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Monday 6 February 2017
Washington, DC man sentenced for failing to register as a sex offenderRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James E. Kelson, 53, of Washington, DC was sentenced in federal court today to 30 months incarceration for failing to register as a sex offender, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
From August 2012 through July 2016, Kelson failed to register and update his registration as a sex offender in Berkeley County, WV. Kelson is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act by reason of a conviction under state law, to wit: attempted second degree child sexual abuse, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Kelson pled guilty to one count of “Failure to Register as a Sex Offender” in November 2016.
Assistant United States Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Virginia Beach Man Sentenced to Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Robert Lee Petty, 43, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 17 1/2 years in prison for production of child pornography. Petty was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release to be completed upon his release from prison.
“Production of child pornography is one of the most offensive and serious crimes in the entire criminal code,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “While these crimes can be very difficult to talk about, we must continue to bring awareness to these prosecutions with the goal of protecting our children from sexual predators by deterring others from committing similar crimes.”
Petty pleaded guilty on Sept. 1, 2016. According to court documents, Petty forced a child to produce child pornography for him to view for approximately five years, beginning when the child was 11 years old. Several of the videos depicted Petty in the room when the production was taking place.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi 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.”
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-119.
Turlock Attorney Pleads Guilty to Importation of SteroidsRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. —Erik Harald Moje, 40, of Turlock, pleaded guilty today to the importation of anabolic steroids from China, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone. They are regulated under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule III controlled substance and may not be possessed lawfully in the United States without a prescription.
According to court documents, between December 1, 2013, and September 1, 2015, Moje, a licensed attorney and professional bodybuilder, unlawfully purchased and obtained anabolic steroids from a supplier in China. Encrypted emails documented shipments and indicated that the purchase money would be deposited into the bank account for the Law Office of Eric Moje. He routed shipments of steroids through a UPS mail-forwarding service in New York, as well as private citizens in other parts of the country. In May 2015, agents intercepted a parcel containing one kilogram of steroids, which equates to 40,000 dosage units. In September 2015, the agents executed a search warrant at Moje’s residence. Behind a false wall in the garage, they found 538 10‑milliliter vials containing liquid anabolic steroids, which equates to 10,760 dosage units, and 17,700 steroid capsules, which equates to 17,700 dosage units. They also seized $29,925 in cash from the residence.
In pleading guilty, Moje agreed to the forfeiture of his residence in Turlock. The seized cash and a BMW were previously forfeited.
This case is the product of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The case was also part of Operation Cyber Juice, a nationwide initiative targeting domestic and international steroid trafficking organizations. Agencies involved in this investigation included the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Turlock Police Department and the Modesto Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen A. Escobar and Kevin C. Khasigian are prosecuting the case.
Moje is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 15, 2017. Moje faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Topeka Man Sentenced for Conspiracy in Interstate Sex Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. B A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to 46 months in federal prison for conspiring to operate an interstate sex trafficking business, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Barry M. Johnson, 40, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. In his plea, he admitted conspiring with co-defendants to run a Topeka-based prostitution business that operated in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. At times, as many as 20 females were working as prostitutes for the organization. The leader of the organization rented houses where some of the prostitutes were allowed to live. The organization used Web sites, social media and cell phones to advertise sexual services and to keep track of prostitutes.
Johnson admitted he recruited and groomed potential sex workers for the organization. Johnson would notify the leader of the conspiracy he had a female who was ready to work and they would negotiate how much he would be paid.
Co-defendants include:
Frank Boswell, 43, Topeka, Kan., who is set for jury trial March 7.
Michaela Hekekia, 37, Topeka, who is set for sentencing March 20.
Rachel Flenniken, 34, Topeka, Kan., who is awaiting sentencing.
Sean P. Hall, 47, Topeka, Kan., who is awaiting sentencing.
Shannon Nelson, 23, Topeka, Kan., who is set for sentencing May 1.
Beall commended the Topeka Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney for their work on the case.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Three indicted on federal firearms chargesRead the Press Release
Three men were indicted on firearms charges in unrelated cases, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Joseph Crockett, 30, of Youngstown, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Ricky D. Williams, 25, of Youngstown, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Robert Shepper, 32, of Mogadore, was charged with possession of an unregistered short-barreled firearm.
Crockett possessed a Walther, model PPX, 9mm caliber pistol, and ammunition on Nov. 21, 2016, after having been convicted of distribution of crack cocaine in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, in 2008, according to the indictment.
Williams possessed a Taurus, model Millenium Pro, 9mm pistol, and ammunition on Dec. 1, 2016, after having been convicted of robbery, in the Lawrence County (Pennsylvania) Common Pleas Court, in 2011, according to the indictment.
Shepper on May 17, 2016 possessed an Armalite Inc., Model M15, 5.56 mm rifle, with a barrel less than 16 inches long, and not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer is prosecuting all three cases. The Crockett and Williams cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Youngstown Police Department. The Shepper case was investigated by the ATF and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Schenectady Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeffrey Butler, age 33, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty today to receiving and possessing child pornography.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
As part of his guilty plea, Butler admitted that in 2014 and 2015, he used the Internet and a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download video files containing child pornography, which he saved on his computer’s hard drive. Butler further admitted to storing over 300 child pornography videos on external hard drives in his residence.
As a result of his conviction, Butler faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for June 5, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Salem Man Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Court on Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105
Columbia, South Carolina –------- United States Attorney Beth Drake, announced today that Justin David Crenshaw, age 31, of Salem, entered a guilty plea in federal court this morning in Greenville on charges stemming from his possession and discharge of a firearm last fall at a residence in Oconee County. United States Magistrate Judge Kevin F. McDonald accepted the plea. Crenshaw will be sentenced after a presentence investigation report is prepared by United States Probation.
Crenshaw was previously indicted on December 13, 2016, by a federal grand jury for felon in possession of ammunition, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). Prior to his indictment, Crenshaw, whose conduct at the time of the offense was being supervised by United States Probation following his summertime release from the Bureau of Prisons, was arrested on federal arrest warrants in early December for the offense and has remained in custody, detained without bond, since that date.
The facts presented by the government at the guilty plea hearing this morning established that on October 25, 2016, Crenshaw and a colleague entered a residence in Oconee County and initiated a physical assault on a male located in the residence. The male ran outside the house followed by Crenshaw who then fired two rounds during the altercation. Deputies recovered two 9mm ammunition casings from the site of the incident. When interviewed, Crenshaw admitted firing the shots.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the assistance and cooperation of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. The case has been assigned to First Assistant United States Attorney Lance Crick for prosecution.
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Rutland Man Sentenced to 48 Months Imprisonment for Distribution of FentanylRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Donald Perkins, 29, of Rutland, was sentenced to forty-eight month’s imprisonment by United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha. The term of imprisonment will be followed by a three-year period of supervised release by the U.S. Probation Office. Perkins previously pled guilty to distribution of fentanyl in the Rutland area. The maximum sentence for this offense is twenty year’s imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.
According to court records in the spring of 2016 Perkins distributed approximately 88 grams of fentanyl in the Rutland area though Perkins claimed he thought he was only selling heroin. At the time Perkins committed this offense, he was also on federal supervised release for a 2011 conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Perkins served a sentence of 60-month’s imprisonment for that prior federal conviction. The 48-month sentence imposed by Judge Murtha includes a 12-month consecutive sentence for the supervised release violation.
This case was investigated by the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Perella and Perkins is represented by Robert Behrens, Esq. of Burlington, Vermont.
Prince George’s County Felon Sentenced to over 9 Years in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Tyrell Lamont Thompson, a/k/a Freak, age 24, of Forestville, Maryland, to 110 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentencing hearing was held on February 3, 2017.
The charges were the result of a joint investigation by ATF, DEA and the Prince George’s County Police Department that targeted armed drug dealers in Prince George’s County.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Daniel L. Board, Jr. of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division (ATF); Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division (DEA); and Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on June 29, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Thompson’s residence in the 6400 block of Hil Mar Drive in Forestville. Recovered from the residence was a loaded 357 magnum revolver with an obliterated serial number, which was found near where Thompson was standing when officers entered the residence; a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol that was equipped with a laser sight and an extended magazine; and a bag containing several smaller baggies and chunks of crack cocaine, which was intended for distribution.
Thompson had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended ATF, DEA and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Metropolitan Police Department, Maryland National Capital Park Police and U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael T. Packard and Thomas M. Sullivan, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Pennsylvania woman pleads guilty to money launderingRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Brittany Brooks, 28, of Randallstown, Pennsylvania, was convicted for money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Brooks pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments.” She faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. 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 Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Northern California Man Convicted of Rigging Bids at Public Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted Thomas Joyce for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in Contra Costa County, California, the Department of Justice announced today.
After a week-long trial before honorable Chief Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton in Oakland, California, the jury convicted Joyce of one count of conspiring to rig bids at foreclosure auctions between about June 2008 and January 2011. Joyce was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on Dec. 3, 2014.
The evidence at trial showed that Joyce conspired with others to rig bids to obtain properties sold at foreclosure auctions in Contra Costa County. The conspirators negotiated payoffs for agreeing not to compete and then held second, private auctions known as “rounds” to determine the amounts of the payoffs for the individuals who had participated in the bid suppression.
Including Joyce’s conviction, 64 individuals have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial of criminal charges as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging at public foreclosure auctions in Northern California. Indictments are pending against several other real estate investors who participated in the conspiracy.
This conviction is the latest development in the division’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in California’s San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office.
For more information about the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
North Texas Pharmacy and Owner Agree to pay $400,000 to Resolve AllegationsRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – Trinity Pharmacy in Carrollton, Texas, and one of its owners, Jonathan Paul Lipe, have agreed to pay the United States $400,000 to settle alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the primary federal law regulating the distribution and availability of controlled substances. Strict compliance with the CSA is required in order to prevent, among other things, the unlawful movement of controlled substances into communities.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, the United States alleged that it had civil penalty claims against both Trinity Pharmacy and Lipe under the CSA for, among other things, failing to maintain required records, failing to secure controlled substances, and failing to file loss reports. According to the settlement agreement, the United States alleged that the CSA violations facilitated and enabled criminal conduct by Trinity Pharmacy’s prior pharmacist-in-charge, John Christopher Esparza. Esparza misappropriated Trinity Pharmacy’s controlled substances, including 3.1 kilograms of oxycodone powder, and has since pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance in violation of the CSA.
Trinity Pharmacy and Lipe agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve the civil allegations and have denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
As the United States Attorney’s Office announced regarding the recent National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, America is presently experiencing an epidemic of addiction, overdose, and death due to abuse of prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers. In 2015, approximately 6.4 million Americans aged 12 and over misused prescription drugs, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health—more than those that abused cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine combined. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States, eclipsing deaths from motor vehicle crashes or firearms.
“Today’s settlement puts on notice every entity and person with obligations under the CSA—including pharmacies and their owners—that the United States will not tolerate carelessness with controlled substances,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Featherston. “Prescription drug abuse is a deadly problem of epidemic proportions in our communities; people are dying every single day because of it. If you mishandle controlled substances or shirk your obligations under the CSA, expect a visit from us.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Dallas Division, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Board of Pharmacy, the McKinney Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas. The settlement was negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Russ. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
New Jersey Translations Company to Pay U.S. $1.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Para-Plus Translations, Inc., a New Jersey corporation that contracts with federal and state agencies for interpretation, transcription and translation services, together with its owners, Robert Santiago, III and Sonia Santiago (collectively “Para-Plus”), will pay the United States, Delaware and New Jersey a total of $1.5 million (“Settlement Amount”) to settle False Claims Act allegations, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
The settlement resolves allegations in a whistleblower lawsuit that was filed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and handled on behalf of the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The settled claims contended that Para-Plus violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment to various federal and state agencies, including components of the United States Department of Justice. Specifically, the Complaint alleged that Para-Plus submitted invoices to federal and state governmental clients that purposefully overstated the travel time and mileage incurred by its interpreters.
“As this settlement demonstrates, we will continue to enforce the law to ensure that federal monies are used to benefit the public,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Song.
This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorney Colin J. Callahan handled this matter on behalf of the United States. Deputy Attorney Generals Edward K. Black and Kent D. Anderson handled this matter on behalf of, respectively, Delaware and New Jersey.
This case is captioned United States ex rel. Kimberly Martin v. Para-Plus Translations, Inc. and Robert Santiago, III, Civil No. 14-3952 (EDPA). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
New Jersey Man Guilty of Production of Child Pornography in “Sextortion” CaseRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Hubert Young, age 46, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley, to producing and attempting to produce child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Young admitted to creating two Facebook accounts with fictitious names, and using a cell phone and computer to persuade minors to take pornographic images of themselves and send them to him.
As part of this “sextortion” scheme, Young posed as two teenagers, communicated with victims in chat groups, and when the minors sent the pornographic images to Young, he threatened to put the images on the internet unless the victims sent him additional images. A total of 13 minor victims from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana fell prey to Young’s criminal activities between January 2015 and June 2016.
Judge Munley ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed, and scheduled sentencing for May 9, 2017.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and Pittston Police. Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting 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."
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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New Hampshire Man Sentenced to Prison in Computer Hacking and “Sextortion” Scheme Involving Multiple Female VictimsRead the Press Release
A New Hampshire man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for remotely hacking into the online accounts of dozens of teenaged female victims and sending them threatening online communications, in some instances containing sexually explicit photos, in order to force the victims to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Emily Rice of the District of New Hampshire and Resident Agent in Charge Tim Benitez of the U.S. Secret Service’s Manchester, New Hampshire, Field Office made the announcement.
Ryan J. Vallee, 23, formerly of Laconia, New Hampshire, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro of the District of New Hampshire. Vallee pleaded guilty on Aug. 25, 2016, to a 31-count superseding indictment charging him with 13 counts of making interstate threats, one count of computer hacking to steal information, eight counts of computer hacking to extort, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of cyberstalking. On March 16, 2016, while Vallee was awaiting trial, he was re-arrested on new criminal charges and has remained in custody since then. The names of the victims are being withheld from the public to protect their privacy.
According to admissions made in connection with his plea and evidence presented at sentencing, from 2011 through March 2016, Vallee, using various aliases that included “Seth Williams” and “James McRow,” engaged in a computer hacking and “sextortion” campaign designed to force dozens of teenaged victims – many of which he personally knew – to provide him with sexually explicit photographs of themselves and others.
Vallee employed a variety of techniques to force his victims to cede to his “sextortionate” demands. For example, according to the plea agreement, he repeatedly hacked into and took control over the victims’ online accounts, including their email, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Once he had control of these accounts, Vallee locked the victims out of their own accounts and, in some cases, defaced the contents of the accounts, he admitted. In at least one instance, Vallee hacked into a victim’s Amazon.com account, which stored her payment information and shipping address, then ordered items of a sexual nature and had them shipped to the victim’s home. Vallee also admitted that in some instances, he obtained sexually explicit photos of the victims and their friends and distributed them to the victims, their friends and their family members. With at least one victim, Vallee created a Facebook page using an account name that was virtually identical to the victim’s real Facebook account name, with one letter misspelled, he admitted. He then posted sexually explicit photos of the victim on this fake Facebook page and issued “friend requests” to the victim, her friends and her family members, according to the plea agreement.
Vallee admitted that he repeatedly sent threatening electronic communications to his victims, usually by using spoofing or anonymizing text message services, in which he threatened his victims that unless they gave him sexually explicit photographs of themselves, he would continue with the above-described conduct. According to the admissions in the plea agreement, when most of the victims refused to comply with Vallee’s demands and begged him to leave them alone, Vallee responded with threats to inflict additional harm.The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Belmont Police Department. Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire prosecuted the case.
New Hampshire Man Sentenced to Prison in Computer Hacking and "Sextortion" Scheme Involving Multiple Female VictimsRead the Press Release
Concord, N.H. – A New Hampshire man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for remotely hacking into the online accounts of dozens of teenaged female victims and sending them threatening online communications, in some instances containing sexually explicit photos, in order to force the victims to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Emily Rice of the District of New Hampshire and Resident Agent in Charge Tim Benitez of the U.S. Secret Service’s Manchester, New Hampshire, Field Office made the announcement.
Ryan J. Vallee, 23, formerly of Laconia, New Hampshire, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro of the District of New Hampshire. Vallee pleaded guilty on Aug. 25, 2016, to a 31-count superseding indictment charging him with 13 counts of making interstate threats, one count of computer hacking to steal information, eight counts of computer hacking to extort, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of cyberstalking. On March 16, 2016, while Vallee was awaiting trial, he was re-arrested on new criminal charges and has remained in custody since then. The names of the victims are being withheld from the public to protect their privacy.
According to admissions made in connection with his plea and evidence presented at sentencing, from 2011 through March 2016, Vallee, using various aliases that included “Seth Williams” and “James McRow,” engaged in a computer hacking and “sextortion” campaign designed to force dozens of teenaged victims – many of which he personally knew – to provide him with sexually explicit photographs of themselves and others.
Vallee employed a variety of techniques to force his victims to cede to his “sextortionate” demands. For example, according to the plea agreement, he repeatedly hacked into and took control over the victims’ online accounts, including their email, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Once he had control of these accounts, Vallee locked the victims out of their own accounts and, in some cases, defaced the contents of the accounts, he admitted. In at least one instance, Vallee hacked into a victim’s Amazon.com account, which stored her payment information and shipping address, then ordered items of a sexual nature and had them shipped to the victim’s home. Vallee also admitted that in some instances, he obtained sexually explicit photos of the victims and their friends and distributed them to the victims, their friends and their family members. With at least one victim, Vallee created a Facebook page using an account name that was virtually identical to the victim’s real Facebook account name, with one letter misspelled, he admitted. He then posted sexually explicit photos of the victim on this fake Facebook page and issued “friend requests” to the victim, her friends and her family members, according to the plea agreement.
Vallee admitted that he repeatedly sent threatening electronic communications to his victims, usually by using spoofing or anonymizing text message services, in which he threatened his victims that unless they gave him sexually explicit photographs of themselves, he would continue with the above-described conduct. According to the admissions in the plea agreement, when most of the victims refused to comply with Vallee’s demands and begged him to leave them alone, Vallee responded with threats to inflict additional harm.
The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Belmont Police Department. Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire prosecuted the case.
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Montgomery County Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Kevin Heiting, age 28, of Aspen Hill, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Friday, February 3, 2017, to distribution of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HIS).
According to his plea agreement, on May 19, 2016, a federal search warrant was executed at Heiting’s residence in Silver Spring, Maryland, and law enforcement seized five hard drives, two laptop computers, a tower computer, and a cellular telephone. A forensic analysis of one of the seized hard drive revealed more than 17,913 video files and 405,071 image files, many of which depicted children, including infants and toddlers, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A file sharing program found on Heiting’s computer revealed that Heiting shared over 100,000 files between June 8, 2014 and January 6, 2015. The analysis revealed that thousands of users connected to one of Heiting’s laptop computers and downloaded files. The analysis further showed that Heiting both received and distributed child pornography using the laptop computer.
The same afternoon that the search warrant was executed, Hieting purchased a new laptop computer. On August 4, 2016, Heiting traveled from Maryland to Central America with the laptop, which Heiting was using to run a file sharing program and to conduct online chats with minors. On Heiting’s return from Central America, the laptop was detained by officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and subsequently forensically examined. The analysis revealed that in addition to sharing and downloading child pornography, Heiting was communicating over the “dark web” using an encrypted web chat application, with a 14 year old boy. Enticed and persuaded by Heiting, the victim sent Heiting images of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On August 29, 2016, Heiting was indicted on federal child pornography charges and placed on pretrial release, with conditions which forbade Heiting from possessing internet capable devices. On February 1, 2017, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Heiting’s residence and recovered a laptop computer, two 5TB hard drives, and three USB thumb drives that had been hidden by Heiting in an air purifier cabinet. An initial forensic review of the laptop reveal that it contained a file sharing program and the encrypted deep web application that Heiting had previously used. The laptop computer had last been accessed on February 1, 2017.
As part of his plea agreement, Heiting will be required to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Heiting and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Heiting will be sentenced to between 13 and 19 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for May 16, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. Heiting is detained.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore for its work in the investigation, and thanked the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Atlanta, HSI Atlanta, and the FBI for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Finocchiaro, who are prosecuting the federal case.
Monmouth County, New Jersey, Nursery School Teacher, Camp Counselor Admits Receiving Sexually Explicit Images of ChildrenRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man today admitted downloading sexually explicit videos and images of children to his home computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
James Paroline, 27, of Red Bank, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to Count One of an indictment charging him with receiving child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Paroline was employed in Monmouth County as an assistant at a nursery school and as a summer camp counselor at a private school. Between Feb. 26, 2015, and March 2, 2015, Paroline accessed a website known as “PlayPen,” an underground online bulletin board and website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. During that period, Paroline logged into PlayPen under the username “jimbobtropolis,” which he had registered with PlayPen using his personal email address, and downloaded multiple videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children from the website.
The count to which Paroline pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison, a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1, 2017.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked officers of the Red Bank Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Darren McConnell; officers of the Middletown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Craig Weber; and detectives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni; for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brendan Day of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A Memphis man has pleaded guilty to armed robbery. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the guilty plea today.
According to information presented in court, on August 18, 2016, officers with the Memphis Police Department, responded to a robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier at 2424 Summer Avenue. James Edward Lacey, Jr. pepper-sprayed and robbed the Dunbar Armored courier, taking $118,942. The courier was in the process of placing the United States currency into the truck, when Lacey approached and pepper-sprayed him.
The driver of the Dunbar Armored truck, saw the unknown subject taking the currency and fired one shot, hitting the subject on the right side of his body. After being shot, Lacey fled on foot with the Dunbar courier bag containing the money, and got into the passenger side of a black Jeep Liberty, and fled the area. Blood found at the scene and a DNA analysis by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) revealed Lacey’s blood.
On August 24, 2016, a Memphis Crime Stoppers tip, was received with specific information and details alleging the crime was committed by Lacey
Prior to the robbery, on August 13, 2016, Lacey was arrested for being a felon in possession of a Kel-Tec 9mm pistol. His criminal history dates back to 2008.
For the two counts, Lacey faces up to 30 year’s in prison and a $500,000 fine. Sentencing is set for May 12, 2017, before the Honorable U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Street Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Whitmore is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
Lower Brule Woman Charged with Assault of a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer.
Majestic Byington, age 23, was indicted on August 16, 2016. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 2, 2017, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 8 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on April 15, 2016, Byington assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, and interfered with a Special Agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while the agent was engaged in the performance of his official duties.
The charge is merely an accusation and Byington is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lower Brule Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
Byington was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Lower Brule Man Charged with Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Sexual Abuse.
James St. Cloud, age 36, was indicted on January 19, 2017. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 2, 2017, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody and/or a $500,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between March 30, 2016, and April 16, 2016, as well as September 16, 2016, St. Cloud knowingly engaged in and attempted to engage in sexual behavior with two minor victims, one of whom was incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct, and was physically incapable of declining participation or communicating her unwillingness to engage in the sexual act.
The charges are merely accusations and St. Cloud is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
St. Cloud was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Long-time felon sentenced to 100 months in federal prisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney’s Office continues to go after violent felons who possess guns and ammunition
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today that an Indianapolis man with an extensive criminal history was sentenced in federal court following his conviction by a jury last fall. Ruben Mancillas, 50, was found guilty of illegally possessing ammunition stemming from his arrest for firing a handgun into the air in his east side neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon. U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence sentenced him to 100 months (over eight years) in federal prison.
“Guns and ammunition in the hands of convicted felons, particularly those with long criminal histories, leads to much of the violence in Indianapolis,” said Minkler. “These individuals are on notice: we will catch you, take you to trial, convict you and you will go to federal prison.”
On an August afternoon in 2015, neighbors on Indianapolis’s east side witnessed Mancillas in a heated argument with his girlfriend. They called police after he belligerently fired a handgun several times into the air in the densely populated neighborhood. Hearing sirens, Mancillas fled but he was quickly apprehended by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers, who also, with the assistance of a ballistics-sniffing dog, found dozens of rounds of ammunition at the scene.
stood trial in federal court in September of last year. Both neighbors and officers testified, and the jury convicted on all charges.
Mancillas was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison in part due to his lengthy and violent criminal history. He fired the gun into the air just six weeks after being discharged from parole. Prior to this incident, had been convicted roughly 15 other times for a variety of felonies and misdemeanors. In all, over the past 35 years, Mancillas has been convicted roughly 20 times and arrested on over a dozen other occasions. This record demonstrated that Mancillas is an increasingly dangerous individual who has a complete disregard for the law. So he was sentenced accordingly.
case was investigated by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Linder, who prosecuted this case for the government, Mancillas must serve 3 years of supervised release following his sentence
Liberian National Arrested for Perjury and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Isaac Kannah, 51, of Philadelphia, PA, who was charged in an October 2012 indictment with perjury and obstruction of justice, was arrested on January 10, 2017, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents in Philadelphia. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey and Trial Attorney Brenda Sue Thornton, who are handling the case, stated that the perjury and obstruction of justice charges involved alleged false testimony given by the defendant during a removal hearing of former Liberian warlord, George Boley, in May, 2011. According to the indictment, the removal proceedings centered on whether Boley had committed human rights violations during the Liberian Civil War in the 1990’s as the leader of the Liberian Peace Council (LPC), a warring and fighting faction. Boley was charged with knowingly using and recruiting child soldiers to fight in the LPC and participating in the commission of extrajudicial killings. In February 2012, Boley became the first individual to be removed from the United States for the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
During removal proceedings, Kannah appeared as a witness for Boley, providing testimony under oath to support Boley’s claims that neither he nor the LPC were involved in human rights abuses. The indictment alleges that Kannah gave false testimony on 11 different issues at the hearing, including whether the LPC used children in its armed forces, whether LPC fighters were equipped with guns, whether Boley was in the field with child soldiers, whether the LPC was a warring or fighting faction, and whether in 1994, Kannah himself coordinated the LPC’s attack on Gbarnga, Bong County, Liberia.
Kannah was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and released on $25,000 bond.
The indictment and arrest are the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Lexington Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Possession with Intent to Distribute FentanylRead the Press Release
More than 120 grams of fentanyl was found in the defendant’s home
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, who admitted in federal court last year that he possessed and intended to distribute large quantities of fentanyl in Fayette County, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood sentenced 55 year-old William Dixon for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Under federal law, Dixon must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
Dixon admitted last year that, in July 2016, the Lexington Police conducted a search of his residence and located 121 grams of fentanyl and 69 grams of a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl. Dixon had previously been convicted of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, in 2003.
Dixon worked for the city in the Division of Water Quality at the time of his arrest.
“The great work of our law enforcement partners at the DEA and the Lexington Police prevented an enormous amount of this very dangerous drug from being illegally distributed,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Fentanyl can be lethal in the 2 mg range and the seizure in this case represents one of the largest ever in the Lexington area. This case was a significant achievement toward public safety and supports our continued efforts in combatting the opioid epidemic in our community.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Shier; Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Mark Barnard, Chief of Lexington Police, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Lexington Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Rieker prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Leesville Woman Sentenced for Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Winston Holliday (803) 929-3079
Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that Darlene Henderson, age 60, of Leesville, South Carolina, pled guilty and was sentenced today in federal court in South Carolina, for Wire Fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., of Columbia sentenced Henderson to eight months of home confinement, to be followed by five years of probation. Henderson also was ordered to pay almost $130,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Evidence presented at the hearing established that between November 2011 and December 2013, Henderson assisted Michael Yant, who previously pled guilty to the same scheme and was sentenced to five months incarceration, commit mortgage fraud on a number of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. Specifically, Yant engaged in a prohibited rent-to-own scheme, and Henderson used her position at the bank to approve these loans, despite suspicious borrower information being relayed to her. A number of these loans are now delinquent or in default.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Winston Holliday of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.
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Latin King Gang Member Indicted for 2005 Murder of C.W. Post StudentRead the Press Release
A two-count indictment was unsealed today in the United States District Court in Central Islip, New York, charging defendant Jaime Rivera, a member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation street gang, with the 2005 murder of C.W. Post student and basketball star Tafare Berryman, as well as a related firearms charge. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke.
The charges were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Thomas Krumpter, Acting Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD).
“Gang violence has taken the lives of too many innocent young people with bright futures,” stated United States Attorney Capers. “This case should serve as a message to all gang members, if you engage in violent gang activity, our law enforcement partners will not stop pursuing you until you are held accountable for your actions.” Mr. Capers expressed his grateful appreciation to the FBI, DEA, and NCPD.
“The mentality that an innocent person is some sort of threat to a gang member or a gang defies logic. A student who was out having a good time, ended up in the middle of a dangerous situation and was killed for absolutely no reason. No one deserves to die because they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. The FBI Long Island Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners never gave up and continued to work this case to charge the shooter and now he will be held accountable,” stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
DEA Special Agent in Charge James Hunt stated, “Our job in law enforcement is to bring criminals to justice. By joining forces with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Nassau County Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, we identified and arrested the person allegedly responsible for murdering Tafare Berryman, who was tragically taken away from his family and friends 12 years ago. Drug-related violence is just one more casualty of drug trafficking that shatters families and ends lives.”
“Today's announcement is the culmination of an extensive investigation that was worked on collaboratively by numerous law enforcement investigative agencies. Protecting the public is our number one priority and today’s indictment of defendant Rivera was of the utmost importance,” stated Acting Commissioner of Police Krumpter.
As detailed in the indictment and the government’s detention letter filed earlier today, on April 2, 2005, Rivera and other Latin King gang members were present at La Mansion bar and nightclub located at 3942 Long Beach Road, N. Long Beach. Also present at the club were numerous C.W. Post students, including Tafare Berryman and some of his friends, who were celebrating the successful presentation of a fashion show that had taken place at Post earlier that evening. At least one incident occurred inside of the club between some gang members and one of the Post students, which later spilled out into a parking lot across from the club.
At approximately 5:00 a.m. on April 3, 2005, Berryman and a friend exited the club and observed several fights occurring in the parking lot. While walking to their car, Berryman’s friend was hit in the head with a bottle causing a laceration. Berryman and his friend then entered a car and drove away. Several blocks from the club, Berryman’s friend, who was driving, pulled the car over to the side of the road to tend to the laceration on his head which was bleeding profusely. At that point, Rivera pulled up alongside of the parked car and shot Berryman once, killing him because Rivera mistakenly believed that Berryman and his friend were involved in the prior altercation in the parking lot and were a threat to the Latin Kings.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Rivera faces mandatory life in prison and is eligible for the death penalty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Section. Assistant United States Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
Jaime Rivera
Age: 32Freeport, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-50 (SJF)(SIL)
Kansas Store Owner, Customer Sentenced for Federal Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. B A Kansas store owner and a customer were sentenced Monday for violating the National Firearm Act, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Shane Cox, 45, Chanute, Kan., owner of an Army surplus store in Chanute called Tough Guys, was sentenced to two years on probation and ordered to pay an $800 special assessment. In November, a federal jury convicted him on the following charges:
Unlawful possession of an explosive device not registered in the National Firearms Transfer Record (counts two and four).
Unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm, short barreled rifle (count three).
Unlawful transfer of an unregistered silencer (counts six, seven, eight, nine and 11).
Making an unregistered silencer (count 10).Engaging as a dealer and manufacturer of silencers without paying a federal occupational tax (count 12).
Unlawful possession of an unregistered silencer (count 13).
Co-defendant Jeremy Kettler, 28, Chanute, Kan., was sentenced to one year on probation and ordered to pay a $100 dollar special assessment. In November, a jury convicted him on one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered silencer (count 13).
During trial, the government presented evidence that Cox manufactured silencers and sold them without registering them. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Cox possessed explosive devices that were not registered.
Beall commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway for their work on the case.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with City of Philadelphia to Resolve Disability Discrimination ComplaintRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a proposed consent decree today to resolve a complaint that the city of Philadelphia discriminated against an employee with a disability when it terminated the employee rather than reassign him to a vacant position for which he was qualified, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
According to the department’s complaint, the employee, who worked for the city as a sanitation worker, was terminated from his position after he had a heart attack and his doctor placed him under a 20-pound lifting restriction, which prevented him from continuing as a sanitation worker. Although the employee made several requests for reassignment and the city had numerous vacant positions, the city failed to consider the employee for reassignment to a different position for which he was qualified. Instead, the city terminated the employee because of his disability.
The proposed consent decree, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, requires the city’s streets department to revise its policies to ensure that reassignment is considered as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities, train relevant employees on the ADA and report to the Justice Department on implementation of the decree. The city will also offer to reinstate and reassign the employee to an open position for which he is qualified and will pay the employee a total of $90,000 for back pay, accrued interest and compensatory damages. This matter was based on a referral from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Philadelphia Area Office, which completed the initial investigation of the facts.
“Firing an employee because of a disability in these circumstances constitutes discrimination and violates the ADA,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Just because an employee’s disability prevents them from working in one position does not disqualify them from working successfully in a different position. We commend the city of Philadelphia for agreeing to revise its policies and offering to reinstate the former employee.”
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov.
City of Philadelphia Consent DecreeJefferson County man sentenced for unlawful possession of a firearmRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Norman Charles Hilbert, 49, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia was sentenced in federal court today to twelve months incarceration for illegally possessing a firearm, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Hilbert, who was previously convicted of a felony in Connecticut, was discovered in possession of a .45 caliber pistol in Jefferson County, West Virginia. He pled guilty to one count of “Felon in Possession of Firearm,” in November 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Maryland Police Department, the Charles Town Police Department investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Huntington man sentenced to federal prison for role in multistate drug ringRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who participated in a multistate drug ring was sentenced today to a year and a day in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Roy Bills, 51, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Between the summer of 2014 and May 2016, Bills conspired with multiple individuals, including Corey Bruce Toney, to distribute marijuana in the Huntington area. Toney frequently acquired quantities of marijuana from a source in California and arranged for the marijuana to be shipped by courier or transported to Huntington. Bills traveled to California on at least two occasions to transport marijuana for the drug ring. Bills admitted that in October 2015, he transported 100 pounds of marijuana, and in March 2016, he transported 80 pounds of marijuana, in both instances from California to Huntington. Bills provided the marijuana to Toney in Huntington for Toney and others to distribute.
Toney was sentenced to 10 years and three months in federal prison in January 2017, after pleading guilty to distributing heroin. Toney admitted that he conspired with others to distribute large quantities of drugs in the Huntington and Charleston areas, including heroin, crack, marijuana, and Xanax.
These prosecutions arose out of a long-term investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Huntington Police Department, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
In addition to Bills and Toney, eight other defendants have been convicted for their roles in this drug ring. Sean Lee Braggs, Samuel E. Nelson, III, Deandra Sheen Jones, and Atari Seantay Brown have all pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and are awaiting sentencing. Arthur James Canada was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison, Matthew Michael Meadows was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison, Parker Wyatt Mays was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, and Tanisha Lynette Wooding was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for their respective roles in the conspiracy.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence and is presiding over these cases.
These cases are 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 illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Huber Heights Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Richard C. Webber, 54, of Huber Heights, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to serve 24 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division and Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.
Webber was charged on March 25, 2016 in a bill of information and pleaded guilty on May 9, 2016. According to court documents, Webber used “Peer-to-Peer” software and file-sharing programs and applications to obtain, download, view, possess with intent to distribute, share and transfer child pornography.
Webber possessed videos depicting child pornography on a shared file folder on his home desktop computer and various storage devices in his home in Huber Heights. Upon executing a search warrant, investigators discovered more than 1,200 pictures and 170 video files of child pornography, including those depicting prepubescent minors.
Webber’s sentence includes a requirement that he register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or attends school. He was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeit various computers and computer media.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Hunt and First Assistant United States Attorney Vipal Patel, who represented the United States in this case.
Hogansburg Man Sentenced to 16 Months for Obstructing a Vessel BoardingRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Abraham C. Lazore, age 37, of Hogansburg, New York, was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison for his obstruction of a vessel boarding.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector.
As part of his guilty plea, Lazore admitted that on September 3, 2016, as Border Patrol Marine Unit agents were attempting to board his vessel for an inspection, he engaged the throttle of his boat while a bowline from his boat became wrapped around an agent’s arm, which could have dragged that agent overboard. Another agent was able to stop Lazore from driving away, and no one was injured.
“You could’ve killed one or more federal agents. I take it seriously when federal agents are exposed to this conduct,” U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino told Lazore before issuing the sentence, which also included 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.
Agents stopped Lazore because they had observed him enter U.S. waters from Canada on the St. Lawrence River at approximately 12:25 a.m. without any navigation lights.
This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.
Healthcare Service Provider to Pay $60 Million to Settle Medicare and Medicaid False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A major U.S. hospital service provider, TeamHealth Holdings, as successor in interest to IPC Healthcare Inc., f/k/a IPC The Hospitalists Inc. (IPC), has agreed to resolve allegations that IPC violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare, Medicaid, the Defense Health Agency and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed (a practice known as “up-coding”), the Department of Justice announced today. Under the settlement agreement, TeamHealth has agreed to pay $60 million, plus interest.
“This settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to ensure that health care providers appropriately bill government programs vital to patient health care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The government contended that IPC knowingly and systematically encouraged false billings by its hospitalists, who are medical professionals whose primary focus is the medical care of hospitalized patients. Specifically, the government alleged that IPC encouraged its hospitalists to bill for a higher level of service than actually provided. IPC’s scheme to improperly maximize billings allegedly included corporate pressure on hospitalists with lower billing levels to “catch up” to their peers.
“Medical providers who fraudulently seek payments to which they are not entitled will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon for the Northern District of Illinois. “False documentation of treatment is not just flawed patient care; it is illegal.”
As part of the settlement, TeamHealth entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) covering the company’s hospital medicine division. This CIA is designed to increase TeamHealth’s accountability and transparency so that the company will avoid or promptly detect future fraud and abuse.
“When health care companies boost their profits by misrepresenting the services they bill to taxpayer-funded health care programs, our office will make sure they are held accountable for their deceptive schemes and that they make changes to bill these programs appropriately,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh of HHS-OIG.
The settlement resolves allegations filed in a lawsuit by Dr. Bijan Oughatiyan, a physician formerly employed by IPC as a hospitalist. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Chicago, Illinois, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case. Mr. Oughatiyan will receive approximately $11.4 million.
The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and HHS-OIG.
The case is captioned United States ex rel. Oughatiyan v. IPC The Hospitalist, Inc., et al., Case No. 09-C-5418 (N.D. Ill.). The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Healthcare Service Provider to Pay $60 Million to Settle Medicare and Medicaid False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
A major U.S. hospital service provider, TeamHealth Holdings, as successor in interest to IPC Healthcare Inc., f/k/a IPC The Hospitalists Inc. (IPC), has agreed to resolve allegations that IPC violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare, Medicaid, the Defense Health Agency and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed (a practice known as “up-coding”), the Department of Justice announced today. Under the settlement agreement, TeamHealth has agreed to pay $60 million, plus interest.
“This settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to ensure that health care providers appropriately bill government programs vital to patient health care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The government contended that IPC knowingly and systematically encouraged false billings by its hospitalists, who are medical professionals whose primary focus is the medical care of hospitalized patients. Specifically, the government alleged that IPC encouraged its hospitalists to bill for a higher level of service than actually provided. IPC’s scheme to improperly maximize billings allegedly included corporate pressure on hospitalists with lower billing levels to “catch up” to their peers.
“Medical providers who fraudulently seek payments to which they are not entitled will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon for the Northern District of Illinois. “False documentation of treatment is not just flawed patient care; it is illegal.”
As part of the settlement, TeamHealth entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) covering the company’s hospital medicine division. This CIA is designed to increase TeamHealth’s accountability and transparency so that the company will avoid or promptly detect future fraud and abuse.
“When health care companies boost their profits by misrepresenting the services they bill to taxpayer-funded health care programs, our office will make sure they are held accountable for their deceptive schemes and that they make changes to bill these programs appropriately,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh of HHS-OIG.
The settlement resolves allegations filed in a lawsuit by Dr. Bijan Oughatiyan, a physician formerly employed by IPC as a hospitalist. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Chicago, Illinois, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case. Mr. Oughatiyan will receive approximately $11.4 million.
The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and HHS-OIG.
The case is captioned United States ex rel. Oughatiyan v. IPC The Hospitalist, Inc., et al., Case No. 09-C-5418 (N.D. Ill.). The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Harrison County man pleads guilty to cocaine distributionRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Ruben L. Aguilar, 29, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was convicted of cocaine distribution today, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Aguilar pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Base.” He faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. 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 Traci M. Cook prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Hampshire County man and Berkeley County man sentenced for separate drug-related crimesRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Aaron Matthew Reed, 37, of Romney, West Virginia, and Sean Dickerson, 29, of Martinsburg, West Virginia were sentenced today for separate drug crimes, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Reed was sentenced to 18 months incarceration. In October 2016, a jury found Reed guilty of one count of “Possession of Material Used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” Dickerson was sentenced to 18 months incarceration after pleading guilty to one count of “Possession with the Intent to Distribute Heroin” in November 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted both cases on behalf of the government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins assisted on the Reed case. The Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated the Dickerson case. The Reed case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resource Criminal Investigation, and the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Groton Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LORENZO MALCOLM, 28, of Groton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 66 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for gun and drug offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 1, 2016, MALCOLM was arrested in Groton after a search of his person revealed five individually-wrapped packages of cocaine, one baggie containing crack cocaine and two individually-wrapped baggies of heroin. In addition, a search of a vehicle in which MALCOLM had been a passenger revealed a gym bag that contained a .22 caliber Sig Sauer pistol and seven rounds of ammunition, and a small backpack that contained more than 300 grams of heroin, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
MALCOLM has been detained since his arrest. On November 9, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This investigation has been conducted by the Town of Groton Police Department and the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.
Fulton County Contract Supplier Guilty of Giving Kickbacks Tied to Construction of Fulton County Detention CenterRead the Press Release
PADUCAH, Ky. – a Dresden, Tennessee, business owner and contract supplier pled guilty today in United States District Court before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell for his role in a conspiracy to defraud Fulton County citizens, through kickbacks and concealment of costs associated with work performed on the 2015 Fulton County Detention Center expansion, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Ronald D. Armstrong, 60, pled guilty to four charges including Honest Services Wire Fraud and Wire Fraud for his role in a conspiracy that allegedly involved then Fulton County Jailer Ricky D. Parnell and others between April 2015 and August 2016.
According to the plea agreement, Armstrong is the owner of Armstrong Construction, located in Dresden, Tennessee, whose company often performed contracting work for Fulton County both as part of the Fulton County Detention Center expansion (Project) and for work done prior to the Project. Armstrong has been doing business with Parnell and Fulton County for approximately twenty years.
Armstrong was awarded a $210,000 general contractor contract by the Fulton County Fiscal Court as part of the Project. Parnell influenced the Fulton County Fiscal Court to award Armstrong with this contract with the understanding that Armstrong would pay Parnell $100,000 of his fees to Parnell as a kickback for being awarded the contract. In following through with this agreement, Armstrong so far has paid Parnell $80,000 in cash.
Armstrong knowingly and voluntarily agreed and conspired with Parnell to give Parnell cash kickbacks due to Parnell influencing the Fulton County Fiscal Court to award Armstrong with the general contractor contract for the Project, which Parnell could do because he was the Fulton County Jailer. Armstrong’s contractor fees were paid by Fulton County. As part of their kickback scheme, the Fiscal Court paid Armstrong by check in amounts of $50,000, $60,000, and $50,000, which were drawn on the Fulton County account with Republic Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and those checks triggered interstate wire transfers.
Armstrong and Parnell both profited from their arrangement and neither the Fulton County Fiscal Court nor the citizens of Fulton County were ever made aware of the arrangement. In doing so, Armstrong had the intent to defraud the citizens of Fulton County through the kickback scheme he entered into with Parnell.
Armstrong was charged by grand jury indictment, with co-defendants Ricky D. Parnell, 59, of Hickman, Kentucky; Michael Homra, 79, of Fulton, Kentucky; Jimmy Boyd, 56, of South Fulton, Tennessee; and Daniel C. Larcom, 42, of Union City, Tennessee, on November 15, 2016 and were arraigned in United States District Court in Paducah, before Magistrate Judge Lanny King that same day.
If convicted at trial, Armstrong could be sentenced to no more than 80 years in prison, pay a $1,000,000 fine, and be sentenced to serve a three-year period of supervised release.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nute Bonner and is being investigated by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Former Lincoln Land Community College Employee Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme; Agrees to Pay Back Nearly $700,000Read the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A former telecommunications employee of Lincoln Land Community College, John H. Martinez, 47, waived indictment and pled guilty to a scheme that defrauded the college of nearly $700,000 over seven years. Martinez, of the 4600 block of Lily Lane, Springfield, Ill., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins on Friday, Feb. 3.
According to court documents, during the time Martinez carried out the scheme, from 2005 to February 2012, he was employed as a telecommunications administrator. In this capacity, Martinez worked on the college’s telephone system and was authorized to order products for its communications network. For vendor payments greater than a certain amount, Martinez was required to complete certain forms and documentation to obtain supervisory approval for the expenditure. As part of the scheme, Martinez admitted he repeatedly forged his supervisors’ signatures to authorize expenditures and caused the college to issue checks to fictitious vendors.
To carry out the scheme, Martinez removed some of the checks to fictitious vendors from the college’s mailroom prior to mailing. For one of the vendors, Martinez caused checks to be mailed to an invalid address, knowing that the checks would be returned and given to him for delivery. Martinez then deposited the fraudulent checks in his personal bank account and used the funds for personal expenses. Two other vendors were owned by Martinez’s friends, with whom Martinez agreed that the friends would deposit the checks in their personal accounts and make cash payments back to Martinez. Martinez allowed the vendors/friends to retain part of the proceeds from the checks in exchange for their assistance in the scheme.
Martinez admitted that he used the fraud proceeds to finance his personal lifestyle, including personal expenses, repeated personal travel, and alcohol expenses. As a result of the scheme, Martinez caused a loss of approximately $695,401 to Lincoln Land Community College.
Martinez’s sentencing is scheduled on June 5, 2017. As part of the plea agreement, Martinez has agreed to pay full restitution, in the amount of $695,401 to Lincoln Land Community College and its insurers. The parties have further agreed that the advisory sentencing guideline range which will be presented to the court may be up to 51 months in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Illinois State Police, and the Lincoln Land Police Department, with the full cooperation of Lincoln Land Community College, which referred the matter to law enforcement.
Former Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to Stealing over $1 Million from ClientsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former financial advisor, who provided services and investment advice to current and former professional athletes, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from the theft of more than $1 million from his clients, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Brian J. Ourand, 55, now of Chicago, admitted stealing from four athletes, including boxing champion Mike Tyson and former National Basketball Association All-Star Glen Rice. At the time of the offenses, Ourand was an executive for a Washington, D.C.-based company.
Ourand pled guilty to a charge of wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Ourand faces a likely range of 33 to 41 months in prison and a potential fine. The plea agreement calls for him to pay $1,002,390 in restitution and an identical amount as a forfeiture money judgment. Ourand is to be sentenced on May 2, 2017, by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan.
In his plea, Ourand admitted that he embezzled the funds through various means, including numerous fraudulent checks that he made payable in his own name and to cash, which he later deposited into his personal accounts. Ourand also admitted to stealing his clients’ money for the benefit of others, including his girlfriend and another individual identified in court documents as “Person B”. In one such instance, Ourand obtained a cashier’s check using funds from the bank account of Mr. Rice in the amount of $10,000 in order to pay the registration fee of “Person B” to participate in the 2009 World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Ourand also used client funds to send numerous wire transfers to his girlfriend and “Person B” via Western Union, at least some of which money was used to pay off Ourand’s gambling debts.
“Financial advisor Brian Ourand violated the trust of clients who depended upon him to protect their investments, using over $1 million of their hard-earned money for his own personal purposes,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips. “Thanks to law enforcement, his fraudulent conduct came to light and he is being held accountable for the money that he stole.”
“Today, Mr. Ourand admitted his participation in an embezzlement scheme intended to defraud investors,” said Assistant Director in Charge Vale. “The FBI is committed to protecting the public from investment fraud and other deceptive scams, and will vigorously investigate those who criminally abuse their positions of trust for their own personal gain.”
According to a statement of offense submitted as part of the plea, the criminal activities began as early as 2006 and continued through July 2011. Ourand’s employer, identified in court documents as “Company A,” terminated his employment in August of 2011, after the scheme was uncovered. The company reimbursed the athletes for their losses.
In his work for the firm, Ourand and the company provided advisory and financial management services to high net-worth individuals, most of whom were current or former professional athletes. For example, Ourand and the company paid invoices and bills, coordinated tax preparation, and provided estate planning on behalf of clients. In that capacity, Ourand managed his clients’ personal and business bank accounts and credit cards, among other financial-related services.
The criminal charges involve Ourand’s work for Mr. Tyson, Mr. Rice, and two other athletes, identified in court documents as “Athlete C” and “Athlete D.” As part of the plea agreement, Ourand agreed that he abused a position of trust in committing the offense.
According to the statement of offense, Ourand deposited nearly 100 checks, drawn on the accounts of the four athletes, into a personal bank account, even though he was not authorized to do so. He also initiated numerous wire transfers, drawn on the bank accounts of Mr. Tyson, Mr. Rice and “Athlete C,” for which he had no authorization. As part of his scheme, Ourand also made numerous unauthorized ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions using funds belonging to Mr. Tyson, and obtained credit cards in his own name on the accounts of Mr. Rice and a foundation formed by “Athlete C,” which Ourand used to make unauthorized purchases.
Ourand sought to conceal his activities by generating documentation falsely claiming the money was used for business-related or otherwise authorized expenses, such as “personal expenses” for the client. His actions caused $546,168 in losses for Mr. Rice; $265,124 for Mr. Tyson; $182,957 for “Athlete C,” and $8,141 for “Athlete D.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission previously announced charges against Ourand, who was later found by an administrative law judge to have misappropriated funds from client accounts in violation of securities laws. In an initial decision issued in March 2016, the SEC ordered Ourand to pay disgorgement of $671,367 plus prejudgment interest and a $300,000 penalty, and he was barred from the securities industry.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Assistant Director in Charge Vale commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Arvind K. Lal, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; Assistant U.S. Attorney Vesna Harasic-Yaksic, also of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris; and former Paralegal Specialists Heather Sales and Angela Lawrence.
Finally, they commended the work of Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Last and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter C. Lallas, who are prosecuting the case.
Fifth Person Arrested in Connection with Scheme to Smuggle Guns to LebanonRead the Press Release
Fadi Yassine, age 42, a Lebanese citizen, was arrested last evening as he disembarked an international flight arriving in New York City.
Yassine was arrested without incident on a warrant issued in the Northern District of Iowa on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Yassine purchased guns in Lebanon that had been acquired in the United States and shipped to Lebanon by Ali Herz, Adam Al-Herz, Bassem Herz, and Sarah Majid Zeaiter. Yassine also purportedly communicated via Facebook from Lebanon with Bassem Herz in the United States to provide direction concerning which firearms to purchase. The affidavit also states that Yassine gave $30,000 cash to Ali Herz in Lebanon to be used to acquire more guns in the United States.
The Herzs and Zeaiter were each sentenced to terms of imprisonment in 2016 following their pleas of guilty to conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act and other offenses.
Yassine made his initial appearance in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, this afternoon. Yassine waived further proceedings in New York and was ordered to be transferred to Cedar Rapids in the Northern District of Iowa by the United States Marshals Service. A court appearance will be scheduled upon Yassine’s arrival in Cedar Rapids.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Murphy and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 17-mj-00030.
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Executive Office for Immigration Review Swears in 12 Immigration JudgesRead the Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the investiture of 12 new immigration judges. Chief Immigration Judge MaryBeth Keller presided over the investiture during a ceremony held Feb. 3, 2017, in the ceremonial courtroom of the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, in Washington, D.C.
After a thorough application process, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Victoria L. Argumedo, Steven D. Caley, Ila C. Deiss, Delia I. Gonzalez, Deborah K. Goodwin, Stephanie E. Gorman, Richard A. Jamadar, Julie Nelson, Emmett D. Soper, Jem C. Sponzo, Arwen Ann Swink, and Veronica S. Villegas to their new positions.
“On Jan. 8, 2017, we welcomed these 12 appointees to our growing immigration judge corps,” said Keller. “With this investment, EOIR has for the first time in its history exceeded 300 immigration judges. The agency recognizes that we must continue hiring immigration judges in order to address the pending caseload.”
Biographical information follows.
Victoria L. Argumedo, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Victoria L. Argumedo to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Argumedo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995 from the University of Vermont and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the Golden Gate University School of Law. From 2012 to January 2017, she was in private practice at Argumedo Garzon Law Group, in San Francisco. From 2010 through 2012, she was in private practice at Surowitz & Argumedo, in San Francisco. From 2002 through 2010, she was in private practice at the Law Office of Victoria L. Argumedo, in San Francisco. From 2001 through 2002, she was an associate attorney at the Law Offices of Walter R. Pineda, in Redwood City, Calif. From May 2001 to September 2001, she served as a contract attorney for the Law Office of Enrique Ramirez, in San Francisco. From February 2001 to May 2001, she served as a contract attorney for Minami, Lew & Tamaki. Judge Argumedo is a member of the State Bar of California.
Steven D. Caley, Immigration Judge, Aurora Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Steven D. Caley to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Caley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977 from Hanover College and a Juris Doctor in 1980 from the New York University School of Law. From 2012 to January 2017, he served as a senior attorney for GreenLaw, in Atlanta. From 2000 through 2012, he was a partner and senior associate for Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco, in Atlanta. From 2005 through 2006, and previously from 1996 through 1999, he served part-time as a special assistant administrative law judge for the Office of State Administrative Hearings, in Atlanta. From 1998 through 2000, he served as regional director for Legal Aid Services of Oregon, in Portland, Ore. From 1990 through 1998, he served as director of litigation for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society Inc., in Atlanta. From 1980 through 1990, he served in various capacities for the Legal Services Corporation of Alabama, in Dotham, Ala., including as managing attorney, senior staff attorney, and staff attorney. From 2003 through 2007, he served on the faculty of the Georgia State University College of Law as an adjunct professor. Judge Caley is a member of the Alabama State Bar, Florida Bar, State Bar of Georgia, and Oregon State Bar.
Ila C. Deiss, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Ila C. Deiss to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Deiss earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1991 from the University of California at Davis, a Master of Public Administration in 1996 from the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School for Public Service, and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the City University of New York School of Law. From 2005 to January 2017, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, Department of Justice (DOJ), in San Francisco. From 2003 through 2005, she served as a staff attorney for the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. From 2001 through 2002, she served as a senior court counsel for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau. From April 2001 to August 2001, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Richard M. Berman, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. From 1999 through 2001, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Staff Attorney’s Office, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Deiss is a member of the Connecticut and New York state bars.
Delia I. Gonzalez, Immigration Judge, Harlingen Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Delia I. Gonzalez to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Gonzalez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 from the University of Houston and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. From 2006 through 2016, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security. From 2001 through 2006, she served as a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Judge Gonzalez is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Deborah K. Goodwin, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Deborah K. Goodwin to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Goodwin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from Wilson College and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. From 2015 to January 2017, she served as an associate legal advisor for the District Court Litigation Division, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Washington, D.C. From 2007 through 2015, she served as an associate counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS, in San Francisco. From 2002 through 2007, she served as an assistant chief counsel for ICE, DHS, in San Francisco. Judge Goodwin is a member of the Florida Bar.
Stephanie E. Gorman, Immigration Judge, Houston Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Stephanie E. Gorman to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Gorman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1996 from California State University Sacramento, a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree in 2005 from the University of San Diego School of Law. From 2014 to January 2017, she served as an attorney and legal instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From 2008 through 2014, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS. From 2009 through 2012, she also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, Department of Justice (DOJ), in Orlando, Fla. From 2007 through 2008, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable M. James Lorenz, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, in San Diego. From March 2007 to September 2007, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Roger T. Benitez, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, in San Diego. From 2006 through 2007, she served as an assistant state attorney for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, in Sarasota, Fla. From 2003 through 2006, she served in various capacities on the faculty of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, including as visiting assistant professor of law and senior legal writing instructor and adjunct professor. From 2002 through 2004, she served as an associate attorney for the Law Office of Matthew P. Rocco, in Carlsbad, Ca. Judge Gorman is a member of the State Bar of California and the Florida Bar.
Richard A. Jamadar, Immigration Judge, Houston Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Richard A. Jamadar to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Jamadar earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1987 from the University of the West Indies Faculty of Law and a Juris Doctor in 1996 from the Washington University School of Law. From 2004 to January 2017, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Orlando, Fla. During this time, from 2011 through 2013, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, Department of Justice, in Orlando, Fla. From 2003 through 2004, he served as a senior attorney for the Department of Children and Families, Tenth Judicial Circuit, in Bartow, Fla. From 1999 through 2002, he served as an assistant state attorney for the State Attorney’s Office, Ninth Judicial Circuit, in Orlando, Fla. From 1996 through 1998, he served as an associate attorney for Polatsek and Scalfani, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Judge Jamadar is a member of the Florida Bar.
Julie Nelson, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Julie Nelson to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Nelson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003 from Biola University and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from California Western School of Law. From December 2014 to January 2017, and previously from 2009 through May 2014, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Eloy, Az. From June 2014 to November 2014, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Steven P. Logan, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. From 2008 through 2009, she served as an attorney advisor for the Los Angeles Immigration Court, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), DOJ. From 2007 through 2008, she served as a judicial law clerk for the San Diego Immigration Court, EOIR, DOJ, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. From 2007 through 2009, she served on the faculty of Biola University as an adjunct professor. Judge Nelson is a member of State Bar of California.
Emmett D. Soper, Immigration Judge, Arlington Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Emmett D. Soper to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Soper earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from Carleton College and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the University of Oregon School of Law. From 2012 to January 2017, he served as an associate general counsel for the Office of the General Counsel, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), Department of Justice (DOJ), in Falls Church, Va. From 2010 through 2012, he served as an attorney advisor for the Office of Legal Policy, DOJ, in Washington, D.C. From 2006 through 2010, he served as an attorney advisor for the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, EOIR, DOJ, in Falls Church, Va. From 2005 through 2006, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Buffalo Immigration Court, EOIR, DOJ. Judge Soper is a member of the Oregon State Bar.
Jem C. Sponzo, Immigration Judge, New York City Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Jem C. Sponzo to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Sponzo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003 from Hamilton College and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of Connecticut School of Law. From 2007 to January 2017, she served as a trial attorney for the Civil Division, Office of Immigration Litigation, Department of Justice (DOJ), in Washington, D.C. From January 2015 to July 2015, she also served as a clearance counsel for the Office of Presidential Personnel, White House, Executive Office of the President of the United States. From 2006 through 2007, she served as a judicial law clerk for the New York City Immigration Court, Executive Office for Immigration Review, DOJ, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Judge Sponzo is a member of the New York State Bar.
Arwen Ann Swink, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Arwen Ann Swink to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Swink earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from California State University San Marcos and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of California Hastings College Of Law. Prior to this post, she served as a staff attorney in the motions unit of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, beginning in 2010. From 2006 through 2010, she served as an associate attorney for the Law Office of Robert B. Jobe, in San Francisco. Judge Swink is a member of the State Bar of California.
Veronica S. Villegas, Immigration Judge, Los Angeles Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Veronica S. Villegas to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Villegas earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996 from California State University Fullerton and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the Loyola Law School. From 2012 to January 2017, and previously from 2004 through 2005, she was in private practice at the Law Office of Veronica S. Villegas, in West Covina, Calif. From 2005 through 2012, she was a partner at Hill, Piibe & Villegas, in West Covina, Calif. From 2003 through 2004, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security. From 1999 through 2003, she served as an assistant district counsel for the former Office of the District Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice. Judge Villegas is a member of the State Bar of California.
East St. Louis Resident Charged as Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Timothy J. Felty, 50, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was charged on January 18, 2017 with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today.
The indictment alleges that on December 7, 2016, Felty knowingly possessed two firearms in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). If convicted, Felty faces on each count a prison sentence of up to ten years, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, that charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force. The case is being prosecuted byAssistant United States Attorney James G. Piper, Jr.
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District Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Attacking Two Men in Northwest WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Yeison Gomez Chavez, 18, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to an eight-year prison term for his role in a pair of attacks carried out against two men within a 90-minute period last summer, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.
Gomez Chavez pled guilty in November 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of aggravated assault while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced on Feb. 3, 2017, by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Upon completion of his prison term, Gomez Chavez will be placed on five years of supervised release.
Two co-defendants, Christian Mendoza, 18, and Ever Umanzor, 16, both of Washington, D.C., also have pled guilty to charges and are awaiting sentencing. Umanzor was charged as an adult given the serious nature of the crimes.
The charges against Gomez Chavez stemmed from attacks on two victims. However, in a proffer of facts submitted at his plea hearing, Gomez Chavez also admitted to taking part in the attacks of two additional victims at about the same time and in the same area.
According to the government’s evidence, the first attack took place on Aug. 29, 2016, at approximately 11:30 p.m. Gomez Chavez, Mendoza, and Umanzor arrived in front of a location in the 3100 block of 16th Street NW. The victim rode his bicycle to this location, and was approached by Mendoza, who stood in front of him and stopped him from riding forward. Within seconds, Umanzor and Gomez Chavez rushed toward the victim and began striking him with fists and feet. Gomez Chavez also slashed the victim with a knife. While Umanzor and Gomez Chavez struck and stabbed the victim, Mendoza took and held his bicycle. The victim fled after being stabbed, with Mendoza retaining possession of his bicycle. Gomez Chavez pled guilty to aggravated assault while armed for this attack.
The second attack took place at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 30, 2016, about 90 minutes later. Gomez Chavez and Mendoza were in front of a restaurant in the 1700 block of Columbia Road NW. The second victim exited the restaurant to check on a friend. He reported that an unknown suspect threw a rock at the back of his head and that someone stabbed him in his lower back. Gomez Chavez pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon for this incident.
In his proffer, Gomez Chavez admitted to participating in other offenses that took place a short time later with Mendoza, although he did not plead guilty to charges from these crimes. At about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 30, a third victim was approached and robbed at a gas station in the 2800 block of Sherman Avenue NW. The defendants approached the victim, stated that the gas station was 18th Street territory, and asked what he was doing there. The victim tried to ignore them, but the defendants assaulted him. At least one of the defendants produced a knife and ordered the victim to give them his bicycle. Finally, at approximately 2:40 a.m., Gomez Chavez and Mendoza approached a fourth victim in the 1600 block of Columbia Road NW and asked if he was affiliated with MS-13 or with the 18th Street Crew. The victim replied that he was not affiliated with any gang and attempted to flee. Gomez Chavez and Mendoza caught him, surrounded him, and forced him to stop his bicycle. At least one suspect brandished a knife, and the victim was stabbed in his right bicep. At some point, the victim was able to flee.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Juanita Harris, former Victim/Witness Advocate Christina Principe, and Paralegal Specialists Debra McPherson and Donville Drummond. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Monica Trigoso and Michael Romano, who investigated the case and handled the sentencing.
Coushatta man pleads guilty to drug, firearm chargesRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Coushatta man pleaded guilty last week to illegally possessing methamphetamine and firearms.
Aaron Joseph Clark, 65, of Coushatta, La., pleaded guilty February 2, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents identified Clark as a suspect in a drug case and conducted a search of his temporary residence in Ringgold, La., on January 26, 2016. They found a gram of methamphetamine, two grams of marijuana and nine Xanax pills. They also found digital scales, baggies, syringes and pipes. Additionally, agents located ammunition and a number of loaded weapons including: three revolvers, two derringers, four pistols, four rifles, three shotguns and a weapon made from a shotgun with no serial number. Two of the shotguns were sawed off, and at least six silencers were also found among his possessions. Two days later, agents found 20 grams of methamphetamine hidden in an ammo bag.
Clark faces up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution count and mandatory five years for the firearm count, which is to run consecutive to the distribution count. He also faces at least three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine. The court set a sentencing date of May 31, 2017.
This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to promote firearm safety and to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm.
The ATF, Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office, Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office and Tri-Parish Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick is prosecuting the case.
Clinic Manager Pleads Guilty in $70 Million Scheme to Defraud Medicare and MedicaidRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EDUARD ZAVALUNOV, a manager of two health care clinics in Queens, New York, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud, for his role in a massive health care fraud scheme through which three medical clinics in Brooklyn and Queens submitted over $70 million in fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Eduard Zavalunov has admitted to his role in this $70 million health care fraud conspiracy. Zavalunov and his conspirators recruited people from soup kitchens and welfare offices and arranged for them to get medically unnecessary procedures, all so that they could falsely bill Medicaid, Medicare and private insurers.”
According to the Superseding Indictment to which ZAVALUNOV pled guilty, and other publicly filed information in this case:
The Heath Care Fraud Scheme
From 2005 to November 2014, ZAVALUNOV, Victor Lipkin, Vadim Zubkov, Nokoloz Chochiev, Anatoliy Fatkhov, Mariana Swaffar, Jacqueline Pinez, Jonathan Oliver, Jason Brissett, Gilbert Trotman, and Giorgi Buleishvili engaged in a scheme to operate three medical clinics in Brooklyn and Queens, through which they recruited financially disadvantaged and homeless people insured by Medicare and/or Medicaid (the “Phony Patients”) to undergo unnecessary medical tests, typically performed by unlicensed personnel, at the clinics in exchange for cash, and then billed the insurers for administering those unnecessary tests. Beginning in or about 2005, Lipkin and Zubkov recruited and paid a particular licensed physician (the “Doctor”) to act as the nominal owner and/or physician under whose name three purported medical clinics would bill Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance providers (the “Insurance Providers”) for unnecessary services and tests – including sleep tests and stress tests – performed at the clinics. The clinics were located on Avenue V in Brooklyn, New York, and on Hillside Avenue and Elmhurst Avenue, respectively, in Queens, New York. Lipkin and Zubkov were, in fact, the beneficial owners of the clinics, but they concealed their ownership through the Doctor’s nominal affiliation with the clinics, and by laundering the proceeds of the clinics’ operation through shell companies that they owned and controlled. ZAVALUNOV, Lipkin, Zubkov, and Buleishvili operated and controlled the clinics, and ran the clinics’ day-to-day operations, despite the fact that they were not licensed physicians, as required by New York law.
At the direction of ZAVALUNOV, Lipkin, Zubkov, Buleishvili, and other members of the scheme, including Oliver, Brissett, and Trotman (the “Runners”), as well as Chochiev, recruited financially disadvantaged individuals with Medicaid and/or Medicare insurance to act as Phony Patients and undergo unnecessary medical tests at the clinics in exchange for cash payments. The Runners often recruited such individuals from soup kitchens and local welfare offices, and coached them on what to say on various medical forms in order to make it falsely appear that the medical tests to which the defendants intended to subject them were medically necessary. In furtherance of the scheme, Chochiev also made threats of physical violence to individuals who Chochiev believed owed money to the scheme members.
Also in furtherance of the scheme, before the medically unnecessary tests were performed on the Phony Patients, Swaffar and Pinez obtained the Phony Patients’ Medicaid and/or Medicare insurance information, and then contacted the Insurance Providers to confirm that the Insurance Providers would reimburse for the tests. Swaffar and Pinez engaged in such conduct knowing that the Phony Patients were being recruited and paid by the Runners to undergo the tests. Once they determined that a particular Phony Patient’s insurance would pay out claims made by the clinic for the planned medical tests, Swaffar and Pinez notified the Runners that the individuals were eligible and could be brought to the clinic to undergo such tests.
After the Phony Patients had been recruited, confirmed to be Medicare and/or Medicaid eligible, and transported to one of the clinics by the Runners or Chochiev, in many instances certain individuals who were not physicians administered a host of unnecessary medical tests to them. In particular, for example, Fatakhov administered unnecessary medical tests, including stress tests, to the Phony Patients of the Elmhurst Avenue Clinic. Fatakhov administered these tests outside the presence and supervision of the Doctor or other licensed physician, despite knowing that the presence or supervision of a licensed physician was required. After the unnecessary medical tests were administered, the Phony Patients were paid cash kickbacks. The defendants, through the clinics, then submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare seeking reimbursement for the unnecessary medical tests. In total, in the course of the scheme, the defendants fraudulently billed over $70 million to Medicaid and Medicare, for which they received over $25 million in reimbursements.
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ZAVALUNOV, 36, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Victor Lipkin, 52, pled guilty on August 3, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Vadim Zubkov, 49, pled guilty on January 13, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Nikoloz Chochiev, 42, pled guilty on August 11, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Anatoliy Fatakhov, 60, pled guilty on July 28, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Mariana Swaffar, 52, pled guilty on August 15, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Jacqueline Pinez, 33, pled guilty on July 11, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Jonathan Oliver, 54, pled guilty on September 6, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Giorgi Buleishvili, 42, pled guilty on January 31, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud.
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentences for the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Tehrani, Patrick Egan, and Timothy T. Howard are in charge of the prosecution.
Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Conspiracy; False Tax Returns Filed for RefundsRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill., -- A Chicago man, Gbadebo Adebiyi, 41, of Chicago, pled guilty today to his role in a fraud scheme that used others’ personal information to file false tax returns for refunds. Adebiyi appeared this morning before U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade. A co-defendant, Idris Akande, 35, also of Chicago, remains a fugitive. Sentencing for Adebiyi is scheduled on May 3, 2017.
According to court documents, in March 2015, Bradley University reported a data breach that resulted in employees having their personal identifying information used to file false 2014 federal income tax returns. Adebiyi admitted to conspiring with others to obtain refunds obtained from the false income tax returns.
The false tax returns typically directed that refunds be routed to third-party prepaid debit cards, Green Dot cards, which were purchased at various retail locations. The personal information of Bradley employees was used to create permanent Green Card accounts. Conspirators used the Green Dot cards, loaded with the fraudulent tax refunds, to purchase money orders. The money orders were then cashed at currency exchange businesses in the Chicago area. As a result of the fraud, the government estimates that the conspiracy’s intended loss is approximately $770,000.
Adebiyi pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, an offense that carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. The defendant may also be ordered to pay restitution. The maximum statutory penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes as sentencing is determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Darilynn J. Knauss is prosecuting the case.
Chicago Man Charged with Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago man was ordered detained in federal custody today for allegedly possessing thousands of photographs and videos of child pornography.
SCOTT RESKEY, 61, is charged with one count of possessing an image of child pornography involving a minor under the age of 12. A search of Reskey’s laptop computer revealed more than 45,000 images and more than 200 videos of apparent child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Reskey was arrested last week at his home on the Northwest Side of Chicago. He appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim and was ordered detained in federal custody.
The charge against Reskey arose from a federal investigation of an online community that sent and received child pornography via an anonymous website, according to the complaint. The investigation remains ongoing.
The complaint was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge in the complaint is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson Walker.
Charlotte Man Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Court to Simpsonville Gun Shop RobberyRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Lance Crick, (864) 282-2105
Columbia, South Carolina –------- United States Attorney Beth Drake, announced today that Juran Maghi Witherspoon, age 18, of Charlotte, North Carolina, entered a guilty on a charge stemming from his involvement in the pre-dawn break-in and theft of firearms from The Gun Shop in Simpsonville in October of 2016.
Witherspoon was previously indicted on December 13, 2016, by a federal grand jury. Prior to his indictment, Witherspoon was arrested on federal arrest warrants in early November for the offense and has remained in custody, detained without bond, since that date.
The facts presented by AUSA Bill Watkins at the guilty plea hearing this morning established that on October 13, 2016, at approximately 2:52 a.m., a burglary occurred at The Gun Shop and Indoor Range, a federal firearms licensee, located at 622 NE Main Street, Simpsonville, South Carolina 29681. Surveillance camera footage from the store depicted a minivan driving though the front of the store and then three subjects (one of which was Witherspoon), wearing hooded sweatshirts, gloves and carrying bags, entering the store. Witherspoon and his associates used a sledge hammer and a baseball bat to break the glass from display cases containing firearms before loading handguns into the bags. The three men were in the store for just under one minute before they fled in a getaway car and abandoned the van at the scene. A subsequent inventory of the missing guns revealed that a total of forty-three (43) handguns had been stolen to include various models of Auto Ordnance, Bersa, Glock, Ruger, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory and Taurus firearms. The van was identified as a white Chrysler Town & Country which had been reported stolen from Denver, North Carolina.
Ms. Drake said that the maximum penalty Witherspoon faces is 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, supervised release of 3 years, and a special assessment fee of $100.
Ms. Drake also thanked law enforcement for the excellent police work: “The Simpsonville and Charlotte police, ATF and the Lincoln County Sheriff, they pulled together to solve this one. Working together for safer communities is what it’s about.”
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the assistance and cooperation of the Simpsonville Police Department, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the Lincoln County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Department. The case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins and First Assistant United States Attorney Lance Crick, both of the Greenville office, for prosecution.
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Canton Woman Charged with Misappropriation of Postal FundsRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Lisa Belawske, age 53, of Canton, Pennsylvania, was charged today in a criminal information with misappropriation of postal funds by a postal employee.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the information alleges that Belawske misappropriated over $12,000 between October 2015 and June 2016.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.
Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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