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30 June 2016
Justice Department Partners with Republic of El Salvador to Combat Employment DiscriminationRead the Press Release
The Justice Department and the Republic of El Salvador established a formal partnership today to protect workers from discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Salvadoran Ambassador Claudia Canjura De Centeno signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the embassy and its consulates and the division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).
As part of the MOU, OSC and the Salvadoran government will collaborate to educate workers about their employment rights and to provide them with the resources needed to protect those rights. Additionally, the MOU seeks to promote training for employers on their obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Specifically, the MOU provides that:
- OSC will train Salvadoran consular staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, participate in events organized by Salvadoran consulates to educate workers and employers and distribute educational materials to the embassy and its consulates.
- The embassy will establish a system for referring discrimination claims from the embassy and consulates to OSC.
“We welcome our newest partner to help the Civil Rights Division combat unlawful discrimination against workers employed in the United States and we value the ability to work together to achieve this important goal,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “We hope that formalizing our partnership with El Salvador will send a clear message to workers that we are eager to assist them.”
Today’s agreement is particularly useful due to the large number of Salvadoran nationals with temporary protected status (TPS), who are eligible to live and work in the United States, but who sometimes encounter discrimination by employers either based on their immigration status or national origin. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a country designated for TPS under the INA. During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are authorized to work in the United States.
OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, this law prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process; retaliation and intimidation. In addition to its enforcement work, OSC educates the public on rights and responsibilities under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision. More information on OSC is available at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; email [email protected] or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Jury Convicts Sioux City Man of Three Federal Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who illegally possessed a firearm was convicted by a jury on June 30, 2016, after a two-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.
Brandon Hayes, 34, from Sioux City, IA, was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser and one count of possession of a firearm with an altered serial number. The verdict was returned this morning following about three hours of jury deliberations.
Hayes was previously convicted of 5 felonies and six crimes of domestic violence. Hayes unlawfully possessed a 12 gauge shotgun (with an obliterated or altered serial number) which he ultimately sold to an undercover ATF agent in Sioux City on June 23, 2014.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hayes remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Because of his extensive criminal history, Hayes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and up to five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Sioux City Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 14-4082.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Jacksonville-Onslow County Focused Deterrence Call-InRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office has announced that yesterday Jacksonville-Onslow County hosted its first Focused Deterrence Call-In event. A focused deterrence notification (call-in) is a systematic and thorough problem identification strategy to deter violence, gun and drug crimes. A comprehensive and strategic focused deterrence plan is created by local and federal law enforcement partners to target chronic and repeat offenders. Once notified, offenders are provided a unified message that they have been targeted and will be sanctioned if they continue to commit criminal acts. Community members and resource providers participate and augment the aggressive law enforcement approach by providing participants with support services and resources including housing, vocational and employment services, educational services, and substance abuse programming.
Each offender was provided a resource handbook identifying various local resource providers and their contact information. At the conclusion of the event, offenders were greeted by representatives from seven local agencies that provide supportive services and resources to former offenders. In addition to the resource providers, there were also faith based leaders, community leaders, state and federal probation officers, state and federal prosecutors, local law enforcement and federal agents in attendance to offer their support and encouragement to the offenders.
Yesterday’s Jacksonville-Onslow County Focused Deterrence Call-In was hosted by the Jacksonville Police Department and the Onslow-Jones County Reentry Council. The Focused Deterrence Call-In was a joint partnership between the Jacksonville Police Department, Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, District Attorney’s Office in Judicial District 4, United States Probation, Tri-County Crusaders Reentry Program, and the United States Attorney’s Office.
Human Trafficker Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – U.S. Attorney Walt Green, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Orleans Division announced today that KELLIE M. DOMINIQUE, age 37, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick to 16 years in prison for conspiring to commit sex trafficking of a minor, followed by 5 years of supervised release. DOMINIQUE was also ordered to pay the victim $15,000 in restitution and to forfeit $15,000 in illegal proceeds from the offense.
At her guilty plea hearing, Dominique admitted that from June 2013 until September 2013, she conspired with others to promote the prostitution of a minor female out of Dominique’s home and other venues. In order to manage and carry on the prostitution business, Dominique admitted that she and the minor female regularly used telephones to schedule prostitution sessions and to discuss the proceeds earned from the prostitution sessions. Dominique also admitted that she facilitated the minor female’s posts on Backpage.com classified advertisements for commercial sex acts in Louisiana and elsewhere. Dominique further admitted that she provided the minor female with illegal drugs and used such drugs with the minor female. Finally, when authorities began to investigate her illegal conduct, Dominique made false statements to government officials and corruptly influenced potential witnesses.
Four others have been convicted in related cases in the Middle District of Louisiana, including Jeremie Tate, 34, of Zachery, Louisiana, who was sentenced in September 2015 to serve 115 months in prison for operating an interstate prostitution enterprise.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “Today’s sentence should send a loud and clear message about the severe and real consequences that face those convicted in federal court of sexually trafficking minors. Our office is strongly committed to aggressively pursuing these offenders with our federal, state, and local partners, both through federal prosecutions and our leadership on the Middle District of Louisiana Human Trafficking Task Force. I commend the outstanding efforts of the prosecutors and agents who worked on this very important matter.”
FBI SAC Sallet stated: “Human Trafficking is an ever present threat that warrants our daily attention and law enforcement expertise. This sentence shows the severity of the crime and magnitude of Human Trafficking throughout the nation. Through federal, state and local law enforcement collaboration we are better able to confront and investigate this crime and its threat to our children.”
The FBI’s Baton Rouge Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, the Louisiana State Police and the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance from the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Narcotics Division, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and other law enforcement agencies.
Trial Attorney Reginald E. Jones of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie A. Flowers Jr. of the Middle District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.
Hudson County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for His Role in Multi-State $3.5 Million Burglary SpreeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A North Bergen, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for his role in a series of at least 27 burglaries and attempted burglaries across six states, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Daniel “Tokyo” Gatson, 44, was previously convicted of one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and 11 substantive counts of interstate transportation of stolen property. Gatson was convicted following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini, who imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
Gatson, his cousin Anthony “T.J.” Hanks, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, and numerous other conspirators, including four defendants who previously pleaded guilty and testified against Gatson and Hanks, took part in at least 27 burglaries and attempted burglaries in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, causing losses of over $3.5 million dollars, mainly in stolen jewelry and cash.
Typically, Gatson, Hanks and others would identify homes in affluent residential neighborhoods and conduct surveillance of the target residences, looking for indications that no one was home.
Before robbing a target residence, Gatson, Hanks and others would cut wires running to and from the residence, including phone, cable, and alarm connections. Then, while wearing masks and gloves, they would forcibly break in to the target residence, usually by smashing through the front door, while a getaway driver remained nearby in a rented minivan, often maintaining contact with one of the burglars inside the target residence by cell phone. Gatson was apprehended on Oct. 11, 2013, while attempting to flush stolen jewelry down a hotel toilet.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Gatson to three years of supervised release.
Hanks, who was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and three counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 20, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Hafetz of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Defense counsel: Michael Pedicini Esq., Chatham, New Jersey
Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that EDUARDO URBINA-JUAREZ (URBINA), a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty today to a one-count Indictment charging him with illegal reentry of a removed alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. ' 1326(a).
According to court documents, URBINA reentered the United States after having been previously deported on May 23, 2013.
URBINA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. set sentencing for August 11, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
Harrisburg Man Convicted of Distributing Crack Cocaine and Possessing A Firearm in Furtherance of His Drug Trafficking ActivitiesRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that on June 29, 2016, a jury convicted Laquan Kellam, age 33, Harrisburg, of three counts of distributing crack cocaine, one count of possessing with the intent to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. The two-day trial was held before U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the jury returned with the verdict of guilty after approximately seven hours of deliberation. The jury found that Kellam distributed crack cocaine on June 20, 25 and 27, 2014, and that he possessed with the intent to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine. The jury also found Kellam guilty of possessing a firearm found at a Harrisburg residence in furtherance of his narcotics trafficking activities.
Judge Rambo remanded Kellam into custody following the verdict.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Pfisterer, Phillip J. Caraballo and Meredith A Taylor.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Harrisburg City Police Department and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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 the combined charges is life imprisonment with a 15 year mandatory minimum and a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a 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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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen Identities to File False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Marietta, Georgia, resident pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia today to one count of theft of public money and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia.
Peter Isika, 46, admitted using stolen identities to file at least 50 false tax returns for tax years 2013 and 2014 claiming more than $500,000 in fraudulent refunds. Isika admitted that he purchased the stolen identities over the Internet and used those identities to obtain the fraudulent tax refunds. Isika directed the refunds to prepaid debit cards or bank accounts that he controlled.
A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Isika. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the theft of public money charge and an additional statutory mandatory sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. He also faces a term of supervised release and monetary penalties.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Horn commended special agents of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, who investigated the case and Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Mara Strier of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Former Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Unlawful Sale of FirearmsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan McGowan, 34, of Elk Grove, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to 18 months in prison and a $7,000 fine for dealing firearms without a license and for conspiracy to make a false statement on a firearms record, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy McGowan and his co-defendant Robert Snellings were convicted last year following a jury trial. Snellings, 64, of Rancho Murieta, a former federal firearms licensee, was sentenced last week to one year in prison.
Under state law, California has an approved roster of firearms that may be sold to the public. A federal firearms licensee is required to make sure any handgun sold is on the approved roster. There is an exemption, however, for peace officers to purchase certain firearms known as “off-roster” firearms. Peace officers who own off-roster firearms may sell them in a private sale, so long as it is brokered by a federal firearms licensee. They may not, however, use these private sales to conduct a business whose principal objective is livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms.
According to evidence produced at trial, McGowan used his position as a deputy sheriff to purchase off-roster guns at retail price and then because the firearms could not be purchased directly by the general public, resold them at an inflated price on the private market in California. From 2008 to 2011, McGowan purchased 41 handguns and sold 25 of them within a year after purchase. Thirty-three of the guns were purchased through Snellings Firearms, which was owned by co-defendant Snellings. Some of those weapons were then transferred back to Snellings personally, thereby allowing Snellings to own the weapons himself or sell them to the public.
Both defendants were found guilty of conspiracies to make false statements in federal firearms records. In order to circumvent the restrictions on purchasing off-roster firearms, they falsely stated on ATF forms that a police officer was the actual purchaser when the actual purchaser of the off roster handgun was intended to be a non-officer who was not permitted to buy the gun. Therefore, McGowan and other police officers were acting as a straw purchasers who then transferred the handguns to the real purchasers within a short period of time.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Jill A. Snyder stated: “Ryan McGowan used his position as a law enforcement officer to purchase firearms and sell them illegally. In doing so, he violated federal law and public trust.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the active involvement of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office and the Sacramento Police Department. The Roseville Police Department and other law enforcement agencies assisted. Assistant United States Attorneys William S. Wong and Michael D. Anderson prosecuted the case.
Former Jackson Police Officer Pleads Guilty to ExtortionRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss – Bryan Jones, 44, of Jackson, pled guilty on June 29, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan, to extortion by use of his position as a police officer, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway.
While working as a JPD officer, Jones violated the Hobbs Act on April 15, 2015. Jones took cash during a stop from undercover FBI agents and never recorded or placed the money in Jackson Police Department evidence. At the time of the stop, Jones was carrying his service pistol holstered on his belt and driving his patrol car.
A confidential source called Jones to provide him with the location of someone who Jones thought was a drug dealer, but was really an undercover agent. Jones, acting in his capacity as a police officer, illegally searched and seized $4,000.00 and $5,000.00 respectively and later split the money with the confidential source and never recorded the money or turned it over to the Jackson Police Department evidence.
Jones will be sentenced on September 23, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Jackson Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Helen Wall and Erin Chalk.
Former Border Station Employee Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Amy L. Planch, 50, of Moyock, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today to evasion of income tax assessment.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, beginning in 1998, Planch worked full time at The Border Station, Inc., a popular retail store, gas station and restaurant located on the border of Currituck County, North Carolina and Chesapeake, Virginia. In her capacity as the bookkeeper and Chief Financial Officer of the company, Planch was responsible for payroll, paying bills, making deposits, transferring funds, and other tasks.
In March 2010, Planch opened a holiday-themed gift shop in Moyock, North Carolina, called the Carolina Christmas Shoppe, Inc. Although she spent the majority of her time at her new business, she retained her responsibilities as the Border Station’s bookkeeper. Beginning in early 2010, Planch began wiring thousands of dollars from the Border Station’s accounts to the Carolina Christmas Shoppe account and her personal accounts, at times then wiring a significantly smaller amount back into the Border Station’s accounts. Over the course of nearly three years, Planch transferred a net of approximately $966,000 from the Border Station to her business and personal accounts. These funds were used to pay her personal expenses, including credit card payments, mortgage payments, travel, clothing, and jewelry. Planch did not report the finances taken without authorization from the Border Station on her individual income tax returns. In December 2012, the owner of the Border Station became aware of Planch’s transfers and fired her. In March 2013, Planch traveled to the FBI offices in Chesapeake, Virginia and, during an interview with IRS and FBI agents, attempted to implicate the Border Station’s owner in a variety illegal activities, to include gambling, drugs, bank fraud, and others.
Planch was charged by criminal information on May 17, and will be sentenced on October 14 by Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Planch 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; and Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-76.
Florida Resident Charged in Superseding Indictment with Attempting to Damage Religious PropertyRead the Press Release
Defendant Was Previously Charged with Attempting to Use Explosive Device on Florida Synagogue
James Gonzalo Medina, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, was charged today by superseding indictment with attempting to damage religious property following his initial charge on May 2, 2016, of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction – an explosive device – at a synagogue in Aventura, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Medina is now charged with knowingly attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a person or property within the United States and attempting to damage religious property. If convicted, Medina faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which Medina was closely monitored by the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The explosive device that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.
According to allegations contained in the original complaint, in March 2016, Medina came to the attention of the FBI due to his conversations about attacking a synagogue in South Florida. The FBI was able to gauge Medina’s interest in the plot and collect evidence through the use of a confidential human source (CHS), to whom Medina expressed anti-Semitic views and identified the Aventura-Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura as the target of his attack.
The complaint further alleged that Medina wanted to use an explosive device to commit the attack and engaged the CHS and an undercover FBI employee about the details of his planned criminal conduct. In preparation for the proposed attack, Medina studied the synagogue property to assess its vulnerabilities. On April 29, 2016, Medina took possession of an inert explosive device and was arrested while approaching the synagogue. Medina was under FBI surveillance, and the FBI effectively mitigated any danger posed to the public.
A complaint and indictment are merely accusations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Division and the South Florida JTTF. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Karen E. Gilbert of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Florida Resident Charged in Superseding Indictment with Attempting to Damage Religious PropertyRead the Press Release
James Gonzalo Medina, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, was charged today by superseding indictment with attempting to damage religious property following his initial charge on May 2, 2016, of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction – an explosive device – at a synagogue in Aventura, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Medina is now charged with knowingly attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a person or property within the United States and attempting to damage religious property. If convicted, Medina faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which Medina was closely monitored by the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The explosive device that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.
According to allegations contained in the original complaint, in March 2016, Medina came to the attention of the FBI due to his conversations about attacking a synagogue in South Florida. The FBI was able to gauge Medina’s interest in the plot and collect evidence through the use of a confidential human source (CHS), to whom Medina expressed anti-Semitic views and identified the Aventura-Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura as the target of his attack.
The complaint further alleged that Medina wanted to use an explosive device to commit the attack and engaged the CHS and an undercover FBI employee about the details of his planned criminal conduct. In preparation for the proposed attack, Medina studied the synagogue property to assess its vulnerabilities. On April 29, 2016, Medina took possession of an inert explosive device and was arrested while approaching the synagogue. Medina was under FBI surveillance, and the FBI effectively mitigated any danger posed to the public.
A complaint and indictment are merely accusations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Division and the South Florida JTTF. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Karen E. Gilbert of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Florida Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Bryant Lee Gramer (43) to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution to a victim of his offense. Gramer pleaded guilty on April 20, 2016.
According to court documents, in 2011, Gramer uploaded to Facebook numerous photos depicting child pornography, and he also had hundreds more in his possession. Gramer, a registered sex offender, was previously convicted for committing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child. In 2012, he was sentenced to a state prison term for having unregistered email accounts in violation of his sex offender reporting requirements.
"We hope today's sentencing brings a small measure of relief to the innocent victims of these crimes," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "Protecting our nation's children remains one of HSI's top priorities."
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory T. Nolan.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and tpro identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Florida Cardiologist and His Practice Pay Millions and Agree to Three Years of Exclusion to Resolve Alleged False Billings for Unnecessary Procedures and Illegal KickbacksRead the Press Release
An Ocala, Florida, cardiologist, Dr. Asad Qamar, and his practice, the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence (ICE), will pay $2 million, plus release any claim to $5.3 million in suspended Medicare funds, to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they improperly billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for medically unnecessary procedures, and paid kickbacks to patients by waiving Medicare copayments irrespective of financial hardship, the Justice Department announced today. Dr. Qamar also agreed to a three-year period of exclusion from participating in any federal health care program followed by a three-year Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The settlement relates to two consolidated lawsuits in which the United States intervened on Dec. 22, 2014.
“Billing federal health programs for medically unnecessary procedures is unacceptable – not only does it waste taxpayer funds, but it also puts patients at risk,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement evidences the Department of Justice’s firm commitment to protect public funds and to safeguard the well-being of federal health care program beneficiaries.”
The settlement resolves the government’s lawsuit claiming that Dr. Qamar and ICE billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for excessive, medically unnecessary and inadequately documented peripheral artery interventional services and related procedures. Many of the cardiovascular procedures for which Dr. Qamar and ICE billed Medicare and the other programs were not indicated by patients’ medical histories or records, or the severity of the patients’ symptoms.
The government also alleged that to help facilitate this false billing scheme, Dr. Qamar and ICE routinely and indiscriminately waived the 20 percent Medicare copayment, irrespective of the patient’s financial need. Medicare copayments assure that patients have an incentive to be smart healthcare consumers and avoid unnecessary procedures. By waiving the required copayments indiscriminately, Dr. Qamar and ICE induced patients to agree to unnecessary and invasive procedures and other services. Dr. Qamar’s and ICE’s illegal conduct made Dr. Qamar the highest paid Medicare cardiologist in the country in 2012 and 2013.
“Patient safety is of paramount importance,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III for the Middle District of Florida. “When a doctor performs medically unnecessary and invasive procedures on Medicare patients, federal healthcare programs are defrauded and, more importantly, patients’ lives and wellbeing are recklessly put at risk. This case shows our office’s steadfast commitment to holding medical providers personally responsible for their actions.”
“When medical professionals act on greed to perform unnecessary, invasive procedures on Medicare and Medicaid patients, both patient health and taxpayer funds are compromised,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of HHS-OIG. “Our agents and investigators will continue to work hard with our law enforcement partners to ensure that health care providers who engage in such illegal behavior are held accountable.”
The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were originally raised in two lawsuits filed pursuant to the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they discover evidence that defendants have submitted false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in these cases. The cases are captioned United States ex rel. Doe v. Institute of Cardiovasular Excellence, PLLC, ICE Holdings, PLLC, Dr. Asad Qamar, & Dr. Humera Qamar, Case No. 5:11-CV-406-OC-KRS (M.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Taylor & the State of Florida v. Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence & Dr. Asad Qamar, Case No. 8:14-CV-1454-T-35-EAS (M.D. Fla.). The relators Dr. Robert A. Green and Ms. Holly A. Taylor will receive $1,327,721 as their share of the settlement.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $29.9 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This case was handled by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, HHS-OIG, and the Defense Health Agency on behalf of the TRICARE program. The claims asserted by the government are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Florida Cardiologist and His Practice Pay Millions and Agree to Three Years of Exclusion to Resolve Alleged False Billings for Unnecessary Procedures and Illegal KickbacksRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – An Ocala, Florida, cardiologist, Dr. Asad Qamar, and his practice, the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence (ICE), will pay $2 million, plus release any claim to $5.3 million in suspended Medicare funds, to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they improperly billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for medically unnecessary procedures, and paid kickbacks to patients by waiving Medicare copayments irrespective of financial hardship, the Justice Department announced today. Dr. Qamar also agreed to a three-year period of exclusion from participating in any federal health care program followed by a three-year Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The settlement relates to two consolidated lawsuits in which the United States intervened on Dec. 22, 2014.
“Patient safety is of paramount importance,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III for the Middle District of Florida. “When a doctor performs medically unnecessary and invasive procedures on Medicare patients, federal healthcare programs are defrauded and, more importantly, patients’ lives and wellbeing are recklessly put at risk. This case shows our office’s steadfast commitment to holding medical providers personally responsible for their actions.”
“Billing federal health programs for medically unnecessary procedures is unacceptable – not only does it waste taxpayer funds, but it also puts patients at risk,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement evidences the Department of Justice’s firm commitment to protect public funds and to safeguard the well-being of federal health care program beneficiaries.”
The settlement resolves the government’s lawsuit claiming that Dr. Qamar and ICE billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for excessive, medically unnecessary and inadequately documented peripheral artery interventional services and related procedures. Many of the cardiovascular procedures for which Dr. Qamar and ICE billed Medicare and the other programs were not indicated by patients’ medical histories or records, or the severity of the patients’ symptoms.
The government also alleged that to help facilitate this false billing scheme, Dr. Qamar and ICE routinely and indiscriminately waived the 20 percent Medicare copayment, irrespective of the patient’s financial need. Medicare copayments assure that patients have an incentive to be smart healthcare consumers and avoid unnecessary procedures. By waiving the required copayments indiscriminately, Dr. Qamar and ICE induced patients to agree to unnecessary and invasive procedures and other services. Dr. Qamar’s and ICE’s illegal conduct made Dr. Qamar the highest paid Medicare cardiologist in the country in 2012 and 2013.
“When medical professionals act on greed to perform unnecessary, invasive procedures on Medicare and Medicaid patients, both patient health and taxpayer funds are compromised,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of HHS-OIG. “Our agents and investigators will continue to work hard with our law enforcement partners to ensure that health care providers who engage in such illegal behavior are held accountable.”
The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were originally raised in two lawsuits filed pursuant to the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they discover evidence that defendants have submitted false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in these cases. The cases are captioned United States ex rel. Doe v. Institute of Cardiovasular Excellence, PLLC, ICE Holdings, PLLC, Dr. Asad Qamar, & Dr. Humera Qamar, Case No. 5:11-CV-406-OC-KRS (M.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Taylor & the State of Florida v. Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence & Dr. Asad Qamar, Case No. 8:14-CV-1454-T-35-EAS (M.D. Fla.). The relators Dr. Robert A. Green and Ms. Holly A. Taylor will receive $1,327,721 as their share of the settlement.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $29.9 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This case was handled by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, HHS-OIG, and the Defense Health Agency on behalf of the TRICARE program. The claims asserted by the government are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Five More Inmates Sentenced for Rioting in a Federal Prison FacilityRead the Press Release
Natchez, Miss - Five inmates were sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Bramlette III for their participation in a prison riot which took place at the Adams County Correctional facility prison on May 20, 2012, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway.
Ricardo Gonzales-Porras, 31, originally of Chihuahua, Mexico, was sentenced to 300 months in prison.
Ricardo Quintana, 29, originally of Chihuahua, Mexico, was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
Ernesto Granados, 37, originally of Salamanca, Mexico, was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
Ian Reid, 45, originally of Montego Bay, Jamaica was sentenced to 89 months in prison.
Marco Perez-Serano, 32, originally of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, was sentenced to 105 months in prison.
The defendants were ordered to pay restitution jointly and severally in the amount of $1,382,313. They are subject to deportation following their release from prison.
The cause of the riot was what the inmates perceived to be inadequate food, medical conditions and disrespectful staff members. During the riot, prison fences were destroyed, windows were broken, prison property was stolen, hostages were taken, correctional officers were assaulted, and one corrections officer was killed.
U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis commended the agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who worked tirelessly on this case
Final Defendant Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Two Separate Schemes to Defraud the City of BaltimoreRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Charles Dennis Bolden, Sr., age 69, of Baltimore, a former employee at the Quarantine Road Landfill (Landfill), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit two separate criminal schemes: one in which Department of Public Works (DPW) employees sought and accepted cash payments from commercial haulers in return for allowing the haulers to deposit trash at the Landfill without paying the required disposal fees (extortion scheme); and a second scheme in which DPW employees stole scrap metal from the Landfill for personal gain (the junking scheme).
Bolden is the last of 12 defendants to be convicted. Six Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) employees and six commercial trash haulers were charged in federal court with conspiracy and other charges, including bribery, extortion and theft. Bolden was one of the two DPW employees charged in both schemes. All 12 defendants have been convicted.
The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Robert H. Pearre, Jr., Inspector General, City of Baltimore Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
Extortion Scheme
Individuals or companies commercially hauling trash that have registered their vehicles with Baltimore City and obtained Landfill permits, as well as Baltimore City residents with larger loads, must deposit their trash in an open area located within the Landfill. Commercial haulers of trash that meet certain vehicle weight limitations must, in addition to purchasing a Landfill permit, pay a waste disposal fee of $67.50 per ton of trash deposited at the Landfill. DPW employees assigned as scale house operators weigh each truck as it enters the Landfill, which is recorded on a computerized point-of-sale system. The scale house operators reweigh each truck as it leaves the Landfill.
Baltimore City residents can deposit small amounts of trash and/or recyclables in dumpsters at the Convenience Center located near the main entrance of the Landfill, free of charge. Individuals or companies commercially hauling trash that have registered their vehicles with the City and obtained Landfill permits, as well as Baltimore City residents with larger loads, must deposit their trash in an open area located further within the Landfill. Commercial haulers of trash that meet certain vehicle weight limitations must, in addition to purchasing a Landfill permit, pay a waste disposal fee of $67.50 per ton of trash, also referred to as a “tipping fee.” The disposal fee applies to the net weight of the trash deposited at the Landfill.
Bolden pleaded guilty today to both indictments charging him in the two schemes. According to the statement of facts presented by the government to the court, Bolden, who was employed by DPW as a laborer at the Landfill, and other DPW employees sought and accepted cash payments from commercial haulers in return for allowing the commercial haulers to deposit trash at the Landfill without paying the required disposal fees.
On August 28, 2013, an FBI confidential source (CS) went to the Convenience Center and spoke with Bolden about the cost of dumping a truckload of trash at the Landfill. Bolden told CS that he and his “girls” at the scale house would have to be paid a “fair” amount of money in order for CS to avoid paying the required disposal fee assessed at the scale house. When CS agreed to make the payment, Bolden said that the scale house “girl gonna waive you thru.”
The next day, Latonya Drinkard, a scale house operator, waived CS past the scale house and allowed him to dump his truckload of trash without paying the required fee. Afterwards, CS paid Bolden $70 in cash, which Bolden explained was a lot less than what he and the scale house “girls” have charged others. On September 12, 2013 and October 9, 2013, Drinkard allowed CS to dump two more truckloads of trash without paying the required disposal fee. Bolden charged CS $200 for each truckload.
During a recorded conversation on October 17, 2013, Drinkard asked the CS how much Bolden was charging CS. Upon learning that it was $200 per trip, the scale house operator agreed to waive the disposal fee for less money without Bolden’s involvement and stated, “Just call and let me know whenever you want to come in and I got you.”
Illegal Junking Scheme
In addition to the revenue generated by the collection of disposal fees, Baltimore City’s waste management system generates revenue by collecting and selling recyclable scrap metal dumped at the City’s trash collection facilities, including household appliances, steel cables, copper wires, car parts, computer parts, door and window frames. The City awards contracts to private salvage companies to purchase and remove such scrap metal from its trash collection facilities.
DPW employees at the Landfill and other trash collection sites are required to segregate the recyclable scrap metal from general refuse and place it in separate bins provided by the salvage companies. The companies regularly pick up the scrap metal, weigh it and send a tonnage report to the City. Based on predetermined prices per ton, the City sends an invoice to the companies requesting payment for the value of the scrap metal the companies removed during a given period of time. Salvaging by employees, also referred to as “junking,” was strictly prohibited and employees were put on notice that any salvaging of metal constituted theft of City property.
According to the statement of facts presented by the government to the court, from 2005 to May 2015, Bolden and other Landfill employees falsely represented to the DPW that they were performing the jobs for which they were hired when, in fact, they used their paid positions during work hours to unlawfully collect, remove and sell scrap metal for personal gain.
Bolden and other laborers used their personal cell phones to communicate when and where recyclable scrap metals were being dumped at the Landfill. After creating piles of the scrap metal at various locations at the Landfill, the laborers would then use their personal pick-up trucks to collect the scrap metal and transport it from the Landfill to a private salvage company, frequently making multiple trips during a single, eight-hour work shift.
For most of the period, Bolden oversaw operations at the Convenience Center where residential trash was dumped. Video recordings documented Bolden’s use of a front-end loader to separate salvageable metal from the general trash bins. After setting aside a sufficient amount of such metal, Bolden would use his cell phone to contact other laborers, including Jarrod Hazelton and Michael Bennett, to pick up what he had collected. Telephonic intercepts revealed a daily pattern of phone calls wherein Bolden notified other employees that he had collected various types of salvageable metal that he was ready to load onto their trucks. Video footage showed Bolden helping to load the salvageable metals onto other employees’ pick-up trucks as well as his own. Those employees, in turn, would sell the metal to salvage companies and share the proceeds of the sales with Bolden. Sometimes the other laborers would meet with Bolden after hours to pick up his stolen metal and pay him.
The scrap metal that Bolden, Hazelton, Bennett and others stole and sold to private salvage companies resulted in a loss of revenue to the City totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In addition, video footage established that Bolden and other employees spent a significant part of almost every workday coordinating the search and collection of salvageable metals to steal. Nonetheless, Bolden and other employees regularly signed and submitted daily time and attendance sheets falsely reflecting that they had fulfilled the hourly requirements of their respective paid positions when, in fact, they were routinely engaged in unauthorized “junking.” As a result, Bolden received hourly wages every pay period for work he did not perform on behalf of the City. More specifically, for calendar years 2013 and 2014, Bolden stole and conspired to steal salvageable metals and unearned wages from Baltimore City totaling more than $5,000 per year.
Bolden faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy, 20 years in prison for extortion; and 10 years in prison for theft from a government program. U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis has scheduled sentencing for August 23, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.
Former DPW employees Tamara Oliver Washington, age 55; William Charles Nemec, Sr., age 56; and Michael Theodore Bennett, age 47; Latonya Drinkard, age 39, all of Baltimore, and Jarrod Terrell Hazelton, age 33, of Parkville, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the schemes. Nemec was sentenced to 78 months in prison, Bennett to 46 months in prison and Hazelton to two years in prison. U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis also ordered Bennett and Hazelton to each pay restitution of $400,000. Washington and Drinkard are scheduled to be sentenced on August 12 and October 13, 2016.
Commercial trash hauler, John Howard Brady, age 74, was convicted by a federal jury in the bribery scheme, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2016. The five remaining commercial trash haulers pleaded guilty to their participation in the bribery scheme. Quentin Turgot Glenn, age 50, of Hanover, Maryland, who owned and operated Glenn Services, LLC, a trash hauling business, was sentenced to three years in prison. Jessie Lee Wilson, Jr., age 41, of Baltimore, who was employed by Glenn Services as a truck driver, to three years of probation, with the first year to be spent in community confinement. Adam Williams, Jr., age 53, of Randallstown, was sentenced to one year in prison; and Larry Lowry, age 61, of Orchard Beach, Maryland, to 30 months in prison. Judge Garbis also ordered that Glenn pay restitution of $306,000; Williams pay restitution of $900,000; and Lowry pay restitution of $180,000. Mustafa Sharif, age 64, of Baltimore, awaits sentencing.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, IRS-CI, Baltimore Office of Inspector General and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise, who are prosecuting the cases.
Federal Court Permanently Shuts Down South Florida Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
A federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has permanently barred a Broward County man from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.
The United States filed a civil complaint against Eli St. Phard of Oakland Park, Florida, in April. The complaint alleged that he prepared income tax returns that fraudulently understated his customers’ tax liabilities by falsely claiming deductions for business expenses his customers never incurred; fraudulently overstating his customers’ claims for refunds by falsely claiming education or fuel tax credits to which his customers were not entitled; or both. According to the complaint, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audited 340 of the returns St. Phard prepared and found that St. Phard understated the tax owed on all but five of the 340 returns—a total of more than $1.8 million in understatements. As a result of St. Phard’s fraudulent activities, many of his customers are now liable for significant tax deficiencies, penalties and interest, the complaint alleged.
In addition to barring St. Phard from preparing federal tax returns, the court ordered St. Phard to give the United States a list of his customers. St. Phard consented to entry of the order by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. St. Phard admitted, for purposes of this case, that he had engaged in conduct subject to penalty under the federal tax laws, but he did not admit to civil or criminal wrongdoing or to the specific allegations in the complaint.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
El Dorado County Health Care Provider Agrees to Pay $5.5m to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today that El Dorado County based Marshall Medical Center (MMC) will pay the United States and the State of California $5.5 million to settle allegations that MMC; Marshall Foundation for Community Health; El Dorado Hematology & Medical Oncology II, Inc.; Lin H. Soe, M.D.; and Tsuong Tsai, M.D., violated the federal False Claims Act and the State of California’s version of the False Claims Act. The federal lawsuit, filed by whistleblower Colleen Herren, contends that MMC and the other defendants defrauded Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid by a variety of billing improprieties.
The settlement resolves the allegations that the defendants submitted false Medicare and Medi-Cal bills. The complaint alleged that the defendants performed chemotherapy infusions without having a physician present as required. One of the oncologists referred cancer patients from the oncology clinic to the hospital for blood transfusions and improperly billed Medicare for observation codes that require visits by the doctor in conjunction with the transfusions and no doctor visited. The clinic’s oncology nurses used single dose vials on two subsequent patients and billed Medicare and Medicaid for two dosages. In the settlement, the defendants do not admit liability for the alleged false conduct.
Ms. Herren filed her lawsuit on behalf of the United States and State of California in January 2012, and she alleged that she was fired from her job as an oncology nurse in the clinic when she apprised management of the defendants’ billing practices. Ms. Herren's employment claims were not included in the settlement and have since been separately resolved and dismissed. She will receive a 26 percent share of the $5.5 million per the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.
“Health care related fraud investigations are one of my District’s top priorities. My office works closely with our federal and state partners to ensure that patients receive proper medical care with drug regimens that are safe and properly administered, and to ensure that our publicly funded health care insurers reimburse practitioners only for approved services and medicines,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert.
This case was investigated by the United States Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Office of Inspector General, and the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelli L. Taylor and Kurt A. Didier handled the case.
El Departamento de Justicia Colabora con la República de El Salvador para Combatir la Discriminación en el EmpleoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia y la República de El Salvador establecieron hoy una asociación formal para proteger a trabajadores de la discriminación por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. La Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal, Vanita Gupta, Directora de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia y la embajadora salvadoreña, Claudia Canjura De Centeno, firmaron un memorando de entendimiento (MOU, por sus siglas en inglés) entre la embajada y sus consulados y la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas con la Inmigración (OSC, por sus singlas en inglés), que pertenece a la División.
Como parte del MOU, la OSC y el gobierno salvadoreño se comprometen a colaborar para educar a los trabajadores acerca de sus derechos y brindarles los recursos necesarios para proteger tales derechos. Asimismo, el MOU promueve la capacitación para empleadores en cuanto a sus obligaciones al amparo de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés), que prohíbe la discriminación en el empleo por motivos de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. En concreto, el MOU dispone que:
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La OSC capacitará al personal consular salvadoreño en lo que se refiere a la disposición de la INA, participará en eventos organizados por los consulados salvadoreños para educar a los trabajadores y empleadores y distribuirá materiales educativos a la embajada y sus consulados.
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La embajada establecerá un sistema para referir denuncias de discriminación recibidas en la embajada y sus consulados a la OSC.
“Damos la bienvenida a este socio nuevo que ayudará a la División de Derechos Civiles a combatir la discriminación ilícita en contra de empleados que trabajan en los Estados Unidos y sinceramente apreciamos la oportunidad de alcanzar esta meta tan importante,” declaró la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal, Vanita Gupta. “Esperamos que la formalización de nuestra asociación con El Salvador mande un mensaje claro a los trabajadores de nuestras ganas de ayudarlos.”
El acuerdo de hoy resulta particularmente útil por el gran número de nacionales salvadoreños con el estatus de protección temporal (TPS, por sus siglas en inglés), los cuales son elegibles para vivir y trabajar en los Estados Unidos pero quienes a veces son discriminados por sus empleadores, ya sea por motivos de su estatus migratorio o por su nacionalidad de origen. El TPS es un estatus migratorio temporal que se extiende a nacionales elegibles de un país designado para el TPS al amparo de la INA. Durante el período de duración del TPS, los beneficiarios del TPS cuentan con autorización para trabajar en los Estados Unidos.
La OSC es responsable de aplicar la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, esta ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; la discriminación en el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad de empleo; las represalias y la intimidación. Además de sus esfuerzos por aplicar la ley, la OSC se dedica a educar al público en cuanto a los derechos y las responsabilidades al amparo de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Si desea más información sobre la OSC, vaya a www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo en virtud de las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de la OSC para trabajadores al 1‑800‑255-7688 (1‑800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); matricúlese para un seminario en línea gratuito en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] o visite la página web de la OSC en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
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Dunkirk Man Pleads Guilty in Major Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Angel Pierluissi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine, before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
“This conviction demonstrates that illegal drugs are not confined to a single area of the country,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “At the same time, thanks to our invaluable partnerships with all levels of law enforcement, extraordinary successes in our fight against the scourge of these poisons are also possible.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that Pierluissi was a member of a drug trafficking organization led by co-defendants Rafael Burgos and David Jesus Pagan. The organization operated between 2013 and June 10, 2015. During that time, members distributed multiple kilograms of cocaine throughout the Dunkirk area.
Pierluissi was arrested in June of 2015 along with Burgos, Javier Pagan, Jr., David Jesus Pagan, Samuel Hernandez III, and Alvin Torres. Search warrants were executed at the time of the arrests at six properties which resulted in the recovery of more than seven kilograms of cocaine (the largest seizure ever in the City of Dunkirk) and approximately $175,000 in cash as well as an AR-15 assault rifle with a 30 round magazine. During a search of Burgos’ residence, officers discovered a secret room with a money counting machine.
All defendants have been convicted except for David Jesus Pagan and Angel Pierluissi. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Office, the Dunkirk Police Department, under the direction of Chief David C. Ortolano, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Joseph A. Gerace, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy S. Whitcomb, and the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Patrick Swanson.
Sentencing will scheduled at a later date.
District Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of Firearm in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dustin Evans, 30, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday to a 62- month prison term for unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Evans pled guilty on April 19, 2016, in the United States District Court for District of Columbia, to the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm after being convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment. The Honorable John D. Bates sentenced Evans on June 29, 2016, to a total of 62 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on October 31, 2015, at approximately 7:00 p.m., members of the Metropolitan Police Department received information that a black male wearing a dark-colored jumpsuit with tennis shoes and dreadlocks, was pointing a firearm at an unknown person in front of 2307 Good Hope Court, Southeast, in the District of Columbia. Several officers observed Evans, who matched the lookout description, in front of 2307 Good Hope Court, Southeast. The officers approached Evans, who fled the area, and when the officers followed Evans, an officer observed Evans throw a firearm to the ground. The recovered firearm was determined to be a Glock 17, 9mm, semi-automatic firearm, and contained 17 rounds of ammunition. Evans was detained, and law enforcement subsequently determined that Evans had been previously convicted of an offense that was punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of the officers, and others who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Including Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivien Cockburn, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
District Man Found Guilty of Shooting in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jason Edwards, 32, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty on Wednesday of five felony charges stemming from an incident last Halloween in Northeast Washington in which he shot a man, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.
On June 29, 2016, Edwards was found guilty by a jury of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of one count of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of assault with significant bodily injury while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring presided over the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for August 30, 2016.
According to the government’s evidence, on October 31, 2015, Edwards arranged to purchase marijuana from the victim, his former coworker. The two men communicated via text message to set up the meeting. Edwards had the victim meet him in the 3100 block of Channing Street, NE. Instead of purchasing marijuana, Edwards—who was wearing a Batman costume—took out a gun and shot the victim in the upper chest. As the victim ran away, Edwards chased him down the street and fired six additional shots, one of which struck the victim in his leg. Fortunately, neither gunshot wound was fatal. The victim was able to identify Edwards by first name within minutes of police arriving on the scene. During its investigation, the government obtained cell site data from Edwards’ phone that placed him in an area consistent with where the shooting took place.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips praised the work of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Department of Forensic Sciences, and the FBI. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia and Aneela Bhatia; and Paralegal Specialist Donville Drummond. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kondi Kleinman and Laura Crane, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Defendant Scheduled for Second Gang Trial Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and MurderRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lance Green, 36, formerly of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Green was scheduled to stand trial on July 11 in the second of three trials involving the organized criminal enterprise known as the Short North Posse.
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Brad Earman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.
A total of 20 individuals were indicted in the racketeering case with charges that included murders, attempted murders, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, witness tampering, extortion and robbery.
A United States District Court jury convicted five co-defendants of racketeering and murder earlier this month. After a two-month trial, the group of defendants was convicted on all counts, which accounted for 10 of 14 previously unsolved murders.
A third trial is currently scheduled to begin on September 26 for the remaining defendants.
Racketeering conspiracy is a crime punishable by up to life in prison. Murder in aid of racketeering also carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the two-year long investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Columbus Police, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office, Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx, Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth Oswalt, Muskingum County Prosecutor D. Michael Haddox, Ross County Prosecutor Matthew S. Schmidt, law enforcement leaders from those counties, officials of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys David DeVillers, Kevin Kelley and Brian Martinez, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Lowe of Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien’s Office, who are prosecuting the case.
Cullman County Man Sentenced to 45 Years for Third Child Exploitation ConvictionRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Cullman County man to 45 years in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography after two previous child sexual abuse convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Homeland Security Investigations, New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr.
JAMES KEITH STEWART, 36, who is currently serving a 15-year state sentence on a 2013 conviction of sexually molesting a boy under age 12 at a public swimming area in Chilton County, pleaded guilty in federal court in March to receiving and possessing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced him on those charges and ordered the federal sentence to be served concurrently with Stewart’s state sentence.
Along with Stewart’s 2013 conviction of sexual abuse of a child, he was convicted by court martial in 2003 for indecent acts upon a child.
Between August 2010 and February 2012, Stewart amassed a collection of thousands of images of child pornography, including sadistic and masochistic images of the rape of toddlers, and was trading the child pornography over the internet, according to court records.
The government recommended a 45-year prison sentence for Stewart and argued that lengthy incarceration is the only way to ensure that Stewart does not harm more children.
HSI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Barnes prosecuted.
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Crossville Man Sentenced to 47 Years in Prison for Horrific Assault and Kidnapping During Violent Crime OrdealRead the Press Release
Douglas M. Davis, 46, of Crossville, Tenn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 47 years in prison, for crimes committed in October 2014 during a two-day violent crime spree, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Davis pleaded guilty in January 2016 to kidnapping; transportation of a stolen vehicle in interstate commerce; being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
During the January plea hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Kevin H. Sharp, Davis admitted that on October 2, 2014, he was visiting two friends at a house in Crossville, Tenn., when he produced a semi-automatic handgun and forced the female friend to restrain the male friend with duct tape. After securing the man’s hands and feet, Davis forced the woman to help drag the man into the bathroom, where he was left bound and secured. Davis admitted that he then forced the woman to engage in various sex acts and then beat her and raped her.
After raping the woman, Davis admitted that he took $50 from the man’s wallet and assaulted him and left him duct taped in the bathroom. Davis then forced the woman into the man’s car and subsequently drove to a remote location in Hardin County, Kentucky, where he abandoned the stolen car. Davis then forced the victim into a wooded area and raped her repeatedly. Davis raped the victim again in Bullitt County, Kentucky and again at an unknown location.
On October 4, 2014, law enforcement officers located Davis and the female victim hiding behind a trash dumpster at a Pilot gas station in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. At the time of his arrest, Davis was in possession of a loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Davis told law enforcement officers that he had been in love with the victim since he first met her and that he had planned on releasing her and committing suicide.
Davis had previously been convicted of felony burglary in the State of Florida.
In sentencing Davis, Chief Judge Sharp characterized Davis as a predator and noted that the sentence the Court imposed needed to reflect the seriousness of the crimes and also serve as a deterrent.
This case was investigated by the FBI; the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department; the Kentucky State Police; the Hardin County, Kentucky Sheriff’s Department; and the Bullitt County, Kentucky Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Lynne T. Ingram prosecuted the case.
Colorado Man Sentenced for Aiding and Abetting the Operation of an Unregistered AircraftRead the Press Release
Gilbert Wayne Wiles, Jr., 38, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on June 24, 2016, for aiding and abetting the operation of an unregistered aircraft. Niles received 36 months of supervised probation and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $1000.00 fine. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Cleveland man charged with distributing fentanyl, heroin and cocaineRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin and cocaine, law enforcement officials said.
Roland M. Smith, 42, was charged via criminal information with one count of conspiring to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl, 100 grams of heroin and 500 grams of cocaine.
The charges seek to forfeit a Kal-Tech .22 pistol and various sizes of ammunition seized on April 27, 2016.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Pinjuh following an investigation by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force.
If convicted, the court will determine the defendants’ sentence after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
A charge 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.
Clermont County Man Sentenced to 85 Years for Producing, Receiving, Possessing Child Pornography, Obscene Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI –David Guy, 61, of New Richmond, Ohio was sentenced to 1,020 months in prison for producing, receiving and possessing child pornography and obscene images of child sexual abuse. He was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.
A United States District Court jury convicted Guy in April of 11 counts of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, one count of attempted production of child pornography, three counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Clermont County Sheriff Tim Rodenberg and other members of the Regional Electronic Computer Investigations Task Force including Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.
Guy used Photoshop to create hundreds of visual depictions using 11 different minor victims by placing the children’s faces into images of very graphic adult and child pornography. In addition, Guy attempted to produce child pornography when he took a photo of one minor, posing the child on her hands and knees and exposing her bottom.
A search of computers seized from Guy’s residence revealed the extent of his child pornography collection. Guy’s images included depictions of the sexual bondage of children less than five years of age, bestiality, lascivious exhibition, among many other graphic and violent images.
According to court testimony, Guy claimed that the over 25,000 images of child pornography he received and possessed were inspiration for his art. He claimed, through counsel, that the hundreds of images of graphic child pornography he Photoshopped were merely art.
Guy also claimed that the government was to blame for attempting to censor his work, which was rebutted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy D. Oakley during rebuttal.
The jury convicted Guy with the 16 counts he was charged with after less than an hour of deliberation.
“David Guy sought to escape responsibility for his horrific crimes against children by characterizing as ‘art’ the images of children that he produced,” Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “It is not art. It is the opposite of art. It is a horrible crime -- one that David Guy committed over and over, without remorse. Although the harm from Guy's crimes can never be undone, at least the community will be from safe from him committing any more for the next 85 years.”
Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by agents and officers of the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, the Regional Electronic Computer Investigations Task Force, which is comprised of officers from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Cincinnati Police Department, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy L. Muncy and Timothy D. Oakley, who prosecuted the case.
Chesterfield Woman Indicted on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Pamela Minor-Chiles, 47, of Chesterfield, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 21 on 27 counts of bank fraud. The indictment was unsealed today.
According to the indictment, Minor-Chiles, the office manager of the Central Virginia OB/GYN Associates (CVOG), misappropriated approximately $210,000 from the practice from 2007 until 2012. The scheme involved Minor-Chiles writing approximately 133 checks on the CVOG operating account at SunTrust Bank and fraudulently depositing them into her personal accounts at the Bank of America from 2007 to 2012. The indictment also alleges that Minor-Chiles concealed the misappropriations by (1) putting fraudulent entries on the check stubs to make it appear that the misappropriated checks were written to outside vendors for legitimate expenses of the practice, and (2) then submitting the fraudulent check stubs to the outside accountants.
On each count of bank fraud, Minor-Chiles faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison if convicted. 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.
Minor-Chiles had her initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Roderick Young, who released her on bond. Minor-Chiles will have her arraignment before the Honorable Hannah Lauck on July 8.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Douglas F. Mease, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the return of the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-CR-083.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
CVS to Pay $3.5 Million to Resolve Allegations that Pharmacists Filled Fake PrescriptionsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – In one of the largest settlements to date involving federal allegations of prescription drug diversion in Massachusetts, CVS Pharmacy, Inc., has agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve allegations that 50 of its stores violated the Controlled Substances Act by filling forged prescriptions for controlled substances – mostly addictive painkillers – more than 500 times between 2011 and 2014. In addition, CVS has entered into a three-year compliance agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that requires CVS to maintain and enhance programs it has developed in recent years for detecting and preventing diversion of controlled substances.
“Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to ensure that controlled substances are dispensed only pursuant to valid prescriptions,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “When pharmacies ignore red flags that a prescription is fraudulent, they miss a critical opportunity to prevent prescription drugs from entering the stream of illegal opiates on the black market. Diverted painkillers are contributing to the devastating opioid epidemic in our Commonwealth. Although CVS is currently undertaking corrective steps to curb the tide of diversion, this settlement pushes CVS to go further and holds the company accountable for its past conduct.”
“DEA registrants like CVS have a corresponding responsibility to dispense controlled substances in accordance with the Controlled Substance Act. When pharmacies fail to adhere to these responsibilities, it allows for the diversion of prescription pain medication, which contributes to the widespread abuse of opiates, is the gateway to heroin addiction, and is devastating our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. “Our obligation is to improve public safety and public health, and we are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that these rules and regulations are followed.”
This settlement resolves two investigations of CVS stores initiated by the DEA after it received an increased number of calls reporting forged oxycodone prescriptions. In the first investigation, the DEA identified forged prescriptions filled 403 times at 40 CVS stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In the second investigation, the DEA identified 120 forged prescriptions filled at 10 CVS stores in and around Boston. The DEA estimated the street value of the diverted pills to be over $1 million.
The forged prescriptions traced back to just a few individuals. One of the forgers, P.R., signed a dentist’s name on 56 of 59 oxycodone prescriptions that P.R. was then able to get filled at five CVS locations. CVS pharmacists filled these prescriptions even though CVS banned P.R. in 2011 and its computer system contained notes warning that P.R. had tried to fill forged prescriptions in the past. P.R. managed to circumvent the ban by opening a new patient profile using her own Arizona driver’s license number but with a different last name. The government alleged that CVS should have known that the new profile was really P.R.’s, and that the quantities and frequency of P.R.’s oxycodone prescriptions were excessive, especially coming from a dentist. Moreover, the government alleged, even if CVS had believed the prescriptions to be real, there were red flags that P.R. was “doctor shopping,” including the fact that P.R. presented oxycodone prescriptions from two different providers during a single week at one CVS store.
Another forger, E.M., signed a dentist’s name on 131 prescriptions for hydrocodone – another highly addictive opioid – and then had them filled at eight CVS stores. One of those stores, in South Dennis, Mass., filled 29 forged prescriptions for E.M. in just six months. Those 29 prescriptions totaled 1,290 pills of hydrocodone, or seven pills a day. At a different CVS store, E.M. was able to fill 28 prescriptions that she had forged for herself and three other alleged patients even though the prescriptions were identical except for the patient name and even though E.M. presented some of the prescriptions just days apart. CVS also filled 107 prescriptions that bore the dentist’s Massachusetts address, even though, by then, the dentist had closed her Massachusetts practice and moved to Maine. CVS pharmacists could have discovered that the address on these prescriptions was no longer valid had they called the phone number on the prescriptions or checked the DEA’s website.
Yet another forger, E.D., was able to fill fake prescriptions for hydrocodone and methadone over 200 times at CVS stores. CVS filled the prescriptions, on which E.D. had forged the name of an emergency room physician who according to the prescriptions worked at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, even though: (a) the physician did not work at Brigham & Women’s Hospital; (b) the prescriptions were issued more often and for larger pill quantities than is normal for prescriptions issued by an ER physician; and (c) 21 of the prescriptions, which were presented and picked up by E.D., a man, purported to be for female patients (and all were filled by the same CVS pharmacy).
Under DEA regulations, pharmacists dispensing the drugs have a responsibility to ensure that he/she is filling only valid prescriptions written for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting in the usual course of his/her professional practice. Fulfilling this responsibility requires identifying and resolving red flags that, individually or collectively, indicate that a prescription may be forged or otherwise invalid.
This case was brought as part of the federal response to New England’s opioid crisis. Prescription opioids are habit-forming drugs that lead to the use of other addictive drugs such a heroin. Overdoses from both prescription drugs and heroin have climbed substantially in recent years.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz and DEA SAC Ferguson made the announcement today. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Giselle J. Joffre and Deana K. El-Mallawany of Ortiz’s Civil Division.
Buffalo Man Arrested on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jason Yelder, 33, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on March 30, 2016, the defendant was pulled over by Hamburg Police on Old Lakeshore Road after moving from a lane unsafely. A DMV check revealed that Yelder’s driver’s license had been suspended four times on four different dates. As a result, the defendant was arrested and taken into custody.
A subsequent search of Yelder’s vehicle, a Dodge Ram Pickup, uncovered a large amount of cash, the defendant’s passport, a digital scale, methamphetamine packaged for sale, drug packaging, needles, suspected HGH samples, hard drives, prescription pills and a small amount of powdered crack cocaine.
The complaint is the culmination of an investigation by the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gregory Wickett and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. hunt, New York Field Division.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Broadview Heights man sentenced to prison to stealing $3.3 million from school districtRead the Press Release
A Broadview Heights man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in the theft of more than $3.3 million from the Cuyahoga Heights School District, law enforcement officials said.
Dominick Palazzo, 42, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. His brother, Joseph M. Palazzo, was the Information Technology director of the Cuyahoga Heights School District. The Palazzos, along with David Donadeo and Dennis Boyles, conspired together to defraud the school district through dozens of fraudulent billings submitted to the Cuyahoga Heighs School District by sham companies that Dominick Palazzo, Donadeo and Boyles controlled, according to court documents.
The thefts occurred over a period of four years. The U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson sentenced Dominick Palazzo to 30 months in prison, and ordered him to pay $3,333,448 in restitution to the Cuyahoga Heights School District. Judge Pearson also ordered the forfeiture of $43,409.53 that law enforcement previously seized from bank accounts that Dominick Palazzo controlled or that Palazzo otherwise paid over voluntarily to the government toward this debt.
“This defendant, along with his brother and friends, stole millions of dollars from the children and taxpayers in Cuyahoga Falls,” said Carole S. Rendon, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Their lengthy prison sentences appropriately reflect the severity of their offenses.”
“This investigation uncovered a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme laced with a web of financial lies that left a local school district in financial peril,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
“Dominick Palazzo violated the trust that the citizens and students of Cuyahoga Heights had placed in him by funding his personal account with their tax dollars,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office. “The investigators are to be commended for uncovering this enormous fraud.”
Joseph Palazzo was employed as the Information Technology director of the Cuyahoga Heights School District until February 2011. He was responsible for managing the district’s IT Department, which included purchasing hardware and software and making other IT expenditures to benefit the district and its students, according to court documents.
Joseph Palazzo devised a scheme to divert millions of dollars of district funds to his personal use and the personal use of others. This scheme involved Joseph Palazzo submitting to the district for payment false invoices that purported to be for IT-related goods and services purchased from legitimate companies by the district’s IT Department to benefit the district. He represented that the invoices he submitted were legitimate, and he approved the false invoices himself or forged the signature of another in the approval section, according to the information.
However, these invoices were for services never performed, fictitious software and hardware, and software and hardware never received or already purchased by the district from another source. The companies named on the invoices did not supply such goods to or perform such services for the district and were nothing more than “shells,” according to court documents.
Joseph Palazzo’s actions caused the district to issue checks to these shell vendor corporations, which were established and owned by Dominick Palazzo, Boyles and Donadeo. The shell vendor corporation owners kept approximately half of the stolen money themselves and funneled the remainder of the money back to Joseph Palazzo for his personal use, according to court documents.
These shell companies included Laptops and More, Inc., and Impact Global, LLC, which were established by Dominick Palazzo.
The district sustained a total loss of at least $3,333,448, as a result of the fraudulent scheme according to the information.
Joseph Palazzo was previously found guilty and is currently serving a sentence of more than 11 years in prison. Boyles was sentenced to more than two years in prison and Donadeo’s case is pending.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Lutzko following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bridgeport Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that GEORGE SANCHEZ, also known as “Little G,” 22, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty yesterday in Bridgeport federal court to one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 28, 2015, a Bridgeport Police Officer performing an inventory search of a vehicle that SANCHEZ had been driving found a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a neoprene face mask and approximately 44 bags of heroin. Part of the handgun’s serial number had been scratched off.
SANCHEZ has been detained since his arrest on January 6, 2016. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on September 28, 2016, in Hartford. The offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alina P. Reynolds.
Blair County Man Sentenced to 2 Years Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Hollidaysburg, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months in prison, three years’ supervised release and ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $1,590,605, on his conviction of income tax evasion, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on James C. Faith.
According to information presented to the court, Faith filed an individual income tax return for the calendar year 2009, whereby he failed to report $1,785,036 in taxable income, resulting in an underpayment of $632,237 in income tax owed to the United States.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Mr. Hickton commended the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigation for the successful prosecution of Faith.
Beckley drug dealer sentenced for distributing pain pillsRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Beckley man was sentenced today to a year in federal prison for a drug crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. David Pfost, 31, previously pleaded guilty to distribution of oxycodone.
Pfost admitted that on February 11, 2015, he distributed oxycodone to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The drug deal took place on Washington Street in Beckley.
The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence.
This prosecution was brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Austin Culinary School Agrees to Monitoring and Penalties to Resolve Allegations of Disability Discrimination in Civil Settlement with the United StatesRead the Press Release
The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts, a culinary school in Austin, Texas, has agreed to settle charges of disability discrimination brought by the United States Department of Justice, announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr. this afternoon.
The settlement resolves allegations that the school violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Under the ADA, businesses generally must provide aids such as sign-language interpreters when necessary to communicate with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Department of Justice opened its investigation into the Academy based on a complaint from Heather Suhr, who had applied to the Academy’s professional chef training program. After Ms. Suhr informed the Academy that she is deaf and that she expected to need a sign language interpreter, the Academy denied her admission. When Ms. Suhr asked the Academy to reconsider, the Academy required her to visit from out of state and declined to provide a sign-language interpreter during her visit, so that Ms. Suhr had to arrange her own interpreter. Ms. Suhr tried to discuss with the Academy what sort of communication aids might work for her, but as the Department of Justice’s investigation determined, the Academy did not respond adequately to Ms. Suhr’s efforts. After over seven months of trying to work with the Academy, Ms. Suhr finally withdrew her application. Based on its investigation, the Department of Justice determined that the Academy had discriminated against Ms. Suhr in violation of the ADA.
Under the settlement announced today, the Academy agreed to implement a new nondiscrimination policy and to monitoring by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. The Academy also agreed to pay Ms. Suhr $8,000 and to pay the United States a civil penalty of $1,000. In return, the United States and Ms. Suhr agreed not to file suit against the Academy.
To file a complaint that a business has violated the ADA, go to https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm or fax a copy of the complaint to (202) 307-1197.
Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Richter handled this matter for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
Austell, GA Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Counterfeit ObligationRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that MARQUE DESHARD THOMAS, age 40, of Austell, Georgia, pled guilty to POSSESSION OF A COUNTERFEIT OBLIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 472 and 2.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Davis Police Department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the United States Secret Service. The defendant was indicted in April, 2016.
The Indictment alleged that on or about February 28, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did with intent to defraud, possess counterfeit obligations and securities of the United States, which he knew to be falsely made, forged and counterfeited.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Wilson represented the United States.
Attorney General Lynch and Facebook to Host Community Policing Town Hall in Los AngelesRead the Press Release
*******MEDIA ADVISORY*******
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Facebook will hold a Community Policing Town Hall on Facebook Live at Facebook’s Playa Vista Campus, today, THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET. The town hall will be moderated by actor Michael B. Jordan, star of Creed and Fruitvale Station, with participation from actress Yara Shahidi, star of ABC’s Blackish. The town hall discussion will be live-streamed on the official Facebook Live page and the Justice Department’s social media platforms.
“One of my top priorities as Attorney General is strengthening relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities we serve and protect,” said Attorney General Lynch. “We are here on this stop of the Community Policing Tour to show how social media can be used as a vital tool to provide both transparency and opportunity for meaningful interactions into law enforcement thought and policy.”
This conversation style town hall marks the last official stop on the Attorney General’s 12-city Community Policing Tour and will highlight the social media and technology pillar of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing final report. The town hall audience will consist of local high school juniors, seniors, college students and LAPD “cadets” – young people who volunteer to work at the LAPD – and 15 officers from the Hollenbeck Police Activities League and LA Sheriff Department.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will travel to Aspen, Colorado, on FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016, to participate in a moderated arm chair conversation on 21st Century Policing, Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Reform with Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post at the 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival.
FACEBOOK TOWN HALL
WHO: Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
Michael B. Jordan
Yara Shahidi
WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016
11:30 a.m. PDT
WHERE: Facebook Playa Vista Campus
12025 Waterfront Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90094
POOLED PRESS: Network Pool KABC-ABC Affiliate
LIVE STREAMED ON: https://www.facebook.com/DOJ.
NOTE: Press inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to [email protected].
Background on the Community Policing Tour:
Including Los Angeles, the Attorney General visited six jurisdictions around the country during this second phase of the tour that have excelled in each of the six pillars discussed in the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing final report: (1) Building Trust and Legitimacy; (2) Policy and Oversight; (3) Technology and Social Media; (4) Community Policing and Crime Reduction; (5) Officer Training and Education; and (6) Officer Safety and Wellness. The trip to Los Angeles highlighted Pillar 3 – Technology and Social Media. Attorney General Lynch launched the tour in February in Miami Dade County, Florida, and she visited Portland, Oregon, in March as well as Indianapolis, Indiana, in April. The Attorney General visited Phoenix on Tuesday and is concluding the second phase of the tour with this last stop in Los Angeles.
COMMUNITY POLICING TOUR
- Pillar 1 – Miami/Doral, Florida – Building Trust and Legitimacy
- Pillar 2 – Fayetteville, North Carolina – Policy and Overnight
- Pillar 3 – Los Angeles, California – Technology and Social Media
- Pillar 4 – Portland, Oregon – Community Policing and Crime Reduction
- Pillar 5 – Phoenix, Arizona – Training and Education
- Pillar 6 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Officer Safety and Wellness
More information on the #CommunityPolicing tour is available at the following page: http://www.justice.gov/ag/community-policing-tour.
The Attorney General’s national Community Policing Tour builds on President Obama’s commitment to engage with law enforcement and other members of the community to implement key recommendations from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing final report. The first phase of the tour launched on May 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and also included visits to Birmingham, Alabama; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; East Haven, Connecticut; Seattle, Washington; and Richmond, California.
Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – James Thomas Vance, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.
Vance was arrested in Sept. 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents discovered 969.16 grams of methamphetamine in Vance’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop.
Vance was subsequently indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Sept. 18, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Vance pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Vance admitted that on Sept. 18, 2015, when he was stopped on Interstate 40 for a traffic violation, he consented to have the officers search his vehicle. The officers subsequently located 10.77 grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s door and approximately 958.39 grams of methamphetamine in the vehicle’s trunk. Vance further admitted that he was driving from Phoenix to Bernalillo, N.M., and planned deliver the methamphetamine to other individuals.
At sentencing, Vance faces a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Vance remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard.
Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rodolfo Rene Ley, 25, of Phoenix, Ariz., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to trafficking heroin in New Mexico.
Ley was arrested at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque on May 13, 2016, after the DEA found approximately one kilogram of heroin in three clear plastic wrapped bundles under Ley’s clothing during an interdiction investigation.
Ley was subsequently indicted on May 25, 2016, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute on May 13, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. During today’s proceedings, Ley pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Ley admitted that he voluntarily consented to have a DEA agent search him at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque on May 13, 2016. During the search, the agent discovered oblong bundles containing heroin in Ley’s jeans.
At sentencing, Ley faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 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 DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.
The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
Anchorage Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Billy Ray Lang, Jr. 29, of Anchorage, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to serve 46 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy, followed by five years of supervised release.
Lang, Jr.'s role in the conspiracy was to purchase heroin in California and ship it to his co-conspirators in Alaska. Co-conspirators would send Lang, Jr. money orders and cash via the U.S. Postal Office, as well as make deposits into his bank account. Lang, Jr. would use this money to pay for additional narcotics in California. The money orders and bank deposits were used to conceal the proceeds of the sale of the narcotics in Alaska.
Lang, Jr.'s co-conspirators Billy Ray Lang, Sr., 62, and Tynisha Jean Merriouns, 34, were previously sentenced for their roles in this conspiracy. In November 2015, Billy Ray Lang, Sr. was sentenced to seven years in prison and Tynisha Merriouns was sentenced to four years in prison. They were also required to forfeit $40,000 in cash and Postal Money orders seized by investigators during a search of their home.
U.S. Attorney Loeffler commends the Anchorage Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations for the successful investigation and prosecution of this case.
Alien Found in Oswego County Sentenced for Illegally Re-entering United StatesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jesus Alberto Medina-Montes, age 24, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today to a term of time served after being convicted of illegally re-entering the United States.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer.
Medina-Montes was arrested on April 8, 2016 after being found in Parish, New York. He pled guilty on June 17, 2016 to the charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien. As part of his plea, he admitted that after being removed from the United States in 2010, he unlawfully came back into the country. Medina-Montes, who served about 3 months in jail on this conviction, will likely be placed into removal proceedings and returned to Mexico.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Levine.
Alameda County Resident Charged with Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, and Interstate Transportation of Stolen PropertyRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE –Ferdinand Pasion Arafiles, AKA Dennis Arafiles, appeared in court today and was arraigned on charges he defrauded a Bay Area manufacturer and seller of networking equipment and services, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The appearance follows an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on June 23, 2016, and unsealed earlier today.
Arafiles, 49, of Alameda County, was an employee of a Bay Area public school district. According to the indictment, beginning in October of 2009, more than four years after Arafiles ceased to be an employee of the school district, he began taking advantage of the relationship between the district and a leading networking equipment and services corporation. Specifically, Arafiles is accused of manipulating the company’s warranty contract and service program for the district in order to receive, and then sell, replacement computer parts to which he was not entitled.
According to the indictment, Arafiles’s used fictitious names or stolen identities to create multiple bogus user accounts purporting to be a legitimate user of the school district account. Arafiles allegedly used these accounts to submit fraudulent warranty and service contract claims to the networking equipment and services corporation. The fraudulent claims allegedly resulted in delivery of replacement parts from the networking equipment and services corporation to addresses designated by Arafiles. Further, after Arafiles received the replacement computer parts to which he was not entitled, he allegedly sold at least some of those replacement parts to customers and, in the process, obtained money for his personal use and gain. The indictment charges Arafiles with five counts each of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; interstate transportation of stolen property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314; and mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 or 1343, the defendant faces a maximum sentence, per count, of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 plus restitution, if appropriate. If convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2314, the defendant faces a maximum sentence, per count, of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, if appropriate. Additional fines and a term of supervised release also may be imposed, however, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Arafiles currently is in custody and he is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, before Nathaniel Cousins, U.S. Magistrate Judge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lucey is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
29 June 2016
Washington County Man Admits Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Michael G. Williams, 48, of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty yesterday before Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond.
In connection with the guilty plea, from on or about June 18, 2015, and continuing thereafter to on or about June 25, 2015, Williams knowingly received visual depictions, namely, videos and images in computer graphics and digital files, the production of which involved the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
United States District Judge Gustave Diamond scheduled sentencing for Oct. 18, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $500,000.00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Williams.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Warren man sentenced to nearly four years in prison for bank fraudRead the Press Release
A man from Warren, Ohio, was sentenced to 45 months in prison for defrauding banks out of approximately $2.5 million through fraudulent short sales of gas stations in the Youngstown area and by other means, law enforcement officials said.
Shaukat Sindhu, 56, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service, and one count of marriage fraud.
“This defendant acted like the rules did not apply to him,” Acting U.S. Attorney Carole Rendon said. “He engaged in multiple fraud schemes, using his friends and family members without regard to the consequences. This sentence should send a message that fraud and deceit will be punished in the Northern District of Ohio.”
“Attempting to skirt your income tax obligations by using multiple Social Security numbers, dealing in cash, and concealing income and assets in the names of nominees is a recipe for criminal prosecution,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
"Sindhu engaged in numerous illegal financial transactions in an effort to enrich himself. He will be residing in a prison cell instead of his fraudulently obtained 13 bedroom home. The FBI, along with our partners, will continue to root out fraudsters and hold them accountable for their deceitful actions," said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office.
Sindhu owned several gas stations and other commercial property, but failed to make mortgage payments on these properties. Sindhu and others defrauded First Midwest and Consumers National banks by making false and misleading representations about ownership of the properties between 2008 and 2014, using a false identity, and creating a fictional Middle Easter investor that Sindhu used to create the illusion there was an independent buyer for the properties at a significant discount. Tahir Iqbal of Crown Point, Indiana, acted as a straw buyer for Sindhu in a short sale, enriching Sindhu by reducing or eliminating the principle owned on the properties, according to court documents. Iqbal was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day for his role in the bank fraud conspiracy.
Iqbal also served as a straw buyer for Sindhu for a 16,800-square foot, nine-bedroom, 13-bathroom home in Oak Brook, Illinois. That home was forfeited as part of the plea agreement.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Rice, Adam Hollingsworth and James Morford following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Warren County, Kentucky, Sales Administrator for Heathco Corporation Charged with Mail Fraud, Identity Theft and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Received nearly $309,000 in kickbacks from $2,696,400 in fraudulent advertisement sales
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A sales administrator for HeathCo LLC, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl today, charged by federal indictment with mail fraud, identity theft and tax fraud after receiving $308,954.42 in kickbacks from $2,696,400 in fraudulent advertisement sales, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Annette Thomas, 42, of Warren County, Kentucky, was charged in a 15 count indictment with ten counts of mail fraud, three counts of identity theft, and two counts of filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, while employed at HealthCo., located in Bowling Green.
Between October of 1999, and February of 2012, Thomas served as a Sales Analyst Supervisor with administrative responsibilities for budget and expense matters within the retail sales department. HealthCo markets HeathZenith lighting products that are sold at large retail stores.
According to the indictment, Thomas used forged signatures of her supervisor to authorize payments to Professional Sport Publications (PSP), and an associated entertainment company, Adventure Entertainment Promotions (AEP), for unwanted and unnecessary advertisements in sports publications around the United States. Thomas typically authorized payment to PSP in the amount of $15,000 per advertisement and in return for advertisements, PSP allocated approximately 20% of the value of the advertisement in merchandising credits. Merchandising credits consisted of gift cards, sports tickets, concert tickets, airline tickets, and hotel and resort reservations.
In executing the scheme, Thomas used the United States Mail and other common carriers to mail payments for the unauthorized advertisements and received merchandising credits for HealthCo, that were diverted by Thomas for her own personal benefit. Further, as part of the scheme, Thomas is charged with forging the signature of a supervisor for payment of advertisements for the World Series, the Sugar Bowl, and the Liberty Bowl.
Also, Thomas is charged with failing to report approximately $30,578 in other income on a U.S. Individual Tax Return, for calendar year 2010 and failing to report approximately $39,665 of other income on a U.S. Individual Tax Return for calendar year 2011.
If convicted of the charges, Thomas could be sentenced to no more than 20 years for each count of mail fraud, two years for each count of aggravated identity theft, and three years for each count of filing a false tax return. Thomas could be fined $250,000 for each charge.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Judd and is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation division.
The charge of a person by Grand Jury Indictment is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Vinton Man Sentenced on Sex Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A 26-year-old, Vinton, Virginia resident, who was convicted of federal sex trafficking charges following a jury trial in October 2015, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Terrell Banker, 26, of Vinton, Va., was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiring to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor, one count of engaging in the sex trafficking of a minor and one count of persuading or enticing a minor to engage in prostitution. Yesterday in District Court, Banker was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison. A co-defendant, Laura Cook, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 58 months in prison earlier this year.
“Sex trafficking is an international crisis that not only impacts men and women overseas but, tragically, is rooted in cities and towns all across our country,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “This case was particularly tragic because it involved the trafficking of a minor, a girl of just seventeen at the time of the incident. It is encouraging, however, that law enforcement helped identify the trafficking behavior and put an early end to what could have been a very long and painful run of abuse by these two defendants.”
“Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes we investigate. Victims are often vulnerable, and their traffickers prey on those vulnerabilities, trapping them in a cycle they can’t break free from. No person – especially a minor – should have to endure this treatment,” said Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. “Today’s sentence marks a win for law enforcement. One more trafficker is off the streets and will have to face the consequences of his actions behind bars.”
According to evidence presented at Banker’s trial and Cook’s guilty plea hearing, Victim One was a 17-year-old resident of Salem, Virginia who began socializing with Cook via the Internet in February 2015. At the insistence of Cook, Victim One stayed at Cook’s home, partied with Cook and took illegal drugs with Cook. At some point in February 2015, Cook introduced Victim One to Banker, who provided various illegal drugs to Cook, and others, including marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine. Cook asked Banker to provide Victim One with methamphetamine. On at least one occasion, Banker took payment for the drugs he provided in the form of sex with Victim One.
In March 2015, Victim One ran away from home and was harbored by Cook. After discussing Victim One’s situation with Banker, Cook and Banker decided that Victim One would be prostituted as a way to earn money. Near the end of March 2015, Banker arranged a prostitution encounter for Victim One, transported her to take part in the commercial sex act and took payment from the “John.” Victim One was hungry, had no money and no other means to support herself and therefore, reluctantly, engaged in the commercial sex act at the direction of Banker and Cook.
The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Roanoke City Police Department and the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony P. Giorno and Laura D. Rottenborn prosecuted the case for the United States.
VIP Ambulance Owner Pleads Guilty to False StatementsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Bassem Kuran, 23, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty on June 28, 2016 to criminal Information charging him with false statements in a health care matter, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 5 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 30, 2016.
Kuran was the owner and President of VIP Ambulance, a company that provided ambulance services to Medicare beneficiaries seeking dialysis services. Kuran admitted to completing documentation for ambulance runs that did not occur, including documentation for patients who were no longer receiving dialysis or who actually took public transportation to the dialysis clinic. Kuran submitted bills to Medicare for these purported transports, which Medicare paid, and he personally provided copies of the false documentation supporting those bills to Medicare’s auditors in an attempt to justify the fraudulent bills that VIP had submitted.
As a result of the defendant’s false statements, the Medicare program paid more than $66,000 in inappropriate bills.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Paul W. Kaufman.