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Thursday 21 April 2016
Two Charged in Superseding Indictment with Conspiring to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National BoundariesRead the Press Release
Boston – Today, David Daoud Wright, aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, 26, of Everett, Massachusetts, and Nicholas Alexander Rovinski, aka Nuh Amriki, aka Nuh Andalusi, 25, of Warwick, Rhode Island, were charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
This charge, as well as additional conspiracy allegations, were included in a new superseding indictment against Wright and Rovinski today. A grand jury in June 2015, charged them with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The indictment also charged Wright with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
Wright and Rovinski are charged with conspiring with each other, known and unknown conspirators, and Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, 26, Wright’s uncle, to provide material support to ISIL and commit acts of terrorism that transcended national boundaries. On June 2, 2015, Rahim was shot and killed after he attacked law enforcement officers in a Roslindale, Massachusetts, parking lot.
The superseding indictment alleges that, beginning in at least February 2015, Wright began discussing ISIL’s call to kill non-believers in the United States with Rahim and Rovinski and they began plotting and recruiting members for their “martyrdom” operation. In March 2015, Wright drafted organizational documents for a “Martyrdom Operations Cell” and conducted Internet search queries about firearms, the effectiveness of tranquilizers on human subjects and the establishment of secret militias in the United States. Simultaneously, Rahim was communicating with ISIL members overseas, including Junaid Hussain. On Aug. 24, 2015, Hussain was killed in an airstrike in Raqqah, Syria.As alleged in the indictment, beginning in or about May 2015, Hussain allegedly communicated directly with Rahim. Rahim in turn communicated Hussain’s instructions to Wright, with regard to the murder of an individual residing in New York. Wright, Rovinski and Rahim each allegedly conspired to commit attacks and kill persons inside the United States on behalf of ISIL. In preparation for their attack, Rovinski conducted research on weapons that could be used to behead their victims. Since being arrested, Rovinski has sought to continue their planned attacks and has written letters to Wright from prison discussing ways to take down the U.S. government and decapitate non-believers.
The charge of conspiracy to provide material support provides a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a lifetime term of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; conspiracy to obstruct justice provides a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; obstruction of justice provides a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries provides a maximum sentence of life in prison, lifetime supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw of the FBI’s Boston Division.
This investigation is being conducted by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Rhode Island JTTF with critical assistance from the Boston Police Department; Boston Regional Intelligence Center; Massachusetts State Police; Commonwealth Fusion Center; Everett Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Rhode Island State Police; Warwick, Rhode Island, Police Department; Rhode Island Fusion Center; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and member agencies of the JTTF.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann of the District of Massachusetts’s National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Greg R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Three Return Preparers Indicted for Preparing False Tax Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
Three tax return preparers were charged in a 31-count indictment for unlawfully enriching themselves by submitting false federal income tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on behalf of their clients.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.
Devonne Herrington, her son, Lorenzo Wright, and Joyce Walker, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. Herrington was also charged with nine counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2), and two counts of failure to file personal tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7203. Wright was also charged with fifteen counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Walker was also charged with two counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, and two counts of filing false personal tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).
According to the indictment, Herrington established and operated a tax preparation business in Delray Beach, Florida, that was initially known as Devonne's LLC and later known as Wright's & Family LLC. Herrington hired tax preparers, including her son, Wright, and co-defendant Walker, to assist her with preparing tax returns for her clients. Herrington, Wright and Walker met with clients in person at the tax preparation office in order to conduct a cursory interview and collect required tax forms.
Although the clients did not claim to be eligible for, or provide documents in support of, certain tax credits or income deductions, the defendants prepared tax returns which falsely stated that the clients were eligible for such credits and deductions. The tax credits falsely claimed by the defendants included credits for first time home purchasers and education expenses. The income deductions falsely claimed by the defendants included deductions for business expenses and for being the head of household. These false and fraudulent credits and deductions reduced the clients' tax liability and increased their tax refunds.
The defendants claimed the false tax credits and deductions on IRS schedules and forms which were included in the clients' tax returns. Herrington, Wright, and Walker charged the clients extra fees for these additional fraudulent schedules. In most instances, the defendants did not review the returns with the clients prior to filing them with the IRS and did not provide copies of the returns to the clients.
The indictment also states that Herrington did not file her personal income tax returns for calendar years 2010 and 2011. In addition, Walker filed her personal income tax returns for calendar years 2010 and 2011 containing false claims for the Education Expense Credit.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen L. Cohen.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Texas Artist Pleads Guilty to Failure to File Income Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
A San Antonio, Texas, artist pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio to one count of failure to file a tax return, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents, Carlos Cortes is an artist who works in the medium of “Faux Bois,” an artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. Cortes’ work has been commissioned by the City of San Antonio along with several San Antonio businesses. According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records, Cortes did not file individual income tax returns for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 despite earning gross income well in excess of the filing requirements. Cortes admitted that he had gross income of $62,043 in 2006, $66,138 for 2007, $457,192 for 2008 and $781,847 for 2009.
Cortes will be sentenced on June 21. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Cortes agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $404,433 to cover the tax due and owing for the years 2006 to 2009.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorney Robert Kemins of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
Superseding Indictment Charges Fourteen Individuals with Conspiracy to Commit $30 Million in Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced the return of a 31-count Superseding Indictment against fourteen individuals charging approximately $30,252,906 in Medicare fraud.
Specifically, HENRY EVANS, age 71; MICHAEL JONES, age 46; PAULA JONES, age 45; SHELTON BARNES, age 62; GREGORY MOLDEN, age 60, SUPRENIA WASHINGTON, age 59; ERICA EDWARDS, age 31; ZELLISHA DEJEAN, age 37, LARRY TAYLOR, age 69; CAREN BATTAGLIA, age 49; SHEILA HOPKINS, age 62; and VERINESE SUTTON, age 63, all of New Orleans; and JONATHON NORA, age 28, of River Ridge; and JEFFREY KOON, age 43, of Lockport, were indicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and pay health care kickbacks, and health care fraud. BARNES was also charged with obstruction of a federal audit.
The Indictment is the second one involving many of the same parties who were originally indicted in March of 2015. Ten individuals and/or companies have already pleaded guilty to charges associated with the original Indictment and a related Bill of Information involving RHONDA MABERRY. In this Superseding Indictment, three new defendants were added including LARRY TAYLOR, DR. GREGORY MOLDEN, and JEFF KOON. TAYLOR is charged only in Count 2, the kickback conspiracy along with MOLDEN, who also is charged with the health care conspiracy and two individual counts of health care fraud. KOON is charged in the health care conspiracy and four individual counts of fraud. MICHAEL JONES and BARNES were also charged with nine and two additional counts of health care fraud, respectively. Additionally, BARNES was also charged with one count of obstructing a federal audit.
This Superseding Indictment is related to the Indictment returned in March 2015, charging LISA CRINEL and others, some of whom have entered guilty pleas. According to the Superseding Indictment, the defendants participated in a criminal organization for the purpose of fraudulently billing Medicare for medically unnecessary home health services for patients who were not homebound. DRS. BARNES, BARNES, EVANS, MOLDEN and MICHAEL JONES, known as “House Doctors,” ordered home health services for Medicare beneficiaries who had no legitimate medical necessity. The House Doctors falsely signed home health orders regardless of the beneficiary’s needs, homebound status, or diagnoses. In return, DRS. BARNES, EVANS, and MOLDEN received monthly payments fraudulently characterized as medical consultant or director fees for which they provided no services other than fraudulently certifying Medicare beneficiaries for unnecessary home health services. Instead of receiving monthly payments from the home health agency, Abide hired PAULA JONES, DR. MICHAEL JONES’ wife and, thereafter, inflated salary payments to PAULA JONES represented MICHAEL JONES’ fees for fraudulently certifying home health for ineligible Medicare beneficiaries. Abide also paid LARRY TAYLOR, MICHAEL JONES’ patient recruiter/driver and, in return, MICHAEL JONES agreed to send Abide Medicare patients for home health.
Marketers contacted JONATHAN NORA and others to confirm that the person fraudulently referred for home health was a Medicare beneficiary. Once NORA determined the referred individual was a Medicare beneficiary, NORA scheduled a physician visit, usually with an Abide House Doctor, well knowing that the individual referral to Abide was by a Marketer, instead of the beneficiary’s own health care professional.
Registered nurses, including EDWARDS, WASHINGTON, DEJEAN, HOPKINS and KOON were assigned to go to the homes of Medicare beneficiaries to complete assessments that determined the necessary level of care required for the beneficiary and the reimbursement rate for the claims made by Abide. When EDWARDS, WASHINGTON, DEJEAN, HOPKINS, and KOON completed these assessments, they routinely and fraudulently included a group of diagnoses that were unrelated to the needs of the beneficiaries and included items suggesting the need for assistance with different activities of daily living in order to falsely inflate the reimbursement rates paid by Medicare to Abide. EDWARDS, WASHINGTON, HOPKINS, DEJEAN and KOON also fraudulently included other items in the assessment to falsely document the beneficiary’s homebound status.
After assessments were completed, Abide generated plans of care reflecting the falsely created assessments. The plans of care were given to DRS. BARNES, EVANS, MOLDEN and MICHAEL JONES to falsely certify and recertify medically unnecessary episodes of home health. Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) assigned to beneficiaries, including BATTAGLIA, performed skilled nursing visits usually once a week and BATTAGLIA routinely falsified documentation of visits to support the ongoing fraudulent billing by PAULA JONES, on behalf of Abide, of medically unnecessary home health services.
The Superseding Indictment also charges SHELTON BARNES with obstruction of a federal audit in connection with his billing to Medicare Part B of services related to the medically unnecessary home health services.
If convicted, VERINESE SUTTON and LARRY TAYLOR, face a possible maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment; JONATHAN NORA and PAULA JONES face a possible maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment; ERICA EDWARDS and SUPRENIA WASHINGTON face a possible maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment; CAREN BATTAGLIA and ZELLISHA DEJEAN face a possible maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment; DRS. HENRY EVANS and GREGORY MOLDEN face a possible maximum sentence of 35 years imprisonment; JEFFREY KOON face a possible maximum sentence of 50 years imprisonment; SHEILA HOPKINS faces a possible maximum sentence of 70 years imprisonment; DR. SHELTON BARNES faces a possible maximum sentence of 110 years imprisonment; and DR. MICHAEL JONES face a possible maximum sentence of 125 years imprisonment. For each count for which any defendant is convicted, they are subject to a $250,000 fine.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrice Harris Sullivan, Sharan Lieberman and Andre Lagarde are in charge of the prosecution.
Sumter County Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison on Federal Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges today sentenced Thomas Franklin Dinkins, Jr. (27, Lake Panasoffkee) to six years and nine months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was also ordered to forfeit a handgun and 31 rounds of ammunition as a part of his sentence. Dinkins pleaded guilty to the charges on February 2, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, deputies from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office stopped Dinkins for an expired tag on December 16, 2014. When a narcotics canine subsequently alerted on Dinkins’s car, deputies searched it and found a locked, portable safe in the trunk. The key to the safe was in Dinkins’s jacket. Inside the safe, deputies found methamphetamine, two digital scales, numerous plastic baggies, and a loaded .22 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number. A nearby backpack held additional plastic bags and ammunition. A criminal history check showed Dinkins to be a multi-convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law. Dinkins ultimately admitted that the firearm was “probably stolen” and that he had it to protect himself while distributing drugs.
On March 21, 2015, a discarded cellular telephone was discovered by a citizen and turned over to authorities. Deputies examined the phone and determined that it belonged to Dinkins. An examination of the phone revealed multiple pictures and text messages linking Dinkins to the recovered handgun, another shotgun, and numerous drug sales.
This case was investigated by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Kansas GirlRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A South Carolina man pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of sexually exploiting a Kansas girl, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said today.
Robert Pitya Dickson, 48, Fort Mill, S.C., pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography. In his plea, he admitted he communicated over the Internet with a 13-year-old Kansas girl. Dickson persuaded the girl to send him send him sexual images of herself. In March 2014 he traveled to meet the girl and engaged in sex acts with her that he recorded and transported back to South Carolina.
Sentencing is set for July 11. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 300 months in federal prison. Beall commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Smash and Grab Robbers Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Darrell Williams, 45, and David Story, 47, both of Philadelphia, were each sentenced today to 240 months in prison for their roles in a robbery conspiracy that targeted jewelry stores. In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel ordered five years of supervised release, a $1,100 special assessment for Story, and a $900 special assessment for Williams. In addition to the conspiracy, Williams and Story were charged with using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Both pleaded guilty – Williams on April 9, 2015; Story on April 20, 2015. The Court imposed restitution in the amount $5,219,205.84 on Story and Williams.
On three separate occasions - July 13, 2011, April 13, 2012 and August 22, 2012 - Story committed an armed robbery of the Tourneau store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Williams participated in the robberies on July 13, 2011 and April 13, 2012. On January 9, 2012, the pair, along with co-conspirators Rufus Lawson, Anthony Lockwood, and Kenneth L. Williams, committed a robbery of Govberg Jewelers, located at 292 Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. On February 22, 2012, Williams and Story, along with Rufus Lawson and Kenneth L. Williams, robbed the Bernie Robbins Jewelers, located at 595 E. Lancaster Avenue in Saint Davids, Pennsylvania. Earlier, on November 1, 2011, Williams and Story, along with Rufus Lawson, Jackie Howard and Willie Hawkins Smith, robbed the Kingston Jewelers located at 2010 Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware.
This case has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Radnor Township Police Department, the Lower Merion Township Police Department, the Upper Merion Township Police Department, the Limerick Township Police Department, the Lower Pottsgrove Township Police Department, the Upper Providence Township Police Department, the Royersford Police Department, Evesham Township (New Jersey) Police Department, the Lawrence Township (New Jersey) Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Wilmington Police Department (Delaware), the Delaware State Police and the Philadelphia Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski and Assistant United States Attorney Jamie M. McCall, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware.
Siskiyou County Woman Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stacy Miranda Phillips, 29, of Montague, pleaded guilty today to aggravated ID theft related to her participation in a bank fraud and identity theft scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, between September and December of 2015, Phillips worked with others in Siskiyou County to execute a scheme to steal from banks and merchants in the Siskiyou County. Phillips admitted that as part of her scheme she stole U.S. Mail and other personal property of local residents. Phillips and her associates targeted certain victims, postal customers, and mail receptacles utilized by those victims. Phillips used the checks, credit or debit cards, account numbers, names, PINs, and signatures found in the stolen mail to obtain cash and purchase items. Phillips also attempted to open a line of credit in the name of a Weed, California victim. Phillips stole mail from the following Siskiyou County Post Offices: Hornbrook, Grenada, and Montague.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department, and the Yreka Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.
Phillips is scheduled for sentencing on July 28, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley. Phillips faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Sentencings for April 15 - April 21, 2016Read the Press Release
Three individuals were sentenced April 21, 2016, by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal for their roles in a methamphetamine conspiracy.
Brittany Dawn Wright, 31, of Wheatland, Wyoming, was sentenced for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. Wright was arrested in Wheatland, Wyoming. She received 34 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $200.00.
Edward Anthony Prusik, 52, of Wheatland, Wyoming, was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Prusik was arrested in Wheatland, Wyoming. He received 100 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $500.00.
Allen Ray Plunkett, 46, of Carr, Colorado, was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Plunkett was arrested in Wheatland, Wyoming. He received 108 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $400.00.
This case results from an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) joint investigation conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The principal mission of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Filberto Pelayo-Torres, 34, of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on April 20, 2016, for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien into the United States. Pelayo-Torres was arrested in Gillette, Wyoming. He received time served, plus ten days, was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment, and is subject to deportation upon release from custody. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Abel Najera-Cruz, aka Mariano Najera-Pena, aka Abel Najera-Pena, 30, of Guatemala, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on April 20, 2016, for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien into the United States. Najera-Cruz was arrested in Riverton, Wyoming. He received time served, plus ten days, was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment, and is subject to deportation upon release from custody. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Irving Felipe Miranda-Saenz, 28, of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on April 20, 2016, for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien into the United States. Miranda-Saenz was arrested in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received time served, plus ten days, was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and is subject to deportation upon release from custody. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gwenellyn Jackson, 57, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on April 19, 2016, for conspiracy to launder money. Jackson was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. She received 30 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $200.00 fine. This case results from an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) joint investigation conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The principal mission of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Scott Wyman Burgan, 59, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District court Judge Alan B. Johnson on April 19, 2016, for possession of child pornography. Burgan was arrested in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received 41 months imprisonment, to be followed by ten years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment, a $3,000.00 fine and restitution in the amount of $12,000.00. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mary Elaine Whitney, aka Mary Ellen Whitney, 62, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on April 19, 2016, for wrongful conversion of social security payments. Whitney served as a representative payee for her son who was a beneficiary of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and resident of Circle C Resources Living Facility in Casper. SSI is a cash assistance program provided by the Social Security Administration which assures a minimum level of income to persons who are aged, blind, or disabled and who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits may be paid to a representative payee who is then required to use all of the money for the beneficiary’s care. During a representative payee review audit at the Circle C Resources, it was discovered that
Whitney had not been providing SSI payments to the living facility. Between January 2005 and February 2015, Whitney received over $65,000 in SSI benefits on behalf of her son but then wrongly used the money for her own expenses rather than paying for her son’s needs. Whitney received a sentence of six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Whitney was also ordered to pay $65,082.44 in restitution. This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.
Brian James Fenske, 48, of Paynesville, Minnesota, was sentenced April 19, 2016 by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on April 19, 2016, for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Fenske was arrested in Casper, Wyoming. He received 46 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $250.00. This case was investigated by the Casper Police Department and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
Ronald H. Stallings, 49, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on April 15, 2016, for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Stallings was arrested in Gillette, Wyoming. He received 78 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case results from an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) joint investigation conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Sentences Imposed in Township 37 Marijuana Grow CaseRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel Casey
F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorneys
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Malcolm French, 54, of Enfield; Rodney Russell, 52, of South Thomaston; and Kendall Chase, 59, of Bradford; were sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. for offenses arising out of the September 22, 2009 seizure of 2,943 marijuana plants in Township 37, Washington County.
French was sentenced to 175 months in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $100,000 for conspiracy to manufacture over 1000 marijuana plants, managing and controlling property used to manufacture marijuana and harboring illegal aliens. Russell was sentenced to 151 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to manufacture over 1000 marijuana plants, managing and controlling property used to manufacture marijuana and harboring illegal aliens. Chase was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $17,500 for conspiracy to manufacture over 1000 marijuana plants.
In imposing sentence, Judge Woodcock said the defendants “attempt to make profits turned into a series of losses,” that he was “profoundly offended by the perjurious testimony of French and Russell” and that the defendants had the “bad fortune to run into an extremely professional prosecutorial and investigative team whose diligence was the hallmark of the case.”
On February 10, 2016, Haynes Timberland, Inc. was sentenced to pay a $100,000 fine for managing and controlling property used to manufacture marijuana. Haynes Timberland and French were also ordered to forfeit $1,550,000, a warehouse compound in Township 31, and a hunting camp in LaGrange that facilitated drug trafficking.
The Director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (“MDEA”), Roy McKinney said, “This case was and remains the largest and most sophisticated marijuana growing operations in Maine history.”
“I commend the dedicated investigators and members of the prosecution team who have worked tirelessly on this case for many years,” said Joel Garland, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office. “IRS-Criminal Investigation provides the financial expertise needed to trace drug trafficking proceeds which, as shown in this large-scale marijuana operation, can lead to the forfeiture of significant assets.”
“U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI’s”) unique law enforcement authorities bring to the table, not only the experience and expertise to handle the criminal investigation of this grow operation, but also the ability to appropriately investigate their dealings with undocumented aliens,” said Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Boston. “Our partnerships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies helps ensure that these criminal drug organizations are completely dismantled, making communities safer.”
The case was investigated by the MDEA, IRS-Criminal Investigation and HSI, with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine State Police, the Washington and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Offices, the Maine Warden Service, the Maine Forest Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This investigation is part of the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Santa Fe Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Conviction on Federal Heroin Trafficking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Phillip Lovato, 30, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to ten years in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for his conviction on heroin trafficking and firearms charges. Lovato also was ordered to forfeit to the United States $49,242 in drug proceeds and two firearms that were seized during the investigation leading to his conviction.
Lovato’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and New Mexico State Police Lt. Scott McFaul, the Commander of the HIDTA Region III Drug Task Force.
Lovato was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 10, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with heroin trafficking and firearms charges. On Feb. 25, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against Lovato charging him with two counts of distributing heroin, two counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, and one count of using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crimes. According to the indictment, Lovato committed these crimes in Santa Fe County.
Lovato entered guilty pleas on Feb. 16, 2016, to two counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. In his plea agreement, Lovato admitted selling heroin from a residence on Alta Vista Street in Santa Fe on Nov. 17, 2014. On that day, Lovato was carrying a black backpack containing heroin and a semi-automatic pistol that he used to protect the drugs he was carrying and the proceeds from his drug sales. After completing several drug transactions at the Alta Vista Street residence, Lovato got into a pickup truck to go to another location where he intended to continue selling heroin. When the truck was stopped by law enforcement officers, Lovato admitted that he had heroin in the truck, and the officers seized 40 grams of heroin and the semi-automatic pistol from Lovato’s backpack.
In his plea agreement, Lovato also acknowledged that he subsequently acquired another firearm and additional heroin and resumed selling heroin in and around Santa Fe, storing his heroin and cash proceeds in a storage facility in Santa Fe. On Feb. 6, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on the storage facility where they seized 665 grams of heroin and $49,242 in proceeds from Lovato’s heroin deals.
Lovato was arrested on Feb. 10, 2015, outside a residence in Santa Fe. Before his arrest, Lovato left a semi-automatic handgun inside the residence. Following Lovato’s arrest, law enforcement officers seized the handgun when they executed a consensual search of the residence. Lovato acknowledged knowing that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the HIDTA Region III Drug Task Force, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez.
The HIDTA – High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area – Program is a program of the White House Office National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that facilitates cooperation among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to foster intelligence sharing and to support the execution of effective enforcement operations aimed at dismantling drug trafficking organization in critical drug trafficking regions of the United States. The HIDTA Region III Narcotics Task Force is comprised of the New Mexico State Police, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Fe Police Department.
Lovato, who has two prior drug trafficking convictions and an aggravated assault conviction, was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Santa Fe County, under this initiative.
The case also was prosecuted as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with Bernalillo County, DEA, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC) and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
San Antonio Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Wire Fraud Charges in Connection with Immigration Document Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
In San Antonio, 41-year-old Yvette Marie Rodriguez (aka “Anna DeHoyos”) pleaded guilty to a fraudulent scheme whereby she professed to be an Immigration official who could provide immigration documents to undocumented aliens announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Appearing in federal court today, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud. By pleading guilty, Rodriguez admitted that from January 2011 to December 2013, she solicited and received over $30,000 from undocumented immigrants interested in paying for special assistance in obtaining Permanent Residency and United States Citizenship papers. According to court documents, Rodriguez would charge clients up to $6,000 for her processing services. However, she never provided the requested immigration documents because she was never in a position to obtain said documents.
Rodriguez remains on bond pending sentencing scheduled for August 3, 2016, before United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez. Each wire fraud charge calls for up to 20 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility. Assistant United States Attorney Greg Surovic is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
Sentenciada Una Residente De Roseville Por Estafa De Modificaciones De Préstamos Y Rescates De Embargos Inmobiliarios Orientada a LA Comunidad De Habla HispanaRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, California – Ligia Sandoval Spafford (Sandoval), 48 años de edad, y residente de Roseville, fue condenada el jueves por el Juez del Distrito de los Estados Unidos Troy L. Nunley a dos años y tres meses de prisión por una trama que se dirigía a propietarios de viviendas que se encontraban en dificultades económicas, anunció el Procurador de los Estados Unidos Benjamín B. Wagner. Se le ordenó a Sandoval a que se entregara el 9 de junio de 2016.
Sandoval pagó $115,065.00 de dólares en indemnizaciones, la cantidad total de restitución ordenada por el tribunal, para compensar a las víctimas por las pérdidas en que incurrieron como resultado de esta trama fraudulenta. En febrero de 2015, Sandoval y su marido de entonces, Martin Wayne Flanders, 51 años de edad, y residente de Roseville, se declararon culpables de fraudes de correo para llevar a cabo la trama fraudulenta. El 29 de octubre de 2015, Flanders fue condenado a seis años y cinco meses de prisión.
En la declaración de la sentencia, el Juez Nunley dijo: “Ella sabía lo que estaba ocurriendo e incitó a estas personas a que formaran parte en esta trama. Ellos confiaban en ella. … Ella arruinó las vidas de algunas personas. El que ella pagara una indemnización no quita la ansiedad y el miedo que ellos (las víctimas) mantuvieron mientras ocurría esto. Estas víctimas estaban devastadas.”
Según documentos del tribunal, entre los años 2008 y 2010, Flanders cobró tarifas por adelantado a sus clientes por un número de servicios financieros que incluían modificaciones de préstamos, revisiones de préstamos hipotecarios, recuperación de crédito, liberación de deuda, peticiones de bancarrota y un programa para vender casas a “inversionistas” que las alquilaban con la opción a compra. Sandoval y Flanders comerciaban con estos servicios con propietarios de viviendas que se encontraban en dificultades económicas y ponían un énfasis particular en personas de habla hispana. Sandoval, siendo hispano-hablante, promovía los servicios que ella y Flanders, quien no dominaba el español, ofrecían durante un programa de radio que se emitía dos veces a la semana en la zona del “Bay Area” por Radio Luz, una emisora de radio Cristiana en español. Sandoval, una agente de bienes y raíces autorizada, además asistía a Flanders en la trama fraudulenta manteniendo relación con y explicando los servicios a clientes de habla-hispana. Los servicios ofrecidos por Flanders y Sandoval también se anunciaban en Univisión, un canal de televisión en español, y en revistas en español. Cerca de un 98 por ciento de los clientes de los demandados eran de descendencia hispana; algunos hablaban poco o nada de inglés.
Sandoval y Flanders dieron numerosos testimonios falsos a los inversores sobre el éxito de los programas que se ofrecían o, en el caso, de las devoluciones que estaban disponibles si los programas no prosperaban. En intentos de retrasar los procesos de embargo de las viviendas, Sandoval y Flanders también se servían de ofertas ficticias llamadas “ofertas fantasma” para comprar las viviendas de las víctimas a precio reducido en un proceso llamado “short sale,” como también de fingidas peticiones de bancarrota llamadas “bancarrotas de esqueleto” que eran rápidamente desestimadas por el tribunal de bancarrotas. Al menos, entre 25 a 30 individuos pagaron por los servicios que nunca recibieron o no recibieron las devoluciones cuando los programas dejaron de cumplir con lo prometido. Como mínimo, las pérdidas totales de las víctimas fueron de $115,000 dólares. Algunos de los propietarios que no pudieron recibir subsidios fueron embargados por sus entidades de crédito.
Este caso ha sido el producto de una investigación llevada a cabo por la Oficina Federal de Investigaciones (FBI). Los Procuradores Auxiliares de los Estados Unidos Todd A. Pickles y Shelley Weger han procesado el caso.
Roswell Felon Facing Federal Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Nathaniel Eddie Madrid, 49, of Roswell, N.M., with violating the federal firearms laws. The Magistrate Judge ordered Madrid detained pending trial.
Madrid was arrested on April 15, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possessing an unregistered firearm. The criminal complaint alleges that Madrid committed the crimes on Oct. 26, 2015, in Lincoln County, N.M.
According to the criminal complaint, New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officers came upon Madrid when responding to the scene of a traffic accident on Oct. 26, 2015. Madrid allegedly had crashed the stolen vehicle he was driving and allegedly was observed throwing a handgun into a nearby ditch by a witness who stopped to render aid to Madrid. The NMSP allegedly retrieved the handgun and found two more firearms in the vehicle.
After identifying Madrid, the NMSP learned that Madrid had an outstanding arrest warrant for violating the conditions of a supervised release term he was serving as a result of a previous federal conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm. Madrid was arrested on the federal warrant; he has been in federal custody since that time.
The criminal complaint alleges that Madrid was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition on Oct. 26, 2015, because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses in the state courts of New Mexico in addition to his federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted of the crimes charged in the criminal complaint, Madrid faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the NMSP, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred J. Perez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Madrid is being prosecuted the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.
Restaurateur and Squirrel Hill Eatery Indicted on Labor-Related ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh woman and the local restaurant she owns have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count indictment, returned on April 19 and unsealed today, charges Hsiao Yen Wu, aka Sophia Wu, age 40, of Pittsburgh, Pa, with falsifying, concealing, or covering up by trick, scheme, or device a material fact, and charges Sun Penang, Inc., located at 5829 Forbes Avenue, in Squirrel Hill with willfully violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“All employees working in Western Pennsylvania deserve to be treated fairly under the law,” said U.S. Attorney Hickton. “Prosecutions like these demonstrate our commitment to stopping wage and hour abuses in the workforce.”
“An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate the alleged undermining of the enforcement responsibilities of Department of Labor agencies. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” stated John Spratley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.
According to the indictment presented to the court, after Sun Penang had agreed to pay back wage payments, Wu represented that Sun Penang had issued all back wage payments checks and provided faxed copies of these checks to the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Office in Pittsburgh. However, Wu knew that the employees were not paid back wage payments because these employees were required either to deposit the checks into Wu's personal bank account or to work without pay until Sun Penang recouped the wages. The indictment also alleges that Sun Penang failed to pay minimum wages and overtime pay to their employees from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013.
With respect to Wu, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. With respect to Sun Penang, the law provides for a maximum fine of $20,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and Office of Inspector General jointly conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Restaurant Owner Indicted for Cocaine Conspiracy, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of Danny’s Big Easy Cajun restaurant was indicted by a federal grand jury today on additional drug-trafficking and firearms charges.
Paul Danny Gosserand, 57, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s superseding indictment replaces a Dec. 17, 2014 federal indictment and includes additional charges. Gosserand is the owner of Danny’s Big Easy Cajun at E. 18th and Vine in Kansas City, Mo.
Today’s indictment retains the original charge of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of powder cocaine in May 2011. Gosserand is also charged with possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Gosserand allegedly was in possession of a Sears Roebuck & Company 16-gauge bolt action shotgun with no serial number and a North American Arms .22-caliber long rifle revolver on May 18, 2011.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan C. Hughes. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Portland Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Crack Cocaine DistributionRead the Press Release
Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that William Weston, 36, of Portland, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute cocaine base, often referred to as crack cocaine. Weston entered a guilty plea to the charge in October 2015.
Court records reveal that between December 2013 and January 2015, Weston conspired with others to sell crack cocaine in Portland. Members of the conspiracy arranged for the acquisition of drugs out of state. Once the drugs were transported to Maine, they were provided to retail distributors who would sell the drugs in the Portland area. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Weston and other members of the conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Portland, South Portland, Biddeford, and Lewiston Police Departments; the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine State Police also assisted with the investigation. The case also results from the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Political Consultant and Former Easton City Councilman Admits to Bribing Allentown and Reading OfficialsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Michael Fleck, 40, formerly of Allentown, PA, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery offenses and one count of tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Fleck is a former member of Easton’s City Council. U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 25, 2016.
According to court documents, Fleck was a principal and co-owner of an Allentown-based consulting company that a) conducted fundraising and other campaign-related services for certain elected officials in Pennsylvania (“the political clients”) and b) lobbied these same political clients on behalf of individuals and companies who sought contracts and other favorable treatment from local governments (“the business clients”). Public Official #1 of Reading and Public Official #3 and Mary Ellen Koval of Allentown were each elected officials in their respective cities as well as political clients of Fleck’s. Public Official #1 and Koval sought re-election to the offices that they held, while Public Official #3 aspired to win higher office through statewide election. Each of these three elected officials attempted to leverage their respective public offices – which gave them actual and perceived authority over the awarding of municipal contracts – for items of value, including campaign contributions.
Ramzi Haddad, charged separately, and the parties identified as Donor #1, Donor #2, Donor #3, Donor #4, Law Firm #4, Donor #5, and “the Partnership” all sought city contracts and/or other favorable treatment from local governments in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, including Allentown and/or Reading. Public Official #1, Public Official #3, and Koval each exploited their official positions in order to obtain thousands of dollars’ worth of campaign contributions from one or more of these individuals and organizations. According to court documents, in each of instances, a public official and/or a donor reached or attempted to reach an explicit exchange of campaign contributions and official action. Fleck admitted that as part of his “consulting” services, he helped facilitate such quid pro quo solicitations, offers, and agreements and obtained tens of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions through the use of extortion, bribery, and/or fraud.
In Allentown, for example, once the Partnership began making large campaign contributions for Public Official #3, Fleck helped manipulate a purportedly fair and confidential contract award process to the Partnership’s advantage. Once Public Official #3 communicated his wishes to them, Fleck and Finance Director Gary Strathearn, with the help of Assistant City Solicitor Dale Wiles, both charged separately, sabotaged the award process to ensure that the Partnership prevailed over its competitors. Similarly, City Controller Mary Ellen Koval agreed to help Public Official #3 and Fleck by attempting to steer Allentown city contracts to certain of Public Official #3’s donors, including Donor #1. In Reading, Fleck, Reading public official Eron Lloyd, and others helped Public Official #1 obtain campaign contributions from companies that relied heavily on government contracts, such as the companies represented by Donor #2 and Donor #3, as consideration for Public Official #1’s efforts to steer Reading city contracts to them.
Public Official #1 and Public Official # 3 allegedly limited their direct interactions with certain donors. When donors and officials in Allentown and Reading raised concerns about having to interact with Fleck and/or his employees in connection with official city business, Public Official #1 and Public Official #3 rebuffed their concerns and insisted that they interact with Fleck and/or his employees.
To conceal and continue the conspiracy, Public Official #1, Eron Lloyd, Public Official #3, Mary Ellen Koval, Garret Strathearn, Dale Wiles, and Fleck employed counter-surveillance maneuvers and obstructed justice by, among other things, making false statements to FBI agents conducting a federal criminal investigation. For example, on March 11, 2015, Fleck falsely stated to FBI agents that he had not told anyone that the agents had confronted him earlier that day when, in fact, as Fleck well knew, he had disclosed the encounter to several others with the intention of warning Public Official #3 about the FBI’s investigation into a bribery, kickback, and extortion scheme.
Fleck also filed false and fraudulent joint U.S. individual income tax returns for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013, in which he concealed income from his consulting company of approximately $130,897.41, overstated certain deductions, and failed to remit approximately $43,467 in payroll taxes, causing a tax loss of approximately $77,738.
Fleck faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, a possible fine, supervised release, and a $200 assessment. Koval, Strathearn, Wiles, Haddad and Lloyd have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. (Wiles: June 6, 2016; Lloyd: June 7, 2016; Koval: July 26, 2016; Strathearn: July 27, 2016; Haddad: July 28, 2016.)
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Allentown Resident Agency, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Pennsylvania State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joe Khan and Anthony Wzorek.
Pennsylvania Man Charged in Alleged $35 Million Fraud Against Veterans’ Education GI BillRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, man will appear in federal court today to face charges that he conspired to defraud millions from the Post 9/11 GI Bill, a federal education benefits program designed to help veterans who served in the armed forces following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
David Alvey, 49, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Special agents with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, arrested Alvey this morning in Maryland. He will appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher in Maryland federal court.
“The Post 9/11 GI Bill was designed to provide educational opportunities to a generation of men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces following the attacks on 9/11,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Alvey and others allegedly sought to pillage those well-earned benefits as part of a complex $35 million scam that targeted veterans and enrolled them in unapproved online courses without their knowledge. Rooting out fraud against the government is always a priority of this office, especially when the conduct exploits those who serve our country with such courage.”
“The allegations of fraud committed by David Alvey are extremely serious because not only did his scheme potentially harm the Department of Veterans Affairs, it also victimized our nations deserving veterans and their families,” Jeffrey G. Hughes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office, said. “The VA’s education benefit program is meant to help our veterans who have selflessly made great sacrifices for our country and now are in need of VA assistance. Any fraud against this program directly impacts our nation’s heroes.”
According to the complaint unsealed today:
From November 2009 through August 2013, Alvey and others engaged in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining tuition assistance and other education-related benefits under the Post 9/11 Education Assistance Act, more commonly known as the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides educational assistance to eligible veterans of the United States Armed Forces by paying for veterans’ tuition, housing costs, and other educational costs and fees as long as the courses of study meet certain criteria. Due to the fact that the tuition benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill are paid by the United States directly to the school, all entities involved in developing and administering the courses must be fully disclosed to the United States in order for the government to properly assess the courses for approval.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Alvey, operating largely through his own company, ED4MIL LLC (“ED4MIL”), partnered with a New Jersey university (the “University”), to obtain approval from the United States to receive tuition and other education benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill for several online non-credit training and certification courses. These courses were purportedly developed, taught, and administered by the faculty of the University, but were, in fact, actually developed, taught, and administered by undisclosed and unapproved sub-contractors of ED4MIL, including an online correspondence school located in Pennsylvania.
Alvey and others at ED4MIL developed marketing materials and a script to be used by ED4MIL salespersons at various military bases around the United States in order to market to and enroll thousands of veterans in the courses. These “field representatives” employed by ED4MIL traveled across the United States pitching the fraudulent courses to veterans using the marketing materials and script developed by Alvey and others at ED4MIL. Field representatives were instructed to identify themselves to veterans as employees of the University, and were specifically told not to mention ED4MIL or the online correspondence school in which the veterans were actually enrolled. The marketing materials were emblazoned with the University’s insignia, and the field representatives wore t-shirts and handed out pens bearing the University’s name. The field representatives, and several other employees at ED4MIL, were also given University email addresses with which to communicate with the veterans.
Alvey and others then nominally enrolled the veterans in the University while simultaneously enrolling them in the unapproved online correspondence courses. Due to the fact that Alvey and others concealed the true source of the courses and the contract relationships between the University and ED4MIL, the veterans were unaware that the courses they were taking were actually being taught and administered by the online correspondence school.
Even though the University contributed no content or value to the courses whatsoever, the University charged the Post 9/11 GI Bill between ten and thirty times the prices charged by the online correspondence school for the same courses. While most courses at the correspondence school cost between approximately $600 and $1,000 in tuition, the University charged between approximately $5,000 and $26,000 per course. Over the course of the conspiracy, Alvey and others caused the United States to pay out over approximately $35 million in total benefits.
“The FBI’s stance on corruption and fraud is that of zero tolerance and therefore one of our highest priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher. “Our job is to protect victims, especially our veterans who are on the front lines keeping our country safe, and these charges reflect our commitment to that goal.”
“Scams like this steal money from hardworking taxpayers and legitimate students – and in this case, our veterans – and that is completely unacceptable," Brian Hickey, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General's Northeastern Regional Office, said. "OIG is committed to fighting student financial aid fraud and we will continue to aggressively pursue those that participate in these types of crimes."
The wire fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigation Division, Northeast field office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey G. Hughes in Newark; the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Hickey of the Northeastern Region, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Eskew of the Economic Crimes Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane Yoon and Lucy Muzzy of the Health Care and Government Fraud Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jafer Aftab of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense Counsel: Judith Germano Esq., Montclair
Peekskill Man Pleads Guilty in White Plains Federal Court to Heroin Conspiracy and Admits Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl That Resulted in DeathRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LAKUAN RHYNE pled guilty to conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin in and around Westchester County during 2014. RHYNE admitted that in the course of the conspiracy, on January 26, 2014, in Peekskill, New York, he sold heroin and fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of an individual. RHYNE pled guilty to a felony Information today in White Plains federal court before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román.
U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “Overdose deaths from heroin and fentanyl have become tragically too frequent in many of our communities. As he admitted today, Lakuan Rhyne sold fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in the overdose death of a 23-year old man. Rhyne’s guilty plea today serves as a reminder of the destruction that follows the heroin and fentanyl trade.”
According to the allegations in the Information and other information in the public record:
LAKUAN RHYNE, a/k/a “Rico,” was a leader of a drug trafficking ring centered in Westchester County, New York. From early 2014 through the fall of 2014, RHYNE and his associates conspired to distribute significant quantities of heroin, as well as crack cocaine and powder cocaine, in and around Westchester County. RHYNE and his associates sold their drugs out of cars, residences, and on the streets. At least some of the heroin distributed by RHYNE was laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than both ordinary heroin and morphine.
On the evening of January 26, 2014, in the parking lot of a restaurant in Peekskill, New York, RHYNE supplied a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl to an associate for the purpose of selling that mixture to a customer. That customer was Thomas Coogan, a 23-year-old from Buchanan, New York. Later that night, Coogan used the fentanyl-laced heroin supplied by RHYNE, and died as a result.
* * *
RHYNE, 24, of Peekskill, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
RHYNE is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2016.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the FBI, the Westchester County Northern Narcotics Initiative, which includes the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and the police departments of Peekskill, Croton-on-Hudson, Buchanan, Bedford, Yorktown, Mount Kisco, and Ossining, as well as the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Turner and Michael Gerber are in charge of the prosecution.
Orlando Woman Charged with Multiple Crimes, Including Acting as an Illegal Agent of A Foreign Government and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an 18-count superseding indictment charging Amin Yu (53, Orlando) with acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General, conspiring to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, committing unlawful export information activities, smuggling goods from the United States, conspiring to and committing international money laundering, and making false statements to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the money laundering counts, 10 years’ imprisonment for acting as an illegal agent and the smuggling offenses, and 5 years in prison for the remaining charges. The indictment also notifies Yu that the United States intends to forfeit approximately $2,668,648.92, the alleged traceable proceeds of the offenses.
According to the superseding indictment, from at least 2002 until approximately February 2014, at the direction of co-conspirators working for Harbin Engineering University (HEU, a PRC-controlled entity) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Yu obtained systems and components for marine submersible vehicles from companies in the United States. She then illegally exported those items to the PRC for use by her co-conspirators in the development of marine submersible vehicles – unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for HEU and other state-controlled entities. It is alleged that Yu illegally exported items by failing to file Electronic Export Information as required by U.S. law and by also filing false Electronic Export Information. In particular, Yu completed and caused the completion of export-related documents in which she significantly undervalued the items that she had exported and also provided false end-user information for those items.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Irick, and Trial Attorneys David C. Recker and Thea D. R. Kendler of the Department of Justice, National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Ontario Oregon Felon Sentenced to 60 Months for Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – On April 19, 2016, Clemente Pineda, 28, of Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken to 60 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm. Upon his release from prison, Pineda will be on supervised release for three years.
On May 5, 2015, at an apartment complex in Ontario, Oregon, Pineda pulled out a firearm and pointed it at a man who was harassing a woman. Police officers responded to the disturbance and eventually located Pineda’s .357 caliber revolver submerged in a bathroom toilet in one of the apartments. Officers determined that Pineda was a felon and that the firearm had previously been stolen. Pineda has a history of gang association and has been convicted of robbery and burglary in the second degree.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Ontario Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Lichvarcik.
New York Attorney Sentenced to Six Months in Prison in Manhattan Federal Court for Fraud in Connection with A Scheme to Purchase Maxim MagazineRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HARVEY NEWKIRK, formerly counsel at a law firm in Manhattan, was sentenced today to a prison term of six months for wire fraud in connection with his participation in a scheme to fraudulently induce lenders to provide tens of millions of dollars toward the purchase of Maxim Magazine and related assets (“Maxim”). A jury convicted NEWKIRK of one count of wire fraud on December 14, 2015, after a five-week trial. He was found not guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and not guilty of one count of aggravated identity theft. Today’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Harvey Newkirk, an attorney with a major law firm with an obligation and responsibility to practice law in good faith, instead violated the law by lying and defrauding lenders out of millions of dollars in an attempt to help his client purchase Maxim Magazine. His conviction by a jury and now his sentence to imprisonment marks the close of Newkirk’s unfortunate journey from lawyer to felon.”
As established by the evidence at the trial:
In connection with the potential purchase of Maxim by a company (the “Company”) controlled by Calvin Ramarro Darden (“Darden Junior”), from in or about August 2013 to on or about February 11, 2014, NEWKIRK told a series of lies to lenders to induce the lenders to provide tens of millions of dollars in capital toward the purchase of Maxim. In order to mislead the lenders into believing that they would receive sufficient collateral for their loans, NEWKIRK falsely promised them that Calvin Darden (“Darden Senior”), the former Senior Vice President of U.S. Operations of UPS, and a member of the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Target Corporation, and Cardinal Health, Inc., would pledge his personal stock holdings in the latter three companies as collateral for the loans. In addition to knowingly making this false promise, NEWKIRK concealed from lenders that, as NEWKIRK knew, the stock owned by Darden Senior was subject to restrictions, and could not be pledged as collateral for any loans. NEWKIRK further falsely promised at least six lenders that each would have a first and sole priority interest in the purported collateral when, as NEWKIRK well knew, only one lender could have any such interest.
NEWKIRK, who represented the Company in the attempted Maxim acquisition in his capacity as an attorney at Bryan Cave LLC, engaged in the fraud in part because NEWKIRK secretly owned part of the Company’s parent company (the “Parent Company”), and would share in any of the Parent Company’s profits resulting from the acquisition. NEWKIRK hid his partial ownership of the Parent Company from Bryan Cave and others. NEWKIRK further lied to Bryan Cave about his relationship with Darden Senior, falsely claiming that Darden Senior had been NEWKIRK’s client for many years when, in truth and in fact, and as NEWKIRK well knew, NEWKIRK had never represented Darden Senior.
In the course of the fraud, NEWKIRK provided lenders with account statements that purported to show Darden Senior’s stock holdings. In truth, however, the account statements were fake documents, and Darden Senior was not providing any financial support for the purchase of Maxim. Also in the course of the fraud, NEWKIRK went to great lengths to hide from Darden Senior, and from Bryan Cave, the existence of a lawsuit filed by one lender in which that lender sought to obtain the collateral of Darden Senior that NEWKIRK had fraudulently pledged to the lender. NEWKIRK deliberately caused a default judgment to be entered against Darden Senior in that lawsuit, knowing that he had concealed the existence of the lawsuit from both Darden Senior and Bryan Cave.
Furthermore, after one of the lenders placed approximately $5.5 million in escrow at Bryan Cave, Darden Junior arranged for a fraudulent email to be sent to NEWKIRK that purported to have been authored by the lender. In response to that fraudulent email, and with knowledge that the email was in fact fraudulent, NEWKIRK released approximately $4.9 million of the lender’s money from the escrow account to fund the purchase of Maxim. Moreover, in an effort to close the deal, NEWKIRK also falsely represented to another individual that approximately $12 million, consisting of funds supposedly provided by, or secured by the personal assets of, Darden Senior, had been placed in escrow at Bryan Cave. In truth and in fact, no funds were ever held in escrow at Bryan Cave in connection with the purchase of Maxim, other than the $5.5 million placed in escrow by the lender described above, which was subsequently misappropriated by NEWKIRK. Lenders lost a total of $8 million in connection with the fraud.
* * *
In addition to his prison term, NEWKIRK, 40, of New Rochelle, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3.1 million.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the United States Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Adams and Sarah E. Paul are in charge of the prosecution.
National Reentry Week- Tribal Reentry ProgramRead the Press Release
FARGO - United States Attorney Christopher C. Myers for the District of North Dakota, and Randolph J. Seiler, United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, announced that on April 22, 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) Reentry Week Mentorship Program Launch will take place at the council chambers in the SRST government building located in Fort Yates, ND, at 12:30 p.m., and is open to the public as well as the media.
The United States Attorney’s Offices for both the Districts of North and South Dakota have been collaborating with the tribe since approximately December of 2014 to organize a Tribal Reentry Program that would address the growing issue of recidivist activity being committed by returning members. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the U. S. Attorneys for the District of North and South Dakota in a ceremony that took place at the SRST Council Chambers in Fort Yates, ND, on July 7, 2015.
The MOU has led to the creation of a charter and plan of action in instituting a reentry program that will revolve around spiritual and cultural mentors who have successfully reintegrated back into the community. These mentors will, in turn, help the returning offenders become "reacclimated" to the reservation community and provide spiritual and cultural guidance on how to avoid the common pitfalls of reentry. At the April 22nd event, the Tribe will officially assign 3 to 5 members returning to the community to the first two fully-qualified mentors in the program, with an additional 6 to 8 mentors being assigned over the next 36 months.
"The launching of the Mentorship Program is an extraordinary step in a positive direction," said Troy Morley, a reentry services team member, Assistant U.S Attorney, and Tribal Liaison for the District of South Dakota. "The MOU we have in place has provided an incredible opportunity for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and all of the state and federal partners, to work jointly towards the goal of reducing recidivism and increasing public safety for all tribal members. We are excited about this reentry program, which will allow mentors to help others successfully integrate themselves back into their communities."
The MOU that set the program into motion was signed by the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, North Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services - Standing Rock Agency, South Dakota Department of Corrections, North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, South Dakota Unified Judicial System, North Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, and the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission.
For more information on reentry, please click on the link https://www.justice.gov/usao-nd/reentry-program.
National Reentry Week - Tribal Reentry ProgramRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Christopher C. Myers for the District of North Dakota, and Randolph J. Seiler, United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, announced that on April 22, 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) Reentry Week Mentorship Program Launch will take place at the council chambers in the SRST government building located in Fort Yates, ND, at 12:30 p.m., and is open to the public as well as the media.
The United States Attorney’s Offices for both the Districts of North and South Dakota have been collaborating with the tribe since approximately December of 2014 to organize a Tribal Reentry Program that would address the growing issue of recidivist activity being committed by returning members. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the U. S. Attorneys for the District of North and South Dakota in a ceremony that took place at the SRST Council Chambers in Fort Yates, ND, on July 7, 2015.
The MOU has led to the creation of a charter and plan of action in instituting a reentry program that will revolve around spiritual and cultural mentors who have successfully reintegrated back into the community. These mentors will, in turn, help the returning offenders become “reacclimated” to the reservation community and provide spiritual and cultural guidance on how to avoid the common pitfalls of reentry. At the April 22nd event, the Tribe will officially assign 3 to 5 members returning to the community to the first two fully-qualified mentors in the program, with an additional 6 to 8 mentors being assigned over the next 36 months.
“The launching of the Mentorship Program is an extraordinary step in a positive direction,” said Troy Morley, a reentry services team member, Assistant U.S Attorney, and Tribal Liaison for the District of South Dakota. “The MOU we have in place has provided an incredible opportunity for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and all of the state and federal partners, to work jointly towards the goal of reducing recidivism and increasing public safety for all tribal members. We are excited about this reentry program, which will allow mentors to help others successfully integrate themselves back into their communities.”
The MOU that set the program into motion was signed by the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, North Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services - Standing Rock Agency, South Dakota Department of Corrections, North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, South Dakota Unified Judicial System, North Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, and the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission.
For information regarding National Reentry Week, please click on this link: https://www.justice.gov/opa/blog/national-reentry-week
Mexican Citizen Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Immigration ViolationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A citizen of Mexico has been sentenced in federal court to 14 months in prison for violating federal immigration laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Juan Rivera-Santos, 39, of Mexico.
According to the information presented to the court, on or about Sept. 17, 2015, Rivera-Santos was found in North Versailles, Pa., after having unlawfully re-entered the United States following removal on several occasions.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Hickton commended the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the successful prosecution of Rivera-Santos.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 9 Years for Hobbs Act Robbery in Oxford, NCRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced BERNARD SINGLETON, 67, of Clinton, Maryland to 108 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
SINGLETON was named in an Indictment filed on August 19, 2015, charging him with Robbery of a Business Engaged in Interstate Commerce and Aiding and Abetting on January 18, 2015. On November 12, 2015, SINGLETON pled guilty to the charge.
On January 18, 2015, SINGLETON and an accomplice entered the ZMart convenience store in Oxford, North Carolina, and locked the door behind them. SINGLETON pointed a firearm at the clerk while the accomplice walked behind the counter and punched the victim in the face. SINGLETON approached the victim, who was on the ground, put the gun to the back of his head, and demanded money. The accomplice removed money from the cash register. SINGLETON forced the victim into the office and demanded money from the safe, which was on a 10-minute delay. While waiting for the safe to open, SINGLETON kept the gun pointed on the victim’s head. SINGLETON and the accomplice removed the money from the safe. They also stole the victim’s wallet, which contained United States currency along with his credit cards and driver’s license. SINGLETON and the accomplice stole $9,100 in United States currency, which included several old coins, and cartons of cigarettes.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Oxford Police Department, Creedmoor Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted the case for the government.
Man Convicted of Five Violent Robberies During Summer of 2014Read the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who wore a mask and gloves and used a black handgun with a laser sight to rob a convenience store, two liquor stores, a payday loan company, and an electronics retailer in the Las Vegas area during the summer of 2014, was convicted by a jury today of all counts charged and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 107 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Following a four-day jury trial, Dominique Wells, 29, was convicted of five counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and five counts of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Wells is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan on July 21, 2016. Two co-defendants, Christopher Dobbins, 28, and Andre Hall, 27, pleaded guilty in 2015 and are awaiting sentencing.
“We continue to work with the local authorities to use federal laws to prosecute persons who are committing violent robberies with guns in southern Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We meet with local law enforcement regularly through our Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force to review all the recent arrests of persons who are using firearms to commit violent crimes and to determine if prosecution in the federal system, where there is no parole, is warranted.”
According to court records and trial testimony, on June 15, 2014, Wells robbed a convenience store in Henderson using a handgun and wearing a black mask and gloves, black t-shirt and camouflage shorts. Four days later, on June 19, 2014, Wells robbed a liquor store in Las Vegas using a handgun with a laser sight, and wearing camouflage shorts, a black t-shirt, and a black face mask/ski mask. Two days after that, on June 21, 2014, Wells robbed a liquor store on the Boulder Highway in Las Vegas using a black handgun with a laser sight and wearing camouflage shorts, a black t-shirt and a black face mask/ski mask. On June 26, 2014, Wells robbed a payday loan store in Henderson using a black handgun with a laser sight. Wells and a co-defendant used duct tape to tie up three individuals inside the payday loan store. On July 3, 2014, Wells robbed an electronics retailer in Henderson using a black handgun. Wells and a co-defendant used zip ties to tie up the employees in that robbery. Wells obtained on average only $100 to $250 in each robbery.
Over the last five years, 94 persons have been charged federally with using firearms to commit commercial robberies in southern Nevada. Following are links to the news releases for some of those cases.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/las-vegas-cinched-hoodie-robber-sentenced-life-prison
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/femal-getaway-driver-convicted-robberies-13-banks-and-stores-las-vegas-area-during-2012
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/man-sentenced-over-14-years-prison-six-armed-robberies
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/men-sentenced-prison-kidnapping-conspiracy-and-thefts-delivery-drivers-and-warehouses
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/last-30-minutes-or-less-robbers-gets-16-years-prison
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/man-sentenced-over-11-years-federal-prison-robbing-local-jewelry-store-stolen-handgun
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/man-who-robbed-las-vegas-mini-mart-convicted-jury
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Henderson Police Department, as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip N. Smith, Jr. and Lisa Cartier-Giroux.
Man Acquitted on a Charge of Failing to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – A jury voted on Thursday to acquit Richard Hernandez, age 47, on a charge of failing to register and update his registration as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.
Hernandez was indicted on November 18, 2015 on a single charge of traveling across state lines and failing to register and update his registration as a sex offender as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The jury voted to acquit Hernandez following a four-day trial in Albany before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.
Local Musician Sentenced on Stolen Identity Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Olufunsho Adeshina, a native of Nigeria residing in St. Louis, was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment for his participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Adeshina received $753,063 from more than fifty refunds by filing false tax returns in the name of various individuals. The refunds were sent to various financial accounts: some were in Adeshina’s name, some were in the names of businesses he controlled and some were in the names of identity theft victims whose information Adeshina used to establish additional accounts. Adeshina admitted he sought more than $3.5 million dollars in refunds, but most of the false returns were caught and not honored by the IRS.
Adeshina was sentenced for one felony count of theft of government funds before United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel. Adeshina has been in federal custody since April when he was arrested at Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport returning to the United States from Nigeria. In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Adeshina was ordered to pay $753,063 in restitution to the IRS.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Konowa Man, Seminole Woman Sentenced to 41, 24 Months for ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that BRODIE ROPE BOOTH, age 40, of Konawa, Oklahoma and BOBBI NICOLE THOMAS, age 36, of Seminole, Oklahoma, were sentenced in federal court for CONSPIRACY, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 371.
BOOTH was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release and THOMAS was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
The Informations alleged that beginning in or about the summer of 2015, and continuing until on or about July 29, 2015, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendants, did knowingly and intentionally conspire, confederate and agree with others both known and unknown to commit offenses against the United States, namely, distribution of methamphetamine.
The charges arose from an investigation by the McAlester Police Department, District 18 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole Police Department, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, United States Marshal Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Honorable James H. Payne, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearings. The defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which they will serve their nonparoleable sentences.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Knoxville Man Sentenced to Prison for Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – On April 19, 2016, Nathan Leland Minard, 32, of Knoxville, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to 120 months in prison for a felon in possession of a firearm charge, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Minard was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and to pay $100 to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
Minard pleaded guilty to the offense on July 13, 2015. On November 17, 2014, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was notified that an individual had knocked on the door of a Knoxville resident, asked a few questions, and then departed the residence striking a vehicle in the yard. The resident provided law enforcement with a description of the vehicle. A Marion County Deputy Sheriff responded to the call and located the vehicle driven by Minard. A camouflaged shotgun was stuck out the window of the driver’s side of the vehicle and, at some point during the encounter, Minard racked the shotgun. The deputy was able to persuade Minard to leave the vehicle and the weapon. Minard was arrested after it was determined he was a convicted felon and not eligible to possess a firearm. Two stolen shotguns were discovered in the vehicle Minard was driving.
This matter was investigated by Marion County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.
Kilgore Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison after Pleading Guilty to Three Counts of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY – Jacob J. Kilgore, a former owner of a Salt Lake City durable medical equipment company, will serve 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud as a part of Medicare fraud scheme involving power wheelchairs. Three company sales representatives were sentenced Thursday, two receiving prison terms, for their role in the fraud scheme.
Kilgore, 36, of Fruit Heights, was the co-owner of and employed as the vice president, and later, president of Orbit Medical, a Utah- and Indiana-based national supplier of durable medical equipment that specialized in power wheelchairs. Orbit maintained three Utah offices in the Salt Lake City area. Kilgore acted as sales manager for Orbit’s western region sales territory which included offices in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The case was investigated by the agents of the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer imposed the 60-month sentence for Kilgore last week. Kilgore will be on supervised release for 36 months following the completion of his federal prison sentence. As a part of the resolution of the case, Kilgore has agreed to pay $4 million in restitution in the case over the next eight months. The first installment of $1 million was paid at his sentencing. A second $1 million payment is due by June 1, 2016, with a final payment of $2 million due by Dec. 31, 2016 on the date of his sentence Kilgore also must forfeit $776,001, the amount of his personal gain from the criminal conduct.
In a sentencing memorandum submitted to the court as a part of the sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors told the court the fraud scheme was driven by money and drove the imposition of a monthly quota demanding each sales representative sell 10 power wheelchairs per month. “While the genesis of the quota remains unclear, Jake Kilgore enforced it relentlessly throughout Orbit Medical’s western regional offices, at times threatening sales reps with probation and, if low sales persisted, termination,” federal prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum. Prosecutors said that pressure to perform and to reach unrealistic sales heights caused sales reps to alter physician charts to meet Medicare’s stringent medical necessity requirements.
“This was a serious offense. It was not a crime of opportunity. It involved significant planning and an undaunted, selfish desire by a durable medical equipment company executive to maximize his company’s bottom line at the expense of compromising the values and morals of scores of Orbit sales reps,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. To his credit, prosecutors wrote, “Jake Kilgore takes full responsibility for his actions.”
Federal prosecutors told the court that the sales reps were not innocent victims. “Many were young, inexperienced, hungry for success, and as is common in the sales industry, driven and competitive. Jake Kilgore knew that. He used commissions to entice sales reps, to encourage them, and, sadly, to corrupt them,” they wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court.
“Kilgore’s pressure to perform and close power wheelchair sales never let up, and over time, caused sales reps to pursue more shortcuts, essentially ramping up the fraud and deception. Rather than facilitating mobility evaluations and obtaining proper chart notes, sales reps instead requested a signed prescription and any recent chart notes. With genuine physician chart notes in hand, sales reps chiseled away (electronically or via cut-and-paste), creating mobility evaluations that never occurred, concocting medical findings never made, and adding a physician signature never signed,” federal prosecutors said.
While noting that Hartman, Evans, and Workman have taken responsibility for their misdeeds and sought to make amends, “falsifying physician chart notes cannot be defended, sugar-coated, or swept under the rug,” federal prosecutors said.
Three sales representatives of the company, Hunter Hartman, age 31, of Ladera Ranch, Calif., David Evans, age 38, of South Jordan, and Morgan Scott Workman, age 37, of Farmington, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge Nuffer imposed sentences on the three sale representatives Thursday morning. Hartman was sentenced to 4 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. He must pay $585,786.62 in restitution in the case, an obligation he shares with Kilgore. Evans received a 6-month sentence and will be on supervised release for 36-months following his release from prison. He was ordered to pay $957,055.77 in restitution, a responsibility he shares with Kilgore. Workman was sentenced to 36 months of probation. He shares an obligation with Kilgore to pay $230,910.80 in restitution.
According to documents filed in court, throughout his employment at Orbit, Evans altered and concocted medical records resulting in approximately $957,055.77 in total reimbursements from the Medicare Trust Fund, paid under false and fraudulent pretenses. Hartman altered and concocted medical records resulting in approximately $585,768.62 in total reimbursements from the Medicare Trust Fund. Workman’s conduct resulted in about $230,910.80 in total reimbursements.
“The resolution of these four cases should discourage those in the health care industry tempted to cut corners and circumvent rules to maximize reimbursement from a health care benefit program for personal or business gain. Durable medical equipment executives or sales reps currently engaged in or contemplating fraud against these programs would do well to reconsider their conduct,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.
“The Salt Lake City FBI recognizes the significant collaborative effort among our federal partners in bringing this lengthy and complex health care fraud investigation to a suitable resolution. We underscore the importance of protecting the Medicare trust fund as well as other government and private insurance programs for legitimate medical needs. We encourage our Utah citizens to bring to our attention any activity within the health care arena that appears to be illegal or suspicious,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart said today.
"Jacob Kilgore and Orbit Medical, Inc., overbilled federal health care programs, including the TRICARE program, which provides health care for our military warfighters, their families, and military retirees," said Janice M. Flores, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southwest Field Office. "These sentences demonstrate that DCIS and its law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively investigate health care fraud and hold individuals or companies accountable for their actions."
“These sentences are the result of the diligent work of several agencies. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue and bring to justice those individuals who attempt to cheat the federal health care programs,” said Steven D. Hanson, Special Agent in Charge of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Justice Department Closes Case after Rhode Island Judiciary Reforms Provide Equal Access for Individuals with Limited English ProficiencyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the closure of its case concerning the provision of language assistance to individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the state court system following the successful implementation of reforms by the Rhode Island Judiciary.
The Rhode Island Judiciary and the Justice Department successfully resolved an investigation of an administrative complaint filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in federally funded programs or activities. The complaint alleged that the Rhode Island Judiciary failed to provide interpreters and other language assistance services to LEP court users. In 2012, following extensive negotiations between the Rhode Island Judiciary and the department, Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell of the Rhode Island Supreme Court issued Executive Order No. 2012-05 on language services in the courts to mandate that qualified interpreters and other approved language assistance be provided at no charge for individuals with LEP in all court proceedings, services and programs.
In 2014, the department approved the Rhode Island Judiciary’s language access plan and the parties signed a voluntary resolution agreement that required the successful implementation of the executive order and plan, continued input from a stakeholder committee, compliance with Title VI and two years of monitoring and technical assistance. Today, after the Rhode Island Judiciary completed the conditions for termination of the agreement, the department officially closed the case.
The department and the Rhode Island Judiciary have worked cooperatively to improve how the courts communicate with LEP court users. In addition to adopting the comprehensive language access policy contained in the executive order, the judiciary’s accomplishments include:
• Designating staff qualified to provide services to court customers in languages other than English;
• Posting signage in six languages throughout each court house advising the public of the right to an interpreter at no cost;
• Requiring both parties to state court actions to report interpreter needs data to the court through new e-filing requirements;
• Translating forms and website content into commonly spoken languages in Rhode Island, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Khmer and Cape Verdean;
• Creating a multilingual notice of right to language assistance and adopting a court rule requiring service of the notice upon each defendant in a proceeding;
• And, creating a language services complaint policy and posting a complaint form in multiple languages on the court’s website, in court clerk’s offices and in the Office of Court Interpreters.
“Access to justice requires that all people, including those with limited English proficiency, can fully access and fairly participate in our courts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend Chief Justice Suttell and staff in the Administrative Office of State Courts for their efforts to make the promise of equal access to justice a reality for all Rhode Island residents.”
The Rhode Island matter was handled by Attorney Paul M. Uyehara of the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance (FCS) Section.
The complaint was resolved as part of the initiative by FCS to ensure that state courts comply with the language access requirements of Title VI. To ensure that no LEP individual is denied justice due to a court’s failure to provide language services, the FCS courts team provides policy guidance and technical assistance to state court systems and undertakes enforcement actions across the country.
For further information about FCS and Title VI, please visit https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs. For additional LEP-related resources, please visit http://www.lep.gov/index.htm.
Justice Department Closes Case After RI Judiciary Reforms Provide Equal Access for Individuals with Limited English ProficiencyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced the closure of its case concerning the provision of language assistance to individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the state court system following the successful implementation of reforms by the Rhode Island Judiciary.
The Rhode Island Judiciary and the Justice Department successfully resolved an investigation of an administrative complaint filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in federally funded programs or activities. The complaint alleged that the Rhode Island Judiciary failed to provide interpreters and other language assistance services to LEP court users. In 2012, following extensive negotiations between the Rhode Island Judiciary and the department, Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell of the Rhode Island Supreme Court issued Executive Order No. 2012-05 on language services in the courts to mandate that qualified interpreters and other approved language assistance be provided at no charge for individuals with LEP in all court proceedings, services and programs.
In 2014, the department approved the Rhode Island Judiciary’s language access plan and the parties signed a voluntary resolution agreement that required the successful implementation of the executive order and plan, continued input from a stakeholder committee, compliance with Title VI and two years of monitoring and technical assistance. Today, after the Rhode Island Judiciary completed the conditions for termination of the agreement, the department officially closed the case.
The department and the Rhode Island Judiciary have worked cooperatively to improve how the courts communicate with LEP court users. In addition to adopting the comprehensive language access policy contained in the executive order, the judiciary’s accomplishments include:
• Designating staff qualified to provide services to court customers in languages other
than English;
• Posting signage in six languages throughout each court house advising the public of the
right to an interpreter at no cost;
• Requiring both parties to state court actions to report interpreter needs data to the court
through new e-filing requirements;
• Translating forms and website content into commonly spoken languages in Rhode
Island, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Khmer and Cape Verdean;
• Creating a multilingual notice of right to language assistance and adopting a court
rule requiring service of the notice upon each defendant in a proceeding;
• And, creating a language services complaint policy and posting a complaint form in multiple languages on the court’s website, in court clerk’s offices and in the Office of Court Interpreters.
“Access to justice requires that all people, including those with limited English proficiency, can fully access and fairly participate in our courts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend Chief Justice Suttell and staff in the Administrative Office of State Courts for their efforts to make the promise of equal access to justice a reality for all Rhode Island residents.”
The Rhode Island matter was handled by Attorney Paul M. Uyehara of the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance (FCS) Section.
The complaint was resolved as part of the initiative by FCS to ensure that state courts comply with the language access requirements of Title VI. To ensure that no LEP individual is denied justice due to a court’s failure to provide language services, the FCS courts team provides policy guidance and technical assistance to state court systems and undertakes enforcement actions across the country.
For further information about FCS and Title VI, please visit https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs. For additional LEP-related resources, please visit http://www.lep.gov/index.htm.
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Rhode Island courts LEP Closing Letter.pdf
Judge Sentences Johnstown Crack Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Johnstown, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison and three years’ supervised release on his conviction of distributing cocaine base, in the form commonly known as "crack," United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on James K. Parker, 43, of Johnstown, Pa.
According to information presented to the Court, on Oct. 18, 2012, Parker distributed less than 28 grams of cocaine base.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Mr. Hickton commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cambria County Drug Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Parker.
Jose Gonzalez-Martinez is Third Conviction in Operation Ice StormRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A federal law enforcement initiative targeting those trafficking methamphetamine into the greater Charlottesville area has led to a third federal conviction after a local man pled guilty today in United States District Court in Charlottesville, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
Jose Alfredo Gonzalez-Martinez, 32, of Charlottesville, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in late March and pled guilty today in District Court to distribution of methamphetamine. Two other men, Alfonso Lopez-Rios and John Mark Fisher were previously convicted and sentenced to federal prison time as part of the Operation Ice Storm initiative. Lopez-Rios was sentenced to 58 months in federal prison and Fisher was sentenced 132 months.
“Methamphetamine is often a drug that leads to other criminal behavior, acts such a domestic abuse, property crime, violence, things that destroy families and communities,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “It is paramount that we continue to work with our partners in law enforcement in manners such as this to slow the spread of this deadly and addictive substance.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh, Gonzalez-Martinez sold distribution-sized quantities in the Charlottesville area.
Gonzalez-Martinez, Lopez-Rios and Fisher were prosecuted as part of Operation Ice Storm, a multi-agency operation headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The operations’ goal is to target larger distributors and traffickers of methamphetamine into Charlottesville and surrounding areas.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh prosecuted the case for the United States.
Jose Gonzalez-Martinez is Third Conviction in Operation Ice StormRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A federal law enforcement initiative targeting those trafficking methamphetamine into the greater Charlottesville area has led to a third federal conviction after a local man pled guilty today in United States District Court in Charlottesville, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
Jose Alfredo Gonzalez-Martinez, 32, of Charlottesville, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in late March and pled guilty today in District Court to distribution of methamphetamine. Two other men, Alfonso Lopez-Rios and John Mark Fisher were previously convicted and sentenced to federal prison time as part of the Operation Ice Storm initiative. Lopez-Rios was sentenced to 58 months in federal prison and Fisher was sentenced 132 months.
“Methamphetamine is often a drug that leads to other criminal behavior, acts such a domestic abuse, property crime, violence, things that destroy families and communities,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “It is paramount that we continue to work with our partners in law enforcement in manners such as this to slow the spread of this deadly and addictive substance.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh, Gonzalez-Martinez sold distribution-sized quantities in the Charlottesville area.
Gonzalez-Martinez, Lopez-Rios and Fisher were prosecuted as part of Operation Ice Storm, a multi-agency operation headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The operations’ goal is to target larger distributors and traffickers of methamphetamine into Charlottesville and surrounding areas.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh prosecuted the case for the United States.
Jonesville Man Sentenced for Role in Tax Scheme that Submitted to the IRS Claims for over $400,000 in RefundsRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Jonesville man who worked with his brother, and several others, to submit claims for more than $400,000 of fraudulent tax returns, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Tommy Witt, 57, of Jonesville, Virginia, previously pled guilty to one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent claims and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States Government in respect to claims. Today in District Court, Witt was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $67,356 in restitution.
“Just a few days ago, millions of Americans filed their taxes and fulfilled their civic obligation. They must be able to do this knowing the process is safe and reliable,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “When individuals participate in brazen tax schemes like this one, we will hold them accountable.”
“An integral part of IRS Criminal Investigation’s mission involves detecting, investigating, and stopping fraudulent refund schemes that ultimately victimize our nation’s honest taxpayers,” said Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “We will remain committed to dismantling criminal conspiracies designed solely to defraud and bring the law breakers to the table of justice."
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne, Tommy Witt, and others, participated in a sophisticated conspiracy to defraud the federal government. The scheme began when David Witt, who was at the time an inmate in a Tennessee state prison, gathered personally identifiable information (including birth dates and social security numbers) belonging to other inmates. David Witt would then use that information to complete Internal Revenue Service Form 1040s. These Form 1040s contained false information, including false addresses outside of prison and false claims that the inmates were due a tax refund based on wages never earned by those inmates.
Subsequently, these Form 1040s were sent to persons outside of the prison, namely co-conspirators Tommy Witt, William Ziehler, Diane Powers and Richard Powers, who then forwarded them to the IRS for processing. Based on these Form 1040s, the IRS issued tax refund checks in the names of these inmates but sent the checks to the addresses associated with the conspirators. Many of these checks were cashed at banks throughout Southwest Virginia by the co-conspirators using fraudulent power-of-attorney forms.
In all, the conspiracy filed 431 fraudulent tax returns claiming approximately $400,000 in fraudulent returns. The co-conspirators, including Tommy Witt, cashed $67,356 in tax refund checks.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne prosecuted the case for the United States.
Joint Efforts Globally Distribute 2 Million Child Exploitation LeadsRead the Press Release
In early 2014, INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), initiated a 30-day pilot program to test how INTERPOL member countries would assimilate data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The source of the shared information is NCMEC’s Cyber Tipline Reports, the organization’s analytical result for child abuse leads received. To start, the USNCB disseminated NCMEC information to 10 random member countries, excluding child exploitation imagery. National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in other countries could receive the images via requests to the USNCB, however.
By May 2014, the program went live and the service became available to approximately 140 INTERPOL member countries. By November 2015, 1 million leads had been distributed, with 38 countries requesting additional information for follow-up investigations. These leads are distributed electronically, without the need for dedicated personnel resources.
Now, on April 11th, 2016, less than 2 years later, over 2 million leads have been distributed across 130 different countries. The project’s focus is now to develop the ability of NCBs to retrieve the images without involvement from the USNCB.
Among the program’s most recent successes was the arrest of Colin Fisher, a British national operating in Gibraltar. Of the many leads the USNCB distributed, a Cyber Tipline report was utilized by NCB Gibraltar to inform the country’s own law enforcement to locate Fisher. He was charged with multiple counts of possession (and distribution) of indecent images of children. Combined with a voyeurism charge unrelated to the abuse, Fisher is now serving a 3-year, 8-month sentence.
Iowa Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for the Robbery of a Fargo InnRead the Press Release
FARGO - U. S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on April 21, 2016, Eric Lee Webb, 31, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced before U. S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 30 years in prison.
On January 29, 2016, the defendant appeared before Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Erickson, in Fargo, for a change of plea hearing. Pursuant to a Rule ll(c)(l)(B) plea agreement, the defendant entered a guilty plea to a three-count information that was filed January 19, 2015. Pursuant to the information, count one charged him with Interference with Commerce by Threats and Violence-Hobbs Act Robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); count two charged Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1); count three charged Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
On June 4, 2015, Webb entered the Howard Johnson Inn, 301 3rd Ave. N., Fargo, ND, wielded a firearm at an employee of the Inn demanding money. Webb was wearing blue surgical gloves and had a pistol in his hand which he pointed at two employees and demanded money. The employees originally thought the gun was a fake because it was so small. Webb responded by firing the gun into a wall near them. An employee provided Webb with $300 in cash.
The Fargo Police Department was immediately called and shortly thereafter confronted Webb. Law enforcement was dispatched and pursued Webb as he fled on foot. Fargo Police Officer Wahl was driving his patrol vehicle near the northeast corner of Sahr's Sudden Service (601 4th Street North) when he observed Webb in the parking lot. Webb fired at least one round at Officer Wahl's vehicle. Two spent casings were located in the parking lot just north of Sahr's Sudden Service; indicating Webb fired two rounds at Officer Wahl. A bullet hole was located in the front driver's side wheel well of Officer Wahl's patrol vehicle. The second round was not located and is still unaccounted for.
Fargo Police Officer Niemeyer arrived at Sahr's Sudden Service parking lot and observed Webb at the north end of the parking lot. Officer Niemeyer parked and exited his vehicle crouching down near the driver's side. Webb proceeded towards Officer Niemeyer and fired one round, which struck the passenger door of the patrol vehicle. The bullet passed through the door and into the duty bag that was positioned on the front passenger seat. Officer Niemeyer moved to the trunk area of his patrol vehicle and fired two rounds at Webb from his Glock .40 caliber duty weapon. One round struck Webb and the other round struck the northwest comer of the Sahr's Sudden Service building.
Webb fell to the ground and officers took Webb into custody. Located near Webb was a Raven, Model MP-25 pistol, with one round in the chamber, and one round in the magazine. A routine search of the defendant's person following his arrest revealed an open box of Sellier & Bellot brand ammunition, containing 26 live rounds, and a cellphone in his pants pocket, as well as, blue surgical gloves and a plastic grocery bag containing $355 in his underwear. Webb was transported via ambulance to Sanford Medical Center.
Officers located Webb's vehicle, a 1991 Honda Accord, in a parking lot at 202 6th Avenue North. In a search of the defendant's vehicle, law enforcement found and seized an open box of Sellier & Bellot brand ammunition containing 13 live rounds.
Webb is a convicted felon and he was aware that he was prohibited from possessing firearms. As outlined in the information, the defendant had been convicted of the following crimes punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year:
1) Burlgary-3rd Degree in Linn County District Comi, Iowa, on June 6, 2003.
2) Robbery-2nd Degree in Linn County District Court, Iowa, on June 2, 2006.
This case was investigated by the Fargo Police Department, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and The Bureau of alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
First Assistant U. S. Attorney Keith Reisenauer prosecuted the case.
Houston Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding the IRSRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The operator of a tax preparation in Houston has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of knowingly preparing a materially false claim against the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Rick Goss of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Adriana Lizette Luna pleaded guilty Sept, 17, 2015, admitting she prepared a materially false 2011 U.S. Individual Income Tax return.
Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Luna an 18-month sentence to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay a $116,000 in restitution.
“Cheating the government, including making bogus claims for tax refunds hurts everyone. The money that is fraudulently taken comes out of the pockets of all honest people that pay their taxes,” said Goss. “IRS special agents will continue to protect our taxpayers from those that compromise the integrity of our nation's tax system for personal greed.”
According to the written plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Luna operated an income tax preparation business known at times as Ruby’s Income Tax and Diaz Tax Service at other times. As part of the plea, Luna admitted preparing at least 23 false income tax returns for clients, including the 2011 return which the basis for her plea which claimed a false refund of approximately $11,724.
Luna admitted in the plea agreement that the intended tax loss on the 23 false tax returns she prepared was more than $235,000 and that she split roughly one-half of the false tax refunds with her clients. As part of the plea, she has agreed to pay restitution to the United States in the amount of $116,000.
Luna was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS-CI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles J. Escher is prosecuting the case.
Henderson Co. Marijuana Grow Operator Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced a Henderson County marijuana grow operator to 54 months in prison, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Gary Maxwell Lee, 48, of Hendersonville, was also ordered to remain under court supervision for three years after his release from prison.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by Daniel R. Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office; Janie Sutton, Acting Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and Sheriff Charles S. McDonald of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, in May 2015, law enforcement began their investigation into Lee, after receiving information that he was operating an extensive indoor marijuana growing operation. According to court records, Lee ran the marijuana grow house from two structures located next to the main home owned by Lee. Court records indicate that as part of the investigation law enforcement searched Lee’s house and the two structures located on the property, seizing 66 marijuana plants, 10.4 pounds of marijuana in various stages of drying and processing, and $4,245 in cash. Court records indicate that one of the structures was used as a “nursery” for the younger plants, whereas the larger, more mature plants were stored in the second structure. Lee had set up in the structures extensive lighting, air filtration, and hydration systems to assist in the growth of the plants. Law enforcement also seized numerous firearms, including shotguns and semi-automatic rifles, as well as twelve ammo cans containing thousands of rounds of ammunition.
According to court records, Lee took steps to avoid detection of his marijuana grow operation by law enforcement, including taking his trash to the dump or burning it, and using carbon filters to cut down on the odor emanating from the grow. Court records show that Lee has a previous conviction in Florida related to the manufacture of marijuana.
Lee pleaded guilty in December 2015 to manufacturing marijuana and being a felon in possession of firearms. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to custody of the Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
DEA, SBI, and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville handled the prosecution.
Gun Felon Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Steven J. H. King, was sentenced in federal court this afternoon on gun charges. In December of 2015, King pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with being a prohibited person (convicted felon) in possession of a firearm.
United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a sentence of 96 months imprisonment. He also ordered that King will commence a three-year term of supervised release when he is discharged from incarceration. As conditions of his supervision, King will be subject to testing and treatment for drug abuse. Judge Steele did not impose a fine but ordered that King pay $100 in special mandatory assessments.
The case was investigated by the Mobile Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorneys Gina Vann and Gloria Bedwell.
Getaway Driver and Lookout in Taco John’s Robbery Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
FARGO - U. S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on April 21, 2016, Rico Jamal Brown, 27, and Calvin Michael Frederick Brown, 25, both residing in the Fargo-Moorhead area, were sentenced before U. S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson. Calvin was sentenced to serve three (3) years and six (6) months in prison and Rico was sentenced to serve five (5) years in prison for Interference with Commerce by Threats and Violence-Hobbs Act Robbery. Judge Erickson further sentenced each of them to serve three (3) years of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.
On September 3, 2015, the Taco John’s restaurant located at 2601 32nd Avenue South, Fargo, was robbed at gunpoint. During the robbery, two men entered the business and an employee was shot during the course of the robbery. Rico Brown pled to aiding and abetting this robbery by participating as a lookout, while Calvin Brown admitted to being a get-away driver for the robbery.
This case was investigated by the Fargo Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATFE).
U. S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers prosecuted the case.
Fugitive Remains in Federal Custody on Federal Charge Following Arrest by DSS and USMSRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — A fugitive wanted for various offenses, including most recently, making a false statement on a passport application, remains in federal custody following a detention hearing held yesterday in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Avniel Awan Anthony, 40, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Arlington, Texas, was taken into custody on April 14, 2016, by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). Anthony remains in federal custody on a federal criminal complaint filed last month in the Northern District of Texas that charges him with willfully and knowingly making a false statement in a passport application.
The criminal complaint alleges that in October 2013, Anthony willfully and knowingly made a false statement in an application for a passport, when he knowingly falsely stated his name was “Dominic Dewayne Wilson” on the passport application he submitted at the U.S. Post Office located on E. Bardin Road in Arlington.
According to information contained in the complaint’s affidavit, as well as information presented at yesterday’s hearing, Anthony was a DSS fugitive wanted for passport fraud, identity theft, evading the police, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Anthony changed his identity and fled to Playa de Carmen, Mexico, where he remained a fugitive until DSS located him in March 2016.
DSS and the USMS coordinated with the Playa de Carmen Tourist Police and Mexican immigration officials to locate, arrest, and return Anthony to the U.S. to face charges. Yesterday, Judge Cureton found that Anthony was a flight risk and danger to the community and ordered that he remain in federal custody.
A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. The government has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.
The maximum statutory penalty, upon conviction, for willfully and knowingly making a false statement in a passport application is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
The DSS is the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State with agents located in more than 160 countries worldwide. DSS and the USMS work together to locate and return U.S. fugitives from abroad.
Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley is in charge of the prosecution.
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Former Vice President of Health Care Company Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme Worth over $7.5 MillionRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that MICHAEL DAVID PITTS, age 41, has pled guilty to a Bill of Information which charges him with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Amedisys, Incorporated, a home health and hospice care company with a substantial presence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. PITTS is accused of stealing $7,641,528 from Amedisys, which annually furnishes home health services to approximately 380,000 patients in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
According to the Bill of Information, PITTS was the Vice President of Tax for Amedisys for the period January 2005 through July 2014. In this role, PITTS was responsible for all corporate tax matters, including the preparation of state and federal tax returns and the payment of state income taxes in the various states where Amedisys operated its business. The Bill of Information alleges that PITTS had the authority and ability to purchase tax credits for the purpose of executing his duty of reducing and paying state income taxes in the various states where Amedisys did business.
According to the Bill of Information, PITTS engaged in a scheme to defraud Amedisys from October 2006 through May 2014 through an elaborate scheme involving shell entities and fictitious film tax credits. As part of the scheme, PITTS created a counterfeit company named “Stonehenge Entertainment” for the purpose of selling false and fictitious “Tax Credit Transfer Agreements” to Amedisys. PITTS allegedly used this company name because it closely resembled the name of a legitimate company with which Amedisys did business. PITTS also allegedly created an entity known as “Evergreen Incentives” for the purpose of selling false and fictitious “Tax Credit Transfer Agreements” to Amedisys.
In order to carry out his scheme, PITTS opened and maintained a bank account at Capital One Bank, N.A. for Stonehenge Entertainment and a separate account at Regions Bank for Evergreen Incentives. PITTS created false and fictitious “Tax Credit Transfer Agreements” and used his position as Vice President of Tax to present the false and fictitious Tax Credit Transfer Agreements to his corporate supervisors for approval, falsely representing them to be valid tax credits. Once approved, PITTS then purchased the false and fictitious Tax Credit Transfer Agreements on behalf of Amedisys.
According to the Bill of Information, in order to personally benefit from the sale of false and fictitious tax credits to Amedisys, PITTS caused electronic banking transfers to divert funds from an Amedisys account at JPMorgan Chase Bank to his accounts at Capital One Bank and Regions Bank for his personal enrichment. During the period October 3, 2006 through May 16, 2014, PITTS allegedly caused Amedisys to make 21 wire transfers totaling $7,641,528 to accounts which he controlled, and for his personal enrichment.
PITTS’ guilty plea to one count of wire fraud carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain derived from the offense. He is also subject to forfeiture of the proceeds of the offense, that is, $7,641,528. A date for sentencing has not yet been set by Judge deGravelles.
This matter is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana. The investigation has been conducted by the Baton Rouge Resident Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with substantial assistance provided by the victim, Amedisys, Inc. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney René Salomon.
Former Oneida County Man Arrested for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Dale J. Sexton (47), formerly of Barneveld, New York, was arrested this morning at his residence in Bradenton, Florida, for filing false income tax returns and for impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its administration of the internal revenue laws. Sexton was named last week as the sole defendant in an indictment that was unsealed today during his arraignment before a federal judge in Tampa, Florida, following his arrest. Sexton was released pending a trial, which will be scheduled later this year in Syracuse, New York.
The charges were announced by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.
The indictment alleges that, for tax years 2005 through 2008, Sexton concealed tens of thousands of dollars in income derived from various business interests and investments, and that Sexton filed false income tax returns and made false and misleading statements to the Internal Revenue Service when confronted about his taxable income and tax due and owing for these years. These false statements and false filings were allegedly made in Utica, New York, in the Northern District of New York. The charges filed against Sexton carry a maximum sentence of up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by IRS-CI (Syracuse), and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.
Former Member of Mount Olive Township Board of Education Admits Role in Scheme to Defraud School DistrictRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former member of the Mount Olive Township Board of Education (MOBOE) today admitted his role in a scheme to defraud the school district of $371,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert Mania, 47, of Flanders, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2007 to 2009, while serving as a board member, Mania and others took part in a scheme to increase the amount of commissions to be paid on the school district’s account and then divert a portion of the commission payments to a company controlled by an individual, referred to in the information as the “Associate,” for distribution to Mania and his co-schemers. Mania admitted secretly inflating the commission rate and then diverting to himself approximately $371,000 in commission payments.
To conceal the rate increase and payments, Mania caused the district’s health insurance provider to send the annual disclosure statements generated by the health insurance carrier – which detailed the true commission rate and the payments to the associate’s company – to Mania’s own personal post office box, rather than to the school district. Approximately $606,000 in commissions was diverted to the associate’s company for distribution to Mania and his co-schemers, including approximately $371,000 that was received by Mania.
The wire fraud charge to which Mania pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for July 27, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel: James A. Plaisted Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Former Immigration Officer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Concealing His Relationship with A Foreign National During A National Security Clearance InvestigationRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL - United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced former immigration officer Paul Reynolds Friel, Jr. (48, Orange Park) to six months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for concealing a material fact during an interview with a government agent. In December 2011, during an interview, Friel failed to disclose the fact that he was living with Marisol Rodriguez Chavarria, a foreign national, and that he had contact with her during the preceding seven years. The interview was required as part of a background investigation for an expected job promotion within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, where Friel was employed as an immigration officer.
According to court documents, Rodriguez entered the United States from Nicaragua on December 10, 2010, on an immigrant visa issued by the U.S. State Department. She was a citizen of Nicaragua and entered the United States as the spouse of Luis Aguilar. In or around March 2011, Rodriguez moved into an apartment with Friel and divorced Aguilar. Thereafter, Friel and Rodriguez lived together in a romantic relationship, were married in March 2012, and later had a child together.
According to court records, Friel had known Rodriguez from previous trips to Nicaragua and paid for her airfare to fly to the United States from Nicaragua. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession of an immigrant visa issued by means of a false statement. Aguilar previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, and the Jacksonville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale R. Campion.