Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
7 November 2016
INTERPOL Washington Attends General Assembly Opening CeremonyRead the Press Release
INTERPOL Washington USNCB representatives attend opening ceremony for 85th INTERPOL General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia.Representatives from INTERPOL Washington--the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)--attend the opening ceremony for the 85th INTERPOL General Assembly (GA). The GA meets November 7th through 10th in Bali, Indonesia. The GA is composed of delegates appointed by the governments of INTERPOL member countries. As INTERPOL's supreme governing body, it meets once a year and makes all the major decisions affecting general policy, the resources needed for international cooperation, working methods, finances and programs of activities. It also elects the Organization's Executive Committee. Generally speaking, the GA makes decisions by a simple majority in the form of resolutions. Each member country represented has one vote.
As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States. A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Huntington woman sentenced to five years in federal prison for heroin crimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington woman was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for a heroin crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Jessica Dawn Prince, 30, previously pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin.
Prince admitted that on October 19, 2015, she sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The drug deal took place in Prince’s residence at 5400 Altizer Avenue in Huntington. Following her arrest for the October 2015 controlled buy, law enforcement discovered that Prince was in possession of additional heroin for distribution. Prince was ultimately found to be responsible for selling over 600 grams of heroin in the Huntington area.
The Drug Unit of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey is responsible for the prosecution. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
This prosecution was brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
- Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
Huntington man sixth to plead guilty for role in drug ringRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who participated in a multistate drug ring pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Roy Bills, 51, entered his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Between the summer of 2014 and May of 2016, Bills conspired with multiple individuals, including codefendants Corey Bruce Toney and Parker Wyatt Mays, to distribute marijuana in the Huntington area. Toney and Mays frequently acquired marijuana from a source in California and arranged for the marijuana to be shipped by courier or transported to Huntington. Bills traveled to California on at least two occasions to transport marijuana to Huntington as part of the conspiracy. He admitted that in October 2015 he transported 100 pounds of marijuana and in March 2016 he transported 80 pounds of marijuana. After arriving in Huntington with the drugs, Bills further admitted that he provided the marijuana to Toney for Toney and others to distribute.
Bills faces up to 5 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 6, 2017.
These prosecutions arose out of a comprehensive investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Huntington Police Department, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, which resulted in charging 12 defendants for offenses related to the distribution of heroin, crack, marijuana, and alprazolam in Huntington.
Five defendants have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in this drug ring. Matthew Michael Meadows, Arthur James Canada, Tanisha Lynette Wooding, Mays, and Toney have all pleaded guilty to various federal drug charges and are awaiting sentencing. All of the other defendants charged in the prosecution of this drug ring are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of these prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers is presiding over these cases.
These prosecutions are part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
- Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
Hobbs Woman Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Karen Diaz, 42, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Diaz was arrested in Oct. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, on Sept. 15, 2015, in Lea County, N.M., law enforcement officers executed search warrants on Diaz’s residence and vehicle, and seized approximately 552 grams of methamphetamine and two firearms.
On Feb. 12, 2016, Diaz pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Diaz admitted that on Sept. 15, 2015, law enforcement agents who were executing a search warrant at her residence, located methamphetamine on her person, in her purse and inside her residence. Diaz further admitted that she planned to distribute the methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Lea County Drug Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Forty-four Undocumented Immigrants Found in North Park Stash House; Resident Charged with Harboring ThemRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Mark Conover (619) 546-6763
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 7, 2016
SAN DIEGO – North Park resident Dania Olivero was arrested and charged yesterday with harboring and hiding 44 undocumented immigrants, some of whom reported that they were locked in a small backyard shed with dozens of others - without light, ventilation or a bathroom.
According to a complaint filed in federal court, the San Diego Police Department received calls from neighbors who were concerned about two vehicles dropping off multiple individuals who then nervously and hurriedly entered the home in the 4900 block of University Avenue in North Park.
When police arrived to investigate, defendant Olivero told officers that she had invited the people over to drink beer. Officers found people who appeared to be nervous, not drinking unopened beer in front of them. Some of the people ran to the back yard when they saw the officers.
Police suspected the people were undocumented immigrants and asked the U.S. Border Patrol for assistance. When Border Patrol officers questioned the people in the house, all but two identified themselves as Mexican nationals without legal status in the U.S.; the other two said they citizens of Guatemala without legal status in the U.S. All were taken into custody.
Seven remained in custody as material witnesses; the remainder are in the custody of immigration authorities pending immigration proceedings.
DEFENDANT Case Number 16mj3460
Dania Olivero Age: 51 Cuba
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Harboring and Concealing – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)
Maximum penalty: 10 years in prison and $500,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
U.S. Border Patrol
San Diego Police Department
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Weston Man Pleads Guilty to $2.25 Million Internet Steroids DistributionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former Weston, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to leading a $2.25 million conspiracy to sell anabolic steroids over the Internet.
Aaron Vincent Schweidler, 32, of Smithfield, N.C., formerly of Weston, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to participating in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute anabolic steroids and to a conspiracy to commit money laundering.
By pleading guilty today, Schweidler admitted that he and co-conspirators operated an Internet-based company, Power Trip, which sold various anabolic steroids to customers (including athletes and minors) throughout the United States.
Co-defendants Nicole R. Lyne, 26, also of Smithfield, N.C., and formerly of Weston; Michael G. Peters, 27, of Pelham, N.H.; and Samuel C. Miller IV, 30, of Annapolis, Md., have also pleaded guilty.
Conspirators required customers to pay for the steroids by using various debit cards. Customers used names and account numbers for these debit cards that were provided by conspirators. Conspirators used stolen identities to produce or obtain debit cards, such as Green Dot MoneyPak, MyVanilla, ReloadIT, NetSpend ReloadIT and BlackHawk. They required their customers to send payments to these cards in order to conceal and disguise the proceeds of the illegal transactions.
Schweidler began operating this online anabolic steroid distribution business in late 2011 in Utah. Schweidler quickly sought out assistance from other conspirators, including Peters, to help collect the proceeds from the illegal drug sales. Eventually Schweidler relocated the operation to North Carolina, until relocating again in 2013 to the Kansas City, Mo., area.
During the early stages of the conspiracy Schweidler was as the leader of the conspiracy. Schweidler was primarily responsible for the manufacture and distribution of the steroids and he managed the collection of illegal drug proceeds. Initially Peters’s role was primarily to collect the illegal drug proceeds from customers who were required to pay via MoneyGram and Western Union, and also later via debit cards. Peters eventually joined Schweidler in North Carolina to continue the operation. Over time Peters also became more involved with Schweidler in purchasing supplies and assisting in the steroid manufacturing process, as well has handling online customer orders and shipping steroids to customers.
In late summer 2013, Schweidler and Peters relocated the operation to the Kansas City, Mo, area, and Lyne became involved in the conspiracy. Eventually Schweidler turned over more operational duties to Peters, who recruited Miller to move to Kansas City to assist in the operation. In the fall of 2014, Peters and Miller took over operational responsibilities for PowerTrip and relocated the operation back to North Carolina in an effort to avoid law enforcement detection of the operation.
During the conspiracy Schweidler personally sent in excess of $176,000 in drug proceeds to China via Western Union and MoneyGram to purchase additional raw materials to manufacture anabolic steroids.
According to today’s plea agreement, a reasonable conservative estimate of the dosage units of anabolic steroids which were reasonably foreseeable to Schweidler is over 60,000 dosage units of Testosterone Propionate, Halotestin, and other anabolic steroids. This estimate is based upon the ingredients and amounts indicated in the steroid recipe notebook recovered when Peters and Miller were arrested in North Carolina.
Utilizing the least expensive raw ingredients for the manufactured finished product (Testosterone Propionate), and utilizing the known dollar amount of raw ingredients purchased by conspirators (approximately $200,000, less shipping costs), would yield nearly 1 million grams of raw materials that could manufacture approximately 90,000 vials (approximately 900,000 dosage units based upon a 10 – 100mg dosage unit per vial). PowerTrip sold this product for $25 per vial, which results in a conservative estimate of gross proceeds of at least $2.25 million in sales.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Schweidler will be sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole. Schweidler also must forfeit to the government $2.25 million, which was derived from the proceeds of the illegal drug trafficking, and property in Smithfield, N. C. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Former Swedish Hospital Surgical Tech Sentenced for Tampering with a Consumer Product, Fentanyl, and Obtaining a Controlled Substance by DeceptionRead the Press Release
DENVER – Rocky Allen, age 29, who resided in Denver, Colorado before his arrest, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore to serve 78-months in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release for tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deception, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Englewood Police Department announced. Allen, who is free on bond and living at a halfway house, was released at the conclusion of the hearing, and ordered to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility within 15 days of designation.
Allen was first charged by Indictment on February 10, 2016. He pled guilty before Judge Moore on July 12, 2016. He was sentenced today, November 7, 2016.
According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, from August 2015 to January 22, 2016, Allen was employed at Swedish Medical Center as a Surgical Technologist. He was not authorized to possess fentanyl, an opioid and a Schedule II narcotic. On January 22, 2016 at Swedish Hospital, numerous members of a surgical team were present in an operating room with a patient on the operating table. Allen entered the operating room although he was not assigned to staff that particular case. On that date and at that time, without permission and/or authority and acting with deception, Allen took a syringe originally loaded with 5 mL of 50 mcg/mL fentanyl and replaced it with another syringe containing saline solution. Allen had falsely labeled the replacement syringe with a sticker identifying the contents of the syringe as fentanyl. By switching the syringes, Allen introduced a syringe falsely purporting to contain fentanyl for use on a patient of the hospital. The replacement syringe was not used on the patient because a Neuro Spine Coordinator assigned to the operating room witnessed Allen switch the syringes and alerted the anesthesiologist not to use it.
As part of the hospital’s internal investigation, on January 22, 2016, Allen voluntarily submitted to a urine screen. Testing determined the presence of fentanyl, norfentanyl, and marijuana. The contents of the replacement syringe were tested and were consistent with saline solution. It was determined by investigators on that day that Allen acted with reckless disregard for and extreme indifference to the risk that another person would be placed in danger of bodily injury. Allen also obtained the controlled substance by means of deceit. In June of this year it was announced that Allen carries HIV (subtype B) and that he is negative for Hepatitis B and C.
“Allen put hundreds of innocent people at risk and caused them enormous fear and anxiety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “His prosecution and sentence should send a chilling message to any medical professional who abuses his or her position of trust: You will go to federal prison for a long time.”
“Americans must be confident that they are getting safe, effective, pure and potent prescription drugs,” said Spencer E. Morrison, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Kansas City Field Office. “Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who present a risk to the public’s health by tampering with drug products.”
“This case is an example of the scope of the prescription drug and opioid abuse epidemic, and specifically how it can affect our Colorado community” stated Barbra Roach, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver Field Division. “This is an especially serious incident in that a medical professional, in a position of trust, abused that trust and in so doing put the community at large at risk. Holding this individual responsible is essential, but we must also continue our efforts to educate the community and address the prescription drug problem in our nation.”
This case was investigated by the FDA OCI, the DEA, and the Englewood Police Department. The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena.
Former Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Taking Bribes from InmatesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A former federal prison guard pleaded guilty Monday to taking bribes to smuggle tobacco to inmates, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Marc Buckner, 47, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of a public official accepting bribes. In his plea, he admitted the crimes occurred while he worked as a guard at Leavenworth Penitentiary. Buckner said he was paid each time he smuggled tobacco into the prison. He hid tobacco and rolling papers in two handmade insoles in his shoes.
Inmates paid Buckner $750 for each can of Bugler brand tobacco and rolling papers he smuggled. He said he smuggled tobacco once or twice a month for years.
Sentencing will be set for a later date. He faces a penalty of up to 15 years in federal prison. Beall commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble for their work on the case.
Former Marion Investment Broker Sentenced to Two More Years in Federal Prison After Obstructing Justice During His Prior Criminal ProsecutionRead the Press Release
A former investment broker who was previously sentenced to more than nine years’ imprisonment for defrauding his investment clients was sentenced today to two more years in federal prison for obstructing justice during the course of proceedings related to his fraud prosecution.
Randy Beltramea, age 52, from Marion, Iowa, received the additional prison term after a guilty plea to four counts of obstruction of justice.
At the guilty plea hearing, Beltramea admitted that, after the government instituted forfeiture proceedings to forfeit his interest in property he purportedly obtained from fraudulent activity, he took unlawful steps to obstruct the forfeiture proceedings by accepting payments for and placing a mortgage on property that had been identified as forfeitable.
Beltramea was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Beltramea was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $400 was imposed. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob Schunk and investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 1:14-cr-00095-LRR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Five People Sentenced for Smuggling Cocaine through Atlanta AirportRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Walter Lee Parker, Paul Victor Wilson, a/k/a “Ivory Roberson,” Roelisha Housley, Janai Cavitt, and Kaprice Green, have been sentenced for participating in a conspiracy to distribute six kilograms of cocaine which they attempted to smuggle through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
“Federal agents working with customs officers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport permanently ended this drug smuggling ring,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Drug smugglers continually seek new ways to move their narcotics. We hope that this case shows that the airport is a poor choice for shipping illegal drugs.”
“As the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta is a prime target for drug traffickers who think they can hide in plain sight by blending in with other travelers. This case shows just how mistaken that view is for anyone considering testing the system,” said Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Nick S. Annan. “These sentencings show the dedication and effectiveness of HSI along with our U.S. Customs and Border Protection partners to identify and arrest anyone who attempts to illegally smuggle contraband into the United States through the Atlanta airport.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: on February 10, 2016, Janai Cavitt and Kaprice Green arrived at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, in transit to their final destination of Cincinnati. While in Atlanta, customs agents stopped Cavitt and Green and discovered that each defendant had three kilograms of cocaine hidden in the lining of their suitcases. After obtaining confessions from Cavitt and Green, federal agents determined the two couriers intended to deliver the cocaine to Roelisha Housley and Walter Lee Parker in Cincinnati for $10,000.
Federal agents in Atlanta, coordinating with law enforcement counterparts in Ohio, also obtained confessions from Housley and Parker, who planned to further distribute the cocaine. After learning that the sister of one courier, who was not involved in the conspiracy, began to receive threatening text messages demanding the return of the cocaine, agents pinpointed Wilson as the threat maker. With the assistance of counterparts in Florida, agents ultimately uncovered that Wilson worked with the Jamaican-based cocaine supplier, and that Wilson was the leader of the drug conspiracy and owner of the cocaine.
Each of the defendants pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. On November 3 and 4, 2016, U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., imposed the following sentences:
- Walter Lee Parker, 37, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was sentenced to eight years, one month in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release;
- Paul Victor Wilson, a/k/a “Ivory Roberson,” 47, of Weston, Florida, was sentenced to 11 years, five months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Roelisha Housley, 21, of Fairfield, Ohio, was sentenced to five years, eight months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release;
- Janai Cavitt, 21, of Covington, Kentucky, was sentenced to three years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release; and
- Kaprice Green, 19, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was sentenced to three years, four months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant United States Attorneys Trevor C. Wilmot and Laurel R. Boatright prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
- Walter Lee Parker, 37, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was sentenced to eight years, one month in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release;
Eight Trey Crips Gang Members Convicted of Murder of Federal InformantRead the Press Release
Friday afternoon, Maliek Ramsey, also known as “Squinge,” and Rodney Muschette, also known as “Stitch,” were convicted of the 2008 retaliation murder of a federal informant. Ramsey and Muschette are members of the Eight Trey Crips, a set of the Crips street gang operating in and around Brooklyn, New York, and elsewhere. When sentenced, they will face mandatory life imprisonment.
The convictions were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); James O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and George N. Turner, Chief of Police, Atlanta Police Department (APD).
“The defendants’ actions tore at the fabric of our criminal justice system, a system that relies upon members of the community to notify law enforcement about criminal activity,” stated U.S. Attorney Capers. “Without the cooperation of all segments of the community – including victims, eyewitnesses, and cooperating witnesses – our system cannot work.” Mr. Capers extended his grateful appreciation to the FBI Charlotte, NC, Field Office, the FBI Raleigh, NC, Resident Agency, the FBI Atlanta, GA, Field Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina for their assistance.
“We depend on eyewitnesses for the information that isn’t revealed from forensic evidence, and many times those eyewitnesses are known to the subjects in a case. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will pursue anyone who threatens witnesses with violence because they were willing to come forward,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
“In partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department has removed another dangerous and violent criminal from Atlanta streets,” said Atlanta Police Chief Turner.” Muschette and Ramsey mercilessly took the life of Mr. Nashwad Johnson and those actions will not go unpunished. The Atlanta Police Department is committed to cracking down on criminal activity and individuals that threaten the safety and quality of life for Atlanta residents and visitors.”
On December 30, 2008, the leader of the Eight Trey Crips was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to 110 months’ imprisonment based on his conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon in connection with a June 2005 shooting in Brooklyn, New York. Fellow gang member Nashwad Johnson, also known as “Nash,” had witnessed that shooting. At the leader’s sentencing proceeding, he stated his belief that Johnson was a federal informant, and he later made sure that the message was communicated to other gang members. The leader’s sister told him that everyone in the gang was “all messed up” about the news, and, in particular, she told him that defendant Ramsey – who was in England at that time – was crying and thought it was his fault. The afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Muschette and Ramsey spoke for 20 minutes to iron out their murder plan, and Ramsey ordered Muschette to shoot Johnson.
At or around the time of that sentencing, Muschette and other members of the gang traveled with Johnson from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve in 2008 – one day after the leader was sentenced – Muschette and others carried out their plan to kill Johnson because they believed that he had provided information to federal law enforcement about their gang. Muschette and his coconspirators drove Johnson to a wooded area off an Atlanta highway. There, Muschette shot Johnson eleven times, including five shots in Johnson’s back, ending his life.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Patrick T. Hein are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
MALIEK RAMSEY, also known as “Squinge”
Age: 36RODNEY MUSCHETTE, also known as “Stitch”
Age: 35E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-525 (ERK)
Detroit-Area Home Health Care Agency Co-Owner Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for $33 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The co-owner of a Detroit home health care company was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that caused approximately $33 million in losses.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.
Badar Ahmadani, 49, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy of the Eastern District of Michigan, who also ordered him to pay $38,150,113.64 in restitution. On July 27, 2015, Ahmadani was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
According to evidence presented at trial, Ahmadani participated in a scheme in which from 2006 through 2011, he and his co-conspirators obtained patients by paying cash kickbacks to recruiters, who in turn paid cash to patients to induce them to sign up for home health care with companies owned by co-defendant Zafar Mehmood: Access Care Home Care Inc., Patient Care Home Care Inc., Hands On Healing Home Care Inc. (which Ahmadani co-owned) and All State Home Care Inc. The evidence also showed that Mehmood and Ahmadani paid kickbacks to physicians to refer patients to the companies for home health care services that were medically unnecessary as well as not provided.
On Oct. 28, 2016, Mehmood was sentenced to serve 360 months in prison and to pay $40,488,106.98 in restitution. Mehmood was convicted at trial with Ahmadani of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of money laundering and two counts of obstruction of justice.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Niall M. O’Donnell and A. Brendan Stewart 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.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
David Michael Ansberry, Who Allegedly Left Destructive Device at Nederland Police Deparment, to Appear in Federal Court This AfternoonRead the Press Release
DENVER – David Michael Ansberry, age 64, will appear in court at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang to be read his rights and advised of the charges pending against him. Magistrate Judge Wang’s courtroom is located at the Byron G. Rogers U.S. Courthouse, 1929 Stout Street, Courtroom 204.
Ansberry was previously indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver, charging him in a one count indictment with Use and Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced.
The charges contained in the Indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Columbus Man Arrested for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Aaron Travis Daniels, 20, aka Harun Muhammad, aka Abu Yusef of Columbus was arrested today for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The arrest was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and agencies participating in the Southern Ohio Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
JTTF agents arrested Daniels as he attempted to leave Columbus with an alleged eventual destination of Libya to join ISIL. The criminal complaint against him also alleges that Daniels sent $250 in January 2016 to an ISIL operative and had communicated his commitment to violent overseas jihad.
The complaint alleges that Daniels set up email addresses and a social media account using the aliases Muhammad and Yusuf. Daniels allegedly expressed his interest in violent jihad and travelling overseas in various communications.
The complaint also alleges that Daniels wired money to an intermediary for Abu Isa Al-Amriki, a now-deceased ISIL member, recruiter and external attack planner. Daniels allegedly told an undercover FBI employee that he wanted to travel to Trinidad as the beginning of his trip to travel to Libya. On November 5, Daniels bought an airline ticket to travel from Columbus to Houston, Texas and on to Trinidad. The flight was scheduled to leave Columbus today.
JTTF officers arrested Daniels at the airport, before boarding his flight. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terence P. Kemp who ordered him held without bond. The case will be presented to a federal grand jury who has 30 days to weigh the evidence and decide whether or not to indict Daniels.
If convicted of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Daniels faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Congress prescribes the maximum potential sentences and it is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. A federal criminal complaint merely contains allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The Southern Ohio JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Columbus Division of Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, The Ohio State University Police Department, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the John Glenn International Airport Police Department, Westerville Police Department and Columbus Division of Fire.
Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the JTTF for its investigation of this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica W. Knight, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gibson with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office and Trial Attorneys Michael Dittoe and Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Charleston man caught with over a kilogram of meth sentenced to four years in federal prisonRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man caught with a significant amount of methamphetamine was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for a drug charge, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Craig Jason Hundley, 40, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Hundley admitted that on April 4, 2016, he was stopped on Interstate 64 in Cabell County by a member of the West Virginia State Police. A K-9 named Feera utilized by the West Virginia State Police performed an exterior sniff of Hundley’s car and indicated that drugs were present. When law enforcement searched the car, they found approximately 1,065 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the trunk.
The case against Hundley was investigated by the West Virginia State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is in charge of the prosecution. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of 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.
- Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
Champaign Felon Sentenced to Maximum 10 Years in Prison for Weapons ChargeRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – Kevin Pettis, aka KP, 37, of the 400 block of South State Street, Champaign, was sentenced today to the maximum 120 months in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, as announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. Pettis has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his federal arrest in December 2015. Pettis was also ordered to remain on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.
On July 8, 2016, a jury convicted Pettis following a two-day trial. During the trial, the government presented evidence to establish that on July 7, 2013, around 3:18 a.m., Pettis fired a Taurus, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol from a vehicle in the parking lot of the Oakwood Trace Apartments in north Champaign. When a woman reported the shooting, Pettis drove to his apartment and tried to hide the pistol in his jacket in his apartment. Officers of the Champaign Police Department arrested Pettis minutes later as he was walking away from the apartment. After obtaining a search warrant for his apartment, officers located and recovered the stolen, loaded gun. At the time, Pettis had seven prior felony convictions. Officers later found gunshot residue on Pettis’ hand and Pettis’ DNA on the gun, which had been used in another shooting in Champaign less than a month earlier.
According to court documents, Pettis has twice before shot other individuals and has three prior felony convictions for aggravated battery, plus convictions for theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and theft. He also has two misdemeanor battery convictions, two DUI convictions, and convictions for obstructing a peace officer.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Champaign Police Department investigated the case.
California Man Sentenced to Life Plus 60 Years for 2013 Shooting Spree at Los Angeles International Airport and First-Degree Murder of Transportation Security Administration OfficerRead the Press Release
A Sun Valley, California, man was sentenced today to life plus 60 years in prison for a 2013 shooting at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in which he murdered a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, Secretary Jeh C. Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California and Assistant Director in Charge Deirdre Fike of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
Paul Anthony Ciancia, 26, pleaded guilty on Sept. 6, 2016, to one count of murder of a federal officer; two counts of attempted murder of a federal officer; four counts of violence at an international airport; one count of discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death; and three counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California imposed today’s sentence.
“Today, justice was done on behalf of fallen TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez, his wounded colleagues and all those who were terrorized by the wanton violence perpetrated by this defendant,” said Attorney General Lynch. “This sentence reflects appropriate punishment for a heinous crime. It ensures that the defendant can never again harm or murder innocent Americans. And it sends a clear message that the Department of Justice will not tolerate calculated attacks on our nation’s law enforcement officers, and that those who do commit such crimes will be held accountable.”
“We are grateful to the FBI and the Department of Justice for their hard work in obtaining justice for Mr. Hernandez, his family, co-workers and the men and women of DHS,” said Secretary Johnson.
“The crimes that led to today’s sentence were vicious, horrific and senseless,” said U.S. Attorney Decker. “After planning a mass murder, this defendant murdered a highly respected law enforcement officer, seriously wounded two other federal officers and a civilian and terrified hundreds of people who feared for their lives. Those who target law enforcement and our nation's critical infrastructure will be held accountable. As a result of today’s sentence, Mr. Ciancia will never again have a chance to harm other innocent people.”
“The defendant will spend the rest of his life behind bars for targeting airport officers with premeditated murder, but a just sentence cannot replace the loss of Officer Hernandez, nor remove the suffering of his victims, and his victims' families, friends and colleagues,” said Assistant Director in Charge Fike. “The collaborative efforts by first responders and investigators on the day of the shooting and thoughout this investigation are commendable and aided prosecutors in ensuring that Mr. Ciancia can never again pose a threat.”
According to the plea agreement, in early 2013, Ciancia purchased a semiautomatic rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines for the rifle. On the morning of Nov. 1, 2013, Ciancia modified two pieces of luggage and zip-tied them together to conceal his loaded rifle inside.
Ciancia admitted that later that morning, he entered LAX Terminal Three, removed the loaded rifle from his modified luggage and fired at and killed TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez while he was checking passengers’ travel documents. Ciancia admitted that he then went upstairs to a TSA checkpoint, by which time many TSA officers and passengers had fled the airport. He fired his weapon at two TSA Officers as well as a civilian, he admitted, all of whom sustained serious injuries and required surgery but survived the attack. According to the plea agreement, as Ciancia passed passengers hiding in or fleeing the terminal during the attack, he asked if they were TSA and when they said no, he passed without shooting at them.
The Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) investigated the case. The JTTF is led by the FBI and includes agents and officers from 45 other local, state and federal agencies.
The Los Angeles Airport Police; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; TSA; the Federal Air Marshal Service; the Los Angeles Port Police; the Long Beach, California, Police Department; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Secret Service; the Los Angeles Fire Department; Los Angeles International Airport Operations; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance in the investigation.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick R. Fitzgerald of the Central District of California, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Mills of the Central District of California’s Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joanna M. Curtis of the Central District of California’s Violent and Organized Crime Section and Trial Attorney Michael S. Warbel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section prosecuted the case.
California Man Sentenced to 180 Months in Prison for Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography Relating to Online Sextortion SchemeRead the Press Release
An Arvin, California, man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for child pornography offenses related to the online sextortion of female minors, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert of the Eastern District of California.
Brian Caputo, 27, pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography on May 16, 2016. U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill of the Eastern District of California sentenced Caputo and also ordered him to serve 15 years of supervised release.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, between December 2008 and February 2014, Caputo received on his cell phone and by email at least one image of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and distributed one or more of such images to another minor in order to coerce the minor to produce additional child pornography.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the El Paso Police Department and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney of the Eastern District of California and former Trial Attorney Maureen C. Cain 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.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Gun Charge Involving A HomicideRead 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 Jose L. Ramirez-Merced, 31, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking which caused the death of a person, was sentenced to 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Duszkiewicz and Joel L. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that in June 2012, Merced, co-defendant Alexander Duarte and others sold heroin on the West Side of Buffalo. On July 15, 2012, the group planned a home invasion robbery targeting the residence of Jose Rivera. However, the defendants and others invaded the wrong residence and stole cocaine and cash.
As a result, Jose Rivera began making threats against individuals in the group and attempted to kill one of the individuals known as L.B. In response, the group decided to murder Rivera. On July 31, 2012, Merced, co-defendant Alexander Duarte retrieved a gun and proceeded to a residence on West Avenue in Buffalo where they opened fire, killing Rivera and wounding a female.
Alexander Duarte has also been convicted and will be sentenced on January 12, 2017.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
Boone County man pleads guilty to federal gun crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Boone County man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Gregory Scott Runion, 33, of Seth, entered his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Runion admitted that on March 25, 2016, he sold a KBI SKS-45 rifle to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The deal took place in Seth in Boone County. Runion was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of a 2009 felony gun possession conviction in Monroe, Michigan.
Runion faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 2, 2017.
The U.S. Route 119 Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
- Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
Berkeley County man sentenced for unlawful possession of a firearmRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Thomas Dale Sims, Jr., 34, of Gerrardstown, West Virginia, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Sims, who had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, was discovered in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun in October 2015. He pled guilty to one count of “Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence,” in July 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Berkeley County man pleads guilty to heroin distributionRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Sean Dickerson, 29, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, pled guilty to the distribution of heroin in federal court today, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Dickerson admitted that he sold heroin in Berkeley County, West Virginia and he now faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Taylor, also of the Berkeley County Proseucting Attorney’s Office, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Authorities Make Numerous Arrests in Poly-Drug and Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas - A total of 15 people are in custody following law enforcement actions in multiple cities that began on Friday involving a drug and money laundering conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Yeyo Express targeted Gulf Cartel infrastructure and transportation cells operating in South Texas and the distribution of multiple drugs throughout the United States and returning proceeds to Mexico.
Those arrested locally include Guillermo Morales aka Don Gio, 54; Erick Alan Torres Davila aka Cachorro, 30, Elizabeth Lopez-Perez, 30, all of Edinburg; David Martinez, 42, of Mercedes; Hector Hernandez Cardenas, 52, of San Juan; Jose Gonzalez aka Lalo, and Elmer Macario Ramos, 42, both of Weslaco; Armando Tanguma, 29, of Edcouch; Andrew Martinez, 38, and Heather Segura, 34, both of La Feria; and Amairani Flores aka Lizeth, 23, of Donna.
All have made their initial appearances in McAllen federal court, at which time the government requested they remain in custody. Detention hearings are set for Thursday, Nov. 10.
Jesus Remedios Manqueros, 40, of Dallas, was also taken into custody. He made his initial appearance in Dallas and is expected to be transported to McAllen in the near future.
Three defendants were already in custody on related charges. They include Anthony Ray Sanchez, 19, of Dallas; and Mario Gonzalez, 44, and Efrain Dimas-Lopez, 46, both of Edinburg.
All are in custody on a multi-count indictment charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, as well as several substantive drug possession charges. The indictment alleges the conspiracy ran from February 2013 to Nov. 1, 2016. Each defendant faces no less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison, upon conviction. Morales is also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and faces another maximum 20-year-term of imprisonment.
In addition, the indictment gives notice of criminal forfeiture of three real properties located in Hidalgo County.
The OCDETF investigation and subsequent arrests were a combined effort by the DEA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas Army National Guard; Air National Guards in Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas; Customs and Border Protection; Border Patrol; Texas Department of Public Safety; police departments in Pharr, McAllen, Palmview, Mission, Weslaco, Dallas and San Juan; and the Hidalgo County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Pat Profit is prosecuting the case. AUSA Sarah Wilson is handling the forfeiture matters.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
Assistant United States Attorney to Serve as District Election Officer for Seven Counties during November 8 General ElectionRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Mack E. Jenkins will serve as the District Election Officer during tomorrow’s general election and will lead the local efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program.
As District Election Officer, AUSA Jenkins is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses. If complaints are received AUSA will coordinate with the FBI Field Office in Los Angeles and will consult with the Justice Department in Washington.
AUSA Jenkins will serve as District Election Officer for the Central District of California, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
“Every citizen is entitled to cast a ballot without interference or discrimination, and has a right to have that vote counted,” said United States Attorney Decker. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
“The right to vote in the United States is a privilege of our democratic society and every eligible American citizen is entitled to carry it out without unlawful interference,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will play a role in protecting the rights of the American voter by investigating allegations of fraud or discrimination during the election process.”
The Justice Department has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and will combat these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and 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 crimes such 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.
Federal law also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from intimidation or harassment. For example, actions 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. Additional information about voting rights protected under federal law is available on the Justice Department’s website.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 8 and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA Jenkins and AUSA Carol Chen will be on duty while the polls are open. Members of the public can reach them at the United States Attorney’s Office by calling (213) 894-2400.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available across the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. Agents at the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office can be reached by the public at (310) 477-6565.
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 phone at (800) 253-3931, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email at [email protected], or by using the complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate,” said United States Attorney Decker. “It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI or the Civil Rights Division in Washington.”
Arizona Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Meth Trafficking Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – James Thomas Vance, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced today in in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Vance will be on supervised release for five years after he completes his prison sentence
Vance was arrested in Sept. 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents discovered 969.16 grams of methamphetamine in Vance’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop.
Vance was subsequently indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Sept. 18, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
On June 30, 2016, Vance pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Vance admitted that on Sept. 18, 2015, when he was stopped on Interstate 40 for a traffic violation, he consented to have the officers search his vehicle. The officers subsequently located 10.77 grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s door and approximately 958.39 grams of methamphetamine in the vehicle’s trunk. Vance further admitted that he was driving from Phoenix to Bernalillo, N.M., and planned to deliver the methamphetamine to other individuals.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard.
Architect of Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Deed Theft Scheme Sentenced to 75 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily W. Allen (619) 546-9738 and Andrew J. Galvin (619) 546-9721
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 7, 2016
SAN DIEGO – Mazen Alzoubi, a longtime Southern California real estate investor, was sentenced today to 75 months in custody by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant for leading a scheme to steal title to homes and then “sell” the properties to unsuspecting buyers – before the buyers realized who the true owners were and before the true owners could put a stop to the sale.
From September 2012 through his arrest in November 2014, Alzoubi fraudulently sold or attempted to sell at least 15 homes worth more than $3.6 million that actually never belonged to him. On at least ten occasions, he was successful—earning illicit proceeds of nearly $2.2 million.
Alzoubi pleaded guilty in January 2016 to fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. As part of this plea, he admitted that he forged deeds that would make it appear the true owners of property had sold the home to a sham “investment” business Alzoubi controlled, when, in reality, the true owners were entirely unaware of Alzoubi’s actions.
Alzoubi would then record the forged deeds at county recorder’s offices, to make them appear legitimate. Once the fraudulent documents were recorded in the chain of title, Alzoubi would pose as the new owner—using a web of aliases and sham businesses (with names like “Land Investments 01”) and immediately try to sell the properties. Alzoubi worked with co-conspirators to set up bank accounts for the sham companies, so that the proceeds could be diverted directly to them. In this way, Alzoubi collected all the proceeds of the sale, and the true owners were left with nothing.
Alzoubi and his co-conspirators assumed the identities of others in order to keep the scheme going, setting up dummy email accounts and obtaining fake driver’s licenses. They also forged the signatures and notary stamps of real notaries to make fake documents look legitimate, and forged the signatures of real lawyers to prepare and file fraudulent court documents. Alzoubi, the ringleader of the scheme, assumed multiple fake identities to keep the fraud going. He also posed as real people, pretending on one occasion that he was the attorney for one of the true owners. (Unbeknownst to Alzoubi at the time, he was talking to an undercover federal agent.) As a result, Alzoubi was charged with, and pled guilty to, aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of 2 years in prison in addition to his sentence for the fraud and money laundering.
Alzoubi’s co-conspirator Daniel Deaibes pleaded guilty in March 2015, admitting that he participated in the scheme according to Alzoubi’s directions. He used the alias “John Moran” to pose as the seller’s representative in several of the fraudulent sales. Deaibes went so far as to introduce himself as “Moran” and present a fake driver’s license to two notaries public in 2014. He admitted that he signed fraudulent documents using this alias in an effort to sell or encumber properties that belonged to unsuspecting owners. On October 24, 2016, Judge Bashant sentenced Deaibes to 24 months in custody for his role in the scheme.
Mohamed Daoud, another co-conspirator, pleaded guilty in July 2015, admitting that he helped Alzoubi launder the proceeds of the scheme. They used Daoud’s company, “Norway LLC,” to pretend to acquire title to some of the properties. Daoud received approximately $270,000 in proceeds. In December 2015, before he was sentenced, Daoud fled the country and is now a fugitive.
Most of the properties the co-conspirators “sold” were post-foreclosure homes owned by banks or institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government sponsored enterprises with a mission to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the United States housing and mortgage markets. As part of this mission, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase residential mortgages in the secondary market, enabling lenders to replenish their funds to finance additional single family loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can become the property owners if they own the mortgage loan at the time a home is foreclosed.
“The strength of our housing market and public confidence in our economy depends on strong enforcement efforts to root out schemes like this,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “The lengthy sentence in this case is a loud, clear message to anyone inclined to prey on the fallout from the devastating economic meltdown: your crimes will not be tolerated or go unpunished.”
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Leslie DeMarco said, “Mazen Alzoubi and his co-conspirator’s greedy scheme undermines the stability of the housing market, which in turn places additional burden on innocent taxpayers. Alzoubi earned the sentence he received today, and he has no one to blame but himself. We will continue to root out bad actors and work to protect the housing market.”
“This fraud scheme involved each co-defendant playing a role in a tangled web of deceit. Today’s sentencing of Mr. Alzoubi highlights the ability and commitment of law enforcement to untangle the web in order to protect innocent victims and ultimately the taxpayers from mortgage fraud schemes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum. “We are proud to be a part of the multi-agency effort to hold accountable those who engage in mortgage and bank fraud.”
“Identity theft fraud schemes are a growing problem that victimizes both the United States government and individuals who are law-abiding consumers. IRS Criminal Investigation takes these complex schemes very seriously,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “As today’s sentence shows, the government will hold accountable those who use fraud and deceit to line their pockets with money, especially when that money represents taxpayer dollars and causes harm to U.S. financial institutions.”
In addition to his jail sentence, Alzoubi was ordered to pay $2,506,414 in restitution to the victims of the fraud.
DEFENDANT:
Mazen Alzoubi, 14CR3325-BAS Age: 33 Rancho Cucamonga, CA
COUNT ONE: Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.
Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, $100 special assessment, restitution, and forfeiture.
COUNT TWO: Mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341.
Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, $100 special assessment, restitution.
COUNTS THREE AND FOUR: Aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A.
Maximum Penalties: mandatory 2 years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, $100 special assessment, restitution.
COUNT FIVE: Conspiracy to launder money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).
Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, $100 special assessment, restitution, and forfeiture.
CO-DEFENDANTS:
Daniel Deaibes, 14CR3325-BAS Age: 38 Rancho Cucamonga, CA
COUNT ONE: Mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341
Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, $100 special assessment, restitution.
Mohamed Daoud, 14CR3326-BAS Age: 53 Norway
COUNT ONE: Conspiracy to launder money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)
Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, $100 special assessment, restitution, and forfeiture.
AGENCIES
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation
Albuquerque Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Abetting the Escape of a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Colleen Calamia, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to harboring and concealing a federal fugitive, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.
Calamia was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with harboring her husband, Mario Montoya, 31, after he absconded from a halfway house in Albuquerque on May 20, 2016. Court records reflect that Montoya, who was under indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft of mail, was released from federal custody on an order requiring him to reside in an Albuquerque-area halfway house and to comply with other conditions. According to the complaint, Montoya violated the conditions of his release on May 20, 2016, by absconding from the halfway house and violating other release conditions. Montoya fled from the halfway house in a black sport utility vehicle.
On May 20, 2016, the court issued an emergency warrant authorizing Montoya’s arrest for violating his release conditions. According to the criminal complaint, on May 24, 2016, the USMS learned that Montoya was frequenting a residence located at 312 Western Skies (the residence) in Albuquerque. While conducting surveillance near the residence, USMS Deputies and Task Force officers allegedly observed Calamia driving a black Escalade that parked in front of the residence. They then observed Calamia and Montoya exit the vehicle and move objects from the vehicle and into the residence.
According to the complaint, Calamia then left the residence in the black Escalade and USMS Deputies executed a traffic stop on her vehicle. When the Deputies questioned Calamia about Montoya’s whereabouts, she told them that Montoya was alone in the residence.
According to the complaint, when a USMS arrest team attempted to serve the arrest warrant on Montoya, he fired upon the deputies, initiating an exchange of gunfire. After the arrest team was able to retreat to a safe location, a second team later entered the residence. The second team found Montoya in a closet; he had been struck in the exchange of gunfire and was dead.
Calamia was subsequently indicted on June 14, 2016, and charged with aiding and abetting an escape of a convicted felon on May 20, 2016, and concealing a person from arrest on May 24, 2016. According to the indictment, both crimes took place in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Calamia pled guilty to aiding and abetting an escape and admitted that on May 20, 2016, she aided and abetted the escape of Montoya from an Albuquerque-area halfway house.
At sentencing, Calamia faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
The USMS investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard is prosecuting it. Mr. Wishard was also prosecuting the case against Montoya, which was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
4 November 2016
Wounded Knee Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Wounded Knee, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact was sentenced on October 26, 2016, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Kelly Tyrell Bell, age 27, was sentenced to 6 months’ custody, 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bell pleaded guilty to the charge on May 20, 2016. The conviction stems from Bell having sexual contact with another male, who was incapable of declining participation in the sexual contact, in the Kyle jail on January 22, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.
Bell was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Westerly Resident Detained on Federal Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – Jay Gaccione, 39, of Westerly, today was ordered detained in federal custody on a criminal complaint charging him with production and possession of child pornography. He was arrested earlier today by agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and members of the Rhode Island State Police and the State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Gaccione made an initial appearance late this afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond.
Gaccione’s arrest is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for New England; and Acting Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
As part of an on-going investigation, HSI agents and Rhode Island State Police today executed court authorized search warrants at Gaccione’s residence where they seized, among other items, electronic and digital storage devices.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise M. Barton.
###
Waltham Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Customers of Former Newton Travel AgencyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Waltham man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a scheme in which he defrauded hundreds of customers of the now-defunct Tom Harper Cruises, of more than $2 million in cruise trip deposits.
Bret A. Gordon, 43, pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud and two counts of filing a false personal tax return. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Feb. 8, 2017.
In 2013, Gordon established and owned a 65% interest in Tom Harper Cruises, a business selling overseas river cruise vacations. As the company’s manger, Gordon had exclusive control of its bank accounts and finances. Soon after Tom Harper Cruises began operating, Gordon started to take money from its bank account for his own use, primarily for casino gambling. The funds received by the company were customer payments for trips, which were operated by independent cruise companies, so Tom Harper Cruises needed to retain sufficient funds to pay those independent companies.
As a result of Gordon’s actions, Tom Harper Cruises became unable to pay some of its regular business expenses and, inevitably, to pay the independent cruise companies for the trips ordered by customers. In June 2015, Tom Harper Cruises closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. Between September 2013 and June 2015, Gordon took about $2,258,500 from Tom Harper Cruise’s accounts for his own use. About 400 customers were left without the trips they planned for, after paying Tom Harper Cruises a total of approximately $3,167,128.
Gordon also failed to report the money he had taken as income on his personal income tax returns. He failed to report about $165,000 that he received in tax year 2013, and about $900,000 that he had taken in tax year 2014.
The mail fraud statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution. The tax statute provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Vancleave Man Sentenced for Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – Ricky Wade Perry, 46, of Vancleave, Mississippi, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to five months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for theft of government funds, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis. Perry was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $105,702.90 to the Social Security Administration.
Perry represented to the Social Security Administration that from July, 2009, through March, 2015, he was unable to return to work due to a disability. However, Perry did in fact perform substantial work in the truck driver business during this time period and failed to disclose his true work activities to the Social Security Administration. As a result, Perry caused an overpayment to him of Social Security Disability Insurance benefit payments in the amount of $105,702.90.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.
University Hospital Nurse Arrested Following Grand Jury Indictment for Illegally Obtaining and Tampering with Fentanyl and HydomorphoneRead the Press Release
DENVER – Kacye Unruh, age 30, of Aurora, Colorado, a former nurse at University of Colorado Hospital, was arrested yesterday following the return of a federal grand jury indictment charging her with crimes related to taking vials containing controlled substances, and then replacing said vials with tampered material, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI) announced. Unruh made her initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge this afternoon, where she was advised of her rights and the charges pending against her. She is due back in court on November 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. for arraignment and detention hearing. Pending that hearing, Unruh will remain in federal custody.
According to the indictment, from June 29, 2016 through July 12, 2016, Unruh, with reckless disregard for the risk to others of placing others in danger of bodily injury, tampered with and attempted to tamper with vials containing Schedule II Controlled Substances. She also allegedly knowingly and intentionally obtained and attempted to obtain those same controlled substances by deception. Specifically, the defendant allegedly removed vials containing Fentanyl or Hydromorphone from the hospital’s dialysis area. She then replaced the vials with other substances to conceal her conduct.
In addition to illegally obtaining the controlled substances and tampering with their containers, Unruh allegedly made four false statements to a special agent with FDA OCI. Two of the false statements involved her work at a medical facility in Oklahoma. She was asked if she diverted drugs at the medical facility where she worked in Oklahoma. She said “no” when in fact she had diverted drugs there. She also was asked if she failed a drug test in Oklahoma. She said no when in fact she had failed a drug test there. Finally, she allegedly lied twice about the vials that contained the controlled substances. She said she replaced the narcotics with sterile saline, when in fact she replaced the contents with material other than sterile saline. She also said she had not cross-contaminated material when in fact she had.
If convicted of Tampering with a Consumer Product, the defendant faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine per count, for each of the 14 counts. If convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Deceit or Subterfuge, the defendant faces not more than 4 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine per count, for each of those 14 counts. And if convicted of making a False Statement, the defendant faces not more than 5 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the FDA OCI. The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States Attorneys Available to Receive Election ComplaintsRead the Press Release
ROBERT L. CAPERS and PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorneys for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, respectively, announced today that special telephone numbers have been set up to receive complaints of possible violations of federal election laws relating to the upcoming primary elections in New York City and other counties in their districts.
The United States Attorneys said that their Offices will be available to receive complaints at the following numbers on Tuesday, November 8, 2016:
(718) 254-6323 (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties)
(646) 369-4739 (Manhattan, Bronx, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan
and Westchester counties)
In addition, complaints of possible violations of federal election laws may be made directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at (212) 384-1000.
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.
The United States Attorneys also noted that the following additional telephone numbers are available on election day for citizens to call for routine inquiries, such as where to vote or how late the polls are open, or to register complaints that may concern violations of New York State election laws:
IN NEW YORK CITY
City Board of Elections
Main Office (866) 868-3692
TTY #: 212-487-5496
Bronx (718) 299-9017
Brooklyn (718) 797-8800
Manhattan (212) 886-2100
Queens (718) 730-6730
Staten Island (718) 876-0079
IN COUNTIES OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
County Boards of Elections
Dutchess (845) 486-2473
Nassau (516) 571- 8683
Orange (845) 360-6500
Putnam (845) 808-1300
Rockland (845) 638-5172
Suffolk (631) 852-4500
Sullivan (845) 807-0400
Westchester (914) 995-5700
Assistant United States Attorney CATHERINE MIRABILE is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Eastern District of New York.
Assistant United States Attorney DAVID J. KENNEDY is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Southern District of New York.
United States Attorneys Available to Receive Election ComplaintsRead the Press Release
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and ROBERT L. CAPERS, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today that special telephone numbers have been set up to receive complaints of possible violations of federal election laws relating to the upcoming general elections in New York City and other counties in their districts.
The United States Attorneys said that their Offices will be available to receive complaints at the following numbers on Tuesday, November 8, 2016:
(646) 369-4739 (Manhattan, Bronx, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties)
(718) 254-6323 (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties)
In addition, complaints of possible violations of federal election laws may be made directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (212) 384-1000.
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.
The United States Attorneys also noted that the following additional telephone numbers are available on election day for citizens to call for routine inquiries, such as where to vote or how late the polls are open, or to register complaints that may concern violations of New York State election laws:
IN NEW YORK CITY
City Board of Elections
Main Office (866) 868-3692
TTY #: 212-487-5496
Bronx (718) 299-9017
Brooklyn (718) 797-8800
Manhattan (212) 886-2100
Queens (718) 730-6730
Staten Island (718) 876-0079
IN COUNTIES OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
County Boards of Elections
Dutchess (845) 486-2473
Nassau (516) 571- 8683
Orange (845) 360-6500
Putnam (845) 808-1300
Rockland (845) 638-5172
Suffolk (631) 852-4500
Sullivan (845) 807-0400
Westchester (914) 995-5700
Assistant United States Attorney DAVID J. KENNEDY is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Southern District of New York.
Assistant United States Attorney CATHERINE MIRABILE is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Eastern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney Hickton Statement on Resignation of Pittsburgh Police ChiefRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – United States Attorney David J. Hickton released the following statement today:
“Cam McLay has been an outstanding Police Chief for the City of Pittsburgh. He has implemented many needed reforms in keeping with the principles of 21st Century policing. While we will miss him and wish him well, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is in a much improved position today because of his good work.”
U.S. Attorney Hickton Statement on Indictment of Gregory Brown, Jr. for 1995 Fire that Killed Three Pittsburgh FirefightersRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – United States Attorney David J. Hickton released the following statement today:
“The Bricelyn Street fire and deaths of three brave Pittsburgh Firefighters is a scar from which this community has never recovered. We still mourn and honor the memory of Thomas Brooks, Patricia Conroy and Marc Kolenda tragically killed while fighting the fire that resulted after being intentionally set. The investigation of the fire by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, City of Pittsburgh Arson Squad and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal established that the fire was intentionally set making their deaths all the more devastating.
“Federal and local investigators and prosecutors have worked cooperatively since the inception of the investigation after the fire occurred in 1995. Even though jurisdiction existed in both state and federal court, it was agreed between the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office and the United States Attorney’s Office that the case would originally be brought in state court and a joint prosecution team from both offices would prosecute the case.
“After a trial before then Common Pleas Court Judge David Cercone, Gregory Brown, Jr. was convicted of the fatal arson and his mother, Darlene Buckner, was found guilty of insurance fraud. Brown was sentenced to life in prison and Buckner was sentenced to three years’ probation
“Years later, Brown challenged his conviction and Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Williams ordered a new trial at which he would preside. The District Attorney's Office challenged Judge Williams’ decision alleging partiality and asked him to recuse himself. He declined the request to recuse himself and that decision was affirmed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
“Substantial questions have been raised which undermine confidence in a retrial in state court.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and in consultation with the Allegheny County District Attorney, and after application of the Principles of Federal Prosecution, we have decided that the interests of justice are best served by a trial of this matter in federal court. Accordingly, a sealed indictment was presented to and returned by a federal grand jury on November 1, and we have unsealed it today.
“There is federal jurisdiction, there is a substantial federal interest in protection against arson, there is a substantial community interest in securing justice for firefighters killed by arson and there is no federal statute of limitations given the arson caused the death of the victims.
“Our paramount interest throughout has been the cause of justice; for the victims and their families, for the defendants and for the community. We believe justice can best be ensured through this course.”
Two Pakistani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Defendants Shipped More Than $780,000 Drugs into United States
Two Pakistani nationals, who have been held in continuous custody since their October 2012 arrest in London, have been sentenced by Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, after pleading guilty to charges related to their operation of Internet sites that illegally shipped pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers in the United States, the Department of Justice announced.
Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq, 43, and Tahir Saeed, 54, operated Internet sites that, from late 2005 until October 2012, illegally shipped $2 million of pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers worldwide, including nearly $780,000 in sales to U.S. purchasers.
Ul Haq was sentenced today to time served. On Sept. 23, Saeed was sentenced to time served. Both defendants will remain in federal custody pending their removal from the United States to Pakistan. Following both defendants October 2012 arrest at a hotel near Heathrow Airport by the London Metropolitan Police Service Fugitive Squad, they were extradited to the District of Columbia in the spring of 2013, following the return in November 2012 of a 48-count indictment. In addition to their prison terms, each defendant agreed to forfeit $388,265.11.
Ul Haq pleaded guilty to all 48 counts of the indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to import Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals into the United States; conspiracy to distribute Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals; conspiracy to introduce misbranded pharmaceuticals into interstate commerce; importation and distribution of controlled substance pharmaceuticals; introduction into interstate commerce of misbranded drugs and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. Saeed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals into the United States; conspiracy to introduce misbranded pharmaceuticals into interstate commerce and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
As part of the guilty pleas, the defendants admitted that they owned and operated two businesses, Waseem Enterprises and Harry’s Enterprises. Both businesses were used to conduct wholesale pharmaceutical sales, as well as to unlawfully distribute a wide variety of controlled substances and prescription drugs through Internet sites. The defendants directed U.S. customers to submit payments via Western Union to numerous individuals in Karachi, Pakistan, in order to conceal the fact that the funds were going to Ul Haq and Saeed. In e-mails, the defendants admitted that they paid bribes to Pakistani customs officials to facilitate shipment of the drugs out of Pakistan. The defendants packaged the drug shipments in ways that reduced the likelihood of interdiction by customs inspectors.
The drugs the defendants shipped into the United States included methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin); various anabolic steroids; alprazolam (sold as Xanax); diazepam (sold as Valium), lorazepam (sold as Ativan); clonazepam (sold as Klonapin) and other controlled and non-controlled substances.
“This prosecution demonstrates how the use of the Internet to distribute drugs illegally is a major threat to consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “These defendants operated their Internet marketing scheme from Pakistan and were able to ship drugs illegally and directly to U.S. citizens. We will enforce the law to protect consumers from adulterated, contaminated and counterfeit drugs and assure that only medically necessary drugs are dispensed by licensed pharmacists who are filling legitimately issued prescriptions by licensed physicians.”
“We will continue to work with our partners, nationally and internationally, to protect our country from those who are intent on shipping unregulated and potentially dangerous drugs into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia.
The Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force sponsored and supported this complex investigation, which was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition and additional assistance was received from the London Metropolitan Police Service, INTERPOL and law enforcement agents in Germany. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Dominguez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Two Pakastani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United StatesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two Pakistani nationals, who have been held in continuous custody since their October 2012 arrest in London, have been sentenced by Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, after pleading guilty to charges related to their operation of Internet sites that illegally shipped pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers in the United States, the Department of Justice announced.
Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq, 43, and Tahir Saeed, 54, operated Internet sites that, from late 2005 until October 2012, illegally shipped $2 million of pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers worldwide, including nearly $780,000 in sales to U.S. purchasers.
Ul Haq was sentenced today to time served. On Sept. 23, Saeed was sentenced to time served. Both defendants will remain in federal custody pending their removal from the United States to Pakistan. Following both defendants October 2012 arrest at a hotel near Heathrow Airport by the London Metropolitan Police Service Fugitive Squad, they were extradited to the District of Columbia in the spring of 2013, following the return in November 2012 of a 48-count indictment. In addition to their prison terms, each defendant agreed to forfeit $388,265.11.
Ul Haq pleaded guilty to all 48 counts of the indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to import Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals into the United States; conspiracy to distribute Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals; conspiracy to introduce misbranded pharmaceuticals into interstate commerce; importation and distribution of controlled substance pharmaceuticals; introduction into interstate commerce of misbranded drugs and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. Saeed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Schedule II, III and IV controlled substance pharmaceuticals into the United States; conspiracy to introduce misbranded pharmaceuticals into interstate commerce and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
As part of the guilty pleas, the defendants admitted that they owned and operated two businesses, Waseem Enterprises and Harry’s Enterprises. Both businesses were used to conduct wholesale pharmaceutical sales, as well as to unlawfully distribute a wide variety of controlled substances and prescription drugs through Internet sites. The defendants directed U.S. customers to submit payments via Western Union to numerous individuals in Karachi, Pakistan, in order to conceal the fact that the funds were going to Ul Haq and Saeed. In e-mails, the defendants admitted that they paid bribes to Pakistani customs officials to facilitate shipment of the drugs out of Pakistan. The defendants packaged the drug shipments in ways that reduced the likelihood of interdiction by customs inspectors.
The drugs the defendants shipped into the United States included methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin); various anabolic steroids; alprazolam (sold as Xanax); diazepam (sold as Valium), lorazepam (sold as Ativan); clonazepam (sold as Klonapin) and other controlled and non-controlled substances.
“This prosecution demonstrates how the use of the Internet to distribute drugs illegally is a major threat to consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “These defendants operated their Internet marketing scheme from Pakistan and were able to ship drugs illegally and directly to U.S. citizens. We will enforce the law to protect consumers from adulterated, contaminated and counterfeit drugs and assure that only medically necessary drugs are dispensed by licensed pharmacists who are filling legitimately issued prescriptions by licensed physicians.”
“We will continue to work with our partners, nationally and internationally, to protect our country from those who are intent on shipping unregulated and potentially dangerous drugs into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia.
The Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force sponsored and supported this complex investigation, which was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition, and additional assistance was received from the London Metropolitan Police Service, INTERPOL and law enforcement agents in Germany. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Dominguez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Two More Individuals Sentenced in Tax Fraud and Money Laundering CaseRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Nov. 3, 2016, Luis Carvajal, 52, of Loudon, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 30 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to submit false tax returns and a conspiracy to commit money laundering. Carvajal previously pleaded guilty to both these charges.
Amado Valdez-Morales, 50, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., was also sentenced by Chief Judge Varlan to serve 42 months in prison, for his role in the false tax return and money laundering conspiracies as well as illegal entry by a previously deported felon. Valdez-Morales, who is an illegal immigrant and citizen of Honduras, previously pleaded guilty to these charges.
In addition to their prison sentences, Carvajal was ordered to forfeit a residence in Loudon, $376,152 in seized funds and received a money judgement against him for $7,859,000. Valdez-Morales was ordered to forfeit $630 in cash seized by federal investigators and received a money judgement against him in the amount of $2.5 million. He will also be subject to deportation to Honduras upon his release from prison.
The offenses of Carvajal and Valdez-Morales were part of a scheme that involved the use of phony identification documents for the submission of fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to obtain refundable tax credits. The scheme resulted in the theft of more than $10.8 million from the U.S. taxpayers. Other who were previously sentenced for their roles in these conspiracies included: husband and wife Bertha Del Pilar Vargas, 48, and Martin Ayala, 45, both of Knoxville, Tenn.; Mayra Edith Blair, 41, of Knoxville, Tenn.; and Nery Irrael Grande-Jinenez, of Durham, N.C.
Agencies involved in this investigation included the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Tennessee Highway Patrol Identity Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Dale, Jr. and Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.
###
Twenty from Virginia and New York Charged in Racketeering Gang Case, Three Former Virginia Department of Corrections Officers ChargedRead the Press Release
Twenty members and associates of the Mad Stone Bloods (MSB) street and prison gang were charged in an indictment and other court documents unsealed today following the arrest of the majority of the defendants, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. of the Western District of Virginia
The indictment was returned under seal last week and charges 13 defendants with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and related offenses. Charges against seven additional MSB gang members and associates in related cases were also unsealed. According to the indictment, the MSB gang operates in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Maryland, and engages in activities involving murder, narcotics trafficking, wire fraud and mail fraud both in and outside of prisons. The gang’s national leaders are based in New York and MSB leaders in Virginia report to those New York leaders. The indictment also alleges that the defendants committed shootings, armed robberies, narcotics trafficking, interstate firearms trafficking and fraud.
According to the indictment, Shaunda Rochelle Jones, aka Lady Stone, 20, and Jaymese Jenee Jones, aka Precious Stone, 20, both of Farmville, Virginia, and a third defendant were employees of the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) who allegedly conspired to smuggle controlled substances into prison facilities and deliver the drugs to other MSB gang members for use and distribution within the Virginia prisons. A fourth former DOC employee who worked as inmate counselor has been charged in a related case for smuggling contraband items to an incarcerated MSB gang leader with whom she was engaged in a sexual relationship.
The defendants charged with RICO Act violations include six Virginia-based MSB gang members, Michael Demont Dove, aka Dugatti Black, 31, formerly of Newport News, Virginia; Terrance Nathaniel Brown Jr., aka War, 28, formerly of Norfolk, Virginia; Clifford Alexand Jennings, aka Big Cliff, 47, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Anthony Alfred Day, aka Rokko, 35, formerly of Portsmouth, Virginia; James Albert Bumbry, aka J. Black, 39, of Cave Springs, Virginia; and Ronnie Monroe Nicholas Jr., aka RG, 36, formerly of Hopewell, Virginia. Corey Owens, aka Gutta, 28, formerly of Norfolk, and Jermaine Shiquill Epps, aka MMM, 26, of Virginia, are also charged with crimes related to MSB gang activity.
The above-named defendants are in custody. An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
During the course of the investigation, Aaron Markeith Gerald, aka Big A, 33; Carlos Williams, aka Bang Em, 33; Christie Bailey, aka Summer, 37; Nicholas Johnson, aka Auto, 24; Adrienne Yvonne Williams, aka Scarlett, 38; Reginald Ball, aka RR, 34; and Rontea Lakey Gunn, aka Hit Man, 39, each pleaded guilty under seal to one count of racketeering conspiracy. These guilty pleas were entered and remained under seal until today’s unsealing of the indictment and related cases. Documents unsealed in those cases detailed a variety of criminal conduct by MSB gang members, including conspiracies to murder, armed robberies, other acts of violence and narcotics trafficking both inside Virginia prison facilities and on the streets.
The FBI’s Richmond and Norfolk Divisions; the Virginia State Police; the Virginia DOC; the Norfolk Police Department; the Harrisonburg, Virginia, Police Department; the Rockingham County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; and the Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney investigated the case. Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson A. Hoffman of the Western District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Twenty from Virginia and New York Charged in Racketeering Gang Case, Three Former Virginia Department of Corrections Officers ChargedRead the Press Release
ROANOKE- Twenty members and associates of the Mad Stone Bloods (MSB) street and prison gang were charged in an indictment and other court documents unsealed today following the arrest of the majority of the defendants, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. of the Western District of Virginia
The indictment was returned under seal last week and charges 13 defendants with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and related offenses. Charges against seven additional MSB gang members and associates in related cases were also unsealed. According to the indictment, the MSB gang operates in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Maryland, and engages in activities involving murder, narcotics trafficking, wire fraud and mail fraud both in and outside of prisons. The gang’s national leaders are based in New York and MSB leaders in Virginia report to those New York leaders. The indictment also alleges that the defendants committed shootings, armed robberies, narcotics trafficking, interstate firearms trafficking and fraud.
According to the indictment, Shaunda Rochelle Jones, aka Lady Stone, 20, and Jaymese Jenee Jones, aka Precious Stone, 20, both of Farmville, Virginia, and a third defendant were employees of the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) who allegedly conspired to smuggle controlled substances into prison facilities and deliver the drugs to other MSB gang members for use and distribution within the Virginia prisons. A fourth former DOC employee who worked as inmate counselor has been charged in a related case for smuggling contraband items to an incarcerated MSB gang leader with whom she was engaged in a sexual relationship.
The defendants charged with RICO Act violations include six Virginia-based MSB gang members, Michael Demont Dove, aka Dugatti Black, 31, formerly of Newport News, Virginia; Terrance Nathaniel Brown Jr., aka War, 28, formerly of Norfolk, Virginia; Clifford Alexand Jennings, aka Big Cliff, 47, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Anthony Alfred Day, aka Rokko, 35, formerly of Portsmouth, Virginia; James Albert Bumbry, aka J. Black, 39, of Cave Springs, Virginia; and Ronnie Monroe Nicholas Jr., aka RG, 36, formerly of Hopewell, Virginia. Corey Owens, aka Gutta, 28, formerly of Norfolk, and Jermaine Shiquill Epps, aka MMM, 26, of Virginia, are also charged with crimes related to MSB gang activity.
The above-named defendants are in custody. An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
During the course of the investigation, Aaron Markeith Gerald, aka Big A, 33; Carlos Williams, aka Bang Em, 33; Christie Bailey, aka Summer, 37; Nicholas Johnson, aka Auto, 24; Adrienne Yvonne Williams, aka Scarlett, 38; Reginald Ball, aka RR, 34; and Rontea Lakey Gunn, aka Hit Man, 39, each pleaded guilty under seal to one count of racketeering conspiracy. These guilty pleas were entered and remained under seal until today’s unsealing of the indictment and related cases. Documents unsealed in those cases detailed a variety of criminal conduct by MSB gang members, including conspiracies to murder, armed robberies, other acts of violence and narcotics trafficking both inside Virginia prison facilities and on the streets.
The FBI’s Richmond and Norfolk Divisions; the Virginia State Police; the Virginia DOC; the Norfolk Police Department; the Harrisonburg, Virginia, Police Department; the Rockingham County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office; and the Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney investigated the case. Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson A. Hoffman of the Western District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
The Cleveland Museum of Art to transfer 14th-century manuscript leaf to U.S. government for delivery to ItalyRead the Press Release
Carole Rendon, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and The Cleveland Museum of Art (the Museum) announced today the transfer of a 14th-century manuscript leaf from an Antiphonary to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for delivery to Italy making possible its re-integration with the Antiphonary.
The Master of Dominican Effigies, an important illuminator, created an illuminated manuscript known as Codex D sometime between 1335 and 1345. Codex D, essentially a type of hymnal, is parchment with leather binding and contained seven illuminated pages.
The illuminated page with the initial L depicts Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia). A portion of the page was removed from the Antiphonary and is known as a leaf. The leaf is ink, tempera and gold on parchment. It measures 44.3 cm high and 35.2 cm wide
The Antiphonary was formerly in the Church of Saints Ippolito and Biagio of Castelfiorentino and is now preserved in the Museum of Santa Verdiana, Castelfiorentino, Italy.
The leaf was purchased, in good faith, by the Museum in 1952, at which time it was attributed to a different artist. It has not been on display for more than 10 years.
The Museum was contacted by ICE after a second leaf appeared on the Swiss market. That leaf was recently turned over to the Italian government. Working collaboratively with ICE to research the history of the leaf and after evaluating the information provided by the Italian government, the Museum agreed the leaf should be transferred to Italy to be reunited with the Antiphonary.
“Once we were able to substantiate the information provided, we decided that the best place for the leaf was back with the Antiphonary. We feel the leaf has greater significance if it is reunited with the other illuminations in the manuscript. Along with the recovery of a second leaf, the Antiphonary will now be complete” said William Griswold, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “We appreciate Homeland Security bringing this to our attention and working with us to effectuate the right result for the work.”
Rendon noted that the cooperation between her office, ICE and the Museum has resulted in the transfer.
“This story of a beautiful illuminated page missing from the Antiphonary for many years will have a happy ending thanks to the work of the Italian government, ICE’s presence in Rome, ICE here in Cleveland, our office and the Museum,” Rendon said.
“Cultural artifacts and antiquities have a monetary value in the markets where they are bought and sold. But to the item’s true owners, the value cannot be measured monetarily,” said Steve Francis, acting special agent in charge for HSI Detroit. “We’re pleased to announce with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and with the Museum that today’s transfer brings us one step closer to reuniting this treasure with its rightful owner, the Italian people."
The Antiphonary is a partially illuminated liturgical manuscript intended for use by a choir. A delivery date to the Italian government is being finalized.
Texas Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Rosenaldo Benitez, Jr., age 37, of Mission, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Honorable Chief Judge P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.
According to court records, during the course of an ongoing investigation, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted multiple controlled phone calls in which they learned that Benitez and co-conspirator Robert Sandoval were transporting approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine across the country. Benitez was arrested by law enforcement when he stopped to meet with Sandoval in the Western District of Arkansas. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March, 2016 and pleaded guilty in June, 2016.
Co-Conspirator Roberto Sandoval was sentenced on September 7, 2016 to 51 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case for the United States.
* * * E N D * * *
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
TSA Former Employee and Another Individual Indicted for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On November 2nd, 2016, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment against two defendants charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is in charge of the investigation with collaboration from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Transportation Security Agency (TSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Police of Puerto Rico.
The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that from on or about 2008, José Cruz-López smuggled kilogram quantities of cocaine while employed as a TSA Officer at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMMIA) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the time, Cruz-López worked at the TSA X-Ray machine in the airport. Cruz-López would “clear” suitcases containing kilograms of cocaine by allowing them to pass through the X-Ray machines and onto airplanes without detection. In 2008, Edwin Francisco Castro began assisting Cruz-López with the drug smuggling ventures. Castro was employed by Empresas Santana, an airport service company, as a supervisor in the Wheelchair Section at LMMIA.
During the course of the conspiracy, Cruz-López and Castro smuggled suitcases, each containing at least 8 to 12 kilograms of cocaine, through the TSA security system at LMMIA. From 2008 through 2016, Cruz-López and Castro helped smuggle approximately 1,500 kilograms of cocaine through LMMIA.
According to the indictment, Cruz-López, in his capacity as a TSA employee, was a public official who accepted bribe payments. Cruz-López took multiple cash payments totaling in excess of $215,000.00 in exchange for allowing luggage, which he knew contained kilogram quantities of cocaine, bypass normal baggage screening procedures so that the luggage could be placed on outbound airplanes departing the LMMIA for destinations in the continental United States.
This case is part of the ongoing efforts of the Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT). Originating in January 2015, AirTAT is a multi-agency initiative created to identify, locate, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute Domestic and Transnational Criminal Organizations (DTCOs) and its operatives using the LMMIA, the Fernando Luis Rivas Dominicci Airport (the Isla Grande airport), and peripheral airports as platforms to smuggle narcotics, weapons, human cargo, counterfeit documents, illicit proceeds, and others. These airports play a strategic role for DTCOs to conduct contraband smuggling activities inbound and outbound to the continental US as well as internationally.
“These two individuals were involved in a conspiracy to traffic massive quantities of illegal narcotics to the continental United States,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “These arrests demonstrate the Justice Department’s continued commitment to arrest and hold responsible those who engage in drug trafficking. The creation of AirTAT has successfully collocated a dedicated group of state and federal law enforcement officers, whose mission is to ensure that our airports are not used in the drug traffickers’ illicit businesses.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander is in charge of the prosecution of the case, under the supervision of Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Díaz-Rex, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Unit. If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Supermarket Owner, Accomplice Sentenced in Identity Theft, Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Juan Vasquez, 53, of Providence, the mastermind behind a long-running scheme to use the stolen identities of more than 400 individuals on fraudulent tax returns resulting in the receipt of more than $2.6 million in fraudulent tax refunds, was sentenced today to 6 years in federal prison to be followed by 3 years supervised release. Vasquez ran the scheme out of his business, the former Dominican Supermarket in Pawtucket.
An accomplice to Juan Vasquez, his sister Belkis Vasquez, 50, of Central Falls, was sentenced today to serve 3 years probation, the first 8 months in home detention with GPS electronic monitoring, and was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
Juan Vasquez were ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $2,682,042.88. Belkis Vasquez was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $325,490.
Juan Vasquez pleaded guilty on August 19, 2016, to one count of conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft. Belkis Vasquez pleaded guilty on August 17, 2016, to one count of conspiracy.
The sentences, imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, are announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Brian Deck, Resident Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service; and Pawtucket Police Chief Paul King.
On September 27, 2016, a federal jury convicted Doris Morel 44, of Central Falls, a full-time cashier at the Dominican Supermarket, on one count of conspiracy, one count of theft of government property, four counts of money laundering and four counts of aggravated identity theft. The jury also convicted Erika Tomasino, 44, of Central Falls, a secretary for Juan Vasquez, on one count of conspiracy, one count of theft of government property, three counts of mail fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Morel and Tomasino are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on December 22, 2106.
According to the government’s evidence, for nearly four years, beginning in January 2010, the defendants participated in a scheme in which they used stolen personal identifying information of more than 400 individuals, most of whom are residents of Puerto Rico, to file fraudulent tax returns.
According to the government’s evidence, fraudulent treasury checks were mailed to various locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York, and later deposited by the co-conspirators into 26 different bank accounts. The bank accounts were controlled by the co-conspirators or other individuals affiliated with the Dominican Supermarket.
The government’s evidence showed that the defendants and their co-conspirators withdrew the proceeds of the checks, caused others to withdraw some of the proceeds, transferred the proceeds between accounts, and spent the funds on personal expenses. Additionally, according to the government’s evidence, more than $235,000 of fraudulently obtained funds were transferred to a bank in the Dominican Republic.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra R. Hebert and John P. McAdams.
The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of the United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Pawtucket Police Department.
###
Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Stratford Man Admits Role in Large-Scale Fencing OperationRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that MATTHEW HARWOOD, 42, of Stratford, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to charges stemming from his participation in a large-scale fencing operation.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between January 2012 and December 2014, HARWOOD participated in a conspiracy to purchase stolen property from “boosters,” who typically were shoplifters with opioid addictions, and then resell the property at online websites. HARWOOD and others instructed the boosters to steal certain items from retail stores such as Petco, Staples, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond, and paid cash for the stolen items at approximately one-third of their retail price. At times, HARWOOD provided expenses for car rentals and spending money for overnight or out-of-state trips to steal products.
After receiving the stolen merchandise, HARWOOD and a co-conspirator stored the merchandise at multiple locations, including HARWOOD’s former residence in Durham, and business locations in North Haven. HARWOOD and his co-conspirator then sold the stolen products at online sites, including eBay and Amazon, usually in the names of family members and associates.
Through this scheme, retailers lost more than $3.9 million.
HARWOOD pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit the interstate transport of stolen property, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, and one count of interstate transport of stolen property, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
In pleading guilty, HARWOOD also agreed to forfeit the house in Durham where he formerly resided, and two mutual fund accounts in his name.
HARWOOD has been released on a $100,000 bond since his arrest on July 15, 2016.
A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
This matter is being investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Connecticut State Police, United States Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut Department of Correction, Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, and the New Haven, North Haven, Milford, West Haven, Wallingford, Hamden and Orange Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and John T. Pierpont, Jr.
Staunton Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegal Prescribing of NarcoticsRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA – A Staunton physician practicing in Lexington at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital Emergency Department pled guilty today to a federal drug distribution charge United States Attorney John P. Fishwick, Jr., announced.
Stanley Elmer Heatwole, 73, of Staunton, Virginia, waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty this morning to an Information charging him with one count of distribution of controlled substances.
“This defendant used his position as a physician to write prescriptions for narcotics to persons he knew to have drug addictions as part of his inappropriate sexual relationships with his patients,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “This defendant’s prescriptions issued outside of his professional practice is drug dealing by an individual who believed the rules didn’t apply to him. As today’s conviction clearly shows, the rules apply to everyone equally.”
From 2009 to 2014, Stanley Elmer Heatwole wrote controlled substance prescriptions, specifically hydrocodone, to a female patient with whom he had an intimate relationship. These prescriptions were not for a legitimate medical purpose and were outside the usual course of professional practice. In 2014, his license to practice medicine was suspended.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jennie L. M. Waering is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Sioux Falls Man Sentenced in Methamphetamine CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession With Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine was sentenced on October 31, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
James Joseph Thompson, age 37, was sentenced to 150 months in custody, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Thompson was indicted by a federal grand jury for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance on May 10, 2016. He was found guilty on August 10, 2016, after a two-day jury trial.
On August 26, 2015, a search warrant was executed at Thompson’s residence in Sioux Falls. Law enforcement located approximately 19 grams of methamphetamine, drug dealing paraphernalia, and over $26,000 in cash. During the execution of this warrant, law enforcement learned that Thompson had rented a storage unit in Luverne, Minnesota. A search warrant was obtained for that storage unit and on August 27, 2015, law enforcement executed the warrant and located approximately 116 grams of methamphetamine and over $36,000 in cash.
Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
Thompson was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Seven Associates of Bloods Gang Charged for Drug Distribution in WilmingtonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced today that seven individuals associated with the United Blood Nation - Nine Trey gang in Wilmington have been charged in Criminal Complaints and in connection with the illegal possession and distribution of heroin. KEJUAN TIZOM SHABAZZ SMITH aka Bobby, 24, DAENZAL XAVIER MURPHY aka Zilla, 24, THEODORE PIERCE, JR., aka Three, 19, ALICIA RASHAWN JOHNSON aka Lili, 18, DARRELL TYKWAN ATKINSON aka Dada, 19, THEODORE ROOSEVELT HARDY, III, aka Trey, 23, and KHALIL DJOUR TRUESDALE, 20, were taken into custody on October 24, 2016. Detention hearings were held on October 31, 2016, and on November 1, 2016.
According to the Criminal Complaints filed on October 19, 2016, an investigation was begun in early April, 2016. In April and May, 2016, controlled purchases of heroin were coordinated and executed.
If convicted on the charges, all the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Police Department, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wilmington Police Department.
The charges contained in the criminal complaints are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Repeat Offender in Longview Pleads Guilty in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 56 year-old Longview man pled guilty in federal court to being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm announced Acting U.S. Attorney, Brit Featherston, today.
According to the evidence presented at his plea hearing, Gerald Dwayne Templeton (Templeton) was found to be in possession of weapons and cocaine at a residence in Longview, Texas when the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement (CODE) Unit executed a search warrant there on March 1, 2016. Templeton and his co-defendant, Teresa Ann Bean, (Bean) were both located within the residence at the time of the search. During the search of the residence, officers recovered several pieces of cocaine, used rubber gloves and a box of unused rubber gloves, significant since Templeton was wearing rubber gloves when he was arrested. Officers also found several empty plastic bags, staples, razor blades and cocaine residue, all indicative of drug trafficking. Altogether, agents recovered approximately 35 grams of cocaine.
In addition to the drugs, officers also recovered two shotguns, one of which had been “sawed off,” and multiple rounds of ammunition of various calibers.
At sentencing, Templeton is facing a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine. Charges against Bean are still pending.
This case was investigated by the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement (CODE) Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Tyler Field Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.