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Wednesday 17 August 2016
Laplace Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud in Aftermath of BP Oil SpillRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced that MICHEGEL BUTLER, age 41, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to a conspiracy to defraud the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”) in the aftermath of the BP oil spill.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced BUTLER to 12 months and one day incarceration and ordered restitution in the amount of $65,300, to be paid jointly and severally with his co-defendant.
According to court documents, beginning in or about September 2010, BUTLER and his co-defendant, recruited claimants, requested their personal information and submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent GCCF claim forms generated online and transmitted to the GCCF. The claim forms falsely stated that the claimants worked as non-owner captain/deckhands on a shrimp boat in Venice, Louisiana and suffered economic loss. Based on the fraudulent documentation, the GCCF issued approximately $65,300 to undeserving individuals. BUTLER and his co-defendant shared in the claims proceeds.
This case was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at [email protected], or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office praised the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia K. Evans was in charge of this prosecution.
Lake Charles prisoner pleads guilty to escaping from custody after not reporting to halfway houseRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Lake Charles man in federal prison custody pleaded guilty last week to federal escape charges after failing to report to a halfway house according to terms of home confinement.
Shaun Daigle, 37, of Lake Charles, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of escape from extended custody. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi. According to the guilty plea, Daigle was serving a period of home confinement in Lake Charles after being released by the Forrest City Federal Correction Institution in Arkansas. As part of the terms of his home confinement, he was required to report to the halfway house any time they requested. He was also required to remain in home confinement as ordered by the Bureau of Prisons. On May 7, 2016, Daigle was ordered to return to the CINC II Halfway House in Lake Charles and did not show up. He was found on May 8, 2016 in Westlake, La., and was arrested.
Daigle faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of November 10, 2016 was set.
The U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Westlake Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case.
Kenner Tax Preparer Sentenced for Lying on Tax Returns and Failing to Declare More Than $300,000 in IncomeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CHRISTIE ROBINSON, 41, of Laplace, who previously pled guilty to a four-count Indictment charging her with false statements on tax returns.
U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced ROBINSON to five years’ probation and ordered to pay restitution of $104,481to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to court documents, ROBINSON, is the owner and operator of a tax return preparation business in Kenner called CRR Services, LLC. ROBINSON received fees charged for the preparation of individuals' tax returns. ROBINSON failed to include all of the substantial fees she received for income tax return preparation. In 2007, she declared $80,000 in fees and failed to disclose $195,000; in 2009, she disclosed $100,000 but failed to include an extra $28,000; in 2010, she declared $76,500 but failed to declare $82,000; and, in 2011 she declared $175,000 but excluded $8,000. The total for the four years 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 totals over $300,000.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. of the Fraud Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Jury Convicts Marion Man on Child Sexual Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
A man who sexually exploited a child, distributed child pornography, and received child pornography was convicted by a jury on Thursday, August 11, 2016, after a four-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Bryan King, age 46, from Marion, Iowa, was convicted of one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of receipt of child pornography. The verdict was returned following over an hour of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that, in October 2014, King persuaded and attempted to persuade, induce, and entice a 15-year-old child to produce an image depicting sexually explicit conduct. The evidence also showed that King distributed this image and an image of another child to another person.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. King remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. King faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 70 years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, a $300 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Douglas County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 15-87.
Jonesboro-Area Drug Trafficking Leader Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, along with Matthew Barden, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced today that Joseph Farrell, 39, of Jonesboro, the leader of a multistate drug-trafficking organization, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
United States District Court Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., sentenced Farrell to 300 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in helping distribute more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine in and around the Jonesboro area. On Wednesday Judge Marshall also sentenced Jesus Cisneros, 46, of San Jose, Calif., to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy. Cisneros was one of Farrell’s main sources of methamphetamine.
"Mr. Farrell led a sophisticated, widespread drug organization that put dozens of pounds of methamphetamine into our local communities, enough to poison entire towns," Thyer said. "These defendants today received significant sentences for significant crimes. This office is committed to stopping large-scale drug traffickers and protecting our communities from these criminals."
The indictment charging Farrell and Cisneros, along with 20 other co-conspirators, was handed down by a federal grand jury on October 8, 2014. The investigation that led to the indictment included multiple undercover operations and numerous other law enforcement actions. During the investigation the DEA seized approximately 96 pounds of methamphetamine, which had an estimated street value of more than $1.9 million. Information gathered during the investigation indicated this organization distributed more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine.
Farrell was dealing methamphetamine primarily in the Jonesboro area, selling between 5 and 15 pounds of meth per week. Farrell had sources of supply for methamphetamine in both Blytheville and San Jose, California, and he occasionally received shipments of methamphetamine and marijuana from his source in California through FedEx.
"The combined law enforcement actions that came to bear over the course of this investigation was not by accident, but the result of a strategic and coordinated effort to combat the large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization managed by Joseph Ferrell," Barden said. "With Ferrell’s 25-year federal prison sentence, this should be a message to those who want to sell drugs—we are going to catch you and put you in prison for a long time if you distribute this poison in our communities. The DEA and all of our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and dismantle ruthless criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and the associated criminal networks that partner with them."
To date, 19 of the original 22 defendants have pleaded guilty. Two defendants have been dismissed from the indictment, and one—Vidal Almonte-Cervantes—is still a wanted fugitive.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, with assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Jonesboro Police Department, the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas State Police, and United States Marshal Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benecia Moore.
Jamaican National Sentenced on Firearm, Illegal Re-entry ChargesRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Marlon A. Straw, 45, of Hyde Park, Mass., a Jamaican national, was sentenced on Tuesday to 46 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and illegal re-entry into the United States, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered the defendant to serve three years supervised release upon completion of his prison term. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings following completion of his term of incarceration.
Straw pleaded guilty on May 23, 2016, as charged in an indictment returned in May 2015, with one count each of felon in possession of a firearm and illegal re-entry.
According to information presented to the court, on March 31, 2015, a car driven by the defendant’s wife was stopped by Rhode Island State Police on Route 95 in Exeter for speeding. During the traffic stop, Marlon Straw, who was not carrying any personal identifying information, provided troopers with multiple names, none of which were his true identity. Straw was detained and brought to the State Police Hope Valley barracks where troopers learned his true identity through a check of his fingerprints. While in custody, troopers discovered a loaded .45 caliber pistol containing hollow point bullets tucked into the defendant’s long underwear and sock.
According to information presented to the court, a criminal background check conducted by the Rhode Island State Police revealed that Straw had previously been convicted of a felony crime punishable by imprisonment of a term exceeding one year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement records showed that Straw was previously removed from the United States and was deported to Jamaica on August 29, 2013.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.
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Individual Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Deprive A Person of Civil RightsRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. –Francisco Martínez-Mercado was sentenced to 87 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to deprive a person of civil rights, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Defendant was found guilty to the charge on February 26, 2016.
The evidence presented at trial showed beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, a sworn police officer and federal task force officer planned and executed a violation of civil rights by conducting an illegal search and seizure of an apartment where he knew there were drugs and money. The defendant came up with a plan, sought out the necessary personnel, including two other corrupt police officers and a marked patrol car. Witnesses testified that they were hired by the defendant to sit in a marked patrol car outside of a condominium in Isla Verde while two thugs broke into said apartment.
During the course of the trial, the government presented overwhelming evidence that showed that the defendant used his knowledge and contacts as a police officer in order to plan and execute the illegal search and seizure object of the indictment. Had the defendant not been a police officer, he certainly would not have had access to other corrupt officers who in turn had access to the patrol car and radio that were used on his behalf.
“The evidence showed that defendant used his law enforcement knowledge to do the opposite of what he was supposed to do with the trust that was placed in him,” said Rosa E. Rodíguez-Vélez. “The defendant abused his position of trust and used his contacts in the police to commit the offense.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Teresa Zapata-Valladares y Mariana Bauzá.
Homedale Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
BOISE – Danny Mercado, 28, of Homedale, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 40 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Mercado to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison. Mercado pleaded guilty on March 22, 2016.
According to information presented in court, Idaho State Police officers received information that Mercado was in possession of a firearm. On May 21, 2015, police officers and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole officers went to Mercado’s residence because another resident of the home was on probation. During a check at the residence, police officers saw a handgun in Mercado’s bedroom. After obtaining a warrant to search the residence, officers seized the loaded handgun that was identified as a Taurus .45 pistol. The pistol had an obliterated serial number. Officers also found additional items including Mercado’s wallet, scales, baggies, surveillance cameras, and items indicative of methamphetamine manufacturing.
In determining his sentence, Judge Lodge found that Mercado possessed the .45 pistol in connection with the felony crime of manufacturing methamphetamine. Judge Lodge also found that Mercado’s prior conviction for attempted strangulation in 2006 was a crime of violence. Mercado was also previously convicted of kidnapping in 2006. Mercado was prohibited from possessing firearm because of those prior felony convictions.
The case was investigated by the Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Probation and Parole, and the Homedale Police Department.
Heir Location Services Company and Co-Owner Charged with Customer Allocation SchemeRead the Press Release
A Salt Lake City-based heir location services provider and its co-owner have been indicted for participating in a conspiracy to allocate customers with another heir location firm, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to the one-count felony indictment filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Kemp & Associates Inc. and its co-owner and vice president, Daniel J. Mannix, conspired with a competitor to suppress and eliminate competition by agreeing to allocate customers of heir location services sold in the United States between 1999 and 2014.
Heir location firms identify people who may be entitled to an inheritance from the estate of someone who died without a will. The heir location firms then enter into agreements with those people to help secure their inheritances in exchange for a fee.
“For over a decade, the defendants schemed to line their pockets at the expense of beneficiaries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “These charges underscore the division’s commitment to hold heir location services executives and their companies accountable for cheating heirs whose relatives died without a will.”
With today’s charges, three executives and two companies have been charged as a result of the ongoing federal antitrust investigation into customer allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the heir location services industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Salt Lake City Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Utah and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois.
Anyone with information concerning the focus of this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office at 312-984-7200, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Salt Lake City office at 801-579-1400.
Kemp & Mannix Indictment
Grand Prairie Man Who Unlawfully Sold Firearms on Internet Sentenced to 63 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Grand Prairie, Texas, man who unlawfully sold firearms on the Internet, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 63 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Robert Confalone, 33, pleaded guilty in February 2016 to one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. He admitted that prior to and through October 26, 2015, he used the Internet to market and attempt to sell firearms using the website “Instagram.” He was not a licensed firearms dealer.
When special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) executed a search warrant at his residence on October 26, 2015, they located approximately 40 firearms, along with ammunition. Agents also found a personal use amount of marijuana in Confalone’s vehicle that Confalone admitted he used regularly while he possessed the firearms.
Confalone was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence at the end of Monday’s sentencing hearing.
ATF and the Grand Prairie Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley was in charge of the prosecution.
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Fourth Suboxone Doctor and Office Manager Indicted for Illegally Selling Prescriptions of Suboxone and KlonopinRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – An indictment was filed today charging a doctor and his office manager in a scheme to sell commonly abused prescription drugs in exchange for cash payments. Charged in the conspiracy are: Dr. Clarence Verdell, 66, of Voorhees, NJ and Rochelle Williams-Morrow, 37, of Philadelphia, PA. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, health care fraud, and money laundering and was announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Tuggle, and Special Agent-in-Charge Nick DiGuilio with Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The indictment alleges that Dr. Verdell formerly worked for Dr. Alan Summers who was also recently indicted for illegally selling prescriptions. After working for Dr. Summers for approximately six months, Dr. Verdell opened his own clinic in Philadelphia and followed Dr. Summers’s illegal practices of selling prescriptions for cash. Dr. Verdell attempted to market his clinic to Dr. Summers’s patients by promising them more drugs for less money. Dr. Verdell also did not require his patients to attend any form of counseling for their substance abuse issues. Dr. Verdell sold prescriptions for Suboxone and Klonopin in exchange for cash payments. Suboxone is a brand name for a drug used to treat opiate addiction. Dr. Verdell did not conduct medical examinations or mental health examinations as required by law in order to legally prescribe these controlled substances. Dr. Verdell also assisted his customers in obtaining health insurance benefits for these illegally prescribed controlled substances by providing false information to health insurance companies so that his customers could fill the prescriptions using their health insurance. Many of the customers who frequented this clinic were, in fact, drug dealers or drug addicts who sold the prescribed medications. In addition, Dr. Verdell provided prescription pads to his office manager, Rochelle Williams-Morrow, to use to provide prescriptions to cash paying customers when Dr. Verdell was not present in the office. During the duration of the conspiracy, Dr. Verdell illegally sold over $1 million worth of controlled substances.
“We have a public health crisis in this county involving prescription drug abuse that is exacerbated by doctors like these defendants,” said Memeger. “Every doctor who abandons his or her ethics to engage in the prescription-for-pay culture is breaking the law. They need to ask themselves whether it is worth the money to put people in danger, to risk the loss of their medical licenses, and to lose their freedom. Our office will continue to investigate and prosecute those individuals whose unscrupulous and illegal conduct contributes to this deadly epidemic.”
“These doctors capitalized on the addiction epidemic that is typically responsible for numerous deaths across our region,” said Tuggle. “The DEA will remain vigilant in pursuing investigations in an effort to combat this serious public health crisis.”
“It is a vicious cycle when doctors we trust to treat addiction actually fuel the epidemic for profit,” said DiGiulio. “In this case it is alleged that the defendants were: selling prescriptions for dangerous controlled substances; pretending to follow established standards of care to treat addicts; and then fraudulently causing government health care programs to pay for the unnecessary prescriptions. We will continue to work with our partners to dismantle dangerous pill mills, to protect government funds, and to keep the public safe.”
If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces a possible prison term, fines, restitution, special assessments, and a term of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Livermore.
Fort Myers Urologist Agrees to Pay $250,000 for Ordering Unnecessary Medical TestsRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Robert A. Scappa, D.O. has agreed to pay $250,000 to the government to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by causing claims to be submitted to federal health care programs for laboratory tests that were not medically necessary.
During the relevant time period, Scappa was a urologist practicing as part of Scappa Urology, which was a division of 21st Century Oncology, LLC. 21st Century is a nationwide provider of integrated cancer care services that is headquartered in Fort Myers. As part of its business, 21st Century employs and affiliates with physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Scappa caused to be submitted claims to Medicare and Tricare for fluorescence in situ hybridization, or “FISH,” tests that were not medically necessary. FISH tests are laboratory tests performed on urine that can detect genetic abnormalities associated with bladder cancer. Medicare does not consider a FISH test reasonable or necessary unless it’s used to monitor for tumor reoccurrence in a patient previously diagnosed with bladder cancer or unless, after performing a full urologic workup, the physician has reason to suspect that a patient with hematuria (i.e., blood in the urine) may have bladder cancer.
In January 2009, Scappa began referring all of the FISH testing ordered by him to a laboratory owned and operated by 21st Century. He was paid bonuses by the company based, in part, on the number of FISH tests he referred to 21st Century laboratory. The settlement is based on Scappa’s ability to pay.
The allegations that doctors affiliated with 21st Century were ordering unnecessary FISH tests were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower, a former medical assistant who worked for David Spellberg, M.D. at Naples Urology Associates, which was also a division of 21st Century Oncology, will receive $37,500 as her share of this recovery. This amount is in addition to a $3.2 million share she will receive as the result of the $19.75 million settlement previously reached with 21st Century Oncology.
“In fighting health care fraud, it is important that individual physicians, as well as their employers, be held accountable,” stated U.S. Attorney Bentley. “Doctors should not be able to escape personal liability for health care fraud.”
"This settlement is yet another example of the continuing commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program," said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. "As one of our top priorities, DCIS aggressively investigates health care fraud that harms the DoD, to ensure the best use of precious taxpayer dollars needed to provide critical care for our Warfighters, their family members, and military retirees."
“Tests ordered to increase profits rather than improve the healthcare of patients are an attack on Medicare and the American taxpayer,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “This settlement demonstrates that such practices have consequences.”
The investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Arthur Di Dio from the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle S. Cohen from the Fort Myers Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from DCIS, FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
This civil settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $30 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The lawsuit is captioned United States, State of Florida, ex rel. Mariela Barnes v. Dr. David Spellberg, 21st Century Oncology and Naples Urology Associates, Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-228-FtM-38DNF (M.D. Fla.).
Former Vice President of Wholesale Tool Company Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Role in $9 Million Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The former vice president of a California wholesale tool company was sentenced to 63 months in prison today for his role in a scheme to defraud East West Bank that resulted in losses of over $9 million.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Deidre Fike of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office and Special Inspector General Christy Goldsmith Romero of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) made the announcement.
Chung Yu Yeung, aka Louis Yeung, 39, of San Dimas, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder of the Central District of California. Judge Snyder also ordered Yeung to pay $9,618,908.34 in restitution and to forfeit a San Dimas property that was purchased with proceeds of the scheme. On March 30, 2016, Yeung pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud.
As part of his guilty plea, Yeung, a former vice president of Eastern Tools & Equipment Inc. (Eastern Tools) of Ontario, California, admitted that he and his co-conspirators defrauded East West Bank by making material misrepresentations about Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and its financial statements to obtain and maintain a loan with the bank. The conspirators created numerous shell corporations to act as purported suppliers and retailers doing business with Eastern Tools, when, in reality, these shell corporations were entirely under the control of Yeung and existed for the sole purpose of creating the illusion of such business, he admitted. Yeung also admitted that the fictitious companies allowed Yeung and other conspirators to falsely inflate Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and financial statements in representations to East West Bank.
Yeung admitted that in order to further the scheme, he and others opened post office boxes, phone accounts and email accounts purportedly associated with the shell retail companies, and provided information about them to East West Bank auditors, to promote the illusion that these shell customers were independent entities.
Eastern Tools defaulted on the loan after East West Bank discovered the fraud, causing more than $9 million in losses to the bank, Yeung admitted.
The FBI, IRS-CI and SIGTARP investigated the case. Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Former Vice President of Inland Empire Tool Company Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Role in $9 Million Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The former vice president of an Ontario-based wholesale tool company was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to defraud East West Bank that resulted in more than $9 million in losses.
Chung Yu Yeung (also known as Louis Yeung), 39, of San Dimas, was sentenced this afternoon by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder. In addition to the prison term, Judge Snyder ordered Yeung to pay $9,618,908 in restitution and to forfeit a property in San Dimas that was purchased with proceeds of the scheme.
The sentencing of Yeung was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker, Assistant Director in Charge Deidre Fike of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office and Special Inspector General Christy Goldsmith Romero of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).
Yeung pleaded guilty on March 30 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud. Yeung, a former vice president of Eastern Tools and Equipment, Inc. (Eastern Tools), admitted that he and his co-conspirators defrauded East West Bank by making material misrepresentations about Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and its financial statements to obtain and maintain a loan with the bank. The conspirators created numerous shell corporations to act as purported suppliers and retailers doing business with Eastern Tools, when, in reality, these shell corporations were entirely under the control of Yeung and existed for the sole purpose of creating the illusion of such business, he admitted. Yeung also admitted that the fictitious companies allowed Yeung and other conspirators to falsely inflate Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and financial statements in representations to East West Bank.
Yeung admitted that in order to further the scheme, he and others opened post office boxes, phone accounts and email accounts purportedly associated with the shell retail companies, and provided information about them to East West Bank auditors, to promote the illusion that these shell customers were independent entities.
Eastern Tools defaulted on the loan after East West Bank discovered the fraud, causing more than $9 million in losses to the bank.
“Yeung created companies and profits that were nothing but illusions, tricking a bank into loaning him millions of dollars,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This was a sophisticated crime that caused substantial losses, warranting the punishment imposed by the Court today.”
“Today, Yeung was held accountable for his illegal actions involving a massive loan fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars through the use of corporations that existed on paper only,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The audacity of this scheme was truly astounding and illustrates the lengths to which fraudsters will go to game the financial system for personal gain. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement partners by lending our financial expertise in these complex investigations.”
Yeung’s co-defendant, Guo Xiang Fan, who was the owner and president of Eastern Tools, is a fugitive.
The FBI, IRS-CI and SIGTARP investigated the case. Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Former St. Charles District Attorney Harry Morel Sentenced to 3 Years Imprisonment for Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced today HARRY J. MOREL, JR., age 73, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(d)(1).
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced MOREL to 3 years imprisonment, a $20,000 fine, 1 year of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
According to court records, MOREL served as the elected prosecutor of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana from on or about January 1, 1979 until May 31, 2012. Thereafter, he became an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney for St. Charles Parish and remained in that position until January 11, 2013. MOREL resided in, and his office was located in, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
As District Attorney and as an Assistant District Attorney for St. Charles Parish, MOREL was responsible for prosecuting individuals charged with criminal and traffic offenses against the State of Louisiana. As the District Attorney, MOREL had the authority and discretion to, among other things, make bail recommendations, make sentence recommendations and bring dismiss, forego or reduce charges.
MOREL freely admitted that he is guilty of Obstruction of Justice in that he harassed Individual "A" and attempted to prevent and dissuade Individual "A" from attending or testifying in an official proceeding, i.e., the federal grand jury, by telling Individual "A" to "get rid of” and to "destroy" the evidence of a meeting they had and to deny the inappropriate nature of the meeting to law enforcement officials. Furthermore, based on Individual "A"'s representations, MOREL believed there would be a federal Grand Jury investigation, and as a result asked her to conceal information that would have likely led to her being a witness before that body.
MOREL also admitted that on other occasions, between 2007 and 2009, he solicited sex from other individuals who were defendants or who had family members who were defendants in the St. Charles Parish criminal justice system. While soliciting sex from these individuals, MOREL likewise used the office of the District Attorney to provide benefits to these other individuals, including falsifying community service reports.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Baehr and Mark Miller were in charge of the prosecution.
Former Postal Worker Sentenced for Theft of MailRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ANISHA GALLIN, age 27, of Riverdale, Georgia, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to theft of mail.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced GALLIN to 2 year of probation and $60 in victim restitution.
According to Court records, on or about July 18, 2014, GALLIN, a United States Postal carrier, removed at least $60 in cash from greeting cards while on her postal route.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General for investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Dall Kammer was in charge of the prosecution.
Former Insurance Agency Owner Sentenced to over Two Years for Defrauding Clients Out of More Than $500,000Read the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.–Gary Edward Hibbing, a former insurance agent and owner of Grand Lake Investments and Insurance in Grove, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve 27 months in prison for implementing a fraudulent scheme that caused his clients to lose $505,126, announced United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. for the Northern District of Oklahoma. In addition to the prison sentence, United States District Chief Judge Gregory K. Frizzell ordered Hibbing to pay $505,126 in restitution.
Hibbing, 53, of Chino, California, was indicted on August 12, 2015, and he pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of unlawful monetary transactions on April 4, 2016.
Hibbing defrauded his victims through a scheme called “twisting”— an insurance industry term that refers to the fraudulent practice by an insurance agent of convincing a client to surrender an existing annuity in exchange for a new one. There is usually a penalty for early termination of an annuity and the client often loses money while the agent makes money on a new commission.
In addition, Hibbing lied to clients to convince them to surrender their existing annuities and immediately purchase new ones. He intentionally failed to disclose early termination penalties. He also provided false information to insurance companies to facilitate his twisting scheme.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin C. Leitch, Clemon D. Ashley, and Catherine Depew.
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Five Members and Associates of New Jersey Grape Street Crips Indicted for Drug Trafficking, Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Five Newark men associated with the New Jersey set of the Grape Street Crips were charged today in three separate indictments with drug distribution and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Marvin Eure, a/k/a “Man Man,” 22, is charged in a two-count indictment with heroin distribution and possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon. Louis Coston, a/k/a “Real Rell,” 26, is charged in a separate two-count indictment with conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of heroin possession with intent to distribute.
Ahmad Mann, a/k/a “P.O.,” a/k/a “P-Easy,” 37, Milton Latham, a/k/a “Murder,” 42, and Vincent J. Carter, a/k/a “Vince,” a/k/a “Vin,” 61, are charged in a third indictment with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. In addition, Latham is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon, and Mann is charged with three counts of heroin possession with intent to distribute.
According to the indictments:
The New Jersey Grape Street Crips controlled drug trafficking and other criminal activities in various areas of Newark. Coston and Ahmed Singleton, 26, a/k/a “Gangsta-Mu,” a/k/a “Mooshie,” both members of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips, allegedly sold prolific quantities of heroin to both Newark residents and out-of-town customers. Mann, Latham, and Carter allegedly worked together to distribute brick quantities of heroin in and around the Pennington Court, Hyatt Court, and Riverview public housing complexes in Newark, New Jersey.
Eure was a long-time member of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips who, after a violent dispute with the group’s leadership, formed a rival gang with various associates. In August 2012, Eure allegedly sold a Remington Arms 870 Magnum shotgun and a 7.62 caliber SKS rifle to a confidential informant working with the FBI. On Oct. 24, 2014, Eure also distributed heroin at the Kemsco Village housing complex in Newark.
To date, 37 members and associates of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, firearms and other charges. The leadership and senior members of the gang are awaiting trial on a racketeering indictment that includes four murders, three attempted murders, and numerous other crimes.
Eure faces a potential sentence of 10 years in prison for the firearms charge and a potential sentence of 20 years in prison for heroin distribution. Coston faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a potential maximum of life in prison for the heroin conspiracy charge, as well as a potential 20-year sentence for the heroin distribution charge.
Mann, Latham, and Carter face a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison for the heroin distribution charge. Mann faces a 20-year sentence for each of the three heroin distribution counts. Latham faces a 10-years sentence for the firearms charge.
Eure, Coston, Mann, and Latham remain in custody. Carter is out on bail.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, for the investigation leading to the charges. U.S. Attorney Fishman also thanked prosecutors and detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, police officers and detectives of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Director Anthony A. Ambrose, and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Armando B. Fontoura, for their work on the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto and Barry A. Kamar of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit of the Criminal Division in Newark.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Federal inmate pleads guilty to possessing weapon in prisonRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Beckley pleaded guilty today to possessing a weapon in prison, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Larry Antoine Smith, 49, entered his guilty plea to possession of a weapon by an inmate of the institution. Smith admitted that on September 28, 2015, he possessed a combination lock attached to a belt. The weapon was discovered when a prison staff member observed Smith swinging the belt. Smith further admitted that he attached the lock to the belt with the intention of using it as a weapon.
Smith faces up to five years in federal prison when he is sentenced on November 30, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Irene C. Berger.
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Federal Jury Finds “Worst of Worst” Offender from Albuquerque Guilty on Carjacking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned a verdict late yesterday afternoon finding Samuel Silva, 40, guilty on carjacking and firearms charges arising from a one-day crime spree in April 2014, following a two-day trial. Another federal jury previously convicted Silva on an armed career criminal charge in July 2016.
Yesterday’s verdict was announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martinez commended the ATF agents, APD officers and prosecutors responsible for ensuring that Silva will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars where he can never again terrorize innocent residents of our community. The U.S Attorney added, “This is what the federal ‘worst of the worst’ anti-violence initiative is all about – making New Mexicans safer by removing violent, repeat offenders from our communities for as long as possible.”
“This is an example of how our criminal justice system can work at its best,” said 2nd Judicial District Attorney Brandenburg. “When law enforcement agencies collaborate like this, everyone benefits.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Atteberry said, “Anytime we can take a career criminal off the streets, we are a much safer community. Silva will have a long time to reflect on his actions while he is locked up in a federal prison. We will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute in federal court these violent career offenders.”
“The Albuquerque Police Department is committed to ensuring that career criminals are not welcome in our city, and we will exhaust every resource to protect and serve our citizens,” said APD Police Chief Eden. “Working in concert with our ‘worst of the worst’ partners guarantees repeat offenders cannot continue to victimize innocent people.”Silva was charged on Dec. 3, 2014, in a six-count indictment with attempted carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, carjacking, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The indictment charged Silva with committing the first five offenses on April 23, 2014, and the sixth offense on July 1, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
According to the indictment, in April and July of 2014, Silva was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses. His prior felony convictions include auto burglary, unlawful taking of a vehicle, aggravated battery on a peace officer, attempted murder with a firearms enhancement, shooting at a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm, kidnapping with a firearms enhancement, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Silva was arrested on Dec. 18, 2014, after he was transferred to federal custody from state custody where he was detained on related state charges. The state charges subsequently were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
In June 2016, the court ordered separate trials for Silva on the carjacking and firearms offenses he committed on April 23, 2014, and the firearms offense he committed on July 1, 2014.
Silva’s first trial on Count 6 of the indictment began the morning of July 11, 2016, and concluded that that afternoon when the jury returned a guilty verdict. The evidence at trial established that when APD officers arrested Silva on July 1, 2014, he was in possession of a semi-automatic pistol loaded with nine rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. At sentencing on that conviction, Silva faces an enhanced sentence of a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison for this conviction because of his status as an armed career criminal.
Silva’s second trial on the remaining five counts of the indictment began on Aug. 15, 2016, and concluded late yesterday afternoon when the jury returned a guilty verdict on all five counts. The evidence at trial established that on April 23, 2014, Silva forced his way into a home in southwest Albuquerque, where he brandished a .45 caliber pistol at the victim and demanded items of value including the keys to the car parked in the homeowner’s (Victim 1) driveway. Silva fled the scene after he bound Victim 1 with electrical cords torn from various appliances in Victim 1’s home. Victim 1 was able to free herself and call for help from a neighbor’s house.
After fleeing from Victim 1’s home, Silva ran approximately one block where he attempted to enter a second residence. When the homeowner (Victim 2) refused and attempted to retrieve his own handgun, Silva shot the locked storm door, breaking the bottom pane of glass and crawled through the glass, cutting himself in the process. Before Victim 2 could retrieve his own firearm, Silva confronted him and demanded the keys to the pickup truck in Victim 2’s driveway. Before Victim 2 could comply with Silva’s demand, Silva shot Victim 2 through the lower left leg. Silva then dragged Victim 2 to the kitchen where he took the keys to the truck. Silva fled Victim 2’s home in the truck, which he abandoned at a third home about a mile away. Forensic scientists were able to identify Silva by blood he left at Victim 2’s home and in the truck.
The jury deliberated for approximately 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdict.
At sentencing, Silva faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on the attempted carjacking charge; a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the carjacking charge; and a penalty of a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison for being an armed career criminal. Additionally, Silva faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 32 years in prison, which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charges, for brandishing and discharging firearms during the attempted carjacking and carjacking. In sum, Silva faces a statutory mandatory minimum term of 47 years to a lifetime of imprisonment for his conviction on Counts 1 through 5 of the indictment.
The case was investigated by ATF in Albuquerque and APD with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob A. Wishard and Edward Han are prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat and violent offenders, primarily based on their prior convictions, from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.
Enfield Woman Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison for Embezzling from Credit UnionRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PAMELA MALLORY, 43, of Enfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for embezzling more than $840,000 from her employer, 360 Federal Credit Union.
According to court documents and statements made in court, MALLORY was employed as the lending manager of Windsor Locks-based 360 Federal Credit Union. In her position, MALLORY had access to loan files and authorized loans, including home equity lines of credit (“HELOCs”). From 2009 through 2016, MALLORY opened five different HELOCs in the name of a credit union member and increased the credit limit of those HELOCs on at least 15 occasions, all without the knowledge or consent of the credit union member. Initially, MALLORY perpetrated this scheme by opening subsequent HELOCs to pay off earlier, smaller HELOCs. Later in the scheme, rather than opening new HELOCs, she simply increased the credit limits on two of the fraudulent HELOCs to support her spending.
In order to evade detection, MALLORY made minimum, interest-only payments on the HELOCs from her own checking account.
When 360 Federal Credit Union discovered the scheme in January 2016, the credit union member’s property, which is worth less than $150,000, supported two HELOCs, each with credit limits of $417,000, that MALLORY had fully drawn down.
In total, MALLORY stole approximately $840,378.28 from 360 Federal Credit Union and used the proceeds of the scheme to pay her own creditors. Judge Chatigny ordered MALLORY to make full restitution.
On May 12, 2016, MALLORY pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a credit union employee.
MALLORY, who is released on bond, was ordered to report to prison on September 28, 2016.
This matter was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.
Employee of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility Charged with Extortion and Tampering with A WitnessRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that an employee of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility has been charged in a Criminal Information with violations of federal law.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, John Stachokus, age 41, of Plains Township, has been charged in a Criminal Information filed today in the United States District Court in Scranton, with extortion and tampering with a witness. It is alleged that the witness tampering charge is the result of Stachokus’ attempt to persuade a Government witness to offer false statements to federal law enforcement agents when asked about an investigation involving the extortion.
The Criminal Information further alleges that while acting in his official capacity as a corrections officer at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Stachokus extorted money and other items of value from work release inmates in exchange for affording them special privileges and unauthorized furloughs. It is alleged that in addition to cash, one particular inmate also purchased cocaine for Stachokus in exchange for special favors. Stachokus allegedly engaged in such conduct beginning in November 2013 through February 2016.
The Criminal Information was filed pursuant to a plea agreement with Stachokus. The plea agreement is subject to approval by the court. No date has been scheduled as yet for the entry of Stachokus’ guilty plea.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for the extortion charge is 20 years’ imprisonment. The witness tampering charge also carries a maximum term of 20 years’ imprisonment. Each charge carries a fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release following any period of incarceration. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Dominican Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican man residing in Lawrence pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a heroin, cocaine and fentanyl trafficking organization with ties to Mexico.
Gilberto Alicea, 31, of Bani, Dominican Republic and Lawrence, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. In July 2015, Alicea was arrested and charged.
At the time of Alicea’s arrest, he was helping to count over $500,000 in cash that was going to be transported by a co-conspirator to the Mexican border for payment of nine kilograms of fentanyl . The fentanyl was seized while en route from California to Lawrence, where it was destined for the drug trafficking organization led by Alicea’s co-defendant, Jerri Martinez-Tejeda. On at least five occasions, Alicea deposited $8,000 in proceeds from the drug trafficking operations to help launder the profits. Alicea was also involved in the preparation, packaging and delivery of drugs.
In June 2016, Martinez-Tejeda pleaded guilty to the same charges. Co-defendants Yoelly Carmenatty, Lily Solis and Michael Bate have also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in the fall of 2016 with the exception of Solis, who was previously sentenced to 33 months in prison.
The narcotics charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The money laundering charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. 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; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Lawrence Police Chief James X. Fitzpatrick, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Kanwit of Ortiz’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit.
Doctors and Medical Facilities in Lehigh Valley Pay $690,441 to Resolve Healthcare Fraud AllegationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Dr. Yasin Khan, Dr. Elizabeth Khan, Dr. Dong Ko, Westfield Hospital and affiliated entities including a related pain clinic, Lehigh Valley Pain Management, have agreed to pay $690,441 to the federal government to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false health care billings to the Medicare, Federal Employees Health Benefits, and United States Department of Labor-Office of Workers’ Compensation programs.
The settlement resolves allegations in a complaint filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The qui tam provisions allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The whistleblower, Margaret Reynard, will receive approximately $124,000 of the recovery.
In the qui tam complaint, the whistleblower alleged that the defendants submitted claims to the federal government to receive reimbursement for services performed by non-physicians as “incident to” the services of supervising physicians when, in fact, supervising physicians were away from the office or otherwise incapable of supervising. Billing services as “incident to” a physician’s supervision commands a higher reimbursement rate than billing those same services without physician supervision. Because physicians were not available to provide the supervision that the government programs required, the whistleblower alleged that defendants’ “incident to” billing was improper and resulted in false claims during the period from July 1, 2007 through December 31, 2013. There has been no determination of civil liability. The settled civil claims are allegations only.
As part of the settlement agreement, the defendants also agreed that, for the next thirty months, they will not submit claims to federal payors for any services performed by non-physician providers under the rate that applies for services rendered “incident to” the services of a physician, regardless of whether or not the claims could be billed properly in that manner.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory B. David and Michael S. Macko.
District Man Indicted for First-Degree Sexual Abuse and Other Charges in 2001 and 2002 AttacksRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Chelo Gwathmey, 38, of Washington D.C., was indicted today on charges stemming from armed rapes of two women in 2001 and 2002, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Gwathmey was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances, and related offenses. Gwathmey was arrested on Aug. 15, 2016, and has been in custody while awaiting further court proceedings. He will be arraigned on a date to be scheduled by the Court. The charges of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances carry a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.
The indictment followed an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department into two separate sexual assaults that occurred in 2001 and 2002. The first victim was walking home alone in the early morning hours of Aug. 26, 2001, in the vicinity of 9th and Upshur Streets NW, when she was accosted by a man wielding a knife. The man forced her inside of his vehicle and raped her. The second victim was raped at gunpoint in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2002, inside a vehicle in an alleyway adjacent to the unit block of Van Buren Street NW.
Forensic analysis of the sex kits collected following the two assaults revealed that the same unknown male DNA profile was found on the biological material in both cases. In the summer of 2016, detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit developed the defendant as a suspect in these assaults and obtained a warrant to collect a DNA sample from him. Forensic analysis revealed that Gwathmey’s DNA profile matched the unknown male DNA profile found in the sex kits collected following both assaults.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Lanier commended the work of those who are investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those handling the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan, Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key, and Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky and Jason Park, who are prosecuting the matter.
Department of Justice Launches Comprehensive Assessment of the Commerce City Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
DENVER, Colo. – The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the launch of an independent and comprehensive review of the Commerce City Police Department. This review, also known as Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA), comes at the request of Commerce City officials and the police department in response to serious internal challenges and concerns pertaining to officer misconduct.
Chief Noble Wray, head of the COPS Office Policing Practices and Accountability Initiative and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Bob Troyer joined Commerce City Mayor Pro Tem René Bullock and Interim Police Chief Lowell Richardson to announce the launch of the collaborative reform process.
“I commend Commerce City for requesting and welcoming this type of candid assessment,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “I am confident that the process can dramatically improve the internal operations of the department and the quality of service the department provides to the community.”
“A top priority of this office is to develop and maintain strong relationships between the community and law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “Commerce City leaders are walking that walk by asking for this collaboration with the COPS Office, and that alone is a great step forward.”
CRI-TA serves as an independent and objective process to help transform law enforcement agencies through the analysis of policies, practices, training, tactics, and accountability methods. Using subject matter experts, the COPS Office provides technical assistance based on extensive research and analysis to help enhance and improve an agency’s operating systems and professional culture.
Once the initial assessment phase of the process is completed, the COPS Office will release a report detailing the findings of the assessment, along with specific recommendations to achieve best practices in 21st century policing. During the subsequent 18-months, the COPS Office will continue to work with the police department to help implement the recommendations and will release a progress report and final report.
Commerce City is the 13th city to enter into the collaborative reform process.
The COPS Office, headed by Director Ronald Davis, is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
Defendant Sentenced to 6 Months for Oil TheftRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Mark Wayne Bush, 51, of Gilbertown, Alabama, was sentenced today to 6 months of imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade for conspiring to transport stolen oil from Clarke County, Alabama to Mississippi. The judge ordered that Bush undergo 3 years of supervised release upon completing his term of imprisonment, pay $198,270 in restitution to Pruet Oil Company, undergo credit restrictions, and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment.
Bush and co-defendants Oliver Leggett Jr. and Earnest Ronald Hays were indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2015 for their scheme to steal oil from oil fields in Clarke County, transport the oil to Heidelberg, Mississippi, and sell it to third parties, all for personal financial gain. From before 2006 to 2015, Bush was an oil pumper working as a contractor for Pruet Oil, a company with oil fields in Clarke County. During the conspiracy, Leggett was a truck driver responsible for transporting sludge and waste oil, and Hays headed Hays Petroleum, an oil company in Heidelberg, Mississippi. Bush, Leggett, and Hays stole crude oil from Pruet Oil. Bush and Leggett communicated about the best times to steal crude oil, which tanks to use to take the oil, and how many barrels to load out of each tank. Relying on Bush’s information, Leggett went to Pruet Oil at various times, loaded stolen crude oil into his truck, and transported it to Hays, who paid Leggett for delivered stolen oil. Leggett, in turn, paid Bush a portion of the stolen oil proceeds.
On May 19, 2016, Bush pled guilty to one count of conspiring to transport stolen oil in interstate commerce. Leggett and Hays have also pled guilty to the conspiracy. Leggett’s sentencing date is August 22, 2016. Hays’s sentencing date is December 1, 2016.
The case was investigated by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Gregory Bordenkircher.
Defendant Sentenced to 15 Months for BP FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Catrina Jefferson, 38, of Irvington, Alabama, was sentenced today to 15 months of imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade for conspiring to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. The judge ordered that Jefferson undergo 3 years of supervised release upon completing her term of imprisonment, pay $155,700 in restitution to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), undergo substance abuse and mental health treatment, face credit restrictions, and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment.
Jefferson was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2015 for seeking personal financial gain by defrauding British Petroleum and the GCCF through the preparation and filing of false GCCF Claim Forms and supporting documents. As part of the scheme, Jefferson used the social security numbers and other personal identifiers of several individuals. She sent the GCCF false documents, such as pay stubs, Form W-2s, employment verification letters, and tax returns. Jefferson used a tax preparation business called Jefferson Tax Services in furtherance of the scheme. She arranged to directly receive payments from the GCCF. She unlawfully endorsed GCCF checks and deposited money into bank accounts under her control. On May 19, 2016, Jefferson pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sinan Kalayoglu.
Controller Embezzled Money at Direction of Person He Met through Online Dating SiteRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former Pennsylvania resident who now lives in Mississippi pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Jeffrey A. Plimpton, 59, formerly of Harrison City, Pa., pled guilty to one count before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from on or about April 8, 2014, and continuing thereafter to on or about Dec. 22, 2015, Plimpton, while serving as the Controller, embezzled over $1.4 million from Alpha Aromatics and Pestco Professional Services. Plimpton wire transferred approximately $1,386,376.04 out of the company’s bank account at the direction of a person he met through an online dating website. For example, at this person’s direction, Plimpton wire transferred $119,780 from the company’s bank account in Pennsylvania to a United Overseas Bank account in Malaysia.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for Dec. 15, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court released the defendant on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Plimpton.
Connecticut Man Sentenced for Drug Possession After High-Speed PursuitRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Connecticut man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Springfield in connection with heroin and cocaine distribution.
Tyvonne Gooden, 25, of Manchester, Conn. was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In February 2016, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.
On March 20, 2014, Gooden was in possession of 190 bags of heroin and two bags of cocaine after he was caught in Greenfield, Mass. by law enforcement officers following an hours-long chase. The chase began when Gooden sped away from a Massachusetts State Trooper after being pulled over on the highway for a traffic violation.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Bains Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.
Columbus Gang Members Pleads Guilty to Rackteering, Takes Responsibility for 2 MurdersRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lance Reynolds, 33, of Columbus, Ohio pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of racketeering conspiracy in connection with a case involving the organized criminal enterprise known as the Short North Posse.
As part of his plea, he took responsibility for two previously unsolved murders: the deaths of Quincy Battle on March 24, 2010 in Columbus and Shane McCuen on March 11, 2008 in Zanesville.
Reynolds was originally one of three defendants scheduled for a third trial in this case, which is to begin on September 26. DeShawn Smith and Johnathan Holt remain scheduled for trial.
Reynolds’ plea contains a recommended sentencing range of 30 to 35 years in prison.
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Brad Earman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.
A total of 20 individuals were indicted in the racketeering case with charges that included murders, attempted murders, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, witness tampering, extortion and robbery.
A United States District Court jury convicted five co-defendants of racketeering and murder in June. After a two-month trial, the group of defendants was convicted on all counts, which accounted for 10 of 14 previously unsolved murders. Defendants previously scheduled for a second trial have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the two-year long investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Columbus Police, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office, Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx, Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth Oswalt, Muskingum County Prosecutor D. Michael Haddox, Ross County Prosecutor Matthew S. Schmidt, law enforcement leaders from those counties, officials of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys David DeVillers, Kevin Kelley and Brian Martinez, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Lowe of Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien’s Office, who are prosecuting the case.
Co-owner of Chicago Medical Transport Company Sentenced for Fraudulent Billing SchemeRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – A Chicago woman who previously pled guilty to her role in a scheme to overbill Illinois’ Medicaid program has been sentenced. On Aug. 15, 2016, U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough ordered Tina Kimbrough, 44, of Berwyn, Ill., to serve 30 months in federal prison. Kimbrough and Gregory D. Toran, 67, of Hazel Crest, Ill., owned IBT Transportation, LLC., a non-emergency medical transport company, during the period of the fraud conspiracy, from December 2005 to June 2011.
Toran was convicted of the conspiracy and seven counts of mail fraud following a bench trial before Judge Myerscough, who rendered her guilty verdicts in late July 2016. Kimbrough was also ordered to pay $4 million in restitution, due jointly and severally with Toran, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14, 2016. Kimbrough is to self-report as directed by the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her prison term.
In June 2015, Kimbrough pled guilty to participating in the conspiracy with Toran, as well as one count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements. As a result of the scheme, IBT fraudulently overbilled the state’s Medicaid program by an estimated $4.7 million for services not rendered, not rendered to the extent claimed, and for mileage well in excess of miles actually driven.
The charges were investigated by the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Unit; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In addition, the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services, which administers the Medicaid program for the state of Illinois, assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory K. Harris and Timothy A. Bass are prosecuting the case.
Christian County Jail Inmate Sentenced for Tax Fraud Conspiracy Behind BarsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an inmate in the Christian County Jail in Ozark, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to file fraudulent federal income tax returns while he was incarcerated and awaiting sentencing on another federal conviction.
John Dennis Sedersten, 40, who was an inmate in the Christian County Jail at the time of the offense, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to six years and six months in federal prison without parole.
On April 5, 2016, Sedersten pleaded guilty to leading a conspiracy to defraud the government. Sedersten committed this offense, his fifth federal conviction, while incarcerated as he awaited sentencing on an earlier federal conviction for escaping from custody. Sedersten had walked away from a halfway house in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014. For that offense, he was sentenced on March 31, 2016, to five years in federal prison without parole. The court ordered today’s sentence to be served consecutively.
Sedersten was at the halfway house as part of his sentence for aggravated identity theft, to which he pleaded guilty in 2013. He was scheduled to be released about five months later, on Dec. 3, 2014. Sedersten also has prior federal convictions related to a counterfeit check-cashing scheme to which he pleaded guilty in 2010. Sedersten also has a 2002 federal felony conviction for counterfeit checks in the District of Nebraska.
Sedersten admitted that, while he was incarcerated, he conspired with others to prepare and submit false federal income tax returns in order to receive refunds to which the conspirators were not entitled. Sedersten’s co-conspirators, who are not identified in court documents, were not inmates of the jail.
Sedersten admitted that he provided his co-conspirators with specific instructions regarding how to complete and file the false federal income tax returns, listing wages not received, federal income tax withholdings that had not been withheld, and false business expenses. Sedersten also provided his co-conspirators with an Employer Identification Number (EIN) under which they could report the false wages and withholdings. Most of the conspirators claimed to have received wages from JDS Enterprises, which is registered to Sedersten.
All false claims but one were halted by the IRS, and the one refund issued was recovered. Sedersten’s plea agreement lists nine false claims filed by eight individuals. The government believes the total amount of the false claims submitted during the course of this conspiracy was $373,372.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Chesterfield Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Pamela Minor-Chiles, 47, of Chesterfield, Virginia, pled guilty today to a criminal information charging her with bank fraud stemming from her misappropriation of approximately $200,000 from a medical practice. She was indicted on June 21, 2016 on 27 counts of bank fraud.
According to court documents, Minor-Chiles, the office manager of the Central Virginia OB/GYN Associates (CVOG), misappropriated approximately $200,000 from the practice from 2007 until 2012. The scheme involved Minor-Chiles writing numerous checks on the CVOG operating account at SunTrust Bank and fraudulently depositing them into her personal accounts at the Bank of America from 2007 to 2012. Minor-Chiles concealed the misappropriations by (1) putting fraudulent entries on the check stubs to make it appear that the misappropriated checks were written to outside vendors for legitimate expenses of the practice, and (2) then submitting the fraudulent check stubs to the outside accountants.
Minor-Chiles faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The guilty plea took place today before the Honorable M. Hannah Lauck. The sentencing is set for November 29, 2016.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Douglas Mease, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the return of the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-CR-083.
Cherokee Co. Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison on Federal Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced late yesterday Lowney Yohnagalegi Crow, 33, of Cherokee, N.C. to 87 months in prison on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Crow, who is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief James Dike Sneed of the Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD).
“Crow’s then-fiancé suffered unspeakable violence by the man who claimed to love her. Crow beat his victim as she begged him to stop, telling her his intent was to make sure she never walked again. Then afterwards, Crow left the victim to suffer in pain overnight, finally agreeing to call for medical help after he instructed her on what to say about the cause of her injuries,” said U.S. Attorney Rose. “What Crow did to his victim is what millions of others suffer each day: domestic violence and physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of a loved one. Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or gender, and it affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education. It can also happen to intimate partners who are married, living together, or dating. I urge victims of domestic violence to reach out to my office, to law enforcement, to a local organization, or a loved one to alert them to their situation and to report this heinous crime. Help is available to assist domestic violence victims and to get them on a path to safety,” Rose added.
According to information contained in filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, on March 30, 2014, officers with CIPD arrived to Crow’s residence in response to a 911 call regarding an attempted rape and assault at that location. The female victim, who was Crow’s fiancé at the time, told law enforcement officers that another individual had come into Crow’s house and attempted to sexually assault her. The officers found the alleged perpetrator laying on the floor inside Crow’s residence unconscious and in need of medical attention.
The following day, on March 31, 2014, the victim called 911 again, this time requesting transportation to the hospital because she was hurt. According to court records, at first, the victim declined to speak in detail to law enforcement and the emergency medical personnel on the scene regarding her severe injuries on her knees and abdomen. Crow also denied knowing who injured the victim when he was questioned. Court records show that later the same day and after Crow had left the hospital, the victim told law enforcement that Crow was the person who had assaulted her, after he accused her of being unfaithful to him. The victim told law enforcement that Crow had used a wooden baseball bat to hit her the night before, that the beating had lasted approximately 45 minutes, and that Crow only stopped hitting her when the bat he was using broke.
According to court records, the morning after the incident, Crow had carried the victim to the bathroom because she was unable to walk and finally agreed to get her medical attention for her injuries. Crow also told the victim to tell the police that he was not responsible for her injuries. According to court records, the victim suffered multiple fractures in her legs, hands and other parts of her body. She also required several surgeries and physical therapy before she could walk again.
An arrest warrant against Crow was issued in January 2015, following the filing of a federal complaint against him. Crow was located in California where he was arrested in January 2016. He pleaded guilty in April 2016 to one count of intentional assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by the FBI and CIPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), 1-800-787-3224 (TTY), or visit: http://www.thehotline.org
Carroll County man sentenced to prison for failing to register as sex offenderRead the Press Release
A Carroll County man was sentenced to prison for failing to register as a sex offender, said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon and U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott.
Louis Scott, 45, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent.
Scott was convicted in Tulsa County District Court in May 2011 of second-degree rape. As a result of that conviction he was subject to the sex offender registration requirements of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, according to court documents.
In January 2016 U.S. Marshals Service investigators learned that Scott was no longer at his registered address in Oklahoma and was residing in the 100 block of 12th St. NW, in Carrollton, Ohio, according to court documents.
He was arrested by the US Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force on January 15th, 2016.
“Too often sex offenders believe they can avoid their requirements to register by moving from state to state and living under the radar,” said Peter J. Elliott, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio. “The combined efforts of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and Oklahoma law enforcement made this arrest possible.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer following an investigation by the U.S. Marshal Service and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
Carl Junction Sex Offender Sentenced for Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Carl Junction, Mo., man who was a prior sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Steven Ray Cottle, Jr., 36, of Carl Junction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 20 years in federal prison without parole followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Cottle was required to register as a sex offender due to his Jan. 25, 2001, conviction for indecent exposure in Oklahoma.
On Jan. 13, 2016, Cottle pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Agents with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force were conducting an undercover investigation in December 2013 and identified Cottle’s computer as receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program. When agents executed a search warrant at his residence on Feb. 13, 2014, Cottle attempted to hide his laptop computer and two thumb drives by placing them in the attic access space, accessible from within the closet of his bedroom, before he came downstairs to talk to law enforcement officers.
Investigators discovered numerous images and videos of child pornography, as well as other images of bestiality and bondage, on the laptop and thumb drives. Some of those images depicted children as young as three years old.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Canadian Citizen Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Leading an International Multimillion Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Sandy Winick, a Canadian citizen who was extradited from Thailand, was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, to 78 months in prison following his July 2015 guilty plea to conspiring to commit wire fraud for running an international advance fee scheme. The sentencing proceeding was held before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. As part of the sentence, Winick was ordered to pay $2,431,038.32 in restitution and $5,000,000 in forfeiture.
The sentence was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Capers thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA); the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA); and law enforcement authorities in Thailand and China for their significant cooperation and assistance in this complex global investigation.
According to the indictment and other court filings, between 2008 and 2013, Winick was the leader of two multi-million dollar fraud schemes that used call centers around the world to defraud unsuspecting investors. In the first scheme, Winick, together with other defendants, was charged with engaging in an international “pump and dump” operation. Specifically, Winick and his co-defendants secretly controlled and fraudulently inflated the share price of worthless penny stocks through false and misleading press releases and manipulative trading and then sold billions of the fraudulently-inflated shares to investors across the globe. In the second scheme, Winick, together with other defendants, was charged with operating boiler rooms in four countries to induce investments in penny stocks, including investments by many of the victims in the first scheme, to pay advance fees that the defendants promised would enable them to sell the stocks and recover any losses they incurred. In reality, Winick and his co-defendants stole more than $5 million from the duped investors and never provided any services. Winick established and operated boiler rooms or call centers in various locations around the world, including Canada, Thailand, and China, to solicit fees from the victims. Winick also planned to open a call center in Brooklyn.
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The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher A. Ott and Sylvia Shweder are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Hendry of the Office’s Civil Division, which is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.
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This prosecution was the result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.StopFraud.gov.
The Defendant:
SANDY WINICK
Citizenship: Canada
Age: 58
Ontario, CanadaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 13-CR-452 (S-2) (ENV)
Camden, New Jersey, Woman Admits Sex Trafficking of MinorRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Camden, New Jersey, woman pleaded guilty today in federal court to sex trafficking of a minor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aja M. Easley, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging her with one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Easley, Aaron J. Gray, 29, of Camden, and Kenneth A. Mertz, 35, of Collingswood, were previously charged in a criminal complaint with sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. Gray was also charged in the complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Easley admitted that on March 2, 2015, she communicated with the victim, a minor, using a popular social media website. Easley told the victim she was “worried about” the victim because of a previous assault by the victim’s ex-boyfriend. She offered the victim money, food, clothing, and shelter, and met the victim at the Camden Transportation Center. There, Easley told the victim about a “dating website,” and said that the victim could make money through the website by going on “dates.” Easley and the victim later met Gray and Mertz at a residence in Camden. Easley, Mertz, and Gray agreed to advertise the minor online for commercial sex acts and drove the minor to a motel in Cherry Hill for that purpose.
At the motel, Gray and Easley convinced the victim to engage in commercial sex acts. Using her cellular telephone, Easley took provocative photos of the victim, and uploaded them to an online advertisement that she had created advertising the victim for commercial sex acts. After the advertisement was online, Easley used her cellular telephone to communicate with multiple individuals who responded to the advertisement. Gray gave the victim instructions on what to do when the respondents arrived. Easley instructed the victim to tell the individuals, regardless of her real age, that she was 21 years old. Easley also instructed the victim how much time each individual could spend with the victim at the motel and how much each individual owed the victim. Easley also told the victim that if any trouble arose, Gray was outside the motel with a firearm. While at the motel in Cherry Hill, the victim engaged in sex acts in exchange for money with multiple individuals, which the defendants split between themselves and the victim.
The next day, at a motel in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, at the defendants’ direction, the victim again engaged in sex acts in exchange for money with multiple individuals who responded to the advertisement. Later that evening, the defendants told the victim that they were taking the victim to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to meet another person who had responded to the advertisement and was willing to pay $1,200 for an entire evening with the victim.
On the way to Atlantic City, the defendants agreed to let the victim stop at a residence in Gloucester City, New Jersey. The victim went inside and contacted the police, leading to the defendants’ arrest.
The count to which Easley pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a statutory maximum of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 22, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, and members of the Mount Laurel Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Dennis Cribben, and the Gloucester City Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Chief Michael Morell, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brendan Day of the Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
The pending charges and allegations against Gray and Mertz are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
16-240 ###
Defense counsel: Joshua Markowitz Esq., Lawrenceville, New Jersey
California Commodities Trader Admits His Investment Scam Caused a Loss to Clients of More Than $3 MillionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A southern California commodities trader pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago today to pocketing a portion of his clients’ money after falsely promising a 200% return on investment.
DAVID BRYANT admitted in a plea agreement that he obtained money from investors by falsely representing that his California-based company, the Bryant Family Investment Fund LLC, had successfully generated profits of more than 200% a year. In fact, the fund had performed no trading in its name, and the trading that Bryant did in his personal accounts – using client funds –resulted in large losses.
Bryant, 63, of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., admitted fraudulently obtaining approximately $5.1 million from investors and a financial institution, and causing a loss to investors and others of approximately $3.6 million. Some of Bryant’s personal accounts were located in Chicago.
Bryant pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 18, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.
According to the plea agreement, Bryant attempted to make the scam appear legitimate by providing the victims with fraudulent documents that he created, including fictitious trading records and account statements that purported to reflect the clients’ growing investment proceeds. He further concealed the scheme by making Ponzi-type payments to other investors. Some of the money for the Ponzi payments came from a bank loan that Bryant fraudulently obtained by forging his mother’s signature on a property deed and using it as collateral for the loan, according to the plea agreement.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a civil complaint against Bryant, assisted in the investigation.
A Court order entered in May in the civil suit required Bryant to pay a $3 million civil monetary penalty and more than $3.08 million in restitution. The order also imposed permanent trading and registration bans on Bryant, and prohibited him from committing further violations of the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act.
The government is represented in the criminal case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern.
Plea Agreement
Caldwell Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOISE - John Paul Tate, 48, of Caldwell, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Tate was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 8, 2016.
According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, Tate conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in the state of Idaho between October of 2015, and February 22, 2016. Tate and his co-conspirators arranged for delivers of methamphetamine in Ada and Canyon counties. Investigating officers discovered the conspiracy and were able to intervene.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years or more than life, a term of supervised release of at least five years, and a maximum fine of $10,000,000.
Sentencing is set for November 17, 2016, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and City County Narcotics Unit of Canyon County.
The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board. The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, and Malheur County.
Boston Man Sentenced for Multiple RobberiesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with robbing three financial institutions: the East Cambridge Saving Bank and Naveo Credit Union in Cambridge and Rockland Trust in Allston.
Kim N. Daley, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 100 months in prison, three years of supervised release and restitution of $8,339. In May 2016, Daley pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery.
On June 1, 2015, Daley entered the East Cambridge Savings Bank in Cambridge and gave the teller a note demanding money. The teller handed Daley money from her drawer and he fled the bank. Surveillance video recorded the robbery and Daley’s image was circulated on the Massachusetts Crime Network. A state parole officer recognized Daley as the robber and notified the Cambridge Police Department.
On Aug. 7, 2015, Daley entered the Rockland Trust in Allston. Once again, Daley gave the teller a note demanding money. The teller handed Daley money from her drawer and he fled the bank. Following the robbery, Daley was identified by bank employees from a photo array.
On Aug.14, 2015, Daley entered the Naveo Credit Union in Cambridge. Daley gave the teller a note demanding money and stated, “hurry up, I have a gun.” The teller handed Daley money from her drawer and he then fled the bank. Surveillance cameras recorded the robbery which law enforcement reviewed and identified Daley.
On Aug. 21, 2015, Daley was arrested in New York City and transported to Massachusetts to face charges.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Cambridge Police Acting Commissioner Christopher Burke; and John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Avera, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Children’s Home Society Host Child Sexual Abuse ConferenceRead the Press Release
Media are invited Thursday, Aug. 18, to the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Media may come and film a portion of Matthew Sandusky’s presentation at 9:30 a.m. in the convention center ballroom, followed by a press conference at 10:05 a.m. in Meeting Room 9. At the press conference, keynote speaker Matthew Sandusky will give comments and will be available for interviews, along with State Senator Deb Soholt, and U.S. Attorney Randolph Seiler.
SIOUX FALLS (Aug. 16, 2016) – A Child Sexual Abuse Conference will be held Thursday, Aug. 18 and Friday, Aug. 19 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center in Ballrooms A and B. This event is sponsored by Avera, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of South Dakota, and Children’s Home Society.
“Child sexual abuse is one of the most devastating criminal activities we face. In South Dakota, it’s estimated that child sexual abuse impacts 4,000 children every year – and these are only the kids we know about. The actual number is much higher, because abuse is often hidden for years, and some victims never tell. Through this event, we hope to have a lasting impact in our community, region and state,” said Randolph Seiler, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota.
Keynote speakers include:
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Matthew Sandusky, Founder and Executive Director of Peaceful Hearts Foundation, and a victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of his adopted father, Jerry Sandusky.
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Erin Merryn, childhood sexual abuse survivor, and now author and advocate for the abused. She has been named 2012 Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year and among “HEROES Among Us” in People Magazine in 2013.
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Robert Anda, MD, co-founder of the Adverse Childhood Experiences – or ACE Study – with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Victor Vieth, JD, Founder and Senior Director of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center, in Winona, Minn., and author of a groundbreaking journal article: “Unto the Third Generation: A Call to End Child Abuse in the United States within 120 Years.”
This is the third annual conference sponsored by Avera and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with other community sponsors, to explore issues of justice, well-being and safety in our state and region. Past topics have included human trafficking and living with disabilities.
“This year, we sought to bring together a group of people concerned for stopping the horrors that children experience in the form of sexual abuse,” said Deb Soholt, Women’s Health for Avera Medical Group, as well as South Dakota State Senator representing District 14 in Sioux Falls.
Throughout this two-day event, the goal is to open up a larger conversation between people from all walks of life in South Dakota. Attendees represent the legal system, government, health care, education, social work, ministries and more.
A turnout of over 350 is expected. “This high turnout demonstrates our collective need to move forward toward bring about real and significant change,” Soholt added.
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August Grand JuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 12 indictments charging 13 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Randy Arnold, 50, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with receipt of child pornography from on and before August 25, 2015. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, supervised release for life and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Arnold with possession of child pornography on or about June 11, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, supervised release for life, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jose Agapito Rodriguez Castellanos, age 27, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation on or about August 8, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 2 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* William Alexander Garcia, age 29, of Van Nuys, California, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about July 22, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jose Iglesias-Gomez, age 43, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation on or about July 28, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Sherman Johnson, age 42, of Los Angeles, California and Sarkis Labachyan, age 35, of Glendale, California are charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of a mixture containing cocaine on or about June 21, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Greg Jones, age 51, of Fremont, Nebraska, and Robert Blevins, age 53, of Ames, Nebraska, are charged with possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about May 18, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Thomas G. Mace, age 49, of Sioux City, Iowa is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Mace with attempt to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Joshue Jonatan Martinez Cordero, a/k/a Luis Gregory Chavez, a/k/a Josue Martinez, age 31, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation following an aggravated felony conviction on or about July 22, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Luis Ortiz-Bustamante, age 37, of Columbus, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation following an aggravated felony conviction on or about March 2, 2015. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Carlos Prada and Jorge E. Charry are charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about May 10, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Dale Rinabarger, age 41, of Omaha, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine on or about July 7, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jaime Sermeno Pacheco, age 33, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation on or about July 21, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 2 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
Ada Man Pleads Guilty to Misrepresentation of United States CitizenshipRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that TITUS OMBINA ABOGE, age 32, of Ada, Oklahoma, pled guilty to MISREPRESENTATION OF UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 911.
The charge arose from an investigation by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. The defendant was indicted in June, 2016.
The Indictment alleged that on or about December 12, 2012, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, TITUS OMBIMA ABOGE, a citizen of the Republic of Kenya, and an alien in the United States, did falsely and wilfully represent himself to be a citizen of the United States in a Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 3 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Hammer represented the United States.
Accountant Sentenced for $4 Million Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Overland Park, Kan., accountant was sentenced in federal court today for an embezzlement scheme in which he stole more than $4 million from his firm’s clients and purchased dozens of luxury vehicles.
Thomas Hauk, 42, of Overland Park, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 9 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hauk to pay $4,157,306 in restitution to his victims.
On Dec. 22, 2015, Hauk pleaded guilty to five counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, five counts of counterfeit securities and four counts of money laundering.
Hauk was employed as an accountant at Assured Management Company from approximately 2005 to July 2015. He voluntarily resigned in 2015 to begin employment at a new financial management company, JIM Management, with one of the victims of his fraud scheme. JIM quickly dissolved when the underlying investigation related to Hauk’s embezzlement at Assured Management began to unfold in July 2015.
Between 2006 and July 2015, Hauk engaged in several schemes to defraud Assured Management clients by embezzling funds from their accounts. The purpose of each scheme was to steal money for Hauk’s own financial use and personal gain to pay living expenses during two marriages and divorces, to send money to a paramour, and to purchase valuable items and motor vehicles, including the purchase of high-dollar vehicles, trailers, jewelry and motorcycles.
For example, Hauk purchased a 2006 Ford GT for $223,249, a 2009 Ferrari for $205,953 and a 2014 Ducati motorcycle for $64,160. Hauk stored the vehicles and motorcycles in three storage units he purchased in Kansas City, Mo., for $163,500.
Hauk defrauded five victims by embezzling funds from their accounts held at Assured Management. Hauk stole the identity of a sixth victim by using his signature stamp to endorse fraudulent checks.
While Hauk’s financial fraud scheme began at least in 2006, the amount of money taken by Hauk during the embezzlement accelerated during the last two to three years before the financial fraud scheme was uncovered in July 2015. During that time, Hauk used embezzlement proceeds to make at least 66 complex automobile and motorcycle purchases.
In a separate civil proceeding, the government has seized 33 luxury cars, high-end motorcyles and other vehicles still in Hauk’s possession, which he had purchased for a total of $1,651,146. Hauk bought and traded expensive vehicles on a continuing basis until discovery of his fraud in July 2015. He used proceeds stolen from Assured Management clients, laundering the funds through companies he created, making down payments, paying existing liens, making regular large monthly payments and purchasing vehicles outright. Hauk provided significant false information to qualify for large car loans. Hauk routinely represented himself as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), which he is not, and falsely represented his legitimate income in excess of $300,000 to $400,000 per year.
Hauk used his ill-gotten gains to support a lavish lifestyle for himself, including expensive cars, jewelry, credit card bills and vacations. During a five-year period, Hauk spent approximately $1,207,639 using three credit cards to purchase such items as:
• $30,500 at Hannoush Jewelry on a 2.5 karat diamond ring,
• $2,400 at Alexander McQueen on a handbag,
• $4,725 at Hannoush Jewelry on a 1887 Carrera bracelet,
• $6,458 at Hannoush Jewelry on a Tag Heuer Carrera watch,
• $4,464 at Hannoush Jewelry on another Carrera 1887 bracelet,
• $8,000 at Custom Wheels related to vehicle accessories,
• $10,123 at Reno’s Powersports related to motorcycles and vehicle accessories,
• $24,555 on insurance related expenses,
• $5,078 at KC Trends related to vehicle accessories,
• $3,107 at B&H Photo Video,
• $3,900 at Sline Motorsports related to vehicle accessories,
• $9,700 on Paypal transactions,
• $8,819 on airline related expenses,
• $6,468 on hotel related expenses,
• $3,792 at Bikesource, and
• $5,436 on Apple products and services.
Hauk perpetrated an “On-the-Books” fraud scheme. The perpetrator of an “On-the-Books” scheme attempts to balance debits and credits in the accounting system to obfuscate transactions and avoid detection. Hauk stole money through a variety of methods and created false accounting entries in Assured Management’s accounting system. Hauk deposited checks from the victims into his business accounts and then wrote checks and cashier’s checks from his companies to his personal accounts and his trust.
Since pleading guilty, Hauk has charged excessive debt to credit cards and made the minimum monthly payment, including a vacation in Hawaii. With imminent incarceration and a significant restitution judgment, Hauk incurred this debt with no means to repay.
During the course of their investigation, according to court records, FBI agents discovered Hauk entered into a settlement agreement with a former client to avoid criminal charges while he was employed at a firm in Indiana in 2003. A client hired him to provide bookkeeping and tax services for her business. Hauk forged her husband’s name on multiple checks, and ultimately deposited the checks into Hauk’s personal account. When confronted with the embezzlement, Hauk agreed to pay back the stolen money, in addition to legal fees, bank fees, and accounting fees. The total amount Hauk paid back was $70,720. The former client also reported Hauk contacted her later to apologize for his actions and thanked her for not filing criminal charges against him.
In addition, according to court documents, an individual in Indiana loaned Hauk $70,000 about 12 years ago. Hauk told this individual he needed a $70,000 loan to complete the construction of his home. After loaning Hauk $70,000, the individual learned Hauk was caught stealing from an employer and needed the money to get out of trouble. He confronted Hauk and was able to recover all but about $8,000 of the loan.
The United States Marshals Service held a live auction in Kansas City on April 28, 2016, and sold 22 of the high value cars and motorcycles, including a 2006 Ford GT for $285,000, a 2009 Ferrari for $218,000 and a 2008 Ducati Desmosedici for $47,500. The remaining vehicles and motorcycles were sold in online auctions. The United States Marshals Service has also sold the three condo garages which housed many of the luxury vehicles. Net proceeds of sale are currently over $1,720,000. Additionally, the United States Marshals Service will sell the seized jewelry in an online auction. Once all assets have been liquidated, the United States Attorney’s Office will initiate restoration, which is the Department of Justice‘s process to repatriate proceeds of forfeited assets to crime victims for restitution.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Curt Bohling and Stacey Perkins Rock are responsible for the civil proceedings. It was investigated by the FBI.
Tuesday 16 August 2016
Washington, Pa., Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin and Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Ronald McMillian, of Washington, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of trafficking in heroin and fentanyl, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
McMillian, 24, pleaded guilty to four counts before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in August, 2015, McMillian conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute, and distributed and possessed with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2016 at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than twenty years at each count, a total fine of up to $4,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine A. King and Ross E. Lenhardt, of the violent crime section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Special Agents and Task Force Officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington County Drug Task Force, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, and numerous local police departments including the Canonsburg Police Department, the Donora Police Department, the Monessen Police Department, and the Charleroi Police Department, as well as the Washington County Coroner’s Office, and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of McMillan.
Wakpala Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Wakpala, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact was sentenced on August 15, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Charles Edward Gabe, age 20, was sentenced to 60 months in custody, 5 years of Supervised Release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Gabe was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 21, 2016. He pled guilty on May 9, 2016.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on January 4, 2016, when a Special Agent (SA) with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was dispatched to Mobridge regional hospital for an interview with a minor female, who reported being sexually assaulted by her cousin, Charles Edward Gabe. Earlier in the evening, the victim was sitting downstairs in the living room at her home in Wakpala, South Dakota, when her mom informed her that she was leaving to run an errand. About this same time, Gabe entered the living room and looked out a window to make sure the victim’s mother had left. Gabe closed the curtain to the window and began to tickle and kiss the victim on the neck. Gabe then proceeded to get on top of the victim and shoved his hand down her pants, penetrating her vagina with one of his fingers. The victim tried to get him off of her but could not due to his size and weight. Gabe continued the assault by pulling out his penis and placing the victim’s hand on it. The victim began to cry, at which time Gabe discontinued the assault and fled back to his room.
The following day, Gabe admitted to touching the victim’s vaginal area with his hand, inserting his finger into the victim’s vagina, and placing the victim’s hand on his penis during the encounter.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Gabe was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Village of Westfield Employee Sentenced for Illegally Dumping Sewage into Chautauqua CreekRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Andrew Thompson, 34, of Westfield, NY, who was convicted of violation of the Clean Water Act, was sentenced to six months probation and a $10,000 fine by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.
“The very purpose of the Clean Water Act is to protect our most precious natural resource,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “This Office will not tolerate any individual -- in particular a public servant who should know better -- deliberately poisoning our nation’s waterways.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was the Chief Operator of the Waste Water Treatment Plant for the Village of Westfield, N.Y. On June 12, 2014, a malfunction occurred at the West Side Pump Station located in the Village. The pump station was unable to pump the untreated sewage flowing through the station, which resulted in untreated sewage being discharged into Chautauqua Creek. Based on an alarm that was triggered due to the sewage overflow, Thompson was aware of the discharge of sewage into the creek.
The following day on June 13, 2014, as workers were attempting to fix the pump station, the defendant directed them to discharge the untreated sewage pumped out of the pump station into Chautauqua Creek. Thompson did not have a permit issued under the Clean Water Act for the discharge of the untreated sewage, a pollutant, into the creek and acted negligently in allowing the untreated sewage to be discharged in such a manner.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by agents of the Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction of Vernesa Jones-Allen, Special Agent-In-Charge and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation under the direction of Captain Frank Lauricella.Versailles Man Admits Distributing Drugs That Casued Overdose Death of Woodford County WomanRead the Press Release
Guilty plea marks the first case in Central Kentucky in which multiple defendants have been convicted of distributing opiates that caused an overdose death
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The leader of a drug conspiracy in Versailles, Ky., is the second defendant to plead guilty to distributing fentanyl that caused the overdose death of a Woodford County woman.
On Monday, Luis Aguirre-Jerardo, 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. Under federal law, anyone convicted of this offense faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison, without parole. Aguierre-Jerardo has entered into a binding plea agreement with the federal government that will result in a sentence of at least 28 and no more than 33 years. He will be sentenced on December 8, 2016.
A co-defendant, Gill Dewayne Garrett, 30, of Lexington, Ky., pleaded guilty in April to the same offense and faces a minimum of 20 years in prison. A third co-defendant, Allen P. White, 24, of Versailles previously pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge.
“This case demonstrates the power of our initiative to aggressively use tough federal laws punishing those that illegally distribute drugs that result in overdoses,” said Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “As a result of our overdose prosecution initiative, we removed from our streets both the retail drug dealer and his up-the-chain supplier as well. Mr. Aguirre-Jerardo was distributing substantial quantities of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, a powerful drug killing hundreds throughout the Eastern District of Kentucky. Absent our overdose initiative and the great work of our law enforcement partners, Mr. Aguirre-Jerardo and Mr. Garrett would likely remain engaged in their deadly trade.”
Aguirre-Jerardo admitted that, in July 2015, he provided a counterfeit pain pill to Garrett who distributed the pill to Jolene Bowman. Bowman consumed the pill, and subsequently died of an overdose. The pill looked like Oxycodone but instead contained fentanyl, a powerful opioid as much as 100 times more potent than morphine. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is increasingly related to overdose deaths in Kentucky. Woodford County Police used Ms. Bowman’s cell phone and traced the source of the fentanyl pill to Garrett and later found that Aguirre-Jerardo had supplied Garrett with the fentanyl that he gave to Bowman.
The autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a drug overdose. Toxicologists concluded that had it not been for the fentanyl in the pill, Bowman would not have fatally overdosed.
U.S. Attorney Harvey, Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, and James Fugate, Chief of Police, Woodford County Police Department, jointly announced the plea.
The investigation was conducted by the Woodford County Police and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Garrett will be sentenced on December 8, 2016. Aguirre-Jerardo and Garrett must serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences. Any sentence imposed by the Court will come after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.