Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Monday 18 July 2016
Former D.C. Government Official Pleads Guilty to Tax Charge, Under-Reported Income for Five Tax YearsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Warren Graves, 63, a former District of Columbia government official, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from his failure to fully report income on federal tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Philips and Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Graves, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to subscribing to a false tax return. The charge carries a statutory maximum of three years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Graves faces a likely range of 12 to 18 months of incarceration and a potential fine of up to $55,000. The plea agreement calls for him to pay the United States Treasury a total of $220,987 in restitution. The Honorable Randolph D. Moss scheduled sentencing for Oct. 25, 2016.
Graves was Chief of Staff for the District of Columbia’s Office of City Administrator from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, from 2007 to 2011, he was a contractor who worked within the D.C. government.
According to the government’s evidence, Graves owned a company that provided consulting services to individuals and entities in Washington, D.C. The work generally consisted of arranging meetings between District of Columbia government officials and private businesses and individuals. In general, the arrangements with clients involved performing services in exchange for a future stream of payments totaling an agreed amount. Most of this work was done prior to 2009, but Graves continued to receive payments for prior services in the following years, including in years when he was a District of Columbia government employee.
In his plea, Graves admitted that he claimed false expenses on his tax returns for the tax years of 2009 to 2013 and that he omitted items of income in some of those years. This resulted in the under-reporting of $536,091 in income, leading to a loss of tax revenue to the U.S. government of $220,987.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Special Agent in Charge Jankowski commended the work of those who investigated the case from of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Marston, who is prosecuting the case, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Atkinson, who assisted in the investigation.
Former Cardinals Official Sentenced to Prison for Astros Computer IntrusionsRead the Press Release
The former director of Baseball Development for the St. Louis Cardinals has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of accessing the Houston Astros’ computers without authorization, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI. Christopher Correa, 36, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty Jan. 8, to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer.
Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes for the Southern District of Texas, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Correa a 46-month-term of imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hughes noted the seriousness of the crime and how other baseball teams now must have tighter and more intrusive security. “You have made it harder for them to live their lives,” Hughes noted. Correa apologized and attempted to call his behavior reckless, but the judge corrected him. “No, you intentionally and knowingly did these acts.” Correa will also be required to serve a term of two years of supervised release following completion of the prison term and must pay $279,038.65 in restitution to the Astros.
“We are grateful that the court agreed to our sentencing recommendation as it was based upon our evaluation of the seriousness of the crime and the actions of the defendant,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson. “I am proud of the investigators and the federal prosecutor assigned the case who worked diligently to ferret out all the facts. Today, justice was done.”
From 2009 to July 2015, Correa was employed by the St. Louis Cardinals and became the director of Baseball Development in 2013. In this role, he provided analytical support to all areas of the Cardinals’ baseball operations. Correa is no longer employed by the Cardinals organization.
The Astros and the Cardinals, like many teams, measured and analyzed in-game activities to look for advantages that may not have been apparent to their competitors. To assist their efforts, the Astros operated a private online database called Ground Control to house a wide variety of confidential data, including scouting reports, statistics and contract information. The Astros also provided e-mail accounts to their employees. Ground Control and Astros e mails could be accessed online via password-protected accounts.
As part of his plea agreement, Correa admitted that from March 2013 through at least March 2014, he illicitly accessed the Ground Control and/or e-mail accounts of others in order to gain access to Astros proprietary information.
In one instance, Correa was able to obtain an Astros employee’s password because that employee has previously been employed by the Cardinals. When he left the Cardinals organization, the employee had to turn over his Cardinals-owned laptop to Correa – along with the laptop’s password. Having that information, Correa was able to access the now-Astros employee’s Ground Control and e-mail accounts using a variation of the password he used while with the Cardinals.
The plea agreement details a selection of instances in which Correa unlawfully accessed the Astros’ computers. For example, during 2013, he was able to access scout rankings of every player eligible for the draft. He also viewed, among other things, an Astros weekly digest page which described the performance and injuries of prospects who the Astros were considering and a regional scout’s estimates of prospects’ peak rise and the bonus he proposed be offered. He also viewed the team’s scouting crosscheck page, which listed prospects seen by higher level scouts. During the June 2013 amateur draft, he intruded into that account again and viewed information on players who had not yet been drafted as well as several players drafted by the Astros and other teams.
Correa later intruded into that account during the July 31, 2013, trade deadline and viewed notes of Astros’ trade discussions with other teams.
Another set of intrusions occurred in March 2014. The Astros reacted by implementing security precautions to include the actual Ground Control website address (URL) and required all users to change their passwords to more complex passwords. The team also reset all Ground Control passwords to a more complex default password and quickly e-mailed the new default password and the new URL to all Ground Control users.
Shortly thereafter, Correa illegally accessed the aforementioned person’s e mail account and found the e mails that contained Ground Control’s new URL and the newly-reset password for all users. A few minutes later, Correa used this information to access another person’s Ground Control account without authorization. There, he viewed a total of 118 webpages including lists ranking the players whom Astros scouts desired in the upcoming draft, summaries of scouting evaluations and summaries of college players identified by the Astros’ analytics department as top performers.
On two more occasions, he again illicitly accessed that account and viewed confidential information such as projects the analytics department was researching, notes of Astros’ trade discussions with other Major League Baseball teams and reports of players in the Astros’ system and their development.
The parties agreed that Correa masked his identity, his location and the type of device that he used, and that the total intended loss for all of the intrusions is approximately $1.7 million.
No other personnel associated with the Cardinals organization have been charged.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chu is prosecuting the case.
Former Cardinals Official Sentenced to Prison for Astros Computer IntrusionsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The former director of Baseball Development for the St. Louis Cardinals has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of accessing the Houston Astros’ computers without authorization, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI. Christopher Correa, 36, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty Jan. 8, 2016, to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer.
Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Correa a 46-month-term of imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hughes noted the seriousness of the crime and how other baseball teams now must have tighter and more intrusive security. “You have made it harder for them to live their lives,” Hughes noted. Correa apologized and attempted to call his behavior reckless, but the judge corrected him. “No, you intentionally and knowingly did these acts.” Correa will also be required to serve a term of two years of supervised release following completion of the prison term and must pay $279,038.65 in restitution to the Astros.
“We are grateful that the court agreed to our sentencing recommendation as it was based upon our evaluation of the seriousness of the crime and the actions of the defendant,” said Magidson. “I am proud of the investigators and the federal prosecutor assigned the case who worked diligently to ferret out all the facts. Today, justice was done.”
From 2009 to July 2015, Correa was employed by the St. Louis Cardinals and became the director of Baseball Development in 2013. In this role, he provided analytical support to all areas of the Cardinals’ baseball operations. Correa is no longer employed by the Cardinals organization.
The Astros and the Cardinals, like many teams, measured and analyzed in-game activities to look for advantages that may not have been apparent to their competitors. To assist their efforts, the Astros operated a private online database called Ground Control to house a wide variety of confidential data, including scouting reports, statistics and contract information. The Astros also provided e-mail accounts to their employees. Ground Control and Astros e‑mails could be accessed online via password-protected accounts.
As part of his plea agreement, Correa admitted that from March 2013 through at least March 2014, he illicitly accessed the Ground Control and/or e-mail accounts of others in order to gain access to Astros proprietary information.
In one instance, Correa was able to obtain an Astros employee’s password because that employee has previously been employed by the Cardinals. When he left the Cardinals organization, the employee had to turn over his Cardinals-owned laptop to Correa – along with the laptop’s password. Having that information, Correa was able to access the now-Astros employee’s Ground Control and e-mail accounts using a variation of the password he used while with the Cardinals.
The plea agreement details a selection of instances in which Correa unlawfully accessed the Astros’ computers. For example, during 2013, he was able to access scout rankings of every player eligible for the draft. He also viewed, among other things, an Astros weekly digest page which described the performance and injuries of prospects who the Astros were considering, and a regional scout’s estimates of prospects’ peak rise and the bonus he proposed be offered. He also viewed the team’s scouting crosscheck page, which listed prospects seen by higher level scouts. During the June 2013 amateur draft, he intruded into that account again and viewed information on players who had not yet been drafted as well as several players drafted by the Astros and other teams.
Correa later intruded into that account during the July 31, 2013, trade deadline and viewed notes of Astros’ trade discussions with other teams.
Another set of intrusions occurred in March 2014. The Astros reacted by implementing security precautions to include the actual Ground Control website address (URL) and required all users to change their passwords to more complex passwords. The team also reset all Ground Control passwords to a more complex default password and quickly e‑mailed the new default password and the new URL to all Ground Control users.
Shortly thereafter, Correa illegally accessed the aforementioned person’s e‑mail account and found the e‑mails that contained Ground Control’s new URL and the newly-reset password for all users. A few minutes later, Correa used this information to access another person’s Ground Control account without authorization. There, he viewed a total of 118 webpages including lists ranking the players whom Astros scouts desired in the upcoming draft, summaries of scouting evaluations and summaries of college players identified by the Astros’ analytics department as top performers.
On two more occasions, he again illicitly accessed that account and viewed confidential information such as projects the analytics department was researching, notes of Astros’ trade discussions with other Major League Baseball teams and reports of players in the Astros’ system and their development.
The parties agreed that Correa masked his identity, his location and the type of device that he used, and that the total intended loss for all of the intrusions is approximately $1.7 million.
No other personnel associated with the Cardinals organization have been charged.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chu is prosecuting the case.
Former Bosnian Army Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Procuring U.S. CitizenshipRead the Press Release
A Jacksonville, Florida, man pleaded guilty today for unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship by failing to disclose during his naturalization process his membership in the Bosnian Army and crimes that he committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian Conflict in the 1990s, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.
Slobo Maric, 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt of the Middle District of Florida. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, in 1993, Maric served as a shift leader, the second in command to the warden, of a detention facility in Bosnia that housed captured Bosnian-Croat soldiers. Many of the guards in the facility routinely subjected detainees to serious physical abuse and humiliation, including by referring to them with ethnic slurs and spitting on them. According to the plea agreement, Maric selected detainees for other guards to abuse; directly participated in abusing several prisoners; and sent prisoners on dangerous and deadly work details on the front line of the conflict. The Bosnian government charged Maric for his criminal conduct and, after Maric immigrated to the United States, Bosnia indicted and convicted Maric in absentia for war crimes against prisoners. According to the plea agreement, Maric knew about the Bosnian court proceedings, yet he failed to disclose the proceedings and lied about his conduct on his application for U.S. citizenship. Maric became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Oct. 31, 2002.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville Field Office investigated the case under the supervision of the HSI Tampa Field Office with support from ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.
Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor, Sasha Rutizer and Christina Giffin and Historian David Rich of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Campion of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Former Bosnian Army Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Procuring U.S. CitizenshipRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – A Jacksonville, Florida, man pleaded guilty today for unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship by failing to disclose during his naturalization process his membership in the Bosnian Army and crimes that he committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian Conflict in the 1990s, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.
Slobo Maric (56, Jacksonville) pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt of the Middle District of Florida. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Additionally, he faces a mandatory revocation of his certificate of naturalization, and cancellation of his U.S. citizenship. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, in 1993, Maric served as a shift leader, the second in command to the warden of a detention facility in Bosnia that housed captured Bosnian-Croat soldiers. Many of the guards in the facility routinely subjected detainees to serious physical abuse and humiliation, including by referring to them with ethnic slurs and spitting on them. According to the plea agreement Maric selected detainees for other guards to abuse; directly participated in abusing several prisoners; and sent prisoners on dangerous and deadly work details on the front line of the conflict. The Bosnian government charged Maric for his criminal conduct and, after Maric immigrated to the United States, Bosnia indicted and convicted Maric in absentia for war crimes against prisoners. According to the plea agreement, Maric knew about the Bosnian court proceedings, yet he failed to disclose the proceedings and lied about his conduct on his application for U.S. citizenship. Maric became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Oct. 31, 2002.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville Field Office investigated the case under the supervision of the HSI Tampa Field Office with support from ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.
Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor, Sasha Rutizer and Christina Giffin and Historian David Rich of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Campion of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Federal Jury Convicts Tonawanda Man on Multiple Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal jury has convicted Elijah Iverson, 38, of Tonawanda, NY, of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining a drug involved premises, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Joel L. Violanti, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on October 22, 2014, the defendant called the Tonawanda, NY Police Department and stated that an individual with a gun was attempting to get into his Kenmore Avenue apartment. When officers arrived, there was no sign of the alleged gunman.
Subsequently, officers went into Iverson’s apartment to speak with him about the incident. As the defendant was talking with officers, a police canine detected narcotics in the apartment. Iverson admitted to having a small amount of marijuana and powder cocaine which he surrendered to the officers but refused a full search of the apartment. As a result, officers obtained a search warrant and returned the next day.
During the full search, officers recovered an assault weapon, ammunition, a pound of marijuana and cash in a safe in Iverson’s bedroom closet. In addition, officers recovered more rounds of ammunition and approximately two ounces of crack cocaine in a bedroom used by the defendant’s young daughter.
Iverson has three prior felony convictions in state court which prevented him from legally possessing firearms.
The verdict is the result of an investigation by the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome C. Uschold and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 25, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo who presided over the trial.
Dodge City Woman Sentenced to 21+ Years for Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A Dodge City woman was sentenced Monday to 260 months in federal prison for making a video of herself engaged in a sex act with a child under five years old and uploading the video to the Internet, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Ashley Marie Kelly, 25, Dodge City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. In her plea, she admitted she used a smartphone to record the act and posted the video to her Google Drive account. Google discovered the photographs and sent reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Beall commended the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Police Department, the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
District Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison on Robbery, Theft and Credit Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marlon A. Wilson, 35, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a 16-year prison term for a robbery and a theft that he committed at two restaurants on the same night in 2014, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.
Wilson was found guilty by a jury in December 2014 of robbery, first-degree theft, second-degree theft, and credit fraud. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced on July 15, 2016, by the Honorable Milton C. Lee. Following his prison term, Wilson will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sunday, July 6, 2014, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Wilson entered a restaurant in the 500 block of Florida Avenue NW, ordered an iced tea, and then stole a wallet from a customer’s bag. The bag had been hanging over the back of her chair. Wilson left the tavern and then walked to another restaurant in the 600 block of T Street NW, a few blocks away. Once again, he ordered an iced tea. He then stole a wallet from a purse of a customer whose bag likewise was hanging on the back of her chair. Wilson then went to a nearby drug store and used one of the stolen credit cards to purchase two $480 gift cards.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested Wilson soon afterward in the area. He was caught with credit cards from both victims, as well as numerous gift cards. Wilson was subject to sentencing enhancements in this case because of his prior criminal history, which includes convictions for robbery, burglary, and theft and credit card fraud-related crimes.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Paralegal Specialist Rochelle Mills; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Connolly, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Misler.
Defendants Sentenced to More Than a Decade in Prison for Violent Hostage TakingRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorneys Seth Askins (619) 546-6692 and Steve Miller (619) 546-7938
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 18, 2016
SAN DIEGO – Three defendants have been sentenced for their roles in an alien harboring and hostage taking conspiracy involving two Mexican nationals, one of whom was severely beaten when the conspirators’ ransom demands were not met.
In late July 2015, the two victims were smuggled into the United States from Mexico and stashed at a hotel in El Centro, presumably to await further transportation to their ultimate destination within the United States.
While waiting at the hotel, the victims were discovered by defendant Robert Covarrubias, who transported them by foot to the home of co-defendant Xochitil Victoria Otero, where they were initially locked in a shed before being taken into the house. Once inside Otero’s residence, Covarrubias was joined by co-defendant David “Smokz” Chavez, and the two of them contacted the victims’ family and demanded money for their release.
At one point, Chavez and Covarrubias threatened the male victim with a firearm, forcing him to beg his mother to send money to the defendants for fear of being killed. When it became apparent that their plan was destined to fail, Otero drove Chavez, Covarrubias and the two victims to a remote location in Imperial Valley where Chavez and Covarrubias severely beat the male victim with a crowbar before releasing them. The male victim sustained serious injuries to his head, face and hands as a result of the beating. Fortunately, the victims were able to make contact with a farmworker in an adjacent field, who helped them contact law enforcement.
Chavez and Covarrubias pleaded guilty to hostage taking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203(a), and Otero pleaded guilty to Alien Harboring, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) and (v)(II). On May 31, 2016, Chavez was sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison, while Otero was sentenced to 40 months for her lesser role in the offense. Today, Covarrubias was sentenced to 144 months (12 years) in prison for his role in the offense. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge John A. Houston. A hearing to determine restitution for the victims is set for August 29, 2016.
The successful federal prosecution of this violent crime was a collaborative effort by Homeland Security Investigations Imperial Valley Border Enforcement Task Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Steve Miller.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 15cr2097-JAH
David Chavez, aka “Smokz” Age: 29 Calexico, CA
Robert Covarrubias Age: 20 El Centro, CA
Xochitil Victoria Otero Age: 24 El Centro, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Take a Hostage and Hostage Taking – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1203(a)
Maximum penalty: Life imprisonment and $250,000 fine
Alien Harboring – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) and (v)(II)
Maximum penalty: 10 years’ imprisonment and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations Imperial Valley Border Enforcement Task Force
Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Synthetic DrugsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2.
Alexander Vladimir McMillin, also known as “Shasha,” 32, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to participating in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud between March 1, 2011, and Oct. 2, 2013.
McMillin was a partner in two companies, Dynamic Scents and its successor, Order-Refill, LLC. Two of his partners in those companies – Patrick Ross Hawkins, 34, and Molly Jane Charmichael, 38, both of Columbia – have also pleaded guilty. They are among 14 defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case.
By pleading guilty today, McMillin admitted that he sold wholesale orders of packaged synthetic drugs to customers throughout the state of Missouri. These packages of synthetic marijuana bore misleading labeling regarding the contents and nature of the product in order to avoid detection by law enforcement officers.
McMillin falsely and misleadingly referred to these synthetic drug products as “incense,” “herbal incense,” “potpourri,” “therapeutic potpourri,” that were labeled as “not intended for human consumption,” when, in fact, these products were synthetic drugs intended for consumption in order to obtain a physiological “high.” When sold at retail stores, these products were often located next to products and paraphernalia used for smoking the substances.
Law enforcement officers seized $82,149 from McMillin and seized $177,398 from the bank account of Order-Refill, all which must be forfeited to the government.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and McMillin agree that a sentence of 63 to 78 months is appropriate. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the MUSTANG Task Force, the LANEG Drug Task Force, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Morgan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Camden County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Camdenton, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kirksville, Mo., Police Department, the North Missouri Drug Task Force, the Schuyler County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Edina, Mo., Police Department, the Linn County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Brookfield, Mo., Police Department.
Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE - Misael Ledesma-Renteria, a/k/a “Miguel Angel Barreto-Mora,” a/k/a “Misael Renteria,” was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Brian Stretch and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin.
Renteria previously pleaded guilty on April 11, 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A)(viii). According to the plea agreement, Renteria admitted to conspiring with other individuals to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine in the Northern District of California between July 5, 2013, and May 25, 2015. He admitted that, in furtherance of the conspiracy, he distributed cocaine and possessed with the intent to distribute cocaine on numerous occasions over his approximately 2 years of participation in the conspiracy.
Renteria, 32, a citizen of Mexico who was living in the San Jose area at the time of the offense, was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 8, 2015
The sentence of Renteria was handed down by The Honorable Edward J. Davila, U.S. District Court Judge, following a guilty plea to one count in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1). Judge Davila also sentenced Renteria to a 5-year period of supervised release. The defendant has been in federal custody since September 24, 2015.
Chinhayi Cadet is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Theresa Benitez. This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.Read the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today the sentencing of an Ohio man for conspiring to illegally importing prescription drugs into the United States.
Michael Louis, 61, of Cincinnati, Ohio, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to illegally import prescription drugs into the United States and to illegally distribute tramadol. Today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, Louis was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of four months and was ordered to forfeit $2,500.
“We are proud to work with our partners at the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the quality and authenticity of the drugs coming into our country,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “Consumers must be confident that they products they buy are safe and authentic.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case for the United States.
Cazenovia Man Convicted of Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Following a seven-day trial, a jury returned a verdict today against James P. Griffin, 71, of Cazenovia, finding him guilty of all 23 counts of mail and wire fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.
The evidence at trial showed Griffin is the Chief Executive Officer of several companies using variations of the names 54 Freedom and 5 Ledyard, all headquartered at 5 Ledyard Avenue, Cazenovia, New York. Testimony and documents established that Griffin solicited over $1.6 million in sales from 2009 to 2011 through a scheme involving a financial product called the 54 Freedom Charitable Gift Annuity. Griffin promised that the product was backed by a highly-rated, major insurance carrier and would provide guaranteed lifetime income to the purchaser. The trial evidence also showed that Griffin knew the Charitable Gift Annuities were not underwritten by insurance companies, and purchasers received no payments after 2013. Griffin was convicted of mail and wire fraud related to this scheme, and laundering money through various company bank accounts.
The jury also found Griffin guilty of mail fraud based on a scheme to entice investors to use retirement funds to invest in his companies by falsely promising to protect them from the tax consequences of withdrawing funds from qualified retirement accounts. Through this scheme, Griffin received at least $370,000.
Over the course of seven days, forty-one witnesses testified in the government’s case, and Griffin testified in his own defense.
Griffin will be sentenced in Syracuse on November 15, 2016, by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr., who presided over the trial. Griffin faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years on each of the mail and wire fraud counts and ten years on the money laundering counts. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward R. Broton and Carina H. Schoenberger.
Caribou Man Pleads Guilty to Lying and Buying a Firearm for a FelonRead the Press Release
Contact: James M. Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Brian Hitchcock, 29, of Caribou, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
Court records reveal that on May 23, 2014, the defendant went to Ben’s Trading Post, a federal firearms licensee and dealer of firearms located in Presque Isle, Maine, and falsely completed a federal firearms application form certifying that he was the actual buyer of a pistol, when, in fact, he was buying the pistol for a felon. Surveillance video showed the defendant purchasing the pistol when the felon was present at the Trading Post and the defendant later admitted to buying the pistol for the felon.
Hitchcock faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Caribou Police Department.
California Woman Sentenced in Marijuana and Money Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Simona Borissova, 31, of Danville, California, was sentenced on Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby to a term of 24 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $273,665.00 in a money judgment, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. The sentence followed her February 26, 2016 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to her written plea agreement, between January 2011 and August 2015, Simona Borissova, who lived in Las Vegas, caused marijuana to be driven from a marijuana farm in Northern California, owned by her parents, to various stash houses in Las Vegas, where others in the criminal conspiracy would take possession of the marijuana and ship it to Utica, New York and other cities around the United States. It was further part of the conspiracy that to pay for the marijuana shipped to individuals in Utica, New York, marijuana buyers and co-conspirators would deposit money into various bank accounts, some held in the names of third parties including Borissova. The cash was then withdrawn by Borissova from her accounts and used to purchase more marijuana, pay expenses, or otherwise spent at Borissova’s discretion.
As part of her guilty plea, Borissova admitted she knew the financial transactions involved proceeds from the marijuana distribution conspiracy and were conducted to conceal the true nature, source, and control of the proceeds. Borissova admitted in court that she conspired with others to engage in money laundering involving $273,665, which was the total amount of money orders purchased with proceeds from the sale of marijuana in and around Utica, New York which was used for payment for the marijuana shipped from California to Utica, New York.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl G. Eurenius and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Oneida County ADA Grant J. Garramone.
California Man Convicted of Conspiracy to Money Launder and Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on Monday, July 18, 2016, Sergio Valencia, Sr., of Moreno Valley, California, was convicted after a week-long jury trial of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Evidence presented at trial indicated that Valencia was involved with several other individuals who transported methamphetamine from California to Lincoln, Nebraska, and returned the proceeds of sales in Nebraska to California by making deposits to Wells Fargo bank accounts held in the names of Valencia’s wife, two children, another relative, and his landscaping business as well as accounts held in the names of relatives of one of Valencia’s co-conspirators. The approximate time-frame of the conspiracies was between April and September of 2011 for the money laundering and between January of 2010 and June of 2013 for the drug conspiracy. Valencia was acquitted of a third charge of conspiracy to structure financial transactions.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 20, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Buffalo Woman Sentenced for Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Aramenta Lee, 63, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of theft of social security retirement benefits, was sentenced to five years probation with six months of home confinement by U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also ordered to pay $235,160 in restitution to the Social Security Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that Lee failed to notify the Social Security Administration of her father’s death in 2002. As a result, social security checks continued to be issued and deposited into a savings account in the name of the defendant’s father. As Power of Attorney, Lee had access to the account. Between July 13, 2002 and January 2, 2015, the defendant stole a total of $235,160 in social security benefits.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Grasso.
Albuquerque Felon Sentenced to Eleven and a Half Years for Robbery Spree Committed While on Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Vincent Steven Martinez, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 139 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on robbing four businesses involved in interstate commerce while on supervised release from an armed bank robbery conviction. Martinez was sentenced to 121 months in prison for the robberies and an additional 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III.
Martinez was arrested on Dec. 4, 2015, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 15, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. At the time, Martinez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on aggravated battery, armed bank robbery and bank robbery charges. The indictment subsequently was superseded on Jan. 14, 2016, to charge Martinez with violating the Hobbs Act on Sept. 12, 2015, by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce.
On June 3, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to the Hobbs Act robbery charged in the superseding indictment as well as a felony information charging him with three additional Hobbs Act robberies. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted the following criminal conduct:
-
On Aug. 14, 2015, Martinez entered a gas station located at 1715 Moon Street NE in Albuquerque, threatened the cashier with a handgun, and stole cash and cigarettes.
-
On Sept. 5, 2015, Martinez entered the hotel located at 4501 Alameda Blvd. in Albuquerque, brandished a knife at a hotel employee, and demanded money.Martinez robbed the employee of cash and a camera.
-
On Sept. 10, 2015, Martinez entered a hotel located at 5241 San Antonio Dr. in Albuquerque, brandished a gun at a hotel employee, and robbed the employee of cash.
-
On Sept. 12, 2015, Martinez entered the Family Dollar at 7900 Second St. NW in Albuquerque, showed the cashier a gun, and demanded money.When Martinez grabbed money from the cash register, he dropped his wallet, which contained his driver’s license.
Martinez also admitted violating the terms of his supervised release on a prior felony conviction by using a controlled substance and possessing a firearm. In admitting these violations, Martinez acknowledged that he was convicted on April 28, 2010, on an armed bank robbery charge and was sentenced to 71 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, which commenced on June 13, 2014. Martinez admitted that in Dec. 2014, he submitted a urinalysis sample that tested positive for opioids because of his heroin use. He also admitted failing to participate in an outpatient substance abuse program as required by the terms of his supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long prosecuted the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat and violent offenders, primarily based on their prior convictions, from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.
-
Sunday 17 July 2016
Statement by U.S. Attorney Regarding Today's Tragic IncidentRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – In the wake of today’s tragic events, United States Attorney Walt Green stated: “Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the fallen officers and those officers who were wounded in this horrific incident. Today’s attack is truly despicable. We will devote whatever federal law enforcement resources are necessary to ensure that justice is served.”
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch Statement on Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ShootingRead the Press Release
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement regarding the shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
“I have been briefed on the ongoing situation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I will continue to monitor events throughout the day. Although information about this morning's incident is still coming in, we do know that at least three officers are feared dead and several others are wounded. Agents from the FBI and ATF are on the scene, and the Department of Justice will make available victim services and federal funding support, and will provide investigative assistance to the fullest extent possible.
“For the second time in two weeks, multiple law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty. There is no place in the United States for such appalling violence, and I condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms. I pledge the full support of the Department of Justice as the investigation unfolds. Our hearts and prayers are with the fallen and wounded officers, their families, and the entire Baton Rouge community in this extraordinarily difficult time.”
Friday 15 July 2016
Woodbridge Man Sentenced for Attempting to Travel to Syria to Join ISILRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, of Woodbridge, was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Farrokh was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.
“Farrokh’s state of mind and conduct in this case were egregious and go to the heart of the safety of our community and the nation,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This office will continue to pursue those that travel to fight against the United States and our allies, as well as those individuals that recruit others on behalf of ISIL in the homeland.”
“With this sentence, Joseph Hassan Farrokh will be held accountable for attempting to travel overseas to join ISIL and to provide material support to the designated terrorist organization,” said John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “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 attempt to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Joseph Farrokh admitted to attempting to travel to Syria to join and fight with ISIL in support of its oppressive, violent, and criminal agenda,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Thanks to the relentless work of agents, analysts, and prosecutors, together with the essential contributions of our partners in the Joint Terrorism Task Force, we were able to disrupt those plans and bring him to justice. The FBI's highest priority remains preventing terrorist attacks and combating terrorism here in the U.S. and around world.”
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Farrokh conspired with Mahmoud Amin Elhassan, 25, of Woodbridge, to travel from the United States to Syria in order to fight with ISIL. As part of their plan, Farrokh would travel first, followed by Elhassan at a later date. Farrokh and Elhassan spoke in detail about their potential travel, including discussing the different routes each would take to travel to Syria. Farrokh also provided $600 to Elhassan to aid in Elhassan’s future travel to Syria. Both men spoke openly with each other about supporting ISIL and supporting violent jihad, with Farrokh saying on October 2, 2015, that he had no patience and wanted to go right away and “chop their heads.”
According to the statement of facts, in an effort to conceal their plans to support ISIL, Farrokh and Elhassan communicated in a manner in which they thought could not be detected by law enforcement, such as using apps they believed were safe from law enforcement detection. In the summer of 2015, Farrokh and Elhassan talked more seriously about going to join the Islamic State. When Farrokh and Elhassan discussed ways to reach the Islamic State, they concluded that they needed someone to help them do so. Elhassan was very active online, and contacted like-minded people all over the world. The men pursued two separate plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, but neither plan worked out.
According to the statement of facts, Farrokh and Elhassan conspired with other persons they believed would help facilitate their travel to Syria. Over the course of many meetings, the men discussed in detail their travel plans and efforts to avoid law enforcement detection, including having Farrokh shave his beard and fly out of Richmond International Airport, as they believed there would be less security. Farrokh and Elhassan agreed that Farrokh should tell his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.
According to the statement of facts, on January 15, Elhassan picked up Farrokh at his home in Woodbridge and drove him to Richmond to a location approximately one mile from the airport. Farrokh then took another cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis M. Fitzpatrick, along with Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-20.
Wichita Man Sentenced in Massage Parlor Prostitution CaseRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A Wichita man was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison in a massage parlor prostitution case, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
In April, a federal jury found defendant Kay Tee, 51, Wichita, Kan., guilty on one count of attempting to entice a person to cross state lines to engage in prostitution, one count of using a telephone in furtherance of prostitution and one count of money laundering.
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Tee was arrested May 28, 2015, at the airport in Wichita when he drove there to pick up a person he believed was buying a Wichita massage parlor that was a front for prostitution. In fact, the person Tee had talked with several times on the phone was one of two undercover informants working with federal investigators. In recorded conversations, Tee identified the extent of sexual services various parlors were performing and explained how he had helped other individuals establish parlors in Wichita.
Tee tried to collect fees from both undercover informants – one posing as a buyer and the other as a seller – in return for helping to arrange the sale. He also offered to provide additional services in exchange for additional compensation, including advertising on Backpage.com, filing city paperwork and doing taxes for the massage parlor. Examples of Tee’s advertisements on Backpage.com were presented at trial.
Beall commended the Wichita Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Wanblee Man Indicted for MurderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Wanblee, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for First Degree Murder and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.
Leon “Gogg” Between Lodges, a/k/a Leon Milk, age 32, was indicted on June 21, 2016. Between Lodges appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on July 1, 2016, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges relate to Between Lodges using a knife to stab two male individuals on May 27, 2016, at Wanblee. One of these individuals died from his injuries.
The charges are merely accusations and Between Lodges is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen is prosecuting the case.
Between Lodges was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Virginia Man Sentenced to 102 Months in Prison for Attempting to Travel to Syria to Join ISILRead the Press Release
Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for attempting to provide material support and resources to 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 Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement
“With this sentence, Joseph Hassan Farrokh will be held accountable for attempting to travel overseas to join ISIL and to provide material support to the designated 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 attempt to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Farrokh’s state of mind and conduct in this case were egregious and go to the heart of the safety of our community and the nation,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “This office will continue to pursue those that travel to fight against the United States and our allies, as well as those individuals that recruit others on behalf of ISIL in the homeland.”
“Joseph Farrokh admitted to attempting to travel to Syria to join and fight with ISIL in support of its oppressive, violent and criminal agenda,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate. “Thanks to the relentless work of agents, analysts and prosecutors, together with the essential contributions of our partners in the Joint Terrorism Task Force, we were able to disrupt those plans and bring him to justice. The FBI’s highest priority remains preventing terrorist attacks and combating terrorism here in the U.S. and around world.”
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia imposed today’s sentence and also ordered Farrokh to serve 10 years of supervised release.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Farrokh conspired with Mahmoud Amin Elhassan, 25, also of Woodbridge, to travel from the United States to Syria in order to fight with ISIL. As part of their plan, Farrokh would travel first, followed by Elhassan at a later date. Farrokh and Elhassan spoke in detail about their potential travel, including discussing the different routes each would take to travel to Syria. Farrokh also provided $600 to Elhassan to aid in Elhassan’s future travel to Syria. Both men spoke openly with each other about supporting ISIL and supporting violent jihad and on Oct. 2, 2015, Farrokh stated that he had no patience and wanted to go right away and “chop their heads.”
According to the statement of facts, in an effort to conceal their plans to support ISIL, Farrokh and Elhassan communicated using apps they believed were safe from law enforcement detection. In the summer of 2015, Farrokh and Elhassan talked more seriously about going to join ISIL and concluded that they needed someone to help them do so. Elhassan contacted like-minded people all over the world and the men pursued two separate plans to travel to Syria to join ISIL, but neither plan worked out.
According to the statement of facts, Farrokh and Elhassan conspired with other persons they believed would help facilitate their travel to Syria. Over the course of many meetings, the men discussed in detail their travel plans and efforts to avoid law enforcement detection, including Farrokh shaving his beard and flying out of Richmond International Airport, where they believed there would be less security. Farrokh and Elhassan agreed that Farrokh should tell his family that he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia to study.
According to the statement of facts, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan picked up Farrokh at his home in Woodbridge and drove him to a location approximately one mile from the Richmond airport. Farrokh then took a cab to the airport, checked in for his flight, cleared security and was arrested as he was approaching his departure gate.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Dennis M. Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case with Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
United States Reaches Settlements with Three Puerto Rico Entities for Falsely Certifying Small Business Entity StatusRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Constructora Santiago II, Corp., Centro Cardiovascular and Hospital Del Maestro have agreed to pay $132,000, collectively, to the United States to resolve allegations that each falsely certified to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) that it was a small business entity in order to pay reduced nuclear material handling fees.
The settlement agreement was announced today by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Joseph A. McMillan, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, NRC, Office of Inspector General.
“Companies that falsely certify they are small businesses in order to obtain government benefits must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
“The NRC OIG is committed to identifying anyone that will defraud the Commission regardless of their location. The NRC OIG is thankful to the US Attorney’s Office, Baltimore, MD, for their outstanding support in these investigations,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Joseph A. McMillan.
In order to possess and handle radioactive materials, an entity has to obtain a license from the NRC and pay an annual fee. The NRC permits companies to pay a reduced fee if it qualifies as a small business. In order to certify small business status, a business must “average gross receipts of $7 million or less over its last three completed fiscal years.” Each small business entity is required to complete a form certifying that it meets the criteria to qualify as a small business entity.
According to the settlement agreements, Constructora Santiago II, Corp., Centro Cardiovascular and Hospital Del Maestro falsely certified that each had gross receipts of less than $7 million when the government contends that in fact, all three companies had gross receipts that greatly exceeded $7 million. As a result of their false claims, each of the three entities paid reduced NRC license fees. Each entity has denied the allegations.
U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the NRC Office of Inspector General, Washington field office for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Thomas F. Corcoran, who handled the case.
U.S. Attorney Vance: Where Do We Go from Here?Read the Press Release
These past few weeks have been difficult for our country. The deaths in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas are nothing short of tragic, and they raise fundamental questions about who we are as a society. We must have trust between communities and law enforcement if we are to be a safe society. How can this trust be rebuilt? How can every person in this country be guaranteed equal justice under the law?
As a part of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama plays a key role in answering these questions. Our mission is contained within our very name: our responsibility is to work to ensure equal justice for all Americans. Because of this core value, we support law enforcement in its commitment to keep all of us safe. We also seek to ensure that all Americans’ civil rights are protected. Recently, some have questioned whether those who support black lives can also support blue lives. In our view, the answer is a resounding yes.
The killings of the five police officers in Dallas — Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Brent Thompson, and Patrick Zamarriga, and now three in Baton Rouge -- Montrell Jackson, Brad Garafola and Matthew Gerald — were unconscionable. In order for us to move forward in a meaningful way, we must respect law enforcement and acknowledge that they risk their lives to protect public safety. The police officers in Baton Rouge were ambushed; those in Dallas died protecting a public protest that originated from the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The commitment of law enforcement is essential to a safe, just society.
Bad actors, as we are all too frequently reminded, live in many different communities. They do not, however, define those communities — whether police departments or minority groups. So how do we move forward and rebuild trust between the police and the communities they protect? For us, one way is to help the community understand the Justice Department’s role in enforcing this nation’s civil rights laws. Although we work with law enforcement every day and overwhelmingly see officers and agents who are committed to doing what is right, we will not sit idly by if police use excessive force. We have, and will continue, to prosecute officers who violate our citizens’ civil rights, as we did, successfully, just this past week.
At the same time, we are committed to the success of Birmingham’s work as a pilot city in the Justice Department’s Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. Efforts have been underway since the fall of 2015 to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve and protect. As part of this program, the Justice Department, community stakeholders, academics, and civil rights advocates are developing a plan that will enhance procedural justice, reduce bias, and support reconciliation in local communities. I welcome your feedback in this program; it is essential.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Although we have work to do, the obstacles to justice are not insurmountable. This is not the time for hate or indifference. This is the time for us to set aside differences and old misunderstandings and come together to promote good law enforcement, a safe community, and an understanding that our civil rights are precious. It is our obligation to protect them, and it is going to take all of us to do this work.
Two “Pill Mill” Operators Sentenced to Federal Prison in Scheme to Distribute Oxycodone Without a Medical NeedRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Michael Resnick, a/k/a Michael Reznikov, age 54, today to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and alprazolam, and for structuring currency deposits. Chief Judge Blake sentenced Resnick’s wife, Alina Margulis age 49, both from Brooklyn, New York, to a year and a day in prison followed by three years of supervised release for the drug conspiracy and for money laundering. Chief Judge Blake also entered an order that Resnick and Margulis forfeit $280,000, the amount of illicit profits they received from the scheme.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
“State and federal authorities are working to shut down ‘pain clinics’ that are really just fronts for criminals who divert pharmaceutical drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Michael Resnick and his wife Alina Margulis operated a clinic in which they hired physicians to prescribe opioid drugs to people who had no medical need for the drugs. Pharmaceutical pills can be just as harmful as illegal drugs when they are used without proper oversight.”
“Those who facilitate the illegal use of controlled substances negatively impact our entire community,” said Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Today they are being held accountable and will not financially benefit from their illegal activity.”
According to their plea agreements and court documents, in late 2010 and early 2011, Resnick and Margulis traveled to Florida to learn how to operate a pain clinic under the direction of co-defendant Gerald Wiseberg, who owned and operated Total Care Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Wiseberg told Resnick that operating a pain clinic would be a lucrative business and that no medical experience was required.
By early 2011, Resnick, Margulis and Wiseberg agreed to open a similar pain management clinic in Maryland. In March 2011, the defendants opened Healthy Life in
Owings Mills. Healthy Life later moved to larger space in Timonium, Maryland, until it was closed on May 15, 2012. Both Healthy Life locations attracted large and unruly crowds. Customers caused disturbances outside the locations, using narcotics and engaging in narcotics transactions. Over 80% of the customers who received a prescription from Healthy Life were from out of state, and approximately 97% of the customers received at least one prescription for oxycodone.
Wiseberg hired physician William Crittenden to serve as one of the first medical directors at Healthy Life because Wiseberg believed that Crittenden would write prescriptions for narcotics to customers without a legitimate medical need. Crittenden resigned as the medical director in August 2011 when the Maryland Board of Physicians—the agency authorized to issue licenses to practice medicine in Maryland and to discipline licensees—initiated an investigation into Crittenden’s prescribing practices. This investigation ultimately led to revocation of Crittenden’s medical license.
In September 2011, Resnick, Margulis and Wiseberg hired another medical director, Daniel Alexander, because they believed that Alexander would likewise write drug prescriptions to customers without a legitimate medical need. Margulis told Alexander that Healthy Life only prescribed pills and did not offer any alternative therapies.
To increase profits, Alexander spent a limited amount of time with each patient in order to see a very large number of patients each day. From September 2011 to March 2012, Alexander issued prescriptions to 627 patients on 946 separate office visits. Of those 946 visits, the customer received a prescription for oxycodone 97% of the time, and a prescription for alprazolam 23% of the time, despite Alexander’s knowledge that many of the customers did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
Following the business model of Total Care, Resnick, Margulis and Wiseberg, who were not doctors, established the standard operating procedures for Healthy Life, including which drugs the prescribing physician could prescribe and the maximum dosage amounts of these drugs. Healthy Life also accepted cash payments in exchange for providing prescriptions for large amounts of oxycodone, alprazolam and other drugs, to customers without a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
Also to maximize profits, they also encouraged the prescribing physicians to prescribe the maximum amount of oxycodone to each customer. Margulis and Resnick handled complaints by Healthy Life customers who were unhappy with the prescriptions they received, particularly when a medical provider might prescribe less oxycodone than the customer wanted. In those instances, Margulis and Resnick would ask the prescribing medical provider to reconsider, knowing it would lead the provider to give the customer what the customer wanted.
Margulis and Resnick received 28% of the net profits from Healthy Life, obtaining a total of $280,000. Wiseberg received 30% of the net profits. Margulis kept the accounting books for the business. From June 2011 to April 2012, Margulis wrote monthly checks of $12,000 to an entity Wiseberg controlled. Additionally, Resnick and Margulis paid Wiseberg $165,000 in cash in 2011 for Wiseberg’s 30% share.
In order to evade currency transaction reporting requirements, Resnick and others at his direction deposited cash accumulated from customers in amounts less than $10,000 into several bank accounts for Healthy Life. Resnick admitted that he engaged in a pattern of illegal structuring involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period.
Gerald Wiseberg, a/k/a Gerry Wiseberg and Jerry Wiseberg, age 82, of Boca Raton, Florida pleaded guilty on October 15, 2015 to his participation in the conspiracy and was sentenced on June 7, 2016 to three years in prison. Chief Judge Blake also entered an order that Wiseberg forfeit $273,000.
A federal jury convicted William Crittenden III, age 52, of Kensington, Maryland on February 19, 2016 of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and alprazolam, and eight separate counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone. Crittenden was acquitted on 15 of the drug distribution counts. Crittenden awaits sentencing.
Daniel Alexander, age 53, of Pikesville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on October 27, 2015 to his participation in the conspiracy. On July 6, 2016, Alexander filed a motion to vacate his guilty plea. The motion is pending.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended DEA, IRS-CI, Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorneys’ Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason D. Medinger and Peter J. Martinez, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Two Plead Guilty to Student Loan Fraud Scheme Targeting NVCCRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ernest Xavier Taylor, Jr., 31, and Tracie Laverne Mixon, 34, both of Hammond, Louisiana, have pleaded guilty to charges relating to unlawfully using the identities of four people to fraudulently obtain federal student loans from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and other schools.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Taylor Jr. and Mixon engaged in a conspiracy to use the identity of four different people to fraudulently obtain federal student aid from NVCC and other schools. The four different people included three who were in prison at the time their identities were used, and the fourth person was recovering in a military hospital after suffering injuries while deployed as a member of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
Taylor Jr. and Mixon would use the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of these four different people on various submissions, but Taylor Jr. and Mixon would supply their own addresses, emails, and telephone numbers to ensure that communications from the Department of Education, NVCC, and the other schools would be directed to them. For example, recorded telephone calls captured Taylor Jr. pretending to be the four different identities when calling to check on the status of financial aid from NVCC.
Taylor Jr. and Mixon’s fraudulent actions allegedly caused NVCC and other schools to offer approximately $67,000 in federal student aid to the various identities used by Taylor Jr. and Mixon. In addition to NVCC, the other schools targeted by Taylor Jr. and Mixon are: Front Range Community College; Community College of Denver; Portland Community College; and Black Hills State University.
Taylor Jr. and Mixon each face a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft when sentenced on October 7. Additionally, Taylor Jr. and Mixon face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charged in the case. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kathleen Tighe, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian D. Harrison and Edward P. Sullivan are prosecuting the case.
The case is being investigated by the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the FBI. The investigation received assistance from the Northern Virginia Community College Police Department.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-118.
Two Members of Methamphetamine Conspiracy that Trafficked Drugs from Arizona to Roanoke Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A pair of conspirators who were part of a group that trafficked methamphetamine from Arizona to Roanoke before distributing it throughout the region were sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Jose Manuel Morales-Hernandez, 34, of Roanoke, Va., previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Today in District Court he was sentenced to 95 months in federal prison. Joshua Benjamin Sutphin, 33, of Roanoke, Va., previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Today in District Court he was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison.
“Methamphetamine continues to be something law enforcement in Southwest Virginia battles on a daily basis,” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “We will continue to prosecute those who traffic and distribute this highly addictive and dangerous substance.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bassford, Morales-Hernandez was a higher-level supplier of methamphetamine for a conspiracy that brought multi-pound quantities of the drug from Arizona to Roanoke. Sutphin was supplied with methamphetamine from other members of the conspiracy and, in turn, supplied other members of the conspiracy who resold the drug in user-level quantities within the confines of Southeast Roanoke City.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bassford prosecuted the case for the United States.
Two Convicted in Romance Scam ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two individuals have been convicted for their role in a $2 million romance scam conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Kunle Mutiu Amoo, 48, and Lanre Sunday Adeoba, 61, both Nigerian citizens who resided outside the Houston area, each pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud.
The romance scam involved a scheme to defraud victims of money using false romantic overtures and false promises that the victims would be repaid. In this conspiracy, a member of the conspiracy posed as the manager of a construction company doing business in South Africa who needed the victim’s financial assistance to move $42 million in construction project proceeds from South Africa to the United States. The defendants posed as South African diplomats who were responsible for transporting the money into the United States and who also needed the victim’s financial assistance in order to transport the money.
As part of their pleas today, Amoo and Adeoba admitted they agreed and attempted to defraud this victim of $511,000.
The overall conspiracy caused the victim a loss of $2 million.
According to the FBI, romance scams, also classified as confidence frauds, result in the highest amount of financial losses when compared to other internet-enabled crimes. In 2015 victims of confidence frauds reported financial losses of nearly 200 million dollars to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3 website. If you think you've been victimized by a dating or other online scam, report it to www.ic3.gov.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett accepted the guilty pleas and set sentencing for Sept. 22, 2016. At that time, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. They both will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin is prosecuting the case.
Troy Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - John P. Howe, Jr., 34, of Troy, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Friday in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire for possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. The Court imposed a sentence of 78 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
In 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained information indicating that websites devoted to the exploitation of children had been accessed by a computer at the defendant’s Troy, New Hampshire residence. When a federal search warrant for that residence was executed in September 2014, authorities located a collection of videos and still images of child pornography on one of the defendant’s personal electronic devices, including a number of images depicting sadistic and masochistic acts.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations, the New Hampshire State Police, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NH ICAC), and the Troy, New Hampshire Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Three from Northeast Ohio plead guilty for their roles in $17 million investment fraudRead the Press Release
Three men from Northeast Ohio pleaded guilty this week for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud about 70 investors out of approximately $17 million, law enforcement officials said.
Thomas Abdallah, 52, of Brunswick, pleaded guilty this week to plead to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and one count of money laundering.
Mark M. George, 59, of Independence pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud.
Jeffrey L. Gainer, 52, of Akron, pleaded guilty to one count of sale of unregistered securities.
All three are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 4
The guilty pleas was announced by Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigations, Cincinnati Field Office.
Kenneth A. Grant, Jerry A. Cicolani and Kelly C. Hood previously pleaded guilty to crimes related to this fraud.
Abdallah and Grant owned and operated KGTA Petroleum, Ltd. They and others marketed KGTA as a company that earned profits from buying and selling crude oil and refined fuel products. They represented to investors that they had relationships with third-party purchasers and investor funds would be used to purchase fuel products at a discount and then resold at substantial profit, according to court documents.
KGTA issued investment agreements and promissory notes which offered guaranteed monthly payments up to five percent per month or annual payments of approximately 60 percent per year, according to the information. The defendants never filed documentation about KGTA with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to court documents.
Together, they obtained approximately $31 million from about 70 investors between 2010 and 2014 through false and fraudulent pretenses. They knew KGTA did not have agreements in place to sell oil and fuel, and that investors would not earn 5 percent per month on their investments, according to court documents.
The defendants used investor money for personal expenditures and luxury items including a Mercedes Benz, a boat and mortgage payments on high-end residential property. As a result of the conspiracy, the defendants defrauded the investors out of approximately $17 million, according to court documents.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Kendra Klump and Mark S. Bennett following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations.
Third Conspirator Pleads Guilty to Armed Craigslist Robberies, Shooting Two VictimsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to commit a series of armed robberies against victims who were contacted via craigslist, which culminated in the shooting of two victims.
Thomas Thorpe, 26, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Thursday, July 14, 2015, to one count of conspiracy, six counts of aiding and abetting a robbery and one count of aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
By pleading guilty, Thorpe admitted that he participated in a conspiracy between May 1 and Sept. 19, 2014, to rob several individuals at gunpoint. Thorpe participated in six armed robberies that occurred after conspirators posted false advertisements to buy or sell items on craigslist.org in order to entice their victims to meet so that conspirators could steal money and electronics. Thorpe also admitted that he was involved in the shooting of two of their victims during their final armed robbery on July 16, 2013.
Co-defendants Troy Wright, 23, of Grandview, Mo., and Debvon Buckner, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., have also pleaded guilty. In addition to the conspiracy and firearm charges, Wright pleaded guilty to six counts of aiding and abetting a robbery and Buckner pleaded guilty to five counts of aiding and abetting a robbery.
July 16, 2014, Armed Robbery and Shooting
On the evening of July 16, 2014, Thorpe and his co-defendants robbed and shot two victims (identified as M.N. and M.K.N.) near 5500 E. 84th Terrace, Kansas City, Mo. The two victims, along with their minor son, identified as D.N., had agreed to look at a Hyundai Sonata that was listed for sale in a craigslist advertisement. M.N. and D.N. took a test drive in the vehicle with Buckner and M.N. made a purchase offer. Buckner stated that he needed to call his wife about the purchase and walked away. As he walked away, Thorpe and Wright appeared and each pointed a firearm at the victims and demanded money.
The victims tried to return to their car, but Thorpe and Wright began shooting M.N. and M.K.N. multiple times. Conspirators took money and personal property (including a purse that contained $500) from the victims then shot one of the victims again, striking him an additional time. One of the victims was transported to a local hospital for life-threatening injuries from multiple gunshot wounds.
July 16, 2014, Armed Robbery
Earlier on the same day, on the afternoon of July 16, 2014, Thorpe and his co-conspirators robbed a victim who had listed an XBOX One for sale on craigslist. The victim arranged to meet Buckner at Ridge Pointe Apartments in Kansas City, Mo. When he arrived, Buckner approached him and asked to see the XBOX. When the victim handed him the XBOX, Thorpe and Wright appeared and each pointed a firearm at the victim and demanded the XBOX One, XBOX games, and the accessories. They took those items then fled to their vehicle.
July 3, 2014, Armed Robbery
On July 3, 2014, another victim was robbed while trying to buy an XBOX from a craigslist advertisement. The victim met Buckner at Ridge Pointe Apartments after he had agreed to give him $160 and a Samsung Galaxy watch to buy the XBOX. Buckner refused to make the trade after examining the watch. When the victim began walking back to his car, Wright approached, pointed a gun at him and demanded the cash and watch. After taking the cash and watch from the victim, Wright and Buckner fled frmothe aera and met up with Thorpe.
June 30, 2014, Armed Robbery
Wright and co-conspirators posted an advertisement for a phone for sale and made arrangements to meet the victim, identified as “D.B.,” after she responded to the advertisement. When the victim met with Buckner, she decided not to purchase the phone and began to walk away. Thorpe and Wright approached her, pointed guns at her and demanded money. After she gave the men $100 they demanded her car keys, cellphone and purse. She pressed the panic button on her car keys and when alarm sounded all three of the conspirators ran away.
June 30, 2014, Armed Robbery #2
Another victim met Buckner later that night on the same date. She had been contacted about purchasing an XBOX One that she posted for sale on Craigslist. When she arrived (with two minor children in her vehicle) at Ridge Pointe Apartments in Kansas City, Mo., Buckner told her that he wanted to see the XBOX. She got out of the vehicle, opened the trunk, and put the XBOX on the vehicle. Buckner grabbed the XBOX One and fled on foot. Thorpe and Wright, armed with handguns, approached and pointed the guns at the victims in the vehicle. They demanded all of their money, purses, and XBOX games and controllers. One of the victims asked for her purse back and one of the conspirators said, “Get back in the car or I’ll shoot you” and racked the slide on his gun.
June 26, 2014, Armed Robbery
Wright posted a Samsung plasma TV for sale on craigslist and, the same day, conspirators communicated with a victim for its purchase. The victims, including their infant child, were led to an apartment on E. 42nd Street, Kansas City, Mo. When they pulled out $170 to pay for the television, Thorpe came out from the bedroom armed with two handguns, pointed the guns in their face and demanded all their money. The victims gave them all their money and fled from the apartment.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Thorpe is subject to a sentence of at least 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 27 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Wolesky and Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
The United States and the Navajo Nation Agree to Second Phase of Work to Address Abandoned Uranium MinesRead the Press Release
Today, in a settlement agreement with the Navajo Nation, the United States agreed to provide funding necessary to continue clean-up work at abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. Specifically, the United States will fund environmental response trusts to clean up 16 priority abandoned uranium mines located across the Navajo Nation. The agreement also provides for evaluations of 30 more abandoned uranium mines, and for studies of two abandoned uranium mines to determine if groundwater or surface waters have been affected by those mines.
The work to be conducted is subject to the joint oversight and approval of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The United States previously provided funding for evaluations at the 16 priority mines in a “Phase 1” settlement executed in 2015.
“This second phase agreement takes the next step in ensuring the cleanup of abandoned mines that pose the most significant risks to people’s health and initiates the evaluations of additional mines for future cleanup,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Addressing the legacy of uranium mining on Navajo lands reflects the commitment of the Justice Department and the Obama Administration to fairly and honorably resolve the historic grievances of American Indian tribes and build a healthier future for their people.”
“We’re very pleased to continue this vital work to address the legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation,” said Acting Regional Administrator Alexis Strauss for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest office. “In the last decade, the EPA has remediated 47 homes, provided safe drinking water to 3,013 families in partnership with the Indian Health Service and conducted field screening at all 523 mines.”
The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles within Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the Four Corners area. The unique geology of the region makes the Navajo Nation rich in uranium, a radioactive ore in high demand after the development of atomic power and weapons at the close of World War II. Approximately four million tons of uranium ore were extracted during mining operations within the Navajo Nation from 1944 to 1986. The federal government, through the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), was the sole purchaser of uranium until 1966, when commercial sales of uranium began. The AEC continued to purchase ore until 1970. The last uranium mine on the Navajo Nation shut down in 1986.
Many Navajo people worked in and near the mines, often living and raising families in close proximity to the mines and mills. Since 2008, federal agencies including EPA, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Interior, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Indian Health Service have collaborated to address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. The federal government has invested more than $100 million to address abandoned uranium mines on Navajo lands. EPA has also compiled a list of 46 “priority mines” for cleanup and performed stabilization or cleanup work at 9 mines. Further, EPA work cleaning up mines has generated 94 jobs for Navajo workers.
This settlement agreement resolves the claims of the Navajo Nation pertaining to costs of engineering evaluations and cost analyses, and cleanups, at the 16 priority mines for which no viable responsible private party has been identified, as well as the costs of evaluations at another 30 such mines, two water studies, and modest costs for pre-assessment of natural resources damages. In April 2014, the Justice Department and EPA announced in a separate matter that approximately $985 million of a multi-billion dollar settlement of litigation against subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will be paid to EPA to fund the clean-up of approximately 50 abandoned uranium mines in and around the Navajo Nation, where radioactive waste remains from Kerr-McGee mining operations. EPA commenced field work with the proceeds from this settlement earlier this year.
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Steven Headden Young has pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and has agreed to pay full restitution, penalties, and taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to court documents, Young evaded a substantial portion of his personal federal income taxes for the years 2007 through 2011 by falsifying expenses to negate his income. Young, who prepared and filed his own tax returns, created bogus business expenditures and deducted them from his Schedule C income. He also falsely filed as head-of-household (HOH) to take advantage of the tax benefits of HOH filing status when he was married. This status provides for lower taxes and higher credits than filing single, married filing jointly, or married filing separately. Taking into account payments made by and tax refunds paid to Young, he owes more than $250,000, but less than $550,000, in taxes for the years 2007 through 2011.
Young also made false statements to the IRS about his marital status, claiming that he was single, when he was married and living with his wife. Further, Young interfered with the IRS audit and tax assessment of his personal federal income taxes in an attempt to intercept third party records the IRS had subpoenaed by the IRS from Bank of America (BOA) by fabricating a letter from the IRS to BOA in an attempt to redirect these bank records.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.
Stevenson, Alabama, Police Chief Convicted of Civil Rights Offenses for Assaulting and Failing to Protect ArresteeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that a federal jury convicted the Chief of Police of Stevenson, Alabama, Daniel Winters, 56, of two counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law: one count for beating an arrestee, identified as D.F., and one count for failing to protect the victim from harm.
According to evidence presented at trial, on March 22, 2015, Winters and a civilian friend went to a residence to investigate suspicions that property had been stolen from the friend’s business and was located at the residence. Upon arrival, Winters and his friend entered the residence without a search warrant and encountered the victim, D.F. Winters and his friend then began to beat D.F. The beating moved outside where Winters and his friend continued to strike and kick the victim in front of the residence. Over the course of approximately five minutes, Winters not only participated in the beating, but stood by watching his friend beat D.F. and did nothing to stop it. A passing motorist called 911 to report the beating. D.F. was left bloody with wounds to his face, chest and back and was taken to the jail at the Stevenson Police Department. While at the jail, D.F. began to spit up blood. A jailor requested Winters’ permission to call an ambulance, but Winters refused the request. Eventually, the jailor received permission from another supervisor and D.F. was transported to a hospital where he received medical attention.
“This police chief abused his authority, broke the law and violated the public trust,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When law enforcement leaders engage in egregious, unlawful conduct – as this defendant did here – they do a disservice to the thousands of hard-working officers who perform their difficult, demanding jobs each day with integrity and distinction.”
“Civil rights enforcement is a priority of our office and the trial team on this case did an excellent job of putting the evidence together and presenting it to the jury,” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.
Winters faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the civil rights charges. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala of the Northern District of Alabama.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and Alabama’s State Bureau of Investigation. The matter is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Laura Hodge of the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
# # #
St. Landry woman pleads guilty to stealing more than $116,000 from an Opelousas businessRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a St. Landry woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $116,000 from an Opelousas-based medical imaging business.
Misty Johnson, 40, of St. Landry, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna to one count each of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of mail. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi. According to the guilty plea, Johnson worked as an office manager for an Opelousas medical imaging services business from January 2009 to July 2014. She was responsible for day-to-day financial operations including billing, payroll and managing of accounts payable and receivable. Her responsibilities included access to the company’s financial information and mail. She also had signatory authority on business accounts and was provided a company credit card for making purchases. In order to further the scheme, she would write checks to herself or to cash, issue herself additional paychecks and make unauthorized purchases on the company credit card. She would then alter the company’s account records to look as though she was properly paying the company’s bills. Johnson also stole company mail including past-due bills and brought them to her home. Johnson’s theft totaled $116,106.50.
Johnson faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and five years for the theft of mail count. She also faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count. Additionally, she faces five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution. A sentencing date was not set.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic Rossetti and John Luke Walker are prosecuting the case.
Roswell Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Destiny Stephenson, 35, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Stephenson is one of 41 individuals charged in Sept. 2015, with drug trafficking offenses as a result of an eight-month multi-agency investigation by the FBI, the DEA, Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police. Twenty-one of the defendants were charged with federal offenses and the remaining 20 with state crimes.
The investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, initially targeted a drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly led by Joseph Ray Mendiola, 34, of Roswell, that allegedly distributed methamphetamine in Chaves County. It later expanded to include drug traffickers who allegedly supplied methamphetamine to the Mendiola DTO and other drug traffickers operating in Chaves County. The OCDETF program combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
Sixteen of the 21 defendants facing federal charges were charged in a 24-count indictment filed on Sept. 22, 2015. The remaining five federal defendants were charged in criminal complaints. The 20 state defendants were charged by criminal complaints.
Count 1 of the Indictment charged 15 of the 16 defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between June 2015 and July 2015. Count 2 charged three defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in July 2015. Counts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 charged certain defendants with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in July 2015. Counts 8 through 24 charged certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. All crimes charged in the federal indictment occurred in Chaves County.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers executed 14 federal search warrants for 10 residences in Roswell, one residence in Dexter, N.M., and three vehicles. During the execution of those search warrants, the officers seized approximately 5600 grams of methamphetamine, $35,960.00 in cash, and multiple firearms including two assault rifles. Five of the federal defendants, including Mendiola, were arrested on July 31, 2015, the date on which the officers executed the 14 federal search warrants.
During today’s proceedings, Stephenson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Stephenson admitted that between June 2015 and July 31, 2015, she conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Chaves County. Stephenson further admitted that on July 17, 2015, Chaves County Drug Task Force officers discovered 58.5 grams of methamphetamine in her vehicle which she intended to distribute. At sentencing Stephenson faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
On Feb. 24, 2016, co-defendant Susan Ceballos, 35, of Roswell, pled guilty to conspiracy and use of a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime. At sentencing, Ceballos faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet has yet to be scheduled.
The remaining 19 defendants facing federal charges have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The federal cases were investigated by the Roswell office of FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Las Cruces office of DEA, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, the New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service. The state cases were investigated by the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano is prosecuting the federal cases, and the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state cases.
The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Rochester Man Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl and Firearms CrimesRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Anthony Elton Cook was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison based upon his plea of guilty to charges arising from possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and his unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with his drug trafficking activity. Cook previously had pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Firearm in Connection with a Drug Trafficking Offense and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. Cook, 26 years old, lived in Rochester, New Hampshire before he was taken into custody on related charges in January.
According to court documents, testimony and statements Cook made in earlier proceedings, a Rochester, N.H., police patrol officer pulled Cook over for a suspected motor vehicle violation on July 12, 2015. An ensuing search of Cook’s car and person yielded, among other things, a distribution quantity of fentanyl, a hand gun and ammunition. Cook previously had been convicted of a felony and therefore was prohibited under federal firearms laws from possessing a gun. The police also recovered from Cook $1900 in small cash denominations.
U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro sentenced Cook. In addition to the term of incarceration, Judge Barbadoro ordered Cook to serve, upon his release from prison, a term of supervised release of 5 years. While on supervised release, Cook will be required to abide by certain rules and conditions established by the court. If he fails to abide by those rules and conditions, he could be returned to prison to serve additional time. Finally, Judge Barbadoro forfeited Cook’s interest in the $1900 cash and ordered Cook to pay an additional $300 in administrative court fees.
This matter was investigated by the Rochester (N.H.) Police Department with support from the Bedford, N.H., field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.
Roanoke Man Sentenced on Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced the sentencing today of a Roanoke man who previously pled guilty to a federal gun charge.
Clifton Deron Campbell, 38, of Roanoke, Va., pled guilty in March to one count of being a previously convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. Today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, Campbell was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison.
“We will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to get illegal guns off the streets of our communities,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “We know a key in keeping our communities safe is keeping illegal guns out of the hands of those who mean harm and this sentence shows how serious we take that mission.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Roanoke City Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Donald R. Wolthuis prosecuted the case for the United States.
Pine Ridge Man Acquitted of AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man was acquitted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury as a result of a federal jury trial in Rapid City on July 12, 2016.
Franklin Long Black Cat, a/k/a Franklin Long, age 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 22, 2016.
The charges related to an incident which occurred on February 14, 2016, when Long Black Cat allegedly assaulted his brother with a screwdriver.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.
Philadelphia Trio Charged by Superseding Indictment in 30 Illegal Gun SalesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – A superseding indictment was filed yesterday charging three men with dealing in firearms without a license, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Darien Montae Thompson, 22, Omar Tarik Davenport, 24, and Sekou Maliek Davenport, 21, all of Philadelphia, are charged with selling guns that were previously reported stolen from homes and vehicles. Thompson and Omar Davenport are also charged with conspiracy, interstate travel in furtherance of dealing in firearms without a license, and possession of a short-barreled rifle; Omar and Sekou Davenport are also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the indictment, the defendants illegally acquired firearms in the state of Georgia and transported the firearms to Pennsylvania for illegal sale. Guns that the defendants allegedly sold had been reported stolen from homes in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Omar Davenport was on state parole, following a felony conviction, during the time of the alleged conspiracy.
If convicted of all charges, Thompson faces a maximum statutory sentence of 55 years in prison and a $700 special assessment; Omar Davenport faces a maximum statutory sentence of 80 years in prison and a $800 special assessment; Sekou Davenport faces a maximum statutory sentence of 50 years in prison and a $500 special assessment. Each defendant also faces supervised release and a possible fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Miller.
An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Palm Beach County Resident Found Guilty of Defrauding Federal AgenciesRead the Press Release
Alexander Robert Xavier, 51, of Jensen Beach, Florida, was found guilty on July 14, 2016, of defrauding federal agencies by issuing fraudulent bonds to insure government construction projects.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Florida, Jerry Polk, Special Agent in Charge, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Inspector General (EPA-OIG), Atlanta Field Office and Monty Stokes, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division (VA-OIG), Southeast Field Office, made the announcement.
A jury convicted Xavier of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, major fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1031, and making a false statement to the United States Department of the Army, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. A sentencing hearing has been set before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra on September 30, 2016. Xavier faces a statutory maximum sentence of 35 years’ imprisonment.
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, from approximately May 2008 to October 2010, Xavier devised a scheme to unlawfully enrich himself by representing that he was an “individual surety” on various performance and payment bonds – a type of insurance required on major government construction contracts. During the course of the fraud, Xavier pledged millions of dollars in assets to agencies of the United States. In truth, and as Xavier well knew, there were no such assets.
The evidence at trial showed that Xavier issued a large number of bonds and dealt with various contractors and government agencies. Often, the construction contracts had “modifications,” that is, contract expansions, that led to more bonds being issued.
During the course of the scheme, Xavier pledged over $25 million in collateral for the bonds. Xavier was paid over $400,000 in bond fees as a result. The defrauded federal agencies included, among others, the United States Department of the Army and the United States Department of Labor.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the EPA-OIG, VA-OIG. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; U.S. Department of Defense-OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Services; U.S. General Services Administration-OIG; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-OIG; and Department of State-OIG.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Wilfredo Fernandez.
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.
Orange County Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Thomas Samborski, II (39, Orange County) has pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor to produce child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a life term of supervision. In addition, Samborski has agreed to pay restitution to the minor victim. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 6, 2016, before United States District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza.
According to court records, Samborski made sexually suggestive advertisements regarding photographs of three minor children, including “minor victim 1,” on a file sharing website. As a result, a preliminary investigation eventually resulted in a federal search warrant being executed at his residence. During the execution of the warrant, Samborski’s cell phone was searched and found to contain child pornography depicting “minor victim 1,” which had been produced at his apartment on March 1, 2015, and March 3, 2015. The Internet history on the cell phone included searches and websites pertaining to rape; making chloroform; how to have sex with a virgin; spy and hidden cameras; and other similarly offensive searches. Samborski held a position of custody, care, or supervisory control over “minor victim 1,” a 9-year-old child.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.justice.gov/psc.
Ohio Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Engaging in Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Hamilton, Ohio, man was sentenced today to life in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney James A. Lewis of the Central District of Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Sean Cox of the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois, Division.
Jason Gmoser, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce of the Central District of Illinois, who also sentenced him to 30 years and 20 years in prison to be served concurrent to the life sentence for conspiring to advertise and conspiring to distribute child pornography, respectively, and ordered him to serve a lifetime term of supervised release. Gmoser was convicted by a federal jury in Urbana, Illinois, on Feb. 12, 2016.
Gmoser was arrested on Oct. 16, 2014, following a court-authorized search of his home in Hamilton. Forensic examination of computers and devices seized pursuant to that search found that he was in possession of millions of files depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Evidence at trial established that Gmoser acted as a member and co-administrator of a highly-sophisticated global enterprise dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children, organized via a members-only website that operated on the Tor anonymity network, through which he and others posted thousands of messages containing images of sexual exploitation involving pre-pubescent children. According to sentencing documents, as of July 2014, the website hosted nearly 30,000 members, who were required to share illicit child pornography images in order to gain and keep membership and included numerous child pornography producers who were actively abusing children. Site members employed advanced technological means in order to undermine law enforcement’s attempts to identify them, including the use of a hidden service on the Tor network and elaborate file encryption, according to the sentencing papers.
The FBI’s Springfield Field Office and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section, Major Case Coordination Unit and Digital Analysis and Research Center led the investigation of this case. Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Keith Becker and Trial Attorney Elly Peirson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Ohio Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Engaging in Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
A Hamilton, Ohio, man was sentenced today to life in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney James A. Lewis of the Central District of Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Sean Cox of the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois, Division.
Jason Gmoser, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce of the Central District of Illinois, who also sentenced him to 30 years and 20 years in prison to be served concurrent to the life sentence for conspiring to advertise and conspiring to distribute child pornography, respectively, and ordered him to serve a lifetime term of supervised release. Gmoser was convicted by a federal jury in Urbana, Illinois, on Feb. 12, 2016.
Gmoser was arrested on Oct. 16, 2014, following a court-authorized search of his home in Hamilton. Forensic examination of computers and devices seized pursuant to that search found that he was in possession of millions of files depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Evidence at trial established that Gmoser acted as a member and co-administrator of a highly-sophisticated global enterprise dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children, organized via a members-only website that operated on the Tor anonymity network, through which he and others posted thousands of messages containing images of sexual exploitation involving pre-pubescent children. According to sentencing documents, as of July 2014, the website hosted nearly 30,000 members, who were required to share illicit child pornography images in order to gain and keep membership and included numerous child pornography producers who were actively abusing children. Site members employed advanced technological means in order to undermine law enforcement’s attempts to identify them, including the use of a hidden service on the Tor network and elaborate file encryption, according to the sentencing papers.
The FBI’s Springfield Field Office and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section, Major Case Coordination Unit and Digital Analysis and Research Center led the investigation of this case. Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Keith Becker and Trial Attorney Elly Peirson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Newtown Square Owner of Mortgage and Title Comapnies Charged with Defrauding Lenders of Almost $13,000,000Read the Press Release
An Indictment1 was unsealed today charging George Barnard, 45, of Newtown Square, with 24 counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and three counts of filing a false tax return, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
The indictment alleges that Barnard, who from 2005 to March 2013 was one of the two owners of Capital Financial Mortgage Corporation ("CFMC"), based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and also was the owner of several title companies, defrauded banks out of almost $13 million dollars and instead of using the money to fund mortgage loans for borrowers and pay off the borrowers’ existing mortgages, he took the money for his personal benefit, including buying yachts, luxury cars, multi-million dollar beach homes in Avalon, New Jersey, and paying the salary of a yacht captain. The indictment further alleges that in order to continue to have access to a large pool of money to fund his extravagant lifestyle, Barnard orchestrated a massive fraud scheme, which included selling other banks the mortgages that CFMC had written and representing to the lenders who purchasing those mortgages that they were first mortgages, when in reality they were worthless second mortgages.
The indictment alleges that while the tax returns Barnard filed with the IRS showed hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, in reality Barnard had more than $2,300,000 in unreported income, and in order to convince other banks to issue mortgage loans to him so he could purchase yachts and multi-million dollar beach homes, Barnard gave false tax returns to
the banks with inflated income figures, and on at least one occasion, told the bank that he was buying the beach home for more than $3,000,000 when in reality the sales price was $2,000,000. The indictment alleges that Barnard was able to conceal this deception by using his own title company to handle the closing of that loan and falsifying closing documents.
The indictment alleged that as a result of Barnard’s actions, lenders suffered losses of more than $12,700,000, and more than 25 borrowers who obtained refinance loans from CFMC were stuck with two mortgages on their homes after Barnard’s companies failed to pay off the borrowers’ existing first mortgages.
Barnard faces a maximum sentence of 669 years’ imprisonment, a five-year period of supervised release, a $12,300,000 fine, a $3,300 special assessment, and a likely advisory sentencing guideline range of 135 – 168 months’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigative Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
1 An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Miami Resident Sentenced for Smuggling Birds from CubaRead the Press Release
Hovary Muniz, 39, of Miami, was sentenced today in Fort Lauderdale, for his involvement in an attempt to import undeclared wildlife from Cuba, in violation of the federal anti-smuggling statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 545.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Resident Agent in Charge David Pharo, United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Major Alfredo Escanio, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, South Region Bravo, and Christopher D. Maston, Port Director for Miami International Airport, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), made the announcement.
U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Muniz to four months of home confinement with electronic monitoring and a term of three years’ probation, with the special condition that he perform 200 hours of community service.
According to the charges, statements in court, and an agreed upon factual statement Muniz was intercepted at Miami International Airport on January 9, 2016, returning to the United States aboard a flight originating in Havana, Cuba. In a CBP Entry Declaration, Muniz claimed he was not carrying any birds or other wildlife. When specifically questioned by CBP Officers, Muniz verbally repeated that he had no birds to declare.
In a subsequent pat-down, CBP officers found that MUNIZ was carrying plastic tubes concealed in his underwear and in a fanny pack hidden beneath his shirt, containing live birds. Muniz was found to be transporting nine live birds, including five Cuban Melodious Finches (Tiaris canora), one Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra), one Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus), one Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), and one Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea).
Under federal law, all wildlife, including birds, being imported into the United States must, be made available for inspection and properly declared to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and CBP, pursuant to Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 14.52 and 14.61. Some wildlife is also subject to quarantine before they can be released into the country. The purpose of the quarantine regulations are, in part, to protect both commercial and wild species of avians in the United States from possible exposure to diseases such as Exotic Newcastle’s and other maladies against which they would have no natural immunity. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cuba is considered a high-risk source country for high pathogenic avian influenza and Exotic Newcastle’s disease.
During the continuing investigation, utilizing aircraft provided by the CBP Air & Marine Branch, agents detected the presence of active bird-traps at Muniz’s residence and executed a search warrant which located additional Cuba-origin specimens and various domestic species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the Fish & Wildlife Service, the Customs & Border Protection Officers at Miami International Airport, U.S. Customs & Border Protection Air & Marine Branch, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, who investigated this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald of the Economic & Environmental Crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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.
Meriden Construction Company Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SRC CONSTRUCTION, INC., of Meriden, waived its right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of filing a false tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, SRC CONSTRUCTION, a real estate development and construction management firm, employed an internal accounting department that handled the general ledger, journal entries and bank accounts for the business, including the receipt and payment of invoices. At least one individual employed by the company was responsible for overseeing and coordinating the business and financial matters for the company’s owner. That individual and others under the individual’s control reviewed payments made by the company to employees, vendors and others, and directed how the items should be expensed. The individual instructed others that most, if not all, invoices be paid out of company funds, including a series of expenses that the individual knew were not deductible business expenses. The individual, who also was responsible for providing to the company’s outside accountants all information to prepare audited financial statements and tax returns, knowingly provided to the accountants a substantial number of non-deductible expenses knowing that they were non-business expenses.
In February 2006, SRC CONSTRUCTION willfully made and subscribed a false corporate tax return, a 2004 Form 1120 for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2005, that overstated expenses. As a result, for the 2004 tax year, the company failed to report corporate income totaling $296,642, resulting in tax loss of $112,609.
Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for October 21, 2016, at which time SRC CONTRUCTION faces a maximum term of probation of five years and a fine of up to $500,000.
In addition to paying all back taxes, interest and penalties, SRC has agreed to pay a fine in the amount of $250,000.
This case has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Schmeisser and Jennifer Laraia.
McLaughlin Woman Sentenced for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on July 11, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Makayla Kills In Water, a/k/a Makayla Iron Cloud, age 22, was sentenced to 120 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Kills In Water was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 15, 2014. She pled guilty on April 25, 2016.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on September 20, 2014, when Kills In Water’s two-year old stepdaughter was brought to the Mobridge Regional Hospital by ambulance. The young victim was drifting in and out of consciousness and was not breathing on her own. Kills In Water was caring for the young victim at the time the injuries were sustained.
Kills In Water initially informed hospital staff and law enforcement that she was under an extreme amount of stress and had been for the past several days. After dropping her husband off at work, Kills In Water drove to their residence with the children, including the victim. The children were growing restless and fussing, which further agitated Kills In Water.
When she arrived at the residence, Kills In Water went to the door and turned on the light. When she turned around, she claimed to have seen the victim fall out of the vehicle and began crying, so Kills In Water went and helped her into the house. Once inside the residence, the victim continued to cry. The victim became non-responsive and began struggling with her breathing so Kills In Water called 911 to dispatch an ambulance. Paramedics arrived and found the victim was in medical distress and transported her immediately to the Mobridge Regional Hospital. Upon arriving at the Hospital, it was determined that the victim was in need of a higher level of medical care and she was airlifted to the Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Upon arrival in Sioux Falls, the medical staff was apprised of Kills In Water’s initial version of how the injury was sustained, namely that the victim had fallen out of a vehicle which led to her current injuries and medical condition. However, the victim’s treating physician stated that the injuries sustained were inconsistent with a simple fall from a vehicle. It was noted that the victim had bilateral hemorrhages of the retina and both retinas were also detached. The treating physician also advised this type of injury is almost 100% specific to “shaken baby” injuries. The force of the act had to be significant enough to cause the victim’s brain to shift, resulting in the brain tissue shearing and/or tearing, thus causing extensive bleeding. A “brain bolt” was placed in the victim’s skull to relieve the pressure in her head. Kills In Water ultimately admitted to violently shaking the victim against a wall, causing the injuries. To date the victim remains partially paralyzed on the left side of her body, which necessitates the use of a wheel chair, with severe visual and speech deficits. It is unknown if the victim will ever fully recover from the injuries she sustained.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Kills In Water was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.