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24 June 2016
Loxley Man Sentenced to Prison in Stolen Polysilicon CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces that on June 17, 2016, United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Willie Richard Short, age 63, of Loxley, Alabama, to serve 6 months in prison and pay $2.2 million in restitution for his role in criminal offenses which involved the buying and selling of stolen polysilicon, and the laundering of proceeds from these illegal transactions.
In late-2015, co-defendants Wasi Syed, Shahab Mir, and Darlene Row, all of Texas, were sentenced in late-2015 to prison terms of 24 months, 3 months, and 2 months, respectively. Co-defendant George Welford, of Gautier, Mississippi, was sentenced to 6 months in prison. All of the defendants were ordered to make restitution.
Willie Short and George Welford are former employees of the Mitsubishi Polysilicon manufacturing plant located in Theodore, Alabama. The plant produces exceptionally high-grade polysilicon, which is a material used in the manufacturing of computer chips that control high-tech devices from super computers, to hospital equipment, avionics, and weapons systems. The polysilicon produced at the Theodore plant is ultra-pure. There are only four plants in the United States, and approximately a dozen worldwide, that produce this type of high-grade polysilicon.
In late 2008, Short and Welford began stealing polysilicon rods from the Mitsubishi plant. Using reinforced backpacks and lunch pails, Short and Welford walked several rods per day out of the plant and into their vehicles. Before long, Short and Welford had stolen so much polysilicon that they needed a storage unit, and ultimately a warehouse to house the stolen material. Since the rods were stolen very shortly after coming out of the reactors, they were not etched or vacuum-sealed in a clean room like the finished rods coming out of the plant. Consequently, the rods lacked the normal specification sheets that are attached to the packaging.
Soon after they started stealing the polysilicon rods, Short and Welford began looking for a purchaser. Using the aliases William Smith (Short) and Butch Cassidy (Welford), the pair
found Horizon Silicon online. The Dallas, Texas-based company was owned and operated by brothers-in-law Wasi Syed and Shahab Mir, and Darlene Row worked as a secretary.
Short and Welford negotiated with Syed and Row for the price and amount of polysilicon to be sold. During the course of the initial negotiations, Syed flew to Pensacola, Florida, to see the polysilicon for himself. This meeting, in which Syed tested the polysilicon with a resistivity meter to check its purity level, occurred at night in a Krystal’s parking lot.
After testing the buckets of polysilicon, Syed agreed to buy the polysilicon from Short and Welford for a price well below the market value. One condition of the deal was that payments were to be made in cash and in person.
Between February 2009 and March 2014, Short and Welford stole, and then subsequently sold, approximately 40 metric tons of Mitsubishi polysilicon rods to Syed. Typically, Syed would find a buyer for the polysilicon he was purchasing from Short and Welford, then Row would arrange for the polysilicon to be picked up and delivered to a port city on the west coast. Finally, Mir would fly or drive to Mobile, Alabama, and other locations along the Gulf Coast, with either backpacks or suitcases full of cash to pay Short and Welford.
The stolen polysilicon, valued at approximately $2.2 million, was exported from the United States after Syed sold the polysilicon to other buyers. While the final destination for all of the stolen polysilicon is not clear, at least some of the material ended up in the People’s Republic of China.
In early 2014, Short and Welford were caught by Mitsubishi. Syed, Mir, and Row were subsequently arrested in Texas in May 2014.
This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigations in Mobile, Alabama, with assistance from the Dallas, Texas, office of these agencies. The case was prosecuted by Donna B. Dobbins and Christopher J. Bodnar, Assistant United States Attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Loxley Man Sentenced to Prison in Stolen Polysilicon CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces that on June 17, 2016, United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Willie Richard Short, age 63, of Loxley, Alabama, to serve 6 months in prison and pay $2.2 million in restitution for his role in criminal offenses which involved the buying and selling of stolen polysilicon, and the laundering of proceeds from these illegal transactions.
In late-2015, co-defendants Wasi Syed, Shahab Mir, and Darlene Row, all of Texas, were sentenced in late-2015 to prison terms of 24 months, 3 months, and 2 months, respectively. Co-defendant George Welford, of Gautier, Mississippi, was sentenced to 6 months in prison. All of the defendants were ordered to make restitution.
Willie Short and George Welford are former employees of the Mitsubishi Polysilicon manufacturing plant located in Theodore, Alabama. The plant produces exceptionally high-grade polysilicon, which is a material used in the manufacturing of computer chips that control high-tech devices from super computers, to hospital equipment, avionics, and weapons systems. The polysilicon produced at the Theodore plant is ultra-pure. There are only four plants in the United States, and approximately a dozen worldwide, that produce this type of high-grade polysilicon.
In late 2008, Short and Welford began stealing polysilicon rods from the Mitsubishi plant. Using reinforced backpacks and lunch pails, Short and Welford walked several rods per day out of the plant and into their vehicles. Before long, Short and Welford had stolen so much polysilicon that they needed a storage unit, and ultimately a warehouse to house the stolen material. Since the rods were stolen very shortly after coming out of the reactors, they were not etched or vacuum-sealed in a clean room like the finished rods coming out of the plant. Consequently, the rods lacked the normal specification sheets that are attached to the packaging.
Soon after they started stealing the polysilicon rods, Short and Welford began looking for a purchaser. Using the aliases William Smith (Short) and Butch Cassidy (Welford), the pair
found Horizon Silicon online. The Dallas, Texas-based company was owned and operated by brothers-in-law Wasi Syed and Shahab Mir, and Darlene Row worked as a secretary.
Short and Welford negotiated with Syed and Row for the price and amount of polysilicon to be sold. During the course of the initial negotiations, Syed flew to Pensacola, Florida, to see the polysilicon for himself. This meeting, in which Syed tested the polysilicon with a resistivity meter to check its purity level, occurred at night in a Krystal’s parking lot.
After testing the buckets of polysilicon, Syed agreed to buy the polysilicon from Short and Welford for a price well below the market value. One condition of the deal was that payments were to be made in cash and in person.
Between February 2009 and March 2014, Short and Welford stole, and then subsequently sold, approximately 40 metric tons of Mitsubishi polysilicon rods to Syed. Typically, Syed would find a buyer for the polysilicon he was purchasing from Short and Welford, then Row would arrange for the polysilicon to be picked up and delivered to a port city on the west coast. Finally, Mir would fly or drive to Mobile, Alabama, and other locations along the Gulf Coast, with either backpacks or suitcases full of cash to pay Short and Welford.
The stolen polysilicon, valued at approximately $2.2 million, was exported from the United States after Syed sold the polysilicon to other buyers. While the final destination for all of the stolen polysilicon is not clear, at least some of the material ended up in the People’s Republic of China.
In early 2014, Short and Welford were caught by Mitsubishi. Syed, Mir, and Row were subsequently arrested in Texas in May 2014.
This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigations in Mobile, Alabama, with assistance from the Dallas, Texas, office of these agencies. The case was prosecuted by Donna B. Dobbins and Christopher J. Bodnar, Assistant United States Attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Little Eagle Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a ChildRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child.
Reuben James Flying Bye, age 27, was indicted on June 14, 2016. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes on June 22, 2016, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, a mandatory special assessment of up to $5,000, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about May 3, 2016, Flying Bye knowingly engaged in, and attempted to engage in, a sexual act with a child who had not attained the age of 12 years.
The charge is merely an accusation and Flying Bye is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Flying Bye was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. Trial has been set for August 23, 2016.
Las Vegas Man Convicted of Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
A 34 year old Las Vegas man was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of three federal felonies arising out of his transportation of two juveniles for the purpose of prostitution and sex trafficking of an adult woman through force, fraud, and coercion, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. ROBERT RYAN POWELL was convicted of two counts of transportation of a juvenile with intent to engage in prostitution, and one count of sex trafficking an adult victim by force, fraud and coercion. The jury deliberated about eight hours following a seven day trial. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled sentencing for September 30, 2016.
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, between January 2014 and January 2015, POWELL used force, fraud and coercion to keep an adult female working for him as a prostitute as he transported her across various western states including Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Idaho and Washington. POWELL used physical and emotional abuse to keep the woman working as a prostitute and supplying him with all her earnings.
In August 2014, POWELL recruited two juveniles in the Seattle area to work for him as prostitutes. POWELL transported the two juveniles from Washington to San Jose, California, where he forced them to work as prostitutes and provide him with their earnings. He then abandoned them in San Jose, where the girls were rescued by law enforcement. POWELL was arrested in January 2015 in Rapid City, South Dakota where he was sex trafficking two adult women. He was returned to Western Washington for prosecution.
POWELL used Backpage.com to advertise the adult female for prostitution dates and used Backpage.com and other social media sites to recruit the juveniles to work for him as prostitutes.
POWELL faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life in prison for the felony convictions. He was previously convicted in 2007 of Attempted Pandering in Clark County, Nevada, and in 2009 of Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Orange County, California.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, with investigative assistance provided by the San Jose Police Department, Rapid City Police Department, the South Dakota Criminal Investigations Division, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Orange Police Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Amy Jaquette.
La Joya Man Charged with Pointing Laser at CBP HelicopterRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – Law enforcement has taken a 57-year-old La Joya man into federal custody on allegations that he pointed a laser at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Juan Peralez was taken into custody late yesterday upon the filing of a federal criminal complaint. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby at 9:00 a.m. today.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on June 20, 2016, CBP agents in a helicopter were assisting Border Patrol (BP) agents in an area south of La Joya. The criminal complaint states that while in flight, the crew noticed the light of a green laser in the cabin. The pilot took evasive action and turned away in order to avoid being blinded by the laser, according to the charges.
Another member of the flight crew then guided agents on the ground to the source of the laser where a BP agent encountered Peralez allegedly aiming the laser at the helicopter. The criminal complaint alleges the laser had been aimed at the helicopter four separate times.
According to agents with CBP Air and Marine, lasers are particularly hazardous when directed at aircraft. At a minimum, they create distractions for crews who routinely operate in the vicinity of power lines and towers. Lasers can also create temporary or permanent blindness. Further, since lasers can also be attached to weaponry, pilots will often take immediate evasive action which can also put them in harm’s way.
If convicted, Peralez faces up to five years imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The arrest is the result of a joint investigation between Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI with the assistance of Texas Department of Public Safety and BP.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Justice Department Reaches Settlement to Reform Criminal Justice System in Hinds County, MississippiRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today reached a landmark settlement agreement to reform the criminal justice system in Hinds County, Mississippi. The agreement resolves the department’s findings that the Hinds County Adult Detention Center and the Jackson City Detention Center – which together form the Hinds County Jail – failed to protect prisoners from violence and excessive force and held them past their court-ordered release dates, in violation of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA).
The settlement agreement is the first of its kind to incorporate broader criminal justice system reform through diversion at the front end and reentry to the community after incarceration. It creates a criminal justice coordinating committee that will help ensure the county’s systems operate effectively and efficiently, develop interventions to divert individuals in appropriate cases from arrest, detention and incarceration, and engage in community outreach. To promote successful reentry, the agreement includes mechanisms for notifying community health providers when a person with serious mental illness is released to help the person transition safely back to the community. The agreement also addresses unlawful enforcement of court-ordered fines and fees by ensuring that the county cannot incarcerate an individual for non-payment if the court does not first assess whether the individual is indigent.
“Across the board, this settlement will make the Hinds County criminal justice system smarter and fairer,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “If implemented, these reforms will make pretrial detainees, prisoners, corrections staff and the entire community safer, while also ensuring that vulnerable individuals get access to the treatment, care and community services they need and deserve. We commend the county for its commitment to making these reforms a reality.”
“For too long, the conditions in the Jail have posed a serious challenge to law enforcement and the safety of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi. “I appreciate the commitment made by Hinds County officials to turn the page and begin making necessary reforms.”
The settlement agreement – subject to approval by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi – requires the county to implement a series of reforms across various stages of the criminal justice system, including the following:
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Improve safety and security within the jail through better staffing and supervision, revised policies and physical plant improvements;
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Limit the use of segregation and improve access to screening, treatment and community-based services for special needs prisoners, including juveniles and prisoners with serious mental illness;
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Improve mental health and youth services, including better integration of jail operations with local community mental health and youth programs;
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Enhance communication and coordination among different agencies involved with the criminal justice process; and
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Ensure compliance with due process liberty protections as prisoners navigate the criminal justice system.
Together these reforms aim to improve communication and coordination among criminal justice entities and community service providers to help individuals with mental illness transition back to the community and to reduce recidivism. If approved by the federal district court, an independent monitor will be appointed to assess the county’s compliance.
In May 2015, the Justice Department completed a comprehensive investigation – which included on-site inspections, document reviews and stakeholder interviews by department experts and staff – and issued a findings letter that determined that Hinds County Adult Detention Center and the Jackson City Detention Center violated CRIPA by failing to protect prisoners from violence by other prisoners and from improper use of force by staff. The department also found that inadequate staffing and training, a backlog in record filing and a lack of centralized information resulted in prisoners being held beyond court-ordered release dates.
CRIPA authorizes the department to seek a remedy for a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional rights of persons confined in a jail, prison or other correctional facility. For more information on the Civil Rights Division’s work in this area, please visit www.justice.gov/crt.
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June Grand JuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 20 indictments charging 21 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Cameron D. Ammons, age 23, of Omaha, is charged with bank robbery on or about March 4, 2. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christopher W. Arneson, age 42, of Fremont, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine beginning on or about August 1, 2015, and continuing to on or about March 11, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Arneson with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine on or about March 11, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christopher Carrillo, age 29, of Phoenix, Arizona is charged with possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of a mixture containing marijuana on about about April 20, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Tomas Castro-Gutierrez, age 33, of Omaha, is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with illegal reentry into the United States after a felony conviction on or about May 27, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Castro-Gutierrez with false representation of a social security number on or about July 31, 2012. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges the defendant with false representation of U.S. Citizenship on or about July 31, 2012. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV of the Indictment charges the defendant that on or about July 31, 2012 that on or about July 31, 2012, Castro-Gutierrez used a State of Oklahoma Identification Card and Social Security card knowing said documents were not issued lawfully for the use of the defendant. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Diego Armando Chavez Garcia, age 25, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after a felony conviction on or about June 8, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Humberto Diaz Cruz, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after an aggravated felony conviction on or about May 17, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Aurora Jean Goodman, age 22, of Winnebago, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with Assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm on or about May 5, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Goodman with assault resulting in serious bodily harm on or about May 5, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Andres Gutierrez a/k/a Edwin Castillo, age 33, of Omaha is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine beginning on or about February 23, 2016, and continuing to on or about April 7, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Counts II and III of the Indictment charge Gutierrez with distribution of a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about March 2, 2016 and on or about April 7, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment for each count.
* Renn Charles Helleberg, age 29, of Grand Island, is charged with possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about April 8, 2016, The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Ramiro Holguin-Madrid, age 34, of Grand Island, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after a felony conviction on or about May 23, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Ricky Joseph Johnson, age 29, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about January 14, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Emilio Jose Llanes, Jr., age 31, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams of more of methamphetamine on or about May 5, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Llanes with possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime on or about May 5, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is no less than 5 years to no more than life consecutive to the underlying count, a $250,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jairo Martinez-Lopez, age 30, of Bladen, Nebraska, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation on or about May 24, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Fabian Mendoza Ibarra, age 36, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after deportation on or about April 13, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Joseph D. Moniz, age 26, of Walthill, is charged with aggravated sexual abuse by force or threat in Indian Country. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Steven Morgan, age 63, of Eckley, Colorado is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine on or about April 8, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Miguel Eduardo Sanchez, age 27, of Chula Vista, California, and Teara Lynne Voris, age 37, of Carson City, Nevada, are charged with possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin on or about April 23, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Ozzie Scott, age 38, of Omaha, is charged with failure to register as a sex offender from on or about October 1, 2015 through on or about May 23, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a supervised release for life and a $100 special assessment.
* Michael M. Thomas, age 28, of Winnebago, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with assault of a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner by strangling, suffocating, or attempting to strangle or suffocate on or about May 10, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Thomas with domestic assault by an habitual offender. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
* Wyatt Thomas, age 51, of Bloomfield, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant sexual abuse of a minor from on or about August, 2014 and continuing to on or about May, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 15 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, supervised release for life and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Thomas abusive sexual contact from on or about August, 2014 and continuing to on or about May, 2016. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
Judge Sentences Penn Hills Cocaine Dealer to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Penn Hills, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment followed by five years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Terrence F. McVerry imposed the sentence on Lamont Wright aka Whitey, aka Mont, 42, of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, the investigation, which began in the fall of 2011 and concluded in mid-March 2012, involved Title III wiretaps on cell phones utilized by Lamont Wright, John Saban, and Dorian Gilliam.
The investigation revealed that Randee Gilliam, a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, obtained multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from a source of supply in Tucson, Arizona, on a regular basis. Randee Gilliam then supplied those kilograms of cocaine to John Saban, a resident of Pittsburgh, on a weekly basis. Randee Gilliam arranged for the kilograms of cocaine to be transported from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they were divided up into numerous parcels, hidden inside computer monitors or leather binders, and shipped via UPS or FedEX to several different shipping facilities in the Pittsburgh area. The parcels were then picked up in Pittsburgh by John Saban and his associates.
Saban would then supply nearly all of that cocaine to Lamont Wright, the primary distributor for the organization. Wright, in turn, supplied quantities of this cocaine to countless individuals to include Eric Campbell, Genaro Coleman, and Frederick Ellis.
The drug proceeds collected by Saban from Wright were concealed in protein powder containers and provided to Dorian Gilliam or, on numerous occasions, to Myrene Gilliam. Dorian and Myrene Gilliam then hid the containers in their luggage and flew via commercial airline to Randee Gilliam in Las Vegas to deliver the money. The money was then used by Randee Gilliam to purchase additional quantities of cocaine from the sources of supply in Tucson.
Assistant United States Attorney Charles A. Eberle prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is comprised of members drawn from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lamont Wright. Also assisting in the investigation were the United States Marshals Service, the Penn Hills Police, the Monroeville Police, the Pennsylvania State Police and the McKees Rocks Police.
Jicarilla Apache Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Mylan Skye Velarde, 30, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault charge, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Chief Sylvester Stanley of the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.
Velarde was arrested in Dec. 2015, on an indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, a bat, with intent to do bodily harm. According to the indictment, Velarde committed the crime on March 18, 2015, in Indian Country in Rio Arriba County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Velarde pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Velarde admitted that on March 18, 2015, he repeatedly struck the victim in the head and upper torso with a bat, causing the victim to suffer bodily injury.
Velarde was remanded into custody after entering his guilty plea and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. At sentencing, Velarde faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced for Assassination Attempt on Federal JudgeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge L. Scott Coogler today sentenced Aaron M. Richardson (27, Jacksonville) to 343 years in federal prison for his attempt to assassinate United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan and 23 related offenses.
On March 17, 2016, a federal jury found Richardson guilty of attempting to murder a United States district judge, numerous firearm offenses, failure to appear at court hearings, making false statements to the FBI and the United States Probation Office, and impersonating an officer of the United States military.
According to evidence presented at trial, Judge Corrigan previously convicted and sentenced Richardson for attempting to make an incendiary device in a 2008 case. Following incarceration for that crime, Richardson began serving a term of supervised release. Subsequently, he was arrested for multiple new offenses and faced state prosecutions in Clay, Duval, and Volusia counties, as well as supervised release proceedings in federal court.
Richardson devised a plan, which he named “Mission Freedom,” that involved preparing a false order purportedly signed by Judge Corrigan, dismissing all of his pending charges, as well as other benefits. Richardson planned the murder so that Judge Corrigan could not refute the sham order. As part of the plan, he conducted Internet searches to locate Judge Corrigan and the potential murder weapon.
On June 21, 2013, Richardson stole a Savage Arms .30-06 rifle from a local Sports Authority store. The theft and Richardson’s prior casing of the store were captured on store video surveillance. On the night of June 22, 2013, Richardson went to Judge Corrigan’s residence and, at 12:30 a.m., he fired a single shot at the judge using the stolen rifle. The shot missed the judge by less than two inches and instead hit a window frame. Forensic evidence confirmed Richardson’s presence at the scene of the crime.
Richardson was apprehended on June 25, 2013, by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. That night, he made multiple false statements about the crime to the FBI.
“The attack on Judge Corrigan was an assault on the entire federal judicial system and the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III. “The sentence imposed today reflects the seriousness of the crime and the importance of protecting our federal judiciary. Judges should not have to fear that their impartial rulings will subject them to threats of reprisal or attacks from criminal defendants or other disgruntled litigants.”
This case was investigated by the FBI, the United States Marshals Service, ATF, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bethune-Cookman University Department of Public Safety, the United States Probation Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the State Attorneys’ Offices for the Fourth and Seventh Circuits. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mac D. Heavener, III and Mark B. Devereaux.
Link to press conference photo gallery.
Information: Federal Court ArraignmentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that those persons listed below were arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate and the indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on June 23, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- KRISTA LYNN MARTINEZ, a 36-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute heroin, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, MARTINEZ faces life in prison, $5,000,000 in fines, and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. PACER Case Reference. 16-58
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 23, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- RICHARD LEE BROOME, a 58-year-old resident of El Granada, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe, scheme to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe by wire, bribery/offering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, BROOME faces 20 years in prison, $2,400,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. PACER Case Reference. 16-19
- JOHN WILLIAM LIEBA II, a 21-year-old resident of Wolf Point, appeared on charges of kidnapping of an individual under 18, aggravated sexual abuse, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury on an individual under 18. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, LIEBA faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines, and lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. PACER Case Reference. 16-51
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on June 22, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- WILLIAM DONALD FLEINER, a 65-year-old resident of Helena, appeared on charges of theft from a local government receiving federal funding. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, FLEINER faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Montana Division of Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations. PACER Case Reference. 16-08
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on June 22, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- SHEILA AYALA, a 31-year-old resident of Long Beach, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, AYALA faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. PACER Case Reference. 16-71
- KEVIN WELCH, a 33-year-old resident of Hallandale Beach, Florida, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, WELCH faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. PACER Case Reference. 16-71
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on June 21, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- LINDA PAULINE ALLEN, a 45-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared on charges of wire fraud. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, ALLEN faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. PACER Case Reference. 16-20
- LINDA SCHILKE MAVITY, a 68-year-old resident of Victor, appeared on charges of social security fraud. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, MAVITY faces 5 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. PACER Case Reference. 16-23
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 21, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- GARY JOSEPH CONTI, a 70-year-old resident of Three Forks, appeared on charges of escape. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, CONTI faces 5 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Internal Revenue Service. PACER Case Reference. 16-18
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 15, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- MARTIN GASPER MAZZARA, a 50-year-old resident of Henderson, Nevada, appeared on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe, scheme to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe by wire, bribery/offering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, MAZZARA faces 20 years in prison, $2,400,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. PACER Case Reference. 16-19
- DELVIN CONRAD CHAD RED EAGLE, a 23-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of second degree murder, and use and discharge of firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, RED EAGLE faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice. PACER Case Reference. 16-45
- ZACHARY BROOKE ROBERTS, a 45-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe, scheme to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe by wire, bribery/offering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, ROBERTS faces 20 years in prison, $2,400,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. PACER Case Reference. 16-19
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on June 15, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- DOUGLAS DANIEL MEDINA, JR., a 39-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, MEDINA faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. PACER Case Reference. 16-67
- PAUL J. LOYNING, a 40-year-old resident of Colstrip, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, LOYNING faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines, and 4 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the FBI Task Force. PACER Case Reference. 16-54
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 14, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- JASON LEE SPARKS, a 40-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, SPARKS faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. PACER Case Reference. 16-30
- TRENT STANDING ROCK, a 43-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on charges of theft by employee of an Indian gaming establishment. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, STANDING ROCK faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. PACER Case Reference. 16-47
If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system so that you stay current and not miss any important developments in the case.
To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
Individual Arrested for Mail Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico– On Thursday, June 23, 2016, William Delgado-Torres, a resident of Ponce, Puerto Rico was arrested by agents of the United States Postal Inspectors Office pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the Hon. Camille Vélez Rivé, Magistrate Judge for United States District Court for Puerto Rico under Crim. Case Number 16-395 (DRD). Delgado-Torres was charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft as a result of an investigation conducted by the United States Secret Service in Puerto Rico with the support and assistance of the Puerto Rico Police Department and the United States Postal Inspectors Office.
The Indictment alleges that while working as a Vehicle Inspections Maintenance Manager for Waste Management of Puerto Rico, Inc., Delgado-Torres devised a fraudulent scheme through which he submitted hundreds of false invoices to his employer from 2003 through 2012 in order to procure approximately $636,693.91 through false representations. The false invoices were submitted by Delgado-Torres after assuming the identity of a private individual. Once the checks issued to pay the false invoices were mailed from Waste Management’s headquarters in Texas to an address in Puerto Rico, Delgado Torres would take possession of the checks and cash them assuming the victim’s identity.
Delgado Torres is exposed to a sentence of imprisonment of not more than 20 years for the mail fraud charges and a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least two years for the aggravated identity theft charges. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dennise N. Longo Quiñones.
Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The investigation is ongoing.
INTERPOL Washington Partners with ICE, USMS in Operation Project Red IIRead the Press Release
INTERPOL Washington has been highlighted in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press release for providing investigative support with identifying the targets in Operation Project Red II. Forty-five of the fugitives have been arrested by the U.S. Marshals and ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations . The fugitives with Interpol Red Notices were wanted for crimes in 22 different countries for various crimes. Please view the entire press release at the link provided below.
ICE PRESS RELEASE
Gang Member Arrested on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gregory Ramos, aka Prospect, 24, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Felicetta, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Ramos is a member of the FEB Gang which has a history of drug trafficking, firearms possession and violent crime. On May 21, 2016, Buffalo Police received a complaint involving a domestic dispute on Fargo Avenue between a woman and the defendant. An investigation determined that Ramos assaulted the woman, causing abrasions and bruising, and threatened her life. The defendant took a handgun and fled before officers arrived.On May 23, 2016, Niagara Falls Police Officers spotted Ramos’ car on pine Avenue and attempted to stop the vehicle. As officers approached, the defendant sped away. A chase ensued during which Ramos threw something from his car window. The object, which turned out to be cocaine, struck the windshield of the officers’ car on Hyde Park Avenue.
Further investigation revealed that during that chase, Ramos threw a black bag containing what appeared to be a handgun out the window. The bag struck and shattered the rear window of another driver’s vehicle.
The chase proceeded onto Grand Island, where a toll collector at the Grand Island Bridge reported a vehicle traveling approximately 100 miles per hour was being pursued by four Niagara Falls Police vehicles. After Ramos lost control of his vehicle on Stony Point Road on Grand Island, the defendant fled into a wooded area. A few minutes later, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department received a call from an individual identifying themselves as Gregory Ramos. The caller claimed his vehicle had been stolen in Niagara Falls by an unknown black male. The defendant was located a short time later and taken into custody. At the time, Ramos was in possession of $3,640 in cash.
The following day, May 24, 2016, a toll collector reported finding a small ziplock bag on the ground behind a toll booth. The bag was found in the same lane the defendant traveled through the night before. Subsequent analysis determined the bag contained cocaine.
The defendant will make an initial appearance this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief Bryan DalPorto, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.
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.Four Inmates Sentenced for Rioting in a Federal Prison FacilityRead the Press Release
Natchez, Miss - Four inmates were sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Bramlette III on Thursday, June 23, 2016 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.
Ruben Coronado-Licon, 24, originally of Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison.
Jorge Felix-Ibarra, 31, originally of Sinola, Mexico, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.
Joel Oswaldo Ramirez-Nunez, 36, originally of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison.
Hector Miguel Diaz-Osuna, 35, originally of Sinola, Mexico, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison.
The defendants were ordered to pay restitution jointly and severally in the amount of $1,382,313, and 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, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon who prosecuted the case for the Government.Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 180 Months’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Miguel Verduzco Velazquez, 35, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced before District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann for possessing with the intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin and illegal reentry into the United States after conviction and removal for an aggravated felony.
Verduzco Velazquez was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents filed in the case, on March 17, 2016 Verduzco Velazquez changed his plea to guilty on counts 1 and 2 of the indictment. Count one charged Verduzco with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute heroin in excess of one kilogram and count two charged him with illegal reentry into the United States after conviction and removal for an aggravated felony. The charges stemmed from an ongoing FBI investigation resulting in a traffic stop conducted by the Allen County Sheriff’s Department on August 14, 2014. During the stop, a K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle that Verduzco Velazquez was driving. Upon the alert, Verduzco Velazquez ran and was apprehended after a short chase. There was approximately a kilogram of heroin found in the vehicle, and Verduzco Velazquez had just delivered another kilogram of heroin to another individual.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.
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Fort Hall Woman Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Tanisha Phelps, 20, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to time served, 11 months, including six months in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal jail and five months in federal custody, for assault with a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Phelps to serve an additional six months in a halfway house, followed by three years of supervised release. Phelps pleaded guilty to the charge on April 11, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, on December 14, 2014, Fort Hall Police were called to a residence on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation regarding a possible stabbing. Officers arrived and found that Phelps had cut the victim, a 72 year old female in a wheelchair, on her forearm with a knife. The victim told police that Phelps was mad because her music had been turned off. The victim told Phelps to go outside and “cool off.” Phelps punched the victim in the forehead with her fist and she grabbed two kitchen knives. Phelps then cut the victim’s forearm with the knife and caused it to bleed. Phelps was interviewed by police and admitted cutting the victim with the knife.
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Fort Hall Woman Sentenced for Assault on an OfficerRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Demetres Ish, 23, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to seven months in prison for assault on an officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ish served an additional month on this charge in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal jail. Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Ish to serve three years of supervised release. Ish pleaded guilty to the charge on April 13, 2016.
On March 30, 2015, a Fort Hall Police officer who was a school resource officer at the Sho-Ban Junior/Senior High School spoke to a student who was a passenger in a vehicle which was parked in front of the school. The officer confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, Ish, had two active tribal court warrants for her arrest on file. The officer tried to get Ish to voluntarily go with him to into custody on the warrants, but she began to argue with the officer and refused to get out of the vehicle. Another officer arrived to assist and Ish fought with both officers and resisted their efforts to remove her from the vehicle. When she was finally removed from the vehicle, officers handcuffed her and put her on the ground while the officers dealt with another matter. She slipped out of her handcuffs and went over to one of the officers and kicked him in the back. She was then handcuffed again and eventually taken to jail. Under the specific federal law that Ish pleaded guilty to violating, Fort Hall police officers are considered “federal officers.”
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Yuba City Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Programs BriberyRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Harminder Phagura, 36, of Yuba City, pleaded guilty today to one count of federal programs bribery in connection with a drug trafficking scheme, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, while he was employed as a Yuba City police officer, Harminder Phagura exchanged sensitive information gained from his official position and exchanged it for money. Co‑defendant Gursharan Phagura transmitted this police-only information to a government source, who was posing as a cocaine trafficker
During the investigation, on July 29, 2014, federal agents observed Gursharan Phagura meet with Harminder Phagura in a Yuba City Police vehicle. At the same time, Gursharan Phagura and the government source were exchanging text messages regarding the state of police presence in the area. Agents then caused an alert to be transmitted on the Yuba City Police Department’s dispatch system. Within a few minutes, the government source received text messages indicating, in coded language, that law enforcement was in the area.
Over the course of several undercover operations, the government source paid a total of $6,000 for the information. The Yuba City Police Department receives grant funds from a Federal program.
“It’s profoundly troubling when sworn personnel use their training and expertise to flout the law, rather than uphold it,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, the special agent in charge who oversees HSI’s enforcement activities throughout northern California. “As the charges in this case make clear, no one is above the law, least of all law enforcement. This plea is gratifying for the HSI special agents and other investigators who worked tirelessly to see justice served.”
Co-defendant Gursharan Phagura is charged with possessing, with intent to distribute, cocaine. The charges are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Harminder Phagura and Gursharan Phagura were arrested on April 15, 2015. Harminder Phagura is out of custody on a $100,000 bond. Gursharan Phagura is in custody.
This case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yuba City Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Paul Hemesath is prosecuting the case.
Harminder Phagura is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14, 2016. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Former Terrebonne Sheriff’s Detective Charged with Theft of Federal FundsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that former Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective DAWN C. FORET, age 38, of Houma, was charged today in a one count Bill of Information for theft of government funds.
According to the Bill of Information, from November of 2010 through July of 2012, FORET willfully and knowingly stole at least $1,000 of federal funds from the United States Department of Transportation.
If convicted, theft of government funds carries a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and $100 special assessment.
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that today’s Bill of Information describes allegations and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its handling of the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Rivera and Harry “Bill” McSherry are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Teacher Sentenced for Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN — Thomas Kevin Hamel, 67, of St. Ignace, Michigan, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Hamel to serve five years of supervised release from prison, to pay a fine of $25,000 and a $100 special assessment. Hamel will also be required to register as a sexual offender.
On February 1, 2016, Hamel pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor. Hamel’s activities came to light through an investigation into the distribution of child pornography in the U.S. by a foreign company. U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents obtained subscriber information and shipping records from this company, which identified Hamel as a subscriber who had purchased suspected child pornography videos. Hamel’s electronic media, including computers and flash drives, were seized during the execution of a search warrant. Forensic analysis of the electronic media revealed a significant collection of child pornographic images and videos, including what appeared to be home-made videos. Further investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that Hamel, a retired teacher who served as an athletic trainer for the football and wrestling teams at St. Ignace LaSalle High School, had secretly videotaped boys from the football and wrestling teams while they were nude.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney's Office, county prosecutor's offices, Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mackinac County Sheriff Department, the St. Ignace Police Department, and the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D. Lochner.
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Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to ID Theft and Bank FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Capri M. Williams, 25, of Richmond, pleaded guilty today to identity theft and bank fraud charges related to her stealing personal identifying information (PII) of hundreds of patients while employed at Commonwealth Primary Care (CPC), Inc., in Richmond.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2015 Williams was employed as a licensed practical nurse by CPC, and had access to PII of patients at CPC. On Feb. 11, 2015, Williams accessed the PII of B.S., a patient who had received care at CPC. That same day, Williams used B.S.’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number to apply for a credit card with Citibank. The application was approved and Williams eventually used the account to issue a balance transfer check made out to her for $4,500. After receiving the check she deposited it into an account in her name. The total loss amount of Williams’ conduct is at least $34,906.15.
Williams was charged by criminal information on June 17, and will be sentenced on September 15.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Maria L. Kelokates, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather L. Hart and David Harbach are 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-76.
Former High School Assistant Track Coach Sentenced to 17 1/2 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Seven StudentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Charles Young, 35, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 17 ½ years in prison for sexually abusing seven different male students at Dunbar Senior High School, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The abuse occurred between January 2013 and May 2014, during which time the defendant worked at Dunbar as a business manager and assistant track coach.
Young pled guilty in February 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to seven felony counts of sexual abuse, including first-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, attempted first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and multiple counts of attempted second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Each of the seven counts concerns a different victim. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Morin. Upon completion of his prison term, Young will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. He also must register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, from 2012 to 2014, Young was employed as Dunbar’s business manager and was responsible for managing the school’s finances. Although he did not teach any classes, he served as a senior class advisor, designed and distributed Dunbar school apparel, volunteered as an assistant boys’ track coach, and held other responsibilities that regularly put him in contact with students.
Between January 2013 and May 2014, Young sexually abused seven male students, all between the ages of 14 and 17 years old. All the incidents occurred on the Dunbar campus, which is located in the 100 block of N Street NW. In one incident that occurred in the fall of 2013, a 15-year-old came to Young’s office to borrow a shirt to wear at basketball practice. Young led the boy into a closet next to his office that contained Dunbar apparel, closed the door, and eventually began performing oral sex on the student. In another incident that occurred in February or March 2013, a 17-year-old came to Young’s office to pay school fees. Once alone with the student, Young had him lift his shirt and pull down his pants and underwear purportedly so that he could show the student, who was an athlete, muscle groups he needed to strengthen. Young had the student pull down his pants and underwear, began touching the student’s penis with his hand, and pressed his mouth to the student’s penis.
On multiple occasions, Young used his position as a track coach to sexually abuse his juvenile victims. In one incident in November 2013, Young brought a 16-year-old to an empty bathroom after track practice, purportedly to provide him some additional one-on-one coaching. Inside the bathroom, he began touching the student on his stomach, pointing out muscle groups the defendant claimed needed work. Young gradually began lowering the student’s shorts before grabbing the boy’s penis and attempting to pull it out of his pants. In a separate incident that occurred in January or February of 2014, Young called a 14-year-old to his office to try on the new track team uniforms. After the student disrobed, Young began touching the student’s abdomen, pointing out exercises he could do to deepen his abdominal muscles. Young began touching the student near his groin and began pulling the student’s underwear down, exposing his penis. He then touched the boy’s penis with his hand.
The defendant would also voice concerns about student hygiene as a ploy to sexually abuse them. On multiple occasions, Young, while alone with a male student, would claim that the student smelled bad, apply hand sanitizer or lotion to his hand, and begin rubbing the boy’s abdomen, claiming that he was getting rid of the smell. Young would then attempt to reach into the boy’s pants and touch his penis.
The abuse came to light in November 2014 when one of the students reported to Dunbar administrators that the defendant had sexually abused him. That student’s disclosure triggered an investigation that ultimately uncovered seven different students whom Young had sexually abused over the span of just three school semesters. Young has been in custody since his arrest in November 2014.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Lanier commended the work performed by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. They also recognized the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, Litigation Technical Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown, Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key, Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Mark Fitzgerald, former Legal Interns Stephanie Dinan and Emma MacArthur, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chrisellen Kolb and Sarah McClellan. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Lazarus, who conducted much of the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Park and Julianne Johnston, who prosecuted the case.
Former Fayetteville Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Online Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Evan Ballowe, age 25 of Fayetteville, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison and 15 years of supervised release for Online Coercion and Enticement of a Minor with the Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity. The sentencing took place before the Honorable Timothy L. Brooks in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, a complaint was made by a 13 year old boy to his school resource officer about an online conversation he had with another individual on social media in which he was propositioned for sexual activity. The minor turned over his tablet containing the online conversation to law enforcement. A review of the online conversation reflects that on October 12, 2015, a user profile named Southern Guy contacted the 13 year old asking if he was single, telling him he was cute, and asking his age. The minor responded that he was 13 and Southern Guy stated he was 15 and lived in Springdale. Southern Guy proceeded to engage the minor in a sexually explicit conversation and sent him sexually explicit photos. The minor tells him no that he is not gay but Southern Guy persists trying to convince the minor to sneak out of the house when his parents are asleep to meet him for sex. Law enforcement was able to obtain the subscriber information related to the Southern Guy screen name which returned to the Fayetteville address of the defendant Evan Ballowe. After Ballowe made another attempt to contact the minor, law enforcement executed a search warrant on his home. During the post Miranda interview, Ballowe admitted to using the online screen name of Southern Guy and to engaging in the sexually explicit conversation with the 13 year old minor. Ballowe was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 9, 2015 and pleaded guilty on February 3, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov
Federal Jury Finds Two San Diego-Area Men Interfered with Flight CrewRead the Press Release
AMARILLO, Texas — Following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, a federal jury has convicted two men who were on a flight last year that was diverted to Amarillo on the felony offense of interference with a flight crew and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
The jury convicted Jonathan Khalid Petras, 21 and Wisam Imad Shaker, 23, residents of the San Diego area, on the charge that was outlined in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Amarillo in September 2015. Each defendant will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for November 14, 2016, before Judge Fitzwater. Each faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Essa Solaqa, 21, and Khalid Yohana, 20, also residents of the San Diego area were acquitted.
At trial, the government presented evidence that on August 31, 2015, the defendants were aboard Southwest Airlines flight 1522, from San Diego to Chicago. During that flight, the defendants, who were sitting together in two adjacent rows, repeatedly failed to comply with safety instructions, were loud and disruptive, screamed profanities at flight attendants when they were denied alcohol, and some of the men lunged and made other aggressive movements toward the flight attendants.
The flight was diverted to Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo so law enforcement could remove the defendants from the flight.
The FBI, the Amarillo Police Department and the Rick Husband International Airport Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Frausto, Mark Penley, and Amy Burch are prosecuting the case.
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Federal Jury Convicts Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Dan Reed (50, Daytona Beach) guilty of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. Due to his prior criminal record, Reed qualifies for enhanced penalties under the Armed Career Criminal Act. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 19, 2016. Reed was indicted on July 15, 2015.
According to testimony presented at trial, Reed engaged in a dispute with his neighbor regarding money Reed believed the neighbor owed him. In January 2015, Reed went into his house, retrieved a firearm, and brandished that weapon while threatening to kill his neighbor and those gathered with him. When the police responded, they recovered a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver from Reed. At the time of the offense, Reed had multiple prior felony drug-trafficking convictions and was therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Daytona Beach Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Embry J. Kidd.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
Elmira Man Sentenced for Stealing and Illegally Selling GunsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Zachary Smith, 28, of Elmira, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to deal firearms without a license and possession of stolen firearms, was sentenced to 92 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that on October 16, 2013 at approximately 3:05 a.m., the owner of “Scott’s Guns” on Watkins Drive in Horseheads, NY received a telephone call from his security alarm company. The owner alerted police and then went to the store. Upon entering the store, the owner realized he had been burglarized. The owner determined that 49 handguns of various makes and models had been stolen.
As part of their investigation, law enforcement officers reviewed footage from a security camera inside the store which revealed two individuals inside the store during regular business hours the day before, October 15, 2013. Officers recognized the two individuals to be Zachary Smith and Douglas Church. Additional investigation revealed that Smith and Church burglarized the store by having Church climb through a hole in the wall of the building, with Church handing the weapons to Smith. The two men left the guns in backpacks in a swamp behind the building the night of the burglary, with Smith and his girlfriend, Brianna Lowe, retrieving the guns the following day. Investigation also revealed that many of the guns were sold within a week and a half of the burglary in exchange for money.
Douglas Church and Brianna Lowe, both of Elmira, have been convicted and sentenced to 51 months and six months respectively.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Office, the Horseheads Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Schrom, The New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the Chemung County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Christopher Moss, the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Kane, the Elmira Heights Police Department, under the direction of Chief A. Rich Churches, and the West Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Michalko.
Elgin Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — An Elgin resident pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to federal fraud charges.
STEPHEN T. ANGERMAN, 48, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and testifying falsely in a bankruptcy case.
According to the written plea agreement, from December 2009 through March 31, 2010, Angerman schemed to fraudulently obtain a $510,000 loan from Alliant Credit Union and a $64,590 loan from Prairie Community Bank in order to purchase a home on Wrenwood Circle in Elgin. Angerman admitted to making false statements on his loan application to Alliant about his employment, assets, and liabilities. Further, Angerman admitted to submitting fictitious bank account statements, pay stubs, and a W-2 earnings form, and a fraudulent Certificate of Gift form to the credit union in support of his application. Alliant issued the loan based upon Angerman’s representations.
Angerman admitted that in December 2009 and January 2010, he applied for and obtained a $64,590 loan from Prairie Community Bank by pledging a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette as collateral without disclosing that the Corvette was subject to a prior lien of approximately $40,000 held by another bank.
With regard to the money laundering charge, Angerman admitted that on March 23, 2010, he transferred most of the proceeds, $64,500, from his checking account at Allied Credit Union to an account in the name of a relative at a different bank in an attempt to conceal his bank fraud against Prairie Community Bank.
On Jan. 3, 2011, Angerman filed for bankruptcy in Rockford. Angerman admitted that on Feb. 7, 2011, he falsely testified under oath at a meeting of creditors by stating he did not own any real estate other than what he had listed in his bankruptcy schedules, and that he did not own a car, when in fact he owned the home on Wrenwood Circle in Elgin and the Corvette.
Angerman faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment for bank fraud, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. For money laundering, Angerman faces a sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years. Angerman also is subject to a civil penalty of twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. For falsely testifying in his bankruptcy case, Angerman faces up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release of up to 3 years. The judge must also order Angerman to pay restitution. Sentencing is set for Oct. 3, 2016, at 2:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Plea Agreement
DOJ Employee Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Engage in Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland –James Cicala, age 55, of Columbia, Maryland pleaded guilty today to interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Worcester County Sheriff Reggie T. Mason, Sr.; and Special Agent in Charge Michael Tompkins, Washington Field Office, U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
According to his plea agreement, Cicala was a career employee at the U.S. Department of Justice, providing information technology support. Cicala owned a beach house in Fenwick Island, Delaware. From March 2015 through at least July 21, 2015, Cicala placed multiple ads in the Delaware, Maryland and District of Columbia editions of an online marketplace, seeking females to engage in “daddy-daughter” relationships. On July 21, 2015, an undercover detective with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office who was investigating child solicitation on the internet responded to Cicala’s ad entitled “Daddy’s Little Girl.” The undercover detective identified himself as “Sydney,” a 15 year old female, and Cicala identified himself as a male in his late 40’s.
Cicala and the undercover detective posing as “Syndey” exchanged messages for several weeks, eventually agreeing to meet to engage in sexually explicit conduct. During their conversations, Cicala referred to himself as “Daddy.” Cicala promised to take “Sydney” on a shopping trip and to bring a pair of earrings which “Sydney” had picked out at Cicala’s request. According to the plea agreement, the meeting was initially scheduled for August 1, 2015. On August 1, 2015, Cicala traveled from his beach house in Delaware to Berlin, Maryland, to meet “Sydney,” who did not show up, later claiming that she was with her Aunt and was unable to get away.
The texting continued and Cicala again made arrangements to meet Sydney on August 15, 2015, in Berlin. Many of the conversations Cicala had with the undercover officer occurred using Cicala’s DOJ-issued phone or work computer, sometimes during work hours. Cicala frequently attempted to engage “Sydney” in sexually explicit chat, instructing her to delete the message, and sent Sydney nude and partially nude photos of himself. However, throughout the text message exchanges “Sydney” refused to send sexually explicit photos or engage in sexually explicit chat.
On August 15, 2015, Cicala traveled from his beach house in Delaware to Berlin, Maryland, to engage in sexual activity with “Sydney,” whom he believed to be a 15 year old girl. He was arrested as he arrived at the meeting place. He had his DOJ issued cell phone, which he had used for sending and receiving the texts with “Sydney.” In his SUV was bedding, pillows, a giftwrapped box with the promised earrings, and cell phone batteries for the phone “Sydney” has told him she used. On August 17, 2015, Cicala was placed on administrative leave by the Department of Justice.
Cicala faces a maximum of 30 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for traveling interstate to have sex with a minor. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander scheduled sentencing for August 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
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. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the HSI Baltimore, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and DOJ Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamera L. Fine, who is prosecuting the case.
Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking, Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Thealeah Duopu, 40, of Providence, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence today to trafficking crack cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of ATF.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Duopu pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and distribution of 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, three counts of distribution of crack cocaine, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records and information presented to the court, in October and November 2015, an ATF Task Force investigation of Duopu’s drug trafficking activities included at least four purchases of crack cocaine by an undercover ATF Task Force agent from Duopu, ranging in amounts from 8 grams to 52 grams for $375 to $3,200. The transactions occurred in a parking lot in Pawtucket.
On November 12, 2015, Duopu was arrested by ATF Task Force agents as he left his Providence residence to meet with an undercover Task Force agent for a previously arranged delivery of crack cocaine. Agents seized nearly 54 grams of crack cocaine and $538 in cash from Duopu. A court authorized search of Duopu’s residence immediately after his arrest resulted in the seizure of more than 67 grams of crack cocaine, nearly $20,300 dollars in cash and a loaded semi-automatic firearm.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized from Duopu a total of more than 200 grams of crack cocaine and nearly $21,000 in cash.
Duopu, who has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on November 12, 2015, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on September 14, 2016.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.
The Pawtucket Police Department and the Providence Arson Squad assisted the ATF Task Force in the investigation of this matter. The ATF Task Force consists of agents and officers from ATF; Providence, Cranston and Central Falls Police Departments; and the Special Investigations Unit at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Colorado Springs Man Sentenced to 12 1/2 Years in Federal Prison for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Kenneth Wayne Fisher, Jr., age 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Bank Robbery. Fisher was also ordered to pay a $10,000.00 fine and restitution. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, on August 28, 2015, officers with the Bentonville Police Department were dispatched to First Security Bank for a robbery that just occurred. Dispatch advised the white male suspect had left the bank traveling on foot in the direction of downtown Bentonville. The suspect, later identified as Kenneth Fisher, was described as wearing a red hat, dark colored shirt, glasses, and had a beard. One of the witnesses from the bank advised that when Fisher got to the teller window he handed her a note that said, “I’d like to cash this.” He then said, “I’m not kidding.” On the note, Fisher had written, “Give me the money. This is not a joke. I am very serious.” The teller then handed Fisher a stack of U.S. currency. During a K9 search for the suspect, the red cap and shirt Fisher had been wearing were located and submitted to the Arkansas State Crime lab for testing. The Crime Lab was able to obtain DNA from the shirt that came back as a match for the defendant Kenneth Fisher. Detectives were also able to compare known photographs of Fisher with the photographs from the bank surveillance and make a positive identification. Fisher was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 9, 2015 and pleaded guilty to the charge on February 4, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bentonville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
Charleston man pleads guilty to Federal heroin crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston heroin dealer pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Daniel Andrew Hicks, 42, entered his guilty plea to distribution of heroin.
Hicks admitted that on several occasions in January and February of 2016, he sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. Following his arrest on February 18, 2016, law enforcement found Hicks with close to five grams of heroin that he intended to distribute. Additionally, officers executed a search warrant on an apartment Hicks had rented at 112 Henson Avenue in South Charleston and seized $4,924 in cash stored in a shoe box on the kitchen counter. Next to the shoe box, officers also discovered three sets of digital scales and three cell phones.
Hicks faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 28, 2016.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
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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California Man Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin in Operation Goldy LocksRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced yet another conviction arising from Operation Goldy Locks, an extensive investigation into a multi-state heroin enterprise.
EFRAIN BARAJAS, age 27, of Hesperia, California, pled guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 846, as contained in an Indictment filed in October 2015. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court accepted BARAJAS’ guilty plea, returned him to the custody of the United States Marshal, and scheduled the sentencing hearing for October 13, 2016.
During his guilty plea hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson, BARAJAS admitted the following facts. Between January 1, 2014, and February 18, 2015, BARAJAS conspired with individuals in California and Louisiana to distribute thousands of pills pressed to resemble oxycodone that, in fact, contained heroin. Upon delivery of the pills to Baton Rouge from California, they were then distributed to mid-level drug dealers and drug abusers in East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parishes. BARAJAS admitted that during the period of the conspiracy, he transported over 30,000 pills containing heroin from California to Baton Rouge and delivered the pills to a significant heroin trafficker in Baton Rouge for further distribution. Barajas then transported significant sums of cash as payment for the heroin to a major heroin trafficker in California. BARAJAS was identified as part of a substantial heroin-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracy investigation that resulted in the indictment of BARAJAS and 10 other defendants.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “My office, together with the DEA and our other federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively pursue those responsible for distributing heroin and other dangerous drugs on our streets and in our neighborhoods. We should not be fooled about the impact of such crimes. The consequences are not only devastating to our communities generally, they are increasingly deadly.”
Stephen G. Azzam, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New Orleans Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated: “Heroin has become an epidemic in the greater Baton Rouge area and DEA is attacking the criminals who prey on the weak and addicted through their drug trafficking. This investigation targeted a pill form of heroin disguised as oxycodone. This type of heroin, as well as heroin laced with fentanyl, is growing in popularity across the country. As a result, the number of overdoses from this deadly drug is growing nationally, too. Because of persistent and collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies in the area, a major supplier of heroin to this region of Louisiana is out of business.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the Louisiana State Police, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Baton Rouge Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Tax EvasionRead 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 Salvatore Letizia, 40, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The wire fraud charge carries up to 20 years in prison and the tax evasion charge carries up to five years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that from 2005 until 2009, Letizia defrauded four individuals out of more than $360,000. The defendant made false representations to entice the victims to invest in fictional business ventures. Letizia took the invested funds and credit lines and used them for his personal benefit. In addition, the defendant failed to file any tax returns for the tax years 2005 through 2009 declaring the income that resulted from the fraudulent activity.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen Niagara, and Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2016, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Bronx Man Sentenced to 121 Months for Supplying Heroin to Wilmington Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Miguel Angel Diaz, age 40, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 121 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin. Diaz, of the Bronx, New York, served as the source of supply for a Wilmington-based drug organization, known as the “30th Street Crew,”
Diaz has been incarcerated since March 25, 2014, when he was arrested by the FBI at JFK International Airport returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic. Since his arrest, he has been held without bail on federal drug trafficking charges. With Diaz’s conviction and sentence, a total of fifteen individuals associated with the 30th Street Crew have been indicted and found guilty on federal drug trafficking charges. Other co-defendants are now serving jail terms of between two and six and a half years.
This is Diaz’s second federal drug trafficking conviction. In 2007, he was convicted in the Southern District of New York for distributing five or more kilograms of cocaine, and served a 62 month sentence.
According to court documents, following a nearly five month wire-tap investigation, law enforcement identified and dismantled the 30th Street Crew, which was a dominant drug trafficking organization throughout the north side of Wilmington. In so doing, law enforcement determined that Diaz – despite being on federal supervised release for his earlier drug conviction – was the principal supplier of heroin for the 30th Street Crew. The investigation determined that between June 2012 and June 2013, Diaz shipped up to 200 logs of heroin twice-a-month to members of the 30th Street Crew in Wilmington. These heroin shipments were estimated to have a street value of between $40,000-$70,000 per shipment. To conceal these heroin shipments from law enforcement, Diaz organized a sophisticated drug operation, including using multiple cell phones to speak with other members of the organization, talking in code, using covert money pickups, and employing a drug courier.
To distribute the heroin supplied by Diaz, the 30th Street Crew used a residence at 3000 N. Madison Street, Wilmington – situated just blocks away from P.S. DuPont Middle School – as its headquarters. That house served as a retail center for drug distribution, with a regular influx of customers and sub-distributors arriving to make drug purchases from conspiracy members. The house was also a center for violence, including at least two shootings which occurred outside the residence in November and December 2011.
Diaz’s conviction and sentencing brings to a close the long-term investigation into the 30th Street Crew, which was led by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Wilmington Police Department, and the State of Delaware Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole. Critical support for the investigation and arrests was provided by Delaware State Police, Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement, New Castle County Police Department, United States Marshals Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Acting United States Attorney David C. Weiss thanked the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for their participation in this investigation, and stated, “This investigation not only dismantled a large-scale drug trafficking organization that had heretofore operated with near-impunity on the streets of Wilmington, but brought to justice the person responsible for supplying the heroin.”
The case was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall and Elizabeth Van Pelt.
7 Indicted for Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A federal grand jury has returned a total of seven separate indictments against individuals alleged to have filed multiple bankruptcy cases to prevent creditors from initiating foreclosure proceedings against their properties, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The separate, but similar cases charge Hugo O. Parra, 43, of Cypress; Carmen P. Turner, 55, of Missouri City; LaTasha Riles, 47, of Huntsville; Leslie Nicole Breaux, 40, of Sugar Land; and Jermaine S. Thomas, 40, Angelina Gailey, 57, and Patrick Lee Gailey, 25, all of Houston. All are expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.
The individuals are each charged with filing multiple bankruptcy cases to obtain an “automatic stay” from the bankruptcy courts which would prevent their creditors from initiating foreclosure proceedings against property for which they had outstanding loans.
Each defendant filed multiple bankruptcy cases to prevent a foreclosure proceeding by their creditors, according to the indictments. Each time a creditor would issue a “Notice of Foreclosure,” the defendants would allegedly file a bankruptcy case in order to obtain an automatic stay of the foreclosure. The charges allege that they would take no further action to abide by the requirements of the court to file additional documents and submit a payment plan to the court to pay their debts under the protection of the bankruptcy laws. Following a 45-day-period of no action by the defendants, their cases would be dismissed, according to the indictments.
The number of bankruptcy cases the defendants allegedly filed ranged from four within less than two hears to 12 over a five-year-period.
The defendants did not make any payments to their creditors under a court approved payment plan, according to the charges. Additionally, each time a defendant filed a bankruptcy case, he/she allegedly failed to list all of the cases they had previously filed. They also signed each filing as being true and correct under penalty of perjury, according to the indictments.
Each person is charged with bankruptcy fraud-scheme to defraud and making false declarations under penalty of perjury. If convicted of either charge, they face up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The FBI conducted the investigations with the assistance of the U.S. Trustee’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Quincy L. Ollison is prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.12 Members of Drug Trafficking Operation Sentenced to Total of over 80 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that 12 Defendants who were all part of a drug trafficking organization in the Fort Smith area were sentenced to federal prison this week. The Honorable P.K. III presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.
According to court records, in November 2014, law enforcement in Fort Smith learned that large quantities of methamphetamine were being distributed in the area by Armando Picazo, Jose Mendez (who has pled guilty and will be sentenced at later date), and other members of a drug trafficking organization. Over the course of the next several months, investigators conducted six separate controlled purchases from Mendez and his associates. In early June 2015, Picazo and Mendez made arrangements for Mendez to travel to California to pick up a large amount of methamphetamine and bring it back to Fort Smith for distribution. On his way back from California in mid-June, Mendez was stopped for a traffic violation in Fort Smith and approximately 11 pounds of methamphetamine was seized by law enforcement. In September 2015, Armando Picazo and Ascencion Salas-Macias arranged the purchase of approximately six pounds of methamphetamine which were seized by law enforcement. Each of the defendants was indicted by a federal grand jury in September, 2015, and each has pleaded guilty to the following charges.
Listed below are the defendants, their charges, and their sentences:
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Armando Picazo, age 30 of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release on each of two counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute More than 50 Grams of Actual Methamphetamine, Aiding and Abetting.The sentences will run concurrent with each other.
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Ascencion Salas-Macias, age 31, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for Possession with Intent to Distribute More than 50 Grams of Actual Methamphetamine, Aiding and Abetting
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Amber Nicole Cottrell, age 28 of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Casey Allen Cottrell, age 31, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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John Wayne Davis, age 41, of Cabot, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Aris Orellana, age 29, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Erick Padilla, age 35, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Maria D. Jesus Martinez, age 33, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Joseph Glenn Kutter, age 31 of Van Buren, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Jose Quinones, age 37, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Melinda Sue Quinones, age 39, of Fort Smith, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
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Noel Ramirez-Osorio, age 31, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
Three additional defendants in this case - Jose Mendez, Jose Christian Lemus-Vanegas, and Roxana Cardona, have all pleaded guilty to drug charges and will be sentenced at a later date.
“The successful prosecution of the members of this major drug trafficking organization should be a warning to others who engage in this type of activity,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam. “This case highlights the impact multiple agencies can have when they join forces. We will continue to work together and pursue those who threaten our communities through the smuggling and distribution of illegal and dangerous drugs and bring them to justice,” said Azzam.
Agencies that took part in the investigation were the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Fort Smith Police Department, The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, and the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
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23 June 2016
Yuengling to Upgrade Environmental Measures to Settle Clean Water Act Violations at Two Pennsylvania BreweriesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc., has settled Clean Water Act violations involving its two large-scale breweries near Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
In a consent decree filed today in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the company has agreed to spend approximately $7 million to improve environmental measures at its brewery operations after it allegedly discharged pollutants into the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority municipal wastewater treatment plant. Yuengling will also pay a $2.8 million penalty.
In addition, the consent decree includes a requirement to implement an environmental management system (EMS) focused on achieving CWA compliance at the facilities. Yuengling must hire a third party consultant to develop the EMS and a third party auditor to ensure proper implementation at the facility operations.
The company allegedly violated Clean Water Act requirements for companies that discharge industrial waste to municipal publically-owned wastewater treatment facilities numerous times between 2008 and 2015. Companies must obtain and comply with permit limits on discharges of industrial waste that goes to public treatment facilities, which in many cases require “pretreatment” of waste before it is discharged. The case was referred to EPA by the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority (GPASA).
“It is vital that companies using municipal wastewater treatment facilities strictly follow pretreatment guidelines and permit limits for their wastewater. It is what good neighbors expect, and it is what the law requires,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement requires Yuengling to put into place an environmental management system designed to manage compliance with the Clean Water Act in a systemic, planned, and documented manner to establish a top-down, prevention-focused approach. The settlement also mandates independent audits of Yuengling’s compliance with the consent decree, among other requirements.”
“Yuengling is responsible for serious violations of its Clean Water Act pretreatment discharge limits, posing a potential risk to the Schuylkill River which provides drinking water to 1.5 million people,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “This history of violations and failure to fully respond to orders from the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority and EPA to correct the problems resulted in this enforcement action.”
In a complaint filed concurrently with the settlement, the United States alleged that Yuengling violated pretreatment permit requirements, including discharge limits for biological oxygen demand (BOD), phosphorus, zinc and pH to the GPASA treatment plant, at least 141 times from 2008 to 2015.
Pretreatment helps remove or change the composition of pollutants in wastewater. Unpermitted or excessive industrial discharges may interfere with the operation of public wastewater treatment plants, which are generally designed to handle sewage and domestic waste, leading to the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater into local waters.
In addition to the monetary penalty, Yuengling has also agreed to take measures that will prevent future violations including:
- Designing and implementing an environmental management system for both breweries to ensure compliance with environmental laws;
- Conducting a series of environmental audits and inspections to ensure ongoing environmental compliance;
- Constructing a comprehensive pretreatment system at the Old Brewery;
- Optimizing and improving operation and maintenance of the pretreatment system at the New Brewery;
- Developing and implementing a communication and notification plan to quickly notify GPASA of any changes to the brewery facilites’ wastewater that may impact the public treatment facility;
- Hiring two certified wastewater treatment operators; and implementing a process to identify, investigate and respond to any future CWA violations quickly and efficiently.
The consent decree, which is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval, is available at: www.justice.gov/enrd/
More information on the settlement: www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/arch.html
Woman Pleads Guilty for Impersonating FBI Agent in Connection with Lottery Fraud Scheme Based in JamaicaRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA – A 30-year-old woman pleaded guilty yesterday for her role in a Jamaica-based lottery fraud scheme. Vania Lee Allen pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Georgia to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and false impersonation of an employee of the United States. Allen faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
As part of her guilty plea, Allen acknowledged that she and a co-conspirator in Jamaica sought to unlawfully enrich themselves through a fraudulent lottery scheme targeting an elderly resident of Evans, Georgia. As alleged in the indictment, Allen’s co-conspirator falsely informed the victim that he had won money in a lottery and instructed the victim to make payments to various people in order to collect the purported lottery winnings. As part of her plea agreement, Allen acknowledged in order to induce the victim to continue to make payments as directed by her co-conspirator, Allen traveled from Jamaica to the United States to meet with the victim personally and falsely portrayed herself to the victim as an FBI agent. Allen also acknowledged that when she met the victim, she falsely portrayed herself as a FBI agent, provided the victim with a cell phone, and directed him to speak with the person on the line, who was Allen’s co-conspirator in Jamaica.
“This conviction shows the extraordinary lengths fraudsters will use to rip off someone in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver of the Southern District of Georgia. “Such schemes will not be tolerated, and we will prosecute fraudsters whether they operate from inside or outside of the United States.”
“Lottery fraud schemes operating from Jamaica targeting Americans typically get help from at least one co-conspirator in the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Impersonating an FBI agent is just one way fraudsters convince innocent victims that the international lottery is legitimate. It isn’t. The Justice Department will actively pursue and charge those who participate in such criminal activity.”
“The Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to investigating and combating international lottery schemes, especially since they prey on elderly Americans,” said Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Division. “The Postal Inspection Service is committed to uncovering and pursuing individuals involved in international lottery fraud schemes targeted at victims in the United States.”
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort to work with federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica that prey on U.S. citizens. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Troy Clark of the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Clint Narver of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Columbia County Georgia Sherriff’s Office. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Violent Felon Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Using Firearm to Obstruct JusticeRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA –United States Attorney Walt Green announced that QUENTRELL D. FOUNTAIN, age 28, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to serve 13 years in federal prison for discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence (obstruction of justice). Specifically, the defendant was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge John W. deGravelles to a 156-month term of imprisonment, which will be followed by a five (5) year term of supervised release. FOUNTAIN was also ordered to make restitution to his victim, to pay a $100 special assessment, and to forfeit the firearm and any other property used in his crime.
The sentence is a result of FOUNTAIN’s efforts to prevent law enforcement from learning about his possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, a federal crime. Specifically, on December 3, 2015, FOUNTAIN was convicted of discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence (obstruction of justice), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii).
FOUNTAIN’s conviction arose from a series of events in January 2014. As FOUNTAIN admitted during his guilty plea, on January 8, 2014, he beat and threatened the victim, a former girlfriend, with a firearm, telling her that he was going to kill her. At the time, FOUNTAIN was a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm, by virtue of a 2006 conviction for simple robbery. After law enforcement learned of the incident and began an investigation, the defendant threatened the victim again by phone, on several occasions. Then, on January 11, 2014, at approximately 3:20 a.m., FOUNTAIN drove to the victim’s home and fired multiple gunshots in the vicinity of the victim’s home, while the victim and her child were inside.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “The protection of victims and witnesses is a top priority of this office. As this case illustrates, we will aggressively pursue anyone who attempts to harm or intimidate a victim or witness as a result of conveying information about a possible federal crime to law enforcement.”
This matter is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Baton Rouge City Police, and the Port Allen City Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Sanchez, M. Patricia Jones, and Fred Menner.
Utah Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Concealment of AssetsRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE – Nicolette P. Valentine, 37, of Liberty, Utah, pleaded guilty yesterday to bank fraud, concealment of assets in connection with a bankruptcy case and false statements under oath, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Valentine was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Coeur d'Alene on February 18, 2015.
According to the plea agreement, Valentine defrauded Mountain West Bank when she made material false statements which were relied upon by Mountain West Bank and caused them to lend her $43,766.27 to refinance a truck. Instead of paying off the existing loan on the truck so that Mountain West Bank could obtain clear title to the collateral, the Valentine deposited the proceeds into her bank account and used the money for living expenses.
In November 2011, Valentine and her husband and co-defendant, Cortney Valentine, contracted to sell 103 Festive Lane, Sagle, Idaho, to a third party for $1,150,000. Instead of the proceeds from the sale going into the bankruptcy estate because the property was part of the codefendant’s bankruptcy filing in May 2011, the Valentines used the money for living expenses. Nicolette Valentine acted knowingly, fraudulently and with the intent to deceive the creditor, trustee or bankruptcy judge. In May 2012, Nicolette Valentine, filed for relief under Chapter 13 of Title 11. During her bankruptcy proceedings, and while under oath, Nicolette Valentine made material false statements when questioned about various matters under the supervision of the bankruptcy court.
The charge of bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1,000,000, and up to five years of supervised release. The charges of false statement under oath and concealment of assets in connection with a bankruptcy case are punishable by up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for August 16, 2016, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
US Attorney Kenyen Brown Meets with Members of Mobile LBGTQ Community in the Wake of the Tragic Events in Orlando, FloridaRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama and his civil rights staff members, hosted a gathering of LGBTQ community leaders from a variety of groups in Mobile and Southern Alabama this week.
The meeting included, amongst other guests, Rev. Sara Sills of Cornerstone Metropolitan Community Church; Cari Searci, of Equality Alabama; Lane Galbraith, an LBGTQ rights advocate and activist, and; Kimberly McKeand and Lanita Kharal, the Executive Director of AIDS Alabama South and the Community Development Director for AIDS Alabama South respectively. The meeting was held in response to the tragic events that unfolded in Orlando, Florida less than two weeks ago where 49 fellow Americans were murdered and more than 50 others were wounded at the Pulse nightclub.
U.S. Attorney Brown said, "In the aftermath of the Orlando shooting, it is essential to reassure the people of Alabama of federal law enforcement’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all persons." Included in this week’s discussion was information about the protections afforded by federal hate crime laws, especially the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, and where to report potential hate crimes.
"The U.S. Attorney’s office brings prosecutions and enforces civil rights laws to protect all residents of our region, including members of the LGBTQ community," Brown said. "We are working closely with leaders of LGBTQ organizations to ensure the security of individuals or groups who may be potential targets of hate crimes."
FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lasky stated, "Hate crimes are a top investigative priority of the FBI’s Civil Rights Program because of the devastating effect they can have on entire communities. While the FBI in Southern Alabama is working daily with our law enforcement partners to protect against acts of terrorism, individuals who threaten or commit acts of violence motivated by animus towards others due to their lifestyle, religion, national origin, or gender will be investigated to the fullest extent of the law."
The meeting, this week, solidified all of the groups’ commitment to continue enhanced inclusionary community outreach efforts in the Mobile region.
"Diversity and inclusion will change our future going forward for the better. Equality affects everybody. We accomplish more as a city, state and nation when we choose to work together for the greater good of all," said LBGTQ rights advocate Lane Galbraith. Ms. Cari Searci of Equality Alabama stated "Now more than ever, it is important for the LGBTQ community to feel that we are equally supported and protected under the law. It is reassuring to know that the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Alabama is listening to our concerns and is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Alabamians."
"Our agency is very grateful to US Attorney Brown for inviting us and other local leaders and agencies to his office to personally discuss issues affecting our community. In the wake of the Orlando terrorist attack targeting the LGBTQ community, U.S. Attorney Brown and his office are committed to protecting the lives, civil rights, and liberties of all the citizens of Mobile and the Southern District of Alabama," said Kimberly McKeand of AIDS Alabama South. Lanita Kharal, the Executive Director of AIDS Alabama South added, "With the unthinkable and horrific murders of our fellow Americans in Orlando, AIDS Alabama South remembers the precious people who were taken, injured, and targeted by a mind fermented in hate and lacking any shred of humanity or compassion for life. Each of them were special and unique and will leave an unending void for their loved ones. We pray for peace, love and light for each person affected by this tragedy and for healing of our country."
Lastly, Rev. Sara Sills added, "The members and friends of Cornerstone MCC are deeply saddened by the hate crime that was perpetrated against the LGBTQ community in Orlando. We stand in solidarity with all who believe that the only thing that can overcome such hatred is love. We are a church built on love and we offer a place of refuge to all."
U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker Announces Formation of Civil Rights Section Focused on Affirmative Civil Enforcement and OutreachRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker today announced the formation of a new Civil Rights Section within the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office. This Section will focus exclusively on affirmative enforcement of federal civil rights laws, including federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.
“My office is committed to protecting the civil rights of every single resident in our district,” U.S. Attorney Decker said. “The formation of the Civil Rights Section will increase our capacity to address civil rights complaints and enhance our community engagement on these issues. Protecting these rights, and especially those of our most vulnerable residents, is one of my top priorities.”
The newly formed Civil Rights Section will focus on enforcing federal laws that:
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prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin;
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prohibit police misconduct;
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protect the constitutional rights of institutionalized persons;
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protect the employment rights of individuals serving in our armed services; and
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prohibit discrimination in housing and lending.
The Section will also focus on increasing community outreach on these issues.
This week, approximately 40 Assistant United States Attorneys from across the United States who handle affirmative civil rights enforcement matters are in Los Angeles for training. This training, which is sponsored by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys in Washington, will provide AUSAs with in-depth instruction on various civil rights enforcement topics.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California serves residents in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The Central District of California, with a population of more than 19 million people, is by far the largest federal district in the nation.
Assistant United States Attorney Joanna Hull has been appointed to serve as the chief of the new Civil Rights Section. AUSA Hull received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was Order of the Coif. She spent seven years with the Department of Labor, both in Washington and in the Los Angeles regional office. Shortly after joining the United States Attorney’s Office in 2010, AUSA Hull joined the newly formed Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division, which was the predecessor to the Civil Rights Section. AUSA Hull has worked on affirmative civil rights cases in a variety of areas, including disability rights and military service members’ rights. She also participated in the Civil Division’s investigation which resulted in a court-enforceable agreement with Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to ensure the constitutional rights of all county jail inmates, specifically to protect them from serious suicide risks and excessive force. AUSA Hull is returning to Los Angeles in mid-July after a one-year detail as the National Civil Rights Coordinator at the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. In that role, she served as a subject-matter expert on all civil rights matters and assisted in developing and providing training to federal prosecutors across the nation.
More information on the new Section can be found here. For more information on the Department of Justice’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/crt.
The Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section in the Criminal Division will continue to handle prosecutions related to criminal civil rights violations, including hate crimes and allegations that law enforcement officers used excessive force.
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Two Men Charged in Connection with Hartford Soccer Stadium ProjectRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 26-count indictment yesterday charging MITCHELL ANDERSON, 51, of Avon, and JAMES C. DUCKETT JR., 44, of Somers, with conspiracy, fraud and related offenses stemming from the City of Hartford’s efforts to revitalize Dillon Stadium and a plan to bring a professional soccer team to the city.
ANDERSON was arrested this morning at this residence. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in New Haven and was released on a $100,000 bond. DUCKETT surrendered to the FBI in Las Vegas, and is expected to appear in Las Vegas federal court tomorrow.
According to indictment, in September 2014, Hartford entered into a professional services agreement with ANDERSON’s company, Premier Sports Management Group (“PSMG”) to secure a professional soccer team and to develop a new, 9,000 seat facility at the Dillon Stadium location in Hartford. Under the terms of the agreement, PSMG was entitled to receive $775,000 for serving as the project manager for the $12 million plan. In February 2015, ANDERSON joined with DUCKETT, who agreed to be the majority owner of the professional soccer team. ANDERSON and DUCKETT subsequently represented to various city officials that PSMG and DUCKETT’s Black Diamond Consulting Group had merged for purposes of completing the Dillon Stadium project and securing the professional soccer team.
The indictment alleges that, beginning in approximately March 2015, ANDERSON and DUCKETT submitted invoices to the city for reimbursement to PSMG subcontractors working on the project. However, rather than pay the total amounts owed to PSMG’s subcontractors, ANDERSON and DUCKETT directed hundreds of thousands of dollars that they received from the city to themselves, PSMG, Black Diamond and to other entities not related to the Dillon Stadium project. In addition, the indictment alleges that ANDERSON and DUCKETT caused inflated invoices to be submitted to the city.
The indictment charges both ANDERSON and DUCKETT with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The indictment also charges ANDERSON with four counts of mail fraud, and both defendants with multiple counts of wire fraud and conducting illegal monetary transactions.
If convicted of the conspiracy, mail and wire fraud counts, the defendants face a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. If convicted of conducting illegal monetary transactions, the defendants face a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.
This matter is being investigated by the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force, notably the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The Task Force also includes members from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development- Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Karwan and Douglas Morabito.
Citizens are encouraged to report corruption to the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force by calling 203-238-0505.
Toano Man Pleads Guilty to Impersonating a Federal AgentRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Luis Latorre-Roman II, 41, of Toano, pleaded guilty today to charges of false impersonation of a federal agent.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Latorre-Roman II is described as having appeared as a witness at a sentencing in the Circuit Court of James City County on February 24. After being sworn, Latorre-Roman II claimed to be a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security. He provided this testimony in an effort to persuade the Circuit Court Judge to impose a lesser sentence on the defendant in that proceeding. Latorre-Roman has never been a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security.
Latorre-Roman II was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 10, and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison sentenced on October 3. 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 Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt 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. 4:16-cr-47.
Timber Lake Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Timber Lake, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon was sentenced on June 21, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Dustin Buffalo, age 33, was sentenced to 40 months in custody, to be served concurrent with the sentence he received in another, but separate, assault case. Following his release, Buffalo will be on supervised release for 2 years. He was ordered to pay a special assessment of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Buffalo was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 21, 2016. He pled guilty on March 29, 2016.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on November 5, 2015, at Timber Lake, when the victim attempted to intervene in a physical altercation that was taking place between Buffalo and one of the victim’s stepchildren. When the victim attempted to intervene in the altercation, Buffalo turned on the victim and began physically assaulting him, hitting him on the right side of his head with a large, heavy metal cross. The blows knocked the victim to the floor. His head was cut open and he began to bleed. Buffalo repeatedly hit and kicked the victim while he was lying on the floor. The victim received medical treatment for his injuries, but continues to have problems with dizziness, headaches, and blurred vision because of the assault.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Dewey County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Buffalo was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Three Navajo Men Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Terms for Convictions Arising from Kidnapping and Murder of Navajo WomanRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Earlier this week a federal judge sitting in Santa Fe, N.M., sentenced three members of the Navajo Nation to lengthy federal prison terms for convictions arising out of the kidnapping and murder of a Navajo woman in Oct. 2013. Scott Thompson, 28, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced to 23 years; Justin Benally, 28, also of Farmington, was sentenced to 22 years; and Patrick Benally, 28, of Kirtland, N.M., was sentenced to 18 years. Each defendant will serve a five-year term of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Thompson, Justin Benally and Patrick Benally, together with co-defendants LaSheena Jacquez, 27, and Mariah Benally, 22, both of Kirtland, were indicted in Jan. 2014, on criminal charges arising from the kidnapping and murder of a 28-year-old Navajo woman on Oct. 23, 2013. The indictment charged all five defendants with first degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to kidnap. It also charged Justin Benally, Mariah Benally, Jacquez and Thompson with harboring Patrick Benally to prevent his arrest on charges arising out of an assault that was unrelated to the kidnapping and murder case. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred on the Navajo Indian Reservation within San Juan County, N.M. All five defendants previously had been arrested in Dec. 2013, on a criminal complaint filed after law enforcement authorities received information that the victim, who was missing in Nov. 2013, had been murdered. The victim’s remains were recovered on Dec. 9, 2013.
All five defendants entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder charges. Patrick Benally also pleaded guilty to an assault with a dangerous weapon charge in a separate case. The assault conviction arose out of an Oct. 10, 2013, incident during which Patrick Benally shot a different Navajo woman in the face during an argument in the victim’s home in Fruitland, N.M.
The kidnapping and murder case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Farmington Police Department and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. The assault case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and David Adams are prosecuting both cases.
These cases were brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Three Charged in Violent Home Invasion RobberyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Tyree Mansell, 40, of Philadelphia, PA, Sterling Wallace, 27, and Jamain Wallace, 26, of Philadelphia and Yeadon, PA, were charged today by indictment with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The indictment charges that on June 15, 2015, the defendants conspired in a home invasion robbery in Broomall, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to steal business proceeds from the victim. The indictment alleges that all three defendants went to a home in the 2600 block of Old Cedar Grove Road in Broomall; that Mansell and Sterling Wallace rang the doorbell and when a young child (“Victim #1”), answered the door, they pointed their firearms at the child, forced their way into the home, and Wallace struck the child in the face and head with his gun causing a severe laceration and bleeding. Mansell confronted another person (“Victim #2”) on the second floor of the home, pointed his firearm at Victim #2 and him/her into a bedroom as defendant Sterling Wallace forced Victim #1 to the second floor at gunpoint. Defendant Jamain Wallace joined the other two defendants, took Sterling Wallace’s gun and stood guard over the victims Victim #1 and Victim #2 as his co-defendants searched the home for cash and other items to steal. The defendants took money and jewelry from a safe in the home.
If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, up to five years of supervised release, a possible fine, and a $300 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Salvatore L. Astolfi.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Three Charged in 40 Kilogram Cocaine DeliveryRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A two-count federal indictment has been returned charging two Houston residents and one Mexican National in a cocaine conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The indictment against Shuntel Coco, 44, and Christopher Williams, 43, both of Houston, along with Jesus Esquivel-Ayala, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was returned today. They were all originally charged by criminal complaint last month, after which Coco and Esquivel-Ayala were ordered into custody pending further criminal proceedings, while Williams was released on bond. They are all expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge on the indictment in the near future.
The three men are charged for their roles in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute approximately 40 kilograms of cocaine. According to the charges, Williams had leased a storage unit where Esquivel-Ayala was to deliver the cocaine. On May 26, 2016, Esquivel-Ayala delivered the 40-kilogram load to the storage unit to Williams who was receiving it on Coco’s behalf, according to the criminal complaint.
Esquivel-Ayala and Williams were arrested on site. Coco had been monitoring the progress of the delivery and transaction at a gas station/convenience store parking lot nearby and was also taken into custody.
They all face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, if convicted.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan K. Best is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Thirteen Atlanta-Based Members of a Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization Convicted and Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Thirteen members of a drug-trafficking cell which used passenger buses to smuggle staggering amounts of illegal drugs from Mexico to communities in the Northern District of Georgia have been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“After distributing these deadly drugs in the Atlanta area and elsewhere, the traffickers then shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money back to Mexico,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This case stands as a disturbing example of Atlanta’s role as a trans-shipment hub for the Mexican cartels as they package drugs for distribution across the East Coast and collect the proceeds for transportation back to Mexico. Due to the tremendous cooperative effort between federal agencies and local law enforcement, this drug organization has been dismantled, and its members are in federal prison.”
“Methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine are highly addictive plagues that drug traffickers inflict upon law-abiding communities without any regard for the violence and destruction that often accompany their use,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta Nick S. Annan. “The boldness of this criminal group reflected a callous disregard for public safety that seriously underestimated the dedication of HSI and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to identify and seek prosecution of those engaged in this criminal conspiracy.”
“The role of IRS Criminal Investigation in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can financially disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The sentences handed down today, mark the successful end of an investigation and serve as a strong message to individuals throughout the region that we will not stand for the destruction that drugs and related criminal activity bring to our communities. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to provide its financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Atenogenes Alvarado-Delgado, who was initially based in Mexico, directed his brother, Jose Alvarado-Delgado, and associate, Reberiano Arroyo-Santana, in connection with the importation of large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin into the Atlanta, Georgia, area from Mexico.
The investigation revealed that this organization used passenger buses, owned by Alejandro Carmona, to transport the drugs from Puebla, Mexico, across the border into the United States, and directly to the Atlanta area. The drugs were often concealed inside of non-functioning batteries stored on the buses. Alan Arnold Lopez traveled on the drug-filled buses on numerous occasions to ensure their safe passage. Aside from Lopez and the bus drivers, Carmona’s buses traveled thousands of miles between Atlanta and Mexico without any paying passengers.
Once the buses arrived in Atlanta, they were concealed in local warehouses where Jose Cardenas-Garcia off-loaded the drugs concealed within secret compartments in the buses. Jose Antonio Pineda-Maldonado, Rufino Pineda-Perez, Ranferi Pineda-Campos and Miguel Salinas distributed the drugs in the Atlanta area. The drugs were also stored in local residences, including a house in Lilburn, Georgia occupied by Jose Ocampo-Jaimes.
During the investigation, which commenced in October 2013, law enforcement seized approximately 644 pounds of methamphetamine, 37 kilograms of heroin, 27 kilograms of cocaine, and $680,000 in drug proceeds, which included the following seizures:
- October 8, 2013, agents observed Jose Pineda-Maldonado meet with Miguel Salinas in a parking lot located at 2450 Cumberland Pkwy near Vinings, Georgia.Agents followed Salinas onto Interstate 285 east to Buford Highway, where officers of the Doraville Police Department conducted a traffic stop.Salinas attempted to flee on foot, but was quickly apprehended.A search of Salinas’s vehicle revealed over 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, or “ice”.
- October 11, 2013, agents seized 54 kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine pursuant to a search warrant of an apartment on Cleburne Parkway in Hiram, Georgia, and 37 kilograms of cocaine and 18 kilograms of heroin pursuant to a search warrant of an apartment on Cumberland Parkway in Cobb County, Georgia.
- December 7, 2013, agents observed Yarley Pineda board a bus at 4600 South Atlanta Road, near Smyrna, Georgia, that was destined for Mexico. Later that day, officers with the Alabama Drug Task Force conducted a traffic stop of the bus and discovered $145,000 in drug money concealed in hollowed out shoes in Yarley Pineda’s suitcase.
- January 3, 2014, Jose Pineda-Maldonado delivered five kilograms of methamphetamine to a customer of Blanca Hernandez.Shortly thereafter, Pineda-Maldonado was stopped by the Cobb County Police on the East-West Connector in Cobb County.A search of the car revealed a suitcase with three commercial batteries in the back seat and seven more batteries in the trunk. Agents disassembled the batteries and found six bricks of methamphetamine in each battery, with a total weight of 51 kilograms of methamphetamine.
- January 4, 2014, law enforcement responded to an explosion at an apartment on Jameson Pass in Alpharetta, Georgia, which was used by the organization as a methamphetamine laboratory. A search of the apartment revealed a large quantity of liquid methamphetamine as well as approximately 15 grams of cocaine and 535 grams of powder methamphetamine.
- January 24, 2014, law enforcement seized approximately 19 kilograms of heroin from a bus at the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas.The bus had just entered the United States from Mexico and was enroute to the drug cell in Atlanta.
- March 18, 2014, the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) stopped a vehicle on I-85 southbound in Gwinnett County, Georgia.During a search of the vehicle, agents seized approximately one kilogram of cocaine which was concealed in a cereal box and arrested Rufino Pineda-Perez.
- March 19, 2014, agents observed a bus used by the organization at a warehouse located at 1311 Fulton Industrial Boulevard in Atlanta.At that time, Jose Cardenas-Garcia loaded the concealed compartment in the bus with drug proceeds.Later that afternoon, the GSP stopped the bus and located $277,490 concealed in false compartments within the bus frame.
- May 29, 2014, law enforcement stopped a bus owned by Alejandro Carmona in Cobb County. A search of the bus revealed approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the floorboard.
- May 29, 2014, agents served a federal search warrant at a residence located at 1055 Omaha Drive in Norcross.Upon entering the residence, law enforcement observed Jose Ocampo-Jaimes attempting to dispose of suspected methamphetamine by washing it down the tub drain.During the search of the residence, agents located approximately five kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine in the kitchen and bedrooms.
All defendants in this case were sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., as follows:
• Alejandro Carmona, 65, of Arlington, Texas was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Carmona was found guilty of a narcotics conspiracy charge on November 9, 2015 after a week-long federal jury trial.
• Reberiano Arroyo-Santana, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Atenogenes Alvarado-Delgado, 35, of Powder Springs, Georgia was sentenced earlier today to 19 years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Jose Alvarado-Delgado, 37, of Austell, Georgia was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Ranferi Pineda-Campos, 29, of Lilburn, Georgia was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Alan Arnold Lopez, 26, of Mableton, Georgia was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Jose Antonio Pineda-Maldonado, 24, of Smyrna, Georgia was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Miguel Salinas, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced to eight years and ten months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy charge.
• Blanca Hernandez, 43, of Alpharetta, Georgia was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy charge.
• Rufino Pineda-Perez, 50, of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on a narcotics conspiracy and illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien charge.
• Jose Ocampo-Jaimes, 37, of Lilburn, Georgia was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on narcotics conspiracy and illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien charges.
• Jose Cardenas-Garcia, 50, of Kennesaw, Georgia was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on charges of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.
• Yarely Pineda, 24, of Smyrna, Georgia was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on a charge of money laundering conspiracy.
The investigation and prosecution of this case was a coordinated effort through the David G. Wilhelm OCDETF Strike Force, led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Cobb County Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Marietta Police Department, Powder Springs Police Department, Henry County Police Department, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County Police Department, Alabama Drug Task Force, Newnan Police Department, Conyers Police Department, Gwinnett County Judicial Task Force, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the Georgia State Patrol.
Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Nicholas Hartigan, and Michael J. Brown prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
- October 8, 2013, agents observed Jose Pineda-Maldonado meet with Miguel Salinas in a parking lot located at 2450 Cumberland Pkwy near Vinings, Georgia.Agents followed Salinas onto Interstate 285 east to Buford Highway, where officers of the Doraville Police Department conducted a traffic stop.Salinas attempted to flee on foot, but was quickly apprehended.A search of Salinas’s vehicle revealed over 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, or “ice”.