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18 May 2016
Former Clayton County Police Officer Charged with Soliciting BribesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Former Clayton County Police Department Officer Grant Kidd, Jr., has been arraigned after being charged for soliciting a bribe to dismiss pending criminal charges against two Clayton County defendants.
“A law enforcement officer who is allegedly looking to line his own pockets by obstructing justice undermines the dedication and hard work of his fellow officers as well as the community’s trust and respect for its police officers,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn.
“When a law enforcement officer strays from his sworn oath, as is alleged in our investigation and in the resulting federal grand jury indictment, it is extremely disheartening to us and others who work so hard within the criminal justice system and do so with integrity and commitment. Due to the vast potential harm that these cases can cause, the FBI will continue to dedicate significant resources toward investigating such matters involving allegations of public corruption involving police officers,” 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: Kidd was employed by the Clayton County Police Department (CCPD) as a patrol officer. In July 2015, Kidd allegedly used a friend to contact two Clayton County criminal defendants who were charged with theft and forgery. Kidd arranged to meet with the two defendants in a parking lot of a shopping center shortly after they were released from the Clayton County Jail. During a recorded conversation, Kidd allegedly assured the defendants that their charges would be “administratively dismissed” if they paid him $1,500. Kidd even offered a money back guarantee to the defendants if their criminal charges were not dismissed. After these allegations surfaced, Kidd resigned from the CCPD.
Grant Kidd, Jr., 52, of Hampton, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury May 11, 2016. He was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray 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.
East Alton Man Indicted for Production and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis has returned a two-count indictment against Steven A. Yon, 27, of East Alton, Illinois, for Production of Child Pornography and Receipt of Child Pornography, James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois announced today. The offenses charged in the indictment allege that on or about August 20, 2014, Yon knowingly induced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing a visual depiction of that conduct and that on or about August 24, 2014, Yon knowingly received visual depictions containing child pornography using a facility of interstate commerce.
A trial date has not yet been set. If convicted of Production of Child Pornography, Yon faces a prison term of not less than fifteen (15) years up to life, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years up to life. If convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography, Yon faces a term of imprisonment of not less than five (5) years up to twenty (20) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years up to life.
An Indictment is a formal charge against a defendant that is comprised of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
This investigation was conducted by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers for prosecution.
Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Encourage Puerto Rico to Consider Expanding the Scope of Practice of OptometristsRead the Press Release
Agencies Submit Joint Statement Regarding Proposed Legislation Addressing the Authority of Optometrists to Utilize and Prescribe Medications for Treatment and Diagnosis in Puerto Rico
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued a joint statement encouraging the Puerto Rican legislature to consider expanding the services that optometrists can provide. The statement describes the potential benefits to patients of enhanced competition among vision care providers, including greater access to timely and cost competitive care. It recommends that the legislature only maintain restrictions on optometrists to utilize and prescribe medications for treatment and diagnosis that are necessary to ensure patient health and safety.
The joint statement is in response to a request from Puerto Rico Representative Jose L. Báez Rivera, Chair of the Public Safety Committee in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. The request asked for views on the possible competitive effects of Puerto Rico Senate Bill 991 (SB 991), which would expand the scope of practice for optometrists in Puerto Rico and permit them to use and prescribe medications to diagnose and treat diseases of the eye.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Puerto Rico has the highest percentage of adults in the United States and its territories with blindness or severe difficulty seeing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “As our statement explains, increasing competition among eye care providers in Puerto Rico by allowing optometrists to perform more eye care services can help expand access to cost effective and timely care. Whenever it is consistent with patient safety, competition should play a key role in controlling health care costs.”
The agencies’ comments are limited to SB 991’s effect on the authority of optometrists to use and prescribe medications and its competitive effects. SB 991 would provide optometrists in Puerto Rico – like optometrists in all states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. territories – with the authority to prescribe at least some medications for the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. Providing optometrists a pharmacological role in the care they provide, with conditions the legislature finds appropriate to ensure patient safety, has the potential to bring the benefits of competition to Puerto Rican health care consumers.
Comments on S.B. 8991 - Optometry Letter
Deming Man Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking and Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Ramiro Trevizo-Granillo, 33, of Deming, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to narcotics trafficking and conspiracy charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Trevizo-Granillo will be sentenced to 156 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Trevizo-Granillo was arrested on July 30, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and conspiracy to tamper with a witness. The complaint alleged that Trevizo-Granillo provided an individual with 30 grams of methamphetamine on July 4, 2014, with the understanding that the purchaser would be selling the drugs to others. The complaint further alleged that while Trevizo-Granillo was detained on the aforementioned methamphetamine distribution charge, he engaged in a recorded telephone conversation with another person during which he discussed a scheme to prevent a witness from testifying against him.
Trevizo-Granillo was subsequently indicted on Oct. 15, 2015, and charged with participating in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy on July 4, 2014, in Luna County, N.M., and conspiracy to tamper with a witness on July 4, 2015.
During today’s proceedings, Trevizo-Granillo pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 4, 2014, he sold 30 grams of methamphetamine to another person. Trevizo-Granillo further admitted that on July 5, 2015, he had a conversation with a friend about making a cooperator involved in his case “disappear” so the cooperator would not testify against him.
Trevizo-Granillo remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Deming office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Deming Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2004 Triple Murder in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
A defendant was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to three consecutive terms of life in prison for the murder of three people in March 2004 in Indian Country, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Mark F. Green of the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“More than a decade after committing three brutal murders, the defendant has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “After waiting many years for some closure, I hope the families of the defendant’s victims take some solace in today’s sentences.”
“Twelve years have passed since these three innocent victims were brutally murdered,” said U.S. Attorney Green. “This case has traveled through many courts, both state and federal. Finally, today there can be closure for these families. I sincerely thank the prosecution team for a job well done!”
On Oct. 29, 2015, David Brian Magnan, 53, was convicted after a jury trial in the shooting deaths of three victims, James Howard, Karen Wolf and Lucilla McGirt, who were members of the Seminole Nation. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald A. White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma presided over the trial and imposed today’s sentence. Magnan was sentenced to an additional 36 months to run consecutive to the life sentences for his probation being revoked on a prior federal arson conviction.
The evidence presented at trial established that in the early morning hours of March 2, 2004, Magnan arrived with two other men at Howard’s home, where the victims had celebrated a birthday the prior evening. Armed with a pistol, Magnan confronted an individual outside of the house and a fight ensued, after which Magnan shot the individual in the abdomen. Magnan then entered the home where he found the three victims asleep. He first confronted Howard, who he shot multiple times in the chest as he lay in bed. Magnan then moved to a bedroom where he found McGirt and Wolf sleeping. Magnan shot Wolf in the head and shot McGirt in the shoulder and head. McGirt survived that evening and identified Magnan as the shooter, but she succumbed to her wounds two weeks later. Following the shootings, Magnan and the two other men fled the scene and hid the murder weapon, which police subsequently recovered.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police and the FBI investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Michael Sheckels of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Snow of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.
Defendant Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2004 Triple Murder in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A defendant was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to three consecutive terms of life in prison for the murder of three people in March 2004 in Indian Country, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Mark F. Green of the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“More than a decade after committing three brutal murders, the defendant has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “After waiting many years for some closure, I hope the families of the defendant’s victims take some solace in today’s sentences.”
“Twelve years have passed since these three innocent victims were brutally murdered,” said U.S. Attorney Green. “This case has traveled through many courts, both state and federal. Finally, today there can be closure for these families. I sincerely thank the prosecution team for a job well done!”
On Oct. 29, 2015, David Brian Magnan, 53, was convicted after a jury trial in the shooting deaths of three victims, James Howard, Karen Wolf and Lucilla McGirt, who were members of the Seminole Nation. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald A. White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma presided over the trial and imposed today’s sentence. Magnan was sentenced to an additional 36 months to run consecutive to the life sentences for his probation being revoked on a prior federal arson conviction.
The evidence presented at trial established that in the early morning hours of March 2, 2004, Magnan arrived with two other men at Howard’s home, where the victims had celebrated a birthday the prior evening. Armed with a pistol, Magnan confronted an individual outside of the house and a fight ensued, after which Magnan shot the individual in the abdomen. Magnan then entered the home where he found the three victims asleep. He first confronted Howard, who he shot multiple times in the chest as he lay in bed. Magnan then moved to a bedroom where he found McGirt and Wolf sleeping. Magnan shot Wolf in the head and shot McGirt in the shoulder and head. McGirt survived that evening and identified Magnan as the shooter, but she succumbed to her wounds two weeks later. Following the shootings, Magnan and the two other men fled the scene and hid the murder weapon, which police subsequently recovered.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police and the FBI investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Michael Sheckels of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Snow of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.
Cincinnati Woman Indicted for Embezzlement Scheme, Defrauding IRSRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged Angelia Zwick, a/k/a Angelia Strunk, 45, of Cincinnati, with one count of wire fraud and three counts of willfully filing a false income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, announced the indictment that was returned today.
The indictment alleges that from approximately July 2009 through May 2013, Angelia Zwick worked for a Cincinnati employer and devised a scheme to defraud her employer by embezzling funds in excess of her authorized pay and compensation. Zwick allegedly wired the stolen funds from her employer’s bank account to a bank account for Amerihealth and Life Solutions, LLC (“Amerihealth”), a company owned by Zwick.
Zwick allegedly took the refunds intended for her employer’s clients and diverted those refunds into bank accounts controlled by Zwick in the amount of approximately $328,000.
It has been alleged that Zwick filed false income tax returns with the IRS for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 income tax years. For the 2010 income tax year, Zwick failed to report as income the funds she embezzled from her employer and she claimed false expenses for Amerihealth. For the 2011 and 2012 income tax years, Zwick claimed false expenses for Amerihealth.
“No matter what the source of income, all income is taxable,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element of the IRS' enforcement strategy.”
Wire fraud is a crime punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, and filing a false income tax return with the IRS in a crime punishable by up to three years imprisonment.
Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the IRS and U.S. Secret Service, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Mangan, who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Child exploitation charges filed in several cases as part of Project Safe ChildhoodRead the Press Release
Criminal charges were filed in federal court against two men for sexually exploiting children, law enforcement officials said.
Charges in the cases, which are not related, coincide with the 10th anniversary of Project Safe Childhood, the Justice Department’s program to combat the sexual exploitation of children, both online and in person.
Eric Shotwell, 41, of Minerva, was charged with crossing state lines to engage in sexually explicit conduct with a minor after police recovered a missing 14-year-old Missouri girl at his home in Stark County.
The girl was reported missing on March 11. Police determined the girl was using the “TextNow” app on her phone and traced it to Shotwell’s home on West 1st Street. The girl was recovered on March 17 and Shotwell was arrested, according to court documents.
The girl told investigators she met Shotwell on a dating site she was on to make new friends. She texted with Shotwell for two months before he wanted to meet in person. She stated Shotwell provided nude photos of himself and she then sent nude photos of herself. He then picked her up at a pizza shop in Missouri. They returned to Ohio and Shotwell engaged in sexual acts with the girl even though he knew she was 14, according to court documents.
The girl told investigators that Shotwell became violent at his home, punching her, slapping her, pushing her into a wall and calling her a “stupid bitch” and “stupid whore”. He placed chains around feet and neck, tightening the chains until she passed out. Investigators found chains in Shotwell’s bedroom when they searched his home, according to court documents.
In another case, James D. Sullivan, 58, of Cleveland, was charged with one count of attempted production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Federal agents searched his computer after he was arrested for filming girls and women in the shower at Geneva State Park on July 18. The search revealed Sullivan used the laptop to view child pornography and images of children being sexually assaulted, according to court documents.
At the time of his arrest, Sullivan was on probation after having served more than 25 years in state prison for raping a 12-year-old girl, photographing the act, and assaulting other child victims, according to court documents.
A grand jury this week indicted Richard Purnell, 55, of Parma, on one count of sex trafficking of children. Purnell knowingly solicited a minor to engage in commercial sex acts between October 2015 and May 6, 2016. He sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl who was advertised on the web site backpage.com. These assaults continued after the girl turned 14, according to court documents.
Experts offer the following tips for parents and guardians about how to help their children avoid being exploited:
- Talk to your kids about the topic from an early age and establish open lines of communication.
- Know what your child is looking at, and who they’re talking to.
- Think beyond “stranger danger” – as our relationships are more social-media focused, some kids don’t think of someone online as a stranger, even if they’ve never met in person.
- Parents should not be afraid to technology. Educate yourself about apps like kik and whisper, which allow users anonymity and don’t verify ages. And find out your child is using.
- Monitor your children’s use of the internet and their phone; keep your computer in an open, common room of the house.
- Tell your kids why it’s so important not to disclose personal information online.
- Check your kids’ profiles and what they post online.
- Report inappropriate activity to the web site or law enforcement immediately.
- Explain to your kids that once images are posted online they lose control of them and can never get them back.
- Only allow your kids to post photos or any type of personally identifying information on websites with your knowledge and consent.
- Trust your gut and parental intuition.
For more information for both parents and children about how to avoid being exploited, go to: www.justice.gov/ndoh/defending-children, www.justice.gov/psc, or www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/cac
Federal, state and local law enforcement regularly investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases.
This morning in Toledo, former Northwood High School teacher Frank Stefan, 59, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. Stefan had on his computers nearly 2,000 videos and images of children being raped and sexually assaulted by adults. He also admitted that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student in 2005 and attempted to have a relationship with another student during the 2009-10 school year, according to court documents.
David Guevara, Sr., 35, of Youngstown, was charged Wednesday via criminal information with transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Guevara met a 15-year-old girl last summer. He engaged in a sexual relationship with the minor and traveled with her to Philadelphia, even though he knew she was just 15 years old. Guevara stated that it was his intent to have a child with the minor and to move her and the baby to Mexico, according to court documents.
“These are the latest in a steady stream of cases in which people exploit our children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon. “Law enforcement will continue to do all it can to lock up these predators. Parents, guardians and relatives need to do all they can to know who children are communicating with, whether it’s over their phones, on their computers on in person.”
“Child predators, like Eric Shotwell, build trust through coercion techniques to ultimately satisfy their perverse, criminal desires,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland Office. “The FBI commends the Great Plains, Missouri, and Minerva Police Departments for their swift efforts in rescuing this young girl, and the Canton Police Department for their hard work on this case. The FBI will continue efforts of supporting and collaborating with our law enforcement partners in order to educate and protect our children.”
“Sexual exploitation of children is an alarming concern in our society,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Field Office, Craig Wisniewsky. “The Secret Service is committed to work closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute these predators.”
“The Stefan case is particularly troubling because of the defendant's prior position of trust with children,” said Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Detroit. “HSI actively works with our law enforcement partners in our shared fight against those who sexually exploit children. Removing these predators from our communities and bringing them to justice is a responsibility we take very seriously. We applaud the court's significant prison sentence.”
“The law enforcement partnership to protect children from predators cuts across all jurisdictional lines because we all are deeply committed to our mission,” said Holly Welsh, chief prosecutor of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. “Our Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force involves hundreds of police agencies and prosecutors around the state, it receives significant funding from the Department of Justice, and it works hand in hand with the FBI and federal prosecutors to root out and punish those who exploit children. We also work on the prevention side to help parents, teachers and children recognize the dangers that of the Internet and use it safely.”
Shotwell is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Sullivan following an investigation by the FBI. James Sullivan is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol Skutnik following an investigation by the United States Secret Service and Ohio State Highway Patrol. Purnell is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan following an investigation by the FBI. Stefan was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Tangeman following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Guevara is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benedict Gullo following an investigation by the FBI, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Youngstown Police Department.
A charge is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any; their role in the offenses; and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
California man charged with applying for passport with false identityRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Erwin Mazariegos, Jr., 33, of Los Angeles, with possessing and using a fraudulently obtained State of Ohio identification card, in the name of another person, in an attempt to obtain a U.S. passport, said Carole S. Rendon, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Mazariegos knowingly transferred, possessed and used, without lawful authority, the identification of another to make false statements in an application for a U.S. passport. Mazariegos, Jr., attempted to obtain the passport from a Post Office in Warren, Ohio, according to the indictment.
Assistant United States Attorney Karrie D. Howard is prosecuting the case, following an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
If convicted, the court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bullitt County, Kentucky, Man Sentenced to 360 Months in Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Bullitt County, Kentucky, man was sentenced today to 360 months in prison, followed by a life-time of supervised release, by Senior United States District Judge Thomas B. Russell, for the production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
“Thirty years is a just sentence for Michael Mudd, who exploited two young children to manufacture child pornography," stated U.S. Attorney Kuhn. “This successful prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched ten years ago this month to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to rescue child victims and pursue criminals like Mr. Mudd who prey on them."
Michael Mudd, 47, previously admitted in court that he had photographed and video recorded two male children. He created the images inside his residence as well as outside at a small lake near the trailer park where he lived. At least one of the children was identified and a staff member with Family and Children’s Place in Louisville, Kentucky, conducted a forensic interview with the 12-year-old boy. During the interview, the child described multiple occasions during which Mudd photographed and video recorded him engaging in sexually explicit conduct. According to the child, the recording/photographing took place on multiple occasions dating back to the fall of 2013 and continuing to May 2014. The computer forensic examination of the items seized from Mudd’s home revealed the existence of the videos / photographs described by the boy.
Mudd was arrested on August 25, 2014, on a criminal complaint. A federal grand jury indicted Mudd on September 18, 2014. Mudd pleaded guilty to two separate counts of producing child pornography on June 17, 2015.
According to the record of this case, law enforcement officials executed a federal search warrant on Mudd’s residence on August 7, 2014. Mudd was at home during execution of the warrant. Law enforcement officials seized a number of items, including computers, cellular telephones and other digital devices. The items were submitted for forensic examination.
While law enforcement officials were on the scene of the search, neighbors approached and expressed concern about Mudd’s conduct with young boys in the neighborhood. Within 24 hours of executing the warrant, an adult female made contact with law enforcement. She reported that her 12-year-old son told her that Mudd had recorded her son engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation.
***
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Buffalo Man Sentenced for Distributing OxymorphoneRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Vincent Sawicki, 64, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of distribution of oxymorphone, was sentenced to three years probation with six months of home detention by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that on April 11, 2011, the defendant sold 40 Opana tablets to an undercover officer at 2175 South Park Avenue in Buffalo. On one occasion the previous month, the defendant sold 70 oxycodone tablets to an individual at the defendant’s residence.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Kenneth White, 39, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced to 156 months in prison by U.S. Senior District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John E. Rogowski and Scott S. Allen Jr., who handled the case, stated that White utilized violent force to cause five victims to engage in commercial sex acts between 2006 and 2012. The sex acts occurred in cities across the country including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Law Vegas, Atlantic City, and others. The defendant, who utilized the internet to advertise the victims and solicit customers, received all of the money earned by the victims as a result of these acts.
White knew that one of the victims (Victim1) was under 18 years old. The defendant initially made contact with Victim 1 through a chat line. On the first night the defendant met the Victim in person, White gave the child alcohol and marijuana, and sexually assaulted her. Ultimately, Victim 1 agreed to work for the defendant because (in her later words) she “did not have any money, was hungry, and needed to take a shower.” Victim 1 provided commercial sex acts for at least three customers a day.
The defendant often used force and violence against the victims. For instance, when the victims broke the defendant’s rules, he charged them “debts.” The rules included: victims were not allowed to make direct eye contact with the defendant and they were not allowed to possess their own cellular phones. When victims broke the “rules,” in addition to having to repay the financial “debts” through commercial sex acts, the defendant raped and battered his victims.
Other examples of force and violence used by the defendant: • Victim 2 watched White violently beat his co-defendant with a broom handle, belt, and hair straightener.
• The defendant forced Victim 2 to perform commercial sex acts while severely bruised and sleep deprived and forced her to stay awake by forcing her to consume Red Bull and pills. At times, the defendant forced Victim 2 to have sex with 10 to 20 men per day.
• Victim 4 was also forced to watch the defendant beat his co-defendant. In June 2009, the defendant impregnated Victim 4, forced her to have an abortion, and then forced her to perform commercial sex acts on the same day as the procedure. Victim 4 was raped by a client on this same day.
• The defendant beat Victim 5 while she was seven months pregnant.
As a result of forcing his victims to perform commercial sex acts through violence and coercion, the defendant received hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen.Bronx, New York Man Charged in Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Edward Terrell Providence, 51, of the Bronx, New York, was charged by Indictment, unsealed today, with one count of bank fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Providence was arrested this morning.
According to the indictment, Providence posed as legitimate PNC Bank account holders to obtain ATM cards for their accounts. Other co-schemers then used the cards to withdraw more than $388,000 by purchasing goods at various merchants and withdrawing cash from ATM machines.
If convicted, Providence faces a mandatory term of two years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of 42 years, up to five years of supervised release, a possible fine, and a $700 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Bronx Man Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with 2013 Home-Invasion Robbery and MurderRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the return of a Superseding Indictment charging TERRILL STATON with the October 29, 2013, home-invasion robbery and murder of Erwin Elliot, 44, in the Bronx, New York.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, the defendant went into Erwin Elliot’s home with a gun, robbed him, and murdered him. Thanks to the dogged efforts of the FBI and the NYPD, the defendant is now being held accountable for his alleged brutal crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez stated: “Today, Terrill Staton faces justice for his alleged role in the brutal home-invasion robbery and murder of a Bronx resident. The FBI would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their assistance with this case.”
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said: “I want to commend the NYPD detectives and our law enforcement partners who were integral to this indictment, which we hope will offer some consolation to the family who lost their loved one to this violent act.”
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment,[1] on October 29, 2013, STATON carried out a home-invasion robbery of Erwin Elliot, a marijuana dealer, at 642 East 221st Street in the Bronx. In the course of the robbery, STATON shot and killed Elliot.
* * *
STATON was already in federal custody, and will be arraigned on the Superseding Indictment before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald at a date to be determined.
A chart containing the charges and maximum penalties is below. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its assistance in the case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Hadassa Waxman and Michael Gerber are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
CHARGE
MAXIMUM PENALTY
Robbery conspiracy
20 years in prison
Robbery
20 years in prison
Murder
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum: 5 years in prison, to be imposed consecutively to any other sentence
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Boca Raton Attorney Sentenced to 2 ½ Years in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A Boca Raton attorney was sentenced to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.9 million for evading the payment of approximately $1,501,724 in income tax due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for calendar years 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004 through 2007, by concealing his income, assets, and liabilities.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.
William J. Reilly, 62, previously pled guilty to one count of tax evasion, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7201.
According to court documents, Reilly was an attorney and member of the New York Bar who owned William J. Reilly, Esq. P.C., a law firm through which the defendant practiced securities law. The law firm operated in New York City until 1998, when Reilly moved his law practice to Boca Raton, Florida.
From 1992 through 1997, Reilly worked as the outside securities counsel for a corporation and was paid, in part, with options to purchase stock in the corporation. In 1997, Reilly exercised some of his stock options and then sold some of the shares for more than $1.6 million.
From October 1997 through January 1998, shortly after exercising his stock options, Reilly acquired significant assets, including two residences in Boca Raton, Florida, a residence in Chittenden, Vermont, and oceanfront property in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Only one of these assets, a Boca Raton residence, was titled in Reilly’s name. On May 17, 1999, Reilly purchased a ten acre parcel of land located across the road from his Chittenden, Vermont home, and Reilly used a shell company to hold title to this land. The Portsmouth land, where Reilly began to construct a home, was also transferred to the name of a shell corporation. Reilly also purchased a 2001 Jaguar XJ8 and a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban in the name of a nominee.
From 2005 through 2010, Reilly used bank accounts for his law firm and the shell corporation to receive personal income, transfer funds into his personal accounts, and pay personal expenses directly, including his Visa credit card account, his children’s private school and college tuition, support his daughter’s equestrian business, make vehicle and mortgage payments, contribute to his son’s political campaign, and purchase more than $50,000 in tickets for sporting events and concerts. Reilly also caused clients and others who owed money to the defendant to pay monies to shell corporations controlled by Reilly or to pay Reilly’s personal expenses directly.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen L. Cohen and Stephanie D. Evans.
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
Bangor Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Syriane Baldwin, a/k/a “Del,” 29, of Bangor, Maine, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine to distribution of cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack.” The charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a minimum of three years supervised release, and a maximum $1,000,000 fine.
According to Court records, on September 5, 2014 in Bangor, the defendant distributed a quantity of crack to a person who was assisting government agents in exchange for $300. A grand jury indicted Baldwin on the distribution charge in September of 2015. Baldwin will be sentenced following the completion of a presentence report.
The case was investigated by officers and agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the City of New Haven Police Department.
B. Braun Medical Inc. Agrees to Resolve Criminal Liability Relating to its Sale of Contaminated SyringesRead the Press Release
The Contaminated Syringes That Infected Patients Were the Subject of a Recall
Drug and medical device company B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) has agreed to pay $4.8 million in penalties and forfeiture and up to an additional $3 million in restitution to resolve its criminal liability for selling contaminated B. Braun pre-filled saline flush syringes in 2007, the Department of Justice announced today.
The B. Braun saline syringes had a B. Braun label but were manufactured by another company. Today’s resolution includes a non-prosecution agreement that requires B. Braun to implement additional practices designed to increase its oversight of its product suppliers to prevent future sales of contaminated products. B. Braun, a medical device manufacturer, has global headquarters in Melsungen, Germany, and corporate headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with primary manufacturing facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Irvine, California.
“The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) prohibits companies from selling contaminated products, even when the company did not make the product itself,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies must take reasonable steps to ensure that their suppliers are making quality products that help rather than harm patients. Today’s settlement shows that the government will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to fulfill this critically important responsibility.”
“Patients were infected by adulterated syringes distributed by B. Braun,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “This agreement helps to provide justice for the victims and to deter such future conduct by distributors of medical devices.”
According to the agreed upon statement of facts that accompany the non-prosecution agreement, in March 2006, B. Braun started buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT, Inc. (AM2PAT), which manufactured the syringes at a small facility in North Carolina. The saline solution in pre-filled saline flush syringes must be sterile because it can enter a patient’s bloodstream when the syringes are used to flush out or clean medical devices that provide access to a patient’s veins, such as central lines, ports and short peripheral catheters.
As noted in the statement of facts, B. Braun was aware of manufacturing problems at AM2PAT, even before it began purchasing syringes from AM2PAT. In separate audits, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and B. Braun had found that AM2PAT was having problems complying with current good manufacturing practices. Although AM2PAT addressed some of these initial problems, additional problems persisted. In the spring of 2007, AM2PAT notified B. Braun that AM2PAT intended to move to a new manufacturing facility and change the company that would sterilize the B. Braun saline syringes through a new radiation sterilization process. Sterilization, a vital step in the manufacture of these syringes, can be complex. Before B. Braun’s quality department approved either of these changes, B. Braun began selling B. Braun saline syringes made at AM2PAT’s new facility and sterilized by the new sterilization company. B. Braun later approved both of these changes even though B. Braun had already received complaints about the syringes changing colors and information from AM2PAT that it was making changes to its radiation process to avoid “overcooking” the syringes. B. Braun approved AM2PAT’s facility move without ever seeing AM2PAT’s operations at its new facility or confirming AM2PAT’s representations that it had properly validated its clean room and equipment after the move.
Less than two months after B. Braun started selling syringes that AM2PAT made at its new facility with the new sterilization company, B. Braun recalled all of them because the radiation sterilization process caused dangerous white particles to develop in the saline inside the syringes.
After the recall, AM2PAT told B. Braun that it gave B. Braun incorrect information about its new radiation sterilization process. It also sent B. Braun information showing that AM2PAT moved manufacturing equipment to its new facility without validating that the equipment worked as expected after the move. As explained in the statement of facts, even with this new information, B. Braun resumed buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT without going to AM2PAT’s new facility.
Less than a month after B. Braun resumed buying syringes from AM2PAT, AM2PAT manufactured B. Braun saline syringes contaminated with Serratia marcescens bacteria. S. marcescens can cause blood infections. These contaminated syringes infected patients in California, Texas, New York and Nebraska. The syringes were recalled.
In the government’s non-prosecution agreement with B. Braun, B. Braun admits that it distributed B. Braun-labeled syringes that were adulterated under the FDCA. Under the terms of the agreement, B. Braun will increase oversight of its product suppliers by conducting on-site audits of companies that design and make finished products that bear the B. Braun name on the label or logo and testing such products for sterility, identity and purity, as appropriate, on a periodic basis. B. Braun will also be monitored by an independent compliance auditor during the term of the agreement. The auditor will assess B. Braun’s implementation and maintenance of the enhanced compliance measures through on-site audits of B. Braun. B. Braun’s chief executive officer and board of directors will also review and certify B. Braun’s compliance efforts on an annual basis.
“Americans expect and deserve medical devices that are safe, effective, and that meet appropriate standards for quality,” said Director George M. Karavetsos of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder of the FDA’s continued focus on companies that put profits ahead of the public health.”
Today’s settlement with B. Braun follows the earlier, related prosecution in the Eastern District of North Carolina of AM2PAT and three individuals who worked at AM2PAT. In 2008, Ravindra Kumar Sharma, AM2PAT’s quality control director and Aniruddha Patel, AM2PAT’s plant manager, both pleaded guilty to criminal informations charging conspiracy to commit a number of federal offenses including felony violations of the FDCA. Both were sentenced in 2009 to 54 months in prison. AM2PAT and its former president, Dushyant Patel, were indicted on similar charges in 2009. Patel fled the country and is currently on FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ “Most Wanted” list.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer and Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce commended the efforts of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and its Special Agent Paul Pierce for their work on this matter. The matter was also handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Rikhye of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Senior Litigation Counsel Allan Gordus and Trial Attorney Shannon Pedersen of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc.
B. Braun Medical Inc. Agrees to Resolve Criminal Liability Relating to Its Sale of Contaminated SyringesRead the Press Release
The Contaminated Syringes That Infected Patients Were the Subject of a Recall
WASHINGTON - Drug and medical device company B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) has agreed to pay $4.8 million in penalties and forfeiture and up to an additional $3 million in restitution to resolve its criminal liability for selling contaminated B. Braun pre-filled saline flush syringes in 2007, the Department of Justice announced today.
The B. Braun saline syringes had a B. Braun label but were manufactured by another company. Today’s resolution includes a non-prosecution agreement that requires B. Braun to implement additional practices designed to increase its oversight of its product suppliers to prevent future sales of contaminated products. B. Braun, a medical device manufacturer, has global headquarters in Melsungen, Germany, and corporate headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with primary manufacturing facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Irvine, California.
“The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) prohibits companies from selling contaminated products, even when the company did not make the product itself,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies must take reasonable steps to ensure that their suppliers are making quality products that help rather than harm patients. Today’s settlement shows that the government will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to fulfill this critically important responsibility.”
"Patients were infected by adulterated syringes distributed by B. Braun,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “This agreement helps to provide justice for the victims and to deter such future conduct by distributors of medical devices.”
According to the agreed upon statement of facts that accompany the non-prosecution agreement, in March 2006, B. Braun started buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT, Inc. (AM2PAT), which manufactured the syringes at a small facility in North Carolina. The saline solution in pre-filled saline flush syringes must be sterile because it can enter a patient’s bloodstream when the syringes are used to flush out or clean medical devices that provide access to a patient’s veins, such as central lines, ports and short peripheral catheters.
As noted in the statement of facts, B. Braun was aware of manufacturing problems at AM2PAT, even before it began purchasing syringes from AM2PAT. In separate audits, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and B. Braun had found that AM2PAT was having problems complying with current good manufacturing practices. Although AM2PAT addressed some of these initial problems, additional problems persisted. In the spring of 2007, AM2PAT notified B. Braun that AM2PAT intended to move to a new manufacturing facility and change the company that would sterilize the B. Braun saline syringes through a new radiation sterilization process. Sterilization, a vital step in the manufacture of these syringes, can be complex. Before B. Braun’s quality department approved either of these changes, B. Braun began selling B. Braun saline syringes made at AM2PAT’s new facility and sterilized by the new sterilization company. B. Braun later approved both of these changes even though B. Braun had already received complaints about the syringes changing colors and information from AM2PAT that it was making changes to its radiation process to avoid “overcooking” the syringes. B. Braun approved AM2PAT’s facility move without ever seeing AM2PAT’s operations at its new facility or confirming AM2PAT’s representations that it had properly validated its clean room and equipment after the move.
Less than two months after B. Braun started selling syringes that AM2PAT made at its new facility with the new sterilization company, B. Braun recalled all of them because the radiation sterilization process caused dangerous white particles to develop in the saline inside the syringes.
After the recall, AM2PAT told B. Braun that it gave B. Braun incorrect information about its new radiation sterilization process. It also sent B. Braun information showing that AM2PAT moved manufacturing equipment to its new facility without validating that the equipment worked as expected after the move. As explained in the statement of facts, even with this new information, B. Braun resumed buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT without going to AM2PAT’s new facility.
Less than a month after B. Braun resumed buying syringes from AM2PAT, AM2PAT manufactured B. Braun saline syringes contaminated with Serratia marcescens bacteria. S. marcescens can cause blood infections. These contaminated syringes infected patients in California, Texas, New York and Nebraska. The syringes were recalled.
In the government’s non-prosecution agreement with B. Braun, B. Braun admits that it distributed B. Braun-labeled syringes that were adulterated under the FDCA. Under the terms of the agreement, B. Braun will increase oversight of its product suppliers by conducting on-site audits of companies that design and make finished products that bear the B. Braun name on the label or logo and testing such products for sterility, identity and purity, as appropriate, on a periodic basis. B. Braun will also be monitored by an independent compliance auditor during the term of the agreement. The auditor will assess B. Braun’s implementation and maintenance of the enhanced compliance measures through on-site audits of B. Braun. B. Braun’s chief executive officer and board of directors will also review and certify B. Braun’s compliance efforts on an annual basis.
“Americans expect and deserve medical devices that are safe, effective, and that meet appropriate standards for quality,” said Director George M. Karavetsos of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder of the FDA’s continued focus on companies that put profits ahead of the public health.”
Today’s settlement with B. Braun follows the earlier, related prosecution in the Eastern District of North Carolina of AM2PAT and three individuals who worked at AM2PAT. In 2008, Ravindra Kumar Sharma, AM2PAT’s quality control director and Aniruddha Patel, AM2PAT’s plant manager, both pleaded guilty to criminal informations charging conspiracy to commit a number of federal offenses including felony violations of the FDCA. Both were sentenced in 2009 to 54 months in prison. AM2PAT and its former president, Dushyant Patel, were indicted on similar charges in 2009. Patel fled the country and is currently on FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ “Most Wanted” list.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer and Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce commended the efforts of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and its Special Agent Paul Pierce for their work on this matter. The matter was also handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Rikhye of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Senior Litigation Counsel Allan Gordus and Trial Attorney Shannon Pedersen of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc.
Athol Man Indicted for False Claim and StatementRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that an Athol, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for False Claim and False Statement.
Jason Sparling, age 42, was indicted on April 19, 2016, and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on May 13, 2016. He pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges relate to Sparling submitting a false claim to the Livestock Forage Disaster Program for the loss of grazing land.
The charges are merely an accusation and Sparling is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Patterson is prosecuting the case.
Sparling was released pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Ashland Man Sentenced to 15 Years for MethRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Ashland, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Jeremy Michael Traxler, 35, of Ashland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Traxler was sentenced as a career offender.
On April 27, 2015, Traxler pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers encountered Traxler while executing a search warrant at a residence in New Bloomfield, Mo. Traxler had brought a safe containing 49.5 grams of pure methamphetamine into the residence.
Traxler has been convicted of multiple drug possession and drug trafficking offenses. Traxler has also been convicted of multiple instances of driving while revoked (felony), receiving stolen property (felony), unlawful use of a weapon, tampering (felony), resisting arrest (felony) and driving while intoxicated. At no time over the past 13 years has Traxler been free from either pre-trial or probation supervision when not serving a prison sentence.
This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the MUSTANG Task Force.
Alton Man Indicted for Distribution and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis has indicted Michael E. Myers, 60, of Alton, Illinois, for Distribution of Child Pornography and Receipt of Child Pornography, James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today. After a detention hearing, Myers was held without bond pending trial.
The two offenses charged in the indictment allege that between March 24, 2016, and March 29, 2016, Myers knowingly distributed and received videos and images containing child pornography using a facility of interstate commerce.
A trial date has not yet been set. If convicted of Distribution and/or Receipt of Child Pornography, Myers faces a term of imprisonment of not less than fifteen (15) years up to forty (40) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years up to life.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
This investigation was conducted by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hoell.
An Indictment is a formal charge against a defendant that is comprised of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
Alcoholic Beverage Rebate Scam Shut DownRead the Press Release
Retired Ironwood Area School District Employee Convicted of Mail Fraud
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr., announced today the conviction and sentencing of Ms. Carol Rae Vitton, age 59, and a resident of Ironwood, Michigan, on charges of mail fraud.
Ms. Vitton, now a retired employee of the Ironwood Area School District with no prior criminal history, came to the attention of U.S. Postal Inspectors when employees at the Ironwood Post Office noticed that she was receiving an inordinate number of rebate checks through the mail, and that these checks were addressed to variants of Ms. Vitton’s name and address. Upon investigation, Postal Inspectors determined that Ms. Vitton picked up rebate coupons at liquor stores throughout the Ironwood area, and then manufactured counterfeit sales receipts that falsely and fraudulently indicated that she had made beer, wine and liquor purchases. She would then mail those counterfeit sales receipts along with the rebate applications to beer, wine and liquor companies, and associated rebate processing companies throughout the country.
During 2010 and 2011, Ms. Vitton manufactured and mailed more than 700 counterfeit sales receipts for beer, wine and liquor purchases that had not actually taken place. She was still an employee of the Ironwood Area School District at that time. Ms. Vitton received through the mail over $8,000 in the form of rebate payments that she was not entitled to receive. Inspectors discovered that some of these rebate checks were addressed to Ms. Vitton at the Ironwood Area School District Offices. At least 26 beer, wine, liquor and rebate processing companies were victimized and defrauded in this manner. Ms. Vitton’s rebate scheme constituted mail fraud, which is a felony violation of federal law and punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar sentenced Ms. Vitton to: one year Probation, with four months of home detention; electronic monitoring while on home detention; restitution in the amount of $8,339.50; a $10,000.00 fine payable within 60 days and; a special assessment of $100.00.The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which was founded by Benjamin Franklin, is tasked with enforcing the laws that defend the nation’s mail system from illegal or dangerous use, and ensuring public trust in the mail. U.S. Postal Inspectors routinely investigate a variety of frauds that are perpetrated through the use of the mails. In recent years, Inspectors have seen an increasing number of rebate fraud schemes, like the scheme carried out by Ms. Vitton, throughout the country.
END
Albuquerque Residents Arrested on Federal Heroin and Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Two residents of Albuquerque, N.M., made their initial appearances today in federal court on a criminal complaint charging them with heroin and methamphetamine trafficking offenses. Joshua Greene, 18, and Kayleb Reyos, 21, remain in custody pending preliminary hearings and detention hearings scheduled for May 19, 2016.
Greene and Reyos were arrested yesterday as the result of a DEA investigation into heroin and methamphetamine trafficking in northwest Albuquerque. The complaint alleges that Greene and Reyos sold an aggregate of 36 ounces (2.25 pounds) of heroin and 3 ounces (.18 pounds) of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents during a series of transactions occurring between Feb. 4, 2016 and May 4, 2016. The two men were arrested when the DEA executed a federal search warrant at their residence in northwest Albuquerque. During the search, the DEA allegedly seized an additional pound of heroin, bulk amounts of cash, a handgun, and drug paraphernalia.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Greene and Reyos each face a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher Houghton is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, Albuquerque City Councilor Diane Gibson, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
Albuquerque Felon Facing New Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Nathan Jensen, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., made his initial appearance today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Court records indicate that Jensen allegedly committed the offense while on supervised release from a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jensen remains in custody pending a preliminary and detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for Friday.
Court records reflect that the court issued a warrant for Jensen’s arrest on May 4, 2016, based on a petition filed by the U.S. Probation Office to revoke his supervised release. The petition alleges that Jensen had been released from the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prison on April 25, 2016, after completing an 84-month prison sentence, with directions to report to his probation officer and a half-way house at which he was to reside for up to six-months. Jensen allegedly failed to report either to his probation officer or to the halfway house. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team (USMS-SWIFT) arrested Jensen on the warrant on May 16, 2016, and Jensen made his initial appearance in federal court on the supervised release petition yesterday.
Yesterday the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested Jensen on a criminal complaint charging Jensen with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Bernalillo County, N.M., on May 16, 2016, when he was arrested by the USMS-SWIFT. According to the criminal complaint, Jensen was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses in the state courts of New Mexico in addition to his federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Jensen faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. If the court determines that Jensen is an armed career criminal, he faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and the USMS-SWIFT. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard is prosecuting the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, N.M., under this initiative.
Jensen Complaint
7th Street Gang Member Sentenced for His Role in Murder of Rival Gang MemberRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Esteban Ramos-Cruz, 29, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of racketeering conspiracy (RICO), was sentenced to 30 years by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that between 2000 and 2012, Cruz was a member of the Cheko’s Crew/7th Street Gang which was responsible for drug trafficking and violent crime on Buffalo’s West Side. During this time, as a part of the rivalry with the 10th Street Gang, the defendant shot and killed 10th Street Gang associate Eric Morrow on August 11, 2009. Cruz and co-defendant Jordan Hidalgo both shot at Morrow with Morrow being killed by the .22 caliber rifle discharged by Cruz. The defendant also sold illegal narcotics on Buffalo’s West Side.Cruz was one of 18 7th Street Gang members and associates indicted in this case. All 18 defendants have been convicted.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Steven Nigrelli, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division. The task force includes representatives of the Amherst Police Department, the Buffalo Police Department the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, the Hamburg Police Department, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police, the New York State Police, the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Enforcement & Removal Operations. Additional assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Marshal Service, the Lackawanna Police Department, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department.
17 May 2016
West Carrollton Woman Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison in Million Dollar Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Amy Scarpelli, 49, of West Carrollton was sentenced to 66 months in prison for embezzling more than $1 million from U.S. Bank between 2011 and 2014.
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Miamisburg Police Chief John Sedlak, and members of the Southern Ohio Electronic and Financial Crimes Task Force, announced the sentence imposed today by United States District Judge Walter H. Rice.
Scarpelli pleaded guilty on April 22, 2015 to a bill of information charging her with one count of embezzling more than $1 million from U.S. Bank while serving as manager of the Miamisburg branch. According to court documents, Scarpelli admitted to making fraudulent draws against a line of credit for a local business that previously held accounts at U.S. Bank. She wrote and cashed checks, covering her tracks by making false entries in the bank’s computer system. Scarpelli structured the transactions in amounts less than $50,000 to avoid the need for approval by a second bank employee, in further efforts to prevent detection of her scheme.
Court documents showed that Scarpelli used the stolen funds to purchase four cars, six motorcycles, three boats, two travel trailers, and a golf cart, in addition to several real estate purchases, all of which were forfeited as part of her plea agreement.
Scarpelli was ordered to pay $5.2 million in restitution and she must serve five years on supervised release following her prison term. She will also be required to pay back taxes on the unreported income from her embezzlement scheme.
Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by Secret Service agents and Miamisburg police investigators, and Assistant United States Attorneys Sheila Lafferty and Brent Tabacchi, who prosecuted the case.
Wayne County Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Brandon West, 39, of Lyons, NY, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors before U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Wolford. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, a $250,000 fine or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that the investigation began when a child disclosed sexual contact by the defendant. Wayne County Child Protective Services contacted the New York State Police who began a criminal investigation. Upon learning that the defendant had child pornography on a cellphone and an online email account, State Police requested assistance from Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crimes Unit. Federal investigators conducted field interviews and matched a sexually explicit photo recovered from the defendant’s cell phone to a local five year old child known to the defendant. In addition to several sexually explicit images of the five year old child, West also possessed more than 1,500 images of other children, many of whom were under the age of 12, being raped.In 2005, West was convicted in Wayne County of Sexual Abuse, First Degree, related to having sexual contact with an eight year old child. West is a Level II Sex Offender.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by Investigators from the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, and Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
West is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.
Washington State Man Sentenced for Filing over 1000 False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.–U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Maung No, 27, of Seattle, Washington, who was convicted of filing over 1000 false tax returns, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $2,323, 122.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, who handled the case, stated that No was employed as a tax return preparer for VPS Income Tax in 2011 and BTC Income Tax in 2012. The fee charged for an income tax preparation was 10% percent of the tax refund amount plus bank fees. For the 2011 tax year, the defendant prepared returns for approximately 565 clients and claimed an education credit of $1,358, an American Opportunity Credit of $2,000 and a Federal Fuel Tax Credit of $183 on each return without the knowledge of the clients. No knew that the credits were false and that the clients were not entitled to claim such credits. As a result, clients received a larger federal income tax refund than they were entitled to, resulting in a loss of $3,543 to the Internal Revenue Service. The defendant continued to conduct similar actions for approximately 574 additional taxpayers resulting in a loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $1,129,319.
No also prepared tax returns for the 2012 tax year in the same fashion which resulted in a loss to the Internal Revenue Service totaling $1,202,803. The total number of fraudulent tax returns prepared by No was approximately 1,138 for a total loss to the IRS of $2,332,122.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge.
Virginia Men Sentenced for MisbrandingRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – Two of ten defendants convicted as being part of a drug conspiracy that operated in Southwest Virginia were sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Cecil McConnell III, 44, of Coeburn, Va., previously pled guilty to one count of misbranding a drug. Today in District Court, McConnell III was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
Cecil McConnell Jr., 69, of Dungannon, Va., was convicted following a jury trial of one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, three counts of distributing a controlled substance and one count of misbranding a drug. Today in District Court, McConnell Jr. was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
“These defendants, and others, distributed dangerous substances,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “This case shows that the United States Attorney’s Office will work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice even in the most difficult of cases.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Virginia State Police, the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force in Big Stone Gap, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Alachua County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Two Special Police Officers Indicted by Grand Jury for Involuntary Manslaughter in Death of Hospital PatientRead the Press Release
UPDATE
The defendants in this case were acquitted of the charge on Feb. 2, 2018, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
WASHINGTON – Two Special Police Officers were indicted today on a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the death last fall of James McBride, a 74-year-old patient at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Clifton Montgomery, 30, of Bladensburg, Md., and Charles Brown, 43, of Fort Washington, Md., were indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They will be arraigned on a date to be scheduled by the Court. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison.
The indictment followed an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department into the death of Mr. McBride, who walked out of the hospital on Irving Street NW at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2015, without being discharged. Mr. McBride ultimately had a fatal encounter with Special Police Officers Montgomery and Brown at about 5 p.m. outside of the hospital.
Mr. McBride died on Oct. 1, 2015. The District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was blunt force injuries of the neck with cervical spinal cord transection and vertebral artery compression.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Lanier commended the work of those who are investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner. They acknowledged the work of those handling the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Sexton, Paralegal Specialist Kristy Penny, Legal Assistant Kaitlyn Krueger and Christopher Toms, and Victim/Witness Advocates Yvonne Bryant and Tracey Hawkins. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridgette Tillman and S. Vinét Bryant, who are prosecuting the matter.
Use-of-force investigations generally
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reviews all police-involved fatalities to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to conclude that any officers violated either federal criminal civil rights laws or District of Columbia law. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in the District of Columbia.
Two Brothers Sentenced to Prison for Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns Seeking Refunds of over $224 MillionRead the Press Release
Defendants Received $16 Million in Refunds After Filing Bogus Tax Returns
Two brothers were sentenced to prison today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after pleading guilty in January for perpetrating a scheme in which they filed 46 fraudulent income tax returns seeking refunds in excess of $224 million, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office.
Sean Aude Gallman, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced to serve 132 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. His brother Eric Maurice Gallman, 42, of Huntersville, North Carolina, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The Gallmans pleaded guilty on Jan. 19 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sean Gallman also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges. Sean and Eric Gallman were each ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $16,512,492.
“The Gallman brothers engaged in a willful and deliberate scheme to steal from the U.S. Treasury and in turn, U.S. taxpayers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “The Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals and entities engaged in this criminal conduct, and will seek substantial prison terms, fines and full restitution to hold defendants accountable and send a strong message to potential offenders.”
“These two criminals filed bogus tax returns claiming ‘refunds’ that were not owed, and stole over $16 million from the IRS,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenstein. “Federal agents and prosecutors have a duty to pursue perpetrators of such fraud schemes and try to recover money stolen from the U.S. Treasury.”
“Using the U.S. Treasury as a personal piggy bank to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds, the Gallmans not only showed their blatant disregard of the law, but also for the American taxpayer,” said Special Agent in Charge Jankowski. “Today’s sentencings emphasize that such greed based criminal behavior comes with a cost.”
According to evidence presented by the government, the Gallmans established trusts and business entities and used mailboxes at numerous private commercial postal carrier stores in Maryland and North Carolina as the addresses for the trusts and business entities. The defendants, acting as trustees and agents, mailed fraudulent tax returns to the IRS in the names of the trusts and businesses requesting refunds.
For example, in January 2013, Sean Gallman mailed to the IRS a fraudulent 2012 tax return in the name of the Gallman Charitable Trust, requesting a refund of $8,218,930. Also around this time, the defendants mailed to the IRS a fraudulent 2012 tax return in the name of LEA Group Holdings Trust, requesting a refund of $8,293,562. The defendants knew that the trusts were not entitled to the tax refunds. After receiving refund checks in these amounts, on Feb. 15 and March 11, 2013, the defendants deposited the funds into bank accounts they controlled. To hide their receipt of these refunds, the defendants used cashier’s checks and other financial instruments to transfer a portion of the money to third parties and other bank accounts.
Altogether, the Gallman brothers filed a total of approximately 46 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds totaling $224,676,998, for which the IRS paid two refunds totaling $16,512,492.
In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm of the District of Maryland ordered the Gallmans to forfeit the amount of the refunds paid by the IRS, including $11,529,954 seized from numerous bank accounts; foreign currency and gold and silver coins seized from a residence in Upper Marlboro; nine residential properties located in Upper Marlboro and Laurel, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina; and two Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Hyundai vehicle.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo, U.S. Attorney Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Jankowski thanked special agents of IRS-CI, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Erin Pulice of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
Two Brothers Sentenced for Filing 46 Fraudulent Tax Returns Seeking Refunds of over $224 MillionRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland - Two brothers were sentenced to prison today for filing 46 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds of over $224 million. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Sean Aude Gallman, age 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland to 11 years in prison, and Eric Maurice Gallman, age 42, of Huntersville, North Carolina, to four years in prison, both followed by three years of supervised release. The Gallmans previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Sean Gallman also pleaded guilty to money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Judge Grimm also ordered Sean and Eric Gallman to pay restitution to the IRS of $16,512,492; and forfeit the amount of the refunds paid by the IRS, including $11,529,954 seized from numerous bank accounts; foreign currency and gold and silver coins seized from a residence in Upper Marlboro; nine residential properties located in Upper Marlboro and Laurel, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina; and two Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Hyundai vehicle.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“These two criminals filed bogus tax returns claiming ‘refunds’ that were not owed, and stole over $16 million from the IRS,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Federal agents and prosecutors have a duty to pursue perpetrators of such fraud schemes and try to recover money stolen from the United States Treasury.”
“The Gallman brothers engaged in a willful and deliberate scheme to steal from the U.S. Treasury and in turn, U.S. taxpayers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “The Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals and entities engaged in this criminal conduct, and will seek substantial prison terms, fines and full restitution to hold defendants accountable and send a strong message to potential offenders.”
"Using the U.S. Treasury as a personal piggy bank to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds, the Gallman’s not only showed their blatant disregard of the law, but also for the American taxpayer," said Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Today’s sentencing’s emphasize that such greed based criminal behavior comes with a cost.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Sean and Eric Gallman established trusts and business entities, and used mailboxes at numerous private commercial postal carrier stores in Maryland and North Carolina as the addresses for the trusts and business entities. The defendants, acting as trustees and agents, mailed fraudulent tax returns to the IRS in the names of the trusts and businesses requesting refunds.
For example, in January 2013, Sean Gallman mailed to the IRS a fraudulent 2012 tax return in the name of the Gallman Charitable Trust, requesting a refund of $8,218,930. Also around this time, the defendants mailed to the IRS a fraudulent 2012 tax return in the name of LEA Group Holdings Trust, requesting a refund of $8,293,562. The defendants knew that the trusts were not entitled to the tax refunds. After receiving refund checks in these amounts, on February 15 and March 11, 2013, the defendants deposited the two refunds in bank accounts they controlled. To hide their receipt of these refunds, the defendants used cashier’s checks and other financial instruments to transfer a portion of the money to third parties and other bank accounts.
Altogether, the Gallman brothers filed approximately 46 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds totaling $224,676,998, for which the IRS paid two refunds totaling $16,512,492.
United States Attorney Rosenstein and Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo praised IRS-Criminal Investigation for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Thomas P. Windom and Trial Attorney Erin Pulice of the Department of Justice Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Twenty-One Defendants Charged in White Plains Federal Court with Committing Narcotics and Firearms Offenses in Sullivan CountyRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James R. Farrell, the Sullivan County District Attorney, Diego Rodriguez, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Joseph A. D’Amico, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), Michael A. Schiff, the Sullivan County Sheriff, Scott Kinne, the Chief of the Village of Liberty Police, and Robert Mir, the Chief of the Village of Monticello Police Department, today announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging a total of 21 defendants with committing various narcotics and firearms offenses in the Village of Liberty, Sullivan County, New York.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Drugs destroy lives, rip apart families, and fuel a cycle of addiction and violence in our communities. With the federal drug and gun charges brought today, we seek to incapacitate two different drug rings that have for years been selling heroin and crack cocaine, and protecting their business with guns, in Sullivan County and specifically, in the Village of Liberty.”
Sullivan County District Attorney James R. Farrell stated: “The investigation into the distribution of dangerous narcotics in Sullivan County by local, county, state and federal law enforcement continues to move forward, at full speed, with the twenty-one arrests made today. Those who traffic in dangerous narcotics in Sullivan County are on notice that all law enforcement agencies, at every level, are working together, every single day, to put you out of business and to hold you accountable for your actions through investigation, arrest and prosecution.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez stated: “Heroin is spreading through our communities like a cancer. It brings with it alleged pushers who use crime and weapons to defend their so called turf, in this case targeting people outside of a drug recovery treatment center of all places. The FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners won’t let the disease grow and infect neighborhoods and hamlets in Sullivan County and beyond.”
NYSP Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico stated: “The combined efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement have put this operation out of business and disrupted the sale of heroin and cocaine in Sullivan County. This case continues our commitment and partnership to identify, arrest and prosecute anyone who tries to sell these dangerous drugs in our communities.”
Sullivan County Sheriff Michael A. Schiff stated: “Many of our residents have expressed concern over the apparent narcotics activity in their towns and villages. We have heard you loud and clear. Today’s joint law enforcement operation is an attempt to restore the quality of life that our citizens have come to expect and deserve. Make no mistake, we will use every resource available, whether it be Federal, State or local, to find those who are peddling poison to our children and bring them to justice.”
Village of Liberty Police Chief Scott Kinne stated: “Todays arrests are part of the ongoing commitment and cooperation of all of Sullivan County’s law enforcement agencies to investigate and arrest the dealers and distributers who sell heroin and other controlled substances on our streets. This investigation will have a significant impact on drug sales and other crimes in the Village of Liberty, these types of investigations and arrests make Liberty a safer community, I thank all the agencies who work with us to help rid our communities of drugs and violence.”
Village of Monticello Police Chief Robert Mir stated: “The village of Monticello police department will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in investigating, arresting and successfully prosecuting the indivuals that supply the dangerous drugs that are causing so much misery in our communities.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in White Plains federal court[1]:
In at least 2015 and 2016, KYLE JAMES, a/k/a “Killa,” 30, JAMAR SHAW, a/k/a “Double R,” 33, DANIEL FRANCO, a/k/a “Young Papi,” 26, RASHAWN PERRY, a/k/a “Cass,” 29, NORDIA TOMPKINS, a/k/a “Nadia,” 31, JUAN MONTERO, a/k/a “Chino,” 37, LOREN PERRY, a/k/a “Skip,” 41, HERBERT MURPHY, a/k/a “Superb,” a/k/a “Perb,” a/k/a “Alan,” a/k/a “Herbie,” 42, GRADY BLACKMON, 57, CANDICE BROOKINS, 29, ASHLEY EDWARDS, 19, DAVID GUZMAN, 18, PATRICK HILLIARD, 23, CHERYL JERNIGAN, 26, ARIK PERKINS, 22, KEVIN PRIMIANO, 41, MANUEL RIVERA, 20, and NICOLE SNEDEKER, 25, conspired to sell one kilogram or more of heroin. The conspiracy was led, at different times, by JAMES and SHAW. Members of the conspiracy distributed heroin in and around the Village of Liberty, New York and other locations in Sullivan County, New York. Members of the conspiracy regularly sold heroin in the parking lots of businesses, including a nursing home and a drug recovery center, in the Village of Liberty.
In April 2016, JAMES and LOREN PERRY used, carried, and possessed a firearm in furtherance of the heroin conspiracy in which they were both members.
In at least 2015 and 2016, RICHIERAY SUCCI, 35, MONTERO, JONATHAN PAGAN, a/k/a “JP,” 24, and JASON WOOD, 32, conspired to sell 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and SUCCI, MONTERO, and WOOD conspired to sell 100 grams or more of heroin. Members of the conspiracy distributed crack and heroin in and around the Village of Liberty.
* * *
All 21 defendants were taken into federal custody this morning. These defendants will be presented in White Plains federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.
Charts containing the names of the defendants who were charged today, and the charges and maximum penalties they face, are attached. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the respective judges.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the New York State Police, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, the Village of Monticello Police Department, the Village of Liberty Police Department, the Town of Fallsburg Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office for its ongoing assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Beidel, Maurene Comey, Michael Gerber, and Won Shin are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. Kyle James, et al., 16 Mag. 2293
CHARGE(S)
DEFENDANT(S)
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Narcotics conspiracy
(Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin.)
KYLE JAMES,
a/k/a “Killa,”
JAMAR SHAW,
a/k/a “Double R,” DANIEL FRANCO,
a/k/a “Young Papi,” RASHAWN PERRY,
a/k/a “Cass,”
NORDIA TOMPKINS,
a/k/a “Nadia,”
JUAN MONTERO,
a/k/a “Chino,”
LOREN PERRY,
a/k/a “Skip,”
HERBERT MURPHY,
a/k/a “Superb,”
a/k/a “Perb,”
a/k/a “Alan,”
a/k/a “Herbie,”
GRADY BLACKMON, CANDICE BROOKINS, ASHLEY EDWARDS, DAVID GUZMAN, PATRICK HILLIARD, CHERYL JERNIGAN,
ARIK PERKINS,
KEVIN PRIMIANO, MANUEL RIVERA, and NICOLE SNEDEKER
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum: 10 years in prison
Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
LOREN PERRY,
a/k/a “Skip,” and
KYLE JAMES,
a/k/a “Killa”
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum: five years in prison, to be imposed consecutively to any other sentence
Narcotics conspiracy
(Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and/or 100 grams or more of heroin.)
RICHIERAY SUCCI,
JUAN MONTERO,
a/k/a “Chino,”
JONATHAN PAGAN,
a/k/a “JP,” and
JASON WOOD
40 years in prison
Mandatory minimum:
5 years in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Tulsa Physician Sentenced to 15 Years for Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Tulsa, Okla., physician was sentenced in federal court today for using a minor to produce child pornography.
Shelby J. Coleman, 38, of Tulsa, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Coleman to serve 10 years on supervised release following incarceration.
On Jan. 12, 2016, Coleman pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Coleman, a medical doctor and partner of Tulsa Women’s Health Center, has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2013.
Coleman admitted that he communicated with a 16-year-old minor in Laclede County, Mo., identified as John Doe, via cell phone texts. At Coleman’s request, John Doe sent him multiple sexually explicit images of himself.
When John Doe’s father discovered the text messages, he contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A state trooper assumed the identity of John Doe for the purpose of the investigation.
On Sept. 28, 2013, Coleman was apprehended by investigators after he traveled to Springfield, Mo., in order to meet John Doe for a sexual liaison.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Tonawanda Man Sentenced on Drug Importation ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Peter Viera, 23, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to import methylone, a Schedule I controlled substance, was sentenced to 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that between December 1, 2011, and May 22, 2013, the defendant ordered approximately $60,000 worth of methylone from China as part of the conspiracy to import and sell methylone in Western New York. On May 31, 2013, Viera was parked in a car across from the LaSalle Post Office in Niagara Falls, N.Y. observing a co-conspirator pick up a package from the Post Office, which had been sent from China. Unbeknownst to Viera and his co-conspirators -- the package was intercepted two days prior by U.S. Postal inspectors and found to contain approximately one kilogram of methylone.
Following his arrest, Viera fled to Tijuana while his case was pending and was gone for about seven months before until he was taken back into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Ysidro, CA and transported back to the Western District of New York.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero and the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge, Shelly A. Binkowski.
Three Men Sentenced for Armed Robbery of West Bloomfield Tappers JewelryRead the Press Release
The final three defendants were each sentenced to 33 years in prison today for their involvement in the violent armed robbery of Tapper’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry in West Bloomfield and an attempted armed robbery of Medawar Jewelers in Grand Rapids in April 2014, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.
Co-conspirator Nathaniel Pembrook was sentenced to 33 years last week.
David Briley, 47, Shaheed Calhoun, 36, and Orlando Johnson, 42, were convicted along with Pembrook of a variety of charges, including conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by force, interference with interstate commerce by force, use and carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being felons in possession of firearms after a four week-long trial in November and December 2015. The evidence produced at trial showed that all four men lived in Philadelphia and traveled to Michigan on April 21 and 22, 2014, to commit armed robberies of jewelry stores, particularly targeting Rolex distributors, as part of a six-person robbery crew.
This armed robbery crew initially attempted to steal Rolex watches and other valuables from Medawar Jewelers in Grand Rapids, at approximately 12:28 pm on April 22, 2014. During that attempted robbery, one robber used a hammer to smash the Rolex watch display while three other robbers, one armed with a gun, rushed to the back area of the store looking for other valuables. The store owners, who are registered concealed pistol owners, shot the armed robber, and all of the robbers fled without any valuables.
About five hours later, three men, dressed in identical clothes as the robbers in Grand Rapids earlier that day, entered Tapper’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry on Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield, and held employees and customers at gunpoint as they stole approximately $1.3 million worth of Rolex watches. The men then fled the store without being apprehended.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kent County Sheriff Department, and West Bloomfield Police Department coordinated their investigative efforts and began to piece together various pieces of evidence to identify the armed robbers. Pembrook’s blood, containing DNA, were found at the Medawar Jewelers location. Investigators discovered that Pembrook checked himself into Pennsylvania Prysberatian Hospital in the early morning hours of April 23, 2014, complaining of a gunshot wound. The hospital removed the bullet from Pembrook’s arm and Michigan State Police laboratory personnel were able to match the fired bullet to the Medawars owner’s firearm. Additionally, investigators tracked down video and cell phone information that helped to place all of these men from Philadelphia at the robbery locations during the times of the robberies.
Court records show that these men had a long history of committing larcenies and armed robberies. Briley had been previously convicted on 17 prior occasions, Calhoun had eight prior convictions, and Johnson had 13 prior convictions.
“We are grateful for the outstanding coordination by law enforcement agencies across state lines to put this case together.” McQuade said. “Armed robbery creates an unacceptable risk of harm to the public, and we are pleased that these men will be off the streets for a long time.”
Law enforcement agencies are still attempting to identify the final two persons associated with this robbery crew. If anyone has any information about those person’s identities, they are asked to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Lemisch and Christopher Graveline.
Three Defendants enter Guilty Pleas in Drug Trafficking/Money Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – On May 16, 2016, Clarence Griffin, 44, of Los Angeles, Robert Brown, 29, of St. Croix, and Jamila Felix, 29, of St. Thomas, pleaded guilty in federal c ourt on St. Thomas, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Griffin and Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute, and Felix pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Sentencing is scheduled for September 15, 2016.
According to the plea agreements filed with the court, between July 2012 and December 2013, Griffin and Brown shipped barrels containing at least 700 kilograms but less than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana concealed in “Chow Mein” cans from Los Angeles to St. Thomas utilizing a trucking service. Felix later deposited the proceeds from the marijuana sales into her bank accounts in St. Thomas, and subsequently wired the proceeds electronically to Griffin and other members of the conspiracy in the mainland United States. Griffin and Brown face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine. Both defendants remain in custody pending sentencing. Felix faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $500,000.00, or twice the value of the property involved in her transactions, whichever is greater. Felix remains on release pending sentencing.
This case is the result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Delia L. Smith.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina Honors and Remembers Fallen Law Enforcement Officers in Observance of 2016 "National Police Week"Read the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – This week, communities across the United States gather during National Police Week to remember law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to share their stories of courage and sacrifice and to honor their memory.
“Police week is a time of remembrance of fallen officers who gave their lives to protect ours,” said Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “Together with our fallen heroes’ families, friends and comrades we come together to grieve for their tragic loss, to celebrate their lives and to carry on the legacy they left behind.”
In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls as “National Police Week.” Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
This year, the names of 252 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., including the names of 123 officers who made the ultimate sacrifice during 2015, and 129 officers who died earlier in history but whose sacrifice had not been previously documented. With the addition of the 252 names this year, a total of 20,789 officers’ names are engraved on the Memorial. The names represent fallen law enforcement officers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, federal law enforcement, and military police agencies.
Among those added this year will be:
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Anthony E. Lossiah, of the Cherokee Indian Police Department, who died in October 2015.
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Robert James Bowling, of the North Carolina DMV – License & Theft Bureau, who died in May 2015.
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Keith Decarlo Smith, of the North Carolina Dept. of Public Safety, who died in December 2012.
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John William Knapp, Jr., of the Boone Police Department, who died in March 1999.
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Jesse James Styers, of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, who died in January 1935.
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Jack William Sykes, Wilson Police Department, who died in November 1922.
U.S. Attorney Rose noted that along with remembering the officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, “Police Week is an opportunity to honor and recognize all law enforcement officers in our communities, who bravely stand on the front lines each day. These officers are part of a long line of courageous men and women who have taken an oath to protect our neighborhoods, our homes and our loved ones from harm. I am thankful for their service, their courage and their willingness to answer the ultimate call of duty.”
There are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers currently serving in communities across the United States. Each year, nearly 60,000 assaults against law enforcement officers are reported, resulting in approximately 16,000 injuries.
The names of all 252 fallen officers nationwide were formally dedicated on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial during the 28th Annual Candlelight Vigil held at the National Mall on Friday, May 13, 2016.
The 35th Annual National Peach Officers’ Memorial Service was held on Sunday, May 15, 2016, in Washington, D.C., and Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates delivered the keynote address.
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Texas Authorities Make Multiple Arrests and Warn Public of Dangers of Synthetic NarcoticsRead the Press Release
A total of 16 people have been charged following a multi-year, multi-agency federal investigation into one of the largest synthetic cannabinoid trafficking enterprises in the country.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas made the announcement today along with Special Agent in Charge Joseph Arabit of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Acting Chief Martha Montalvo of the Houston Police Department (HPD) as well as leaders and representatives from numerous other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
“Today, a major criminal organization that dealt in the large-scale manufacturing and distributing of synthetic cannabinoids was dismantled,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson. “The unsealed indictment and related arrests are the results of a significant federal, state and local effort that was international in scope. These drugs are extremely dangerous and are emerging into a serious public health threat in both our area and the nation as a whole.”
A federal grand jury returned a 13-count federal indictment April 28, alleging a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods into the U.S., conspiracy to commit money laundering, aiding and abetting a money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. With the exception of aiding and abetting a money transmitting business, which carries a possible five-year-prison term, the penalty on any of the other charges is up to 20 years in federal prison.
“The arrests made today as part of Operation ‘We Can Hear You Now’ conclude a comprehensive investigation by DEA, Houston Police Department and its law enforcement partners into the leadership structure and criminal activities of an international drug trafficking organization,” said Special Agent in Charge Arabit. “This operation highlights an intentional and deliberate effort to cut off and shut down the supply of synthetic cannabinoids trafficked by callous dealers and the corresponding negative impact that this horrific drug inflicts on our communities.”
“This is great example of the Houston Police Department's partnership and collaboration with law enforcement partners in the effort to take dangerous substances off the streets,” said Acting Chief Montalvo. “Synthetic cannabinoids have been a major issue in our city and this was a major step in getting this illegal substance off our streets.”
The indictment alleges several co-conspirators devised a scheme to defraud by marketing their products as though they were safe. Some of the products were allegedly labeled as “potpourri” or “incense,” with some including false information such as “100% legal,” “lab certified” or “not for human consumption.” According to the charges, these products were, in fact, dangerous drugs. Specifically, they were synthetic cannabinoids that were manufactured and sold for human consumption. The substances allegedly contained hazardous chemicals that, when smoked or ingested, could cause serious bodily harm.
The indictment indicates the drugs in question were all schedule I drugs – substances or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use, have a high potential for abuse, are the most dangerous drugs of all scheduled drugs and have potential for severe psychological or physical dependence.
As part of the announcement today, authorities provided detailed information to warn of the dangers of this emerging public health threat. The effects of these drugs were described as unpredictable, with wide-ranging physiological effects to include possible kidney damage and gastrointestinal distress to possible seizures and even psychosis. Leaders also described how these are made and the unsafe and often dirty environments in which they are created, to include inconsistent batches blended in cement mixers and similar equipment. According to the information provided, this can result in “hot spots” in which one sample could have a significantly greater amount of harmful chemical than another.
Authorities also detailed the marketing of these drugs, citing the colorful packaging that targets only drug abusers, but also children and adolescents.
The law enforcement effort today resulted in the arrest of 12 people in the Houston area - Salem Fahed Tannous, 55, Omar Maher Alnasser, 36, Ali Shaker Tafesh, 35, Khalil Munier Khalil, 40, Nagy Mahmoud Ali, 59, Mohammed Rafat Taha, 27, and Steve Shafiq Amira, 58, all of Houston; Muhammad Shariq Siddiqi, 45, Ayisha Khurram, 40, and Sayed Ali, 41, all of Sugar Land; Abdalnour Izz, 31, of Missouri City; and Hazim Hisham Qadus, 31, of South Houston.
Khader Fahed Tanous, 49, of Stephens City, Virginia, and Frank Muratalla, 23, of Hawthorne, California, are also charged.
Authorities are still seeking Ziad Mahmoud Alsalameh, 56, of Pearland, Texas, and Aqil Khader, 33, of Houston. They are considered fugitives and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests. Anyone with information about their whereabouts are asked to contact DEA at 713-693-3000.
The indictment includes a notice of forfeiture and seeks $35 million money judgment as alleged illegal proceeds from the crimes.
The charges are the result of a four-year investigation conducted by the DEA, HPD, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Conroe Police Department, sheriff’s offices in Harris and Polk counties, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Jocher and Nancy Herrera are prosecuting the case.
Texas Authorities Make Multiple Arrests and Warn Public of Dangers of Synthetic NarcoticsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - A total of 16 people have been charged following a multi-year, multi-agency federal investigation into one of the largest synthetic cannabinoid trafficking enterprises in the country.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson made the announcement at a press conference in Houston today along with Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Acting Chief Martha Montalvo of the Houston Police Department (HPD) as well as leaders and representatives from numerous other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
“Today, a major criminal organization that dealt in the large-scale manufacturing and distributing of synthetic cannabinoids was dismantled,” said Magidson. “The unsealed indictment and related arrests are the results of a significant federal, state and local effort that was international in scope. These drugs are extremely dangerous and are emerging into a serious public health threat in both our area and the nation as a whole.”
A federal grand jury returned a 13-count federal indictment April 28, 2016, alleging a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods into the U.S., conspiracy to commit money laundering, aiding and abetting a money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. With the exception of aiding and abetting a money transmitting business, which carries a possible five-year-prison term, the penalty on any of the other charges is up to 20 years in federal prison.
“The arrests made today as part of Operation ‘We Can Hear You Now’ conclude a comprehensive investigation by DEA, Houston Police Department and its law enforcement partners into the leadership structure and criminal activities of an international drug trafficking organization,” said Arabit. “This operation highlights an intentional and deliberate effort to cut off and shut down the supply of synthetic cannabinoids trafficked by callous dealers and the corresponding negative impact that this horrific drug inflicts on our communities.”
“This is great example of the Houston Police Department's partnership and collaboration with law enforcement partners in the effort to take dangerous substances off the streets,” said Acting Chief Martha Montalvo of the Houston Police Department. “Synthetic cannabinoids have been a major issue in our city and this was a major step in getting this illegal substance off our streets.”
The indictment alleges several co-conspirators devised a scheme to defraud by marketing their products as though they were safe. Some of the products were allegedly labeled as “potpourri” or “incense,” with some including false information such as “100% legal,” “lab certified” or “not for human consumption.” According to the charges, these products were, in fact, dangerous drugs. Specifically, synthetic cannabinoids that were manufactured and sold for human consumption. The substances allegedly contained hazardous chemicals that, when smoked or ingested, could cause serious bodily harm.
The indictment indicates the drugs in question were all schedule I drugs – substances or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use, have a high potential for abuse, are the most dangerous drugs of all scheduled drugs and have potential for severe psychological or physical dependence.
As part of the announcement today, authorities provided detailed information to warn of the dangers of this emerging public health threat. The effects of these drugs were described as unpredictable, with wide-ranging physiological effects to include possible kidney damage and gastrointestinal distress to possible seizures and even psychosis. Leaders also described how these are made and the unsafe and often dirty environments in which they are created, to include inconsistent batches blended in cement mixers and similar equipment. According to the information provided, this can result in “hot spots” in which one sample could have a significantly greater amount of harmful chemical than another.
Authorities also detailed the marketing of these drugs, citing the colorful packaging that targets only drug abusers, but also children and adolescents.
The law enforcement effort today resulted in the arrest of 12 people in the Houston area - Salem Fahed Tannous, 55, Omar Maher Alnasser, 36, Ali Shaker Tafesh, 35, Khalil Munier Khalil, 40, Nagy Mahmoud Ali, 59, Mohammed Rafat Taha, 27, and Steve Shafiq Amira, 58, all of Houston; Muhammad Shariq Siddiqi, 45, Ayisha Khurram, 40, and Sayed Ali, 41, all of Sugar Land; Abdalnour Izz, 31, of Missouri City; and Hazim Hisham Qadus, 31, of South Houston.
Khader Fahed Tanous, 49, of Stephens City, Virginia, and Frank Muratalla, 23, of Hawthorne, California, are also charged.
Authorities are still seeking Ziad Mahmoud Alsalameh, 56, of Pearland, and Aqil Khader, 33, of Houston. They are considered fugitives and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests. Anyone with information about their whereabouts are asked to contact DEA at 713-693-3000.
The indictment includes a notice of forfeiture and seeks $35 million money judgment as alleged illegal proceeds from the crimes.
The charges are the result of a four-year investigation conducted by the DEA, HPD, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Conroe Police Department, sheriff’s offices in Harris and Polk counties, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Jocher and Nancy Herrera are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.###
South Glens Falls Woman Pleads Guilty to Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Roberta L. Rivers, age 57, of South Glens Falls, New York pled guilty today to stealing $112,000 in benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent-In-Charge of the SSA Office of the Inspector General.
During her plea today before Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, Rivers admitted to concealing and failing to disclose that she was married and resided with her husband from July 2002 through November 2013 while she collected Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Survivors Insurance Benefits (SIB). She also admitted that she did not report the marriage because she knew it would make her ineligible to receive benefits. As a result of her failure to disclose her marriage and the fact that she was living with her husband, she received $83,274 in SSI and $28,798 in SIB which she was not entitled to receive.
Rivers faces up to ten years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to three years when she is sentenced on September 12, 2016 by Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case is being investigated by the SSA Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.
Sandra Marks Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – The former owner of a fortune teller business on Seminole Trail in Charlottesville pled guilty today in Federal court to committing mail fraud and laundering more than $1 million in money stolen from her victims, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today.
Sandra Stevenson Marks, a.k.a. “Catherine Marks,” 42, of Charlottesville, Va., pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. In addition, the plea agreement signed today in District Court calls for Marks to repay at least $1.2 million in restitution to the victims of the defendant’s scheme.
“Ms. Marks took advantage of people who trusted her during some of the lowest points of their lives,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “Greed drove this defendant to break federal law and steal over $1 million from her victims. We are grateful to those who investigated this case and helped begin the process of making these victims whole again.”
“A fortune teller cons clients out of more than one million dollars, then launders the proceeds and commits mail fraud. This sounds like the plotline for a Hollywood movie. Unfortunately, for Ms. Marks’ victims, this was reality,” said Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. “I hope everyone appreciates, as much as I do, the HSI special agents who worked alongside our federal partners and the Albemarle County Police Department to investigate Marks and provide relief to the victims in the form of $1.2 million in restitution.”
According to evidence presented today, and at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber, Marks, and her husband, Donnie Marks, operated the business, “Readings by Catherine” on Seminole Trail in Charlottesville, which offered services such as palm readings, candle readings, tarot card readings, astrological readings and spiritual readings to clients.
Marks admitted today, through a statement of facts submitted to the court and signed by the defendant, that she enriched herself by telling her clients she was clairvoyant and able to see into the past and the future. Marks also said she told her clients she had a “gift from God” and was able to communicate with spirits and guides from God, including the “Prince of Illusion,” who relayed information to her about clients.
Marks further admitted that she would tell clients that she had learned from the spirits and guides that the client, and/or the client’s family, was suffering from a “curse” and a “dark cloud” that occurred in the past. Marks would tell clients they would need to make a sacrifice of large amounts of money and valuables, whereby she would bury the money and items in a box to be “cleansed.” Marks explained to her clients that the money and property would be returned once the “work” was complete. Additionally, Marks would tell the clients that the money and property would not be used for Marks’ own personal benefit.
Contrary to her representations to clients, Marks kept and used money and other valuables provided by her clients for her own personal use and enjoyment and that of her husband. When Marks had used all of her client’s money, Marks would find new clients to fund the scheme, or tell old clients that additional money was required to continue her “work.”
At sentencing, Marks faces a maximum possible penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison on both the mail fraud count and money laundering count. 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.
The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Albemarle County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber prosecuted the case for the United States.
Rochester Man Sentenced in Sex Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., announced today that Brandon McNeal, 24, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced to 108 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that McNeal conspired with others to recruit a minor female, knowing she was under the age of 18, to engage in commercial sex acts. Between July and August of 2015, the defendant had the child work for him as a prostitute. McNeal posted ads for the girl on Backpage.com, an internet classified advertising website. The defendant also arranged for the child to meet customers at a Motel 6 and paid for the hotel room.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes the Rochester Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.Retired High School Teacher Sentenced for Attempting to Engage in Illicit Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a retired high school teacher living in Sedalia, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for arranging to meet a woman and her 14-year-old daughter (actually an undercover law enforcement officer) for illicit sexual activity.
Paul Robert Cannon, 71, of Sedalia, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Cannon to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.
Cannon, an industrial arts teacher from 1976 to 1996, retired from the Gasconade County R2 School District. Cannon also served one term as a member of the Gasconade County R2 Board of Education after he retired from teaching.
On March 15, 2016, Cannon pleaded guilty to attempting to induce a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity. According to court documents, Cannon posted an advertisement on Craigslist on Jan. 18, 2016, entitled “Grandpa looking for a couple with kids.” The posting read, “Grandpa looking for a couple that would like to include their kids in sexual fun. White man, very discreet, very safe, retired teacher, and well endowed. Age and race are not an issue.”
On Jan. 21, 2016, a detective with the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department responded to the Craigslist advertisement, portraying himself as a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter. Over the next six days, the detective exchanged numerous e-mails with Cannon. In these exchanges, Cannon described various sex acts he intended to perform with the minor daughter. He also offered to have sex with both the mother and minor daughter together and said he was looking for “a continuing relationship.” The detective also exchanged numerous texts with Cannon in which Cannon described various sex acts he intended to perform with the minor daughter.
The undercover detective arranged to meet Cannon at a Columbia, Mo., restaurant this afternoon. Cannon offered to buy lunch for the mother and daughter before going to their residence for a sexual rendezvous. When Cannon arrived at the restaurant, he was redirected to another nearby restaurant, where he was arrested.
This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Parma Farmer Convicted of Conspiracy to Bait Ducks and Placing Bait for DucksRead the Press Release
BOISE – Gregory Obendorf, 60, of Parma, Idaho, was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury sitting in Boise of conspiracy to bait migratory birds and placing bait for migratory birds, both in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Obendorf was indicted on November 10, 2015.
The jury found that Obendorf conspired with other persons from November 2007 to January 2014, to place bait for migratory birds, specifically ducks, for the purpose of allowing others to hunt over the bait on his farm located on the Boise River in Parma, Idaho. The jury also convicted Obendorf of directing the placement of bait for duck hunting in November 2013. The jury heard evidence over the seven day trial that at the beginning of duck hunting season each year of the conspiracy, the defendant instructed his combine operators to partially combine his corn field to intentionally discharge corn kernels onto the field. Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service flew over the defendant’s property in November of 2013, and observed piles of corn near a duck blind from the air. Agents and officers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game then entered Obendorf’s corn field and discovered that the entire corn field was baited. After baiting the field with corn, Obendorf would flood the corn field and allow hunters to shoot ducks over the baited field. The jury also heard evidence that Obendorf instructed another individual to use a tractor to knock down standing corn in the field at night before his guests would hunt the field the following day. Obendorf boasted in a recorded conversation with Idaho Fish and Game Officers that he had over 200,000 ducks in the baited field during the 2013 hunting season. Several hunters who had been invited by Obendorf testified at trial that they hunted the corn field during the course of the conspiracy and that they were able to take their limits of ducks in under an hour.
“We take our mission to support the Fish and Wildlife Service very seriously, especially when violations involve the unlawful baiting of thousands of migratory birds over a prolonged period of time,” said Olson. “Duck hunting is a time honored tradition for hunters in Idaho, and the defendant has undermined the proud tradition of fair chase for all hunters.”
“Migratory birds are a trust responsibility of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Chief Edward Grace. “Because of this fiduciary responsibility, we will remain vigilant in investigating individuals who illegally bait migratory birds to give hunters an unfair advantage.” Grace stated that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is thankful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the citizens of Idaho who served on the jury for upholding the laws designed to protect migratory birds.
The charges of conspiracy to bait migratory birds and placing bait for migratory game birds are each punishable by not more than one year in prison, a maximum fine of $100,000, and not more than one year of supervised release or up to five years of probation. Obendorf’s sentencing is scheduled for August 2, 2016.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Oakmont Man Pleads Guilty to Structuring Cash Withdrawls to Evade Reporting RequirementsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of structuring financial transactions, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Louis Lammana, 49, of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Lamanna structured cash withdrawals in 2011 and 2013 in a manner designed to evade the reporting requirements of the various financial institutions. Lamanna structured over $157,000 during those two time periods with the bulk of the structuring occurring in 2013.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for October 3, 2016. Pending sentencing, the court continued Lamanna on bond.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway, Michael L. Ivory, and Michael A. Comber are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Louis Lammana.
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A North Carolina man pled guilty today to a federal drug conspiracy charge, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.
Ramon Gabriel Jr. of North Carolina pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“Methamphetamine trafficking continues to be a growing threat throughout the Western District of Virginia,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “We will continue to work with our partners on the local, state and federal levels to slow the influx of this deadly and addictive substance into our communities.”
At sentencing, Gabriel faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $1 million dollars. 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.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber prosecuted the case for the United States.
Newington Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Social Security Benefits Delivered to Deceased GrandmotherRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CEDRIC NEWMAN, 46, of Newington, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to six months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $200,000 in Social Security benefits that had been deposited into his deceased grandmother’s bank account. NEWMAN must serve the first three months of his supervised release in home confinement.
According to court documents and statements made in court, NEWMAN’s grandmother was entitled to receive Social Security Administration (“SSA”) monthly benefit payments starting in 1980. The payments were made by direct deposit into a bank checking account. Although NEWMAN’s grandmother passed away in October 1996, the direct deposit payments continued until June 2014.
In March 2011, NEWMAN began accessing the funds in the account to make electronic payments on his credit card. From the time of his grandmother’s death until June 2014, approximately $220,729 of monthly benefit payments, net of Medicare premiums, were directly deposited into her bank account. NEWMAN used $218,079 of the funds for his own benefit.
Judge Hall ordered NEWMAN to make full restitution to the Social Security Administration.
On December 14, 2015, NEWMAN pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds.
This matter was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia Enos King.
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Two BanksRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Robert Meader, age 31, of Liverpool, New York, pleaded guilty to a Criminal Information charging him with robbing two banks.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, on May 16, 2016, Meader appeared before United States District Court Judge Robert Mariani in Federal Court in Scranton and pleaded guilty to committing the following two bank robberies:
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$14,147 from the NBT Bank, Great Bend, Pennsylvania, on October 13, 2015; and
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$5,721 NBT Bank, Albany, New York, on January 6, 2016.
Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police arrested Meader without incident in Liverpool, New York, on January 12, 2016. Since his arrest, he has been held at the Lackawanna County Jail in Scranton.
The case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, New York. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty for each offense under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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New York Man Convicted of Production of Child Pornography, Interstate Travel to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Warwick, New York, man was convicted by a federal jury today of coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and traveling from New York to Passaic County, New Jersey, to have sexual intercourse with another minor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Clifford W. Wares, 43, was convicted of all six counts of an indictment charging him with one count of production of child pornography, one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct, two counts of online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct, and two counts of interstate extortionate threat. Wares was convicted following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning the verdict.
According to the documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
From June 2011 through October 2011, Wares used email, telephone and Facebook to communicate with a 13-year-old girl in Passaic County (“Victim 1”). Wares used a fake Facebook account to pretend to be another minor who was known to Victim 1 and introduce himself as someone with whom Victim 1 should communicate. Afterwards, Wares sent Victim 1 pornographic images and engaged in sexually explicit communications, ultimately asking that she send him images and videos of herself nude or engaging in sex acts, which she did. On occasions when she did not comply, Wares threatened to distribute nude images of Victim 1 to her parents and friends.
In June 2011, Wares met a 14-year-old girl residing in Passaic County (“Victim 2”) via an online social network. From June 2011 through August 2011, Wares regularly engaged in sexually explicit communications with Victim 2, sent her pornographic images and told her that he was interested in “hanging out” with her. Wares then drove from his home in Warwick, New York, to Passaic County where he picked her up in his vehicle. Wares engaged in sex acts with Victim 2 in a nearby park. After a second encounter, Wares threatened to harm Victim 2’s reputation and property when she refused to meet him again.
Wares was ultimately apprehended after a search for him was conducted via land and helicopter in an Orange County, New York park. Among his possessions upon his arrest were a roll of duct tape, a pair of handcuffs, a knife, and a handwritten list of the names of other minors who were known to Victims 1 and 2.
The charge of production of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. The charge of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison. The counts of online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct each carry a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. The interstate extortionate threat counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of two years in prison. Each of the above charges is also punishable by a potential $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited Special Agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New York State Police with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Alfonzo Walsman and Meredith J. Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Thomas Ambrosio Esq., Lyndhurst, New Jersey.