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Wednesday 20 April 2016
Local Woman Sentenced on Embezzlement and Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Anastasia Grzeskowiak was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment for embezzling $2.9 million from the account of a disabled individual whose financial affairs she was entrusted with managing.
According to court documents, beginning in 2000, an individual with whom Grzeskowiak was previously acquainted developed a blinding eye disease that significantly impaired his vision and ability to read, and thus to manage his own financial affairs. In June 2003, that individual asked Grzeskowiak to assist him in paying his personal bills, which she did until April 2013.
Between June 2006 and continuing through April 2013, Grzeskowiak forged her victim’s signature on more than 800 checks which she made out to herself, endorsed and used to pay her personal expenses, the expenses of others and to gamble. In total, she obtained more than $2,916,091 from the victim without his authorization, as well as causing him to incur substantial legal and accounting expenses in order to uncover the fraud.
Additionally, Grzeskowiak filed false tax returns for 2010 through 2012, understating her gross income from the illegal activity described above, resulting in a tax loss of $506,496.
Grzeskowiak, St. Charles, MO, pled guilty in January to one felony count of wire fraud and three felony counts of filing false tax returns. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson. In addition to her prison sentence, Grzeskowiak was ordered by Judge Jackson to make restitution to the victims of her crimes in the total amount of $3,558,993.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Richard Finneran handled the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Lizella Resident Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
G.F. Peterman, III, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Bobby Leon Parrish, age 25, from Lizella, Georgia, entered a guilty plea on April 20, 2016, to assaulting a Federal law enforcement officer and using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence before the Honorable Marc T. Treadwell, United States District Judge, in Macon, Georgia.
Through his guilty plea, Mr. Parrish admitted that on August 24, 2015, Deputy U.S. Marshals attempted to take Mr. Parrish into custody for several outstanding state warrants and failure to report to his state probation officer. Mr. Parrish pulled a firearm from his waistband and aimed it at the officers. A search of Mr. Parrish revealed a small container of marijuana, two digital scales, two shotgun shells and crushed substance Mr. Parrish claimed was Xanax, along with the single shot shotgun. Mr. Parrish stated that he brandished the gun because it was falling down his pants and he wanted to catch it. He then thanked the officers for not shooting him.
Mr. Parrish’s sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2016. He faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the first charge and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of not less than five (5) years and not more than life in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, on the second charge.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly S. Easterling is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Kosmos Cement Company d/b/a Cemex Voluntarily Pleads Guilty to Violating the Mine Safety and Health Act at Its Kosmosdale FacilityRead the Press Release
Company agrees to pay $400,000 fine and repair and/or upgrade elevators and escalators to meet safety standards
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kosmos Cement Company d/b/a Cemex voluntarily pleaded guilty today in United States District Court, and was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Colin H. Lindsay, to pay an agreed upon $400,000 fine, with $200,000 payable immediately, for its willful failure to comply with a mandatory health or safety standard, which is a violation of The Mine Safety and Health Act, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
“This is one of the worst cases of negligence on the part of a company,” stated United States Attorney John Kuhn. “Improper maintenance resulted in an employee’s death. This agreement will ensure the proper maintenance of the cement facility and safety for the employees through mandatory on-sight inspections and a written Maintenance Control Program,” concluded U.S. Attorney Kuhn.
According to the plea agreement, Kosmos Cement Company, d/b/a Cemex agreed to pay a fine of $400,000 with $200,000 due immediately and the balance due at the end of three years’ time if the company does not complete agreed upon repairs. The defendant agrees that all elevators will be constructed and/or upgraded to meet safety code; that doors of all automatic elevators shall be equipped with interlocking switches to prevent a door from opening when the elevator is not at a landing; that a written Maintenance Control Program shall be in place to achieve safe and reliable operation of the elevators; and that on-site inspection of elevators by the Kentucky Department of Housing And Construction be permitted in accordance with applicable state law. If the company makes the agreed upon repairs, and otherwise follows the term of the plea agreement, payment of the remaining $200,000 portion of the agreed upon settlement will be dispensed with.
The United States agreed to forego prosecution of agents and employees of the defendant for the facts which form the basis of this prosecution as described in the Information and the factual basis in the Plea Agreement.
In court today, agents of the company admitted that between March 6, 2012, and February 21, 2014, Kosmos Cement Company, d/b/a Cemex, Inc., through its agents and employees, was aware of defects in the Old Finish Mill Elevator, at its Kosmosdale, Kentucky facility; namely that the elevator was defective and in need of repair at the time of the death of F.M. and that the company which serviced the elevators at the plant had made repeated offers to renovate the elevator prior to the death. These repairs had not occurred. This was in violation of federal regulations of The Mine and Safety Act requiring that “Defects on any equipment, machinery (or) tools that affect safety shall be corrected in a timely manner to prevent the creation of hazards to others.”
This plea agreement arises from a single charge in an Information taken on March 25, 2016. According to the Information, on or about February 21, 2014, F. M., a contract employee at the Kosmosdale cement production facility, operated by Kosmos Cement Company, d/b/a Cemex, fell to his death in the Old Finish Mill, owing to a defect on the elevator at that facility, which permitted the outer door of said elevator to be opened without the elevator itself actually being present.
Cemex is a Mexican Corporation with U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas. Cemex operates cement plants throughout the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, including, as part of a partnership, Kosmos Cement Company, located at 15301 Dixie Highway in Louisville. Throughout the period of time of the negligence and up to and including the date of the contract employee’s death, the plant was operated under the name CEMEX.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream and was investigated by the Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA).
KCK Man Charged with 11 Additional Counts Related to Kidnapping Three VictimsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Kan., man who was previously charged with kidnapping and robbing three women was indicted by a federal grand jury today and charged with additional crimes.
Jamerl M. Wortham, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged in a 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Wortham on April 11, 2016, and includes 11 additional counts.
The federal indictment retains the original kidnapping charge, but adds an additional kidnapping count and an additional count of conspiracy to kidnap all three victims. Today’s indictment also retains the original complaint’s two counts of possessing a sawed-off shotgun in relation to carjacking and kidnapping but adds three counts of possessing a sawed-off shotgun in furtherance of a crime of violence or a drug-trafficking crime. The indictment retains the original carjacking charge but adds additional charges of an armed robbery conspiracy and attempted armed robbery (related to forcing the victims to withdraw money from ATMs), distributing PCP, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing an unregistered firearm and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Kansas City, Kan., police officers attempted to stop a 2004 silver Jaguar in the area of 3rd and Central on Saturday, April 9, 2016. The Jaguar had been reported as stolen. During the traffic stop the vehicle fled and struck a bridge median. The driver, Wortham, was taken into custody after a foot pursuit. Inside the Jaguar, officers found a loaded sawed-off Coast To Coast Master-Mag 20-gauge shotgun with the serial number filed off.
Also in the vehicle was a woman identified as T.J., who was released from the scene. According to the affidavit, T.J. later arrived at the Central Patrol Division in Kansas City, Mo., to report that she and her roommate, identified as Y.C., were crime victims. She told police that they had been carjacked and that two unidentified men had kidnapped them and forced them to drive around in her roommate’s car, a red 2009 Toyota Camry. She also told police officers there was a third kidnapping victim, identified as M.M. She stated that Y.C. and M.M. were forced to ride with the other two men in Y.C.’s Toyota while T.J. was forced to ride with Wortham in the stolen Jaguar.
T.J. did not mention the kidnapping to police officers at the time of Wortham’s arrest, she said, because Wortham and the other two men had threatened to harm the other girls if anyone spoke to the police. She believed the other two men were watching as Wortham was apprehended and the other two victims’ lives were in danger. T.J. went home after she left the crash scene to check and see if Y.C. was home. When she arrived home and Y.C. was still missing, T.J. contacted the police department to report the carjacking, robbery and kidnapping.
According to the affidavit, T.J. and Y.C. were approached by two unknown men while they were depositing their paychecks at an ATM at about 2 a.m. Saturday, April 9, 2016. One of the men walked up to the driver’s side, grabbed Y.C. and demanded her money. The other man approached the passenger side door and pointed a shotgun at T.J. He forced T.J. into the backseat of the Camry and got into the vehicle. The first man forced Y.C. into the passenger seat as he got into the driver’s seat.
While the second man held the shotgun, the affidavit says, the first man demanded the women’s money, ATM cards and bags. He drove the Camry, with the two women still in the vehicle, to an apartment complex in Kansas City, Kan. They allegedly met Wortham, who was driving the Jaguar he had stolen earlier. Wortham and the third victim, M.M. (who had been in the Jaguar), got into the Camry. They drove to another ATM, the affidavit says, and T.J. and Y.C. were forced to withdraw money using their ATM cards. They drove to a gas station and purchased some drugs, the affidavit says, and made several other stops before eventually returning to the Jaguar.
During the drive, the affidavit says, one of the men forced the victims to smoke PCP as he used methamphetamine. When they reached the apartment complex, T.J. was forced to get into the Jaguar with Wortham, who also took the shotgun. The other two victims remained in the Camry with the other two men. Both vehicles left together. Soon after that, police officers stopped Wortham and arrested him. The other men watched as Wortham was taken into the custody, the affidavit says, and fled in the opposite direction.
According to the affidavit, the two men drove the victims to the Blue Springs, Mo., area, where they again stopped to buy drugs. One of the men was dropped off near a gas station in Kansas City, Kan., and Y.C. was told to get into the driver’s seat and drive to the bus stop. At about 9 a.m. they arrived at 108 Askew Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., where M.M. jumped out of the car and ran away.
After M.M. escaped, the affidavit says, the man told Y.C. to drive away and she did. As they drove away, they began to argue. Y.C. slammed on the brakes and caused the man to hit his face. She attempted to force him out of her car, while at the same time trying to get someone’s attention by hitting the horn with her knee. When that didn’t work, she attempted to run from the car but the man grabbed her by the hair. Once she freed herself from his grip, she ran from the car as he chased her. Y.C. used the keys to set off the vehicle alarm in an attempt to get someone’s attention. She ran several blocks and flagged down a motorist who took her back to her car.
The third victim, M.M., later told police that she was at Harpo’s Bar, 4109 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, Mo., around 11 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2016. She went outside to wait on the curb and got into a car she thought was her Uber car, but actually was the stolen Jaguar driven by Wortham.
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 Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against West Virginia-Based Union for Violating Reemployment Rights of Army National GuardsmanRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today it has reached a settlement agreement with Laborers Local No. 1149, based in Wheeling, West Virginia, resolving claims that the union violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) when it failed to reinstate U.S. Army National Guardsman Elliot Ferrell as an apprentice laborer after his return from three months of basic training in 2014. As a result of that failure, Ferrell was ineligible to continue to receive job referrals through the union’s “hiring hall.”
USERRA gives service members the right to be reemployed in the civilian position that they would have attained if they had not been absent for military service, subject to certain conditions. Under federal regulations, when a union operates a hiring hall that refers employees to jobs with employers, both the union and the employers have reemployment obligations to returning service members.
According to the Justice Department’s complaint, which was filed with the settlement agreement, Ferrell was gainfully employed through a series of job referrals from the hiring hall operated by the union until his departure for military duty. The complaint alleges that Ferrell notified the union of his impending military duty and was told that his obligation to pay dues would be suspended for the duration of his duty. Then, while Ferrell was attending basic training, the union notified his aunt that it had terminated his apprenticeship because one month’s payment of dues was late. Though she immediately sent a check for the full amount owed, the union returned it and refused to rescind the termination. The union’s action disqualified Ferrell from further hiring-hall job referrals. Under the terms of the consent decree, which is still subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, the union must pay Ferrell compensation for lost income and further agrees that the hiring hall that it operates will comply with its obligations under USERRA, including its reemployment provisions.
“The civilian careers of the men and women in the National Guard should never be adversely affected because they volunteer to serve our country,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Bill Baer. “Through the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, the Department of Justice will continue devoting times and resources to protect the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces from unjust actions and illegal burdens.”
“Men and women who defend our freedom should receive our highest level of gratitude, not face barriers of discrimination,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously enforce USERRA to ensure that not only employers, but also unions operating hiring halls that refer employees to jobs, do not violate the rights of service members when they return to civilian life.”
“National Guard members, taking leave to serve our country, must be protected from overt as well as less readily apparent unlawful employment practices upon their return,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II of the Northern District of West Virginia. “Our office is committed to ensuring that all service members may return to their pre-service employment without demotion or penalty.”
Ferrell initially filed a complaint with the U.S. Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, which investigated this matter and then referred it to the Justice Department after attempts at resolution failed.
The Civil Rights Division has given a high priority to the enforcement of service members’ rights under USERRA. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s websites at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and http://www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
Ferrell Complaint
Ferrell Joint Motion to Approve Consent Decree
Ferrell Consent Decree
Justice Department Hosts Interagency Community Initiative in Birmingham to Combat Religious Discrimination in EmploymentRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM — The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, in partnership with other federal agencies, hosted a community roundtable at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on Wednesday that focused on religiously-motivated discrimination in hiring and in the workplace, and on ways the federal government can improve its efforts in these critically important areas, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.
“The civil rights movement in Birmingham began in large part in our religious community,” Vance said. “The religious community in Birmingham, as across the nation, is now more diverse. Today’s opportunity to listen to the concerns and issues people of varied faiths encounter at the intersection of the exercise of their religion and their employment will help us all to better understand and respect the wide range of worship and belief that coexist in our great democracy,” she said.
About 20 representatives from various faiths and faith-based organizations in the Birmingham Area gathered around a table with Vance and officials with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to discuss short and long-term goals on how the federal government can better address the problem of religious discrimination in employment. Government representatives sought specific recommendations on steps the federal government might take to improve the way it responds to this issue.
Topics for the afternoon’s discussion were:
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Religion Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace
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Data Collection and Reporting
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Accommodation of Religion
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Education Regarding Workplace Religious Discrimination
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Issues Involving Religious Institutions
The discussion underscored that issues exist in hiring and employment, particularly for those who are physically identifiable, like women who cover their heads or Sikhs who wear Turbans.
Participants also raised issues of prayer in the workplace, including Muslims who struggle to get accommodations for their daily prayers, to Jews, Muslims and non-believers who are ostracized for not joining in Christian prayer.
“We need to make it kosher to complain” about discrimination and subtle pressure to conform, said a Birmingham rabbi.
This roundtable is the third in a series of roundtables being held throughout the country as part of the Department’s new interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes. This new initiative supplements the Department’s long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes.
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Jury Convicts Cahokia Man of Stealing Firearms from Swansea Rural KingRead the Press Release
James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that late Wednesday morning, a federal jury in East St. Louis found Rodney A. Mathes, 49, of Cahokia, Illinois, guilty of stealing firearms from a federal firearms licensee and possession of firearms by a felon.
Evidence at trial showed that on January 19, 2015, Mathes and his brother-in-law, Michael Khoury, broke into the Rural King in Swansea, Illinois, stealing sixteen firearms before fleeing the scene. Mathes, a previously convicted felon, faces a minimum of fifteen years in prison based upon his criminal history. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 8, 2016, in front of the Honorable Michael J. Reagan.
The investigation into this crime was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Swansea Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura V. Reppert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Shane B. Kelbley.
Juneau Man indicted of receipt of child pornographyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Juneau man was indicted yesterday for the receipt of child pornography.
Jim Wayne Thornhill, 38, of Juneau, Alaska was indicted on a single count for receipt of child pornography between the dates of November 3, 2014 and December 25, 2014. Thornhill is currently incarcerated for violating his conditions of state probation related to a prior sexual abuse of a minor conviction.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who is prosecuting the case, indicated that Thornhill faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, or both. Thornhill also faces a minimum of five years up to life on supervised release. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The charges against Thronhill are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). If the public has any further information, questions, or concerns about the activities of Thornhill please contact the FBI at (907) 265-8254.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In May 2006, DOJ launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jicarilla Apache Man Sentenced for Federal Statutory Rape ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Raylon Castillo, 20, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced this morning for his statutory rape conviction. Castillo was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison followed by a five-year term of supervised release. Castillo will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.
Castillo was arrested on Dec. 18, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with sexually assaulting a Native American minor who was between the age of 12 and 16 years on July 25, 2014, on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in Otero County, N.M. Castillo was arrested on tribal charges on July 25, 2014, and remained in tribal custody until his arrest on the federal complaint in Dec. 2014.
Castillo was indicted on May 20, 2015, and charged with sexual abuse of a minor on July 25, 2014, in Otero County. On July 1, 2015, Castillo pled guilty to the indictment. In entering his guilty plea, Castillo admitted engaging in a sexual act with the victim, who was 14 years old and at least four years younger than Castillo. Castillo admitted committing the crime on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Jefferson City, Columbia Men Plead Guilty to Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man and a Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today, in separate and unrelated cases, to illegally possessing firearms.
USA v. Tyler
Carlton Terron Tyler, 33, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge William A. Knox to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
By pleading guilty today, Tyler admitted that he was in possession of a loaded Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol on March 21, 2015. According to today’s plea agreement, Tyler was at a residence in Jefferson City on that date when he became involved in an argument and left the residence. He returned a short time later with a firearm and fired two shots, then left the residence in a pickup truck. A Jefferson City police officer, responding to the shots-fired call, saw Tyler drive past him and stopped him. The officer searched the pickup truck and found the firearm in the middle console.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Tyler has prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance and stealing.
Under federal statutes, Tyler is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.
USA v. Gordon
R’Landis Glenn Gordon, 26, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge William A. Knox to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
By pleading guilty today, Gordon admitted that he was in possession of a loaded Colt .22-caliber long rifle “officer’s model” revolver and ammunition on July 28, 2015. Columbia police officers stopped the vehicle Gordon was driving on that date due to an expired registration. Gordon was arrested for driving with a revoked driver’s license, and officers found a box of .22-caliber long rifle ammunition on him during a search. Officers then searched his vehicle and found the revolver, which was fully loaded and cocked.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Gordon has prior felony convictions for theft, resisting arrest, robbery and armed criminal action.
Under federal statutes, Gordon is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 4 Years in $2.1 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Andrew A. Rooks (59, Jacksonville) to 48 months in federal prison for his role in two separate conspiracies to commit mail and wire fraud. The Court also entered a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $ 2,187,049. A separate restitution hearing is scheduled for July 5, 2016.
According to court documents, from 2001 until July 2011, Rooks worked for Sea Star Line, LLC, in its Jacksonville office. Sea Star, now called Tote Maritime Puerto Rico, transports goods by vessel in interstate and foreign commerce and has operations at the Port of Jacksonville. Rooks last served as the assistant vice president of operations. Beginning no later than November 2005, Rooks authorized the payment of phony invoices submitted on behalf of co-conspirator Keith Beavers. The invoices were for container and equipment decals that were never provided by Sea Star. The total payments Sea Star made to Beavers exceeded $1 million. During the same time period, Rooks also carried on a second conspiracy. He authorized the payment of phony invoices to two companies controlled by co-conspirator Russell Cody. The invoices, totaling more than $1 million, were for inspection and transportation services of Sea Star’s containers and equipment. They were false because those services were never provided by Tiburon Transportation Services and Lancer Logistics, which were front companies that Cody controlled. Instead, Beavers and Cody made kickback payments to Rooks, and to a company Rooks controlled.
After Rooks was terminated by Sea Star, he got a job with another Jacksonville company, TrailerBridge, Inc., and continued the fraud scheme. TrailerBridge paid approximately $107,000 as a result of phony invoices.
Beavers and Cody previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracies.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale Campion.
Inmate at USP Lee Sentenced for Having Weapon in FacilityRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – An inmate at the USP Lee in Jonesville, Virginia, who previously pled guilty to unlawfully possessing a weapon inside the prison, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Jemel Jordan, 28, of Jonesville, Virginia, pled guilty last week to one count of possessing contraband in prison, a weapon and one count of making an obscene display or exposure. Yesterday in District Court, Jordan was sentenced to 40 months in prison.
“Inside the walls of Federal prison law and order will still be upheld,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “When individuals refuse to follow the law, they will be punished.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. Special Assistant United States Attorney Debbie H. Stevens prosecuted the case for the United States.
Houston Tax Return Preparer Convicted of Falsifying Personal and Client Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Frances King Diaz has entered a plea of guilty for falsifying personal and client tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Rick Goss of Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
According to the factual basis in support of the plea, Diaz claimed false deductions for herself and for clients of A&F Tax Service that generated fraudulent tax refunds totaling approximately $411,722 for tax years 2008 through 2012.
“While most return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false and fraudulent returns to defraud the government, the honest tax-paying public and their own clients,” said Goss. “CI will continue to work to ensure that all tax practitioners adhere to professional standards and follow the law.”
During today’s hearing, Diaz admitted she filed tax returns for herself that substantially understated the business income of A&F Tax Service. The most egregious was a 2009 tax return that reported business income of only $11,205 from the tax preparation service when approximately $164,526 should have been reported. The plea agreement stipulated that this understatement alone cost the National Treasury $53,895. Diaz admitted that similar understatements in her 2010 thru 2012 tax returns cost the National Treasury another $144,756 for a total of approximately $198,651. Diaz has already made full restitution to the IRS for these losses.
Diaz also acknowledged that she sought to enhance the reputation of A&F Tax Service by generating large income tax refunds for her clients. In doing so, Diaz admitted she had inflated various deductions, credits and business losses in at least 35 tax returns for at least 15 clients for tax years 2008 through 2012 causing losses to the National Treasury of approximately $213,071. While these losses can be recovered from the taxpayers who received the refunds, Diaz could also be ordered to pay restitution at the time of sentencing.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who accepted the guilty plea, has set a sentencing date of July 15, 2016, at which time Diaz faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 fine. She was permitted to remain on bond until that hearing.
The investigation leading to these charges was conducted by IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Sledge Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Rentry and Conspiracy to Sell Identification DocumentsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JORGE MALDONADO-RIOS, age 29, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty today to illegal reentry of a removed alien and conspiracy to transfer identification documents.
According to court documents, MALDONADO-RIOS illegally reentered the United States after he was deported on August 16, 2012. Additionally, the court documents also indicated that MALDONADO conspired with two other individuals to sell a social security card and birth certificate to a confidential informant working with special agents of the Department of Homeland Security.
At sentencing, MALDONADO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment on the reentry charge. MALDONADO faces a maximum term of fifteen years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory $100 special assessment on the conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance has scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
Honduran Man Sentenced for Illegal Use of a Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that NOE FRANCISCO MARADIAGA-MIRANDA, a/k/a “ISAAC LISBOA MORALES,” a/k/a “NOE FRANCISCO MARADIAGA,” a/k/a “NOE FRANCISCO,” a/k/a “ISAAC LISBOA,” age 34, a Honduran citizen, was sentenced today for falsely representing a social security number in order to obtain employment.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced MARADIAGA-MIRANDA to 8 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Following completion of his sentenced, MARADIAGA-MIRANDA will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
According to the court documents, from on or about April 30, 2012, until on or about September 15, 2015, MARADIAGA-MIRANDA falsely represented that Social Security Number XXX-XX-5102 was assigned to him by the Commissioner of Social Security to obtain employment when in truth and in fact it was not.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield was in charge of the prosecution.
Henderson Man Sentenced to 241 Months for String of Robberies in Granville CountyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced JOHNNIE ANTHONY MANSON, 24, of Henderson to 241 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
MANSON was named in a Criminal Information filed on August 14, 2015, charging him with Armed Bank Robbery, Aiding and Abetting; two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and Aiding and Abetting; and Discharging a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence and Aiding and Abetting. On September 28, 2015, MANSON pled guilty to all four counts and he agreed to pay restitution of $1,715 to SunTrust Bank, $2,815.02 to Bowen’s Mini Mart, and $3,847 to Berea Mini Mart. Shaquan Manson was previously sentenced to 166 months imprisonment on November 17, 2014, for his involvement in the Bowens Mini Mart robbery and discharge of a firearm.
On March 20, 2013, JOHNNIE MANSON and another entered the SunTrust Bank located in Creedmoor, wearing masks and possessing a firearm. They left the bank with $1,715 in U.S. Currency.
On July 7, 2013, MANSON and his brother, Shaquan Manson, entered Bowen’s Mini Mart located in Oxford, North Carolina, wearing ski masks and possessing a handgun. The two left with $2,500 in U.S. currency. While leaving Bowen’s, a shot was fired back in to the store.
On August 2, 2013, JOHNNIE MANSON, and another, entered the Berea Mini Mart located in Oxford, North Carolina, wearing a mask and gloves. The two approached the cashier, pointed the firearm at the cashier, and demanded money. The cashier complied and provided them with $3,847 in U.S. currency.
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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Creedmoor Police Department, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted the case for the government.
Hastings Resident Sentenced for Aiding the Unlawful Hiring of an AlienRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Stephanie Hagemeier, age 43 of Hastings, Nebraska, was sentenced upon her conviction for aiding and abetting the unlawful hiring of an alien. Senior United States District Court Judge Lyle E. Strom sentenced Hagemeier to one year of probation and ordered her to pay a fine of $500. Paul Younes and Kearney Hospitality, Inc. previously entered pleas of guilty for their roles in this matter and sentencing has been set for May 9, 2016, for those cases.
The investigation revealed that Blanca Gama, a citizen of Mexico who was not lawfully in the United States, was employed as the supervisor of housekeeping at the Holiday Inn Express in Hastings where Hagemeier was employed as the manager. In 2014, Hagemeier learned Gama was under investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. Gama quit her job at the Holiday Inn Express but later met with Younes who arranged for her to be employed in the housekeeping department at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Kearney under the name Elizabeth Gomez. Hagemeier was aware that Gama had been hired under those circumstances.
At Gama’s request, Younes later authorized Gama’s re-hire at the Holiday Inn Express in Hastings under the name Jacqueline Lopez even though she continued to be referred to as Blanca Gama at that location. Hagemeier signed the I-9 form even though she knew that Gama was not Jacqueline Lopez and that she was not authorized to work in the United States.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Glenview Man Pleads Guilty to Perjury Charge for Lying to Federal Grand Jury Investigating Possible Hiring Violations in Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s OfficeRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Glenview man who was hired by the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office after loaning $15,000 to a company controlled by the Clerk’s husband pleaded guilty to a perjury charge today for lying during testimony before a federal grand jury.
SIVASUBRAMANI RAJARAM admitted in a plea agreement that in August 2014 he loaned $15,000 to Goat Masters Corp., whose president was the husband of the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk. The following month, Rajaram was hired by the Clerk’s Office as a level four Senior Clerk, according to the plea agreement. Rajaram had previously worked in the Clerk’s Office but had been living in India for several years.
On or about Oct. 1, 2015, Rajaram testified before a federal grand jury that was investigating possible criminal violations in connection with the purchasing of jobs and promotions within the Clerk’s Office. During his testimony, Rajaram said he had not spoken to the Circuit Court Clerk after his 2014 hiring. He also testified that he had spoken to another high-ranking employee of the Clerk’s Office only “three or four times” since returning to Chicago from India. Rajaram admitted in the plea agreement that both statements were false.
Rajaram, 48, of Glenview, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false declaration before a grand jury. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 14, 2016, at 1:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney; Patrick M. Blanchard, Cook County Inspector General; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Heather McShain and Ankur Srivastava.
Plea Agreement
Gerald Wayne Jackson Sentenced to 14.5 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Armed Jewelry Store RobberyRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On April 20, 2016, Gerald Wayne Jackson, 27, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, Senior U.S. District Judge, to serve 175 months in federal prison. Jackson pleaded guilty to an attempted Hobbs Act robbery and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in October 2015.
In April 2013, Jackson and his associate Diontre Danforth, 21, of Chattanooga, Tenn., who was also charged in this case, attempted to commit an armed robbery of the Kennedy Jewelry Store in Chattanooga, Tenn. Jackson entered the jewelry store wearing a mask covering his face and armed with a .223 caliber Saiga assault rifle loaded with a magazine. Jackson immediately fired the rifle toward the back of the store where several employees and a customer were standing. He demanded the employees hand “all of it” over to Danforth, who had entered the store with his face covered carrying a laundry basket and pillow case. But, before they had time to take any merchandise, one of the store managers heard gunfire, grabbed his 9mm handgun and returned fire. Jackson fired several shots toward the manager before he and Danforth left the store. Jackson proceeded to fire several more shots into the store. In total, seven .223 caliber shell casings were recovered from the scene. Several days later, an alert Chattanooga police officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by Danforth and Jackson, which matched the description of the vehicle used in the robbery. Subsequent investigation of evidence recovered from the crime scene and a residence further linked both Danforth and Jackson to the robbery. Danforth previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve nine years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chattanooga Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Edwards represented the United States.
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Fort Myers Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Tavares E. Felton (41, Fort Myers) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for the illegal possession a firearm by a convicted felon. Felton, a three-time convicted felon, was subject to enhanced penalties under the Armed Career Criminal statute. The Court also ordered him to forfeit two firearms, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition associated with the offense, namely a Sig Sauer 5.56mm semi-automatic rifle and a Saiga AK-47 style 7.62mm semi-automatic rifle.
According to court documents, a member of the Fort Myers Police Department was investigating a domestic incident at a residence where Felton resided. Officers obtained a search warrant in connection with the domestic incident, and later procured a second warrant. During the execution of the second warrant, police found large quantities of heroin, sealed for distribution, Alprazolam pills, a bag containing $18,000 in bundled cash, and two assault rifles in Felton’s bedroom.
At the time of the incident, Felton had already been convicted of selling controlled substances, including heroin, on three prior occasions. Therefore, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles D. Schmitz.
Former U.S. Army Sergeant Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing over $120,000 Through Processing of Fraudulent Travel VouchersRead the Press Release
In Waco today, 34-year-old Justin Neal Watson was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after admitting to stealing money from the Government through the processing of fraudulent travel vouchers announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Scott Wilk, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Southwestern Fraud Field Office.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. ordered that the former U.S. Army Sergeant stationed at Ft. Hood, TX, pay $121,797.96 restitution to the Government and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years following the completion of his prison term.
On December 17, 2015, Watson pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property. According to court records, Watson was assigned as the Authorizing Official for the Defense Travel System (DTS). As such, he maintained the authority to review, authorize, and approve expenditures of U.S. Government funds for official travel.
By pleading guilty, Watson admitted that between November 2011 and April 2012, he engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States Army by creating and approving fraudulent vouchers in the DTS which resulted in payments to his bank account that he later converted to his own use.
This case was investigated by agents with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Southwestern Fraud Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Greg Gloff prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Former St. Charles District Attorney Harry Morel Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced today HARRY J. MOREL, JR., age 73, pled guilty to obstruction of justice in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(d)(1).
According to court records, MOREL served as the elected prosecutor of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana from on or about January 1, 1979 until May 31, 2012. Thereafter, he became an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney for St. Charles Parish and remained in that position until January 11, 2013. MOREL resided in, and his office was located in, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
As District Attorney and as an Assistant District Attorney for St. Charles Parish, MOREL was responsible for prosecuting individuals charged with criminal and traffic offenses against the State of Louisiana. As the District Attorney, MOREL had the authority and discretion to, among other things, make bail recommendations, make sentence recommendations and bring dismiss, forego or reduce charges.
MOREL freely admitted that he is guilty of Obstruction of Justice in that he harassed Individual "A" and attempted to prevent and dissuade Individual "A" from attending or testifying in an official proceeding, i.e., the federal grand jury, by telling Individual "A" to "get rid of” and to "destroy" the evidence of a meeting they had and to deny the inappropriate nature of the meeting to law enforcement officials. Furthermore, based on Individual "A"'s representations, MOREL believed there would be a federal Grand Jury investigation, and as a result asked her to conceal information that would have likely led to her being a witness before that body.
MOREL also admitted that on other occasions, between 2007 and 2009, he solicited sex from other individuals who were defendants or who had family members who were defendants in the St. Charles Parish criminal justice system. While soliciting sex from these individuals, MOREL likewise used the office of the District Attorney to provide benefits to these other individuals, including falsifying community service reports.
MOREL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years, a fine of $250,000 and one year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Under the terms of his Rule 11(c)(1)(B) plea agreement, MOREL acknowledges that the Government will recommend that the Court impose the maximum sentence of three years in prison. U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt set sentencing for August 17, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite noted that the investigation has not implicated any other former or current employees of the St. Charles Parish District Attorney's Office.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, particularly Special Agent Michael Zummer, and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Baehr and Mark Miller are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Shreveport chiropractor, son plead guilty to operating illegal bitcoin exchange businessRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a former Shreveport chiropractor and his son pleaded guilty Tuesday to funneling money through an unlawful bitcoin financial scheme.
Randall Bryan Lord, 58, and his son, Michael Aaron Lord, 29, both of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. They pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money servicing business. In addition, Michael Lord pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy for agreeing to distribute controlled dangerous substances to include alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance. According to the guilty plea, from at least 2013 to 2015, the defendants were accepting currency, money orders and money paks and exchanging those funds for bitcoin, a decentralized form of electronic or digital currency, existing entirely on the Internet and not in any physical form. Contrary to law, the Lords were not registered with FinCEN or licensed to operate as a money service business with the State of Louisiana. The Lords also failed to report the receipt of more than $10,000 in U.S. currency. Also, beginning in March 2015, Michael Lord was involved in a drug conspiracy to distribute alprazolam.
The defendants face five years in prison for the conspiracy count, and Michael Lord faces five years in prison for the drug count. They also face three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of August 1, 2016 was set.
The IRS, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan is prosecuting the case.
Former School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Transportation of PornographyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DON FRANCIS, JR., age 45, of Metairie, pled guilty today for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.
According to court records, on February 5, 2014, Special Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) assisted the Louisiana Department of Justice and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office with the execution of a search warrant at FRANCIS’s residence in Metairie. HSI computer forensic agents located 5,378 images and 362 videos depicting the sexual victimization of children (some of whom were infants) on FRANCIS’s computer.
FRANCIS faces a mandatory term of imprisonment of fifteen years, followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine pursuant to his plea agreement. U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance set sentencing on August 3, 2016.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the special agents from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security-HSI, the Louisiana Department of Justice, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, in investigating this matter. Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Unit Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba is in charge of the prosecution.
Former President of Auto Parts Company Pleads Guilty to Participating in Body Sealing Products Bid-Rigging ConspiracyRead the Press Release
The former president of an automotive parts company pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to serve 18 months in a U.S. prison for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for the sale of automotive body sealing products sold in the United States, the Justice Department announced.
Keiji Kyomoto, a former executive of an automotive body sealing products supplier based in Hiroshima, Japan, and former president of its U.S. joint venture, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to a single-count indictment charging him with bid rigging and price fixing. As part of his plea agreement, Kyomoto also agreed to pay a $20,000 criminal fine.
“Today’s plea is yet another example of our commitment to holding senior-level executives accountable for corporate wrongdoing,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Whether collusion has affected automobile parts, shipping services, financial products, electronic components or even heir location services, the department has a strong and ever increasing record of prosecuting individuals in order to deter criminal antitrust practices.”
“The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating individuals who engage in criminal conduct that corrupts the global marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge Howard S. Marshall of the FBI’s Louisville Division. “We will continue our work with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to uncover schemes aimed at creating an unfair competitive advantage by way of price fixing, bid rigging or other illegal means.”
On Oct. 8, 2015, a federal grand jury in Covington, Kentucky, returned an indictment against Kyomoto and two other individuals, charging them with conspiring to rig bids for and fix the prices of body sealing products sold to Honda Motor Company Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp. and certain of their subsidiaries and affiliates for installation in vehicles manufactured and sold in the United States and elsewhere. Automotive body sealing products consist of body-side opening seals, door-side weather-stripping, glass-run channels, trunk lids and other smaller seals, which are installed into automobiles to keep the interior dry from rain and free from wind and exterior noises.
According to the indictment, Kyomoto and his co-conspirators instructed subordinates at their respective companies to communicate with co-conspirators at other companies in order to allocate sales of, rig bids for and fix the prices of automotive body sealing products; were aware that employees under their supervision were engaging in such communications; and condoned such communications. The indictment further alleged that Kyomoto attended meetings in the United States with co-conspirators during which Kyomoto and the co-conspirators reached agreements regarding sales of automotive body sealing products to Honda and Toyota. The indictment charged Kyomoto with participating in the conspiracy beginning at least as early as September 2003 until at least October 2011. For most of this period, Kyomoto resided in the United States and served as president of an unnamed joint venture with offices in Indiana and Michigan, which manufactured and sold automotive body sealing products.
Today’s guilty plea is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. A total of 58 individuals and 39 companies have been charged and have agreed to pay more than $2.6 billion in criminal fines. This case was brought by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Louisville Division, Covington Resident Agency, with the assistance of the FBI’s International Corruption Unit and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Kentucky. Anyone with information about anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Louisville Division at 502-263-6000.
Former Owner and President of Pennsylvania Consulting Companies Pleads Guilty to Bribing Official at European Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentRead the Press Release
The former owner and president of Chestnut Consulting Group Inc. and Chestnut Consulting Group Co. (the Chestnut Group) pleaded guilty today to bribing an official at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Special Agent in Charge William F. Sweeney of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division made the announcement.
Dmitrij Harder, 43, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, a U.S. legal permanent resident, pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the FCPA before U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Sentencing is scheduled for July 21, 2016.
According to admissions made in connection with Harder’s plea, the EBRD was a multilateral development bank headquartered in London that was owned by more than 60 sovereign nations and provided financing for development projects in emerging economies, primarily in Eastern Europe. Harder admitted that between 2007 and 2009, he engaged in a scheme to pay approximately $3.5 million in bribes to an EBRD official to corruptly influence the official’s actions on applications for EBRD financing submitted by the Chestnut Group’s clients and to influence the official to direct business to the Chestnut Group.
The EBRD ultimately approved applications for financing from two of the Chestnut Group’s corporate clients; the first resulted in the EBRD providing an $85 million investment and a 90 million Euro loan, while the second resulted in a $40 million investment and a $60 million convertible loan, according to the plea. Harder admitted that the Chestnut Group earned approximately $8 million in “success fees” as a result of the EBRD’s approval of these two applications.
In a related action, the EBRD official, Andrey Ryjenko, and his sister, Tatjana Sanderson, have been charged by the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service and are pending trial. A status conference in that matter is set for June 8, 2016.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Division is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Morgan of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Senior Trial Attorney Jason Linder of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The City of London Police’s Overseas Anti Corruption Unit and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance. Germany, Jersey and Guernsey also provided assistance in this matter.
Additional information about the department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Former Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing over $150,000 from ChurchRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Barry Tillman, 59, who worked as the office manager for a church and its affiliated non-profit organization, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from a scheme in which he embezzled over $150,000, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Tillman, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Tillman potentially faces up to 27 months in prison and a fine of up to $95,000. He also has agreed to pay a total of $153,754 in restitution. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for July 13, 2016.
According to the government’s evidence, Tillman began work in 2008 as an office manager for the Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church, as well as City Gate, an affiliated non-profit organization that provided support for youth through after-school and summer educational programs. The organization also provided support to low-income families by supplying meals and job training. Tillman’s responsibilities included bookkeeping and accounting duties.
From January 2009 through May 2013, Tillman processed salary payments to himself through both direct deposit and salary checks. He allowed the direct deposits knowing that he was receiving his salary by check, which resulted in him being paid twice. He kept a total of $153,754 of these electronic transfers for himself for his own use and benefit.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case, including Criminal Investigator Juan Juarez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by Criminal Investigator Stephen Cohen, Paralegal Specialist Jessica Mundi, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Jarrett, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Howie, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Former NMMI Cadet from California Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joshua Adam Williams, 20, of Lakeside, Calif., entered a guilty plea today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a possession of child pornography charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Williams will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by a 15-year term of supervised release. He will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.
Williams’ guilty plea 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 Chief Pete N. Kassetas.
Williams was arrested on Nov. 4, 2015, in Lakeside, Calif., on a criminal complaint alleging child pornography charges that was filed on Oct. 27, 2015, in federal court in Las Cruces. He was transferred from California to Las Cruces on Dec. 11, 2015, to face the charges against him.
The criminal complaint charged Williams with distribution, possession and attempted production of videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It alleged that Williams committed these crimes in May 2015 in Roswell, N.M., when he was enrolled as a cadet at the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI).
Court filings reveal that the investigation into Williams began in Aug. 2014, when a father and minor child disclosed to the FBI that the child had been self-producing child pornography and sharing it with others through an internet chat room. The father surrendered the child’s cellular phone to the FBI and the FBI found it to contain alleged child pornography that had been shared with a specific account identified by a particular username.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Williams, who was then a NMMI cadet, was the subscriber to aforementioned account and search warrants were obtained for Williams’ computers, cellphone and other digital media. Forensic examinations of Williams’ computer and cellphone revealed that they contained videos and images consistent with child pornography.
During today’s proceedings, Williams pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Williams admitted that on May 5, 2015, he possessed a computer and cellular telephone that contained videos and images of child pornography. The plea agreement states that Williams’ computer contained a video of a toddler being sexually molested by an adult and his cellular phone contained approximately 100 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Williams remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. In his plea agreement, Williams agreed to pay $210,012 in restitution to any victim associated with the charges identified in the criminal complaint who requests restitution prior to the sentencing hearing.
This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, New Mexico State Police, New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory with assistance from the FBI in San Diego, Calif., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Former Immigration Court Prosecutor Sentenced to Prison for Falsifying DocumentRead the Press Release
A former immigration court prosecutor who used a falsified document in an immigration proceeding, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service, one year of supervised release, and a 10-year ban on practicing law, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. JONATHAN M. LOVE, 58, pleaded guilty in January 2016 to deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law. At sentencing Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida said, “This is a very sad day . . . for no good reason you did great harm to this victim.”
According to records filed in the case, in May 2009, LOVE represented to an immigration judge that a particular immigration form had been signed by a person facing deportation in 2000. The evidence indicates that between July 2008 and May 2009, the form was fabricated and altered by LOVE to appear as though it had been signed in 2000, when in fact it had been signed in 2008. The falsified form impacted the person facing deportation by foreclosing a particular form of relief from deportation. When a new attorney noted the irregularities in the form, the case was reopened and the deportation was stayed. The person facing deportation was granted lawful permanent resident status in 2014.
An investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ Office of Professional Responsible (OPR) did not uncover any other falsified documents in cases LOVE handled.
The plea agreement calls for LOVE to resign from any bar associations of which he is a member, and prohibits his re-application for ten years. Prosecutors argued the ban was appropriate noting that defendants in immigration court have a “right to proceedings free from false and fabricated evidence knowingly presented against them. When that right is denied, a real harm is inflicted both on society, which loses faith that its government plays fair, and the individual who suffers directly.” LOVE has agreed to pay $12,000 in restitution to the victim for the legal fees spent battling for legal status.
The case was investigated by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Diggs.
Former FPC-Greenville Inmate Sentenced for EscapeRead the Press Release
James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on April 19, 2016, Shelia B. Hatfield, 52, formerly an inmate at the Federal Prison Camp located in Greenville, Illinois (FPC-Greenville), was sentenced for Escape. Hatfield received 15 additional months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release. Hatfield has been held without bond since her arraignment on the Indictment on May 12, 2015.
The offense occurred on March 9, 2015, when Hatfield, who was an inmate at FPC-Greenville at the time, was found in the parking lot of a Buchheit store outside the prison camp’s grounds without having received authorization to leave. Evidence introduced at sentencing revealed that, when she was captured, she was found with a bottle of whiskey, two bottles of vodka, fifteen packs of cigarettes, rolling papers, a cigarette lighter, and three packs of gum, all of which are prohibited items at FPC-Greenville. Hatfield had purchased the items from a convenience store that was approximately 1.5 miles from the prison camp. Despite Hatfield’s claim that she was forced to leave the camp to buy the contraband because of the abuse and harassment that she suffered at the hands of other inmates in her unit, she had never reported any abuse or harassment.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons’ Special Investigations Section. The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Former Evanston Man Sentenced to over 19 Years for Robbing First Federal Savings Bank in Rock FallsRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A former Evanston, Ill. man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court on a federal bank robbery charge.
The defendant, CONRAD J. GONZALEZ, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to 234 months in federal prison, and ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
On January 7, 2016, following a three-day trial before Judge Kapala, Gonzalez was found guilty by a federal jury of robbing the First Federal Savings Bank, located at 701 1st Ave., in Rock Falls, Ill. on Oct. 30, 2013.
According to the indictment and evidence at trial, at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2013, Gonzalez entered First Federal wearing a baseball cap and Chicago Bears sweatshirt. Gonzalez approached a bank teller and handed her a note demanding money. When the teller attempted to retrieve the note from the counter, Gonzalez said, “That was a stupid thing to do,” and took the note back. The teller then handed $1,870 to Gonzalez, who then walked out of the bank on foot.
The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Rock Falls and Sterling Police Departments assisted in the investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph C. Pedersen and Monica V. Mallory.
Former Employee of Iowa City Pipe Dreamz Head Shop Sentenced on Federal Synthetic Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
A man who worked for the owner of a head shop in Iowa City was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Wayne Christopher Watkins, age 40, from Peoria, Illinois, received the prison term after an October 8, 2015 guilty plea to conspiring to manufacture and distribute a synthetic drug called AB-FUBINACA. The owner of Pipe Dreamz in Iowa City, Robert Carl Sharp, pled guilty on October 5, 2015, but has since filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
In a plea agreement, Watkins admitted that shortly after Sharp was released from federal prison in 2012, he began selling, and later manufacturing, smokeable synthetic cannabinoid products which are commonly known as “Spice,” “incense,” or K2. Watkins initially worked for Sharp at a store in Peoria, Illinois, called Smoke-N-Ink. Both men moved to Iowa in 2013 when Sharp opened a head shop called Pipe Dreamz in Iowa City.
Sharp would order synthetic cannabinoid chemicals and also purchase bulk quantities of dried damiana leaves, a plant material that resembles dried marijuana. Watkins admitted Sharp would purchase the chemicals, packaging materials, and plant material (typically damiana leaf), from various suppliers and then they would manufacture the product. Watkins admitted he would dilute the chemical in acetone, and then spray the mixture onto the leaves. Watkins would then add some flavoring and package the substances into the various brands sold by Sharp.
Watkins and Sharp sold these products in packets that marketed the substances as incense, and contained a warning that the products were “not for human consumption,” although both men admitted they knew the products were actually intended for human consumption. The synthetic cannabinoids in these products were actually research chemicals that have not been tested or approved as safe for human consumption, and which have unpredictable short-term effects and unknown long-term effects on users.
On May 7, 2014, Sharp’s store, his house and storage unit in Center Point, Watkins’s house in Cedar Rapids, and the Pipe Dreamz store in Iowa City, were all searched by federal law enforcement. During the searches, officers seized thousands of synthetic cannabinoid products, including the sprayed-on plant variety and a liquid form of the chemicals that was designed for use in e‑cigarettes. Officers seized an active manufacturing operation in Watkins’s house, as shown in photographs admitted at an earlier hearing, /media/799201/dl?inline
Watkins claimed Sharp told him that the chemicals they were using were legal. However, Watkins admitted he believed there was a high probability that the substances he received and distributed were regulated by federal drug laws and he deliberately avoided learning of the true identity of the substances.
Watkins was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Watkins was sentenced to 115 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was investigated by the Iowa City Police Department and as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services; and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
Court file information available https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-31-LRR.
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Former Consulting Group Owner Pleads Guilty to Bribing Official at European Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Dmitrij Harder, 43, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, the former owner and President of Chestnut Consulting Group Inc. and Chestnut Consulting Group Co. (the “Chestnut Group”), pleaded guilty today to bribing an official at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Harder is a legal permanent resident of United States. U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 21, 2016.
The EBRD was a multilateral development bank headquartered in London, England, and was owned by more than 60 sovereign nations and provided financing for development projects in emerging economies, primarily in Eastern Europe. Between 2007 and 2009, Harder engaged in a scheme to pay approximately $3.5 million in bribes to an EBRD official to corruptly influence the official’s actions on applications for EBRD financing submitted by the Chestnut Group’s clients and to influence the official to direct business to the Chestnut Group.
The EBRD ultimately approved applications for financing from two of the Chestnut Group’s corporate clients; the first resulted in the EBRD providing an $85 million investment and a 90 million Euro loan, while the second resulted in a $40 million investment and a $60 million convertible loan. Harder also admitted that the Chestnut Group earned approximately $8 million in “success fees” as a result of the EBRD’s approval of these two applications.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan and Senior Trial Attorney Jason Linder of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit of the City of London Police and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance. Germany, Jersey and Guernsey also provided assistance in this matter.
Former Bank Teller Sentenced for $83,000 EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A former Labette County bank clerk was sentenced Wednesday to three years on probation, including eight months home confinement, and ordered to pay full restitution for embezzling more than $83,000 from the bank where she worked, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Angela S. Littlejohn, 41, Chetopa, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred while she worked as a teller during 2013 and 2014 at the Chetopa State Bank in Chetopa, Kan. She stole a total of at least $83,963 from multiple accounts at the bank
Beall commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch for their work on the case.
Former Axium International Tax Professional Admits Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – An Orange County woman who formerly performed payroll tax services for Axium International, Inc. has pleaded guilty to a federal tax evasion charge.
Christina M. Futak, 58, a resident of the City of Orange, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of criminal tax evasion.
The charge relates to conduct during the years 2002 through 2007, when Futak requested that Axium compensate her by making checks payable to “CFO, Inc.” Futak deposited her earnings from Axium into a bank account in the name of the company, using the proceeds for personal expenses and failing to report substantial sums on her federal income tax returns.
In 2012, Futak signed a federal income tax return representing that her total income for 2006 was $52,690. In reality, she earned more than $227,000 that year. Futak similarly understated her income on her 2005 and 2007 tax returns, resulting in total tax losses of $138,523.
“We will continue to work with IRS criminal investigators to ensure that everyone who interacts with the tax system does so with honesty and integrity,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Hiding income, making false claims against the government and seeking fraudulent tax refunds are all crimes that come with significant penalties.”
Futak pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on August 22. At sentencing, Futak will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
“Christina Futak’s attempt to evade tax by hiding income and filing false returns was a theft from the American public. It is a felony offense that carries severe consequences,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation’s acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “Tax professionals should heed the message that, when they defraud the IRS, federal prison will likely be the next stop in their professional journey.”
Futak is the third person to be charged in relation to an investigation into Axium by IRS Criminal Investigation. The former Axium CEO, John Visconti, who allegedly took millions of dollars of company funds and failed to report the income to the IRS (see: http://go.usa.gov/czhKj), is expected to go on trial in August. Ronald Garber, the former chief operating officer of the company, pleaded guilty to two counts of subscription to false tax returns and is scheduled to be sentenced in June 27.
Five Former New Orleans Police Officers Plead Guilty and are Sentenced in the Danziger Bridge Shooting CaseRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced today that five former officers of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) pled guilty and were sentenced in connection with the federal civil rights prosecution of a police-involved shooting that occurred on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina. That shooting left two innocent civilians dead and four others seriously wounded. The defendants also pled guilty and were sentenced for their roles in an extensive cover-up of the shooting.
KENNETH BOWEN pled guilty to Counts 1, 11, and 20; deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice by engaging in misleading conduct, respectively. BOWEN was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, to be followed by up to five years of supervised release on Counts 1 and 11, and up to three years as to Count 20.
ROBERT GISEVIUS pled guilty to Counts 1, 11, and 21; deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice by engaging in misleading conduct, respectively. GISEVIUS was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, to be followed by up to five years of supervised release on Counts 1 and 11, and up to three years as to Count 21.
ROBERT FAULCON pled guilty to Counts 8, 11, and 22; deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice by engaging in misleading conduct, respectively. FAULCON was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment, to be followed by up to five years of supervised release on Counts 8 and 11, and up to three years as to Count 22.
ANTHONY VILLAVASO pled guilty to Counts 1, 11, and 23; deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice by engaging in misleading conduct, respectively. VILLAVASO was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, to be followed by up to five years of supervised release on Counts 1 and 11, and up to three years as to Count 23.
ARTHUR KAUFMAN pled guilty to Counts 11 and 17, conspiracy to obstruct justice and falsification of evidence to obstruct justice, respectively. KAUFMAN was sentenced to three years imprisonment, to be followed by up to three years of supervised release as to Count 11, and up to five years as to Count 17.
The defendants are each assessed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 as to each count.
Final Defendant in Sacramento County Indoor Marijuana Cultivation Scheme Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Shihong Chen, 51, of Elk Grove, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to one year and one day in prison for growing marijuana inside homes in Elk Grove and Sacramento, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Chen participated in scheme to grow marijuana inside homes in Sacramento and Elk Grove. On January 30, 2013, law enforcement executed federal search warrants at seven residential homes in Sacramento County, including the four houses where Chen cultivated marijuana: 9761 McKenna Drive, Sacramento; 8270 Cliffcrest Way, Sacramento; 8108 Gwerder Court, Elk Grove; and 3713 45th Avenue, Sacramento. Altogether, authorities seized more than 1,000 plants.
The investigation started when law enforcement learned of abnormally high power consumption at 8646 Everidge Court in Sacramento, owned by Green Ventures LLC. During their investigation, law enforcement observed Oakland-based real estate agent Zhiqiang Liu traveling frequently to and from the Everidge Court house. On January 30, 2013, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Everidge Court and found 867 growing marijuana plants, approximately 31.8 kilograms of cultivated marijuana, and $7,070 in cash.
Chen is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Four other defendants have been sentenced:
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March 23, 2016, Zhiqiang Liu was sentenced to three years in prison.
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March 16, 2016, Jun Mou Peng was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
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October 28, 2015, Qinghong Li was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
- December 17, 2015, Huanhao Chen was sentenced to one year of probation.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Elk Grove Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith prosecuted the case.
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Feds Seize Longest Tunnel on California-Mexico BorderRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Timothy Salel (619) 546-8055
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 20, 2016
SAN DIEGO – Federal officials have seized what is believed to be the longest cross-border tunnel ever discovered along the California-Mexico border, with an estimated length of more than eight football fields, plus officials confiscated more than a ton of cocaine, making it the single-largest cocaine seizure ever associated with a Southern California tunnel.
The tunnel is estimated to be more than 800 yards in length, and probably longer due to its zig-zagging route. It stretches from a house in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico to an outdoor fenced-in commercial lot in an Otay Mesa industrial park, about 500 yards north of the international border. The tunnel exit on the U.S. side is a three-foot-diameter hole that at one point was covered by a jumbo-sized industrial dumpster.
It is equipped with rail and ventilation systems, lights and a sophisticated large elevator leading from the tunnel into a closet inside the Tijuana residence. It is one of the narrowest tunnels found to date, with a diameter of just three feet for most of the length of the passageway.
Six people were arrested in San Diego Friday and charged by federal complaint with various drug trafficking and tunnel-related charges, including conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and conspiracy to use a border tunnel.
The defendants include Martiniano Garcia-Sedano, Cruz Armando Parra Corrales, Alejandro Bravo, Juan Carlos Chavez Fabian, Alejandro Gomez-Baez and Osmel Martinez. They were arraigned in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major and remain in custody pending detention hearings.
On April 12, agents saw a white commercial truck deliver an industrial dumpster to a lot in Otay Mesa on Marconi Drive and Enrico Fermi Drive. The agents saw the truck back up and, with direction from some of the defendants, drop the dumpster over a specific area that was later discovered to have a hole descending 10 feet into the ground and connecting to an underground tunnel leading to the U.S. Mexico border. Agents noticed the dumpster appeared to be filled with wood scraps.
The next day, agents saw two people cover the dumpster with a tarp. Ten minutes later, a forklift removed stacks of wooden pallets away from the front of the dumpster. Agents watched as defendant Cruz Armando Parra Corrales got down on the ground in a push-up position with his face close to the bottom of the dumpster, in an area where the dumpster connects to the truck, apparently communicating with someone who was inside the dumpster or inside a tunnel below the dumpster.
Soon after that, the truck loaded up the dumpster and transported it to another parking lot on Imperial Avenue near 30th Street, where it was unloaded. Another large box truck was backed up next to the dumpster with its cargo door open. Agents conducting surveillance watched as the defendants placed a tarp between the dumpster and box truck, and then moved back and forth between them. A couple of hours later, the box truck was driven out of the parking lot.
San Diego County sheriff’s deputies stopped the box truck and found 2,242 pounds of cocaine and 11,030 pounds of marijuana.
Federal agents obtained warrants to search the lots and found the tunnel exit. Inside the tunnel they found 68 bales of marijuana weighing 1,638 pounds. The exit was found at the exact location where agents had previously observed Garcia unload the dumpster from the roll off truck, with the assistance of Parra and Bravo. Agents also found an additional 1,430 pounds of marijuana in the dumpster.
In total, authorities seized 2,242 pounds of cocaine and more than 14,000 pounds of marijuana.
“On the surface, few would ever suspect that traffickers were moving multi-ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana worth tens of millions of dollars in such an unassuming way, through this rabbit hole in the ground, in full view of the world around it,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “However, we can thank the hyper-vigilant agents who work this area for seeing what many of us would have missed. They don't judge a book by its cover. Whether a grandiose super tunnel or a humble rabbit hole, they home in and are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to secure our border.”
“Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners collaborated and utilized every resource to take down another cross-border tunnel that posed a threat to national security,” said Dave Shaw, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego. “HSI is committed to combatting increasingly dangerous trans-border smuggling activities and preventing those responsible from using this technique as a profitable investment.”
“This case is a strong reminder of the vulnerabilities that exist along the Southwest border,” said Hunter Davis, Director of Air Operations for Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations, “Drug trafficking organizations continue to jeopardize our National Security in exchange for profit.”
“We know that drug trafficking organizations are using any and all means to get their contraband across the US/Mexican Border,” said DEA San Diego Special Agent in Charge William R. Sherman. “Historically, seizures from drug tunnels have been marijuana and small amounts of cocaine. A 2,000 pound cocaine seizure tells DEA and our law enforcement partners that these groups are having to resort to unsophisticated tunnels to try and push through what amounts to a $22 million loss just in cocaine alone. This loss is a devastating blow even to an established drug trafficking organization.”
“Because of the collaboration of the agencies involved in this investigation, a serious blow was dealt to the criminal organization responsible for this threat,” said Chief Patrol Agent Richard A. Barlow, U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector. “I applaud the men and women who worked tirelessly to stop the flow of dangerous narcotics through this tunnel and thank them for their continued efforts to protect the citizens we serve.”
The tunnel dismantled in Otay Mesa is the 13th large-scale operational drug smuggling tunnel discovered along the California border since 2006. In the last five years, federal authorities have detected more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels, most of them in California and Arizona.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 16MJ1118
Martiniano Garcia-Sedano
Cruz Armando Parra Corrales
Alejandro Bravo
CHARGES
Conspiracy to Import Cocaine and Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 952, 960 and 963
Penalties: Ten year mandatory minimum, up to life in Prison, $10 Million fine
Conspiracy to Use a Border Tunnel, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 555(d)
Maximum Penalty 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 16MJ1119
Juan Carlos Chavez Fabian
Alejandro Gomez-Baez
Osmel Martinez
CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a) and 846
Penalties: Ten year mandatory minimum, up to life in Prison, $10 million fine
AGENCIES
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Border Patrol
Drug Enforcement Administration
Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine
Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations
Internal Revenue Service
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
San Diego Police Department
California Highway Patrol
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
**This case stems from an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) joint investigation conducted by the agencies noted above. 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.
For visuals, please refer to link below
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/gallery/otay-mesa-tunnel
Federal Court Shuts Down Eastern Washington Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
A federal court entered a permanent injunction yesterday against Grandview, Washington tax return preparer Jose Magana and his business, Genesis Bookkeeping and Accounting. The injunction bars Magana and Genesis Bookkeeping from preparing tax returns for others. Magana and Genesis Bookkeeping admitted in a court filing that they had interfered with the enforcement and administration of the federal tax laws. They agreed to entry of the injunction.
According to the United States’ complaint, Magana and his business have engaged in a pattern of claiming for their clients false or inflated dependency exemptions, inappropriate filing status, and false or inflated Child Tax Credits and Additional Child Tax Credits. Their practice of claiming these false exemptions and credits has resulted in significant lost tax revenues by understating tax liabilities and claiming improper refunds, according to the suit.
Specifically, the suit alleges that, as of March 26, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had examined close to 300 tax returns that Magana and Genesis Bookkeeping and Accounting had filed from 2012 through 2014. Over 95 percent of these examinations resulted in adjustments to tax, with proposed deficiencies averaging approximately $3,150 per return, according to the complaint. The suit alleges that Magana and his business prepared more than 10,000 returns from 2012 through 2014.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Doctor Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Taking Bribes in Test-Referrals Scheme with New Jersey Clinical LabRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor with a medical practice in Randolph, New Jersey was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Gary Safier, 73, of Randolph, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes and one count of filing a false tax return. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Including Safier, 39 people – 27 of them physicians – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case. The investigation has to date recovered more than $12 million through forfeiture. A 28th physician – Bernard Greenspan – was indicted in March. His trial is scheduled for September 2016.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
Safier admitted that from August 2007 through March 2013, he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS. Initially, the bribes were paid under the guise of bogus lease and service agreements between BLS and his medical office. Later, BLS paid Safier in monthly cash payments that, at times, exceeded $10,000 per month. According to the information, the total amount of bribes paid by BLS to Safier from the sham agreements and cash payments exceeded $353,000.
Safier also admitted that on his federal tax returns for 2010 and 2011, he failed to report $90,000 in bribes he received from BLS.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Safier to two years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $353,152.84.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Assistant Inspector in Charge James R. Buthorn; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph N. Minish, Danielle Alfonzo Walsman, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward, Acting Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $1.29 billion in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: Raymond M. Brown Esq., Woodbridge, New Jersey
Detroit One Collaboration Leads to 30-Year Sentence of Major Gang Leader for Violent Racketeering CrimesRead the Press Release
The leader of the Bounty Hunter Bloods violent street gang was sentenced to 30 years in prison today, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Robin Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Detroit Police Chief James Craig, whose departments led the investigation as part of the Detroit One collaboration.
U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds sentenced Ramiah Jefferson, 27, of Detroit, a/k/a “Nightmare,” following his conviction at trial in August for racketeering conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Jefferson directed the murder and attempted murders of rival street gang members, furnished guns and encouraged gang members to commit violent crimes and narcotics trafficking.
Evidence at trial showed that the Bounty Hunter Bloods operated primarily in northwest Detroit, but their illegal activities extended outside of Michigan from California to North Carolina. Their crimes included murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drive-by-shootings, home invasions, arsons and witness intimidation.
“The Detroit One partners are working to reduce violent crime through gang prevention and intervention, but sometimes enforcement actions like this one are necessary,” McQuade said. “When street gangs commit violent acts and endanger innocent victims, we will use the full force of the law to remove them from our neighborhoods.”
“ATF’s primary mission is to protect our neighborhoods from violent organized street gangs,” said S. Robin Shoemaker, ATF Special Agent in Charge. “The significant federal sentences of the Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang leaders are the result of Detroit One initiative, an ongoing cooperative federal and state effort to combat violent gang and gun violence. Violent crime plagues our communities in many ways, but the link to most is the illegal possession and use of firearms by prohibited individuals”.
Bounty Hunter members extensively used social media as a means of self-promotion and communication. Members posted photographs on their personal social networking sites that highlighted their affiliation with the Bounty Hunters as well as their gang-related accomplishments. For example, on December 27, 2010, Jefferson utilized Facebook to direct the murder or attempted murders of rival Avon Gangster gang members. Jefferson posted that his fellow Bounty Hunters needed to “knock them down one by one” and that it was “huntin’ season.” Bounty Hunter members also created rap songs, amplifying their allegiance to the gang. Members would post these songs, along with videos, photographs and messages on social networking sites to celebrate and project the violent culture of the gang.
Evidence at trial demonstrated that the way members advanced in the gang was by “putting in work,” which meant committing murders, robberies, carjackings, home invasions, drug-deals and other acts of violence against rival gangs. One of these carjackings and murders occurred when members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods attempted to carjack a vehicle outside of a CVS pharmacy on Schaefer Road in February 2014. That carjacking led to the murder of the CVS security guard, Courtney Meeks, when he attempted to prevent the carjacking of a mother and her infant son. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office successfully prosecuted Jamare Rucker and Jeremy Jackson, both Bounty Hunter members, with both men receiving 33-60 year sentences for second degree murder and a consecutive two years for felony firearm convictions.
Evidence at trial also established that the Bounty Hunter Bloods were responsible for the murder of Marquise Robinson, a young man who was brutally murdered by members of this street gang because it was believed that he refused to come to the aid of a Bounty Hunter member, David Lamar Gay. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office successfully prosecuted the main shooter, Jayjuan Watts, who is now serving a life sentence for his crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted David Lamar Gay for his role in the murder as part of this current prosecution.
In addition to Jefferson, the following Bounty Hunter Blood members were convicted and sentenced:
Evan Johnson, 24, of Detroit, a/k/a “Unkle Murda,” convicted of RICO conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment;
Alexander Deshawn George, 20, of Detroit, a/k/a “Bullet,” convicted of RICO conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment;
David Lamar Gay, 22, of Toledo, Ohio, a/k/a “Glock,” convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and sentenced to 17 ½ years’ imprisonment;
Drakkar Beral Cunningham, 25, of Detroit, a/k/a “Rellz,” convicted of RICO conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment;
Everette Ramon George, 21, of Detroit a/k/a “Klout,” convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and sentenced to four years, nine months’ imprisonment;
Mario Garnes, 28, of Detroit, a/k/a “Bloodhound,” convicted of RICO conspiracy and sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment; and
Gerald Deshawn Turner, 25, of Detroit, a/k/a “G-Red,” convicted of RICO conspiracy and sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release.
Marcus Andre Harvey, 23, of Detroit, a/k/a “Ceasar,” was also convicted of RICO conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2016.
This indictment stems from the Detroit One initiative—a combined effort between law enforcement and the community to reduce homicide and other violent crime in Detroit. By working collaboratively, local, state and federal law enforcement seek to identify and arrest individuals and groups initiating violence in Detroit. Since Detroit One started in 2013, this effort has had led to significant indictments, convictions and sentences against a number of street gangs who are responsible for much of the violent crime in Detroit, including members of Latin Counts, Vice Lords and others, and a reduction in homicide and violent crime in Detroit.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Doeh, Andrew Goetz and Eaton Brown.
Detroit Area Doctor Charged with Illegal Distribution of Prescription Drugs and FraudRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today charging a doctor and three other individuals with conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division and Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Chicago Region.
Charged in the indictment are:
Dr. Michael Weiss, D.O. 63, of Troy
Edgarten Howard, 43, of Detroit
Carlos Johnson, 40, of Detroit
Ricky Easley, 30, of Detroit
The indictment alleges that from January 2013 through April 2015, Weiss conspired with the other defendants to write a large number of prescriptions for highly addictive controlled substances for supposed patients, who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. Weiss primarily prescribed Roxicodone and its generic equivalent, oxycodone, and promethazine cough syrup. He saw the supposed patients in Howard’s home, where Howard, Johnson, and Easley paid Weiss cash for his services. Howard, Johnson, and Easley then obtained the drugs that Weiss authorized through the prescriptions, and sold them on the street.
The indictment alleges that Weiss caused Medicare to pay more than $250,000, and Blue Cross almost $40,000, for the illegitimate prescriptions. The indictment also alleges that Weiss submitted about 950 claims to Medicare and Blue Cross for providing services to the supposed patients, although Weiss never actually provided the services. Weiss received about $65,000 through the fraudulent bills.
“Diversion of prescription pills to the street market promotes the addiction to painkillers that leads to overdose deaths,” McQuade said. “We are focusing on charging doctors, pharmacists and the networks that are putting this poison on the streets.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon stated, “This indictment is just one example of DEA's determination and commitment to combat the troubling prescription drug abuse problem in this country. The doctor involved in this investigation abused his position of trust and jeopardized the lives of many individuals by leading this conspiracy to distribute dangerous controlled substances onto the streets of southeast Michigan and beyond. This indictment should make it clear that the DEA and our law enforcement partners are focused on investigating and pursuing those that are illegally diverting prescription drugs into our communities.”
"Physicians have a responsibility to provide care that is medically necessary and is in the best interest of their patients" said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Chicago Region. "Physicians who facilitate and contribute to the illegal diversion of prescription medications will be held accountable."
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers of the DEA and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Helland.
Department of Justice and EPA Announce $78 Million Superfund Settlement to Clean up Groundwater Contamination at Southern California Superfund SiteRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that a group of 66 companies have agreed to clean up contaminated groundwater at the Omega Chemical Corporation Superfund Site in Whittier, California. The settlement requires the companies to spend an estimated $70 million to install wells and operate a groundwater treatment system. In addition, the parties will reimburse EPA $8 million and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control $70,000 toward costs incurred in those agencies’ past cleanup actions at the site.
“We are pleased that the settling parties have come forward to do the work of cleaning up the groundwater contamination to which they and others contributed,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement makes excellent progress in cleaning up the Omega site and will also put additional systems in place to monitor and evaluate the level of contamination in order to guide future work.”
“Today’s settlement ensures the protection of a vital drinking water source for LA County,” said Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld of EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “The cleanup of this polluted aquifer is critical because groundwater in the region has been depleted because of the drought.”
“Our current drought has underscored the importance of protecting California’s groundwater resources,” said Director Barbara A. Lee of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. “It has taken a lot of work between state and federal agencies to get to this point and it is vital we begin the work of cleaning up this aquifer."
Design work on the new treatment system, extraction wells and piping will begin later this year and continue into 2017, with construction expected to begin in 2018. EPA will oversee the work, which will implement the cleanup remedy required by the Agency’s 2011 Record of Decision for three miles of the groundwater plume. The settling parties will also install and sample groundwater monitoring wells later this year to investigate and evaluate the remaining contaminated area at the site to determine what additional remediation is needed.
The former Omega Chemical Corporation facility operated from approximately 1976 to 1991 and was located at 12504 and 12512 Whittier Boulevard, across the street from a residential neighborhood and within one mile of several schools. It handled drums and bulk loads of industrial waste solvents and chemicals that were processed to form commercial products. Subsurface soil and groundwater have high concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), Freons and other contaminants. Drinking high levels of TCE and PCE for extended periods of time could cause damage to the nervous system, liver and lungs and increase risk of cancer.
The Omega Superfund Site was placed on Superfund’s National Priorities List in 1999 and extends from Whittier through Santa Fe Springs and into Norwalk. Over the last 20 years, EPA has overseen the removal of more than 2,700 drums as well as more than 9,000 pounds of contaminants from the soil and groundwater. A soil vapor extraction system to address vapor intrusion from the Omega Site has been operating since 2010. A small groundwater pump and treatment system has treated more than 30 million gallons of contaminated groundwater since 2009.
The settling parties include a group of 66 corporations that will conduct the work. An additional 171 parties that have either sent waste to the site or operated in the area and contributed to the contamination, have also agreed to fund a portion of the work.
The settlement, lodged today in federal court in the Central District of California, will be posted in the Federal Register and available for public comment for a period of 30 days. The consent decree can be viewed on the Justice Department website: www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. The Justice Department also concurrently filed a complaint initiating the case that the consent decree resolves.
For more information on the site, please visit: www.epa.gov/superfund/omegachemical
Cushing Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that BOB GENE HALL, a/k/a Robert Glen Hensley, age 35, of Cushing, Oklahoma, pled guilty to DRUG CONSPIRACY, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A).
The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about February 2015, the exact date being unknown to the Grand Jury, and continuing until on or about September 1, 2015, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate and agree with others, both known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to commit offenses against the United States in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846, as follows: to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
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 defendant was indicted in December, 2015.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Coxsackie Woman Sentenced to Probation for Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Colleen J. McCarten, age 43, of Coxsackie, New York, was sentenced today to serve 3 years of probation after a jury found her guilty in October of fraudulently obtaining federal and state disability benefits.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge for the Social Security Administration ("SSA") Office of the Inspector General.
On October 16, 2015, following a two-week trial, a jury found McCarten and co-defendant John W. Caltabiano, Jr. guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and theft of government property.
Between April 2008 and October 2010, Caltabiano and McCarten conspired to steal Social Security Disability and Workers’ Compensation benefits by falsely representing to the SSA, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, and Travelers Insurance that an on-the-job injury had left Caltabiano almost completely blind. The evidence at trial established that McCarten guided Caltabiano into medical examinations and Workers’ Compensation hearings as if he could not see. She also completed and submitted forms claiming that he could not drive, or manage his own money or move without assistance. Finally, she collected Social Security benefit payments on his behalf.
As demonstrated in videos taken during the investigation and presented at trial, Caltabiano was able to drive, shop, go to the gym, and otherwise move about without the assistance that a blind person would need. McCarten knew Caltabiano was not blind because videos showed her accompanying Caltabiano during some of these outings.
U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced McCarten to pay $27,784 in restitution to the SSA.
On April 15, Judge D’Agostino sentenced Caltabiano, age 49, of Catskill, New York, to serve 57 months in prison and 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, and to pay $27,784 in restitution to the SSA.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the Office of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.
Charlotte Pimp Convicted of Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal jury delivered a guilty verdict yesterday against Kenwaniee Vontorian Tate, 40, of Charlotte, for sex trafficking of a minor by fraud, force and coercion and sex trafficking of a minor while being required to register as a sex offender under North Carolina law, announce announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined making today’s announcement by Nick Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Rose stated, “Tate preyed upon a vulnerable young girl, lured her into a world of sex and violence and exploited her in the worst possible way. Sex trafficking and victimizing minors for financial gain is a reprehensible crime. My office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute sex traffickers who profit from prostituting minors.”
According to filed documents, statements made in court and evidence presented during the two-day trial:
Between September 2014 and February 2015, Tate caused a minor female to engage in commercial sex acts, namely prostitution. Tate met the victim when she was only 15 years old and became her pimp shortly after they met. Tate and the victim moved from hotel to hotel while she worked as a prostitute. Testimony at trial established that Tate controlled all of the profits from the prostitution of the minor victim and used it to support himself. Tate advertised the minor victim for sex on an Internet website and arranged sexual encounters for her. Testimony at trial also revealed that Tate slapped and hit the victim when she did not do as Tate instructed, but Tate was careful not to hit her in the face because it may affect her ability to earn money through prostitution. Trial evidence established that the sex trafficking came to an end when CMPD officers arrested Tate on February 17, 2015 while looking for a different missing minor. During that operation, CMPD officers found the minor victim hiding in a hotel closet.
Trial evidence also established that at the time that Tate caused the minor victim to engage in prostitution, Tate was registered as a sex offender in North Carolina based upon previous state convictions in Minnesota for criminal sexual conduct. Tate was also convicted previously in Minnesota federal court for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor for his involvement in a sex trafficking ring that trafficked juvenile females from Minnesota to Las Vegas, Nevada, to engage in commercial sex acts. The judge in that case ordered Tate to serve a 16-month sentence.
Tate has been in federal custody since his arrest in November 2015. At sentencing, he faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud and coercion, and a consecutive term of 10 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor while required to register as a sex offender. A sentencing date has not been set.
The investigation was handled by HSI and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani M. Ford is in charge of the prosecution.
Charleston dealers sentenced to Federal prison for drug crimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two Charleston men were sentenced today to federal prison for drug crimes, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Leon Wilson, Jr., 43, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison for distribution of heroin. In a separate prosecution, Anton R. Courts, 40, was sentenced to a year and three months in federal prison for distribution of crack and heroin.
Wilson admitted that in May 2015, he sold heroin on three separate occasions to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The drug deals took place at Wilson’s Charleston apartment. After these drug deals, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Wilson’s apartment. Officers found over $1,000 cash in Wilson’s possession, which included some of the pre-recorded buy money used in one of the drug deals with the confidential informant.
In a separate drug prosecution, Courts admitted that in April 2015, law enforcement made four controlled purchases of heroin and crack from Courts on the East End of Charleston. On April 22, 2015, detectives arrested Courts after a brief foot chase and found him to be in possession of $1,850 in cash, including $400 in bills used in the controlled purchases. In addition to his prison sentence, Courts was ordered to sell his 2014 Chevrolet Camaro in order to pay a fine of $10,000. Courts admitted paying $28,000 cash for the Camaro in November 2014 while unemployed. This is the second time Courts has been sentenced to federal prison. In May 2006, Courts was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in federal prison following his guilty plea to distribution of crack. His sentenced was later reduced to five years and three months based upon changes to federal sentencing guidelines.
The investigation of Wilson was conducted by the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff’s Tactical Operations Patrol Team. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess was in charge of Wilson’s prosecution. The Charleston Police Department’s Special Enforcement Unit conducted the investigation of Courts. Assistant United States Attorney John J. Frail handled the prosecution of Courts. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentences.
These cases were prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities, including the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and other drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Carterville Woman Charged with Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
A Carterville resident was indicted on April 5, 2016, for a methamphetamine offense, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced today.
Morgan R. Harper, 24, of Carterville, is charged in a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that the offense occurred between 2013 and June 2015 in Jackson, Perry, and Randolph Counties. Harper appeared in federal court on April 19, 2016. She was ordered held without bond pending an April 21, detention hearing.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The methamphetamine offense carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Randolph County Sheriff’s Office. The Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
California Man Sentenced for Role in Manufacturing and Selling Fake Mercedes-Benz Diagnostic SoftwareRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MARTIN VELLOZZI, age 58, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to mail fraud for his role in creating and selling non-authentic Mercedes Benz diagnostic equipment
U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced VELLOZZI to four years’ probation and a $6,000 fine.
According to court documents, VELLOZZI owned LMV Industries, a California-based company that, among other things, offered technical information and support for Mercedes-Benz automobiles. Between about 2005 and July 2012, VELLOZZI produced and sold, with the help of companies located in Durham, North Carolina and Harahan, Louisiana, unauthorized, non-authentic versions of the Mercedes-Benz Star Diagnostic System (SDS), a hand-held computer containing proprietary, confidential software. The SDS is used by mechanics to diagnose problems with and assure the safety of Mercedes-Benz vehicles employing electronic control systems. The companies in Durham, North Carolina and Harahan, Louisiana—Beckmann Technologies, Inc. and The Brinson Company, respectively – have previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
According to court documents, VELLOZZI, in conjunction with the other companies, obtained, modified, and duplicated the authentic SDS software so that it would operate on ordinary laptop computers without Mercedes-Benz’s authorization or license.
The “real” SDS sold for between $8,300 and $22,000 each, while VELLOZZI sold the fake SDS for around $6,000 each. In total, VELLOZZI sold approximately ninety-five non-authentic SDS.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Cyber Task Force of the FBI’s New Orleans Division in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg and Myles Ranier were in charge of the prosecution.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Elias Gonzalez, 31, of Bakersfield, Calif., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.
Gonzalez was arrested in Aug. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with a methamphetamine trafficking offense after the DEA seized 1.90 kilograms (4.18 pounds) of methamphetamine from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque on July 26, 2015. Gonzalez was subsequently indicted on Aug. 11, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
During today’s proceedings, Gonzalez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In his plea agreement, Gonzales admitted transporting crystal methamphetamine from Los Angeles, Calif., on an eastbound Greyhound bus that stopped in Albuquerque on the morning of July 26, 2015. Gonzales intended to transport the methamphetamine, which was contained in four clear heat-sealed plastic bundles concealed in a shopping bag, to Little Rock, Ark.
At sentencing, Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be set by the court. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo Armijo.