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Monday 25 July 2016
Jacobina Carter, of Brattleboro, Sentenced to 42 Months’ Imprisonment for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that, on July 25, 2016, Jacobina Carter, a.k.a. “Peaches,” 41, of Brattleboro, Vermont, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, having pled guilty to the charge of distribution of heroin. Senior United States District Judge William K. Sessions III, sitting in Burlington, also sentenced Carter to 3 years of supervised release.
Court records show that Carter was arrested in September 2015 in Brattleboro after selling heroin on several occasions to individuals cooperating with law enforcement. She pled guilty on December 21, 2015. Carter was initially released on conditions, including orders that she refrain from using drugs or committing new criminal offenses. In June 2016, however, Judge Sessions incarcerated Carter for positive drug tests and her involvement in assisting an individual selling heroin and crack cocaine in Keene, New Hampshire.
Court records further show that Carter began selling narcotics in Vermont in 2006. She started trafficking heroin in 2011 and continued to do so until her arrest in September 2015. Carter’s son, Lamar Carter, age 25, also of Brattleboro, has pled guilty in a separate case to participation in a large-scale, St. Johnsbury-based heroin trafficking conspiracy. He is set to be sentenced tomorrow in Rutland by The Honorable Geoffrey W. Crawford.
For her crime, Jacobina Carter faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. In sentencing Carter, Judge Sessions noted her violations of Court conditions – including her participation in new drug trafficking activity while on release – as well as the long-term nature of her drug dealing. On the other hand, he observed that Carter was a street-level dealer who did not operate as part of a larger network or exercise control over others.
The investigation was a collaborative effort of the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force; the Brattleboro, Vermont Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Assistant United States Attorney Christina Nolan prosecuted the case. Carter is represented by Mark Oettinger, Esq., of Burlington, Vermont.
Iowa’s Untapped Workforce: A Roadmap for Second Chance HiringRead the Press Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – The United States Attorney’s Office is hosting three half day workshops across the Northern District entitled, “Iowa’s Untapped Workforce: A Roadmap for Second Chance Hiring.” The first of these free workshops begins tomorrow in Cedar Rapids, followed by Fort Dodge on July 27th and Sioux City the next day.
Literally thousands of justice-involved individuals are released from America’s state and federal prisons every week and arrive on the doorsteps of our nation’s communities. Studies show that approximately two-thirds of all those released will likely be rearrested within three years of release. For the communities to which most former prisoners return (communities which are often impoverished and disenfranchised neighborhoods with few social supports and persistently high crime rates), the release of ex-offenders represents a variety of challenges.
What can be done to help people who are released from prison keep from being rearrested? With no job, no money, and no place to live, returnees often find themselves facing the same pressures and temptations that landed them in prison in the first place.
The goal of the workshops is to assist ex-prisoners in finding and keeping employment, identifying transitional housing, and receiving mentoring which are three key elements of successful re-entry back into their communities. This goal will be achieved by providing employers, business students, human resource professionals, and community members informative “takeaways” about the benefits of hiring individuals with a criminal history and to dispel many myths.
Earlier this year the Department of Justice designated one week in April as National Reentry Week. United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch participated in several events around the country. She noted during one of those visits that, “Too often, justice-involved individuals who have paid their debt to society confront daunting obstacles to good jobs, decent housing, adequate health care, quality education, and even the right to vote. National Reentry is working to tear down the barriers that stand between returning citizens and a meaningful second chance – leading to brighter futures and stronger communities.”
United States Attorney Kevin W. Techau also offered his thoughts on the initiative, “Employment is one of the largest indicators of whether an individual who has been released from prison will re-offend. It is undisputed that employment decreases the risk of an individual committing a new crime. Increasing public safety is a goal we all should share.” He also noted that the workshops will help employers better understand the significant role they can play, which will benefit the communities in which they live.
The Untapped Workforce events will highlight the reasons why employers should consider hiring someone with a felony or criminal record. Participants will learn about the tax credits and federal bonding programs that help protect employers who engage in “second chance” hiring. Information will be presented detailing how employers can work with corrections staff and probation officers to find potential employees who have the relevant vocational training and skills to become an asset to their company. Participants will also hear from the EEOC regarding Best Practices and employment guidance, helping employers understand what they can ask potential employees about their criminal history and how to shape a hiring policy that will protect their company and be legally compliant.
The keynote speaker will be Arte Nathan, the now retired Director of Human Resources and Senior Vice President for Wynn Resorts and Casinos. Mr. Nathan was responsible for opening and staffing numerous Wynn resorts and casinos around the world, including the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He hired over 100,000 employees in his career. Nathan will share his story, including his decision to take a chance on hiring ex-gang members and ex-felons and how that decision positively impacted the lives of those individuals and their families, while also benefiting his company and the communities in which they lived. He will share advice on how local employers can likewise make a positive impact in the community without jeopardizing their business.
All participants will be able to participate in a "reentry simulation" activity during which they will assume the fictional identity of someone being released from prison. They will be required to navigate through probation and parole requirements, obtain a job, and avoid going back to prison. The one hour exercise has been a highlight of similar events around the country, and helps participants understand the barriers that are often encountered by people coming out of prison.
A number of agencies and organizations assisted the United States Attorney’s Office in organizing these events. The primary co-sponsors include Iowa Workforce Development, IowaWORKS, The Siouxland Initiative, the Iowa Department of Corrections, the Employers’ Councils of Iowa, and the nonprofit America’s Job Honor Awards.
To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Reentry initiative, visit: https://www.justice.gov/archive/fbci/progmenu_reentry.html.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Georgia Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bank Fraud at Public Home Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies committed at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced.
James R. Patterson Jr. admitted that he agreed with other real estate investors to rig auctions of foreclosed homes in Gwinnett County from May 2007 until at least November 2011. According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Patterson and his co-conspirators agreed not to compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. The winning bidders then paid off the conspirators who had refrained from bidding against them. As a result, conspirators profited from money that otherwise would have gone to mortgage holders and other secured debt holders and in some cases, to the people who owned the foreclosed homes.
Including the individual pleading today, twenty-two defendants have been charged in connection with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraudulent schemes involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Atlanta area. Twenty of those have either pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty.
These charges have been filed as a result of the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, the FBI’s Atlanta Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia, in connection with the president’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The president established the task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.
For more information about the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Former Morgan City housing authority executive director, employees sentenced for theft of half a million dollarsRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the former executive director of the Morgan City Housing Authority and three former employees were sentenced for a conspiracy related to theft of half a million dollars.
Charles E. Spann, 78, of Kingsport, Tenn., was sentenced to 36 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $111,657.47 restitution on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Tori D. Johnson, 38, of Morgan City, La., was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100,040.23 restitution on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Diana L. Pace, 64, of Morgan City was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $137,660.72 restitution on one count of theft of government money. Sandra L. Greene, 59, of Morgan City, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $165,405.46 restitution on one count of misprision of a felony. United States District Judge Donald E. Walter presided over the hearings.
According to the April 22, 2016 guilty pleas, the defendants received a total of $514,764.14 in bonus payments to which they were not entitled from 2007 to 2013. In 2007, a one-time bonus for work performed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita was granted. After the one-time bonuses were sent to all employees of the housing authority, Johnson requested from Spann, who was executive director, that she, Spann and the other two employees, continue to receive bonuses. Johnson wrote false justifications for the bonuses and Spann signed off on them. The bonuses were not approved by the civil service board or the Morgan City Housing Authority Board of Directors. Span received $111,657.47, Johnson received $100,040.23, Greene received $165.405.46 and Pace received $137,660.72 to which they were not entitled.
The U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Investigations, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger and Robert F. Moore prosecuted the case.
Former Citibank Employee Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison for Causing Intentional Damage to a Protected ComputerRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Dallas man who worked at Citibank Regents Campus in Irving, Texas, in 2012 and 2013, Lennon Ray Brown, and who admitted causing damage to a protected Citibank computer, was sentenced today by U.S. District C. Godbey to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $77,200 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Brown, 38, who worked for Citibank first as a contract employee and then, beginning in February 2013 as a full-time employee, pleaded guilty in February 2016 to an indictment charging one count of intentional damage to a protected computer. According to documents filed in his case, on December 23, 2013, after having a discussion with his supervisor earlier in the day about his work performance, Brown caused the transmission of a program, information, code and command, causing damage without authorization to a protected computer.
Specifically, at approximately 6:03 p.m. that evening, Brown knowingly transmitted a code and command to 10 core Citibank Global Control Center routers, and by transmitting that code, erased the running configuration files in nine of the routers, resulting in a loss of connectivity to approximately 90% of all Citibank networks across North America. At 6:05 p.m. that evening, Brown scanned his employee identification badge to exit the Citibank Regents Campus.
At today’s sentencing hearing, where the Court referred to Brown’s conduct as “criminal vandalism,” the government read a text that Brown sent to a coworker shortly after he shut down Citibank’s system that read, “They was firing me. I just beat them to it. Nothing personal, the upper management need to see what they guys on the floor is capable of doing when they keep getting mistreated. I took one for the team. Sorry if I made my peers look bad, but sometimes it take something like what I did to wake the upper management up.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath was in charge of the prosecution.
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Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Helping Disguise Foreign Contribution during 2012 Presidential Election and Making False Declaration before Grand JuryRead the Press Release
A Tampa, Florida, man pleaded guilty today to helping funnel $80,000 in campaign contributions from a foreign source to the joint fundraising committee of the President of the United States during the 2012 presidential election and to making a false declaration before the grand jury, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey.
William Argeros, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo of the District of New Jersey to an information charging him with knowingly and willfully making foreign contributions and donations in connection with the 2012 presidential election and to a fundraising and political campaign committee of the president, aggregating $25,000 or more during a calendar year, and to knowingly making a false declaration before the grand jury concerning his role in facilitating and concealing the foreign contribution. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 9, 2016, before Judge Arleo.
According to his plea agreement, Argeros admitted that in September 2012, he facilitated the transfer of $80,000 from a foreign source to Bilal Shehu, a U.S. citizen residing in New Jersey. Shehu, in turn, provided it to a joint fundraising committee – including the authorized campaign committee of the president – in an effort to disguise the true origin of the money and so that a foreign national could attend a campaign event on Oct. 8, 2012, in San Francisco, according to Argeros’s plea. Argeros also admitted to providing instructions to foreign individuals on how to transfer the money and provide payment to the joint fundraising committee. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions to federal candidates or fundraising committees.
Argeros also admitted that on Feb. 18, 2015, he falsely testified under oath that he did not participate in arranging the transfer of money to the joint fundraising committee before a grand jury in the District of New Jersey.
On June 29, 2016, Shehu pleaded guilty to helping to funnel $80,000 in campaign contributions from a foreign source to the joint fundraising committee.
No one on the joint fundraising committee has been accused of any wrongdoing and the committee has fully cooperated in the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Charles R. Walsh and Peter N. Halpern of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren of the District of New Jersey’s Special Prosecutions Division are prosecuting the case.
Florida Man Admits Helping Disguise Foreign Contribution During 2012 Presidential Election, Lying to Grand JuryRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Tampa, Florida, man pleaded guilty today to helping funnel $80,000 in campaign contributions from a foreign source to the joint fundraising committee of the President of the United States during the 2012 presidential election and lying about it to a federal grand jury, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.
William Argeros, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with knowingly and willfully making foreign contributions and donations in connection with the 2012 presidential election and to a fundraising and political campaign committee of the president, aggregating $25,000 or more during a calendar year. Argeros also pleaded guilty to knowingly making a false declaration before a federal grand jury concerning his role in facilitating and concealing the foreign contribution.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Argeros admitted that in September 2012, he facilitated the transfer of $80,000 from a foreign source to Bilal Shehu, a U.S. citizen residing in New Jersey, who, in turn, provided it to a joint fundraising committee – including the authorized campaign committee of the president – in an effort to disguise the true origin of the money and so that a foreign national could attend a campaign event on Oct. 8, 2012, in San Francisco. Argeros also admitted to providing instructions to foreign individuals on how to transfer the money and provide payment to the joint fundraising committee.
In addition, Argeros admitted providing false testimony before a grand jury sitting in the District of New Jersey. On Feb. 18, 2015, Argeros falsely testified under oath that he did not participate in arranging the transfer of money to the joint fundraising committee.
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions to federal candidates or fundraising committees. Shehu pleaded guilty to the same charge on June 29, 2016.
Both charges to which Argeros pleaded guilty carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 9, 2016.
No one on the joint fundraising committee has been accused of any wrongdoing, and the committee has fully cooperated in the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
U.S. Attorney Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Caldwell credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren of the District of New Jersey’s Special Prosecutions Division and Trial Attorneys Charles Walsh and Peter Halpern of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Defense counsel: John A. Azzarello Esq.
Employer Summit Educates Tallahassee on Benefits of Hiring Former InmatesRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Tomorrow, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida and the Big Bend “A Fight to End Recidivism” (AFTER) Reentry Coalition are co-hosting the Big Bend Second Chance Employer Summit.
Event: Big Bend Second Chance Employer Summit
Location:
FSU Law School, Lecture Hall (Room 101)
425 W. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Parking at Donald L. Tucker Civic CenterDate: Tuesday, July 26, 2016, 9:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Description: Turn someone’s life around with a second chance at a job. Learn about the benefits of hiring a formerly incarcerated individual from employers, law enforcement, and community partners.
Keynote Speaker: Former FSU Coach Bobby Bowden
Lunch: Provided at no cost.
RSVP: All participants, including media, should RSVP at https://usaoflntraining.org/employersummit if they wish to attend any portion of the event. The target audience is employers, human resource directors, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and reentry providers. Available space for 200 participants to attend.
Press: A brief media availability will take place after the event concludes. Reporters are asked to set up camera equipment prior to the beginning of the event or during scheduled breaks.
This half-day summit will offer employers, human resource directors, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and reentry providers an opportunity to learn from leaders who gave a previously incarcerated person a second chance. Former FSU Football Coach Bobby Bowden will give the keynote address, and two panels will discuss benefits and challenges of hiring formerly incarcerated individuals. Former inmates who now have successful careers will also share their reentry experiences.
“Nearly a quarter of Americans may face obstacles to achieving productive, law-abiding lives due to previous encounters with the criminal justice system,” said United States Attorney Christopher P. Canova. “The most important challenge for these individuals is finding a job. Employment helps reduce crime and makes neighborhoods across our district and nation better places to live.”
“We need to hear the voices of business leaders to address this economic and public safety challenge,” said Lauren Walker, Chair of the Big Bend AFTER Reentry Coalition. “To keep our economy growing, we need all hands on deck.”
The United States Attorney’s Office and the Big Bend AFTER Reentry Coalition thank the following organizations for their assistance in planning the employer summit:
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Federal Bureau of Prisons
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Florida Department of Corrections
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Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
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FSU Project on Accountable Justice
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United States Probation Office
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The Living Harvest
Reentry Resources
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Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s message on National Reentry Week
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Big Bend “A Fight to End Recidivism” (AFTER) Reentry Coalition
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DOJ Roadmap to Reentry
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Employer Tax Credit
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Federal Bonding Program
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Kearney Center Reentry Services
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, [email protected]-
El Reno Woman Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that MICHELLE LEA DAVIS, age 38, of El Reno, Oklahoma, pled guilty to POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B).
The Indictment alleged that on or about April 30, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual), a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the McAlester Police Department, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the District 18 Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years imprisonment up to a $5,000,000.00 fine or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Harrington represented the United States.
Cypress Man Heads to Prison for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - A 25-year-old Cypress man has been ordered to prison for more than 11 years following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jimmy Ortiz pleaded guilty Aug. 21, 2014.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, took into consideration type and number of images, his criminal history and handed Ortiz a total sentence of 135 months in federal prison. Ortiz was further ordered to pay $102,500 in restitution to two known victims and will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Indicted Jan. 30, 2014, Ortiz later appeared for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks Jr. who found Ortiz to be a danger to the community and ordered he be detained.
The investigation revealed Ortiz was making child pornography available to others through the use of peer-to-peer software over the Internet. An FBI agent downloaded a video of child pornography from the files Ortiz was making available online. The video included two minor female children under the age of 12 performing oral sex on each other. Additionally, a FBI agent in Oklahoma also downloaded videos that contained child pornography from Ortiz.
A search warrant was executed Sept. 27, 2013. At that time, agents seized computer media including external hard drives which led to the discovery of more than 1500 digital images and approximately 49 videos containing child pornography.
Ortiz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI Innocent Images Task Force conducted the investigation.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack, 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."
Colombian Narcotics Kingpin Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 35 Years in Prison for Massive Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Robert L. Capers, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Wifredo A. Ferrer, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced that DANIEL BARRERA BARRERA, also known as “Loco Barrera,” a citizen of Colombia, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 35 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $10,000,000 by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods for his role in conspiring to distribute and manufacture cocaine knowing that it would be imported into the United States. BARRERA was also sentenced by Judge Woods on one count of conspiring to launder money, as charged in a Superseding Indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York, and on one count of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States, as charged in a Superseding Indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida.
For decades, BARRERA manufactured hundreds of tons of cocaine annually in Colombia and trafficked it to various parts of the world, including the United States, and laundered tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from that narcotics trafficking activity. In March 2010, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated BARRERA as a “Special Designated Narcotics Trafficker,” pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. BARRERA was arrested in Venezuela on September 18, 2012. Thereafter, he was sent to Colombia, from where the United States sought and obtained BARRERA’s extradition. BARRERA was extradited from Colombia to the Southern District of New York on July 9, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The man Colombian authorities have called ‘the last of the great kingpins,’ now stands convicted and sentenced in an American court of law. For his decades-long trafficking of more than 720 tons of cocaine, creating a narcotics pipeline from Colombia to four different continents, Daniel Barrera Barrera will spend the next 35 years in federal custody. Thanks to the outstanding agents of the DEA and HSI, this international drug kingpin’s reign is over.”
U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers said: “The sentencing of Daniel ‘Loco’ Barrera Barrera ends his reign as the leader of a violent and ruthless organization who partnered with powerful cartels and terrorist organizations. The dedicated efforts of our law enforcement partners have destroyed Barrera’s empire and today’s sentence sends a powerful message to narcotics traffickers around the world and domestically that we are committed to prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law.”
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said: “Today’s sentencing closes the chapter on Barrerra’s reign as of one of the largest cocaine traffickers in history. Barrera’s violent drug trafficking organization infected the international community. By joining forces, law enforcement authorities successfully removed Barrera from power and gave communities back to their law abiding citizens.”
As alleged in the indictments filed in the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of Florida, statements made at court proceedings including today’s sentencing, and other information in the public record:
From 1998 until 2010, BARRERA ran a cocaine manufacturing and trafficking syndicate out of Colombia. BARRERA purchased the raw cocaine base or paste from the designated terrorist group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the “FARC”). The FARC, which has been dedicated to the violent overthrow of the democratically elected Government of Colombia, has been the world’s largest supplier of cocaine and has engaged in bombings, massacres, kidnappings, and other acts of violence within Colombia.
After purchasing the raw cocaine base from the FARC, BARRERA converted the raw cocaine into powder at laboratories he owned and operated in an area of Colombia controlled by the since demobilized terrorist group, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (the “AUC”). For years, the AUC’s main political objective was to defeat the FARC in armed conflict, and it financed its terrorist activities through the proceeds of cocaine trafficking in AUC-controlled regions of Colombia. At the time of BARRERA’s criminal conduct, the FARC and the AUC were both designated by the U.S. Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
After processing the cocaine powder in his laboratories, BARRERA arranged for the shipment and transportation of the cocaine powder to locations on four continents, including the United States. Although BARRERA purchased raw materials for cocaine production from the FARC, he was able to maintain his network of cocaine-processing laboratories in AUC-controlled territory, in part by paying monthly “taxes” to the AUC. The fees BARRERA paid to the AUC also allowed him to move the processed cocaine safely through and out of Colombia.
BARRERA additionally protected his massive cocaine shipments by regularly directing acts of violence and intimidation, including ordering many murders. In order to support this violent protection of his drug trafficking, BARRERA traded cocaine for hundreds of AK-47 rifles to arm his security forces and take control of the rural areas of Colombia where his drug laboratories were located.
Each month, BARRERA processed approximately 5,000 kilograms of raw cocaine base into about the same amount of cocaine powder, resulting in approximately 60,000 kilograms of cocaine annually and approximately 720,000 kilograms during the course of the conspiracy. In total, BARRERA reaped tens of millions of dollars of profits from cocaine trafficking, which he laundered through illicit means.
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In addition to the prison sentence, BARRERA, 48, was sentenced to five years of supervised release. The Court further ordered BARRERA to pay a $10,000,000 fine.
The sentencing of BARRERA is the result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”). 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.
Mr. Bharara, Mr. Capers, and Mr. Ferrer praised the outstanding work of the OCDETF, working in cooperation with HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force, the DEA’s Bogota Country Office, the DEA’s Caracas Country Office, the DEA’s Miami Field Division, the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force – which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, and the New York State Police – and HSI Bogota. Mr. Bharara, Mr. Capers, and Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Colombian National Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance in this prosecution.
The Southern District of New York case is being handled by that office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Andrea Surratt in charge of the prosecution. The Eastern District of New York case is being handled by that office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Soumya Dayananda in charge of the prosecution. The Southern District of Florida case is being handled by that office’s Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Adam Fels in charge of the prosecution.
Clermont Woman Pleads Guilty to Theft of over $650,000Read the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Robin C. Briere (53, Clermont) has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for her theft of more than $650,000 from the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Florida. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Briere used her position as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Legion Auxiliary to steal approximately $657,441 from the organization over a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014. Briere accomplished her scheme by creating more than 200 fraudulent transactions, most of which involved Briere writing checks to herself on the American Legion Auxiliary account and then inputting false entries to the organization’s accounting system. She also wrote checks from the American Legion Auxiliary account to pay her personal credit card bills. In some instances, Briere used the American Legion Auxiliary credit card to pay her personal expenses.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger B. Handberg and Nathan W. Hill.
Buddhist monk sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding temple of more than $263,000Read the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Lafayette Buddhist monk was sentenced to 30 months in prison for wrongfully taking more than $263,000 from his own temple.
Khang Nguyen Le, 36, a Vietnamese citizen who is living in Lafayette, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay $263,463.36 in restitution and may face deportation to Vietnam after release from prison. According to the March 17, 2016 guilty plea, Le was the president, presiding monk and resident of the temple of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette from 2010 to October of 2014. From January of 2013 until August of 2014, Le wrongfully withdrew $263,463.36 in temple funds from the temple’s bank accounts to gamble at a Lake Charles casino. Le would drive to Lake Charles and withdraw the money from temple bank accounts using automated teller machines and casino tellers. To hide his unlawful activity from temple members, Le would misrepresent the temple’s financial situation at meetings and gambled in lower-populated areas of the casino to avoid being seen. Le was at no time authorized by the temple to use its money for gambling purposes.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David C. Joseph and Myers P. Namie prosecuted the case.
Brothers who Conspired to Smuggle 29 Kilos of Cocaine into Canada Convicted Following Jury TrialRead the Press Release
Two Bellingham brothers were convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of federal felonies related to their attempt to smuggle more than 29 kilos of cocaine across the border between the U.S. and/Canada, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Brothers JOHN EMMETT BROWN, JR., 46, and DERRICK LOUIS CARTER, 38, were each convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The jury deliberated about 10 hours following an eleven-day trial. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman scheduled sentencing for October 28, 2016.
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, BROWN drove to Los Angeles in November 2014 where he picked up 29 or 30 bricks of cocaine with a value in excess of $2 million. While in California, BROWN asked his brother, CARTER, to drive down I-5 to meet up with him and serve as a decoy car while he drove north. Once back in Bellingham, the men recruited other co-conspirators to carry the cocaine over the border in backpacks. Three men, BROWN and two others, crossed the border dressed in dark or camouflage clothing, and carrying smoke bombs and bear spray. Each had a backpack with multiple kilos of cocaine.
The smuggling run on November 8, 2014, was interrupted when CARTER was stopped speeding near the border by a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputy. The car smelled of pepper spray. U.S. Border Patrol agents, who had arrived to provide backup to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputy, knew that BROWN and CARTER were long-time smugglers who used bear spray to cover their tracks. The two men were known to frequent the area where CARTER was contacted by law enforcement. Other U.S. Border Patrol personnel went to the border, and those agents spotted three figures running north from the border in that area. They alerted RCMP about the apparent smuggling operation. Two of the border-crossers were later arrested by RCMP in the vicinity of three backpacks filled with cocaine, bear spray, mobile phones, camouflage gear, a Kevlar helmet, and a firearm. The third smuggler -- BROWN -- got away.
The various items left abandoned at the border were linked to BROWN via information on the recovered mobile phones as well as the assistance of witnesses who were present before and during the smuggling operation. In June 2015, BROWN and CARTER were arrested on federal charges.
Due to the large amount of cocaine, the men face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years to life in prison.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) with critical assistance from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Bellingham Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Health Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin H. Becker and S. Kate Vaughan.
Brooke County man sentenced for manufacturing methamphetamineRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Harold L. Midcap, III, 40, of Follansbee, West Virginia, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for manufacturing methamphetamine, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.Midcap manufactured methamphetamine in early to mid-2015 in Brooke County, WV. He pled guilty in February 2016 to one count of “Methamphetamine Conspiracy.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the West Virginia State Police, the Hancock Brooke Weirton Drug Task Force, the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office, and the Follansbee Police Department investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Bakersfield Man Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Jorge Chavez, 30, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd to seven years and eight months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, when officers encountered him in 2012, Chavez had a Glock, Model 23, .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol in his possession. Prior to his arrest, he had been convicted in 2005 and 2007 in Kern County Superior Court of drug trafficking felonies.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Melanie L. Alsworth prosecuted the case.
Allen Man Pleads Guilty to Assault in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that WILLIAM CONLEY BOAZ II, age 27, of Allen, Oklahoma, pled guilty to an Information charging him with ASSAULT IN INDIAN COUNTRY (MISDEMEANOR), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1152 and 113(a)(4).
The Information alleges that on or about February 18, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, while present within Indian Country in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, the Defendant, WILLIAM CONLEY BOAZ II, a non-Indian, did commit an assault against an Indian, who was a spouse or intimate partner, by striking said person on the face.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 1 year imprisonment, a fine up to $100,000.00 or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Saturday 23 July 2016
Former City of Bettendorf Employee Admits Taking BribesRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On July 22, 2016, Robert W. Webster, 66, of Davenport, Iowa, after three days of trial, pleaded guilty before Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to three counts of an Indictment charging one count of conspiracy to commit bribery involving governments receiving federal funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 666(a)(2) & (b) and 371 and two counts of bribery concerning governments receiving federal funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Webster, the former City Electrician for the City of Bettendorf, Iowa, admitted that from 2004 or earlier, until around July of 2010, he conspired with persons at Brown Traffic Products, Inc. (BTP) of Davenport to accept all-expenses-paid trips including airfare, lodging, meals, drinks, and entertainment intending to be rewarded or influenced in connection with business transactions with the City of Bettendorf.
Webster admitted in March of 2009, he accepted $2,700 from an employee of BTP in the form of a check issued to Webster’s wife and deposited into her credit union account. The March 2009 payment was accepted by Webster with the intent that he rewarded and influenced in connection with business transactions, past and future, between BTP and the City of Bettendorf. He further admitted that in September of 2009, he accepted payment for golf at the Kokopelli golf course in Gilbert, Arizona, from an employee of BTP as a reward or as influence for transactions with the City of Bettendorf.
For the bribery charges, on each of the two counts, Webster faces a potential statutory sentence of up to ten years (10) years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of up to two (2) years of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment. For the conspiracy charge, Webster faces a potential statutory sentence of up to five years (5) years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of up to one (1) year of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled before Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey on December 14, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa.
Other persons who have pled guilty in this investigation are Robert L. Budd, Jr., Daniel O. Fuchs, and David Schiltz, all former employees of Brown Traffic Products, Inc.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Friday 22 July 2016
Wasilla Man Sentenced for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Wasilla man was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to 95 months in prison for bank robbery.
Wayne Michael Sexton, 45, of Wasilla, Alaska, was indicted by the grand jury in November 2015 for robbing Credit Union 1 located in the Midtown region of Anchorage, on Aug. 7, 2015. Sexton, who has been in custody for the robbery since Nov. 9, 2015, has been detained in the Anchorage jail without bail. Sexton has a prior conviction for two bank robberies which he committed in 1999.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Skrocki, Sexton carried and pointed a revolver at bank personnel, took over the entire bank lobby area, threatened and intimidated bank personnel and pilfered each teller station one at a time. During the robbery, Sexton obtained more than $17,000 in cash.
In sentencing Sexton to a term of 95 months, the court noted the impact of the crime on the victim tellers, Sexton’s display of a pistol during the robbery, the threat to the public and Sexton’s inability to avoid a life of crime. Sexton told the court the robbery was “an act of a coward.” Sexton was also ordered by the court to pay $17,730 to Credit Union 1 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Loeffler commends the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alaska State Troopers for the investigation of this case.
U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Civil Rights SectionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that Alison Ramsdell has been selected to head up the newly created Civil Rights Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Dakota. As leader of the Civil Rights Section, Ramsdell will serve as the contact person on all civil rights matters for the District.
Ramsdell joined the U. S. Attorney’s office in 2014, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Sioux Falls office. In that capacity, her primary focus has been civil litigation.
The Civil Rights Section enforces federal civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin. Among those statutes are the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act. The Section also works closely with the Criminal Division to prosecute criminal civil rights cases, such as those involving police misconduct, hate crimes, and human trafficking.
In addition to enforcing federal civil rights statutes, the Civil Rights Sections strives to educate community members about their rights under federal law by engaging in outreach programs throughout the District.
Ramsdell was born and raised in Flandreau, South Dakota. She received her undergraduate degree in International Economics, Spanish and Public Relations, with a minor in Business Administration, from Valparaiso University in 2008, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2011. While attending law school, Ramsdell wrote and edited for the Iowa Law Review, worked for the Citizens’ Lawyer Program, and volunteered at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence/MUNA Legal Clinic.
Upon graduating, Ramsdell practiced at Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast in Sioux Falls. She then served as a law clerk for the Honorable Karen E. Schreier and the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, where she primarily handled pro se matters.
“With societal changes and threats to the fundamental rights of certain segments of our society, such as the LGBT community, it has become increasingly necessary to have a dedicated attorney to handle civil rights matters in South Dakota,” said U.S. Attorney Seiler. “Alison Ramsdell brings an abundance of talent, energy, and compassion to her new position. The protection of every citizen’s civil rights has historically been a priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but we are ramping up those efforts and Alison will play a significant role in enforcing those laws.”
For further information, or to schedule a training or outreach program, please email [email protected].
U.S. Attorney Invited to Attend White House Briefing on "Combating Religious Discrimination Today" InitiativeRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A White House briefing was held today on “Combating Religious Discrimination Today,” a federal interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination, and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes. The initiative was launched earlier this year by the Department of Justice.
The White House briefing, as well as the Justice Department’s release today of its final report on the “Combating Religious Discrimination Today” initiative, follow an April 2016 community roundtable held in Dallas as a major part of that initiative. Hosted by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with other federal agencies, the Dallas roundtable focused on religiously-motivated hate violence and hate crimes, protecting places of worship, and exploring ideas for the federal government to improve its efforts in those areas. Approximately 35 leaders from the Dallas - Fort Worth area faith-based community, civil rights organizations, and government agencies participated in April’s roundtable that was facilitated by U.S. Attorney Parker. Enthusiastic dialogue during the roundtable guided stakeholders in identifying next steps and formulating short and long-term goals.
In addition to the roundtable in Dallas, other roundtables were held throughout the U.S., and they focused on related topics, such as combatting religious discrimination, including bullying, in education and employment, and addressing unlawful barriers that interfere with the construction of places of worship. The final report issued today by the Justice Department provides an overview of what was heard at these roundtables.
“The diversity and tolerance of the north Texas area can be seen reflected in our many and varied faith-based communities,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “The one thing we cannot, must not, tolerate, however, is hate directed at someone solely because they are different. It is particularly repugnant to our core values as Americans to victimize a person or group because of their faith. In fact, it is our shared duty to ensure that everyone, not just those who think like us, is free to worship as they choose and do so in peace.”
The “Combating Religious Discrimination Today” initiative supplements the Department’s continuing, long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes.
For more information, please refer to this White House blog post that discusses the report as well as other federal agencies’ efforts to address and combat religious discrimination.
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Two People Arrested Based on Facilitating Drug Distribution in Burlington, VermontRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont today announced federal criminal charges against Peggy Marcelino, 55, and William St. George, 57, both from Burlington. Marcelino is charged with conspiring with Arden Cadle, from New York City, to distribute heroin, cocaine, and crack and to engage in money laundering. St. George is charged with making his apartment on Elmwood Avenue in Burlington available for drug trafficking by Cadle. Cadle was arrested on March 17, 2016. Cadle has been charged with conspiracy, distribution of heroin and crack, possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack, as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Cadle pleaded not guilty to those charges on July 1, 2016. Marcelino and St. George pleaded not guilty today. All three defendants face a maximum sentence of twenty years in jail on the most serious charges. Cadle has been released pending trial. Marcelino and St. George have been detained pending a further hearing next week. The sentences for each of the defendants will be advised by the federal sentencing guidelines. The pending charges against these defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The United States is represented in these cases by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Doherty. Cadle is represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven Barth.
Three Individuals Charged in $1 Billion Medicare Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner of more than 30 Miami-area skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, a hospital administrator and a physician’s assistant were charged with conspiracy, obstruction, money laundering and health care fraud in connection with a $1 billion scheme involving numerous Miami-based health care providers.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
“Medicare fraud has infected every facet of our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “As a result of our unrelenting efforts to combat these pernicious schemes, the Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners continue to identify and prosecute the criminals who, driven by greed, steal from a program meant for our aged and infirmed to increase their personal wealth.”
“This is the largest single criminal health care fraud case ever brought against individuals by the Department of Justice, and this is further evidence of how successful data-driven law enforcement has been as a tool in the ongoing fight against health care fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.
“Esformes is alleged to have been at the top of a complex and profitable health care fraud scheme that resulted in staggering losses – in excess of $1 billion,” said Special Agent in Charge Piro. “The investigators who unraveled this intricate scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment to root out fraud within our health care system.”
“Health care executives who exploit patients through medically unnecessary services and conspire to obstruct justice in order to boost their own profits – as alleged in this case – have no place in our health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Richmond. “Such actions only strengthen our resolve to protect patients and the U.S. taxpayers.”
Philip Esformes, 47, Odette Barcha, 49, and Arnaldo Carmouze, 56, all of Miami-Dade County, Florida, were each charged in an indictment unsealed today. According to the indictment, Esformes operated a network of over 30 skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities (the Esformes Network), which gave him access to thousands of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Many of these beneficiaries did not qualify for skilled nursing home care or for placement in an assisted living facility; however, Esformes and his co-conspirators nevertheless admitted them to Esformes Network facilities where the beneficiaries received medically unnecessary services that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid. Esformes and his co-conspirators are also alleged to have further enriched themselves by receiving kickbacks in order to steer these beneficiaries to other health care providers – including community mental health centers and home health care providers – who also performed medically unnecessary treatments that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid. In order to hide the kickbacks from law enforcement, these kickbacks were often paid in cash, or were disguised as payments to charitable donations, payments for services and sham lease payments, court documents allege.
Esformes and Barcha were also charged with obstructing justice. According to the indictment, following the 2014 arrest of co-conspirators Guillermo and Gabriel Delgado, Esformes attempted to fund Guillermo Delgado’s flight from the United States to avoid trial in Miami. The indictment further alleges that Barcha created sham medical director contracts following receipt of a grand jury subpoena in June 20, 2016, in order to conceal and disguise the payment of kickbacks she made in exchange for patient referrals for admission to Esformes Network facilities and another Miami-area hospital.
According to court documents, in 2006, Esformes paid $15.4 million to resolve civil federal health care fraud claims for essentially identical conduct, namely unnecessarily admitting patients from his assisted living facilities into a Miami-area hospital. However, Esformes and his co-conspirators allegedly continued this criminal activity-adapting their scheme to prevent detection and continue their fraud after the civil settlement. The indictment alleges that the co-conspirators accomplished this by employing sophisticated money laundering techniques in order to hide the scheme and Esformes’ identify from investigators. The FBI and HHS-OIG ultimately employed advanced data analysis and forensic accounting techniques and were able to identify the full scope of the fraud scheme.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Deputy Chief Joseph Beemsterboer, Assistant Chief Allan J. Medina and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison Lehr, Daren Grove and Susan Torres of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine locations across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
Three Individuals Charged in $1 Billion Medicare Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner of more than 30 Miami-area skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, a hospital administrator and a physician’s assistant were charged with conspiracy, obstruction, money laundering and health care fraud in connection with a $1 billion scheme involving numerous Miami-based health care providers.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
“This is the largest single criminal health care fraud case ever brought against individuals by the Department of Justice, and this is further evidence of how successful data-driven law enforcement has been as a tool in the ongoing fight against health care fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.
“Medicare fraud has infected every facet of our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “As a result of our unrelenting efforts to combat these pernicious schemes, the Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners continue to identify and prosecute the criminals who, driven by greed, steal from a program meant for our aged and infirmed to increase their personal wealth.”
“Esformes is alleged to have been at the top of a complex and profitable health care fraud scheme that resulted in staggering losses – in excess of $1 billion,” said Special Agent in Charge Piro. “The investigators who unraveled this intricate scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment to root out fraud within our health care system.”
“Health care executives who exploit patients through medically unnecessary services and conspire to obstruct justice in order to boost their own profits – as alleged in this case – have no place in our health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Richmond. “Such actions only strengthen our resolve to protect patients and the U.S. taxpayers.”
Philip Esformes, 47, Odette Barcha, 49, and Arnaldo Carmouze, 56, all of Miami-Dade County, Florida, were each charged in an indictment unsealed today. According to the indictment, Esformes operated a network of over 30 skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities (the Esformes Network), which gave him access to thousands of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Many of these beneficiaries did not qualify for skilled nursing home care or for placement in an assisted living facility; however, Esformes and his co-conspirators nevertheless admitted them to Esformes Network facilities where the beneficiaries received medically unnecessary services that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid. Esformes and his co-conspirators are also alleged to have further enriched themselves by receiving kickbacks in order to steer these beneficiaries to other health care providers – including community mental health centers and home health care providers – who also performed medically unnecessary treatments that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid. In order to hide the kickbacks from law enforcement, these kickbacks were often paid in cash, or were disguised as payments to charitable donations, payments for services and sham lease payments, court documents allege.
Esformes and Barcha were also charged with obstructing justice. According to the indictment, following the 2014 arrest of co-conspirators Guillermo and Gabriel Delgado, Esformes attempted to fund Guillermo Delgado’s flight from the United States to avoid trial in Miami. The indictment further alleges that Barcha created sham medical director contracts following receipt of a grand jury subpoena in June 20, 2016, in order to conceal and disguise the payment of kickbacks she made in exchange for patient referrals for admission to Esformes Network facilities and another Miami-area hospital.
According to court documents, in 2006, Esformes paid $15.4 million to resolve civil federal health care fraud claims for essentially identical conduct, namely unnecessarily admitting patients from his assisted living facilities into a Miami-area hospital. However, Esformes and his co-conspirators allegedly continued this criminal activity-adapting their scheme to prevent detection and continue their fraud after the civil settlement. The indictment alleges that the co-conspirators accomplished this by employing sophisticated money laundering techniques in order to hide the scheme and Esformes’ identify from investigators. The FBI and HHS-OIG ultimately employed advanced data analysis and forensic accounting techniques and were able to identify the full scope of the fraud scheme.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Deputy Chief Joseph Beemsterboer, Assistant Chief Allan J. Medina and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison Lehr, Daren Grove and Susan Torres of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine locations across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Three Florida Men Charged with Conspiring and Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Three Palm Beach County, Florida, residents were charged with conspiring and attempting to support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) made the announcement.
Gregory Hubbard, aka Jibreel, 52, of West Palm Beach, Florida; Darren Arness Jackson, aka Daoud, 50, also of West Palm Beach; and Dayne Atani Christian, aka Shakur, 31, of Lake Park, Florida, were charged by a criminal complaint with knowingly conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIL. Christian was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The detention hearing will take place on July 27, 2016, and the defendants will be arraigned on Aug. 5, 2016.
“Individuals seeking to travel and take up arms with ISIL pose a threat to the United States and humanity across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force continue to work proactively in order to stifle and disrupt any potential danger posed by the terrorist organizations and their supporters.”
“According to the complaint, these defendants conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIL and one of the defendants was arrested attempting to travel overseas to join and fight for the deadly terrorist organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The National Security Division’s highest priority is countering terrorist threats, and we will continue to work to stem the flow of foreign fighters abroad and bring to justice those who conspire and attempt to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Terrorism-related arrests such as this serve to remind us of the importance of being vigilant,” said Special Agent in Charge Piro. “When you see something that doesn't seem right, report it to law enforcement. Fighting terrorism is the FBI’s number one priority. Any information that can put us on the trail of individuals intent on terrorist acts is valuable.”
According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Hubbard expressed support for ISIL and told an FBI confidential human source (CHS) that he wanted to travel to Syria and join ISIL for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Hubbard introduced the CHS to Christian and Jackson, both of whom provided weapons and firearms instruction to Hubbard and the CHS, whom they understood were preparing to travel overseas to join and fight for ISIL.
The complaint further alleges that Jackson and Christian also expressed a desire to join ISIL. Hubbard purchased an airplane ticket to Germany, where he planned to board a train to Turkey and then head to Syria. Hubbard was arrested on July 21, 2016, at Miami International Airport prior to the first leg of his overseas trip. Jackson, who had driven Hubbard to the airport, was arrested after he left the airport premises. Christian was arrested at his place of work.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the material support charge. Christian faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI and JTTF investigated the case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Transportation Security Administration; Miami International Airport Police Department; Boca Raton, Florida, Police Department; Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office; and City of West Palm Beach Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen E. Gilbert, Brian K. Frazier and Edward C. Nucci and Trial Attorneys Larry Schneider and David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Three Florida Men Charged with Conspiring and Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Three Palm Beach County, Florida, residents were charged with conspiring and attempting to support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) made the announcement.
Gregory Hubbard, aka Jibreel, 52, of West Palm Beach, Florida; Darren Arness Jackson, aka Daoud, 50, also of West Palm Beach; and Dayne Atani Christian, aka Shakur, 31, of Lake Park, Florida, were charged by a criminal complaint with knowingly conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIL. Christian was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The detention hearing will take place on July 27, 2016, and the defendants will be arraigned on Aug. 5, 2016.
“According to the complaint, these defendants conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIL and one of the defendants was arrested attempting to travel overseas to join and fight for the deadly terrorist organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The National Security Division’s highest priority is countering terrorist threats, and we will continue to work to stem the flow of foreign fighters abroad and bring to justice those who conspire and attempt to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Individuals seeking to travel and take up arms with ISIL pose a threat to the United States and humanity across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force continue to work proactively in order to stifle and disrupt any potential danger posed by the terrorist organizations and their supporters.”
“Terrorism-related arrests such as this serve to remind us of the importance of being vigilant,” said Special Agent in Charge Piro. “When you see something that doesn't seem right, report it to law enforcement. Fighting terrorism is the FBI’s number one priority. Any information that can put us on the trail of individuals intent on terrorist acts is valuable.”
According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Hubbard expressed support for ISIL and told an FBI confidential human source (CHS) that he wanted to travel to Syria and join ISIL for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Hubbard introduced the CHS to Christian and Jackson, both of whom provided weapons and firearms instruction to Hubbard and the CHS, whom they understood were preparing to travel overseas to join and fight for ISIL.
The complaint further alleges that Jackson and Christian also expressed a desire to join ISIL. Hubbard purchased an airplane ticket to Germany, where he planned to board a train to Turkey and then head to Syria. Hubbard was arrested on July 21, 2016, at Miami International Airport prior to the first leg of his overseas trip. Jackson, who had driven Hubbard to the airport, was arrested after he left the airport premises. Christian was arrested at his place of work.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the material support charge. Christian faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI and JTTF investigated the case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Transportation Security Administration; Miami International Airport Police Department; Boca Raton, Florida, Police Department; Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office; and City of West Palm Beach Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen E. Gilbert, Brian K. Frazier and Edward C. Nucci and Trial Attorneys Larry Schneider and David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Three Additional Defendants Indicted in Multimillion-Dollar Text Messaging Consumer Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the unsealing of a superseding indictment (the “Indictment”) charging three additional defendants, FRASER THOMPSON, EUGENI TSVETNENKO, a/k/a “Zhenya,” and FRANCIS ASSIFUAH, a/k/a “Francis Assif,” for their participation in a scheme to charge mobile phone customers millions of dollars in monthly fees for unsolicited, recurring text messages without the customers’ knowledge or consent – a practice known as “auto-subscribing.” THOMPSON, who was the Executive Vice President of Operations at a mobile aggregation company based in the United States (the “U.S. Mobile Aggregator”), was arrested this morning in California, and is expected to be presented today in federal court in Los Angeles before United States Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth. TSVETNENKO, who ran at least two different digital content providers based in Australia (collectively, the “Australia Content Providers”), resides in Australia and has not yet been arrested. ASSIFUAH, who ran a digital content provider based in the United States (“U.S. Content Provider-2”), was previously charged in a criminal complaint and was arrested on April 28, 2016. Also named in the Indictment were DARCY WEDD, CHRISTOPHER GOFF, MICHAEL PEARSE, YONGCHAO LIU, a/k/a “Kevin Liu,” and YONG JASON LEE, a/k/a “Jason Lee,” all of whom were previously charged for their respective roles in the scheme.
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
The Auto-Subscription Scheme
From 2011 through 2013, WEDD, THOMPSON, GOFF, PEARSE, LIU, LEE, TSVETNENKO, ASSIFUAH and other co-conspirators engaged in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud consumers by placing unauthorized charges for premium text messaging services on consumers’ cellular phone bills, without the consumers’ knowledge or consent, through a practice known as “auto-subscribing.”
During the relevant time period, LEE and two other co-conspirators (“CC-1” and “CC-2”) worked for a digital content provider based in the United States that offered premium text messaging services to mobile phone customers (“U.S. Content Provider-1”). WEDD, THOMPSON, GOFF, and two other co-conspirators (“CC-3” and “CC-4”) worked for the U.S. Mobile Aggregator. PEARSE and LIU worked for a mobile aggregator based in Australia (the “Australian Mobile Aggregator”). TSVETNENKO ran the Australia Content Providers, and ASSIFUAH ran U.S. Content Provider-2. Mobile aggregators compile, or “aggregate,” charges for premium text messaging services – such as monthly horoscopes, celebrity gossip, and trivia facts – on consumers’ mobile phone bills.
In 2011, CC-1 decided to begin auto-subscribing mobile phone users to U.S. Content Provider-1’s premium text messaging services in order to boost U.S. Content Provider-1’s sagging revenues. CC-1 approached PEARSE and LIU and asked them to build a computer program that could spoof the required consumer authorizations for premium text messaging services – i.e., a program that could generate the text message correspondence that one would ordinarily see if a consumer was genuinely signing up to receive the services. PEARSE and LIU agreed to build the program (the “Auto-Subscription Platform”), which was operational by in or about the middle of 2011. In July 2011, CC-1 approached GOFF, who was the account manager for U.S. Content Provider-1 at the U.S. Mobile Aggregator, in order to obtain a large volume of mobile phone numbers to run through the Auto-Subscription Platform. GOFF sent CC-1 hundreds of thousands of phone numbers, in exchange for payment, for the purpose of auto-subscribing consumers.
In October 2011, CC-1 met with WEDD and told him, in sum and substance, that CC-1 wanted to auto-subscribe consumers through the U.S. Mobile Aggregator’s billing platform and needed additional phone numbers to do so. WEDD agreed to assist CC-1 in exchange for an up-front payment of approximately $100,000 and a percentage of the auto-subscription proceeds. WEDD further told CC-1, in sum and substance, that CC-3, who was the Vice President of Compliance and Consumer Protection for the U.S. Mobile Aggregator, would provide phone numbers to CC-1 and that all payments needed to go through CC-3. WEDD later received his portion of the payments from CC-1 via CC-3.
After CC-1 received phone numbers from WEDD and CC-3, CC-1 passed them on to LEE, the Chief Technology Officer of U.S. Content Provider-1, who was responsible for verifying that the numbers were still valid and active, and for sorting and filtering the numbers to make it easier to run them through the Auto-Subscription Platform. After LEE performed these functions, CC-1 sent the numbers to PEARSE and LIU to be run through the Auto-Subscription Platform.
In early 2012, CC-4 approached CC-3 and asked to participate in the auto-subscription scheme. CC-4 told CC-3, in sum and substance, that CC-4 was friends with ASSIFUAH, and proposed that CC-4 and CC-3 begin auto-subscribing customers with ASSIFUAH and U.S. Content Provider-2. Shortly thereafter, ASSIFUAH began auto-subscribing consumers to phone numbers he had been given by CC-3 and CC-4 through the U.S. Mobile Aggregator. In total, ASSIFUAH received over $600,000 in gross payments from the U.S. Mobile Aggregator, a significant portion of which came from auto-subscription proceeds.
Also in early 2012, WEDD, THOMPSON, CC-3, and CC-4 had discussions about how to increase revenues at the U.S. Mobile Aggregator, which were flagging because premium text-messaging services had become less profitable. Among other things, WEDD, THOMPSON, CC-3, and CC-4 agreed to allow TSVETNENKO to begin auto-subscribing consumers through the U.S. Mobile Aggregator. By no later than April 2012, TSVETNENKO had started auto-subscribing consumers. Over the course of the next several months through mid-2013, TSVETNENKO and the Australian Content Providers auto-subscribed hundreds of thousands of phone numbers through the U.S. Mobile Aggregator, and generated millions of dollars of revenue, which the defendants apportioned among themselves and were used to fund a lavish lifestyle of expensive vacations and gambling.
* * *
WEDD, THOMPSON, GOFF, PEARSE, LIU, LEE, TSVETNENKO, and ASSIFUAH are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. WEDD, THOMPSON, GOFF, PEARSE, TSVETNENKO, and ASSIFUAH are also each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and expressed his sincere gratitude to the Federal Trade Commission for their support and assistance with the investigation. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada for their help in coordinating the arrests of the defendants.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell and Sarah E. Paul are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
St. Francis Man Sentenced for Assaulting a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, Opposing, and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on July 19, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
James Two Charger, Jr., age 24, was sentenced to 15 months in custody, followed by 2 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Two Charger was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 15, 2016. He pled guilty on April 26, 2016.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on March 1, 2016, when law enforcement was notified of a domestic dispute between Two Charger and his girlfriend. An officer with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services (RSTLES) located Two Charger driving a vehicle near St. Francis, and attempted to pull Two Charger’s vehicle over. Two Charger began driving evasively and fled the area. A car chase ensued and Two Charger drove at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. He eventually lost control of the vehicle on a gravel road and crashed into a ditch.
Two Charger exited the vehicle and ran into a tree belt, where the officer followed on foot. When the officer attempted to arrest Two Charger, he grabbed for the officer’s gun holster. The officer was able to deploy pepper spray at Two Charger’s face. Two Charger then began to punch the officer in the side and abdomen.
Two other officers from RSTLES responded and assisted in arresting Two Charger. Two Chargers became aggressive with the officers and began yelling and kicking at the officers, spitting at one of the officers’ face. The officers transported Two Charger to the Adult Correctional Facility in Rosebud.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie G. Sanderson prosecuted the case.
Two Charger was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Southwest Harbor Man Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Felony OUIRead the Press Release
Contact: Jim Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Justin Bent, 29, of Southwest Harbor, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to six months in prison as well as three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a total of $2,520 in fines, special assessments and court costs for operating under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury in Acadia National Park. He was also convicted of operating a vehicle without due care and destroying trees and other natural resources. Bent previously pled guilty to these offenses on February 22, 2016.
Court records reveal Bent drove off of a roadway and crashed a van into trees at the Park in May of 2014, seriously injuring a passenger in his vehicle. Court records also indicated the passenger was transported by life flight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where he underwent emergency surgery for a bone fracture.
The investigation was conducted by National Park Service Rangers as well as the police departments of Southwest Harbor and Mount Desert Island.
Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on July 19, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Michael Lovejoy, Jr., age 33, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in custody, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Lovejoy was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 15, 2016. He pled guilty on April 26, 2016.
Lovejoy was convicted in state court in 2003 for Third Degree Rape. He was sentenced to a suspended sentenced and placed on five years of probation. Lovejoy violated, and his original five-year sentence was imposed. He is required to register as a sex offender for 25 years following his conviction and to update his registration within three business days of relocating or changing employment.
The current conviction stemmed from Lovejoy’s failure to update his registration when he moved out of his residence in Sioux Falls, and moved to the Cherry Creek Community on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Lovejoy did not update his sex offender registration between November 2015 and February 2016.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Lovejoy was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Schenectady Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 60 MonthsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jorge Rivas-Rivera, age 47, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison after being convicted of distributing heroin.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Rivas-Rivera to serve 6 years of supervised release, to begin upon his release from prison.
On March 24, Rivas-Rivera pled guilty to selling heroin in Schenectady in May and July 2014.
This case was investigated by the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Rockwall, Texas, Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for Producing, Transporting and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Christian C. Winchel, 49, of Rockwall, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to serve a total of 50 years in federal prison, and pay more than $1.4 million in restitution, following his guilty plea to multiple child pornography offenses involving prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Winchel has been in custody since his arrest on a related federal criminal complaint in early February 2015. He pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count of production of child pornography, one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, and one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography
According to the factual resume filed in the case, Winchel began downloading child pornography in approximately 1994. He admitted that he thought he would be able to trade child pornography with others if he produced his own material. Winchel had access to an 18-month-old child, and he took sexually explicit photos of himself with the child. He also admitted using a spy cam to capture minor girls using the bathroom when they were in his home and a nanny cam to capture minor girls in various stages of undress in his home.
Winchel moved to Rockwall from Indiana in 2013, transporting the videos he had recorded of minor girls from Indiana to Texas. He admitted that when children visited for sleepovers at his home in Rockwall, he filmed himself engaging in sexually explicit activity while in proximity of the minor children who were asleep.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Winchel’s residence in February 2015 and seized several media items. An IT specialist, Winchel had used his computer skills to try to mask his computer from law enforcement.
The forensic analysis, however, revealed that Winchel’s collection of child pornography, which he had categorized and organized, was approximately two terabytes in size. Law enforcement further determined that some of the images and a video Winchel had involving an eight-year-old minor victim were produced in late July 2014. Law enforcement found evidence that Winchel produced child pornography and images and videos of five minor victims.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative. PSC is a department initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. Since FY 2011, the Department of Justice has filed 20,260 PSC cases against 19,111 defendants. These cases include prosecutions of child sex trafficking; sexual abuse of a minor or ward; child pornography offenses; obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children; selling or buying of children; and many more statutes. To learn more about PSC’s work, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.
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Redlands Gang Member Found Guilty in Federal Court of Methamphetamine Trafficking and Illegal Gun Possession ChargesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES — A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against a previously convicted felon from Redlands who attempted to distribute over three pounds of methamphetamine and illegally possessed various firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun and an AK-47-type rifle without a serial number.
Daniel Chavez Jr, 40, was found guilty late yesterday afternoon of six felony offenses, including distributing methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, possessing an unregistered firearm, and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Chavez had previously been convicted in state court of felony of possession of methamphetamine for sale, which made him ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition.
“Those trafficking illegally in narcotics and firearms pose a serious danger to the community, and those doing so after being convicted of the same conduct deserve the special attention of law enforcement,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Mr. Chavez did not hesitate to agree to sell a significant quantity of methamphetamine and firearms to someone he barely knew. These convictions should ensure that Mr. Chavez will not be able to threaten our neighborhoods again for at least two decades.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, Chavez sold a pound of methamphetamine and the AK-47-type rifle in a mall in Riverside in June 2015 to a confidential informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. In a second transaction in Redlands in July 2015, Chavez sold four more firearms and more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition The jury also heard evidence that Chavez agreed to sell 1,051.3 grams (about 2⅓ pounds) of methamphetamine to the informant, but he was arrested before the transaction could take place.
When Chavez was arrested on August 21, 2015 in a parking lot in San Bernardino, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered six firearms, including an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, and a collection of ammunition that weighed approximately 150 pounds.
“Prioritizing investigations like this ensures repeat offenders are taken off our streets,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. “ATF’s focus is protecting the public by removing the most dangerous felons from our communities and seeking the highest sentence possible.”
The jury convicted Chavez after a three-day trial in United States District Court.
After the jury returned its verdicts yesterday, United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips scheduled a sentencing hearing on November 7. At sentencing, Chavez will face a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence due to his prior drug trafficking conviction, and he will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Paetty and Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Merrill.
Queens Father and Son Convicted at Trial for Their Participation in A Transnational Cocaine Trafficking OperationRead the Press Release
This afternoon, following a two week trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned a guilty verdict against Gregorio and Angelo Gigliotti for their operation of a transnational cocaine trafficking operation that stretched from Italy, to Queens and to Costa Rica. Gregorio Gigliotti was also convicted of possessing a stash of firearms in connection with the operation. When sentenced by United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Gregorio Gigliotti faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and Angelo Gigliotti faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The verdict was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York; and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.
“This case serves as a powerful example of the impact of international cooperation in combatting criminal organizations whose activities transcend national borders,” stated United States Attorney Capers. Mr. Capers thanked our law enforcement partners in Italy, including the Prosecutor of the Republic of Reggio Calabria; the Italian National Police (INP), and in particular, the Squadra Mobile of Reggio Calabria and the Servizio Centrale Operativo; the Direzione Centrale per i Servizi Antidroga; and the Direzione Nazionale Antimafia, as well as our law enforcement partners in Costa Rica, including the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial. Mr. Capers also expressed his gratitude to the U.S. Department of Justice Attaché and the Offices of the HSI and FBI Legal Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, as well as the FBI Legal Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, who coordinated extensive evidence-sharing and coordinated operations. Mr. Capers also thanked the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their assistance in this matter.
“This family run business served more than just pizza to its customers, using store fronts like a pizzeria to import large amounts of cocaine,” said HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Melendez. “Like father like son, both of these defendants will likely be spending the next several years in jail.”
“This case has sentiments of the famous Pizza Connection case- an organized crime family running a narcotics trafficking ring fronted from a family restaurant in New York. Today’s guilty verdict matches the past. We are pleased to say that another organized crime enterprise’s attempt at evading law enforcement has been disrupted. We thank our law enforcement partners here, in Italy and Costa Rica for their continued cooperation,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
Evidence presented at trial - including court-authorized wiretaps and physical surveillance - revealed that Gregorio Gigliotti, together with his wife, owned and operated several businesses in New York City that were used to facilitate their narcotics-trafficking operation, including Cucino Amodo Mio, an Italian restaurant and pizzeria in Corona, Queens, and Fresh Farm Produce Export Corp., an import company. Their son, Angelo Gigliotti, played the role of Gregorio’s trusted assistant, including handling the drug trafficking operation when Gregorio was out of the country. In October 2014, law enforcement intercepted a shipment of cassava (a starchy root also referred to as yucca) that was shipped to the United States from Costa Rica and bound for Fresh Farm Produce Export Corp. in New York. The shipment was found to contain approximately 40 kilograms of cocaine secreted inside cardboard boxes of cassava. Earlier, Gigliotti’s wife traveled to Costa Rica with more than $360,000 in cash that she delivered to the sources of supply. In September 2014, Franco Fazio, a relative and Italian national, traveled from Italy to New York and then to Costa Rica to deliver another $170,000 in cash to the sources of supply.
In December 2014, law enforcement intercepted a second shipment of cassava bound for Fresh Farm Produce Export Corp. in New York that had also been shipped from Costa Rica and seized approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine secreted within the cardboard boxes of the produce. Prior to the arrival of this shipment of cocaine, Fazio had made two additional trips to Costa Rica to meet with the sources of supply.
The Gigliotti defendants were arrested on March 11, 2015, in New York. That same day, law enforcement searched Cucino Amodo Mio as well as Gregorio and his wife’s residence. In the restaurant they seized one 12 gauge shotgun, one loaded .357 magnum Trooper revolver, one loaded .22 caliber Colt pistol, one.38 caliber Charter Arms revolver, one 9 mm Keltec pistol, one .762 Czech pistol, one .38 caliber Derringer that had a defaced serial number, ammunition magazines, loose ammunition, two handgun holsters, brass knuckles, more than $100,000 in cash, and a drug ledger detailing the disbursement of money made on the sale of narcotics. In the Gigliotti residence, agents recovered a loaded handgun and more than $18,000 in cash.
The charges in the indictment against co-defendants Eleonora Gigliotti and Franco Fazio remain pending. These charges are merely allegations, and these defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret E. Gandy and Keith D. Edelman are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
GREGORIO GIGLIOTTI
Age: 60
Queens, New YorkANGELO GIGLIOTTI
Age: 36
Queens, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-204 (S-2) (RJD)Prefered Imaging, LLC to Pay $3,510,000 to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Preferred Imaging, LLC, (Preferred Imaging), a provider of diagnostic imaging services, has agreed to pay $3,510,000 to resolve allegations that it improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for services performed without proper medical supervision in violation of the False Claims Act and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act. Preferred Imaging cooperated with the investigation and, by settling, did not admit any wrongdoing or liability. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Preferred Imaging operates independent diagnostic facilities (IDTFs) in Texas, Illinois, and Kansas. Certain procedures performed by IDTFs, such as procedures involving the administration of contrast dye, must be supervised by an on-site physician. The settlement resolves allegations that Preferred Imaging submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for procedures that were performed between January 2009 and February 2015 without a supervising physician on-site.
“The requirement that certain services are supervised by a physician is in place to protect Medicare and Medicaid patients,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “This settlement clearly reflects our commitment to hold facilities responsible for failing to ensure that those requirements are satisfied.”
The settlement resolves allegations filed by relator Tracy Sifuentes, a former employee of Preferred Imaging, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA and TMFPA, which authorize private parties to sue for fraud on behalf of the United States and State of Texas and share in the recovery. The relator will receive $596,700.
The investigation was conducted by Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Services, and the Texas Attorney General's Civil Medicaid Fraud Division. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa-Beth C. Meletta.
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Pittsburgh-area Woman Admits Setting House Fire then Defrauding Insurance CompanyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - An Allegheny County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of malicious destruction of property by fire and wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Andrea Forsythe, 27, of Oakdale, Pa. pleaded guilty to two counts before Senior United States District Judge Terrence F. McVerry.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Forsythe set fire to a residential structure located in Sturgeon, Pa., which structure was a rental home where she had been residing, so that she could obtain money from the insurance company which provided coverage on that structure. The wire fraud charge states Forsythe engaged in a scheme to defraud Nationwide Insurance company in connection with the claim she made for the fire loss on or about June 20, 2014.
Judge McVerry scheduled sentencing for Oct. 21, 2016. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, 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.
Forsythe will remain in custody pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Forsythe.
Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Role in Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Marquese Underwood, 21 of Pittsburgh, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute heroin while under court supervision for a prior offense, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Court Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence. Underwood was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police led the multi-agency investigation of this case that also included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Scott Township Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, the Baldwin Police Department, and the Pleasant Hills Police Department. The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Pike County Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – Douglas Edward Hale ,39, a resident of Troy, Alabama, was sentenced Thursday, July 21, 2016, to 210 months (17 ½ years) in federal prison for receipt of child pornography, announced George L. Beck, Jr., United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.
Hale had previously pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography on March 11, 2016. A receipt of child pornography charge carries a 240 month maximum sentence.
The charge stemmed from Hale’s collection of child pornography that contained images of child sexual abuse. Images on Hale’s computer were sent to him by a victim that the he knew was under the age of 18. Evidence further showed that Hale requested the images from the victim despite the knowledge of the victim’s age.
In addition to the 210 months, Chief United States District Judge Joel F. Dubina ordered that Hale be supervised for life following his release from federal prison. Hale remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending placement by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
This case was investigated by Troy Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Hollie Worley prosecuted the case.
Pierre Man Sentenced for Falsification of Financial RecordsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Pierre, South Dakota, man charged with Falsification of Financial Records Required to Be Kept by Labor Unions pled guilty and was sentenced on July 14, 2016, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.
Kenneth Potter, age 49, was sentenced to one year of probation, and $25 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that took place between July 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014, in Pierre, when Potter, who was an employee of the South Dakota Education Association and was a member of the National Staff organization, South Dakota Staff Organization (SDSO), which have collective bargaining agreements with the U.S. Department of Labor, issued 13 unauthorized checks, and made 3 unauthorized cash withdrawals, for a total of $4,130.
At the time of the offense, Potter was the Treasurer of the SDSO. As treasurer, Potter’s duties included making true and accurate entries in the unions records, and filing reports with the U.S. Department of Labor.
These unauthorized expenses created a loss in the SDSO accounts, which were reported to the National Staff Organization. The SDSO had an audit preformed of the books, which confirmed the theft by Potter.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Labor. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Andrew Heineman, 30, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged yesterday by Information1 with multiple counts of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that in April 2015 through August 2015, Heineman stole money from his employer, Genji Sushi, by issuing unauthorized checks to himself and depositing them into his personal bank account. Some of these ill-gotten funds purchased a Chevrolet Tahoe, which has since been seized by the government.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of twenty years.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise S. Wolf.
1An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Payette Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOISE – John Vernon McLeod, 36, of Payette, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered McLeod to forfeit $1,600 in drug proceeds. McLeod pleaded guilty on April 26, 2016.
According to evidence presented in court, McLeod and co-defendant Ross Eugene Miller, 30, of Fruitland, Idaho, conspired to distribute methamphetamine in the state of Idaho between May 28, 2015, and June 18, 2015. McLeod and Miller arranged for two separate deliveries of methamphetamine in the Payette and Fruitland, Idaho, area. Investigating officers discovered the conspiracy and were able to intervene. Miller was sentenced on March 7, 2016, to 36 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
The case was investigated by the High Desert Task Force, a collaboration of law enforcement agencies from Payette County Sheriff’s Office, Payette Police Department, Fruitland Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Weiser Police Department, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, Ontario Police Department, and the Nyssa Police Department.
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.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud in Aftermath of BP Oil SpillRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that KEVIN RICHARD, age 26, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in mail fraud for his role in submitting a fraudulent application for disaster assistance money in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
According to court documents, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) made disaster assistance money available to individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion that occurred on April 20, 2010. The GCCF offered multiple types of claims related to the Deepwater Horizon incident for which it would issue payment. One of the types of claims offered by the GCCF was a “Quick Payment Final Claim,” which provided that a claimant who had received a prior EAP or Interim Payment from GCCF could receive, without further documentation of losses caused by the BP oil spill, a one-time final payment of $5,000 for individuals and $25,000 for businesses. Claimants seeking a Quick Payment were required to submit with their claim form a “Release and Covenant Not to Sue.” To be eligible to receive funds via a Quick Payment Final Claim, an applicant had to previously submit a successful (i.e., paid) initial claim containing proof of costs, damages, and other losses incurred as a result of the oil discharges due to the Deepwater Horizon incident.
On November 3, 2010, RICHARD applied for disaster assistance funds, representing that he worked as a cook for New Orleans Paddlewheels, Inc. at the time of the oil spill. In fact, RICHARD was not employed by New Orleans Paddlewheels, Inc. at all. As a result of this, and other, fraudulent representations, the GCCF sent a check in the amount of $21,000.00 to RICHARD, which he cashed at a Whitney National Bank branch in New Orleans. Subsequently, on January 3, 2011, RICHARD completed, signed, and mailed to the GCCF a Quick Payment Final Claim Form seeking an additional payment of $5,000, which the GCCF issued on January 14, 2011. RICHARD cashed this check on January 18, 2011.
RICHARD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than twenty years, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon set sentencing for October 27, 2016. RICHARD was remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals following a recent bond revocation.
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.
United States Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Secret Service in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun ViolationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DARION TINSON, age 34, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty today to two counts of an Indictment charging violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Gun Control Act.
According to court documents, during a search of a residence where TINSON was living, agents located approximately two ounces of heroin in a bedroom, as well as a stolen Taurus .45 semi-automatic pistol in close proximity to the suspected heroin. Additionally, agents seized a scale, suspected marijuana, and approximately $2,000.00 in U.S. currency in the nightstand of the master bedroom. TINSON admitted that the heroin and gun were his during post arrest interviews. TINSON pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance, and possession a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
TINSON faces up to 20 years in prison on the drug trafficking charge, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. The gun charge carries a mandatory minimum additional 5 years in prison that must run consecutive to any other sentence. U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt set sentencing for October 26, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney David Haller is in charge of the prosecution.
New Castle Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Lawrence County resident has been sentenced in federal court to five years’ imprisonment on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Melvin Dorsey-Pace, 23, of New Castle, Pa.
According to information presented to the Court, in 2015, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other agencies joined forces in a long-term wiretap investigation of drug trafficking in New Castle. The investigation revealed that Melvin Dorsey-Pace conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute crack cocaine which was transported from Buffalo, NY, to the New Castle area for further distribution.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Fischer stated that the sentence was not greater than necessary to fulfill the purposes of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan B. Ortiz and Tonya Sulia Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Castle Police Department, and the Lawrence County Drug Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Dorsey-Pace.
New Britain Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Cocaine Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that HECTOR ROMAN, 30, of New Britain, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, ROMAN participated in a drug trafficking organization that shipped kilogram quantities of cocaine in the mail from Puerto Rico for distribution in central Connecticut and western Massachusetts. ROMAN retrieved multiple shipments of cocaine from the addresses to which they were sent and provided a storage location for those narcotics at his residence. Over the course of approximately one year, he was responsible for the receipt and storage of approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine.
ROMAN and a co-defendant, Melvin Rivera-Lopez, were arrested on January 15, 2015, after they traveled to the U.S. Post Office on Weston Street in Hartford to pick up a package that contained approximately 300 grams of cocaine.
The investigation revealed that Rivera-Lopez was the liaison with the cocaine source of supply in Puerto Rico.
On March 28, 2016, ROMAN pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Rivera-Lopez, 28, of Hartford, pleaded guilty to the same charge and, on June 27, 2016, was sentenced to 65 months of imprisonment.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut State Police and New Britain Police Department. The Task Force includes personnel from the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, Wethersfield and Willimantic Police Departments. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Dave Vatti.
Natchitoches man sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for methamphetamine, firearm possessionRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Natchitoches man was sentenced Wednesday to 211 months in prison for possessing methamphetamine and a firearm.
Harold Jumale Anderson, 42, of Natchitoches, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to 151 months in prison on one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and 60 months on one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the April 26, 2016 guilty plea, law enforcement agents conducted a controlled buy of methamphetamine using a confidential informant on August 18, 2015, in Alexandria. After his arrest, Anderson’s residence was searched, and agents found more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, a loaded Ruger 9 mm handgun and additional ammunition in his bedroom.
The FBI and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case.
Moreno Valley Man Found Guilty of Advertising Pornographic Images of Toddlers and Infants in Online ChatroomRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal judge has convicted a Moreno Valley man of advertising child pornography in a members-only online chatroom for people with a sexual interest in infants and toddlers.
Angelo Harper Jr., 21, was found guilty yesterday afternoon of advertising child pornography, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
Harper was found guilty by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who presided over a two-day bench trial. After issuing his verdict, Judge Klausner scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 17.
On July 12, Harper pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography. On that same day, he waived his right to a jury trial on the remaining advertising charge, which led to this week’s bench trial before Judge Klausner.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Harper used the Kik Messenger social media platform to access a chatroom for those interested in nepiophilia, which is a sexual interest in infants and toddlers. Last year, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations entered the chatroom using an undercover Kik account, and accessed several postings about child pornography – made by an individual later identified as Harper – which included images depicting child pornography and a link to an explicit video. At one point, Harper wrote: “I have tons of pics and vids of little boys and girls. Pm me for chat and trade of kids under 6 [winking face emoji].”
“Pedophiles continue to develop ways to exploit online technology so they can have a forum to share their deviant interests,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Law enforcement will continue to respond to the increased use of online platforms by vigorously investigating the dark corners of the Internet where criminals attempt to hide offenses like the trafficking and promotion of child pornography. Defendants like Harper endanger children by perpetuating a market for their victimization.”
As a result of the investigation, HSI agents obtained a search warrant for Harper’s residence. During the execution of the warrant on October 13, 2015, agents seized various digital devices that contained child pornography and Harper admitted to using Kik to transmit child pornography.
“Child pornography, when it’s released on the Internet, lives on forever,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “It haunts the innocent children whose abuse is depicted in the images, and brings unspeakable pain to their parents and families, knowing that untold strangers are exploiting their worst experiences for their own perverse pleasure. HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners across the country and around the globe to ensure that those who sexually exploit our children are brought to justice.”
When Harper is sentenced, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years for the advertising count.
In relation to the two counts to which he pleaded guilty, Harper faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Therefore, for all three counts, Judge Klausner could sentence Harper to as much as 70 years in federal prison.
The investigation into Harper was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys George E. Pence and A. Carley Palmer of the General Crimes Section.
Mississippi Woman Sentenced to Prison for Possession of Unregistered ShotgunRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss – Monica Vaughn, 42, of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced today. Vaughn was also ordered to pay a $1000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Darren J. LaMarca.
Mission Man Sentenced for Possession of Pure MethRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 38-year-old resident of Mission has been ordered to prison for 120 months following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jose Manuel Ochoa pleaded guilty April 7, 2016.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos sentenced Ochoa to 10 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
On Dec. 18, 2105, Ochoa drove a motor vehicle into the Falfurrias checkpoint for a primary inspection, after which a service K9 alerted to the presence of contraband coming from the vehicle. Authorities performed an x-ray examination and soon identified anomalies in the rear quarter panel. Eight bundles of methamphetamine were found inside, wrapped in foil and cellophane. Laboratory analysis determined the drugs weighed 2.8 kilograms and had a purity level of 99%.
Ochoa will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.
Mission Man Sentenced for Child Abuse and Distribution of Methamphetamine; Mission Woman Sentenced for Child AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of two counts of Child Abuse and one count of Distribution of Methamphetamine was sentenced on July 18, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. Thereafter, Judge Lange also sentenced a Mission, South Dakota, woman for her role in the offense of Child Abuse.
Tyler Erickson, Sr., also known as TJ Erickson, age 33, was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Rae Dawn Lunderman, age 28, was separately sentenced to 10 months and 15 days in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
On December 9, 2014, Erickson and Lunderman were indicted by a federal grand jury for second degree murder, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and two child abuse offenses. Lunderman was accused of being an aider and abettor to the offenses. Lunderman pled guilty to a Superseding Information charging Child Abuse on September 28, 2015. Erickson pled guilty to a three-count Superseding Information charging two counts of Child Abuse and one count of Distribution of Methamphetamine on March 30, 2016.
Between at least January 2013 and December 2014, Erickson was using and abusing drugs, including marijuana, methamphetamine and prescription pills. He was also involved in selling methamphetamine on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation to support his drug habit, as well as for profit. He was using methamphetamine on a daily basis and was often under the influence of methamphetamine. He was not sleeping regularly, staying up for days, and then crashing for long periods of time. Erickson was also acting aggressively towards those in his family. In the early summer of 2013, he was living with his girlfriend, Lunderman, and four of their children, but the family did not have consistently reliable housing. The family depended on various relatives for places to stay. By early July 2013, Erickson was reunited with two more biological children, five-year-old twins, who joined Erickson and Lunderman’s family.
As the summer progressed, Erickson’s behavior became more stressed and mean. He continued to act aggressively towards Lunderman, the children, and others, at times attempting to strike the children, and also threatening to harm Lunderman and the children. At some point between August 1 and August 10, 2013, Erickson admitted he slapped or hit one of his twin sons, who later died.
On August 10, 2013, that child was at his grandmother’s residence near Mission with his family, including Erickson, and the child had a large bruise on his abdomen and was ill. The child displayed increased irritability, progressive loss of activity, increased fussiness, and he had a bowel obstruction. Erickson did not take the child immediately to medical care, which increased the risk to the child. Eventually, at around 4:30 a.m. on August 11, 2013, the child vomited and collapsed, at which point Erickson attempted CPR and paramedics were summoned. Despite life-saving measures by ambulance personnel and medical professionals at the Rosebud I.H.S. Hospital, the child died.
The initial diagnosis was that a blood infection, or sepsis, had caused the death. An autopsy later revealed the child had died from blunt force trauma. The child had sustained trauma to his chest and abdomen, which included two lacerations of the liver, hemorrhaging around his kidney, and laceration of a portion of his intestine, along with other external bruising. As a result of the injuries, the child suffered blood accumulating in the space between the inner lining of the abdominal wall and the internal abdominal organs.
Based upon other circumstantial evidence, including other actions and threats to harm Lunderman and their children, the Government argued at sentencing that Erickson caused the death after stomping upon or kicking the child during a fit of anger. Erickson admitted he abused the child, but maintained he did not cause the fatal stomach injury, arguing the injuries were incurred as part of a fall off a vehicle.
Lunderman said that on August 12, 2013, the day after the child’s death, Erickson was at the same residence with his family when he physically intimidated and menaced the surviving twin child. She caught Erickson in the act of nearly stomping upon the surviving twin son, whom she shooed away from the area. Lunderman admitted she exposed all of the children to abuse by not alerting law enforcement authorities to the danger the children faced, as well as subjecting the children to danger by allowing them to be reared in an environment where drugs were rampant. Not until September 2014 did she properly intervene and remove the children from the situation. During their time together, Lunderman was also a victim of Erickson’s repeat domestic abuse.
The district court sentenced Erickson to 15 years in prison for child abuse of the deceased child, 2 years for child abuse of the surviving child, and 3 years for distributing methamphetamine. The Court ordered the sentences all served consecutively, for a total of 20 years.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Clinical Laboratory of the Black Hills conducted the autopsy. The FBI sought assistance and review of the investigation by a Pennsylvania biomechanical engineer. The Minnehaha County Coroner/Medical Examiner at Sanford Health Pathology in Sioux Falls also provided consultation services in review of the investigation. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Erickson was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve his sentence. Lunderman was given credit for time served and was released on court-ordered supervision.