Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
22 March 2016
Twin Falls County Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
BOISE – Michael A. Southerland, 26, of Twin Falls County, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to unlawful possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Southerland was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 10, 2015.
According to the plea agreement, Southerland admitted that on October 28, 2015, he knowingly possessed two firearms after having been convicted of felony possession of a destructive device in California.
Southerland was arrested after law enforcement responded to a 911 call to the residence that he shared with his girlfriend, Lillian Cawley, and her daughter. The residence formerly belonged to Glen Cawley, Lillian Cawley’s estranged husband. In March 2015, Glen Cawley was found dead at the residence, having been shot in the back of the head with a shotgun. Lillian Cawley and Southerland subsequently moved into the residence. The murder of Glen Cawley is still under investigation.
Sentencing is set for June 14, 2016, before Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
The charge of unlawful possession of firearms is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Twin Falls Sheriff’s Office.
Texas Man Sentenced for Obstructing Federal Hate Crime InvestigationRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Carlos Garcia, 29, was sentenced to 48 months years in prison for making false statements in connection to the March 8, 2012, assault of a gay African-American man in Corpus Christi, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Garcia pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of false statements to law enforcement. The sentence was imposed today by U.S. District Judge Hayden Head of the Southern District of Texas. Garcia will also serve three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
During his plea hearing, Garcia admitted he made false statements to the FBI regarding the assault of a gay African-American man. Garcia denied being present during the assault, when in fact he participated in a portion of the assault.
Garcia is the third and last person to plead guilty in connection to the hate crime. Co-defendants Jimmy Garza Jr. and Ramiro Serrata Jr. were previously sentenced for their roles in the assault, each receiving 15-year sentences for their conduct.
During their pleas, Garza and Serrata admitted they engaged in a protracted assault of a gay, African-American man because of his race and sexual orientation. Garza and Serrata admitted they punched and kicked the man and assaulted him with various weapons, including a frying pan, a mug, a sock filled with batteries, a broom and a belt. Garza also poured bleach onto the victim’s face and into his eyes, and Garza struck the victim in the head with a handgun.
“Individuals who participate in hate crimes will continue to be the focus of federal criminal investigations in this district and this case illustrates that point,” said Magidson. “We simply will not tolerate the actions of anyone associated with these types of crimes, whether an active participant or one that seeks to hinder our efforts by lying, misleading or otherwise providing false information to law enforcement. This office will continue to ensure everyone is ultimately held accountable for their actions in federal court.”
“This defendant lied about the facts of this terrible crime that violated our society’s most basic standards of human decency and dignity,” said Gupta. “The Department of Justice will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who tries to obstruct justice by lying to law enforcement or covering up criminal activity.”
The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI’s Corpus Christi Resident Agency with assistance from the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruben Perez is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Jared Fishman and Nicholas Durham of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Spanish Citizen Arrested After Illegal EntryRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that U.S. Border Patrol Agents arrested a Spanish citizen who crossed the Vermont-Canadian border near Canaan on Monday evening, March 21, 2016.
A Criminal Complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington alleges that, at approximately 6:30 PM on March 21, 2016, a concerned citizen reported a man hiding in the woods near her home to a U.S. Border Patrol agent assigned to the Beecher Falls station. Agents responded to the area and encountered Cristian Aquino-Montillo. Aquino-Montillo, 21, claimed to be a citizen of Spain and could not produce any documentation allowing to enter or be present in the United States. Agents arrested Aquino-Montillo and transported him to the Beecher Falls station for further investigation.
Record checks confirmed that Aquino-Montillo is a citizen of Spain. The checks also revealed that he is a permanent resident of the Dominican Republic. He was removed to the Dominican Republic on July 15, 2014, because he remained in the United States after his tourist visa expired.
The Criminal Complaint charged Aquino-Montillo with re-entry after removal. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 2 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Aquino-Montillo also faces removal from the United States and a bar to re-entry.
Aquino-Montillo had a court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy on March 22.
The United States Attorney emphasizes that these charges are merely accusations, and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty.
“We rely upon local residents to report suspicious activity near the border,” said Patrol Agent in Charge Paul Kuhn. “This information prevented a felon from entering the United States.”
The Swanton Sector is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont, New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The assistance of citizens is invaluable to their border security mission and they welcome community members to help them keep our nation’s borders safe and report suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.
For more on Customs and Border Protection’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.
United States Attorney Eric S. Miller commended the investigative efforts of the United States Border Patrol.
The United States is represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Ophardt.
Shoshone Man Sentenced to 130 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOISE –William Roger Wilkinson, 54, of Shoshone, Idaho, was sentenced today to 130 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting an eight-year-old child on three occasions by using her to produce sexually explicit images, possessing child pornography and accessing child pornography with intent to view, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Wilkinson to a term of supervised release of five years, and entered an order forfeiting Wilkinson's interest in his former Shoshone home and real property where the child pornography was produced, and the electronic equipment used to commit the offenses. The proceeds of the forfeiture will be used to satisfy the Court's order of restitution to the victims of the offenses, which totals $155,766.36. Wilkinson was convicted by a jury on October 29, 2015, after a five-day trial.
According to the evidence presented at trial, the investigation began in May 2013, after an eight-year-old child disclosed that Wilkinson had taken sexually explicit pictures of her. Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Wilkinson in May 2013, and searched his home in Shoshone, Idaho. During the investigation, Wilkinson was released on bond, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after the investigation revealed child pornography on a desktop computer taken from his residence. Wilkinson fled his place of work in Twin Falls, Idaho, when deputies attempted to arrest him on November 2, 2013. The United States Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force in Salt Lake City, Utah, arrested Wilkinson on November 12, 2013. The FBI obtained a warrant to search the truck Wilkinson had driven to Utah and found a laptop computer and other evidence.
A forensic examiner from the FBI’s Intermountain West Regional Computer Forensics Lab located images on both the desktop computer and the laptop computer depicting Wilkinson and the eight-year-old child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. That evidence showed that on November 3, 2012, on December 9, 2012, and on March 3, 2013, Wilkinson knowingly used, persuaded, or coerced an eight-year-old child to take part in sexually explicit conduct and produced visual depictions of that conduct. Data imbedded in the digital photos showed that they were taken at Wilkinson’s home in Shoshone, Idaho. The evidence further showed that Wilkinson searched for, and viewed, websites containing child pornography on his desktop computer.
"Appropriately, Mr. Wilkinson will spend the rest of his life in federal prison, where he can no longer directly harm his young victim or pose any further threat to children," said Olson. "This sentence sends the strong and clear message that those who prey on the most vulnerable among us will face sure and stern punishment."
The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Idaho and Utah, and deputies from the Lincoln County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Department and the United States Marshals Service.
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.”
Selby Man Sentenced to 40 Years for Producing Child Pornography and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced that a Selby, Walworth County, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors was sentenced on March 21, 2016, by U.S. District Court Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Christopher R. Jansen, age 36, was sentenced to 480 months in custody, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. He must also register as a sex offender and have no contact with minors as well as his victims and their immediate family.
Jansen was indicted for Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, and Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury on October 15, 2014. He pled guilty to the first two offenses on November 17, 2015.
Jansen was an attorney who has worked in Central South Dakota. He lived and worked in Walworth County, where he maintained a law firm in Mobridge and a residence in Selby. He was the Walworth County State’s Attorney from approximately 2009 to 2012. Jansen had a professional attorney-client relationship with a family from Central South Dakota, and the minor victims identified in the Superseding Indictment are members of that family. He represented the family on family law related matters. Jansen befriended the client’s family and developed a relationship with the minors. He visited their home, the family visited his home, and there were situations where Jansen was alone with or stayed overnight with the children.
Regarding the charge of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Jansen engaged in repeat acts of sex with one of the children. He had sexual encounters with the child for approximately 2 years. He videotaped about 8 of these encounters, and maintained these videos on his media within his Selby home. He also produced 6 to 7 images of these encounters and maintained those images on his computer media at his home. He engaged in other sexual encounters with another minor in his client’s family, and he produced videos and images related to sexual acts and sexual contact with at least two of the minors.
Jansen refers to himself as a pedophile and indicated he has been dealing with his attraction to and acting out upon minors for a number of years. He knows his attraction to minors is illegal. He admits he loses control at times and that is when he molests minors and says he sometimes satisfies his desire for children by looking at child pornography.
Regarding the charge of Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Jansen was a member of a website that is used to distribute child pornography. The website is an online bulletin board whose primary purpose is the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. The website requires its users to continually upload child pornography in order to gain and keep membership. Since at least December 2013, Jansen was a member of the website and has himself distributed materials containing child pornography, including both materials that involve the family, as well as other child pornography. On the website, Jansen indicated he was interested in boys in the age range of 5 to 12 years old. He used an image of his client’s child as his avatar picture on the website. Law enforcement officers observed images available on the website which establish that Jansen shared images of his client’s child, and the distribution of those materials affected interstate and foreign commerce and were distributed by the use of a computer. Jansen came to possess other images and videos of child pornography as he liked to view images and videos of prepubescent males. He last utilized this child pornography sharing website on approximately Sunday, July 27, 2014, before his arrest by state and federal law enforcement officers two days later on July 29, 2014.
Jansen was arrested on July 29, 2014, following searches of his home and law office. On September 25, 2015, Jansen was sentenced in Hughes County, South Dakota, to serve 50 years in prison for two separate convictions of first degree rape. His federal sentence on child pornography charges was ordered served concurrently to his state court rape charges.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the Mobridge Police Department. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher of the District of South Dakota and Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Keith Becker of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case. At the conclusion of his federal sentencing, Jansen was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for transfer back to state authorities to begin serving his state sentence.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
###
Rochester Woman Sentenced for Role in Burglary Leading to Death of Elderly Medina Comic Book CollectorRead 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 Arlene Combs, 31, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of racketeering, was sentenced today to 240 months by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
“This case, which began with greed, ended in the murder of a senior citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “As this sentence demonstrates, law enforcement will be relentless in pursuing each and every person responsible for Mr. Marciniak’s, regardless of role in that crime.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, said that Combs and co-defendant Rico Vendetti hired three men, Donald Griffin, Albert Parsons, and Juan Javier, to travel from Rochester to the Medina, NY home of 78 year old Homer Marciniak to steal Marciniak’s valuable comic book collection in exchange for $1,000 each.
In executing their plan, in the early morning hours of July 4, 2010, Combs, along with Griffin, Parson, and Javier, drove from Rochester to Medina and cut Marciniak’s phone line.
In the early morning hours of the following day, July 5, 2010, the defendants returned to Marciniak’s home. Wearing ski masks and gloves, Griffin, Parsons, and Javier forcibly entered and during the course of the burglary, Marciniak, who had a serious heart condition, awoke and confronted the burglars. Griffin struck Marciniak in the face and then, along with Javier, bound his hands with bed linens. Javier then verbally threatened Marciniak with a BB gun in hand. Parsons, Griffin, and Javier ultimately located the comic book collection along with several strong boxes containing cash, coins, and other valuables.
After Griffin, Parsons, and Javier fled the scene with Combs, Marciniak freed himself and was taken to Medina Memorial Hospital for treatment of his facial injuries. However, after Marciniak was treated and released, he suffered a heart attack, was re-admitted to the hospital, and died shortly thereafter. Medical experts concluded that the blow Griffin struck, as well as the emotional trauma caused by the burglary, directly contributed to Marciniak’s cardiac arrest and resulting death.
Griffin, Parsons, and Javier gave the comic books to Combs who, along with another codefendant, Terry Stewart, took the comic books to Vendetti later in the day on July 5. Once Vendetti learned that the burglary resulted in Marciniak’s death, however, Vendetti disposed of the comic books.
Law enforcement officials within the Rochester Police Department identified the defendants during the course of separate investigation in October 2010. The defendants were arrested soon thereafter. In February and March 2011, Combs attempted to persuade Javier to not communicate with law enforcement about the July 2010 burglary and subsequent death of Homer Marciniak.
The burglary grew out of an organized shoplifting ring that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise from retail stores such as Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, JoAnn Fabrics, Tops, and Wegmans. Vendetti, the former owner of Eastside Gold & Car Audio, formerly in Rochester, New York, along with codefendant, Dayon Shaver, purchased the stolen merchandise for 25¢ on the dollar and then sold the stolen merchandise on eBay for about half of its retail value, primarily to out-of-state customers.
Also convicted in connection with this case:
• Rico Vendetti was convicted of racketeering and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20, 2016.
• Donald Griffin was convicted of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering: murder, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2016.
• Albert Parsons was convicted of a violent crime in aid of racketeering: assault resulting in bodily injury, and is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2016.
• Juan Javier, who was 17 at the time of the burglary, was prosecuted as an adult in Orleans County and sentenced to seven years in state prison.
• Terry Stewart was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison.
• Dayon Shaver was convicted of conspiring to traffic in stolen goods across state lines on March 21, 2016, and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.
• Brandon Meade was convicted of conspiring to traffic in stolen goods across state lines and was sentenced on January 21, 2016 to time-served after serving nine months in federal prison.The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila and Officers from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli. Special assistance was provided by Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone.
Roanoke Man Sentenced for Failing to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man, who previously pled guilty to being a convicted sex offender who failed to properly register as such, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Donato Antonio Richardson, 37, of Roanoke, Virginia, pled guilty in December 2015 to one count of failing to register as a convicted sex offender. Today in District Court, Richardson was sentenced to 30 months in Federal prison and five years of supervised release thereafter.
“The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is in place to keep our communities safe,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “When those required to submit to the rules of SORNA do not comply, they must be held accountable.”
According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day, Richardson was released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on July 15, 2015 and began serving a term of supervised release. However, Richardson failed to report to his federal probation officer within 72 hours of his release, as required and also failed to register with the District of Columbia Sex Offender Registry. On August 27, 2015, following an investigation by the United States Marshals Service, Richardson was arrested in Roanoke, Virginia.
The investigation of the case was conducted by United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.
Ringleader of Mortgage Loan Modification Scheme Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ARIA MALEKI, 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud homeowners across the United States who were seeking mortgage loan modifications.
According to court documents and statements made in court, MALEKI and others jointly operated a series of California-based companies that falsely purported to provide home mortgage loan modifications and other consumer debt relief services to numerous homeowners in Connecticut and across the United States in exchange for upfront fees. The defendants did business, at various times, as “First Choice Financial Group, Inc.,” “First Choice Financial,” “First Choice Debt,” “Legal Modification Firm,” “National Freedom Group,” “Home Care Alliance Group,” “Home Protection Firm,” “Hardship Center,” “Network Solutions Center, Inc.,” “Premiere Financial Center,” “Premiere Financial,” “Rescue Firm,” “International Research Group LLC,” “Hardship Solutions,” “American Loan Center,” “Loan Retention Firm,” “Clear Vision Financial,” “Green Tree Financial Group,” “Green Tree Financial,” “Enigma Fund, Inc.,” “National Aid Group,” “Southern Chapman Group LLC,” “Save Point Financial,” “Best Rate Financial Solutions,” “Best Rate Financial Solution,” “Best Rate Financial,” “Best Rate Finance Group,” “Nation Star Financial,” and “Nation Star Fin Group.”
Acting as representatives of these entities, MALEKI and his co-conspirators cold-called homeowners and offered to provide mortgage loan modification services to those who were having difficulty repaying their home mortgage loans. The defendants charged homeowners fees that typically ranged from approximately $2,500 to $4,300 for their services. To induce homeowners to pay these fees, the defendants falsely represented that the homeowners already had been approved for mortgage loan modifications on extremely favorable terms; the mortgage loan modifications already had been negotiated with the homeowners’ lenders; the homeowners qualified for and would receive financial assistance under various government mortgage relief programs, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Home Affordable Modification Program; and if for some reason the mortgage loan modifications fell through, the homeowners would be entitled to a full refund of their fees.
In fact, the homeowners had not been preapproved for mortgage loan modifications with lenders, mortgage loan modifications had not been negotiated with the lenders, homeowners had not qualified for and did not receive any financial assistance through government mortgage relief programs, and homeowners did not receive a refund of their fees upon request. Few homeowners ever received any type of mortgage loan modification through the defendants’ companies, and few homeowners received refunds of their fees.
Participants in the scheme used pseudonyms and periodically changed their business and operating names to evade detection. The defendants also directed homeowners to mail their checks to addresses and mail boxes that the defendants and their co-conspirators had set up in states other than California.
MALEKI presided over the entire structure of this scheme. As a result, more than 1,000 homeowners suffered losses totaling more than $3 million.
On January 21, 2016, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging MALEKI and six other California residents with conspiracy and fraud offenses related to this scheme. The defendants were arrested on January 26.
MALEKI pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He also has agreed to pay restitution of approximately $3 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 14, 2016.
MALEKI also has agreed to forfeit approximately $350,000 that investigators seized from various bank accounts, approximately $362,000 sized from a Bitcoin account, a $100,000 cashier’s check, and a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia.
Three other defendants, Mehdi Moarefian, a.k.a. “Michael Miller,” 36, and Daniel Shiau, a.k.a. “Scott Decker,” 30, both of Irvine, Calif., and Serj Geutssoyan, also known as “Anthony Kirk,” 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and await sentencing
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Avi M. Perry and Sarah P. Karwan.
Richmond man indicted in social security fraud schemeRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced the indictment of a Richmond Indiana man on one count of Social Security Fraud. Daniel M. Glunt, 56, was charged by a federal grand jury sitting in Indianapolis for his role in defrauding the treasury of over $55,000.
“Social Security benefits are reserved for those who cannot provide for themselves and need legitimate help from the government,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to take advantage of this and other supplemental income sources will be held strictly accountable.”
Mr. Glunt applied for Supplemental Social Security (SSI) benefits in 2008, claiming he had no sources of earned or unearned income. Glunt certified at the time of his application and many times subsequent, that he had no additional income. Investigators for the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General learned that Glunt was employed by a trucking company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and had been employed for the majority of time he was collecting SSI. He received SSI benefits continuously from April 2009, until August 2015.
SSI is a federal funded program designed to administer cash assistance to the aged, blind or disabled who have little or no resources to live. The SSI program is directly tied to the applicant’s income and other circumstances that affect financial need. To qualify an applicant must certify that they are unable to engage in substantial gainful work as a result of physical or mental impairment that is terminal or expected to last at least 12 months.
“Supplemental Security Income is a lifeline for many disabled Americans. The Office of the Inspector General is committed to investigating and pursuing those individuals who violate the public trust and defraud American taxpayers. I’m grateful that the U.S. Attorney’s Office shares our determination to ensure the integrity of the Social Security Administration’s programs,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Tracey Thanos, Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia J. Ridgeway who is prosecuting this case for the government, Glunt could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.
Polo Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Polo, Ill. woman pleaded guilty today in federal court before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to embezzling $59,560.88 from First State Bank Shannon-Polo.
KAYLA C. BERGSTROM, 46, of Polo, was First Vice-President of First State Bank, with branches located in Polo and Shannon, Ill.
According to the plea agreement, Bergstrom had the highest security level assigned in the bank’s software program, which controlled all customer bank accounts, the bank’s general ledger accounts, adding new accounts, and the maintenance of all bank accounts. Bergstrom’s responsibilities included reconciling all of the bank’s correspondent accounts including the bank’s correspondent account with US Bank. Bergstrom stated in the plea agreement that between Feb. 23, 2010 and Feb. 3, 2014, she embezzled a total of $59,560.88 from First State Bank by creating 34 separate cash advance tickets for the bank’s correspondent account at US Bank and crediting the amounts of cash advance tickets to her personal account and the business account for her husband’s automobile repair business. Bergstrom admitted in her plea agreement that she concealed her embezzlement by changing the balances on the bank’s US Bank account statements by manually cutting and pasting false account balances on the statements. The deposits of the bank were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Bergstrom faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release of up to five years following imprisonment, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing for Bergstrom is set for June 28, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Joseph Moriarty, Special Agent in Charge for the Chicago Regional Office, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Plea Agreement
Pitt County Behavioral Health Businessman Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Medicaid FraudRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that yesterday in federal court, TERRY LAMONT SPELLER, 38, of Winterville, North Carolina, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release following his prior guilty plea to Health Care Fraud, and Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Property. SPELLER was also ordered to make restitution of $5,962,189.77 to the victims of the offense, which included the North Carolina Medicaid program and a physician, whose name and identification number SPELLER used to commit the fraud.
Acting United States Attorney John Stuart Bruce stated, “Speller defrauded the taxpayer and attempted to intimidate a federal witness. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will vigorously prosecute those who steal from a program designed to help the less fortunate and those who try to subvert the justice system by threatening witnesses.”
“Speller thought his clever scheme, which included billing for services never rendered, identity theft and a sham nonprofit was undetectable. He was clearly outwitted by law enforcement,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “Today, Speller received a bill for hard prison time and millions of dollars payable to U.S. taxpayers.”
Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman III of IRS Criminal Investigation said, “IRS, Criminal Investigation is committed to ‘following the money,’ in this case the taxpayer dollars purloined from the Medicaid system, and removing the financial incentive of crime.”
The Criminal Information to which SPELLER pleaded guilty provides that between 2010 and 2015, TERRY LAMONT SPELLER was an individual doing business through various Outpatient Behavioral Health and Outpatient Health Service providers in Pitt County and surrounding areas within the Eastern District of North Carolina. Through these providers, SPELLER recruited hundreds of Medicaid beneficiaries, mostly children, from various communities in Eastern North Carolina to receive alleged services compensable by Medicaid.
In 2010, North Carolina’s Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), which administers the Medicaid program in this state, began an investigation of one of SPELLER’s companies based upon allegations that the company was billing for services that were not actually rendered. DMA requested that SPELLER produce the underlying medical records to support the provider’s prior claims to Medicaid. SPELLER did not provide records to support the services that were billed. As such, the provider was suspended from further participation in Medicaid programs, and DMA would have rejected further attempts by SPELLER to become a provider.
Count One of the Criminal Information alleged that SPELLER affiliated himself with various other providers that he, and others working with him, used to bill the Medicaid program for millions of dollars in fraudulent claims. Count Two of the Criminal Information charged that SPELLER converted approximately $1 Million of the fraud proceeds into alleged loan payments to a third party. Despite investigation, however, no documentation was recovered to support the existence of the loans. The loan proceeds were then transferred back to SPELLER in cash.
Although SPELLER pleaded guilty, he contested numerous sentencing enhancements, resulting in a full day of testimony and argument before Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox. At sentencing, the Government’s evidence showed that SPELLER began fraudulently billing the Medicaid program in 2010 in connection with a Medicaid provider he operated, known as Carter Behavior Health Services. The evidence showed that stacks of fraudulent medical records were generated to bill the government for fictitious services. After learning of the fraud, North Carolina’s Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), suspended the defendant’s company as a Medicaid provider.
The evidence showed, however, that SPELLER continued to find ways to defraud the Medicaid program. Testimony at the sentencing hearing revealed that SPELLER used the names of other providers, some of which were operated through companies placed in the names of close family members, to continue to submit fraudulent claims.
Much of the testimony focused upon SPELLER’S involvement with a clinic known as the “Medical Office” which operated in Greenville, North Carolina. The evidence showed that SPELLER defrauded the Medicaid program by submitting an altered check to the program for the purposes of establishing a direct deposit into a bank account of an alleged nonprofit business operated by SPELLER, known as Distinct Advantage Behavior Health. After establishing this direct deposit, SPELLER and others fraudulently caused Medicaid to pay out some $4.9 million in funds.
Special Agents with North Carolina’s Medicaid Investigations Division, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, executed search warrants at the Medical Office and Distinct Advantage Behavior Health in October of 2014. In a safe inside the defendant’s office, agents recovered the fraudulent check used by SPELLER to deceive the Medicaid program. Agents also found no medical records to support the $4.9 million paid into the defendant’s bank account.
SPELLER’s scheme was halted in May of 2015 when he threatened to kill a witness against him. Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that when the witness indicated that they would testify against SPELLER, SPELLER drove the witness off of a roadway and displayed a firearm. SPELLER was arrested shortly thereafter on a federal warrant, and has been in custody since that time.
The investigation of this case was conducted by agents of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office; The Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation; and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. The investigation and prosecution of this matter is being handled in a partnership between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore of the Economic Crimes Division, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Spillman of the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, each represented the United States.
If you suspect Medicare fraud please report it by phone at 1-800-447-8477 (1-800-HHS- TIPS), or E-Mail at [email protected]. To report Medicaid fraud in North Carolina, call the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division at 919-881-2320.
Philadelphia Pair Indicted on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - William Upson, a/k/a Jamal, 34, and Todd Smith, a/k/a Tyrone Smith, 37, both of Philadelphia, PA, were charged today by Indictment with drug trafficking and weapons charges, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The charges include possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
If convicted of all charges, Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, at least six years and up to lifetime supervised release, a possible fine, and a $400 special assessment. Upson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, at least six years and up to lifetime of supervised release, a possible fine, and a $400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arlene Fisk.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Partners in Drug Distribution Conspiracy Each Sentenced to More Than 18 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Two New Jersey men who were partners in a 29-month drug distribution conspiracy involving cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy and methylone were each sentenced to more than 18 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Christopher Castelluzzo, 31, of Bayonne, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 240 months in prison. Luke Atwell, 34, of Hamilton, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday to 220 months in prison. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute methylone, cocaine, MDMA, and marijuana following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, who imposed the sentences in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Atwell and Castelluzzo were partners in a drug dealing conspiracy that spanned 29 months. In March 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted an investigation resulting in the seizure of more than six kilograms of methylone at a drug mill in East Orange, New Jersey, that was tied to Atwell and Castelluzzo.
About a month later, in April 2013, agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), seized 2.9 kilograms of methylone that Atwell intended to pick up at the Manville, New Jersey, Post Office. Agents replaced the package with a dummy package, which Atwell picked up and placed in the car he occupied with Castelluzzo. Following the arrest of both defendants outside the Manville Post Office, agents searched various electronic devices of the defendants and uncovered email communications establishing a drug distribution conspiracy dating back to 2010.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Wolfson sentenced both Atwell and Castelluzzo to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of HSI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola, and special agents of the DEA, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, for the investigation.
Defense counsel:
Castelluzzo: Dawn M. Florio Esq., New York
Atwell: Pasquale F. Giannetta Esq., Wayne
Owner of Home Health Care Agency Sentenced to Five YearsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - The owner of a home health agency was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for her role in a $7 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and engage in bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Irina Krutoyarsky, 62, of Springfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and tax evasion. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Krutoyarsky owned HHCH Health Care Inc., of Linden, New Jersey, which provided home health aides and health care services to New Jersey residents. Home health aides visit patients at their homes and provide a variety of health care services, such as assistance with eating, dressing, and grooming. These home health aide services were subsidized under the N.J. Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid).
Krutoyarsky and her conspirators defrauded Medicaid by submitting false documents to the N.J. Board of Nursing, the state agency responsible for issuing home health aide certifications. Krutoyarsky falsely represented that prospective home health aides had attended and satisfactorily completed required training and testing. In truth, Krutoyarsky charged prospective home health aides hundreds of dollars for fraudulently obtaining their certifications.
Krutoyarsky also fraudulently billed Medicaid for services not actually rendered to patients. Numerous HHCH home health aides routinely falsified records that claimed they had visited patients and provided them health care services. These home health aides had other jobs, were on vacations overseas, or were in other parts of the state during the times they claimed they were with patients. Home health aides sometimes gave cash kickbacks to patients who were also participating in the scheme. Federal agents introduced a cooperating witness (CW), posing as a prospective home health aide to Krutoyarsky. During one meeting in January 2012, Krutoyarsky and another conspirator meet with the CW to discuss having him join the scheme to defraud Medicaid. In explaining the scheme, Krutoyarsky explained that they would fraudulently bill Medicaid to obtain “free money [from the] Government.”
Krutoyarsky hired individuals with no home health certifications and no status in the country and then sent them to patients’ homes. Krutoyarsky and her conspirators then billed Medicaid, fraudulently claiming that the services had been provided by duly certified home health aides.
Krutoyarsky defrauded Medicaid out of $7 million. She directed certain home health aides to establish checking accounts at a bank near HHCH’s office and then took control of their checkbooks. After Medicaid paid the claims and transferred the funds into HHCH accounts, Krutoyarsky then transferred portions of the money into the aides’ accounts and used the money to purchase, maintain, and pay for real property in New Jersey, New York, Florida; purchase personal property for her own use and benefit; and pay for personal expenses for her own use and benefit and the use and benefit of her family.
Krutoyarsky also bribed an employee of the N.J. Department of Labor (NJDOL), who was working in an undercover capacity with federal agents. In mid-2010, the NJDOL received a complaint that Krutoyarsky was not paying overtime wages to her employees and commenced an investigation. The department demanded Krutoyarsky produce certain HHCH records. Realizing that providing these records would reveal the Medicaid fraud scheme, Krutoyarsky paid approximately $10,000 in a cash bribe to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing the NJDOL investigation. The employee, however, was wearing a recording device and recorded Krutoyarsky making the bribe payment on video.
In May 2011, Krutoyarsky paid a second cash bribe of approximately $15,000 to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing a second NJDOL investigation related to one of Krutoyarsky’s conspirator’s companies. This bribe payment was also captured on video.
Between 2007 and 2011, Krutoyarsky cheated the IRS out of $907,150 in taxes due and owing to the United States. She sent home health aides to the homes of patients who were not eligible for Medicaid. These patients wrote checks payable to HHCH. A conspirator cashed these checks at check-cashing businesses in New Jersey and equally divided the cash with Krutoyarsky. Krutoyarsky also issued HHCH checks to “no show” employees, who then wrote personal checks back to Krutoyarsky. On her corporate tax returns, she falsely characterized these payments as legitimate business deductions, thus reducing her business’ corporate taxes.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Krutoyarsky to three years of supervised release, ordered her to pay $7 million in restitution and entered a forfeiture order for $7 million, including forfeiture of her home in New Jersey and properties in New York City and Florida.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Acting N.J Attorney General Robert Lougy; Acting N.J. State Comptroller Philip James Degnan; Division Director Josh Lichtblau, Office of the State Comptroller, Medicaid Fraud Division; N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs, under the direction of Acting Director Steve C. Lee; the N.J. Board of Nursing; the N.J. Department of Labor, under the direction of Commissioner Harold J. Wirths; U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and the Marlboro Police Department, under the direction of Chief Bruce Hall, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Gaeta and Anthony Moscato of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Today’s sentencing is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov
Defense counsel: Edward V. Sapone Esq., New YorkOwner of Castro Valley Pizzeria Sentenced for Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
OAKLAND, Calif. – Frank Eugene Gemignani III was sentenced today to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay $255,452 in restitution for failing to pay over employment taxes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.
According to the plea agreement, Gemignani, 47, of Concord, operated Pyzano’s Pizzeria in Castro Valley from 1991 through 2012. As the sole proprietor, Gemignani exercised control over Pyzano’s business affairs, including signing and filing Pyzano’s tax returns and paying to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from Pyzano’s employees’ paychecks. From April 1, 2008, through December 31, 2010, Gemignani deducted and collected approximately $184,267 in federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes (FICA) from Pyzano’s employees’ wages, but he failed to pass these taxes on to the IRS. Additionally, Gemignani failed to pay at least $63,333 of FICA and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) taxes that the business, Pyzano’s, itself owed for 2009 and 2010. Gemignani also claimed a credit for amounts withheld from his Pyzano’s paychecks on his U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, for 2007, even though he knew he had never paid those withholdings over to the IRS. Gemignani was charged by indictment on June 19, 2014, with 11 counts of failure to pay over employment taxes, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C § 7202, and one count of filing a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). He pleaded guilty to one count failure to pay over employment taxes.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge, in Oakland. In addition to the prison term, Judge White also sentenced Gemignani to a one year period of supervised release. Gemignani has been ordered to begin serving his sentence no later than June 6, 2016.
Assistant US Attorney Michael G. Pitman is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Overland Park Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - An Overland Park business owner has pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge. She agreed to pay $28,037 in restitution.
Becky L. Harper, 48, Overland Park, Kan., who owned and operated the Double Take Salon and Spa in Overland Park, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of making a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service. The company was an S Corporation and she was the sole shareholder. In her plea, Harper admitted her business had gross receipts in 2007 of approximately $973,219, including more than $24,000 in cash. She did not deposit the cash receipts into the bank account for the business. Instead she spent a portion of the cash for business expenses and the remainder for personal expenses. She did not report any wages or salary in 2007.
Sentencing is set for June 13. Both parties have agreed to recommend she serve a year on federal probation and pay restitution. The Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley worked on the case.
Orleans County Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing MethyloneRead 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 Allen M. Young, 39, of Barker, NY, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methylone, before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $2,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that between October 21, 2011, and December 13, 2012, the defendant conspired with Peter Viera to obtain methylone from China, which Young then distributed. On December 13, 2012, while members of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force were attempting to execute a search warrant on Young and his car, he fled at a high rate of speed before crashing the car in Ridgeway, NY. Young fled the scene on foot. Nine rounds of .50 caliber ammunition were found in the car. As he fled, the defendant discarded a backpack near the scene of the crash which contained 1.8 pounds of methylone and just over one pound of marijuana.
Young was subsequently arrested in Erie, Pennsylvania on February 14, 2013, and has been in custody ever since. On April 5, 2013, officers executed a search warrant at his residence and seized seven firearms belonging to the defendant.
Peter Viera has also been convicted and will be sentenced on May 5, 2016.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph V. Cardone and Sheriff Randall Bower, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.Sentencing is scheduled for June 17, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. before Chief Judge Geraci.
Omaha Man Convicted of Multiple RobberiesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Emmanuel Chaplain, age 26, of Omaha, Nebraska, was convicted after a jury trial. The jury found Chaplain guilty of seven counts of interference with commerce by means of robbery, three counts of using or possessing a firearm in furtherance of three of the robberies and felon in possession of a firearm. The Honorable Chief District Judge Laurie Smith Camp presided over the trial that began March 14 in Federal District Court. Sentencing has been set for June 20, 2016. Mr. Chaplain faces 20 years of imprisonment on each robbery, at least five years consecutive to the first robbery in which he used a firearm, and 25 years consecutive on each of the other two charges of possessing and using a firearm in furtherance of the particular robberies for which he used a firearm. He faces 10 years imprisonment for the felon in possession of a firearm charge.
On June 19, 2014, Chaplain and Shane Seizys robbed the Jiffy Lube located at 5819 Maple Street. Later that day they robbed a second Jiffy Lube at 1221 South 120th Street. On June 23, 2014, they robbed the Subway at 5005 Center Street and Chaplain was found guilty of possessing and using a firearm during that robbery. When they left Subway, they went to O’Reilly Auto Parts at 3620 North 72nd Street and robbed it. Within an hour of those two robberies they went to the Kum & Go at 1010 South 154th Street and robbed it. The jury found that Chaplain possessed and used a firearm during the Kum & Go robbery. On July 16, 2014, Chaplain and Seizys robbed the Game Stop at 9959 Redick Circle using a firearm and about 15 minutes later, robbed the KFC located at 7601 North 30th Street.
A bandana found in a car Chaplain was riding in on June 23, 2014, following the Kum & Go robbery, was tested for DNA. The probability that the bandana did not belong to Chaplain was one in 20 sextillion.
After the Game Stop and KFC robberies, three people matching the description of the robbers were seen changing clothes at a vehicle approximately one block away. Omaha Police Officers quickly responded to the area. Seizys and Dilang Dat were immediately arrested. Chaplain fled from police but was caught a short time later. The vehicle they ran from belonged to Chaplain’s brother. In addition to finding clothes in the car that matched those worn in the robberies, there were 5 video game boxes from Game Stop that had Chaplain’s fingerprints on them.
Seizys and Dat previously pleaded guilty and their sentencing hearings have been set for June 20, 2016.
The case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Norman Man Sentenced to Serve 100 Months in Prison for Accessing and Viewing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DANIEL EUGENE HOWIE, 32, of Norman, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to serve 100 months in federal prison for having accessed, with intent to view, child pornography, announced Mark A. Yancey, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
According to a complaint filed on July 23, 2015, law enforcement officers determined that an internet user with an IP address linked to Mr. Howie’s home address in Norman was actively viewing images of child pornography and posting comments on website forums dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. Upon obtaining and executing a search warrant at Mr. Howie’s home, agents recovered several laptops and media devices. Mr. Howie admitted to federal agents that he had searched for and viewed images of child pornography, and also admitted to molesting two girls under the age of twelve — one of whom was only four years old at the time.
On August 18, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Mr. Howie with knowingly accessing, with intent to view, child pornography, the production of which involved the use of a prepubescent minor under the age of twelve. On September 24, 2015, Mr. Howie pleaded guilty to both counts.
At a hearing last Friday, Mr. Howie was sentenced to serve 100 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry.
New York Woman Sentenced to Time Served for Participating in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Mount Vernon, New York, has been sentenced in federal court to 14 months (time served) in prison and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $82,619.00 on her conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Gcobisa Kehle, 38.
According to information presented to the court, Kehle allowed bank accounts in her name and under her control to be used as repositories for fraudulently obtained federal tax refunds. Kehle would then withdraw the fraudulently obtained refunds, keep a portion for herself and give the remainder of the money to another co-defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Kehle.
New Jersey Business Owner Admits Operating Corporate Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The owner of a group of freight payment, logistics, and shipping businesses headquartered in Branchburg, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Shirley Sooy, 65, currently of Fort Smith, Arkansas, pleaded before U.S. District Judge William Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of wire fraud and one count of transacting in criminal proceeds.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2010 through April 2013, Sooy, through a collection of businesses operating under the umbrella of the “TransVantage Group,” entered contracts with corporate clients – referred to in a criminal complaint as the “victim companies.” TransVantage audited freight bills generated by common carriers and freight forwarders hired by the victim companies. TransVantage was obligated to pay the audited and approved freight bills to the carriers from funds provided by those companies, and the funds were supposed to be held in trust by TransVantage until paid over to the carriers. The victim companies also paid TransVantage for its purported auditing services, payments separate and apart from the carrier payment funds.
Sooy operated TransVantage as a Ponzi scheme, which resulted in substantial losses to the victim companies. Sooy and others comingled the funds from the victim companies – funds that were to have been paid to carriers – and then misused those funds in various ways. They paid unauthorized operating expenses and personal expenses.
The count of wire fraud to which Sooy pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The count of transacting in criminal proceeds with which Sooy is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Postal Inspector in Charge James Ball; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Today’s arrest is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Defense counsel: Michael J. Rogers Esq., Somerville, N.J.
New Haven Hotel Agrees to Comply with Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with Days Inn New Haven, a Connecticut hotel, to resolve allegations that the hotel was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate “places of public accommodation,” which includes hotels, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and to undertake periodic reviews to determine compliance by covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages and civil penalties.
As part of a compliance review survey, 12 randomly-selected New Haven area hotels were asked to complete and return a survey form. Onsite inspections to confirm survey responses were then conducted and each hotel was reviewed for its compliance with federal law. Six of the surveyed hotels were found to have ADA violations. The government has been working with the owners and operators of each hotel found in violation to secure voluntary compliance. All six of the hotels have now entered into settlement agreements with the government, with Days Inn New Haven being the final hotel to reach an agreement. The hotels have agreed to voluntarily comply with the ADA.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that individuals are able to access and enjoy the state’s hotels and other public accommodations,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “Our Office is committed to enforcing the ADA, which requires businesses to appropriately serve the diverse population of patrons who live, work, and visit Connecticut. We thank the ownership and management of all the hotels that were surveyed, and appreciate their willingness to work with the government to address and correct the ADA violations.”
The hotel survey was conducted in accordance with the Justice Department’s statutory responsibility to review compliance with federal law, and not in response to any specific complaint against any of the hotels within the scope of the review.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that a hotel or any other place of public accommodation within the District of Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TDD). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Nelson, Vanessa Avery, and Ndidi N. Moses, in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Monroe County Man Sentenced to 34 Months in Prison for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 24-year-old Tobyhanna man was sentenced to 34 months in prison today by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion in Scranton, for trafficking in heroin in July-August 2014.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Ronald Walker, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. Agents seized nine bricks of heroin from the defendant’s residence on August 14, 2014, and Walker admitted during his guilty plea to distributing between 40 and 60 grams of heroin in July-August 2014, which is equivalent to approximately 1300 to 2000 bags of heroin.
Walker was indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton in March 2015, as a result of an investigation by special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), investigators from the Pennsylvania State Police, and Pocono Mountain Regional Police.
Judge Mannion also ordered Walker to be placed on three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the heroin initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
# # #
Miami Man Pleads Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud Commercial Lenders and U.S. Export-Import BankRead the Press Release
A Miami man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a scheme to defraud two commercial lenders and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) out of more than $11 million.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Inspector General Michael McCarthy of EXIM made the announcement.
Guillermo A. Sanchez-Badia, 61, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of Florida in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3 before Judge Lenard.
According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, from 2007 through 2012, Sanchez and his co-conspirators utilized companies they controlled to create fictitious invoices for sales of merchandise that never occurred. These invoices were sold to two Miami-area commercial lenders in a process called “factoring,” which allowed the conspirators to receive cash for approximately 90 percent of the value of the merchandise listed on the fake invoices, according to the plea. Sanchez admitted that, in order to continue the scheme, he and his co-conspirators created additional fictitious invoices, transferred the funds they received through numerous bank accounts under their control and, in a Ponzi-style scheme, used a portion of the new proceeds to pay off prior factored invoices.
Sanchez admitted that when the Miami lenders refused to extend further credit, he and his co-conspirators created false invoices and shipping documents to obtain a loan guaranteed by the EXIM. Rather than acquiring, selling and shipping American manufactured goods as required for an EXIM guaranteed loan, Sanchez and his co-conspirators used the loan proceeds to pay off earlier factored invoices, thereby extending the scheme, and kept the balance of the loan proceeds for themselves, Sanchez admitted. The factoring loans and the EXIM-guaranteed loan ultimately defaulted, causing more than $11 million dollars in losses to the lenders and the United States, according to the plea.
Five other individuals have been convicted for their roles in this scheme. Isabel C. Sanchez, 36, of Miami, the daughter of Sanchez-Badia, and Gustavo Giral, 38, of Miami, who were charged in the same indictment as Sanchez-Badia, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2016, for their participation in this scheme to defraud, and will be sentenced on May 13, 2016. Isabel Sanchez created the false sales and shipping documents and arranged for the transfer of criminal proceeds through over 50 bank accounts. Giral assisted in circulating the fraudulent documents and in converting loan proceeds to currency, facilitating the money-laundering concealment by making the source of funds more difficult to trace. Freddy Moreno-Beltran, 43, of Bogota, Colombia; Ricardo Beato, 62, of Miami; and Jorge Amad, 48, of Miramar, Florida, were separately charged and have each pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. According to admissions in their plea agreements, Moreno-Beltran owned Clientric, a company in Colombia, which purportedly purchased goods from companies that the defendants controlled. Beato and Amad owned Approach Technologies International, a company offering call center software. The conspirators admitted that they told the EXIM that Approach Technologies International had sold more than $1 million in American manufactured software and equipment to Clientric, which was false, in order to obtain an EXIM-guaranteed loan. Moreno-Beltran and Beato were each sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $1,951,643.05 in restitution.
Ultimately, the EXIM-guaranteed loan defaulted, causing a loss to the United States of nearly $2 million.
The EXIM Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Donley and Trial Attorney William Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
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.
Members of Mail Theft Conspiracy Operating in Upstate South Carolina Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Shannon D. Ashworth, age 33, Wendy D, Sisk, age 45, and Danny Buford, age 47, all of Anderson, were sentenced today in federal court in Anderson, for conspiracy to commit fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain of Anderson sentenced Ashworth to 60 months imprisonment, Sisk to 24 months imprisonment, and Buford to 18 months imprisonment. Collectively, they were ordered to pay over $40,000 in restitution, and placed on three years of supervised release.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson City Police Department, and other local agencies had undertaken a long-term investigation into the theft of mail in and around Anderson County. It was discovered that an organization existed that regularly stole mail from residential boxes, sorted the stolen mail for checks and personal identifying information, created, altered or counterfeited checks, and created false identification documents. Multiple counterfeited and altered checks were passed throughout the upstate. Most of the fraud was conducted in an effort to obtain funds to purchase methamphetamine.
Sisk was a leader of an organization of more than 20 individuals. She served as a clearing house for stolen mail and aided other co-conspirators in creating and cashing counterfeit checks. Ashworth stole mail and cashed multiple counterfeit checks throughout the upstate. He also made counterfeit identification documents. Danny Buford stole mail and also cashed checks for the conspiracy.
The case was investigated by agents of United States Postal Inspection Service, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson City Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.
#####
Member of Fraudulent Check Cashing Ring SentencedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Ryan Sylvestre, a/k/a Fly, a/k/a Nature has been sentenced to three years, nine months in prison after a jury convicted him of bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft stemming from his role in a scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks across the Southeast.
“Sylvestre and his co-conspirators stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from numerous bank accounts across the Southeast,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “His elaborate scheme reinforces that identity thieves will go to almost any length to enrich themselves at the expense of their victims.”
“Bank fraud is not a victimless crime and the FBI will continue to dedicate significant investigative resources toward investigating and presenting for prosecution those who would engage in such criminal activities. The FBI is proud of the role that it played in the sentencing of Ryan Sylvestre, which removes a key crime figure from our streets,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
“Bank fraud is one of the largest challenges facing financial institutions today,” said Malcolm D. Wiley, Sr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “The Unites States Secret Service will continue to collaborate with its law enforcement partners to target and arrest individuals who violate the trust the public has in our economic system. This sentence should serve as a reminder that criminals will bear the consequences of their actions and be sent to prison for their crimes.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2013, Sylvestre, along with co-conspirators Richaad T. Mason, a.k.a. “Cap,” Carley Carpenter, and April M. Hayes, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from SunTrust, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo bank accounts. After obtaining counterfeit checks that contained the confidential account information of customers at the three banking institutions, this group recruited individuals to cash the counterfeit and forged checks.
Sylvestre personally recruited women to cash forged checks. The checks were written out in the names of the recruited check cashers. The crew was responsible for cashing checks at various banks in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, among other places. On multiple occasions, Sylvestre picked up the check cashers from their homes, gave them forged and counterfeit checks, drove them to the bank, and collected the proceeds. He also permitted his co-conspirators to use his rental car to cash checks in Savannah, Georgia and Virginia.
Other co-conspirators, some of whom await sentencing, include:
-
Richaad T. Mason, a.k.a. “Cap,” 24, or Atlanta, Georgia, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and bank fraud conspiracy on June 15, 2015.
-
Carley T. Carpenter, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy on September 18, 2015.
-
April M. Hayes, 24, or Braselton, Georgia, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and bank fraud conspiracy on June 22, 2015.
Ryan Sylvestre, a/k/a Fly, a/k/a Nature, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was indicted for bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft on October 27, 2015, and found guilty by a jury on December 16, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Secret Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kamal Ghali and Jeffrey W. Davis prosecuted 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.
-
Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Conspiracy to Commit Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that Dave Anglin of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Lynn Adelman to 168 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit armed robberies. Dave Anglin, his brother, Michael Anglin, and a third individual committed the December 9, 2013, robbery of the Hampton Service Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the time, Dave Anglin had just been released from prison and was finishing up his federal sentence for a prior armed bank robbery conviction at Parson’s House in Milwaukee.
Dave Anglin was scheduled to go to trial in December 2015 but agreed to plead guilty on the first day of trial as prospective jurors and trial witnesses were kept waiting. His brother, Michael Anglin, had previously been convicted of related charges following a jury trial in April 2015. During the robbery, Dave Anglin and Michael Anglin brandished a 9mm handgun and an assault rifle. Michael Anglin pistol whipped and shot an employee of the Hampton Service Center, causing life-threatening and permanent injuries. The two brothers again armed themselves and planned to commit another armed robbery on the morning of December 17, 2013, but law enforcement intervened after receiving information about their plans.
The successful prosecution of this case was the result of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Milwaukee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly B. Watzka and Jonathan H. Koenig prosecuted this case.
# # # # #
Man Pleads Guilty to Directing Sophisticated Tax Scheme from State PrisonRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced the guilty plea of a Virginia man who, while incarcerated in Tennessee state prison, organized and participated in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
David Witt, 36, of Jonesville, Virginia, pled guilty yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western of Virginia in Abingdon to one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent claims and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States Government in respect to claims. A co-defendant in the case, William Ziehler, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on related charges earlier this month.
“The United States Attorney’s Office takes seriously the responsibility of ensuring the integrity of our tax paying system,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “Prosecutions, like this one, that holds accountable those who attempt to defraud the system, should serve as an example to those looking to do harm to the system.”
According to evidence presented in District Court by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne, Witt, and others, participated in a sophisticated conspiracy to defraud the federal government. The scheme began when Witt, at the time an inmate in a Tennessee state prison, gathered personally identifiable information (including birth dates and social security numbers) belonging to other inmates, which he then used that information to complete Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040s. These Form 1040s contained false information, including false addresses outside of prison and false claims that the inmates were due a tax refund based on wages never earned by those inmates. Subsequently, these Form 1040s were sent to persons outside of the prison who then forwarded the Form 1040s to the IRS for processing. Based on these Form 1040s, the IRS issued tax refund checks in the names of these inmates and sent the checks to addresses associated with Witt’s accomplices in the scheme. Many of these tax refund checks were cashed at banks throughout Southwest Virginia by persons using fraudulent power-of-attorney forms. Return payment was made to Witt and others by use of electronic transfers, such as MoneyGram, and by other means.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne prosecuted the case for the United States.
Leader of Bronx Narcotics Organization Sentenced to Life for MurderRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ADONY NINA, the leader of a drug trafficking organization (the “Organization”) that operated in the Bronx, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for running the Organization and murdering Aisha Morales in June 2011. NINA was convicted after an October 2013 trial of one count of conspiring to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and one count of discharging a firearm in relation to a narcotics conspiracy. NINA was further convicted after a May 2015 trial of one count of intentionally causing the killing of Aisha Morales while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy and one count of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm that caused the death of Aisha Morales. Both trials were before United States District Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who imposed yesterday’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Adony Nina was twice convicted by juries in this District of crimes of violence connected to his crack and heroin trafficking empire. Nina’s reign of violence included the murder of 21-year-old Aisha Morales that he, as the head of his drug trafficking organization, had ordered. For his crimes that terrorized his Bronx neighborhood, Adony Nina has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in federal prison.”
NINA was initially arrested in April 2012 pursuant to a Complaint charging him with possession of ammunition as a felon. In December 2012, NINA was additionally charged with narcotics trafficking and firearms charges in a Superseding Indictment filed in December 2012. NINA and his co-defendant Candido Antomattei, another high-ranking member of the Organization, were convicted of narcotics trafficking and firearms charges following a trial in October 2013. In April 2014, NINA was charged with the murder of Aisha Morales in a Superseding Indictment, and was convicted of participating in the Aisha Morales murder after a trial in May 2015. Cathy Morales, who along with NINA participated in the murder of Aisha Morales (no relation), pled guilty in February 2015 to one count of intentionally killing an individual while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy. Cathy Morales was sentenced to 45 years in prison in October 2015 for her role in the murder of Aisha Morales. Thirteen other members of the Organization have pled guilty to various federal narcotics and firearms charges.
According to the publicly filed documents, evidence presented at the trials in this case, and statements made in court throughout the pendency of the case:
From 2008 through 2013, the Organization’s members sold crack cocaine and heroin, among other drugs, primarily in the vicinity of Longwood Avenue, and Beck, Kelly, and Simpson Streets in the Bronx. NINA was the leader of the organization, supplying his workers with crack cocaine and heroin. NINA also supplied his workers with firearms, and relied on the regular use of violence and threats of harm against his workers, customers, and rival drug dealers, all in an effort to control the Organization and maintain control over what he considered to be its territory.
During and in relation to NINA’s administration of the Organization, NINA provided a gun to his worker Cathy Morales and directed her to shoot at a group of women that included the victim, Aisha Morales. Cathy Morales carried out NINA’s instructions and fatally shot Aisha Morales, who was 21 years old at the time of her death, in the head. The shooting took place in the vicinity of 1018 East 163rd Street, in broad daylight. Prior to the murder, NINA, Cathy Morales, and other members of the Organization threatened rival drug dealers who were selling drugs in the Organization’s territory. The murder was the culmination of the dispute with the rival drug dealers. Aisha Morales was not involved in the drug-dealing activities that led to the dispute.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, NINA, 38, of the Bronx, New York, was ordered to pay restitution.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New York City Police Department.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher DiMase, Rebecca Mermelstein, Margaret Graham, Daniel Noble, and Sarah Krissoff are in charge of the prosecution.
Johnstown Woman Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Johnstown, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months in prison and three years’ supervised release on her conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Paulette M. Alt, 54.
According to information presented to the court, from Jan. 31, 2013, to April 23, 2013, Alt conspired to distribute less than 28 grams of cocaine base, in the form commonly known as “crack.”
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cambria County Drug Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Alt.
Jefferson County Man Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DENVER – Daniel Spear, age 50, of Jefferson County, Colorado, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve 240 months (20 years) in federal prison, followed by a life time of supervised release for the production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Spear, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.
Spear was first charged by Criminal Complaint on November 5, 2014. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 2, 2014. He pled guilty before Judge Jackson on May 13, 2015, and was sentenced on March 17, 2016.
According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, the defendant produced child pornography with a minor under his care and control, from approximately November 2012 through November 2014 in Colorado and Idaho. In addition, defendant Spear engaged in sexually explicit conduct, coercing the minor for the express purpose of producing child pornography. In total there were 3.256 unique photographs of child pornography of said minor on an SD card. Further, there were another 503 images of the same minor on his laptop. The minor first admitted to a school counselor and later an FBI child forensic interviewer that she had been sexually molested for two years by Spear, with the first time occurring when she was in 7th grade.
“Defendant’s systematic sexual abuse of a child in his care earned him every second of his 20 year sentence,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “That he turned this horrific abuse into child pornography further proves the justice of this severe sentence.”
“Those who sexually abuse our children to produce child pornography deserve every single day of their prison sentence," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. "The FBI will continue to work with federal, state and local authorities to remove predators like Daniel Spear from our community and protect children."
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Spear was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Covell and Judy Smith.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
Henderson Co. Man Sentenced for Firearms Related OffensesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced a Hendersonville, N.C. man to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release on firearms related offenses, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In June 2014, a federal jury convicted Warren Rosslyn Newell, 49, of two counts of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Sheriff Charles S. McDonald of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney Rose in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and evidence presented at Newell’s trial, on July 30, 2013, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Newell’s vehicle and determined he was driving with a suspended license. During the same traffic stop, law enforcement also recovered from Newell a non-functioning .22 caliber apparatus (commonly referred to as a “pen gun”), which was loaded with one round of .22 caliber ammunition. Law enforcement also found in the trunk of Newell’s car his backpack, which contained a black mask, gloves, ligatures, and five knives. Following Newell’s arrest, law enforcement retrieved another round of .22 caliber ammunition from his pocket. According to court records, Newell’s prior convictions in Texas and South Carolina prohibit him from possessing a firearm and/or ammunition.
According to trial evidence and witness testimony, Newell told law enforcement that he needed the pen gun for protection, because he frequently worked for drug dealers as a debt enforcer. According to evidence presented at trial, Newell told law enforcement that because of his reputation after serving 17 years in the Texas prison system, those who owed money to drug dealers usually agreed to make a payment without delay. Newell also told law enforcement that he used the items inside the backpack in connection with collecting on the drug debts.
“We are grateful for the excellent investigative work by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and ATF,” said U.S Attorney Rose. “While Newell’s ultimate plans are unknown, what is clear is that he was in possession of the means and mechanisms to engage in unlawful conduct. His sentence today reflects the seriousness of his crimes.”
“ATF is committed to actively investigating and apprehending criminals who illegally acquire firearms or use firearms to commit violent crimes. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in the Carolinas to keep our communities safe,” said Special Agent in Charge Hyman.
“While I certainly support the right of law abiding citizens to own and carry firearms, convicted felons have lost that right as a result of their life choices. I applaud the work of our Henderson County Sheriff’s Office investigators, ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office as we partner to minimize criminal activity in our community,” stated Chief McDonald.
Newell will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by ATF and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Edwards of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Heading Gang-Related Narcotics Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MELKUAN SCOTT, also known as “Young God,” “Mel,” “Young” and “YG,” 25, of Hartford and Andover, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven to 156 months of imprisonment, followed by seven years of supervised release, for heading a gang-related narcotics trafficking operation.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a year-long joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Hartford Police Department, into narcotics trafficking by members and associates of WestHell street gang, and gang-related violent activity. The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and physical surveillance, identified SCOTT as the leader of the WestHell street gang who, along with numerous associates, distributed crack cocaine in the Westland Street area of Hartford. The investigation also revealed that SCOTT and his associates used an apartment on Love Lane in Hartford to convert, or “cook,” cocaine into crack cocaine.
SCOTT was arrested on April 15, 2014, after he coordinated a quarter-kilogram crack cocaine transaction. On that date, a search of SCOTT’s Andover residence revealed a loaded .40 caliber pistol with two magazines, and nine cell phones. A search of his Hartford residence revealed bundles of cash and items used to process and package narcotics. A search of the Love Lane apartment revealed two firearms, one of which was loaded, and appliances and utensils used to manufacture crack cocaine.
SCOTT has been detained since his arrest. On May 5, 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
Twenty-five individuals were charged as a result of the investigation. One defendant was convicted after trial and 23 defendants pleaded guilty to various offenses. One defendant was shot and killed while his case was pending.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Squad, Major Crimes Unit and Shooting Task Force are providing valuable assistance to the investigation, and the Capitol Region Emergency Response Team (CREST) assisted with the arrest of certain defendants.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John H. Durham and Peter S. Jongbloed.
Greenwood Man Sentenced to 20 Months for Conspiring to Defraud the Department of Veterans AffairsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Charles B. Harris, age 48, of Ninety-Six, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Anderson, for conspiracy to defraud the United States. United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain of Anderson sentenced Harris to 20 months imprisonment and ordered him to pay over $45,000 in restitution.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that from 2011-2014, Harris owned and operated the Greenwood Barber College. The school was approved by the VA to teach veterans the skill of barbering. Harris was the certifying official who agreed to accurately monitor and report student attendance and academic progress.
In December 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs received a complaint that Harris was conspiring with various veterans in stealing Government funds. Agents opened an investigation and interviewed several of Harris’ students. The students told agents that so long as they paid Harris $400 per month, he did not require them to attend class. Harris would falsify documents indicating their attendance and progress so the students could continue to receive VA educational benefits.
On February 6, 2014, agents interviewed Harris at the Greenwood Barber College. Harris admitted to helping veterans sign up for the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program (“VRAP”) and other VA programs offering financial aid for career training. He would then enroll them in the Greenwood Barber College. Harris admitted that he would not require the veterans (whether VRAP or another program) to actually attend classes at the Greenwood Barber College and that he would falsify records documenting the attendance and performance of the veterans. So long as the veterans paid Harris $400 per month, he kept them enrolled in the school. Harris said that he knew what he did was wrong and was he was sorry.
The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.
#####
Glen Burnie Man Admits to Laundering over $2 Million Swindled from Individual VictimsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Kaushik Kanti Modi, age 43, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, a native of India living illegally in the United States, pleaded guilty today to a money laundering conspiracy arising from a scheme to launder millions of dollars of fraud proceeds obtained from individual victims through a variety of scams.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
“Criminal conspiracies such as this are loathsome crimes that victimize our nation’s honest taxpayers,” said Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Today’s plea is a reminder that IRS-CI will remain vigilant in our investigation of these schemes and will continue to work with prosecutors to combat this type of criminal conduct.”
According to his plea agreement, Modi received text messages from conspirators instructing him to buy large numbers of stored value cards, principally GreenDot cards, and to forward the PIN numbers of the cards to other unidentified co-conspirators.
Modi’s co-conspirators loaded money onto the stored value cards using a variety of scams. Some of the money came from calls made by persons impersonating IRS employees who convinced innocent taxpayers that they owed taxes to the IRS, and needed to send money to the co-conspirators to avoid arrest and incarceration. On at least two occasions, victims of the IRS impersonation fraud deposited money directly into accounts held in Modi’s name. Other money was derived by offering merchandise for sale on the internet and then failing to provide the merchandise once money was received from the victim-purchaser.
After money was loaded on the stored value cards, Modi was instructed to use the cards to buy money orders, principally MoneyGram money orders at Walmart stores, and then to deposit those money orders into bank accounts either in Modi’s name or the names of others. From January 1, 2014 to March 24, 2015, Modi deposited 241 money orders totaling $2,077,308.20 into his bank accounts. Moreover, Modi frequently bought the money orders using stored value cards that were activated using the identification of identity theft victims.
At the time of his arrest, Modi admitted that he knew that something was not right about the source of the money involved in the transactions, and accordingly, knew that the purpose of those transactions was to conceal the proceeds of unlawful activity.
Modi has agreed to forfeit $902,678.08, the amount involved in the money laundering offense that the government has seized or restrained.
Modi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the IRS – Criminal Investigation and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan T. Shea, who is prosecuting the case.
Fort Thompson Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on March 21, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lorenzo Francis Obago, age 58, was sentenced to 24 months in custody, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Obago was indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender by a federal grand jury on October 14, 2015. He pled guilty on December 13, 2015.
On November 16, 1994, Obago was convicted and sentenced in Day County of Sexual Contact with a Child under 16. Between June 26, 2015, and October 14, 2015, Obago, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of a conviction under Federal Law, failed to properly register as a sex offender in Buffalo County.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
Obago was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
# # #
Former U.S. State Department Employee Sentenced to over Four Years in Extensive Computer Hacking, Cyberstalking and “Sextortion” SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Former U.S. State Department employee Michael C. Ford has been sentenced to four years, and nine months in prison for perpetrating a widespread, international e-mail phishing, computer hacking and cyberstalking scheme against hundreds of victims in the United States and abroad.
“This case unfortunately shows that cyber-stalkers have the ability to torment victims from any corner of the globe,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn. “Hopefully, Ford’s victims can be reassured that he will serve a significant sentence for his conduct. Members of the public must be extremely careful about disclosing their logins and passwords to anyone, even when the person on the other end of an e-mail or instant message appears to be legitimate.”
“Michael Ford hacked hundreds of email accounts, particularly targeting young women so he could extort them into sending him sexually explicit images,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “He preyed on vulnerable victims, leaving them with indelible emotional scars. His sentence is a necessary step in holding him to account for his crimes and helping his victims move forward with their lives.”
“The sentencing of Mr. Ford will not only hold him accountable for his despicable criminal conduct but will also deny him the ability to further victimize others. The FBI is proud of the role that it played in bringing this case forward for investigation, apprehension, and federal prosecution and it is hoped that those who were victimized by Mr. Ford will find some relief with this sentencing,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
“The Diplomatic Security Service is proud of the hard work of everyone involved in the investigation including our partners at the FBI and the Department of Justice. When a public servant in a position of trust commits crimes like cyberstalking and computer hacking on such a large scale, we will vigorously investigate those crimes and ensure they are brought to justice. We hope that this sentence will provide some closure for the victims,” said Director Miller.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Ford admitted that between January 2013 and May 2015, while employed by the U.S. Embassy in London, he used various aliases to commit a widespread, international computer hacking, cyberstalking and “sextortion” campaign designed to force victims to provide Ford with personal information as well as sexually explicit videos of others. Ford targeted young females, some of whom were students at U.S. colleges and universities, with a particular focus on members of sororities and aspiring models.
Posing as a member of the fictitious “account deletion team” for a well-known e-mail service provider, Ford sent thousands of phishing e-mails to thousands of potential victims, warning them that their e-mail accounts would be deleted if they did not provide their passwords. Ford admitted he then used the passwords to hack into at least 450 e-mail and social media accounts belonging to at least 200 victims, where he searched for sexually explicit photographs and for victims’ personal identifying information (PII), including their home and work addresses, school and employment information, and names and contact information of family members, among other things.
Using both the photos and PII, Ford admitted that he then e-mailed at least 75 victims, threatening to release those photos unless they took and sent him sexually explicit videos of “sexy girls” undressing in changing rooms at pools, gyms and clothing stores.
When the victims refused to comply, threatened to go to the police or begged Ford to leave them alone, Ford escalated his threats, according to the plea agreement. For example, Ford admitted that he wrote in one e-mail “don’t worry, it’s not like I know where you live,” followed by another e-mail with her home address and threatened to post her photographs to an “escort/hooker website” along with her phone number and home address. On several occasions, Ford followed through with his threats, sending his victims’ sexually explicit photographs to family members and friends, according to the plea.
Additionally, at sentencing, the government presented evidence that Ford engaged in a related scheme targeting aspiring models beginning in 2009. Posing as a model scout, Ford convinced young women to send their personal information, to include dates of birth and measurements, as well as topless photos for consideration for fictitious modeling opportunities. During this ruse, Ford obtained topless and partially nude photos from hundreds of women, including several minors. He also attempted to entice a minor to take voyeuristic videos of her peers in her school locker room. Some of his early model-scout victims became the first victims of his charged cyberstalking scheme.
Michael C. Ford, 36, of Atlanta, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross of the Northern District of Georgia, to four years and nine months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. On Dec. 9, 2015, Ford pleaded guilty to nine counts of cyberstalking, seven counts of computer hacking to extort and one count of wire fraud in connection with his ongoing criminal scheme. The names of the victims are being withheld from the public to protect their privacy.
The Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI investigated the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali of the Northern District of Georgia, Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Trial Attorney Jamie Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in London provided assistance in this case.
Anyone who believes that they are the victim of hacking, cyberstalking, or “sextortion” should contact law enforcement. Resources regarding hacking and other cybercrimes can be found at: https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber.
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.
Former Saints Player Enters New Guilty Plea to Drug Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DARREN SHARPER, age 40, formerly of New Orleans, entered a new guilty plea today before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, to Conspiracy to Distribute Alprazolam, Diazepam and Zolpidem with intent to commit rape and two counts of distributing these substances with intent to commit rape. The maximum punishments for these offenses are as follows:
COUNT
CHARGE
MAXIMUM
PENALTIES
4
21 U.S.C. 846; Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule IV Controlled Substance with the intent to commit a crime of violence
20 Years, $250,000 Fine, NLT 1 Year Supervised Release.
5
21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1),(b)(1)(D) & (E)(7)(B); Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Schedule IV with the intent to commit a crime of violence
20 Years, $250,000 Fine, NLT 1 Year Supervised Release.
6
21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1),(b)(1)(D) & (E)(7)(B); Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Schedule IV with the intent to commit a crime of violence
20 Years, $250,000 Fine, NLT 1 Year Supervised Release.
SHARPER is a former member of the New Orleans Saints and is presently in custody. He has previously pled guilty to similar charges in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. He has also entered into a conditional plea in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. His plea today was part of a global resolution of the charges against him. According to court records, SHARPER admitted that he and others distributed controlled substances to unsuspecting women and then had sexual relations with them while they were incapacitated. He also admitted that he conspired with other persons in committing these offenses.
Under the terms of this new plea agreement, the United States and SHARPER jointly agreed to recommend to the court a sentence within SHARPER’s Sentencing Guidelines range, which is 188-235 months as calculated by the United States Probation Office. Sentencing in this matter is set for June 16, 2016, at 9:00 AM.
Co-defendants Brandon Licciardi, a former St Bernard Sheriff’s Deputy, and Erik Nunez are awaiting trial on similar charges as well as charges of Witness Tampering and Impeding an Official Proceeding.
U.S. Attorney Polite thanked the victims for their courage and willingness to come forward.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter and thanked Leon Cannizzaro and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office for their invaluable assistance. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also assisted in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael E. McMahon, Theodore Carter, and Brandon Long are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Professor Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas – A 47-year-old Galveston man formerly employed at Texas A&M University has pleaded guilty to one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Matthew Irwin was employed as an associate professor for Texas A&M Galveston at the time of his arrest. He had come to the attention of law enforcement after investigators found evidence he was accessing files from a website known to contain child pornography.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence on Aug. 6, 2015, at which time they seized a laptop and various external storage media devices. The forensic examination revealed more than 4,000 images and two videos of clearly young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These movies and images included children under the age of 12 engaged in acts of violence. Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Irwin admitted he downloaded child pornography from the Internet, thereby receiving and possessing the child pornography found on his computer and external storage media.
Irwin appeared before U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. today and pleaded guilty to the charges. Sentencing has been set for June 1, 2016, at which time Irwin faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years imprisonment for the receipt of child pornography as well as a maximum of 10 years on the possession charge. He also faces a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing hearing.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Pearland Police Department.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo, 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."
Former Medical Center Physician Enters Guilty Plea to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas – A former pediatric oncologist at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has pleaded guilty to receipt, access with intent to view and possession of child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
At the time of his arrest in June 2015, Dennis Patrick Meehan Hughes, 49, of Pearland, worked at M.D. Anderson, but he is no longer employed there.
This case was initiated pursuant to a nationwide investigation known as Operation Pacifier which targeted users of a TOR network child pornography website whose primary purpose was to advertise and distribute child pornography. Following the February 2015 arrest of the primary site administrator, law enforcement was able to identify more than 1,000 U.S.-based user IP addresses. One of those addresses resolved back to the residence of Hughes.
Law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at his residence on June 5, 2015, at which time they arrested Hughes and seized his computers and other items.
Today, he appeared in federal court before U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. in Galveston, admitting he received and possessed numerous images of child pornography, to include prepubescent girls with their genitals lasciviously displayed. Some of the images also depicted young girls being penetrated, both orally and vaginally. The government also offered evidence that images of child pornography were found on his work computer as well.
In total, law enforcement discovered 329 videos and 2,693 unique images attributable to Hughes.
Judge Hanks has set sentencing for June 1, 2016. At that time, Hughes faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years for the receipt and up to 10 years for the access with intent to view and possession of child pornography as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, Hughes would also face a minimum of five years and a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect the children and prohibit the use of the Internet. He would also be required to register as a sex offender.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing hearing.
The charges against Hughes are the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Houston FBI, Pearland Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and the University of Texas Police Department.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack, 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."
Former Marion Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who received child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Andrew Schrock, age 32, formerly from Marion, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Schrock admitted that, between 2013 and 2014, he knowingly used the Internet to receive child pornography.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Schrock remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Schrock faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Marion Police Department.
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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 16-0006.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Former Letter Carrier Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Former U.S. Postal Service employee Linwood R. Nelson, Jr., age 32, of Gwynn Oaks, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and admitted to diverting packages of drugs sent through the U.S. Mail and delivering them to co-conspirators.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Paul L. Bowman of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to Nelson’s plea agreement, he was a postal carrier employed by the United States Postal Service and assigned a delivery route in Woodstock, Maryland. From July 2014, through September 11, 2014, Nelson agreed to divert U.S. Mail parcels containing drugs, including heroin, from his regular delivery route and deliver those packages directly to various co-conspirators.
Nelson provided co-conspirators with an address along his route and instructed them to send parcels to this address, but to use false addressee names on each parcel. Co-conspirators regularly communicated with Nelson via telephone and text message to provide descriptions of the parcels sent, including the colors of the mailed boxes and the false addressee names used. Nelson then used the information to remove the parcels from his delivery batches, falsely scan them as “delivered” in the U.S. Postal Service computer tracking system, and then bring them to co-conspirators at an agreed-upon location. Nelson received cash in exchange for delivering the parcels, typically $500 per parcel.
On September 11, 2014, Nelson was arrested in possession of a package containing approximately two kilograms of heroin. When arrested, he was on his way to meet with a co-conspirator at a pre-determined location, where Nelson was to provide the parcel containing heroin to the co-conspirator in exchange for cash.
Nelson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for the heroin distribution conspiracy. Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for July 14, 2016.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DEA, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Joshua T. Ferrentino, who are prosecuting the case.
Former Commissioner of Mount Vernon Water Department Pleads Guilty in White Plains Federal Court to BriberyRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christina Scaringi, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (“HUD OIG”), announced today that ANTHONY BOVE, the former Commissioner of the Board of Water Supply of the City of Mount Vernon (the “Water Department”), pled guilty to soliciting a $10,000 bribe from an employee of the Water Department, and with lying to federal law enforcement officers when BOVE was interviewed during the investigation. BOVE pled guilty to the Information today in White Plains federal court before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.
U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “The people of Mount Vernon deserved better than Anthony Bove, who used his public position to solicit a bribe from his own employee. As the Commissioner of the Board of Water Supply, Bove was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the people of Mount Vernon had a safe and clean water supply, not to find ways to line his own pockets through bribes. I want to thank the HUD OIG and the investigators and prosecutors in my office for making this important case.”
Special Agent in Charge Scaringi stated: “In the last number of years, we have seen an unfortunate increase in the failure of our public officials to exercise integrity in connection with their official positions, thus further eroding the public’s trust in them. Anthony Bove’s guilty plea today is proof of our continuing resolve to ferret out official misconduct and corruption. The HUD OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continuing partnership in helping to detect and prosecute corrupt conduct.”
According to the allegations in the Information and other documents in the public record:
ANTHONY BOVE was the Commissioner of the Water Department of the City of Mount Vernon (the “City”). The City annually receives in excess of $10,000 in federal funds from the United States government. The City’s Water Department is responsible for serving City residents by, among other things, monitoring and treating the City’s water supply, repairing water main leaks, and reading water meters and generating water bills. In accordance with the City Charter, the Commissioner of the Water Department is appointed by the City’s Mayor, serves at the Mayor’s pleasure, and reports directly to the Mayor as the head of one of the City’s departments.
In the spring of 2015, while serving as the Water Commissioner, BOVE solicited a $10,000 bribe from a Water Department employee (“the Employee”) in exchange for approving the Employee’s promotion within the Water Department. The Employee, who was serving in a provisional capacity as the bookkeeper of the Water Department, had passed a civil service bookkeeping examination in order to become eligible for a permanent bookkeeping position at the Water Department. After receiving the test results, the Employee completed the necessary form to apply for the permanent bookkeeping position, and submitted it to BOVE for his approval and signature, which was required for the promotion to occur.
BOVE did not approve the application; instead, on April 14, 2015, BOVE told the Employee to meet him at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon. At Memorial Field, BOVE conveyed to the Employee that he would not approve the Employee’s promotion unless he gave BOVE $10,000, and that he could give BOVE half ($5,000) up front and pay the balance later. BOVE said that he would accept the remaining payments on installment: “So give me like, fucking like 20 dollars every fucking paycheck or whatever, you know.”
Following the April 14 meeting, BOVE called the Employee on multiple occasions to ask whether and when the Employee would pay him. The Employee did not make any payments to BOVE and his application form seeking the permanent bookkeeping position remained unapproved.
On December 7, 2015, a Special Agent from HUD OIG and a Criminal Investigator from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York interviewed BOVE in connection with a federal investigation into whether BOVE had attempted to extort the Employee. During the interview, BOVE lied to the investigating agents, stating, in sum and substance, that he had never asked for money to approve a job promotion for anyone in his department.
* * *
BOVE, 48, of North Salem, New York, pled guilty to one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement officers, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
BOVE is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29, 2016.
Mr. Bharara praised HUD OIG and the Criminal Investigators of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their outstanding work during this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Turner is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Assistant Vice President of Bank Admits Embezzling More Than $1 MillionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Bergen County, New Jersey, woman today admitted embezzling more than $1 million while she worked at a bank in Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Miye Chon, a/k/a/ “Karen Chon,” 36, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to Count One, Count Two, and Count 29 of a superseding indictment charging her with bank fraud, embezzlement or misapplication of funds by a bank officer or employee, and aggravated identity theft.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Chon was employed by BankAsiana, a federally insured financial institution, as an operations officer and later as an assistant vice president and operations officer at the bank’s Fort Lee branch until the bank was acquired by Wilshire Bank in October 2013. Chon had access to customer accounts and the bank’s internal account records, computer system and vault. Over several years, Chon stole more than $1 million from BankAsiana’s customer accounts by regularly making unauthorized transfers from customer certificate of deposit (CD) accounts into BankAsiana’s vault cash account and then physically removing cash from the bank’s vault.
Chon accomplished this scheme on dozens of occasions, typically taking tens of thousands of dollars at a time. One time, she converted $100,000 from a customer’s CD account. As part of the scheme, Chon also opened up a bank account in an individual’s name and forged checks using that individual’s name without permission.
For the bank fraud and embezzlement charges, Chon faces a maximum potential sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, as well as mandatory restitution in the full amount of the loss to the victim bank. Chon also faces a two-year mandatory sentence on the aggravated identity theft charge that must be served consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, as well as a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Shapiro and Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Today’s plea is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov
Defense counsel: Matthew Jeon, Esq., Fort Lee
Federal Jury Finds Mexican National Guilty on Cocaine Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned a verdict today finding Edgar Solis guilty on a cocaine trafficking charge. The guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Tex., and Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, Jr.
Solis, 29, a Mexican national currently residing in Albuquerque, and his co-defendant Daniel Solis-Castillo, 33, also a Mexican national, were indicted in Dec. 2013, and charged with cocaine trafficking offenses. The indictment also charged Solis-Castillo with illegal reentry into the United States by a previously removed alien. After Solis-Castillo entered a guilty plea, a five-count superseding indictment against Solis was filed. The superseding indictment charged Solis with conspiracy to distribute cocaine; attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute; being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. It alleged that Solis committed the five crimes on Nov. 13, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
Solis’s trial on the superseding indictment began on March 15, 2016. Before the case was submitted to the jury, the court dismissed four of the five counts. The trial concluded shortly before noon today when the jury returned a verdict finding Solis guilty of attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
The evidence at trial established that on Nov. 13, 2013, Solis-Castillo negotiated to buy five kilograms of cocaine from a person who unbeknownst to him was an undercover officer. After Solis-Castillo arrived at the prearranged location to complete the drug deal, he did not like the quality of the cocaine, and made a telephone call to someone else who could “check it out.” Shortly thereafter, Solis arrived at the location, inspected the cocaine, and engaged in a quiet conversation with Solis-Castillo. Solis-Castillo then told the undercover agent they would take one kilogram and if they liked it, they would come back for the remainder. Solis agreed with Solis-Castillo. Solis-Castillo then asked Solis if he had a bag for the cocaine and Solis responded by walking over to his vehicle. At that point, Solis and Solis-Castillo were arrested by HSI agents and APD officers. Solis initially was charged with state charges which were dismissed after he was arrested in Feb. 2014, on the federal charges in this case.
Solis had been on conditions of release while awaiting trial, but was detained after being convicted, pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Solis faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Solis will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.
Solis-Castillo pled guilty in July 2014, to cocaine trafficking and immigration charges. He was sentenced on Dec. 30, 2015, to 37 months in federal prison and will be deported after completing his prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the DEA in Albuquerque, New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Mysliwiec and Jack E. Burkhead are prosecuting the case.
Erie Man Admits Participating in Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. – A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal drug laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Efrain Ramon Pagan Rosario, 25, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from June 2013 through February 2015, Rosario engaged in a conspiracy with eighteen co-defendants to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for July 11, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Organized Crime Section, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Rosario.
El Paso, Texas, Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Iveran Dywon Magby, 42, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 151 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Magby will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.
Magby was arrested on Oct. 24, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to the criminal complaint, Magby sold approximately 173.2 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on May 20, 2014, in Doña Ana County, N.M.
On Jan.15, 2015, Magby entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred J. Perez.
EDD Investigator Receives Award for Contributing to the Mission of the Department of JusticeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner is pleased to announce the 2015 winner of the Eastern District of California Outstanding Investigator Award for the Sacramento division. This award is one of four awards presented annually to a law enforcement agency and an officer in each of the Sacramento and Fresno divisions of the Eastern District of California to recognize outstanding collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement.
The Sacramento division’s 2015 Outstanding Investigator Award goes to California Employment Development Department Investigator Celia Lopez for her work in a sprawling unemployment and disability benefit fraud investigation in Sutter County with criminal conduct that spanned decades and resulted in over $14 million in loss. Celia Lopez was the original case agent for the case and, working with agents from the FBI and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, she helped to bring five indictments against 29 individuals. The lead defendant, Mohammad Nawaz Khan, was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison, Mohammad Adnan Khan was sentenced to nine years in prison, Mohammad Shahbaz Khan was sentenced to seven years in prison, and Iqila Begum Khan was sentenced to five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Wagner stated: “It is my honor to recognize Celia Lopez for her work that led to the complete dismantling of one of the the most sophisticated and wide-reaching fraud schemes our district has seen. Her work on this case was timely, thorough, and meticulous. We thank her for her service.”
The Khans sold fake paystubs and reported false wages to EDD for the individuals who purchased those paystubs. The purchasers used the fake paystubs to fraudulently claim unemployment and disability benefits. Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants reported wages for over 400 separate individuals that resulted in more than 2,000 fraudulent claims for unemployment and disability benefits.
Investigator Lopez marshalled over 20 years of voluminous records evidencing criminal conduct involving hundreds of potential subjects. She conducted scores of interviews of both criminal participants and witnesses. She worked tirelessly to identify not only the organizers of the scheme, but also the most culpable other participants in the scheme that should face charges. Investigator Lopez was able to distill the complex case into manageable documents, understandable spreadsheets, and persuasive charts. Even after the initial indictment was brought in 2012, she continued to investigate and discovered that the brothers of the main subject restarted the fraud scheme under other names shortly after the initial arrests. Investigator Lopez worked quickly to bring that evidence to the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Office before the loss spiraled out of control. It resulted in an extensive grand jury investigation and perjury charges against new participants. Because of Investigator Lopez’s work, less than $30,000 was lost from the new scheme.
District Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Series of Threats Against Metro Transit SystemRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jerez Nehemiah Coleman, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison on a federal charge stemming from an investigation into a series of calls he made falsely warning of various threats to the Metro transit system, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Ron Pavlik, Chief of the Metro Transit Police.
Coleman, also known as Kidd Cole and Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman, was arrested on May 27, 2015 and has been in custody ever since. He pled guilty on Dec. 18, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of making threats involving explosive materials. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. The plea, which was subject to the Court’s approval, called for a sentence ranging from time served to up to 27 months in prison. Following his prison term, Coleman will be placed on three years of supervised release.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Mehta cited the severity of the conduct, noting that the 911 calls “involved threats to conduct innate acts of extraordinary violence, detonating bombs, snipers firing on Metro passengers, suicide bombers boarding buses, threats to kill the President of the United States … They most certainly were intended to cause bedlam and disruption.”
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Coleman placed over 300 calls to 911 from December 2014 to May 2015. Multiple law enforcement agencies -- including the Metro Transit Police, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the U.S. Secret Service -- responded to these calls and provided security at the various scenes. These threat and/or hoax calls caused law enforcement to spend hundreds of hours ensuring the public was safe.
In one such call, for example, made on Dec. 12, 2014, Coleman called 911 to report that he and his friends had bombs and were on a Metrobus at the Potomac Avenue Metro station in Southeast Washington. During the call, Coleman stated, “We are going to blow the entire whole bus…everybody is going to die in ten minutes…” This call prompted an immediate emergency response. MPD and Metro Transit Police were diverted from other duties and dispatched, emergency lights on and sirens blaring, to the scene. MPD arrived first and established a perimeter around the bus. There were about 20 passengers on board. When Metro Transit Police officers arrived, they evacuated the passengers. They searched each seat of the bus, the wheel wells, the undercarriage, and the exhaust pipes. Throughout this search, the bus was out of service. After the thorough investigation, police determined that the 911 call was a hoax.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Metro Transit Police Chief Pavlik commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metro Transit Police. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, the 911 Office of Unified Communications, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and other law enforcement agencies. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Jorge Casillas, Jessica Moffatt, and Todd McClelland; Criminal Investigator John Marsh, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Morgan. Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah A. Curtis, John L. Hill and John Marston, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Deming Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Robert Steven Elliott, II, 32, of Deming, N.M., entered a guilty plea today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to production of child pornography charges. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Elliott will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 20 to 45 years followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The plea agreement also indicates that Elliott has agreed to pay $210,012 in restitution to the child he victimized through his criminal conduct. Elliott will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
Elliott’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Tex., Luna County Sheriff John Mooradian, and Chief Jaime Montoya of the Las Cruces Police Department.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez commended the efforts of the officers involved in the investigation, “This joint federal, state and local investigation demonstrates the resolve of the law enforcement community to work together to bring those who victimize children to justice. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud to work side-by-side with officers who are devoted to protecting our children from predators.”
“Sex crimes against children are among the most heinous crimes HSI special agents investigate,” said Waldemar Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “And we will not relent in our pursuit to catch these malicious predators who traumatize children, leaving them emotionally and physically scarred for life.”
“This is another wonderful example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together to uncover evidence that helped build a strong case,” said Chief Jaime Montoya of the Las Cruces Police Department.
Elliott was arrested on Oct. 30, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with producing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in Luna County, N.M. The investigation into Elliott began on Oct. 30, 2015, when a woman reported to law enforcement authorities that she had discovered child pornography images on a cellphone belonging to Elliott and surrendered the cellphone to the authorities. After obtaining a federal search warrant for the cellphone, law enforcement officers found that the cellphone contained multiple images of child pornography, including images of a child under the age of 12.
Elliott was indicted on Jan. 20, 2016, and charged with six counts of production of child pornography. The indictment charged Elliott with producing child pornography on Nov. 23, 2014 and Sept. 28, 2015 in Luna County. Today Elliott pled guilty to two of the six counts of the indictment, and Elliott admitted using his cellphone on Nov. 23, 2014 and Sept. 28, 2015, to take a pornographic visual image of a child whom he knew to be under 12 years of age.
Elliott has been in federal custody since his arrest. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Deming and Las Cruces offices of Homeland Security Investigations, the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, the Las Cruces Police Department, the El Paso Police Department, and the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.