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Thursday 15 October 2015
Readout of Attorney General Lynch's Visit to ColombiaRead the Press Release
On her first official visit to Colombia, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch traveled to Bogota to head the U.S. delegation to the Organization of American States REMJA X, the 10th Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas. While in Colombia, the Attorneys General delivered remarks during the REMJA Head of Delegation Dialogue, and also met with the President of Colombia, and with her counterparts from other countries attending the conference.
The REMJA—a policy and technical forum at the hemispheric level on matters related to justice and international legal cooperation—is attended by Ministers of Justice, other Ministers or Attorneys General from the 34 Organization of American States (OAS) member states. Representatives from the member states have responsibilities in the area of public policy regarding matters of justice and international legal cooperation, especially with regard to criminal matters.
During her remarks, the Attorney General noted that now more than ever has the collaborative work of the OAS member states been necessary.
“As our hemisphere – and our world – grows more interdependent and interconnected than ever before, that kind of collaboration has become increasingly important. The threats that we face are no longer restrained by borders or oceans, or limited to one country or region. And the problems impacting one nation can easily affect us all. From corruption and kleptocracy that causes people to lose confidence in institutions of government, to organized criminal enterprises like human trafficking rings that impact our citizens’ sense of security, we are faced with global challenges that require a truly global response.”
The Attorney General also noted the Justice Department’s establishment of a dedicated kleptocracy force within the FBI as an example of its ongoing efforts to investigate criminals worldwide and “bring down criminal networks that seek to exploit our most vulnerable citizens.”
She also spoke about one of her top priorities – expanding the department’s ability to take on crimes that occur in cyberspace. One such example is the creation of a cyber unit within the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs that is tasked “exclusively on responding to and executing requests for electronic evidence from foreign authorities.”
Additionally, the Attorney General referenced that through the Budapest Convention, the United States and countries around the world are building a strengthened international network to “fight crimes like computer hacking, fraud, and child pornography, and to combat related criminal activity from organized crime to terrorism.”
More generally, the Attorney General emphasized the department’s intention to reinforce and improve its ability to engage efficiently and effectively with its global counterparts to “expand capacity, enhance cooperation, and provide technical assistance in relation to matters from money laundering to terrorism to human trafficking.”
Lastly, while in Colombia, the Attorney General had individual meetings with the following individuals:
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Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, Colombia’s President
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Eduardo Montealegre Lynett, Colombia’s Attorney General
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Yesid Reyes Alvarado, Colombia’s Minister of Justice
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Arely Gomez, Mexico’s Attorney General
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Representatives from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama
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Raymond Racey Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine Manufacturing ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Oct. 15, 2015, Raymond Racey, 35, of Rockwood, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison, by the Honorable Pamela Reeves, U.S. District Judge, for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (meth) and possession of precursors used to manufacture meth. Upon his release from prison, he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years.
Racey was charged along with several others in a July 2014 indictment. In June 2015, he pleaded guilty to the offenses described above. According to documents on file with U.S. District Court, between 2012 and 2014, Racey conspired with at least one other person to manufacture and distribute at least 50 grams of meth in various locations in east Tennessee. According to pharmacy records and by his own admission, he purchased, or had others purchase for him, pseudoephedrine that he used to manufacture meth.
This case was investigated by the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Harriman Police Department, Rockwood Police Department, Kingston Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooklyn Sawyers represented the United States.
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Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Duane Jackson, 30, of Pittsburgh, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Jackson and his conspirators agreed to defraud account holders at Pittsburgh area banks by a remote deposit, mobile-banking scheme in which Jackson and conspirators deposited fictitious checks into victim accounts, and later withdrew cash at the Rivers Casino and ATMs.
Judge Cercone scheduled the sentencing for Feb. 17, 2016, at 1 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force (WPFCTF), conducted the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Jackson. The WPFCTF was established as a collaborative, multi-agency effort to effectively combat financial crimes, including identity fraud, in Western Pennsylvania. Partners in this effort are the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, the Allegheny County Police Department, the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Pill Mill Operator Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Oxycodone and Other Drugs in Maryland and New YorkRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Gerald Wiseberg, a/k/a Gerry Wiseberg and Jerry Wiseberg, age 82, of Boca Raton, Florida pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and other drugs.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
“State and federal authorities are continuing to look at ways to shut down ‘pain clinics’ that are really just fronts for criminals who divert pharmaceutical drugs and hook a new generation of addicts,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Gerald Wiseberg traveled from state to state setting up clinics that prescribed opioid drugs to people who had no medical need for the drugs.”
“This pill mill operator case shows the complexity of the drug abuse cycle and how law enforcement must take a multi-tiered approach in dealing with prescription drug abuse and the connected abuse of heroin”, stated Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert. “When users of prescription medications, especially opiate derivatives like oxycodone, become abusers of the medication, they often find themselves switching from oxycodone to a cheaper drug such as heroin. In doing so, a new generation of heroin addicts are created, which leads to an increase in cases of heroin overdoses we see every day in this nation.”
According to Wiseberg’s plea agreement, from March 2010 through February 2011, Gerald Wiseberg owned and operated Total Care Medical Center, a pain management clinic located in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Although Wiseberg was not a medical doctor, he established the standard operating procedures for the clinic, including which drugs the prescribing physician could prescribe and the maximum dosage amounts of these drugs. As a result of the procedures instituted by Wiseberg, Total Care accepted cash payments in exchange for providing prescriptions for large amounts of controlled substances (including oxycodone and alprazolam) to customers who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
In late 2010 and early 2011, two Maryland co-conspirators traveled to Florida to learn how to operate a pain clinic like Total Care. By early 2011, Wiseberg and the two Maryland co-conspirators agreed to open a similar pain management clinic in Maryland. Wiseberg and the co-conspirators opened Healthy Life, with Wiseberg as part owner of the business. Wiseberg interviewed and hired medical directors at Healthy Life specifically because he believed they would write prescriptions for narcotics to customers without a legitimate medical need.
Healthy Life first opened in Owings Mills, Maryland, but in October 2011, moved to a larger office in Timonium, Maryland. Both Healthy Life locations attracted large and unruly crowds. While outside the locations, customers caused disturbances, used narcotics, and engaged in narcotics transactions. Over 80% of the customers who received a prescription from Healthy Life were from out of state. Approximately 97% of the customers who received prescriptions from Healthy Life received at least one prescription for oxycodone.
From June 2011 through April 2012, Wiseberg was paid $12,000 per month by his co-conspirators for his role at Healthy Life. In addition to these monthly payments, Wiseberg also received cash payments for his 30% share of the net profits from the operation of Health Life. In 2011 alone, those cash payments totaled $165,000.
As part of his plea agreement, Wiseberg also pleaded guilty to a charge filed in the Southern District of New York for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and other drugs. In that case, Wiseberg conspired with others to recruit patients from pain clinics to fill their prescriptions at specific pharmacies owned and controlled by Wiseberg’s co-conspirators. Wiseberg admitted that he knew the prescriptions for oxycodone and other drugs that were given to the patients he recruited were not for a legitimate medical purpose and were issued outside the bounds of medical practice. Wiseberg also knew that the pharmacies would honor the prescriptions because his co-conspirators had recruited pharmacists to staff the pharmacies who would fill such prescriptions. As part of the scheme, Wiseberg and his co-conspirators required that patients filling prescriptions for oxycodone and other narcotics to submit another prescription for a non-controlled substance at the same time. Wiseberg admitted that he knew that the patients submitting the prescriptions would, and did, pay substantially marked-up prices for oxycodone and purchase additional non-controlled substances they did not need, in order to receive the painkillers that were prescribed to them without a legitimate medical purpose.
Wiseberg faces a maximum sentence of 20 year in prison for each of the drug conspiracy charges to which he is pleading guilty. Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for March 7, 2016 at 9:15 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA Baltimore District Office and New Jersey Field Division, IRS, Baltimore County Police Department, and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, for their work in these investigations. Mr. Rosenstein expressed his appreciation to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Diskant, Daniel Tehrani, and Shawn Crowley, who handled the New York prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason D. Medinger and Peter J. Martinez, who are prosecuting the Maryland case.
Pierre Man Sentenced for LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of Larceny was sentenced on October 6, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
KT Burgee, a/k/a K.T. Burgee, age 21, was sentenced to time served, 2 years of supervised release, $4,500 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Burgee was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 1, 2015. He pled guilty to the indictment on July 20, 2015.
The conviction arose from a disagreement that occurred on January 1, 2015, at Eagle Butte, which led to Burgee being locked out of the house. He then walked down the road, got into a pickup that belonged to someone else, and drove away. Burgee failed to make a curve in the road, rolled the pickup, and totaled it. Burgee was ejected in the rollover. When he learned that the police and ambulance were on the way, Burgee ran away from the crash site. A Cheyenne River Sioux Police Officer located Burgee later that evening, walking down a dirt road about a mile from the crash site. The pickup Burgee took is valued at more than $3,000.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Trying to Distribute 1.7 Kilograms of Pure MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Philadelphia man was sentenced today to 126 months in prison for trying to deliver 1.7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine in Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aaron Vega-Castelo, 29, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an indictment charging him with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Dec. 11, 2013, Vega-Castelo was stopped while driving a blue Jeep on the New Jersey Turnpike in Elizabeth. Law enforcement found four plastic food storage-style containers of methamphetamine hydrochloride and two shoeboxes containing approximately $110,000 in cash in the back seat area of his vehicle. Vega-Castelo admitted that at the time he was stopped by law enforcement, he was on his way to deliver the drugs and cash to other individuals near an Ikea in Elizabeth.
DEA testing of the seized methamphetamine revealed that it had a net weight of 1.79 kilograms and substance purity of 95.1 percent, which results in 1.7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine hydrochloride.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Vega-Castelo to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara F. Merin of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Eric M. Mark Esq., Newark, New Jersey
Phenix City Woman Sentenced for Involvement in $2.5 Million Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud RingRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Ala. – A Phenix City, Alabama, woman was sentenced to serve five years in prison today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama for her involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud (SIRF) scheme, U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. of the Middle District of Alabama, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department's Tax Division announced today.
Teresa Floyd, 53, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins of the Middle District of Alabama to serve 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $734,565 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Floyd pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of aggravated identity theft. Floyd’s daughter, Lasondra Miles Davis, 37, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of aggravated identity theft. On Sept. 1, Davis was sentenced to serve two years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $1,941 in restitution to the IRS.
According to court documents, between March 2011 and May 2014, Floyd and Davis operated several tax preparation businesses in the Phenix City area, including T & L Tax Service. Floyd obtained stolen identities which, according to allegations in the superseding indictment, she and her co-conspirators then used to file more than 900 false federal income tax returns that claimed more than $2.5 million in tax refunds. Floyd, Davis and others caused the fraudulently obtained refund checks to be cashed at several businesses in Alabama and Georgia.
U.S. Attorney Beck Jr. and acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Michael C. Boteler and Michael P. Hatzimichalis of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross of the Middle District of Alabama, who are prosecuting the case.
Pennsylvania man convicted of heroin traffickingRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Khalil Brown, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted of heroin trafficking in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Brown, also known as “Shadow,” was among 21 individuals charged in a 65-count federal indictment in November 2014. The indictment disrupted an extensive drug trafficking operation in which heroin and oxycodone were transported across state lines from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Morgantown, West Virginia for redistribution and sale throughout the region.
Brown sold heroin in 2014 near West Virginia University in Monongalia County, West Virginia. He pled guilty to “Distribution of Heroin within 1000 feet of a Protected Location.” He faces between one and forty years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000,000. 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 Zelda Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Penn Hills Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Cocaine Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 37 months’ imprisonment on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Abdul Boyd, 39, of Penn Hills, Pa.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies joined forces in a multi-agency wiretap investigation of drug trafficking and violence in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh. The interception of wire and electronic communications began in December 2013 and continued through the end of August 2014. During that timeframe, Abdul Boyd was intercepted over the wire conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine, which was shipped from California to the Western District of Pennsylvania through the United States Postal Service or commercial carrier.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hornak stated that the sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to fulfill the purposes of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Munhall Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Monroeville Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Bellevue Police Department and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Boyd.
Orange Park Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years for Receiving Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Charles Eugene Mears (56, Orange Park) to seven years and six months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. He was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and pay $3,000 in restitution to one of the victims.
According to court documents, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent in Jacksonville began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in northeast Florida that were trading images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. The agent identified a computer that was hosting images of child pornography using a file sharing program, and was able to download several of the files. Further investigation traced the host computer to Mears’s residence.
Agents subsequently executed a federal search warrant at Mears’s residence and seized several computers and other electronic media. Forensic analyses of Mears’s laptop revealed that it contained at least 211 videos depicting child pornography, including at least one video depicting the sexual abuse of a toddler.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
One Defendant Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison, Another Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking in New Orleans EastRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that RICKY MARQUETTE BOZEMAN, age 37, of Laplace, was sentenced today after having previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 100 grams of heroin.
U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier sentenced BOZEMAN to 144 months incarceration, to be followed by four years of supervised release.
Also announced was that VINCENT JONES, age 45, of New Orleans, pled guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over one kilogram of heroin. JONES is facing not less than 20 years and a maximum of life imprisonment, as well as a possible fine of up to $20,000,000. Judge Barbier set sentencing on January 21, 2016.
BOZEMAN and JONES were two of twelve defendants charged in a 23-count indictment on July 25, 2014. According to court documents, this indictment sprung from an investigation into a heroin-trafficking organization operating in New Orleans East. This organization was responsible for distributing at least 15 kilograms of heroin in the New Orleans area. As part of the arrests in this case, federal agents have seized from the twelve defendants approximately $1,200,000 in assets (a combination of vehicles, currency, jewelry, and real property) as proceeds made from the sale of heroin.
“Heroin is leading to alarming levels of violence and overdose deaths in our communities,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Because of the danger posed by this dangerous narcotic, our Office will be vigilant in fighting heroin trafficking, and the loss of life that stems from it, in all parts of Southeast Louisiana.”
“Heroin has become an epidemic in the New Orleans area and DEA is attacking the criminals who target the weak and addicted with their violent drug trafficking,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown. “Heroin trafficking is the worst of the worst, preying on and sometimes creating an addict population which leads to other types of crime and violence. This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to dismantle these groups and send them to federal prison.”
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long is in charge of the prosecution.
Ohio man sentenced to eight years in Federal prison for drug conspiracyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Belpre, Ohio man who organized a large-scale drug trafficking ring in and around Washington County, Ohio and Wood County, West Virginia was sentenced today to eight years in federal prison, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Brent Jason Sidwell, 33, of Belpre, Ohio previously pleaded guilty in April of 2015 to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
In the fall of 2013 members of the Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Washington County (Ohio) Major Crimes Task Force began working with an informant to purchase marijuana and cocaine from Sidwell and his associates in Belpre and Parkersburg. Many of the transactions occurred at the former 5th Street Pub in Parkersburg. The pub was owned by Sidwell and operated by him and several associates. Investigators eventually obtained a wiretap of Sidwell’s phone. In April 2014, task force personnel executed search warrants at numerous locations including Sidwell’s residence, several “stash houses” used by the organization, and an apartment and rented storage unit in Mineral Wells, West Virginia where they seized drugs, scales, cash, and other evidence.
Sidwell admitted to obtaining and distributing up to 3,000 kg of marijuana over the course of the conspiracy from the fall of 2010 until April 2014. The marijuana was obtained on consignment from out-of-state sources. After selling the drugs to local dealers, Sidwell and other members of the organization made payment in the form of bulk cash deliveries, wire transfers, preloaded debit cards, and by depositing money in the local branch of a large bank where it would be immediately withdrawn at another branch. Sidwell’s organization primarily supplied dealers in marijuana and cocaine. In turn, the dealers distributed the drugs in and around Washington County, Ohio and Wood County, West Virginia.
Numerous other individuals were prosecuted as part of this investigation. Timothy Fields, 38, of Vienna previously pleaded guilty to distribution of marijuana and cocaine. He was sentenced in January 2015 to six years in federal prison. Dustin Jarvis, 34, of Mineral Wells, West Virginia pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. He was sentenced in August 2015 to 8 years in federal prison. Christopher Paul Johnson, 43, of Parkersburg, West Virginia pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison in May 2015. Joshua Neal McVey, 32, of Parkersburg, West Virginia pleaded guilty on October 14, 2015 to possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14, 2016. David Aaron Naylor, 29, of Vienna, West Virginia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine. He will be sentenced on October 21, 2015. Other individuals have been prosecuted by state authorities in Washington County, Ohio and Wood County, West Virginia.
This case represents the ongoing cooperation between the Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force, the Washington County Major Crimes Task Force, the Wood County, West Virginia Prosecuting Attorney, the Washington County, Ohio, Prosecuting Attorney, the Ohio Organized Crime Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the federal prosecution.
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Nyack Man Arrested for Sales of Synthetic Cannabinoid That Resulted in One Known OverdoseRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the arrest today of the owner of a retail smoke shop called Liquid Glass in Nyack, New York, that is alleged to have sold smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (“SSC”). The owner, ANDREW GROGAN, allegedly sold or conspired to sell at least 39 packets of SSCs over a one-year period, resulting in at least one overdose. GROGAN was arrested this morning and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy this afternoon in White Plains federal court.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As I emphasized when we announced New York City’s largest joint federal and local action confronting these drugs a month ago, synthetic cannabinoids are a public health crisis that is reaching epidemic proportions. Smoking it is a dangerous game of Russian Roulette that too many in our communities are playing. These drugs aggravate all manner of other societal ills: they are entering prisons, preying on the homeless; burdening our emergency rooms; fueling addiction; exacerbating mental health problems; and increasing risks to cops who have to deal with people high on it. Today’s arrest is part of our ongoing commitment to confront this serious public health problem.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said: “To make it simple, synthetic cannabinoids (K2) have become one of the most significant threats to public health because it is cheap and because it is misconceived as being safe. K2 is second only to marijuana as the most frequently used illegal drug among high school seniors, and has resulted in a dramatic increase of emergency room visits and overdose deaths. K2 is nothing more than poisonous products wrapped in candy wrappers and sold on the street as safe highs. DEA and our law enforcement partners are prioritizing efforts to identify those responsible for distributing synthetic cannabinoids throughout our communities.”
NYPD Commissioner Bratton said: “Synthetic cannabinoids, more commonly known as K2, can be incredibly dangerous and pose a significant risk to both the public and the emergency responders who come into contact with them. I want to thank the investigators involved in this case whose hard work held accountable this individual’s alleged effort to sell K2.”
The following allegations are based on the unsealed Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Starting in January 2015 and continuing until his arrest, GROGAN sold SSCs, with brand names like “Green Giant” and “Geeked Up,” from his smoke shop in Nyack, New York. GROGAN mentioned to undercover law enforcement that he had a supplier of SSCs from whom he could either pick up products after store hours or receive products by mail. On at least one occasion, GROGAN traveled to New York, New York, to purchase 10 packets of SSCs from another smoke shop.
GROGAN also stated to undercover law enforcement that he was “all out” of the SSC “Green Giant” because there had been a festival in Nyack that had “kids lined up outside the door” to buy the products.
The SSCs distributed by GROGAN caused one known overdose: On January 10, 2015, an individual overdosed after consuming a mixture of four packets of SSCs labeled “Tranquility,” “Meditate,” “Karma,” and “Dream Catcher.” Medical reports concluded that the overdose resulted from cannabinoid consumption. Friends of the victim obtained the SSCs from GROGAN’s smoke shop in Nyack.
SSCs are made by mixing illegal synthetic compounds with chemical solvents, including acetone and/or flavoring additives, and spraying the resulting liquid mixture onto leafy materials, like tea leaves. The SSCs are then bundled into colorful retail packets that are sold under names such as “Green Giant” and “Geeked Up,” each containing between approximately three and six grams of product, and sometimes marked “not for human consumption” or “potpourri.”
SSCs are widely accessible because they are inexpensive and commonly sold at otherwise legitimate retail locations, like GROGAN’s Liquid Glass. The colorful logos used on the SSC retail packets and the flavors used, such as lime, strawberry, and blueberry, make SSCs attractive to teenagers and young adults. Physical effects of SSCs include agitation, rapid heart rate, confusion, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, paranoia, panic attacks, and acute kidney injury. In addition, SSCs have inconsistent potencies, often containing more than one synthetic compound, and are sometimes laced with other toxic chemicals. Nationally, calls to poison centers in the United States related to SSC use between January and May 2015 increased 229% over the same period in 2014.
Some of the brand names of SSCs sold by GROGAN, like “Geeked Up” and “Green Giant,” were also alleged to have been used by the 10-member international narcotics conspiracy charged by this office by Indictment on September 16, 2015. This Complaint marks a continuation of the major law enforcement action against SSC manufacturers and distributors announced via press release following that Indictment.
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GROGAN, 48, of Nyack, New York, is charged with one count of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, and one count of distributing a controlled substance, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad (Group TDS-NY) comprised of agents and officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, Town of Orangetown Police Department, and the Westchester County Police Department in conjunction with Rockland County Drug Task Force and South Nyack Police Department for their work in the year-long investigation, which he noted is ongoing.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Beidel is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
New York Man Sentenced to More Than 12 ½ Years for Illegally Possessing Cache of Machine Guns, Rifles, and Other FirearmsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANTONIO OLMEDA of New York, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman to 151 months in prison. OLMEDA pled guilty on October 14, 2014, to all six counts charged in the Indictment against him: three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of various firearms, two counts of possessing unregistered machine guns, and one count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. OLMEDA was arrested in December 2011 on state charges in connection with his alleged attempt to shoot two police officers with the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”).
U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “Antonio Olmeda, a one-man armory, was a convicted felon in possession of a vast cache of deadly weapons. He violated federal law by possessing guns at all, and even had he not been a convicted felon, he violated federal law by failing to register certain of the weapons. As is alleged in the pending state prosecution of Olmeda for attempted murder, he was not merely a hoarder of weapons, he used them with deadly intentions, shooting at two uniformed police officers. His sentence today reflects the seriousness of his crimes.”
According to the Indictment filed in federal court, other documents filed in federal court, statements made at various proceedings in this case, and evidence presented at a two-day sentencing hearing:
On December 2, 2011, OLMEDA, who at the time was wearing a disguise, was approached by two uniformed NYPD officers in Queens, New York. The officers asked OLMEDA to remove his hands from his pockets, which OLMEDA refused to do. When one of the officers attempted to restrain OLMEDA, OLMEDA resisted, pulled a revolver out of his pocket, and fired two shots at the officers, missing the officers. OLMEDA then fled the scene. Bullet fragments from the gun that OLMEDA fired were later found at a nearby pediatric dental office.
In the morning of December 19, 2011, law enforcement officers approached OLMEDA in Manhattan and arrested him for the shooting on December 2, 2011. At the time of this arrest, the officers recovered from OLMEDA’s person a .45 caliber handgun, and from OLMEDA’s car a .38 caliber revolver with two live rounds of ammunition and three spent .38 caliber shell casings. Subsequent ballistics testing confirmed that this .38 caliber revolver was the same firearm that OLMEDA fired on December 2, 2011. OLMEDA’s possession of the .38 caliber revolver was the subject of an evidentiary hearing before Judge Berman in connection with OLMEDA’s sentencing in this case. Judge Berman concluded that “[t]here is no doubt . . . that by firing the gun at [the two NYPD police officers] Mr. Olmeda intended to cause serious injury to those officers.”
In connection with OLMEDA’s arrest on December 19, 2011, officers also recovered from OLMEDA’s car a document containing the names of two attorneys and a federal judge. One of the attorneys had previously represented OLMEDA in a prior case, and had an office in close proximity to the location where OLMEDA, wearing a disguise and carrying the .38 caliber revolver, had been approached by officers. Another attorney on the document had previously represented one of Olmeda’s former lawyers in a civil lawsuit brought by OLMEDA. The federal judge on the document had presided over, and dismissed, the lawsuit. Also found in OLMEDA’s car was a copy of a last will and testament in OLMEDA’s name. OLMEDA previously had purchased a lot at a cemetery and commissioned the engraving of a tombstone in his name.
Later on December 19, 2011, law enforcement officers conducted a search of OLMEDA’s apartment in Manhattan. This search resulted in the recovery of a number of additional firearms, including a .223 caliber fully automatic rifle, a 9-mm fully automatic pistol, and two other pistols.
On September 6, 2012, law enforcement officers searched OLMEDA’s storage locker in Yonkers, New York. The officers found inside the storage locker, among other things, a sawed-off shotgun, two sniper rifles with scopes, two machine guns, at least eight pistols, a revolver, and numerous rounds of ammunition. Officers also found a lifelike mask that could be used to disguise one’s face and various protective gear, including bulletproof vests and gas masks.
In total, in or about 2011, OLMEDA illegally possessed the following firearms:
- Springfield Armory Ultra Compact .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun
- Taurus 85 Ultralite .38 caliber revolver
- Olympic Arms PCR03 .223 caliber fully-automatic rifle
- Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol
- Beretta 92SB Compact 9-mm Luger semi-automatic pistol
- Cobray Industries M-11 9-mm Luger fully automatic pistol
- Remington model Mohawk 600 .308 caliber rifle
- Roggio Arsenal model RA-15 rifle receiver/frame
- Interarms rifle
- Three Springfield Armory model 1911A1 .45-caliber pistols
- Sig Sauer model SP 2022 9-mm pistol
- Taurus model PT140 Millenium .40 caliber pistol
- Smith & Wesson model 4006 .40 caliber pistol
- Star Bonifacio Echeverria model Firestar 9-mm pistol
- Charter Arms model Police Undercover .32 caliber revolver
- Walther model PPK/S .380 caliber pistol
- Vulcan Arms model V15 7.62x39-mm machine gun
- Norinco AK-type 7.62x39-mm machine gun
- Mossberg model 500A 12-gauge shotgun
- A .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol of unknown make and model
OLMEDA has two prior felony convictions. First, in November 1995, OLMEDA was convicted in Bronx County Supreme Court of criminal possession of a dangerous weapon in the first degree. At the time of his arrest on that charge, OLMEDA possessed an Uzi machine gun, a sawed-off shotgun, a silencer, and several boxes of ammunition for the Uzi. A search of OLMEDA’s van on the same day uncovered a flamethrower, 18 pipe bombs, seven cans containing black powder, and 1,100 rounds of ammunition.
Second, in April 2003, OLMEDA was convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina of possessing ammunition after having previously been convicted of a felony. On June 12, 2002, OLMEDA, who was in possession of luggage, was approached by law enforcement officers outside of the Fort Bragg military installation in North Carolina after inquiring about the security at Fort Bragg. A search of OLMEDA’s luggage resulted in the recovery of 328 rounds of ammunition and receipts for ammunition purchased earlier that day.
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OLMEDA, 57, was convicted of three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of various firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); two counts of possessing unregistered machine guns, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 5845(b), 5861(d); and one count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 5845(a)(2), 5861(d). In addition to the 151-month prison term, OLMEDA was sentenced by Judge Berman to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $600 special assessment.
OLMEDA is separately charged by the state in Queens County, New York, with two counts of attempted murder in the first degree, two counts of attempted assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and two counts of attempted assault in the first degree, all arising out of his alleged attempt to shoot two NYPD police officers in Queens, New York, on or about December 2, 2011. The state charges are merely accusations, and OLMEDA is presumed innocent of those state charges unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the Joint Terrorism Task Force – which principally consists of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives from the NYPD; the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the United States Marshals Service. Mr. Bharara also thanked the NYPD and the Yonkers Police Department for their assistance.
The case is being handled jointly by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit and Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shane T. Stansbury, Michael D. Maimin, and John P. Cronan are in charge of the prosecution.
Navy Civilian Engineer Sentenced to 11 Years for Attempted EspionageRead the Press Release
Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 36, of Yorktown, Virginia, was sentenced today to 132 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson of the Eastern District of Virginia for attempted espionage relating to his attempt to provide schematics of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to Egypt while serving as a Navy engineer.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director Randall C. Coleman of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and Special Agent in Charge Tim Quick of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk, Virginia, Field Office made the announcement.
“Awwad took advantage of his position of trust within the Navy to share the schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier with individuals whom he believed were representing a foreign government,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The National Security Division will continue to seek justice for those who abuse their access to sensitive defense information.”
“Awwad attempted to steal the valuable plans for the USS Ford and to provide them to a foreign government,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “This office is committed to safeguarding our nation’s sensitive defense information, and we will bring to justice those who seek to steal it. I want to commend our partners at the FBI Norfolk and NCIS Norfolk for their excellent work on this case.”
“The mission of NCIS includes protecting Sailors and secrets,” said Special Agent in Charge Quick. “Awwad endangered both; for personal gain and to help strengthen another nation's military. It's gratifying that NCIS was a part of bringing him to justice.”
Awwad pleaded guilty on June 15, 2015. According to court documents, Awwad began working for the Department of the Navy in February 2014 as a civilian general engineer in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Based on a joint investigation, an undercover FBI agent contacted Awwad by telephone on Sept. 18, 2014, and asked to meet him the following day. Without seeking additional information from the caller, Awwad agreed. The next day, Awwad met with the undercover FBI agent, who was posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer, in a park in Hampton, Virginia. During the meeting, Awwad claimed it was his intention to utilize his position with the U.S. Navy to obtain military technology for use by the Egyptian government, including but not limited to the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier, a new Navy “supercarrier.” Awwad agreed to conduct clandestine communications with the undercover FBI agent, and to conduct “dead drops” in a concealed location in the park.
On Oct. 9, 2014, Awwad and the undercover FBI agent met at a hotel where Awwad described a detailed plan to circumvent U.S. Navy computer security by installing software on his restricted computer system that would enable him to copy documents without causing a security alert. At this time, Awwad also provided the undercover FBI agent with four Computer Aided Drawings of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier downloaded from the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Information system. During the discussion, Awwad indicated his understanding that the drawings would be sent to and used in Egypt. Awwad also asked the undercover FBI agent for $1,500 to purchase a pinhole camera that he would wear around the shipyard to photograph restricted material. At the conclusion of the meeting, Awwad agreed to provide the undercover FBI agent with passport photos which would be used to produce a fraudulent Egyptian passport so that Awwad could travel to Egypt without alerting U.S. government officials.
On Oct. 23, 2014, Awwad traveled to the prearranged dead drop site situated on a secluded hiking trail and utilized a concealed container disguised in a hole in the ground. He retrieved $3,000 before placing an external hard drive and two passport photos inside.
On Dec. 5, 2014, Awwad and the undercover agent met in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area. During this meeting, Awwad stated that he planned to travel to Egypt. Awwad subsequently said he wanted to meet with “high ranking” Egyptian intelligence and military officials in Cairo. Awwad also stated during the meeting that he had copied all of the schematics. During the meeting, Awwad provided the undercover FBI agent a thumb drive that contained more schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford. The undercover FBI agent handed Awwad the “escape plan” – in actuality a manila envelope with no real plan inside – along with $1,000 in currency, shortly before Awwad was arrested.
The schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford that Awwad provided are information related to the national defense of the United States. The USS Gerald R. Ford, which is currently under construction, is the first in a new class of aircraft carriers. When completed, the USS Gerald R. Ford will be the most advanced aircraft carrier in the world, with approximately 4,000 sailors on board. The schematics contain Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information and they are marked with the handling restriction “NOFORN,” which means they are not releasable to foreign persons.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and NCIS Norfolk, in cooperation with the Department of Navy. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin L. Hatch and Joseph E. DePadilla of the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Navy Civilian Engineer Sentenced to 11 Years for Attempted EspionageRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 36, of Yorktown, was sentenced today to 132 months in prison for attempted espionage relating to his attempt to provide schematics of the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to Egypt.
“Mr. Awwad attempted to steal the valuable plans for the USS Ford and to provide them to a foreign government,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This office is committed to safeguarding our nation’s sensitive defense information, and we will bring to justice those who seek to steal it. I want to commend our partners at the FBI Norfolk and NCIS Norfolk for their excellent work on this case.”
“Awwad took advantage of his position of trust within the Navy to share the schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier with individuals whom he believed were representing a foreign government,” said John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The National Security Division will continue to seek justice for those who abuse their access to sensitive defense information.”
“This case is a chilling reminder that the insider threat is more pervasive and dangerous than ever," said John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office. "The defendant’s actions and intent to provide national defense information to a foreign government posed a significant threat to national security and directly endangered the lives of American service members. The incident highlights the critical importance for the FBI to continue to prioritize counterintelligence matters and to vigorously investigate and disrupt any espionage activity directed against the United States.”
"The mission of NCIS includes protecting Sailors and secrets,” said Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Norfolk Field Office. “Awwad endangered both; for personal gain and to help strengthen another nation's military. It's gratifying that NCIS was a part of bringing him to justice."
Awwad pleaded guilty on June 15, 2015. According to court documents, Awwad began working for the Department of the Navy in February 2014 as a civilian general engineer in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Based on a joint investigation, an undercover FBI agent contacted Awwad by telephone on Sept. 18, 2014, and asked to meet him the following day. Without seeking additional information from the caller, Awwad agreed. The next day, Awwad met with the undercover FBI agent, who was posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer, in a park in Hampton, Virginia. During the meeting, Awwad claimed it was his intention to utilize his position with the U.S. Navy to obtain military technology for use by the Egyptian government, including but not limited to the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier, a new Navy “supercarrier.” Awwad agreed to conduct clandestine communications with the undercover FBI agent, and to conduct “dead drops” in a concealed location in the park.
On Oct. 9, 2014, Awwad and the undercover FBI agent met at a hotel where Awwad described a detailed plan to circumvent U.S. Navy computer security by installing software on his restricted computer system that would enable him to copy documents without causing a security alert. At this time, Awwad also provided the undercover FBI agent with four Computer Aided Drawings of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier downloaded from the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Information system. During the discussion, Awwad indicated his understanding that the drawings would be sent to and used in Egypt. Awwad also asked the undercover FBI agent for $1,500 to purchase a pinhole camera that he would wear around the shipyard to photograph restricted material. At the conclusion of the meeting, Awwad agreed to provide the undercover FBI agent with passport photos which would be used to produce a fraudulent Egyptian passport so that Awwad could travel to Egypt without alerting U.S. government officials.
On Oct. 23, 2014, Awwad traveled to the pre-arranged dead drop site situated on a secluded hiking trail and utilized a concealed container disguised in a hole in the ground. He retrieved $3,000 before placing an external hard drive and two passport photos inside.
On Dec. 5, 2014, Awwad and the undercover agent met in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area. During this meeting, Awwad stated that he planned to travel to Egypt. Awwad subsequently said he wanted to meet with “high ranking” Egyptian intelligence and military officials in Cairo. Awwad also stated during the meeting that he had copied all of the schematics. During the meeting, Awwad provided the undercover FBI agent a thumb drive that contained more schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford. The undercover FBI agent handed Awwad the “escape plan” – in actuality a manila envelope with no real plan inside – along with $1,000 in currency, shortly before Awwad was arrested.
The schematics of the USS Gerald R. Ford that Awwad provided are information related to the national defense of the United States. The USS Gerald R. Ford, which is currently under construction, is the first in a new class of aircraft carriers. When completed, the USS Ford will be the most advanced aircraft carrier in the world, with approximately 4,000 sailors on board. The schematics contain Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information and they are marked with the handling restriction “NOFORN,” which means they are not releasable to foreign persons.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Randall C. Coleman, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division; and Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and NCIS Norfolk, in cooperation with the Department of Navy. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin L. Hatch and Joseph E. DePadilla, and National Security Division Counterespionage Senior Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-163.
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Missouri City Woman Sentenced for Stealing More Than $1 Million from Former EmployerRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 49-year-old woman from Missouri City has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of one count of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Michelle Robyn Freytag pleaded guilty July 9, 2015, to defrauding her former employer - a Houston businessman - of more than $1.3 million.
At the hearing today, the victim addressed the court and urged for a sentence that would send a message to the members of the community that crimes of this nature will not be tolerated, noting they can “destroy lives, destroy families, destroy businesses and cause harm far exceeding just the financial costs to individual victims.” U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, who accepted the guilty plea, then handed Freytag a 78-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay restitution of $1,107,152 to the victim. “I am sympathetic to defendants from disadvantaged backgrounds who commit offenses at a young age and are in trouble with the law before they are old enough to understand their actions,” said Judge Ellison. “None of that applies to Ms. Freytag. She was raised in a supportive family and has had access to good jobs. She chose to steal anyway.”
Freytag was hired in April 2009 to be her employer’s executive assistant. As part of her guilty plea, she admitted that as early as August 2009, she began misusing her position and her access to his credit card and banking information. She arranged for credit cards to be assigned in her name but under her employer’s various accounts at Whitney National Bank. As the executive assistant, Freytag was able to arrange for her personal expenditures to be satisfied with monies from bank accounts assigned to her employer or his other companies.
Over the next four years, Freytag repeated this process and obtained, without authorization from her employer, at least four additional Whitney Bank credit cards in his name, his spouse’s name and in the name of two of his other companies. Freytag obtained these credit cards by falsely representing to Whitney Bank that her employer had authorized the issuance of these cards or by falsely representing that certain previously issued credit cards had allegedly been lost and that replacements were requested by her employer or his spouse. Freytag used these credit cards to take cash advances and to make personal expenditures. She would then cause these cash advances and personal expenditures to be satisfied with monies from bank accounts assigned to her employer or his other businesses.
According to the plea agreement, Freytag’s unauthorized cash advances and personal expenditures between August 2009 and January 2014 (when her scheme was discovered) totaled approximately $1.3 million.
Although originally released on bond at the time of her Indictment in February 2015, Judge Ellison later revoked Freytag’s bond for repeated violations of her conditions of release. She has been in federal custody since Aug. 13, 2015, where she will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Varnado prosecuted the case.
Member of Bronx Narcotics Organization Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 45 Years for MurderRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CATHERINE MORALES, a member of a drug trafficking organization (the “Organization”) that operated in the Bronx, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for murdering Aisha Morales (no relation) in June 2011. MORALES pled guilty in February 2015 to one count of intentionally killing an individual while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, before United States District Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who imposed yesterday’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Catherine Morales, someone featured on ‘America’s Most Wanted,’ not only sold dangerous and potentially lethal drugs, but also committed a cold-blooded murder in broad daylight on East 163th Street in the Bronx. She has now been sentenced to the lengthy prison term those crimes merit.”
MORALES was initially charged in an Indictment with narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses, and was arrested by federal authorities in August 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was living in hiding under an assumed name. While MORALES was a fugitive, she was featured on the “America’s Most Wanted” television program. She was subsequently brought to Manhattan federal court in September 2013 to face those charges in the Southern District of New York. In January 2014, she was additionally charged with the murder of Aisha Morales in a superseding Indictment. The leader of the organization, Adony Nina, was later charged with the murder in a superseding Indictment filed in April 2014. Nina and co-defendant Candido Antomattei, another high-ranking member of the Organization, were convicted of narcotics trafficking and firearms charges following a trial in October 2013; Nina was subsequently convicted of participating in the Aisha Morales murder in a trial in May 2015. Thirteen other members of the Organization have pled guilty to various federal narcotics and firearms charges.
According to the publicly filed documents, evidence presented at the trials in this case, and statements made in court throughout the pendency of the case:
From 2008 through 2013, the Organization’s members sold crack cocaine and heroin, among other drugs, primarily in the vicinity of Longwood Avenue, and Beck, Kelly, and Simpson Streets in the Bronx. MORALES was involved primarily in the sale of heroin in the vicinity of Simpson and East 163rd Streets.
During and in relation to MORALES’s participation in the drug trafficking conspiracy, MORALES fatally shot victim Aisha Morales, who was 21 at the time of her death, in the head. The shooting took place in the vicinity of 1018 East 163rd Street, in broad daylight. Prior to the murder, MORALES and other members of the Organization threatened rival drug dealers who were selling drugs in the Organization’s territory. In one instance, MORALES threatened a rival that he needed to “get down or lay down.” The murder was the culmination of the dispute with the rival drug dealers. Aisha Morales was not involved in the drug-dealing activities that led to the dispute.
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In addition to the prison term, MORALES, 30, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution. Nina is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2016.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New York City Police Department.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher DiMase, Rebecca Mermelstein, Margaret Graham, and Sarah Krissoff are in charge of the prosecution.
Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Online Enticement of Virginia Beach GirlRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Scott Thomas Sandler, 51, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for enticement of a minor.
Sandler pled guilty on March 26, 2015. According to court documents, Sandler met a 13 year-old girl from Virginia Beach on Facebook in March 2014. The two struck up an online friendship that quickly turned sexual, and Sandler sent numerous images of his genitals to her. The online relationship lasted about one month. At that time, the victim’s father found out and reported the crime to the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), who identified Sandler by his self-photographs that he sent to the victim, which included a distinctive shirt that contained the name of Sandler’s employer in North Dakota. After Sandler was identified, his computers were confiscated and examined. The VBPD discovered that Sandler had been having online sexual relationships with additional minors, as well as collecting hundreds of sexually explicit images of minors from the Internet.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Field Office, and James A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-4.
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Man Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on October 15, 2015, Andrew Jose Espinoza, 43, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months (188 months) in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, a mixture or substance containing cocaine, and a mixture or substance containing marijuana on October 16, 2014. Following the prison term, Espinoza will serve five years on supervised release.
On October 16, 2014, Espinoza was contacted by narcotics officers at a Lincoln motel and gave the officers consent to search his room which led to the finding of a total of approximately 95 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine, approximately one ounce of marijuana and a small amount of cocaine. Espinoza admitted he knew about the drugs in the room, that he had used methamphetamine just prior to the officers’ arrival, and that he was aware there was cash in the room obtained from drug sales.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Luzerne County Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers in Connection with Straw Party Gun PurchasesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Matthias Michael Yuran, age 27, of West Wyoming, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on October 13, 2015 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr. in Wilkes-Barre to making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers in connection with the purchase of 16 firearms.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Yuran was charged in September 2015 with making false statements in connection with gun purchases. Between September 2014 and February 2015, Yuran made false written statements to firearms dealers in Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Bucks Counties. The statements were intended to deceive the dealers. Yuran falsely represented (1) that he was the actual buyer of the firearms and (2) the he was not an unlawful user or addicted to controlled substances, when in fact, he knew (1) that he was not the actual buyer, and (2) that he was an unlawful user of controlled substances.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the West Wyoming Borough Police Department. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Jr.
Yuran faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and fines totaling $250,000.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Local Man Sentenced to 64 Years on Carjacking, Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – DARRELL A. SCOTT was sentenced to 64 years in prison on multiple charges involving two local, armed carjackings, as well as unrelated drug and firearm charges.
According to testimony presented at trial, in the early morning hours of August 27, 2011, Scott and Carris King committed two armed carjackings in the areas of North Florissant Avenue and Zealand Street in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, less than one hour apart. During each of the carjackings, the unsuspecting victims were forced out of their vehicles at gunpoint. Scott and King used the vehicle taken during the first carjacking to commit the second carjacking. Shortly after the second carjacking, responding officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department observed Scott and King driving the vehicle taken during the first carjacking and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Scott and King fled at a high rate of speed, ultimately crashing the stolen vehicle into a vacant house. Scott and King flourished firearms at the officers as they climbed out of the stolen vehicle and escaped on foot. Officers later located the vehicle taken during the second carjacking abandoned nearby.
Scott was arrested by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department approximately two years later after officers received information of Scott’s involvement in the carjackings. At the time of his arrest, Scott was on bond from pending firearm and drug related charges arising out of an investigation beginning in September 2012, conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. During the course of that investigation, Scott sold to an undercover ATF Special Agent a total of approximately 14 grams of heroin and a firearm with an obliterated serial number. During four of the undercover buys, Scott was in possession of a firearm that he informed the ATF Special Agent he would not sell because he needed it.
Scott, St. Louis City, Missouri, pleaded guilty on April 16, 2015, to two felony counts of distribution of heroin, one felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one felony count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime arising out of the ATF investigation. Scott proceeded to trial on the remainder of the charges on June 1, 2015, and was, thereafter, convicted of two felony counts of carjacking, two felony counts of brandishing firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He appeared Wednesday afternoon for sentencing before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Lancaster County Woman Gets 12 Years for Exploiting Her Own ChildRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Lori Hilbourn, 30, of East Lampeter Township, PA, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for manufacturing child pornography and distribution and possession of pornographic images that depicted her own child. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl ordered 15 years of supervised release and a $400 special assessment.
Hilbourn pleaded guilty, on February 27, 2015, to two counts of manufacturing and one count each of distributing and possessing child pornography. Hilbourn admitted that, beginning in December 2013 and continuing for several months, she took sexually explicit photographs of her child at the request of her then-boyfriend, George Wakeley, Jr. Using her cell phone, Hilbourn then texted the photos to Wakeley, who posted them on the Internet to his Flickr account to share with other users who wanted child pornography. On April 1, 2014, a search of Hilbourn’s cell phone pursuant to a search warrant revealed that she still possessed 15 nude and sexually explicit images of her 10-year old child.
Hilbourn must register as a sex offender. Wakely pleaded guilty to charges of receipt; distribution; and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced on September 2, 2015 to six years in prison.
The case was investigated by the East Lampeter Township Police Department with assistance from the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Kennett Square Resident Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Rigoberto Zavala-Cerrato, 28, of Kennett Square, PA, was charged today by indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about September 15, 2015, Zavala-Cerrato, an alien, and native and citizen of Mexico, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about February 4, 2010.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank R. Costello, Jr.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Justice Department Settles Retaliation Claim Against Louisiana Shipbuilding CompanyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with North American Shipbuilding LLC, a company located in Larose, Louisiana. The agreement resolves a complaint filed with the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), claiming that the company retaliated against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination with OSC.
Based on its investigation, the department determined that North American Shipbuilding retaliated against an employee for filing a charge with OSC by, among other things, barring him from the company’s business facilities. The anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from intimidating, threatening, coercing or retaliating against workers who file a charge under the law.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company has agreed, among other things, to pay a civil penalty and to offer $15,000 in back pay to the injured party. The company also has agreed to train its employees on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and to review and revise its employment policies.
“Retaliation against employees for contacting government agencies entrusted to investigate possible violations of the law will not be tolerated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Employees should not be afraid to speak up about their treatment in the workplace.”
OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation. Trial Attorney Katherine E. Lamm investigated this matter.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php, email [email protected]; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Investigation into 3 Los Angeles-Area Synthetic Drug Rings Leads to Arrest of 12 Linked to Manufacture and Distribution of ‘Spice’Read the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Investigations led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in the Los Angeles area have resulted in the arrest of a dozen defendants allegedly involved in the large-scale manufacture and distribution of synthetic narcotics that are commonly called “spice.”
The arrests on Wednesday and this morning were part of a larger, nationwide crackdown on synthetic drug distribution that the DEA labeled “Project Synergy III” (see: 151 Arrested In DEA-Led Investigation Of Synthetic Drug Rings). The law enforcement operation in Los Angeles targeted three organizations that allegedly manufactured and distributed thousands of kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids, which are designed to mimic the effects of THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana.
Over the past several years, DEA has identified more than 400 new designer drugs in the United States – most of which are manufactured in rogue labs in China and sold on the Internet or in retail outlets such as smoke shops, gas station convenience stores and bodegas. These substances are generally sold in brightly colored packaging, marketed to young people, and billed as “safe” alternatives to marijuana or dangerous party drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy). The synthetic drugs are commonly marked with the disclaimer “not for human consumption” or “DEA approved,” which is an attempt to shield distributors from prosecution. Abuse of these psychoactive substances has resulted in increasing numbers of overdose incidents, emergency room visits and even deaths.
In the three cases in Los Angeles announced today, a total of 16 defendants are charged with manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabinoids. The chemicals are mixed with agents – often acetone – to create a mixture that is sprayed onto plant material – typically marshmallow leaf or damania leaf – to create synthetic marijuana, which is commonly referred to as “spice” or “herbal incense.” Such synthetic cannabinoids are smoked or orally ingested, and are referred to in three indictments as smokable synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs). The SSCs discussed in the indictment were sold under brand names that included “Sexy Monkey,” “Crazy Monkey,” “Scooby Snax,” “Bizarro” and “Mad Hatter.”
“This effort highlights DEA’s commitment to toppling the reign drug traffickers hold over too many of our children,” said Anthony D. Williams, the DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division. “Synthetic drugs are extremely dangerous substances and pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of our youth. We will continue to target and dismantle any and all drug trafficking organizations victimizing our society.”
United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker said: “These are extremely dangerous drugs, despite being falsely marketed to youth as being a ‘safe’ alternative and having innocent names like ‘spice’ and ‘K2.’ The often unknown and constantly changing chemicals in these drugs can have unpredictable and devastating effects on users. The Department of Justice takes this threat to public health and safety seriously and will prosecute purveyors of synthetic drugs as the drug traffickers that they are.”
The first case, which was the result of an investigation by the DEA, focused on companies in the “Skid Row” district in downtown Los Angeles. The indictment in this case charges seven defendants:
• Faisal Iqbal, 34, of Glendale, who was arrested yesterday;
• Sana Faisal, 32, of Glendale, Faisal Iqbal’s wife and who was arrested yesterday;
• Mohammad Iqbal, 65, of Glendale, Faisal Iqbal’s father, who is a fugitive believed to be in Pakistan;
• Fidencio Garcia Jr, 25, of North Hollywood, who was arrested yesterday;
• Ahmad Abu Farie, 54, of Huntington Beach, who was arrested yesterday;
• Mohammad Abu Farie, 25, of Huntington Beach, Ahmad Abu Farie’s son, who surrendered to authorities this morning; and
• Ehab Abu Farie, 24, of Chandler, Arizona, another son of Ahmad Abu Farie, who was arrested yesterday.
The second case investigated by the DEA focused on two individuals who had ties to the other two organizations discussed in the other indictments. The two charged in this second indictment are:
• Samia Amaninawabi, 39, of Ontario, who has agreed to surrender to authorities tomorrow; and
• Aziz Maali, 51, of Clifton, New Jersey (formerly of Monterey Park), who was arrested yesterday.
The case investigated by HSI focused on Orange County-based businesses and led to an indictment charging seven defendants. Those charged in the third indictment are:
• Adnan Bahhur, 55, of Anaheim, who has not yet been taken into custody;
• Islam Bahhur, 29, of Anaheim, Adnan Bahhur’s son, who was arrested yesterday;
• Hakeem Bahhur, 24, of Anaheim, another son of Adnan Bahhur, who has not yet been taken into custody;
• Maesa Bahhur, 44, of Greenville, South Carolina, Adnan Bahhur’s daughter, who surrendered to authorities in Los Angeles this morning;
• Mohamad Hamade, 31, of Irvine, who was arrested yesterday;
• Oun Alrzouq, 49, of Anaheim, who was arrested yesterday; and
• Yasir Harb, 55, of Romoland, California, who was arrested yesterday.
Those arrested in Southern California yesterday were arraigned Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court. All of those defendants pleaded not guilty and were ordered to stand trial later this year. Mohammad Abu Farie and Maesa Bahhur are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in Los Angeles federal court.
“Many of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture these substances are shipped from overseas and HSI is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to stop the flow into the U.S.,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “But beyond targeting the manufacturers and importers, it’s also imperative we get the word out – especially to young people – about the dangers, and potentially deadly consequences, of using these substances.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Most of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute controlled substance analogues, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
More information about synthetic designer drugs can be found on the Drug Fact Sheets at www.DEAdiversion.usdoj.gov.
ISIL-Linked Hacker Arrested in Malaysia on U.S. ChargesRead the Press Release
Defendant Charged with Providing Material Support to ISIL and Computer Hacking Related to the Theft and Distribution of U.S. Military and Federal Employee Personal Information
Malaysian authorities have detained Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi in Malaysia on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of U.S. service members and federal employees. The criminal complaint was unsealed today. The United States is seeking his extradition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia to stand trial.
The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul Abbate of the FBI’s Washington, D.C.’s Field Office.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, Ferizi, also known by his hacking moniker “Th3Dir3ctorY,” is believed to be the leader of a Kosovar internet hacking group called Kosova Hacker’s Security (KHS). Ferizi hacked into the computer system of a victim company located in the United States and stole the PII of thousands of individuals. He then provided the PII of over 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees to ISIL to be used against those employees. Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully obtained PII to ISIL member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani. On Aug. 11, 2015, in the name of the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), Hussain posted a tweet titled “NEW: U.S. Military AND Government HACKED by the Islamic State Hacking Division!” which contained a hyperlink to a 30-page document. That document stated, in part, that “we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” The next 27 pages of the document contained the names, e-mail addresses, e-mail passwords, locations and phone numbers for approximately 1,351 U.S. military and other government personnel. This posting was intended to provide ISIL supporters in the United States and elsewhere with the PII belonging to the listed government employees for the purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.
“As alleged, Ardit Ferizi is a terrorist hacker who provided material support to ISIL by stealing the personally identifiable information of U.S. service members and federal employees and providing it to ISIL for use against those employees,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “This case is a first of its kind and, with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft of this information and his role in ISIL’s targeting of U.S. government employees. This arrest demonstrates our resolve to confront and disrupt ISIL’s efforts to target Americans, in whatever form and wherever they occur.”
“National security is compromised by computer intrusions, and Ferizi is charged with obtaining the personal identifying information of U.S. military and government personnel and providing it to ISIL,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “We will investigate and prosecute these cyber-attacks to fullest extent of the law.”
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 35 years.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Haaland of the Eastern District of Virginia. The Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Attorney and FBI Assistant Director thanked the Malaysian authorities for their assistance in this matter.
ISIL-Linked Hacker Arrested in Malaysia on U.S. ChargesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ardit Ferizi, a citizen of Kosovo, has been detained by Malaysian authorities on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of U.S. service members and federal employees. The criminal complaint was unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia today.
According to the criminal complaint, Ferizi, also known by his hacking moniker “Th3Dir3ctorY,” is believed to be the leader of a Kosovar internet hacking group called Kosova Hacker’s Security (KHS). Ferizi hacked into the computer system of a victim company located in the United States and stole the PII of thousands of individuals. He then provided the PII of over 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees to ISIL to be used against those employees. Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully obtained PII to ISIL member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani. On Aug. 11, 2015, in the name of the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), Hussain posted a tweet titled “NEW: U.S. Military AND Government HACKED by the Islamic State Hacking Division!” which contained a hyperlink to a 30-page document. That document stated, in part, that “we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” The next 27 pages of the document contained the names, e-mail addresses, e-mail passwords, locations and phone numbers for approximately 1,351 U.S. military and other government personnel. This posting was intended to provide ISIL supporters in the United States and elsewhere with the PII belonging to the listed government employees for the purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.
“National security is compromised by computer intrusions, and Ferizi is charged with obtaining the personal identifying information of U.S. military and government personnel and providing it to ISIL,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will investigate and prosecute these cyber-attacks to fullest extent of the law.”
“As alleged, Ardit Ferizi is a terrorist hacker who provided material support to ISIL by stealing the personally identifiable information of U.S. service members and federal employees and providing it to ISIL for use against those employees,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “This case is a first of its kind and, with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft of this information and his role in ISIL’s targeting of U.S. government employees. This arrest demonstrates our resolve to confront and disrupt ISIL’s efforts to target Americans, in whatever form and wherever they occur.”
Ferizi faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Haaland and Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Attorney and FBI Assistant Director thanked the Malaysian authorities for their assistance in this matter.
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. 1:15-MJ-515.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
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Husband and Wife Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Conspiring to Traffic Millions of Dollars’ Worth of Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Glenn Sorge, the Acting Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”), Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Robert E. Perez, the Director of New York Field Operations for U. S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), announced charges today against two individuals for conspiring to traffic in millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit goods. Defendants LE FU CHEN, a/k/a “Tom Chen,” a/k/a “Danny Chen,” and HAI FAN HUANG, a/k/a “Cindy Huang,” are charged with importing counterfeit goods from China into the United States with the intent to distribute and sell the counterfeit products to retailers in Manhattan and elsewhere. The defendants were arrested and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox today.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “I would like to thank our partners, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the New York City Police Department, for their outstanding investigative efforts and assistance in uncovering this alleged counterfeiting conspiracy.”
ICE HSI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Glenn Sorge said: “This couple allegedly conspired to profit from the sale of knock offs. Fake products that infringe on business owners’ intellectual property rights cost jobs and hurts the U.S. economy. Today’s arrests and seizures embody HSI and its law enforcement partners’ commitment to disrupt the importation and sale of counterfeit goods.”
CBP Director of New York Field Operations Robert E. Perez said: “This is the second example in recent weeks where an air cargo seizure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection led to a full investigation resulting in the takedown of an elaborate criminal enterprise. It is through our interagency partnerships, and collaborative approaches like the one leading to today’s arrests, that law enforcement successfully combats modern criminal organizations.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint[1]:
From at least in or about November 2014 up to and including in or about October 2015, CHEN and HUANG, who are husband and wife, imported counterfeit luxury and designer brand goods into the United States from China. CHEN and HUANG stored the imported counterfeit goods in multiple storage units and business suites across New York with the intent to transfer the goods to retailers in Manhattan and elsewhere.
On October 15, 2015, pursuant to court-authorized search warrants, federal law enforcement agents conducted searches of CHEN and HUANG’s storage units, business suites, and residence, and found over 130,000 pieces of luxury and designer brand counterfeit goods, including watches and jewelry. The estimated loss attributable to the defendants’ efforts amounts to millions of dollars.
CHEN, 40, and HUANG, 36, of Roslyn Heights, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods, and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. Each defendant faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also thanked the New York Police Department for its assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Jane Kim is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Guatemalan Charged with Defrauding New Hampshire Advisor of MillionsRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced today the unsealing of fraud charges against Guatemalan businessman, Roberto Montano (a/k/a Jorge Roberto Montano Pellegrini). The charges, contained in a Criminal Complaint filed on December 29, 2014, allege that Montano defrauded a Lebanon, New Hampshire, based investment advisor and its clients who had entrusted Montano with managing client funds intended for investment in teak plantations in Guatemala. The Criminal Complaint alleges that the total loss may exceed $9 million. Montano, age 49, is a citizen of Guatemala and most recently resided in or near Guatemala City.
The Criminal Complaint specifically alleges that Montano violated the federal Wire Fraud statute by, among other things, transferring funds intended to run the teak plantations for the benefit of the investment advisor’s clients for other purposes, diverting Guatemalan government subsidies intended to benefit the teak plantations to unidentified recipients and mortgaging Guatemalan real estate assets held for the benefit of the investment advisor’s clients without the authorization or knowledge of the investment advisor or its clients.
Montano is presently a fugitive from justice. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is actively engaged in efforts to locate and apprehend him. Guatemalan prosecutors announced that, on September 17, 2015, they filed charges against Montano based upon the same conduct described in the unsealed Criminal Complaint announced today.
This case was investigated by the Bedford (N.H.) Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.
The charges and allegations contained in a Criminal Complaint are only accusations.
A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Grand Jury Indicts Two in Alleged ATM Skimming SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal grand jury in Providence on Wednesday returned an indictment charging Moises Morales Cano, 31, of Astoria, NY, and Carlos Cisneros, 53, of Jackson Heights, NY, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, for their alleged roles in a scheme to manipulate bank ATM machines which resulted in the theft of personal information skimmed from debit cards belonging to more than 1,300 individuals and the loss of more than $709,000.
It is alleged in court documents that between January 1 and April 4, 2015, the two men conspired with one another to attach skimming devices on ATMs at banks in several communities in Rhode Island and in at least two communities in Connecticut. An ATM skimming device is a technology that directly attaches to an ATM in order to intercept unknowing customers’ debit card information from the magnetic strip on customers’ ATM cards. The customers’ PINs are obtained through the attachment to the ATM of a custom fit plastic panel above the keypad, which houses a miniature remote camera that records the customers’ fingers as they enter their PINs into the ATM. Later, the stolen debit card information and PINs are downloaded to a computer and re-encoded onto counterfeit debit cards with a magnetic encoder. The information obtained is later used to make fraudulent transactions from the accounts of unknowing victims.
It is alleged in the indictment, announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Ted A. Arruda, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence office of the U.S. Secret Service, and Warwick Police Chief Colonel Stephen M. McCartney, that a total of approximately 1,329 individuals had their debit cards compromised by ATM skimming devices installed by Cano and Cisneros, resulting in a total loss of approximately $709,597.50.
An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Moises Morales Cano, who was arrested in Queens, NY, on September 9, 2014, on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, has been detained since his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan on September 18, 2015.
A federal arrest warrant has been issued for Carlos Cisneros, who is believed to have fled from the United States and is residing in Ecuador.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
The matter was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service and the Warwick Police Department, with the assistance of the Smithfield, East Providence, Cranston and Johnston Police Departments.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Georgia Man Sentenced to 135 Months for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100
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Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Stedman J. Bates, age 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 135 months for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. United States District Timothy M. Cain of Anderson sentenced Bates.
The evidence at the change of plea hearing established that Bates owned and operated marijuana grow houses in California. He arranged for large quantities of marijuana to be transported to Georgia for redistribution in South Carolina. In addition, Bates also sold kilogram quantities of powder cocaine and used a stash house in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Bates used various drug couriers to bring his product from Atlanta to Fountain Inn. Once the couriers had delivered the drugs, they would return to Georgia and turn over the money for the drugs to Bates. Law enforcement estimates that Bates arranged for upwards of 50 kilograms of cocaine to be sold in South Carolina.
The case was investigated by agents the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.Garrettsville executive faces tax chargesRead the Press Release
A 10-count indictment was filed charging a Garrettsville executive with withholding nearly $250,000 from his employees’ paychecks but not paying the taxes over to the government, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigations, Cincinnati Field Office.
Jonathan M. Lawrence, 57, was indicted on 10 counts of failure to truthfully account for and pay over employment taxes.
“The conduct described in this indictment is no different than theft,” Dettelbach said.
“Corporate executive and business owners have a significant responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the IRS,” Enstrom said. “Those who fail to do so to gain a competitive advantage will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lawrence served as president and chief executive officer of Laurenco Systems of Ohio LLC, a company he established in 2006 with an office in Leavittsburg, Ohio. As the person with control of the company’s finances, payroll and tax liabilities, Lawrence was responsible for withholding income tax from employees and paying that money to the IRS, according to the indictment.
For 2008 through 2010 and parts of 2011, Lawrence withheld payroll taxes from the company’s employees but did not pay the money to the IRS. The total amount withheld but not paid was approximately $228,482, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fresno County Methamphetamine Organization IndictedRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment today against 14 individuals, charging them with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Charged in the indictment are Olegario Trujillo, 29, of Fresno; Arnold Martinez Valencia, 39, of Woodlake; Edgar Valencia-Farias, of Tulare; Caesar Alejandro Gomez, 33, of Fresno; Gladys Ramos, 30, of Woodlake; Carlos Tafoya-Ramos, 22, of Woodlake; Marcos Diaz, 23, of Madera; Ramiro Salas Munoz, 37, of Lindsay; Arthur Allen Walker, 32, of Poplar; Francisca Torres-Guisar, 51, of Visalia; Pedro Delgado-Montenegro, 36, of Porterville; Jose Roberto Arreola-Serrato, 31, of Tulare; Gary Passmore, 65, of Washington state, and Jorge Martinez Jr., 23, of Tulare.
According to court documents, Olegario Trujillo was the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization, responsible for distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin in California and Washington. Pedro Delgado-Montenegro and Jose Arreola-Serrato supplied him with methamphetamine. Trujillo directed several of the other charged individuals to deliver drugs and instructed them as to the disposition of drug proceeds. Arnoldo Martinez Valencia worked with Trujillo, managing the drug distribution to Shelton, Washington. As the result of investigation, law enforcement seized a large amount of controlled substances, including 14 kilograms of methamphetamine, two kilograms of cocaine, and one kilogram of heroin.
This case was the product of a Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) investigation conducted by the Central Valley Marijuana Investigation Team (CVMIT). CVMIT is comprised of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), California Department of Justice-Bureau of Investigation, California Fish and Wildlife, Tulare County Sheriff's Office, Kings County Sheriff's Office, and Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Servatius is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Trujillo faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The remaining defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 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 defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Free Gun Locks and Firearms Safety Information DistributionRead the Press Release
ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and JEFFREY GAINES, Resident Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announce the distribution of free gun locks and safety information to community residents through Project Childsafe, a national firearm safety education and gun lock program.
The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), in partnership with ATF, are committed to providing the Districts of Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands 300 free gun locks for distribution to local residents on a first-come, first-served basis. The program’s purpose is to promote safe firearms handling and secure storage practices among all firearms owners to prevent firearms accidents, theft and misuse.
The free gun locks will be distributed on October 18, 2015, at the Red Ribbon Community Outreach Event at the Micronesia Mall Center Court from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Another distribution will be made on October 30, 2015, at the Red Ribbon “Say Boo to Drugs” Community Event at the Agana Shopping Center from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco notes that this event supports the goals of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Initiative, a nationwide commitment to reduce violent crime.
Sample gun locks will be available for viewing.
Former Upper Arlington Financial Advisor Sentenced for Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jason W. Cox, 39, now of Dublin, Ohio was sentenced to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $ 412,252 in restitution to the victims, one of which was an impaired adult, of his scheme to defraud them of the funds they had invested through him as their financial advisor. Cox previously pleaded guilty on July 8, 2015 to two counts of money laundering, two counts of mail fraud, and one count of wire fraud.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Chief Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
According to court documents, the defendant used his position as a financial advisor with a national financial services company at their Upper Arlington office to defraud an impaired adult and other victims.
The impaired adult had been introduced to Cox by her father and was told by her father that Cox would be her financial advisor and that he was a person she could trust to manage her money after her father was no longer around to do so. After the victim’s father died, Cox devised and carried out schemes to defraud the impaired adult, resulting in the loss of her residence and approximately $ 400,000 in assets over the course of 18 months. Cox left her with no assets and no income.
Cox would cause the sale of a fund in the victim’s accounts and then wire the funds to her bank or mail a check to her that would be deposited into her account. He would then convince the victim to give him cash or a check in an amount equal to or slightly less than the amount transferred. These amounts were frequent and were generally in thousands of dollars.
“She believed that she and Cox were business partners even though she was unclear what that business was,” Assistant United States Attorney Deborah A. Solove said. “Since she has little concept of the value of money or the relative amounts changing hands, she thought that the money she agave him and the money he gave her was somehow a normal thing to do.”
Cox convinced a second victim to invest some of the money the victim transferred from his 401k after being laid off. Cox asked the victim to invest $60,000 with a guaranteed 10 percent rate of return. The victim agreed to invest $10,000 after Cox sent him the agreement in writing in his employer’s business envelope. Although the victim received his principal and the interest eventually, Cox was fired when this came to light.
The defendant defrauded a third client, an elderly woman, whose adult daughters were handling her financial affairs, whom he paid back with the impaired adult’s money.
"The web of financial lies that Jason Cox created came crashing down like a house of cards and he is now a convicted felon that must pay back the stolen money," said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. "Unfortunately, the victims in this case, including an impaired individual, have been left to pick up the pieces"
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah A. Solove, who prosecuted the case.
Former Schuylkill County Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement of $452,186 from Federal-State Reclamation FundsRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a former Schuylkill County employee, Virginia G. Kunigonis, age 54, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell to embezzling $452,186 from the Schuylkill County Conservation District between 2007 and 2014.
In an Information filed with United States District Court in September 2015 in Harrisburg, Kunigonis, a county employee who worked for the County’s Conservation District, was charged with one count of theft from programs receiving federal funds. The Information alleged Kunigonis forged 437 Conservation District checks totaling $410,435 payable to herself between October of 2007 and May of 2014. The Information also alleged Kunigonis used a Conservation District credit card to pay an additional $41,751 in personal expenses during that same time period. The Schuylkill County Conservation District received in excess of $10,000 in federal grant monies each year between 2007 and 2014.
According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, the embezzled money came from an account containing federal and state funds intended to be used for reclamation projects in the county.
Kunigonis’ guilty plea was entered pursuant to a plea agreement wherein she agreed to cooperate with the government, to make restitution as ordered by the court, and to forfeit the sum of $452,186, all of her interest in her Pottsville, PA residence, and all of her interest in her Schuylkill County employee retirement account, net of taxes, to the government.
Kunigonis began working as an administrative assistant for the Schuylkill County Conservation District in approximately 2002. Prior to that she worked in various capacities for Schuylkill County since 1986. No date has yet been scheduled for sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Scranton Office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty for Health Care Fraud is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The maximum term of imprisonment for False Statements in Health Care Matters is 5 years imprisonment.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Former Non-Profit Health Clinic CFO Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison for Mailing NarcoticsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal judge today sentenced the former financial officer for two non-profit health clinics in Alabama to more than two years in prison for mailing narcotics to a co-defendant and the spouse of a federal prosecutor on a separate fraud case, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, U.S. Postal Inspector R. Frank Dyer and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.
Federal prosecutors recommended a 12-month sentence for TERRI McGUIRE MOLLICA on one count of using the U.S. mail to distribute a controlled substance. Mollica, 48, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to the charge in July. U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins sentenced Mollica to 28 months in prison, calling her crime "extremely reprehensible."
Mollica had an elaborate scheme to use an out-of-state re-mailing service to send the narcotics without being identified as the sender.
"This sentence from the court sends a strong message that defendants who try to obstruct the prosecution of their own criminal conduct by harassing and threatening prosecutors will face additional time in prison," Vance said.
Mollica pleaded guilty April 27 to a complicated scheme to defraud the government through the two non-profit health clinics where she worked as chief financial officer. She is scheduled for sentencing in that case on Nov. 18. According to court documents, Mollica engaged in more than 200 transactions to enrich herself using a variety of bank accounts and trading accounts, illegally receiving about $1.7 million and laundering about $214,333.
On April 17 and April 21, Mollica mailed the packages that, ultimately, were delivered to the spouse of a prosecutor on her fraud case, and to her co-defendant in that case, who already had pleaded guilty to defrauding the government and a health clinic. The package to Mollica's co-defendant contained a statue of a dog, 76 Valium, 38 Zolpidem (Ambien) and about 100 other pills. The package to the prosecutor's spouse contained a desk clock, 49 Adderall, 41 Ritalin and two prepaid debit cards.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI investigated the illegal use of the mail case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys John B. Felton, Melissa Atwood and Ramona Albin prosecuted.
Former Marshall County, WV teacher sentenced for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Duane David Will, Jr., 33, of Moundsville, West Virginia, was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Will repeatedly downloaded images of child pornography in April 2014 while employed as a teacher at John Marshall High School in Marshall County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in June 2015 to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Former Executives of School Bus Company Indicted for Bank Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, and Payroll Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Yesterday, a grand jury returned a five-count indictment in federal court in Brooklyn charging Laraine Castellano and her sons, Thomas Scialpi and Dennis Scialpi, with fraud committed in connection with school bus companies they owned and operated that provided transportation to children attending New York City Public Schools. All three defendants are charged with bank fraud and conspiring to commit bank fraud in connection with over $14 million in bank loans made to the bus companies they controlled. In addition, Castellano and Thomas Scialpi are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States of over $10 million in payroll taxes for employees of the bus companies. Thomas Scialpi is also charged with bank fraud and conspiring to commit bank fraud in connection with a $700,000 loan he used to purchase a yacht. The defendants surrendered this morning and were arraigned today at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.
The indictment was announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Thomas E. Bishop, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Cheryl Garcia, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations in New York; and Jonathan Kay, Regional Director, New York Regional Office, Employee Benefits Security Administration, United States Department of Labor.
As alleged in the indictment, Castellano, Thomas Scialpi, and Dennis Scialpi owned various school bus companies (referred to in the indictment as the United Entities) that provided transportation to children attending New York City Public Schools between 2004 and 2011. During that period, the New York City Department of Education paid the United Entities approximately $310 million for their transportation services.
The 2004 and 2007 Bank Frauds
As alleged, in 2004 at the direction of the defendants, the United Entities applied to Comerica Bank for a $10 million loan (the 2004 Loan). In support of its loan application, the United Entities submitted to Comerica false and fraudulent financial statements and corporate income tax returns. The primary purpose of the 2004 Loan was to establish an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for the benefit of non-union employees of the United Entities. On or about October 30, 2007, the United Entities executed another fraudulent loan agreement with Comerica for an additional $4.5 million (the 2007 Loan), related to the ESOP. However, although the United Entities formally established the ESOP by filing required forms with the United States Department of Labor, it never made any of the required disclosures to their employees and never funded the ESOP as promised. As a result, nearly all of the United Entities employees who were the intended beneficiaries of the ESOP were unaware that it existed, and those employees never received the benefits to which they were entitled under the ESOP.
In addition, between June 2004 and July 2011, at the direction of the defendants, the United Entities submitted materially false and fraudulent quarterly financial statements to Comerica that misrepresented its financial condition in order to conceal that the United Entities were violating the terms of the agreements for the 2004 Loan and the 2007 Loan. The United Entities ultimately defaulted on their repayment obligations for both loans.
The 2007 Yacht Loan
In 2007, Thomas Scialpi applied for a $700,615 loan from Soverign Bank for the purpose of purchasing a yacht. In support of the loan, Scialpi allegedly directed another individual to create false corporate tax returns for one of the United Entities and fictitious W-2 forms. Scialpi submitted these fabricated documents to Soverign, and Soverign approved the loan and disbursed $700,615 to Scialpi. Scialpi ultimately defaulted on the loan.
The Payroll Tax Fraud Conspiracy
As alleged, Laraine Castellano and Thomas Scialpi also created purported professional employer organizations, or PEOs, as part of a conspiracy to defraud the United States of more than $10 million in payroll taxes they owed for wages paid to the United Entities employees. A PEO is an entity created to perform some or all of a company’s federal payroll tax withholding, reporting, and payment functions. In 2008 and 2009, Castellano created and controlled entities that purported to be PEOs to handle payroll taxes for United Entities’ employees. In 2010, the two defendants created and controlled additional entities that purported to be PEOs for United Entities’ employees. Castellano and Scialpi were required to collect, account for, and pay to the IRS payroll taxes that were due and owing on wages of United Entities employees. However, they ensured that the funds transferred from the United Entities to the purported PEOs would be insufficient to satisfy the United Entities’ payroll tax obligations. When the shortfall in payroll taxes was discovered by the IRS, Castellano and Thomas Scialpi created yet another purported PEO to continue the scheme. Through these purported PEOs, the two defendants conspired to defraud the United States of more than $10 million in payroll taxes.
“Companies owned and operated by Laraine Castellano, Thomas Scialpi, and Dennis Scialpi received more than $300 million from city contracts to transport children to New York City public schools. But that was not enough for these defendants. As alleged, they used their companies to defraud the federal government and financial institutions of tens of millions of dollars, all to enrich themselves. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect taxpayers and to vigorously prosecute such criminal activity,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie.
“The willful failure of a business owner to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes is a serious crime investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Bishop. “As alleged, when the defendants created the purported PEOs to circumvent their payroll tax obligations, they potentially deprived their workers of future benefits, the U.S. Government of much needed tax revenue, and effectively left it to the taxpaying public to make up the difference.”
“Employee Stock Ownership Plans are intended to provide retirement income for employees. We will not countenance individuals using the guise of an ESOP to enrich themselves and deprive employees of retirement benefits while allegedly committing bank fraud and other crimes,” said Regional Director Kay.
If convicted of all counts, Castellano faces a maximum sentence of 65 years imprisonment, Thomas Scialpi faces a maximum sentence of 125 years imprisonment, and Dennis Scialpi faces a maximum sentence of 60 years imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Marisa Seifan, Kevin Trowel, and Lan Nguyen are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
LARAINE CASTELLANO
Age: 72
Staten Island, New YorkTHOMAS SCIALPI
Age: 51
Saddle River, New JerseyDENNIS SCIALPI
Age: 44
Staten Island, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Criminal Docket No. 15 CR 523
Former City of Miami Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
A former uniformed police officer with the City of Miami Police Department pled guilty today to accepting bribes.
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, and Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD) made the announcement.
Julio Ruiz pled guilty to violating three counts of the Hobbs Act, that is, affecting commerce by extortion under color of official right, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a).
According to the court record, including documents in support of the Ruiz’s guilty plea, the defendant accepted bribes from an FBI confidential source on three occasions between April 26 and June 12, 2013. In exchange for $1,800 cash and a cellular telephone, Ruiz misused his official position to provide the confidential source access to, and information regarding, traffic accidents located within the City of Miami Police Department. Ruiz also inaccurately reported the disposition of the towed vehicles in the resulting City of Miami police reports.
Julio Ruiz’s sentencing is scheduled to take place on December 22, 2015, before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga. Each of the three counts to which the defendant has pleaded guilty carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The Court may order any sentence of imprisonment awarded under one count to be served concurrently or consecutively to a sentence imposed on a different count.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the City of Miami Police Department Internal Affairs Division. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Lacosta.
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.
Former Cable News Commentator Arrested and Charged with FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Wayne Shelby Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, Maryland, a former occasional on-air commentator who appeared on a cable news network, was arrested today after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government.
According to the indictment, Simmons falsely claimed he worked as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1973 to 2000, and used that false claim in an attempt to obtain government security clearances and work as a defense contractor, including at one point successfully getting deployed overseas as an intelligence advisor to senior military personnel. According to the indictment, Simmons also falsely claimed on national security forms that his prior arrests and criminal convictions were directly related to his supposed intelligence work for the CIA, and that he had previously held a top secret security clearance. The indictment also alleges that Simmons defrauded an individual victim out of approximately $125,000 in connection with a bogus real estate investment.
Simmons will make his initial appearance at 2 p.m. today in front of Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.
If convicted, Simmons faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud counts, 10 years in prison on the major fraud against the U.S. counts, and 5 years in prison on the false statements count. The maximum 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; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Simmons will have his initial appearance later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson is 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. 1: 15-cr-293.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
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Five Men Charged in $2.5 Million Grant Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Five men have been indicted by the federal grand jury on charges that they fraudulently obtained more than $2.5 million from small business owners for grant funding and services which were never provided and never intended to be provided, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada and Laura A. Bucheit, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada.
Pierre Franco-Ramos, 33, and Danny Goodman, 68, of Las Vegas, Victor Vazquez, 31, of Henderson, Andre Jackson, 43, of North Las Vegas, and Ronald Defusco, 48, of Johnston, Rhode Island, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Additionally, Franco-Ramos and Vazquez are charged with eight counts of mail fraud and eight counts of wire fraud; Goodman is charged with four counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud; Defusco is charged with one count of mail fraud; and Jackson is charged with one count of wire fraud.
Franco-Ramos and Vazquez were arrested in Las Vegas this morning and are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman at 3:00 p.m. today for an initial appearance and arraignment. The three other defendants are not yet in custody.
"Advance fee fraud schemes are common and perpetrated for the sole purpose of ripping off unsuspecting victims to enrich greedy fraudsters," said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We are currently prosecuting a number of these cases in which the defendants prey on unsuspecting business owners who are seeking grants for their businesses. If you think you have been victimized by persons committing this sort of crime, please contact the FBI.”
“Today’s arrests emphasize the FBI’s dedication to investigate financial crimes and prosecute those who prey upon unsuspecting citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Bucheit.
According to the indictment, from about 2009 to February 2012, the defendants and their coconspirators allegedly induced small business owners to give them money for services that the small business owners thought they needed to secure grant funding. In reality, the defendants did not intend to or provide the services or the grant funding, and the true purpose of the money they received from the business owners was to personally enrich the defendants.
Among other things, the indictment alleges that the defendants told the business owners they would assist them with business plans, web services, non-profit status, and other paperwork that was necessary to obtain the grant funding. The defendants also made numerous false representations and promises to the small business owners, operated under multiple and evolving business names, and changed the business’ physical location to dissociate themselves from the clients’ complaints that were made on the internet and with law enforcement. Using this fraud scheme, the defendants allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $2.5 million from the victims.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on all counts.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn C. Newman.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.com.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Fairfax Woman Guilty of Embezzling $653,000 from Virginia State SenatorRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Linda Diane Wallis, aka Lynn Wallis Miller, 51, of Fairfax, pleaded guilty today for her role in three fraud schemes totaling over $1 million in losses, including embezzling $653,000 from Virginia State Senator Richard Saslaw’s campaign fund.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Wallis participated in three separate fraud schemes from in or around January 2013 through in or around February 2014. In the first scheme, Wallis, along with a co-conspirator, D.M., created two fraudulent companies, the first known as Federal Legal Associates, and the second was The Straile Group. Through various methods including fraudulent wire transfers and checks, Wallis allegedly caused approximately $368,400 in loss to Company A.
The second scheme involved the embezzlement of approximately $653,000 from the campaign account of Senator Saslaw. From June 2013 to September 2014, Wallis served as the treasurer of the Saslaw for State Senate campaign. During that time, Wallis issued or caused to be issued, approximately 73 fraudulent checks from the Saslaw for State Senate campaign bank account, which totaled approximately $653,000. Wallis made the checks payable to the aforementioned Federal Legal Associates, The Straile Group, and herself. All of the checks were issued without knowledge or permission of Senator Saslaw or his campaign staff, and were deposited into accounts she independently controlled or that were jointly controlled with co-conspirator D.M.
The third scheme involves misuse of funds from a non-profit charitable organization, of which Wallis was Executive Director and co-conspirator D.M. co-founded. The non-profit, known as The Community College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (CCCAID), claimed to provide assistance to community colleges for program development and implementation and information on the availability of resources for sustainability of programs. In April 2010, Wallis established CCCAID’s bank account, and between April 2010 and April 2013, community colleges located around the country contributed approximately $293,000 to CCCAID. Additionally, a Bulgarian businessman associated with co-conspirator D.M. donated $500,000 to CCCAID. The funds contributed to CCCAID were to be used to further the mission of the organization and not to enrich Wallis or co-conspirator D.M. Despite these restrictions, from April 2010 to August 2014, Wallis authorized approximately $482,000 in transfers from CCCAID’s account to other bank accounts Wallis and co-conspirator D.M. controlled. A significant percentage of the $482,000 CCCAID was used to pay Wallis’ and co-conspirator D.M.’s personal expenses, such as mortgage payments, expenses related to food/restaurants, and merchandise purchases.
Wallis will be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2016, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye is 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. 1:15-cr-285.
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Ellensburg Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Levi Lawrence Morefield, age 30, of Ellensburg, Washington, was sentenced today for distribution of heroin. United States District Court Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Morefield to a 15 year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a three year term of court supervision upon release from Federal prison.
According to information presented during the court proceedings, Morefield sold heroin to multiple individuals during 2012 and 2013. In May 2013, Morefield distributed heroin that ultimately was used by an individual who died as a result of an overdose. In September, 2013, Morefield was charged by indictment with several heroin distribution offenses. He entered a guilty plea on February 17, 2015.
Michael C. Ormsby said, "Investigating and prosecuting heroin distribution offenses, particularly where a fatal over dose has occurred, is a top priority for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. This Office, together with the DEA, and state and local law enforcement offices, like the Ellensburg Police Department, are combating the growing heroin and opioid scourge."
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Ellensburg Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Benjamin D. Seal, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Eight Men Indicted for Manufacturing and Dealing AR-15 Type Rifles and Silencers Without a LicenseRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 70-count indictment today against eight men, charging them with various firearms offenses involving manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and ATF Special Agent in Charge Jill A. Snyder announced.
- Joseph Latu, 29, of Elk Grove, is charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, dealing firearms without a license, conspiracy to manufacture and deal firearms without a license, possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, possession of an unregistered silencer, possession of an unserialized firearm.
- Algernon Tamasoa, 27, of Sacramento, is charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, dealing firearms without a license, possession of an unserialized firearm, and distribution of MDMA.
- John Ortiz, 43, of Vallejo, and Keith White, 40, of Vallejo, are charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, dealing firearms without a license, and possession of an unserialized firearm.
- Charles Tucker, 29, of Stockton, and Ionel Pascan, 28, of Riverbank, are charged with dealing firearms without a license, conspiracy to manufacture and deal firearms without a license, possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, possession of an unregistered silencer, and possession of an unserialized firearm.
- Daniel Bennett, 39, of Stockton, and David Bennett, 27, of Stockton, are charged with conspiracy to manufacture and deal firearms without a license.
According to court documents, between February 6 and September 28, 2015, on 24 occasions, the defendants, either individually or together, met with an undercover ATF agent and sold him a variety of firearms, including rifles, AR-15 type rifles, AR-15 type short-barreled rifles, revolvers, pistols, and silencers. In all, the sales involved 67 firearms and 38 silencers. Additionally, 71 firearms and 62 silencers were recovered during the arrest of certain defendants and ensuing execution of search warrants. In total, 238 firearms and silencers were recovered. Many of the firearms did not have a serial number or other identification markings and were manufactured from unfinished lower receivers, commonly known as “80 percent” lower receivers or “ghost guns.” None of the silencers had a serial number or other identification marking, as is required for firearms under the law. Further, many of the firearms were short-barreled rifles, which must be registered on the National Firearms Registration and Record. None of the short-barreled rifles sold to the undercover agent were registered to any of the defendants.
According to court documents, the firearms sold to the undercover agent were supplied by Latu, Tamasoa, White, Ortiz, Tucker, Pascan, Daniel Bennett, and David Bennett. Many of those firearms were manufactured from firearm parts by Tucker, Pascan, Daniel Bennett, and David Bennett. At the time he was manufacturing firearms, David Bennett worked as a San Joaquin County Sheriff correctional officer.
“High-capacity assault rifles, with silencers but without serial numbers, are some of the most lethal weapons that criminals can get their hands on,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “Manufacturing and selling these weapons for profit, without complying with federal licensing rules, is both a serious crime and a serious threat to public safety.”
“ATF's primary mission is to reduce violent crime and protect the public. With the seizure of 238 firearms and silencers, we have accomplished both,” said Special Agent in Charge Jill A. Snyder. “ATF will continue to pursue the individuals who chose to break the law and unlawfully traffic in firearms.”
Woodland Chief of Police Dan Bellini stated: “It was only through the collaboration of the various law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation that we were successful in bringing these charges.”
West Sacramento Chief of Police Tom McDonald stated: “This was a great example of mutual partnership between local and federal agencies in a coordinated effort to prevent crime and improve safety in our communities. The operation was successful in the interdiction of illegal firearms at their source before these firearms could reach the streets of our communities. Once again, I’d like to thank Woodland Police Chief Bellini and Resident Agent in Charge Graham Barlowe for this outstanding coordinated effort.”
According to complaints filed in the case, on several occasions in August and September, the undercover agent met with Latu, Tucker, and Pascan to discuss a large-scale purchase of AR-15 type rifles and silencers. Latu, Tucker, and Pascan agreed to manufacture 50 short-barreled AR-15 type rifles and 50 silencers, which would be sold to the undercover agent in early October.
On October 6, 2015, the undercover agent met with Latu, Tucker, and Pascan at the Yolo County Airport in Davis. Latu, Tucker, and Pascan brought 50 unmarked, unserialized short-barreled AR-15 type rifles and 50 unmarked, unserialized silencers, which they intended to sell to the undercover agent. After Latu, Tucker, and Pascan showed the undercover agent the firearms and silencers, a team of law enforcement officials arrested the three defendants. At the time of his arrest, Pascan had a handgun concealed in his waistband and a second handgun was under the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Later that day, law enforcement authorities arrested Tamasoa, White, and Ortiz. On October 14, 2015, authorities arrested Daniel Bennett and David Bennett.
In addition to the firearms charges, Tamasoa was also charged with selling MDMA to the undercover agent in a transaction on April 3, 2015. Tamasoa and Ortiz were separately indicted in an unrelated narcotics case on June 18, 2015. Both defendants were released on bond in that case. (Case # 2:15-cr-124 KJM)
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the West Sacramento Police Department; the Woodland Police Department; with assistance from the Sacramento Police Department; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Vallejo Police Department; U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO); Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team; the Western States Information Network Inc., and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face maximum statutory penalties for the various charges as follows: the penalty for each count of conspiracy and each count of dealing firearms or manufacturing firearms without a license is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the penalty for each count of possessing a firearm without a serial number and each count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle or silencer is 10 years in prison and a $10,000 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Durant Woman Pleads Guilty to $585,000 Tribal EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that CARMA LYNN ELLIOTT, age 45, of Durant, Oklahoma, pled guilty to an Information charging her with EMBEZZLEMENT FROM INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1163.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Choctaw Nation Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Information alleged that from on or about March 26, 2005 and continuing through April 2, 2011, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant with intent to convert them to her use, did knowingly retain $585,397.15 of moneys, funds and credits belonging to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a tribal organization.
The Honorable James H. Payne, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea, and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled upon its completion. The defendant will remain on bond pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is up to 5 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00 or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Drug Defendants SentencedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, announced the Oct. 15, 2015 sentencing of Roger Ross, age 50 of Miami, Florida and Odell Cleveland, age 47, of Cairo, Georgia. Mr. Ross was sentenced to serve a term of 360 months imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release of 8 years. Mr. Cleveland was sentenced to serve a term of 63 months imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release of 3 years. The two men were convicted of Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine and Crack Cocaine and multiple counts of Using a Communication Facility in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Activity.
Mr. Ross was determined to be a Career Offender based on his prior convictions for: 1) Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute on December 20, 1984, in the Superior Court of Thomas County, Georgia; 2) Sale of Cocaine –two counts- on March 30, 1988, in the Superior Court of Grady County, Georgia; 3) Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine on May 8, 1998, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division and 4) Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base on July 21, 1999, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
“We will continue to use our federal resources to clean up our communities and give drug dealers a new address – the federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Moore. “These convictions were the result of the strong collaborative efforts of our local, state, and federal agencies. They are to be commended for their good work.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Columbus, GA and Miami, FL, the Thomas County Vice/Narcotics Squad, Cairo Police Department, Pelham Police Department and the Georgia State Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah E. McEwen is prosecuting the case for the Government.
For additional information, please contact Pamela Lightsey at (478) 621-2603.
District Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for Striking Metropolitan Police Department Officer with His CarRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kevin Burno, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to over 15 years in prison on charges stemming from his use of a 1991 Lexus sedan to run over a Metropolitan Police Department patrol officer, Sean Hickman, in March 2013 in Southeast Washington, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Burno was found guilty by a jury in July 2015 of aggravated assault while armed, assault on a police officer while armed, and assault with a dangerous weapon. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Patricia A. Broderick. Altogether, the judge sentenced Burno to 15 years, five months, and 10 days in prison. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.
“Officer Sean Hickman was seriously injured while doing his job, simply for signaling to Kevin Burno that his car’s headlights weren’t on,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “For no reason whatsoever, Kevin Burno intentionally and recklessly ran Officer Hickman down before fleeing the scene. This case is another reminder of the dangers of police work, and the community will be much safer with this defendant behind bars for the next 15 years.”
“Officer Sean Hickman, originally a second-grade teacher, became a police officer to serve and protect citizens of the District of Columbia,” said Chief Lanier. “Unfortunately, while Sean was doing just that, protecting and serving, this defendant brutally and maliciously drove his vehicle into Officer Hickman and fled. I am pleased with the outcome and trust that Officer Hickman will find some comfort in the sentencing decision by the Court today.”
According to the government’s evidence, on March 5, 2013, at about 6:30 p.m., Officer Hickman was patrolling in Southeast Washington on his 250cc Honda Rebel motor scooter. Officer Hickman was responding to a call in the area when he observed Burno’s vehicle pulling out of a parking spot and heading southbound without its lights on. The officer was travelling northbound and pulled his motor scooter over to the northbound parking lane, where he made a hand signal to Burno’s vehicle indicating that his headlights were not on. Burno pulled out of his parking spot and drove in Officer Hickman’s direction. Burno then abruptly turned his vehicle into the officer, causing him to be thrown off his motor scooter and onto the sidewalk – unable to move. Burno sped off without stopping or providing medical assistance to Officer Hickman.
Officer Hickman was treated for serious injuries to the left side of his body in general, and his lower left leg in particular. To date, he has limited movement in his left leg and can no longer work patrol duties.
In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen and Chief Lanier commended the work of Officer Hickman and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sixth District. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the prosecution from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Long and Richard DiZinno, who investigated and indicted the case; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Paralegal Specialists Stephanie Gilbert and Richard Cheatham; and Intern Willie Wilson. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derrick Williams and Karen Seifert, of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, who prosecuted the matter.
Disbarred New York Attorney Indicted for Real Estate Investment Fraud Scheme and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A disbarred New York attorney was indicted for allegedly engaging in a real estate investment fraud conspiracy that defrauded more than 15 victims of $5 million from 2009 to the present, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
Pasquale Stiso, a/k/a “Pat Stiso,” 54, of New Rochelle, New York, is charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven substantive counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering. The indictment was returned Oct. 14, 2015, by a federal grand jury sitting in Newark. Co-defendant Paul Mancuso previously pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with Stiso to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2009 through the present, Mancuso held himself out as an investor, broker, and developer of various purported investments. Mancuso obtained from his victims substantial investments for various projects that, in fact, either did not exist at all or in which Mancuso had no actual involvement. Stiso held himself out as an individual who was working with Mancuso on various purported projects. Many of the victims of Stiso and Mancuso’s schemes lost all or substantially all of the money they invested with Mancuso and Stiso. Many lost all or most of their life savings in the various schemes to defraud.
Stiso and Mancuso falsely represented to some victims that they would purchase event tickets, such as tickets to sporting events and concerts, at a lower or wholesale rate, and then resell them to members of the public at an inflated rate, creating profits for their investors. In reality, Stiso and Mancuso did not buy tickets with their victims’ money.
In one of the real estate schemes, Stiso and Mancuso falsely represented to victims that they were investors in a real estate development project in Valley Cottage, New York, and that investor money would be used to purchase an interest in real property. The real property interest would then be resold at an increased price, creating profits for their investors. In reality, Stiso and Mancuso did not invest in any such real estate project with their victims’ money. Instead, they engaged in monetary transactions designed to funnel, and in many instances launder, the victims’ investments for their own benefit, including to pay illegal gambling debts. Stiso and Mancuso were heavily involved in illegal gambling pursuits and they both owed substantial sums of money to one of their bookmakers.
The charge of wire fraud conspiracy and the substantive counts of wire fraud each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greatest. Each money laundering count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and criminal investigators of the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro and Anthony J. Mahajan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Henry E. Klingeman Esq., Newark