Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
26 May 2016
Patrick Air Force Base Staff Sergeant Sentenced to 10 Years for Attempted Enticement of A Minor for SexRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Air Force staff sergeant Thomas Allen Vaughn (34), who had previously been stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, to 10 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor for sex. The Court also ordered Vaughn to forfeit a cell phone that he had used to commit the offense.
According to court documents, between October 23 and October 28, 2015, Vaughn communicated online with an undercover agent who was posing as the older brother of a 14-year-old girl, and indicated he was looking for a boyfriend for his sister. During online and phone conversations, Vaughn discussed his interest in engaging in sexual acts with the “girl.” Vaughn sent the “child” a photo of himself naked from the waist up and wrote directly to the “child” that a naked picture from her would be “hot.” He also requested that the “child” send him a “sexy” picture. Vaughn indicated that he wanted to meet the “child,” and asked her what street she lived on.
On October 28, 2015, Vaughn made plans to meet the “child” at 6:00 p.m. at her residence. The “child” advised that she was still at school and wouldn’t be at home at that time. Vaughn then drove to the school that he believed the “child” attended. He was arrested and had condoms in his possession.
This case was investigated by Air Force Office of Special Investigations in Tampa. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Owner of “the Wholesale Source” Convicted for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements OnlineRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Chenhsin Chan, a/k/a Paul Chan, has been found guilty of 30 felony counts following a three-day jury trial, in connection with his online marketing and sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine in violation of a federal ban.
“Ephedrine has been banned for use in dietary supplements for over a decade now,” said United States Attorney John Horn. “Chan, however, continued to market and sell unlawful products to online customers, exposing them to an unreasonable risk for illness or injury. He willfully broke the law, and his conviction should send a message to those who seek to endanger the online marketplace with unsafe products.”
“This verdict emphasizes that criminals selling unsafe, adulterated dietary supplements to American consumers will be held accountable for their actions,” said Robert J. West, Special Agent in Charge, United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “The FDA will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who place profits above the public health.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Paul Chan owned and operated The Wholesale Source, LLC, a company that marketed and sold dietary supplements, primarily through affiliated websites including www.thatswholesale.com and www.ephedrawholesale.com. From at least July 2005 through August 2012, Chan marketed and sold dietary supplements on his websites that contained ephedrine alkaloids. In April 2004, the FDA published a final rule declaring dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids to be adulterated because they present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Chan was warned by FDA investigators and others that it was illegal to sell dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids, but he continued to do so.
Chan’s websites made materially false and misleading claims concerning the use of ephedrine, such as that ephedrine has been approved by the FDA for treatment of any disease, and that ephedrine has “never been illegal.” The jury found that these false and misleading claims were designed to lure customers into believing that it was legal to purchase adulterated dietary supplements containing ephedrine, when it was not. Chan sold over $4.5 million in dietary supplements with ephedrine alkaloids, including to customers in the Northern District of Georgia.
Chenhsin Chan, a/k/a Paul Chan, 44, of Elmhurst, New York, was charged by a federal grand jury on May 29, 2014, with ten counts of mail fraud, ten counts of introducing adulterated food (namely, dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids) into interstate commerce, five counts of knowingly distributing a listed chemical (namely, ephedrine) without obtaining the required registration, and five counts of money laundering. The jury rendered a guilty verdict on all thirty counts of the indictment.
In addition to its guilty verdict on the charges, the jury also criminally forfeited assets the defendant purchased with proceeds from the crimes, including real property in New York that had been purchased for $950,000, a Mercedes Benz purchased for over $50,000, and a Lamborghini Gallardo purchased for approximately $117,000, as well as over $666,000 in proceeds from the crimes.
Sentencing for Chan has not yet been scheduled.
This case is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. The Drug Enforcement Agency provided valuable assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg and Kelly K. Connors are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Owner of Burley Income Tax Preparation Business Sentenced for Preparing Falsified Income Tax Returns for ClientsRead the Press Release
BOISE – Cruz “Kelly” Chacon, 42, of Burley, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for assisting, advising, and counseling clients to submit materially false federal income tax returns to the IRS, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Chacon to pay $81,384.00 in restitution. Chacon pleaded guilty on February 22, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, from 2008 through 2011, Chacon and some of her employees at Kelly’s Tax Service submitted over 2,500 federal falsified income tax returns. They did this primarily by claiming tax credits to which their clients were not entitled. Specifically, Chacon and her employees would prepare tax returns that claimed the “child tax credit” and the “additional child tax credit” for taxpayers who did not qualify for these credits. This had the effect of increasing clients’ tax refunds, which helped Chacon to generate business.
“Those who intentionally submit falsified income tax returns to the IRS victimize all taxpayers because we all share the costs of paying for the improper tax refunds,” U.S. Attorney Olson said. “We will continue to work closely with the IRS to root out this illegal activity, especially where a tax preparation business assists individuals in breaking the law.”
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigations division.
Orville Washington Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Connection to His Leadership in a Drug Distribution NetworkRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Jason C. Youker, age 42, of Oroville, Washington, was sentenced yesterday, after a jury previously found him guilty on December 16, 2015, of 32 felony counts relating to his leadership of a drug distribution network. The felony counts included conspiracy to distribute heroin and 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, distribution of heroin and methamphetamine, possession of heroin and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug-
trafficking offense, and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Youker was found to be possession of fifteen firearms. United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr., sentenced Youker to a 240 month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a five year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, beginning in October of 2012 and continuing until Youker’s arrest on September 17, 2014, Youker led a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from a private compound located on Gold Mountain near Republic, Washington. Youker was in the process of constructing a residence on the compound and paid some of his workers in heroin. Evidence showed that Youker used the compound to cut and package heroin and methamphetamine for sale and buried it on the compound. Youker and would then disclose the locations of heroin and methamphetamine to subordinates or customers by text message. At sentencing, Youker was held responsible for 178 grams of heroin, 294 grams of actual methamphetamine, and 155 grams of “ice” or crystalized methamphetamine. Several of the firearms were discovered in a cache of firearms hidden on his property. Firearms were also found in a garden area and in two trailers located on the compound.
Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, “The distribution of heroin and methamphetamine poses a serious issue to the health and welfare of everyone in our communities, including those who become addicted. Youker’s sentence of twenty years reflects the seriousness of his criminal conduct and his role as the leader of this drug distribution network.”
Mr. Ormsby further stated, “This joint federal, state and local agency investigation demonstrates the dedication of our agents and officers and the willingness to utilize resources at every level of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute drug trafficking violations that occur within this District.”
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the North-Central Washington Narcotics Task Force, the Ferry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Republic Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Timothy J. Ohms and Matthew F. Duggan, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.
Ocoee Man Found Guilty of Using Toddler to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Timothy Michael Sedlak (42, Ocoee) guilty of two counts of using a minor to produce child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each production count and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on the possession count. The sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Sedlak was indicted on December 9, 2015.
According to evidence presented at trial, on two occasions, Sedlak took photographs of himself sexually abusing a small child. The first incident took place in September 2009, when the victim was a year old, and the second incident took place in April 2011, when the child was three. The images of Sedlak abusing the child were discovered when United States Secret Service agents executed a search warrant on Sedlak’s home as part of an unrelated computer intrusion investigation. In addition to the images of the victim, agents discovered hundreds of images of child pornography on Sedlak’s computers that had been downloaded from the Internet.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.
Northern California Man Sentenced to 108 Months’ Imprisonment for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Konrad Wolff was sentenced to 108 months in prison for receipt of child pornography announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch. The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable James Donato, U.S. District Judge and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.
Wolff, 28, previously of Albany, Calif., was arrested early last year at Ft. Benning, GA. On December 18, 2015, after a bench trial before Judge Donato, Wolff was convicted of receiving thousands of images and hundreds of videos of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2). The evidence at trial established that Wolff possessed videos and images of minor and prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit and sadomasochistic conduct. Judge Donato also found at sentencing that the defendant was in possession of certain manuals which provided step-by-step instructions on how to sexually exploit children while avoiding detection by law enforcement.
Wolff was originally indicted on December 18, 2014, and charged with one count of possessing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252 (a)(4)(B). On February 19, 2015, the grand jury returned a two-count superseding indictment that added the more serious receipt of child pornography charge, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2).
In addition to the prison term, Judge Donato also sentenced the defendant to a 15-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott D. Joiner prosecuted the case with the assistance of Ponly Tu and Patricia Mahoney. The prosecution is the result of a three-month investigation by the FBI and the University of California Berkeley Police Department.
Nixa Woman Pleads Guilty to $80 Million Fraud Scheme to Sell Counterfeit Cell Phone PartsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Nixa, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to selling more than $80 million worth of counterfeit cell phone components over the Internet and at a Springfield, Mo., store.
Sherrie Householder, 59, of Nixa, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges her with one count of mail fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of tax evasion.
By pleading guilty today, Householder admitted that she received more than $80 million from the sale of counterfeit items over approximately three years, from Dec. 3, 2012, to Jan. 14, 2016.
Householder managed and operated Flash Technology, LLC, also known as Flash Tech, a business that sold cell phone components (such as replacement screens, lithium batteries, weight scales, phone cases and internal circuitry) over the Internet and at a Springfield store. Householder represented that the cell phone components were manufactured by legitimate companies – including Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, Android, Dell, Blackberry, ASUS, Acer, Kindle, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, ZTE and others. Although each part contained trademarks and markings that made it appear the legitimate holder of the trademark had manufactured the parts, and although Householder used the trademarks and logos of these companies on her Web sites, the components were actually counterfeit.
Wang “Frank” Lou, a Chinese citizen, owned Flash Tech, while Householder managed the company’s activities in the United States. Lou shipped the cell phone component parts to Householder. Nearly 5,000 international shipments were sent to Flash Tech from China.
Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection conducted numerous border inspections of these shipments. All of the items shipped from Lou to Householder and inspected by federal agents were determined to be counterfeit. At least nine separate shipments, each with multiple packages, were inspected and ultimately confiscated after it was determined that the shipments contained counterfeit cell phones and counterfeit component parts. Agents conferred with industry experts and determined that the total value of the counterfeit merchandise seized during their inspections totaled $359,539. After each shipment was seized, the agencies issued letters of notification to Householder at Flash Tech advising her that the items being shipped to her company were counterfeit and were seized by federal agents. Even though Householder received these written notifications, she still continued to sell the counterfeit items at her Springfield stores and over the Internet.
After the initial seizure of counterfeit items, Householder caused future shipments from Lou to be sent to different names and addresses, then re-routed delivery to Flash Tech, in an attempt to avoid the seizure of additional shipments.
On Feb. 2, 2016, search warrants were simultaneously executed at Householder’s Nixa residence and at the Flash Tech store in Springfield. At each location, thousands of cell phones, electronics and component parts were seized. After seizing these items, agents and company experts determined that all of the items were counterfeit. The total amount of items seized was worth approximately $5.5 million and filled two large moving trucks.
Householder also admitted that she failed to pay any taxes between 2013 and 2015 on her total salary of $642,109. Householder failed to report her total income of $114,362 for 2013, $255,259 for 2014 and $279,959 for 2015. As a result, Householder owes $151,838 in back taxes. In addition to the federal income taxes owed, Householder also owes the Missouri Department of Revenue $32,743 for her failure to pay state income taxes for 2013 through 2015.
Householder must forfeit to the government $556,938 seized from various PayPal, Amazon and bank accounts, numerous desktop and laptop computers, iPads, hard drives, computer and cell phone components and a money judgment of $8,866,069.
Under federal statutes, Householder is subject to a sentence of up to 35 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 Patrick Carney. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
New York Man Sentenced on Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ibrahim Stevens, age 26 of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Conner for his role in a drug trafficking operation in Williamsport.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the charge arose from an investigation conducted by the Lycoming Narcotics Enforcement Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. During a search of Stevens’ apartment in May 2014, police found 80 grams of crack cocaine and heroin. The drugs were found partially flushed in a toilet.
A second co-defendant, Anthony Gaskin, has pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lycoming County Narcotics Enforcement Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the heroin initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
# # #
New Orleans Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Theft of Federal Funds and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DOMINIEL TRINETTE JONES, age 26, of New Orleans, pled guilty today to conspiracy to steal federal funds, theft of federal funds, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, in September 2014, JONES conspired with others to unlawfully acquire two United States Treasury checks that did not belong to her. The refund checks were the property of the United States and payable to two actual taxpayers who were owed tax refunds. JONES also obtained two false Georgia driver’s licenses in the names of the two taxpayers who were payees on the refund checks, for the purpose of opening bank accounts to deposit and steal the Treasury funds. Using the fake driver’s license bearing the name S.H., JONES opened a bank account at Woodforest National Bank in Covington, in S.H.’s name, but deposited the check later that day at a different branch in Gulfport. Later that day, JONES traveled to the Woodforest National Bank in New Orleans and withdrew $10,000 from the account bearing the name S.H. using the fake driver’s license.
Additionally, JONES and a coconspirator opened an account in the names of S.V. and J.V. at Woodforest National Bank located in LaPlace. JONES and the coconspirator presented fraudulent Georgia driver’s licenses in the names of S.V. and J.V. to open the account. The same day, JONES, and the co-conspirator used the Treasury check, payable to S.V. and J.V., as the initial deposit to open the account at Woodforest National Bank in LaPlace.
Count One, Conspiracy to Steal Federal Funds carries a maximum penalty of five (5) years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, supervised release of not more than three years, and a special assessment of $100.
Counts Two and Three, Theft of Federal Funds, each carry a maximum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, supervised release of not more than three years and a special assessment of $100, per count.
Counts Four and Five each charge JONES with Aggravated Identity Theft. Those counts each carry a two years imprisonment that must run consecutively to the sentence for Counts Two and Three.
U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon set sentencing for September 1, 2016.
Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Jerome R. McDuffie, stated: “We are pleased with the guilty plea entered today by Ms. Jones. Our agency will continue to work with the United States Attorney's Office to protect innocent taxpayers and preserve the integrity of our tax system. Identity theft is an on-going problem and IRS-CI will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute those engaged in these illegal activities. Participation in refund fraud schemes does not pay and those who do so will be held accountable for their illegal activities.”
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman is in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Traffic Heroin Using MegabusRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that THOMAS GORDON, age 32, of New Orleans, pled guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute over one kilogram of heroin.
GORDON was one of eight defendants charged in a 21-count Superseding Indictment on September 18, 2015. According to court documents, this Indictment resulted from an FBI investigation into a heroin-trafficking organization operating primarily around Loyola Avenue and Harmony Street in Central City. The sources of heroin for this organization traveled via Megabus from Houston to New Orleans, carrying half-kilogram quantities of heroin for distribution in the New Orleans area.
GORDON is facing not less than 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment, as well as a possible fine of up to $10,000,000. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier set sentencing on September 1, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the FBI New Orleans Gang Task Force (NOGTF), St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long is in charge of the prosecution.
New Haven Man Sentenced to More That 3 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ORLANDO ESTRADA, 26, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation conducted by the New Haven Police Department and the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force.
On December 15, 2014, New Haven Police encountered ESTRADA and another male in an improperly-parked vehicle in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. When officers approached the car, the other occupant, who was in the driver’s seat, attempted to flee the scene and was observed throwing a packet before he was taken into custody. Officers located the packet, which was found to contain crack cocaine.
An officer conducted a search of ESTRADA, who had been in the passenger seat of the car, and located a laser sight for a handgun in one of ESTRADA’s pockets. ESTRADA then advised the officer that there was a loaded pistol under the passenger seat. The officer seized the firearm and ESTRADA was arrested.
Prior to December 2014, ESTRADA had been convicted of multiple felony offenses.
ESTRADA has been detained since his arrest. On June 11, 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
The FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden and Milford Police Departments, the Connecticut State Police and the State of Connecticut Department of Correction.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney H. Gordon Hall.
Navajo Man from Arizona Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Child Sexual Abuse Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Hubbard, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fort Defiance, Ariz., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his abusive sexual contact of a minor child conviction. Hubbard will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.
Hubbard was arrested on Feb. 25, 2015, on an indictment alleging that he sexually abused a child victim from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
On Nov. 2, 2015, Hubbard entered a guilty plea to an abusive sexual contact with a child charge. In entering his guilty plea, Hubbard admitted sexually molesting a Navajo child who was less than 12 years old from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012. Hubbard committed the crime within the Navajo Indian Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez prosecuted the case under 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/.
Municipal Court Judge Pleads Guilty in Corruption SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Joseph O’Neill, 65, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to making false statements to the FBI during an investigation of potential wrongdoing in the Philadelphia Municipal Court. O’Neill is a judge on the Philadelphia Municipal Court. U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 7, 2016.
O’Neill received a phone call from then-Municipal Court Judge Joseph Waters about a civil small claims case that was scheduled for a hearing before O’Neill. In an ex parte conversation, Waters told O’Neill that the defendant in the small claims case was a friend and asked O’Neill to “take a hard look at it.” When the FBI later interviewed O’Neill about the ex parte conversation, O’Neill denied having been contacted by anyone in advance of the hearing on the small claims case to ask for a favor. In a follow-up interview, O’Neill denied that anyone had contacted him in advance of the hearing and told him the defendant in the small claims case was a friend of the caller. Waters pleaded guilty in September of 2014, to mail fraud and wire services fraud in connection with the corruption scheme.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Chief of the Public Corruption Unit Richard P. Barrett and Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
Member of Bronx Gang Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Murder and Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that today WALI BURGOS, a/k/a “Guy Fisher,” pled guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy, and in connection with that plea, admitted to committing the murder of Johnny Moore and a separate attempted murder of another intended victim, all in connection with a violent street gang known as “18 Park,” which is based primarily in and around the New York City Police Department’s 40th Precinct in the Bronx, New York. As part of his guilty plea, BURGOS admitted to shooting and killing Johnny Moore, a 16-year-old, in the Patterson Houses area in the Bronx, and to committing a shooting and attempted murder in which Burgos fired shots at a rival gang member, hitting the rival gang member’s cap, knocking it off his head. BURGOS faces a maximum term of life in prison, and will be sentenced before United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on September 8, 2016.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “For far too long, members of 18 Park and their rival gangs have terrorized the people of New York by engaging in all manner of mayhem – including murder, attempted murder, and other racketeering activities. In 2013, Wali Burgos was acquitted of the murder of Johnny Moore after a jury trial in Bronx County Supreme Court. Today, Burgos accepted responsibility for that murder and pled guilty to it in federal court. Gang violence cannot be allowed to persist, and today’s guilty plea shows that law enforcement won’t give up until the perpetrators of such violence are brought to justice.”
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:
BURGOS was a member of the Bronx-based street gang known as 18 Park, and in that capacity committed acts of violence with other gang members, including murder and attempted murder. From at least 2006 to December 2015, members and associates of 18 Park enriched themselves by selling drugs, such as crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and committed acts of violence, including murder and attempted murder, against various people, including rival gang members, rival drug traffickers, and innocent bystanders. As part of this enterprise, members and associates of 18 Park – including BURGOS – killed and attempted to kill other individuals. On May 29, 2011, BURGOS shot Moore to death in the Patterson Houses area. On October 2, 2014, BURGOS shot at and attempted to murder a member of a rival gang, also in the Patterson Houses area. BURGOS just missed the rival gang member, shooting the cap off his head.
* * *
Mr. Bharara praised the work of ATF, the DEA, and the NYPD. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their participation and support in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys James McDonald, Samson Enzer, Dina McLeod, and Andrew Adams are in charge of the prosecution.
Medical Doctor Arrested on Federal ‘Structuring’ Charges for Making Cash Deposits to Avoid Federal Reporting RequirementsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles-area doctor was arrested this morning after being indicted on federal “structuring” charges that allege he made hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash deposits designed to circumvent federal reporting requirement.
Dr. Washington Bryan II, 47, was arrested this morning at his residence in Westwood. Bryan is expected to be arraigned this afternoon at the United States Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
The 29-count indictment charges Bryan with structuring more than $400,000 in cash deposits between October 2011 and January 2013. Bryan allegedly made deposits of less than $10,000 each into four separate accounts for the purpose of preventing banks from reporting the deposits to the federal government, which is required for every cash transaction of more than $10,000.
In conjunction with Bryan’s arrest, investigators executed federal search warrants at Bryan’s residence and his Brentwood medical office. The affidavit in support of the search warrants discusses a total of $3.8 million in structured cash deposits allegedly made by Bryan as far back as December 2007. The affidavit also discusses evidence that Bryan structured the cash for the purpose of concealing income he receive from thousands of fraudulent prescriptions that he issued for narcotic painkillers and HIV medications.
According to data maintained by the State of California, Bryan issued nearly 10,000 controlled drug prescriptions over a three-year period that ended in March. According to the affidavit, 86 percent of those prescriptions were for the same two narcotic drugs, namely, oxycodone (commonly known by the brand name OxyContin) and oxymorphone (also known by the brand name Opana). Since 2006, Medicare has paid more money to pharmacies to cover Bryan’s narcotic drug prescriptions – $7.8 million – than for any other prescribing doctor in California, and he outpaced the next-highest prescriber by more than $1.6 million.
“The federal structuring statute was designed to prevent criminals from hiding their illicit proceeds from scrutiny,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “In this case the defendant will now be held accountable for his attempt to hide millions of dollars made from excessive and highly-suspicious narcotic drug prescriptions.”
“Federal laws that regulate the reporting of certain financial transactions are in place to detect and stop illegal activities, such as narcotics trafficking and prescription drug diversion schemes,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation’s acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to enforcing these laws and following the money, particularly when doctors profit from issuing medically unnecessary prescriptions.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
If convicted of the 29 counts in the indictment, Bryan would face a statutory maximum sentence of 145 years in federal prison.
The investigation into Bryan was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Department of Defense – Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the California Department of Justice and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Media Advisory: Cedar Rapids/Linn County Town Hall - Opioid/Heroin CrisisRead the Press Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – The United States Attorney’s Office is joining with the Cedar Rapids Police Department to hold a second Town Hall to discuss the opioid and heroin epidemic that has impacted the city. To help raise awareness and to educate young people on the dangers of addiction, the FBI and DEA have released the documentary Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict, a compilation of heart-wrenching first-person accounts by addicts and family members of addicts about their experiences. This 49 minute film will be shown.
After the film, there will be a Q&A session followed by a discussion of drug treatment options available in Linn County. The Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative will launch C.R.U.S.H. (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin), which is a community outreach initiative designed to involve schools, law enforcement, treatment providers, community leaders and health care organizations to address the growing epidemic. This community response was recently initiated in Dubuque, Iowa.
U.S. Attorney Kevin W. Techau will be present. The event is open to the public. Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/268612736818992/.
Event Details
When: May 31, 2016
Where: Cedar Rapids Downtown Public Library (Whipple Aud.), 450 5th Ave SE
Time: Begins at 6:00 p.m., and ends at 8:00 p.m.
Press wishing to attend should contact AUSA Steve Young at 319-731-4037, or by emailing him at [email protected].
Lynchburg Man Sentenced for Failing to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA – A Lynchburg man, who previously pled guilty to failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act [SORNA], was sentenced today in Federal Court after he failed to keep his registration up-to-date, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Darren Andrew Beauregard, 50, of Lynchburg, Virginia, previously pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg to one count of failure to register as a sex offender as required under SORNA. Today in District Court, Beauregard was sentenced to 18 months in Federal prison and five years of supervised release thereafter.
“The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is an important tool for law enforcement in regards to keep our communities safe,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “When individuals fail to comply with the requirements placed on them by SORNA, we will work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute them.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley B. Neese prosecuted the case for the United States.
Luling Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that KALI IRONS, age 39, of Luling, pled guilty today to one count of filing a false tax return.
According to court records, IRONS, a self-employed tax preparer, under-reported her taxable income for 2009 and 2010 to the IRS. This resulted in a tax loss to the United States in the amount of $88,203.00.
IRONS faces a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to $100,000 in fines, and up to one year of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon set sentencing on September 1, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of the Treasury/Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation team. Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. Rivera is in charge of the prosecution.
Loganville Man who Participated in “Ethnic Cleansing” in the 1990’s as Bosnian Prison Guard Convicted of Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Mladen Mitrovic, who served in the Bosnian Serb Army and worked as a prison guard in a camp that was part of the infamous “ethnic cleansing” that occurred during the Bosnian War, was found guilty of obtaining his American citizenship by providing false and fraudulent information on his naturalization application.
“Mitrovic thought that he could bury his past and the horrific human rights violations he committed during the Bosnian War,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “A jury saw through his deceit and he will now be held accountable for failing to be truthful during the naturalization process.”
“This case demonstrates the Justice Department’s continued commitment to denying safe haven to human rights violators,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “No matter how long it takes, we will pursue justice, protect the integrity of our immigration system, and seek accountability for crimes.”
“Human rights violators who think they can conceal their past to escape accountability in the United States are sorely mistaken,” said Nick S. Annan, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta. “This individual tried to cheat our nation's immigration system by lying about his actions during the Bosnian Civil War. This result shows that HSI is firmly committed to investigating and identifying criminals who seek to exploit our nation's welcoming policy toward legitimate war refugees.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In 1996, Mitrovic was permitted to immigrate to the United States based on his statements in his refugee application that he feared persecution if he remained in Bosnia. In 2002, he naturalized as an American citizen. The evidence presented at trial also demonstrated that on his naturalization application, Mitrovic stated, among other things, that he had never persecuted anyone because of their race, religion or membership in a social group; he had never committed a criminal offense for which he had not been arrested; and he had never provided any false or misleading information to obtain an immigration benefit, such as refugee status.
In reality, as the trial evidence established, during the Bosnian War, Mitrovic had been a guard in one of the prison camps that the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) opened in May 1992 to “ethnically cleanse” northwest Bosnia of non-Serb minorities. At trial, one victim testified that Mitrovic had used a sharp military knife to carve a Christian cross into his chest, saying from that moment on, he “was going to be a Serb.” Others testified that Mitrovic and other soldiers beat non-Serb prisoners into unconsciousness or threatened to kill them with automatic rifles. Bosnian government documents also showed that in February 1996, Mitrovic applied for and was later awarded veterans’ benefits for his later military service in the VRS during the Bosnian War. Trial evidence showed that Mitrovic failed to disclose any of this conduct or military service on his refugee and naturalization applications.
Sentencing for Mladen Mitrovic, 54, of Loganville, Georgia, is scheduled for August 25, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant United States Attorneys William Traynor and Jessica Morris, and Christina Giffin, Assistant Deputy Chief of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Justice Department are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Little Eagle Man Acquitted of Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man was acquitted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon as a result of a federal jury trial in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on May 24, 2016.
Forrest Devan Yellow Earrings, age 24, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 14, 2015.
The charge stemmed from an incident which occurred in January 2014, when Yellow Earrings allegedly assaulted a male acquaintance.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.
Lake Worth Man Pleads Guilty in Elaborate Mail Fraud Scheme Involving Rental Property TakeoversRead the Press Release
A Lake Worth resident pled guilty for his participation in a mail fraud scheme involving rental property takeovers.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and Sean Scheller, Chief, Town of Lantana, made the announcement.
Miguel Tilus, 54, of Lake Worth, pled guilty to mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of United States Code, Section 1349. Tilus faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the mail fraud and conspiracy counts and restitution of over $105,000. Tilus is scheduled to be sentenced on August 11, 2016 at 9:00 a.m., before United States District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. Co-conspirators Kesner Joaseus, 46, of Wellington, and Wadno Dorneau, 36, of West Palm Beach, are scheduled for trial on August 8, 2016.
According to court documents, a legitimate real estate investment trust based in Georgia, RHA 2, LLC, owns dozens of properties in Palm Beach and Broward Counties that it leases out as residential single family homes. This company operates as HavenBrook Homes. From November 2014 through January 2016, Dorneau, Joaseus and Tilus conspired, using the similar company name “RHA Two, LLC,” to illegally take possession of and rent the residences lawfully owned by HavenBrook Homes by assuming the legitimate company’s identity.
In order to accomplish this, the co-conspirators identified and monitored the status of homes being renovated by HavenBrook Homes. When construction was nearing completion, Joaseus would remove the lockbox from a targeted home and call a locksmith to change the locks on the home. Immediately after having the locks changed, sometimes within hours, the defendants placed signs in high traffic areas advertising a home for rent and posting one of several prepaid cell phone numbers.
According to court documents, including the plea agreement and proffer, Tilus admitted that numerous times, he arranged to meet prospective tenants at the property, present bogus leases with a counterfeit “HavenBrook Homes” logo, and collect thousands of dollars in money orders or cash, purportedly for security deposits and rent for the houses. Tilus and the other defendants always used aliases when dealing with the tenants. In this manner, the defendants collected purported lease payments from dozens of tenants of houses owned by HavenBrook Homes which the defendants had no right to possess.
HavenBrook Homes has confirmed that at least 80 homes owned by them have been fraudulently taken over in this manner, resulting in fraud losses of rental income that could exceed $100,000 per month for all of 2015.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the ICE-HSI and the Lantana Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Jorgensen.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Kentucky Man Ordered to Pay over $80K for Timber TheftRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Cheyenne Allen, 40, of Salyersville, Kentucky was sentenced before Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, for mail fraud.
Allen was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, 1 year of supervised release and ordered to pay 80,192.83 in restitution.
According to documents filed in this case, Allen conducted a scheme to steal valuable walnut trees from the land of an absentee landowner. After Allen’s timber-buying license was suspended by the State of Indiana, he began negotiating with a landowner to buy land in Cass County, Indiana. Before Allen had purchased the land, he had a stand of valuable walnut trees logged from the land and sold it for over $80,000. The landowner had no knowledge that Allen had cleared the land.
This case was prosecuted as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse M. Barrett.
# # #
Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against Owners of Carson City, Nevada, Rental PropertiesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Carson City, Nevada, rental property owners Betty Brinson and Hughston Brinson have agreed to pay $36,000 to resolve allegations that they discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The lawsuit alleged that the Brinsons discriminated against families with children by placing a series of advertisements for a single-family rental home in the local newspaper that indicated a preference for adult tenants and refusing to rent the home to a family with three children because they did not want children living at the property. The complaint also alleged that Betty Brinson placed discriminatory advertisements for another property she owns – a 36-unit apartment complex in Carson City – that indicated a preference for adult tenants. The lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the family, who alleged that they were refused the opportunity to rent the single-family home.
Under the proposed consent order, which still must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, the defendants will pay $14,000 to the HUD complainants, $10,000 into a victim fund to compensate other aggrieved families and $12,000 to the United States as a civil penalty. In addition, the proposed consent decree prohibits the defendants from discriminating in the future against families with children and requires the defendants to receive training on the requirements of the FHA and provide periodic reports to the department.
“Families should not face discrimination because of the presence of children when looking for a home,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act and its protections for families as they navigate the housing market.”
“A family’s search for housing that fits their needs shouldn’t be limited by discriminatory practices that violate the Fair Housing Act,” said Gustavo Velasquez, Assistant Secretary for HUD’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office. “Today’s settlement is a victory for families with children and reaffirms HUD and the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that the owners or rental properties understand their obligations under the law and take steps to meet that obligation.”
Anyone who believes that they or individuals they know may have been discriminated against by the Brinsons based on their familial status should contact the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox number 991, or by sending an email to [email protected].
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Department of Justice. The FHA prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt/.
Brinson Consent Order
Justice Department Settles Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against Lubbock, TexasRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that Lubbock, Texas, engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against Hispanic and female applicants for probationary police officer positions with the Lubbock Police Department, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In a joint motion filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Justice Department and the city of Lubbock asked the court to enter a provisional order that sets out the terms of the settlement agreement. Under the proposed settlement agreement, which is subject to court approval, Lubbock will develop a new written test and a new physical fitness test for selecting probationary police officers and provide hiring relief with retroactive seniority to 11 qualified Hispanic applicants and 13 qualified female applicants who were disqualified by the challenged employment tests. In addition to hiring relief for the 24 qualified applicants, Lubbock will also pay a total of $725,000 to any eligible Hispanic and female applicants who were disqualified by the challenged employment tests. The motion also asks the court to schedule a fairness hearing, an opportunity provided by Title VII for those affected by the proposed agreement to comment on the settlement.
The proposed settlement agreement will resolve the complaint filed by the Justice Department on Dec. 2, 2015. In its complaint, the Justice Department alleged that Lubbock’s use of its written test and physical fitness test violated Title VII by disproportionately screening out, respectively, Hispanic and female applicants for the probationary police officer position without meaningfully distinguishing between applicants who can and cannot perform the job. Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or religion, whether the discrimination is intentional or involves the use of employment practices that have a disparate impact and are not job related and consistent with business necessity.
“Unnecessary barriers that keep qualified Hispanic and female applicants from obtaining public safety jobs violate the law and hurt our communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice commends the city of Lubbock and the Lubbock Police Department for working to adopt new hiring procedures that comply with Title VII and to provide relief to those applicants harmed by the city’s previous hiring practices.”
The case was brought by Trial Attorneys Hector Ruiz, Karen Ruckert, Jennifer Swedish and Alisa Philo of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann E. Cruce-Haag of the Northern District of Texas. Enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws is a top priority for the Justice Department. Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Lubbock Consent Decree
Johnstown Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Johnstown, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court in Johnstown to charges of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Eric J. Westover, 30, of Johnstown, Pa., pleaded guilty to two counts of the indictment before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, on Dec. 18, 2013, Westover possessed less than 100 grams of heroin with the intent to distribute it.
In addition, in 2006 Westover had been convicted in Cambria County, Pa., of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. On Dec. 18, 2013, he unlawfully possessed a Bersa Arms pistol and a Harrington and Richardson pistol. Federal law prohibits persons who have been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year from possessing ammunition or firearms. Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is such a crime.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 4, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Johnstown Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Westover.
According to Mr. Hickton, Westover is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent, deter, and prosecute gun crime.
Jamaican National Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Mail FraudRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ANDREW O’NEIL BOWYER, age 26, a resident of Jamaica, was charged today in a one-count Indictment for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud.
According to the Indictment, on or before August 2013, BOWYER and others operated a scheme to contact elderly individuals and people with diminished capacity who would be susceptible to being scammed. The scheme involved contacting victims by telephone through Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) and informing them they had won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes or similar lottery and needed to pay BOWYER and others monies by cash, check, wire, and other methods in order to claim their lottery winnings.
BOWYER and others obtained names, addresses, and other biographical information from an unknown source. They used the information to identify victims, telephone them, or direct others to telephone them, to represent that they had won the sweepstakes and inform them they would need to send him or others money in order to claim their winnings.
It was part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that on or around March 30, 2015, the defendant, BOWYER, employed false representations and promises in order to convince V.L., an elderly person, into believing V.L. had won a sweepstakes, causing V.L. to send money via the United States Postal Service to CC-1, a co-conspirator living at an apartment in New Orleans. V.L. sent the money to CC-1 in reliance on BOWYER’s false representations and promises that if V.L. sent the money to CC-1, she would be awarded sweepstakes winnings. Immediately after receiving the funds in the mail from V.L., CC-1 deposited the money into his bank account in New Orleans, and initiated a wire transfer of the funds from the account to BOWYER’s account in Jamaica.
If convicted, BOWYER faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, to be followed by three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a special assessment of $100.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman is in charge of the prosecution.
Indictment: $3.5 Million ID Theft Conspiracy Stretched from Mailboxes to Car LotsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - Thirteen people are charged in a federal indictment unsealed today alleging they used stolen identities in an effort to spend or access more than $3.5 million of other people’s money and credit, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
The indictment alleges the conspirators divided up the work of stealing from mailboxes, forging identification documents, obtaining fraudulent credit cards and shopping with stolen identities. Some of the conspirators are alleged to have been paid in drugs for their labor. Among the items purchased were a $43,500 Jaguar automobile and a $62,000 Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
The joint federal and local investigation was based on the fact that as early as October 2013 the U.S. Postal Inspection Service recognized that a significant volume of mail was being stolen from blue postal collection boxes, residential mailboxes and mail rooms in the Wichita area.
The indictment alleges the conspirators:
-
Stole mail from the U.S. Postal Service’s blue boxes, a post office and residential customers’ mailboxes.
-
Altered checks.
-
Used stolen information to manufacture new checks.
-
Made purchases using altered and manufactured checks.
-
Created profiles of victims using information from stolen mail.
-
Obtained credit cards using stolen identities.
-
Manufactured false identification documents with stolen information including driver’s licenses.
-
Used stolen identities to obtain credit and merchandise based on the victims’ credit history and incomes.
The government alleges the loss in this matter is approximately $3.5 million.
The 50-count indictment includes charges of aggravated identity theft, trafficking in stolen identities, receipt of stolen mail, unlawful production of identity documents, conspiracy, bank fraud, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and firearms charges.
“This case highlights the importance of the strong working relationships among federal, state and local law enforcement,” said Inspector in Charge Craig Goldberg, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to working with our partners to ensure the continued trust people place in the mail and protecting the public from financial victimization by enforcing the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal use.”
The following defendants are named in the indictment:
Samuel Below, 29, Phoenix, Ariz.
Chad Michael Abildgaard, 25, Goddard, Kan.
Krysalias Lynn Bernhardt, 20, Clearwater, Kan.
Jacob Michael Martin, 31, Wichita, Kan.
Melanie Marie Morey, 41, Wichita, Kan.
Jillian N. Parker, 34, Wichita, Kan.
Jeremy Peterson, 42, Wichita, Kan.
David Allen Babedew, 24, Wichita, Kan.
Dustin Michael Reida, 28, Wichita, Kan.
Thomas Rye, 36, Phoenix, Ariz.
Daniel Christian Thomas, 31, Wichita, Kan.
Justin Alan Vanley, Rose Hill, Kan.
Jacey Jane Vidricksen, 27, Goddard, Kan.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
-
Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine (counts one and 33): Not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
-
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and attempted bank fraud (counts two, six, 10, 12, 22, 25, 27, 29, 31, 40 and 43): Up to 30 years and a fine up to $1 million on each count).
-
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and receipt of stolen mail (count three): Up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
-
Conspiracy to produce identification documents, production or use of identification documents (counts four, 13, 17, 32, and 50): Up to 15 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
-
Unlawful possession of a firearm (counts five, eight and 11): Up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
-
Aggravated identity theft (counts seven, 19, 21, 23, 38, 41, 44, 46, 47 and 48): A mandatory two years consecutive to the underlying offense and a fine up to $250,000.
-
Theft or receipt of stolen mail (counts nine, 24, 26, 28, 30, 39 and 42): Up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
-
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (count14): Up to 20 years and a fine up to $1 million.
-
Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (counts 15, 16, 34, and 35).
-
Possession of a stolen firearm (count 36): Up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
-
Possession of an unregistered silencer (count 37): Up to 10 years and a fine up to $10,000.
-
Making a false statement during a federal investigation (count 49): Up to five years and a fine up to $250,000)
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department, the Wichita Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger are prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
-
Illinois Man Sentenced to 235 MonthsRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Antwon Willis, 46, of Richton Park, Illinois was sentenced before Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, for conspiracy to distribute Heroin.
On May 26, 2016, Willis was sentenced to 235 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release following a five day jury trial that concluded with guilty verdicts on February 5, 2016.
According to documents filed in this case, from 2009 up to and including October 2014, Willis knowingly and intentionally combined, conspired, confederated and agreed with other persons to distribute over 100 grams of heroin in the Northern District of Indiana and elsewhere. Willis, who lived near Chicago, mainly used intermediaries to distribute heroin in LaPorte County, Indiana as well as Hammond, Indiana and Eastern Illinois. At the sentencing hearing held on May 26, 2016, the judge found that Willis was responsible for distributing at least 18 kilograms of heroin. The conspiracy involved locations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana.
United States Attorney Capp said, “Our federal, state and local partners work closely together with my Office to locate the distributors of this highly addictive, dangerous drug and prosecute them. Even if someone lives in another community, or even another state, when heroin is sold in Indiana we will pursue the people who are responsible. We will continue to devote resources through prosecution and community training to curb this epidemic.”
"Heroin traffickers ruin lives, families and communities, by causing overdose deaths and spikes in violence. The DEA along with its local partners are committed to stopping anyone who exploits addiction and make our neighborhoods less safe. The success of this investigation is a direct reflection of the collaborative efforts of DEA and the Michigan City Police Department", said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Greg Westfall of DEA's Indianapolis District Office.
This case was prosecuted as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of Michigan City and Portage, Indiana Police Departments. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank E. Schaffer.
# # #
Illegal Alien to Serve Time for Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – Carlos Efrain Chavez-Alas, age 27, an illegal alien from El Salvador living in Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 13 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, U. S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced today. Chavez-Alas also faces deportation as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.Houston County Man Sentenced for Violating Asbestos Work Practice StandardsRead the Press Release
MARSHALL, Texas – A 60-year-old Kennard, Texas man has been sentenced to prison for federal environmental violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Rodney K. Beshears pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, 2016, to violating the work practice standards of the Clean Air Act and was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap.
According to information presented in court, Beshears admitted that in October of 2011, he and his employees began excavating and removing a pipeline in northeast Texas. On Dec. 16, 2011, an inspector with the Texas Department of State Health Services conducted a site inspection where Beshears was removing the pipeline near Diana, Texas, and informed Beshears that the pipeline had a coating of asbestos. On Dec. 21, 2011, Beshears received training on asbestos removal practices which included instructions on the proper handling of asbestos material required under the work practice standards of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants or “NESHAP” rules for asbestos when excavating and removing pipe with a coating of asbestos. On Jan. 13, 2012, the Texas Department of State Health Services inspected another site where Beshears was excavating and removing the pipeline just outside of Ore City, Texas and again informed Beshears that the pipe had a coating of asbestos material.
Beshears’ removal of the pipeline continued through March, 2012, during which time, Beshears removed, and caused others to remove, several thousand feet of pipeline which contained regulated asbestos containing material, between Diana and Ore City, Texas. The excavation, cutting and removal of the pipeline, as directed by Beshears, included no wetting of the asbestos material that coated the pipeline as Beshears had been instructed during the training. The asbestos material was crumbled and pulverized by hitting the pipe coating with a hammer to knock it off the pipe to expose the pipe so it could be cut into pieces; asbestos was crumbled and pulverized by dragging the pipe segments across the ground; and asbestos was not disposed of at approved disposal facilities. Beshears was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 3, 2014.
"The health dangers associated with asbestos are well known and its safe removal must be handled according to the law,” said Bill Stevens, Acting Assistant Agent-in-Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division Dallas Area Office. “The defendant knew the law, yet knowingly and repeatedly violated it by directing his employees to illegally remove pipeline coated with asbestos. As an employer, the defendant was obligated to uphold environmental laws that safeguard the health of his workers and the community at large. This plea demonstrates that companies and their owners who callously place the American people at risk will be held accountable for their actions.”
This case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Dallas, Texas, the TCEQ’s Criminal Investigation Division, and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegally ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JORGE PULIDO-HERRERA, a/k/a JORGE LICONA-CERRATO, age 45, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information for illegal reentry of removed alien.
According to court records, on or about March 15, 2016, PULIDO-HERRERA was found in the United States after having been officially deported and removed on or about December 8, 1999.
PULIDO-HERRERA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years and a fine of $250,000, one year supervised release after imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier set sentencing for July 7, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene González is in charge of the prosecution.
Haydenville Woman Sentenced for Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Haydenville, Mass. woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Springfield to stealing more than $45,000 of her deceased mother’s Social Security benefits.
Shirley Warner, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three years of probation and was ordered to pay $45,491 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and a fine of $1,000.
In July 2010, Warner’s mother died, but her monthly Social Security benefits continued to be directly deposited into a joint bank account in her and Warner’s names. From August 2010 to March 2014, Warner continued to receive her deceased mother’s benefits totaling $45,491.
This case was brought as part of an ongoing effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, to investigate and prosecute the posthumous fraud of Social Security benefits. In many of these cases, family members, knowing they are not entitled to government benefits, continue to withdraw and spend the funds after a relative has died. In the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted several similar cases involving a total of more than $1 million in stolen government money.
Last month, Lynn Medeiros, of New Bedford, was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for stealing over $60,000 in Social Security benefits by continuing to collect her disabled son’s benefits after he left her custody.
Also last month, Mark Gardner, of Abington, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution and a fine for stealing $65,311 in Social Security benefits.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Bains Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.
Hardy County man pleads guilty to unlawful possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Steven Michael Hawley, 28, of Moorefield, West Virginia, pled guilty today to unlawful possession of a firearm, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Hawley, who has a previous felony conviction in state court in West Virginia, was discovered in unlawful possession of a .40 caliber pistol in April 2015 in Grant County, West Virginia. He was previously convicted of the felony offense of “Unlawful Assault” in the Circuit Court of Hardy County, West Virginia.
Hawley pled guilty today to one count of “Felon in Possession of Firearms.” He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Camilletti prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Greenville Man Sentenced for Heroin and Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that in federal court today, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced JOEY OSCAR AUSTIN, JR., 31, of Greenville, North Carolina, to 110 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. AUSTIN previously pled guilty to this charge on February 26, 2016.
In January 2015, the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force began an investigation into AUSTIN’S heroin and cocaine trafficking activities as a result of information gathered during multiple ongoing narcotics investigations. Investigators learned that AUSTIN would travel to Philadelphia, PA, several times a month in rental cars to buy heroin that he would sell in Pitt County. On February 3, 2015, as AUSTIN was traveling from Philadelphia, investigators stopped the rental car in which AUSTIN was the passenger. During the traffic stop, AUSTIN emptied a plastic bag containing an unknown amount of heroin out of the front passenger window. Investigators located 10 boxes of glassine bags in the rental car. The investigation revealed that from 2013 through February 3, 2015, AUSTIN was accountable for the distribution of 367 grams of heroin and 793 grams of cocaine.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force. The federal prosecution was handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Perry. Mr. Perry is a prosecutor with the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office. Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb has assigned Mr. Perry to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters. Mr. Perry’s assignment to the United States Attorney’s Office has been made possible by grants funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission.
Grants Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – James Garcia, 46, of Grants, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws.
Garcia was arrested in July 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on July 11, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, when Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Garcia on an outstanding state warrant, Garcia was in possession of a loaded handgun, ammunition, approximately 5.2 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
Garcia was subsequently indicted on Feb. 10, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The indictment alleged that in July 2014, Garcia was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to prior convictions for aggravated assault against a household member, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and false imprisonment.
On Feb. 16, 2016, Garcia pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Garcia acknowledged that in July 2014, he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of the DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh.
Georgia Man Convicted of Immigration Fraud for Failing to Disclose Role in Bosnian Prison CampRead the Press Release
Mladen Mitrovic, 54, of Loganville, Georgia, was found guilty by a federal jury of obtaining his U.S. citizenship by providing false and fraudulent information on his naturalization application, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Horn of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta.
Among other things, Mitrovic, who is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, failed to disclose his role as a prison guard in a detention camp, which was part of the “ethnic cleansing” that occurred during the Bosnian War from 1992 through 1995. Mitrovic was convicted yesterday and his sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg of the Northern District of Georgia.
“This case demonstrates the Justice Department’s continued commitment to denying safe haven to human rights violators,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “No matter how long it takes, we will pursue justice, protect the integrity of our immigration system and seek accountability for crimes.”
“Mitrovic thought that he could bury his past and the horrific human rights violations he committed during the Bosnian War,” said U.S. Attorney Horn. “A jury saw through his deceit and he will now be held accountable for failing to be truthful during the naturalization process.”
“Human rights violators who think they can conceal their past to escape accountability in the United States are sorely mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Annan. “This individual tried to cheat our nation's immigration system by lying about his actions during the Bosnian Civil War. This result shows that HSI is firmly committed to investigating and identifying criminals who seek to exploit our nation’s welcoming policy toward legitimate war refugees.”
According to evidence presented at trial, in 1996, Mitrovic was permitted to immigrate to the United States based on his statements in his refugee application that he feared persecution if he remained in Bosnia. In 2002, he naturalized as an American citizen. The evidence presented at trial also demonstrated that on his naturalization application, Mitrovic stated, among other things, that he had never persecuted anyone because of their race, religion or membership in a social group; he had never committed a criminal offense for which he had not been arrested; and he had never provided any false or misleading information to obtain an immigration benefit, such as refugee status.
In reality, as the trial evidence established, during the Bosnian War, Mitrovic had been a guard in one of the prison camps that the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) opened in May 1992 to “ethnically cleanse” northwest Bosnia of non-Serb minorities. At trial, one victim testified that Mitrovic had used a sharp military knife to carve a Christian cross into his chest, saying from that moment on, he “was going to be a Serb.” Others testified that Mitrovic and other soldiers beat non-Serb prisoners into unconsciousness or threatened to kill them with automatic rifles. Bosnian government documents also showed that in February 1996, Mitrovic applied for and was later awarded veterans’ benefits for his later military service in the VRS during the Bosnian War. Trial evidence showed that Mitrovic failed to disclose any of this conduct or military service on his refugee and naturalization applications.
HSI investigated this case. Assistant Deputy Chief Christina Giffin of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Traynor and Jessica Morris of the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
Former Winnebago County Purchasing Director Sally Claaasen Charged with Theft from Winnebago CountyRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — The former Winnebago County Purchasing Director was charged yesterday in federal court on two counts of theft from a program receiving federal funds. SALLY A. CLAASSEN, 57, of Roscoe, Ill., was an employee of Winnebago County from March 3, 1997, until she resigned on Sept. 11, 2015. Claassen’s job title prior to her resignation was Purchasing Director.
According to the information filed, Claassen was an agent of Winnebago County, a local government that received federal funding. As Purchasing Director, Claassen was responsible for receiving and reviewing invoices submitted by vendors to Winnebago County and submitting payments to vendors. The information alleges that Claassen held a Winnebago County-issued credit card that she was authorized to use to make purchases for official Winnebago County business. Claassen was required to submit invoices and supporting documentation to Winnebago County to demonstrate that items purchased were for Winnebago County business. The information alleges that Claassen also had the ability to purchase items for Winnebago County by requesting that Winnebago County issue a check to a particular vendor. Claassen was required to submit invoices and supporting documentation to Winnebago County to demonstrate that the requested check was to be used to purchase items for Winnebago County business.
The information alleges that for each of the periods of Feb. 24, 2014 through December 31, 2014, and Jan. 1, 2015 through July 1, 2015, Claassen embezzled or stole at least $5,000 from Winnebago County.
The information also seeks forfeiture of all property constituting, and derived from, and traceable to, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of defendant’s alleged violations including approximately $451,353, which includes approximately $292,525 in funds already seized by the United States.
Each count of theft from a program receiving federal funds carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from that offense, whichever is greater, and full restitution, as well as a period of supervised release following imprisonment of up to 5 years. Claassen remains free on her own recognizance pending an initial appearance and entry of plea set before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala on June 1, 2016, at 10:30 a.m.
The charges were 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 government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret J. Schneider.
Information
Former Washington DC Resident Sentenced to over Four Years in Prison for Credit Card Skimming SchemeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Perry Haywood, Jr., age 29, formerly of Washington, D.C., today to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. Judge Titus also ordered Haywood to pay restitution of $1,700 and to forfeit the computers and skimming devices used in the scheme.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge James Murray of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department
According to his plea agreement, on March 18, 2012, Haywood approached a government informant working at a Prince George’s County, Maryland, hotel and asked the informant if she was willing to skim credit cards used for payment at the hotel in exchange for $1,000 per week. After notifying federal law enforcement of Haywood’s solicitation, the informant arranged to meet with Haywood. During that meeting, Haywood explained the skimming operation to the informant and showed her how to use the skimming device. Haywood told the informant that he wanted her to skim 20-25 cards per week, and he would take steps to make it difficult for law enforcement to determine where the cards had been compromised. Haywood advised that he was giving the skimming device he had with him to another co-conspirator and arranged to meet the informant later to provide her with a skimming device.
On March 23, 2012, Haywood met the informant at a coffee shop and gave her a skimming device. He also provided the informant with a pre-paid cell phone to use to contact him. Haywood paid for that phone with a credit card encoded with the name and credit account of Victim #1. The informant, with government permission, used the skimming device to record the credit card information of five hotel customers, then arranged to return the skimming device to Haywood.
On April 2, 2012, Haywood was arrested while attempting to retrieve the skimmer from the informant. At the time of his arrest, Haywood was carrying another skimming device that contained the credit information of 19 additional victims. In addition, Haywood was carrying 11 credit cards encoded with information belonging to 11 separate victims, but which did not match the information that was embossed on the plastic cards themselves. Finally, in Haywood’s rental car, agents located six additional plastic cards, five of which were encoded with information belonging to victims that did not match the information embossed on the cards themselves.
After Haywood’s arrest, agents searched his residence in Washington, D.C., and seized two computers, two additional skimming devices, a device capable of encoding magnetic strips on credit cards, and 31 plastic cards with magnetic strips. Of the 31 cards, eight had been encoded with information, including the information of three additional victims. Subsequent forensic examination determined that one of the computers was loaded with software and drivers to operate a magnetic strip reader/writer and information consistent with credit card track data. Additionally, the computer had been used to access websites selling magnetic strip readers, blank magnetic card stocks, encoders, and embossers. The total actual and attempted loss as a result of Haywood’s fraudulent scheme was between $10,000 and $30,000.
On June 28, 2012, Haywood was released under conditions of pre-trial release, and was allowed to reside with his mother in Atlanta, Georgia. In late September 2012, Haywood failed to report to his supervising pre-trial services officer, and the Court ordered a bond review hearing on October 3, 2012. When Haywood failed to appear for that hearing, the Court issued a warrant for his arrest. On June 17, 2014, Haywood was arrested after he was located by federal authorities in Jacksonville, Florida.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Secret Service – Washington Field Office, HSI Baltimore and Ocean City, and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.
Former Employee of Virginia DMV Contractor Pleads Guilty to Participating in Odometer Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Virginia Beach, Virginia, man pleaded guilty for his role in issuing dozens of fraudulent motor vehicle titles, the Department of Justice announced today.
Steven Bazemore, 33, of Virginia Beach, a former employee of the Norfolk Commissioner of Revenue, pleaded guilty on May 26, in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The Norfolk Commissioner of Revenue’s office is a contractor of the Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct select DMV services included titling. Bazemore faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison at his sentencing on Aug. 31.
“This defendant abused his public position to assist a large odometer tampering scheme by issuing fraudulent vehicle titles,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to prosecute individuals who commit and assist others in committing odometer fraud.”
Bazemore admitted that, while employed as a clerk at a DMV Select facility in Norfolk, he knowingly created at least 76 Virginia motor vehicle titles with false, low mileage readings for a co-conspirator who was a licensed salvage dealer. Bazemore issued titles with any false, low mileage reading requested by his co-conspirator, even when the reading was inconsistent with a higher mileage reading on a prior title or in the DMV computer system. Bazemore’s co-conspirator then used the fraudulent titles to sell many of the vehicles for inflated prices.
In exchange for issuing the fraudulent titles, Bazemore received cash payments from his co-conspirator. Bazemore also took steps to hide the odometer fraud scheme. In many instances, Bazemore returned the documents used to procure the fraudulent titles to his co-conspirator rather than retaining the documents in the DMV file system.
This case was investigated by special agents of the Virginia DMV and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA). NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John W. Burke and Jacqueline Blaesi-Freed of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Salsbury of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA’s website and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at this page. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Former CEO of Summit Wealth Management Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating a Multi-Million Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Angelo Alleca, the former CEO of Atlanta, Georgia, based Summit Wealth Management, has pleaded guilty to conspiring with a former business partner to defraud investors of over $35 million dollars. Alleca marketed several funds that were supposed to invest in certain assets/investments, such as hedge funds managed by a professional money manager or mortgage debt. Instead he used the money to pay redemptions to earlier investors, to acquire and operate several businesses, and to pay personal expenses.
“Instead of fulfilling promises of investments, investors were largely swindled out of their money in a Ponzi scheme which directly enriched Alleca,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This case serves as another reminder that investors need to be careful, and do their research when deciding who to trust with their hard-earned money.”
“The guilty plea of Mr. Alleca is the culmination of a lengthy and extensive federal investigation examining the allegations of many years of financial fraud which victimized so many investors out of millions of dollars. It is the FBI’s hope that today’s guilty plea will provide some sense of relief to those victims that have suffered so much by Mr. Alleca’s greed driven criminal conduct,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From on or about 2004 until 2012, Alleca acted as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Summit Wealth Management, an investment adviser headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. During that time, Alleca started several funds and falsely misrepresented that money would be invested in hedge funds and debt securities and managed by professional investment managers.
Instead of investing the money as advertised, Alleca allegedly lost a substantial portion of the funds through securities trading. In addition, Alleca improperly used the funds to operate Summit Wealth Management, make interest payments and redemptions to earlier investors, and to pay personal expenses. During the course of the scheme, fraudulent account statements were mailed to investors showing gains, when there was no money in the funds.
In 1997 Alleca and Mark Morrow, a co-defendant in the case, and Alleca’s former business partner, formed Summit Capital Trading, a registered investment advisor and broker dealer in New York and Ohio. Alleca led the Buffalo, New York office and Morrow ran the Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio offices.
In 2007, Morrow established Detroit Memorial Partners LLC, which sold promissory notes to acquire and manage cemeteries in Michigan.
Between 2007 and 2012, Morrow and Alleca marketed promissory notes in Detroit Memorial Partners to Summit Wealth clients in Atlanta, and throughout the country. Detroit Memorial Partners offered documents which contained material misrepresentations, including that the notes would be secured by real property. In fact, no security interest was ever recorded with respect to the notes. Moreover, shortly after receiving the note proceeds, Alleca and Morrow, diverted funds for improper purposes including, making interest payments and redemptions to investors in Summit Wealth Management funds and personal expenses. The indictment alleges that as a result of their fraud schemes, over 300 investors lost over $35 million dollars invested in the Summit Funds and Detroit Memorial Partners LLC.
Sentencing for Angelo Alleca, 46, of Buffalo, New York, is scheduled for August 4, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., before United States District Judge Leigh Martin May.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Brown is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Federal Jury Convicts Indiana Man of Bringing Guns Across the Border into Illinois and Illegally Selling Them on the Streets of ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An Indiana man has been convicted of unlawfully dealing firearms after purchasing guns from licensed dealers in Indiana and selling them to gang members on the West Side of Chicago.
In the fall of 2013 WILLIE LEE BILES JR. made multiple trips on a Megabus to Chicago from his home in Indianapolis, each time bringing with him a gym bag full of handguns. Biles had legally purchased more than 30 firearms from licensed dealers in Indiana.
Once in Chicago, Biles would sit on the porch of a residence on the city’s West Side and sell firearms to individuals for two to three times the price that Biles had paid for them. Biles never asked any of his customers for identification, and he failed to verify whether they could legally possess firearms. At least one of his customers was a convicted felon who could not legally possess a firearm.
Seven of the firearms Biles sold were later recovered by law enforcement in the Chicagoland area.
The jury yesterday convicted Biles, 44, of willfully dealing firearms without a license. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 16, 2016, at 10:30 a.m.
The convicted felon to whom Biles sold four guns was previously imprisoned in the case. OTTO LEWELLEN, of Bellwood, pleaded guilty last year to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lewellen admitted in a plea agreement that he purchased four firearms from Biles. Authorities recovered two revolvers, but Lewellen said he sold the two other guns to a man he knew only as “Red.” Officials have not been able to locate Red or the two guns. Judge Ellis last year sentenced Lewellen to 18 months in prison.
The verdict was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffery Magee, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The investigation was conducted with the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA). Substantial assistance was provided by the Illinois State Police, Chicago Police Department, Bellwood Police Department and ATF Indianapolis Field Division.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher V. Parente and Elizabeth R. Pozolo.
Federal Jury Convicts Former Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Officer in Alien Smuggling ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mario Bellamy, (ASAC) Las Cruces, announced today, a federal jury in El Paso found Lawrence Madrid guilty of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, aiding and abetting alien smuggling for financial gain, and two substantive counts of accepting a bribe.
According to court records, from August 2010 to September 2011, 55-year-old Madrid, a former Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Officer, conspired to encourage/induce undocumented aliens to come to, enter, and reside in the United States without proper authorization. As his part of the conspiracy, Lawrence Madrid accepted money for using his official position to allow undocumented aliens to be smuggled through the ports of entry in El Paso. In addition, the federal jury found that on two separate occasions Madrid accepted money to allow an undocumented alien to enter the United States without proper authorization through the pedestrian lanes of a port of entry.
Madrid was immediately remanded to the custody of the U. S. Marshals and is set for sentencing on August 16, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Las Cruces Office together with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg McDonald and Robert Almonte prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Tom Begaye, Jr., with Murder, Kidnapping and Aggravated Sexual Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury has returned a six-count indictment that charges Tom Begaye, Jr., 27, with murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse offenses arising out of the alleged abduction and murder of an 11-year-old Navajo child on May 2, 2016. U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety announced the filing of the indictment.
Begaye, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Waterflow, N.M., was arrested on May 4, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with kidnapping and murdering an 11-year-old Navajo child. He has been in federal custody since that time.
The indictment, which was filed on May 24, 2016 and publicly posted this afternoon, charges Begaye with the following six offenses: first-degree murder, felony murder, kidnapping resulting in death, aggravated sexual abuse resulting in death (two counts), and kidnapping of a minor. The indictment alleges that Begaye killed a victim, identified as a female child under the age of 12 years, by striking her with a tire iron. It further alleges that Begaye caused the victim’s death while kidnapping the victim and sexually assaulting her. The indictment also alleges that Begaye kidnapped a second victim, identified as a male child under the age of 18 years. According to the indictment, Begaye committed the six crimes on May 2, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.
A hearing for Begaye’s arraignment on the indictment has yet to be scheduled.
The statutory penalty for a conviction on each of the first five counts of the indictment is a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment. The statutory penalty for the sixth count, the kidnapping of a minor charge, is a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The FBI and Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety investigated the case with assistance from the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, U.S. Marshals Service, New Mexico State Police, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the Farmington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and David Adams are prosecuting the case.
The case is being prosecuted under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Begaye Indictment
Federal Charges Filed in Armed Robbery at Park City Liquor StoreRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – Federal charges were filed Thursday in Wichita against two men accused of trying to rob a Park City liquor store where a store employee shot one of them and held the other at gunpoint until police arrived, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita charged Roland Donnell Ross, 28, Wichita, Kan., and Michael Ray Phillips, 37, Wichita, Kan., with one count of commercial robbery and one count of brandishing firearms during the robbery.
An investigator’s affidavit alleges that on May 24 the two men were carrying guns when they tried to rob MGS liquor at 6200 N. Broadway in Park City, Kan. A store employee said when one of the robbers asked him if he was ready to die the employee grabbed a gun he had in the store and fired two shots. One robber, identified later as Phillips, ran from the business and escaped. The store employee forced the other robber, identified later as Ross, to put his gun down. The employee held Ross at gunpoint until the police came.
On May 25, Phillips was admitted to Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., with a wound to the chest. He claimed he had been injured by falling on a stick, but an examination revealed he had been shot.
If convicted, the defendants face a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the robbery charge and a penalty of not less than seven years consecutive to the underlying sentence on the brandishing charge. The Park City Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.
East Saint Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
The Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced today that James Antwon Johnson, 24, of East Saint Louis, Illinois, pled guilty to a firearm offense in the U.S. District Court in East Saint Louis, Illinois. Johnson was charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for September 13, 2016.
Court records indicate that on December 18, 2015, Johnson unlawfully possessed a 7.62 caliber, SKS-style, semi-automatic rifle and ammunition after having been previously convicted of the felony of the Unlawful Delivery of a Controlled Substance While Located within 1,000 Feet of a Park in Madison County, Illinois.
The case was investigated by the East Saint Louis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Coonan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily J. Wasserman.
Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Sign Cooperation Agreement with Peru’s Antitrust AgencyRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signed an antitrust cooperation agreement today with Peru’s National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI). The agreement will promote increased cooperation and communication among the competition agencies in both countries. The agreement was signed in Washington, D.C., by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Chairwoman Edith Ramirez of the FTC, and Chairman Hebert Tassano of INDECOPI, and went into effect upon signature.
“Markets in the United States and Peru, and throughout the Americas, are increasingly linked,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hesse. “In this environment, international cooperation on antitrust enforcement is vital to protecting our economies against threats to competition. We have longstanding ties to competition enforcers in Peru, and this agreement strengthens the tools we have to work together to provide our businesses and consumers with the benefits of open and competitive markets.”
“We have been partners with INDECOPI since its inception and are delighted to further enhance our already strong relationship through this agreement,” Chairwoman Ramirez said. “This agreement embodies the commitment to cooperation that has existed between the U.S. agencies and INDECOPI, and will facilitate cooperation to protect the competitive marketplaces that benefit consumers in both of our countries as well as in this hemisphere.”
Highlights of the new agreement include the following:
- mutual acknowledgment of the importance of antitrust cooperation, including potential coordination when pursuing enforcement activities on related matters;
- an agreement to consider the important interests of the other country’s competition authority throughout all phases of their enforcement activities;
- establishment of a framework for communication, consultation and technical assistance among the agencies; and
- a commitment to maintain the confidentiality of any information provided by the other agency.
The U.S. antitrust agencies and INDECOPI have developed a strong working relationship since INDECOPI’s inception in 1993, exchanging views on antitrust policy and, as appropriate, cooperating on investigations. Today’s agreement will further enhance these relations.
The agreement with INDECOPI is the U.S. antitrust agencies’ fifth antitrust cooperation arrangement in Latin America, following those reached with Brazil (1999), Mexico (2000), Chile (2011), and Colombia (2014).
Deming Woman Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Norma Patricia Rivera, 40, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Rivera was arrested in May 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The complaint alleged that Rivera committed the crime in Luna County, N.M., on May 20, 2015. According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a state court search warrant at a residence in Luna County and seized 722.9 grams of a methamphetamine mixture in liquid and crystal form.
Rivera was subsequently charged in a two-count indictment on Aug. 19, 2015, with distributing methamphetamine in Doña Ana County, N.M., on July 17, 2014, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Luna County on May 20, 2015.
On Oct. 15, 2015, Rivera pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Rivera admitted selling 162.18 grams of methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement officers in Las Cruces on July 17, 2014, Rivera also admitted that she possessed liquid and crystal methamphetamine in Deming on May 20, 2015, and that she intended to sell the drugs to others.
This case was investigated by the Deming office of HSI, the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Deming Police Department, with assistance from the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Delaware Repeat Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – A Delaware man was sentenced yesterday to 180 months in prison for receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware.
Eric Aldrich, 25, of Milford, Delaware, previously pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark of the District of Delaware presided over today’s sentencing.
At sentencing, the court found that Aldrich has a prior conviction in Delaware for dealing in child pornography and as part of his federal offense, he possessed over 600 images of child pornography, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Delaware Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated this case. Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski of the District of Delaware prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Defendants Charged with Agreeing to Launder Proceeds of Illegal ActivityRead the Press Release
Alan Koslow, 62, a Hollywood, Florida attorney and lobbyist, and Susan Mohr, 57, of Delray Beach, Florida were charged in an Information with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, by agreeing to launder what they believed to be the cash proceeds of illegal activity.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Mohr will be surrendering to face the charges on May 31, 2016, and Koslow will be surrendering on June 2, 2016, both before United States Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer in Fort Lauderdale.
The Information alleges that beginning in November 2012, Alan Koslow met with two undercover agents from the FBI. During the course of several meetings that followed, the undercover agents explained to Koslow, and later to Mohr, their need to launder cash being generated from an illegal gambling business and from the unlawful sale of narcotics and counterfeit Viagra. Koslow and Mohr agreed to accept the cash and then provide checks to the agents, for the amount of the cash minus a five percent fee, drawn on the business bank account of “Mohr2GoGifts,” a business owned by Mohr and located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pursuant to this agreement, on several occasions Koslow accepted cash from the undercover agents who thereafter received cashiers’ checks and business checks from Mohr equal to the amount of the cash minus the five percent fee.
The law firm that employed Koslow was not involved in any of the alleged criminal activity.
The defendants each face a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of 5 years and a $250,000 fine.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Neil Karadbil.
An information is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced for Possessing Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges has sentenced Larry Garfield Letterman (63, Wildwood) to 48 months in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon.
According to the plea agreement, Letterman met with a confidential informant in October and November 2015, during which he sold the informant three firearms and ammunition, including an AR-15 rifle. On December 15, 2015, federal agents executed a search warrant at Letterman’s residence. They recovered an AK-47 rifle, a shotgun, a handgun, and more than 260 rounds of ammunition.
Letterman admitted to possessing the firearms and ammunition and also stated that he had multiple prior felony convictions, including possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, burglary, and sodomy of a male less than fourteen years of age. As a previously convicted felon, Letterman is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, are coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline Strategy on reducing violent crime in communities.