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Thursday 26 May 2016
Accokeek Man Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Fraudulently Obtain over $300,000 in Vehicle LoansRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Robert Anthony Fitzgerald Lathan, age 48, of Accokeek, Maryland, today to 42 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for a bank fraud conspiracy in which the conspirators obtained fraudulent vehicle loans. Judge Chasanow also ordered Lathan to forfeit and pay a money judgment of $169,385.83.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement and other court documents, from January 2009 to April 29, 2015, Lathan and others applied for vehicle loans with financial institutions and lenders using false information as to employment history at shell entities created by the conspirators, addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers. Lathan and others created and submitted fake documents, such as lien releases, utility bills, paystubs, letters of recommendation and a police report. The defendants often applied for vehicle loans on the same vehicle with different lenders. They sold the vehicles, obtained money from the sales and then did not provide the vehicles to the buyers. They deposited the loan funds into bank accounts and cashed loan checks at liquor stores. Lathan and his co-conspirators failed to pay the vehicle loans, which often resulted in the vehicles being repossessed by the lenders. Lathan knew that he had no intention of purchasing a vehicle and that the loan proceeds would be split between himself and his co-conspirators.
One of Lathan’s roles in the conspiracy was to create fake documents for other co-conspirators to use when making fraudulent loan applications. For example, Lathan created a fake lien release for a vehicle, a deal worksheet with false information, and fake paystubs. Lathan sent the fake documents to a co-conspirator, who either used the documents himself or provided them to other conspirators to use while applying for fraudulent loans. In addition, Lathan permitted co-conspirators to use his name and other information on fraudulent loan applications.
The total intended loss resulting from Lathan’s conduct in the scheme was at least $304,560.83.
Four co-defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.
The Maryland Identity Theft Working Group has been working since 2006 to foster cooperation among local, state, federal, and institutional fraud investigators and to promote effective prosecution of identity theft schemes by both state and federal prosecutors. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Working Group, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to work with financial institutions and businesses to address identity fraud, identify those who compromise personal identity information, and protect citizens from identity theft.
Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas P. Windom and Joseph R. Baldwin, who are prosecuting the case.
11 Alleged Members of a Drug Trafficking Organization Charged in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted 11 defendants, including four family members, for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute drugs:
Mario Finesse Wright, a/k/a Super and Finesse, age 27, of New Jersey;
Nikko Taylor Wright, age 25, of Germantown, Maryland;
Clayton Dion Hollywood Wright, a/k/a Hollywood, and Harrison Wright, age 22, of New Jersey;
Maximillan Kabir Bradford Wright, age 21, of New Jersey;
Shahryar Talebi-Nejad, a/k/a Skeet, age 27, of North Potomac, Maryland;
Matthew Joseph Hochman, a/k/a Greasy, age 28, of Gaithersburg, Maryland;
Daniel Rocco Famulare, age 28, of Gaithersburg, Maryland;
Brandon Alexander Ade, age 24, of Germantown, Maryland;
Arian Siasi, a/k/a The Prince of Persia, age 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland;
Ilya Bechutsky, age 29, of Boyds, Maryland; and
Terrence Devon Taylor, a/k/a Scoop, and T, age 27, of Clinton, Maryland.The indictment was returned yesterday and unsealed today upon the arrests of the defendants and the execution of search warrants at over 20 locations in Maryland and New Jersey by over 250 members of law enforcement.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski of the Drug Enforcement Administration – New Jersey Field Division; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to the indictment and evidence presented to the court, from at least March 2014 to May 2016, the defendants conspired to distribute heroin and cocaine. The government contends that the three New Jersey-based brothers, Mario, Clayton, and Max Wright, supplied their Maryland-based brother, Nikko Wright, with large quantities of heroin and cocaine over the course of several years, and that Nikko Wright in turn distributed those drugs to a network of dealers in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The Wright brothers, Shahryar Talebi-Nejad, and Matthew Hochman, all face sentences of up to 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years. The other defendants all face sentences of up to 20 years in prison. Initial appearances are being held today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
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 DEA and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. U.S. Attorney Rosenstein also recognized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the United States Marshal Service, Calvert County Police Department, Howard County Police Department and Prince George's County Police Department for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael T. Packard and Ray D. McKenzie, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Wednesday 25 May 2016
Wynne Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Prostituting Her Minor CousinsRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Special Agent in Charge Diane Upchurch, of the Little Rock Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and Colonel William J. Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police, announced today that Amber Johnson, age 30, of Wynne, Arkansas, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for sex trafficking of children.
Johnson was indicted on July 7, 2015, for one count of sex trafficking of children, and pleaded guilty on November 3, 2015. On Wednesday, Johnson was sentenced by United States District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., to 12 years imprisonment and five years supervised release.
"This defendant took advantage of two young relatives who trusted her," Thyer said. "These young girls turned to her in a time of need, and the defendant instead chose to satisfy her own needs by prostituting these children for money. There is no more important issue to my office than protecting the children of Arkansas, and we will continue to find and prosecute those who take advantage of children."
The charge in the indictment was based upon an investigation that began after two female minors, who were Amber Johnson’s cousins, ran away from their foster home in November 2014. They lived in various hotels, first in Jonesboro and later in North Little Rock, with Johnson and her own two young children. Johnson would leave her cousins, ages 15 and 17, in charge of her two children while she visited other locations to meet men. Johnson would give the men her phone number so they could contact her later to meet for sex.
When the male customers contacted Johnson, she would let them select which girl they wanted to have sex with: the 15-year-old, the 17-year-old, or herself. The men would come to the hotel, pick up the girl they chose, and either rent another hotel room or drive the girl to their home for sex. Johnson began by charging $20, but increased to $50 and sometimes charged $100. She told the Judge Marshall at her change of plea hearing in November that she used the money for hotel rooms, food, and "things we needed." Arkansas State Police located and arrested Johnson on April 29, 2015.
"We’re making the fight against human trafficking a priority and backing up the pledge to place all available resources on the streets and highways searching for the victims used in barter for sex and drugs," Bryant said. "In this case it is noteworthy that state troopers worked alongside civilian investigators of the Crimes Against Children Division, as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the Arkansas Department of Human Services. It is this commitment of multi-jurisdictional forces that will be necessary to identify and arrest those individuals who would prey on the lives of minors and others who are most vulnerable."
"Forcing young children into prostitution is beyond deplorable and today’s sentencing demonstrates those that commit any form of child exploitation will pay a harsh price for their actions," Upchurch said. "We will continue to pursue and punish these offenders to the fullest extent of the law. We appreciate the unfaltering efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office, the Arkansas State Police, the Jonesboro Police Department and the Arkansas Department of Human Services."
The investigation was conducted by Arkansas State Police and the Little Rock Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from Jonesboro Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Allison W. Bragg.
Wife of Hell’s Angels Member Sentenced for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Donna Boon, 50, of Oakfield, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, methamphetamine, was sentenced to three years probation which includes 12 months home detention by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who handled the case, stated that between 2002 through July 9, 2010, the defendant’s husband, James Henry McAuley, Jr. – at the time a member and Vice President of the Rochester Hell’s Angels – was the leader of a methamphetamine trafficking network. In 2002, McAuley located a source of methamphetamine supply in the Monterey, California area. McAuley and other members of the conspiracy traveled to California on numerous occasions to obtain pound-size quantities of methamphetamine from the supplier they then transported or shipped from California to the Rochester area where another member of the conspiracy would sell it to their customers.
Boon distributed quantities of methamphetamine to others, including an individual in Genesee County, who further distributed the drugs to customers in the Genesee County area. Boon admitted to trafficking up to 30 grams of methamphetamine.
McAuley was convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2016. He faces up to 327 months in prison.This case is part of a larger investigation that resulted in the indictment and arrest of members and associates of the Rochester and Monterey (California) Hell's Angels for drug trafficking and racketeering-related offenses in February 2012. Seven defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. In addition to Boon and McAuley, Richard W. Mar, Jeffrey A. Tyler, Richard E. Riedman, Gordon Montgomery and Paul Griffin, have been convicted for their roles in the methamphetamine conspiracy.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam Cohen, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Gary T. Maha, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the City of Batavia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean Shawn Heubusch, and the Village of LeRoy Police Department.
West Virginia Business Owners Indicted for Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in Charleston, West Virginia returned an indictment on May 25, charging two West Virginia business owners with federal employment tax violations, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Carol A. Casto for the Southern District of West Virginia announced today.
The indictment charges Michael Taylor and Jeanette Taylor, a married couple who reside in Wayne, West Virginia, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the collection of employment taxes withheld from the wages of the employees of their businesses, Taylor Contracting/Taylor Ready-Mix LLC and Bluegrass Aggregates LLC, which were in the business of transporting steel and the sale of gravel and concrete. The couple is also charged with one count of willfully failing to truthfully account for and pay over employment tax withheld for their employees at Taylor Contracting/Taylor Ready-Mix LLC.
According to the indictment, both Michael Taylor and Jeanette Taylor had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for and pay over to the IRS federal income, social security and Medicare taxes withheld from the wages of their employees. From the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2007, through the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, the Taylors withheld approximately $1,002,392 in payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks at Taylor Contracting/Taylor Ready-Mix LLC and during the 2010 calendar year, they withheld approximately $161,218 in payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks at Bluegrass Aggregates LLC. However, the Taylors failed to fully pay over these taxes to the IRS and instead used the money to make expenditures for their personal benefit, such as making payments towards their personal credit cards and a horse farm.
If convicted, the Taylors face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. They also face a term of supervised release and an order of restitution.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and Acting U.S. Attorney Casto commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorneys Mara Strier and Alexander Effendi of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Valparaiso Man Sentenced to 30 YearsRead the Press Release
HAMMOND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David A. Capp, announced that Zachary Berkshire, 32, of Valparaiso, Indiana was sentenced before District Court Judge Rudy Lozano for one count of enticement of a minor child and two counts of production of child pornography.
Berkshire was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment and Supervised Release for life. He is also required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
According to documents filed in this case, between June 2014 continuing through August 2014, Berkshire used a computer connected to the Internet and a cell phone to contact a minor between the ages of 12 and 15 years old. Berkshire persuaded the victim to meet him at a park in Northwest Indiana for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Despite knowing the victim was under the age 15 and after he had sex with her in the park, Berkshire continued to maintain contact with her online and via text message. Between January 12, 2015 and January 14, 2015, Berkshire sent text messages to the victim requesting close up pictures of her private parts which he received. During the investigation, a second victim was found to be targeted on August 12, 2013, when Berkshire recorded her with a hidden camera in a bathroom of his house without her knowledge for the express purpose of obtaining sexually explicit footage. Berkshire sent this information via his personal email address to another individual.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Indiana State Police. This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.
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United States Intervenes in False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Prime Healthcare Services Inc. and its CEO Alleging Unnecessary Inpatient Admissions from Emergency RoomsRead the Press Release
The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Services Inc. (Prime); the company’s founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Prem Reddy; and 14 Prime hospitals in California that alleges Emergency Departments at Prime facilities improperly admitted patients to the hospitals and submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.
The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Reddy directed the corporate practice of pressuring Prime’s Emergency Department physicians and hospital administrators to raise inpatient admission rates, regardless of whether it was medically necessary to admit the patients. The lawsuit alleges that Prime’s corporate officers, at Reddy’s direction, exerted immense pressure on doctors in the Emergency Departments to admit patients who could have been placed in observation, treated as outpatients or discharged. As a result of these medically unnecessary admissions from the Emergency Departments, Prime hospitals allegedly submitted false claims to federal health care programs, such as Medicare.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that health care providers do not inappropriately seek to profit at the expense of federal health care programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Schemes such as this one can contribute significantly to the rising cost of health care delivery and create needless patient risk.”
“Fraudulent billing practices, such as those alleged in this civil lawsuit, harm taxpayers who fund health care programs, such as Medicare,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker for the Central District of California. “The Justice Department works collaboratively with law enforcement agencies, regulators and, in some cases, private citizens to ensure the integrity of a system that provides healthcare to millions of Americans.”
“Charging for medically unnecessary services, as alleged in this case, raises costs in government health programs and remorselessly passes that bill along to taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our investigation into the allegations in this case, along with our law enforcement partners, led to the government’s decision to intervene.”
The lawsuit, United States ex rel. Berntsen v. Prime Healthcare Services, et al., CV11-8214-PJW (MG), was filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by relator Karin Bernsten, who worked at one of the Prime hospitals where the allegedly improper inpatient admissions allegedly took place. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the United States when they believe that a party has submitted false claims for government funds, and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act permits the government to intervene in such a lawsuit, as it has done in a portion of this case.
The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $29 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.5 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
These matters were investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, HHS-OIG and the FBI.
The claims asserted against Prime and Dr. Reddy are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
United States Intervenes in False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Prime Healthcare Services Inc. and its CEO Alleging Unnecessary Inpatient Admissions from Emergency RoomsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Services Inc.; the company’s founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Prem Reddy; and 14 Prime hospitals in California that alleges Emergency Departments at Prime facilities improperly admitted patients to the hospitals and submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.
The lawsuit alleges that Reddy directed the corporate practice of pressuring Prime’s Emergency Department physicians and hospital administrators to raise inpatient admission rates, regardless of whether it was medically necessary to admit the patients. The lawsuit alleges that Prime’s corporate officers, at Reddy’s direction, exerted immense pressure on doctors in the Emergency Departments to admit patients who could have been placed in observation, treated as outpatients or discharged. As a result of these medically unnecessary admissions from the Emergency Departments, Prime hospitals allegedly submitted false claims to federal health care programs, such as Medicare.
“Fraudulent billing practices, such as those alleged in this civil lawsuit, harm taxpayers who fund health care programs, such as Medicare,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker for the Central District of California. “The Justice Department works collaboratively with law enforcement agencies, regulators and, in some cases, private citizens to ensure the integrity of a system that provides healthcare to millions of Americans.”
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that health care providers do not inappropriately seek to profit at the expense of federal health care programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Schemes such as this one can contribute significantly to the rising cost of health care delivery and create needless patient risk.”
The lawsuit, United States ex rel. Berntsen v. Prime Healthcare Services, et al., CV11-8214-PJW, was filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles by relator Karin Berntsen, who worked at one of the Prime hospitals where the allegedly improper inpatient admissions allegedly took place. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the United States when they believe that a party has submitted false claims for government funds, and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act permits the government to intervene in such a lawsuit, as it has done in a portion of this case.
“Charging for medically unnecessary services, as alleged in this case, raises costs in government health programs and remorselessly passes that bill along to taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our investigation into the allegations in this case, along with our law enforcement partners, led to the government’s decision to intervene.”
The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $29 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.5 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This matter was investigated by the DOJ Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, HHS-OIG and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The claims asserted against Prime and Reddy are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Ukrainian Man Pretending to Be U.S. Citizen Indicted Federally for Passport and Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Ukrainian man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for passport fraud and social security fraud.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the indictment alleges that Artur Samuel Samarin, age 23, a Ukrainian citizen, using the identity of Asher Samuel Potts, fraudulently applied for a United States passport at the Main Post Office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on December 7, 2015. Samarin also allegedly submitted false and misleading information to the Social Security Administration resulting in his obtaining a social security card in the name of Asher Potts in July 2014 and he applied for and received a replacement card in November 2015.
This case is part of a continuing investigation by the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
Samarin was arrested on state charges in February 2016 for statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, identity theft, falsification to authorities, and tampering with public records. Samarin was detained and remains in local custody.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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.
The maximum penalty under federal law, for passport fraud is 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release of three years and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty under federal law, for social security fraud is five years’ imprisonment, a three term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon Hosts Fourth Community Roundtable to Discuss Strengthening Trust Between the Public and Law EnforcementRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Civic, religious and community leaders joined top law enforcement personnel today to continue an ongoing dialogue about building trust between law enforcement and the Chicagoland community.
The Community Roundtable was convened by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. It was held at Kennedy-King College in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Today’s event was the fourth such discussion, following up on productive sessions in December 2014, March 2015 and November 2015.
“Today’s roundtable brought together fervent leaders from various experiences and backgrounds,” said Mr. Fardon. “We all share the collective goal of cultivating community trust and making Chicago an even stronger and safer place. We had a candid and inspiring conversation about how to maximize the resources of the many talented service providers our city has to offer, and how to better incorporate law enforcement into their efforts to serve our most at-risk communities.”
Among the more than 50 participants in today’s meeting were Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson and other top members of the Chicago Police Department, as well as representatives from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, Chicago Independent Police Review Authority, U.S. Marshal’s Service, KLEO Community Family Life Center, Chicago Board of Rabbis, Bowen High School, A Better Chicago, Purpose Over Pain, Chicago Community Trust, University of Chicago Crime Lab, YMCA, Mikva Challenge, Chicago Violence Reduction Strategy, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago Urban League, Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, Better Boys Foundation, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, and Becoming A Man.
The U.S. Department of Justice has made the issue of community policing a top priority. The Community Roundtables focus on developing tangible initiatives for improving the relationship between law enforcement and the community.
Kennedy-King College, one of seven City Colleges of Chicago, is named after slain civil rights leaders Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It is located at 6301 S. Halsted St. in Chicago.
Two Men Sentenced to 13 Years and 7 1/2 Years in Prison for Carjackings and Attempted Carjacking in Greenfield and Oak CreekRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad announced today that two Milwaukee men were sentenced for a series of carjackings that occurred in Greenfield and Oak Creek, Wisconsin in August 2015. The superseding indictment charged Devonte Hayes (age: 19) and Norman Howard (age: 18) with attempted motor vehicle robbery in Greenfield, Wisconsin, on August 18, 2015, and brandishing a firearm during that crime, which carries a 7-year mandatory minimum. They were also charged with a motor vehicle robbery on August 12, 2015, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Lastly, defendant Hayes was charged with a motor vehicle robbery in Greenfield on August 11, 2015.
The defendants used carjacked cars to commit further carjackings. During the carjacking on August 18, 2015, Hayes pointed a firearm at the victim while he demanded keys to her car. After speeding away from the scene, the defendants engaged in a high-speed chase with law enforcement and were apprehended after a foot pursuit.
Devonte Hayes, pleaded guilty to two counts of motor vehicle robbery, one count of attempted motor vehicle robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. On March 10, 2016, the Honorable J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced Hayes to 156 months (13 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Norman Howard, pleaded guilty to one count of motor vehicle robbery and one count of attempted motor vehicle robbery. On May 19, 2016, the Honorable J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced Howard to 90 months (7 ½ years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force, the Greenfield Police Department, the Oak Creek Police Department, the West Allis Police Department, and the Milwaukee Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Margaret B. Honrath.
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Two Kansas City Area Men Sentenced in $93,000 Drug DealRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - Two Kansas City area men who set up a $93,000 drug deal have been sentenced to federal prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Timothy Wilson, 51, Kansas City, Mo., and John Hernandez, 38, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Wilson was sentenced Wednesday to 90 months in federal prison. Hernandez was sentenced Tuesday to 57 months.
In their pleas, they admitted they arranged to buy three kilograms of cocaine at a price of $31,000 per kilogram. They were not aware that the sellers were undercover agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from El Paso, Texas. Wilson and Hernandez were arrested Sept. 3, 2015, in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant at 542 Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan., when they attempted to exchange the money for the cocaine.
Beall commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Ward for their work on the case.
Two Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Cocaine OffensesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Joseph A. D’Amico, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), announced today the arrest of MARC HENRY JOHNSON and JAMES HOLDER, a/k/a “Pepsi,” for cocaine-related charges. JOHNSON and HOLDER were arrested last night and will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein today.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Drugs destroy lives and communities. The charges unsealed today against James Holder and Marc Henry Johnson are a reminder of that. And the work of the DEA, NYPD, and State Police in this investigation is also a reminder of law enforcement’s commitment to stem the distribution of dangerous drugs in our communities.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said: “Drug overdoses take too many lives too soon and become a family’s worst nightmare. DEA is committed to dismantling drug trafficking organizations and those responsible for putting poison in the hands of users. By retracing alleged crimes, the DEA Strike Force has sent a message to dealers that the consequences of their actions affect them as well as the families of drug users. DEA commends our law enforcement partners who have worked diligently throughout this investigation.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “As alleged, the defendants’ apparent disregard for a victim of this poison is frankly, unimaginable. As alleged, when the defendants realized someone was unresponsive after an apparent overdose, they dragged her body down to a building lobby in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. We will continue to pursue those who pour this poison into our streets with every single judicial tool at our disposal.”
State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico said: “The hard work of our partners on the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force has led to the arrests of two subjects who have allegedly been dealing or buying cocaine in the city for years, with little regard for the impact of their actions on users or the rest of the community. We will continue to work with our partners to disrupt the supply of dangerous narcotics in our communities and put those responsible behind bars.”
According to the allegations contained in a criminal Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
From approximately 2003 to October 4, 2015, HOLDER lived in and sold cocaine from a third-floor apartment in Chelsea. He also delivered cocaine to customers at other locations. Since 2003, HOLDER distributed a total of more than five kilograms of cocaine.
HOLDER and JOHNSON are longtime friends. JOHNSON regularly bought cocaine from HOLDER, used cocaine, and provided cocaine to others in social situations. JOHNSON also introduced HOLDER to other individuals as a potential supplier of cocaine. HOLDER then provided cocaine to those individuals in exchange for money, and those individuals, in turn, introduced still more cocaine buyers to HOLDER.
During the night of October 3, 2015, and the early morning hours of October 4, 2015, JOHNSON sent text messages saying he “may go to Pepsi for a pickup” “in chelsea,” and later met up with a 38-year-old woman (“Individual-1”) and others at a bar in Manhattan. Individual-1 had been using cocaine before JOHNSON arrived. JOHNSON told Individual-1 and others at the bar that he had a significant amount of cocaine, which he offered to share.
Later, JOHNSON and Individual-1 left the bar together in a taxi. They arrived at the Chelsea building where HOLDER lived at approximately 4:25 a.m., and walked upstairs to HOLDER’s apartment. Video surveillance footage shows hours later, JOHNSON and HOLDER dragged Individual-1’s apparently unconscious body into the building’s first-floor vestibule. HOLDER then left the building, carrying an object as he walked away.
JOHNSON called 911 to summon an ambulance at approximately 8:30 a.m. He declined to provide his name to the 911 operator, and neither identified Individual-1 nor described his relationship to her, nor did he explain what had happened to her and why she needed medical assistance. Emergency Medical Technicians (“EMTs”) responded and found Individual-1 unresponsive in the Chelsea building’s vestibule. JOHNSON left the building soon after the EMTs arrived.
Individual-1 was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead later on October 4, 2015. Her death was caused by, among other things, cocaine use.
HOLDER moved out of the Chelsea building after October 4, 2015, but continued to sell cocaine in Manhattan until at least January 2016.
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HOLDER is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison. JOHNSON is charged with one count of attempting to distribute cocaine, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of acting as an accessory after the fact in relation to the conspiracy charge against HOLDER, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 15 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the New York State Police, the U. S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshal Service, New York National Guard, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Clarkstown Police Department, the Port Washington Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which is a federally funded crime fighting initiative.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Garnett and David Abramowicz are in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Two Anchorage Residents Charged with 14 Counts of Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Anchorage husband and wife were indicted by a federal grand jury on 14 charges of wire fraud and a scheme to defraud. In a separate indictment, the husband was charged with narcotics and firearms crimes.
Arnold Wesley Flowers II, 41, and Miranda May Flowers, 31, were the named defendants in the wire fraud indictment. Arnold Wesley Flowers II was named as a sole defendant in the narcotics and firearm indictment.
On January 19, 2016, Arnold Wesley Flowers II and Miranda May Flowers reported that their residence had been burglarized. On January 22, 2016, they contacted State Farm Insurance and filed a claim for $82,000 worth of damages to their residence and stolen electronics, jewelry, and clothing. During the month of January the Flowers contacted State Farm Insurance by telephone and email regarding the value of the items allegedly taken during the burglary and damage done to their residence. On March 29, during a search of a storage unit associated with the Flowers, law enforcement found many of the items the Flowers claimed had been stolen during the January 19 burglary. The investigation revealed that the Flowers had transported the items to the storage unit on January 17, 2016, prior to reporting the burglary at their residence.
During a search of the Flowers’ residence on March 29, 2016, Arnold Wesley Flowers II was found in possession of cocaine and firearms. Mr. Flowers has prior convictions for crimes punishable by more than one year imprisonment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Anchorage Police Department, and the State of Alaska Division of Insurance conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tremaine Barnett Sentenced for Distribution of HeroinRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Tremaine J. Barnett, 32, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced before District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann for possession with intent to distribute Heroin.
Barnett was sentenced to 92 months imprisonment and 4 years supervised release.
According to documents filed in the case, on or about April 29, 2015, Barnett knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of Heroin.
This investigation was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.
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Three Men Indicted in Federal Court for CarjackingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad announced today that three Milwaukee men were indicted for the July 15, 2015 armed carjacking near Wick Field in Milwaukee. Sean Harvey (age: 24), Broderick Moore, (age: 23), and Robert Ellis, (age: 25), were charged with one count of motor vehicle robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Harvey is also charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted, each man faces up to 15 years in prison on the motor vehicle robbery count and a minimum mandatory sentence of 7 years and up to life in prison on the charge of brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force and the Milwaukee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Margaret B. Honrath.
The public is cautioned that an indictment is merely a charge and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Texas men sentenced for roles in transporting 28 kilograms of cocaineRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that two Texas men were sentenced for conspiring to transport approximately 28 kilograms of powder cocaine.
Ricardo Garcia, 28, and Jesus Christian Martinez, 34, both of Brownsville, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 72 months and 62 months in prison respectively on one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute powder cocaine. They were also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the December 21, 2015 guilty pleas, Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop on February 3, 2015 on a vehicle Garcia and Martinez were traveling in that was heading eastbound on I-20 in Bossier Parish. The vehicle displayed North Carolina license plates but was not registered to either the driver or the passenger. After further investigation, troopers searched the vehicle and found 28 kilogram-size packages of powder cocaine inside of a speaker box in the trunk.
The DEA-Shreveport Office and Louisiana State Police-Troop G conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case.
Texas Tax Return Preparer Indicted for Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A DeSoto, Texas, resident was indicted on 29 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns and three counts of willfully failing to file income tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
According to court documents, Vicki Louise Walker, was a tax preparer doing business under the name Vicki Walker Tax Services LLC in Dallas, Texas. Walker is alleged to have prepared numerous tax returns for tax years 2010 through 2013 on which she reported false items, including false filing status, false business expenses, false capital losses and false charitable donations. It is further alleged that Walker willfully failed to file her own tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax years 2011 through 2013.
If convicted, Walker faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison for each count of failing to file her own tax returns. She also faces monetary penalties and restitution.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Parker commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes of the Northern District of Texas, who are prosecuting this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Tahlequah Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that MARK ALAN FRENCH, age 48, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, pled guilty to PROHIBITED PERSON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(9) and 924(a)(2), punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment, up to $250,000.00 fine or both.
The Indictment alleged that from on or about January 2, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, firearms which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Stilwell Police Department, the Adair County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Sweetwater Resident Arrested for Snapchat Extortion SchemeRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On May 24, 2016, Brandon Douglas Shanahan, 22, of Sweetwater, Tenn., was arrested and charged with intent to extort money and other things of value from a female victim through a Snapchat communication which threatened to injure her reputation.
Shanahan had his initial appearance on May 25, 2016, before the Honorable Dennis Inman, U.S. Magistrate Judge, and pleaded not guilty. He was released on bond pending his next court appearance in the case.
A detailed account of Shanahan’s conduct leading to his arrest is included in the criminal complaint and supporting affidavit on file with U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
According to the above-referenced affidavit, Shanahan conversed via Snapchat with the female victim using the name “Camsutton2323.” The victim believed she was communicating with Cameron Sutton, a University of Tennessee football player, since the display name for Camsutton2323 was “Cameron Sutton” and the number 23 is Sutton’s University of Tennessee jersey number. The investigation by law enforcement revealed that Sutton himself was a victim of criminal impersonation. Sutton had not conversed with the victim via Snapchat or any other method of communication and had no knowledge of Shanahan’s impersonation of him.
If convicted, Shanahan faces a maximum of two years in prison.
The investigation indicates that there may have been numerous other female victims who have been contacted by Shanahan. Please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office at 865-744-0751, if you believe that you may have been a victim of extortion by Shanahan through his use of the Snapchat name “Camsutton2323.”
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, consisting of members of the Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the University of Tennessee Police Department, with the assistance of the Sweetwater Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Davidson represents the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that a criminal complaint constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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San Jose Man Sentenced to 27 Months’ Imprisonment for Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Maxito Pean was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $233,200 in restitution for money laundering announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch. The sentence was handed down late yesterday by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge.
Pean, 52, who is from Haiti and had been residing in Florida, pleaded guilty on February 24, 2016, to one count of engaging in monetary transactions using criminally derived property. According to the plea agreement, Pean admitted that in January and February of 2013, he recruited people to open two bank accounts for the purpose of receiving proceeds of criminal activity. For the first account, Pean arranged for a homeless man from Florida to open a bank account in Lauderhill, Florida, in the name of "Southeastern Capital Group, Inc." For the second account, Pean arranged for a person to open an account in the name of "Meade Financial Services." Pean acknowledged he intended to use those accounts to receive and transfer the funds in a way he hoped would not be traceable back to him.
Further, according to the plea agreement, Pean admitted an unknown person fraudulently caused an employee at Deutsche Bank in San Francisco to transfer $233,200 from a victim’s bank account to one of the accounts controlled by Pean. Pean admitted that the money was, in fact, the proceeds of wire fraud committed against the victim of an email takeover scam.
Pean was indicted on October 29, 2014, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 1956(h); money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i); engaging in monetary transactions using the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, in violation of 18 U. S.C. § 1957; and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2.
In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Koh also sentenced the defendant to a 3-year period of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Frey prosecuted the case with the assistance of Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS and the Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) task force.
Russian Banker Sentenced in Connection with Conspiracy to Work for Russian IntelligenceRead the Press Release
Evgeny Buryakov, aka Zhenya, 41, was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for conspiring to act in the United States as an agent of the Russian Federation without providing prior notice to the Attorney General.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.
“Evgeny Buryakov is being held accountable for his efforts to secretly operate as a Russian foreign intelligence officer in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Foreign intelligence officers attempting to illegally collect information pose a direct threat to our national security. Working with our law enforcement and intelligence partners at tracking down and disrupting these clandestine operations against our country will continue to remain one of the National Security Division’s highest priorities.”
“Evgeny Buryakov, in the guise of being a legitimate banker, gathered intelligence as an agent of the Russian Federation in New York,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “He traded coded messages with one of his Russian spy co-defendants, who sent the clandestinely collected information back to Moscow. So long as this type of Cold War-style spy intrigue continues to go on in present-day New York City, the FBI and the prosecutors in my office will continue to investigate and prosecute it.”
According to the complaint, indictment, other court filings and statements made during court proceedings:
Beginning in at least 2012, Buryakov worked in the United States as an agent of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, known as the SVR. Buryakov operated under non-official cover, meaning he entered and remained in the United States as a private citizen, posing as an employee in the New York office of a Russian bank, Vnesheconombank (VEB). SVR agents operating under such non-official cover (NOCs) are typically subject to less scrutiny by the host government and, in many cases, are never identified as intelligence agents by the host government. As a result, an NOC is an extremely valuable intelligence asset for the SVR.
Federal law prohibits individuals from acting as agents of foreign governments within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General. Department of Justice records indicate that Buryakov never notified the Attorney General that he was, in fact, an agent of the Russian Federation.
Buryakov worked in New York with at least two other SVR agents, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy. From on or about Nov. 22, 2010, to on or about Nov. 21, 2014, Sporyshev officially served as a trade representative of the Russian Federation in New York. From on or about Dec. 13, 2012, to on or about Sept. 12, 2013, Podobnyy officially served as an attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. The investigation, however, showed that Sporyshev and Podobnyy also worked as officers of the SVR.
The directives from the SVR to Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy, as well as to other covert SVR agents acting within the United States, included requests to gather intelligence on, among other subjects, potential U.S. sanctions against Russian banks and the United States’ efforts to develop alternative energy resources.
During the course of their work as covert SVR agents in the United States, Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy regularly met and communicated using clandestine methods and coded messages in order to exchange intelligence-related information while shielding their associations with one another as SVR agents.
In the summer of 2014, Buryakov met multiple times with a confidential source working for the FBI and an FBI undercover employee, both of whom purported to be working on a casino development project in Russia. During these meetings, Buryakov accepted documents that were purportedly obtained from a U.S. government agency and which supposedly contained information potentially useful to Russia, including information about U.S. sanctions against Russia.
For their alleged roles in the conspiracy, Sporyshev and Podobnyy are charged with conspiracy to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. They are also charged with aiding and abetting Buryakov’s actions in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. These maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. The charges against Sporyshev and Podobnyy are merely accusations, and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer live in the United States and have not been arrested. By virtue of their prior positions in the United States on behalf of Russia, both of them were afforded diplomatic immunity from arrest and prosecution while in the United States.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney Bharara in praising the investigative work of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen J. Ritchin, Emil J. Bove III, Brendan F. Quigley, Anna M. Skotko and Ian McGinley of the Southern District of New York, with assistance provided by Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Russian Banker Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 30 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Work for Russian IntelligenceRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced that EVGENY BURYAKOV, a/k/a “Zhenya,” who worked for a Russian bank in Manhattan, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for conspiring to act in the United States as an agent of the Russian Federation without providing prior notice to the Attorney General. BURYAKOV pled guilty on March 11, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who imposed today’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Evgeny Buryakov, in the guise of being a legitimate banker, gathered intelligence as an agent of the Russian Federation in New York. He traded coded messages with one of his Russian spy co-defendants, who sent the clandestinely collected information back to Moscow. So long as this type of Cold War-style spy intrigue continues to go on in present-day New York City, the FBI and the prosecutors in my office will continue to investigate and prosecute it.”
Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin said: “Evgeny Buryakov is being held accountable for his efforts to secretly operate as a Russian foreign intelligence officer in the United States. Foreign intelligence officers attempting to illegally collect information pose a direct threat to our national security. Working with our law enforcement and intelligence partners at tracking down and disrupting these clandestine operations against our country will continue to remain one of the National Security Division's highest priorities.”
According to the Complaint, the initial and superseding Indictments, other documents publicly filed in this case, and statements made during court proceedings, including today’s sentencing:
Beginning in at least 2012, bURYAKOV worked in the United States as an agent of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, known as the “SVR.” BURYAKOV operated under “non-official cover,” meaning he entered and remained in the United States as a private citizen, posing as an employee in the Manhattan office of a Russian bank, Vnesheconombank, also known as “VEB.” SVR agents operating under such non-official cover – sometimes referred to as “NOCs” – typically are subject to less scrutiny by the host government, and, in many cases, are never identified as intelligence agents by the host government. As a result, an NOC is an extremely valuable intelligence asset for the SVR.
Federal law prohibits individuals from acting as agents of foreign governments within the United States without prior notification to the United States Attorney General. Department of Justice records indicate that BURYAKOV never notified the United States Attorney General that he was, in fact, an agent of the Russia Federation.
BURYAKOV worked in New York with at least two other SVR agents, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy. From on or about November 22, 2010, to on or about November 21, 2014, Sporyshev officially served as a Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in New York. From on or about December 13, 2012, to on or about September 12, 2013, Podobnyy officially served as an Attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. The investigation, however, showed that Sporyshev and Podobnyy also worked as officers of the SVR.
BURYAKOV’s Co-Conspirators Are Recorded Inside the SVR’s New York “Residentura”
During the course of the investigation, the FBI recorded Sporyshev and Podobnyy speaking inside the SVR’s offices in New York, known as the “Residentura.”
The FBI obtained the recordings after Sporyshev attempted to recruit an FBI undercover employee (“UCE-1”), who was posing as an analyst from a New York-based energy company. In response to requests from Sporyshev, UCE-1 provided Sporyshev with binders containing purported industry analysis written by UCE-1 and supporting documentation relating to UCE-1’s reports, as well as covertly placed recording devices. Sporyshev then took the binders to, among other places, the Residentura.
During subsequent recorded conversations, Sporyshev and Podobnyy discussed, among other things, Sporyshev’s SVR employment contract and his official cover position, their work as SVR officers, and the FBI’s July 2010 arrests of ten SVR agents in the United States, known as the “Illegals.”
Sporyshev and Podobnyy also discussed BURYAKOV’s prior service with the SVR in South Africa. BURYAKOV worked in South Africa between approximately 2004 and 2009, officially as a representative of VEB. During a conversation about Sporyshev’s cover position in New York, Podobnyy related that, when BURYAKOV was working in South Africa, Podobnyy had dinner with an SVR official and BURYAKOV’s supervisor at VEB and that, during the dinner, the SVR official told the VEB official that BURYAKOV was an “employee of the Service,” i.e., the SVR.
Further, Sporyshev and Podobnyy were recorded discussing, among other things, their (i) attempting to recruit New York City residents as intelligence sources for Russia; (ii) tasking BURYAKOV to gather intelligence; and (iii) transmitting intelligence reports prepared by BURYAKOV back to SVR headquarters in Moscow.
The directives from the SVR to BURYAKOV, Sporyshev, and Podobnyy, as well as to other covert SVR agents acting within the United States, included requests to gather intelligence on, among other subjects, potential United States sanctions against Russian banks and the United States’ efforts to develop alternative energy resources.
BURYAKOV’s Intelligence Taskings
Sporyshev was responsible for relaying intelligence assignments from the SVR to BURYAKOV.
BURYAKOV Drafts a Proposal for the SVR’s “Active Measures Directorate”
For example, in May 2013, Sporyshev and Podobnyy were recorded discussing a proposal that BURYAKOV had drafted about a planned deal in which Bombardier Aircraft Company in Canada would manufacture certain airplanes in Russia. Sporyshev noted that Canadian “unions were resisting” and that BURYAKOV’s “proposal [was] for MS” – the SVR’s Active Measures Directorate – to “pressur[e] the unions and secur[e] from the company a solution that is beneficial to us.” Other evidence developed during the investigation showed that, around the time of this conversation, BURYAKOV had conducted Internet searches relating to Bombardier and labor unions and, earlier, had obtained news articles regarding the planned deal and attended a conference in Canada that Bombardier personnel also attended.
BURYAKOV Assists Sporyshev in Attempting to Obtain Sensitive Information About the New York Stock Exchange
Also, on May 21, 2013, Sporyshev called BURYAKOV, greeted him, and then described a tasking from “top sources” relating to three questions that ITAR-TASS, a Russian news agency, could put to the New York Stock Exchange. Sporyshev called the defendant back approximately 20 minutes later. During the call, BURYAKOV proposed questions regarding (i) Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), including the “mechanisms of their use to destabilize the market”; (ii) “curbing of trading robot activities”; and (iii) “technical parameters” and “other regulations directly related to the exchange.” On July 8, 2013, a purported “Bureau Chief” for ITAR-TASS sent an email to an employee of the New York Stock Exchange that parroted the questions that BURYAKOV proposed to Sporyshev.
BURYAKOV Assists Sporyshev in Analyzing the Effect of Sanctions
Another example of an intelligence tasking occurred in late March 2014. Specifically, on or about March 28, 2014, Sporyshev was recorded telling BURYAKOV that Sporyshev needed help researching the “effects of economic sanctions on our country,” among other things. A few days later, on April 2, 2014, Sporyshev called BURYAKOV and stated, in an intercepted conversation, that he had not seen BURYAKOV in a while, and asked to meet BURYAKOV outside VEB’s office in Manhattan in 20 minutes. A court-authorized search of BURYAKOV’s computer at VEB revealed that, at around the time of this telephone call, BURYAKOV conducted the following internet searches: “sanctions Russia consiquences” [sic] and “sanctions Russia impact.”
Two days later, on April 4, 2014, BURYAKOV called Sporyshev and, in an intercepted conversation, stated that he “wrote you an order list,” and suggested that they meet. Approximately 20 minutes later, Sporyshev met BURYAKOV in the driveway of BURYAKOV’s home. Their encounter, which was captured by a video surveillance camera located near BURYAKOV’s residence, lasted approximately two minutes. On the video footage, the defendants appeared to exchange a small object.
Clandestine Meetings and Communications
During the course of their work as covert SVR agents in the United States, BURYAKOV, Sporyshev, and Podobnyy regularly met and communicated using clandestine methods and coded messages, in order to exchange intelligence-related information while shielding their associations with one another as SVR agents. These efforts were designed, among other things, to preserve their respective covers as an employee of VEB (BURYAKOV), a Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in New York (Sporyshev), and an Attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (Podobnyy).
During the investigation, the FBI intercepted numerous calls between BURYAKOV and Sporyshev in which one of the men told the other that he needed to meet for some purpose, such as to transfer an item (such as a “ticket,” “book,” or “list,”) or for a purported social purpose. In fact, BURYAKOV and Sporyshev used this coded language to signal that they needed to exchange intelligence information.
FBI surveillance revealed that, at some of these meetings between BURYAKOV and Sporyshev, they exchanged documents or other small items. Notably, despite discussing on approximately one dozen occasions the need to meet to transfer “tickets,” BURYAKOV and Sporyshev were – other than one occasion where they discussed going to a movie – never observed attending, or discussing in any detail, events that would typically require tickets, such as a sporting event or concert.
BURYAKOV’s Receipt of Purported Official United States Government Documents
In the summer of 2014, BURYAKOV met multiple times with a confidential source working for the FBI (“CS-1”) and an FBI undercover employee (“UCE-2”). Both CS-1 and UCE-2 purported to be working on a casino development project in Russia.
During a conversation recorded on July 22, 2014, Sporyshev warned BURYAKOV that meeting with UCE-2 might be a “trap” but authorized BURYAKOV to go ahead so he could make a better assessment.
During the course of the subsequent meetings, and consistent with his interests as a Russian intelligence agent, BURYAKOV demonstrated his strong desire to obtain information about subjects far outside the scope of his work as a bank employee. During these meetings, BURYAKOV also accepted documents that were purportedly obtained from a U.S. government agency and which purportedly contained information potentially useful to Russia, including information about United States sanctions against Russia.
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In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Berman ordered BURYAKOV, 41, to pay a $10,000 fine and a $100 special assessment. BURYAKOV was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. Judge Berman also ordered that BURYAKOV be removed from the United States to the Russian Federation promptly upon the completion of his prison sentence.
For their alleged roles in the conspiracy, Sporyshev, 41, and Podobnyy, 28, are charged in two counts. The first count charges Sporyshev and Podobnyy with a conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General, and carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The second count charges Sporyshev and Podobnyy with aiding and abetting BURYAKOV’s actions in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General, and carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. These maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer live in the United States and have not been arrested. By virtue of their prior positions in the United States on behalf of Russia, both of them were afforded diplomatic immunity from arrest and prosecution while in the United States. The charges against Sporyshev and Podobnyy are merely accusations, and these defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
The prosecution has being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen J. Ritchin, Emil J. Bove III, Brendan F. Quigley, Anna M. Skotko, and Ian McGinley are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Deputy Chief Richard Scott and Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
Romanian Hacker “Guccifer” Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking CrimesRead the Press Release
Marcel Lehel Lazar, 44, of Arad, Romania, a hacker who used the online moniker “Guccifer,” pleaded guilty today to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Ebert of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Cybercriminals like Marcel Lazar believe they can act with impunity from safe havens abroad, but the Justice Department’s partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world ensure that they can be brought to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Lazar sought fame by hacking the private online accounts of Americans and releasing their personal information to the public; instead, he has been convicted in United States federal court.”
“Mr. Lazar will be punished for violating the personal privacy of dozens of Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “These convictions show that cybercriminals cannot hide from justice. The United States will vigorously pursue these offenders, wherever they may hide.”
“Marcel Lazar, who hacked under the moniker ‘Guccifer,’ has now been brought to justice before a United States court,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate. “As a direct result of our global technological and investigative reach and strong international partnerships, we were able to successfully identify Guccifer and his criminal activities, and bring him to justice here in America. The FBI will continue to relentlessly hunt down criminals in cyberspace and around the world. I would like to commend the dedicated efforts of the agents, analysts, prosecutors and international partners who worked tirelessly to resolve this highly complex cyber investigation.”
“The success of this international investigation is the direct result of our long established partnerships with our federal and foreign law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Ebert. “By working with our law enforcement partners around the world, we have disrupted and brought to justice some of the most prolific transnational cyber-criminals operating around the world. These continued partnerships will enable us to pursue cyber criminals wherever they operate.”
Lazar pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia, who set sentencing for Sept. 1, 2016.
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Lazar admitted that from at least October 2012 to January 2014, he intentionally gained unauthorized access to personal email and social media accounts belonging to approximately 100 Americans, and he did so to unlawfully obtain his victims’ personal information and email correspondence. His victims included an immediate family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former member of the U.S. Cabinet, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor, he admitted. Lazar admitted that in many instances, he publically released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs.
The FBI, DSS and the Secret Service investigated the case. Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance. The Justice Department thanks the government of Romania for their assistance in this matter.
Romanian Hacker “Guccifer” Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking CrimesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Marcel Lehel Lazar, 44, of Arad, Romania, a hacker who used the online moniker “Guccifer,” pleaded guilty today to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.
“Mr. Lazar will be punished for violating the personal privacy of dozens of Americans,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “These convictions show that cybercriminals cannot hide from justice. The United States will vigorously pursue these offenders, wherever they may hide.”
“Cybercriminals like Marcel Lazar believe they can act with impunity from safe havens abroad, but the Justice Department's partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world ensure that they can be brought to justice,” said Leslie Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Lazar sought fame by hacking the private online accounts of Americans and releasing their personal information to the public; instead he has been convicted in United States federal court.”
“Marcel Lazar, who hacked under the moniker ‘Guccifer,’ has now been brought to justice before a United States court,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “As a direct result of our global technological and investigative reach and strong international partnerships, we were able to successfully identify Guccifer and his criminal activities, and bring him to justice here in America. The FBI will continue to relentlessly hunt down criminals in cyberspace and around the world. I would like to commend the dedicated efforts of the agents, analysts, prosecutors, and international partners who worked tirelessly to resolve this highly complex cyber investigation.”
“The success of this international investigation is the direct result of our long established partnerships with our federal and foreign law enforcement partners,” said Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent In Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. “By working with our law enforcement partners around the world, we have disrupted and brought to justice some of the most prolific transnational cyber-criminals operating around the world. These continued partnerships will enable us to pursue cyber criminals wherever they operate.”
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Lazar admitted that from at least October 2012 to January 2014, he intentionally gained unauthorized access to personal email and social media accounts belonging to approximately 100 Americans, and he did so to unlawfully obtain his victims’ personal information and email correspondence. His victims included an immediate family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former member of the U.S. Cabinet, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor, he admitted. Lazar admitted that in many instances, he publically released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs.
Lazar was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2014, and will be sentenced on September 1, 2016. He faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft conviction, to be added to any sentence he receives on the conviction for unauthorized access to a protected computer, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Bill A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); and Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu, and Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance. The Justice Department thanks the government of Romania for their assistance in this matter.
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. 1:14-cr-213.
Robstown Man Sent to Prison for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 37-year-old Robstown man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jorge Betancourt, of Robstown, pleaded guilty March 1, 2016.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head took into consideration Betancourt’s statement in court that he understood how the peer-to-peer software worked and that he intended to distribute the material. Betancourt was handed a 180-month-sentence. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and will serve 15 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.
At the time of his plea, the court heard that the case began when a detective with the Corpus Christi Police Department was able to successfully download various files containing child pornography from an IP address that was associated with Betancourt. As a result, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was contacted to assist in the investigation.
In June 2015, authorities executed a search warrant at Betancourt’s residence, at which time they seized several digital devices. Forensic analysis on the digital devices revealed more than 530 videos and more than 540 images of child pornography. Betancourt admitted to using peer-to-peer software to download child pornography for approximately 11 years.
Betancourt was arrested on the federal charges in October 2015 and has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charges against Betancourt are the result of an investigation conducted by the Corpus Christi Police Department-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."
Robstown Man Sent to Prison for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 37-year-old Robstown man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jorge Betancourt, of Robstown, pleaded guilty March 1, 2016.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head took into consideration Betancourt’s statement in court that he understood how the peer-to-peer software worked and that he intended to distribute the material. Betancourt was handed a 180-month-sentence. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and will serve 15 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.
At the time of his plea, the court heard that the case began when a detective with the Corpus Christi Police Department was able to successfully download various files containing child pornography from an IP address that was associated with Betancourt. As a result, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was contacted to assist in the investigation.
In June 2015, authorities executed a search warrant at Betancourt’s residence, at which time they seized several digital devices. Forensic analysis on the digital devices revealed more than 530 videos and more than 540 images of child pornography. Betancourt admitted to using peer-to-peer software to download child pornography for approximately 11 years.
Betancourt was arrested on the federal charges in October 2015 and has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charges against Betancourt are the result of an investigation conducted by the Corpus Christi Police Department-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."
Retired Marine Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison for Fatally Stabbing his Girlfriend, Dismembering her Body with a Machete and Dumping her Remains in the Panamanian JungleRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorneys W. Mark Conover (619) 546-6763 or Shane P. Harrigan (619) 546-6981
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – May 25, 2016
SAN DIEGO – Just a few hours after murdering his girlfriend in Panama and chopping up her body with a machete, retired Marine Brian Karl Brimager sent an email to a friend: “Hey bro, whatcha up to? I got stories for days. I’m living on an island off the coast of panama loving life and living semper free!!!!!!”
A few days later, after he’d disposed of Yvonne Baldelli’s body in the Panamanian jungle, Brimager accessed her bank account and used the money to buy rounds of drinks for female friends at a bar. “Thanks Vonnie,” he announced, as he raised his glass in a toast.
After returning to the United States, Brimager received an email from another friend who told him to say hello to Baldelli. In his reply, Brimager wrote that he’d “ditched the bitch.” In a social media post about the sale of the machete he used to sever Baldelli’s limbs, Brimager joked: “I only dismembered one stripper with it – it’s hardly used.”
Because of the heinous nature of the crime and his actions afterward – particularly the way he celebrated her death and tormented Baldelli’s family with his elaborate cover up - Brimager was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller today to 26 years in prison, ending a long and legally challenging FBI-led investigation and prosecution spanning thousands of miles, multiple countries and more than four years.
“The day of reckoning has come for Brian Brimager,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “Not only did he show a callous disregard for Yvonne Baldelli’s life by viciously beating, stabbing, dismembering and dumping her in the jungle, but his words and actions in the hours, days and months following his horrendous crime exhibited an extreme lack of remorse. He stole a precious daughter, sister, aunt and friend, and now he is paying the price.”
“I hope today’s sentencing brings some closure to Ms. Baldelli’s family, knowing that her murderer will serve a very long prison sentence for her cruel and vicious murder,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum. “I commend the professionalism and dedication of our international law enforcement partners, the prosecutors and the FBI agents here in San Diego and Panama who worked tirelessly to obtain justice for Yvonne Baldelli.”
Judge Miller also ordered Brimager to pay $11,132 in restitution to Baldelli’s father and a $10,000 fine.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued that the circumstances of the crime – including mutilation of the body and Brimager’s multiple attempts to convince Baldelli’s family that she was still alive - amounted to “extreme conduct,” a legal term of art that merits an enhanced sentence.
Prosecutors told the court at today’s hearing that eight witnesses in Panama related separate incidents to the FBI in which they saw Brimager beating, punching, choking and threatening to kill Baldelli. When the 220-pound ex-Marine killed the 110-pound Baldelli on November 27, 2011, the evidence showed that he broke her teeth and nose and stabbed her multiple times before dragging her lifeless body to the shower, where he mutilated her.
Judge Miller agreed that these actions amounted to extreme conduct and handed down a sentence that is stronger than a typical second-degree murder term. “This murder was particularly cruel and depraved,” the judge said. “The lengths Mr. Brimager went to to avoid detection were particularly brazen and ultimately shattering to the Bardelli family. I dare say they will never recover. A day may never go by without them thinking of Ms. Baldelli’s murder and the images seared in to their psyches.”
During the hearing, nine members of Baldelli’s family, including her parents, sister, nieces and closest friends, told the court how they have suffered emotionally and physically because of the loss, the way in which she was killed, and the torture of not knowing her whereabouts. Some described in wrenching detail their search for her body in the muddy spider-infested swamps of the Panamanian jungle – too afraid to find her, too afraid not to.
During the court hearing, Brimager faced family members seated in the gallery and said he was sorry. But the family wasn’t receptive. “Don’t look at us!” someone fired back. “Sure,” scoffed another.
During her victim impact statement before the court, Michelle Faust, Baldelli’s sister, said: “Today we got an apology – a hollow last-minute attempt to save himself. Last night we talked about forgiveness. But forgiveness is for those who repent, not for those who cover their crimes, not for those who confess only when their back’s against the wall.”
According to sentencing documents, after dismembering her body, Brimager stuffed her torso into a military duffle bag and shoved her lower limbs into garbage bags. He then hiked approximately 1.5 miles to the other side of the island where he threw the duffle bag and garbage bags down an embankment into the remote Panamanian jungle -- where they remained for 21 months until a local Panamanian stumbled onto the duffle bag containing her skeletonized remains.
Brimager pleaded guilty on February 24, 2016 before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller to Foreign Murder of a United States National. In his guilty plea, Brimager also admitted that he obstructed the investigation into her murder by destroying, concealing and disposing of evidence, including a blood-stained mattress, clothes and jewelry; killed Baldelli’s two dogs; accessed Baldelli’s email account after her murder and impersonated Baldelli in emails sent from her account to friends and family; withdrew money from Baldelli’s bank account in Costa Rica after her death; and provided false statements to an FBI agent – all in an attempt to make it seem as though Baldelli were alive and well and traveling with another man in Costa Rica.
Brimager has been in custody since June 2013.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Conover told the court that Brimager killed Baldelli in order to silence her. She’d discovered that Brimager had a girlfriend and daughter in San Diego. Baldelli could’ve ruined it for Brimager by revealing their relationship to the girlfriend. Within two weeks of returning to San Diego after Baldelli’s murder, Brimager married the girlfriend.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 13CR2381-JM
Brian Karl Brimager Age: 40
SUMMARY OF CHARGE
Foreign Murder of a United States National – Second Degree, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1119 and 1111; Maximum Penalties: Life imprisonment, $250,000 fine, restitution
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Diego Division and Panama City Legal Attaché Office
U.S. Embassy, Panama City
Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section, U.S. Department of Justice
Rapid City Man Charged with Multiple Counts in Relation to Shooting a Rosebud Police OfficerRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Assaulting, Opposing, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon; Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury; two counts of Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; two counts of Child Abuse; and Kidnapping.
Linn Cross Dog, III, age 22, was indicted on May 17, 2016. He appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Mark Moreno on May 25, 2016, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
It is alleged that on May 11, 2016, during a routine traffic stop of a vehicle, Cross Dog, who was a passenger, took control of the vehicle at gun point and drove away with the remaining passengers in the vehicle, including two children. After a short vehicle pursuit, Cross Dog exited the vehicle, shot and wounded a Rosebud Sioux Tribe Police Officer, and fled on foot.
Based on this incident, Cross Dog was charged by criminal complaint with one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and a federal arrest warrant was issued.
It is further alleged that on May 13, 2016, as agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshals Service were executing the arrest warrant at a house in Parmelee, South Dakota, Cross Dog was in possession of a firearm and forcibly resisted arrest.
The charges are merely accusations and Cross Dog is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Numerous additional agencies were involved in the search for Cross Dog between May 11 and 13, 2016, including the United States Marshals Service; the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks Department; the South Dakota Highway Patrol; the South Dakota National Guard; the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; the Mellette County Sheriff’s Office; the Stanley County Sheriff’s Office; and the Pierre Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk W. Albertson is prosecuting the case.
Cross Dog was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Prior Felon from Los Lunas Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Dennis Chavez, 30, of Los Lunas, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm.
Chavez was arrested on June 12, 2015, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a stolen firearm. The indictment alleged that Chavez committed the two crimes on Jan. 10, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. At the time, Chavez was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of aggravated assault on a peace officer. According to court filings, Chavez was arrested after he shot himself in the leg while trying to evade law enforcement officers by tripping over a short fence as he attempted to shoot at the officers.
During today’s change of plea hearing, Chavez entered a guilty plea to the indictment and acknowledged unlawfully possessing a firearm even though he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction.
At sentencing, Chavez faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.
Poplar Grove Man Charged with Selling MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Poplar Grove, Ill. resident was indicted yesterday in federal court in Rockford on a charge of distributing 448 grams of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon, Boone County Sheriff David Ernest, and Belvidere Police Chief Jan Noble.
According to the indictment, ARMAN M. DINO, 45, distributed the methamphetamine on May 19, 2016, in Poplar Grove. A criminal complaint filed on May 19, 2016, stated that Dino sold the drugs at his residence in Candlewick Lake to an individual who was cooperating with the government. After that sale, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on Dino’s residence. According to the complaint, additional methamphetamine, the original $10,000 in “buy money,” and more currency were found inside the residence. According to the complaint, Dino was arrested that same day.
Dino appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston on May 23, 2016, in Rockford, and was ordered detained pending trial. His arraignment on the indictment is set for May 26, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Johnston. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The multi-jurisdictional investigation was conducted by the Belvidere/Boone County Metro Narcotics Unit, along with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration and Rockford Police Department Detectives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph C. Pedersen and John G. McKenzie are prosecuting the case.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Plainfield Board of Education Employee Admits Conspiring with Vendor to Defraud His EmployerRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Piscataway, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring with employees of Bayway Lumber in Linden, New Jersey, to use phony invoices to defraud the Plainfield Board of Education, resulting in losses of $19,927, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert E. Banks, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2007 to September 2015, Bayway Lumber had contracts with the Plainfield Board of Education to provide certain products at specified discounts from the manufacturer’s listed prices. Banks was a carpenter and locksmith in the Plainfield Board of Education’s maintenance department and was responsible for purchasing supplies from vendors.
During that time, Bayway Lumber charged the Plainfield Board of Education prices that did not include the contractual discounts and, at times, even charged the Plainfield Board of Education for items it did not receive. Afterwards, Banks signed off on the fraudulent and overbilled invoices. In return, the Bayway Lumber employees used a portion of the proceeds to purchase over $9,000 in valuable items for Banks, including a laptop computer, a lawnmower, construction materials, and a dishwasher.
The charge to which Banks pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29, 2016.
Robert R. Dattilo, a part owner of Bayway Lumber, pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on Feb. 18, 2016, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with this and other fraudulent activity. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; and the Office of Inspector General, Amtrak, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Koons, as well as investigators of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara R. Llanes and Cari Fais of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo Esq., Verona, New Jersey
Pill Mill Doctor and Wife Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Dr. Edward Neil Feldman (76, Tampa) to 25 years in federal prison for conspiracy to prescribe controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice, for prescribing controlled substances that resulted in the deaths of three patients, and for money laundering. Yesterday, Kim Xuan Feldman (66, Tampa), Feldman’s wife, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for her part in the conspiracy to launder proceeds of the couple’s criminal medical clinic, Feldman Orthopedic and Wellness Center (FOWC), and for her role in the conspiracy to distribute prescription medications for no legitimate purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. The couple dispensed primarily oxycodone and methadone, as well as alprazolam and diazepam. The Court also ordered the Feldmans to forfeit their home, a Mercedes Benz, an Infinity EX35, and $489,000 in cash, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. They were also ordered to forfeit the building that housed FOWC, as a property that facilitated their crimes. In addition, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $6,787,103.99, the proceeds of the criminal conduct. In partial satisfaction of the money judgment, the defendants forfeited jewelry, gold coins, and precious metals valued at $116,131, and a 2011 Porsche.
A federal jury found the Feldmans guilty on February 24, 2016.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, from October 2009 through December 2014, the Feldmans operated FOWC in Pinellas Park. The clinic saw between 80-100 patients a day, with new patients paying $300 in cash for visits, and follow-up patients paying $150-$225 for visits. Insurance was not accepted at FOWC. The Feldmans gave the patients prescriptions for controlled substances, usually in significant quantities, not for any legitimate medical purpose.
During the trial, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiners opined that three individuals had died as a result of multi-drug toxicity related to the large amounts of methadone, oxycodone, alprazolam, and diazepam found in their systems. Two of those patients had visited Dr. Feldman only once before their respective deaths.
Evidence also showed that the couple deposited more than $5 million in cash in dozens of bank accounts during the period of the charged crimes. They used proceeds from FOWC to purchase their home and property for their business, and to fund investment accounts.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Kaitlin R. O’Donnell.
Pawtucket Man Detained on Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Justice Reyes, 19, of Pawtucket, was ordered detained in federal custody on Wednesday, having been indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on a charge of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
According to information presented to the court at the time of Reyes’ arraignment before U.S. District Court Magistrate Lincoln D. Almond, it is alleged that on April 1, 2016, an undercover ATF agent bought a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle from Reyes for $350. Reyes allegedly specified that the serial number had been obliterated, and that he could get the undercover and the undercover’s associates additional guns with obliterated serial numbers. The transaction allegedly occurred outside Reyes’s residence, the place where he was to be serving home confinement.
According to Rhode Island state court records, Reyes was sentenced on March 17, 2016, to one year home confinement for violating a suspended sentence imposed on January 29, 2016, having pleaded nolo contendre to a charge of simple assault domestic. Reyes began serving his home confinement sentence two weeks prior to allegedly selling the firearm to an ATF agent.
An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by ATF and the Rhode Island AFT Task Force, with the assistance of the Pawtucket Police Department. The Rhode Island ATF Task Force is comprised of law enforcement agents and officers from the Central Falls, Providence and Cranston Police Departments, the Department of Corrections, and the Providence Fire Department.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Opelousas man sentenced to a year in prison for role in major computer hacking forumRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that an Opelousas man was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for using a computer to steal money, hacking computers to obtain passwords, and attempting to sell information on the online hacking forum known as “Darkode.”
Rory Stephen Guidry, 29, aka [email protected], of Opelousas, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of obtaining information by computer from a protected computer. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the February 5, 2016 guilty plea, in July of 2014 while living in Liberty Hill, Texas, Guidry participated in an online hacking attack on a server in Austin, Texas. He moved to his grandparents’ home in Opelousas in March of 2015 after an investigation ensued as a result of the server attack. While in Opelousas, he continued to use his skills to hack into personal computers and controlled them with malware and a botnet. Guidry attempted to hack into and control more than 5,000 computers, and he attempted to sell the botnet to another hacker on Darkode. Guidry also used his hacking skills and conspired with another individual to steal more than $80,000 in bitcoin. He received half, $40,000, of the bitcoin and converted some of it to money, which he spent. Guidry also admitted to hacking another computer to take more than 5,000 active credit card accounts. He was in possession of the credit card numbers and personal identifiers when he was arrested by the FBI.
In July of 2015, the Department of Justice and other agencies dismantled Darkode. Criminal charges were filed in the Western District of Louisiana, the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere against 12 individuals associated with the forum. As alleged in the charging documents, Darkode was an online, password-protected forum in which hackers and other cyber-criminals convened to buy, sell, trade and share information, ideas, and tools to facilitate unlawful and unauthorized intrusions on computers and electronic devices. Before becoming a member of Darkode, prospective members were allegedly vetted through a process in which an existing member invited a prospective member to the forum for the purpose of presenting the skills or products that he or she could bring to the group. Darkode members used each other’s skills and products to infect computers and electronic devices of victims around the world with malware. They would then gain access to, and control over, those devices.
The takedown of the forum and the charges were announced on July 15, 2015 as a result of the FBI’s infiltration of the Darkode’s membership. Twenty nations participated in the coordinated effort of law enforcement to charge, arrest or search 70 Darkode members and associates around the world.
“Cybercrime threatens anyone and everyone in our ever-increasingly internet-connected world,” Finley stated. “Computer criminals will not be able to hide or maintain their anonymity, and they will be prosecuted locally, nationally and internationally. Through coordinated responses and international cooperation of our law enforcement partners, defendants such as Mr. Guidry who are involved in computer hacking forums will see their organizations dismantled and individuals prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
This investigation, Operation Shrouded Horizon, is being conducted by the FBI with assistance from Europol and their European Cyber Crime Center (EC3). This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James T. Kitchen and Charles A. Eberle of the Western District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorneys Gavin A. Corn, Marie-Flore Johnson and Harold Chun of CCIPS, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica O’Neil of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers Namie of the Western District of Louisiana. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
New York Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Andrew Barrett, a New York pharmacist and pharmacy owner, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and filing false tax returns. From January 2011 to December 2012, Barrett operated pharmacies in Bronx, Rockland, and Queens counties in New York State. From his Queens pharmacy, Barrett fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid approximately $2.7 million for prescription medications that he never dispensed to patients. Barrett also siphoned off over $2.6 million for personal expenses from the Bronx and Rockland pharmacy accounts while falsely claiming those funds as business expenses on his tax returns. When sentenced, Barrett faces up to ten years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine.
The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Office (HHS-OIG); and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI).
In announcing the guilty plea, Mr. Capers extended his grateful appreciation to the agencies that led the government’s investigation and thanked the New York Office of the Medicaid Inspector General for its cooperation and assistance in the case.
According to the court filings and facts presented at the guilty plea hearing, from his Queens pharmacy, Barrett falsely billed government health care programs approximately $2.7 million for drug products, including a substantial number of HIV-AIDs medications which he never dispensed to patients. Barrett’s scheme involved billing for refills of costly medications even although patients never requested or received them, and doctors had not authorized the refills to be dispensed. Barrett also wrote checks for over $2.6 million to himself to pay for his personal expenses from the Bronx and Rockland pharmacy accounts while falsely claiming those funds as business expenses on his personal and corporate tax returns.
Today’s plea took place before United States Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys William P. Campos and Erin E. Argo are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein of the Office’s Civil Division is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
The Defendant:
ANDREW BARRETT
Age: 57
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-103
New Orleans Businessman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JOHN F. KELLY, III, age 55, of Metairie, pled guilty today to wire fraud.
According to court documents, KELLY operated a tax sale investment business with investor monies from 2011 through 2014. During this time period, KELLY defrauded his investors by diverting their investment funds for his own personal use and benefit. As part of the scheme to defraud, KELLY used investor monies to pay off personal loans and to purchase real estate properties in New Orleans that he titled in separate corporate entities he controlled.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is twenty years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victims. U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt set sentencing for August 24, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Richard R. Pickens, II, Andre J. Lagarde, and Hayden M. Brockett are in charge of the prosecution.
Man Sentenced to over 13 Years in Prison for being a Career Offender in Possession of a Machine GunRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Franklin Latimore has been sentenced to thirteen years, three months in federal prison for possessing an unregistered machine gun while being a felon. Latimore is considered a “career offender” under federal law because he has two prior felony convictions for either a crime of violence or a drug trafficking offense.
“Machine guns are an especially dangerous category of firearms,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “When these weapons are possessed by individuals with serious criminal histories, the threat that machine guns pose increases exponentially.”
“The law abiding citizens of this community are safer because of today’s sentence which will ensure the incarceration of a dangerous criminal and contribute to the restoration of order and peace to this area,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Carl Walker.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Latimore first came to the attention of police after a court-authorized wiretap intercepted a conversation concerning the sale of a large amount of cocaine. Police did not know who the buyer was going to be, but knew the location and time of the supposed deal. On that date and time, police made a lawful traffic stop of a vehicle that Latimore was driving near the drug deal and found over $100,000 in the trunk.
A few days later, a search warrant was served on Latimore’s residence and police found the loaded machine gun, a second firearm, a kilogram press typically used by drug dealers to create brick-shaped blocks of drugs, and material commonly used to package drugs. Latimore’s criminal history is so severe that special enhanced sentencing applies to him.
Franklin Latimore, 60, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., to thirteen years, three months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit all firearms. Latimore has been convicted on these charges on December 15, 2015, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant United States Attorneys Suzette A. Smikle, Michael Brown, and Kim S. Dammers prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Major Narcotics Supplier for New Jersey Drug Trafficking Organization Convicted of Drug Distribution, Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Jersey City, New Jersey, man was convicted by a federal jury today for his role as a heroin and cocaine supplier to a large-scale drug trafficking organization that operated in Ocean and Monmouth Counties and elsewhere in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Thomas Shannon, a/k/a “Cuzzo,” 37, was convicted of four counts of an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and more than a kilogram of heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property. Shannon was convicted following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court. The jury deliberated for three hours before returning the verdict.
Between March and May 2014, 21 other individuals, including numerous alleged members of the drug trafficking organization to which Shannon supplied narcotics, were charged in two separate criminal complaints with conspiring to distribute heroin and other related offenses. The complaint referred to the drug trafficking organization as the “Britt-Young DTO,” after its leaders, Robert Britt, a/k/a “True,” and Rufus Young, a/k/a “Equan,” a/k/a “E-Money,” a/k/a “Kintock.” Of the 22 individuals charged, 21 have been convicted to date.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
Between October 2013 and March 2014, Shannon conspired with others to distribute heroin and cocaine in Ocean and Monmouth counties, including to the Britt-Young DTO. Shannon obtained some of his narcotics from conspirators in California, who shipped packages containing large quantities of heroin and cocaine from California to Shannon in New Jersey. The packages were sent to a residence in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and received by another conspirator, who then gave the packages to Shannon. Shannon then transported the narcotics to stash house locations that he controlled in Asbury Park and Long Branch, New Jersey, where he packaged the heroin and cocaine and prepared it for distribution to other dealers. Shannon packaged some of the heroin in small plastic bags that were “stamped” with brand names or markings to distinguish it from other narcotics sold in or around the Monmouth County area.
To pay for the drug shipments, Shannon and others acting at his direction deposited cash into numerous third-party bank accounts provided by the conspirators in California, who then withdrew the cash at bank branch locations in California.
Shannon used numerous cellular telephones to communicate with his conspirators, including through text messages, and he and his conspirators often spoke in code to disguise the illegal nature of their communications. For example, Shannon and a leader of the Britt-Young DTO referred to cocaine as “Kristine.” Shannon also acquired and possessed firearms in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver and a Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. .40 caliber handgun.
The conspiracy count carries a minimum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. The possession of controlled substances count with which Shannon is charged carries a minimum potential penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense count carries a minimum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed in connection with the underlying drug trafficking offenses. The engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 30, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; officers of the Brick Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Riccio: and officers of the Toms River Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mitchell A. Little, with the investigation leading to today’s verdict.
He also thanked special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Cynthia Shoffner; officers of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni; and officers of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph D Coronato. He also thanked the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the Neptune Township, Asbury Park, Marlboro, and Long Branch police departments for their roles in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Grippo and Brendan Day of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense Counsel: Edward Bertucio Esq., Eatontown, New JerseyLegal Resident from El Salvador Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charges in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Cecilia Pocasangre, 41, a legal permanent resident from El Salvador, pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge arising out of a 7.5-pound seizure of methamphetamine at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
Pocasangre was arrested in April 2016, and charged in a criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The complaint alleged that Pocasangre committed the crime on April 6, 2016, in Doña Ana County, N.M. Pocasangre was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate 25 in Doña Ana County found approximately 3.41 kilograms (7.5 pounds) of methamphetamine concealed in Pocasangre’s vehicle during a routine inspection.
During today’s proceedings, Pocasangre pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and admitted possessing 3.41 kilograms of methamphetamine, which were found during a routine inspection of her vehicle at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
At sentencing, Pocasangre faces a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John A. Balla and Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
Lawrence Lusk Sentenced for Being A Felon in Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Lawrence Lusk, 30, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced before Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Lusk was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release.
According to documents filed in this case, on September 2, 2015, Lusk was arrested for domestic violence and was searched incident to arrest. During the search officers located a purple bag in his waist that contained marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Officers also located a .45 caliber firearm in the vehicle where Lusk was seated. During an interview Lusk admitted to possessing the firearm. Lusk has multiple prior convictions which classified him as a felon.
This case was prosecuted as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse M. Barrett.
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Law Day 2016 Celebrated in Cedar Rapids: Students Urged to Push for Positive ChangesRead the Press Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – Law Day is an annual event originally conceived in 1957 when the American Bar Association suggested recognizing a special national day to mark our Nation’s commitment to the rule of law. It was made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official recognition date.
Last year the Cedar Rapids community came together for the first time to celebrate Law Day with area high school students. The theme, “From Selma to Cedar Rapids” highlighted civil rights workers’ fight for civil rights and included a discussion of the Selma marches for the right to vote. The connection between historical events and current day issues were examined. Area students participated in a symbolic march along the river starting at the Federal Courthouse and ending at the Veterans Memorial Building, which was followed by a day of programming.
Today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa joined community leaders in a special day of celebrating Law Day 2016. The theme, Mighty Times: The Children’s March highlighted how youth can serve as catalysts for positive social change. This historical event eventually brought segregation to its knees when in 1963 young people in Birmingham, Alabama braved arrest, fire hoses, and police dogs to protest injustice. The connection between this event and current day issues were examined in a series of breakout sessions.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett made opening remarks during which he delivered a Proclamation declaring today as Law Day 2016 to three students from area high schools. The Proclamation read, “Law Day is an occasion of public acknowledgement of our Nation’s and Iowa’s heritage of justice, liberty and equality under the law.” By celebrating Law Day in Cedar Rapids, it is hoped to promote a better understanding of the roots of our freedoms and serves as a reminder that even the youngest members of our society can effect positive social change.
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, Kevin W. Techau, stated that today’s program is aimed at challenging students to think about the fundamental ideals upon which this country was founded and reminded them that they have the power to put their energy and skills to work for the common good. Techau added, “To challenge one another – and our nation – to aim higher; to become better.”
The keynote speaker for this year’s event was Betty C. Andrews who serves as the President of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP. She touched on the subject of racial equity and stressed engagement by young people to make a difference in their community by serving as positive change agents. Andrews challenged the students to dream big and dream bold.
Metro High School Principal, Dr. Carlos Grant, has been a key participant in the planning and execution of Law Day this year and last. He stated, “Law Day is a special time for people to appreciate the liberties afforded to us as Americans. The core essence of it is to cultivate a sound respect for the law and our democratic way of life. I believe it is critical that we engage young people in relevant activities related to the law. Oftentimes, our young people do not know about the power they possess and how their passion can ensure their ability to thrive. This year's focus on how young people fight against segregation laws in 1960's Birmingham, AL will be a catalyst for modern teens to impose positive social change.”
Area high school students were invited to participate in program activities designed to encourage them to be a positive change agent in their community. Follow this event at: #CRLawDay2016.
L to R: USA Kevin Techau, Betty C. Andrews, Dr. Carlos Grant
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Last of 17 Defendants Convicted in Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy is Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — Octavio Colin, 34, of Cleburne, Texas, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 240 months (20 years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Co-conspirator Jason Ziegler, 32, of Justin, Texas, who pleaded guilty to the same offense, was sentenced on Monday to 60 months in federal prison.
According to documents filed in their cases, since approximately 2013, Ziegler received methamphetamine on consignment from Colin and another convicted defendant, Erica Ayala. In turn, Ziegler distributed the methamphetamine to various customers in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, returning to Ayala for additional supply. From approximately July to August 2014, Ayala received ounce and multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on consignment from Colin that she distributed in the Fort Worth and Richland Hills, Texas, area, returning to Colin for additional supply. Ayala was sentenced in July 2015 to 160 months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.
A total of 17 defendants were charged in the case; all pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. In February 2016, Miguel Bonilla, 36, of Dallas, was sentenced by Judge O’Connor to 360 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Four other defendants convicted in the case received federal prison sentences of 240 months. The remaining 10 defendants received prison sentences ranging from 72 to 210 months.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.
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Last of 14 defendants in Acadiana methamphetamine distribution conspiracy sentencedRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Texas man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy in Lafayette, New Iberia and the surrounding areas.
Gary Hunt, 60, of Splendora, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the February 5, 2016 guilty plea, the defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in New Iberia, Lafayette and the surrounding areas. Elliot Jolet, 36, and Anita Desormeaux, 44, both of New Iberia, purchased methamphetamine from Hunt in Texas and then transported it to the south central Louisiana area where it was distributed. The investigation also resulted in the seizure of crystal methamphetamine, more than $5,400, a vehicle and several firearms.
Jolet was sentenced on December 8, 2015 to 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Desormeaux was sentenced on November 24, 2015 to 157 months in prison and four years of supervised release.
The other 11 defendants who also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count are:
Ko Chanhkongshinh, 39, of Youngsville, La., was sentenced on January 14, 2016 to 75 months in prison and three years of supervised release;
Jenee Lynn Hargrave, 30, of Scott, La., was sentenced on January 14, 2016 to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release;
David Lowery, 34, of New Iberia, was sentenced on October 28, 2015 to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release;
Everette Dupuis, 40, of New Iberia, was sentenced on January 13, 2016 to 40 months in prison and two years of supervised release;
Michael Guidry, 46, of Erath, La., was sentenced on October 28, 2015 to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release;
Tyrone Howard, 44, of Youngsville, was sentenced on January 11, 2016 to 40 months in prison and two years of supervised release;
Kevin Jefferson, 32, of New Iberia, was sentenced on January 11, 2016 to 68 months in prison and five years of supervised release;
Nared Souphannavong, 30, of New Iberia, was sentenced on January 13, 2016 to 24 months in prison and five years of supervised release;
Brandi Boullion, 29, of New Iberia, was sentenced on January 13, 2016 to time served and two years of supervised release;
Dewey Migues, 37, of New Iberia, was sentenced on November 24, 2015 to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release; and
Corey Freyou, 39, of New Iberia, was sentenced on November 18, 2015 to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation. The DEA, Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Lafayette Police Department participated in this OCDETF investigation. The U.S. Marshal’s Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office assisted in the arrests. The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt and dismantle the targeted criminal organization, and to seize its assets.
“Methamphetamine drug traffickers distribution networks are priority prosecutions for this office,” Finley stated. “The poison these defendants sell hurts our communities and spawns more crimes. I’m thankful to the law enforcement agents and prosecutors who worked hard to make sure our communities are safe and ensured a successful conclusion to this case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie, Daniel J. McCoy and Robert F. Moore prosecuted the case.
Justice Department Sues Palm Beach, Florida, County School Board for Discriminating Against Pregnant EmployeeRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today alleging that the Palm Beach, Florida, County School Board discriminated against a female employee on the basis of her sex and retaliated against her when she complained about discrimination.
Anne Williams Dorsey was an Assistant Principal at Turning Points Academy, a public school in the Palm Beach County School District. According to the complaint, she was subjected to unlawful changes to her work hours and pay after she began a period of maternity leave, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The department’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Florida, further alleges that the principal at Turning Points Academy subjected Dorsey to discrimination and retaliation by reducing her responsibilities as an Assistant Principal after she announced her intention to become a mother. Specifically, when Dorsey went on maternity leave, the principal reassigned her to a position with a lower salary and fewer assigned days, and then replaced her with a male employee whom she had previously trained. The complaint also alleges that the principal retaliated against Dorsey because she reported another female employee’s sexual harassment allegations against the male employee who eventually replaced her.
The complaint seeks a court order requiring the board to develop and implement policies that would prevent its employees from being subjected to discrimination and retaliation. The United States also seeks monetary relief for Dorsey to compensate her for the damages she sustained as a result of the alleged discrimination and retaliation.
“Federal law requires employers to maintain a workplace free of sex-based discrimination of any kind,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No employee should be punished at work for the decision to start a family.”
“All employers must respect the civil rights of all of their employees, and sex-based discrimination of any kind has no place in the work environment,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “As this lawsuit shows, the Department of Justice will work vigorously to make sure that our community’s workplaces are free from such discrimination.”
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received a charge of sex discrimination filed by Dorsey. The EEOC’s Miami Field Office investigated the matter and found reasonable cause to believe the board discriminated against her. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the matter to the Justice Department.
The continued enforcement of Title VII is a priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Palm Beach County School Board Complaint
Justice Department Sues Palm Beach, Florida, County School Board for Discriminating Against Pregnant EmployeeRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today alleging that the Palm Beach, Florida, County School Board discriminated against a female employee on the basis of her sex and retaliated against her when she complained about discrimination.
Anne Williams Dorsey was an Assistant Principal at Turning Points Academy, a public school in the Palm Beach County School District. According to the complaint, she was subjected to unlawful changes to her work hours and pay after she began a period of maternity leave, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The department’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Florida, further alleges that the principal at Turning Points Academy subjected Dorsey to discrimination and retaliation by reducing her responsibilities as an Assistant Principal after she announced her intention to become a mother. Specifically, when Dorsey went on maternity leave, the principal reassigned her to a position with a lower salary and fewer assigned days, and then replaced her with a male employee whom she had previously trained. The complaint also alleges that the principal retaliated against Dorsey because she reported another female employee’s sexual harassment allegations against the male employee who eventually replaced her.
The complaint seeks a court order requiring the board to develop and implement policies that would prevent its employees from being subjected to discrimination and retaliation. The United States also seeks monetary relief for Dorsey to compensate her for the damages she sustained as a result of the alleged discrimination and retaliation.
“All employers must respect the civil rights of all of their employees, and sex-based discrimination of any kind has no place in the work environment,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of New York. “As this lawsuit shows, the Department of Justice will work vigorously to make sure that our community’s workplaces are free from such discrimination.”
“Federal law requires employers to maintain a workplace free of sex-based discrimination of any kind,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No employee should be punished at work for the decision to start a family.”
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received a charge of sex discrimination filed by Dorsey. The EEOC’s Miami Field Office investigated the matter and found reasonable cause to believe the board discriminated against her. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the matter to the Justice Department.
The continued enforcement of Title VII is a priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
Jury finds Patterson man guilty in tax fraud schemeRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a federal jury found a man from Patterson guilty in a scheme to use stolen identities to file false tax returns and pocket refunds.
Louis W. Carbins Jr., 36, of Patterson, La., was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, seven counts of theft of government money and one count of aggravated identity theft. The three-day trial started Monday and ended today with the jury deliberating for 30 minutes. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial. According to the testimony and evidence presented, from February 2013 to August of 2013, Carbins and co-defendant Laphrida T. Watts, 39, from Morgan City, La., knew and allowed individuals from overseas to use stolen identities to file tax returns. The overseas individuals then directed the IRS to deposit the refunds into Carbins’ bank accounts. Carbins and Watts would then wire some of the money overseas and keep the rest. The IRS issued more than $815,000 in refunds to Carbins’ accounts. Carbins and Watts spent $45,681.22 of the funds.
Watts pleaded guilty on January 13, 2016 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. She faces up to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the conspiracy count and an additional two years in prison for the identity theft count, which will be served consecutive to the penalty imposed for the conspiracy count. Carbins faces the same counts as Watts in addition to the seven counts of government money theft. The theft count carries a penalty of 10 years in prison. They both also face three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Watts is scheduled to be sentenced on June 28, 2016, and Carbins is scheduled to be sentenced August 29, 2016.
The IRS conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger and Robert F. Moore are prosecuting the case.
Iraqi-Born U.S. Citizen Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Making False Statements to the FBIRead the Press Release
Bilal Abood, 38, of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas to four years in prison for one count of making a false statement to a federal agency.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Division.
“My office’s highest priority is and will remain the security of our homeland and the safety of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “We remain more committed than ever to aggressively fighting all terrorism-related acts in north Texas. We appreciate the outstanding work by the Dallas FBI and the assistance of the department’s National Security Division during this investigation and prosecution.”
“It remains among the highest priorities of the FBI to identify individuals who seek to join the ranks of foreign fighters traveling in support of ISIL,” said Special Agent in Charge Class. “Bilal Abood lied to the FBI about the true purpose of his travel to Syria and his allegiance to ISIL, and now he will face the consequences.”
Abood has been in federal custody since his May 2015 arrest by the FBI related to a criminal complaint. He pleaded guilty in October 2015 to a one-count superseding indictment.
Abood admitted that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the United States at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight. While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family. During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the United States through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria. On Sept. 16, 2013, Abood returned to the United States and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups.
A search warrant was executed on Abood’s computer on July 9, 2014. A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, “I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” Abood admitted that he knew that al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a specially designated global terrorist on Oct. 4, 2011, and remains so to date.
Abood also admitted that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime. He further admitted that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents that he had never pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi and that he was aware that the agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Division. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Iraqi-Born U.S. Citizen Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal Prison for Making False Statements to the FBIRead the Press Release
DALLAS – A Mesquite, Texas man, Bilal Abood, 38, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 48 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to a superseding indictment charging one count of making a false statement involving international terrorism to a federal agency, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.
“My office’s highest priority is and will remain the security of our homeland and the safety of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “We remain more committed than ever to aggressively fighting all terrorism-related acts in north Texas. We appreciate the outstanding work by the Dallas FBI and the assistance of the Department’s National Security Division during this investigation and prosecution.”
“It remains among the highest priorities of the FBI to identify individuals who seek to join the ranks of foreign fighters traveling in support of ISIL,” said Special Agent in Charge Class. “Bilal Abood lied to the FBI about the true purpose of his travel to Syria and his allegiance to ISIL, and now he will face the consequences.”
Abood has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2015 by special agents with the FBI on a related criminal complaint.
Abood admitted that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the U.S. at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight. While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel, and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family. During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent on March 29, 2013, was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the U.S. through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria. On September 16, 2013, Abood returned to the U.S. and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups.
A search warrant was executed on Abood’s computer on July 9, 2014. A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, “I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” Abood stipulated that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on October 4, 2011, and remains so to date.
Abood also admitted that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime. He further stipulated that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents during a terrorism investigation that he had never pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi. He also stipulated that he was aware the FBI special agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.
The FBI’s Dallas Division investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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International Arms Trafficker Found Guilty for Conspiring to Kill Americans and Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Romanian Citizen Agreed to Provide Military-Grade Weapons to be Used to Shoot Down American Aircraft in Colombia
Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, 43, of Romania, was convicted by a federal jury today of conspiring to sell large quantities of military-grade weaponry to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. Georgescu’s conviction followed a 10-day trial before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams of the Southern District of New York.
The conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.
“As the jury swiftly found, Virgil Flaviu Georgescu conspired to kill American officers and provide material support to the FARC,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “In concert with his co-defendants, Georgescu conspired to obtain and sell to the FARC military weapons, including anti-aircraft cannons and rocket propelled grenades, to be used against American personnel and aircraft in Colombia. Having sought to profit from the murder of U.S. officers abroad, Georgescu has now been convicted in the U.S. by a unanimous jury.”
According to the allegations in the indictment, other documents publicly filed in federal court and the evidence introduced at trial:
Between May 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu, a Romania-based weapons broker, conspired with his co-defendants, a former Romanian government official and a former member of the Italian Parliament, to sell an arsenal of weapons, including machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons, to the FARC, with the understanding that the FARC would use the weapons against U.S. personnel in Colombia. During a series of recorded telephone calls and in-person meetings, Georgescu and his co-conspirators agreed to sell the weapons to three confidential sources (CSs), who represented that they were acquiring these weapons for the FARC but were, in fact, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Georgescu and his co-conspirators agreed to provide these weapons to the CSs with the specific understanding that the weapons would be used to kill Americans and, in particular, to shoot down American helicopters and airplanes.
Georgescu first spoke with a CS in May 2014. Thereafter, Georgescu recruited both of his co-conspirators to help obtain the weapons for the CSs, with the understanding that the former Romanian government official would provide weapons expertise and the former Italian Parliament member would help secure fraudulent end-user certificates, in order to make the illegal sale of weapons look legitimate. Georgescu instructed his co-conspirators and others involved in the deal to use encrypted applications when communicating about the weapons deal to avoid detection by U.S. authorities.
Over the course of five consensually-recorded meetings with the CSs in Romania and Montenegro, Georgescu and his co-conspirators provided the CSs with catalogues of weapons that included anti-aircraft cannons, rocket propelled and thermobaric grenades and other high-powered weapons, as well as military-grade optical equipment. During these meetings, the CSs explained that the arms would be used to kill Americans and Georgescu offered his thoughts on what weapons would best suit the FARC’s needs.
Between September 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu and his co-conspirators traveled to Romania, Montenegro, Italy, Germany, Albania, Poland and Bulgaria to advance the weapons deal. During this period, the co-conspirators met with weapons suppliers, obtained sample fraudulent end-user certificates and test-fired military-grade rifles. In December 2014, Georgescu and his co-conspirators secured a signed contract from a European weapons supplier to provide more than $17 million worth of weapons to a straw purchaser. On Dec. 15, 2014, Georgescu met with the CSs, showed them the signed contract and discussed means of payment and transportation of the weapons to Colombia.
Georgescu was arrested by Montenegrin authorities on the charges in the indictment on Dec. 15, 2014, and extradited to the United States on Feb. 25, 2015.
Georgescu was convicted of one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Georgescu is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Abrams on Sept. 16, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney Bharara in praising the outstanding investigative efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the DEA’s Bucharest Country Office, the DEA’s Rome Country Office, the Montenegrin National Police and the Romanian Authorities. Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S. Attorney Bharara also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Surratt and Ilan Graff of the Southern District of New York, with assistance from Trial Attorney Josh Parecki of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.