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1 September 2016
Leader of the Black P Stone Nation Gang Sentenced to over Twelve Years in Prison for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today that Kenton Maurice Taylor, age 46, of Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff to 151 months in prison for running a heroin distribution conspiracy that began operating in and around Lansing in October 2012. In addition to his prison term, Taylor was sentenced to eight years of supervised release and ordered to pay a money judgment of $50,400.
Taylor is the leader of the Lansing branch of the Black P Stone Nation gang. As its "Prince," Taylor is the highest ranking member of the gang in the State of Michigan. The Black P Stone Nation is a street gang based in Chicago, which is estimated to have more than 30,000 members across the United States. The gang was originally formed in the 1950s and 1960s by Jeff Fort. Fort is currently serving a sentence of more than 150 years for convictions in 1987 and 1988, which stemmed from conspiring with Libya to perform acts of domestic terrorism and ordering the murder of a rival gang leader. The Black P Stone Nation imbues itself in religion to provide a gloss over its criminal activities and finances itself primarily through narcotics and firearms trafficking.
Taylor and three other gang members – Karl Alphonso Lockridge, Maurice Ray, Jr., and Eric Darnell Cooper were indicted in August 2015 for conspiracy to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin and for other heroin distribution and firearms possession charges. Taylor’s co-defendants all pled guilty. Taylor elected to go to trial and a jury convicted Taylor in November 2015 on the conspiracy charge and a heroin distribution charge.
The conspiracy began after Taylor was released from the Michigan Department of Corrections in late 2012, after serving a five-year prison term for cocaine distribution. Taylor returned home to Lansing, resumed leadership of the gang’s Lansing branch, and turned the gang’s focus towards heroin trafficking. Taylor, his co-defendants, and other gang members thereafter traveled to Chicago on a monthly basis to obtain heroin from Taylor’s supply sources for further distribution in Lansing. Gang members armed themselves while on trips to Chicago and in and around Lansing to protect their drugs and their drug proceeds. As the Lansing branch’s leader, Taylor ordered physical beatings of gang members that did not adhere to the gang’s code of conduct.
U.S. Attorney Miles stated: "Street gangs that traffick drugs, carry firearms, and operate through violence and intimidation are a plague on the communities in which they exist. The Black P Stone Nation is no exception. Mr. Taylor is a rampant recidivist drug dealer who, despite a lengthy criminal history and run ins with the law for over two decades, has still not learned his lesson. He is going where he belongs – behind bars."
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Starcevic commented: "The significant sentence of Kenton Maurice Taylor helps protect our community from a dangerous man and a violent gang that was delivering drugs into Lansing and beyond. Heroin and firearms violence has a devastating ripple effect; it ruins lives, families and communities. This case represents a great collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office."
"It is through united vigilance and unyielding determination that the law enforcement community in Michigan was able to significantly disrupt the Black P Stone Nation gang, which was engaged in the distribution of heroin in the Lansing area," stated David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Today’s sentencing further demonstrates the collective resolve of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to address the growing and deadly epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse."
"The Lansing Police Special Operations Section, under the leadership of Sgt. Daniel Zolnai, was grateful to assist the FBI and ATF with this successful and worthwhile collaborative investigation of a prominent gang," stated Lansing Police Chief Michael Yankowski. "Also contributing to the effort was the Michigan Department of Corrections, the Michigan State Police, and the Capital Area Violent Crime Initiative. All of the groups worked seamlessly together to make this case a success."
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel S. Fauson and Mark V. Courtade.
END
Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Benjamin David Romero, 38, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Romero and co-defendant Roque Henry Atencio, 42, also of Las Cruces, were arrested on Feb. 6, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with methamphetamine trafficking charges. According to the complaint, Romero and Atencio sold two bags containing an aggregate of 47.35 grams of pure methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents in Doña Ana County, N.M., on April 2, 2015.
Romero and Atencio were indicted on April 21, 2016, and charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine on April 2, 2015. The indictment included forfeiture allegations requiring Romero and Atencio to forfeit $2,000 to the United States.
During today’s proceedings, Romero pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Romero faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison. Romero remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Atencio has entered a not guilty plea, and is awaiting trial. Charges in complaints and indictments are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna R. Wright of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Kenner Man Pleads Guilty to Mail TheftRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ARTHUR RESPERT, age 25, of Kenner, pled guilty today to one-count of theft of mail.
According to court documents, RESPERT was employed at Air General, Inc. and worked at the New Orleans International Airport. From on or about October 24, 2014 to September 3, 2015, RESPERT stole letters and other packages addressed to individuals across the United States.
RESPERT faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo set sentencing for December, 1, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman is in charge of the prosecution.
Justice Department Partners with Mexico to Combat Employment DiscriminationRead the Press Release
The Justice Department and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States established a formal partnership today to protect workers from discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Mexican Ambassador Carlos Sada signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the embassy and its consulates, and the division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).
As part of the MOU, OSC and the Mexican government will collaborate to educate workers about their employment rights and provide them with the resources needed to protect those rights. The MOU also seeks to promote training for employers on their obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Specifically, the MOU provides that:
- OSC will train Mexican consular staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, participate in events organized by Mexican consulates to educate workers and employers and distribute educational materials to the embassy and its consulates.
- The embassy will establish a system for referring discrimination claims from the embassy and consulates to OSC.
“The Mexican government plays a vital role in helping the Justice Department ensure workers know about their rights and the protections the law provides,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “Mexico has taken a leading role in Labor Rights Week, ensuring that workers in Mexico and throughout the world know about their rights in the workplace and where to access help and support. I thank our Mexican counterparts for their collaborative partnership in our shared mission to empower workers and combat discrimination.”
In the last year, the department has also established formal partnerships with Ecuador and El Salvador to empower and educate work-authorized individuals from those nations.
OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, this law prohibits citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process; retaliation and intimidation. In addition to its enforcement work, OSC educates the public on its rights and responsibilities under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit OSC’s website.
Mexico MOU
Judge Sentences Man to 21 months for Role in Drug Trafficking TransactionRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez today sentenced Marco Asala-Belgar, 35, of the Dominican Republic, to 21 months’ imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release for misprision of a felony. Judge Gomez also ordered Asala-Belgar to pay a $100 special assessment and perform 200 hours of community service.
During his trial in April, Asala-Belgar pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. Two of his co-defendants, Alexandro Gerandino-Aracena, 39, of the Dominican Republic, and Ricardo Cardona, 35, of Puerto Rico, were found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and various firearms possession charges.
According to Asala-Belgar’s plea agreement and evidence presented at trial, on September 3, 2015, Gerandino-Aracena, Cardona, and another co-defendant, Pedro Guzman, 35, of the Dominican Republic, traveled in a private vessel from Fajardo, Puerto Rico to the Marine Center Dock at the University of the Virgin Islands on St. Thomas to purchase 100 kilograms of cocaine. Upon arrival in St. Thomas, they met with other conspirators to collect the cocaine in exchange for $250,000 and three assault rifles. Asala-Belgar drove the green Ford Explorer that delivered the money for the cocaine. When Asala-Belgar was interviewed by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, he did not tell the agents that his co-defendants had arranged to deliver the money in exchange for cocaine.
This case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte and Delia Smith.
Jerome Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOISE – Patrick Lee Jewell, 34, of Jerome, Idaho was sentenced today in United States District Court to 63 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Jewell pleaded guilty on April 7, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, Jewell admitted using his e-mail account to communicate with an individual on Craigslist regarding the exchange of images of child pornography in November and December of 2013. In February of 2014, agents with the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants at Jewell's residence in Jerome, Idaho, and for his e-mail accounts. In his plea agreement, Jewell admitted possessing 61 images of child pornography in his e-mail account, and five images of child pornography on his iPhone.
As part of his plea, Jewell also agreed to forfeit an iPhone and a Samsung laptop computer used in the commission of the charged offense. As a result of his conviction, Jewell will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Jerome County Sheriff's Office, and the Jerome Police Department, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Iowa City Men Sentenced for Heroin Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On August 29, 2016, Alfred Latrell Jackson, 26, Jason Rahaman Dawson, 45, and Curtis Lee Kemp, 49, all of Iowa City, Iowa, were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose for their role in a heroin distribution ring in Iowa City, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel.
Dawson’s sentence follows his February 24, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Dawson was sentenced to 144 months in prison and ordered to serve four (4) years of supervised release following his prison term.
Kemp and Jackson’s sentences follow April 12, 2016, jury verdicts that found Jackson guilty of conspiracy to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin, and Kemp guilty of conspiracy to distribute heroin and three counts of distribution of heroin. Jackson was sentenced to 188 months in prison and ordered to serve four (4) years of supervised release following his prison term. Kemp was sentenced to 84 months in prison and three (3) years of supervised release to follow his prison terms.
According to Dawson’s plea agreement and trial testimony, from December 2013 to approximately May 7, 2015, Alfred Jackson gave Jason Dawson large sums of heroin to sell in the Iowa City area. Dawson then gave most of the proceeds back to Jackson, owing Jackson up to $14,000 at a time. Dawson had approximately twenty heroin customers and used others to distribute heroin on his behalf, including Curtis Kemp. Between February 2015 and May 2015, both Kemp and Dawson sold heroin to an undercover officer on three separate occasions. This drug conspiracy involved more than 3,300 grams of heroin.
This matter was investigated by the Johnson County Drug Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Muscatine County Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration and Iowa City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Hyattsville Man Facing Federal Indictment Related to a Firebombing on March 4, 2016Read the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury charged Richard Butler III, age 34, of Hyattsville, Maryland, with being a felon in possession of an explosive, transportation of explosive materials with intent to injure, and use of a destructive device during a crime of violence, in connection with a firebombing on March 4, 2016. The indictment was returned on August 31, 2016.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Daniel L. Board, Jr. of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Marc S. Bashoor.
According to the three count indictment, on March 4, 2016, Butler manufactured one or more improvised incendiary bombs at a gas station on Landover Road in Hyattsville, then used those bombs to set fire to a victim’s apartment in Hyattsville. The indictment alleges that Butler used the improvised incendiary bombs with the intent to kill or injure the victim and to destroy the building and property of the victim. Butler had previously been convicted of a felony and was therefore prohibited from possessing explosives.
Butler faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of an explosive; 10 years in prison for transportation of explosive materials with intent to injure; and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and up to life in prison for using an explosive device during a crime of violence. An initial appearance has not yet been scheduled for Butler in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Butler is currently detained on unrelated state charges in the District of Columbia.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF and Prince George’s County Fire/EMS for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Sykes, who is prosecuting the case.
Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Christopher Orozco-Amores, of Guatemala, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.
Orozco-Amores was identified during a traffic stop in Greenland, New Hampshire on June 14, 2016. A Deportation Officer later determined that he was a citizen of Guatemala who previously had been deported from the United States. Orozco-Amores, who was arrested on July 7, 2016, and has been in custody since that time, was sentenced to time served. He faces likely deportation.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega.
Fresno County Felon Indicted for Growing Marijuana in National ForestRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment today against Gary Lee Ortiz, 41, of Auberry, charging him in connection with a large-scale marijuana cultivation operation located near Mill Creek in Fresno County in the Sierra National Forest Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Ortiz was charged with conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, with manufacture of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, maintaining a drug-involved premises, with damaging public land and natural resources, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
According to court documents, Ortiz oversaw a large marijuana cultivation operation on property where he resided in Auberry and also on public land nearby in the Sierra National Forest. The cultivation sites contained over 12,746 marijuana plants and were in close proximity to Shaver Lake and other recreational areas. Law enforcement officers eradicated the plants and seized four firearms from the property where Ortiz resided. At the time, Ortiz was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The marijuana cultivation operation caused extensive damage to the land and natural resources. The marijuana plants were irrigated by water that had been diverted from Mill Creek. Mill Creek flows into the San Joaquin River above Millerton Lake’s Friant Dam, which is a major water supply for the San Joaquin Valley. In addition to the marijuana, law enforcement officers removed over 2,000 pounds of irrigation hose, fertilizers, and trash from the cultivation sites.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and Fresno County Probation. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Ortiz was ordered detained and is scheduled for arraignment on September 9, 2016, in federal court in Fresno. If convicted of the drug offenses as charged in counts one through three, Ortiz faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine as to each count. If convicted of the environmental crime, Ortiz faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Ortiz faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, Ortiz faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. As to both firearms offenses, he also faces a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fraudsters used Nationwide Mortgage Scam to Victimize over 400 Homeowners and FamiliesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five California men have been sentenced for their roles in a nationwide home loan modification scam that victimized over 400 homeowners and families, resulting in a total loss of over $3.8 million.
Roscoe Umali, 38, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced on August 18 to 220 months in prison for leading the multi-state conspiracy. Umali was also ordered to forfeit $3.8 million and to make approximately $1.2 million in restitution payments to the victims of his scam.
Umali pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 22. According to court documents, from at least October 2012 through September 2014, Umali and his co-conspirators targeted struggling homeowners and made a series of misrepresentations to induce them to make payments of thousands of dollars each in exchange for supposed mortgage modification assistance. The conspirators falsely held themselves out as a non-profit organization or as affiliated with a real government program, the “Home Affordable Modification Program” (HAMP), designed to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure. In reality, however, they did nothing to help modify any mortgages. Instead, they used the victims’ payments for their own personal benefit and to further the fraud scheme. Many of the victims subsequently lost their homes, declared bankruptcy, and otherwise suffered serious financial and emotional consequences as a result of the scheme.
The four other defendants sentenced in connection with this same scam include:
Name
Age
Hometown
Sentencing Details
Isaac Perez
33
Los Angeles, California
Sentenced to 130 months today
Joshua Johnson
36
Huntington Beach, California
Sentenced to 121 months on July 7
Jefferson Maniscan
34
Los Angeles, California
Sentenced to 120 months on August 18
Raymund Dacanay
47
Newport Beach, California
Sentenced to 60 months on July 21
Five additional defendants from the greater Los Angeles area were also arraigned today on a superseding indictment in this same case. Those defendants include Sammy Araya, 41, Nicholas Estilow, 34, Sabrina Rafo, 23, Michael Henderson, 49, and Jen Seko, 36. They were each charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, for a similar scheme that allegedly resulted in at least $11.5 million in losses to victims and homeowners. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants 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; Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); Robert Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; James Todak, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Los Angeles Field Office; and Rene Febles, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Federal Housing Finance Agency-OIG, made the announcement after the sentencing of Umali and his co-defendants by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bateman and Ryan Faulconer are prosecuting the case. The case was formerly prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Terwilliger and James P. Gillis.
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. 1:15-cr-301.
Fraudster Sentenced for “Force Posting” SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Kareem Patrick Campbell (19) to time served (approximately 13 months in prison) for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his sentence, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $227,375.85, the proceeds of the wire fraud conspiracy. Campbell was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his offense. Campbell pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016. He has been incarcerated since his arrest on related state charges on August 13, 2015.
According to court documents, between April 2015 and August 2015, Campbell and others conspired to commit and committed wire fraud by providing fake bank authorization codes to merchants throughout Florida and elsewhere, including North Carolina, as part of a scheme commonly known as “force posting.” Campbell and his co-conspirators targeted jewelry stores, car accessory retailers, and hotels. As part of the scheme, Campbell would present a canceled debit card that lacked sufficient funds to pay for his purchases. When the card was declined, Campbell would then call a co-conspirator, who would pretend to be a bank customer service employee and would provide a fake authorization code to the merchant, along with instructions on how to key the code into the merchant’s point of sale machine. These fake codes caused merchants to override their credit card processing machines’ denials of the debit card. As a result of the scheme, the conspirators were able to successfully purchase jewelry and other items worth at least $227,375.85.
On May 11, 2016, a grand jury in the Middle District of Florida returned an 11-count indictment charging one of Campbell’s co-conspirators, Rajiv Edwards, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Edwards remains at large.
This case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan K. Kistler.
Four from Northeast Ohio indicted for trafficking heroin and fentanylRead the Press Release
Four people from Northeast Ohio were named in 23-count federal indictment, charged with conspiring the distribute more than a kilogram of heroin as well as fentanyl, law enforcement officials said.
Indicted are: Kevin Adkins, 41, of Maple Heights; Darrell Massingille, 36, of Cleveland; Tammy Parsons, 29, of North Ridgeville, and Jack Morgan, 50, of Cleveland.
The conspiracy took place between July 2015 and March 2016. Adkins supplied heroin to Massingille. He also relied on Massengille and Parsons to arrange meetings with other people to whom they could sell them heroin and fentanyl, according to the indictment.
Adkins also supplied heroin to Morgan, who in turn sold it to other people. Both Adkins and Morgan possessed firearms and ammunition in furtherance of the conspiracy, according to the indictment.
“We will continue to work to disrupt the supply of heroin and fentanyl coming into our community while also focusing on prevention, treatment and education in an effort to reduce demand for these deadly drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian M. Stickan and Duncan Brown following an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fort Washakie Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for First Degree MurderRead the Press Release
Koby Dean Johnson, 52, of Fort Washakie, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on August 26, 2016, for first degree murder and for causing death through the use of a firearm. Johnson was arrested in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. He received life terms of imprisonment on both counts, to be served consecutively. He was also ordered to pay a $500.00 fine and a $200.00 special assessment. After custody, Johnson will be placed on supervised release for five years. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Winnetka Resident Sentenced to More Than Four Years for Failing to Pay Taxes on More Than $2.5 Million in Earnings from Illegal Gambling OperationRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former Winnetka resident who operated an illegal gambling enterprise before fleeing to the Middle East was sentenced today to more than four years in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on at least $2.5 million in unlawful earnings.
ALBER NAJJAR, also known as Alber Yakoub, failed to pay taxes on income he earned from a gambling operation in Illinois and Indiana from 1997 to 2001. Najjar filed an individual federal tax return for each of those years, but he failed to report the income he earned from the gambling business.
Najjar, 62, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of filing a false tax return. In addition to the 57-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman fined Najjar $5,000 and ordered him to pay back taxes to both the Unites States and the state of Illinois.
“Taxes are how governments pay for needed services,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick King argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Evasion robs governments and the people they serve of needed revenue.”
Shortly before being indicted in April 2004, Najjar fled to Lebanon and was considered a fugitive for more than eleven years. During that time, Najjar used a Syrian passport – issued in the name of Alber Yakoub – to travel to Europe, Asia and other parts of the Middle East. He was arrested in November 2015 on the island of Cyprus and extradited to the United States shortly thereafter.
Najjar, who resided in Winnetka prior to fleeing the country, generated large sums from his illegal bookmaking business, and utilized the services of offshore accounts to transact his business. He concealed from his accountant both the gambling enterprise and the income he earned from it. Najjar’s illegal conduct resulted in a total state and federal tax loss of more than $1.07 million.
The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The officials praised the efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, which were instrumental in securing Najjar’s arrest and extradition.
Former Seattle Resident Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Traveling to have Sex with Teen and Possession of Images of Child RapeRead the Press Release
A 38-year-old Seattle man who traveled to Colorado to groom and sexually molest a teenager he met on the internet was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison and lifetime supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. GREGORY LYLE BRIDGES was residing in Seattle and working as a Senior Program Manager for Amazon.com when he first came to the attention of law enforcement for possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse. Further investigation revealed that for more than ten years BRIDGES had preyed on teen boys he met via social media. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman said BRIDGES was “leading a double life.” Judge Pechman noted BRIDGES had “no understanding of the depth of harm” he had caused to the minor victim.
“I commend the good work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Seattle Police Department in uncovering the full extent of the criminal conduct in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “They looked beyond the voluminous amounts of child pornography to uncover all the other victims impacted by this defendant.”
According to records filed in the case, BRIDGES came to the attention of law enforcement in December 2013, when Dropbox reported BRIDGES had uploaded images of child sexual abuse to his account. In August 2014 BRIDGES was charged in King County Superior Court with possession of nearly 3,000 images of child pornography and more than 1700 videos of child pornography. As investigators worked on the case, they identified various young men who, over the last ten years, had been approached by BRIDGES over social media. The men had been teenagers at the time BRIDGES had sought them out and sexually abused them. One of the victims was just 14 years old when BRIDGES contacted him and began grooming him for sex. In April 2013, BRIDGES traveled to the boy’s home state of Colorado twice to engage in sexual contact. BRIDGES took advantage of the boy’s difficult childhood and home life, buying him gifts and paying for hotel stays and meals. Despite knowing the boy’s young age and his history of prior sexual abuse, BRIDGES pursued the sexual contact.
“The collaborative efforts between the Seattle Police Department and HSI resulted in a unique investigation spanning four states,” said Steve Cagen, acting special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “Our nation-wide investigative ability allowed for a successful prosecution. Through interviews conducted by multiple HSI offices, another sexual predator has been brought to justice for violating the innocence of children.”
BRIDGES is required to register as a sex offender following his release from prison. He was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to some of the victims depicted in his child pornography collection. These victims have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and those who possess or trade these pictures of their sexual abuse are subject to court ordered restitution.
BRIDGES was charged in federal court in May 2015, and pleaded guilty in June 2016 to possession of child pornography and traveling with intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor.
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 United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force including agents and officers from the Seattle Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson and Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London. Ms. Gregson is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.
Former Pastor of St. Mary’s County Church Indicted on Federal Bank Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has charged John S. Mattingly, age 70, of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, today for bank fraud in connection with a scheme to steal funds from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, while he was the pastor. The indictment was returned on August 29, 2016, and unsealed today after Mattingly’s arrest.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron, and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Richard Fritz.
According to the 20-count indictment, Mattingly was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1972 and was the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church (St. Francis), in Leonardtown, Maryland, from 1994 until September 1, 2010, when he resigned. While serving as a parish priest, Mattingly was paid a salary and stipend by St. Francis.
The indictment alleges that from September 2006 through September 2010, Mattingly fraudulently deposited checks from parishioners made payable to St. Francis and to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which were intended by the St. Francis parishioners to be charitable donations, into a bank account he controlled. In order to conceal the scheme, Mattingly allegedly falsely represented that that the checks he deposited into his bank account would be used for charitable purposes and/or church maintenance and renovations. According to the indictment, Mattingly did not use the charitable contributions from the St. Francis parishioners for their intended purposes, but instead transferred the fraudulently obtained funds from his bank account to Mattingly’s personal individual retirement account. The indictment further alleges that Mattingly also wrote unauthorized checks from the St. Francis bank account payable to himself and deposited those checks into his personal individual retirement account.
The indictment alleges that over the course of the scheme Mattingly fraudulently deposited more than 500 checks, totaling at least $76,000, written by more than 135 parishioners and made payable to St. Francis or the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and not to Mattingly.
Mattingly faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each of the 20 counts of bank fraud. An initial appearance was held today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Mattingly is released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan E. Foreman, who is prosecuting the case.
Florida Computer Programmer Arrested for HackingRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – A South Florida-based computer programmer made an appearance in the Southern District of Florida today after being arrested Sunday on charges of hacking into computers operated by the Linux Kernel Organization and the Linux Foundation, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.
The Linux Kernel Organization operates the www.kernel.org website from which it distributes the Linux kernel software. The Linux Foundation is a separate nonprofit foundation that supports the www.kernel.org website.
Donald Ryan Austin, 27, of El Portal, Fla., was arrested during a traffic stop on August 28, 2016, by officers of the Miami Shores Police Department. Austin was arrested pursuant to a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on June 23, 2016, and unsealed Tuesday.
Austin is charged with causing damage to four servers located in the Bay Area by installing malicious software. Specifically, he is alleged to have gained unauthorized access to the four servers by using the credentials of an individual associated with the Linux Kernel Organization. According to the indictment, Austin used that access to install rootkit and trojan software, as well as to make other changes to the servers. Austin is charged with four counts of intentional transmission causing damage to a protected computer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5)(A).
Austin made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Fla., on August 29, 2016. He was released on bond today. Bail was set at $50,000. Austin’s next scheduled appearance is in San Francisco at 9:30 a.m. on September 21, 2016, before the Honorable Sallie Kim, United States Magistrate Judge.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of ten years of imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, for each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5)(A). However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Five Reserve Men Charged with Gun and Drug Charges, and Retaliation against a WitnessRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that TROY KENDRICK, JR., age 33, GARRICK JONES, age 37, TRAVIS CARTER, age 37, MICHAEL SANDERS, age 34, and RESHAD FRANK, age 38, all of Reserve, were charged today in a nine-count Indictment.
According to the Indictment, KENDRICK, JONES, CARTER, SANDERS, and FRANK conspired to distribute cocaine base (“crack”). KENDRICK, JONES, and CARTER were also charged with distribution of crack. If convicted of the charge of conspiracy to distribute crack, KENDRICK, JONES, and CARTER face a term of imprisonment of at least five and up to forty years, a fine of $5,000,000, and at least four years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, while SANDERS and FRANK face a term of imprisonment of up to twenty years, a fine of $1,000,000, and at least three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
JONES and CARTER were also charged with retaliating against a witness for information provided to law enforcement relating to the commission of a federal offense. If convicted of that charge, each defendant faces a term of imprisonment of up to twenty years, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
KENDRICK and JONES, each of whom had previously been convicted of felonies, were also both charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, all of which occurred on August 17, 2016. KENDRICK possessed an FN Herstal, model Five-Seven, pistol, a Lorcin, model L380, .380 caliber pistol, a Taurus, model PT140, .40 caliber pistol, a Ruger, model SR45, .45 caliber pistol, and a Magnum Research, Inc., model Desert Eagle, .44 caliber pistol. JONES possessed a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber pistol. If convicted of these gun charges, each defendant faces a minimum term of imprisonment of at least five years, which must run consecutive to any other sentence, and a maximum term of life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
“This Indictment is an example of our region's outstanding cooperation across local, state, and federal law enforcement,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Collectively, we are committed to stopping drug trafficking and the violence that often accompanies it.”
“The wreckage caused by drugs and violence affects everyone, not just in large cities, but also in small towns and rural areas like the city of Reserve and St. John the Baptist Parish,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam. “No matter the amounts of drugs they sell, drug dealers breed crime in our neighborhoods and are a danger to our children. The arrests in this investigation demonstrate to the citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish that federal, state, and local law enforcement can come together and accomplish great things. It should also serve as a warning to drug dealers in communities throughout Louisiana that your illegal and destructive actions will not be tolerated.”
“St. John Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division and the DEA conducted an extensive investigation of a group of individuals from St. John Parish that were involved in narcotics trafficking and illegal weapon possession,” stated Sheriff Mike Tregre. “As Sheriff of St. John Parish I am committed to using all available resources necessary to try to prevent any further loss of life. I want to thank the DEA for their time, assistance, and resources with helping take all of these weapons off the street. It feels good knowing that we probably saved a life with this joint effort and that we as a team are committed to getting more illegal guns off the streets of St. John Parish as other investigations are currently underway.”
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely an allegation and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas D. Moses is in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Jury Convicts Two North Texas Men in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — Following a one-day trial before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, a federal jury deliberated ninety minutes yesterday to convict Juan Pasillas, 37, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Antonio Ballesteros 26, of Terrell, Texas, for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
The government presented evidence at trial that included numerous wire intercepts in Spanish, video recordings, and testimony from law enforcement that Pasillas and Ballesteros conspired to traffic large amounts of methamphetamine in the Fort Worth area. They regularly purchased large amounts of methamphetamine for distribution from a supplier in southeast Fort Worth.
Each was convicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. The statutory penalty for that offense is not less than 10 years and up to life in prison and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is set for December 12, 2016, before Judge O’Connor.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Fahey, Mark Nichols and Shawn Smith are prosecuting.
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El Departamento de Justicia Colabora con México para Combatir la Discriminación en el EmpleoRead the Press Release
mexico_memorandum_de_entendimiento.pdfWASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia y el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos establecieron una asociación formal hoy para proteger a trabajadores de discriminación por motivos de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. La Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal Vanita Gupta, Jefa de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia, y el Embajador de México Carlos Sada firmaron un Memorándum de Entendimiento (MOU, por sus siglas en inglés) entre la embajada y sus consulados y la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas con la Inmigración (OSC, por sus siglas en inglés), de la División.
Como parte del MOU, la OSC y el gobierno mexicano colaborarán para educar a trabajadores acerca de sus derechos laborales y proveerles los recursos necesarios para proteger tales derechos. Asimismo, el MOU busca promover la formación de empleadores en lo que se refiere a sus obligaciones en virtud de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés), la que prohíbe la discriminación laboral por motivos de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. En concreto, el MOU establece lo siguiente:
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La OSC brindará capacitación al personal consular mexicano acerca de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, participará en eventos organizados por los consulados mexicanos para educar a trabajadores y empleadores y distribuirá materiales educativos a la embajada y sus consulados.
- Por su parte, la embajada establecerá un sistema para referir demandas de discriminación recibidas en la embajada y sus consulados a la OSC.
“La ayuda que el gobierno mexicano extiende al Departamento de Justicia para asegurar que los trabajadores conozcan sus derechos y las protecciones que la ley ofrece hace que este desempeñe un papel crítico en el proceso,” declaró la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal Vanita Gupta. “México ha tomado las riendas de la Semana de Derechos Laborales al garantizar que trabajadores en México, así como por todo el mundo, conozcan sus derechos en el lugar de trabajo y sepan cómo acceder a apoyo y ayuda. Estoy muy agradecida a nuestros homólogos mexicanos por su asociación colaborativa en nuestra misión compartida de empoderar a trabajadores y combatir la discriminación.”
Durante el último año, el Departamento también ha formado asociaciones formales con Ecuador y El Salvador con el fin de empoderar y educar a individuos de dichas naciones que cuenten con autorización para trabajar.
La OSC es responsable de aplicar la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, esta ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; la discriminación en el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad de empleo; las represalias y la intimidación. Aparte de su trabajo de ejecución, la OSC informa al público de sus derechos y responsabilidades al amparo de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA.
Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo en virtud de las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de la OSC para trabajadores al 1‑800‑255-7688 (1‑800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); matricúlese para un seminario en línea gratuito; mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] o visite la página web de la OSC.
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Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that CARL D. WRIGHT, age 46, of Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge James J. Brady to one count of bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and to four counts of making false statements to financial institutions, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014. As a result of his convictions, WRIGHT faces a potential prison term as well as restitution to the victim-banks.
WRIGHT operated a company called Nevada Systems, Inc., which was in the business of renovating distressed residential properties. From 2004 until 2010, WRIGHT executed a scheme to defraud several banks in the Baton Rouge area. WRIGHT obtained loan proceeds from multiple banks by submitting loan applications that contained numerous materially false statements and information. WRIGHT’s loan applications were accompanied by fictitious tax returns that WRIGHT had his tax preparer create on his behalf and presented to the banks as proof of income. The fictitious returns contained inflated income figures and were never filed with the Internal Revenue Service. WRIGHT and his companies fraudulently obtained approximately $2.5 million from several banks.
U.S. Attorney Green stated, “In working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this and other cases, our office will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who defraud our banks and financial institutions. Holding individuals accountable for their actions is crucial to halting fraud and to serving as a deterrent to anyone inclined to engage in similar wrongdoing.”
This investigation was handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Brady Casey and Peter Smyczek.
Charleston Restaurant Owner Sentenced to Prison for Making a False Statement to the Department of LaborRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Dean Secor (843) 727-4381
Columbia, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Jose Jamie Villalpando, a/k/a “Jamie Villapondo,” age 48, of Charleston, owner of Senor Tequila Restaurants in Charleston, was sentenced on Friday in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, for False Statement, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(1). United States District Judge David C. Norton of Charleston sentenced Villalpando to five (5) months imprisonment, three (3) years of supervised release, and payment of a $100 special assessment. Judge Norton also ordered Villalpando to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division in the amount of $76,575.92.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) began an investigation into whether Senor Tequila Mexican Restaurants (Senor Tequila) was paying its employees proper minimum wage and overtime pay in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigation found that Senor Tequila had failed to pay seven of its employees a total of approximately $106,103.05 in minimum wage and overtime pay for the period of July 28, 2008 to July 19, 2010.
Villalpando agreed to pay the back wages. However, instead of paying all of the back wages he devised and executed a scheme in 2011 in an attempt to deceive WHD investigators and avoid the payment of back wages owed to three of the employees in the amount of $76,575.92.
Villalpando executed the scheme by writing “Senor Tequila” back wages paychecks to the three employees. Villalpando then took those employees to the bank used by Senor Tequila and helped them set up accounts (one employee already had an account at the bank). Villalpando then had the three employees deposit the back wages paychecks into their respective bank accounts. Over the next several weeks, Villalpando had the three employees withdraw the amounts of the back wages paychecks from their accounts in increments and give the money back to him. Villalpando then mailed letters to WHD stating that he paid the three employees, and he attached copies of the cancelled back wages paychecks in an attempt to show that he had in fact paid the employees.
Acting U.S. Attorney Drake stated the maximum penalty for False Statement is imprisonment for 5 years and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Dean H. Secor of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.
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Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to over 12 years in Prison for Drug Crime Committed on Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
A Cedar Rapids man on federal supervised release was sentenced yesterday to more than 12 years in federal prison for possessing more than 35 grams of “ice” methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Pablo Ortega, age 40, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received a total prison sentence of 147 months’ after a March 24, 2016, guilty plea to possession with intent to deliver more than 5 grams of pure methamphetamine, which was further supported by his admission at yesterday’s hearing that he had violated the conditions of his supervised release by committing a new crime. Ortega had been released from federal prison in December of 2014, after serving a 188 month prison term for another federal drug trafficking crime.
At his guilty plea, Ortega admitted he was on supervised release beginning in December 2014, and was subject to having his residence searched by federal probation officers. On November 6, 2015, when the United States Probation Office conducted a search of his residence they found over 35 grams of “ice” methamphetamine, which is highly pure methamphetamine.
Ortega was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. For the violation of his supervised release, Ortega was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. For the new drug crime, Ortega was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment to be served consecutively with the other term of imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and investigated by the United States Probation Office, Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl under file numbers are CR 00-3020 and CR 16-0010. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Enticement of MinorsRead the Press Release
A former school bus attendant who enticed three minors pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Tyler Konigsmark, age 20, of Cedar Rapids, was convicted of one count of enticement of minors. At the plea hearing and in a plea agreement, Konigsmark admitted that, between April and May of this year, he used Snapchat and his iPhone to request sexually explicit images from three girls, age 12, 13, and 14, who rode on school buses where he was an attendant. He also admitted that, on two occasions, he had sexual intercourse with the 12-year-old girl after he used Snapchat and his cell phone to arrange meetings with her.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Konigsmark remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Konigsmark faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $5,100 in special assessments, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and is being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Hiawatha Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 16-57.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Brooklyn Men Sentenced for Intending to Sell Crack and Heroin in PlattsburghRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –Jawan Long, age 32, and Lance Harper, age 24, both of Brooklyn, New York, were sentenced today for possessing crack and heroin with the intent to distribute the drugs.
Senior U.S. District Judge Noman A. Mordue sentenced Long to 40 months of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release, and sentenced Harper to 33 months of imprisonment, to be followed by a 6-year term of supervised release.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; New York State Police Superintendent (NYSP) George P. Beach II; and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
On April 1, 2016, Long and Harper travelled by bus from New York City to Plattsburgh while in possession of crack and heroin, and were arrested by the NYSP and DEA when they arrived at the Plattsburgh bus station. Long had 39 grams of crack in his underwear. Harper had 22 grams of crack and 8 grams of heroin in his underwear. The two men intended to sell the crack and heroin in the Plattsburgh area.
This case was investigated by the New York State Police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.
Brockton Man Pleads Guilty to Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brockton man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to sex trafficking charges.
Kwamaine J. Wells, 27, pleaded guilty to four counts of transportation of an individual with intent to engage in prostitution and one count of conspiracy to transport an individual for prostitution. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Dec. 1, 2016.
Between April 2013 and February 2014, Wells transported four women between Maine, Massachusetts and New York with the intent that they engage in prostitution, and used force and threats to coerce two of the women to engage in prostitution. Wells also allegedly conspired with a co-defendant to transport women between Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York with the intent that they engage in prostitution.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Divison, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miranda Hooker and Leah Foley of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.
Boise Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
BOISE – Joshua David Gibson, 32, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Gibson to 90 months in prison followed by 3 years supervised release. Gibson pleaded guilty to the charge on June 28, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, Gibson admitted that on January 12, 2016, he possessed eleven firearms. Gibson knew some of the firearms were stolen. Gibson sold all eleven of the firearms, the magazines, and the rounds of ammunition to undercover law enforcement. Gibson was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous felony conviction for burglary.
The case was investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Baton Rouge Resident Sentenced for Stealing Federal Dollars in Fraudulent Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA –United States Attorney Walt Green announced that on Wednesday, August 31, 2016, LAGUARDIA COSTON, age 29, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge James J. Brady to theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. During a December 2015 guilty plea hearing, COSTON admitted to preparing and filing numerous fraudulent tax returns using stolen personal identifiers, such as names and social security numbers, of 73 separate victims, and, in doing so, stole $102,000 in tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury.
After hearing evidence during the sentencing hearing, Judge Brady sentenced COSTON to a term of imprisonment of 33 months, a term of supervision after release from prison of 3 years, forfeiture of $102,000, and restitution to the U.S. Treasury of $102,000. After serving the adjudged term of imprisonment, COSTON will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office to ensure that she abides by certain conditions imposed by Judge Brady designed to ensure that she embarks on a crime-free path.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “This case exemplifies the importance of our office working in concert with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) to ensure that individuals who use the stolen identities of others and defraud the United States face the justice they deserve. We look forward to continuing our work with IRS-CI and other investigative agencies in the fight to deter both ongoing criminal conduct along with similar criminal conduct considered by others.”
Special Agent-in-Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Jerome R. McDuffie, stated: “This sentence is a stern reminder that participation in refund fraud schemes does not pay and those who do so will be held accountable. Ms. Coston used 73 stolen identities to file false tax returns and obtain refunds for personal gain. Identity theft is an on-going problem and IRS-CI will continue to vigorously investigate those engaged in these illegal activities, and work with the United States Attorney's Office to aggressively protect innocent taxpayers and preserve the integrity of our tax system.”
This matter has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.
Augusta County Woman Sentenced for Failing to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A previous convicted sex offender, who due to her previous criminal conduct was required to register as a sex offender, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke for failing to maintain her sex offender registration, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
Kimberly Ann Avery, 53, of Augusta County, previously pled guilty to one count of failing to register as a previously convicted sex offender. Today in District Court Avery was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release thereafter.
“When individuals fail to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act they will be held accountable,” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “SORNA is an important tool for law enforcement and our community that ensures our friends and neighbors are kept informed and safe.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day, Avery was aware that she was required to register as a sex offender under SORNA and had, on two separate occasions in 2011 and 2015, completed Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registration Forms.
However, on September 29, 2015, a probation officer prepared a major violation report for Avery, citing multiple probation violations, including having contact with minor children, using illegal drugs and absconding from state probation. The report further stated that Avery failed to report for a scheduled appointment and that her whereabouts were unknown.
On November 4, 2015, investigators with the United States Marshals Service in the Southern District of Texas located Avery and conducted and interview with Avery, during which she stated she was tired of being labeled a monster and that she absconded because she wanted to live a normal life.
On November 5, 2015, investigators interviewed GT, a friend of Avery. GT admitted to knowing Avery for 30 years and further admitted that he knew Avery was a convicted sex offender and said Avery had picked him up from Connecticut, that they had traveled to California and then to Texas. GT stated that Avery did not register as a sex offender because she knew she would be arrested if she did. GT also stated that Avery wanted to abscond because she was not the monster she was being made out to be.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Discharging a Firearm During the Armed Robbery of a Convenience StoreRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Reynaldo Marquez, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the parties will recommend that Marquez be sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Marquez was charged in a seven-count superseding indictment that was filed on May 28, 2015. The superseding indicted added Marquez as a new defendant and two new counts to a five-count indictment previously filed on Jan. 21, 2015. The original indictment charged six Albuquerque residents – Raymond Castillo, 27, Castillo, Daniel Maestas, 36, Johnny Ramirez, 31, Frank Gallegos, 31, Reyes Lujan, 27, and Henry Lujan, 23, with conspiracy, commercial armed robbery and firearms charges.
The superseding indictment charged the original six defendants with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, and with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing a Wal-Mart Store located in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Oct. 29, 2014. It also charged Castillo with discharging a firearm during the robbery of the Wal-Mart store; Maestas with using and carrying a firearm during that robbery; and Ramirez, Gallegos, Reyes Lujan and Henry Lujan with aiding and abetting the use of firearms during the robbery. The two new charges in the superseding indictment charged Marquez and Castillo with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing a 7-11 convenience store located in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Dec. 7, 2014, and Marquez with discharging a firearm during the robbery of the 7-11 convenience store on Dec. 7, 2015.
During today’s proceedings, Marquez pled guilty to Count 7 of the superseding indictment charging him with discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. In entering the guilty plea, Marquez admitted discharging a firearm during a robbery that occurred on Dec. 7, 2014, he. Marquez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Marquez’s six co-defendants previously have entered guilty pleas. Reyes Lujan was sentenced on March 8, 2016, to 71 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The five remaining co-defendants are in custody pending their sentencing hearings.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Norman Cairns and Samuel A. Hurtado are prosecuting this case.
This case is being prosecuted 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 for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. In recognition that New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community has come together to is collaborating the initiative is significantly exceed the national average.
31 August 2016
Westminster Man Sentenced for Orchestrating a Scheme to Defraud ClientsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Timothy J. Tucker, age 53, of Westminster, Colorado, was sentenced on August 30, 2016 by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to serve 78 months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Bob Troyer, Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Calvin Shivers, and IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter announced. Following his prison sentence, Tucker was ordered to serve 3 years on supervised release. Tucker was also ordered by Judge Arguello to pay $1,614,302.87 in restitution to the victims.
According to the facts contained in the indictment and plea agreement, beginning in February 2010 and continuing until late 2013, Tucker devised a scheme to defraud by obtaining advanced fees from individuals and entities who were seeking multimillion-dollar loans. During the course of the scheme, Tucker operated Assured Venture Group (“AVG”) and The Financial Group, LLC (“TFG”), which purported to be in the business of finding funding for multimillion-dollar loans for investment projects through the issuance of corporate bonds.
Tucker told people and entities seeking multimillion-dollar loans that they were required to pay AVG/TFG fees in advance of AVG/TFG performing work to find funding for the requested loans and that the fees would be spent only on underwriting, due diligence, and closing costs related to the requested loans. For some of these loans, Tucker promised that the advanced fees would be placed in an escrow account to falsely reassure the people and entities seeking the multi-million dollar loans that the advanced fees would be spent on only underwriting, due diligence, and closing costs related to the requested loan, as promised.
Between February 2010 and March 2013, AVG/TFG was paid over $1.8 million in fees on twenty-two different projects, both by individuals and entities. Tucker did not secure funding for any of the projects and did not return any fees on twenty of twenty-two projects. The majority of the fees received by AVG/TFG were used for things unrelated to the requested loans, including Tucker’s other businesses.
"We have very sophisticated agents and prosecutors in this federal district," Troyer said. "This is rank theft, and it will be punished."
“Illegal activity involving the investment industry has brought financial ruin to many Americans. Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, IRS – Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. “Individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable.”
This case was investigated by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pegeen Rhyne and Special Assistant United States Attorney Daniel E. Burrows.
Victor Martinez-Lopez Sentenced to 294 Months ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Victor H. Martinez-Lopez, 39, of Vandalia, Michigan was sentenced before Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, for distribution of methamphetamine.
Martinez-Lopez was sentenced to 294 months’ imprisonment and 6 years of supervised release.
According to court proceedings, Martinez-Lopez made multiple trips across the United States to transport methamphetamine to Northern Indiana. The court determined that the total amount of methamphetamine he transported and sold exceeded 45 kilograms.
This case was prosecuted as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse M. Barrett.
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United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Coastal Spine and Pain for $7.4 MillionRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that Physicians Group Services, P.A., doing business as Coastal Spine and Pain (“Coastal”), has agreed to pay $7.4 million to the government to resolve allegations that Coastal violated the False Claims Act by performing medically unnecessary drug screening procedures.
The settlement relates to Coastal’s use of “Quantitative Drug Tests,” or tests that identify and count particles of illicit drugs in patients’ urine. The use of quantitative drug tests – tests that are very specific and also very expensive – is appropriate only if there is reason to doubt the more general and cheaper qualitative drug test screens. The government contends that Coastal appropriately performed qualitative drug tests for its patients. However, the United States contends that, regardless of the result of the less expense qualitative test, Coastal performed and billed for quantitative drug tests for all patients. The government contends this was medically unnecessary, as there was no reason to question or further confirm previous qualitative urine drug testing screens.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to taking the steps necessary to protect Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “When health care practitioners conduct medical tests, they must only bill for them when it is appropriate and medically necessary. We will vigorously pursue providers that perform tests indiscriminately, regardless of need.”
This case was developed through the proactive review of claims data. Coastal was a statistical outlier in terms of billing for quantitative drug test screens. In fact, in each and every instance that Coastal billed for a qualitative drug test screen, it also billed for a quantitative drug test screen. This statistical outlier prompted questioning and investigation by the Department of Justice.
“New and expanded uses of data analytics to identify suspicious billing patterns, such as in this case, are providing law enforcement agencies with powerful investigative tools to combat fraud and abuse in federal health care programs,” said HHS OIG SAC Shimon Richmond. “Medicare should only be paying for medical tests to improve the health of beneficiaries, not the profit margins of unscrupulous physicians. Today’s settlement should serve as notice to others that fraud will be vigorously pursued.”
This civil settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered more than $30 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
“We appreciate the support from the Department of Justice in protecting the TRICARE benefit from fraud and helping to ensure the benefit continues to exist for our service members, families, and retirees,” said Vice Admiral R. Bono, Director, Defense Health Agency.
This matter was investigated with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Two Greenbrier County dealers headed to federal prison for drug crimesRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Two Greenbrier County men were sentenced to prison today for federal drug crimes, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Willie Keaton Goodson III, 22, of Ronceverte, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for distribution of oxymorphone. In a separate prosecution, James Michael Payne, 63, of Frankford, was sentenced to a year and four months in federal prison for distribution of heroin.
Goodson admitted that on October 22, 2015, he distributed oxymorphone pills at his Ronceverte residence to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. Goodson further admitted that he distributed oxymorphone pills on three other occasions. During the course of the investigation, authorities seized large quantities of oxymorphone, oxycodone, and heroin from Goodson’s residence and from property near his residence. Law enforcement also seized over $100,000 cash that Goodson forfeited to the state of West Virginia. Officers additionally seized firearms that Goodson admitted he possessed while selling drugs.
In a separate drug prosecution, Payne admitted that on August 21, 2015, he distributed six stamps, or packets, of heroin to a confidential informant cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place in the Fairlea area of Greenbrier County. Payne also admitted that he distributed a total of approximately 100 stamps of heroin during August and September of 2015.
The investigations were conducted by the Greenbrier Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecutions. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentences.
These prosecutions were brought as part of the Greenbrier Valley Heroin and Pill Initiative, an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Three Plead Guilty to Robbery of Carolina CashersRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Jamie Schoen (864) 282-2100
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Greenville, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that yesterday Mark Betancourt, age 31, of Greenville, SC; Juan Betancourt, age 23, of Greenville, SC; and Joseph Sansosti, age 23, of Simpsonville, SC, entered guilty pleas in federal court in Greenville, to one count Hobbs Act Robbery, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), one count Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and one count Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
Senior United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr., of Greenville accepted the guilty pleas and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence reports which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Mark Betancourt, Juan Betancourt, and Joseph Sansosti robbed Carolina Cashers on May 23, 2015. That morning, Joseph Sansosti and Juan Betancourt pushed their way into the business. Sansosti then grabbed an employee, placing her in a headlock, and pressed a gun to her head. Sansosti demanded money from the employee, which the robbers placed in a bag held by Juan Betancourt. The two men then ran out of the store to the getaway car, which was driven by Mark Betancourt.
Acting United States Attorney Drake stated the maximum penalty for Hobbs Act Robbery and Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery is imprisonment for 20 years and/or a fine of $250,000.00, and the maximum penalty for Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence is imprisonment for not less than seven (7) years consecutive to any other sentence, up to a maximum of Life.
The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen of the Greenville office is prosecuting the case.
Three Charged in Puerto Rico Based Identity Theft RingRead the Press Release
Luz Ramos-Correa, 39, of Landisville, PA, Marta Ruiz-Correa, 28, of Penuelas, Puerto Rico, and Julian Ruiz-Acosta, 58, of Penuelas, Puerto Rico, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy and fraudulent transfer of an identification document, and Luz Ramos-Correa was further charged with aggravated identity theft and fraudulent possession of five or more identification documents, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the indictment, the defendants – all family members – fraudulently obtained birth certificates and U.S. Social Security cards belonging to U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico, and then sold these identification documents for profit to buyers in Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.
If convicted of all charges, Luz Ramos Correa faces a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison, a maximum statutory sentence of eighty-two years’ incarceration, a fine of up to $1,500,000, a special assessment of $700, and three years of supervised release; Marta Ruiz-Correa and Julian Ruiz-Acosta each face a maximum statutory sentence of twenty years’ incarceration, a fine of up to $500,000, a special assessment of $200, and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Petkun.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tax Preparation Business Owner, Return Preparer and Office Manager Plead Guilty to Conspiring to File False Claims for RefundRead the Press Release
Caused Loss of More Than $9 Million
A Pollock Pines, California, woman who owned a tax return preparation business and two of her employees, pleaded guilty to charges related to filing more than 250 false claims for refund, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California.
Teresa Marty, 56, the owner of Advanced Financial Services (AFS), a Placerville, California, tax return preparation business, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file false claims for refund and conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). On Aug. 24, Pamela Harris, Marty’s office manager, and Rebecca Bandera-Marty, a California certified tax return preparer, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to file false claims. Marty, Harris and Bandera-Marty were indicted in June 2013 along with two other co-defendant clients, Charles and Victoria Tingler. The Tinglers pleaded guilty to filing false claims in the spring of 2015 and will be sentenced in November.
“Income tax returns are not a vehicle to siphon public funds for personal benefit,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “Those individuals, like Teresa Marty, Pamela Harris and Rebecca Bandera-Marty, who promote and facilitate these types of refund fraud schemes should know that the department, along with its partners in law enforcement, are committed to investigating and prosecuting such abuses.”
Marty, Harris and Bandera-Marty admitted that they conspired to file false individual income tax returns claiming more than $60 million in false federal income tax refunds. Marty and Harris recruited clients by falsely representing that the clients could legally receive sizable tax refunds by filing tax returns with IRS Forms 1099-OID. AFS prepared false Forms 1099-OID that reported an amount equal to the clients’ debts as income and the same amount as income tax withheld, resulting in significant income tax refunds to which the clients were not entitled. The scheme included clients from 26 states and caused the IRS to pay out over 40 tax refunds, totaling more than $9 million. The IRS listed the use of false Forms 1099-OID on its website as one of the “dirty dozen” tax schemes for the years 2009 through 2014.
Marty also admitted that she and the Tinglers, with the help of Harris, filed multimillion dollar liens against government officials, including three IRS employees involved in the collection of taxes the defendants owed the IRS as a result of participating in the scheme. Marty filed $84 million liens against the then Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California and a former Department of Justice Tax Division attorney involved in filing suit to permanently enjoin Marty and AFS from preparing tax returns. The liens that were filed with the California Secretary of State unlawfully disclosed personal identification information of the government employees. Harris and Marty also engaged a commercial collection agency to collect one of the three false liens that Charles Tingler filed against an IRS revenue officer in the amount of $500,000.
“From her office in the Sierra Foothills, Marty traveled around the country to promote a preposterous theory that taxpayers could somehow use IRS forms to claim refunds based on their own private debts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert. “As Marty, Harris, Bandera-Marty and others have now admitted, this was just a criminal scheme to make false claims to loot the U.S. Treasury. I’m proud of the government employees who worked diligently to put an end to this even after criminal schemers retaliated against them personally.”
“The defendants used their knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities in the tax system,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf for IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Marty and her co-defendants recruited clients for their tax fraud scheme by falsely representing that they could eliminate their debts and legally receive sizable tax refunds by submitting tax returns with IRS Forms 1099-OID. Taxpayers should not be taken in by false descriptions of the law or misrepresentations of the facts. As the old adage goes - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
“Tax preparers who file false returns with the IRS are not only violating the law and stealing from taxpayers, but violating the trust placed in them by their clients,” said Special Agent in Charge Rod Ammari for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “When these same tax preparers then file fraudulent and illegal liens against IRS employees, with the intent to intimidate them from doing their jobs, their actions are doubly heinous.”
Clients of AFS have been prosecuted in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oregon and Washington for filing the false claims for refund prepared by Marty and AFS.
Marty is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, 2017. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a term of supervised release and monetary penalties. Bandera-Marty is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16, and Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, 2017. They each face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, who conducted the investigation and Trial Attorneys Erin S. Mellen and Andrea A. Kafka of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Segal, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Stratos Pleads Guilty to Multimillion Dollar FraudRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Troy David Stratos, 50, formerly of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to 11 counts of wire and mail fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of obstruction of justice, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to the factual basis read in court today, between August 2005 and September 2007, Stratos devised and executed a scheme to defraud the victim of money and property. He told her that he was wealthy and successful, and that, among other things, he had made substantial money from oil investments. Stratos promised that he would help manage the victim’s portion of the proceeds from her recent divorce, including real property in her name and cash assets. Stratos told her that she needed to create a trust allowing Stratos to have access and control over her assets and the trust.
According to court documents, Stratos falsely represented that he would invest the divorce proceeds overseas, including in Dubai and in the United Arab Emirates, where the proceeds would earn a high rate of return. Stratos also falsely represented that he would pay for her expenses from his own money because her money was purportedly invested overseas.
Stratos admitted today that he never invested any money overseas as he promised. Instead, he diverted substantial sums of money from the trust for his own personal use. He also used portions of the money to pay the woman=s expenses, misrepresenting to her that he was spending his own money to pay for her expenses.
With respect to two money laundering counts, on January 2, 2007, and on January 26, 2007, Stratos withdrew $25,000 from Granite TN Trust Bank of America account in Granite Bay, California. The money was proceeds from his scheme to defraud the victim, and Stratos knew that these were proceeds of the fraud.
Further, with respect to the obstruction of justice count, between February 2007 and April 2007, Stratos was informed of a grand jury subpoena that his bookkeeper had received requiring the production of various financial records relating to Stratos, including documents relating to Stratos’ spending the victim’s money in casinos in Las Vegas. Stratos instructed the bookkeeper to not provide some of the records. In April 2010, the FBI executed a search warrant for a storage locker maintained by Stratos and located the records covered by the grand jury subpoena that were withheld at the direction of Stratos.
Stratos was arrested on December 20, 2011, and has been in custody since that time. On May 19, 2015, a federal jury in Sacramento found Stratos guilty of four counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, in a separate scheme to defraud a financial manager in Pennsylvania of approximately $11,250,000.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Pickles and Jared Dolan are prosecuting the case.
Stratos is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on all counts of conviction — from today’s guilty plea and the jury trial — on November 17, 2016. The maximum statutory penalty for mail and wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a fine of up to twice the gain or loss from the fraud for each count. The maximum statutory penalty for money laundering is 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine or twice the value of the criminally derived property, and the maximum statutory penalty for obstruction of justice is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Steelworkers Union Financial Secretary Charged with Embezzling Union FundsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - An Ohio resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of Embezzlement from a Labor Union, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment named Marchelle Harvey, 57, of Palestine, Ohio as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, from November 2013 through June 2014, Harvey, who held the position of Financial Secretary for the Steelworkers Local 67-T Labor Union located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, stole in excess of $10,000 of union funds.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor – Management Standards, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
St. Albans man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for gun crimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man was sentenced today to a total of 10 years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for two gun crimes, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Christopher Ayash, 47, previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and to possession of six firearms in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime. Ayash received five years on each charge, to be served consecutively, and was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Additionally, as part of his plea agreement, Ayash agreed to forfeit $300,000 to the United States. He also agreed to demolish a strip club he owned in St. Albans and to transfer the property to Kanawha County.
Ayash admitted that he arranged for the illegal shipment of drugs, including oxycodone and coca leaves, a precursor used to manufacture cocaine, through the mail to West Virginia. On October 7, 2015, a federal search warrant was executed at Ayash’s St. Albans residence and law enforcement discovered a secret room hidden behind a fireplace. The secret room housed a laboratory set up by Ayash to manufacture cocaine and other controlled substances. Law enforcement seized over 60 firearms from the residence, including fully automatic weapons, silencers, and a handgun with an obliterated serial number. Ayash admitted that he possessed six of the firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking crimes.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of several other law enforcement agencies. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime. This case was also prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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South Charleston man pleads guilty to federal gun chargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man caught with a loaded gun and drugs after a car chase pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Steven Eugene Adkins, 37, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Adkins admitted that on January 14, 2016, he possessed a loaded Smith & Wesson Model 22A-1 pistol. Adkins was prohibited under federal law from possessing any firearm because of two previous convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court for possession with intent to deliver marijuana. At the time Adkins possessed the handgun, Adkins additionally admitted that he ran a red light in St. Albans. In response, a St. Albans Police Department patrol officer attempted a traffic stop. Adkins further admitted that he did not attempt to stop, and during the course of the subsequent chase, he exceeded the speed limit, passed vehicles despite the double yellow line, and drove the wrong way on a one-way street. The car chase ended in Nitro and Adkins admitted that he exited the vehicle and was apprehended after a brief foot chase. Law enforcement recovered the gun, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Adkins. Officers also seized 40 knives and a machete from the vehicle.
Adkins faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 14, 2016.
The investigation was conducted by the St. Albans Police Department, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the West Virginia State Police and the South Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Clint Carte is responsible for the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime. This case was also prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities, including methamphetamine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Sierra County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Ruben David Martinez, III, 29, of Truth or Consequences, N.M., pled guilty yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Martinez was arrested in May 2016, and charged by criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute on May 16, 2016, in Sierra County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Martinez threw plastic bags containing more than 40 grams of methamphetamine and 9.22 grams of heroin from his vehicle as he fled from law enforcement officers who were attempting to execute a traffic stop on his vehicle for a traffic violation. After the officers apprehended Martinez, they executed a search warrant on his vehicle and residence and seized 69.8 grams of methamphetamine, pills, multiple cellular phones, cash and drug paraphernalia.
During yesterday’s change of plea hearing, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on May 16, 2016, he possessed approximately 49 grams of methamphetamine when Sierra County Sheriff’s Office deputies initiated a traffic stop and later arrested him. Martinez further admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to other people.
At sentencing, Martinez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Martinez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, the New Mexico State Police and the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Beck of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Sex Offender Sentenced to 33 Months for Failure to Register in GloversvilleRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – James Newland, age 31, was sentenced today to serve 33 months in prison and 5 years of post-imprisonment supervised release for failing to update his sex offender registration.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and United States Marshal David McNulty.
Newland pled guilty on March 2, 2016, admitting to moving to Gloversville, New York, from California, without updating his sex offender registration. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) requires a convicted sex offender to register where he or she resides, is employed, or is enrolled as a student, and to keep any registration current.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigation Branch, North East Region; the United States Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force; the Johnston Police Department; and the Gloversville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Solomon B. Shinerock.
This case is prosecuted as part of 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.
Puerto Rico Man Sentenced to 126 Months in Prison for Drug Conspiracy ChargeRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced today Jose Luis Ponce-Pagan, 36, of Puerto Rico, to 126 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release for conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Judge Gomez ordered Ponce-Pagan to pay a $100 special assessment and perform 300 hours of community service.
On March 29, 2016, Ponce-Pagan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute. According to the plea agreement filed with the court, between August 30, 2015, and September 3, 2015, Ponce-Pagan and at least one other person arranged to purchase approximately 100 kilograms of cocaine on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, for distribution in Puerto Rico.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.
Placerville Tax Preparation Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to File False Claims for RefundRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Pollock Pines woman, who owned a tax return preparation business, and two of her employees pleaded guilty to charges related to filing more than 250 false claims for refund, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California.
Teresa Marty, 56, the owner of Advanced Financial Services (AFS), a Placerville tax return preparation business, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file false claims for refund and conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). On August 24, Pamela Harris, Marty’s office manager, and Rebecca Bandera-Marty, a California certified tax return preparer, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to file false claims. Marty, Harris and Bandera-Marty were indicted in June 2013 along with two other co-defendants, Charles and Victoria Tingler. The Tinglers, who were clients, pleaded guilty to filing false claims in the spring of 2015 and will be sentenced in November.
“Income tax returns are not a vehicle to siphon public funds for personal benefit,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “Those individuals, like Teresa Marty, Pamela Harris and Rebecca Bandera-Marty, who promote and facilitate these types of refund fraud schemes should know that the department, along with its partners in law enforcement, are committed to investigating and prosecuting such abuses.”
Marty, Harris and Bandera-Marty admitted that they conspired to file false individual income tax returns claiming more than $60 million in false federal income tax refunds. Marty and Harris recruited clients by falsely representing that the clients could legally receive sizable tax refunds by filing tax returns with IRS Forms 1099-OID. AFS prepared false Forms 1099-OID that reported an amount equal to the clients’ debts as income and the same amount as income tax withheld, resulting in significant income tax refunds to which the clients were not entitled. The scheme included clients from 26 states and caused the IRS to pay out over 40 tax refunds, totaling more than $9 million. The IRS listed the use of false Forms 1099-OID on its website as one of the “dirty dozen” tax schemes for the years 2009 through 2014.
Marty also admitted that she and the Tinglers, with the help of Harris, filed multimillion dollar liens against government officials, including three IRS employees involved in the collection of taxes the defendants owed the IRS as a result of participating in the scheme. Marty filed $84 million liens against the then Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California and a former Department of Justice Tax Division attorney involved in filing suit to permanently enjoin Marty and AFS from preparing tax returns. The liens that were filed with the California Secretary of State unlawfully disclosed personal identification information of the government employees. Harris and Marty also engaged a commercial collection agency to collect one of the three false liens that Charles Tingler filed against an IRS revenue officer for $500,000.
“From her office in the Sierra Foothills, Marty traveled around the country to promote a preposterous theory that taxpayers could somehow use IRS forms to claim refunds based on their own private debts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert. “As Marty, Harris, Bandera-Marty and others have now admitted, this was just a criminal scheme to make false claims to loot the U.S. Treasury. I’m proud of the government employees who worked diligently to put an end to this even after criminal schemers retaliated against them personally.”
“The defendants used their knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities in the tax system,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf for IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Marty and her co-defendants recruited clients for their tax fraud scheme by falsely representing that they could eliminate their debts and legally receive sizable tax refunds by submitting tax returns with IRS Forms 1099-OID. Taxpayers should not be taken in by false descriptions of the law or misrepresentations of the facts. As the old adage goes - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
“Tax preparers who file false returns with the IRS are not only violating the law and stealing from taxpayers, but violating the trust placed in them by their clients,” said Special Agent in Charge Rod Ammari for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “When these same tax preparers then file fraudulent and illegal liens against IRS employees, with the intent to intimidate them from doing their jobs, their actions are doubly heinous.”
Clients of AFS have been prosecuted in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oregon and Washington for filing the false claims for refund prepared by Marty and AFS.
Marty is scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2017. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a term of supervised release and monetary penalties. Bandera-Marty is scheduled to be sentenced on November 16, 2016, and Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2017. They each face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, who conducted the investigation and Trial Attorneys Erin S. Mellen and Andrea A. Kafka of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Segal, who prosecuted the case.
Pike County Woman Indicted for Heroin Distribution Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that yesterday a federal grand jury in Scranton indicted a Pike County woman charging her with drug distribution resulting in death.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the Indictment alleges that between September 3, 2015 and September 4, 2015, Brittany Ann Banscher, age 21, of Hawley, Pennsylvania, knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute and distributed heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance, resulting in the death of another person. Banscher is also charged in a separate count with possession with intent to distribute heroin on or about September 21, 2015.
The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Scranton Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Prosecution is assigned to United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the heroin initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for drug distribution resulting in death is life imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. The maximum penalty for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is 20 years’ imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to heroin distributionRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Keith Derwin Freeman, 43, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, pled guilty to heroin distribution in federal court today, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Freeman admitted to selling heroin in Berkeley County, West Virginia in September 2015. He faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Owner of Homewood Telemarketing Company Convicted of Taking Illegal Kickbacks for Referring Patients to Home Health AgenciesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted the head of a Homewood telemarketing company of pocketing illegal kickbacks in exchange for referring patients to home health care agencies.
As the owner of Serenity Marketing Inc., which did business as Serenity Living, SUNDAE WILLIAMS used unsolicited phone calls to recruit patients, including Medicare beneficiaries, for home health care services. Williams then referred those patients to several Chicago-area nursing agencies in exchange for payments on a per-patient basis.
After a five-day trial in federal court in Chicago, the jury on Tuesday convicted Williams, 47, of South Holland, on one count of conspiracy to solicit and receive remuneration in return for the referral of Medicare patients, and six counts of soliciting and receiving remuneration in return for the referral of Medicare patients. Each count is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Williams is the latest defendant convicted in the federal investigation. The prior convictions include JAMES ADEMIJU, a nurse from Matteson who operated two suburban nursing agencies; Dr. ALAN NEWMAN, one of the doctors at Suburban Home Physicians, which did business as Doctor at Home; and DIANA JOCELYN GUMILA, a nurse and manager of Suburban Home Physicians.
The investigation is being carried out by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team, a joint initiative between the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prevent fraud and to enforce anti-fraud laws around the country. Dozens of defendants have been charged in numerous fraud cases since the strike force began operating in Chicago in 2011.
Evidence at Williams’ trial revealed that Serenity employees were trained to cold-call Medicare beneficiaries and convince them to accept home health services. If a Medicare beneficiary expressed interest, Serenity employees obtained the beneficiary’s personal information, including their Medicare number, and provided it to certain home health agencies that had agreed to pay Serenity for such referrals.
Ademiju pleaded guilty earlier this year to billing for unnecessary services and making illegal payments for patient referrals. He testified at Williams’ trial that some of his illegal payments were made to Serenity. Ademiju also admitted in his plea agreement that he sent some of the patients he had illegally obtained from Serenity to home-physician companies, including Suburban Home Physicians, based on his belief that physicians at those companies would order home health services even if the patients did not qualify for them. Ademiju is awaiting sentencing.
Dr. Newman pleaded guilty earlier this year to falsely certifying patients for nursing services even when he knew that patients did not qualify for such care. He admitted causing approximately $2.6 million in losses to Medicare. Newman is awaiting sentencing.
Gumila, who was convicted after a jury trial in April, directed employees to provide in-home services to patients she knew were not in need of it, and to certify patients for home-health services even when the patients did not qualify for it. Gumila directed her employees to bill the treatment at the most complicated levels, thus inflating the costs incurred by Medicare, even though the visits were typically routine and did not qualify for the elevated billing. Gumila was sentenced last month to six years in prison.
Williams’ conviction was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Kristie Osswald, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Railroad Retirement Board Office of the Inspector General.
The government is represented in the Williams case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Chahn Lee and Cornelius Vandenberg.
One Sentenced for Role in Analogue Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – One more member of a 22-member conspiracy that brought a controlled substance analogue into Southwest Virginia from as far away as China was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
Ryan Richard Potter, 27, who previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 4.5 kilograms of alpha-PVP, a controlled substance analogue, was sentenced today to 66 months in prison.
“In many instances the abuse of synthetic substances is more addictive and more dangerous than that of illegal street drugs,” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “We are grateful to the cooperative law enforcement effort that put an end to this conspiracy and slowed the flow of this substance into Southwest Virgnina.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Erin M. Kulpa, Potter, and other members of the conspiracy, disturbed alpha-PVP, a controlled substance analogue, in Southwest Virginia between 2012 and 2015. Members of the conspiracy placed orders of the powder form of alpha-PVP from distributors based in Florida and China and had these items shipped to residential addresses in Wise, Virginia. The conspirators would retrieve the packages and distribute the contents to mid-and-low level dealers in and around Wise, Virginia for distribution to alpha-PVP users.
Members of the conspiracy also regularly transported the hard form of alpha-PVP, commonly known as “Gravel” from suppliers in North Carolina and Tennessee to Wise, Virginia for distribution. As part of the conspiracy, members would break the larger quantities of “Gravel” into smaller amounts for sale to drug users, typically .5 to 1 gram amounts.
The investigation of the case was conducted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, the Virginia State Police, the Big Stone Gap Police Department, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Norton Police Department, the Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, the Sullivan County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office, the Coeburn Police Department, the Clintwood Police Department and the Wise Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Erin M. Kulpa prosecuted the case for the United States.