Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
22 January 2016
Evansville man sentenced for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
Evansville –United States Attorney Josh Minkler announced today that Christopher N. Gill, 36 of Evansville, Indiana, was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison by U.S. District Chief Judge Richard L. Young following his guilty plea to possession of child pornography. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Task Force, the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department.
On December 12, 2015, at the time of his guilty plea, Gill admitted to the Court that on November 11, 2014, he downloaded multiple images depicting minors under the age of 12, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The images were obtained using his cellular telephone and uploaded to a Google internet-based data storage account. Gill was subject to a mandatory minimum ten year sentence because he has a prior conviction involving the possession of child pornography.
Gill is required to register as a sex offender due to a 2010 conviction in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, for possession of child pornography. In January 2015, Gill was called into the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s office by an officer responsible for maintaining accurate information on the registry. Gill was questioned about an email account he failed to disclose and admitted that the account belonged to him. The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department registration rules require sex offenders to disclose all their e-mail and social network accounts.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Young imposed a lifetime term of supervised release following Gill’s release from prison. Gill must register as a sex offender, may not have unsupervised contact with minors and must participate in a sex offender treatment program while on supervision.
Ely Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Being a Felon and Unlawful Drug User in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
A man who unlawfully possessed a shotgun was sentenced today in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Matthew Robbins, age 42, from Ely, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 22, 2016, guilty plea to one count of being a felon and unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.
In a plea agreement, Robbins admitted that in 2014 he was an unlawful user of controlled substances, including methamphetamine, and had previously been convicted of eight felony offenses, namely:
-
Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the Second Degree (Sept. 6, 1991);
-
Burglary in the Third Degree (Feb. 10, 1995);
-
Dominion and Control of a Firearm as a Felon (Feb. 10, 1995);
-
Operating While Intoxicated, Third Offense (Mar. 1, 1995);
-
Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance (Dec. 4, 1998);
-
Operating While Intoxicated, Third Offense (Aug. 29, 2007);
-
Attempt to Elude (Aug. 29, 2007); and
-
Operating While Intoxicated, Third Offense (April 4, 2013).
Robbins admitted that, in about the Spring of 2014, he took possession of an Iver Johnson, 12 gauge shotgun. The shotgun had been left at his residence near Ely, Iowa, by another person. Robbins later had a friend store the shotgun at the friend’s residence for safekeeping.
Robbins was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Robbins was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Robbins is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin Eldridge. The case was investigated by the Marion Police Department, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-129-LRR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
-
Elk Grove Woman Sentenced to Prison for Stolen Mail Scheme, Ordered to Pay for Repairing Mail BoxesRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Keri S. Southwood, 21, of Elk Grove, was sentenced today to two years and eight months in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell ordered Southwood to pay $12,300 in restitution, which includes $6,526 for repairing U.S. Postal Service mail boxes.
San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated: “We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners at the Elk Grove Police Department to arrest and prosecute those responsible for mail theft to protect postal customer’s mail and personal information from theft.”
Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Lehner stated: “We appreciate the working relationship with the Postal Inspector’s Office in this case. These crimes have an enormous impact on a community like ours and it’s important that offenders be held appropriately accountable for their actions. In this case, I don’t know that would have happened without the partnership.”
According to court documents, between October 1, 2014 and February 12, 2015, Southwood and her co-defendants Joseph D. Ryan, 21, and Leonard A. Velasco, 24, both of Elk Grove, participated in a scheme to obtain stolen financial and personal identification information and use such to defraud financial institutions and merchants. Southwood and her co-defendants stole U.S. mail by damaging or destroying mail boxes and neighborhood U.S. Postal Service receptacles. After cataloguing the stolen mail, the defendants targeted certain postal customers in order to return to the mail receptacles to steal the replacement credit or debit cards mailed to the postal customers. The defendants also used information found in the stolen mail to apply for credit cards and had the cards sent to an address they controlled. The defendants used the credit or debit cards, PINs, and victims’ names to get money, goods and services.
According to court documents, Southwood and her co-defendants possessed stolen U.S. mail of over 1,000 victims and over 30 credit cards in victims’ names. As a result of the destruction of postal receptacles, customers suffered the loss of mail and mail services and the Postal Service suffered loss. Southwood pleaded guilty on September 1, 2015.
Co-defendant Ryan is scheduled for trial before Judge Burrell on April 5, 2016. The charges against Ryan are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Co-defendant Velasco pleaded guilty on August 25, 2015, to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 5, 2016. Velasco faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and two consecutive years in prison for aggravated identity theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Elk Grove Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
El Paso Businessowner Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Money Laundering Scheme Associated with Black Market Peso ExchangeRead the Press Release
In El Paso today, 53-year-old Jose Luis Rodriguez, owner of ERENE, Inc. (ERENE) was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for implementing an estimated $100 million trade-based money laundering scheme announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge William Cotter, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge David C. Guaderrama ordered that Rodriguez pay a $10,000 fine and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term. Judge Guaderrama also ordered that Rodriguez forfeit to the Government property located at 600 S. Stanton in El Paso and approximately $650,000 in U.S. Currency seized from his bank accounts. In addition, Rodriguez agreed to forfeit to the Government shoe and other products seized during this investigation valued at over $1 million.
ERENE, formerly doing business as “J&E Sports” among other names, is an El Paso-based business which primarily sells shoes and other goods to U.S. and Mexican-based customers.
On August 27, 2015, the fourth day of his federal jury trial, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. By pleading guilty, Rodriguez admitted that he and others conspired to launder the proceeds of a scheme to illegally smuggle millions of dollars worth of goods into Mexico without paying the tariffs, duties, and fees imposed by the Mexican government. From March 6, 2006 to November 2014, these goods were ultimately smuggled using “pasadores” or black market smugglers and were done so without following the U.S. laws and regulations applicable to the export of goods from the United States. Evidence presented during trial also revealed that between 2012 and 2014, more than an estimated $2.3 million in bribes were paid to Mexican customs officials to facilitate the scheme.
“Today’s sentence is the culmination of a successful multi-agency investigation into a transnational criminal organization. These individuals moved money and U.S. goods across our border in furtherance of their illegal activities,” said Waldemar Rodriguez, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in the United States and Mexico to investigate and expose money laundering regardless of the schemes that are utilized.”
Three co-defendants--40–year-old ERENE Assistant Manager Jorge Penuelas, 53-year-old ERENE employee Manuel Rodriguez and 39-year-old Ricardo Cruz-Olguin—entered guilty pleas to the conspiracy charge prior to jury selection. Their sentences ranged from one year incarceration to three years probation. Two other co-defendants are fugitives. They are 38–year-old Cesar Salazar-Carrillo and 53-year-old Amalia Turcio Ortega. Both are charged with participating in the money laundering conspiracy.
This investigation was conducted by the HSI’s Financial Operations & Currency Unified Strikeforce (FOCUS). FOCUS is comprised of investigators from HSI, IRS – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Customs and Border Protection – Office of Field Operations (CBP-OFO), the El Paso Police Department and the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The Government of Mexico Servicio de Administracion Tributaria (SAT) also assisted in this investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Blackwell and John Gibson.
Durant Doctor Pays $275,000, Clinic Pays $1.5 Million to Resolve False Claims SuitRead the Press Release
DANIEL CASTRO, M.D., FORMERLY OF THE MEDICAL CENTER OF
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA, TO PAY $275,000.00 TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ACT LAWSUITMUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that DR. DANIEL CASTRO, an Otolaryngologist who practiced, from 2005 to 2010, at the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma (MCSO), located in Durant, Oklahoma, has agreed to pay $275,000 to the United States and the State of Oklahoma to resolve allegations that he billed SoonerCare, the Oklahoma Medicaid Program, for surgical procedures that he performed and related office services, that were not performed as claimed and/or were not medically necessary. During the time in question, MCSO was owned by Healthcare Management Associates (HMA). In January of 2014, HMA was acquired by Community Health Systems, a nationwide acute care hospital chain.
United States Attorney Mark Green stated; “It is one of our office’s highest priorities to protect the citizens of our district against unscrupulous health care providers who don’t play by the rules. Performing unnecessary surgery not only harms patients but also wastes taxpayer dollars. The False Claims Act is a valuable weapon in the government’s arsenal to combat these types of abuses.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Dr. Castro submitted claims to SoonerCare for surgical procedures known as functional endoscopic sinus surgeries (FESS) which require no incisions on the face but instead involve the insertion of a nasal endoscope, a very thin fiber optic tube, into the nose for a direct visual examination and clearing of the openings into the sinuses. The related office services that were not performed as claimed are known as endoscopic debridements, procedures performed by an otolaryngologist following a FESS in which an endoscope, or fiber optic tube, is inserted into the nose for a thorough inspection and removal of dried blood and crusting.
In a related settlement, HMA paid the United States and the State of Oklahoma $1.5 million dollars to resolve allegations that MCSO billed SoonerCare, the Oklahoma Medicaid Program, for surgical procedures performed by Dr. Daniel Castro and related hospital services that were not medically necessary.
The allegations that the government has settled with Dr. Castro and HMA were raised in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower, Sandra Simmons, will receive a share of today’s settlement. The Act also permits the government to intervene in the whistleblower’s suit, as the government did here.
This civil settlement and the government’s intervention illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and mark another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by then Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $26.7 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $16.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This case was a coordinated effort among the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General. The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Sandra Simmons v. Health Management Associates, Inc., Durant H.M.A., LLC d/b/a Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma, Durant HMA Physician Management, LLC and Dan J. Castro, M.D., Case No. CIV-12-043-JHP (E.D. Okla.).
Assistant United States Attorneys Susan S. Brandon and Robert Gay Guthrie represented the United States.
The claims settled or pursued by the government are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Deported Jamaican Charged with Illegally Returning to U.S.Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An individual found by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of illegal reentry after deportation, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment named Glenmore Almando Carey, 44, a citizen of Jamaica.
According to the indictment, Carey, an alien, who was previously removed from the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on May 10, 2005, and was found to be living in Pittsburgh on Nov. 17, 2015, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Removal Operation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Delaware Cheese Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Food Adulteration Charge, Signs Consent DecreeRead the Press Release
A criminal information was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Roos Foods Inc., charging the company with the distribution of adulterated cheese in interstate commerce, the Department of Justice announced today. The company has signed a plea agreement in which it has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). In addition to the company’s agreement to plead guilty, Roos, and its principals, Ana A. Roos and Virginia Mejia, have agreed to a proposed consent decree of permanent injunction.
Roos Foods distributed several varieties of ready-to-eat cheese, including ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curd and sold and distributed its products to wholesale customers in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington D.C., according to the information. A civil complaint along with the proposed consent decree was also filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The criminal charge and civil complaint allege that Roos distributed cheese in interstate commerce connected to an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) in early 2014.
“We must work to ensure that the food we buy is free from dangerous bacteria and is safe to eat,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively to combat and deter conduct leading to the distribution of adulterated food to consumers.”
“It is cases like this that demonstrate the need for government regulations concerning food safety, ” said U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III for the District of Delaware. “Fortunately, there were no serious or permanent injuries as a result of the marketing of contaminated cheese. Manufacturers of our nation’s food supplies must comply with the law and when violators are found they should expect to be prosecuted and, if necessary, put out of business.”
The criminal information alleges that on Feb. 21, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a total of eight people (five adults and three newborns) in Maryland and California were infected with L. mono and according to the CDC, several of the Maryland patients reported having eaten soft or semi-soft cheeses in the month before becoming ill.
L. mono is the bacterium that causes the disease listeriosis. Listeriosis is most commonly contracted by eating food contaminated with L. mono. Listeriosis can be serious, even fatal, for high-risk groups such as unborn babies, newborns and those with impaired immune systems.
Unlike many other foodborne microbes, L. mono bacteria are capable of adapting and growing even at refrigerator temperatures. Thus, the presence of L. mono in ready-to-eat foods is a particularly significant public health risk.
As alleged in the information, following a report that L. mono had been isolated from cheese manufactured by Roos Foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the firm’s Kenton, Delaware, facility and established that ready-to-eat cheese products were adulterated in that they had been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health. As alleged, FDA found numerous failures to implement effective monitoring and sanitation controls in accordance with current Good Manufacturing Practices.
The information alleges that the FDA inspection revealed significant sanitation deficiencies, such as widespread roof leaks in the manufacturing area, including over open manufacturing equipment; rust flakes on the manufacturing equipment from corroded roof trusses and metal roofing; un-cleanable surfaces on walls, floors and ceilings and product residue on equipment that had purportedly been cleaned. In addition, as alleged in the information, FDA collected environmental samples and found L. mono on 12 surfaces in the facility.
On March 11, 2014, FDA suspended the food facility registration of Roos Foods after determining there was a reasonable probability that food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by Roos Foods would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans. A company without a food facility registration cannot distribute any food products. Roos Foods has not reopened.
“The FDA will not tolerate food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards and place the public health at risk by producing and shipping contaminated products,” said FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Global Regulatory Operations and Policy Howard Sklamberg, J.D. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to use the full force of our justice system against those that place profits over the health and safety of American consumers.”
The civil complaint alleges that Roos Foods and two individual defendants violated the FDCA by, among other things, introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce articles of food that were adulterated in that the food was prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health. The proposed consent decree of permanent injunction requires the defendants to cease receiving, preparing, processing, packing, holding and distributing all food products unless and until the defendants bring their operations into compliance with the FDCA and its implementing regulations.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Heide L. Herrmann of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Welsh and Edmond Falgowski of the District of Delaware. They were assisted by Associate Chief Counsel Laura Pawloski of the Food and Drug Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services. The case was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
The government is represented in the civil case by Trial Attorney Megan Englehart of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Hannigan of the District of Delaware, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Shannon M. Singleton of the Food and Drug Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.
A criminal information is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A civil complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
Delaware Cheese Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Food Adulteration Charge, Signs Consent DecreeRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – A criminal information was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Roos Foods Inc., charging the company with the distribution of adulterated cheese in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III announced today. The company has signed a plea agreement in which it has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). In addition to the company’s agreement to plead guilty, Roos, and its principals, Ana A. Roos and Virginia Mejia, have agreed to a proposed consent decree of permanent injunction.
Roos Foods distributed several varieties of ready-to-eat cheese, including ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curd and sold and distributed its products to wholesale customers in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington D.C., according to the information. A civil complaint along with the proposed consent decree was also filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The criminal charge and civil complaint allege that Roos distributed cheese in interstate commerce connected to an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) in early 2014.
“We must work to ensure that the food we buy is free from dangerous bacteria and is safe to eat,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively to combat and deter conduct leading to the distribution of adulterated food to consumers.”
“It is cases like this that demonstrate the need for government regulations concerning food safety, ” said U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III for the District of Delaware. “Fortunately, there were no serious or permanent injuries as a result of the marketing of contaminated cheese. Manufacturers of our nation’s food supplies must comply with the law and when violators are found they should expect to be prosecuted and, if necessary, put out of business.”
The criminal information alleges that on Feb. 21, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a total of eight people (five adults and three newborns) in Maryland and California were infected with L. mono and according to the CDC, several of the Maryland patients reported having eaten soft or semi-soft cheeses in the month before becoming ill.
L. mono is the bacterium that causes the disease listeriosis. Listeriosis is most commonly contracted by eating food contaminated with L. mono. Listeriosis can be serious, even fatal, for high-risk groups such as unborn babies, newborns and those with impaired immune systems.
Unlike many other foodborne microbes, L. mono bacteria are capable of adapting and growing even at refrigerator temperatures. Thus, the presence of L. mono in ready-to-eat foods is a particularly significant public health risk.
As alleged in the information, following a report that L. mono had been isolated from cheese manufactured by Roos Foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the firm’s Kenton, Delaware, facility and established that ready-to-eat cheese products were adulterated in that they had been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health. As alleged, FDA found numerous failures to implement effective monitoring and sanitation controls in accordance with current Good Manufacturing Practices.
The information alleges that the FDA inspection revealed significant sanitation deficiencies, such as widespread roof leaks in the manufacturing area, including over open manufacturing equipment; rust flakes on the manufacturing equipment from corroded roof trusses and metal roofing; un-cleanable surfaces on walls, floors and ceilings and product residue on equipment that had purportedly been cleaned. In addition, as alleged in the information, FDA collected environmental samples and found L. mono on 12 surfaces in the facility.
On March 11, 2014, FDA suspended the food facility registration of Roos Foods after determining there was a reasonable probability that food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by Roos Foods would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans. A company without a food facility registration cannot distribute any food products. Roos Foods has not reopened.
“The FDA will not tolerate food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards and place the public health at risk by producing and shipping contaminated products,” said FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Global Regulatory Operations and Policy Howard Sklamberg, J.D. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to use the full force of our justice system against those that place profits over the health and safety of American consumers.”
The civil complaint alleges that Roos Foods and two individual defendants violated the FDCA by, among other things, introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce articles of food that were adulterated in that the food was prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health. The proposed consent decree of permanent injunction requires the defendants to cease receiving, preparing, processing, packing, holding and distributing all food products unless and until the defendants bring their operations into compliance with the FDCA and its implementing regulations.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Heide L. Herrmann of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Welsh and Edmond Falgowski of the District of Delaware. They were assisted by Associate Chief Counsel Laura Pawloski of the Food and Drug Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services. The case was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
The government is represented in the civil case by Trial Attorney Megan Englehart of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Hannigan of the District of Delaware, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Shannon M. Singleton of the Food and Drug Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.
A criminal information is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A civil complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
DeLand Man Convicted of Conspiring to Distribute Three Kilograms of CocaineRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Alejandro Estrada Aplesa (27, DeLand) guilty of possession with intent distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Aplesa was charged by a superseding indictment on December 16, 2015.
According to evidence presented at trial, on August 24, 2015, Aplesa was stopped for speeding in St. Johns County on Interstate I-95. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deployed a canine and handler team, which detected the presence of illegal drugs in the car. A search of the car revealed three one-kilogram bundles of cocaine in a bag under the driver’s seat. At the scene, Aplesa and his passenger denied that there were drugs in the car.
During the trial, Aplesa testified, denying that the cocaine had been his and asserted that he had been asked to run an errand, not knowing that the delivery of cocaine was involved. Aplesa claimed he had discovered the cocaine in the car only minutes before the traffic stop and that he had been returning to confront the man ultimately responsible for sending him on the delivery, but had been stopped by the police before he could do so.
This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Coolican and Frank Talbot.
Dallas County Woman Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Defrauding MedicaidRead the Press Release
DALLAS – Brenda Ward, 48, of Cedar Hill, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 57 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $887,809 in restitution to Medicaid, following her guilty plea in July 2015 to one count of health care fraud. U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.
Judge Fitzwater ordered Ward to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on March 8, 2016.
According to documents filed in the case, Ward, who was President and CEO of H.E.L.P.-Ing. Communities, Inc. (HCI), obtained a Medicaid group number for HCI and used that number, together with individual Medicaid provider numbers of licensed counselors and Medicaid recipient information, to submit fraudulent claims to Medicaid.
Ward, who is neither a psychotherapist nor a mental health provider, submitted claims for individual, family, and group psychotherapy sessions that were not performed. As part of her fraud scheme, Ward used the Medicaid provider numbers of four licensed counselors, without their knowledge and consent, to submit claims under the HCI group number for services that they did not perform. Ward also used the Medicaid provider information of a fifth licensed counselor who worked for her to submit claims for psychotherapy services that both predated and postdated the counselor’s actual employment with her, as well as claims for services that the counselor did not provide during the counselor’s employment. Ward used the identification of more than 290 Medicaid recipients, most of whom were minor children, in her scheme.
Ward admits that from January 1, 2009, through February 9, 2015, she personally submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and to Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, through HCI, totaling approximately $1,639,923; Ward was paid approximately $887,809 for these claims.
The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher prosecuted.
# # #
Columbia Business Owner Charged with MethRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of a Columbia, Mo., business was charged in federal court today with possessing methamphetamine to distribute.
Troy C. Lewis, 30, of Columbia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Lewis, the owner of The Tint Shop in Columbia, remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016.
According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, Columbia police officers stopped a Chevy Tahoe on Rangeline Road near Prathersville Road in Columbia on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. Lewis was lying down on the third row seat of the Tahoe in an attempt to hide from officers, the affidavit says. Upon searching the Tahoe, officers located a bag containing approximately 527 grams of marijuana and a bag containing approximately 71 grams of concentrated marijuana, made for vaping, between the second and third row seats on the floorboard. Additionally, the affidavit says, officers located were two bags of marijuana under the cup holder next to the third row seat where Lewis was lying. Each of these two bags contained in excess of 500 grams. Officers also located approximately 170 grams of methamphetamine in the center console area under the front tray.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.
Coconut Grove Woman Indicted for Selling Counterfeit Merchandise out of her Residence, Bankruptcy Fraud, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
A Coconut Grove woman is charged with trafficking in counterfeit merchandise, bankruptcy fraud, and money laundering.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Tatiana F. Tascon, 40, of Coconut Grove, was charged by indictment with three counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2320(a)(1); two counts of bankruptcy fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 152(1) and 152(2); and forty-five counts of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i). The defendant had her initial appearance today before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White, in Miami.
As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, the defendant trafficked in counterfeit goods, including high-end designer handbags, wallets and watches, out of a showroom in her Coconut Grove residence. While trafficking in counterfeit goods, the defendant filed for and was ultimately granted Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. In her bankruptcy filings the defendant failed to report that she had earned over $700,000 from her illicit counterfeit goods business. The defendant laundered the earnings from her illegal business through the bank accounts of third parties.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Emery, Daya Nathan, and Eloisa Fernandez.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Coalgate Man Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JOHN RICHARD FLOURNOY, age 47, of Coalgate, Oklahoma, pled guilty to THEFT OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641 and a FORFEITURE ALLEGATION.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. The defendant was indicted in December 2015.
The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about February, 2011, and continuing until on or about December 23, 2013, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did willfully and knowingly steal and purloin money of the Social Security Administration, a department or agency of the United States, namely, Social Security Administration Supplemental Security Income payments to which he knew he was not entitled, having a value in excess of $1,000.00.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion.
Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States.
Clarksburg, WV man convicted of heroin traffickingRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Randy Joe Jones, 32, of Clarksburg, was convicted of heroin trafficking today in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Jones sold heroin near Harrison Street Park in Harrison County, West Virginia. He pled guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Heroin Within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location.” He faces between one and forty years in prison and a fine of up to $4,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to More than Six Years in Prison for Being an Unlawful Drug User in Possession of a HandgunRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a loaded handgun in July 2015, then used a different handgun to rob a pizza delivery driver later the same year, was sentenced yesterday to more than six years in federal prison. Treshawn Smith, age 19, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 31, 2015 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.
In a plea agreement, Smith admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana in 2015. On July 10, 2015, officers encountered Smith on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids. The officers saw Smith throw an object on the ground and when they investigated, they discovered it was a loaded .38 caliber handgun. Smith admitted having handled the firearm. At his sentencing hearing on January 21, 2016, the government presented evidence that on December 16, 2015, Smith used another handgun to rob a pizza delivery driver. When the driver and his companion attempted to follow him, Smith turned and fired one shot at them.
Smith was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Smith was sentenced to 81 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Smith is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 15-CR-0081-LRR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Carmel investor found guilty in Fraud schemeRead the Press Release
Indianapolis –United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today that Jamie C. Lopez, 41, Carmel, was found guilty of 66 counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering after a four-day jury trial before U. S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
“Stealing from retirement accounts to fund a gratuitous lifestyle is about as low as you can go. The greed of these defendants continues to shock me,” said Minkler. “Hopefully word will get out that the consequences of greed include being hit with the hammer of the federal judicial system.”
Lopez was a financial advisor who conducted business from his home in Carmel. He created various business names, JCL Interest Plus, JCL Capital Inc. and JCL Directs (JCL Entities) to direct funds from the unsuspecting investors. From January 2010-until June 2012, Lopez convinced investors to transfer their Individual Retirement Accounts to self-directed accounts. Lopez would then transfer the money into JCL Entities under his control.
Lopez solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars telling investors he had reinvested the money by loaning it to outside businesses, purchasing corporate bonds and notes or investing in real estate. Additional funds were used by Lopez to pay interest on promissory notes issued to the investors. Later the investors were issued new promissory notes for a longer term of investment and at a much lower rate of interest. Lopez never invested the money as promised, rather spending the money on the purchase of automobiles, home mortgage payments and home landscaping.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division.
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, James D. Robnett stated, “Today, justice is being served, Mr. Lopez is being held accountable for his criminal business practices. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to aggressively pursue those, like Mr. Lopez, who defraud and steal from honest, hardworking Americans.”
“Lopez was not registered to sell securities with my office, which is the number one red flag of fraud,” said Secretary of State Connie Lawson. “Instead of operating as a licensed professional, he preyed on people he knew through church and took advantage of their trust. I hope this case serves as a warning to others to always check with my office before making an investment.”
According to Assistant United States Attorney James M. Warden, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Lopez could face up to 20 years on each count of wire fraud, 10 years for money laundering and 20 years for securities fraud.
No future sentencing date has been set.
California Man Sentenced in Federal Court on Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
A California man was recently sentenced to federal prison on methamphetamine charges, James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
On January 21, 2016, Edsgardo Ambriz-Lopez, 24, of East Alto Paso, California, was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment, five years’ supervised release following his imprisonment, and was fined $350. Ambriz-Lopez had previously pleaded guilty to seven counts in a federal indictment.
Count 1 charged that from on or about November 2013, until on or about December 2014, in Williamson County, Illinois, Marion County, Illinois, the State of California, and elsewhere, Ambriz-Lopez knowingly conspired and agreed with others to distribute methamphetamine. Counts 13, 14, 16, and 17 charged that Ambriz-Lopez knowingly and intentionally distributed methamphetamine. Count 15 charged that Ambriz-Lopez knowingly and intentionally distributed heroin. Count 18 charged Ambriz-Lopez with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Illinois State Police, and the Internal Revenue Service.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.
Belarus Native Involved in Credit Card Processing for ‘Scareware’ Scheme Extradited from AustriaRead the Press Release
A 35-year-old citizen of Belarus will appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle today following his arrest last year in Vienna, Austria and extradition to the Western District of Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. ALEXANDER MIHAILOVSKI was indicted in August 2012 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, accessing a protected computer in furtherance of fraud, and intentional damage to a protected computer. MIHAILOVSKI will make an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John L. Weinberg.
“This defendant has now learned the hard lesson that so many other cyber criminals have had to confront: engaging in cybercrime from another country is not an effective shield from being held to account,” said United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “This defendant made his initial appearance today because we worked diligently with our law enforcement partners around the world to identify and extradite him. Like others who have committed crimes in our district, this defendant will have his day in court subject to all the protections our criminal justice system provides. But if found guilty, he will be held responsible for the very real harm he caused to the victims of his scam.”
According to the indictment, MIHAILOVSKI operated a credit card payment processing company called Mystique Enterprises LTD, doing business as PSBILL. MIHAILOVSKI and his company were part of an international cybercrime ring that netted $71 million by infecting victims’ computers with “scareware” and selling rogue antivirus software that was supposed to secure victims’ computers but was, in fact, useless.
The prosecution of MIHAILOVSKI is part of Operation Trident Tribunal, a coordinated enforcement action targeting international cybercrime rings that caused more than $71 million in total losses to more than one million computer users through the sale of fraudulent computer security software known as “scareware.” Scareware is malicious software that poses as legitimate computer security software and purports to detect a variety of threats on the affected computer that do not actually exist. Users are then informed they must purchase what they are told is anti-virus software in order to repair their computers. The users are then barraged with aggressive and disruptive notifications until they supply their credit card number and pay for the “anti-virus” product, which is, in fact, fake.
The scareware scheme used a variety of ruses to trick consumers into unknowingly infecting their computers with the malicious scareware products, including web pages featuring fake computer scans. Once the scareware was downloaded, victims were notified that their computers were infected with a range of malicious software, such as viruses and Trojans and badgered into purchasing the fake antivirus software to resolve the non-existent problem at a cost of up to $129. An estimated 960,000 users were victimized by this scareware scheme, leading to $71 million in actual losses.
MIHAILOVSKI is the second foreign national prosecuted in the scheme. In December 2012, Mikael Patrick Sallnert, 40, a citizen of Sweden, was sentenced to four years in prison and was ordered to pay $650,000 in forfeiture. Sallnert also served as a credit card payment processor for the crime ring.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Seattle Division Cyber Task Force and other FBI entities. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barbosa. Substantial assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Critical assistance in the investigation was provided by the Security Service of Ukraine, German Federal Criminal Police, Netherlands National High-Tech Crime Unit, London Metropolitan Police, Latvian State Police, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, Swedish National Police Cyber Unit, French Police Judiciare, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Romania’s Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, Cyprus National Police in cooperation with the Unit for Combating Money Laundering, the Danish National Police, and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice.
To avoid falling victim to a scareware scheme, computer users should avoid purchasing computer security products that use unsolicited “free computer scans” to sell their products. It is also important for users to protect their computers by maintaining an updated operating system and using legitimate, up-to-date antivirus software, which can detect and remove fraudulent scareware products.
Computer users who think they have been victimized by scareware should file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov.
Assessment of the Seattle Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability Filed with CourtRead the Press Release
SEATTLE – The assessment of the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) was filed with the Court today. The assessment constitutes the sixth – of 15 total – formal assessments by the Federal Monitor overseeing whether SPD is complying with the specific requirements and overall goals of the consent decree. The assessment examined the intake of complaints, and investigations of officer misconduct.
The previous five assessments – which can be found here and here – related to SPD’s use of force reporting investigations and found that, with respect to four of them, SPD was in “initial compliance” with the requirements of the consent decree. The assessment filed today was not designed to evaluate compliance with specific terms of the consent decree. Rather, it sought to provide information that would guide (1) revisions to two OPA policies and the OPA Training and Operations Manual (filed with the Court this week), and (2) the process currently underway for evaluating proposals to improve the civilian oversight and accountability system.
“At the heart of this assessment is a core goal of reform: ensuring that complaints about officer misconduct are handled transparently, expeditiously, and with integrity,” said Annette L. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. “This assessment has already informed changes to the way OPA works, and will be critical in further refining how civilian oversight works in Seattle.”
The civilian-led OPA conducts SPD’s complaint-driven administrative investigations of officer misconduct. The OPA assessment specifically evaluated the effectiveness of three areas of these administrative investigations: (1) the design of the process and protocols; (2) the adjudication/review phase; and (3) the investigations themselves.
The Monitor concluded, as to design of the process, that SPD’s complaint investigation process is “exceptionally strong and very well structured.” The Monitor noted that the process requires extensive documentation and redundancy from intake to follow-up to case summary to case completion with internal and external transparency built into the structure. The Monitor also noted that the classifications and findings systems that the Department of Justice – and many community members – concluded were too complex and undermined credibility have been streamlined.
With respect to the effectiveness of adjudication and review, the Monitor concluded that the “back-end” review phase is “among the strongest we have seen,” noting significant advances since DOJ concluded in its investigation in 2011 that OPA overused and misused a now-defunct remediation of “Supervisory Intervention” to dispose of serious complaints.
In the third area of review – the strength of the investigations themselves – the Monitor found the quality of 86 percent of OPA’s investigations are either adequate or superior. To the extent there were inadequate investigations that did not establish sufficient information to support an evidence-based evaluation of an incident, the Monitor identified three areas: (1) the quality and consistency of interviews; (2) the timeliness of interviews; and (3) those investigations that raise potential criminal or terminable offenses (such as false statements). The full OPA assessment is attached below.
Upcoming Assessments
The Monitor’s assessment of Public Confidence and Trust in the Seattle Police Department will be filed next week. That assessment evaluates SPD efforts at promoting public confidence in SPD, its officers, and the services SPD delivers.
The next assessment to be filed will address crisis-intervention and the dispatching of crisis-trained officers. Also filed in February will be an assessment of the Early Intervention System. In March, assessments relating to supervisors, stops and detentions, and three use of force-related assessments covering officer uses of force, use of force data and officer activity level will be filed.
###
Arlington Career Criminal Sentenced for Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Arlington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for selling heroin mixed with fentanyl which creates a toxic mixture substantially more potent, and more dangerous, than heroin alone.
Yrvens Bain, 42, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Bain was convicted by a federal jury in October 2015 of distribution of heroin, possession with the intent to distribute heroin and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
In February 2014, an investigation of Bain began after it was suspected that he sold the heroin involved in two suspected overdose deaths in Arlington. Federal agents identified Bain as a long-time drug dealer who had been convicted of drug trafficking and firearm offenses on several occasions.
“Heroin laced with fentanyl is literally killing members of our communities,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “Targeting those who pedal this deadly combination is an essential part of attacking the opioid addition crisis in Massachusetts and beyond.”
“Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels in Massachusetts and throughout New England,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “Fentanyl and heroin are causing overdose deaths across the Commonwealth in record numbers, and DEA is committed to bring to justice those that distribute these lethal drugs. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement efforts in Massachusetts to aggressively pursue anyone who traffics these drugs.”
Bain was on probation for a state drug dealing and firearm conviction when federal agents recorded him selling heroin mixed with fentanyl to a cooperating witness on Feb. 26, 2014 and March 21, 2014, in Waltham and Malden, respectively.
On April 1, 2014, agents arrested Bain as he left his residence on Laurel Street in Malden. They had to take him to a nearby hospital after he swallowed heroin during the arrest. A search warrant subsequently executed at the Laurel Street residence led to the seizure of a HiPoint .45 caliber firearm with an obliterated serial number, over 26 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl and thousands of dollars, including $100 of money used by a cooperating witness to purchase heroin from Bain in March 2014. Agents also seized drug paraphernalia including plastic baggies, plastic gloves and a digital scale used to weigh and package drugs for street-level sales.
This case was prosecuted as part of the federal response to New England’s opioid crisis. A substantial increase in the purity of heroin in recent years, as well as a reduction in its price, have persuaded many individuals addicted to prescription medication to switch to heroin. Overdoses from heroin have climbed substantially as a result. Between 2000 and 2014, opioid overdose deaths have more than tripled with a spike in recent years in Massachusetts.
This case was investigated by a Task Force comprised of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; the Massachusetts State Police; the Arlington, Boston, Ipswich, and Somerville Police Departments; and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Significant assistance was also provided the Malden Police Department and the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz and DEA SAC Ferguson made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Criminal Division.
Arizona Man Charged with Violating Federal Narcotics Trafficking Laws in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Earlier today a federal magistrate judge found that there was probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Sergio Marin Ambriz, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., with violating the federal narcotics trafficking laws. Ambriz was released to a half-way house under conditions of release and pretrial supervision pending trial.
Ambriz was arrested on Jan. 20, 2016, and was charged in criminal complaint with a heroin trafficking offense after the DEA seized approximately 1.90 kilograms (4.18 pounds) of heroin from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The heroin was contained in three bundles that were concealed inside a pair of jeans in Ambriz’s luggage.
If convicted of the offense against him, Ambriz faces a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. The charges against Ambriz are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Anchorage Man Sentenced for Being A Felon in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that, on Jan. 21, 2016, an Anchorage man was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to serve 46 months in prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
Christopher Haynes, 26, of Anchorage, Alaska, previously pled guilty to jointly possessing several firearms at the scene of a “home invasion” shooting on Jan. 27, 2015. Haynes, a felon, was prohibited from possessing firearms at the time of the incident.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank V. Russo, who handled the sentencing hearing, the Anchorage Police Department was called to the scene of a “home-invasion” shooting on Jan. 26, 2015, at an apartment in Anchorage. The defendant was present at the address, along with his girlfriend, his brother Christian Haynes, his brother’s fiancée, Krystal Hawk, and several children. Christian Haynes and Krystal Hawk died from gunshot wounds inflicted by the assailants, who fired into the apartment after forcing in the door, which had been barricaded. The defendant, his girlfriend, and the children escaped injury. When officers searched the residence, they seized five firearms, including three 9 mm pistols and two assault rifles. One of the firearms was found in the defendant’s bedroom.
The double murder was the last in a string of three shootings that began on Jan. 24, 2015, with a home invasion of Christian Haynes’ residence located on Reka Drive in Anchorage. During that shooting, assailants forced their way into the residence, fired numerous shots, and kicked a six-year old child in the face. Later that same evening, a “drive-by” shooting took place on San Roberto Avenue in Anchorage, in an apparent retaliation for the first shooting. In that shooting, a little girl in an adjacent apartment was grazed by a bullet. A vehicle matching the description of Christian Haynes’ truck was seen leaving the area. Ballistic evidence recovered at that scene matched two of the firearms recovered from the defendant’s residence, where Christian Haynes went to stay after his house was attacked.
Currently, Michael Reynold is under indictment by the State of Alaska for the murders of Christian Haynes and Krystal Hawk. Reynold is charged in a related case in federal court, which alleges that he and 11 other co-defendants are part of the “Fairview MOB,” which is affiliated with the Bloods street gang. The FBI and Anchorage Police Department continue to investigate both the activities of the Fairview MOB and the homicides and related shootings. Anyone with information on these cases can call the FBI at (907) 276-4441 or Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP.
During Christopher Haynes’ sentencing hearing, Judge Burgess noted that the defendant had in some respects been punished already due to the death of his family members; however, he acknowledged the “atypical” nature of the case, given the deaths and string of shootings. Judge Burgess noted the consequences of this case are the very reasons that felons are prohibited from possessing firearms in the first place: because when felons possess firearms “bad things can happen.” Because of the seriousness of the offense, Judge Burgess imposed the 46-month sentence instead of the two-year sentence requested by the defendant.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Loeffler commended the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD), who investigated the case, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage, which has assigned a prosecutor to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address gang crimes.
Amarillo Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Federal Prison on Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
AMARILLO, Texas — Alexander Jimenez, III, of Amarillo, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 240 months (20 years) in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2015 to one count of receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Following the sentencing, Judge Robinson remanded Jimenez, 28, into custody.
According to documents filed in the case, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Amarillo Police Department began the investigation after APD received information that an individual, later identified as Jimenez, had uploaded images of child pornography.
In early February 2014, a search warrant was executed at Jimenez’s residence and a laptop computer, located in Jimenez’s bedroom, was seized. A forensic analysis of that computer revealed that it contained approximately 4,389 images, and 291 videos, of child pornography.
Jimenez admitted using the computer to receive, trade and view child pornography. He admitted sharing more than 1,000 files of child pornography on the Internet.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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 sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted the case.
# # #
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Narcotics Trafficking LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Romero, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to methamphetamine and heroin trafficking charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Romero and his co-defendant Phillip Barrios, 37, also of Albuquerque, were arrested in Jan. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging them with possession of heroin and methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, Romero and Barrios attempted to sell approximately 64 grams of methamphetamine and 200 grams of heroin to undercover law enforcement agents on Jan. 28, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Romero pled guilty to a felony information charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and heroin. In entering his guilty plea, Romero admitted that on Jan. 28, 2015, he provided methamphetamine and heroin to Barrios with the knowledge that Barrios intended to distribute to other individuals who unbeknownst to them, were undercover New Mexico State Police officers. Romero admitted that he and Barrios sold 59.62 grams of actual methamphetamine and 237.7 grams of heroin to the undercover officers.
At sentencing, Romero faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Barrios previously pled guilty and was sentenced on Aug. 19, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
18 Months in Prison for Geneva Man Convicted of PerjuryRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Joseph Jenkins, 46, of Geneva, N.Y., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison in connection with his conviction for perjury, following a jury trial, on April 1, 2015. Jenkins was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and a special assessment of $100, and will serve a one year term of supervised release when released from prison.
The perjury conviction stemmed from Jenkins’ appearance in federal court in Syracuse, New York on October 4, 2011, before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew T. Baxter to answer child pornography charges. At his initial appearance, Jenkins completed a financial affidavit under penalty of perjury seeking court-appointed counsel. In the application for assigned counsel, Jenkins failed to disclose his ownership of investment and bank accounts worth over $200,000 and concealed his ownership of boats and recreational vehicles. As a result, Jenkins was appointed an attorney paid for by the Court. Jenkins had an assigned lawyer for nearly a year before prosecutors learned of his false statements about his assets and notified the court. Subsequently, the defendant was found ineligible for assigned counsel and was ordered to reimburse the United States District Court $8,049.12.
With respect to his charges of transportation and possession of over 3,800 images and 100 videos of child pornography, Jenkins was convicted on February 6, 2014, following a jury trial and was sentenced on November 18, 2014, to a term of imprisonment of 225 months, a fine of $40,000, and was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. The term of incarceration imposed today on the perjury conviction will run consecutively to his sentence for the child pornography offenses.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Thomson.
21 January 2016
Vallejo Resident Charged with Methamphetamine PossessionRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Lino Jimenez, 34, of Vallejo, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on November 13, 2015, Jimenez possessed over five pounds of methamphetamine for sale in a storage locker in Vallejo.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Napa Special Investigations Bureau. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.
Jimenez is in custody. He is scheduled to be arraigned on January 25, 2016.
If convicted, Jimenez faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Vallejo Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Multiyear, Multistate Bank Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Deshawn A. Ray, 43, of Vallejo, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 12 years and one month in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to evidence presented at trial, from March 2008 until July 2010, Ray and co-conspirator Reginald L. Thomas conducted a multistate “account takeover” scheme that identified high-value accounts at several banks. Members of the conspiracy used the personal information of high-value account holders to open joint accounts in the names of the high-value account holders and co-conspirators. The defendants also changed the contact information so that the account holders would not receive notice of account activity. The defendants then transferred funds from the high-value accounts to the joint accounts and then to individual accounts held by members of the conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy—many of whom Ray recruited and supervised—withdrew the proceeds of the fraudulent transfers in cash, cashiers’ checks or wire transfers before the transfers were noticed by the banks and reversed.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, the Pinellas County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, and the Walnut Creek (California) Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew G. Morris and Brian A. Fogerty prosecuted the case.
Co-defendant Reginald L. Thomas, 40, of Richmond, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to serve three years and nine months in prison. Co-defendant Damion Edgerson, 40, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison. Co-defendant Tiffany Tung, 27, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe as a bank employee. Tung was sentenced to a two-year term of probation.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Trading Classified Information in International Fraud and Bribery ScandalRead the Press Release
A U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for accepting cash, consumer electronics and travel expenses from foreign defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) in exchange for classified U.S. Navy information.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy of the Southern District of California, Special Agent in Charge Chris D. Hendrickson of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Western Field Office and Director Andrew Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) made the announcement.
In May 2014, Dan Layug, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and is the first defendant to be sentenced in the bribery scheme involving Singapore-based GDMA, which provided port services to U.S. Navy ships in the Asia Pacific region and used bribery to obtain information to win and maintain contracts.
According to court documents, GDMA owner and CEO Leonard Francis and other GDMA employees enlisted the clandestine assistance of Layug and other U.S. Navy personnel to provide classified ship schedules and other sensitive Navy information. GDMA allegedly overcharged the Navy under its contracts and submitted bogus invoices for tens of millions of dollars in port services.
In his plea agreement, Layug admitted that he accepted a $1,000 per month allowance from GDMA, plus luxury hotel stays for himself and others in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Layug also admitted that he sought consumer electronics from GDMA, including an iPad 3. According to the plea agreement, Layug used his position as a logistics specialist at a U.S. Navy facility in Yokosuka, Japan, to gain access to classified U.S. Navy ship schedules, then provided this information to GDMA’s vice president of global operations. Layug admitted that he also provided pricing information from one of GDMA’s competitors.
So far, nine individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme; of those, seven have pleaded guilty. Captain Daniel Dusek and Commander Jose Luis Sanchez were charged with bribery conspiracies involving GDMA and have pleaded guilty. Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz and former Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employee Paul Simpkins currently await trial. On Dec. 17, 2013, NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges for regularly alerting Francis to the status of the government’s investigation into GDMA.
The NCIS, the DCIS and the Defense Contract Audit Agency are conducting the ongoing investigation. Trial Attorneys Brian Young and Lawrence Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.
Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DoD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Trading Classified Information for Cash and iPads; He is the First to be Sentenced in Colossal International Fraud and Bribery ScandalRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher (619) 546-9714
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – January 21, 2016
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for accepting cash, consumer electronics and travel expenses from foreign defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia in exchange for classified U.S. Navy information.
Layug, who pleaded guilty in May 2014 to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery, is the first defendant to be sentenced in the alleged bribery scheme involving Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), which provided port services to U.S. Navy ships in the Asia Pacific region and used information obtained through bribery to win and maintain contracts.
During today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino told the defendant that he had repeatedly betrayed the trust his country placed in him. “You put the Navy at risk. You put your colleagues at risk. And you put our country at risk…I think our security and safety were all at risk.”
Rear Admiral Jonathan A. Yuen, chief of Navy Supply Corps and Commander of Naval Supply Systems Command, testified during today’s hearing about the impact of Layug’s crime on the Navy. “I am very disappointed to learn that he admitted to receiving cash payments and electronic equipment in exchange for information concerning the movements of our ships. I do not have the words to express the depth of the betrayal such an exchange represents in contrast to the service and sacrifice that supply officers and sailors around the world perform every day. Every one of us in uniform owes the nation we serve our unswerving loyalty. Whatever the dollar value of the money and things Layug illicitly received, no amount of money is worth betraying our nation, our Navy or our shipmates.”
“In return for a monthly cash allowance, the latest gadgets and luxury accommodations for himself and his friends, the defendant betrayed the country that had given him every opportunity,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “Layug essentially sold his honor for an iPad 3, and in doing so he put the U.S. Navy at risk of embarrassment, exploitation, attack or worse. Today’s sentence is the first of many that we hope will remind others to resist temptation.”
“Today's sentencing of Chief Petty Officer Daniel Layug is yet another example of the continued dedication by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and its law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those individuals who would abuse their positions of trust within the Department of Defense,” said Chris D. Hendrickson, Special Agent In Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Western Field Office. “The conduct of Chief Petty Officer Layug is reprehensible and deeply troubling. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service will continue to investigate and seek to prosecute any individual, regardless of position, who would put our mission of Protecting America's Warfighters at risk.”
“Petty Officer Layug intentionally traded the safety and security of Sailors and Marines aboard ships for cash and expensive gifts, betraying the longstanding trust among those who serve the Navy and the nation, said NCIS Director Andrew Traver. NCIS initially discovered this criminal activity and we will continue to work with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office in vigorously investigating and prosecuting these crimes of corruption and fraud.”
So far, nine people have been charged; of those seven have pleaded guilty. Two are awaiting trial, including Commander Michael Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz and former Department of Defense civilian employee Paul Simpkins. Layug was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on April 1.
According to court documents, GDMA owner and CEO Leonard Francis and other GDMA employees enlisted the clandestine assistance of Layug and other U.S. Navy personnel - including Captain Daniel Dusek, Commander Misiewicz, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez and Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent John Beliveau - to provide classified ship schedules and other sensitive Navy information. In total, GDMA allegedly overcharged the Navy under its contracts and submitted bogus invoices for tens of millions of dollars in port services.
In his plea agreement, Layug, 27, admitted that he accepted a $1,000 a month allowance from GDMA, plus luxury hotel stays for himself and others in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand. He also admitted asking GDMA for numerous electronics gadgets, including an iPad 3, a Nikon digital camera, a Blackberry, a VAIO computer, a PSP gaming unit and a Wii gaming unit.
According to the plea agreement, Layug worked secretly on behalf of GDMA, using his position as a logistics specialist at a U.S. Navy facility in Yokosuka, Japan, to gain access to classified U.S. Navy ship schedules and then provided this information to GDMA’s vice president of global operations. Layug admitted he also provided pricing information from one of GDMA’s competitors.
In return, GDMA gave Layug envelopes of cash on a regular basis, the plea agreement said. On May 21, 2012, GDMA’s vice president of global operations instructed a GDMA accountant that “at the end of each month, we will be providing an allowance to Mr. Dan Layug. Total of US $1,000. You may pay him the equivalent in Yen. He will come by the office at the end of each month to see you.”
According to the plea agreement, Layug sought consumer electronics from GDMA. In an email on March 9, 2012, Layug asked the vice president of global operations, “What are the chances of getting the new iPad 3? Please let me know.” In the plea agreement, Layug admitted that GDMA then provided him with an iPad 3.
In another email exchange on May 28, 2013, Layug asked the vice president of global operations for a “bucket list” of items including a high end camera, an iPhone5 cellular phone, a Samsung S4 cellular phone, and an Ipad Mini. Shortly after sending his “bucket list” to the vice president of global operations, Layug stated in an email that “the camera is awesome bro! Thanks a lot! Been a while since I had a new gadget!”
Francis was previously charged with conspiring to bribe U.S. Navy officials.
Three other senior Navy officials – Dusek, Misiewicz and Sanchez – have been charged separately with bribery conspiracies involving GDMA. Dusek and Sanchez have pleaded guilty. On December 17, 2013, Special Agent Beliveau II, has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges for regularly tipping off Francis to the status of the government’s investigation into GDMA.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by NCIS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Southern District of California and Trial Attorneys Brian Young and Lawrence Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14mj1402
Dan Layug Yokosuka, Japan
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
Maximum of 5 years in prison; a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Defense Contract Audit Agency
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida Hosts Community Resilience Forum to Prevent and Combat CrimeRead the Press Release
This afternoon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida hosted a community resilience forum that enabled members of law enforcement, concerned citizens and dozens of local leaders to discuss the immeasurable importance of citizen and law enforcement collaboration, in order to combat crime.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade County State Attorney, Ari Sharpira, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Juan Perez, Acting Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, and Kareem Shora, Senior Policy Advisor and Chief of Community Engagement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, made the announcement.
Law enforcement strives to combat internal and external national security threats, violent crime, firearms trafficking, gangs, illegal firearms purchases, gun violence, hate crimes, and acts of intimidation. It is the duty of all law enforcement personnel to protect the community from danger. Community policing is an avenue by which law enforcement can work toward crime prevention and detection. However, law enforcement’s ability to thwart, identify and prosecute these pervasive crimes requires community collaboration. It is imperative that the community report criminal activity to law enforcement, take a stance against violence and illegal gun possession, and protect themselves from potential harm by strengthening the security of their person, residence and places of worship. A community’s resilience depends on the fused forces of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners and the voices of our citizens.
In order to continue this important dialogue and allow for substantive problem solving sessions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will host future community resilience forums.
Mr. Ferrer commends the collective efforts of the State Attorney’s Office, FBI, ATF, MDPD, City of Miami Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, concerned citizens, and local leaders to combat criminal conduct and support the resilience of our communities. To learn more about the partnership to combat violence and support community initiatives, please contact (305) 961-9134 or visit [email protected].
Two Topeka Men Sentenced for Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two Topeka, Kan., men have been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms.
Eric L. Price, 25, and Cortez T. Timley, 26, both of Topeka, were sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Price was sentenced to nine years and two months in federal prison without parole. Timley was sentenced to six years and eight months in federal prison without parole.
Price pleaded guilty on April 28, 2015, to being a felon in possession of firearms. Price admitted that he was in possession of a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun , a Romanian Arms 7.62-caliber rifle, a Beretta 9mm pistol and a Masterpiece Arms 9mm pistol on June 13, 2014.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Price has prior felony convictions for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault and battery.
Timley pleaded guilty on April 28, 2015, to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Timley admitted that he and Price were passengers in a vehicle on June 13, 2014, and were in possession of the firearms to protect their drug supply. Timley also admitted that there was a quantity of marijuana in the trunk of the vehicle, which they intended to sell to another person.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the FBI, the Topeka, Kan., Police Department and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
Two Burlington County, New Jersey, Men Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Their Roles in South Jersey Bank Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - Two Burlington County men who teamed up to rob multiple South Jersey banks between September 2013 and January 2014 were both sentenced today to 108 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Shalir Hall, 22, of Edgewater Park, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to an information charging him with nine counts of bank robbery. David Glenn, 24, of Burlington Township, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Simandle to an information charging him with seven counts of bank robbery. Judge Simandle imposed both sentences today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Hall and Glenn robbed the following New Jersey banks on the dates set forth below:
Bank
Location
Date
Participants
Beneficial Savings Bank
Willingboro
Sept. 27, 2013
Hall
Beneficial Savings Bank
Willingboro
Nov. 14, 2013
Hall, Glenn
Beneficial Savings Bank
Willingboro
Nov. 26, 2013
Hall, Glenn
PNC Bank
Mount Laurel
Nov. 29, 2013
Hall, Glenn
3rd National Bank
Delran
Dec. 12, 2013
Hall, Glenn
Roma Bank
Delran
Dec. 12, 2013
Hall, Glenn
Columbia Savings Bank
Maple Shade
Dec. 17, 2013
Hall
TD Bank
Bellmawr
Jan. 8, 2014
Hall, Glenn
PNC Bank
East Windsor
Jan. 8, 2014
Hall, Glenn
Hall robbed the Beneficial Savings Bank in Willingboro on Sept. 27, 2013, by threatening and intimidating bank employees, demanding money and then fleeing the bank. Hall then joined forces with Glenn, and the two went on to commit seven additional robberies in New Jersey – taking turns alternating between going into the banks and staying in the getaway vehicle. Hall committed the Dec.17, 2013 robbery of Columbia Savings Bank on his own.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Simandle sentenced both Hall and Glenn to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agents in Charge Richard M. Frankel and William F. Sweeney Jr. in Newark and Philadelphia, respectively, with the investigation leading to the sentences.
He also credited the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the Burlington County Prosecutor=s Office; the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department Warrant Unit; and the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force; as well as the East Windsor Township Police Department, Willingboro Police Department, Maple Shade Police Department, Delran Township Police Department, Mount Laurel Police Department, Philadelphia Police Department and the Hazelton, Pennsylvania Police Department for their work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig of the U.S. Attorney=s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel:
Hall: Gina A. Capuano, Esquire, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Glenn: Lisa Evans Lewis Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden
Tulalip Tribal Member Convicted of Assault, Witness Tampering and Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
An enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of seven charges involving his repeated assault of an intimate partner, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Following a six day jury trial, BRIAN H. JONES, SR., 46, of Tulalip and Marysville, Washington, was convicted of assault by strangulation, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, witness tampering, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. The jury deliberated six hours before returning its verdicts. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled sentencing for May 6, 2015.
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, JONES assaulted both his ex-wife and her then-current husband in December 2014, holding them at gun point. In April 2015, JONES assaulted his ex-wife a second time, strangling her and beating her. Medical records indicate JONES’ ex-wife suffered injuries to her head, arms, and legs, and throat trauma. Following his arrest in both assaults, records reveal JONES repeatedly contacted his ex-wife and convinced her to refuse to testify in a tribal court trial, as well as to seek a dismissal of the federal charges or recant in federal court. Prosecutors used evidence including the ex-wife’s prior sworn statements, medical records, and other witness statements to prove JONES’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
JONES is also a felon having been previously convicted of a state felony crime, and is thus prohibited from possessing firearms.
JONES has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 3, 2015.
JONES faces up to twenty years in prison for each of the crimes of assault by strangulation, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, and witness tampering. He faces a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison consecutive to the other sentences for assault with a deadly weapon. JONES also faces up to ten years in prison for the crime of felon in possession.
The case was investigated by the Tulalip Tribal Police and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ye-Ting Woo and J. Tate London.
Topsham Couple Pleads Guilty to Diverting Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
Contact: Halsey B. Frank
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Thomas Gerken, 63, and Jill Gerken, 63, of Topsham, Maine, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) by diverting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. SSI benefits are paid to people who are blind, disabled or elderly and whose income is below specified levels and are to be used to pay for the needs of the beneficiary.
According to court records, the defendants are the parents of two disabled children. In 2004, on the basis of those disabilities, the defendants applied for and were granted SSI benefits for the children. Jill Gerken was designated as the representative payee for each child. As such, she was required to use the funds for their benefit, to annually account for her expenditure of the funds, and to periodically submit information to SSA to allow SSA to determine whether the children remained eligible for benefits.Between January 2007 and July 2013, during a period of time that the children resided on a full-time basis at an assisted living facility, the defendants diverted about $108,000 of the SSI benefits and used them to pay for household expenses, including, but not limited to, their mortgage, a home equity loan, utilities, groceries, travel, restaurant meals and books. Over that period of time, they also failed to pay the assisted living facility even though Jill Gerken falsely certified to SSA each year that she spent the SSI benefits on food and housing at the assisted living facility.
The defendants face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They will be sentenced after completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the SSA, Office of Inspector General.Toledo hospital agrees to improve access and services to those who are deaf or hard of hearingRead the Press Release
The ProMedica Toledo Hospital will revise its policies and procedures that ensure that patients or companions who are deaf or hard of hearing receive auxiliary aids and services to obtain effective communication during treatment, as well as train its staff on effective communication as required by Americans with Disabilities Act, said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach.
ProMedica entered into the settlement to resolve an investigation pursuant to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. This hospital will also pay $10,000 to the complainant and $5,000 to the United States in a civil penalty.
“This settlement will ensure greater access to health care for those who are deaf or hard of hearing,” Dettelbach said. “Whether it is at arenas or apartment buildings or at health-care facilities, we will continue to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has improved the lives of countless Americans.”
The investigation began with a complaint made to the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleging that ProMedica Toledo Hospital violated the ADA by failing to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including sign language interpreter services, to a patient who is deaf during critical interactions relating to the complainant’s medical care.
The complaint also included an allegation of retaliation when ProMedica’s Center for Women’s Health allegedly refused services to the complainant’s minor daughter during the course of the United States’ investigation.
Ensuring that medical care providers do not discriminate on the basis of disability is an issue of general public importance. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is authorized to investigate allegations of violations of the ADA and takes complaints from the public. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has the authority to, where appropriate, negotiate and secure voluntary compliance agreements, and to bring civil actions enforcing title III of the ADA should it fail to secure voluntary compliance.
A medical care facility that is a private, non-profit corporation, licensed by the State of Ohio is a “public accommodation” within the meaning of title III of the ADA. Under title III of the ADA, no person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation may discriminate against an individual on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation.
Three Indicted in East Texas/West LA Federal Kidnapping ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today the indictment of three individuals charged in a kidnapping conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas.
Cory Carnell Mitchell, 27, of Tenaha, Texas; Gary Eugene Cutright, 21, of Zwolle, LA; and Quannell Newton, 35, of Many, LA, were named in the three count indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury late Jan. 20, 2016.
According to the indictment, in early December 2015, Mitchell, Cutright, and Newton conspired to kidnap an individual and transport the victim from Louisiana to Carthage, Texas. The victim was shot twice during the kidnapping, but survived.
If convicted, the defendants each face up to life in federal prison for the kidnapping and a minimum of 10 years for the firearms violation.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigation Division. The U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lufkin Police Department, Nacogdoches Police Department, Center Police Department, Carthage Police Department, DeSoto Parrish Sheriff’s Department, Sabine Parrish Sheriff’s Department and the Panola County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the execution of the arrest warrants. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Hable.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Steve Casaus Ordered Detained Pending Trial on Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Steve Casaus, 43, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Casaus entered a not guilty plea and was ordered detained pending trial.
Casaus was charged in a criminal complaint on April 25, 2014, with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on April 21, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Casaus was arrested after Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers after they observed what they believed to be a drug deal, and based on an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear on a pending state court case. At the time of his arrest, Casaus allegedly was possession of $20,790.00 in cash, 1.3 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm with six rounds of ammunition in it.
Casaus was subsequently indicted on June 11, 2014, and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on April 21, 2014, in Bernalillo County. Casaus was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions of disarming a peace officer, aggravated battery on a peace officer, trafficking by possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
The federal prosecution of Casaus was stayed during the pendency of unrelated state court proceedings. Casaus was arrested on the federal charge earlier today after he was transferred into federal custody from state custody.
If convicted of the offense against him, Casaus faces a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison. The charges against Casaus are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and APD. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh is prosecuting the case.
The case is being prosecuted as part of the federal “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior felony convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
Statement of U.S. Attorney John W. HuberRead the Press Release
“Like all who work in the criminal justice system, our hearts are heavy this week. We are deeply saddened by the loss of Officer Doug Barney and the serious injuries sustained by Officer Jon Richey. Our hearts are also full of gratitude for the heroic efforts of those who willingly risk their lives every day to keep our families and communities safe. We also want the families of our law enforcement officers to know we recognize how much they sacrifice on our behalf.
“Those of us involved in the criminal justice profession will join others in the coming weeks to review the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. Federal judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys make decisions on detention issues every day. In each of these cases, those involved take their duties seriously and use their best judgment in balancing competing interests. While it is valuable and necessary to assess what happened and identify ways we can all do our jobs better, hindsight is 20/20. We would all do things differently knowing what we now know.
“Our federal judges in Utah are thoughtful, careful, and have the best of intentions as they make difficult decisions. In this matter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not object to the judge’s ultimate pre-trial detention decision. Once we have had time to honor the two Unified Police Department officers and support their families, we intend to focus our energy on making sure we learn from this tragic situation.
“In the emotional aftermath of these shootings, may we remember there is only one person to blame – the fugitive who committed these heinous crimes.”
Statement by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on the departure of U.S. Attorney Steven DettelbachRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement on the departure of U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio:
“As the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Steven Dettelbach has been a consummate public servant, an exemplary leader and an outstanding law enforcement officer. During his time in office, Steven successfully negotiated a transformative reform agreement with the Cleveland Division of Police with emphasis on better use-of-force policies, more training, increased accountability and more robust community engagement. He assembled an innovative coalition of law enforcement and medical professionals to address his district’s opioid epidemic – an approach that became a national model. And he served as an invaluable member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Council under both me and my predecessor, Attorney General Eric Holder. I want to thank Steven for his dedicated service to Ohio and to the nation and I look forward to all that he will continue to achieve in the months and years to come.”
Statement by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on the Departure of Steven Dettelbach as the U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of OhioRead the Press Release
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement on the departure of U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio:
“As the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Steven Dettelbach has been a consummate public servant, an exemplary leader and an outstanding law enforcement officer. During his time in office, Steven successfully negotiated a transformative reform agreement with the Cleveland Division of Police with emphasis on better use-of-force policies, more training, increased accountability and more robust community engagement. He assembled an innovative coalition of law enforcement and medical professionals to address his district’s opioid epidemic – an approach that became a national model. And he served as an invaluable member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Council under both me and my predecessor, Attorney General Eric Holder. I want to thank Steven for his dedicated service to Ohio and to the nation and I look forward to all that he will continue to achieve in the months and years to come.”
Sex Offender Heads to Prison for Possession of Child Pornography…AgainRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 44-year-old sex offender has been ordered to federal prison for nearly 20 years for failing to register and for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Gamaliel Cortez-Mendoza, 44, of Laredo, pleaded guilty May 26, 2015.
Today, visiting Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ordered he serve 235 months and 120 months for the possession and failure to register convictions, respectively. The sentences will run concurrently. In handing down the sentence, Judge Jack statedthat people like the defendant create the market for child pornography and a lengthy sentence was necessary to protect the public based on his past conduct and inability to control himself. Cortez-Mendoza will be on supervised release for the rest of his life following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.
Cortez-Mendoza was arrested in January following an investigation by the Laredo Child Exploitation Task Force led by Homeland Security Investigations and the Webb County Sheriff's Office Cyber Crime Unit with assistance from the Laredo Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Marshals Service.
The Webb County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crime Unit learned that an individual living at Cortez-Mendoza’s address had been downloading child pornography. Investigators then executed search warrants on Cortez-Mendoza’s home and computers. Forensic analysis later revealed numerous videos and pictures depicting child pornography. Cortez-Mendoza admitted downloading and viewing the videos.
Cortez-Mendoza had previously been convicted in 2004 of possessing child pornography in Harris County and was also required to register as a sex offender.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa, was brought as part of as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Sentencing for January 19, 2016Read the Press Release
Rafael Alberto Gonzalez-Medina, 24, of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on January 19, 2016, for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien into the United States. Gonzalez-Medina was arrested in Gillette, Wyoming. He received time served, plus ten days, was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment, and is subject to deportation upon release from custody. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Seattle Woman Pleads Guilty to Counterfeiting ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA -- A resident of Seattle, Washington pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to make, deal, possess, pass, buy, sell, and transfer counterfeit currency both overseas and in the United States as well as to charges of dealing in counterfeit obligations or securities of the U.S. United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Jeremy J. Miller, a/k/a Sinner, who is now Kate Miller, 31, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Mark Hornak.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for May 5, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.. The law provides for a total sentence of 45 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service, U.S. Postal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Miller.
Scranton Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Receiving and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 43-year-old Scranton resident was sentenced today to 16 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion in Scranton for receiving and distributing child pornography and violating conditions of his supervised release.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Marc Accardi, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to the charge that was filed initially in a Criminal Information. Accardi admitted that he used a cell phone to download and distribute images of child pornography during March-May 2015. He also admitted committing the offense while on supervised release in connection with a prior criminal case.
The charge against Accardi resulted from an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.
Judge Mannion also ordered Accardi to pay $2,200 in restitution to victims of the child pornography offense. Accardi must also serve 10 years on supervised release following his prison sentence, register as a sex offender, undergo sex offender treatment, and comply with sex offender registration requirements.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
# # #
Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kay Lee, 27, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, from July 2014 through April 2015, Lee participated in a scheme that involved at least 500 unauthorized and counterfeit credit cards and debit cards, affecting at least 1,800 victims, and leading to an estimated loss of $186,000. The defendants stole or possessed stolen mail, created or received fraudulent credit and debit cards, and made fraudulent purchases totaling thousands of dollars using the cards at national retailers such as Target in various Sacramento-area locations.
According to the plea agreement, Lee altered one business’s check for over $1,700 and deposited it in her personal checking account, put a hold on a victim’s mail without that person’s permission, took over a victim’s Target store account using another victim’s identity, and proceeded to engage in further unauthorized purchases using that taken-over account. Finally, on one occasion in September 2014, Lee used one victim’s credit card account number to purchase over $1,000 in tires and related services for her car, while presenting a different victim’s identity as the purchaser.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case.
Lee remains in custody. Charges are pending against four co-defendants and a status conference is set for them on February 25, 2016. The charges against them are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lee is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley on April 7, 2016. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count, as well as a mandatory two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other prison sentence imposed, for the aggravated identity theft count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Sacramento Attorney Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, U.S. Chief District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced James Stewart Richards, 69, of West Sacramento, to two years in prison for tax evasion, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Richards is a member of the California and Hawaii bar organizations. Between 1994 and 2003, Richards owed federal income taxes totaling over $170,000, which he did not pay. Instead, he took steps to evade payment of some or all of the taxes he owed. He filed a false “Offer in Compromise” to the IRS that omitted bank accounts and six rental properties. He used a client trust account to hold his own assets. When alerted by the bank that the IRS was making inquiries about the account, Richards called the bank and asked that the bank provide no records to the IRS. He also withdrew $100,000 from the account in the form of cashier’s checks. Richards purchased a yacht that he registered and titled in a nominee’s name in order to conceal that asset from the IRS. He also made false statements about his assets to a bankruptcy court and to the IRS.
Noting that Richards is an attorney who took three semesters of tax courses in law school, Chief Judge England found that Richards employed a “sophisticated scheme” to hide assets from the IRS. Chief Judge England also noted that all attorneys know client trust accounts cannot be in the manner employed by Richards.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Nirav K. Desai prosecuted the case.
Roswell Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Juan Carlos Navarrete, 36, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 84 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal narcotics trafficking laws.
Navarrete was arrested on June 17, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with distributing methamphetamine in Chaves County, N.M. According to the complaint, Navarrete sold approximately two ounces of methamphetamine to a confidential source working with law enforcement on Aug. 19, 2014, and approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine to the same confidential source on Sept. 11, 2014.
On Aug. 17, 2015, Navarrete pled guilty to a felony information charging him with distributing methamphetamine and admitted that on Sept. 11, 2014, he sold approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine to an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was working with law enforcement.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy prosecuted the case.
The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Romanian National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Credit Card Skimming CaseRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Paul N. Batinas, 31, of Romania, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Batinas acknowledged that from June 2014 through his arrest in September 2015, he and several others installed skimming devices and cameras on Navy Federal Credit Union ATMs located throughout the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere. Batinas and his co-conspirators used these devices to capture the debit and credit card account numbers and PIN access codes of others, which they later used to make unauthorized withdrawals from the compromised accounts. Batinas and his co-conspirators accessed these accounts by re-encoding the account numbers onto other cards, such as gift cards, and using those cards and the associated PINs at ATMs belonging to other financial institutions. Batinas is responsible for compromising more than 3,700 debit and credit cards from which conspirators withdrew approximately $550,000.
Batinas was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 10, 2015, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, as well as a mandatory consecutive two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, when he is sentenced on April 28, 2016. The maximum and minimum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, 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 the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Kaitlin C. Gratton are prosecuting 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. 4:15cr63.
Rock Island Man to Serve Eight Years in Prison on Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
Rock Island, Ill. – U.S. District Judge Sara L. Darrow today sentenced Kenneth Russell, 34, of the 500 block of 6th Street, Rock Island, Ill., to serve 96 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Russell was also ordered to serve a one-year term of supervised release following his release from prison. Russell has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since May 2015, when the grand jury returned the single count indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On Sept. 24, 2015, Russell entered a plea of guilty to possession of a 9mm handgun in Rock Island on Apr. 15, 2015. At the time Russell possessed the handgun, he was a convicted felon.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Reyner prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Rock Island Police Department, the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Rochester Man Sentenced for Charges Involving Stolen PropertyRead 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 Brandon Meade, 27, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to transport and transfer stolen property with an aggregate value of at least $5,000 in interstate commerce, was sentenced to time served after serving nearly nine months in prison, by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara.Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, stated that the defendant ran East Side Gold and Car Audio, a pawn shop located at the corner of North Goodman and Clifford Avenues in Rochester. In that role, Meade assisted several other individuals, including co-defendant Rico J. Vendetti, in obtaining over $350,000 in stolen merchandise. The merchandise was obtained through an organized ring of shoplifters who stole from large retailers such as Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, JoAnn Fabrics, Tops, and Wegmans. The merchandise was then sold by Vendetti on eBay for approximately half of its retail value.
Vendetti, along with Arlene Combs, Albert Parsons, and Donald Griffin, have been convicted in connection with the death of 78-year old Homer Marciniak, which occurred during the course of a home invasion robbery at Marciniak’s home in Medina, NY in July, 2010. Meade was not involved in the home invasion. During the robbery, Marciniak’s valuable collection of collectible comic books was stolen and Marciniak was beaten. Several hours after being treated for bruises and lacerations suffered during the robbery, and released from the hospital, Marciniak was readmitted to the hospital where he died of a heart attack.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila, the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, and the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Joseph Cardone.