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9 February 2016
Rapid City Man Charged with Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Kenneth Bowker, Jr., age 20, was indicted on January 21, 2016. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 5, 2016, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, at least 5 years and up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between August 4, 2015, and September 15, 2015, Bowker, who is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and who is a sex offender by reason of a conviction under federal law, knowingly failed to register and update a registration.
The charge is merely an accusation and Bowker is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller is prosecuting the case.
Bowker was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Queen City Drywaller Jailed for Under-The-Table Payroll SchemeRead the Press Release
CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that a New Hampshire drywall contractor was sentenced today to federal prison for an under-the-table payroll scheme that cost the U.S. Treasury more than $750,000. Senior United States District Judge Steven A. McAuliffe sentenced Cruz E. Galvan, age 39, of Manchester, New Hampshire, to eighteen months in federal prison and ordered him to pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury.
Galvan previously pleaded guilty to one count of Federal Employment Tax Evasion based upon his admitted scheme to dodge federal employment taxes on wages he paid to employees of his Manchester, New Hampshire dry wall business, Four Star Drywall, LLC. During his plea hearing, Galvan admitted that from April 2010 until December 2012, he paid the employees of Four Star Drywall with vouchers instead of with checks. He further admitted that he instructed those employees to present the vouchers to a local check cashing business to which he had previously provided funds and instructions to pay the vouchers upon presentment in cash. Galvan acknowledged that he did not report to the Internal Revenue Service the wages he paid in that fashion, thereby evading federal income tax withholding and Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes.
In addition to the eighteen-month prison term, Judge McAuliffe ordered Galvan to pay $786,553 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, $100,000 of which Galvan had paid in anticipation of the restitution order several weeks before today’s sentencing hearing. Immigration proceedings have been commenced to remove Galvan, an undocumented alien, from the United States after he serves his sentence.
The investigation of Galvan was led by the Manchester, New Hampshire offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.
Punta Gorda Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Kurtis Johnson (26, Punta Gorda) to eight years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit his laptop and three external hard drives that had been used to commit the offense. Johnson pleaded guilty on November 5, 2015.
According to court documents, in October 2014, an FBI task force agent was able to download numerous images of child pornography from Johnson’s computer using a file sharing program. On October 30, 2014, a search warrant was executed at Johnson’s residence. During an interview with agents, Johnson admitted to downloading and possessing child pornography on his computer. Subsequent forensic analyses of the computer media seized from the home revealed more than 3,500 images, and over 800 videos depicting child pornography.
This case was investigated by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Primary Day Hotlines to Be Operated by the United States Attorney’s Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s OfficeRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice and New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster announced today that both the United States Attorney's Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office will staff voting inquiry and complaint lines at their respective offices throughout the day and evening on Primary Day, February 9, 2016.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s toll free election line phone number is:
1-866-868-3703
(1-866-VOTER03)This phone line will be staffed from 7 am to 8 pm on Primary Day. Inquiries and complaints may also be submitted via e-mail at [email protected]. Information regarding voting rights may be obtained by visiting the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office website at http://doj.nh.gov/site-map/voters.htm.
The United States Attorney’s election line phone number is:
(603) 230-2503
This phone line will also be staffed from 7 am to 8 pm on Primary Day. Inquiries and complaints may also be submitted through the United States Attorney’s Web site at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nh by clicking on the “e-mail us” link. A Federal Election Fraud Fact Sheet that explains what triggers federal criminal jurisdiction in connection with elections and voting rights can also be found on the United States Attorney’s Web site.
The state and federal election lines are available to all individuals who may have questions regarding their voting rights or who want to file complaints with the New Hampshire Attorney General or the United States Attorney regarding their right to vote or any other election law violation.
For further information, please contact Assistant Attorney General Stephen LaBonte at the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office at (603) 271-3650, or Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman at (603) 230-2579.
Pittsburg Resident Pleads Guilty to Stolen Identity Tax FraudRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Michael Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false claims and filing false claims, announced Acting United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.
In a plea agreement filed late yesterday, Johnson admitted that he, or his co-conspirators, used client files stolen from an Antioch, Calif. tax preparation service to file false tax returns. According to the plea agreement, Johnson acknowledged that he devised a scheme to file false federal income tax returns that contained materially false representations including fake income and fraudulently-claimed tax refunds of at least $375,105. In addition, Johnson admitted that he and his co-conspirators requested that the fraudulent tax refunds be loaded onto prepaid debit cards and sent to the addresses listed on the tax returns.
Johnson was indicted on March 26, 2015. He was charged with conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286; and five counts each of filing false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287; theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641; effecting fraudulent transactions with access device, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(5); wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A. Under the plea agreement, Johnson pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and three counts of filing false claims. Sentencing currently is scheduled for August 22, 2016, before the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, U.S. District Judge.
Johnson faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge. Johnson also faces and a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the three counts of filing false claims. Additional terms of supervised release and other fines may apply. However, any sentence following this conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Newman and Jose Olivera are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Omaha Man Sentenced to Life in Prison as a “Three Strikes” OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Quantal Blake, age 29, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday by the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp. Blake was convicted by a federal jury on May 28, 2015, of two counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery.
On February 4, 2014, the Premier Bank located at 352 North 114th Street, Omaha, Nebraska, was robbed at approximately 11:15 a.m., when two men with partially covered faces ran in and demanded money. They took money from the bank and fled the area. A vehicle they had stolen the night before and used in the robbery was recovered, abandoned, a few blocks away. On March 20, 2014, at approximately 8:40 a.m., two men with masks drove up to the front door of the same bank. The passenger got out of a vehicle that had been stolen the day before and attempted to enter the bank. The lobby was not yet open. They fled the area, striking another vehicle in the process, and abandoned the vehicle a short distance away. Later that same day, at approximately 1:17 p.m., two males entered the First Westroads Bank located at 612 North 98th Street. The men had their faces obscured and one had his hand under a coat as if he had a weapon. They got money from the bank, fled the area, and abandoned the vehicle they used near 96th and Western.
Through the efforts of the Omaha Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators developed Blake as a suspect. Investigators determined that Blake was on parole from a prior robbery offense. As part of his parole, he was required to wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle. Data from the device was analyzed and Blake was tracked by time and location to the places where each robbery occurred, to the locations where both vehicles had been stolen and to the locations where all three vehicles had been abandoned after the crimes.
Blake had two previous violent felony convictions for robbery and associated weapons charges. Because a firearm was used during the First Westroads bank robbery, Blake faced a mandatory life sentence as a Three Strikes offender. He received 17½ years each for the First Premier bank robbery and attempted robbery. Those sentences were ordered to be served at the same time as each other and at the same time as the life sentence. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $18,290 to First Premier Bank and $13,085 to First Westroads Bank.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg praised the efforts of law enforcement in developing a suspect and tracking him down. She further commented on the courageousness of the tellers during the robberies themselves and at the trial. “This is one more example of members of the Omaha community coming forward and saying enough is enough.” Added James Langenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, “The severity of the sentence imposed is a direct reflection of the law enforcement coordination between the Omaha Police Department and the FBI.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Omaha Police Department.
O.C. Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Obstructing Justice by Helping Witness in ‘Chinese Birthing House’ Investigation Try to Flee the U.S.Read the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Irvine-based immigration attorney has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for obstructing justice in relation to a scheme in which he agreed to help a Chinese national flee from the United States after the woman had been designated as a “material witness” in a criminal investigation into “birthing houses” operating in Southern California.
Ken Zhiyi Liang, 39, of Irvine, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by United States District Judge Andrew J. Guildford.
Liang was found guilty in September of conspiring to obstruct justice, obstructing justice, and tampering with a witness, who is referred to in court papers as “D.L.”
Liang “was caught on hours of video and audio recordings selling and marketing his abilities to D.L. to help smuggle her out of the United States in violation of court orders, in exchange for a $6,000 fee to himself and a $1,500 to $3,000 fee for three co-conspirators that would assist him,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing brief filed with the court.
The Chinese national had been designated as a material witness in the federal investigation, meaning she was subject to a court order preventing her from leaving the United States without authorization from the government or court. Liang had represented the witness in the matter for about a month until the court removed him as attorney of record, over his objections, in April 2015.
"As an attorney and officer of the court, Mr. Liang owed a heightened duty to respect and follow court orders," said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. "Instead Mr. Liang chose to violate those court orders, and induced others to violate court orders, for his own personal profit. Today's sentence is a reminder of the importance of court orders and protecting the integrity of federal investigations."
The federal investigation, which became known when authorities executed dozens of search warrants nearly a year ago, focuses on so-called birthing houses that “provided services to Chinese nationals, who travelled into the United States from China, for the purpose of giving birth to children so that the children could obtain United States citizenship,” according to court documents.
Unbeknownst to Liang at the time, D.L. was cooperating with federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, who were monitoring conversations between Liang and the witness. Liang was arrested on May 15 by federal authorities as he was walking with the witness towards his car, supposedly to begin a trip to a coffee shop in Corona, where he was going to introduce D.L. to the co-conspirators. After his arrest, Liang led agents back to his office, where he returned the $6,000 he had accepted from the witness. Liang has remained in custody since his arrest last spring.
According to court documents, Liang provided assistance to two other material witnesses who fled to China, and to another material witness who was intercepted at Los Angeles International Airport on April 15.
The investigation into the birthing houses is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and IRS – Criminal Investigation.
Nurse Convicted for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Hospice Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a registered nurse who took part in a multimillion-dollar fraud on Medicare that involved hospice care, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Patricia McGill, 68, of Philadelphia, was found guilty yesterday of four counts of health care fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania set sentencing for May 24, 2016.
The evidence at trial showed that between 2005 and 2008, McGill was the director of professional services for Home Care Hospice (HCH), a for-profit business that provided hospice services for patients at nursing homes, hospitals and private residences. McGill authorized and supervised the admission of inappropriate and ineligible patients for hospice services, which contributed to HCH submitting millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare.
HCH billed Medicare for approximately $9,328,000 in hospice services that were allegedly provided by HCH nurses and health aides for patients at nursing homes, hospitals and private residences. However, the government’s evidence established that many HCH patients did not meet the Medicare criteria for hospice care and that HCH billed Medicare for hospice care that was not provided to the patients.
The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Trial Attorney Marty Woelfle of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Labor of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case.
Nurse Convicted for Role in Multi-Million Dollar Hospice Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury, yesterday, returned guilty verdicts against Patricia McGill, 68, of Philadelphia, a registered nurse who took part in a multi-million dollar fraud on Medicare that involved hospice care. The jury found McGill guilty of four counts of health care fraud. The jury acquitted the defendant of a conspiracy charge and nine counts of health care fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 24, 2016. McGill faces a potential advisory sentencing guideline range of 33 to 41 months in prison, a possible fine, and a $400 special assessment.
As the Director of Professional Services for Home Care Hospice (“HCH”), between 2005 and 2008, McGill authorized and supervised the admission of inappropriate and ineligible patients for hospice services, resulting in approximately $9.32 million in fraudulent claims. HCH, co-owned by Matthew Kolodesh and Alex Pugman, who were convicted separately, was a for-profit business located at 1810 Grant Avenue, and later 2801 Grant Avenue, in Philadelphia. HCH billed Medicare for hospice services allegedly provided by HCH nurses and health aides for patients at nursing homes, hospitals, and private residences. However, the government’s evidence established that many HCH patients did not meet the Medicare criteria for hospice care, and that HCH billed Medicare for hospice care that was not provided to the patients.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Labor and Trial Attorney Marty Woelfle of the Organized Crime and Gang Section in the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
My View: Honor Those Who Run Toward DangerRead the Press Release
Law enforcement officers throughout the state serve and protect our communities. Where these professionals see someone in need, they act.
Utah police officers have made our community a better place in ways both large and small. We have seen many examples of their commitment to the communities they serve. A Unified police officer stopped to change a flat tire for a woman on Redwood Road to ensure she got home safely. One observant Orem police officer surprised a struggling single mother by coordinating the delivery of donated appliances and home essentials for her young family. A St. George police officer saved two lives in one day, by performing CPR on a critically ill middle school student and later by removing an obstruction from the airway of a 9-day-old infant.
These professionals put their own lives at risk to keep our communities safe. We have just experienced the tragic loss of Officer Doug Barney as he was working to protect the community he served. Other examples often go unnoticed. A Sandy police officer pulled a woman from a burning car moments before the car was engulfed in flames. A West Jordan police officer turned himself into a human shield while rescuing three children and their mother from an armed attacker. Another brave police officer came to the rescue of two adult sisters under deadly attack from a home intruder in Salt Lake City. Not long ago, a police officer dared to venture onto cracking ice to save a woman who had plunged into Mantua Reservoir.
Whether the call for help requires a dramatic rescue or a simple act of kindness, officers consistently place the needs of the community above their own. These men and women suit up knowing that many with whom they come in contact during their shift will not appreciate their efforts. They know that split-second decisions may be second-guessed and scrutinized for months and years to come. They leave home with no promise of a safe return to their families.
The overwhelming majority of these officers exercise sound judgment throughout their shifts each day. They enforce duly enacted laws with fidelity and soberness. These men and women also understand that they are accountable to those whom they serve. Our communities expect, and deserve, the very best from the law enforcement officers trusted with the power and authority to enforce the law.
Public discourse regarding how law enforcement officers exercise that authority, while sometimes uncomfortable, is a hallmark of what makes our nation and judicial system great. When an officer does not live up to society’s high expectations, fair criticism often leads to positive improvements for more effective policing. When an officer acts outside the bounds of the law, our justice system is ready and able to address such transgressions. The rule of law ensures that no one is above scrutiny.
In addressing those isolated incidents where police power is abused, we must not forget that our law enforcement professionals are a force for good in our communities. It is misguided to impugn any group based on wrongs committed by a few aberrant members, but it is dangerous to apply that proposition toward all law enforcement.
Utah communities have rallied around their police officers to express gratitude for their willingness to respond to the most dangerous and heart-wrenching episodes of our lives. They meet those expectations with courage and fortitude unknown to many of us.
So hats off to our law enforcement professionals – the few who run toward the danger before it reaches the rest of us.
Mother and Son Indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud the IRSRead the Press Release
DENVER – Jaquon Mucsarney, age 35, of Aurora, appeared yesterday before a U.S. Magistrate Judge for his initial appearance, where he was advised of his rights and the charges of defrauding the IRS pending against him, announced United States Attorney John Walsh, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd and Social Security Administration Office of Inspection General Special Agent in Charge Wilbert M Craig. MucSarney is one of three defendants indicted and arrested for defrauding the IRS and mail fraud. Last week, Schosche Mucsarney, age 54, of Aurora, appeared on related charges .
Jason Mucsarney, Schosche Mucsarney and co-conspirator, Sherry Charleston where indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Denver on January 7, 2016. The indictment remained sealed until their arrests. Sherry Charleston and Schosche Mucsarney are free on a bond.
Beginning in January 2011 and continuing through December 2015, Jaquon, Schosche and Sherry as well as others known and unknown to the grand jury devised a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. As part of the scheme, Jaquon filed tax returns with the IRS which contained false statements and information. At times, he was assisted by his mother, Schosche when making such filings.
As part of the scheme, Jaquon and Schosche caused or attempted to cause the IRS to issue tax refund checks from the United States Treasury based on the false information provided in various tax returns. Jaquon submitted or caused the submission of online applications to the IRS which resulted in the IRS issuing an employer identification number (“EIN”) shell corporations and used stolen identities and social security numbers (“SSN”) of actual persons when providing information to the IRS to obtain an EIN for one of his shell corporations.
Jaquon worked with Schosche and Sherry to receive tax refund checks issued by the IRS. Jaquon directed the IRS to send the refund checks to mailing addresses which he controlled, or to addresses connected to Schosche and Sherry. Jaquon and Schosche submitted approximately 100 tax returns containing false information to the IRS which claimed refunds totaling in excess of $2,000,000. Ultimately, the IRS paid out approximately $300,000 in refunds based on some of the returns.
To further obstruct and impede the IRS, on February 12, 2015, Sherry provided false and misleading information to an IRS Special Agent investigating Jaquon’s activities; on June 22, 2015, Sherry with Jaquon’s advice and counsel intentionally failed to appear for testimony before a Federal Grand Jury.
Jaquon was charged with; 18 counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, 19 counts of false claims, 12 counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of obstruction of justice. Sherry was charged with; 4 counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, 7 counts of false claims, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of obstruction of justice. Schosche was charged with; 6 counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, and three counts of false claims.
Mail fraud carries a penalty of not more than 20 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Conspiracy to defraud the government carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. False claims carry a penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Aggravated Identity Theft carries a penalty of 2 years imprisonment minimum consecutive to underlying felony and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Obstruction of justice carries a penalty of not more than 3 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per count.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and Social Security Administration, Office of Inspection General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Tim Neff.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Minkler announces sentencing in Indianapolis land bank fraudRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – United States Attorney Josh Minkler announced today the sentencing of the former assistant director of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis. Reginald Walton, 32, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence. The Court also fined Walton $250,000.
“The citizens of Indianapolis deserve better from their public officials,” said Minkler. “Betraying the public’s trust and wasting tax dollars is a crime we take very seriously. Those who chose to ignore federal law will be held accountable, just as this sentence holds Mr. Walton accountable.”
The purpose of the Indianapolis Land Bank is to acquire abandoned and tax delinquent properties in Indianapolis and return them to productive and economically viable use. Properties are made available for sale to non-profit and for-profit real estate developers. For-profit investors interested in purchasing real estate from the Land Bank must pay at least the appraised value of the property. Non-profit purchasers, however, may bypass the auction process, purchasing real estate for a price between $1,000 and $2,500 per parcel, regardless of the appraised value of the property.
Walton and his co-defendant David Johnson accepted bribes and “kick-backs” to facilitate fraudulent property sales to non-profit entities that would then sell the property to for-profit businesses. After these “pass-through” transactions had taken place, Walton and Johnson would receive kickback payments from the non-profit organizations from the proceeds of the property sales.
On March 19, 2015, following a two week jury trial in United States District Court, Walton and Johnson were found guilty of multiple fraud and bribery charges based on their involvement in the fraudulent scheme.
This case was prosecuted by Drug and Violent Crime Chief Bradley A. Blackington and Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia J. Ridgeway.
Minas Litos, Adrian Tartareanu and Daniela Tartareanu Were Sentenced for Conspiracy and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
HAMMOND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Minas Litos, 50; Adrian Tartareanu, 45; and Daniela Tartareanu, 44; all of Saint John, Indiana were sentenced in federal court by Chief Judge Philip Simon today for conspiracy and wire fraud.
Litos entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy and sixteen counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. The Court will determine whether restitution should be imposed at a later date.
Adrian and Daniela Tartareanu were found guilty by a jury of one count of conspiracy and sixteen counts of wire fraud. Adrian Tartareanu was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment. His wife Daniela Tartareanu was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment.
Minas Litos and Adrian Tartareanu owned Red Brick Investment Properties. Daniela Tartareanu was the office manager. They participated in an illegal scheme in which they convinced others to buy homes in Gary, Indiana. To induce the individuals, the defendants told prospective buyers that they were not required to provide down payment funds, and that the rental income would cover the costs associated with owning rental property. They concealed from the lenders and title companies that they paid the down payment money on behalf of the buyers. They also paid kickbacks to the buyers. The scheme lasted two years and involved 45 fraudulent transactions. As a result, more than $2.5 million dollars was fraudulently obtained from the lenders with almost all the buyers subsequently defaulting on the loans. Many of the properties are now vacant or considered a total loss by the lenders.
This case was the result of an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Gary T. Bell and Jill Koster.
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Miami Physician Pleads Guilty for Role in $20 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Miami physician pleaded guilty today for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that caused more than $20 million in losses.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
Henry Lora, 51, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, receive health care kickbacks and make false statements relating to health care matters.
According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Lora was the medical director of Merfi Corporation, a Miami-area clinic that employed physicians, physician assistants and other medical professionals. Lora admitted that in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, he and his co-conspirators wrote prescriptions for home health care and other services for Medicare beneficiaries that were not medically necessary or not provided. Lora and his co-conspirators also falsified patient records to make it appear as if the beneficiaries qualified for these services, he admitted.
Lora admitted that his and his co-conspirators’ actions caused multiple Miami-Dade home health care agencies and other providers to bill Medicare for services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and Medicare made payments on these fraudulent claims.
In March 2014, Isabel Medina, the owner of Merfi, was sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida. Fraud Section Trial Attorney A. Brendan Stewart is prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Miami Physician Pleads Guilty for Role in $20 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Miami physician pleaded guilty today for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that caused more than $20 million in losses.
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, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
Henry Lora, 51, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, receive health care kickbacks and make false statements relating to health care matters.
According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Lora was the medical director of Merfi Corporation, a Miami-area clinic that employed physicians, physician assistants and other medical professionals. Lora admitted that in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, he and his co-conspirators wrote prescriptions for home health care and other services for Medicare beneficiaries that were not medically necessary or not provided. Lora and his co-conspirators also falsified patient records to make it appear as if the beneficiaries qualified for these services, he admitted.
Lora admitted that his and his co-conspirators’ actions caused multiple Miami-Dade home health care agencies and other providers to bill Medicare for services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and Medicare made payments on these fraudulent claims.
In March 2014, Isabel Medina, the owner of Merfi, was sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida. Fraud Section Trial Attorney A. Brendan Stewart is prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
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.
Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Hector Bienvenido Mateo-Beltre, pleaded guilty today to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. Mateo-Beltre appeared before United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to enter his guilty plea.
According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements made in the plea proceeding, Mateo-Beltre was arrested on July 12, 2015, after he attempted to deliver over 200 grams of fentanyl to a customer in Manchester, New Hampshire. After his arrest, Mateo-Beltre falsely claimed to be “Kevin Morales” of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Law enforcement officers later determined his true name.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 11, 2016.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the New Hampshire State Police and the Manchester Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Walsh and John J. Farley.
Maryland Return Preparer Convicted of Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Baltimore, Maryland, man was convicted by a federal jury yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland of preparing false income tax returns for clients of his tax return preparation business, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Charles Imariagbe was convicted of 15 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns after a five day jury trial. According to court documents and testimony at trial, between 2008 and 2012, the defendant operated a tax preparation business called JC Tax Service Inc., in Baltimore. During that time, the defendant prepared false individual income tax returns for at least seven clients for submission to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These tax returns claimed false and fraudulent income and expenses from Schedule C businesses and grossly inflated or wholly fictitious mileage expenses. The false items on these returns resulted in the clients receiving larger tax refunds than they were entitled to receive.
“Yesterday’s verdict sends a clear message that tax return preparers who knowingly prepare and file false returns will be investigated and prosecuted, and will face substantial incarceration,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “As we enter the 2016 filing season, U.S. taxpayers are entitled to seek assistance from honest and competent professionals, and the Tax Division is committed to holding these return preparers accountable for their conduct.”
U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander for the District of Maryland set sentencing for May 12. The defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count of conviction.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Andrew J. Kameros, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Man Sentenced for Leaving Pipe Bomb at Vickery Creek ParkRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Michael C. Sibley has been sentenced to two years in prison for creating a hoax when he left a backpack containing two inoperable pipe bombs in Vickery Creek Park in Roswell, Georgia.
“Sibley built two nearly-operable pipe bombs that he recklessly left in Vickery Creek Park in a place intended to inflict maximum panic among the public,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “He compounded the crime by preying on stereotypical fears and prejudices by making it appear the bombs were planted by a Muslim. Thankfully an alert park visitor discovered and immediately reported the bag containing the bombs to police.”
“The sentencing of Mr. Sibley to two years in federal prison should clearly illustrate to him and to others the serious nature of leaving a backpack device in a public setting for the specific purpose of creating panic and distress. The law enforcement response and the resulting federal investigation was extensive and costly to the taxpaying public,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Sibley placed a backpack alongside one of the trails in Vickery Creek Park. Roswell Police Department contacted FBI after a park visitor discovered the suspicious bag, which contained two pipe bombs that fortunately omitted one component and therefore were not capable of immediate detonation. Approximately 400 nails and screws were attached to the outside of the tubing consistent with construction designed for maximum fragmentation upon explosion, making the device more lethal.
On the bag containing the bombs, Sibley wrote a traditionally Muslim name on the backpack and he placed inside the bag, among other things, two books: one titled “The Rape of Kuwait” and the other titled “The Holy Qur’an.” He also placed papers printed from three websites in the bag: the 2015 Atlanta Falcons schedule, a printout from a website for a Jewish Community Center in the Atlanta area, and a printout from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s (“MARTA”) website. These printouts were included to convey threats to these locations as well.
Based on the items recovered from the backpack, the FBI narrowed its focus to Sibley. On March 20, 2015, Sibley voluntarily met with the FBI and confessed to making the devices and to placing them in Vickery Creek Park. He stated that he placed the bag with these devices, the books and other items in the park to “wake-up” people in the United States. He related that he believes the Mexican border is poorly defended and that many people are entering this country illegally. He also said that he made the explosive devices and placed them in the park to make people realize that if this can happen in Roswell, Georgia, it can happen anywhere.
Michael C. Sibley, 67, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release. Sibley was convicted on these charges on September 9, 2015, after pleading guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Tracia M.King 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.
Longtime Saline County Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Stealing $79,000 in Public FundsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former Saline County, Mo., Sheriff pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing nearly $79,000 in public funds by taking checks – issued by the state to reimburse the county for prisoner expenses – for his own personal use.
Wallace Newman George, Jr., 70, of Corder, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to an information that charges him with one count of stealing from an organization that receives federal funds.
George was appointed as acting sheriff for Saline County in November 1979 and elected to office the following month. He held that office for 36 years, purportedly the longest-serving sheriff in the history of the state until his resignation on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. George was required to resign from office as a condition of today’s plea agreement.
George assigned sheriff’s deputies to transport prisoners extradited or voluntarily returned from outside Missouri to Saline County. He then submitted claims to the state to be reimbursed for the expenses incurred. The state issued 34 reimbursement checks for prisoner extradition/transportation between Jan. 28, 2010, and June 30, 2015. Those checks totaled approximately $97,083, of which approximately 75 percent, or $71,994, was for mileage reimbursement and the remainder for meals and other expenses.
By pleading guilty today, George admitted that he stole $78,911 from those state reimbursements, which primarily represents the mileage reimbursement portion of every state reimbursement check for prisoner extradition/transportation that the county received (with only one exception) from Jan. 28, 2010, to June 30, 2015.
George opened a personal checking account at Wood & Huston Bank in Marshall. At various times, George cashed the state reimbursement checks at Wood & Huston Bank. Sometimes he deposited the state reimbursement checks into his personal account, and sometimes he deposited portions of the proceeds into his personal account and kept a portion for himself. Between Jan. 28, 2010, and June 30, 2015, George cashed, partially deposited, or deposited approximately 34 extradition reimbursement checks into his personal bank account, with an aggregate value of approximately $97,083.
George admitted today that, as a result of his scheme, he obtained $6,832 prior to 2010, $8,075 in 2010, $8,665 in 2011, $6,319 in 2012, $11,970 in 2013, $25,530 in 2014, and $11,517 during 2015.
Although George admitted to stealing funds over a period of more than five years, he specifically pleaded guilty today to one count of stealing $9,592 in taxpayer funds between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014.
George paid $51,162 in restitution to Saline County on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. He paid $27,749 in restitution to the state today. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence of no more than one year and one day imprisonment. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Public Corruption Hotline
The FBI has established a toll-free public corruption hotline, 1-855-KCPCTIP, and email [email protected]. Details regarding the various types of public corruption investigated by the FBI can be found online: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/corruption.
Lawrenceville Pimp Convicted of Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Travis Sentall Robinson, a/k/a “Triggaplay,” a/k/a “Trigga,” of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was convicted last week following a three-week jury trial of multiple sex-trafficking charges, including conspiracy to commit and commission of sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
“Calling himself the ‘King of Diamonds,’ Robinson attempted to build a sex trafficking empire by exploiting vulnerable young women and a minor,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Thanks to the courage of his victims and the diligence of the law enforcement officers whose efforts led to his arrest, Robinson is now officially out of business.”
“The FBI is pleased with the role that it played in getting Mr. Robinson and his co-defendant Ladrigus Stuckey off of our streets. Robinson, in particular, displayed a complete disregard for those who he exploited within sex trafficking industry. The conviction of Robinson and the earlier guilty plea of Stuckey should resonate among those other individuals out there who might consider this reprehensible criminal conduct acceptable. The FBI and its law enforcement partners have made human trafficking a priority matter,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
“The jury saw Robinson for what he truly is - a predator,” stated Lt. Christopher Rafanelli, Gwinnett County Police Department. “The verdict is the result of countless hours of hard work and cooperation by the Gwinnett Vice Unit and the FBI. My hope is that this outcome will serve as a warning to anyone that is considering sexually exploiting victims in Georgia.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and evidence presented during the trial: From the summer of 2013 until his arrest at a hotel in downtown Atlanta on May 14, 2014, Robinson, the self-proclaimed “King of Diamonds,” ran a commercial sex operation he referred to as the “Queen of Diamonds.” Robinson used fraud to recruit female victims between the ages of 17 and 22, promising to hire the victims as models and party promoters for his business. Five of the victims testified at trial that Robinson lured them into prostitution by claiming that he was connected to Atlanta’s music scene and to a Grammy-nominated musician and producer. Robinson bought plane or bus tickets for the victims to travel to Atlanta and then, upon their arrival, invited the victims to live at his large Lawrenceville home. He took them shopping, to a recording studio, and to nightclubs.
After Robinson’s victims were indebted to and trusted him, he posted the victims’ names in “escort” sections of online classified websites. Robinson then forced the victims to commit commercial sex acts with customers who responded to the ads. Robinson’s scheme used force, threats of force, and psychological coercion to force his victims to engage in prostitution and involved regular beatings of the victims, causing them to suffer black eyes and other injuries. Several victims testified that Robinson frequently assaulted other victims in their presence, further increasing the victims’ fear of disobeying or attempting to escape from him. He required the victims to work seven days a week, plying them with a drug, “Molly,” so that they could work without sleep. He installed a program on their cell phones that enabled him to read their text messages and monitor their locations. And he kept the victims’ earnings, requiring them to ask permission to use money for food and personal hygiene items.
The evidence at trial established that Robinson caused the victims to travel to at least nine states for the purpose of committing commercial sex acts, including Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi and New York. Robinson also used hotels throughout the metro-Atlanta area for his sex-trafficking operation. He spent at least $31,000 on hotel rooms for this purpose between September 2013 and April 2014.
The jury convicted Robinson of 10 counts. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment and up to a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment for six counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment and up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for a single count of sex trafficking of a minor. And, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment for two counts of obstruction. Robinson could also receive a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count of conviction, and he must register as a sex offender. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Robinson’s co-conspirator, Ladrigus Dondrea Stuckey a/k/a “Dreek,” pled guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion on September 11, 2015.
Robinson’s and Stuckey’s sentencing dates have not yet been set.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gwinnett County Police Department with the assistance of the FBI's Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation (MATCH) Task Force, a partnership of police departments in the Atlanta area working together to identify, investigate, and prosecute organized child prostitution enterprises.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica C. Morris and Phyllis Clerk 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.
Lancaster Man Arrested on Multiple Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Joseph Lombardo, 24, of Lancaster, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal with production, receipt and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years.Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in May, 2014, a 15 year old female (victim 1) reported to Lancaster Police that three or four years earlier when she was 12 or 13 years old, she was contacted on the social media site “Kik” by an unknown male calling himself “Chris Richardson.” Victim 1 stated that “Chris Richardson” requested that she send him naked pictures. If she refused, Victim 1 said that “Chris Richardson” claimed he would post the pictures of her on the internet to exploit her. Victim 1 sent at least 50 naked pictures of herself to “Chris Richardson.” Victim 1 confided in another female (witness 1) who stated that “Chris Richardson” had also solicited pictures from her. Victim 1 then had her phone taken away by her mother for approximately one year.
In April 2014, Victim 1 got a new phone and was again contacted by “Chris Richardson” on “Kik” who demanded more naked pictures. Victim 1 sent an additional 100 pictures. Victim 1 told witness 1 about the continued extortion. Witness 1 told her about a male identified as “Dan” who would help her. Victim 1 was contacted by “Dan” who said she would help her if she hung out with him. Victim 1 agreed and chatted with “Dan” on a daily basis for several weeks. “Dan” also requested naked pictures and Victim 1 complied. Victim 1 and “Dan” eventually met in person and over the next few weeks had sexual contact several times. “Dan” asked Victim 1 for permission to record one of their sexual encounters which he would put on the internet and make money for her. Victim 1 is unsure if she was videotaped. Victim 1 stated that she told “Dan” her actual age.
On May 9, 2014, Victim 1 identified the defendant as “Dan” in a police photo array. On that same day, police recovered several items, including a laptop, during the execution of a search warrant at Lomabardo’s Lancaster residence.
During a forensic analysis of the contents of the laptop computer, officers discovered images of a 13 year old female (victim 2). The images were sent to the defendant by phone. In a subsequent interview with victim 2, she indicated that she met Lombardo on meetme.com. Victim 2 also indicated that the defendant identified himself as “Chris Richardson.”
The forensic analysis also revealed pictures of a 16 year old female (victim 3) who told police she also met the defendant on meetme.com. Victim 3 had sexual contact with Lombardo and also sent 30 to 40 naked pictures of herself to the defendant.
Lombardo made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being held pending a detention hearing on February 10, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.
The complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam Cohen, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack, and the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Kearney Resident and Corporation Charged with Unlawful Hiring of AliensRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced today that Paul Younes, age 63 of Kearney, Nebraska, and Kearney Hospitality, Inc. were arraigned on charges related to the unlawful hiring of aliens. Younes was charged with unlawful employment of aliens in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324a(a)(2) and (f)(1). He faces a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and a $3,000 fine. Kearney Hospitality, Inc. was charged with harboring an alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and is subject to a term of probation of five years and a maximum fine of $500,000. Both defendants entered pleas of guilty and sentencing has been set for May 9, 2016.
Younes is an officer and director of various corporations which own and/or run hotels in the District of Nebraska including the Holiday Inn Express in Hastings, Nebraska, and the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Kearney, Nebraska. Kearney Hospitality, Inc. runs the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Kearney.
The investigation revealed that Blanca Gama, a citizen of Mexico who was not lawfully in the United States, was employed as the supervisor of housekeeping at the Holiday Inn Express in Hastings. In 2014, Gama learned she was under investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. Gama quit her job at the Holiday Inn Express, but later met with Younes who arranged for her to be employed in the housekeeping department at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Kearney under the name Elizabeth Gomez. Younes was aware that this person had previously been employed under the name Blanca Gama.
Younes did not place Gomez on the regular payroll for the Fairfield Inn. Rather, he treated her as an independent contractor even though she was the only person in the housekeeping department who was employed in that capacity. Younes later authorized this person’s re-hire at the Holiday Inn Express in Hastings under the name Jacqueline Lopez even though she continued to be referred to as Blanca Gama at that location.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Justice Department Sues to Permanently Shut Down Liberty Tax Service Franchise OwnerRead the Press Release
Contact: (202) 514-2007
Washington — Three Columbia-area, South Carolina Liberty Tax Service franchises deliberately prepare false federal income tax returns in order to increase their customers’ refunds, according to a civil lawsuit filed today by the Justice Department. The United States’ complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to permanently bar the alleged franchisee for all three locations, Christopher Paul Haynes of Irmo, South Carolina, from preparing federal tax returns for others.
According to the suit, Haynes and his employees prepare tax returns that include misstatements such as false or inflated Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business) income and expenses, bogus dependents, false filing statuses and improper unreimbursed employee business expenses. For example, the complaint alleges that Haynes’s employees included a bogus “arts and crafts” business on one customer’s tax return and a bogus “hair care” businesses on another’s. In each case, according to the complaint, the false statements purported to allow the customer to qualify for a larger Earned Income Tax Credit and receive inflated tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The lawsuit states that Haynes’s Liberty Tax Service offices have prepared more than 9,700 federal income tax returns since 2010. Based on adjustments the IRS has made to tax returns prepared and filed by Haynes’s Liberty Tax Service offices for 2010 to 2013, the average tax deficiency for tax returns audited in connection with the IRS’s investigation of Haynes is $3,834 per tax return, according to the suit.
The complaint also alleges that Haynes does not report to the IRS the wages he pays some of his employees, even though the report is required by law. According to the complaint, Haynes also fails to withhold and pay over to the IRS federal employment taxes for those same employees.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016. The IRS has some tips on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers and tax scheme promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
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Note: the complaint for permanent injuntion is attached as a pdf file.
Judge Sentences Pittsburgh Woman to Probation for Role in Crack Cocaine Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH -A Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced in federal court to four years’ probation on her conviction of conspiracy to distribute a quantity of crack cocaine, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Roxanne Thompson, 27.
According to information presented to the Court, in 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies joined forces in a multi-agency wiretap investigation of drug trafficking and violence in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh. The interception of wire and electronic communications began in December 2013 and continued through the end of August 2014. During that timeframe, Roxanne Thompson was intercepted over the wire conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute crack cocaine, which was shipped from California in powder form to the Western District of Pennsylvania through the United States Postal Service or commercial carrier.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hornak stated that the sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to fulfill the purposes of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Munhall Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Monroeville Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, and the Pittsburgh Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Thompson.
International Wildlife Investigation Concludes in the United States with Convictions of Two Canadian Residents of Lacey Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
Juneau, Alaska –U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a joint United States-Canadian wildlife investigation has concluded in the United States after the convictions of two Canadian hunters for violations of the Lacey act for the illegal take and export of wildlife.
Kelly D. Murray, 51, and Jason J. Clemett, 42, were sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to probation and to pay fines of $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who handled the sentencing hearings, the violations arose around guided hunts that occurred between May 2010 and October 2011 in the Haines, Alaska area. The charges against Murray resulted from an illegal brown bear hunt that occurred in May 2011. Murray had assisted in that illegal harvest by skinning an illegally killed bear. The charges against Clemett resulted from an illegal hunt of a mountain goat that occurred in October 2011, led by the same guide. The hunter failed to salvage all of the meat from his mountain goat and falsified the underlying hunt records required by Alaska State law. The hunter gave the illegally taken mountain goat to his friend Clemett who failed to declare the export of the goat prior to taking the mountain goat back to Canada in his private jet. The mountain goat was transported to Canada and delivered to the hunter.
The convictions are a result of a joint United States-Canadian investigation involving prosecutions in Alberta, and Yukon Territory Canada, with violations under Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA).
Ms. Loeffler commends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Environment Canada, Yukon Conservation Officer Service, Alberta Fish and Game, Parks Canada, British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada for the international cooperation extended in the investigation of these cases.
IRS Employee Pleads Guilty to $1 Million ID Theft Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – An IRS employee whose job was to assist taxpayers experiencing problems resulting from identity theft pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to stealing identities and orchestrating a tax-fraud scheme involving up to $1.5 million in fraudulent income tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, IRS Criminal Investigation, St. Louis Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Karl A. Stiften, and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Mid-States Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Ruben Florez.
NAKEISHA HALL, 39, entered her guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre to theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, unauthorized access to a protected computer and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud affecting a financial institution. She acknowledged in her plea that the tax fraud conspiracy had an intended loss to the IRS of between $550,000 and $1.5 million. Hall agreed to restitution and forfeiture of $438,187, representing funds actually paid out by IRS as a result of the scheme. Hall’s sentencing is scheduled June 29.
Hall worked in the Taxpayer Advocate Service office in Birmingham from July 2007 to November 2011. Since November 2011, Hall has worked in TAS offices in Omaha, Neb., New Orleans, La., and Salt Lake City, Utah. TAS is responsible for assisting taxpayers who are having difficulties with the IRS. TAS works with victims of identity theft and assists them in removing fraudulent tax information from their accounts and in filing corrected tax returns, if necessary.
“Ms. Hall used her IRS access to compromise taxpayers’ identities and try to steal more than $1 million dollars from the U.S. Treasury,” Vance said. “Taxpayers must be able to trust that IRS employees will protect their sensitive information, not steal it and corrupt it for personal gain. I thank the TIGTA and IRS-CI investigators who helped my office ensure that this crime was prosecuted and punished.”
“Abusing her position with the Internal Revenue Service, Ms. Hall stole the identities of taxpayers through unauthorized access to IRS computers and filed false tax returns seeking more than a million dollars in tax refunds,” Stiften said. “This defendant systematically defrauded the government and blatantly disregarded the victims of her scheme.”
A federal grand jury in December indicted Hall, along with JIMMIE GOODMAN, 37, and ABDULLA COLEMAN, 37, both of Birmingham, on charges they took part in the scheme operated out of Birmingham between 2008 and 2011 that involved stealing personal identity information from the IRS to create fraudulent tax returns, and collecting the stolen refunds that were generated.
A separate indictment charged another co-conspirator, LASHON ROBERSON, 36, of Pelham, with the conspiracy and four counts of mail fraud affecting a financial institution.
Roberson is scheduled to plead guilty on Wednesday.
Goodman is scheduled for trial Feb. 29, and Coleman is to be arraigned on the charges against him on Thursday, after being arrested in Madison, Wis., and transferred to the Northern District of Alabama.
According to the indictments and Hall’s plea, Hall, Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and at least one other individual, conspired to defraud both the IRS and financial institutions, including Bancorp Bank, between January 2008 and November 2011, and used the U.S. mail to execute the fraud. Hall, Goodman, Coleman and Roberson also conspired to obtain money from Bancorp Bank and other financial institutions. Bancorp Bank and other financial institutions issue stand-alone debit cards for the purpose of accepting tax refunds.
The multi-year conspiracy was conducted as follows, according to the indictments and Hall’s plea:
Hall obtained individuals’ names, birth dates and Social Security numbers through unauthorized access to IRS computers. Hall used the personal identity information to prepare fraudulent income tax returns and submitted them electronically to the IRS. Hall requested that the IRS pay the refunds onto debit cards and directed that the cards be mailed to drop addresses that she controlled. Hall solicited and received drop addresses from Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and at least one other person. The co-conspirators also collected the refund cards from the mail.
Hall activated the cards by using stolen identity information. She, Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and the unnamed co-conspirator took the money off the debit cards at ATMs or used the cards for purchases. If the fraudulent returns generated U.S. Treasury checks rather than the requested debit cards, Hall and her co-conspirators used fraudulent endorsements in order to cash the checks. Hall compensated Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and the fifth co-conspirator by giving them a portion of the refund money, or by giving them refund cards for their own use.
The theft, aggravated identity, and unauthorized access counts relate to two specific taxpayers’ information that Hall accessed and used in 2010.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum prison penalty for theft of government funds is 10 years in prison. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison term, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in the case, and unauthorized access to a protected computer carries a maximum five-year prison term. All three charges carry a maximum $250,000 penalty.
IRS-CI and TIGTA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes is prosecuting
Houston County Man Guilty of Violating Asbestos Work Practice StandardsRead the Press Release
MARSHALL, Texas – A 60-year-old Kennard, Texas man has pleaded guilty to federal environmental violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Rodney K. Beshears pleaded guilty to violating the work practice standards of the Clean Air Act today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy Payne.
According to information presented in court, Beshears admitted that in October of 2011, he and his employees began excavating and removing a pipeline in northeast Texas. On Dec. 16, 2011, an inspector with the Texas Department of State Health Services conducted a site inspection where Beshears was removing the pipeline near Diana, Texas, and informed Beshears that the pipeline had a coating of asbestos. On Dec. 21, 2011, Beshears received training on asbestos removal practices which included instructions on the proper handling of asbestos material required under the work practice standards of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants or “NESHAP” rules for asbestos when excavating and removing pipe with a coating of asbestos. On Jan. 13, 2012, the Texas Department of State Health Services inspected another site where Beshears was excavating and removing the pipeline just outside of Ore City, Texas and again informed Beshears that the pipe had a coating of asbestos material.
Beshears’ removal of the pipeline continued through March, 2012, during which time, Beshears removed, and caused others to remove, several thousand feet of pipeline which contained regulated asbestos containing material, between Diana and Ore City, Texas. The excavation, cutting and removal of the pipeline, as directed by Beshears, included no wetting of the asbestos material that coated the pipeline as Beshears had been instructed during the training. The asbestos material was crumbled and pulverized by hitting the pipe coating with a hammer to knock it off the pipe to expose the pipe so it could be cut into pieces; asbestos was crumbled and pulverized by dragging the pipe segments across the ground; and asbestos was not disposed of at approved disposal facilities. Beshears was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 3, 2014.
Under federal statutes, Beshears faces up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by congress and is provided for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Dallas, Texas, the TCEQ’s Criminal Investigation Division, and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Heroin Traffickers SentencedRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — Two individuals, both in the U.S. illegally, have been sentenced for their roles in a heroin distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Yesterday, Ana Maria Guerra-Sanchez, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 95 months in federal prison. Last month, co-conspirator Florencio Galvan-Musico, also 23, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison. Both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess heroin with the intent to distribute. After serving their sentence, both will be referred to U.S. Immigration officials for deportation proceedings.
According to documents filed in the case, for approximately the past two years, Guerra-Sanchez and Galvan-Musico worked together, and with others, to distribute heroin to various customers in the Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas, area. Guerra-Sanchez received heroin from Galvan-Musico that she distributed to others, and she returned the drug proceeds to Galvan-Musico. Together, both possessed more than 100 grams of heroin with the intent to distribute it.
The Drug Enforcement Administration in Fort Worth investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.
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Henrietta Man Pleads Guilty in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Nathaniel Aaron Fisher, 29, of Henrietta, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to possession of child pornography. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that in November 2013, a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity downloaded images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing software from an Internet Protocol address registered to a computer in Henrietta. A search warrant was executed and images of child pornography were recovered from the defendant’s computer. The images included prepubescent minors.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 10, 2016 before Judge Geraci.
Haltom City, Texas, Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Haltom City, Texas, man, Nathan Bryant Cooper, 36, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 120 months in federal prison terms for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Cooper has been in custody since his arrest in September 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint. He pleaded guilty in November 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Last month, several co-conspirators in the case received lengthy federal prison sentences:
Winfred Morgan Trammel, 39, of Breckenridge, Texas, 262 months
Larry Hawkins, 59, of Wichita Falls, Texas, 180 months
Jackie Lynn Watters, 50, of Fort Worth, Texas, 180 months
Matthew Rutledge, 33, of Fort Worth, Texas, 324 months
Joel Prickett, 37, of Fort Worth, Texas, 160 monthsA total of 29 defendants were charged in the case; 28 have been convicted, and most of those have been sentenced.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Fort Worth Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.
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Granite City Woman Sentenced for Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today, that on February 9, 2016, Jessica A. Teets, 28, of Granite City, Illinois, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in East Saint Louis on the charge that she engaged in a scheme to defraud a health care program. The district court sentenced Teets to five years of probation. She was also ordered to pay $1,292.62 in restitution to the Home Services Program.
During her plea hearing, Teets admitted that she had submitted false and fraudulent bills in relation to her alleged performance of personal assistant services in the Illinois Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home. Teets admitted to falsely billing the program between December 7, 2012 and June 30, 2014, claiming that she had rendered personal assistant services to a customer when, in fact, she had not. As a result, Teets improperly billed 111 hours of services and obtained $1,312.05 in payments for services not performed.
Teets further admitted that her customer (who was her mother) was found on July 1, 2014 in an incoherent state, partially covered in dried excrement, by a friend checking on her welfare. Emergency responders transported the customer to a hospital and she was hospitalized for multiple days. Teets had not performed personal assistant services for the customer for more than a week prior to July 1, 2014.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois State Police - Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau, and the Wood River, Illinois Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam E. Hanna.
If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with healthcare laws or public aid programs, you may report this activity to the local office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, or you may call 1.800.447.8477.
Georgia Woman Indicted for Bluffton Jewelry Store RobberyRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Charleston, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Abigail Lee Kemp, age 24, of Smyrna, Georgia, was charged in a 2-count indictment. Abigail Lee Kemp was charged with robbing the Jared Vault jewelry store in Bluffton, SC, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1951 as well as possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §924(c). The maximum penalty Kemp could receive is 45 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $500,000.
Kemp is currently in federal custody in Florida after being indicted in the Northern District of Florida for conspiring to rob numerous jewelry stores and possession of a firearm during those robberies. The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Nick Bianchi of the Charleston office for prosecution.
Mr. Nettles stated that the charges in this Indictment are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Fourteen Individuals Convicted for Their Participation in Large-Scale Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Eight current and former law enforcement officers, four correctional officers and two other individuals have been convicted for their participation in trafficking narcotics and narcotics proceeds for a large-scale drug trafficking organization, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
In April 2013, the FBI initiated an undercover investigation regarding allegations of systemic corruption within the Northampton County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office (NCSO). Undercover agents posed as members of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was responsible for introducing kilogram quantities of narcotics to be transported up the I-95 corridor. In connection with their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted that they understood that they were recruited to work for the drug trafficking organization because of their status as law enforcement officers or ties to law enforcement. The investigation grew as the original targets recruited others to participate. The defendants transported purported narcotics and narcotics proceeds for the drug trafficking organization in exchange for bribe payments, and some defendants carried firearms during this time.
The following individuals pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of North Carolina:
- Lann Tjuan Clanton, a former correctional officer with the Virginia Department of Corrections, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and firearm charges today;
- Ikeisha Jacobs, a former sergeant with the NCSO, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, firearm and bribery charges today;
- Jason Boone, a former captain with the NCSO, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and bribery charges today;
- Adrienne Moody, a former correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge today;
- Cory Jackson, a former deputy sheriff of the NCSO, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge today;
- Jimmy Pair Jr., a former lieutenant with the NCSO, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and bribery charges today;
- Curtis Boone, a former deputy sheriff with the NCSO, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and bribery charges today;
- Alphonso Ponton, a former sergeant with the Virginia Department of Corrections, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge today;
- Thomas Jefferson Allen II, a former sergeant with the NCSO, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and bribery charges today;
- Wardie Vincent Jr., a former detective sergeant with the NCSO, previously pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and firearms charges;
- Alaina Sue-Kam-Ling, a former correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, previously pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge;
- Kavon Phillips, a former correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, previously pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge;
- Crystal Pierce, of Raleigh, North Carolina, previously pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge; and
- Tosha Dailey, a former 911 dispatch operator for Northampton County, previously pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge.
The FBI Charlotte Division’s Raleigh Resident Agency investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Lauren Bell and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby W. Lathan of the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.
Fort Worth Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Harboring a FugitiveRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth, Texas, woman, Robie Lynn Sims, 41, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 18 months in federal prison for harboring a fugitive, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Sims pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of concealing a person from arrest. Yesterday, Judge O’Connor ordered her to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by March 18, 2016.
According to the factual resume filed in her case, Sims was the girlfriend of one of the defendants, Billy Bullitt, 45, also of Fort Worth, who, along with 28 co-defendants, was charged in a massive methamphetamine distribution conspiracy recently prosecuted in the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District of Texas. In fact, Bullitt, was sentenced in December 2015 to 121 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
Bullitt had been living at Sims’ residence when, in June 2015, agents/officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Squad interviewed her at her residence. She was advised that Bullitt had an outstanding federal arrest warrant for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. When asked if she knew where Bullitt was currently living, Sims responded that she had last seen him two weeks ago at their residence. In fact, however, Bullitt had been living at that residence and had fled the residence as agents/officers had approached the residence. Sims lied about Bullitt’s whereabouts and stalled the agents/officers so Bullitt would have time to flee the residence. Bullitt was arrested by agents/officers with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Squad at a motel on Bryant Irvin Blvd. in Fort Worth on July 2, 2015. Sims was with him and had arranged for another person to rent the room for her and Bullitt to avoid alerting authorities of Bullitt’s location.
A total of 29 defendants were charged in the case; 28 have been convicted, and most of those have been sentenced.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Fort Worth Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.
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Fort Hall Man Pleads Guilty to ManslaughterRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Joaquin Broncho, 19, of Fort Hall, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to voluntary manslaughter, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Broncho was indicted by the federal grand jury in Pocatello on September 23, 2014, on a charge of second-degree murder. Broncho was previously charged as a juvenile in this case, but his case was later transferred to adult court.
According to the plea agreement, on August 29, 2014, Broncho and others were involved in a fight outside of a residence on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Broncho went into the house, obtained a knife and went back outside and stabbed the victim, Joey Runninghorse. Runninghorse was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead as a result of the stabbing.
The charge of voluntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Broncho is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Fort Hall Police Department.
Former Nurse and Home Healthcare Provider Sentenced for Federal Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – John Jaramillo, 46, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison for his federal child pornography conviction. Jaramillo will be on supervised release for five years following his release from prison. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Jaramillo was arrested on April 24, 2014, by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. At the time of his arrest, Jaramillo was a registered nurse employed by two home healthcare providers that provide mental health and medical care for children and adolescents.
According to court filings, the investigation leading to Jaramillo’s arrest began in Nov. 2013, when an agent with the New Mexico State Police identified an IP address that was being used to share child pornography while conducting an investigation targeting those who share child pornography on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to Jaramillo’s residence. On April 24, 2014, HSI, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department, all agencies that participate in the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a federal search warrant at the residence and seized Jaramillo’s computer and computer-related media. A forensic examination of Jaramillo’s computer recovered approximately 255 images and videos consistent with child pornography.
On May 21, 2014, Jaramillo was indicted and charged with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The indictment alleged that Jaramillo received and possessed child pornography from June 2013 to March 2014 in Bernalillo County, N.M. Jaramillo pled guilty to the indictment on Sept. 22, 2014, without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard 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 NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Former Attorney for Home Health Care Company Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Stealing over $2.6 Million from His EmployerRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – The former in-house counsel of an Ocean County, New Jersey-based home health care company was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for using his attorney trust account to steal more than $2.6 million from his employer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Matthew S. Neugeboren, 39, of Manalapan, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. Judge Cooper imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2006 through 2013, Neugeboren was in-house counsel for Company A, a home health care company in Ocean County. As such, Neugeboren maintained an attorney trust account to pay for Company A’s expenses. To cover those expenses, Neugeboren requested checks and wire transfers be made from Company A’s bank accounts into his attorney trust account.
As part of the scheme, Neugeboren caused Company A to transfer more money into his attorney trust account than was necessary to cover company expenses. Neugeboren admitted that he used the additional money for his personal benefit, including gambling. Neugeboren admitted that from January 2008 through December 2012, he stole $2,644,912 from Company A.
In addition to the wire fraud scheme, Neugeboren knowingly and willfully filed a false tax return that failed to include approximately $630,000 in gross income that he received in calendar year 2011 from his scheme to defraud Company A.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cooper ordered Neugeboren to serve three years of supervised release, entered a forfeiture order of $1,404,963 and ordered him to pay restitution of $1,404,963 to the victim company and $474,814 to the IRS.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Campi, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Lorber of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Justin P. Walder Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Fifth Shenandoah Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Heroin Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 25-year-old Shenandoah resident connected to a large-scale heroin trafficking ring that operated in Schuylkill County during 2012 through September 2015, pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Derek Yashinsky pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. Yashinsky admitted to distributing heroin and transporting other drug traffickers to Patterson, New Jersey, and Hazleton to obtain large quantities of heroin on multiple occasions. Yashinsky was involved in transporting and distributing between 400 grams and 700 grams of heroin, which is equivalent to between than 13,000 and 23,000 retail bags of heroin.
Yashinsky was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Scranton in September 2015, as a result of an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators from the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police in Schuylkill County.
Judge Munley ordered a presentence investigation to be completed, and scheduled sentencing for May 11, 2016. Yashinsky faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Four co-defendants—Rhashean Strange, Carlos Correa, Nicolai Varga, and Paul Jadus—have also pleaded guilty to participating in the drug conspiracy. Three other co-defendants are awaiting trial in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the cases.
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.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law is 40 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Federal Grand Jury IndictmentsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that a Federal Grand Jury in Greenville, South Carolina, returned Indictment(s) against the following:
Greenwood Resident Charged with Theft of Government Funds
Richard Barry Scott, age 49, of Greenwood, South Carolina, was charged in a 1-count indictment with theft of government funds, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. The maximum penalty Scott could receive is 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney William J. Watkins, Jr., of the Greenville office for prosecution.Two Individuals Indicted for Conspiracy to Possess Fifteen or More Counterfeit or Unauthorized Access Devices
Aubrionna D. Eckles, age 21, of Snellville, Georgia, and Donnell J. Slay, Jr., age 21, of Uniondale, New York, were charged in a 1-count indictment with conspiracy to possess fifteen or more counterfeit access devices, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(2). The maximum penalty each defendant could receive is 5 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney William J. Watkins, Jr. of the Greenville office for prosecution.Anderson Resident Charged with Wire Fraud
Carla Dawn Carnes, age 43, of Anderson, South Carolina, was charged in a 2-count indictment with wire fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. The maximum penalty Carnes could receive is 20 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by agents of the Social Security Administration and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens of the Greenville office for prosecution.Cowpens Couple Indicted for VA Fraud
Pamela Bullington, age 27, and Matthew Logan, age 30, of Cowpens, South Carolina, were charged with Theft of Government Funds, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. The maximum penalty Bullington and Logan could receive is 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by agents of the Office of Inspector General for Veterans Affairs and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen of the Greenville office for prosecution.The United States Attorney stated that all charges in these Indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Farmington Man Sentenced to Prison for Robbing Bank in March 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Allen Buckner, 23, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in federal prison for his bank robbery conviction. Buckner will be on supervised release for three years following his incarceration.
Buckner was arrested on March 20, 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that he robbed the First Convenience Bank- East Banking Center located in the Walmart store located at 4600 East Main Street in Farmington on March 18, 2015. According to the complaint, a man later identified as Buckner approached a bank teller with a handwritten note demanding cash. After obtaining cash from the bank teller, Buckner left in a vehicle. Thereafter two witnesses contacted the Farmington Police Department and identified Buckner as the bank robber after viewing surveillance photographs. The investigation revealed that Buckner used part of the money from the bank robbery to make a down payment on a vehicle.
Buckner was subsequently indicted on a bank robbery charge on April 14, 2015. On Sept. 1, 2015, Buckner entered a guilty plea to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Farmington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec prosecuted the case.
Detroit to Morgantown heroin trafficking scheme splintered by arrests, federal indictmentsRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Federal indictments were unsealed today charging 14 people with facilitating a Michigan to Morgantown heroin trafficking operation, according to United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.
A federal grand jury returned three separate indictments alleging that a group of individuals from Detroit traveled to Morgantown to operate a heroin distribution ring in North Central West Virginia. The indictments allege that heroin was repeatedly sold near a variety of protected locations in Monongalia County in 2014 and 2015.“Today’s operation, highlights the critical role our task forces play in combating heroin and other illegal drug trafficking and the violent criminal enterprises that attempt to take root in our neighborhoods,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott S. Smith of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. “Federal penalties for drug trafficking are severe, and the FBI will continue to work with our local, state and Federal partners to stop the flow of illegal drugs and to dismantle the violent criminal enterprises that facilitate the flow.”
Today, many of the defendants were taken into custody during a coordinated, multi-agency arrest operation in West Virginia and Michigan. Those arrested on heroin trafficking charges today include:
• Draylon Eric Beecham, also known as “Wood,” 40, of Detroit, Michigan, • Keith Antonio Cohens, also known as “Jay,” 34, of Detroit, Michigan, • James Leon Fisher, also known as “D,” 29, of Detroit, Michigan, • Craig S. Coffee, also known as “Mack,” 48, of Detroit, Michigan, • An unidentified individual known as “Mac,” of Detroit, Michigan, • Michaelo Merone, 30, of Miami, Florida, • Daniel Ross Sims, 26, of Morgantown, West Virginia, • Debra Bolden, 45, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and
• Justin Donald Myers, 36, of Morgantown, West Virginia.
Two additional drug trafficking suspects not connected with the aforementioned indictments were identified and arrested during today’s operation and are currently facing state charges.Several individuals have not yet been located, including: • Darrin Lawrence Broadnax, also known as “Silk,” 48, of Detroit, Michigan, • Romelle DeShaun Stevens, also known as “Bishop,” 26, of Detroit, Michigan, • Jeffrey Allen Motley, also known as “G,” 24, of Detroit, Michigan, • Robert Tucker, also known as “Diego,” 22, of Detroit, Michigan, and
• Ryan Hayworth, 21, of Mullens, West Virginia.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the aforementioned individuals is encouraged to contact the United States Marshals Service at (304) 623-0486.
Monongalia County, West Virginia Sheriff Al Kisner applauded the “diligence and hard work of each of the investigating agencies involved in today’s operation. The arrests made today are the direct result of the close working relationship that has been forged among local, state, and federal authorities. This investigation sends a clear message to local residents and to those individuals engaged in criminal activity, that we are committed to responding aggressively and intelligently to perceived drug trafficking threats and that we will not allow those who seek to profit from the sale of illegal drugs to takeroot in our neighborhoods.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Task Force is leading the investigation. The Mon Metro Drug Task Force is a collaborative, multi-agency initiative comprised of representatives from the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Morgantown Police Department, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia University Police Department, the Granville Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Department of Justice FY 2017 Budget RequestRead the Press Release
President’s Request Invests in Department of Justice Criminal Justice Priorities, Including National Security, Cyber Security, Smart on Crime, Building Community Trust, Among Other Priority Initiatives
President Obama’s FY 2017 Budget proposal totals $29 billion for the Department of Justice to support federal law enforcement priorities and the criminal justice priorities of our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. The request represents a comprehensive investment in the Justice mission and includes increases in funding for countering violent extremism and other national security areas, civil rights and advancing equality under the law, Smart on Crime activities, including increased funds for prisoner reentry initiatives and other key enforcement initiatives.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring the safety of our communities and the strength of our nation and the resources laid out in President Obama’s budget are vital to our efforts,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “With investments in priority areas from national security and cybercrime to community policing, this budget will allow us to protect the progress we have made and build on our success in the years to come.”
The Department of Justice’s areas of investment include:
- +$1.1 billion for the department’s law enforcement components, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program.
- +$70 million for our litigating components, including the U.S. Attorneys, National Security Division, Criminal Division, Civil Rights Division, Civil Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
- +$214 million for the prisons and detention functions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service.
- +$47 million for immigration, administration, technology and other support functions; includes the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Pardon Attorney, Office of the Inspector General, Community Relations Service, General Administration and Justice Information Sharing Technology.
- +$443 million for Justice Department grant programs overall (Office of Justice Programs, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and Office on Violence Against Women), for a total grant program request of $4.7 billion.
National Security
As the Attorney General remarked in December 2015, “my highest priorities are the security of our country and the safety of the American people.” National security threats are constantly evolving, requiring additional investments to adapt to those threats in innovative ways. The FY 2017 Budget request provides $780.7 million in program increases to counter violent extremism, improve intelligence collection and analysis, strengthen foreign partnerships and address critical law enforcement technology challenges.
Today’s national security and crime threats require that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintain an interconnected and nimble workforce. The complexities of today’s National Security work dictate that the FBI be in an interconnected workspace to promote internal information sharing. A new modern FBI facility will consolidate disparate worksites in to one common location and exploit synergies previously stovepiped in the FBI. The men and women of the FBI are critical to protecting national security, and this request demonstrates our commitment to invest in their safety and provide them with an appropriate environment conducive to their important work.
The FY 2017 request supports a comprehensive national security strategy towards countering violent extremism (CVE) in U.S. communities. The recent tragedy in San Bernardino is a painful reminder that this work is critical to achieving a peaceful society, and the department is committed to addressing the multi-faceted nature of this crime problem in FY 2017. Supported by Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) grants, the department will foster community-led CVE efforts and emphasize trusted partnerships between public safety agencies and local residents and community organizations. Grant funding through the OJP will also provide training and assistance to local efforts and continue to support research to better understand violent extremism and advance evidence-based strategies for prevention and intervention. U.S. Attorneys will expand their community presence and enhance federal engagement and support to local communities. These efforts will work to counter violent extremism encouraged by both international and homegrown actors.
The department must continue to address worldwide threats by enhancing its intelligence capacity and capabilities and strengthening coordination with foreign partners. The FY 2017 request includes resources for the FBI to improve collaboration with the Intelligence Community (IC) through enhanced intelligence programs and leveraging the common IC information technology (IT) infrastructure. The request also supports the FBI’s new Biometrics Technology Center, which will enhance biometric investigations. The request will also improve the FBI ability to conduct physical surveillance on the highest priority targets. The FY 2017 request includes resources to improve evidence sharing and extraditions with our foreign partners and overseas security sector assistance programs operations. The department’s foreign experts are best situated to build the strong overseas partnerships that are essential to joint efforts to fight terrorism and transnational crime.
The FBI must also adapt to evolving communication technologies, anonymization, and encryption. Law enforcement faces an increased threat of Going Dark – the degradation of law enforcement’s ability to lawfully access, collect, and intercept real-time communications and stored data. The FY 2017 request includes critical resources to develop and acquire tools to address the challenges Going Dark poses to law enforcement and national security.
For more information, view the National Security Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Cyber Security
The Department of Justice has a unique and critical role in cyber security that emphasizes countering and mitigating cyber threats, including by investigating, prosecuting, and providing legal and policy support to other departments for intrusion and cybercrime cases. The FY 2017 Budget provides $121.1 million in additional resources to investigate and address computer intrusions and cybercrimes, defend the security of the department’s critical information networks, and protect against insider threats. This request provides resources to enhance the technical capabilities of FBI investigative personnel, increase the number of cyber investigations, and improve cyber collection and analysis.
Building on the significant investments made in FY 2015 and FY 2016, this request also provides additional resources for the Justice Information Sharing Technology (JIST) account to maintain and strengthen the department’s cyber security environment: to counter cyber threats and to ensure its personnel have unimpeded access to the Information Technology (IT) systems, networks, and data necessary to achieve their missions. Similarly, the department requests additional resources for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to enhance its ability to combat insider threats and to enhance its cyber security posture.
For more information, view the Cyber Security Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Smart on Crime
While we must remain vigilant in our efforts to stop violent crime, we cannot simply prosecute and incarcerate our way into becoming a safer nation. The FY 2017 budget invests an additional $246.9 million to support Smart on Crime programs. The Smart on Crime initiative focuses on effectively using federal resources for the most significant federal law enforcement priorities—including violent crime—and implementing a series of commonsense reforms to reduce unnecessarily long sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. The Smart on Crime policies also bolster prevention and reentry programs to deter crime, reduce recidivism, and create pathways of opportunity for eligible candidates.
The department’s plan focuses federal resources on, and directs prosecutors to pursue, cases implicating the most substantial federal interests, rather than prioritizing the sheer number of prosecutions. Considering alternatives to incarceration for low-level, non-violent offenses also strengthens our justice system and places a lower financial burden on the budget. This means increased use of diversion programs, such as drug courts, that reduce taxpayer expense and have the potential to be successful at preventing recidivism. When imprisonment is appropriate, sentencing should reflect the individualized circumstances of the case.
We must also provide necessary care for inmates by expanding mental health services, medical treatments, and reducing the use and need for restrictive housing. To better prevent recidivism, it is important to reduce barriers to reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals. This includes emphasizing reentry programs, and revisiting rules and regulations that make it harder for these individuals to find a job, an education, or affordable housing.
For more information, view the Smart on Crime Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Building Community Trust
The FY 2017 Budget includes $129.4 million in increases to further the efforts the department and its state and local law enforcement partners have made to build and sustain community trust.
Building trust and nurturing legitimacy on both sides of the police/citizen divide is the foundational principle underlying the nature of relations between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Law enforcement cannot build community trust if it is seen as an occupying force coming in from outside to impose control on the community.
Through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and other components, the department is making good on its pledge to provide law enforcement with access to the tools and support they need to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible. With the launch of its National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, the department is striving to strengthen the partnerships between community members and law enforcement professionals at every level of government.
Through the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the department is bringing law enforcement leaders and experts together to provide strong, national direction on a scale not seen in nearly half a century. And going forward, the department intends to continue to use every tool at its disposal to enhance its capacity to combat crime while restoring public trust.
For more information, view the Building Community Trust Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Enhancing Public Safety
The department’s mission and responsibility is to investigate and prosecute those who break federal laws. Continued investments to uphold its commitments are needed to strengthen the department’s ability to protect the health and well-being of our Nation’s citizens, and have the flexibility to address threats as they emerge. Simply maintaining existing law enforcement capacity is not sufficient to meet the demands of this commitment. For FY 2017, the department requests $164.2 million in additional investments to address the threats of violent crime and illicit drugs, and to strengthen the litigating divisions of the department.
In FY 2017, the department is requesting additional resources to respond to the recent increase in heroin abuse and support increased prosecution of drug trafficking organizations along the Southwest Border. The funding will create four new enforcement groups, including support personnel and operational funding, to counteract growing heroin abuse in the United States.
The Budget request supports significant investments that focus on combatting violent crime in the U.S. and support the President’s initiatives on reducing gun violence. The request includes funding to enhance the enforcement of existing federal firearms laws and expand the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) regulatory capacity. Funding is also requested for the FBI to maintain FY 2016 investments in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The investments to combat violent crime also include resources for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to support hiring of additional Deputy U.S. Marshals and the creation of a new Regional Fugitive Task Force to apprehend violent fugitives.
The department’s request also invests funding in litigating divisions to enforce laws that address economic competition, animal welfare, immigration, and to ensure public safety. The department seeks to improve the Antitrust Division’s ability to promote economic competition, strengthen the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s ability to enforce animal welfare laws through the development of a new animal welfare enforcement program, augment the Civil Division’s immigration litigation capabilities, and to provide security services at U.S. Trustee meetings.
For more information, view the Enhancing Public Safety Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Protecting Vulnerable Populations
The department’s priority of upholding the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly the most vulnerable members of our society, remains vital importance. Accomplishing this requires resources to investigate, litigate, conduct outreach, and provide capacity-building education, training, and technical assistance. The FY 2017 President’s Budget will address these needs by dedicating an additional $80.7 million to these tasks, thereby enhancing the lives of the country’s vulnerable populations.
The nation’s vulnerable populations deserve the same rights, opportunities, and protections from injustices as the rest of society. The Administration and the department are committed to accomplishing this goal. The FY 2017 President’s Budget requests funding to prevent and investigate elder abuse and fraud, particularly health care fraud, which remains a top priority for the department. The Budget will also address environmental concerns in Indian Country.
Our nation’s children and youth are a vulnerable demographic group. At a national summit on Youth Violence Prevention last year, the Attorney General spoke of the importance of providing services to children exposed to violence in order to break the cycle of violence. The FY 2017 request includes additional funding to do just that. Additional resources are requested to ensure the nation’s police are properly trained to interact with children and people with disabilities, and to support enforcement, technical assistance, and the issuance of guidance and regulations related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
For more information, view the Vulnerable Populations Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Mission Critical Infrastructure
In order to maintain an effective and efficient Department of Justice, the department must maintain a robust infrastructure to support its investigative and prosecutorial enterprises. The department’s request of $179.1 million addresses gaps in critical infrastructure, including information technology (IT) system improvements that support law enforcement and litigating components, facility construction and maintenance, policy oversight, and personnel security investments.
Resources are requested to upgrade outdated IT systems, enhance capabilities of existing systems, and construct and maintain facilities. Resources for the USMS Office of Professional Responsibility and the department’s policy offices are included to enhance policy analysis, coordination, and compliance functions. Finally, resources are requested to address the department’s current backlog of security investigations of both federal employees and contractors and future security investigation needs.
For more information, view the Mission Critical Infrastructure Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement
The Department of Justice strongly supports its partnerships with state, local, and tribal entities. The FY 2017 Budget maintains its commitments to state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners without reducing the department’s federal operational role. Simultaneously, efficiencies are identified to ensure that federal resources are being targeted to the most effective grant programs. The FY 2017 discretionary and mandatory request for state, local, and tribal law enforcement assistance is $4.7 billion, including discretionary enhancements of $442.7 million.
The FY 2017 request for OJP totals $4.2 billion, including $1.6 billion for discretionary grant programs and $2.6 billion for mandatory grant programs. It includes $326.2 million in discretionary enhancements, including increased funding for an indigent defense initiative, Second Chance Prisoner Reentry, Justice Reinvestment, and juvenile justice programs, and new funding to support the Violence Reduction Network.
The FY 2017 request for COPS totals $286 million, including $88 million in enhancements. The COPS request includes an increase of $42 million for the COPS Hiring Program.
The FY 2017 request for the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) totals $489 million. OVW’s Budget includes a total of $28.5 million in enhancements. The Budget includes enhancements of $11.25 million for Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking Program (Arrest), $7.5 million for Legal Assistance to Victims and $6 million for OVW’s Campus Violence Program.
For more information, view the State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
Public Safety In Indian Country
The United States has a unique legal and political relationship with American Indian tribes and Alaska Native communities as provided by the Constitution, treaties, court decisions, and federal statutes. The Department of Justice has an important legal and moral responsibility to prosecute violent crime in Indian Country because under current law, in much of Indian Country, the department alone has the authority to seek an appropriate sentence when a major crime has been committed. Federal investigation and prosecution of serious violent crime in Indian Country is often the primary avenue of protection for the victims of these crimes.
The FY 2017 President’s Budget requests $417.6 million in total resources for public safety initiatives in Indian Country. Investments support activities across many Department of Justice components that address a range of criminal and civil justice issues facing Native American communities. A highlight is the COPS Tribal Resources Grant Program, which facilitates tribal access to critical information sharing systems. The increase will support the department’s Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information that was launched in August 2015 allowing tribes to more effectively serve and protect their tribal members by ensuring the exchange of critical data across systems, such as those managed by the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department is also requesting resources to strengthen the enforcement of environmental laws on tribal lands, and to support consultation with tribes and coordination of tribal policies through the Office of Tribal Justice.
For more information, view the Public Safety in Indian Country Fact Sheet at http://www.justice.gov/about/fy17-budget-fact-sheets.
FY 2017 Budget Rollout PowerPoint (683.85 KB)
Dallas Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — Yesterday, Miguel Bonilla, 36, of Dallas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 360 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, since approximately 2014, Bonilla and another co-conspirator supplied multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine on consignment to other co-conspirators, who in turn, distributed the methamphetamine to various customers in the Fort Worth and North Richland Hills, Texas areas, returning to Bonilla and the co-conspirator for additional methamphetamine.
Other defendants in the case have also received lengthy federal prison sentences for their roles in the methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Samuel Hebert was sentenced to 240 months, Joseph Sutton was sentenced to 140 months, and Steven Villegas was sentenced to 120 months. All three are age 32 and from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith was in charge of the prosecution.
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Cupertino Couple Indicted for Embezzeling Donated FundsRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE - A federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Chang and Grace Chang last week with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, announced Acting United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
According to the indictment unsealed late yesterday, Jonathan Chang, 60, of Cupertino, Calif., together with his wife, Grace Chang, 57, engaged in a scheme to defraud a wealthy donor of money intended to support the Home of Christ 4 Christian Church (HOC4), located in Saratoga, Calif. Jonathan Chang, who served as an “elder” responsible for managing the finances of the church, established his own charitable organization with a name similar to the church. He then secretly directed that monthly donations from the donor be wired to his own organization rather than to the HOC4.
Jonathan Chang is also alleged to have solicited funds from the same donor for the stated purpose of acquiring a new HOC4 building. In response to Chang’s requests, the donor provided a $2 million donation and a $3 million loan to acquire the new building. Jonathan Chang and Grace Chang did not disclose the existence of the funds to HOC4. Instead the Changs directed the $5 million to accounts under their control.
In total, between 2004 and January 2016, the defendants are alleged to have obtained approximately $7.4 million in funds from the donor, all of which was intended for HOC4’s use but was instead misappropriated for the couple’s own purposes. The defendants were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire or mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; four counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h); and three counts of money laundering, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 1956(a).
Both defendants were arrested yesterday morning at their home in Cupertino and made their initial appearance in federal court in San Jose before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins. Both defendants were released on bond, pending further hearings. Bail was set at $200,000 per defendant. The defendants’ next scheduled appearance is at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2016, for identification of counsel and further bond proceedings before the Magistrate Judge Cousins.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for each violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1343. The defendants also face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds, whichever is greater, for each violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(h) and 1956(a)(1)(B). Additional periods of supervised release, fines and restitution may apply. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amie D. Rooney and David Countryman are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen and Carolyn Jusay. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
Courtland Woman Sentenced to Prison for Stealing over $175K from Franklin Retirement CommunityRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Marian Lewis, 49, of Courtland, was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for mail fraud and ordered to pay $176,780 in restitution.
Lewis pleaded guilty on Nov. 12, 2015, to five counts of mail fraud. According to evidence presented and court documents, Lewis was employed as a book keeper at a non-profit retirement community in Franklin. Over the course of at least four years, Lewis routinely used the retirement community’s credit cards to purchase items for her own personal use, such as a TV, computer, digital cameras and tools. She also used the credit cards, along with over $130,000 in cash that she stole from the retirement community, to make home improvements, such as redoing her kitchen and building a deck around a pool at her residence in Courtland. In total, Lewis is responsible with stealing over $176,780 from the retirement community.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; Douglas Mease, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Richmond Office; and George Purefoy, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Norfolk Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Yusi and Kevin Hudson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-64.
Connecticut Man Arrested in Greeley After Driving for Three Days to Colorado to Have Sex with MinorsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Jason Tremblay, age 28, of Ledyard, Connecticut, was arrested late last week in Greeley, Colorado after driving from his home to Colorado to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a mother and her two minor daughters, who in this case was an undercover Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced. Today U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix ordered the defendant released on a $50,000 unsecured bond. He was first charged based on a Criminal Complaint on February 4, 2016, and then indicted by a federal grand jury today, February 9, 2016.
According to charging documents, including the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, in December of 2014, an HSI special agent began an investigation targeting individuals who use a particular website to sexually exploit children. They also may create and join a variety of groups based on their sexual interests, including groups called “incest,” “jailbait,” and “teen.” Members may post advertisements in the website’s classified section seeking to meet other members with the same sexual interests such as rape and incest.
In November of 2015, the HSI special agent was working in an undercover capacity in Greeley, adopting a fictional persona of a single mother of two children, ages 10 and 14. On November 30, 2015, the agent received an email via the afore mentioned website from an individual asking if the mom persona was “active with your girls.” After this email, further communications ensued, including chats and other communications.
On January 6, 2016, the undercover agent received an image that then target, now defendant Tremblay claimed to be himself. In return, the special agent sent images that she identified as her with her two minor daughters. After agreeing to a meeting that would involve the sexual exploitation of the minor girls, on February 2, 2016, Tremblay began a drive he estimated would take 29 hours from Ledyard, Connecticut to Greeley, Colorado. On February 4, 2016 at 2:20 a.m., Tremblay was encountered by a Greeley Police Officer, who asked Tremblay about his sobriety and why he was in the vicinity. HSI agents and Colorado State Patrol Officers then arrived on scene and Tremblay was placed under arrest.
According to the indictment, the defendant faces one count of aggravated sexual abuse with children. If convicted on that count he faces not less than 30 years, and up to life in federal prison. Further, he faces one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted on that count, he faces not more than 30 years in federal prison. Finally, Tremblay faces two counts of attempted coercion and enticement. If convicted on those counts, he faces not less than 10 years, and not more than life imprisonment, per count. Each of the four counts also carries a fine of not more than $250,000.
This case was investigated by HSI, with support from the Colorado State Patrol and the Greeley Police Department.
Tremblay is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts.
The charges contained in the Criminal Complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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
Colorado Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Participation in Conspiracy to Illegally Transfer FirearmsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former resident of Colorado was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for her involvement in a conspiracy to illegally transfer firearms from Colorado to a felon in New Jersey, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Krystel Lopez, 28, of Greeley, Colorado, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to one count of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to illegally transfer firearms interstate. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between February and April 2013, Lopez purchased an assault rifle and a handgun in Colorado. Later in April 2013, she mailed both the assault rifle and the handgun to the business address of a known felon in New Jersey, who was prohibited from possessing such weapons.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Lopez to two years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Howard and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Michael Calabro Esq., Newark
Colorado Springs Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
DENVER – Michael Alvares Fykes, age 45, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was recently sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve 60 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Ken Croke announced. Following his prison sentence, Fykes was ordered to spend 3 years on supervised release. The defendant, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at the hearing’s conclusion.
Fykes was first charged by Criminal Complaint on May 8, 2015. He was then indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on May 21, 2015. On August 28, 2015, following a 3-day jury trial, Fykes was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced by Judge Jackson on January 29, 2016.
According to the facts presented at trial, as outlined in the government’s sentencing statement, on February 1, 2015, at approximately 4:22 p.m., a male in Colorado Springs called 911 and told the operator he was calling on behalf of a female who was involved in prostitution. Prior to the 911 call, the male caller had contacted the female for sexual services after viewing her website advertisement. When the female arrived at the male’s residence she was visibly nervous and scared. Rather than pursue sexual services, the male called the police for help. The female left the residence with two males in a red Pontiac before the police arrived.
Officers from the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) arrived at the callers location. One officer while responding noticed a 1999 red Pontiac Grand Prix in a driveway. The CSPD officer blocked the driveway with a squad car, preventing the red Pontiac from fleeing. The officer then approached the vehicle’s passenger side and asked the occupant, later identified as Fykes, to exit the vehicle. Another CSPD officer asked the driver to exit the vehicle. Both males complied with CSPD commands.
Officers interviewed the two males in the car, the young female who was the subject of the 911 call who was seated in the back of the red Pontiac, and the original 911 caller. As a result of those interviews, the driver and the passenger (Fykes) were arrested on state charges of human trafficking for sexual servitude. CSPD officers then impounded the Pontiac as it was used in the commission of a felony. Prior to impounding the vehicle, officers did an inventory search. During the search officers found a black backpack. In the unzipped pouch of the backpack the officers found a Taurus .45 caliber revolver. The bag also contained Fykes’ Passport. After finding the weapon, CSPD stopped the inventory search and obtained a search warrant.
Fykes’ criminal history revealed that he was a convicted felon, which by law prohibited him from possessing a weapon. His convictions included a Felony Menacing in Adams County District Court in 1992; Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine in U.S. District Court in Colorado in 1992; Theft in El Paso County District Court in 1992; and Possession of a controlled substance in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2003. The state charges of human trafficking were dismissed against Fykes and the driver of the vehicle as the victim of the crime fled and could not be found.
“Thanks to the hard work of the Colorado Springs Police Department in conjunction with the ATF, a previously convicted felon who was caught with a firearm will now spend the next 5 years away from his family as punishment for his crime,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
"Fykes is a habitual felon who was indiscriminate in his criminal activity. He has been involved in drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and robbery,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Ken Croke. "Colorado Springs PD should be commended for putting this dangerous felon back behind bars."
This case was investigated by the Colorado Springs Police Department and the ATF.
Fykes was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason St. Julien and Kurt Bohn.
Cherry Creek Man Charged with Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Cherry Creek, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.
Randy Little Shield, age 25, was indicted on January 21, 2016. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 5, 2016, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about October 8, 2015, at Cherry Creek, Little Shield unlawfully assaulted the victim with a baseball bat.
The charge is merely an accusation and Little Shield is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller is prosecuting the case.
Little Shield was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Charleston felon pleads guilty to Federal gun crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man with several felony convictions who possessed a firearm pleaded guilty today, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Dereck Skylar Brown, 33, entered his guilty plea in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On July 4, 2015, Charleston Police Detectives responded to a shooting at a bar on Leon Sullivan Way and observed Brown leaving the bar immediately after they heard several gunshots from inside the bar. Brown appeared to be concealing something in his waistband as he exited the front door of the bar. Brown ignored the detectives’ commands to stop until after he briefly leaned into an unoccupied vehicle parked with its driver side door open. One detective detained Brown while another looked into the vehicle and observed a Colt .380 semiautomatic pistol on the passenger seat of the vehicle.
The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory later identified a fingerprint lifted from the pistol’s magazine as having been made by Brown’s right thumb. Brown was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of his numerous felony convictions, including armed robbery, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and malicious wounding.
Three people inside the bar suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds. Through law enforcement’s forensic analysis, Brown was excluded as a suspect in the shooting.
Brown faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on May 13, 2016.
This case was investigated by the Charleston Police Department Special Enforcement Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory also provided invaluable assistance to the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. The hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
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