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1 March 2017
Hanson Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Hanson man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with sending sexually explicit messages to two pre-teen girls.
Mark L. Leach, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor child. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor scheduled sentencing for May 25, 2017. Leach was arrested and charged in April 2016.
In 2016, law enforcement officers learned that Leach, using the Skype screen name “funtimehockey,” had sent sexually explicit messages via text, live video and audio to two pre-teen girls. One of the girls occasionally babysat for Leach’s daughter. The victims told law enforcement officers that Leach asked them to send him naked and sexually explicit pictures of themselves. The victims also stated that during these sessions, Leach also sent naked and sexually explicit pictures of himself to the victims.
Leach admitted during an interview with law enforcement that he had set up the Skype account to communicate with these minor victims and others, and frequently requested that they expose themselves to him during the conversations. Leach also admitted that when the minor victims babysat for his daughter, he would expose himself and masturbate in front of them.
The charging statute provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and no greater than lifetime in prison, a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Richard D. McKeon Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch; and Whitman Police Chief Scott D. Benton, made the announcement today. The Waltham Police Department also assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Greenville Man Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Court on Gun-Related ChargeRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Brandon Neal Hart, age 27, of Greenville, pled guilty in federal court in Greenville to making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(a)(6). United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr., accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Hart faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on September 28, 2015, Hart, in connection with his acquisition of a .380 caliber pistol, and a 9mm caliber pistol, knowingly made a false statement intended to deceive the firearms dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of sale in that Hart represented on the purchase form that he was the actual purchaser of the firearms, when in fact, he was purchasing the pistols for another individual who is not allowed to possess firearms.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen in the Greenville U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.
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Greeneville Resident Sentenced to 210 Months on Crack Cocaine Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Feb.7, 2017, Barry Moore, 40, of Greeneville, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 210 months in federal prison following a conviction for his leadership role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine base “crack” in the Eastern District of Tennessee. Upon his release from prison he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years.
According to his plea agreement on file with U.S. District Court, Moore admitted that between June and August 2015, he participated in the sale of crack cocaine on three separate occasions to an individual cooperating on behalf of law enforcement. On numerous occasions, Moore directed other co-defendants to deliver drugs for him. He often sold crack cocaine, or had others deal for him, directly from the back window of his Greeneville residence. Moore admitted that he was accountable for at least 2.8 kilograms but less than 8.4 kilograms of crack cocaine and that he had distributed at least two kilograms of a combination of crack cocaine and powder cocaine in Greeneville between October 2012 and April 2016.
Co-defendants Zachery Moore, 51, and Sophia Arwood, 31, both of Greeneville, Tenn., were previously sentenced to serve prison terms of 96 months and 60 months respectively. Both Zachery Moore and Arwood dealt crack cocaine for Barry Moore from his Greeneville residence. Other co-defendants Fitzroy Turner, 35, and Anlushan Evans, 38, both of Greeneville, Tenn., have sentencing hearings scheduled in the coming weeks.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included the Third District Judicial Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Shipley represented the United States.
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Grant County man indicted on firearms chargesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A Petersburg, West Virginia man was arrested yesterday for multiple firearms violations, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Benjamin Wayne Hyre, 36, was charged by a federal grand jury on February 22 for “Felon in possession of a firearm,” “Possession of a firearm with altered serial number,” “Unlawful transfer of short barrel firearm,” and “Unlawful possession of a silencer.” The crimes are alleged to have occurred between March and December 2016 in Grant County.
Hyre faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the first count, up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the second count, up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for each of the third and fourth counts.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Georgia Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Overdoses in ‘Operation Denial’Read the Press Release
FARGO - US Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on March 1, 2017, Ronnie Lee Helms, 32, Acworth, Georgia, pled guilty before US District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to an Indictment charging him with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of a Controlled Substance and Controlled Substance Analogues Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death.
At the plea hearing, Helms admitted receiving and arranging the distribution of substances containing fentanyl and acetyl-fentanyl from a source of supply in Canada. This conduct resulted in the death of Joseph Williams in Garland, North Carolina. Two other victims were hospitalized in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Operation Denial is an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into the international trafficking of fentanyl and other lethal drugs, and was significantly aided by the national and international coordination led by the multi-agency Special Operations Division (S.O.D.) near Washington D.C. as part of “Operation Deadly Merchant.” The investigation started in North Dakota on January 3, 2015, with the overdose death in Grand Forks of 18-year-old Bailey Henke.
Additional defendants charged in Federal court in this investigation include:
District of North Dakota
Daniel Vivas Ceron, 36, Columbia – Indicted on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and Controlled Substance Analogues Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death; Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances and Controlled Substance Analogues into the United States Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death; Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death; Money Laundering Conspiracy, and Continuing Criminal Enterprise. Trial pending.
Jameson Robert Sele, 20, Grand Forks, ND – Pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and was sentenced on 7/27/15 to 36 months in federal prison.
Ryan Jon Jensen, 20, Grand Forks, ND – Pled guilty on 2/27/15 to: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death; two Counts of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death; and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Money Laundering Conspiracy. Sentenced on 2/2/2016 to 20 years in federal prison.
David Todd Noye Jr., 18, Grand Forks, ND – Pled guilty on 5/4/15 to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances. Sentenced on 1/25/2016 to serve 3 years and 3 months in federal prison.
Joshua Tyler Fulp, 20, Grand Forks, ND – Pled guilty on 6/23/15 to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
Kain Daniel Schwandt, 19, Grand Forks, ND - Pled guilty on 7/24/15 to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances. Sentenced on 1/25/2016 to serve 3 years and 6 months in federal prison.
Brandon Corde Hubbard, 40, Portland, OR - Indicted on charges of: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Death; Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death; and Money Laundering Conspiracy. Sentenced on 07/13/2016 to serve life in federal prison.
Braden James Foley, 28, Olympia, WA - Pled guilty on 8/11/2016 to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of a Controlled Substance and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on 11/21/2016.
District of Oregon
Steven Fairbanks Locke – Charged with: Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Trial pending.
Channing Lacey – Charged with: Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury; Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death; Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Trial pending.
Carissa Marie Laprall – Charged with three Counts of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Trial pending.
The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Portland Oregon Police Bureau – Drugs and Vice Division, Portland HIDTA Interdiction Task Force, Oregon State Police, and the Grand Forks Police Department.
United States Attorney Christopher C. Myers is prosecuting the cases in North Dakota; Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin is prosecuting the cases in the District of Oregon and will be assisting as a Special Assistant U.S Attorney (SAUSA) in North Dakota as the investigation moves forward.
## An Indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by plea or at a trial. ##
Frewsburg Man Sentenced for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Leo A. Kronert, Jr., 66, of Frewsburg, NY, who was convicted of healthcare fraud, was sentenced to three years supervised release to include six months of home confinement and 100 hours community service by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The defendant was also ordered to pay $59,449.00 in restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura K. O’Donnell, who handled the case, stated that the defendant, then a full-time teacher at Salamanca High School and a part-time chiropractor in Salamanca, submitted false claims for payment to Medicare and private insurance companies seeking reimbursement for health care services allegedly provided in connection with his chiropractic practice. The fraudulent claims totaled approximately $92,000, and included bills for patient visits on dates during which Kronert was travelling out of the area and bills for an individual who did not reside in Western New York.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Adam S. Cohen, Special Agent-in-Charge and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Scott Lampert.
Former Registered Broker Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy for Participating in A $131 Million Market Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, Christopher F. Castaldo, a former registered broker who was the owner of two subscription-based investment research firms, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with the fraudulent market manipulation of ForceField Energy Inc. (ForceField), a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “FNRG.” The guilty plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced, Castaldo faces up to five years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine.
The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office. Mr. Capers thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office, for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.
According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between January 2009 and April 2015, the defendant, together with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in ForceField, a purported worldwide distributor and provider of LED lighting products and solutions, by artificially controlling the price and volume of traded shares of ForceField through, among other means: (1) using nominees to purchase and sell ForceField stock without disclosing this information to investors and potential investors; (2) orchestrating the trading of ForceField stock to create the appearance of genuine trading volume and interest in the stock; and (3) concealing payments to stock promoters and broker dealers who promoted and sold ForceField stock to investors and potential investors while claiming to be independent of the company. The defendants’ fraudulent scheme caused a loss of approximately $131 million to the investing public.
Between June 2011 and June 2014, Castaldo received commission payments, or kickbacks, in cash and in ForceField stock, from a ForceField executive for promoting the purchase of ForceField stock to investors, including by contacting subscribers who paid to receive independent investment research from Castaldo’s companies. Castaldo and employees working at his direction did not disclose his compensation arrangement while soliciting his paid subscribers to purchase ForceField’s stock. In addition, during some of the periods in which Castaldo was promoting the purchase of ForceField’s stock to his subscribers, Castaldo was actively selling ForceField stock he had received. Castaldo did not disclose this to the subscribers who were being solicited to purchase ForceField stock.
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The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark E. Bini and Lauren H. Elbert are in charge of the prosecution.
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The Defendant:
CHRISTOPHER F. CASTALDO
Age: 45
Residence: Glen Head, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-234 (S-1) (BMC)
Former NFL Player and Former Bank Executive Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former New England Patriots player and a former bank vice president were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with an investment scheme that took in over $35 million by making fraudulent loans to professional athletes.
Will D. Allen, 38, of Davie, Fla., and Susan Daub, 56, of Coral Spring, Fla., were each sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to six years in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of approximately $16.8 million. Judge Young remanded both defendants to the custody of the United States Marshal Service.
“The defendants’ elaborate Ponzi scheme robbed many of the investors of a stable financial future,” said Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb. “The significant sentences the Court imposed today should remind investment professionals to handle their clients’ money with the transparency and integrity that the law requires.”
“Mr. Allen and Ms. Daub lied, cheated and swindled investors out of millions of dollars for their own personal enrichment,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “This behavior destroys the financial security of hard-working individuals in our community and the FBI will do everything in its power to bring to justice individuals who take advantage of unwitting victims.”
“The sentences imposed by the court today send a strong message – those who defraud investors to unjustly enrich themselves will pay a hefty price,” said Special Agent in Charge Joel P. Garland, IRS Criminal Investigation. “As a former professional football player, Mr. Allen’s conduct is especially egregious. He used his status as an NFL athlete to legitimize his dealings with investors. We are proud to bring our financial expertise to joint investigations of this magnitude, and help prevent future victims of such schemes.”
In November 2016, Allen and Daub each pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy and one count of money laundering. In June 2015, Allen and Daub were arrested on criminal charges after being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2015.
Between 2012 and April 2015, Allen and Daub defrauded investors out of millions of dollars by claiming that the funds would be used to back high-interest, short-term loans to professional athletes through Capital Financial Partners (CFP), Allen and Daub’s Massachusetts-based company. While CFP did make some loans to athletes, Allen and Daub also diverted millions of investor dollars to themselves and other business ventures. In total, Allen and Daub took in over $35 million in investments. To date, they have repaid less than $22 million.
As part of the fraud, Allen and Daub collected money from investors to fund fictitious loans, then used the money, in part, to pay themselves. Other times, Allen and Daub told some investors that the loans CFP made to professional athletes were larger than they actually were, allowing Allen and Daub to collect more money from investors than they were lending out to athletes. To keep investors from discovering their fraud, Allen and Daub used newly invested money to make payments to existing investors, which they falsely characterized as interest and principal payments from athlete borrowers.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously charged Allen and Daub in a civil complaint. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto and Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Former Mamaroneck Teacher Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LYLE KAMLET, a former teacher at a school in Mamaroneck, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas to 39 months in prison for possessing child pornography.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Child pornography victimizes the most innocent and vulnerable in our communities. And when a former teacher like Lyle Kamlet possesses child pornography, it is doubly dangerous and disturbing. Thanks to the efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Kamlet’s illicit conduct was brought to light, and he will now face time in prison for his crime.”
KAMLET previously pled guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.
According to the Information previously filed in White Plains federal court and public information:
From in or about 2008 through 2010, on a number of occasions, KAMLET ordered child pornography videos – some of which he directed to be mailed to the school where he was then employed. During a search of his residence, law enforcement seized those videos and also found home movies that he had created that contained images of naked children.
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Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The prosecution is being overseen by the Office’s White Plains Unit. Assistant United States Attorney John P. Collins Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Guthrie Convenience Store Owner Pays $65,000 to Settle Allegations of False Claims for Trafficking in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program BenefitsRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – ATCH, LLC d/b/a G-MART and ALI ASGHAR KHAN have paid $65,000 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
The SNAP program was established to provide food to low-income individuals through approved retail food stores. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (ODHS) determines whether individuals are eligible to receive benefits. Owners of retail stores apply for USDA authorization to accept SNAP benefits as payment for eligible food items, and the applicants certify they understand that trading cash or ineligible items for food stamp benefits violates the program regulations. Since February of 2008, ODHS has given electronic benefit transfer cards (a debit-type card known as Access Oklahoma cards) to SNAP recipients instead of paper food stamps.
ATCH, LLC, an Oklahoma limited liability company, formerly owned a retail convenience store named G-Mart in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Khan is the owner of ATCH and operated G-Mart. Khan was a resident of Guthrie and currently resides in McKinney, Texas. ATCH was an authorized SNAP retailer from May 20, 2009, until February 18, 2015. As an authorized retailer, ATCH was allowed to accept SNAP benefits from eligible recipients as payment for eligible food items. SNAP benefits cannot be exchanged for cash or ineligible items.
The United States contends that from March 1, 2011, through March 31, 2013, ATCH and Khan submitted claims for SNAP benefits to the United States that were false or fraudulent because the Defendants trafficked in SNAP benefits. More specifically, it was alleged that ATCH and Khan represented that claims for SNAP benefits submitted to the United States were in exchange for qualified food products when in fact they exchanged SNAP benefits for cash and ineligible items.
On June 20, 2016, the United States filed an action against ATCH and Khan in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma captioned United States v. ATCH, LLC d/b/a G-Mart and Ali Asghar Khan, CIV-16-683-F. In order to resolve the allegations brought by the United States, ATCH and Khan paid $65,000. In reaching this settlement, ATCH and Khan did not admit liability and the government did not make any concessions regarding the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew P. Anderson and Ronald R. Gallegos.
Fifty-Five Defendants Charged in Massive Crackdown on North County Heroin, Methamphetamine and Firearms TraffickersRead the Press Release
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
San Diego, California
Acting United States Attorney
Alana W. Robinson
For Further Information, Contact:
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Matthew Sutton (619) 546-8941, Kyle Martin 546-8384, Carol Lee 546-7584 and Michael Heyman 546-9615
For Immediate Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 1, 2017
SAN DIEGO – Ten federal indictments unsealed today charge 55 defendants with crimes ranging from money laundering to heroin, methamphetamine and firearms trafficking in what officials have described as one of the most significant crackdowns in recent memory.
The defendants, including prominent drug dealers and documented gang members, were responsible for supplying a substantial portion of the heroin and methamphetamine distributed in North County.
Early this morning, more than 150 members of the North County Regional Gang Task Force plus other law enforcement agencies made numerous arrests and during the course of the investigation searched more than 20 locations in Oceanside, Vista, elsewhere in North County and in Kingman, Arizona.
As of today at noon, 46 of the fifty-five defendants are either in federal or state custody. Fourteen were arrested this morning; the rest were arrested earlier in the week or were already in custody. Authorities are continuing to search for seven defendants; two are in Mexico. Many of the defendants are scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford at 2:00 p.m. today and tomorrow.
The yearlong investigation was led by the North County Regional Gang Task Force. It involved months of federal wiretaps, dozens of undercover drug and gun buys and extensive surveillance. Many of the defendants are documented members or associates of violent North County street gangs, including the Vista Home Boys, Varrio Fallbrook Locos, Varrio Carlsbad Locos, Encinitas Tortilla Flats, Varrio San Marcos and Escondido Viejo Diablos.
According to charging documents, the defendants were involved in a variety of crimes, including drug distribution, firearms trafficking, robberies, vehicle thefts, burglaries and assaults.
25 firearms including handguns, revolvers and assault rifles.In total, authorities seized heroin, methamphetamine and 25 firearms, including handguns, revolvers and assault rifles. These drugs and guns were being stored and sold in our North County neighborhoods, including across the street from Vista High School.
The charging documents describe a trafficking organization allegedly led by a Mexico-based woman who used dozens of street gang members to distribute heroin. Defendant Yadira “Pini” Villalvazo attended Vista High School and was an associate of Vista Home Boys street gang before she was deported following a federal drug trafficking conviction in 2002. According to charging documents, Villalvazo is now running her own Sinaloa Cartel-linked organization from Tijuana. Her specialty is still heroin.
According to court records, this drug trafficking organization supplied at least 25 percent of the heroin sold and consumed in North County and grossed tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds that were sent back to Mexico. The Villalvazo network distributed heroin in North County and also supplied pound quantities of heroin to a prolific distribution ring in Kingman, Arizona.
During this investigation, the gang task force also targeted major methamphetamine distribution cells connected to North County street gangs, including rings allegedly led by Sabrina Yzaguirre, Ivan Bazan, aka “Dreamer,” and Jorge Enrique Jara Cervantes, aka “Scorpion.” In addition, the ring allegedly led by Jara shipped pound quantities of methamphetamine for distribution in Alabama and Tennessee.
Heroin deaths in San Diego County more than doubled in the last decade, from 40 in 2005 to 90 in 2015. And this is despite the use of naloxone, which first responders have used to save countless lives. In 2015 alone, paramedics used naloxone 1,340 times. Heroin treatment admissions have risen every year in San Diego County since 2011.
fugitives_no_worries.pdf
Meth-related deaths increased more than 80% between 2011 and 2015. And about half of adults arrested in 2015 tested positive for meth at the time of their arrest.“Today we’ve taken out one of North County’s largest heroin suppliers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson. “This crackdown is our most significant response to date to the heroin epidemic ravaging our communities. We anticipate seeing a huge impact now that these defendants are removed from our community, particularly in the North County cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and other areas plagued by gangs.”
“The Sheriff's Department is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to keep the influence of drugs and gangs away from our children and out of our community,” said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum stated, “This investigation demonstrates the complex, international and multi-faceted nature of the gang threat in North County where heroin, methamphetamine and firearms related crimes threaten our communities. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners at the North County Regional Gang Task Force to restore these neighborhoods to the good citizens who live in them.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Robinson praised the task force for the coordinated team effort in the culmination of this investigation. Agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Diego County Sheriff's Office, Oceanside Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations. U.S. Marshals Service, California Highway Patrol, and the Escondido and Carlsbad Police Departments collaborated on this investigation. Attorneys from the Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations, Electronic Surveillance Unit, also provided critical assistance to the investigation.
This case is also the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
The United States is represented in court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Sutton, Kyle B. Martin, Carol Lee, and Michael J. Heyman.
Operation No Worries Defendant Information
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0336-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Yadira Esmeralda Villalvazo,
aka “Pini”
38
Tijuana, MX
Andrea Ball
37
Vista, CA
Cristina Gomez
30
Vista, CA
Joel Villalvazo
25
Vista, CA
Joshua O’Brien
35
Fallbrook, CA
David Dominguez,
aka “Bandit”
36
Vista, CA
Tina Dominguez
35
Vista, CA
Fidel Jimenez
36
Oceanside, CA
Naomi Jimenez,
aka “Huera”
42
Vista, CA
Salvador Mendez
46
Fallbrook, CA
David Siladji
37
Vista, CA
Angel Serrato
55
Vista, CA
Alexander Mendoza
29
Carlsbad, CA
Rene Ramos
45
Kingman, AZ
Maria Sanchez
41
Kingman, AZ
Edivan Patino
27
Vista, CA
Richard Seffens
39
Poway, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Conspiracy to Import Heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960, and 963;
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(2)(B)(i) and (h);
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For the money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0337-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Andrea Ball
37
Vista, CA
Travis Hensley
36
Fallbrook, CA
Aaron McCune
36
San Marcos, CA
Vanessa Rojas
44
Vista, CA
Edward Araiza
42
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0338-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Javier Castrellon,
Aka “Javi”
53
San Marcos, CA
Manuel Espinoza,
Aka “Manny
48
Encinitas, CA
James Caruthers
54
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0339-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Pedro Bret Cueva,
Aka “Largo
26
San Marcos, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0340-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Julio Cesar Valverde,
Aka “Night Owl”
28
San Marcos, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0482-JAH
Name
Age
Hometown
Noe Rene Lugo
Aka “No-No,” “Wolfie”
33
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Dealing in Firearms Without a License in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 922(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0483-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Jose Alejandre-Ruvalcaba,
Aka “Scrappy”
42
Tijuana, MX
Kristina Lee Rozzo
43
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960 and 963.
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0484-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Ivan Bazan
Aka “Dreamer”
32
Vista, CA
Brhandon Puga
20
Chula Vista, CA
Matthew Ortiz
35
Chula Vista, CA
Cheytan Siva,
Aka “Hawk”
36
Vista, CA
Luis Gonzalez,
Aka “Knockout”
32
Vista, CA
James Mathes
32
Oceanside, CA
Eva Corona
33
Carlsbad, CA
Randy Moraleja
35
Escondido, CA
Brett Mooney
37
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million dollar. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0485-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Jorge Enrique Jara Cervantes
Aka “Scorpion”
28
Vista, CA
Jaime Orozco
30
Vista, CA
Gabriele Solis
26
Vista, CA
Alex Camou
27
Vista, CA
Morgan Peterson
25
Carlsbad, CA
Keith Collins
Aka “Lurch
32
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0487-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Sabrina Yzaguirre
28
Vista, CA
Roberto Recendez,
Aka “Grandpa”
54
Vista, CA
Eduardo Oretga,
Aka “Lalo”
25
Oceanside, CA
Antonio Becerra,
Aka “Thief”
30
Vista, CA
Kimberly Arenas
41
Escondido, CA
Manuel Guerena
37
Escondido, CA
Marco Vasquez
Aka “No-No”
24
Vista, CA
Johnny Molina-Bailon
34
Vista, CA
Santiago Rios,
Aka “Jimmy”
35
Vista, CA
Alex Camou
27
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For firearms charges: 10 years in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17MJ0467-NLS
Name
Age
Hometown
Linda Cowan
46
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For firearms charges: 10 years in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
AGENCIES
North County Regional Gang Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Diego County Sheriff's Office, Oceanside Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, California Highway Patrol, and the Escondido and Carlsbad Police Departments, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Fifty-Five Defendants Charged in Massive Crackdown on California Heroin, Methamphetamine and Firearms TraffickersRead the Press Release
Ten federal indictments unsealed today charge 55 defendants with crimes ranging from money laundering to heroin, methamphetamine and firearms trafficking in what officials have described as one of the most significant crackdowns in recent memory.
The defendants, including prominent drug dealers and documented gang members, were responsible for supplying a substantial portion of the heroin and methamphetamine distributed in North County, California.
Early this morning, more than 150 members of the North County Regional Gang Task Force plus other law enforcement agencies made numerous arrests and during the course of the investigation searched more than 20 locations in Oceanside, Vista and elsewhere in North County in California as well as Kingman, Arizona.
As of today at noon, 46 of the 55 defendants are either in federal or state custody. Fourteen were arrested this morning; the rest were arrested earlier in the week or were already in custody. Authorities are continuing to search for seven defendants; two are in Mexico. Many of the defendants are scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford at 2:00 p.m. today and tomorrow.
The yearlong investigation was led by the North County Regional Gang Task Force. It involved months of federal wiretaps, dozens of undercover drug and gun buys and extensive surveillance. Many of the defendants are documented members or associates of violent North County street gangs, including the Vista Home Boys, Varrio Fallbrook Locos, Varrio Carlsbad Locos, Encinitas Tortilla Flats, Varrio San Marcos and Escondido Viejo Diablos.
According to charging documents, the defendants were involved in a variety of crimes, including drug distribution, firearms trafficking, robberies, vehicle thefts, burglaries and assaults.
In total, authorities seized heroin, methamphetamine and 25 firearms, including handguns, revolvers and assault rifles. These drugs and guns were being stored and sold in our North County neighborhoods, including across the street from Vista High School.
The charging documents describe a trafficking organization allegedly led by a Mexico-based woman who used dozens of street gang members to distribute heroin. Defendant Yadira “Pini” Villalvazo attended Vista High School and was an associate of Vista Home Boys street gang before she was deported following a federal drug trafficking conviction in 2002. According to charging documents, Villalvazo is now running her own Sinaloa Cartel-linked organization from Tijuana. Her specialty is still heroin.
According to court records, this drug trafficking organization supplied at least 25 percent of the heroin sold and consumed in North County and grossed tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds that were sent back to Mexico. The Villalvazo network distributed heroin in North County and also supplied pound quantities of heroin to a prolific distribution ring in Kingman.
During this investigation, the gang task force also targeted major methamphetamine distribution cells connected to North County street gangs, including rings allegedly led by Sabrina Yzaguirre, Ivan Bazan, aka “Dreamer” and Jorge Enrique Jara Cervantes, aka “Scorpion.” In addition, the ring allegedly led by Jara shipped pound quantities of methamphetamine for distribution in Alabama and Tennessee.
Heroin deaths in San Diego County more than doubled in the last decade, from 40 in 2005 to 90 in 2015. And this is despite the use of naloxone, which first responders have used to save countless lives. In 2015 alone, paramedics used naloxone 1,340 times. Heroin treatment admissions have risen every year in San Diego County since 2011.
Meth-related deaths increased more than 80% between 2011 and 2015. And about half of adults arrested in 2015 tested positive for meth at the time of their arrest.
“Today we’ve taken out one of North County’s largest heroin suppliers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson. “This crackdown is our most significant response to date to the heroin epidemic ravaging our communities. We anticipate seeing a huge impact now that these defendants are removed from our community, particularly in the North County cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and other areas plagued by gangs.”
“The Sheriff's Department is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to keep the influence of drugs and gangs away from our children and out of our community,” said County Sheriff Bill Gore of San Diego, California.
Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum of the FBI stated, “This investigation demonstrates the complex, international and multi-faceted nature of the gang threat in North County where heroin, methamphetamine and firearms related crimes threaten our communities. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners at the North County Regional Gang Task Force to restore these neighborhoods to the good citizens who live in them.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Robinson praised the task force for the coordinated team effort in the culmination of this investigation. Agents and officers from the FBI, San Diego County Sheriff's Office, Oceanside Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bureau of Prisons and Homeland Security Investigations. U.S. Marshals Service, California Highway Patrol and the Escondido and Carlsbad Police Departments collaborated on this investigation. Attorneys from the Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations, Electronic Surveillance Unit, also provided critical assistance to the investigation.
This case is also the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
The U.S. is represented in court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Sutton, Kyle B. Martin, Carol Lee and Michael J. Heyman.
Operation No Worries Defendant Information
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0336-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Yadira Esmeralda Villalvazo,
aka “Pini”
38
Tijuana, MX
Andrea Ball
37
Vista, CA
Cristina Gomez
30
Vista, CA
Joel Villalvazo
25
Vista, CA
Joshua O’Brien
35
Fallbrook, CA
David Dominguez,
aka “Bandit”
36
Vista, CA
Tina Dominguez
35
Vista, CA
Fidel Jimenez
36
Oceanside, CA
Naomi Jimenez,
aka “Huera”
42
Vista, CA
Salvador Mendez
46
Fallbrook, CA
David Siladji
37
Vista, CA
Angel Serrato
55
Vista, CA
Alexander Mendoza
29
Carlsbad, CA
Rene Ramos
45
Kingman, AZ
Maria Sanchez
41
Kingman, AZ
Edivan Patino
27
Vista, CA
Richard Seffens
39
Poway, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Conspiracy to Import Heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960, and 963;
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1956(a)(2)(B)(i) and (h);
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Maximum Penalties: For the drug charges, life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For the money laundering charges, 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0337-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Andrea Ball
37
Vista, CA
Travis Hensley
36
Fallbrook, CA
Aaron McCune
36
San Marcos, CA
Vanessa Rojas
44
Vista, CA
Edward Araiza
42
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0338-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Javier Castrellon,
Aka “Javi”
53
San Marcos, CA
Manuel Espinoza,
Aka “Manny
48
Encinitas, CA
James Caruthers
54
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0339-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Pedro Bret Cueva,
Aka “Largo
26
San Marcos, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0340-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Julio Cesar Valverde,
Aka “Night Owl”
28
San Marcos, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1)
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17CR0482-JAH
Name
Age
Hometown
Noe Rene Lugo
Aka “No-No,” “Wolfie”
33
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Dealing in Firearms Without a License in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Sec. 922(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0483-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Jose Alejandre-Ruvalcaba,
Aka “Scrappy”
42
Tijuana, MX
Kristina Lee Rozzo
43
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960 and 963.
Maximum Penalties: Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0484-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Ivan Bazan
Aka “Dreamer”
32
Vista, CA
Brhandon Puga
20
Chula Vista, CA
Matthew Ortiz
35
Chula Vista, CA
Cheytan Siva,
Aka “Hawk”
36
Vista, CA
Luis Gonzalez,
Aka “Knockout”
32
Vista, CA
James Mathes
32
Oceanside, CA
Eva Corona
33
Carlsbad, CA
Randy Moraleja
35
Escondido, CA
Brett Mooney
37
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million dollar. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0485-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Jorge Enrique Jara Cervantes
Aka “Scorpion”
28
Vista, CA
Jaime Orozco
30
Vista, CA
Gabriele Solis
26
Vista, CA
Alex Camou
27
Vista, CA
Morgan Peterson
25
Carlsbad, CA
Keith Collins
Aka “Lurch
32
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a 10 million dollar fine. For firearms charges: 10 years’ in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 17CR0487-LAB
Name
Age
Hometown
Sabrina Yzaguirre
28
Vista, CA
Roberto Recendez,
Aka “Grandpa”
54
Vista, CA
Eduardo Oretga,
Aka “Lalo”
25
Oceanside, CA
Antonio Becerra,
Aka “Thief”
30
Vista, CA
Kimberly Arenas
41
Escondido, CA
Manuel Guerena
37
Escondido, CA
Marco Vasquez
Aka “No-No”
24
Vista, CA
Johnny Molina-Bailon
34
Vista, CA
Santiago Rios,
Aka “Jimmy”
35
Vista, CA
Alex Camou
27
Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846;
Distribution of Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For firearms charges: 10 years in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No: 17MJ0467-NLS
Name
Age
Hometown
Linda Cowan
46
Oceanside, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 841(a)(1);
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)
Maximum Penalties: For drug charges: life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a $10 million fine. For firearms charges: 10 years in prison, and a 250,000 dollar fine.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
AGENCIES
North County Regional Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, San Diego County Sheriff's Office, Oceanside Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, California Highway Patrol, and the Escondido and Carlsbad Police Departments, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Federal Inmate Guilty of Possessing Shank in Beaumont PrisonRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A 26-year-old federal prison inmate has pleaded guilty to possession of a shank in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Rafael Castillo, Jr., pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited object on Feb. 28, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin.
According to information presented in court, on June 20, 2016, Castillo, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont, was found during a pat-down search, to be in possession of two homemade weapons measuring approximately 5.5 inches and 7 inches in length each. Castillo had the weapons concealed in his pants pocket. Each weapon, commonly referred to as a ‘shank,’ had been constructed out of metal material and had been sharpened to a point and designed to be used as a weapon. Such objects are prohibited in the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex.
Under federal statutes, Castillo faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress and is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall L. Fluke.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lieutenant from Kirtland Air Force Base on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., has returned an indictment charging Jesse Furse, 34, with federal child pornography offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, New Mexico Attorney General Hector H. Balderas, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Special Agent Philip J. Davis of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), and Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
The nine-count indictment, which was filed yesterday and publicly posted earlier today, charges Furse with eight counts of distributing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and one count of possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment charges Furse with distributing child pornography on eight occasions between Oct. 2015 and Jan. 2016, and with possessing child pornography between May 2014 and Jan. 2016. According to the indictment, Furse committed the nine crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M. At the time, Furse, a lieutenant with the U.S. Air Force, was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Furse was arrested on Feb. 10, 2017, on a criminal complaint alleging child pornography charges, and remains in federal custody pending trial on the charges in the indictment. Furse is scheduled for arraignment on the indictment on March 9, 2017.
Court filings indicate that the investigation of this case was initiated in Oct. 2015, when an agent with the New Mexico Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) Task Force, who was conducting an investigation into computers in the Albuquerque-area that were receiving, sharing, possessing and/or distributing child pornography, came upon a device using a specific IP address that allegedly was being used to share child pornography. In Jan. 2016, after investigation by APD revealed that the IP address was registered to Furse at an address located on Kirtland Air Force Base, the investigation was referred to AFOSI. On Jan. 29, 2016, AFOSI obtained a search warrant from a Military Magistrate, and AFOSI and APD executed the search warrant and seized a computer and computer-related media from Furse’s residence. The FBI joined the investigation in Feb. 2016, and obtained a federal search warrant for the computer-related evidence seized from Furse’s residence in March 2016.
According to the criminal complaint, the computer-related evidence seized from Furse’s residence was encrypted, and experts at the FBI’s New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL) made multiple attempts to access the computer-related evidence between March 2016 and Feb. 2017. In Feb. 2017, RCFL experts were able successfully to access the computer-related evidence. The criminal complaint alleges that a preliminary review of the contents of a hard drive seized from Furse’s residence contained approximately 1400 video files consistent with child pornography.
If convicted, Furse faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment on the distribution charges, and a statutory maximum of 20 years of imprisonment on the possession charge. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The investigation of this case, which is continuing, is being handled by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, New Mexico ICAC Task Force, AFOSI, APD, and RCFL. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Furse IndictmentFather and Son Charged for Armed Robberies of Two Henderson Credit UnionsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A father and son were indicted today in connection with the armed robberies committed at two Henderson credit unions, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
“The alleged armed robberies placed bank employees and customers at severe risk of imminent harm,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure justice is brought to individuals who choose to steal from financial institutions in Nevada.”
Jeffrey Alan James, 51, and Jessy Stewart James, 22, both of Las Vegas, are each charged with one-count of Hobbs Act Robbery and one-count of bank robbery. Trial has been scheduled for May 9, 2017.
According to court documents, on Jan. 24, 2017, Jeffrey and Jessy James stole approximately $4,000 from a Silver State Schools Credit Union. Jeffrey James pointed a replica firearm at a bank teller’s head and demanded money. Jessy James placed a suitcase on the counter, and informed the teller that if she cooperated, she would not be shot.
It is further alleged that on Feb. 16, 2017, Jessy James stole approximately $4,207 from the America First Credit Union. He approached a bank teller with two large envelopes. One envelope had a demand note to the effect of “This is a robbery, not a joke” and the other envelope held a replica firearm with the barrel pointing at the bank teller through a hole in the paper. Jeffrey James waited outside of the credit union and acted as a getaway driver once Jessy James had completed the robbery.
The case is being investigated by the Henderson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Epsom Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that on February 28, 2017, Christopher Barker, 23, of Epsom, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to the illegal possession of firearms.
According to court documents and statements made during the change of plea hearing, Concord Police conducted an undercover operation to purchase a firearm from Barker in March 2016. When Barker arrived to the deal, Concord Police arrested him and seized two firearms from his vehicle. At the time, Barker was prohibited from possessing any firearms as a result of a previous felony conviction.
Barker is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13, 2017.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and by the Police Departments of Concord and Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Hartford, Vermont, as well as by the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Georgie Konesky and Shane Kelbley.
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Emory Doctor Goes to Prison for Downloading Thousands of Images of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Kevin M. Sullivan has been sentenced to six years, six months in prison for downloading thousands of images of child pornography from a server in Switzerland. Sullivan, who was a professor in Emory University’s Epidemiology department, used the university’s Wi-Fi to access sites outside the country which provided access to child pornography.
“Sullivan downloaded thousands of files depicting the sexual abuse of children,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “He attempted to cover his tracks by using his personal computer on the Internet system at Emory to download the images. As predators continue to try to develop new methods to feed and download child pornography, we will continue to find them and prosecute them.”.
“Child pornography is one of the most heinous crimes HSI investigates due to the irrevocable harm it inflicts physically and emotionally upon innocent children,” said HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “Those who download these illegal images re-victimize innocent children who’ve already been subjected to unimaginable harm. ICE Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of child exploitation cases as one the agency’s highest priorities.”
“This conviction illustrates the outstanding work of law enforcement around the world to investigate and prosecute child pornography cases,” said Vernon Keenan, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The GBI will continue to dedicate resources to identify and bring to justice individuals who exploit children.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In October 2014, Swiss law enforcement seized a server that was hosting child pornography. Login information from the server showed that someone at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health was using Emory’s Wi-Fi to access child pornography. With cooperation from Emory University’s Information Technology Department, agents were able to determine that Dr. Kevin Sullivan was the person accessing child pornography from the Swiss website.
Dr. Sullivan was a professor in Emory University’s Epidemiology department. Agents obtained a search warrant for Dr. Sullivan’s office and executed it on June 15, 2015. Sullivan was present at the time, but left before agents found child pornography on his personal laptop and external hard drive. When agents went to his house later the same day to arrest him, they found Sullivan there at his home computer. A search of that computer revealed titles suggestive of child pornography, although the files themselves had been deleted. A search of the laptop and hard drive from his Emory office showed that Dr. Sullivan had more than 8,000 files containing child pornography.
Kevin M. Sullivan, 61, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six years, six months in prison to be followed by seven years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $15,000. Sullivan was convicted on these charges on December 1, 2016, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Paul R. Jones and Erin E. Sanders prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Eight Defendants Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Bank Fraud and Mail Theft Conspiracy in the BronxRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), today announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging a total of eight defendants with engaging in mail theft and bank fraud conspiracies in the Bronx, New York. Five defendants were arrested today, and two defendants remain at large; the eighth will voluntarily appear later this week for arraignment. The five defendants who are in custody will be presented and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn later today. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “These eight defendants allegedly hatched a scheme to steal mail from Bronx residents, specifically targeting mail they thought would contain checks or money orders, then depositing stolen funds into their own and others’ accounts. Now, thanks to the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, these alleged mail fraudsters have been delivered to the criminal justice system.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “When I think of the brazenness of these individuals to allegedly steal U.S. Mail coupled with their total disregard for the financial well-being of the communities impacted by their crimes, it takes the word insolent to new heights. Let today’s arrests serve as an example to those who believe they can steal from the US Postal Service and get away with it. Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners will find you, arrest you and bring you to justice for your crimes against the US Postal Service and their customers. That is something you can take to the bank.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
Since 2015, USPIS and other local and federal agencies, including the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have been investigating mail theft from mailboxes in the Bronx, New York. The investigation has revealed that individuals steal mail by either illicitly obtaining mail box keys or by “fishing.” Fishing involves inserting homemade mail theft devices into mailboxes located on street corners or other publicly accessible places. After gaining access to the mail in the mailbox, a thief typically will remove any mail that appears to contain checks or money orders. During the beginning and end of the month when many people mail checks for rent and bills, a thief can steal checks worth tens of thousands of dollars in a single night.
After perpetrators fish checks and money orders out of mailboxes, they sell the checks and money orders to others, remove the payees’ names by “washing” the checks and money orders, or simply deposit the checks and money orders into a bank account. In various iterations of the scheme, those bank accounts have belonged to the mail thieves, to complicit accountholders, or to unsuspecting third parties whose debits cards or personal identifying information has been stolen.
Since late 2015, USPIS and NYPD enforcement operations have resulted in over 50 state arrests of individuals in an area of the Bronx in the vicinity of Claremont Park for theft of mail, and over $750,000 in checks and money orders has been traced to these mail theft schemes. Between May 2015 and at least January 2017, BRIAN MARTE, a/k/a “Trini Rabiia,” ERICKSON BATISTA, a/k/a “Niike Batista,” JUNIOR TAVERAS, a/k/a “Tuh Relambio,” ANGEL ARISTY, a/k/a “Frekiitho Lindo Colon,” LUIS ROSADO, a/k/a “El Menolsito Tejada,” EOSCATERYS POLANCO, BRAYAN RODRIGUEZ, a/k/a “New Black El Paisano,” and RONARDO BAEZ, a/k/a “Tuchokoo Baez,” the defendants, each participated in these related schemes to steal mail and deposit stolen checks and money orders using other individuals’ debit cards.
* * *
Each of the defendants is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison. MARTE is also charged with one count of mail theft, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The charges also carry a maximum fine of $1 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
A chart containing the names, ages, and residences of the defendants is below.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York City Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
These cases are being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Catherine Geddes and Stephanie Lake are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
NAME
AGE
RESIDENCE
Brian Marte
20
Bronx, NY
Erickson Batista
24
Bronx, NY
Junior Taveras
19
Bronx, NY
Angel Aristy
18
Bronx, NY
Luis Rosado
19
Bronx, NY
Eoscaterys Polanco
23
Bronx, NY
Brayan Rodriguez
23
Bronx, NY
Ronardo Baez
20
Bronx, NY
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Edinburg Couple Convicted in Sex Trafficking of Minors ConspiracyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – An Edinburg couple has been convicted for their roles in a sex trafficking of minors conspiracy in which two minor females engaged in commercial sex acts, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Abelardo Gomez, 37, and his girlfriend Cerena Ortiz, 25, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit sex trafficking of minors.
On March 25, 2016, Gomez drove to Louisiana to pick up two minor females, ages 14 and 15, and transported them back to a residence in Edinburg he shared with Ortiz. According to admissions made in connection with their guilty pleas, Gomez and Ortiz took revealing photographs of the minor females posing in a lascivious manner. The photos were then used to create advertisements on backpage.com promoting the prostitution of the minors.
Gomez and Ortiz admitted that during the two-week-period the females resided with them, the minors engaged in commercial sex acts with several adult males in the Edinburg residence, in motel rooms and in a vehicle belonging to Gomez. Eventually, on April 7, 2016, Gomez and Ortiz abandoned the minors at a local convenience store. The girls called 911 and reported the incident to local authorities.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane accepted the pleas today and has set sentencing for May 16, 2017. At that time, Gomez and Ortiz face up to life in federal prison.
The FBI conducted the investigation along with the Edinburg Police Department.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Benavides, 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."
Dozens Arrested in Massive Gun and Drug Sting OperationRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Over 150 law enforcement agents and officers executed a major takedown today, arresting dozens of individuals for their respective roles in selling drugs and guns in Norfolk. Twelve federal defendants are in custody for firearms and drug charges, while more than a dozen others were arrested on state charges.
“This historic operation represents our commitment to making the streets of Norfolk as safe as we can,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Illegal firearms are the principal tools employed in the deadly cycles of turf battles and gang conflicts that deprive our neighborhoods and families of the peace and security that we treasure as Americans. The actions taken today reflect the coordinated, skilled and brave work of law enforcement. They are to be applauded. But they should also remind each of us that a peaceful community can only be realized when citizens share in the serious work of upholding the common good and respecting the rule of law.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) began Operation Riptide in the Fall of 2016, and in collaboration with the Norfolk Police Department, Virginia State Police, and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, identified more than 30 individuals throughout Hampton Roads who were illegally selling firearms, heroin, and or other narcotics. Operation Riptide resulted in the recovery of over 50 firearms (including at least 3 assault rifles, 2 sawed off shotguns, and 47 hand guns, 18 of which had obliterated serial numbers or were stolen), over 170 grams of heroin, 65 grams of powder cocaine, 290 grams of crack cocaine, and a bullet proof vest. Ten of the 12 federal defendants are previously convicted felons, while seven are allegedly affiliated with the United Blood Nation gang.
“Deadly heroin overdoses and the recent spike in gun violence remain serious concerns in Hampton Roads,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “This kind of unified, coordinated response to emerging public safety threats is exactly why I invested OAG resources in the Hampton Roads region. Because of hard work and collaboration by local, state, and federal partners, dozens of dangerous individuals are off the streets today.”
"Today's action was a collaborative effort between ATF and officers of the Virginia State Police, Norfolk PD, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake PD, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office,” said Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division. The ATF actively partners with its law enforcement colleagues in the Hampton Roads area and targets those who commit violent crimes and illegally possess firearms.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Gregory D. Underwood, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Norfolk; and Larry Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after the federal arrests were made and the indictments were unsealed.
This case was investigated by the ATF’s Norfolk Field Office, the Norfolk Police Department, and the Virginia State Police, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals, Virginia Beach Police Department, the Chesapeake Police Department, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office. Attorneys from the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Unit, John F. Butler and James F. Entas, are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of Norfolk Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Catherine Paxson, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Kevin M. Comstock, Joseph E. DePadilla, Kevin Hudson, William B. Jackson, William D. Muhr, and Daniel T. Young.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:17-cr-21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37.
Below is table which lists the name, age, hometown, and respective charge(s) each defendant faces.
Name, AKA
Age, Hometown
Charge(s)
Leonard Lee Brickhouse,
aka “Leo Brixx”
24, Norfolk
Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Joseph Maurice Dobey,
aka “Joe”
38, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Jason Gilliard,
aka “Hoodro Wilson”
32, Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin; Distribution of Heroin; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Adrean Lemont Hall,
aka “Ace”
24, Virginia Beach
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Maurice Owen Johnson,
aka “Dink”
28, Norfolk
Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Lamare Pierre Jordan,
aka “L”
30, Norfolk
Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin; Distribution of Heroin; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
James Lamb, 28
aka “Murdok”
28, Chesapeake
Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of a Firearm with Obliterated Serial Number
James Andre Martin,
aka “Big Buff”
44, Norfolk
Distribution of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Darryl Moore,
aka “Little Darryl”
28, Norfolk
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Kejuan Dante Perry,
aka “KP”
25, Chesapeake
Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Distribution of Cocaine; Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Keone Devon Perry, 23
23, Chesapeake
Transfer of Firearm to Prohibited Person
Carl Lee Walton, 22
aka “CJ”
22, Virginia Beach
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Dark Web Defendant SentencedRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – Today, George Cotrel, 23, of London, United Kingdom, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to eight months’ imprisonment, with credit for time served dating back to his arrest on July 22, 2016. Judge Humetewa also imposed restitution in the amount of $30,000. Cotrel had previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
“Our office is dedicated to prosecuting illegal activity wherever it occurs, including on the ‘dark web,’ which attempts to provide a platform for concealing criminal activity from law enforcement,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange. “We commend the IRS-CI agents for uncovering Cotrel’s efforts to commit wire fraud.”
“IRS Special Agents are experts in conducting complex financial investigations including those now being committed on the ‘dark web’ with virtual currency,” stated IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez Jr.
From March 2014 to September 2014, Cotrel participated in a scheme to advertise money laundering services on a TOR network black-market website. (TOR is an acronym for “The Onion Router,” which is a mechanism to anonymize internet traffic. TOR also enables access to certain “hidden services” websites accessible only through the TOR network.) Beginning in March 2014, Cotrel communicated online with undercover agents posing as criminals seeking to launder proceeds of criminal activity, and he subsequently met with the agents in person in April 2014 in Las Vegas, Nev., to discuss a specific transaction.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by James R. Knapp and Gary M. Restaino, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-16-879-PHX-DJH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-020_Cotrel
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Dallas Woman Sentenced in East Texas Bank Robbery & CarjackingRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 24-year-old Dallas woman has been sentenced to federal prison for her role in a series of violent crimes in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Chanel Collins pleaded guilty on Apr. 8, 2016 to aiding in the commission of a car-jacking and bank robbery and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison by U.S. Appellate Court Judge Catherine Haynes on Feb. 27, 2017.
According to information presented in court, on Mar. 13, 2015, Collins drove LaQuaylan Patterson from Wood County, Texas, to an apartment complex in Tyler, Texas, so that he could commit an armed carjacking. Once they arrived at the complex, Patterson got out of Collins’ car, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, and told Collins to wait for his signal to her cell phone. Patterson then approach a woman, who was visiting her mother at the complex, brandished his pistol, and demanded the woman’s car keys. The woman surrendered the keys and Patterson got into her car and drove away. Patterson signaled Collins and she also departed the complex in her car. Collins and Patterson then drove the vehicles back to Wood County.
Later that day, Patterson used the stolen car to commit the second armed bank robbery. Collins drove her vehicle to a car wash in Big Sandy, Texas, and waited for Patterson as he robbed the 1st National Bank of Gilmer, located in Big Sandy. Patterson drove the stolen vehicle to the bank, brandished a pistol, climbed behind the teller counter, and demanded money from the tellers. The tellers stood aside as Patterson removed $29,734.00 from two cash drawers and put the money in a bag. Patterson then fled the bank with the cash and drove away in the stolen vehicle to meet Collins at the carwash. Once there, Patterson abandoned the stolen vehicle and fled with Collins in her vehicle. Collins and Patterson were indicted by a federal grand jury on June 17, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Rangers, Tyler Police Department, Big Sandy Police Department, and Lancaster Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Cleveland man indicted for selling heroin that resulted in two overdoses in WoosterRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was indicted in federal court on charges that he sold heroin that caused at least two overdoses in Wooster, law enforcement officials said.
Demetrius L. Frizzell, 30, was indicted on six counts: two counts of distribution of heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of witness tampering. The heroin distribution charges come with a sentencing enhancement for selling heroin that caused serious bodily injury to individuals on or about Oct. 29 and Nov. 3, 2016.
If convicted on those counts, the sentences could carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Wooster police learned about a heroin overdose victim who on Nov. 3 was brought to an emergency room unresponsive and appeared to be deceased. He was revived after emergency-room staff administered 12 doses of Narcan. Investigators traced the sale of heroin to Frizzell, according to court documents.
Frizzell also sold heroin on Oct. 29 that resulted in an overdose, according to court documents.
Frizzell, while in custody, called overdose victims and instructed them to change their statements to police, according to court documents.
“Heroin has caused an unprecedented wave of death, pain and destruction in Ohio,” U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon said. “No corner of the state is immune. Only though aggressive law enforcement -- combined with education and prevention efforts, changes in prescribing practices and making treatment available to those who want help -- can we turn the tide on the opioid epidemic.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy Plancon stated: “Overdoses and overdose deaths related to heroin have become an epidemic across the country and Ohio has been hit particularly hard by this problem. Identifying and bringing to justice those individuals that distribute illegal drugs that result in an overdose, is one of DEA’s top priorities.”
MEDWAY Director Donald Hall said: “The MEDWAY Drug Enforcement Agency will continue to collaborate and work closely with our federal partners to hold people accountable for their actions who are involved in trafficking drugs in our communities.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the MEDWAY Drug Enforcement Agency, the Wooster Police Department and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Teresa Riley.
The investigation is ongoing.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences 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.
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.
Chelsea Store Owner Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit Apple Cell Phone ComponentsRead the Press Release
BOSTON –A Chelsea man was charged today in U.S. District Court in Boston with trafficking in counterfeit Apple, Inc. iPhone components at three retail locations in the Boston area.
Arif Ali Shah, 66, was charged with trafficking in counterfeit iPhone components that bore Apple trademarks – the Apple icon and the iPhone word mark – but were not genuine Apple products.
It is alleged that between approximately 2005 and February 2015, Shah sold counterfeit Apple merchandise at his three retail locations: Nadia’s in Dorchester, East Boston Wireless in East Boston and Todo Wireless in Chelsea. Shah also repaired genuine iPhones at his stores using counterfeit components. Shah purchased the counterfeit merchandise from sources both outside the United States and from a domestic supplier. Shah knew that the goods were counterfeit, but nonetheless sold and attempted to sell thousands of pieces of counterfeit merchandise.
The trafficking statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $2 million. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William Weinreb and Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart of Weinreb’s Cybercrime Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Cardiologist, Neurologist, and Others Charged in $50 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme, and Civil Suit Filed Against Clinic and Participants in the FraudRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Regional Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today criminal and civil actions relating to a 12-year scheme to defraud Medicaid, Medicare, and other private health insurance companies out of more than $50 million. Today’s actions include the unsealing of an Indictment charging ASIM HAMEEDI, FAWAD HAMEEDI, MICHELLE LANDOY, DESIREE SCOTT, EMAD SOLIMAN, and ARIF HAMEEDI with, among other things, health care fraud, identity theft, and making false statements, and the filing of a civil fraud lawsuit against CITY MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, P.C., and ASIM HAMEEDI, among others, seeking treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for the fraudulent claims for reimbursement submitted by CITY MEDICAL ASSOCIATES to Medicare and Medicaid between 2003 and November 2015.
ASIM HAMEEDI was arrested this morning in Manhattan. FAWAD HAMEEDI was arrested this morning on Long Island. LANDOY and SCOTT were each arrested this morning in Queens, New York. SOLIMAN was arrested this morning in Westchester County. ARIF HAMEEDI is outside the United States and has not yet been arrested. All of the defendants in custody will be presented later today in Manhattan federal court before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, these defendants that included a cardiologist and neurologist ran a medical practice that for years bilked public health care programs and private insurance companies of more than $50 million. Thanks to the hard work of federal and state investigators, this fraud has been revealed and the alleged perpetrators forced to face the consequences of their actions.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. stated: “Public health insurance programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, are not a personal pocketbook for criminals seeking to exploit a program designed to help those who need these programs the most. As alleged, the six defendants carried out a massive health care fraud scheme against these programs and private insurance companies for over twelve years and submitted more than $50 million in fraudulent claims. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who defraud taxpayer funded programs.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Scott J. Lampert said: “Health care fraud schemes like the one alleged here loot government health programs, compromise patient well-being, and undermine the public’s trust in the health profession. You can bet our agents will continue to thoroughly investigate such allegations and hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “As alleged, this investigation revealed numerous calculated actions that occurred for more than a decade which resulted in more than $50 million in fraudulent claims. I commend the NYPD investigators and FBI agents who uncovered these criminal activities and whose efforts resulted in a thorough investigation and arrests related to this ill-fated scheme.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and the Civil Complaint:[1]
ASIM HAMEEDI, a board-certified interventional cardiologist who was the president and owner of City Medical Associates, a cardiology and neurology clinic based in Bayside, New York (“CMA””), together with others employed by CMA, conducted a massive health care fraud scheme spanning 12 years and involving more than $50 million in fraudulent claims. ASIM HAMEEDI conducted this scheme with others employed at or associated with CMA, including ASIM HAMEEDI’s nephew, FAWAD HAMEEDI, ASIM HAMEEDI’s brother, ARIF HAMEEDI, MICHELLE LANDOY, and DESIREE SCOTT, who were also employees of CMA, and EMAD SOLIMAN, a board-certified neurologist with his own practice in Westchester, New York.
The multi-faceted scheme included, among other things: (1) making false representations to insurance providers, including providers paid through Medicaid and Medicare, about the medical condition of patients in order to obtain preauthorization for medical tests and procedures; (2) submitting false claims to insurance providers for tests and procedures that were not performed and/or medically unnecessary, as well as for drug items not used or provided; (3) paying exorbitant kickbacks to local primary care medical offices in exchange for lucrative referrals from these offices; (4) and accessing, without authorization, electronic health records of patients at a particular hospital based on Long Island, New York (“Hospital-1”), in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) in order to identify patients to be recruited to CMA.
In furtherance of the scheme, and to hide from the insurance providers the huge volume of claims, including fraudulent claims, being submitted by CMA, ASIM HAMEEDI, FAWAD HAMEEDI, ARIF HAMEEDI, MICHELLE LANDOY, and DESIREE SCOTT submitted claims to the insurance providers falsely representing that medical tests had been ordered or performed by doctors who did not work at CMA and who had not ordered or performed the tests. These doctors included EMAD SOLIMAN, who knowingly participated in the scheme to allow CMA to submit false claims to the insurance providers in his name, as well as two other doctors who did not know that their identities were being used to further the fraud (“Doctor-1” and “Doctor-2”).
In addition, ASIM HAMEEDI and FAWAD HAMEEDI, with the assistance of ARIF HAMEEDI, used various unlawful means to obtain and maintain a high volume of patients for use in the fraudulent scheme, including, among other things, paying exorbitant kickbacks to local primary care offices and practitioners in exchange for referrals of patients by those offices and practitioners to CMA. Moreover, ASIM HAMEEDI and FAWAD HAMEEDI repeatedly, and without authorization, accessed information in electronic health records of patients of Hospital-1 to identify and recruit patients to the practice of ASIM HAMEEDI and CMA.
* * *
The charges against the defendants alleged in the Indictment, and the maximum penalties for those charges, are set forth in a chart below. Also set forth below is a chart with the defendants’ names, ages, and residences.
The Civil Complaint joins a civil fraud lawsuit previously filed under seal by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act. The civil case is pending before Judge Paul G. Gardephe.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, HHS-OIG, the NYPD, and the New York State Department of Financial Services.
The criminal case is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisha J. Kobre is in charge of the prosecution. The civil case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob M. Bergman of the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit.
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Count One
Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY,
DESIREE SCOTT,
EMAD SOLIMAN, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
20 years in prison
Count Two
Health Care Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1347 and 2
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY,
DESIREE SCOTT,
EMAD SOLIMAN, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
10 years in prison
Count Three
Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY,
DESIREE SCOTT,
EMAD SOLIMAN, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
20 years in prison
Count Four
False Statements Relating to Health Care Matters, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1035 and 2
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY,
DESIREE SCOTT,
EMAD SOLIMAN, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
5 years in prison
Count Five
Conspiracy to Violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
5 years in prison
Count Six
Conspiracy to Wrongfully Obtain and Disclose Individually Identifiable Health Information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
ASIM HAMEEDI and
FAWAD HAMEEDI
5 years in prison
Count Seven
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud in Connection
with Identification Information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(f)
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY,
DESIREE SCOTT, and
EMAD SOLIMAN
15 years in prison
Count Eight
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI, and
ARIF HAMEEDI
20 years in prison
Count Nine
Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A
ASIM HAMEEDI,
FAWAD HAMEEDI,
MICHELLE LANDOY, and
DESIREE SCOTT
Mandatory minimum of 2 years in prison
Count Ten
False Statements to a Federal Agent, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001
EMAD SOLIMAN
5 years in prison
DEFENDANT
AGE
RESIDENCE
ASIM HAMEEDI
46
Manhattan, New York and
FAWAD HAMEEDI
31
Long Island, New York
MICHELLE LANDOY
35
Queens, New York
DESIREE SCOTT
37
Queens, New York
EMAD SOLIMAN
47
Westchester County, New York
ARIF HAMEEDI
56
Queens, New York
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and Civil Complaint and the descriptions of the Indictment and Civil Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
California Man Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A California man was sentenced today to 76 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to traffic approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine from California to New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jesus Raul Iribe, 38, of Riverside, California, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 8, 2013, law enforcement officers recorded and observed meetings between Iribe and other conspirators in which they allegedly planned to use a tractor-trailer to transport cocaine from California to New Jersey and other destinations along the East Coast. Eventually, law enforcement followed the tractor trailer to Bronx, New York, where they recovered a produce box containing 12 kilograms of cocaine. Iribe admitted that he conspired with others to traffic the cocaine from California to New Jersey.
In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Iribe to five years of supervised release. Under terms of the plea agreement, he must also forfeit $446,310 in cash, three handguns, and an AR-1 assault rifle that were recovered when he was arrested in March 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski in Newark, the DEA Los Angeles Field Office, and the Fontana, California Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit.
Boston Man Sentenced to Prison for Scheme to Defraud Brokerage FirmsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a three-year, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.
Nathanial Ponn, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $20,738, after pleading guilty in December 2016 to three counts of wire fraud.
From 2012 to April 2015, Ponn opened more than 400 brokerage accounts at nine investment firms throughout the United States, using false names, Social Security numbers, assets and income. These firms allowed customers to transfer funds from one financial institution into the customer’s brokerage account through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer, by providing the account number and financial institution where the account was held and the amount to be transferred. Between February 2014 to April 2015, Ponn provided ACH transfer information to brokerage firms for accounts he opened on more than 350 occasions, totaling more than $8.5 million in attempted transfers. In each instance, the bank account Ponn provided did not have the amount of funds requested or, in some circumstances, did not even exist. Although the ACH transfers were rejected, the fraudulent transfers created the false appearance that the brokerage accounts had cash available to purchase securities.
Through this scheme, Ponn was able to purchase securities totaling more than $2.7 million in accounts at eight investment firms. When the firms discovered that the ACH transfers were rejected, they liquidated the securities in Ponn’s accounts. As part of the scheme, Ponn also attempted, unsuccessfully, to get the brokerage firms to send him checks totaling about $250,000, based on the same false ACH information.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil action against Ponn in March 2016 arising out of the scheme to defraud investment firms.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Bank Embezzler Sentenced to a Year in JailRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Anchorage woman was sentenced to a year in jail yesterday in federal court for embezzling over $100,000 from her former employer Credit Union 1.
Shanice Mano, age 23, of Anchorage, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Timothy M. Burgess.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward who prosecuted the case, Mano was a teller at Credit Union 1 when she accessed a customer’s account without authority and transferred money to accounts that she had control over and from which she was able to make withdrawals.
Chief Judge Burgess noted that Mano’s crime was well planned and deliberate and that over the course of several days she stole money that had taken the victims’ years to save. Judge Burgess noted the need to deter others from similar crimes.
The FBI was able to recover $80,000 of the stolen funds. Restitution was ordered for the remainder.
U.S. Attorney Loeffler commends the FBI for the investigation of this case.
Baltimore Real Estate Agent Sentenced to over Two Years in Prison for $735,000 Mortgage Fraud Scheme Involving Baltimore City PropertiesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Michael Gerard Camphor, age 60, of Baltimore, to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on charges arising from the fraudulent purchase of four properties in Baltimore, using fraudulent loan documentation and straw purchasers, resulting in losses of over $735,000. At the sentencing on February 28, 2016, Judge Bredar also ordered Camphor to pay restitution of $735,363.47 and to forfeit $962,274.95.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Bertrand Nelson of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office.
According to Camphor’s plea agreement and other court documents, since 2002, co-conspirator Andreas Tamaris purchased, renovated, and then resold distressed row houses in Baltimore City, primarily in the Highlandtown neighborhood. Camphor had worked as a real estate agent for a company and also operated a real estate consulting business called Ron Gerard LLC, a/k/a Ron Gerard & Associates.
From approximately February 2008 to July 2009, Camphor and his co-conspirators, including Cecil Chester, found buyers for Tamaris’ properties and for other property owners. They sought potential buyers who were inexperienced with residential real estate transactions. Camphor and his co-conspirators advised these “straw purchasers,” who lacked the funds needed to pay the down payment and closing costs, that they didn’t need to contribute these funds to buy the properties. Because the straw purchasers also lacked the earnings to keep up the mortgage payments, the conspirators typically promised that they would place tenants in the properties whose rent payments would cover the monthly mortgage payments after the transactions closed. The conspirators promised to collect the rent and make the mortgage payments.
The government contended at sentencing that Camphor and his co-conspirators set the purchase price for the properties to exceed their actual fair market value, thereby generating excess proceeds from the transactions from which they could profit. The conspirators provided false information about the straw purchasers’ employment, income and financial assets to the mortgage loan brokers to enable the straw purchasers to qualify for home mortgage loans. The conspirators falsely indicated to the mortgage loan brokers that the straw purchasers each intended to use the property as their primary residence following the purchase. Tamaris and other individuals supplied the funds needed for the down payment and closing costs on each of the transactions, and were in turn reimbursed from the loan proceeds at settlement.
One of the conspirators brought the straw purchaser to the closing and then caused the straw purchaser to falsely sign certifications in the closing documents affirming that the property was to be used as the primary residence, and that no portion of the down payment and closing costs were borrowed. Following the settlement on each transaction in which they participated, Camphor and his co-conspirators received substantial payments drawn from the proceeds of the loan. Few, if any, payments were made towards the mortgages.
Camphor was integrally involved in the fraud scheme by which four of the properties handled by the conspirators were sold and financed: 126 S. Curley Street; 1720 W. Pratt Street; 322 S. Robinson Street; and 8020 Gough Street, all located in Baltimore. All four properties went into foreclosure, resulting in a loss of at least $735,000.
Camphor has agreed to forfeit property retained or obtained as a result of the fraudulent conspiracy, including 1619 W. Baltimore Street; 2040 Linden Avenue, Unit A, and 1610 N. Smallwood Street, all located in Baltimore.
Cecil Sylvester Chester, age 70, of Mitchellville, Maryland previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to two years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of at least $1.483 million.
In related proceedings, Andreas E. Tamaris, age 46, of Bel Air, Maryland, Christopher A. Kwegan, age 59, of Randallstown, Maryland, and Alexander Sivels, II, age 32, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in this, or related mortgage fraud schemes. Tamaris was sentenced to 15 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,229,206.28 in restitution. Sivels and Kwegan were each sentenced to 27 months in prison. Judge Bredar ordered Sivels to pay restitution of $1,317,314.35, and ordered Kwegan to pay restitution of $530,641.27.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao-md/financial-fraud-and-identity-theft.
Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, HUD OIG - Office of Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who prosecuted the case.
Austrian Man Arrested on Illegal Reentry ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Yaacov Yosef Deutsch, a/k/a Jakob Deutsch, 48, of Vienna, Austria, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with unlawful reentry of a removed alien and making a false statement to a federal officer. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years and $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on February 27, 2017, the defendant, who had previously been removed from the United States, attempted to enter the United States at the Rainbow Bridge Port of Entry without the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security. Such consent and permission is required in instances in which a person has previously been deported or removed from the United States. During the process seeking admission to the United States, Deutsch also made false statements to a federal officer.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and is being held pending a detention hearing on March 6, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly and Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Rose Brophy, Director of Field Operations.
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.
Anniston Army Depot Employee Charged with Stealing Transmission Oil CoolersRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors have charged an Anniston Army Depot employee with stealing more than $175,000 worth of transmission oil coolers from the depot between 2013 and 2015, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Friday filed a one-count information in U.S. District Court charging ERIC JUSTIN HARDY, 45, of Anniston, with one count of theft of government property for stealing V6 and V8 oil coolers worth $175,537.
In conjunction with the charge, prosecutors also filed a plea agreement with Hardy. As part of that agreement, Hardy pledges to plead guilty to the charge, to consent to a court judgment to forfeit $175,537 to the government, and to pay that same amount in restitution to the Anniston Army Depot. Hardy is scheduled for arraignment on the charge March 9 in federal court in Birmingham.
According to the plea agreement, Hardy stole 70 V6 oil coolers and 28 V8 oil coolers from the Army installation and sold them to various scrap metal dealers for about $25 to $30 each. The Army estimated the V6 oil coolers value at $2,007 each and the V8 oil coolers at $1,250 each.
The maximum penalty for theft of government property is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark is prosecuting.
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Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor Charge of Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joe J. Zambrano, 54, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting, resisting and impeding federal officers in the performance of their official duties.
Zambrano was charged in a criminal complaint with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, and providing false information to law enforcement officers on Jan. 15, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 15, 2017, Zambrano attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon against Park Rangers of the National Park Service during a routine traffic stop within the Petroglyph National Monument. Zambrano then provided a false name, birthdate and social security number to the Park Rangers in response to their request for Zambrano’s identification information.
Zambrano subsequently was charged by a misdemeanor information on Jan. 18, 2017, with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. During today’s proceedings, Zambrano pled guilty to the information. and admitted that on Jan. 15, 2017, he nearly struck a Park Ranger with his vehicle while attempting to flee from two Park Rangers. Zambrano further admitted that he ignored the Park Rangers’ verbal commands that he stop his vehicle.
Zambrano remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Zambrano faces a maximum statutory penalty of a year of imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the National Park Service and was prosecuted
Alaska Woman Sentenced to Five Years for Federal Narcotics Trafficking Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Katrina Tiana Brown, 33, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison for her conviction on a federal narcotics trafficking charge. She will be on supervised release for four years after completing her prison sentence.
Brown was arrested in Dec. 2015, and charged by indictment with possession of phencyclidine (PCP) with intent to distribute. The indictment alleged that Brown committed the crime on Feb. 8, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
On Jan. 10, 2017, Brown pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possessing distribution quantities of PCP. In entering the guilty plea, Brown admitted that on Feb. 8, 2013, she possessed more than 100 grams of PCP while at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. Brown acknowledged that she intended to distribute the PCP to others.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.
A.B.I.A. Baggage Handler Charged with Stealing FirearmsRead the Press Release
In Austin this morning, a 25-year-old baggage handler at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) surrendered to FBI agents based on a federal criminal complaint charging him with theft from an interstate shipment and possession of stolen firearms announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division, and Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.
The complaint alleges that between November 29, 2016, and February 2, 2017, Ja’Quan Johnson of Austin stole numerous handguns from inside passenger bags at ABIA. The complaint further alleges that Johnson traded some of the stolen firearms for marijuana. So far, Austin Police have recovered seven firearms allegedly stolen by Johnson.
Upon conviction, Johnson faces up to ten years in federal prison for theft from an interstate shipment and up to ten years in federal prison for possession of each stolen firearm.
Johnson was released on a personal recognizance bond following his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew W. Austin. No further court dates have been scheduled.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Transportation Security Administration and the Austin Police Department’s Aviation Division.
A criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
87 Month Prison Sentence for Drug User with GunsRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – Dewayne Jeh Reion Leonta Bowie, 21, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on each of two counts for being an unlawful user of narcotics in possession of firearms, U. S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced today. Bowie was also ordered to pay a $6,000 fine.
Bowie was in possession of a firearm on two separate dates in August, 2016. Charges of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of a stolen firearm were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement with the Government. The Court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and recommended that Bowie attend the Bureau of Prisons 500-hour drug treatment program while incarcerated.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, along with the Gulfport Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
74 Month Prison Sentence for Felon with GunRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – James C. Eustice, 38, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 74 months in prison for being a felon in possession of two firearms, U. S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced today. Eustice was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release when released from prison.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives along with the Gulfport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
19 People Indicted Following Investigations into International Fraud and Money Laundering RingsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Federal indictments were unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging 19 people with taking part in various international fraud and money laundering conspiracies that led to more than $13 million in losses, including one scheme in which mid-level corporate employees were tricked into wiring millions of dollars to bank accounts under control of those in the criminal enterprise.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips; Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Assistant Inspector General for Investigations John L. Phillips of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Washington, D.C.; Assistant Director Joseph Trigg of INTERPOL Washington (U.S. National Central Bureau); Director Vaughn Ary of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; Acting Director Christian Schurman of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Ebert, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service.
Sixteen of the 19 defendants were arrested overnight and today in a law enforcement operation coordinated by the FBI. Another was previously arrested, and two remain at large. The arrests took place in New York and Los Angeles, as well as Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and Israel. The arrests were conducted by more than 50 law enforcement agents.
The arrests followed a multi-year investigative effort by federal and international law enforcement agencies to target multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering schemes perpetrated by a transnational organized crime network.
“These indictments and today’s arrests followed an international investigation into an interconnected web of money launderers, fraudsters and individuals that aided and abetted their criminal activities,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips. “The defendants in the cases being unsealed today are accused of taking part in schemes in the United States and abroad, costing victims millions of dollars. The investigation demonstrates the importance of international cooperation amongst law enforcement in combatting fraud and money laundering on a global basis.”
“Members of the transnational organized crime group who carried out these schemes were sophisticated, well connected and continually honed their techniques to exploit their victims,” said Assistant Director in Charge Vale. “In total, they stole more than $13 million from over 170 victims, primarily in the United States. Because of the dedication and perseverance by our law enforcement partners in the United States and abroad, the FBI’s multi-year investigation into these schemes and this international criminal network, has yielded the disruption or return of more than $56 million in victim funds.”
“I would like to commend our law enforcement partners, the FBI, HSI and our international partners for the outstanding joint investigation that has led us to the arrests reported today,” said Assistant Inspector General Phillips. “Treasury OIG is committed to continuing to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the Treasury and the nation’s financial infrastructure from Transnational criminal organizations that attempt to exploit financial institutions and money service businesses and their anti-money laundering programs by moving illicit funds obtained in various scams perpetrated against businesses and citizens across the United States and the world that use the financial infrastructure of the United States to launder their illicit proceeds.”
A total of four indictments were unsealed today in these alleged schemes:
Online Vehicle Fraud: Participants in this scheme used the Internet to falsely advertise cars for sale that they did not own, the indictment alleges. Operating out of Europe, the participants marketed the cars on popular websites aiming to attract buyers in the United States. They offered prices that were lower than those offered by legitimate sellers. Prospective buyers were directed to deposit money into fraudulently created bank accounts via wire transfers. The funds were then immediately withdrawn and the expectant buyers never received any vehicles.
The indictment alleges that the criminal activities took place from November 2010 until April 2013 in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. According to the indictment, the co-conspirators induced at least 170 victims, located primarily in the United States, collectively to transfer at least $4 million to bank accounts controlled by those in the conspiracy, and the co-conspirators were able to withdraw approximately $3.2 million from the fraudulently opened accounts in the United States.
Eight defendants have been arrested and are charged with conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit a travel act violation, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. They include Alex Almasi, 35; Ferenc Gajdos, 33; Laszlo Hesz,, 41; Attila Kartaly, 35; Zoltan Koszegi, 41; Alfred Kuttenberg, 34; Attila Molnar, 37, and Gabor Pataki, 35, all of Hungary. Gajdos and Kuttenberg also are charged with one count each of bank fraud.
Business Email Compromise (BEC): This scheme was an outgrowth of the vehicle fraud scheme, according to the indictment. The defendants allegedly used the Internet and primarily U.S.-based electronic communications to target mid-sized and large companies and impersonate executive-level employees in e-mail communications with mid-level employees. These mid-level employees were led to believe they were being entrusted to handle a large financial transaction, such as a “secret” corporate acquisition, the indictment alleges. The employees were instructed to initiate wire transfers from the company’s corporate bank accounts to bank accounts controlled by members of the criminal enterprise. Once the funds were transferred, the money was quickly wire transferred out of the reach of the target corporation into accounts located in the People’s Republic of China and elsewhere, with the funds ultimately being delivered to co-conspirators located in Europe and elsewhere.
The indictment alleges that this scheme took place from approximately January 2014 through March 2015. The indictment details over $10 million in transactions involving six companies from Germany, Spain, Finland, and Portugal.
Four defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Those arrested include: Harry Meir Mimoun Amar aka “Harry Amar,” or “Ari Amar,” 38, a resident of Israel and a citizen of Morocco and Israel; Sabina Selimovic, a resident of Germany and citizen of Serbia; and Cristian Flamanzeanu aka “Christiano Flamanzeano,” 32, a resident and citizen of Romania. A fourth defendant remains at large.
Unlicensed Money Transmitting Network: While investigating the fraud schemes and the co-conspirators’ related efforts to launder the fraud proceeds, law enforcement uncovered an unlicensed money transmitting network (“hawala”) operating in the United States, Europe, and Israel. This indictment reflects the FBI’s efforts to expose and identify certain “hawala” co-conspirators by transmitting FBI undercover funds through the “hawala” network in separate transactions in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The activities charged in the indictment took place from June 2015 through April 2016.
Six defendants were arrested and are charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Those arrested include Ori Saadon, 53, born in Israel and a resident of Israel; Itzhak Salama, 40, born in Israel and a resident of Los Angeles; Golan Chkechkov, 39, born in Israel and a resident of New York, New York.; Michael Admon, 50, born in Israel and a resident of New York, New York, and Haviv Arazi, 27, a citizen of Israel and a resident of New York, N.Y. A sixth defendant remains at large.
International Money Laundering Conspiracy: This indictment alleges that Stanislav Nazarov, an Israeli citizen, generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from various fraudulent schemes and engaged in international money laundering. Nazarov was arrested and is charged with three money laundering offenses during December 2016.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Treasury with assistance from HSI Washington, D.C.; the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office, and the DSS. Assistance was provided by the Israeli National Police; the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation, Rapid Response and Special Police Services; Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany; Warsaw Metropolitan Police, and the Polish National Police, Police of the Czech Republic; the Slovak National Police; the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police, and Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior, Sofia Interpol, as well as INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau. The FBI Legal Attaches in Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Budapest, Bucharest, Prague, and Berlin also provided assistance.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Marando and David Kent of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Atkinson and David Last, former Paralegal Specialists Taryn McLaughlin and Angela Lawrence, Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris, Paralegal Specialists C. Rosalind Pressley, Brittany Phillips and Christopher Toms, and Litigation Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown.
Attachments
Business Email Compromise Timeline
Hawala System
28 February 2017
Winchester Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Harrisonburg, VIRGINIA – A Winchester man, who routinely traveled to Baltimore and brought back large quantities of heroin to Winchester for distribution, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.
Joshua Dillon Burkhart, 27, of Winchester, Va., pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.
According to evidence presented today by Assistant United States Attorney Erin M. Kulpa, should this matter have gone to trial, the United States would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that from approximately June 2014 and October 2014, Burkhart, and others, participated in a conspiracy to traffic large amounts of heroin from Baltimore to Winchester. Burkhart distributed at least 1,000 grams of heroin in the Winchester area during this time, using Christopher Giles, and others, as his Baltimore sources of supply.
Throughout the life of the conspiracy, Burkhart traveled to Baltimore one or two times per month to purchase heroin. He paid $100 per gram of heroin and the most he ever purchased per trip was 110 grams of heroin.
Burkhart sold heroin to customers in and around Winchester in quantities ranging from one-half gram to one gram per sale. He sold the heroin for $240 per gram. Burkhart knew that some of his customers were sub-distributors.
The investigation of the case was conducted by Drug Enforcement Administration and the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, which is comprised of the Virginia State Police, the Winchester Police Department, the Front Royal Police Department, the Strasburg Police Department, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the Page County Sheriff’s Office, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office and the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Erin M. Kulpa will prosecute the case for the United States.
Whitesville Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051Buffalo, N.Y. – Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Timothy J. Billings, 31, of Whitesville, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The charge carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, who is handling the case, stated that between January of 2011 and October 25, 2011, the defendant conspired to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. In order to avoid restriction on the purchase of pseudoephedrine, an important chemical in the methamphetamine manufacturing process, Billings engaged in the practice of “smurfing” (buying small quantities) at local pharmacies.
The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), under the direction of Lieutenant Kevin Reyes and Major David Krause; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Region; the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb; the Wellsville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy O’Grady; U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge Steven Oldman; and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, under the direction of Captain Frank Lauricella.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 1, 2017, before Judge Vilardo.
Waterbury Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TEDDY STUART LOPEZ, JR., also known as “Chico” and “Junior,” 20, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing heroin.
This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
According to court documents or statements made during court proceedings, on May 10, 2016, North Haven Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive man on the Hartford Turnpike in North Haven. The 23-year-old man was transported to the hospital where he later died. The victim’s family later turned over to law enforcement a wax fold of heroin. The investigation revealed that the victim likely purchased heroin from LOPEZ in Waterbury earlier that day.
Between July 5 and July 8, 2016, investigators made two controlled purchases of heroin from LOPEZ.
LOPEZ was arrested on July 19, 2016. At the time of his arrest, he possessed 40 bags of heroin. A subsequent search of his residence revealed 150 bags of heroin, $1,600 in cash, a grinder, a digital scale, cutting agents, cellular telephones, and drug packaging material.
On November 16, 2016, LOPEZ pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin.
This matter was investigated by the DEA’s New Haven Task Force, which includes DEA agents and task force officers from the North Haven, East Haven, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden, Branford, Ansonia, Derby, and Meriden Police Departments.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.
Warwick Resident Sentenced for Possessing, Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sami-Joe Daou, 28, of Warwick, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography. A joint federal, state and local law enforcement investigation determined that Daou possessed images of child pornography, some of which he shared via Facebook.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Daou to serve 10 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay $18,308 restitution to the victims in this matter. Daou pleaded guilty on November 3, 2016, to one count of possession of visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct and one count of distribution of visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct.
Daou’s sentence is announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division; Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Cranston Police Chief Colonel Michael J. Winquist.
According to information presented to the court, in March 2015, the defendant stored on his computer sexually explicit images involving a pre-teenage female, some of which he shared on Facebook. Additionally, in July 2015, the defendant stored on his computer sexually explicit video files depicting sexual contact he had with a 17-year-old female.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Cranston Police Department, and the FBI.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
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Virginia man pleads guilty to methamphetamine distributionRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Richard Wayne Scott, 40, of Waynesboro, Virginia, was convicted of methamphetamine distribution today, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.
Scott admitted to traveling from Virginia to West Virginia as a part of a methamphetamine distribution operation in February 2016. Scott pled guilty to one count of “Interstate travel in furtherance of a drug crime.” He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
USP Lee Inmate Sentenced on Conspiracy ChargeRead the Press Release
Abingdon, VIRGINIA – An inmate at the United States Federal Penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia [USP Lee] who previously pled guilty in United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to conspiring with others to bring illegal narcotics into the prison, was sentenced yesterday, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.
Jermaine Calvin Jeffries, 44, formerly of Pennington Gap, Va., waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty to a one count Information charging him with one count of conspiring with others to provide a prohibited object, methamphetamine, to other inmates. Jefferies was sentenced yesterday to an additional 60 months in federal prison.
Jeffries conspired with others to provide inmates inside USP Lee with methamphetamine, Suboxone and marijuana. The conspirators did this through the use of phone calls to arrange transportation of the methamphetamine and the attempted transportation of the drug from outside the prison to prisoners incarcerated at USP Lee.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case for the United States.
U.S. Man Indicted for Attempting to Smuggle Weapons to MexicoRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A U.S. citizen man residing in Nuevo Laredo has been charged with attempting to smuggle multiple firearms and ammunition magazines to Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Special Agent in Charge Fred Milanowski of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“Stopping the smuggling of weapons, ammunition and other related items is a top priority for HSI,” said Folden. "We will continue working with law enforcement partners in this effort.”
“Reducing border violence by interfering with the smuggling of firearms into Mexico provides an additional layer of safety for our community,” said Milanowski.
A grand jury returned an indictment against Iram Abel Buentello, 23, today. He was originally charged by criminal complaint and made an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga who ordered him into custody pending further criminal proceedings. He is expected to make his initial appearance on the indictment in the near future.
On Feb. 1, 2017, Buentello allegedly attempted to exit the U.S. in a pickup truck at the Lincoln Juarez Bridge II in downtown Laredo. According to the charges, he stated he came to Laredo to purchase cologne and was returning to his home in Nuevo Laredo. At the time, Buentello allegedly advised U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers that he had no weapons to declare.
The charges allege a search of the truck he was driving revealed five rifles, six handguns, two shotguns, six ammunition magazines and four scopes under the truck’s bed.
Buentello is charged with one count of attempting to export firearms and components from the U.S. without a license. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
HSI and ATF conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Howard is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Two Sentenced in Pill Mill CaseRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Two defendants who pleaded guilty to their roles in a pill mill operation they were involved in during parts of 2013-2014 have been sentenced.
U.S. Attorney John Parker announced that Taneisha Nickerson, 29, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced last week to 24 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in August 2016 to one count of unlawful use of a communication device. Co-defendant Adrian Banks, 23, of Dallas, was also sentenced last week to 20 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in August 2016 to the same offense.
In March 2015, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted 23 individuals, including Nickerson and Banks, on offenses related to their participation in a prescription drug distribution conspiracy. That indictment alleged that from at least May 2013 through July 2014, the defendants participated in a scheme to illicitly obtain prescriptions for pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and then distribute those controlled substances for profit. As part of the conspiracy, individuals, often homeless or of limited means, were recruited and paid to pose as patients at medical clinics, including the McAllen Medical Clinic in Dallas, to obtain prescriptions to fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies. Many of those defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
According to documents filed in the Nickerson case, on March 5, 2014, in a telephone call Nickerson agreed to deliver 225 oxycodone 30mg pills to one of co-conspirator Cornelius Robinson’s customers. Nickerson possessed the pills with the intent to distribute them at the time of the call.
According to documents filed in the Banks case, on February 26, 2014, Banks called co-conspirator Cornelius Robinson and told him that he was in Dallas “running patients” and wanted to know if a “patient” could use a green card to fill a prescription at a pharmacy. Robinson told Banks that he thought so because it is an identification card. Banks told Robinson that the prescriptions he had to fill that day were for Lorcet, Robinson told him that there was not a lot of money in Lorcet. Banks responded that he expected to be “running patients,” that is, filling prescriptions, for oxycodone, within two weeks.
The investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Houston Police Department, the Arlington Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters is prosecuting.
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Tohatchi Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Murder ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Dennison Hale, 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Tohatchi, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a second degree murder charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hale will be sentenced within the range of 180 to 240 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Hale was arrested on Feb. 23, 2016, by the FBI on a criminal complaint alleging that he murdered a Navajo woman on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M. According to the complaint, on Feb. 20, 2016, Hale struck the victim in the head and fled from the scene of the crime, the victim’s home in Hogsback, N.M. The victim was transported by helicopter to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Hale was later indicted on a murder charge on March 23, 2016.
During today’s proceedings, Hale pled guilty to a felony information charging him with second degree murder. In entering the guilty plea, Hale admitted that on Feb. 20, 2016, he killed the victim by striking her twice in the head with a crowbar. Hale remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native American women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Three Individuals Indicted for Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Today a federal grand jury sitting in West Palm Beach returned a nine-count Superseding Indictment charging three individuals with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and various substantive bank fraud offenses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349 and 1344.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Timothy Mowery, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Housing Finance Agent, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Southeast Region, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Division, made the announcement.
George Heaton, 73, of West Palm Beach, Florida, Deborah Dentry Baggett, 54, of Greenville, Tennessee (formerly of Palm Beach County), and Eric Granitur, 59, of Vero Beach, Florida are charged in the Superseding Indictment. If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum term of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $1 million fine, and mandatory restitution, on each count in the indictment.
According to allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment:
From 2006 through 2009, defendants Heaton, Baggett, Granitur and others conspired to perpetrate a complex mortgage fraud scheme against various FDIC-insured lenders by concealing incentives offered and paid to buyers of condominium units at the Vero Beach Hotel and Club in Vero Beach, a luxury ocean-front condo-tel developed by Palm Beach County based real estate developer George Heaton.
The defendants and their coconspirators concealed and misrepresented the amount of seller paid incentives, including cash-to-close, cash rebates, and seller-provided cash deposits, and transferred incentive money through a Palm Beach County law firm’s bank account in order to conceal the fact that the funds were coming from the seller, and not the buyer, as was required by the mortgage lenders.
On several occasions, defendant Baggett took large sums of money, without permission, from the bank account of another client of her accounting business to use for deposit and down payment money for condo purchases. Defendant Baggett also forged client names on sale and purchase contracts, and provided the personal financial information of those other clients without their permission, all to give defendant Heaton’s commercial lender the false impression that he had obtained actual buyers for the units, in order to maintain construction financing.
The fraud scheme caused financial institutions to fund mortgage loans, totaling more than $20 million.
Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the FHFA-OIG and FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. Capone.
An Indictment is a formal charging documents notifying the defendant of the charges. All persons charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Tax Preparer Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Frankie Williams a/k/a “Molly” of Fort Wayne, Indiana entered a plea of guilty to counts 3 and 4 of the indictment which charged her with submitting false claims for payment to the Internal Revenue Service in connection with fraudulent tax returns. The Magistrate Judge is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. If the District Court ultimately accepts the guilty plea, the sentencing hearing will be scheduled under a separate order.
Co-defendant Cavasierre Russell a/k/a “Vassi” in June 2016 pleaded guilty to one count of submitting a false claim in connection with a fraudulent tax return. He was sentenced in September 2016 to 6 months imprisonment and was ordered to pay $45,983 restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Two other defendants Ronald Ward and Cassandra Ward, were charged under separate indictments. Ronald Ward, in August 2016 pleaded guilty to one count of submitting a false claim in connection with a fraudulent tax return. He was sentenced in October 2016 to 12 months and a day imprisonment and ordered to pay $48,311 restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Cassandra Ward a/k/a “Kitten,” in March 2016 pleaded guilty to one count of submitting a false claim in connection with a fraudulent tax return. She was sentenced in June 2016 to 5 years probation and was ordered to pay $112,078.64 restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Lovita Morris King and Deborah M. Leonard.
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Takata Corporation Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Pay $1 Billion in Criminal Penalties for Airbag SchemeRead the Press Release
Tokyo-based Takata Corporation, one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive safety-related equipment, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the company’s conduct in relation to sales of defective airbag inflators.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge David Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Regional Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Ullom of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Field Office made the announcement.
“For over a decade, Takata lied to its customers about the safety and reliability of its ammonium nitrate-based airbag inflators,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco. “Takata abused the trust of both its customers and the public by allowing airbag inflators to be put in vehicles knowing that the inflators did not meet the required specifications. Today’s sentence shows that the department will work tirelessly to hold responsible those who engage in this type of criminal conduct.”
“We hope that today's guilty plea and sentence will send a message to suppliers of consumer safety products that they must put safety ahead of profits,” said U.S. Attorney McQuade.
“The commission of fraudulent activity by the Takata Corporation to generate corporate profits jeopardized the safety of American consumers,” said Special Agent in Charge Gelios. “Today's guilty plea should reassure American consumers that the FBI and its federal law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue corporations and their employees when they violate federal laws.”
“Today’s sentencing of Takata Corporation for wire fraud related to sales of defective airbag inflators is a clear signal to all whose duty it is to protect the public: your most solemn obligation is to public safety,” said Regional Special Agent in Charge Ullom. “As is true for Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation, safety is and will remain the highest priority for OIG, and we remain committed to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in pursuing those who commit criminal violations of transportation-related laws and regulations.”
Takata pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh, in the Eastern District of Michigan, to a one count criminal information charging the company with wire fraud. After accepting Takata’s guilty plea, Judge Steeh, consistent with the terms of the plea agreement, sentenced Takata to pay a total criminal penalty of $1 billion, including $975 million in restitution and a $25 million fine and three years’ probabtion. Under a joint restitution order entered at the time of sentencing, two restitution funds will be established: a $125 million fund for those individuals who have been physically injured by Takata’s airbags and who have not already reached a settlement with the company, and a $850 million fund for airbag recall and replacement costs incurred by those auto manufacturers who were victims of Takata’s fraud scheme. A court-appointed special master will oversee administration of the restitution funds. Takata will also implement rigorous internal controls, retain an independent compliance monitor for a term of three years and cooperate fully with the department’s ongoing investigation, including its investigation of individuals.
According to admissions made during the course of the guilty plea, from 2000 through and including 2015, Takata carried out a scheme to defraud its customers and auto manufacturers by providing false and manipulated airbag inflator test data that made the performance of the company’s airbag inflators appear better than it actually was. Even after the inflators began to experience repeated problems in the field – including ruptures causing injuries and deaths – Takata executives continued to withhold the true and accurate inflator test information and data from their customers.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Brian K. Kidd, Christopher D. Jackson and Andrew R. Tyler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John K. Neal, Erin S. Shaw and Andrew J. Yahkind of the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Support Group Meeting for Those Impacted by Heroin and Opioid Addiction to be Held on March 1Read the Press Release
The Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative and CRUSH of Iowa (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin) will host a support group meeting for anyone who is currently recovering from opioid addiction and family members who have lost loved ones to opioid or heroin addiction and overdose.
The meeting will be held at the Mission of Hope, 1700 B Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, March 1, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. This meeting is also open to the public and anyone interested in learning more about the current heroin epidemic in Iowa is welcome to attend.
To learn more about the Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative, visit: www.facebook.com/EasternIowaHeroinInitiative
Event Details
When: Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Where: Mission of Hope, 1700 B Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Time: Begins at 6:00 p.m., and ends at 7:30 p.m.