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Tuesday 8 November 2016
Suffield Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Stemming from Role in Stock "Pump and Dump" SchemeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTIAN MEISSENN, also known as “Christian Nigohossian,” 44, of Suffield, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to conspiracy and tax evasion charges stemming from his involvement in a securities fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately 2009 and July 2016, MEISSENN and others conspired to defraud investors through a stock “pump and dump” scheme. MEISSENN and his co-conspirators induced investors to purchase securities by making false and misleading representations in calls, emails and press releases concerning the securities and the issuing companies, thereby causing the price of those securities to become falsely inflated. The issuing companies, most of which were essentially shell companies controlled by MEISSENN’s associates, included Terra Energy Resources Ltd. (stock symbol “TRRE”); Mammoth Energy Group, Inc. (stock symbol “MMTE”), a company that later became Strategic Asset Leasing Inc. (stock symbol “LEAS”); Trilliant Exploration Corporation (stock symbol “TTXP”); Electric Motors Corporation (stock symbol “EMCO”); Hermes Jets, Inc. (stock symbol “HRMJ”), which later became Continental Beverage Brands Corporation (stock symbol “CBBB”); and Fox Petroleum, Inc. (stock symbol “FXPT”). The conspirators then sold positions in those securities that were held by conspirators and their designees at the falsely inflated prices, thereby enriching the members of the conspiracy.
After selling their own shares at a profit, the conspirators allowed the price of the securities to fall, leaving investors with worthless and unsalable stock. As a result, victim investors lost millions of dollars.
Between 2011 and 2015, MEISSENN earned approximately $4.4 million through this scheme and diverted a large portion of the profits into the trust account of an attorney rather than a bank account in his own name. He then directed the attorney to withdraw cash for MEISSENN’s personal use, and to wire funds and issue checks for the benefit of MEISSENN and his family members. MEISSENN failed to report this income to the Internal Revenue Service during the 2011 through 2015 tax years, and failed to pay more than $1.5 million in federal income taxes.
MEISSENN pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for January 31, 2017. At sentencing, MEISSENN will be ordered to pay restitution to his victims, as well as back taxes, interest and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Connecticut Department of Banking and the Hartford and Stamford Police Departments. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Avi M. Perry and Peter S. Jongbloed.
Citizens with information that may be helpful to this ongoing investigation, or who believe they may have been victimized by this scheme, are encouraged to contact the FBI at (203) 777-6311.
Stromsburg Man Sentenced for Child EnticementRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on November 7, 2016, William H. Rich, 47, of Stromsburg, Nebraska, was sentenced for the crime of Using a Facility and Means of Interstate Commerce to Attempt to Persuade, Induce, and Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity. The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp, Chief United States District Court Judge, sentenced Rich to a 168-month term of imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Rich will begin a term of supervised release of 10 years.
In December, 2015, law enforcement, acting in an undercover capacity, received text communications from Rich in which he solicited a minor girl for sexual activity. Rich was subsequently arrested after traveling from Stromsburg, Nebraska to a hotel in La Vista, Nebraska, to drop off a phone for whom he believed to be the minor girl.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and La Vista Police Department.
Stetson Man Sentenced to Almost 6 Years for Cocaine and Oxycodone Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that John Williams, 40, of Stetson was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to 70 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and oxycodone. He pled guilty on January 25, 2016.
According to court records, between about 2012 and November 2014, the defendant conspired with nine other people to distribute oxycodone and cocaine in the Dexter, Maine area. The drugs were acquired in Rhode Island and were distributed from his Stetson residence.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, with assistance from the Dexter Police Department and the Penobscot and Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Offices.
St. Thomas Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in FirearmsRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, Mohammed Jubran, 27, of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, pleaded guilty in District Court to trafficking in firearms, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Sentencing is set for March 9, 2017.
According to the plea agreement, on October 15, 2015, Jubran sold an AK-47 to an individual. After the sale, Jubran offered to sell more firearms to the individual in the future. Jubran is not a federally licensed firearms dealer and is not licensed under Virgin Islands law to possess any firearms.
This case was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sigrid Tejo-Sprotte.
St. Albans man pleads guilty to federal methamphetamine crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Harold Lee Parsons III, 40, entered his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
On February 5, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Parsons’ residence on 2nd Avenue in St. Albans. Parsons was present in his residence during the search and he admitted that he opened a safe for law enforcement. Inside the safe were 12 baggies containing approximately 330 grams of methamphetamine. Parsons further admitted that he received the drugs from Joseph Cooper, a codefendant, and that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine.
Parsons faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 7, 2017.
Cooper previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 19, 2017. Benjamin Childers, another individual implicated in this investigation, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced on January 4, 2017. Also as a result of this investigation, three other codefendants pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Morgan Light, Mark Cobb, and Shayne Shamblen each face up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced on February 2, 2017.
The investigation of these cases was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is responsible for these prosecutions. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., is presiding over these cases.
These cases are being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Springfield Psychiatrist Ordered to Pay $908,000 in Civil SettlementRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough has entered judgment in favor of the government and against a Springfield psychiatrist, Duttala Obul Reddy, for $908,000, to settle allegations of false billing, as announced by U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis.
According to a complaint filed in September 2015, by the government, from January 2008 through February 2013, Reddy allegedly submitted bills for evaluation and management services provided at long-term care facilities that either had not been provided or had not been provided to the extent claimed. These services were provided to residents of central Illinois nursing homes, including Liberty Village, Pittsfield; Prairie Village, Rantoul; Mason City Nursing Home; Heritage Manor, Gillespie; Beverly Farm, Godfrey; and, North Church Rehabilitation, Jacksonville.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Reddy denies the allegations that he submitted or caused submission of false claims for payment under Medicare and Medicaid for medical services.
In addition to payment of $908,000, Reddy has agreed to his exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and all other federal health care programs for a period of 10 years. Following the 10-year period, Reddy may submit a written request for reinstatement to the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reddy further agrees that the termination of his eligibility to participate in the Illinois Medical Assistance Program, which became effective Dec. 30, 2014, shall be permanent.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory M. Gilmore and Lillian N. Stewart of the Central District of Illinois represented the government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, conducted the investigation.
Seven-Year Sentence for Columbus Man Who Brandished Firearm During Whitehall Sandwich Shop RobberyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Timothy G. Rogan, 25, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to seven years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for robbing a sandwich shop with a rifle in Whitehall, Ohio on November 12, 2015. Store employees grabbed the rifle during the robbery and took it away from Rogan.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Brad Earman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispin announced the sentence handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.
Rogan pleaded guilty on June 14, 2016 to one count of robbery affecting interstate commerce and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
An ATF agent testified during the plea hearing that Rogan entered the Subway restaurant brandishing a rifle and demanded money. The initial victim grabbed the weapon and began struggling with the suspect. During the struggle a second employee hit the suspect with a tray and took the weapon from Rogan.
Whitehall detectives took fingerprints and DNA swabs from the rifle and processed them through a database maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which matched the DNA to Rogan. Detectives arrested Rogan on January 5, 2016. He has been in custody since his arrest.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Prichard, who represented the United States in this case.
Scranton Man Guilty of Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 28-year-old Scranton man pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton, to sex trafficking of a minor.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the defendant, Mark Matis, admitted to assisting others in transporting and maintaining a minor for the purpose of having the minor engage in prostitution during February through May 2014.
The sex trafficking activity involved placing photographs of the minor along with ads in the adult “escort” section of a website; renting motel rooms in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties where the prostitution activities occurred; providing drugs to the minor; purchasing and providing condoms for the minor to use during commercial sex acts; and serving as security or “bodyguards” at the motels where the commercial sex acts took place.
Matis was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2015, as a result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police. Four persons were charged in connection with the investigation. Sean Cantelmo previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Jimmy Cantelmo also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Justin Strait pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Judge Munley scheduled sentencing in the case for February 8, 2017. Matis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. Matis remains detained in prison pending sentencing.
“HSI is pleased that our joint investigation with PSP resulted in the defendant pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor,” said Marlon Miller, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI is devoted to protecting children from predators.”
Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Rochester Man Sentenced for Role in Burglary Leading to Death of Elderly Medina Comic Book CollectorRead 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 Albert William Parsons, 47, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, was sentenced today to 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, said that co-defendants Rico Vendetti and Arlene Combs hired three men, including Parsons, Donald Griffin, and Juan Javier, to travel from Rochester to the Medina, NY home of 78 year-old Homer Marciniak to steal Marciniak’s valuable comic book collection in exchange for $1,000 each.
In executing their plan, Parsons, along with Combs, Griffin, and Javier, drove from Rochester to Medina and during the early morning hours of July 4, 2010, and cut Homer Marciniak’s phone line. In the early morning hours of the following day, July 5, 2010, the co-defendants returned to Marciniak’s home. Wearing ski masks and gloves, Parsons, Griffin, and Javier forcibly entered, and during the course of the burglary, Marciniak, who had a serious heart condition, awoke and confronted the burglars. Griffin struck Marciniak in the face and then, along with Javier, bound his hands with bed linens. Javier then verbally threatened Marciniak with a BB gun in hand. Parsons, Griffin, and Javier ultimately located the comic book collection along with several strong boxes containing cash, coins, and other valuables. Parsons, Griffin, and Javier fled the scene with Combs and provided the comic books to her. Combs, in turn, together with co-defendant Terry Stewart took the comic books to Vendetti later in the day on July 5.
After the burglars fled his house, Marciniak freed himself and was taken to Medina Memorial Hospital for treatment of his facial injuries. However, after Marciniak was treated and released, he suffered a heart attack, was re-admitted to the hospital, and died shortly thereafter. Medical experts concluded that the blow Griffin struck, as well as the emotional trauma caused by the burglary, directly contributed to Marciniak’s cardiac arrest and resulting death.
Once Vendetti learned that the burglary resulted in Marciniak’s death, Vendetti disposed of the comic books.
Law enforcement officials within the Rochester Police Department identified the defendants during the course of separate investigation in October 2010. The defendants were arrested soon thereafter.
This burglary grew out of an organized shoplifting ring that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise from retail stores such as Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, JoAnn Fabrics, Tops, and Wegmans. Vendetti, the former owner of Eastside Gold & Car Audio, formerly in Rochester, New York, along with co-defendant, Dayon Shaver, purchased the stolen merchandise for 25¢ on the dollar and then sold the stolen merchandise on eBay for about half of its retail value, primarily to out-of-state customers.
Also convicted in connection with this case:
• Rico Vendetti was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced to 240 months.
• Arlene Combs was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced to 240 months.
• Donald Griffin was convicted of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering: murder, and was sentenced to 240 months.
• Terry Stewart was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced to 55 months.
• Dayon Shaver was convicted of conspiring to traffic in stolen goods across state lines and was sentenced to 46 months.
• Brandon Meade was convicted of conspiring to traffic in stolen goods across state lines and was sentenced to time-served after serving nine months.
• Juan Javier, who was 17 at the time of the burglary, was prosecuted as an adult in Orleans County and sentenced to seven years in state prison.The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Richard Allen, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila and Officers from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli. Special assistance was provided by Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone.
Roanoke Man Sentencing on Sex Trafficking, Methamphetamine, and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man, who used force and the threat of force to intimidate women and force them to engage in sex trafficking, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke on federal drug, gun, and sex trafficking charges, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick said.
Brandon Scott Thomas, a.k.a. “Gambino,” 25, of Roanoke, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine, two counts of sex trafficking by fraud, force or coercion, one count of conspiring to commit sex trafficking by fraud, force or coercion, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Today in District Court, Thomas was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison.
“Brandon Thomas preyed on the drug addictions of young women and used physical abuse and intimidation to force them to engage in sex trafficking” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “We are proud of the work law enforcement did to bring this defendant to justice and hopefully bring these victims of sex-trafficking to a brighter future.”
“Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes we investigate. Brandon Thomas enslaved women in his prostitution scheme by exploiting their vulnerabilities,” said Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington Field Office. “Our HSI special agents and law enforcement partners will continue to fight the good fight, rescuing victims and putting traffickers behind bars.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorneys Donald R. Wolthuis and Laura Day Rottenborn, Thomas conspired with others, including co-defendant Josh Voress, from at least July 2015 until his arrest in March 2016 to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs, and he periodically possessed firearms in connection with his drug trafficking.
Thomas admitted that he ran a prostitution business involving multiple women that operated out of hotels in Roanoke and Charlottesville. To promote the business, Thomas posted prostitution advertisements on the website backpage.com. Thomas admitted that several of the women who worked for him engaged in prostitution as a result of his fraud, force, and/or coercion. Thomas admitted that he prostituted women identified as V1, V3, and V4 in Roanoke and elsewhere in the Western District of Virginia, and admitted that he beat and threatened to beat the women, and took advantage of their drug dependencies, to compel their prostitution services. Evidence was presented that Thomas targeted disenfranchised, drug-addicted women and exploited their heroin additions by withholding drugs and having them go dope-sick until they performed a sufficient number of prostitution services. Although the circumstances varied, women under the control of Thomas were induced or compelled into performing multiple prostitution encounters a day. If they did not work to his satisfaction, he would threaten them and in some instances physically harm them.
Thomas admitted that beginning in September 2015 and continuing through February 2016, he was physically abusive to V4 on a regular basis. He admitted to slapping, punching, and choking her. On at least one occasion, Thomas admitted he held a knife to the throat of V4. On a separate occasion, Thomas used a taser on V4 and also beat V4 while she was pregnant. Many of these actions took place in front of other victims.
In addition, Thomas’ methamphetamine source, co-defendant Josh Voress, 40, of Beverly Hills, California, pled guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Voress admitted to being one of the sources of methamphetamine for a conspiracy that operated in Roanoke that included Thomas and co-defendant Tyler Johnson.
At the time of Voress’ indictment by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Virginai in Roanoke, he was also under investigation by federal authorities in Pennsylvania. As part of his plea agreement in the Western District of Virginia, Voress agreed to plead guilty to additional methamphetamine charges out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and to have those charges consolidated with the federal charges in Roanoke.
According to evidence presented previously by Assistant United States Attorney Rottenborn, Voress met drug customers via the website Tumblr. Voress admitted that from November 20015 and February 2016 he sold pounds of crystal methamphetamine to Johnson via USPS or FexEx. Voress came to Roanoke to meet Johnson and sell him crystal methamphetamine and/or collect payment from Johnson at least twice.
The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Roanoke City Police Department, the Roanoke County Police Department, the Salem Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Donald R. Wolthuis and Laura Day Rottenborn prosecuted the case for the United States.
Rio Rancho Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Exploitation ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joe Medina, 37, of Rio Rancho, N.M., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to enticing a child to travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Medina will be sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release.
Medina was arrested in Indianapolis, Ind., on July 20, 2015, on a federal arrest warrant issued on a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The criminal complaint charged Medina with kidnapping and transporting a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.
According to the criminal complaint, on July 9, 2015, the victim’s mother filed a missing person’s report to the Rio Rancho Police Department (RRPD) asserting that the victim was missing. According to the complaint, after the mother learned that Medina and the victim had been communicating with each other, the victim terminated communications with Medina. The mother reported that on July 7, 2015, Medina called the victim and threatened to kidnap her and kill her mother if he was denied contact with the victim.
The RRPD’s investigation revealed that Medina took the victim to Denver, Colo., where they boarded a bus. On July 12, 2015, Medina was arrested on a New Mexico state warrant when Medina and the victim were found on a bus that had stopped in Indianapolis.
During a July 13, 2015, interview with the FBI, the victim stated that on July 9, 2015, Medina arrived outside her home and the victim agreed to go with him out of fear. The victim also told the FBI that Medina took her from Albuquerque to Denver where they abandoned Medina’s car and boarded a bus. After departing Denver, Medina and the victim were eventually located in Indianapolis.
Medina was indicted on Aug. 11, 2015, and was charged with transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity between July 9, 2015 and July 12, 2015, and coercing and enticing a minor to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Medina pled guilty to a felony information charging him with coercion or enticement. In entering the guilty plea, Medina admitted that from July 9, 2015 through July 12, 2015, he enticed the 16-years-old victim to leave Sandoval County, N.M., with the intent to travel to New York, where Medina intended to engage in sexual activity. Medina remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Rio Rancho Police Department, Corrales Police Department, the Denver Police Department and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, with assistance from the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Indiana State Police and the FBI in Indianapolis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Ringleader of Tampa Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Ring Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced Michel Lermos-Hernandez (40, Tampa) to 16 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered him to pay $714,383.51 in restitution to his victims. Lermos-Hernandez pleaded guilty on March 2, 2016.
According to court documents, Lermos-Hernandez ran a credit card fraud ring in which conspirators obtained credit card numbers by placing key loggers on credit card terminals that intercepted and stored swiped credit and debit account information at the International Mall in Tampa, including one at the Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. Lermos-Hernandez and others then created counterfeit credit cards using the stolen account numbers. Lermos-Hernandez obtained blank credit card stock, embossing machines, and magnetic stripe re-encoders from his co-defendant, Viviana Reyes. He also sold stolen account numbers to Reyes and others.
After making the counterfeit cards, Lermos-Hernandez provided them to his co-conspirators, including his sister, Norma Cabezas-Hernandez, his girlfriend, Danay-Crespo Rodriguez, and at least two other individuals, including Lazaro Rodriguez and Abel Osorio-Cuok, who used the cards to purchase electronics and gift cards at Tampa area retailers. The conspirators then took these items to Reyes, who paid them in cash for the fraudulently obtained merchandise. Reyes then sold the items at a discounted price.
On February 7, 2013, a search warrant was executed at Lermos-Hernandez’s residence. Agents recovered $14,515 in cash, a laptop computer, a credit card embosser, a magnet stripe reader/encoder, a key logger, and multiple counterfeit credit cards and re-encoded gift cards. Also pursuant to his arrest, agents seized a Mercedes-Benz sedan that Lermos-Hernandez had purchased for over $130,000.
The total actual loss identified to date is more than $700,000 and the scheme victimized more than 35 federally insured financial institutions, and over 1,000 individuals, whose account information was compromised.
Reyes was convicted at trial and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison. Crespo-Rodriguez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Cabezas-Hernandez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison. Lazaro Rodriguez was sentenced to 37 months’ incarceration. Osoria-Cuok, who was only involved in the conspiracy for approximately three weeks, was sentenced to a term of five years’ probation.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), all of which are members of the USSS’s Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Suzanne Nebesky.
Reno Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
RENO, Nev. – A Reno man has been sentenced to five years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution for his guilty plea to receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
“Today’s sentencing is an example of proven partnerships among a service provider, a nonprofit organization, and law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The defendant abused the use of free public internet connections to commit these heinous crimes against the most vulnerable in our communities. We will continue to use all available resources to identify individuals who commit crimes against our children.”
Phillip Bradley Sanderson, 26, was sentenced on Monday, Nov. 7, by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du. Sanderson pleaded guilty on May 16, 2016, to one count of receipt of child pornography. He was indicted by a grand jury on May 6, 2015.
According to court records, in August 2014, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip from Google, Inc., which reported that one of its users was emailing images of suspected child pornography. NCMEC referred the matter to law enforcement, and the images were confirmed to depict child pornography and Sanderson was identified as the email user. On March 3, 2015, Nevada Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force agents and officers executed a search warrant at Sanderson’s residence. A forensic examination of seven digital devices found at the residence revealed approximately 32 images on Sanderson’s laptop and cellular phone of infants and children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and information that Sanderson had used specific search terms to locate and receive child pornography. During an interview, Sanderson admitted to searching for and downloading child pornography files on the internet using free WI-FI at the Washoe County Public Library and a local casino. He also admitted that he emailed child pornography files to himself so he could save the files on his other electronic devices, and that he had been searching for and downloading child pornography for many years.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Bryant.
The NCMEC’s CyberTipline provides the public and electronic service providers with the ability to report suspected child sexual exploitation. More than 12.7 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation have been made to the CyberTipline between 1998 and June 2016. The public and electronic service providers are encouraged to report information at www.cybertipline.com or by calling the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-843-5678.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. 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 and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Puerto Rican resident sentenced to more than 21 years in prison for assaulting officers, other offensesRead the Press Release
A Puerto Rican man was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison for assaulting federal officers, failing to register as a sex offender and a firearms offense, law enforcement officials said.
Luis Cruz-Ramos, 30, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count each of assaulting federal officers, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence and failing to register as a sex offender.
Ramos was wanted on an arrest warrant when he was assaulted two special deputy U.S. Marshals on April 1, and brandished a firearm to do so, according to the indictment. Ramos also failed to register as a sex offender between 2013 and 2016 after traveling to Ohio, according to court documents.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer following an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Pimps Face up to Life in Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty to Their Roles in a Child Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — Four individuals, with ties to the Polywood Crips street gang in Fort Worth, Texas, have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in a child sex trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Today, Audry Lane, a/k/a “Spud,” 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children. Yesterday, Deon Bonner, a/k/a “Spanish Fly,” 26, pleaded guilty to the same offense and Chad Johnson, a/k/a “Ocho Hood Fame,” 24, pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of children. In late October, Stanley Johnson, a/k/a “Pee Wee,” 24, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children. Upon conviction, each count carries a maximum statutory penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Two defendants, Diwone Nobles, a/k/a “Pooh,” 32, and Katelyn Micelle Ward, a/k/a “KD,” 24, are set for trial.
According to documents filed in the case, in November 2015, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that a 16-year-old runaway, Jane Doe 1, was being trafficked by a group of people in Fort Worth, Texas; that group included the defendants. The investigation revealed that from approximately October 1, 2013, through April 16, 2016, the members of this group facilitated the commercial sex acts of several minor and adult females.
Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Audry Lane and Alvin Lane, a/k/a “Spank,” acted as pimps for the girls and women they trafficked. The instructed them on how much to charge and they kept proceeds from transactions. They also provided the girls and women with condoms, cellular phones and hotel rooms. Some of the member of the group bought and sold the girls and women they were trafficking amongst themselves.
To locate commercial sex customers, Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Audry Lane and Alvin Lane facilitated the placement of advertisements on various commercial websites, including Backpage.com. In many instances, rather than placing the Backpage.com advertisement themselves, sisters Serrah Arnold and/or Jessica Arnold, who acted as “bottom girls,” were told to post the advertisements using Backpage.com accounts belonging to the Arnolds.
Alvin Lane pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children. Serrah and Jessica Arnold each pleaded guilty last month to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise.
For instance, on approximately June 1, 2013, 17-year-old Jane Doe 4 was introduced to Audry Lane, Serrah and Jessica Arnold, and Alvin Lane by a family friend of the Arnolds, defendant Katelyn Ward. Ward asked the Lanes and Arnolds to teach Jane Doe 4 how to engage in commercial sex acts. Serrah and Jessica Arnold explained to Jane Doe 4 about Backpage.com and how to talk to commercial sex customers. Ward, along with Audry Lane, and later Alvin Lane, acted as Jane Doe 4’s pimp at various times between 2013 and 2015. Audry Lane knew she was age 17 when he began facilitating her commercial sex acts, and he kept the proceeds she earned. Various member of the group posted Jane Doe 4 on Backpage.com and facilitated her commercial sex acts.
On approximately October 10, 2015, friends Deon Bonner and Stanley Johnson met 17-year-old Jane Doe 2 and her 16-year-old friend Jane Doe 1 in Fort Worth. They took the girls to a motel on Meacham Street in Fort Worth. Shortly thereafter, Stanley Johnson told Jane Doe 2 that he wanted her to engage in commercial sex acts, and he sought help from Audry lane and Alvin Lane to post commercial sex ads for her on Backpage.com. Stanley Johnson told Jane Doe 2 how much to charge and he bought condoms for her; he also kept the money she made from engaging in commercial sex acts.
While Stanley Johnson was causing Jane Doe 2 to engage in commercial sex acts at a Fort Worth motel, Bonner was causing Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts in another nearby room. After several days, Bonner left the hotel, and then Chad Johnson caused Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts. Next, Nobles began causing Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex acts. Chad Johnson and Nobles eventually took both Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 to another hotel in Fort Worth where Chad Johnson continued to cause Jane Doe 2 to engage in commercial sex acts.
According to the complaint filed in the case, an adult female victim engaged in commercial sex acts at the direction of Nobles, Chad Johnson, Audry Lane, Alvin Lane, and Serrah Arnold. Nobles frequently assaulted her when she made him angry or did not follow his instructions; he also raped her. Nobles kept the money she earned and the contact phone number used in the Backpage.com ad for her services was used by Nobles. In one trip to Austin, this adult female victim made enough money for Nobles to buy a Chevy sedan that he painted bright orange – “Poly Orange” in reference to their neighborhood Polytechnic Heights – that he still owns.
When an adult female victim engaged in commercial sex acts at Chad Johnson’s direction, he physically assaulted her if she did not follow his instructions. On one occasion, Chad Johnson punched her in the ear hard enough to cause her eardrum to burst and bleed. Chad Johnson also raped her, and when he believed she had attempted to “renegade,” he had several friends gang rape her as punishment. “Renegade” is a term used to describe attempting to engage in commercial sex acts for money outside the knowledge or control of a pimp.
When an adult female victim engaged in commercial sex acts at Audry Lane’s direction, he would have Serrah Arnold, his “bottom girl,” supervise the victim and take the money she received.
A minor female victim engaged in commercial sex acts at the direction of Audry Lane, Alvin Lane, Serrah Arnold and Jessica Arnold. Alvin Lane would have his girlfriend/bottom girl, Jessica Arnold post photos of her in ads that she placed on Backpage.com. The minor female victim would give all the money she earned to Jessica or Serrah Arnold, who would then give the money to Audry Lane or Alvin Lane.
Some of the six pimp’s Facebook pages contained online posts, visible to the public, that reference making a lot of money through criminal activity, namely “pimping.” Chad Johnson’s Facebook page contained photos of him posing with large sums of cash while referencing commercial sex. Several of Chad Johnson’s Facebook friends were females observed in Backpage.com ads for commercial sex.
Nobles, Bonner, Chad Johnson, Stanley Johnson, and Audry Lane had several photos on their Facebook pages in which they can be observed flashing gang signs referencing the “Polywood Crips” street gang.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ICE HSI and the Fort Worth Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce is in charge of the prosecution.
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Oregon Woman Pleads Guilty to a Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Claimed Refunds in Excess of $1 Million
A resident of Portland, Oregon pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file fraudulent income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claiming refunds in excess of $1 million, theft of government funds and filing a false claim for refund, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the plea agreement, Lori Nicholson, 53, admitted that she conspired with other individuals to prepare and file more than 227 fraudulent income tax returns during 2010. The false information on the tax returns included fictitious wage and withholding information, and fraudulent refundable credits. Nicholson also admitted that she assisted her co-defendants to prepare and file false income tax returns, including her daughter, Jasmine Mason, Brandon Leath and Shawntina Ware. Nicholson further admitted that she shared identities and refunds with her co-defendants.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2017. Nicholson faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy and theft of government funds counts, five years in prison for the false claims count, and a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. In addition, she agreed to pay $429,269 in restitution to the IRS. Co-defendants Mason, Leath, Ware and White pleaded guilty to similar charges. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones sentenced White, Mason, and Leath to 37, 32, and 24 months in prison, respectively. Ware is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2017.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Lori A. Hendrickson and Ryan R. Raybould of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon for their substantial assistance.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
November 2016 ElectionsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Carla Higginbotham is leading the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for today’s general elections. AUSA Higginbotham has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Nevada, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” stated U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
Today there will be command posts in Reno and Las Vegas staffed by members of the Nevada Election Integrity Task Force, which includes the FBI, Nevada Secretary of State’s Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office. They will assist with the investigation of any complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses, and will ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities.
Complaints may be filed by a number of ways:
- By completing the Election Law Violation Form on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website: http://nvsos.gov/sos/elections/election-information/resources/report-potential-election-law-violation;
- By calling the NV Secretary of State at (775) 684-5718;
- By calling the FBI in Las Vegas at (702) 385-1281 and asking for FBI Special Agent Michael B. Elliott.
- Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by telephone at (800) 253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected], or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php
- By contacting our United States Attorney’s Office Points of Contact. In southern Nevada, AUSA Nick Dickinson can be reached at (702) 388-6336. In northern Nevada, AUSA Carla Higginbotham can be reached by contacting (775) 784-5438.
We are pleased to again be a part of this most important effort to ensure the 2016 election is administered fairly. The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.
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Non-Indian Man from Albuquerque Sentenced for Burglarizing Two Isleta Pueblo HomesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Roman I. Trujillo, 29, a non-Indian man residing in Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 23 months in prison for burglarizing two homes in Isleta Pueblo, N.M. Trujillo will be on supervised release for one year after completing his prison sentenced
Trujillo and his co-defendant, Danielle Bercier, 35, a non-Indian woman who also resides in Albuquerque, were arrested on Jan. 29, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with burglary offenses. According to the complaint, on Jan. 29, 2015, officers of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department responded to calls regarding burglaries at two residences in the Pueblo. At the second residence that was burglarized, officers came upon Trujillo who was fleeing from the residence in a vehicle in which Bercier was a passenger. Trujillo led the officers on a chase which ended when Trujillo crashed his vehicle.
Trujillo and Bercier were subsequently charged in a four-count indictment filed on Feb. 25, 2015. The indictment charged both Trujillo and Bercier with two counts of burglary of a dwelling. It also charged Trujillo alone with driving a vehicle in a manner that endangered the life of another person and receiving stolen property, the truck he was driving, on Jan. 28, 2014, in Indian Country in Valencia County, N.M.
On Nov. 18, 2015, Trujillo pled guilty to the two burglary counts and admitted that on Jan. 29, 2015, he forced his way into two homes in Isleta Pueblo while Bercier stayed outside as his lookout. Trujillo admitted that in the first home he stole property worth $1,500.00, and at the second home he stole two cellphones. Trujillo acknowledged that he knew or should have known that the truck he was driving as he attempted to evade arrest was a stolen vehicle.
On March 29, 2016, Bercier pled guilty to one count of burglary and admitted that Trujillo forced himself into a home in Isleta Pueblo and removed $1,500 worth of property while Bercier remained outside as a lookout. Bercier was sentenced on Aug. 17, 2016, to three years of probation.
This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback prosecuted the case.
Navajo Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Assault ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick Wadsworth, 47, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Sanostee, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an assault charge.
Wadsworth was arrested on Jan. 22, 2016, on an indictment charging him with assaulting a woman resulting in serious bodily injury on Nov. 6, 2014, in San Juan County, N.M.
On June 27, 2016, Wadsworth pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Nov. 6, 2014, he assaulted the victim by striking her and causing bruising to her face, arms and knees. Wadsworth further admitted that the crime took place as his residence on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Farmington Police Department and the Shiprock Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez prosecuted the case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Mother Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison, Son Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Involvement in $9.5 Million Pharmacy FraudRead the Press Release
A mother and son based in Miami were sentenced today to 120 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in spearheading a $9.5 million health care fraud conspiracy that targeted Medicare Part D.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
Niurka Fernandez, 54, and Roberto Alvarez, 26, each pleaded guilty on Aug. 31 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to imposing today’s prison sentences, U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida ordered Fernandez to pay $9.5 million in restitution and to forfeit the same amount. Judge Moreno also ordered Alvarez t to pay $1.5 million in restitution and to forfeit the same amount.
As part of her guilty plea, Fernandez admitted that she co-owned and operated several pharmacies in the Miami area, including Calan Pharmacy & Discount Service LLC (Calan Pharmacy) and Bertyann Corp., doing business as Best Pharmacy, for the purpose of submitting false and fraudulent claims through Medicare Part D. Fernandez was an organizer and leader of the Medicare fraud scheme that paid Medicare beneficiaries and patient recruiters for prescriptions that were medically unnecessary, according to the plea agreement. Fernandez further acknowledged that she directed her co-conspirators at Calan Pharmacy and Best Pharmacy to make kickback payments and write and cash checks for the purpose of facilitating kickback payments and concealing fraud proceeds. Fernandez is also linked to several other Medicare fraud schemes.
As part of his guilty plea, Alvarez admitted that he participated in the Medicare fraud conspiracy at Best Pharmacy. Among other things, Alvarez admitted he wrote checks from Best Pharmacy to money launderers in order to obtain cash to pay the kickbacks to the Medicare beneficiaries.
In her plea documents, Fernandez admitted that she caused at least $9.5 million in losses to Medicare, while Alvarez conceded he caused a loss of at least $1.5 million. In total, Medicare paid at least $9.5 million in overpayments as a result of the health care fraud scheme.
The FBI, U.S. Secret Service and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys L. Rush Atkinson and Lisa H. Miller prosecuted the case.Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Media Advisory - Project Safe Neighborhoods Press Conference on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 10:00 a.mRead the Press Release
Contact Information:
Ken Shetter, OSP – 817-502-7110 or 817-707-7824 (cell)
Lt. Kirk Driver, PSN Chair, FWPD – 817-996-0356 (cell)
Kathy Colvin, OUSA – 214-659-8600
SSA Scott Ragsdale, ATF – 469-227-4322
Announcing an award of $500,000, one of seven nationally, to One Safe Place for the implementation of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative in two designated areas in Fort Worth, Texas.
A press conference is scheduled for Thursday, November 10th, at 10:00AM in the auditorium of One Safe Place located at 1100 Hemphill Street in Fort Worth. Details of how the multidisciplinary PSN Task Force works together, the outreach programs, and the results of the past PSN initiative will be available at the press conference. Members of the PSN Task Force representing 17 agencies participate in the operation of the PSN Project.
Participants in the Press Conference:
The Honorable John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas,
Bill Temple, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives, Chief Joel Fitzgerald, Fort Worth Chief of Police, Ken Shetter,
President, One Safe Place and other invited guests.
PrProject Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program of the Department of Justice, is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs and using data-driven targeted enforcement to address many of the causes of these crimes, such as family violence and repeat/returning offenders. The goal is to create safer neighborhoods by involving the communities in these efforts and identifying needed resources that include prevention and outreach, as well as, enforcement to sustain this reduction in crime.
Interview opportunities will be available
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Maryland man pleads guilty to unlawful cigarette smugglingRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Amir Mohamed Alsaidi, 38, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty in federal court today to unlawful cigarette smuggling, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Alsaidi participated in a cigarette smuggling operation designed to transport large quantities of cigarettes across state lines for redistribution and sale. He pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes” and faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Stein and Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. Homeland Security Investigations, the Frederick County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia Office of Attorney General, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the West Virginia State Police, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service led the investigation.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Mars Hill Woman Sentenced to Six Years for Bath Salts Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Leda Giggey, 45, of Mars Hill, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to six years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute bath salts. The defendant pled guilty to the charge on March 7, 2016.
According to court records, between about January 2012 and June 2014, Giggey conspired with others in Aroostook County to obtain and distribute bath salts. On multiple occasions, Giggey ordered bath salts over the internet from China for personal use and to sell to other conspirators.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with assistance from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
MS-13 Member Sentenced to over Twenty-Seven Years Imprisonment for Gang-Related Murder and Other CrimesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Defendant Jaime Balam (a/k/a “Tweety”) was sentenced today to 330 months’ imprisonment announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S. District Judge following a guilty plea entered August 16, 2016, in which Balam acknowledged committing numerous crimes including conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, and illegal use and possession of firearms.
Balam, 27, is a native and citizen of Mexico. According to his guilty plea, since 2008, he was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or “MS-13,” a transnational criminal gang operating in various Central American countries and in numerous states across the United States. In his plea agreement, Balam acknowledged that as a member of MS-13, he conspired with other gang members to conduct of the affairs of MS-13 through a pattern of racketeering activity that included murder, attempted murder, and other acts of violence. For example, Balam acknowledged that in order to maintain and increase his position as an MS-13 gang member, he would kill members of rival gangs and those believed to be members of rival gangs.
Described in Balam’s plea agreement are the events of February 19, 2009. On that day, Balam was riding in a stolen car with other gang members “hunting” for rival gang members in parts of San Francisco and Daly City. When his coconspirators spotted a car parked near the Daly City BART station, Balam and another gang member exited the car, approached the suspected rival gang members from behind, and opened fire at the people seated inside the car. The gun fire killed one person and gravely wounded two others. Balam admitted he did not know the victims in the car; other court documents make clear that the victims were not gang members, but rather four friends on a regular Thursday evening outing for dinner and drinks.
Balam was indicted on August 21, 2012, and charged with racketeering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d); conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5); conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(6); murder in aid of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1); attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5) (three counts); carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A); causing death in the commission of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j); and being an alien unlawfully in possession of a firearm or ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5). In February of 2015, Balam was extradited from Mexico and brought to the United States to face the charges in the indictment. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Balam pleaded guilty to all but one of the murder in aid of racketeering charges.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Alsup sentenced Balam to five years of supervised release and to pay $21,650 in restitution to the murder victim’s father.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Scoble is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lance Libatique and Kevin Costello. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the San Francisco Police Department, and the Daly City Police Department.
Lubbock Women Plead Guilty to Roles in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — Two women from Lubbock, Texas, Crystal Ann Alaniz and Arleen Theres Keithley, appeared yesterday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant Jr., and pleaded guilty to their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Alaniz, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting; she faces a statutory sentence of not less than five years or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine. Keithley, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting; she faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. Judge Bryant ordered a presentence investigation report for each defendant with sentencing dates to be set after the completion of those reports.
Co-defendant Jonathan Lovato, 33, of Lubbock, also pleaded guilty yesterday. Last week, co-defendants Juan Carlos Lara-Ochoa, 24, and Jose Alberto Cibrian, 41, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.
According to documents filed in the case, on April 30, 2016, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) stopped a vehicle in Lubbock for traffic violations. Keithley was the driver; Alaniz was the passenger. Keithley was arrested for driving with an invalid license, and Alaniz, who had several outstanding warrants, was also placed under arrest.
Both Keithley and Alaniz were placed in the trooper’s vehicle. The in-car video recording system captured Keithley maneuver her hands—while handcuffed—to her left breast area and force a substance in a plastic bag out of her bra. Keithley then used her teeth to remove the item from her bra and toss it to the back seat area where Alaniz was seated. Alaniz hid the item in her pants. Both women were transported to the Lubbock County Detention Center. When asked if either was in possession of any contraband, Alaniz initially stated, “no,” before admitting “I have stuff on me.” Alaniz was searched and two plastic bags containing suspected methamphetamine were found in her pants. Alaniz was also in possession of two plastic bags that contained several smaller plastic bags with markings consistent with narcotics trafficking. Two additional plastic bags, containing suspected methamphetamine were found in Keithley’s bra. Two bundles of money, totaling nearly $2,000 were found in Keithley’s purse along with a digital scale that contained drug residue. Keithley also had $2,500 in small bills on her person.
The Texas DPS Crime Lab determined that the suspected methamphetamine was in fact methamphetamine, and it weighed a total of 54.93 grams.
The case is being investigated by the Lubbock Police Department, the Littlefield Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is in charge of the prosecution.
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Lubbock Man Involved in Police Pursuit in Which Another Motorist was Struck and Killed Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Lubbock, Texas, man, Jonathan Lovato, 33, appeared yesterday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant Jr. and pleaded guilty to federal offenses stemming from his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Lovato pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting. He faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine on the drug conviction and not less than five years and up to life and a $250,000 fine on the firearm conviction. Judge Bryant ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report.
On March 17, 2016, officers with the Lubbock Police Department conducted an undercover narcotics purchase from a hotel room in Lubbock and were watching the room to monitor traffic to and from the location while a search warrant was obtained. During this surveillance, officers saw the main target of the investigation, Lovato, arrive in a silver sedan and begin to take items from the hotel room. Lovato attempted to leave the hotel in his vehicle, and when officers tried to detain him, he sped away. He evaded officers for several blocks, driving in excess of the speed limit, against oncoming traffic, and through several traffic-controlled intersections without observing the traffic signals. Lovato’s vehicle was stopped when he struck several other vehicles as he drove against oncoming traffic into a busy street intersection. One of the individuals in a vehicle he struck sustained life-threatening injuries and later died.
As officers approached Lovato’s vehicle, they discovered he had a 9mm caliber pistol in his waistband. A package containing a substance, later verified as 118.13 grams of methamphetamine, was found in the glove box and five cell phones were found throughout the vehicle. Lovato admitted he possessed the firearm and admitted to selling methamphetamine.
The case is being investigated by the Lubbock Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is in charge of the prosecution.
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Lead Defendant in Case Targeting Synthetic Drugs Pleads Guilty to Smuggling, Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – The lead defendant in an indictment that outlined a wide-reaching conspiracy to smuggle, manufacture and distribute more than $12 million worth of synthetic, or analogue, drugs has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Sean Libbert, 41, of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon to a series of charges related to a scheme to distribute drugs commonly called “spice” or “bath salts.” Some of the drugs in this case nearly killed a victim who ingested them, according to the 16-count indictment filed in June 2014 that was the first in this district involving drug analogues.
Libbert pleaded guilty to four felony offenses: conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute controlled substance analogues; conspiracy to smuggle controlled substance analogues into the United States using false statements and fraudulent documents; being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition; and money laundering.
As part of a plea agreement with the government, Libbert has agreed to serve at least six years in federal prison, and the government has agreed to recommend a sentence of not greater than 20 years. Libbert is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney on March 20, 2017.
“The investigation in this case revealed that this defendant controlled an organization that was one of the largest importers and distributors of dangerous, synthetic drugs in the nation,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Over the course of only 16 months, this organization smuggled well over 600 pounds of chemicals into the U.S., knowing that the drugs would be used to manufacture synthetic marijuana or ‘spice’ that was smoked or taken orally. As the indictment in this cases references, these synthetic drugs poses serious health risks to its users.”
Previously in this case, two other defendants pleaded guilty, including a Chinese national who sold Libbert and his associates synthetic drugs that were smuggled into the United States. Another three defendants charged in a separate case pleaded guilty to conspiring with Libbert to manufacture and distribute controlled substance analogues. These other five defendants are expected to be sentenced by Judge Carney next year.
The nearly three-year investigation into the analogue drug ring was conducted by the Los Angeles HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Southern California Drug Task Force, which includes special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation.
“The packaging and names associated with analogue drugs might lead some impressionable users to believe these substances are benign, but the reality is they can cause serious health complications and even death,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “Couple that with the fact synthetic drugs are often marketed to young people and you have a prescription for disaster. For that reason, HSI is continuing to work closely with its federal and local law enforcement counterparts to target this emerging side of the illicit drug trade.”
As part of the scheme, Libbert incorporated a series of companies, opened up a series of bank accounts and private mailboxes, and used various websites to sell more than $12 million worth of chemicals and analogue substances to people across the United States, including other distributors and individual users.
Libbert and his co-conspirators also manufactured their own synthetic marijuana, which they marketed and sold under the brand “Da Kine Blend.” When he pleaded guilty, Libbert admitted that over a 7½-month period in 2011 he distributed at least 4 kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids, which he knew would be used to manufacture at least 100 kilograms of synthetic marijuana for human consumption.
“Ingesting any synthetic cannabinoid or cathinone is like playing a game of Russian roulette – it can kill you in an instant,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. “Dismantling the highest level drug manufacturing and distribution organizations in the interest of public health and safety is what DEA is all about, and we’ll continue to target these organizations no matter what facade they operate behind.”
In July 2012, HIDTA investigators executed a series of federal search warrants and seized several luxury vehicles, hundreds of pounds of analogues and firearms –including a rifle, a shotgun, two pistols, and approximately 700 rounds of ammunition, all of which Libbert was prohibited from possessing as a result of three prior felony convictions, including a 2002 drug trafficking conviction.
In addition to the drug and firearms charges, Libbert also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. Investigators have seized more than $1.1 million in assets connected to the case, including more than $700,000 in profits from the sale of Libbert’s former San Juan Capistrano home.
“This is an important victory for the American public in federal synthetic drug law enforcement,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Not only is Libbert being held accountable for his crime, but he has agreed to the forfeiture of the proceeds associated with his illegal activity through the mechanism of asset forfeiture. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to financially disrupt and dismantle significant drug trafficking organizations through the seizure and forfeiture of assets associated with the crime."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol A. Chen of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section.
Las Cruces Woman Sentenced to Prison for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Marlene C. Sandoval, 39, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Sandoval and her co-defendant David S. Thompson, 29, were arrested in Nov. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging them with methamphetamine trafficking charges on Oct. 16, 2015, in Doña Ana County, N.M. Sandoval and Thompson were arrested after law enforcement officers found crystal methamphetamine inside the vehicle Sandoval and Thompson were driving during a routine traffic stop. Sandoval and Thompson were subsequently indicted on Feb. 17, 2016, and charged with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
On April 19, 2016, Sandoval and Thompson each entered a guilty plea to a conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute charge. They admitted being pulled over for speeding on Oct. 16, 2015, by New Mexico Department of Transportation officers. After obtaining consent from Sandoval and Thompson to search their vehicle, the officers found 499 grams of methamphetamine in a shoe in the vehicle. Sandoval and Thompson also admitted that they intended to distribute the methamphetamine in Las Cruces.
Thompson was sentenced on Sept. 26, 2016, to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the New Mexico Department of Transportation Police, the Las Cruces Police Department and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Justice Department Files Brief to Address Automatic Suspensions of Driver's Licenses for Failure to Pay Court DebtRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department filed a statement of interest today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia addressing the constitutionality of state policies that automatically suspend the driver’s licenses of those who fail to pay court fines or fees. The statement of interest was filed in Stinnie et al. v. Holcomb, a class action brought by four individuals whose driver’s licenses were suspended because they could not afford to pay fines, fees and costs assessed by Virginia courts.
The statement of interest advances the United States’ position that suspending a driver’s license is unconstitutional if it is done without providing due process and without assessing whether the individual’s failure to pay was willful or the result of an inability to pay. As the Supreme Court has affirmed, the Constitution prohibits punishing a person because of his or her poverty. The United States’ brief explains that the defendant’s alleged “practice of automatically suspending the driver’s license of any person who fails to pay outstanding court debt—without inquiring into ability to pay—violates that constitutional principle.” Without taking into account an individual’s ability to pay, the practice results in indigent defendants having their driver’s licenses suspended because they cannot afford fines and fees, while defendants who can afford to pay do not. The brief argues that, if the facts as alleged by plaintiffs are true, such practice violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.
In Stinnie v. Holcomb, the plaintiffs allege that their driver’s licenses were indefinitely suspended because they did not pay court fines and costs that they could not afford. They further allege that 900,000 people in Virginia, or one in six drivers, have had their licenses suspended for failure to pay court debt. The department’s statement of interest in this case rests on a fundamental principle, developed in a long line of Supreme Court cases, “that conditioning access or outcomes in the justice system solely on a person’s ability to pay violates the Fourteenth Amendment.” The brief also explains that a driver’s license is a constitutionally protected interest under clear Supreme Court precedent and that it cannot be suspended under the circumstances permitted in Virginia without adequate notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard first.
“People depend on driver’s licenses to get to work, access health care and provide for their families – and so when their license is suspended for reasons that do not relate to public safety, it unnecessarily disrupts lives and harms communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “This brief advances the department’s robust efforts to prevent unlawful practices that punish poverty at every stage of the justice system and that trap vulnerable residents in cycles of debt from court fines and fees.”
“The Constitution prohibits punishing a person for their poverty,” said Director Lisa Foster of the Office for Access to Justice. “Yet suspending a person’s driver’s license when they are unable to pay court debt does just that. And it’s also counterproductive. How can a person pay their fines and fees if they lose their job because they can’t drive to work?”
“Driver’s licenses permit individuals to work and contribute to society in positive ways,” said U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. of the Western District of Virginia. “It makes no sense to suspend this privilege because a person is poor.”
In recent years, the department has taken several steps to address the unequal treatment of the poor in the justice system. In March 2015, the Civil Rights Division addressed a range of harmful practices in the enforcement of fines and fees, including the suspension of driver’s licenses to coerce payment, in its investigation of Ferguson, Missouri. In March 2016, the division and the Office for Access to Justice sent a Dear Colleague Letter to state courts clarifying the constitutional limits on coercing payment of court debt, including through license suspensions.
Plaintiffs in Stinnie v. Holcomb filed their complaint in federal court in July. The defendant is the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. In October, the state’s Office of the Attorney General filed a motion to dismiss the case. In its filing, the United States does not take a position on the factual accuracy of the plaintiffs’ claims, but instead addresses the appropriate legal framework for analyzing their claims.
Japanese Auto Parts Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Antitrust Conspiracy Involving Steel TubesRead the Press Release
Company Agrees to Pay $7.2 Million Criminal Fine
Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. (Usui), an automotive parts manufacturer based in Shimizu, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $7.2 million criminal fine for its role in a criminal conspiracy involving automotive steel tubes sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Usui participated in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers and rig bids for automotive steel tubes sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere. Maruyasu Industries Co. Ltd., Maruyasu’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Curtis-Maruyasu America Inc. (CMA), and sales executives, Tadao Hirade, Kazunori Kobayashi, Satoru Murai and Yoshihiro Shigematsu, were previously indicted on June 15, for their alleged participation in the conspiracy. In addition to Usui’s agreement to pay a $7.2 million criminal fine, the manufacturer has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
“Despite having prosecuted scores of corporate and individual conspirators in this investigation, the Antitrust Division continues to vigilantly pursue those responsible who have not yet been held accountable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This investigation is not completed, and the division will continue to prosecute automotive parts manufacturers and executives that sought to maximize their profits through anticompetitive means.”
“Bid rigging, price fixing and other schemes hurt consumers and undermine our economic system,” said Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office. “The FBI, the Department of Justice and our partners will continue to work to protect consumers and root out corporate fraud.”
“The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General is proud to work with the Department of Justice and the FBI in protecting the U.S. economy from illegal pricing tactics such as those uncovered in this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Duane Townsend of the Commerce’s Office of Inspector General. “We will continue our cooperative efforts to bring those who violate our laws to justice and deter future attempts to undermine fair market practices.”
Automotive steel tubes are used in fuel distribution, braking and other automotive systems and are sometimes divided into two categories – chassis tubes and engine parts. Chassis tubes, such as brake and fuel tubes, tend to be located in the body of a vehicle while engine parts, such as fuel injection rails, oil level tubes and oil strainer tubes, are associated with the function of a vehicle’s engine.
According to the charges, Usui and its co-conspirators participated in meetings, conversations and communications in which they agreed to customer allocations as well as bids, prices and price adjustments to be submitted to customers in the United States and elsewhere. Usui and its co-conspirators employed measures to conceal their conduct, including meeting surreptitiously and adopting means and methods of communication designed to avoid detection. Usui’s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as December 2003 until at least as late as July 9, 2011.
Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Including Usui, 47 companies and 65 executives have been charged in the division’s ongoing investigation and have agreed to pay a total of more than $2.9 billion in criminal fines.
These charges were brought by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the Department of Commerce’s Denver Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office, the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Anyone with information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office at 513-421-4310.
Indictment: Traffic Stop in Kansas Uncovered 117 Pounds of CocaineRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – Two people were indicted Tuesday on federal charges they had 117 pounds of cocaine hidden in their car when they were stopped for a traffic violation in Wabaunsee County, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Marco Antonio Aispuro, 48, and Maria Janeth Moreno-Cento, 39, were charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. In addition, Moreno-Centeno was charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported.
Documents filed in the case allege Moreno-Centro was driving and Aispuro was in the passenger seat on Oct. 21, 2016, when the Kansas Highway Patrol pulled them over on I-70 eastbound near mile marker 333 in Wabaunsee County. Troopers found 117 pounds of cocaine in the driver’s side rear quarter panel and the spare tire.
Upon conviction, the drug charge carries a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. The immigration charge carries a penalty up to two years and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Skip Jacobs is prosecuting.
OTHER GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS
Osmar A. Marroquin, 42, a citizen of Guatemala, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Oct. 24, 2016, in Butler County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty up to two years and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Gonzalo Montoya-Perez, 45, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Oct. 27, 2016, in Reno County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty up to two years and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
INTERPOL Washington Meets Indonesian CounterpartsRead the Press Release
USNCB Acting Director Salzgaber (left) and NCB-Indonesia Secretary Yahya.The INTERPOL Washington—U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)--delegation to the 85th INTERPOL General Assembly (GA) met with the senior leadership of the National Central Bureau (NCB)-INTERPOL Indonesia on November 8th, 2016. USNCB Acting Director Wayne Salzgaber recognized the Secretary of NCB-Indonesia, Brigjen Pol Drs. M. Naufal Yahya, M.Sc.(Eng), for the continued collaboration and partnership between the two organizations. Salzgaber also thanked the Secretary for the Indonesian’s hospitality in hosting the GA.
Founder of West Suburban Investment Firm Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison in $3.7 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The founder of a Geneva investment firm has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for using client funds to purchase a yacht and luxury vehicle and to trade his own stocks.
STEPHEN C. BROWERE, the founder of Geneva-based Stephens Capital Management Inc., used the promise of lucrative and guaranteed returns to persuade several clients to purchase $1.66 million in promissory notes in Douglas Capital Corp., located in Lisle. Many of the investors pledged their life savings or funds from retirement plans. Browere did not tell investors that his relative was the president of Douglas Capital, and that Browere ran Douglas Capital’s day-to-day operations and had access to its lines of credit. Instead of investing the funds in the promissory notes, Browere used the money to perform trades within his own investment portfolio, and to cover personal purchases such as a yacht and a BMW automobile.
Browere, 57, of Geneva, pleaded guilty in June to one count of mail fraud. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly on Friday sentenced Browere to 60 months in prison. Judge Kennelly also ordered Browere to pay $3.7 million in restitution to the victims.
“Each investor thought defendant was investing his or her money in safe, stable investments that would provide income well into retirement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Otlewski argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “They did not agree to give defendant free reign to use the savings as his personal slush fund to support a lavish lifestyle.”
Browere’s scheme began no later than 2007 and continued until approximately February 2014. In addition to spending the victims' funds on himself, Browere concealed the fraud by using principal payments from some investors to make interest payments to others in a Ponzi-like fashion.
Browere also obtained the power of attorney on behalf of an elderly client who was infirm and suffering from dementia. The power of attorney gave Browere access to the client’s cash and property, which were valued at more than $2.1 million. Browere misappropriated some of this money to purchase four vacant lots in Lisle and to make interest payments to other clients. After the client died, Browere maintained control over the estate and continued to misuse the estate’s assets.
The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey A. Monhart, Regional Director of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and E.C. Woodson, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago. The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Mr. Otlewski.
Florida Registered Broker Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud for Participating in A $131 Million Market Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, Gerald Cocuzzo, a resident of Boca Raton, Florida and a broker registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA), pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with the fraudulent market manipulation of ForceField Energy Inc. (ForceField), a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “FNRG.” The guilty plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced, Cocuzzo faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine.
The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearings, between January 2009 and April 2015, the defendant, together with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in ForceField, a purported worldwide distributor and provider of LED lighting products and solutions, by artificially controlling the price and volume of traded shares of ForceField through, among other means: (1) using nominees to purchase and sell ForceField stock without disclosing this information to investors and potential investors; (2) orchestrating the trading of ForceField stock to create the appearance of genuine trading volume and interest in the stock; and (3) concealing payments to stock promoters and broker dealers who promoted and sold ForceField stock to investors and potential investors while claiming to be independent of the company. The defendants’ fraudulent scheme caused a loss of approximately $131 million to the investing public.
Between January 2015 and April 2015, a ForceField executive paid commission payments, or kickbacks, to Cocuzzo in exchange for his purchase of ForceField stock in his clients’ brokerage accounts. Cocuzzo did not disclose to his clients the kickbacks he was receiving for purchasing ForceField stock. Cocuzzo and his co-conspirators took pains to conceal their participation in the fraudulent scheme by using prepaid, disposable cellular telephones and encrypted, content-expiring messaging applications to communicate with each other, and by paying kickbacks in cash.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark E. Bini and Lauren H. Elbert are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges were brought 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 is 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 ww.StopFraud.gov.
The Defendant:
GERALD COCUZZO
Age: 38
Residence: Delray Beach, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-234 (BMC)
Executive Office for Immigration Review Swears in Five Immigration JudgesRead the Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the investiture of five new immigration judges. Chief Immigration Judge MaryBeth Keller presided over the investiture during a ceremony held Nov. 4, 2016, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C.
After a thorough application process, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Kerri A. Calcador, Randall Wilson Duncan, Rico M. Sogocio, Karen M. Donoso Stevens, and Dean S. Tuckman to their new positions.
“I am pleased to preside over the investiture of these five appointees in my new role as chief immigration judge,” said Keller. “With these appointments, EOIR now has 296 immigration judges, setting a new all-time high for our immigration judge corps and further strengthening our efforts to address the agency’s pending caseload of more than 500,000.”
Biographical information follows.
Kerri A. Calcador, Immigration Judge, Los Angeles Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Kerri A. Calcador to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Calcador earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994 from the University of San Diego and a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the University of San Diego School of Law. From 2007 to October 2016, she served as a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in San Diego. From 2006 through 2007, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, Department of Justice (DOJ), in San Diego. From 2002 to October 2016, and previously from 1997 through 2001, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Los Angeles and San Diego. From 1999 through 2001, she served as an assistant district counsel for the Office of the District Counsel, former Immigration and Naturalization Service, DOJ, in Los Angeles, during which time she also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, DOJ. Judge Calcador is a member of the State Bar of California.
Randall Wilson Duncan, Immigration Judge, Stewart Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Randall Wilson Duncan to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Duncan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977 and a Master of Public Administration in 1985, both from the University of Georgia, and a Juris Doctor in 1995 from the John Marshall Law School. From 2007 to October 2016, he served in various capacities for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, including as a senior attorney, national security attorney, worksite enforcement attorney, special assistant U.S. attorney, and assistant chief counsel, in Atlanta. From 2003 through 2007, he served as a deputy director for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, in Atlanta. From 2002 through 2003, he served as legal director for the Georgia Sentencing Commission, in Atlanta. From 2000 through 2002, he served as an assistant district attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, in Newnan, Ga. From 1997 through 1999, he served as a public policy attorney for Applied Research Services, in Atlanta. Judge Duncan is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.
Rico M. Sogocio, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Rico M. Sogocio to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Sogocio earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor in 1992 from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. From 2010 to October 2016, he served as a senior counsel for the Office of the General Counsel, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice (DOJ), in Falls Church, Va. From 2002 through 2010, he held numerous positions in private practice, including: from 2008 through 2010 as principal and general counsel for Miami Media Labs LLC, in Miami; from 2005 through 2007 as an outside legal advisor for Nextream Broadband Inc., in Hallandale, Fla.; from 2004 through 2006 as principal and general counsel for IMProServices Inc., in Miami; and from 2002 through 2010 as of-counsel for Burgos & Sosa PA, in Miami. From 2001 through 2003, he served as a consultant for Plave Manten Consulting Group and as corporate counsel for PMC4 LLC, in Aventura, Fla. From 1999 through 2001, he served as a litigation associate for Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart PA, in Miami. From 1994 through 1999, he served in various capacities for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, DOJ, including as an assistant district counsel and senior litigation counsel. From 1996 through 1998, he also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, DOJ. From 2008 through 2010, he served as an adjunct professor on the faculty of the Miami-Dade College Law Center. Judge Sogocio is a member of the Florida and Pennsylvania Bars.
Karen M. Donoso Stevens, Immigration Judge, Arlington Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Karen M. Donoso Stevens to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Donoso Stevens earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995 from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the Michigan State University College of Law. From 2010 to October 2016, she served as a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Arlington, Va. From 2007 through 2010, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Arlington, Va. From 2005 through 2006, she served as a staff attorney for the Children’s Project at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in Chicago. From 2001 through 2003, she served as juvenile diversion program director for the California Bar Foundation, Orange County, Calif. In 2001, she served as family services coordinator for the Children’s Bureau of Southern California, in Santa Ana, Calif. From 1999 through 2000, she served as an assistant state’s attorney for the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office, in Cook County, Chicago. Judge Donoso Stevens is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
Dean S. Tuckman, Immigration Judge, El Paso Immigration Court
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Dean S. Tuckman to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Tuckman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor in 1992 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. From 1998 to October 2016, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, in Albuquerque, N.M. From 1995 through 1998, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable James A. Parker, U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico. From 1992 through 1995, he served as a litigation associate for Latham & Watkins, in New York City. Judge Tuckman is a member of the Colorado, Connecticut, and District of Columbia Bars, the State Bar of New Mexico, and the New York State Bar.
East St. Louis Man Sentenced for Gun OffenseRead the Press Release
Elvinn Pawnell, 38, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced on November 8, 2016, in federal district court, in Benton, Illinois, following his recent plea of guilty to one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today. Pawnell was sentenced to 52 months of imprisonment, to be followed by a term of 3 years of supervised release, and was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and a $100 fine.
On November 3, 2015, police officers executed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Pawnell in East St. Louis for a traffic violation. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed the presence of a firearm belonging to Pawnell in the vehicle. Pawnell was a previously convicted felon, which prohibited him from possessing any firearm.
The case was investigated by the Illinois State Police and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.
Dallas Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking a Developmentally Disabled Teenage GirlRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Damion Kentrell White, 24, of Dallas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 240 months in federal prison on felony convictions stemming from a plan to recruit a developmentally disabled teenage girl to engage in commercial sex acts, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Damion White pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid or a racketeering enterprise and one count of illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment.
His co-defendant brother, Kenneth Laray White, 27, was sentenced earlier this year to serve a total of 326 months in federal prison. Kenneth White pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Another defendant charged and convicted in the case, their cousin, Mecose Mendale Shorter, 32, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty in May to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2016.
According to documents filed in the case, from approximately July 4, 2013, to July 22, 2013, Damion White, Kenneth White and Mecose Shorter 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; Shorter was engaged in the unlawful activity of promoting prostitution of another female.
Damion and Kenneth knew the victim since she was 15 years old. When she was 18 years old, 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.
Later 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.
Kenneth and Damion White were arrested on federal sex trafficking charges on February 25, 2014. Kenneth White was found at his girlfriend’s apartment, and during a protective sweep of the apartment, agents located a Romar/Cugir 7.62 caliber rifle, along with three extended magazines under the mattress in the master bedroom. Damion White admitted that he had possessed firearms recently, including the firearm that Kenneth White was caught with that day. Damion White further admitted that he had been under indictment for a felony marijuana case for quite some time.
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 is prosecuting the case.
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Covington Man Sentenced for Illegally Possessing a Firearm, Transporting Stolen FirearmsRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A previously convicted felon, who under federal law is prohibited from possessing a firearm, was sentenced today for breaking into a federally licensed firearms dealer and stealing two dozen firearms with hopes of later selling them, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
David Christopher Martin, 40, of Covington, Va., previously pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke to one count of being a previously convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm and one count of transporting one or more stolen firearms in interstate commerce from Virginia to South Carolina. Today in District Court, Martin was sentenced to spend a total of 15 years in federal prison. In addition, Martin was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the gun store owner, a fine of $500 and a $200 special assessment.
“Since becoming the United States Attorney it has been one of my top priorities to keep guns out of the hands of prohibited users,” U.S. Attorney Fishwick said today. “This defendant planned to not only possess firearms illegally but sell them to other prohibited users. I am thankful to the men and women who investigated this case and made our community safer by recovering many of these guns.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by United States Attorney Fishwick, Martin admitted that on or about April 4, 2016 he used a rock to break the glass of the front door of Mountain Top Hunting and Fishing, a federally licensed firearms dealer located in Covington, Va. After breaking the glass of the front door, Martin entered the store through the broken window. Martin admitted that prior to the burglary he “cased” the business, examining the layout, inventory and security. To make his escape easier, he disassembled part of a fence at the rear of the store. Additionally, Martin purchased a set of wire cutters to disable what he believed to be part of the alarm system.
Once inside the store, Martin used the wire cutters to break the glass of a display cabinet where handguns were on display. He took what he thought to be the most valuable handguns and put them into a red bag and left the store with 24 handguns. Martin later admitted he planned to sell the handguns for approximately $6,000 and split the money with his girlfriend.
Early on the morning of April 4, 2016, Martin got into a van with co-worker to travel to Florida for a pressure washing job at a paper mill, taking the guns with him in the red bag. At one point during the trip, the driver of the van told Martin if he had anything illegal in the van he needed to get rid of it. At a rest stop near Yemassee, South Carolina, Martin got out of the van and hid the guns in the nearby woods, taking a picture of a unique tree near where he hid the guns, which were later recovered by federal agents.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Roanoke, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, the Covington Police Department, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Bloomingdale, Georgia Police Department, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina and the Nassau County Florida Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. and Assistant United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno prosecuted the case for the United States.
Colfax County Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Federal EmployeeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Cody Martinez, 30, of Raton, N.M., pled guilty last week in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting a federal employee. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 8th Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos, and Inspector in Charge Keith Fixel of the Phoenix Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Martinez was arrested on Jan. 29, 2016, on a federal criminal complaint for assaulting a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier. According to the criminal complaint, Martinez struck the victim in the back of the head with a brick while the victim was delivering mail in Colfax County, N.M., on Jan. 20, 2016. Martinez was apprehended shortly thereafter while attempting to flee from law enforcement officers. The victim sustained serious injuries as a result of the assault.
Martinez was indicted on Feb. 24, 2016, and was charged with assaulting a federal employee resulting in bodily injury. On Nov. 4, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Jan. 20, 2016, he assaulted a federal employee, a mail carrier, by striking him in the head with a dangerous weapon, a brick, causing bodily injury.
At sentencing, Martinez faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Martinez was arrested on Jan. 20, 2016 on local charges filed by the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Those charges were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Raton Police Department, with assistance from the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez is prosecuting the case.
Chaves County Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Abel Montoya, 53, of Lake Arthur, N.M., was sentenced today in Las Cruces, N.M., federal court to 33 months in prison for violating the federal firearms laws. Montoya will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
Montoya was arrested on Oct. 21, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 27, 2014. On that day, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force (PVDTF) executed a search warrant at Montoya’s residence and seized two firearms.
Montoya was subsequently indicted on Jan. 20, 2016, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. At the time, Montoya was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of cocaine trafficking and possession of methamphetamine.
On May 25, 2016, Montoya pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Feb. 27, 2014, he possessed two firearms, one of which had an obliterated serial number. Montoya acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his status as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the PVDTF with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano prosecuted the case.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Brooklyn, New York Man Sentenced to Twelve Years in Jail for Sex Trafficking and Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced today that Diheim Young, age 32, of Brooklyn, New York was sentenced by Judge William K. Sessions, III, in federal court to twelve years in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine in Rutland, Vermont as well as a conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking women between Vermont and New York. Young pleaded guilty to sex trafficking five women between 2012 and 2015. Four of the women were Vermont residents at the time they were trafficked. Judge Sessions also sentenced Young to five years of supervised release after his prison sentence.
According to the public record, Young worked with a series of women who assisted him in the drug trade. These women sold drugs for him, transported him to meet drug customers in and around Rutland and transported him to New York City to pick up drugs from his source of supply. When the women were sufficiently addicted to be dependent upon him, Young turned their addictions against them as a means of controlling them. Young convinced some of the women to travel to New York City with him under false pretenses and, once there, forced them to prostitute themselves either by posting advertisements on a website called Backpage or by forcing them to walk what is known as “the track.” If the women refused to engage in prostitution, Young withheld drugs from those who were addicted knowing that they would get sick from withdrawal. Young would also hit the women or threaten to hit them if they refused to do as Young said or attempted to escape.
With some of the Vermont women, Young also confiscated their cell phones and identification documents as a means of isolating and controlling them once they were in New York. One of Young’s siblings made his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, available for use as part of the sex trafficking scheme. This residence was used as a location to photograph the women for the purpose of creating Backpage advertisements, which he used to advertise some of the women to potential sex buyers. Young also held the women at the Brooklyn apartment where he assaulted them physically and sexually if they refused to engage in commercial sex acts or tried to leave him. Young took the proceeds earned by the women for engaging in forced prostitution and threatened them that if they stopped providing him with these prostitution proceeds, he would harm them further.
The United States Attorney commends the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force, and the Rutland Police Department, who worked together in this investigation. This case represents the success of interagency work as part of the Department of Justice’s and the State of Vermont’s joint efforts combatting human trafficking.
The United States was represented in this case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Van de Graaf. The defendant is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender David McColgin.
Athens Man Sentenced to Twenty-Five Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Kill an Undercover ATF Special AgentRead the Press Release
G. F. Peterman, III, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Steven Maurice McKinley, age 23, of Athens, Georgia, was sentenced today to serve twenty-five years in Federal prison for his attempt to kill an undercover United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent (hereinafter “the agent”) on September 30, 2014. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable C. Ashley Royal, Senior United States District Court Judge, in Athens, Georgia. McKinley previously entered a plea of guilty on August 12, 2016, to a Superseding Indictment charging him with Attempt to Kill a Federal Officer and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Federal Crime of Violence.
Had this case gone to trial, the evidence presented by the United States would have shown that in September 2014, the ATF conducted an operation utilizing undercover agents to target the illegal sale of firearms and narcotics in Athens, Georgia. During the course of this undercover operation, the agent agreed to purchase an AK 47 or SKS style assault rifle and a quantity of marijuana from McKinley for $800.00 in cash. Defendant McKinley directed the agent to a convenience store parking lot to complete the transaction. When the agent arrived, McKinley persuaded the agent to pull the undercover vehicle down a nearby dirt road adjacent to the convenience store.
Shortly after the agent stopped the undercover vehicle, Javonta Terrell Darden, carrying a duffel bag, appeared on foot and accompanied McKinley and the agent to a small wooded area. Darden then dropped the duffel bag which was supposed to contain the firearm and marijuana that the agent was going to purchase for $800. Instead, the duffel bag contained only sticks and several pieces of wood because, as the agent then realized, McKinley and Darden intended to rob the agent at gunpoint of the $800 in cash as well as the contents of the agent’s vehicle.
After Darden dropped the bag, he produced a silver colored .25 caliber handgun, racked the slide and, pointing it at the agent ordered the agent to get on the ground. Once the agent was on the ground, McKinley took $400.00 from the agent’s front pocket. McKinley then returned to the agent’s vehicle, rummaged through the interior console, and removed items from inside. During the course of the armed robbery, Darden instructed McKinley to “get it all,” while Darden held the agent at gunpoint.
At this time, the agent was able to draw a Glock 27, .40 caliber service handgun, and fire several shots at Darden. While the agent was shooting, Darden, wounded, closed the gap and made physical contact with the agent, struggling with him until Darden expired. A later forensic analysis of the firearm used by Darden revealed a primer strike on the chambered round, indicating that Darden had pulled the trigger but his weapon failed to fire.
McKinley, who was rummaging through the agent’s vehicle when the shots rang out, attacked the agent. During the course of this assault, McKinley struck the agent on the head with the agent’s service weapon and ultimately gained positive control of the agent’s firearm. The agent attempted to flee from the area by running away from McKinley in the direction of the convenience store. As the agent fled, McKinley took aim and shot him in the back, with the bullet entering the back side of the agent’s right shoulder, fragmenting as it traveled through his body and lodging in the agent’s jaw, breaking the jaw as it did so.
As a part of his plea agreement, McKinley admitted that on September 30, 2014, he and his accomplice, Darden, agreed to meet with the agent for the purported purpose of selling a firearm and a quantity of marijuana for $800 when, in reality, he and Darden had conspired to rob the agent at gunpoint. As part of the robbery McKinley admitted firing the agent’s service weapon at the agent in an attempt to kill the agent while the agent was engaged in and on account of the performance of the agent’s official duties.
Said United States Attorney Peterman, “It is only through bravery, perseverance and extremely good luck that the agent Mr. McKinley tried to kill is alive and has recovered after being shot in the back while unarmed and posing no threat whatsoever. As despicable as were Mr. McKinley’s actions that night, those of the agent in this case stand as a reminder of the courage and dedication of our law enforcement professionals, who unflinchingly face such perils every day yet unflaggingly continue to carry out their duty to serve and protect our communities.”
“Today’s sentence is a direct message to criminals that law enforcement is observant and it will not tolerate violent crime. Steven McKinley showed a complete and utter disregard for human life when he attempted to murder a federal agent,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt. “As an agency and unified law enforcement community, we will not tolerate armed violent individuals continually terrorizing our neighborhoods and reducing the quality of life.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Athens and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Danial E. Bennett and Tamara A. Jarrett prosecuted the case for the Government.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography Through Social Media and Instant Messaging AppsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Steven Jon Frederiksen, 42, of Stafford, was sentenced today to 240 months in prison and twenty years of supervised release for production of child pornography and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor using social media and instant messaging apps.
Frederiksen pleaded guilty on Aug. 2, 2016. According to court documents, in November 2015, the FBI received notification that Frederiksen, at the time an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was utilizing his government-issued laptop to engage in the production of child pornography. Frederiksen admitted in connection with his plea agreement that he used online chat programs, including Kik, to entice at least four minor girls, ranging in age from 14 to 17, to produce child pornography via the internet, which he then organized and saved in an online cloud storage account. He attempted to do this with at least two other minor girls. The defendant also possessed additional images of child pornography and exchanged child pornography with other individuals online.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Army Criminal Investigative Command in Fort Belvoir. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV and Criminal Division Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), prosecuted the case.
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 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.justice.gov/psc.
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. 1:16-cr-96.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography Through Social Media and Instant Messaging AppsRead the Press Release
A Stafford, Virginia, man who serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army was sentenced today to serve 240 months in prison for production of child pornography and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor using social media and instant messaging apps.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
Steven Jon Frederiksen, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia, who also ordered him to serve a 20 year term of supervised release. On Aug. 2, 2016, Frederiksen pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
In November 2015, the FBI received notification that Frederiksen, at the time an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was utilizing his government-issued laptop to engage in the production of child pornography. Frederiksen admitted in connection with his plea agreement that he used online chat programs, including Kik, to entice at least four minor girls, ranging in age from 14 to 17, to produce child pornography via the internet, which he then organized and saved in an online cloud storage account. He attempted to do this with at least two other minor girls. The defendant also possessed additional images of child pornography and exchanged child pornography with other individuals online.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Army Criminal Investigative Command in Fort Belvoir. Trial Attorneys James E. Burke IV and Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.
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 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.justice.gov/psc.
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Johnny Ramirez, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 84 months in prison for violating the federal drug trafficking laws. Ramirez will be on supervised release for four years following his prison sentence.
Ramirez and his co-defendant Larry Valadez, 34, also of Albuquerque, were charged on Dec. 1, 2015, with drug trafficking offenses in an eight-count indictment. Ramirez and Valadez were charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015, and with distributing methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015 and June 2015. According to the indictment, all eight offenses occurred in Bernalillo County, N.M.
On Aug. 1, 2016, Ramirez pled guilty to two methamphetamine distribution counts and one heroin distribution count. In entering the guilty plea, Ramirez admitted that on May 19, 2015, he arranged for a co-conspirator to sell 23.52 grams of methamphetamine and 4.3 grams of heroin to an individual who was working with the FBI. Ramirez also admitted that on June 16, 2015, he sold 14.71 grams of methamphetamine to the same individual working with the FBI. Ramirez acknowledged that the drug deals took place in Albuquerque.
On Sept. 9, 2016, Valadez pled guilty to distributing methamphetamine and heroin and to violating the terms of his supervised release in a prior conviction. In entering the guilty plea, Valadez admitted that on May 19, 2015, he sold 23.52 grams of methamphetamine and 4.3 grams of heroin to an individual working with the FBI. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Valadez will be sentenced to 69 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police. The Organized Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
Monday 7 November 2016
“Coyote” Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud Immigrants Seeking to Enter the U.S. and Their Relatives in the United StatesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A man who previously posed as an immigrant smuggler (also known as a “coyote”) pleaded guilty today to a scheme to detain Mexican citizens seeking to enter the U.S. without documentation, and hold them in order to compel their relatives who were U.S. residents to pay money for their release, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Martin Carranza-Sanchez, 45, of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to his plea agreement, between January 2010 and January 21, 2016, Carranza-Sanchez posed as an undocumented‑immigrant smuggler who falsely promised undocumented immigrants and their U.S.‑resident relatives that that he would deliver the immigrants into the United States for a fee. Carranza-Sanchez directed the U.S. residents to wire the fee to various bank accounts in the Eastern District of California, which he and his co-conspirators ultimately collected.
According to court documents, in an effort to obtain payment, Carranza-Sanchez instructed the immigrants to go to a location in Mexico where his co-conspirators seized and detained them against their will. The co-conspirators telephoned the U.S. residents and told them that the immigrants would soon be delivered to the United States or that they had safely crossed the border, and instructed the U.S. residents to wire the payment. On multiple occasions, Carranza-Sanchez and his co-conspirators threatened to harm the immigrants unless the U.S. residents paid immediately.
According to the plea agreement, Carranza-Sanchez never intended to facilitate the undetected entry of these immigrants into the United States. In many instances, once the relatives wired the fee, Carranza-Sanchez instructed the immigrants to cross the border, and the immigrants were immediately apprehended by United States Border Patrol.
The investigation revealed that Carranza-Sanchez and his co-conspirators defrauded U.S. residents of approximately $95,000 as a result of their scheme. The plea agreement obligates him to repay that amount to the victims of his crimes.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Angela L. Scott is prosecuting the case.
Carranza-Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on February 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. Carranza-Sanchez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
“2Fly” Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Bronx Murder in Connection with Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAQUAN MCINTOSH, a/k/a “BJ,” pled guilty today to participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with his membership in the “2Fly YGz” (“2Fly”), a violent street gang that operated in and around the Eastchester Gardens public housing development (“ECG”) in the Bronx. As part of his guilty plea, MCINTOSH admitted to his participation in the murder of Donville Simpson on or about October 5, 2013 – Simpson’s 17th birthday – at ECG. MCINTOSH faces a maximum term of life in prison, and will be sentenced next year by United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “In today’s plea, Jaquan McIntosh admitted to killing a 17-year-old boy as part of his membership in 2Fly, a violent street gang, that has been terrorizing the Eastchester Gardens public housing development in the Bronx. Gang violence continues to threaten the safety and security of too many New Yorkers, particularly those in public housing. Thanks to the work of the NYPD, HSI, DEA and ATF, one more source of gang violence in the Bronx has been brought to justice.”
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:
MCINTOSH was a member of 2Fly, a subset of the “Young Gunnaz,” or “YG” street gang, which operates throughout New York City. 2Fly is based in the Bronx, within and around ECG and in an area called the “Valley” or the “V,” which is in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road. ECG is a rectangular complex of residential buildings bordered by Burke, Adee, Yates, and Bouck Avenues, in the middle of which is a playground. The gang war between 2Fly and rival street gangs has led to an enormous amount of fatal and non-fatal violence between 2007 and 2016 in the Northern Bronx, including shootings, stabbings, slashings, beatings, and robberies. Members and associates of 2Fly controlled the narcotics trade at ECG, which took place in the open air at the playground and in apartments at ECG. 2Fly primarily sold marijuana and crack cocaine, but also sold powder cocaine and prescription pills, such as oxycodone. 2Fly members and associates stored guns at the playground or in nearby apartments or cars in order to protect the narcotics business and for protection against rival gangs.
As part of his involvement in 2Fly, MCINTOSH shot and killed Donville Simpson at ECG on or about October 5, 2013 – Simpson’s 17th birthday – during a shootout with a rival street gang.
MCINTOSH was arrested in this case as a result of a multi-year investigation by the New York City Police Department’s Bronx Gang Squad (the “Bronx Gang Squad”), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Unit (“HSI”), the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and the Joint Firearms Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) into gang violence in the Northern Bronx. On April 27, 2016, 57 members and associates of 2Fly were charged in the Indictment with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and firearms charges. To date, 19 of these defendants have pled guilty.
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Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s Bronx Homicide Task Force, the NYPD’s 49th Precinct Detective Squad, the Bronx Gang Squad, HSI, DEA, and ATF.
He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their support in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Maimin, Micah W.J. Smith, Hagan Scotten, Jessica Feinstein, and Drew Johnson-Skinner are in charge of the prosecution.
Wichita Man Sentenced for Armed Robbery at Park City Liquor StoreRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Wichita man who was shot while attempting to rob a Park City liquor store was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Michael Ray Phillips, 37, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of brandishing a firearm during a commercial robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on May 24, 2016, he and a co-defendant both brandished firearms when they tried to rob MGS Liquor Store at 6200 North Broadway in Park City.
An employee of the store produced a firearm and fired two rounds at the robbers, striking Phillips in the chest. Although he was injured, Phillips fled the store before police arrived. The employee of the store held the other robber at gunpoint until police responded. Phillips was arrested later when he sought treatment for the gunshot wound at a hospital in Kansas City.
Co-defendant Roland Donell Ross is set for sentencing Nov. 10.
Beall commended the Park City Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated and Assistant. U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch for their work on the case.
Waco Woman and Former DTS Medical Supply Company Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison in Connection with $4.5 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Robin Renee Haigler, 60-year-old former customer recruiter in the Waco area for DTS Medical Supply Company in Devine, TX, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for her role in an estimated $4.5 million Health Care Fraud scheme announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In addition to the prison term handed down this morning in Waco, United States District Judge Alia Moses ordered that Haigler pay joint and several restitution in the amount of $3,269,300.11 to the federal government; and, be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing her prison term. Judge Moses also allowed Haigler to remain on bond pending facility designation notification by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
On August 17, 2015, Haigler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Health Care Fraud.
On June 28, 2016, a jury convicted Haigler’s co-defendants, 55–year-old DTS Medical Supply Company owner Daniel Thomason Smith and 45-year-old DTS office manager Kathleen Marina Kelly-Tuorila, on multiple federal charges in connection with the same scheme.
Both Medicare and Medicaid reimburse qualified beneficiaries for the purchase of prescribed and necessary medical equipment, including powered wheelchairs, powered scooters and accessories. Medicare and Medicaid set different compensation rates for each of these devices.
Evidence presented during trial revealed that between May 2006 and January 2010, the defendants conspired to submit false and fraudulent benefit claims to Medicaid and Medicare seeking more than $4.5 million compensation by making claims for the higher-reimbursement powered wheelchairs. In fact, they were delivering less-expensive powered scooters to customers, which resulted in a larger payment from Medicaid/Medicare and a larger percentage of profit for DTS and Smith. In addition, the evidence showed that the powered wheelchairs the defendants billed Medicaid and Medicaid for were neither medically necessary nor prescribed by any physician.
Smith and Kelly-Tuorila, who remain in federal custody, await sentencing scheduled for 10:30am on November 18, 2016, in San Antonio.
This investigation was conducted by the agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with investigators from the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Surovic and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rex Beasley are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Vinton Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud ChargeRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced the guilty plea today of a man who was previously charged with stealing funds from the Social Security Administration.
Robert Wozniak, 48, of Vinton, Va., was previously charged with one count of theft of government property and one count of social security fraud. Today he pled guilty to that charge.
“Programs like Social Security are meant to be social safety nets for those in need,” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “The Defendant fraudulently obtained his grandmother’s social security benefits and this prosecution brings him to justice for this theft.”
Wozniak admitted today that from July 2015 through April 2016 he stole Social Security Administration funds, namely retirement benefit payments, intended for Wozniak’s deceased grandmother, for which he was not entitled. The indictment specifically claims that Wozniak intentionally concealed his grandmother’s death in order to continue to receive and spend the retirement benefit payments made by the Social Security Admiration to his grandmother.
The defendant admitted today that he concealed the body of his dead grandmother, Betty Wozniak in a freezer and later a barrel for months after she died in order to continue receiving her Social Security payments. Investigators discovered the body after Wozniak’s landlord became suspicious about the barrel and a hole she noticed in the property Robert Wozniak was renting from her.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia Medical Center. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day will prosecute the case for the United States.