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Tuesday 29 November 2016
New Haven Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Distributing Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Involved in Spate of OverdosesRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, announced that FRANK PINA, 57, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl-laced cocaine that led to three overdose deaths in New Haven in June.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 23, 2016, 17 individuals in New Haven overdosed after consuming narcotics. Three of the victims died. An investigation conducted by the DEA and New Haven Police Department revealed that many or all of the victims believed the substance they were consuming was cocaine. However, DEA laboratory testing indicated the cocaine was laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can be at least 50 times more powerful than heroin.
The investigation revealed that PINA supplied drugs through various middlemen to several of the individuals who overdosed, including the three who died, on June 23, 2016. The investigation further revealed that the day before the overdoses occurred, PINA was discharged from the hospital after having overdosed on the same drugs that he subsequently distributed.
“This defendant sold cocaine laced with fentanyl creating a lethal cocktail that tragically stole three lives,” said U.S. Attorney Daly. “He himself spent three days in the hospital having overdosed on the same toxic mixture. His crime is all the more shameful as he was fully aware of the acute danger of the cocaine he was peddling. His actions reflect a callous disregard for human life and were motivated solely by profit. I commend the DEA Task Force, the New Haven Police and all the emergency medical personnel who responded on that terrible day in June. Their swift actions saved lives that day and their ongoing investigative work during this opioid epidemic continues to save lives.”
“Anytime there is a loss of life involving a drug overdose it is a tragic event; but even more so in this case given the number of victims in less than one day,” said Special Agent in Charge Ferguson. “Those suffering from the disease of fentanyl and heroin addiction need access to treatment and recovery. But, those responsible for distributing these lethal drugs to the citizens of New Haven need to be held accountable for their actions. In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic, DEA and its local, state and federal partners are committed to bringing to justice those that distribute this poison.”
PINA has been detained since his arrest on June 27. On August 4, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, controlled substances.
PINA’s criminal history includes multiple state felony convictions, and a federal felony drug conviction in 2004.
This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad and the New Haven Police Department. The Tactical Diversion Squad includes members from the New Haven, Hamden, Greenwich, Shelton, Bristol, Vernon, Wilton, Milford, Monroe, Fairfield and Manchester Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police.
This prosecution is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.
Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to TerroristsRead the Press Release
Balwinder Singh, 42, of Reno, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists knowing and intending that such support would be used to commit terrorist attacks overseas.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI’s Las Vegas Division.
“Singh attempted to provide material support and resources to terrorists to create violence and disruption abroad,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “Identifying, thwarting and holding accountable individuals who pursue international terrorism is a top priority of the Department of Justice.”
“Today’s plea is the result of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force working proactively to disrupt terrorist attacks,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “National security is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to locate, identify, and prosecute those who conspire and attempt to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist activities.”
“This is a strong indicator of the law enforcement community’s commitment to combating terrorism and keeping our nation safe,” said Special Agent in Charge Rouse.
Singh, aka Jhaji, aka Happy, aka Possi, aka Baljit Singh, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. He has been detained since his arrest on Dec. 17, 2013. He was charged on Dec. 18, 2013. Singh is a citizen of India and permanent U.S. resident.
According to court filed documents and admissions made in connection with the plea agreement, between September 2013 and Dec. 17, 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of a movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India.
Singh communicated with co-conspirators by telephone to discuss these plans and agreed to provide material support by facilitating a co-conspirator’s travel to and within South Asia and providing funding and materials necessary to carry out an overseas attack.
In October 2013, Singh and co-conspirators agreed that one co-conspirator would travel to South Asia in the fall of 2013. Upon arrival, the co-conspirator would travel to India and commit a terror attack – likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target would be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.
In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles. In December 2013, he provided the night vision goggles to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned attack. On Dec. 9, 2013, the co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok, Thailand in order to carry out the terror attack with the night vision goggles provided to him by Singh. U.S. law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight. As a result, the planned terror attack never occurred. After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singh’s arrest.
At the time of sentencing, under the plea agreement, Singh faces the statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing has been set for Feb. 27, 2017.
The case is being investigated by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in northern Nevada. The northern Nevada JTTF is comprised of the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Nevada Department of Investigation. In addition, ATF, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance in the investigation.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sue Fahami, Brian L. Sullivan, Carla Higginbotham, and Trial Attorney Mara M. Kohn of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
Naugatuck Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing $120K from ClientsRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTOPHER SCULL, 37, of Naugatuck, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately June 2011 to January 2014, SCULL, while employed as an insurance agent with Bankers Life & Casualty Company, stole nearly $120,000 from seven clients. Most of the money was stolen from two vulnerable victims.
As part of the scheme, SCULL induced one victim to make withdrawals from her annuity and give the money to SCULL by falsely representing that the victim owed certain fees in connection with the account. SCULL caused the victim to submit an annuity withdrawal form and, after the victim received a check in the mail from Bankers Life, SCULL directed the victim to deposit the money into her account and write SCULL a personal check. SCULL then used the money for his own benefit.
On December 16, 2015, SCULL pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud.
Chief Judge Hall ordered SCULL to pay restitution in the amount of $119,965.38.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan L. Wines.
Military Men Admit to Human SmugglingRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two active duty Army soldiers have entered guilty pleas to smuggling two illegal aliens through a U.S. Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, both of El Paso, admitted they smuggled two Illegal aliens through the BP checkpoint in Falfurrias. They claimed that they were approached by a man who offered to give them $1,500 if they came to the valley to drive two illegal aliens through the checkpoint. On June 19, 2016, the defendants approached the checkpoint with the two illegal aliens in the rear passenger seats of the vehicle. The BP agent asked one of the passengers if he had documents to be in the United States legally to which he said no. Both passengers were ultimately found to be aliens unlawfully present in the U.S. and taken into custody.
Upon questioning, the illegal aliens stated they crossed into the country eight days prior and had been moved to two different trailer homes. On the day of their arrest, they were told by a person in the trailer home that someone was going to come to pick them up and take them Houston. Nava was driving and told them to get into the vehicle. Once inside, the illegal aliens were told they were going to go through an immigration checkpoint and were coached as what to answer to the agent's questions at the checkpoint.
Nava and Cleveland face up to 10 years in federal prison. They were permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for Feb. 9, 2017.
HSI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Miller is prosecuting the case.
Miami-Dade County Resident Charged with Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Antonio J. Gomez, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, announced federal money laundering charges against Miami-Dade County resident Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez.
Hernandez-Gonzalez, 45, of Miami Lakes, appeared in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White and was arraigned on an Indictment charging:
- 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) - Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
- 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii) and 1957 - Money Laundering
- 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(1) - Structuring to Avoid Reporting Requirements
The Indictment alleges that Mr. Hernandez-Gonzalez avoided and attempted to avoid currency reporting rjavascript:void('Copy')equirements that apply to currency deposits exceeding $10,000 at financial institutions and to the purchase of money orders in amounts in excess of $3,000 at United States post offices. The Indictment further alleges that Mr. Hernandez-Gonzalez committed money laundering by conducting financial transactions in amounts over $10,000 using the proceeds of the manufacture, importation, and distribution of a controlled substance and by conducting financial transactions designed to avoid currency reporting requirements with proceeds of the manufacture, importation, and distribution of a controlled substance.
An Indictment is merely an accusation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of USPIS, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elijah Levitt.
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.
Medical Office Manager Sentenced for $200K Bank FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Pamela Minor-Chiles, 47, of Chesterfield, was sentenced today to one year in prison for misappropriating approximately $200,000 from a medical practice.
Minor-Chiles pleaded guilty to a criminal information on August 17. According to court documents, from 2007 through 2012, while the office manager of the Central Virginia OB/GYN Associates (CVOG), Minor-Chiles misappropriated approximately $200,000 from the practice. Minor-Chiles wrote numerous checks on the CVOG operating account at SunTrust Bank and fraudulently deposited them into her personal accounts at Bank of America. Minor-Chiles concealed the misappropriations by putting fraudulent entries on the check stubs to make it appear that the checks were written to outside vendors for legitimate expenses of the practice and then submitted the fraudulent check stubs to the outside accountants.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Douglas F. Mease, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-83.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 7 1/2-Year Prison Term for Sexually Abusing 12-Year-OldRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Enrique Carbajal, 25, of Wheaton, Md., was sentenced today to 90 months in prison on a charge of first-degree sexual abuse of a child for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl this year in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Carbajal pled guilty in September 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, before the Honorable José M. Lopez. The plea, which was subject to the Court’s approval, called for a prison sentence of 90 months. Judge Lopez accepted the plea today and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Carbajal will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for ten years after his prison term and pay $1,000 in restitution.
According to the government’s evidence, on March 26, 2016, Carbajal contacted the victim’s mother to ask whether he could come to her house in Northwest Washington to have lunch with the child. When the mother told him that the child was not likely to be home, he went there regardless. At about noon that day, the child opened the door and allowed Carbajal to come inside. He then sexually assaulted the child inside of her parent’s bedroom. At the conclusion of the assault, Carbajal took the victim to his apartment in Wheaton.
Once inside the apartment, Carbajal approached his roommate with the victim and described her as “a piece of new meat.” According to the government’s evidence, the roommate then took the victim into a bedroom and sexually assaulted the child. Then, both Carbajal and the roommate took the child to a party in Alexandria, Va., where the roommate once again sexually assaulted the child inside a bedroom.
Both Carbajal and the roommate were arrested in Montgomery County, Md., on June 3, 2016, and have been held in jail during the pendency of their cases. The roommate pled guilty to one count of second-degree rape in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County on Aug. 17, 2016. He will be sentenced on Dec. 7, 2016, before the Honorable Mary McCormick.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division, the Special Victims Investigation Division of the Montgomery County, Md. Department of Police, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office in Maryland, and the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney in Alexandria, Va. He also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Jones and Lashaune Briggs, Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, Witness Security Specialist Michael Hailey, and Computer Forensic Examiner John Marsh. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Suttenberg and Danny Nguyen, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Manchester Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Heroin and Fentanyl Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Zakee Stuart-Holt, 34, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison based upon his convictions for conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl and money laundering. The defendant previously had pleaded guilty to those offenses.
According to court documents, the defendant distributed drugs in the Manchester, New Hampshire area since at least July of 2014. Pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement recovered approximately 1.8 kilograms of fentanyl and $198,000 in drug proceeds from an apartment occupied by the defendant and another individual. In addition, law enforcement seized approximately $560,000 in drug proceeds from a safe deposit box in the defendant’s name. The defendant was not employed at the time of the conspiracy and the currency recovered by law enforcement constituted proceeds of the defendant’s drug distribution conspiracy.
“I commend the Manchester Police Department and the DEA on their thorough investigation of this case leading to the seizure of such a significant quantity of drugs and drug proceeds,” stated United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. “Prosecuting those individuals who introduce dangerous narcotics into our community, and ensuring that they do not profit from doing so, is a critical priority of my office.”
“Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels in New Hampshire,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. “Let this sentence serve as an example to Drug Trafficking Organizations and individuals who distribute fentanyl and heroin in order to profit and destroy people’s lives, that DEA is committed to aggressively pursue and hold you accountable. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement efforts in New Hampshire to intensely go after anyone who traffics these drugs.”
According to statistics maintained by the State of New Hampshire, over half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were related to fentanyl. Because a single gram of heroin or fentanyl can be used to create multiple individual dosage units that can be sold “on the street,” the quantity of fentanyl involved in this case could have generated hundreds of individual doses of fentanyl, each of which had the potential to cause a fatal overdose.
This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Donald Feith.
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Louisville Felon Pleads Guilty to Multiple Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Federal prosecution resulted from “Project Recoil”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of a Louisville felon to multiple charges including the sale and distribution of controlled substances; unlawful possession of firearms by a convicted felon; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in United States District Court before District Judge David J. Hale. The federal charges stemmed from “Project Recoil,” the on-going partnership of multiple Jefferson County, Kentucky, law enforcement agencies, developed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, to maximize penalties for the most violent offenders and to reduce violent crime in our community.
Demetric A. Flint, a/k/a Meechie, pleaded guilty to all counts of a June 7, 2016, federal indictment. He also agreed to forfeit his interest in ammunition, $469.00 in United States currency, and firearms including a SigSauer Model P232, .380 Caliber pistol, a Hi-Point Model JHP45, .45 caliber pistol, and a Browning Citori 12 gauge shotgun seized at the time of his arrest.
According to the plea agreement, on October 19, 2015, law enforcement officials conducted a controlled purchase of heroin from Demetric Flint – using a confidential informant. Following the controlled purchase, law enforcement officials obtained and executed a Kentucky state search warrant at Flint’s residence on East Ormsby Avenue the address where the controlled purchase had occurred. No one was at home. The law enforcement officials forced entry and seized suspected methamphetamine, a Sig Sauer Model P232, .380 caliber pistol, and Kentucky identification card for Flint, United States currency, a 50-gram weight digital scale, suspected heroin, and marijuana. Later, law enforcement officials found Flint at his child’s mother’s residence on South Jackson Street. While speaking with the woman, officers saw Flint walk from hallway to the living room and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, Flint was in possession of $469.00 United States currency. The woman gave written consent for a search of her residence. The search resulted in seizure of suspected crack cocaine, prescription pills, digital scale, box of baking soda, items with suspected residue of crack cocaine, 12 gauge and 45 caliber ammunition, marijuana, a Hi-Point .45 caliber pistol, and a Browning Citori 12 gauge shotgun.
During a post-Miranda, signed waiver, statement by Flint, he admitted the items seized from both the Ormsby and South Jackson addresses were his. He admitted selling “hard” (i.e., crack cocaine), and heroin. During the interview, Flint admitted that he had crack cocaine and heroin secreted on his body.
On or about May 31, 2012, in Jefferson Circuit Court case number 11-CR-3685, Flint was convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance first degree, tampering with physical evidence, and trafficking in a controlled substance second degree, crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.
Flint is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Hale on March 14, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. in Louisville. The term of imprisonment ranges from a minimum term of five years in prison to a combined maximum term of life imprisonment.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Louisville Metro Police Department and United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Rhinoceros HornsRead the Press Release
Fengyi Zhou, a resident of Syosset, New York, and the owner of a business that specialized in Asian works of art, pleaded guilty today to illegally trafficking horns from endangered black rhinoceros.
The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Zhou, 49, who has worked as an Asian art dealer for years, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, New York, to a one count information charging him with wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act.
Zhou was identified as part of “Operation Crash” – a nationwide effort led by the USFWS and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of rhinoceros horns and other protected species.
In papers filed in federal court, Zhou admitted to purchasing as many as five uncarved rhinoceros horns from another Asian arts dealer in New York. Along with the horns, Zhou was given an “Endangered Species Bill of Sale,” from which Zhou was made aware that four of the horns were purchased in Texas and unlawfully transported to New York. Immediately after purchasing the rhinoceros horns, Zhou offered to sell and later sold the horns, to an associate who was a Chinese national residing in the People’s Republic of China for more than $130,000.
“These horns are the remains of a dead animal, and one of the world’s most iconic species that will certainly go extinct in our lifetimes if we do not stop this illegal trafficking,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “We expect those in the arts and auction trade to understand and obey the law, and those that do not will be investigated and prosecuted for these crimes.”
“Because of the scourge of wildlife trafficking and those like Mr. Zhou who practice it, there is now a very real possibility that the rhinoceros could disappear from Africa,” said Director Ashe. “We are determined that this never happen and that we don’t leave behind for our children a world without this magnificent wild creature. The law enforcement efforts of Operation Crash have now seen dozens of rhino traffickers caught and prosecuted, each case sending a clear message to others engaged in this shameful practice that we will stop you and we will bring you to justice.”
Rhinoceros are herbivores of prehistoric origin and the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 183 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.
The investigation is continuing and is being handled by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and USFWS’s Office of Law Enforcement. The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Lauren D. Steele and Gary N. Donner of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Local Couple Pays over $18,000 to Worker Held Unlawfully at Their HomeRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Christopher P. Tenorio (619) 546-8413
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 3, 2016
SAN DIEGO – Firas Majeed and Shatha Abbas were sentenced today to three years of probation and ordered to pay $18,270 in restitution for illegally withholding the passport of an Indonesian woman who worked in their home without pay.
Majeed and Abbas were arrested on April 8, 2016, after the Indonesian woman – whose identity is being withheld – was rescued from their El Cajon home. On August 18, 2016, both Majeed and Abbas pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler to procuring the victim’s passport without lawful authority in order to maintain her labor between November 2015 and March 2016. As part of the agreement, Majeed and Abbas agreed to pay the victim in full for her labor.
The victim reported that she was previously held at a home belonging to relatives of Abbas in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She explained that she was required to provide domestic services in Dubai for 20 hours a day, every day, without pay. The victim explained that, after five years in Dubai, she was instructed to travel to the United States and work at the home of Majeed and Abbas in El Cajon.
The victim reported that, once in El Cajon, she was required to clean and provide other services for the entire household for up to 18 hours every day of the week. The victim explained that, again, she received no days off and was not paid for her services. She also reported she speaks no English, had no money, and was not allowed to leave the El Cajon residence alone, except to throw away the family’s trash.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations rescued the victim from the residence of Majeed and Abbas on March 22, 2016, after receiving a translated note the victim surreptitiously gave to a healthcare worker who had visited the residence.
Investigators from the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that the victim was owed $18,270 in back wages for her labor (2,520 hours, plus 800 hours of overtime). The victim was provided $7,280 that was seized from the defendants’ home, and the defendants paid an additional $10,990 as a condition of their plea.
“Forcing someone to work under these horrible conditions is slavery, pure and simple,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “Victims of domestic servitude live in misery and fear. We stand ready to rescue victims and investigate and prosecute these crimes, but we need the public’s help to recognize and report these crimes.”
“Firas Majeed and Shatha Abbas’ reprehensible decision to dehumanize an innocent person has resulted in a justified sentence,” said David Shaw, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego. “It is impossible to quantify the extent of the harm done by Majeed and Abbas, but holding them accountable will continue to prove that our agents are dedicated to identifying and putting a stop to those engaged in human trafficking.”
“We have been seeing more and more of these types of domestic servitude cases involving unpaid wages of individuals of vulnerable communities,” said Rodolfo Cortez, district director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in San Diego. “We are committed to keep working together with the DOJ to fight against these bad actors. Our message is clear: if you are evading the law, you will be caught and held accountable.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number: 16CR0819-JMA
Firas Majeed (aka Firas Ghazi Majeed Al Tameemi) Age: 45
Shatha Abbas (aka Shatha Yehia Abbas Hussain) Age: 39
SUMMARY OF CHARGE
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1597 (Unlawful Conduct with Respect to Immigration Documents)
Maximum penalty: 1 year of custody; $100,000 Fine
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Department of Labor, Wage and Hour DivisionAssistant U. S. Attorney Christopher P. Tenorio (619) 546-8413
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Dean L. Baldwin, 38, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 68 months in prison by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard, for receipt of child pornography. After serving his prison sentence Baldwin will be required to register as a sex offender and complete 5 years of supervised release.
In October, 2015, the Lincoln Police Department was investigating computers sharing child pornography files via the internet. On that date, investigators identified an IP address as having files available for sharing. Investigators were able to download files from a computer at the identified IP address on that date as well as three other dates. A subpoena was served on Time Warner/Roadrunner regarding the IP address and identified that the IP address was registered to Baldwin at his home address.
In February, 2016, investigators executed a search warrant at Baldwin’s residence. During the execution of the search warrant, investigators located a laptop computer in the basement utility room, along with two additional laptops and a desktop computer. Investigators previewed the laptop located in the utility room and located files depicting sexually explicit conduct involving children under the age of 18 years old and additional files indicating use by defendant. A later forensic investigation revealed 20 videos and approximately 100 images of child porn in a download file, including videos and images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Largest Producer of Child Pornography Ever Prosecuted in Minnesota Sentenced to 38 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the sentencing of ANTON ALEXANDER MARTYNENKO, 33, to 38 years in prison after pleading guilty in January to federal child pornography charges. MARTYNENKO was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Richard H. Kyle in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul, Minn.
“This defendant exploited and extorted over 150 young people in a disturbingly manipulative scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “We hope the victims in this case take some solace in the sentence imposed today. I urge parents and teachers to help Minnesota youth protect themselves from online predators.”
Rosemount Police Chief Mitchell Scott said: “This case was the result of a collaboration between local, federal and state partners. While there are no winners here, the lengthy prison sentence for Anton Martynenko provides some measure of justice for the many people he victimized over the years.”
According to MARTYNENKO’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, between at least 2011 and 2015, he used social media to obtain homemade child pornography from unsuspecting boys, many of them teenagers. The defendant created and used various false aliases, including “Marie Anna,” “Courtney Jansgen,” and “Marie94mn,” on social media outlets for the purpose of obtaining nude and sexually explicit images and videos of minor males. MARTYNENKO created different cover stories, including that he (posing as a woman) had recently moved to Minnesota and was trying to make new friends, that he worked for a modeling agency, or that he was a college student at the University of Minnesota. MARTYNENKO would engage in sexual conversations with victims and eventually ask for nude images and/or video of the minor male victims.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, in approximately 2012, MARTYNENKO contacted a victim using a decoy social media account under the name “Marie Anna.” He claimed to be a woman who recently moved to Minnesota from Illinois who was looking to meet new people. MARTYNENKO told the victim that he was handsome and quickly moved to suggesting they exchange nude photographs. MARTYNENKO, using the moniker, “Marie Anna,” sent pictures to the victim of a nude female. The victim then sent nude pictures of himself to “Marie Anna” via social media. MARTYNENKO, still using the handle, “Marie Anna,” demanded more photos of the victim, but the victim stopped responding to the messages when he became suspicious. MARTYNENKO then threatened to distribute the victim’s nude photographs if the victim did not send more. About one year later, the victim learned that his pictures were being distributed via social media.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, MARYNENKO also used decoy accounts to advertise child pornography over the internet.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit NCMEC’s web site at www.missingkids.com.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Carol M. Kayser.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Minneapolis Police Department, Rosemount Police Department, Eagan Police Department, Chaska Police Department, and Dakota County Electronic Crimes Task Force.
Defendant Information:
ANTON MARTYNENKO, 33
Eagan, Minn.
Convicted:
- Production of child pornography, 1 count
- Distribution of child pornography, 1 count
- Advertising child pornography, 1 count
Sentenced:
- 38 years in prison
- Supervised release for a term of 15 years
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Lancaster Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead 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 Joseph Lombardo, 25, of Lancaster, NY, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and receipt of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 50 years and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that in May, 2014, a 15-year-old female (Victim 1) reported to Lancaster Police that three or four years earlier when she was 12 or 13 years old, she was contacted on the social media site “Kik” by an unknown male calling himself “Chris Richardson.” Victim 1 stated that “Chris Richardson” requested that she send him naked pictures. If she refused, Victim 1 said that “Chris Richardson” claimed he would post the pictures of her on the internet to exploit her. Victim 1 sent at least 50 naked pictures of herself to “Chris Richardson.” Victim 1 confided in her friend (Witness 1) who stated that “Chris Richardson” had also solicited pictures from her.
After a parent of took her phone away from her for approximately one year, Victim 1, in April 2014, got a new phone and was again contacted by “Chris Richardson” on “Kik.” Richardson demanded more naked pictures. Victim 1 sent an additional 100 pictures. Victim 1 told Witness 1 about the continued extortion, and Witness 1 told Victim 1 about a male, identified as “Dan,” who had reached out to her and offered to help deal with “Richardson.” Thereafter, Victim 1 was contacted by “Dan” who offered to help her if she hung out with him. Victim 1 agreed and chatted with “Dan” on a daily basis for several weeks. “Dan” also requested naked pictures and Victim 1 complied. Victim 1 and “Dan” eventually met in person and over the next few weeks had sexual contact several times. “Dan” asked Victim 1 for permission to record one of their sexual encounters which he would put on the internet and make money for her. Victim 1 is unsure if she was videotaped. Victim 1 stated that she told “Dan” her actual age.
On May 9, 2014, during a police photo array, Victim 1 identified the defendant Lombardo as the person she knew as “Dan.” On that same day, police recovered several items, including a laptop, during the execution of a search warrant at Lomabardo’s Lancaster residence.
During a forensic analysis of the contents of the laptop computer, officers discovered images of a 13-year-old female (Victim 2). The images were sent to the defendant by phone. In a subsequent interview with Victim 2, she indicated that she met Lombardo on meetme.com. Victim 2 also indicated that the defendant identified himself as “Chris Richardson.”
The forensic analysis also revealed pictures of a 16-year-old female (Victim 3) who told police she also met the defendant on meetme.com. Victim 3 had sexual contact with Lombardo and also sent 30 to 40 naked pictures of herself to the defendant.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Adam S. Cohen, Special Agent-In-Charge, the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.
Kansas Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft and Stealing Government FundsRead the Press Release
A Stillwell, Kansas tax return preparer was sentenced to 48 months in prison today for stealing his clients’ identities and federal income tax refunds falsely claimed in their names, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Thomas Beall for the District of Kansas.
According to documents filed with the court, Richard Drake used three of his clients’ personal identities to file false federal income tax returns that claimed inflated refunds. As part of his scheme, Drake prepared accurate federal income tax returns for these clients, which he provided to them but did not file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He then had these clients make estimated tax payments to the IRS during the year. Once it was time to file on behalf of his clients, Drake filed false tax returns with the IRS that underreported his clients’ income and claimed false expenses in order to generate large income tax refunds which he directed to accounts under his control. In total, Drake stole and converted to his own use $2,432,147.
Drake pleaded guilty on June 6 to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of government funds. As part of his plea agreement, Drake agreed to serve 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $2,432,147 to the IRS, and $98,087 to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Beall commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Ryan Raybould of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Kansas Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Stillwell, Kansas tax return preparer was sentenced to 48 months in prison today for stealing his clients’ identities and federal income tax refunds falsely claimed in their names, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Thomas Beall for the District of Kansas.
According to documents filed with the court, Richard Drake used three of his clients’ personal identities to file false federal income tax returns that claimed inflated refunds. As part of his scheme, Drake prepared accurate federal income tax returns for these clients, which he provided to them but did not file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He then had these clients make estimated tax payments to the IRS during the year. Once it was time to file on behalf of his clients, Drake filed false tax returns with the IRS that underreported his clients’ income and claimed false expenses in order to generate large income tax refunds which he directed to accounts under his control. In total, Drake stole and converted to his own use $2,432,147.
Drake pleaded guilty on June 6 to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of government funds. As part of his plea agreement, Drake agreed to serve 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $2,432,147 to the IRS, and $98,087 to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Beall commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Ryan Raybould of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE CONTACTS IN THE MESSAGE OR CALL THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT 202-514-2007.
Kansas Men Plead Guilty for Roles in Federal Hate Crime Against Black Somali MenRead the Press Release
Armando Sotelo, 24, pleaded guilty today to a hate crime offense for his role in a June 19, 2015, assault of a black Somali man in Dodge City, Kansas. Omar Cantero Martinez, 32, also pleaded guilty today to providing perjured testimony during a hate crimes prosecution arising from the same assault.
Sotelo pleaded guilty in the District of Kansas to one count of a hate crime violation based on race and national origin, while Martinez pleaded guilty to one count of perjury for providing materially false testimony during the October 2016 federal criminal jury trial related to the hate crime.
“Hate violence not only harms individuals but also threatens the diversity of our society and the well-being of our communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “In this case, Sotelo attacked the victim because of the color of his skin and his country of origin, inflicting bodily injury during the assault. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute hate crimes so that all people can live their lives with the security, protection and freedom they deserve.”
During Sotelo’s plea hearing, he admitted that he assaulted the victim, identified as M.H.D., because of M.H.D.’s race and national origin. Sotelo admitted that he, with the assistance of two other men, approached M.H.D., who is black and from Somalia, while M.H.D. was sitting with two other Somali men on a bench outside the African Market. The defendant approached the bench from one side, while the two other men approached the bench from the other. Sotelo and the other men all yelled racial and anti-Somali slurs at M.H.D. and at the two other Somalis on the bench. The defendant then punched M.H.D. in the head without any justification, causing M.H.D. bodily injury. Following the assault, Sotelo fled the scene and directed another person to wash his clothing, which was bloody from the assault.
During his plea hearing, Martinez admitted that on the night of June 19, 2015, he had used a broken glass bottle to stab victim S.A.M. and slash victim A.M.A. without justification. Martinez also admitted that racial and anti-Somali slurs were used during the attack and that he and Sotelo instigated the attack. He further admitted that he provided false testimony about the incident during a federal jury trial in which he and Sotelo were charged with hate crimes offenses for the attack, that he knew his testimony was false at the time that he gave it and that his false testimony was material to the hate crimes charges.
Sotelo faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and Martinez faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2017, and they will remain in custody until then.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Garden City Resident Agency with assistance from the Dodge City Police and the Ford County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Risa Berkower and Special Litigation Counsel Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst of the District of Kansas.
Honduran Man Sentenced for Illegally Re-Entering the United States After Previous DeportationsRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Alexander Alcerro-Romero, of Honduras, was sentenced to serve 15 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported.
According to public records and statements in court, in March of 2016, a deportation officer learned that Alcerro-Romero was illegally present in the United States after having been deported on two previous occasions. During a motor vehicle stop on April 11, 2016, Alcerro-Romero could not produce a U.S. driver’s license and later acknowledged that he was not lawfully in the United States. A fingerprint match subsequently confirmed his identity and his prior deportations.
Alcerro-Romero, who pleaded guilty on July 6, 2016, faces likely deportation after serving his sentence.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega prosecuted this case.
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Hancock County man sentenced for unlawful possession of a stolen firearmRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Brandon S. Moore, 24, of New Cumberland, West Virginia, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
In June 2015, Moore stole a .40 caliber pistol from a residence in Brooke County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in June 2016 to one count of “Possession of a Stolen Firearm.”
“This case reflects the connections between firearms traffickers and drug traffickers, which threaten public safety and endanger law enforcement officers,” said Stuart L. Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge of the Louisville Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. “We will continue to work aggressively with the West Virginia State Police and local police agencies to identify illicit traffickers, disarm violent offenders and interdict stolen and unlawfully possessed firearms.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office, and the Weirton Police Department investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Gorham Man Pleads Guilty to Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
Contact: James W. Chapman, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Paulo D. Braga, 66, of Gorham, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to health care fraud. He was indicted on August 9, 2016.
According to court records, from 2010 to 2013, the defendant was a licensed clinical professional counselor who had offices in Portland and Windham, Maine. He billed MaineCare through a third-party mental health agency that required him to submit progress notes for each counseling session. He instructed his office staff to create and sign his name on false progress notes based on scheduled appointments that did not occur, or on past progress notes, or that they created using their “imagination.” As a result, his staff submitted progress notes to his billing agency that contained false information or dates-of-service and caused MaineCare to pay for counseling sessions that never took place. The investigation revealed that MaineCare paid $5,202 for over fifty counseling sessions that took place when Braga was out of the country and also paid for weekly or bi-weekly counseling sessions with some clients with whom he met less frequently or for less than the time billed.
Braga faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the Healthcare Crimes Unit of the Maine Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Gorham Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Steven Tutt, 45, of Gorham, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to possession of child pornography.
According to court records, law enforcement, using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, downloaded a child pornography video from the defendant’s home computer. A search warrant was subsequently obtained for the defendant’s residence. A forensic examination of the defendant’s computer was conducted and revealed several additional videos of child pornography. During an interview with law enforcement, the defendant admitted that he had actively searched for and obtained images and videos of child pornography using peer-to-peer software.
The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
Georgia Resident Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison for Threatening Several Palm Beach County LocationsRead the Press Release
Preston Alexander McWaters was sentenced by United States District Judge James I. Cohn, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to forty-two months in prison for sending threatening communications to several Palm Beach County locations.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Lawrence Leon, Chief, Palm Beach County School District Police Department, made the announcement.
McWaters, 26, of Athens, Georgia, previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn to four counts of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce to injure another person, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c), and two counts of conveying false and misleading information indicating that a bombing of a place of public use would take place, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1038(a)(1)(A) and (c).
According to the factual proffer accompanying his plea, McWaters, over the course of several months in late 2015 and early 2016, sent numerous e-mails and other communications threatening to bomb various locations in Palm Beach County, including schools, a hospital, a business and the Palm Beach International Airport. McWaters also posted a number of threats to injure a woman who had previously obtained a protective order against him as well as to injure the family of a high school principal in Palm Beach County. McWaters used tools to prevent law enforcement from tracing the online threats back to him, and exerted substantial effort to implicate a romantic rival and, later, his rival’s then-girlfriend in an attempt to conceal his identity. The FBI ultimately was able to trace the threats back to McWaters, who was arrested in March 2016.
While awaiting sentencing McWaters sent and attempted to send additional threating communications to others. The subsequent criminal conduct increased McWaters’ sentencing guidelines.
Mr. Ferrer commended the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI, Palm Beach County School District Police Department and the Jupiter Police Department. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the myriad of law enforcement partners in Florida and Georgia, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, the Jupiter Police Department, the West Palm Beach Police Department, the University of Georgia Police Department, the Clarke County Georgia Police Department, and the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia, for their assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Nucci, Karen Gilbert, and Adam Fels.
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
Georgia Man Sentenced to More Than 21 Years for String of Armed Robberies in CharlotteRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today Alex Arnez Jones, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia, to 262 months in prison for a string of armed robberies of Charlotte-area businesses, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Whitney also ordered Jones to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $6,319 as restitution.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between November 17, and November 23, 2015, Jones robbed five Charlotte-area businesses at gunpoint. Court documents show that on November 17, Jones robbed a Boost Mobile store located on Central Avenue, a Fuel Mart gas station on North Tryon Street and a Subway restaurant on South Boulevard. Upon entering each business, Jones brandished a firearm and demanded money from store employees. In one of the robberies, Jones pointed his firearm at a store employee, threating to shoot her if she did not comply.
Four days later, on November 21, 2015, Jones robbed Beautiful Hair Palace, a business located on Central Avenue in Charlotte. Jones entered the store and, brandishing his firearm, he ordered the store clerk to put store merchandise into a backpack he was carrying and to hand over all the cash from the register. According to court records, when the employee told Jones she did not have access to the register, Jones took $220 from the employee’s wallet. On November 23, 2015, Jones entered iBeauty, a business located on North Tryon Street, posing as a customer interested in certain products. After a few minutes inside the store, court records show that Jones pulled out his firearm and, pointing it at the store owner, he demanded cash and merchandise.
Jones pleaded guilty in August 2016 to five counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of use and carry of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Jones is currently in federal custody, will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by the FBI and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Former Utz Quality Foods Employee Sentenced in $1.4 Million False Invoice Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kevin Myers, age 38, a former resident of Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Yvette Kane in Harrisburg, to 51 months in federal prison for his participation in a false invoice, kickback scheme that defrauded Utz Quality Foods, Inc. (Utz) out of approximately $1.4 million.
Judge Kane ordered Myers to pay Utz $1.4 million in restitution and to forfeit the same amount to the government. Judge Kane also ordered Myers to report to the Bureau of Prisons on January 16, 2017.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Myers, the former Director of Purchasing for Utz and Jonathan Haas, age 46, of Easton, Pennsylvania, the owner of Haas Packaging and Design, Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in July 2016 to an information charging them with wire fraud. Haas is scheduled to be sentenced on the charges by Judge Kane on January 12, 2017.
Haas Packaging & Design supplied Utz with shelving and packaging products. The defendants defrauded Utz between January 2010 and August 2014 by Myers’s preparation of approximately 43 bogus purchase orders and Haas’ submission of approximately 83 false invoices for products Utz never received. After Myers approved Haas’s false invoices for payment, Haas would kickback a portion of the proceeds to Myers. According to a forensic audit commissioned by Utz, Haas received approximately $1,474,765 from Utz and from that amount Haas paid Myers approximately $651,000.
Myers and Haas attempted to conceal some of the kickbacks to Myers as payments for fictional consulting services. The payments were made in the form of checks payable to “Myers Packaging Consulting,” a non-existent, paper company created by Myers.
The case was investigated by the Harrisburg Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Utz Quality Foods, Inc. cooperated with the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel prosecuted the case.
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Former Office Worker Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $290,000 from Three Different EmployersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tinita Joyner, 52, of Rockville, Md., pled guilty today to embezzling nearly $290,000 from three companies where she had access to financial accounts while working as an office manager or as an executive assistant, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Joyner pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to wire fraud, an offense that is punishable by a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, she faces a likely range of 33 to 41 months in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The plea agreement calls for her to pay a total of $289,640 in restitution. The Honorable James E. Boasberg scheduled sentencing for Feb. 7, 2017.
According to the government’s evidence, Joyner stole the money from September 2012 through September of 2015, while working a succession of three jobs in which she had access to her employer’s financial information and accounts. The companies, which are not identified by name in court documents, did not authorize Joyner to make credit card purchases outside of her responsibilities of paying office related expenses and bank transfers and withdrawals that she then used for the benefit of herself and others.” The losses took place as follows:
“Company A” – Joyner was hired as an office manager in July 2012 for this consulting firm, which assisted organizations that wanted to establish and elevate their presence with emerging economies across the globe. In September of 2012, she became director of internal affairs and was in charge of the company’s day-to-day operations. According to the government’s evidence, from September 2012 through February 2014, Joyner fraudulently obtained $187,682 through unauthorized purchases on corporate credit cards and unauthorized bank transfers. Meanwhile, as the company fell behind on rental payments and payments for employee health insurance, Joyner forged documents to secure a loan for the firm. Finally, in February of 2014, the company’s chief executive officer learned that Joyner had forged his name, giving her unlimited access to the company’s account, and that she had made unauthorized withdrawals. Soon after that, he told Joyner that her services would no longer be needed. At the time of her departure, the company owed $31,120 on the bank loan that she had taken out.
Total loss caused by these activities: $218,802.
“Company B” – In April 2014, Joyner began employment at a temporary agency and was assigned to work as an executive assistant to the president of this non-profit that is focused on empowering students to become leaders in the community. In September of 2014, she was hired as a permanent employee. From August until December 2014, according to the government’s evidence, Joyner made $6,964 in unauthorized purchases on the company’s credit card. She also used the personal information of the president to fraudulently obtain two additional credit cards. From September 2014 through February 2015, she made $23,753 in unauthorized purchases on these cards. She also made two unauthorized electronic transfers to the cards from the company’s account, totaling $10,523. She was terminated in December 2014.
Total loss caused by these activities: $41,240.
“Company C” – In February 2015, Joyner was hired as the executive assistant to this management consulting company, which primarily worked with the federal government on civilian programs. From March 2015 through September 2015, according to the government’s evidence, she made $20,638 in unauthorized charges to the company’s credit card, using the money to pay a relative’s tuition at a private high school and for various personal expenses. In addition, she created six fraudulent vouchers that cost the company an additional $8,960.
Total loss caused by these activities: $29,598
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Assistant Director in Charge Abbate commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Arvind K. Lal, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Paralegal Specialists Kaitlyn Krueger, Jessica Mundi and Christopher Toms, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Howie, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Former Middle School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Purchase Live Video Sex Shows Involving Filipino ChildrenRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Southbridge Middle School teacher pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with attempting to purchase live video sex shows involving Filipino children and to possessing child pornography.
Scott Peeler, 54, who previously resided in Worcester, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Feb. 28, 2017. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Peeler will be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and no greater than 15 years in prison. Peeler remains in custody pending sentencing.
Between April 2013 and July 2014, Peeler used internet-based instant messaging services with video streaming capabilities to communicate with individuals in the Philippines engaged in child sex trafficking and the sale of live streaming sex shows involving children. Peeler admitted to attempting on at least three occasions to arrange the purchase of live video sex shows involving children who ranged in age from four years old to fourteen years old.
At the time of his arrest in June 2015, Peeler admitted that he was the user of the email and instant messaging account that had been used to solicit the streaming videos, but claimed that he had never actually purchased any videos. A preliminary forensic review revealed the presence of child pornography on Peeler’s computer.
The charge of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime 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.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’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, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.
Former Executive of Fabric Company Admits Stealing Nearly $1 Million from EmployerRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former vice president of a Secaucus-based fabric company pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly a $1 million in goods from his employer and selling it for his own profit, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Javan Smith, 72, of Delray Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 1992 to 2014, Smith was an employed as vice president of distribution for a fabric company and worked at the company’s Secaucus warehouse. Starting in 2010, Smith engineered a scheme to steal merchandise and sell it “off the books” to several of his employer’s customers for less than what they would pay if they purchased the items legitimately.
Smith made side arrangements in which a customer would place orders for a certain amount of merchandise, receive far more than the amount on the purchase orders, and then pay Smith for his role in getting the stolen goods. In other cases, the customer would place an order for merchandise, have the merchandise delivered, and then – with Smith’s help – would cancel the order and receive a refund. The customer kept the merchandise and paid a portion of the refund to Smith. Overall, Smith’s scheme caused approximately $945,000 in losses to his employer.
The conspiracy charge to which Smith pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lakshmi Herman and Zach Intrater of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Evan Goldman Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey
Former Army Explosives Expert Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Explosive DevicesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A former Army explosive ordinance disposal technician pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to unlawful possession of explosive devices, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
John A. Panchalk, 42, Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to possessing two M-67 fragmentation grenades that were not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
The investigation began in May when police were called to the Parkville Self Storage Facility in Parkville, Mo. They found several trailers and vehicles had been vandalized. In and around one trailer, they found ammunition canisters, rocket fins, blasting caps, C-4 explosive and military grenade simulators. They determined Panchalk was the owner of the trailer.
When investigators contacted Panchalk at home in Overland Park, he was evasive when they asked him about the contents of the trailer. When they executed a search warrant at Panchalk’s home, they found 38 pounds of C-4 explosive, detonation cord, blasting caps, grenade simulators, incendiary devices and the two M-67 fragmentation grenades.
Sentencing will be set for a later date. The government has agreed to recommend a sentence of probation.
Beall commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Parkville, Mo., Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead for their work on the case.
Five Charged in Drug Conspiracy Operating in Mecklenburg CountyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – United States Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose announced today that five individuals are facing federal charges for their involvement in a heroin trafficking ring operating in Mecklenburg County. A criminal indictment was returned on November 15, 2016, and was unsealed today in federal court, following the defendants’ arrests. Eleven other members of the conspiracy are facing state drug charges.
According to allegations contained in the criminal indictment, from on or about April 2015 to about November 2016, the defendants operated in a drug conspiracy responsible for trafficking heroin in Mecklenburg County and elsewhere.
The five defendants named in the federal indictment are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin. They are:
- Maggie Elizabeth Sanders, 36, of Concord, N.C. (arrested)
- Kevin Tyler Bell, 24, of Concord (arrested)
- Elyssa Breanne Shuford, 37, of Gastonia, N.C. (arrested)
- Jamie Nicole McDaniel, 31, of Concord (arrested)
- Joshua Dale Gregory, 28, of Concord (pending arrest)
In addition to the drug trafficking conspiracy charge, Kevin Bell and Jamie McDaniel are each charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and Elyssa Shuford is charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Maggie Sanders is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Eleven others are facing state charges for their involvement in the drug conspiracy. They are: Kenneth Junior Bell, Silas Lamont Swain, Monica Bell, Jessica Marie James, Christopher Godwin, Sara Dianne Weaver, Charles Thomas Anderson, Jason Eugene Lavender, Michael Todd Lowe, James Dillard Proctor, and Timothy Kyle Bennett.
Over the course of the investigation law enforcement seized in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties more than ten kilograms of heroin and five firearms. The drugs were shipped into the Western District of North Carolina from Mexico.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose said, “The arrests in this case are part of my office’s ongoing effort to combat heroin trafficking rings throughout our district. As heroin is quickly becoming the number one cause of overdose related deaths, not just in Western North Carolina but throughout the country, law enforcement agencies continue to ramp up the fight against drug trafficking conspiracies operating in our communities.”
U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Charlotte, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, the Concord Police Department, the Gastonia Police Department, the Huntersville Police Department, the Mint Hill Police Department, the Kannapolis Police Department, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and the Wingate Police Department for their assistance in this case.
This prosecution is part of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The federal defendants arrested today are currently in federal custody. Their initial appearances were held in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer.
The charges contained in the indictments are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is handling the prosecution.
Five Affiliated with Physician Home Visit and Health Care Companies in Dallas Plead Guilty in Health Care Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DALLAS – A Dallas woman who was among those charged last year as part of a nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force for her alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes pleaded guilty today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Myrna S. Parcon, a/k/a “Merna Parcon,” 63, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She faces a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim. Restitution may also be ordered. In addition, according to the plea agreement, she will be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid and all federal health care programs.
Last week, two of Parcon’s co-defendants, Oliva A. Padilla, 57, of Garland, Texas, and Ben P. Gaines, 56, of Plano, Texas, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count, and each faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Co-defendants Ransome N. Etindi, 56, of, Waxahachie, Texas, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit health care fraud; he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim. Lita S. Dejesus, 70, of Allen, Texas, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count and faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The one defendant charged in the case who has not pleaded guilty, Noble U. Ezukanma, 57, a physician from Fort Worth, Texas, is set to go to trial in January 2017, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
According to documents filed in the case, from approximately January 2009 through June 9, 2013, Parcon and the other five defendants conspired to defraud Medicare by making materially false and fraudulent representations and promises in connection with health care services, namely physician house call visits and home health care.
Parcon owned US Physician Home Visits (USPHV) and managed its operations. USPHV, located on Viceroy Drive in Dallas, provided physician home visits to Medicare beneficiaries. It also certified and recertified Medicare beneficiaries for home health services, and it provided medication to Medicare beneficiaries. It became a credentialed Medicare provider in May 2009.
Ezukanma was a medical doctor for USPHV, had an ownership interest in USPHV, and provided his Medicare number to USPHV to use to bill Medicare. Etindi was also a medical doctor for USPHV, served as its medical director, and also provided his Medicare number to USPHV to use to bill Medicare. Dejesus held herself out to Medicare as the owner of USPHV and served various roles, including office manager. Gaines formed a home health agency known as A Good Homehealth, a/k/a “Be Good Healthcare, Inc.,” in 2007, A Good Homehealth, which was located in the same office as USPHV, applied for a Medicare number. Parcon purchased A Good Homehealth through a straw buyer, and both Parcon and Gaines concealed Parcon’s ownership from Medicare.
Parcon and Padilla formed another home health care company known as Essence Home Health, a/k/a “Primary Angel, Inc.,” located on Midway Road in Addison, Texas, and in December 2002, Padilla applied for a Medicare number for Essence. Parcon, Padilla, Dejesus and Gaines concealed from Medicare that Parcon exercised control over USPHV, A Good Homehealth and Essence Home Health. While the three companies appeared to be set up as three separate entities, the companies worked as one; the same employees often worked for all three companies and were often paid by all three companies. Had Medicare known about the improper relationship and true nature of the businesses, that is, the companies shared almost all of their beneficiaries, these companies would not have been allowed to enroll in the program and bill for services.
Once USPHV established a new patient and Ezukanma, Etindi or others conducted a home visit, USPHV, at the direction of Ezukanma, Parcon and Dejesus submitted billings for fraudulent claims for services not rendered.
USPHV submitted claims as if Ezukanma provided the services to Medicare beneficiaries, regardless of who actually performed the service; this caused Medicare to pay a higher reimbursement rate. Then, beginning in January 2013, the majority of claims for USPHV were submitted as if Etindi provided the services, regardless of who actually did perform the services. Ezukanma, Parcon and Dejesus submitted reimbursement claims for physician home visits that falsely represented to Medicare that Ezukanma and Etindi conducted comprehensive patient exams and prolonged service patient exams, when they did not. At the defendants’ directions, the majority of the claims fraudulently claimed that Ezukanma or Etindi spent a minimum of 90 minutes of face-to-face time with a patient, when in fact, most visits took a total of 15-20 minutes.
Ezukanma and Etindi signed Medicare Form 485s certifying the Medicare beneficiaries for home health services even if the beneficiary was ineligible to receive the benefits. They also signed and certified Form 485s regardless of the homebound status of the patient and often without any knowledge of the patient or the patient’s medical condition.
More than 97% of USPHV’s Medicare patients received home health care – whether they needed it or not. As a result of these false Form 485 certifications, Medicare paid more than $40 million in fraudulent home health services.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Pfeifle is in charge of the prosecution.
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Eighth Defendant in North Idaho Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE – Robert Hill, 48, of Williston, North Dakota, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute heroin and oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Hill is the eighth defendant to plead guilty. Eleven defendants in total were charged in the superseding indictment which was issued by the grand jury on April 19, 2016.
During the court hearing, Hill admitted that he became a member of the drug trafficking organization beginning in 2009 and sold oxycodone pills and heroin in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Eastern Washington. Hill helped the organization by selling and transporting controlled substances and by making sure the profits went to the appropriate
co-conspirator. In addition to pleading guilty, Hill agreed to forfeit any interest he has in real property, jewelry or cash held by himself or by conspirators as outlined in the indictment.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substance is punishable by at least five and up to 40 years in prison, a maximum fine of $5,000,000, and at least 4 years supervised release.
Sentencing is set for May 2, 2017, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.
The case was investigated by Coeur d’Alene Police, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Kootenai County Sheriff, North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The indictment is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Marshals Service. The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
Eight Defendants Convicted for Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy DrinkRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE - A federal jury convicted Joseph Shayota and Adriana Shayota late yesterday of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations’ Los Angeles Field Office Special Agent in Charge Lisa L. Malinowski. The guilty verdicts followed an eight-day jury trial before the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Court Judge, and brings to eight the number of people convicted as part of the conspiracy.
The evidence at trial demonstrated that Joseph Shayota, 64, and his wife, Adriana Shayota, 45, both of El Cajon, Calif., were leaders of a conspiracy concerning the illegal relabeling, repackaging, and eventual counterfeiting of the liquid dietary supplement 5-Hour ENERGY. The supplement is owned by Living Essentials, who manufactured all 5-Hour ENERGY at factories in Wabash, Indiana. Living Essentials registered and owns all 5-Hour ENERGY trademarks and related copyrights. Among the important aspects of the trademarks and copyrights are various graphical elements of the product’s labeling and packaging; the 5-Hour ENERGY trademarks and copyrighted material are displayed on every bottle of 5-Hour ENERGY and display boxes. Living Essentials did not grant licenses to any individual or entity to manufacture 5-Hour ENERGY. Joseph and Adriana Shayota (“the Shayotas”), through their company Tradeway International Inc., doing business as Baja Exporting, LLC, agreed with Living Essentials to distribute 5-Hour ENERGY in Mexico. According to the evidence at trial, rather than distributing authentic 5-Hour ENERGY with Spanish-language labeling in Mexico, the Shayotas, along with the other charged defendants, attempted to increase their profits by diverting, relabeling, repackaging, and eventually counterfeiting the product. The jury convicted both defendants of all the charges presented against them at the trial.
“A jury has now determined that the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to substitute a well-known product with a dangerous counterfeit of their own,” said U.S. Attorney Stretch. “We are proud of the hard work of our law enforcement partners in the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who have worked so hard to uncover the evidence necessary to bring these criminals to justice.”
“U.S. consumers rely on the FDA to ensure that their foods – and drinks – are safe and wholesome. When criminals introduce counterfeit foods into the U.S. marketplace, they not only cheat consumers, but place consumers’ health at risk,” said Lisa L. Malinowski, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public’s health.”
Under its agreement with Baja Exporting, LLC, Living Essentials agreed to manufacture the liquid 5-Hour ENERGY product and provide Spanish-language labeling and display boxes to the exporter. Under the agreement, the 5-Hour ENERGY product provided to Baja was to be distributed only in Mexico. The agreement also specified that Living Essentials would provide to Baja a “complete product package” including Spanish-language labeling. The evidence at trial demonstrated that the Shayotas and charged codefendants diverted the product in order to sell it in the United States at a higher price. After initial efforts to sell the product failed because of the Spanish-language labeling and display boxes, the Shayotas took additional steps to profit illegally from the 5-Hour ENERGY product.
The Shayotas and other defendants next replaced the labeling and display boxes with counterfeit labels and boxes in English designed to imitate Living Essentials’ packaging in the United States. The defendants relabeled and repackaged over 350,000 bottles of 5-Hour ENERGY. The defendants removed the legitimate lot numbers and expiration dates, replaced them with false labeling, and sold them in the United States at a price that was lower than what Living Essentials charged for authentic United States 5-Hour ENERGY. By December 2011, the Shayotas had sold off Baja’s remaining stock of the repackaged/relabeled 5-Hour ENERGY.
Further, the evidence at trial demonstrated that by early 2012, the Shayotas and other defendants began to substitute the entire 5-Hour ENERGY product with a counterfeit product. They manufactured the counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY liquid at an unsanitary facility using untrained day workers, and mixed unregulated ingredients in plastic vats while attempting to mimic the real 5-Hour ENERGY products. From approximately December 2011 through October 2012, the defendants ordered more than seven million counterfeit label sleeves and hundreds of thousands of counterfeit display boxes, and placed false lot and expiration codes on the bottles and boxes. They often changed the lot and expiration codes on the counterfeit bottles and boxes to parallel the valid codes being used on the authentic product.
In addition, evidence at trial demonstrated that from May 2012 to October 2012, Midwest Wholesale Distributors, a company owned by defendant Walid Jamil, distributed more than four million bottles of counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY into commercial channels throughout the United States. Midwest sold over 500,000 counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY bottles to Baja Exporting and over 3,500,000 counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY bottles to the Dan-Dee Company, which was owned by defendants Kevin Attiq and Fadi Attiq.
A Superseding Information was filed on June 29, 2016, charging the Shayota’s, Jamil, the Attiqs, and four others with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a); and conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
Joseph Shayota and Adriana Shayota are out of custody pending sentencing. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 5, 2017, before Judge Koh in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods is ten years’ imprisonment, a fine of $2,000,000 and restitution. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce is five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Six defendants, listed below, have pleaded guilty.
Defendant
Guilty Plea
Sentencing Date
Kevin Attiq, 58, of El Cajon
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, and to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
February 1, 2017
Raid Jamil, 47, of West Bloomfield, Michigan
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, and to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
May 17, 2017
Walid Jamil, 66, of Troy, Michigan
Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 23202(a), and Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, and to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
April 26, 2017
Mario Ramirez, 57, of San Diego, California
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, and to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
February 8, 2017
Leslie Roman, 62, of Rancho Cucamonga, California
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, and to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
February 8, 2017
Justin Shayota, 33, of San Diego, California
Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 23202(a), and Conspiracy to Introduce Misbranded Food into Interstate Commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
March 15, 2017
Defendant Juan Romero remains a fugitive.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Parrella and Susan Knight are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lakisha Holliman, Nina Burney, and Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
Dual Iranian-American Citizen Convicted in Manhattan Federal Court of Conspiring and Attempting to Acquire Surface-To-Air Missiles and Other Items for the Government of IranRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that REZA OLANGIAN, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, was found guilty of conspiring and attempting to send surface-to-air missiles (“SAMs”) and military aircraft parts to the Government of Iran. OLANGIAN was arrested in Estonia on October 10, 2012, pursuant to a U.S. request for his provisional arrest, and he was extradited to the United States on March 26, 2013. OLANGIAN was convicted after a two-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska.
According to the evidence presented during the trial:
In 2008, OLANGIAN worked with Iranian officials to obtain approximately 375 SAMs for use by the Iranian government. Ultimately, that missile deal was unsuccessful.
Beginning in early 2012, OLANGIAN worked to negotiate another, separate missile deal, this time with a confidential source (the “CS”), who was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and who purported to be a weapons and aircraft broker. From his base of operations in Tehran, and from approximately May 2012 through October 2012, OLANGIAN arranged for the purchase of “IGLA-S” SAMs and various aircraft components. During covertly recorded meetings in May 2012, and in subsequent recorded conversations and e-mails with the CS, OLANGIAN described in detail his plans for procuring the SAMs and aircraft parts and then smuggling them over land into Iran, from Afghanistan or from another neighboring country. OLANGIAN also expressed his interest in purchasing numerous other types of weapons and military parts for the Iranian government, including the so-called “S-300” missile defense system and Russian-made naval vessels.
OLANGIAN’s 2012 negotiations included his participation in a videoconference with the CS, during which OLANGIAN remotely inspected a missile that the CS presented as a sample of the larger quantity of the SAMs that OLANGIAN sought to purchase. After inspecting the sample missile and inquiring about its specifications, OLANGIAN stated that he would want “at least 200 . . . minimum 200” of such SAMs. In his communications with the CS, OLANGIAN also indicated that he was arranging for a missile expert to inspect and test the SAMs.
At the same time that he was negotiating with the CS, OLANGIAN was also working with other individuals, both inside and outside Iran, to acquire numerous other items for the Iranian government and Iran-based entities. For example, OLANGIAN worked with individuals and entities in China, Russia, and Europe to acquire commercial aircraft for use by Iranian airlines. In one of these commercial aircraft deals, OLANGIAN and his coconspirators planned to purchase aircraft for $80 million and sell them to an Iranian company for $110 million.
During October 2012, OLANGIAN traveled to Estonia in connection with the SAMs deal and in anticipation of later traveling to Russia in connection with one of the aircraft deals. He was arrested in Estonia, and following his arrest, he was interviewed by U.S. law enforcement agents. OLANGIAN stated, among other things, that he had been working with Iranian government officials, that the SAMs he had arranged to purchase were being obtained for the Iranian government, and that the aircraft parts he attempted to acquire were to be used in Iranian military aircraft.
OLANGIAN was extradited to the United States on March 26, 2013.
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OLANGIAN, 56, was found guilty of all four counts of the Indictment. Counts One and Two charged him with conspiring to acquire and transfer surface-to-air missile systems and attempting to acquire and transfer surface-to-air missile systems. Counts Three and Four charged him with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and attempting to violate IEEPA.
OLANGIAN faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison on each of Counts One and Two, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of Counts Three and Four. The statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for information purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2017, at 4:30 p.m., before Judge Preska.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit. Mr. Bharara also thanked the DEA’s Copenhagen Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and its National Security Division.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean S. Buckley and Shane T. Stansbury are in charge of the prosecution.
Department of Justice Highlights Competitive Benefits of Telehealth ServicesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today submitted a statement describing how Michigan Senate Bill 753 (H-1) has the potential to enhance competition and promote greater use of telehealth services for the benefit of patients and consumers. The department encourages lawmakers to consider the competitive effects of legislation while recognizing the critical importance of patient health and safety, noting that consumers benefit when it is possible to expand the ways available to them to access health care. This is possible by enacting legislation that only maintains those restrictions on telehealth services that are necessary, for example, to address safety concerns, to improve the public health or to protect against fraud.
“Consumers benefit when innovative technologies further competition to deliver convenient and affordable quality health care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Telehealth, when used consistent with patient health and safety, has the potential to improve not just access to certain types of health care, but also the cost of that care. Better access and lower health care costs are especially important, as consumers may forego or delay care if it is inconvenient or costly to obtain.”
The statement is in response to a request from Michigan State Senator Peter MacGregor for views on the possible competitive effects of SB 753. SB 753 would add “telehealth” to the Michigan Public Health Code, provide for flexibility in how patients must provide consent for telehealth treatments and allow authorized health professionals to prescribe drugs that are non-controlled substances through telehealth services. By addressing a broader range of telehealth services and by not imposing unnecessary burdens on telehealth providers and consumers, SB 753 can encourage competitive benefits through further entry and innovation in the market and greater access to services appropriately provided through telehealth.
Michigan Telehealth Letter
Department of Justice Files Statement of Interest in South Carolina Statewide School-to-Prison Pipeline CaseRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a statement of interest late yesterday in the case of Kenny et al. v. Wilson et al. articulating the United States’ position that laws invoked to charge juveniles must include clear standards to ensure that they are enforced consistently and free from discrimination. In the filing, the department explains that vague statues enforced arbitrarily contribute to the “school-to-prison pipeline,” the cycle of harsh school discipline that brings young people into the justice system and disproportionately affects, among others, students of color and students with disabilities.
In Kenny, a case before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, a proposed class of students and a non-profit youth services organization allege that two state laws – the disturbing schools statute and the disorderly conduct statute – are unconstitutionally vague. As a consequence, plaintiffs assert, the laws do not provide students with notice of what conduct is criminally prohibited and they lead to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
“The criminalization of everyday and ordinary childhood behavior under imprecise statutes can have disastrous and discriminatory consequences,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Laws must provide officers with sufficient guidance to distinguish between innocent and delinquent conduct and ensure that all children receive the full protections of our Constitution. We must remain vigilant to ensure law enforcement practices do not unnecessarily remove children from the classroom and place them in a pipeline to prison.”
In the filing, the department explains that “significant racial disparities in the enforcement of a criminal statute may indicate that the statute is unconstitutionally vague” in violation of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Laws that lack clear standards and do not provide sufficient guidance to law enforcement can lead to arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement. In Kenny, the plaintiffs allege that African-American students are nearly four times more likely to be referred for criminal “disturbing schools” charges than white students and that the disparity is even starker in certain counties. Plaintiffs further allege that such racial disparities in the school context are not explained by differences in behavior across racial groups.
In Kenny, the plaintiffs also allege that enforcement of the two state statutes drives large numbers of young people into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, criminalizes common youthful behavior, likely results in disparities on the basis of disability and subjects students to punishment that is not proportionate to the charged misconduct.
The department’s statement of interest also provides examples from the department’s juvenile justice and law enforcement experience to illustrate the link between vague standards and unconstitutional practices. The brief represents one of the department’s many efforts in recent years to address the school-to-prison pipeline.
Kenny et al. v. Wilson et al. was filed in August 2016. The court will hold a hearing on all pending motions on Dec. 8, 2016.
Kenny v. Wilson SOIDallas Man Who Admitted Role in AAFES Jewelry Theft Scheme is Sentenced to 17 Months in Federal prisonRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Arthur Lee Hightower, II, a Dallas man who was on the lam for more than seven months following his indictment in May 2015 for his role in a jewelry theft scheme that targeted the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), was sentenced today, following his guilty plea in February 2016, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Hightower II, 56, was sentenced to 17 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay. He was also ordered to pay $47,740 in restitution.
In May 2015, Hightower and his former wife, Jessie Faye Hightower, a/k/a “Jessie Faye Lewis,” 55, of Balch Springs, Texas, and their two sons, Arthur Lee Hightower III, 34, of Lancaster, Texas, and Travoine Lee Hightower, 31, of Dallas, were charged in a federal indictment with felony offenses stemming from a scheme which began with Hightower II stealing 70 wedding ring sets valued at nearly $100,000 from AAFES. Jessie Fay Hightower and Arthur Lee Hightower III each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to receive stolen government property (stolen ring sets) and were sentenced to 18-month and 24-month terms of probation, respectively. Travoine Lee Hightower pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen government property and was sentenced to a one-year term of probation.
According to plea documents filed in the case, Hightower II worked as a truck driver, and part of his duties included delivering AAFES merchandise to the AAFES offices in Dallas. On approximately October 3, 2014, Hightower II, who was responsible for safeguarding the merchandise, did not deliver all of the AAFES merchandise instead, he stole approximately 70 wedding ring sets from AAFES.
Hightower II admitted he gave several of the wedding ring sets to his co-defendant family members so they could pawn the stolen jewelry to obtain cash.
The case was investigated by agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis prosecuted.
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Dallas Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Enterprise That Promoted Prostitution at Various Hotels in DallasRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Mecose Mendale Shorter, 32, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 60 months in federal prison for engaging in an enterprise that promoted prostitution at various hotels in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Shorter pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid or a racketeering enterprise. Shorter’s co-defendants, Kenneth Laray White, 27, and his brother, Damion Kentrell White, 25, were sentenced earlier this year to 326 months and 240 months, respectively, in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise and one firearm offense.
According to documents filed in the case, from approximately July 4, 2013, to July 22, 2013, Mecose Shorter, Damion White, and Kenneth White engaged in an enterprise that promoted prostitution in various hotels in Dallas. In early July 2013, Damion and Kenneth White recruited a mentally challenged 18-year-old girl to work for them in the prostitution enterprise. While Shorter had contact with the 18-year-old girl on various occasions, during this time period, he was engaged in the unlawful activity of promoting prostitution of another female, Jane Doe.
Shorter admitted he used facilities of interstate or foreign commerce, namely a cell phone and hotel rooms, with the intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and/or facilitate Jane Doe’s involvement in commercial sex acts. Shorter further admitted he received payments from Jane Doe for engaging in commercial sex acts.
Damion and Kenneth White knew their victim since she was 15 years old. When she was age 18, they devised a plan to recruit her to engage in commercial sex acts for them by taking advantage of her diminished mental capacity. In late June 2013, Damion White established a friendship with the victim, and then, in early July of 2013, he used false pretenses to convince her to leave her home with him.
That night, Kenneth and Damion White drove the victim to a motel in Dallas where Damion White had rented a room. Kenneth White used his cell phone to take provocative photos of the victim that they later used in advertisements they posted on backpage.com. They deprived her of food and prevented her from leaving the room to encourage her to engage in commercial sex acts for them. Kenneth White had sex with the victim, and the victim eventually engaged in commercial sex acts and provided the money she earned to Kenneth White. Kenneth and Damion White used the Internet and a cell phone to coordinate the victim’s commercial sex acts with potential customers.
Later, Kenneth and Damion White moved the victim to another motel in Dallas where they continued to compel her to engage in commercial acts during the latter part of July 2013. Officers with the Dallas Police Department rescued the victim from this motel on July 22, 2013.
The North Texas Trafficking Taskforce, including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dallas Police Department, investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce prosecuted the case.
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Colorado Woman Arrested in DAPL Protest Charged with Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition by a FelonRead the Press Release
BISMARCK - US Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on November 28, 2016, Redfawn Fallis, age 37, of Colorado, appeared in Federal Court in Bismarck, North Dakota. Fallis was charged by a criminal Complaint with Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition by a Previously Convicted Felon. Fallis appeared before Magistrate Charles Miller and was detained after waiving her right to a hearing on detention.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (ATFE)
The criminal Complaint is attached. The Complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Buffalo Woman Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl 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 Brittaney Ridgeway, 27, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, fentanyl before U.S. District Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that during the course of the conspiracy, the defendant and her boyfriend, Dellsean Hamilton, sold heroin and fentanyl in the Buffalo and Cheektowaga areas. On March 25, 2015, Cheektowaga Police officers recovered $2,315 in cash and 145 envelopes containing almost four grams of fentanyl following a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Ridgeway and Hamilton were riding.
Subsequent investigation determined that Hamilton was a large volume heroin supplier in Buffalo and the surrounding area and Ridgeway assisted him in the distribution of the heroin. Hamilton was arrested on January 11, 2016, also on distribution charges. Following Hamilton’s arrest, law enforcement officers learned that Ridgeway continued to distribute heroin. Officers made controlled purchases of heroin from Ridgeway on February 4 and February 11, 2016.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 20, 2017, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography Relating to His Sexual Exploitation of MinorsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID KEITH, a/k/a “David Wright,” a/k/a “David Lee Keith,” a/k/a “David Lee,” a/k/a “Lee David,” pled guilty this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan in Manhattan federal court to five counts stemming from his sexual exploitation of minors, related child pornography offenses, and making false statements to a federal agent concerning his abuse of children.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Through lies and trickery, David Keith lured a minor girl into his vehicle and then sexually abused her, videotaping his sick assault and exploitation. Protecting children from predators like Keith remains a critical priority for law enforcement, and we hope the victims here will take some measure of comfort in knowing that Keith has admitted to and been convicted of his abominable crimes.”
According to the Indictment, publicly filed documents, and statements made in court:
On at least one occasion in 2013, KEITH produced child pornography during his sexual abuse of a child. On October 13, 2013, KEITH approached three girls, approximately 12 to 14 years old, on the street, presented himself as part of the entertainment industry, and encouraged the girls to model for him. KEITH induced one of the girls to enter his vehicle, where he video recorded, among other things, himself engaging in forcible sexual conduct with her. KEITH threatened the victim not to tell anyone and told her that he had been watching her.
Just one day earlier, on or about October 12, 2013, KEITH, lured a young girl, approximately 8 to 9 years old, into his vehicle where he tricked her into removing some of her clothing and video recorded her exposed genitals.
In addition, for a period of at least two years, KEITH downloaded and possessed images and videos of child pornography.
During the investigation, KEITH made statements to federal agents, claiming he had an alibi for October 12 and 13. Those statements were proven false.
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KEITH, 39, of the Bronx, New York, was arrested on November 17, 2015, in the Bronx, New York, and has been in federal custody since. KEITH pled guilty today to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, one count of receipt of child pornography, which carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of making false statements involving sexual abuse of children, which carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
KEITH is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Nathan on March 10, 2017, at 1:00 p.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the extraordinary efforts of the FBI, and thanked the New York City Police Department Special Victims Unit and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department for invaluable assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Podolsky and Stephen Ritchin are in charge of the prosecution.
Broken Arrow Woman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that THERESA JO DAVIS, age 62, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, pled guilty to MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h), punishable by not more than 20 years imprisonment, and up to a $500,000.00 fine or both.
The Superseding Indictment alleged that beginning in or about December 2013, and continuing until in or about April 2016, the Defendant conspired with others, to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate commerce and involving the proceeds of unlawful activity by depositing large sums of United States Currency knowing that the transactions were designed to conceal the nature and source of the proceeds of unlawful activity and while knowing that the currency involved in the transactions represented proceeds of unlawful activity.
The charges arose from a joint investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Tahlequah Police Department, the Muskogee Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The investigation was coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. OCDETF is an initiative led and coordinated by the Office of the United States Attorney.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant will remain in custody pending a sentencing hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Bridgeport Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DERRICK GILLIAM, 30, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to 121 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in an armed robbery spree in 2014.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 26, 2014, GILLIAM, Lancelot Supersad and others committed an armed robbery of the CVS Pharmacy on Grasmere Avenue in Fairfield, stealing approximately $2,376. On May 3, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad and others attempted an armed robbery of the Mobil Gas station on Noble Avenue in Bridgeport. On May 10, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad and others committed an armed robbery of a Webster Bank branch on Main Street in Bridgeport, stealing approximately $4,170. On June 1, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad and others committed an armed robbery of a Pizza Hut on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport, stealing approximately $250. On June 26, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad, Anthony Santiago and others committed an armed robbery of the Residence Inn on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton, stealing approximately $200. On July 2, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad, Santiago and others attempted an armed robbery of the Sikorsky Financial Credit Union on Oronoque Lane in Stratford. Also on July 2, 2014, GILLIAM, Supersad, Santiago and others committed an armed robbery of the TD Bank located on Post Road East in Westport.
GILLIAM brandished and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at employees during each of the seven robberies.
Chief Judge Hall ordered GILLIAM to pay $12,100 in restitution.
GILLIAM has been detained since his arrest on July 3, 2014. On July 28, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to affect commerce by robbery.
Supersad and Santiago pleaded guilty to the same charge and await sentencing.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Westport, Shelton, Fairfield, Stratford and Bridgeport Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas P. Morabito and Avi M. Perry.
Baltic Woman Sentenced in Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Baltic, South Dakota, woman convicted of her part in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy was sentenced on November 28, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Tammy Hodgin, age 42, was sentenced to 130 months in custody, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Hodgin was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine by a federal grand jury on May 10, 2016. She pled guilty on September 6, 2016.
Hodgin was part of a group of people who began working together in July 2015 to distribute methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere. Hodgin distributed methamphetamine she received from coconspirators. On three occasions in July and August, 2015, she sold methamphetamine to confidential sources in Minnehaha County, South Dakota.
This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
Hodgin was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assisted Living Facility Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing Elderly Residents’ Identities to Obtain Credit CardsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland –Salah Eldean Sood, age 35, of Lutherville, Maryland, pleaded guilty late on November 28, 2016, to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, arising from a scheme to open credit card accounts using the stolen identity information of elderly persons who were in Sood’s care at Holland Manor Eldercare, an assisted living facility in Towson, Maryland.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division (SSA).
According to his plea agreement, Sood managed Holland Manor Eldercare. In June 2015, P.J., a resident of Holland Manor, was transported to a local hospital. Baltimore County Fire Department personnel noted that conditions in the facility were unsanitary and that P.J.’s injuries were potentially indicative of a lack of proper medical care. P.J. died two days later. Maryland health officials revoked the Assisted Living Program License of Holland Manor Eldercare on September 25, 2015. On December 3, 2015, Baltimore County Fire Department and Baltimore County Police Department personnel responded to a fire alarm at Holland Manor and located two residents inside the facility without any staff present. An 80 year-old male resident, W.C., informed responders that no caretaker was generally present at the facility overnight. The second resident was restrained in a bed in a second floor bedroom, comatose, and unable to communicate. Responders were initially unable to reach Sood on his cell phone. Sood eventually responded to their calls, but refused to provide information as to his whereabouts.
Further investigation revealed that from July 2014 to January 2016, Sood opened credit card accounts at a bank using the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of three elderly persons who resided at the assisted living facility, including P.J. and W.C. Sood submitted the applications electronically, using Holland Manor’s address as the home address. Sood obtained six credit cards in the names of the residents. Sood added himself as an authorized user on those accounts and made over $74,000 in purchases using the accounts.
As part of his plea agreement, Sood will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, $74,753.24.
Sood and the government have agreed that at the time of sentencing they will recommend a sentence of 48 to 52 months in prison to be served concurrent to the state sentence imposed in his Baltimore County Circuit court case. U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis has scheduled sentencing for March 30, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.
The Maryland Identity Theft Working Group has been working since 2006 to foster cooperation among local, state, federal, and institutional fraud investigators and to promote effective prosecution of identity theft schemes by both state and federal prosecutors. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Working Group, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to work with financial institutions and businesses to address identity fraud, identify those who compromise personal identity information, and protect citizens from identity theft.
Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s 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. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HHS, the Baltimore County Police Department, Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and SSA for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Perry and Roann Nichols, who are prosecuting the case.
Arkansas Resident Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Nov. 29. 2016, Billy Ray Allen, a.k.a. Grill, 42, of Widener, Ark., was sentenced by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 240 months in federal prison. Following his prison term, he will be on supervised release for ten years. There is no parole in the federal system.
Allen pleaded guilty in August 2016 to a conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine and money laundering. He was the leader of a drug trafficking organization, involving 10 individuals, which obtained powder cocaine in Forrest City, Ark., then transported it to Kingsport, Tenn., where it was “cooked” into crack cocaine and distributed in the Tri-Cities. Allen admitted to being conservatively responsible for distributing between 2.8 and 8.4 kilograms (6 to 18.5 pounds) of crack cocaine. He also utilized the proceeds from the sale of crack cocaine to buy vehicles and real estate, all of which were placed in the names of third parties in an effort to conceal his ownership from authorities. Allen faced a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison as a result of trafficking in at least 280 or more grams of crack cocaine.
Agencies involved in this investigation included the Second Judicial District Drug Task Force, Kingsport Police Department, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Bristol Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service, and Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.
This case was a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
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Monday 28 November 2016
Waterbury Grocery Store Worker Pleads Guilty to Illegal Use of Food Stamp BenefitsRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAUL CARLOS MONARCA-GONZALEZ, 40, of Waterbury, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of unlawful use of food stamp benefits and one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (“SNAP”) is administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households to provide them with the opportunity to achieve a more nutritious diet by increasing their food-purchasing power. SNAP recipients purchase eligible food items at retail food stores through the use of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, and SNAP benefits may be accepted by authorized retailers only in exchange for eligible items. Items such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, paper goods and soaps are not eligible for purchase with Food Stamp benefits, and it is a violation of the rules and regulations governing the food stamp program to allow benefits to be used to purchase ineligible items. SNAP benefits may not lawfully be exchanged for cash under any circumstances. The program is designed so that the total amount of each purchase is electronically transferred to the retailer’s designated bank account.
According to court documents, MONARCA worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery, located at 43 Willow Street in Waterbury. From November 2014 until June 2016, MONARCA and others illegally allowed customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items.
Given the stock of eligible food items at the store, the number of registers and the customer amenities, it is estimated that WB Trade Fair Grocery could lawfully redeem at most between $120,000 to $240,000 per year in food stamp benefits. However, during this approximately 18-month period, food stamp redemptions at the store totaled approximately $3.2 million.
MONARCA has been detained since his arrest on August 18, 2016. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on March 1, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a fine of up to $250,000 fine and restitution.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anastasia King and Neeraj Patel.
Waldorf Man Admits Committing Two Bank Robberies in Less Than a WeekRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Joshua Francisco Miranda, age 29, of Waldorf, Maryland, admitted committing two bank robberies in March 2016.
Today’s guilty plea 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; and Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on March 23 and March 29, 2016, Miranda robbed banks in Accokeek and Fort Washington, Maryland, respectively. In each robbery Miranda entered the bank and gave the teller a note demanding $5,000. The note also threatened that Miranda had a bomb which he would detonate if the teller did not comply with his demand. Surveillance footage and witness testimony showed that in each robbery Miranda had a wire coming out of one of his shirt sleeves. Miranda stole a total of $7,800 from the two banks. According to his plea agreement, Miranda will be required to pay restitution in that amount.
Miranda and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Miranda will be sentenced to between seven and eight years in prison. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan, who is prosecuting the case.
Upstate New York Woman Admits Stealing $3.1 Million from Cargill Inc.Read the Press Release
Employee Caused Minnesota Company $25 Million in Losses
A Greene County, New York, woman pleaded guilty today to stealing at least $3.1 million from Cargill Inc. (Cargill) over 10 years and causing at least $25 million in losses. The woman was an accounting manager at Cargill, the country’s largest privately held corporation, based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian of the Northern District of New York; Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Albany Division; and Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), New York Field Office.
Diane Backis, 50, of Athens, New York, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and filing a false income tax return. Backis was responsible for accounting functions in Albany related to Cargill’s grain operations, including creating customer contracts, generating and mailing invoices, and receiving and processing customer payments. As part of her plea, Backis admitted that she defrauded Cargill while working in its Port of Albany facility, which receives, stores and sells grain products.
“Ms. Backis stole millions of dollars from her employer in a decade-long scheme to enrich herself so she could live beyond her means,” said U.S. Attorney Hartunian. “She stole money by diverting customer payments to her personal bank accounts and sold grain products for millions less than her employer paid, causing enormous financial losses. Her guilty plea today sends a strong message that crime does not pay.”
“Ms. Backis repeatedly victimized her employer,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Vale. “This kind of fraud is a sinister act that involves not only criminality but a willingness to cause Cargill, Inc. millions in losses. The FBI will continue to work together with its law enforcement partners to ensure people like Ms. Backis are held accountable.”
“This investigation demonstrates the resolve of the government to investigate and prosecute financial crimes,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Kitchen. “Ms. Backis stole millions of dollars from Cargill, Inc. for a 10-year period, while committing tax fraud in the process. Today, she is held accountable for the financial harm she inflicted on Cargill Inc. and the law-abiding American taxpayer.”
As part of her plea, Backis admitted that she stole hundreds of customer payments sent to Cargill totaling at least $3,115,610 and deposited them into her personal bank accounts. Backis also regularly created fraudulent invoices and mailed them to Cargill’s customers. The fraudulent invoices charged Cargill’s customers prices substantially less than what Cargill paid to acquire the grain products, causing Cargill significant financial losses. The fraudulent invoices also directed Cargill’s customers to send payment directly to Backis, thereby bypassing Cargill’s corporate controls. To hide her activities, Backis made false entries into Cargill’s accounting software to make it appear that customers were paying prices higher than those in her fraudulent invoices and that customers owed Cargill millions of dollars for delivered grain products, only to reverse those false entries. As a result, Cargill lost at least $25 million.
Backis also admitted that she filed a false 2015 individual income tax return because she declared only $61,208 in total income and omitted over $450,000 in additional taxable income she received by stealing customer payments intended for Cargill in 2015.
Backis faces up to 20 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced on March 28, 2017 by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany. As part of her guilty plea, Backis has agreed to pay Cargill at least $3.5 million in restitution and to forfeiture of her house in Athens, an investment brokerage account, and her Cargill pension benefits.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Myers in the Northern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI to Host Eighth Annual Cyber Crime Prevention SymposiumRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and a coalition of law enforcement agencies and community groups will host the 8th Annual Cyber Crime Prevention Symposium tomorrow. The day-long seminar for more than 400 educators, parents, and middle and high school students is being held at the California Endowment in Los Angeles.
The Symposium will address a wide range of Internet-related security and safety issues with speakers conducting discussions on topics that include child exploitation, cyber bullying, the implications of digital communication on health, digital reputation, navigating peer pressure, social media, cyber abuse, Internet dangers and sextortion, among other topics. This year features a youth presentation on Snapchat and special celebrity guests from Disney television programs will make a special surprise appearance during the lunch break.
“Internet and social media use has become a fundamental element of our daily lives. Whether it is for educational or recreational use, it is essential that everyone – especially young people – have skills to stay safe in cyberspace,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This Symposium will assist the most vulnerable among us, and those who care for them, in designing and implementing strategies that will help protect them from online dangers.”
“Education is key to empowering children to take control of their cyber citizenship and do their part to protect themselves and their peers from those who would do them harm via the internet,” said Deirdre L. Fike, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This Symposium affords the FBI and our law enforcement partners direct access to students, parents, and educators to discuss the dangers of sextortionists, cyberbullies, and fraudsters our children face online. We are all partners in the fight to keep kids safe in cyberspace.”
Student teams from each of the schools attending this year’s Symposium will also be invited to participate in the 6th Annual Cyber Safety Challenge. This contest asks attending students to develop a cyber safety program at their respective schools in order to educate the entire student body on the various risks associated with cyber crime. The contest promotes good cyber etiquette by challenging students to engage in creating the cyber safety programs. Students participating in this challenge will have their contest entries judged by a panel of experts, and the winning school will be publicized in May 2017.
“With just a touch of a screen or a click of a mouse, our children can be the targets of bullies and predators," said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. "My Office is proud to partner with law enforcement, educators, parents and students to keep our children safe by addressing the very serious threats posed by online predators and cyber bullies."
Organized under the aegis of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN), law enforcement agencies participating in tomorrow’s conference include the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).
“Children who are growing up in this high tech age are being targeted by online predators at an alarmingly high rate,” said Deanne Tilton Durfee, Executive Director for the ICAN. “Each year, this Symposium will provide participants with resources and tools to help children learn how to protect themselves and be safe in the cyber world, while enjoying all of the benefits of the fast-growing technologies.”
The Cyber Crime Prevention Symposium is hosted this year by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the planning committee also includes participation by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, the Anti-Defamation League, Fox Entertainment Group, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power,” said Dr. Heather Banis, victim’s assistance coordinator for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “The Cyber Crime Prevention Symposium helps our students be ‘in the know,’ empowering them to stay safe online.”
U. S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco Invited to Speak at the Pacific Islands Law Officers Network (Pilon) Meeting in Pohnpei, Federated States of MicronesiaRead the Press Release
ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited to participate at the Pacific Islands Law Officers Network (PILON) Meeting in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, on October 25-28, 2016. PILON is a network of senior public law officers from Pacific Island countries, including Australia and New Zealand, which focuses on common legal issues within the Pacific region. PILON was established in 1982 and holds meetings annually. Member countries of PILON are Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Pitcairn Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco gave presentations on, “An Overview of Sex Crime Investigations & Prosecutions,” Cybercrime Awareness, and “A Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking.”
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco discussed strategies and approaches regarding the preparation and prosecution of sexual assault cases, including child sexual abuse and exploitation cases, domestic and family violence and child physical abuse cases.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco spoke about cybersecurity as a top priority for the U.S. Government and the critical need to secure the nation’s networks and information from exploitation and damage. She also discussed cybercrimes such as identity theft and other online fraud schemes and the importance of protecting one’s privacy on social media.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco shared information on the Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking Initiative (the “Initiative”), which is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the NMI; the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; the U.S. Department of Labor; the U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Insular Affairs; the Guam HTTF; the NMI HTIC; and other community partners. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco also elaborated on the intersection and relationship between human trafficking, sexual assault, child abuse and domestic and family violence, and prevention and enforcement efforts in the Pacific region.
The Initiative employs a multidisciplinary model, including participation, coordination, and collaboration among law enforcement, prosecution, victim service providers, social services, medical, mental and public health professionals, faith based organizations, educational institutions, Consulates, and other community stakeholders. The Initiative calls for the establishment and provision of victim services, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, training opportunities, community outreach/ public awareness and prevention programs, and creation of human trafficking task forces and coalitions in the Pacific region island communities. The Initiative also provides fundamental training in human trafficking, including victimization, investigation and prosecution, prevention efforts, and other related topics to law enforcement, prosecution, victim service providers, social services, medical, mental and public health professionals, faith based organizations, educational institutions, Consulates, and other community stakeholders in our Pacific region island communities, which is critical to effective prevention and enforcement efforts in the region.
The PILON workshop was attended by representatives from the countries of Australia, Cook Islands, Republic of Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Group picture taken at the PILON Meeting. U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco is seated in the top row, fourth from the left.