded guilty to the charge and acknowledged that he knowingly and willfully filed with the IRS a false 2010 corporate tax return.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William Alsup, U.S. District Judge. In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Alsup ordered defendant to pay a fine of $75,000 and to serve three years of supervised release. Judge Alsup also ordered the defendant to surrender on or before June 2, 2017, to begin serving his sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Austin Attorney and Business Partner Plead Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Investment FraudRead the Press Release
Austin residents Robert Allen Helms and Janniece S. Kaelin pleaded guilty today to federal charges of defrauding investors in companies that presumably were in the business of purchasing oil and gas royalties, announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division; United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Douglas W. Thigpen, Houston Field Office; and, Texas State Securities Board Commissioner John Morgan.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Mark Lane this morning, Helms, age 52, and Kaelin, age 54, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and mail fraud. In pleading guilty, the defendants admitted to defrauding investors between January 2010 and December 2013. The indictment filed in this case alleges that Helms and Kaelin raised millions of dollars from investors through the fraudulent scheme.
Helms, who has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 1995, and Kaelin told investors that they would use the invested funds only for specific business purposes, but the defendants secretly used substantial sums for their own personal expenses. Helms and Kaelin also paid money to investors, ostensibly as the investors’ share of operating income, when Helms and Kaelin knew the money came from other investors rather than from business operations. The scheme included forging and counterfeiting documents to create the appearance of mineral and royalty purchases. It also involved moving money between accounts and business entities for no purpose other than creating the false appearance of business operations.
The scheme ended in December 2013, when the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Helms, Kaelin, and their companies. United States District Judge Lee Yeakel appointed a receiver to take control of the companies, including Vendetta Royalty Partners, Ltd. and Iron Rock Royalty Partners, LP. According to a report filed by the receiver, Helms and Kaelin raised more than $30 million from investors as part of the scheme.
Helms and Kaelin, both of whom remain on bond pending sentencing, face up to five years in federal prison for each count of conviction and a yet-to-be-determined-amount of restitution to their victims. Sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2017.
The FBI, the United States Secret Service and the Texas State Securities Board conducted this investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Alan M. Buie and Grant Sparks are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas appreciates the cooperation and assistance of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.