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18 November 2015
Prior Felon from Artesia Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Violating Federal Narcotics and Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Enrique Hernandez, 44, of Artesia, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison for his conviction on federal firearms and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Hernandez will be on supervised release for five years following his term of incarceration.
Hernandez was arrested on June 5, 2014, by the DEA and the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force (PVDTF) based on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the federal firearms and narcotics laws in Eddy County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Hernandez distributed approximately 20.9 grams of methamphetamine to an individual who was working with law enforcement in Artesia on April 16, 2014 and June 4, 2014.
Court filings also reflect that the DEA and PVDTF found approximately 293 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, firearms, ammunition and $1,908.00 in cash during the execution of a search warrant on Hernandez’s place of business. At the time Hernandez was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he previously had been convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
On Oct. 17, 2014, Hernandez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Hernandez admitted possessing ten ounces of methamphetamine and several firearms and ammunition in Eddy County on June 5, 2014. In entering the guilty plea, Hernandez admitted that he intended to provide the methamphetamine to another individual and that he knew it was illegal for him to possess firearms and ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the HITDA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The HITDA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department, Artesia Police Department, New Mexico Probation and Parole, and the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
President of Local Defense Contractor Sentenced to One Year and a Day in Federal Prison for Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – CHRISTOPHER HOUSTON HENSLEY, 57, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to serve one year and one day in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to bribe a public official at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Hensley is the founder and president of Aerochem, Inc., based in Oklahoma City. Aerochem manufactures paint remover ("depaint") products, and it sold these products to Tinker Air Force Base ("Tinker") and other military bases for several years. On June 9, 2015, Hensley was charged by information with conspiracy to bribe a public official at the Corpus Christi Army Depot ("CCAD") in Corpus Christi, Texas. The information alleged that Aerochem started selling paint remover products in 2010 to CCAD. According to the information, Hensley and Soney E. Beesley, a former Aerochem officer, developed a relationship at CCAD with Richard Balderas, Jr., a supervisor of a CCAD division that stripped paint off military helicopter parts. The information alleged that Hensley and Beesley provided entertainment, $5,000 in wire transfers, and more than $3,000 in cash to Balderas in exchange for his favorable treatment of Aerochem’s business interests at CCAD. At a plea hearing on June 23, 2015, Hensley admitted that he approved of Beesley taking Balderas out to gentlemen’s clubs in Corpus Christi and using Aerochem money to buy a $2,600 football helmet for the football team of Balderas’ son.
Today, United States District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Hensley to one year and one day in federal prison. Judge Heaton ruled that Hensley was responsible for bribery payments by Aerochem to officials at Tinker and CCAD. Judge Heaton ordered Hensley to pay $24,316.06 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense, to forfeit an additional $24,316.06 to the federal government as criminal proceeds, and to pay a fine of $25,000. Following his term of imprisonment, Hensley must serve three years of supervised release. Judge Heaton ordered Hensley to report on January 4, 2016, to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons.
Hensley is the fourth defendant to plead guilty and to be sentenced for an Aerochem bribery scheme involving Tinker and CCAD. In October 2013, SHELVIE RAYMOND TABB, 51, of Canadian, Oklahoma, pled guilty to accepting cash from an Aerochem employee in exchange for Tabb’s favorable treatment of Aerochem’s business interests in federal contracting. Tabb is a former depaint section chief at Tinker. In February 2014, SONEY E. BEESLEY, 41, of Oklahoma City, plead guilty to offering a bribe to a public official. Beesley admitted at a plea hearing that he made cash payments to Tabb in exchange for Tabb’s favorable treatment of Aerochem’s interests in federal contracts at Tinker. In June 2014, RICHARD BALDERAS, JR., 47, of Ingleside, Texas, pled guilty to accepting a bribe as a public official. At a plea hearing, Balderas admitted that as a CCAD supervisor, he helped to decide when CCAD needed to replace its paint stripper. Balderas further admitted that in 2011 and 2012, he accepted cash from Beesley on behalf of Aerochem, and Beesley represented that the cash payments were based on how much paint stripper CCAD bought from Aerochem. In August 2015, Judge Heaton sentenced Tabb, Beesley, and Balderas each to a term of 36 months’ probation. Beesley was also ordered to serve 30 days of home confinement and to pay a fine of $30,000.
These cases are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement and Making False Entries in Credit Union RecordsRead the Press Release
Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that John C. Barry, 69, of Portland, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to embezzlement and making false entries in credit union records.
According to court records, the defendant was the manager of the Portland Police Department Federal Credit Union (“PPDFCU”), a federal credit union whose deposits were federally insured. In that capacity, the defendant had access to PPDFCU bank accounts and was responsible for managing the activities of the credit union. Between 2009 and December 2013, the defendant embezzled more than $400,000 from credit union accounts by transferring the funds into his and his family members’ accounts for his and their personal use. Over that period of time, the defendant was also responsible for preparing and submitting certified quarterly call reports to the National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”). The defendant caused false quarterly call reports to be filed that overstated the PPDFCU’s net worth to make it appear that PPDFCU was sufficiently capitalized, when in truth and in fact, as he well knew, the PPDFCU was not sufficiently capitalized. As a result, on December 1, 2014, the NCUA facilitated the acquisition of the PPDFCU by a much larger federal credit union.
Barry faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine on each charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Pittsburgh Man Sentenced for Possessing Videos and Images of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County resident pled guilty and has been sentenced in federal court to one year and one day imprisonment, followed by 10 years supervised release, on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Matthew Jankowski, 24, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, on or about June 24, 2014, Jankowski knowingly possessed videos and images in computer graphic files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years of age.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, and Indiana County District Attorney’s Office for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Jankowski.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Pensacola Man Convicted of Child Exploitation CrimesRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Late yesterday, a federal jury convicted Pensacola resident Robert M. Grafton Jr., 29, of attempted enticement of a minor for sex. Additionally, Grafton pled guilty to possession of child pornography just prior to jury selection. The verdict was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
At trial, the government presented evidence that, in May 2015, Grafton communicated online with an undercover law enforcement officer for the purpose of meeting a 12-year-old special needs child for sexual activity. Grafton was arrested when he arrived at the arranged meeting location in Pensacola. A search of his cellular telephone and digital media at his residence revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography.
For the attempted enticement of a minor charge, Grafton faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. For the possession of child pornography charge, Grafton faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2016.
The case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Pensacola Police Department, Gulf Breeze Police Department, and other agencies that are part of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact: Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, [email protected]Pennsylvania teacher sentenced for traveling to engage in sexual conduct with minorRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Daniel S. McGarvey, 45, a teacher from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison after he traveled to West Virginia with the intent to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
McGarvey used internet-based websites and text messaging to communicate with a minor female who he believed to be 15 years old. In October 2014, he traveled to Bridgeport, West Virginia for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with the aforementioned minor female.
McGarvey pled guilty in April 2015 to one count of “Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct” following an investigation by the Bridgeport Police Department and the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Partner at New York Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Multimillion-Dollar Accounting Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that MARC WIESELTHIER, a certified public accountant and partner at a New York accounting firm (the “Firm”), pled guilty today to participating in a scheme to obtain millions of dollars in loans by making false statements and providing false and fraudulent documents to two commercial banks based in New York (the “Banks”) concerning the financial condition of a Florida-based cosmetics company (the “Company”) that was a client of WIESELTHIER. WIESELTHIER pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Marc Wieselthier has admitted to lying about the financial condition of a company to induce banks to lend the company millions of dollars. Relying on false information, the banks made loans that ended up defaulting with nearly $5 million still owed. Wieselthier now joins his co-conspirators in awaiting sentencing for his crime.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez said: “Wieselthier, with the knowledge of his co-conspirators, convinced lenders of his client’s affluence in an effort to mask the true nature of the company’s financial situation. In the end, the banks incurred a significant financial loss as a result of this type of fraud. Today’s plea serves as a reminder that engaging in illegal activity of this sort poses a significant risk to one’s personal freedom.”
According to the allegations contained in the information to which WIESELTHIER pled guilty and statements made during WIESELTHIER’s plea proceeding:
WIESELTHIER was a licensed certified public accountant at the Firm. Since 2009, WIESELTHIER has been a partner at the Firm. The Company and its chief executive officer (“CEO”) were clients of WIESELTHIER, who performed, among other things, year-end audits of financial statements for the Company.
From 2007 through 2014, the Company, through its officers, fraudulently induced the Banks into lending the Company millions of dollars by repeatedly making, and causing to be made, materially false and misleading statements about the Company’s financial condition. Specifically, the Company falsely inflated its sales and accounts receivable on “borrowing base certificates” and in financial statements audited by WIESELTHIER, which were provided to the Banks pursuant to loan agreements between the Banks and the Company. The Company used those falsely inflated sales and accounts receivable to mislead the Banks about the Company’s true financial performance so that the Company could secure and draw down millions of dollars in revolving loans from the Banks that the Company would not otherwise have been entitled to receive.
As a part of the scheme, on an annual basis, WIESELTHIER knowingly issued unqualified audit reports known as “clean opinions” falsely certifying that the Company’s financial statements fairly, and in all material respects, reflected the true financial condition of the Company and were in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In truth and in fact, at the time that WIESELTHIER issued those “clean opinions,” WIESELTHIER knew that the Company’s financial statements falsely overstated the Company’s accounts receivable and understood that the Banks would rely upon those false financial statements in loaning money to the Company. WIESELTHIER hid his accounting work for the Company from his own partners and associates in an apparent effort to conceal the fraud.
In March 2014, the Company defaulted on the loans at issue. At that time, the Company’s outstanding balance on the loans was more than $4.8 million.
* * *
WIESELTHIER, 57, of Plainview, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
WIESELTHIER is scheduled to be sentenced on March 23, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
Emanuel Cohen, 71, of Boca Raton, Florida, the former CEO of the Company, and Thomas Thompson, 42, of Coral Springs, Florida, the former sales manager of the Company, previously pled guilty for their roles in the scheme. Cohen and Thompson are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kaplan on March 2, 2016 and February 17, 2016, respectively.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward A. Imperatore is in charge of the prosecution.
Oregon Attorney Indicted for Employment Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting in Portland, Oregon, returned an indictment yesterday charging a resident of Lake Oswego, Oregon, with 10 counts of willfully failing to collect, truthfully account for and pay over federal employment taxes to the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the allegations in the indictment, Gary B. Bertoni, had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal employment taxes withheld from the wages of the employees of his law firm, Bertoni & Associates LLC. Beginning in approximately the first quarter of 2009 and continuing through 2011, Bertoni failed to pay over to the IRS employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages as they became due. The indictment further alleges that Bertoni failed to remit monies withheld from employees’ wages for various employee benefits, including health insurance and retirement account contributions. Instead, Bertoni caused his law firm to make thousands of dollars of expenditures for his personal benefit during the 2009 through 2011 calendar years, including payments to his personal bank account totaling more than $300,000.
If convicted, Bertoni faces a statutory maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, a maximum fine of $2.5 million and restitution to the IRS.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo thanked agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who are investigating the case and Trial Attorneys Stuart A. Wexler and Quinn P. Harrington of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Ohio man convicted of failure to update sex offender registrationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Convicted sex offender Richard Doman, 46, of Lorain, Ohio, was convicted in federal court today after he failed to properly update his registration status, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Doman was convicted in 2003 of “Statutory Sexual Assault” and “Indecent Assault” in the Court of Common Pleas of York County, Pennsylvania. As a result of that conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. Doman moved from Ohio to West Virginia in 2014 without updating his sex offender registration.
Doman pled guilty today to one count of “Failure to Update Sex Offender Registration.” He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00. 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 Sarah Montoro and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Morgan prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service investigated.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Nottingham Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Workers’ Compensation FraudRead the Press Release
Barbara Stanley, 62, of Nottingham, PA, was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison after conviction at trial of five counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft of government funds, one count of making false statements, and two counts of making false statements regarding workers' compensation benefits, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
At trial, in August 2015, the defendant had been convicted of scheming to defraud the Department of Labor out of workers’ compensation benefits between July 2006 and December 2010 by concealing the fact that she had recovered from her work-related injury. She was also convicted of stealing the approximately $164,000 in workers’ compensation benefits that she received during that time period, and making false statements about her medical condition to the Department of Labor. The defendant was further convicted of stealing approximately $35,000 in Office of Personnel Management (OPM) disability retirement benefits that she received at the same time that she was receiving workers’ compensation benefits, and falsely denying her receipt of the OPM disability retirement benefits, resulting in total losses to the government of approximately $199,000.
In addition to the prison sentence, the Honorable Paul S. Diamond also imposed three years of supervised release to follow incarceration. A hearing to determine the exact amount of restitution is scheduled to take place on December 1, 2015.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, and the Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys MaryTeresa Soltis and Mary E. Crawley.
North Port Man Sentenced for Possessing and Making Counterfeit CurrencyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Peter Bonfiglio (28, North Port) to two years and one month in federal prison for making and possessing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He pleaded guilty on August 19, 2015.
According to court documents, Bonfiglio, together with his co-defendant, Jaret Santa, was arrested by deputies from the Sarasota County Sherriff’s Office after Bonfiglio tried to pay for merchandise at a retail store using a counterfeit $100 bill. Santa had supplied the note to Bonfiglio, who then tried to pass it at another store before deputies arrested them both. Following their arrests, the deputies located approximately $4,600 in counterfeit $100 bills in their car. Further investigation revealed that between January 5, 2015, and February 2, 2015, the pair had passed approximately $5,500 in counterfeit $100 bills at various stores and businesses.
Santa has previously pleaded guilty for his role in this case. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 6, 2016.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service with assistance from the Sarasota County Sherriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hoffer.
Non-Indian Man from Albuquerque Pleads Guilty to Burglarizing Two Isleta Pueblo HomesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Roman I. Trujillo, 28, a non-Indian man residing in Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to burglarizing two homes in Isleta Pueblo, N.M., under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Trujillo and his co-defendant, Danielle Bercier, 34, a non-Indian woman also residing in Albuquerque, were arrested on Jan. 29, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with burglary occurring in Indian Country on the Isleta Pueblo Indian Reservation. According to the complaint, on Jan. 29, 2015, officers of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department responded to calls regarding burglaries at two residences in the Pueblo. At the second residence that was burglarized, officers came upon Trujillo who was fleeing from the residence in a vehicle in which Bercier was a passenger. Trujillo led the officers on a chase which ended when Trujillo crashed his vehicle.
Trujillo and Bercier were subsequently charged in a four-count indictment filed on Feb. 25, 2015. The indictment charged both Trujillo and Bercier with two counts of burglary of a dwelling. It also charged Trujillo alone with driving a vehicle in such a manner that endangered the life of another person and receiving stolen property, a 2006 Toyota Tacoma truck, on Jan. 28, 2014, in Indian Country in Valencia County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Trujillo pled guilty to the two burglary counts and admitted that on Jan. 29, 2015, he forced his way into two homes in Isleta Pueblo while Bercier stayed outside as a lookout. Trujillo admitted that in the first home he stole property worth $1,500.00, and at the second home he stole two cellphones. Trujillo acknowledged that he knew or should have known that the truck he was driving as he attempted to evade arrest was a stolen vehicle.
At sentencing, Trujillo faces a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison on each of the two burglary counts. Trujillo has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Bercier has entered a not guilty plea and is in custody pending trial which is currently scheduled for Jan. 25, 2016. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.
New York Doctor Sentenced to More Than Three and A Half Years in Prison for Taking Bribes in Test-Referral Scheme with New Jersey Clinical LabRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor with a practice in Rockville Centre, New York, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Brett Halper, 41, of Glen Head, New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Including Halper, 38 people – 26 of them doctors – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. The investigation has so far recovered more than $11.5 million to date through forfeiture.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
Halper admitted that from January 2011 through April 2013, he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS and was often paid in excess of $5,000 per month. Halper’s referrals generated approximately $2,900,000 in lab business for BLS.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Halper to serve two years of supervised release and fined him $100,000. Halper must also forfeit $325,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish, Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward, Acting Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $635 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: Marc Agnifilo Esq., New York
New Orleans Office Manager Sentenced for Role in $50 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The office manager of a home health company at the center of a $50 million fraud scheme in New Orleans was sentenced to prison today for participating in the scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office and the Louisiana Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit made the announcement.
Joe Ann Murthil, 58, of New Orleans, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 48 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, Murthil was ordered to pay $14,147,275 in restitution.
Murthil, Memorial Home Health Inc.’s (Memorial’s) office manager, assisted with the payment of illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters and submitted claims to Medicare falsely stating that patients were homebound and had received services. From 2007 through 2014, Memorial and the other companies in this scheme submitted more than $56 million in claims to Medicare, the vast majority of which were fraudulent. Medicare paid approximately $50.7 million on these claims.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Louisiana Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Louisiana. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William Kanellis and Antonio Pozos of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,300 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $7 billion. In addition, HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
New Orleans Office Manager Sentenced for Role in $50 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The office manager of a home health company at the center of a $50 million fraud scheme in New Orleans was sentenced to prison today for participating in the scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office and the Louisiana Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit made the announcement.
Joe Ann Murthil, 58, of New Orleans, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 48 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, Murthil was ordered to pay $14,147,275 in restitution.
Murthil, Memorial Home Health Inc.’s (Memorial’s) office manager, assisted with the payment of illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters and submitted claims to Medicare falsely stating that patients were homebound and had received services. From 2007 through 2014, Memorial and the other companies in this scheme submitted more than $56 million in claims to Medicare, the vast majority of which were fraudulent. Medicare paid approximately $50.7 million on these claims.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Louisiana Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Louisiana. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William Kanellis and Antonio Pozos of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,300 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $7 billion. In addition, HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Conspiracy Related to Falsifying Records for Gun PurchaseRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ORONDE GABRIEL, age 31, of New Orleans, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to falsify ATF records related to the purchase of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced GABRIEL to 50 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, GABRIEL conspired to assist two other individuals in the purchase of a firearm from Academy Sports in Elmwood on June 9, 2013. GABRIEL was a previously convicted felon and prohibited from buying a firearm. The individual who purchased the firearm falsified an ATF form regarding the true ownership of the firearm, which is a federal offense.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) led the investigation along with assistance from the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. Rivera was in charge of the prosecution.
Morris County, New Jersey, Plastic Surgeon Found Guilty of Evading Taxes on More Than $5 Million in IncomeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A plastic surgeon with a practice in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, was convicted today by a federal jury of fraudulently diverting millions in corporate earnings for his personal use, costing the United States nearly $3 million in tax revenue between 2006 and 2010, U.S Attorney Paul Fishman announced.
David Evdokimow, 55, of Harding Township, New Jersey, was convicted of all eight counts of a superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, four counts of personal income tax evasion and three counts of corporate tax evasion. He was convicted following three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court. The jury deliberated for a day before returning the verdict.
According to the superseding indictment and evidence at trial:
Evdokimow ran his medical practice through a corporation called De’Omilia Plastic Surgery P.C. (De’Omilia). He conspired with others to conceal millions of dollars of taxable income from the IRS by forming shell corporations and then having trusted associates open bank accounts for those corporations. Evdokimow then convinced these trusted associates to give him their signatures or signature stamps so that he had full access to the shell company bank accounts while at the same time being able to conceal his connection to those accounts. He and the other conspirators then funneled millions of dollars in De’Omilia income into the bank accounts of the shell corporations and falsely claimed that these transfers were legitimate business expenses. Evdokimow also used bank accounts in the name of De’Omilia to pay his personal expenses, and falsely claimed those were business expenses too.
Evdokimow used the shell corporation and De’Omilia bank accounts to pay for more than $5.8 million in personal expenses, including designer apparel, jewelry, vacations, artwork, and multiple residences, all of which he falsely claimed as business expenses.
Evdokimow also opened accounts at several banks in order to cash checks received directly from patients for professional medical services. Between 2009 and 2011, Evdokimow cashed over $360,000 in checks from patients, which he failed to report on his federal income tax returns.
Evdokimow was convicted of concealing over $5.8 million in income from tax years 2006 to 2010. By concealing this income, Evdokimow evaded paying almost $3 million in taxes during that period.
Each of the counts with which Evdokimow is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Murphy and Justin Herring of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: James Kridel Esq., Clifton, New Jersey
Monongalia County man sentenced for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Daniel Frohnhofer, 44, of Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Frohnhofer was previously convicted of “Criminal Sexual Penetration” in 1996 in New Mexico, “Felony Menacing – Real/Simulated Weapon” in 2008 in Colorado, “Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Registration Requirements” in 2008 in Texas, and “False Imprisonment” in 2009 in New Mexico.
Through an investigation by the West Virginia State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Frohnhofer was discovered in possession of various images of child pornography. He pled guilty in August 2015 to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Morgan prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Monmouth County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Possessing Explicit Images of 12-Year Old Pennsylvania GirlRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for possessing sexually explicit images of a 12-year old Pennsylvania girl with whom he had an online relationship, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Chad Weber, 23, of Colt’s Neck, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an information charging him with one count of possessing images of child pornography. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
In April 2013, law enforcement agents learned Weber had been communicating with a 12-year-old girl from Pennsylvania. The agents obtained and reviewed copies of various chat logs and other internet-based messages, which reflect Weber’s online communications with the victim between February 2013 and April 2013. Many of these communications were sexually explicit. Weber and the victim also traded sexually explicit photographs of each other through the internet and discussed the photographs in online chats. During some of these communications, Weber acknowledged that the victim was 12 years old. Weber admitted possessing these sexually explicit photographs of the minor victim on his cell phone and computer.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Weber to 10 years of supervised release. As part of his guilty plea, Weber must pay restitution of $5,570, forfeit the computer and cell phone he used to commit the offense and register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Lorber of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Brian P. Reilly Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
Mobile County Man Sentenced to 8 Months for Possession of Counterfeit CurrencyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney Kenyen Brown announces that Ronald C. Howard, Jr, a 45 year old resident of Theodore, Alabama was sentenced today to 8 months incarceration followed by three years of supervised release for possession of counterfeit currency.
On July 21, 2015, Mr. Howard pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement that noted he was found in the possession of approximately $2000 worth of counterfeit currency and a laser jet printer used to manufacture the counterfeit currency and for attempting to pass counterfeit $20 bills in the area along with a cohort. Mr. Howard agreed to and did forfeit the printer as a facility of his illegal activity.
Special agents of the United States Secret Service investigated the case and presented it to the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
Mobile County Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Conspiring to Pass and Utter Counterfeit CurrencyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney Kenyen Brown announces that Brian Little, a 36 year old resident of Theodore, Alabama was sentenced today to 15 months incarceration followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to pass and utter counterfeit currency at local businesses.
On July 31, 2015, Mr. Little pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement that noted he was attempting to pass counterfeit $20 bills in the area along with a cohort.
Special agents of the United States Secret Service investigated the case and presented it to the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
Mexican national pleads guilty to reentering the United States multiple times illegallyRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Mexican national pleaded guilty Tuesday to re-entering the United States after removal.
Saul Abundis Cordova, 39, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of re-entry of a removed alien. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Shreveport Police arrested Cordova on January 15, 2015 for driving while intoxicated, and on July 22, 2015, was convicted of driving while intoxicated for the fourth time. Cordova had been removed from the United States to Mexico on at least three previous occasions in 2008, 2009 and 2014. The removal on June 12, 2014 occurred after Cordova was convicted of felony possession of Schedule II control substances, cocaine, which results in a sentencing enhancement of a convicted felon.
Cordova faces 10 years in prison, one to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of March 8, 2016 was set.
Homeland Security Investigations-Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael O’Mara is prosecuting the case.
Mexican national pleads guilty to Federal drug chargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a Mexican national residing in Madison, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today to a drug charge in federal court in Charleston. Leonel Vivian Castellanos, 28, from Vera Cruz, Mexico, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, admitting that between May 12 and May 19, 2015, he distributed approximately 500 grams of methamphetamine to informants in Kanawha and Boone Counties.
In addition to the drugs Castellanos distributed to informants, law enforcement later found more methamphetamine during the course of the investigation. On May 21, 2015, police arrested Castellanos and found him in possession of another 50 grams of methamphetamine at his home in Madison. That same day, during the execution of a search warrant in Nitro, law enforcement seized approximately 500 grams of additional methamphetamine that Castellanos admitted to distributing.
Castellanos faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1,000,000 fine when he is sentenced on February 23, 2016.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, Homeland Security Investigations, the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation, and the South Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation in this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities, including the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and other drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Cultivation Operation in Sierra National ForestRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. —Juan Pedro Jimenez, 39, of Ensenada, Mexico, entered a guilty plea today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute, manufacturing, and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana in connection with a large-scale cultivation operation on Chowchilla Mountain in Mariposa County in the Sierra National Forest in Mariposa County, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Jimenez was found at the cultivation site on public land in July. Agents removed 6,919 marijuana plants from the site and found fertilizer, trash, water lines, and propane tanks. The cultivation activities caused extensive damage to the land and natural resources. Native trees and plants were cut down and steep hillsides were terraced to plant the marijuana. Water was diverted from a nearby creek to irrigate the plants. In pleading guilty, Jimenez agreed to reimburse the U.S. Forest Service for the cost of cleaning up the site.
Jimenez is scheduled for sentencing on February 1, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. He faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Meth Conspirator Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Thomas Jefferson Bentley, IV, 34, of Mobile, was sentenced today in federal court on charges involving his participation in conspiracies to manufacture methamphetamine and to possess a Schedule I chemical, pseudoephedrine, with knowledge it would be used to manufacture a controlled substance. Bentley pled guilty to the two charges in December of 2014.
United States District Court William H. Steele imposed a sentence of time served, which amounted to 20 months on each charge, and ordered that the sentences run concurrently. He also ordered that Bentley will commence a three-year term of supervised release when he is discharged from incarceration. As conditions of his supervision, Bentley will be subject to testing and treatment for drug abuse. Judge Steele also ordered that Bentley pay $200 in special mandatory assessments, but he did not impose a fine.
The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
Member of Sinaloa Cartel Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison for Distributing Cocaine and Heroin Shipped to Chicago from MexicoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico was sentenced today to 19 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to transport large amounts of narcotics to the Chicago area.
TOMAS AREVALO-RENTERIA directed a portion of the cartel’s U.S.-based couriers, who distributed large quantities of cocaine and heroin in Chicago and throughout the United States. He also coordinated logistics for the cartel and served as a broker in its efforts to ship the narcotics from Mexico.
Arevalo-Renteria, 46, pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo imposed the 19-year sentence in federal court in Chicago.
“The defendant was a full functioning member of one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in existence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Ferrara argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The direct and indirect damage that those drugs have caused to communities in Chicago and elsewhere is immeasurable.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago has worked closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to target senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. Arevalo-Renteria is one of more than 20 alleged members of the cartel to be indicted in federal court in Chicago. The indictments include charges against the cartel’s alleged leader, JOAQUIN “CHAPO” GUZMAN. The Chicago-based investigation has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately eleven tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine and 78 kilograms of heroin.
Arevalo-Renteria has been in U.S. custody since his arrest in his native Mexico in 2010. In his plea declaration, he admitted that he conspired with twin brothers from Chicago to distribute heroin and cocaine from 2005 to 2008. The twins, PEDRO FLORES and MARGARITO FLORES, operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution network for both the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival organization.
In two separate transactions brokered by Arevalo-Renteria, the Flores brothers agreed in 2008 to purchase 27 kilograms of heroin from the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Arevalo-Renteria’s plea declaration. Unbeknownst to Arevalo-Renteria, the Flores brothers had begun cooperating with U.S. law enforcement and had provided information about the deals to investigators. The information allowed agents to seize the 27 kilograms of heroin.
The Flores brothers pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in 2012 and were each sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Arevalo-Renteria’s sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Stephen Boyd, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy.
The government is represented by Mr. Ferrara and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erika Csicsila, Georgia Alexakis, Kathryn Malizia, and Sean Franzblau.
Member of Cherry Hill Group ‘UDH’ Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Clarence Shipley, age 27, of Baltimore, to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a racketeering conspiracy in connection with Shipley’s participation in the UDH organization, which operates in the Cherry Hill section of Baltimore.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
According to his plea agreement, Shipley is a member of the UDH organization, which operates in the area of Cherry Hill known as “Up the Hill” or “Up da Hill.” UDH members and associates have been in a long-running dispute with members of an organization known as “Coppin Court” that is involved in criminal activity in the part of Cherry Hill known as “Down the Hill,” and since at least January 2011, have been in a dispute with members of “Little Spelman,” another organization that is involved in criminal activity in the Down the Hill section of Cherry Hill. UDH members and associates used violence and intimidation to protect themselves, the organization, and their control of the drug trade in part of Cherry Hill.
Shipley admitted that as a UDH member he distributed heroin in the Giles/Fisk/Slater area of the UDH section of Cherry Hill. During his participation in the UDH drug conspiracy Shipley was responsible for distributing between 700 grams and one kilogram of heroin.
In addition, Shipley participated in two bank robberies with fellow UDH members. On July 19, 2011, Shipley and other UDH members robbed the Chesapeake Bank of Maryland branch located in the2200 block of Eastern Avenue in Baltimore. On August 5, 2011, Shipley, Bryan Turner, and other UDH member robbed the Chesapeake Bank of Maryland branch in Arbutus. In each robbery Shipley served as the getaway driver, while other gang members went into the bank and presented the teller with a note demanding money. Shipley and his associates stole a total of $11,405, in the two robberies, which was later divided between Shipley and the other UDH members who participated in the robberies, including Bryan Turner.
Defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy - including others who are alleged to have participated in these bank robberies - are scheduled to go to trial on April 4, 2016.
Bryan Turner, age 29, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, and Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea L. Smith, Seema Mittal, and Patricia C. McLane, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Louisiana Business Owners Plead Guilty to Filing False Individual Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Two owners of a Metairie, Louisiana, business each pleaded guilty to one count of willfully filing false 2011 income tax returns today, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Rommel Cordova, 35, of Luling, Louisiana, and Saul Ramirez, 43, of Kenner, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon. They were both charged on Nov. 4, in a single Bill of Information with willfully filing false 2011 individual income tax returns. According to court documents, Cordova and Ramirez owned and operated Skill Labor Provider Inc. a Metairie labor services business. Cordova and Ramirez each owned 50 percent of the business and shared equally in its net income.
As part of their guilty pleas, Cordova and Ramirez admitted that during calendar years 2010 and 2011, they cashed and caused to be cashed, checks made payable to Skill Labor Provider Inc. and other business checks at a check cashing business in Kenner. Cordova and Ramirez caused false corporate income tax returns for Skill Labor Provider Inc. for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 to be prepared that did not accurately report the gross receipts, labor expenses deductions, or net income of the business. During this period, the corporate tax returns underreported the business’s gross receipts by more than $6 million. Cordova and Ramirez also separately filed their respective individual income tax returns for tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012, on which they failed to accurately report the amounts of business income they received from Skill Labor Provider Inc.
At sentencing, each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the offense, a $100 special assessment and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U. S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of the IRS—Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden Brockett and Tax Division Trial Attorney Michael P. Hatzimichalis, who are prosecuting the case.
Louisiana Business Owners Plead Guilty to Filing False Individual Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two owners of a Metairie, Louisiana, business each pleaded guilty to one count of willfully filing false 2011 income tax returns today, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Rommel Cordova, 35, of Luling, Louisiana, and Saul Ramirez, 43, of Kenner, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon. They were both charged on Nov. 4, in a single Bill of Information with willfully filing false 2011 individual income tax returns. According to court documents, Cordova and Ramirez owned and operated Skill Labor Provider Inc. a Metairie labor services business. Cordova and Ramirez each owned 50 percent of the business and shared equally in its net income.
As part of their guilty pleas, Cordova and Ramirez admitted that during calendar years 2010 and 2011, they cashed and caused to be cashed, checks made payable to Skill Labor Provider Inc. and other business checks at a check cashing business in Kenner. Cordova and Ramirez caused false corporate income tax returns for Skill Labor Provider Inc. for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 to be prepared that did not accurately report the gross receipts, labor expenses deductions, or net income of the business. During this period, the corporate tax returns underreported the business’s gross receipts by more than $6 million. Cordova and Ramirez also separately filed their respective individual income tax returns for tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012, on which they failed to accurately report the amounts of business income they received from Skill Labor Provider Inc.
At sentencing, each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the offense, a $100 special assessment and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U. S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of the IRS—Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden Brockett and Tax Division Trial Attorney Michael P. Hatzimichalis, who are prosecuting the case.
Local Man Charged in Federal Indictment Involving an Armed Assault on Arch PropertyRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – KILWA JONES was indicted on multiple charges involving the September 25, 2015, shooting of Christopher Sanna, as well as the robberies of both Sanna and his companion, Lisa Simpson. The robberies and the assault occurred near the Old Cathedral in the northbound lanes of Memorial Drive, which is a part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
Jones, St. Louis, Missouri, was indicted on one felony count of assault with a dangerous weapon while on federal property, two felony counts of robbery while on federal property, three felony counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted, these various charges carry penalties up to life in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the detective bureau of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney John Bird is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Lewis County Man Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – MICHAEL PRISNER, Ewing, Missouri, was indicted for his alleged possession of child pornography between April and June 2015.
If convicted, each count of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Charles County ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) and Kirksville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Colleen Lang is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
L.A. Man Pleads Guilty in $17 Million Scheme to Defraud Verizon by Reselling over 30,000 iPhones Obtained at Deeply Discounted PriceRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – The owner of a Glendale-based ride-sharing business pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal wire fraud charges, admitting that he illegally generated over $13 million in profits by selling more than 30,000 Apple iPhones fraudulently obtained from Verizon Wireless at substantially discounted prices.
Karen “Kevin” Galstian, 37, of Chatsworth, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in San Diego to one count of wire fraud, and he admitted committing the offense while on pre-trial release in another case filed by prosecutors in San Diego.
Galstian pleaded guilty today in San Diego, where federal prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s office previously obtained a guilty plea in a bank fraud case. Pursuant to a plea agreement in the iPhone case, Galstian will be sentenced in both cases by United States District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz. Today, Judge Moskowitz scheduled a sentencing hearing for January 11, 2016.
The plea agreement calls for a 100-month sentence on the combined cases.
As part of the scheme involving the iPhones, Galstian admitted that he used his company, Toro Ride, Inc., to induce Verizon Wireless to provide the business with more than 30,000 iPhones at a substantial discount. He purchased most of the mobile phones that usually sell for more than $500 for only 99 cents each – in connection with a two-year contract. Galstian claimed that the phones would be used by drivers for Toro Ride’s ride-sharing service (a service similar to Uber and Lyft) and that Toro Ride, which had only been operating in the Los Angeles area, was poised to expand nationwide. Galstian falsely told Verizon that Toro Ride had received $20 million from investors. When he brokered the deal with Verizon last year, Galstian failed to disclose the he was awaiting sentencing in the bank fraud case and thus would be incarcerated and unavailable to lead the company in the expansion.
As Verizon provided the iPhones that supposedly would be used by Toro Ride’s drivers, Galstian sold the vast majority of the devices to companies engaged in the international re-sale of consumer electronics. Thousands of the iPhones that Verizon shipped to Toro Ride were never used on its network and instead were activated in countries such as Vietnam, Iraq, China and Saudi Arabia.
Galstian fraudulently convinced Verizon to provide him with iPhones worth more than $19.4 million. In less than six months, Galstian generated illegal proceeds of more than $13 million by re-selling the iPhones. Toro Ride used some of the illicit proceeds derived from iPhone sales to make required monthly payments to Verizon, which enabled Galstian to continue to order thousands of additional iPhones. The plea agreement calls for the defendant to pay $17 million in restitution to Verizon.
Galstian used approximately $2.5 million of the fraud proceeds to purchase several properties, including a penthouse condominium in the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, and a Mercedes S550. In conjunction with today’s guilty plea, Galstian agreed to forfeit assets related to and obtained through the fraud scheme, including real properties in Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Tujunga and Las Vegas, as well as more than $200,000 seized from bank accounts and a number of vehicles.
The investigation into Galstian’s wire scheme was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Kenner Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that STEVEN GAETA, age 41, of Kenner, was sentenced today for crimes involving the possession of child pornography.
According to court records, on November 25, 2014, special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) executed a federal search warrant at GAETA’s Kenner home. HSI agents determined Gaeta used Peer to Peer file sharing programs to possess approximately 120 videos and 500 images depicting the sexual victimization of children. GAETA pled guilty to the charge on August 19, 2015.
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced GAETA to 78 months incarceration, to be followed by five years of supervised release. GAETA is also required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Unit Chief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba was in charge of the prosecution.
Jury Finds Redding Interstate Marijuana Trafficker Guilty on All CountsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a five–day trial, a federal jury today found John James Kash, 52, of Redding, guilty of three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, manufacturing marijuana, and conspiracy to launder money, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. The trial was held before United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.
According to evidence presented at trial, in May 2013, Kash and his three business partners shipped approximately $700,000 worth of marijuana from Benicia, California to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Law enforcement authorities tracked the shipment from California to Pennsylvania and watched Kash and his business partners collect the shipment from the freight company and deliver it to a warehouse outside of Pittsburgh. Authorities arrested Kash and his three co-conspirators at the warehouse. That same day, authorities executed search warrants at six separate locations associated with Kash and his business partners seizing over $1 million worth of marijuana and more than $150,000 in cash.
Three months later, after Kash and his business partners had been released from custody in Pennsylvania, law enforcement authorities executed multiple search warrants at a warehouse and residences in and around Redding. Authorities found Kash living inside a warehouse that had been converted into an active marijuana cultivation operation. Authorities seized approximately 468 growing marijuana plants from the warehouse. Meanwhile, authorities searched the residence of Kash’s co-conspirators and found processed, packaged marijuana ready for distribution as well as pay/owe ledgers reflecting marijuana cultivation and sales and several firearms.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Sacramento Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Utah Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Michele Beckwith, Justin Lee, and Christiaan Highsmith are prosecuting the case.
Kash is in custody pending sentencing. Co-defendants Glen Meyers, Aimee Burgess, and James Massery have all pleaded guilty and are in custody.
Kash is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Mueller on February 3, 2016. Kash faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine on the conspiracy to distribute marijuana charge and on the manufacture of marijuana change, and 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine or twice the value of the funds involved in the money laundering offense. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Jury Convicts Member of San Diego Counterfeiting OperationRead the Press Release
Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Stephanie G. Chau (619) 546-9174 and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G. Wheat (619) 546-8437
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 18, 2015
SAN DIEGO – Jermaine Harris of San Diego was convicted by a federal jury yesterday of manufacturing and passing counterfeit currency following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo.
A federal jury deliberated less than one day and found Harris guilty of one count of Counterfeiting and Forging Obligations of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 471 and one count of Passing Counterfeit Obligations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 472.
At trial, the government presented evidence that Harris, along with co-defendants Alexander Eibeck, Sopeap Muk, Meghan Ripley, Nicole Cortes and Ashley Contreras, operated a counterfeit currency manufacturing plant from a hotel room in Mission Valley.
On November 15, 2014, the San Diego Police Department arrested one of the six individuals for passing counterfeit United States Federal Reserve Notes at the Fashion Valley Mall. On November 16, 2014, the San Diego Police Department and the United States Secret Service, Regional Task Force, discovered the manufacturing plant.
According to the evidence presented at trial, the six defendants manufactured counterfeit U.S. currency by “bleaching” or “washing” the ink off of genuine small-denomination bills and then using a printer to print images of higher-denomination bills on the washed currency paper. A search of the hotel room yielded a wide variety of physical evidence, including completed and partially completed counterfeit currency, printers, bleaching solution, and various tools used to replicate the security features of legitimate U.S. currency. U.S. Secret Service agents discovered that the defendants had been using electronic devices to view and manipulate images of legitimate U.S. currency features to produce counterfeit $100 bills.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the group victimized numerous businesses in the San Diego area by passing the counterfeit $100 bills. According to the plea agreement for Eibeck, the face value of the counterfeit bills manufactured and passed by the group exceeded $16,000.
Eibeck, Muk, Ripley, Cortes and Contreras were previously sentenced after pleading guilty. Judge Bencivengo will sentence Harris on February 19, 2016.
This case was investigated by United States Secret Service.
“The United States Secret Service would like to thank the San Diego Police Department, as well as our other state and local law enforcement partners in the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force for all their efforts and assistance with this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge David Murray.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14CR3488-CAB
Jermaine Harris Age: 34
Alexander Eibeck Age: 27
Sopeap Muk Age: 28
Nicole Cortes Age: 29
Meghan Ripley Age: 35
Ashley Contreras Age: 22
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Counterfeiting and Forging Obligations, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 471
Maximum penalty: 20 years
Passing Counterfeit Obligations, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 472
Maximum penalty: 20 years
AGENCIES
United States Secret Service, San Diego Regional Task Force
San Diego Police Department
Insurance Broker Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions from AetnaRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BONNEY J. HEBERT, 60, of Killington, Vermont, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $10 million from Hartford-based Aetna Life Insurance Company.
According to court documents and statements made in court, HEBERT was the sole owner and president of Academic Risk Resources and Insurance, LLC (“ARRI”), a risk management and insurance brokerage agency based in Boston. ARRI’s business included brokering insurance contracts between health insurance providers and colleges or universities in order to provide health insurance for students and other individuals affiliated with the college or university. In July 2007, HEBERT and ARRI began serving as the broker for a student health insurance contract entered into between Aetna and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The contract between Aetna and Rutgers provided that premiums would be paid by Rutgers to ARRI and then transmitted by ARRI to Aetna.
Between 2009 and 2012, HEBERT failed to pass along to Aetna $10,358,728 in premiums paid by Rutgers. She used the stolen funds on personal expenses and to cover the business expenses of ARRI.
On June 2, 2015, HEBERT pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
HEBERT disclosed her fraudulent scheme to Aetna representatives in June 2012. She subsequently sold ARRI to another business and directed that payments related to the sale be made directly to Aetna. Through these payments, HEBERT has repaid Aetna approximately $1.59 million. HEBERT also has not collected more than $900,000 in commissions owed to her by Aetna. As a result, HEBERT currently owes Aetna $7,846,305.45 in restitution.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.
Humboldt County Resident Sentenced to 15 Years’ Imprisonment for MurderRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO– Ryan Carroll was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and thus causing murder, announced Acting United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson. Carroll’s codefendant, Robert Lee, received a sentence of seven years for being an accessory after the fact and destruction of a vehicle by means of fire. The sentences follow guilty pleas entered by the codefendants in which they acknowledged their respective roles in an attempt to rob a Humboldt resident who asked for help in purchasing marijuana.
Carroll, 31, of no fixed residence, pleaded guilty on July 30, 2015, to being one of the people who robbed and killed Reetpaul Rana in a drug deal gone bad. According to the plea agreement, Carroll told Rana in August of 2008 that he would help Rana purchase 8 or 9 pounds of marijuana. In September of 2008, rather than help Rana purchase the marijuana, Carroll and three other people decided to rob Rana. Rana was shot and killed during the robbery. On August 22, 2013, a federal grand jury indicted Carroll; he was charged with robbery affecting interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); use of a firearm causing murder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j); conspiracy to destroy an object to obstruct an investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; destruction of an object to obstruct an investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519; and use of fire in the commission of a federal felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(h). Pursuant to the plea agreement, Carroll pleaded guilty to using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence causing murder. Today, Carroll was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for the conduct to which he admitted in the plea agreement.
On July 17, 2015, Lee, 30, of no fixed residence, pleaded guilty to criminal conduct that followed the murder of Rana in September 2008. According to the plea agreement, Lee agreed with two other people to “torch” Rana’s car in a suitable location. Lee admitted that he knew the car belonged to Rana and that Rana recently had been robbed and killed with a firearm during the course of the robbery. Lee acknowledged assisting in transporting the car to an access road near a lagoon in Arcata, Calif., spraying the inside of Rana’s car with WD-40, and igniting the car for the purpose of preventing the apprehension, trial, and punishment of the person responsible for robbing and killing Rana. On August 22, 2003, Lee was charged with use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); use of a firearm causing murder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j); conspiracy to destroy an object to obstruct investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; destruction of an object to obstruct investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519; and use of fire in the commission of a federal felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(h); accessory after the fact, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 3; and manufacture and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. In May of 2015, a grand jury amended the charges against Lee to add malicious destruction and conspiracy to maliciously destroy a vehicle by means of fire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Lee pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the use of a firearm causing murder, and to the malicious destruction of a vehicle by means of fire.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Edward Chen, U.S. District Judge. Carroll has been in custody since June 2010, and Lee has been in custody since October 2011. Both defendants will begin serving their respective sentences immediately. Judge Chen also sentenced each of the defendants to a five-year period of supervised release and ordered defendants to pay $6,000 in restitution to Rana’s parents. Both defendants are liable for the $6,000 jointly and severally and the court set a date of January 20, 2016, to consider any further restitution claims that may be made by Rana’s parents.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Scoble and Scott D. Joiner are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kurt Kosek, Lance Libatique, and Ponly Tu. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.
Greg Leon Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Pattern of Hiring Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Jim May (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Greg Leon, age 49, of Lexington, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern and practice of hiring illegal aliens, a violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324a(a)(2) and 1324a(f)(1). Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of Columbia accepted the guilty plea today in federal court in Columbia and will sentence Leon after he has reviewed the presentence report to be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. As part of the plea agreement, Leon previously pleaded guilty in South Carolina General Sessions Court to paying a public official for assistance in violation of South Carolina Code Section 8-13-720.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Leon operated eight restaurants in the Midlands of South Carolina. Leading up to May of 2013, Leon engaged in a pattern of hiring and employing individuals that he knew were in the country illegally and not eligible to work. Leon was involved in hiring approximately sixty illegal aliens. In addition to the hiring of those illegal aliens, Leon paid former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts for his assistance on several occasions when Metts helped or attempted to help one of the illegal alien employees that had been arrested.
Over the last two years, Leon has cooperated extensively and provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of Metts. Based on that cooperation, the Government agreed that a sentence of one year of probation and a fine of $180,000 – in addition to the five years of probation and 200 hours of community service imposed by the state court – was an appropriate resolution for Leon’s criminal charges.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigation, State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jay N. Richardson and Jim H. May are prosecuting the case.
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Georgia and Florida Residents Plead Guilty in Stolen Mail SchemeRead the Press Release
Two men separately pled guilty to possession of mail that had been stolen from various condominium complexes throughout Broward County, Florida.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.
Anthony Bouquette, 24, of Valdosta, Georgia, pled guilty today to two counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. James Mathurin, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, pled guilty on October 8, 2015 to two counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. Bouquette is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. in front of U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch. Mathurin will be sentenced on January 8, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. in front of U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. At sentencing, both defendants face up to five years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution as to each count.
According to information contained in the court records, from February through September 2011, the defendants possessed mail that had been stolen from various apartment complexes in Broward County, including locations in Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Sunrise and Wilton Manors. The defendants and other individuals possessed checks that had been made out to businesses and stolen from the condominium complex mail receptacles. The defendants separately deposited the stolen checks into accounts at local banks and were compensated for depositing these checks. The defendants’ unauthorized conduct caused both the check writer and the intended business recipient to sustain a financial loss.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.
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.
Franklin County Man Sentenced on Human Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Franklin County man, who forced a local woman to engage in prostitution through the use of physical violence and threats, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno announced.
Tremayne Rontae Kirby, 25, of Franklin County, Virginia, pled guilty in August to one count of recruiting, harboring and causing an individual, listed as “Victim One” in the Indictment, to engage in commercial sex through force, threats of force, fraud and coercion (Human Trafficking) and one count of using interstate commerce to promote an enterprise involving prostitution. Yesterday in District Court, Kirby was sentenced to 15 years of federal incarceration to be followed by 10 years of supervised release thereafter. Kirby will also pay $11,000 in restitution to “Victim One.”
Kirby, who was indicted earlier this year, admitted that he, along with other individuals, operated a prostitution enterprise involving multiple women in Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. Kirby used the money generated from the prostitution enterprise to pay for hotels, buy illegal drugs and provide food for himself and the women he used. The defendant posted prostitution advertisements on internet websites, which included pictures of the women and prices for their services. Kirby secured hotel rooms and transportation for meetings with “Johns.”
From January 2014-May 2014, Kirby prostituted “Victim One.” Kirby admitted that on many occasions, Victim One did not want to engage in sex acts but did so at the defendant’s insistence. To gain Victim One’s compliance, Kirby hit, body-slammed, shook, and threatened her. Kirby also regularly carried a gun in his waistband. Victim One had a drug habit, which was fed by Kirby and the lifestyle in which she was forced to live. At times Kirby withheld drugs until she performed prostitution services. Kirby kept virtually all of the proceeds Victim One generated through the compelled prostitution activity.
The investigation of the case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Roanoke City Police Department and the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno and Assistant United States Attorney Laura Day Rottenborn prosecuted the case for the United States.
This prosecution highlights the benefits to law enforcement that come from cooperative participation in a regional task force that targets sex and labor trafficking offenders. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, along with partner agencies throughout the western portion of Virginia, formed the Western District of Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, a group that is actively engaging in the education, investigation and prosecution of crimes involving human trafficking. This task force has educated local police departments throughout the state on investigative techniques to better prepare them to identify cases of human trafficking, victim/witness personnel, juvenile justice workers, and non-government organizations that assist trafficking victims. The task force also meets and shares information about ongoing cases.
Former Sales Executive Pleads Guilty to Participation in Color Display Tube ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A former executive of a large Taiwan-based color display tube (CDT) manufacturing company pleaded guilty late yesterday for his participation in a global conspiracy to fix prices of CDTs, a type of cathode ray tube (CRT) used in computer monitors and other specialized applications.
Chun-Cheng (Alex) Yeh, a resident of Taiwan, agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices, reduce output and allocate market shares of CDTs beginning as early as May 1999 until at least March 2005. Yeh was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on March 30, 2010. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
“Our pursuit of those whose anticompetitive conduct abroad harms U.S. consumers does not stop with indictment,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement Program. “We will use all of the tools available to us to ensure that those whose conduct results in criminal charges will be brought to justice should they choose to become fugitives.”
According to the indictment, Yeh, a former director of sales, and co-conspirators agreed to fix CDT prices and reduce output by shutting down CDT production lines for periods of time. Yeh and co-conspirators also agreed to allocate shares for the CDT market overall and for certain customers. The conspirators exchanged sales, production, market share and pricing information for the purposes of implementing, monitoring and enforcing their agreements.
Yeh is the first individual to plead guilty in connection with the CDT investigation. On May 17, 2011, Samsung SDI Company Ltd. pleaded guilty and paid a $32 million criminal fine for its role in the CDT conspiracy. Four other indicted individuals remain fugitives. On Aug. 18, 2009, Wen Jun (Tony) Cheng was indicted for his participation in the CDT conspiracy. On Nov. 9, 2010, Seung-Kyu (Simon) Lee, Yeong-Ug (Albert) Yang and Jae-Sik (J.S.) Kim were also indicted for their participation in the CDT conspiracy.
Yeh is charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the maximum fine.
The federal antitrust investigation into price fixing and other anticompetitive conduct in the CRT industry is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. Anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to the CRT industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
Yeh Plea Agreement (1.64 MB)
Former Doctor Charged with Conspiring to Defraud the FDA and Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
William J. O’Brien III, 50, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was charged in a superseding indictment, unsealed today, with conspiring to defraud the Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA”) and a separate conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. O’Brien, a former doctor of osteopathic medicine, was previously charged in July 2015 with operating a “pill mill” from his medical offices. The defendant awaits trial on those earlier charges.
Today’s indictment alleges that defendant O’Brien and others made misrepresentations to the FDA in order to obtain clearance for a so-called hyperbaric chamber that O’Brien marketed under the name Hyperox 101. A hyperbaric chamber is a sophisticated medical device in which patients breathe 100% pure oxygen for a prolonged period in a pressurized environment. To achieve a therapeutic effect, the chamber is pressurized to at least 1.4 atmospheres below sea level. The pressure creates a biochemical reaction that increases oxygen absorption into the blood. A hyperbaric chamber for treating patients must be constructed using pedigree steel and certified as a pressure vessel for human occupancy.
According to the indictment, Hyperox 101 as constructed did not meet these standards; rather, it was built by welding together pieces of a used propane tank. The indictment charges that defendant O’Brien knew of the deficiencies in Hyperox 101, but passed it off as a medical device by submitting false documentation to the FDA. The indictment alleges that, due to its substandard construction, Hyperox 101 did not provide patients with the therapeutic benefits associated with hyperbaric oxygen treatment, but instead posed potential risks to patients.
The indictment charges that defendant O’Brien used the unapproved device to defraud Medicare and other health benefit programs. From in or around March 2007 through in or around August 2011, O’Brien obtained millions of dollars based on fraudulent claims that he caused to be submitted to Medicare and IBC, among other health care benefit programs. O’Brien caused fraudulent claims to be submitted of approximately $15 million for medically unnecessary and potentially unsafe treatments. O’Brien obtained reimbursement from Medicare and other insurers of approximately at least $4.2 million based on the fraudulent claims.
If convicted, defendant O’Brien faces substantial prison terms and fines, and is subject to criminal forfeiture proceedings.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.
Former City Clerk Indicted for Mail Fraud and ArsonRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA - On November 18, 2015, Acting United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel announced the return of an indictment stemming from an investigation into the misappropriation of city funds and burning of a community building in Casey, Iowa. The indictment charges Dorothy L. Dillinger, the former Casey City Clerk, with five counts of mail fraud for her role in a scheme to defraud by using the City's credit card to purchase items for personal use. The indictment also charges Dillinger with one count of malicious use of fire for the fire that destroyed the Casey Community Building, which housed the City Clerk's Office. The Community Building fire was set just prior to midnight of August 19-20, 2014. Personnel from the State Auditor's Office were scheduled to arrive at the Clerk's Office on the morning of August 20, 2014, to conduct an audit of the City's records following a successful petition drive by citizens of Casey seeking an audit.
The joint investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, State Fire Marshal Division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Guthrie County Sheriff's Office, Guthrie County Attorney's Office, and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
An initial appearance and arraignment have been scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on November 30, 2015, at the United States Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa.
Former Carroll County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Using Taser on Restrained Pre-Trial DetaineeRead the Press Release
A former lieutenant with the Carroll County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office has pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for using a taser on a restrained pre-trial detainee, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee.
Jeanette Sue Barnes, 48, pleaded guilty in federal court in Jackson, Tennessee, to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. During the plea hearing, Barnes admitted that on March 22, 2015, she used her taser to drive-stun D.D.P., a pre-trial detainee, for 12 seconds, even though he was secured in a restraint chair and posed no threat to her or other officers. As a result of the assault, D.D.P. suffered pain and burns to his skin.
Barnes will be sentenced on Feb. 18, 2016, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“The defendant abused the trust given to her as a law enforcement officer by needlessly inflicting pain on a restrained individual,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who violate the civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those in custody, are protected.”
“No one is above the law, especially those who have taken an oath to uphold the law,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton III. “Ensuring that law enforcement officers do not victimize the very citizens they are sworn to protect remains a top priority of this office.”
The FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations investigated this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Erskine of the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division.
Barnes Plea Agreement
Former Carroll County, Tennessee, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Using Taser on Restrained Pre-Trial DetaineeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former lieutenant with the Carroll County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office has pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for using a taser on a restrained pre-trial detainee, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee, and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Jeanette Sue Barnes, 48, pleaded guilty in federal court in Jackson, Tennessee, to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. During the plea hearing, Barnes admitted that on March 22, 2015, she used her taser to drive-stun D.D.P., a pre-trial detainee, for 12 seconds, even though he was secured in a restraint chair and posed no threat to her or other officers. As a result of the assault, D.D.P. suffered pain and burns to his skin.
Barnes will be sentenced on February 18, 2016, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
"No one is above the law, especially those who have taken an oath to uphold the law," said U.S. Attorney Stanton III. "Ensuring that law enforcement officers do not victimize the very citizens they are sworn to protect remains a top priority of this office."
"The defendant abused the trust given to her as a law enforcement officer by needlessly inflicting pain on a restrained individual," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. "The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who violate the civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those in custody, are protected."
The FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations investigated this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Erskine of the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division.
Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement Officers Join Forces to Combat Violent Crime in Harrisburg, York, Wilkes-Barre and WilliamsportRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today a renewed strategy for reducing and preventing violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania focusing on the Harrisburg, York, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport areas. Federal, state and local law enforcement officers will join forces to coordinate their activities in high-crime areas and vigorously enforce the laws which punish gun offenses, gang activity, drug-related crimes and other acts of violence.
Peter J. Smith, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania stated, “we must remove the most violent individuals from our communities. This will require the very highest level of coordination between federal and local law enforcement agencies. The anti-violence strategy we are announcing today will advance the core mission of the Department of Justice to protect citizens from the most dangerous offenders in our communities.”
Joining U.S. Attorney Smith at the announcement were other high-level federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
The anti-violence strategy announced today consists of the following key elements:
- identifying communities which are most in need of anti-violence solutions;
- targeting high-priority offenders in those communities for aggressive prosecution;
- conducting regular meetings of federal and local law enforcement officials to collect reliable data on local violent crime trends, share intelligence, screen cases for potential federal prosecution and coordinate joint enforcement activities;
- expansion of existing prevention and post-conviction reentry programs.
Federal law carries severe penalties for prohibited individuals who possess firearms and for those individuals who commit violent crimes or serious drug offenses while possessing or using firearms.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g), individuals face up to ten years’ imprisonment if they possess a firearm or ammunition if:
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they have been previously convicted of a felony;
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they are a fugitive;
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they are a drug user or addict;
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they have been determined by a court or have been committed to a mental institution for a mental defect;
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they are an illegal immigrant;
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they were discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable condition;
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they have renounced their United States citizenship;
- they are under a court restraining order or have been convicted of domestic violence.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e), individuals who have three prior felony convictions for violent crimes or drug crimes and who are convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g) are subject to a minimum-mandatory fifteen year sentence.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c), individuals who commit a violent crime or a serious drug offense with a firearm face minimum-mandatory consecutive sentences of at least five years and up to life imprisonment:
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if you commit a crime of violence or serious drug offense and possess a firearm during its commission – five years to life;
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if the firearm is displayed – seven years to life;
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if the firearm is discharged – ten years to life;
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if a sawed-off rifle or shotgun is used – ten years to life;
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if a machine gun or destructive device, or a firearm with a silencer is used – thirty years to life;
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if you are convicted a second time under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c), not less than twenty-five years to life imprisonment.
For the past year, federal, state and local officials have partnered and operated a pilot program based in Harrisburg focusing on firearms offenses committed by recidivists or individuals using firearms in connection with drug offenses, or other violent crimes. Due to the success of that program it was recently expanded to include firearms offenses in York, Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre. To date, federal law enforcement agencies have adopted approximately 34 cases involving 41 defendants and relating to firearms offenses from our local law enforcement counterparts in those jurisdictions and will continue to do so in the future. Additionally, we will continue to prosecute other violent crimes and drug crimes referred to us by our local law enforcement counterparts.
U.S. Attorney Smith stated that, “violent crime damages and destabilizes our neighborhoods, challenging or citizens as they strive to raise their families and be productive members of society. By coordinating efforts with our state and local law enforcement partners, we can ensure that limited law enforcement resources are being brought to bear in the most effective way possible to protect the people we serve.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Sam Rabadi said "Individuals who repeatedly commit acts of violence will be targeted for investigation, arrested, and removed from our streets. If you choose to pursue a criminal path, it will end with a federal indictment and federal prison time. These indictments and arrests demonstrate that ATF and our law enforcement partners will work side-by-side to reduce and prevent gun violence in our communities."
“This joint effort focuses our resources and combined capabilities on those offenders who are driving the violence in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sweeney. “The FBI is committed to working side by side with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in order to keep our local communities safe.”
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Federal Inmate Sentenced to 12 Years for AssaultRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an inmate of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for assaulting another inmate.
Dean Kinningham, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole, to be served consecutively to his previously imposed sentence.
On June 17, 2015, Kinningham pleaded guilty to assault with the intent to commit murder. Kinningham admitted that he assaulted another inmate, Gary Brown, by stabbing and slashing him with a razor blade on June 4, 2014. Prison officials responded to an emergency call in the prison ward and discovered Brown with multiple lacerations on his face and neck. Kinningham, who had blood on his shirt, was also present. Kinningham stated that “this is all me,” referring to the blood in the hallway and on his clothes. Brown was treated on the scene and transported to a local Springfield hospital for treatment.
Kinningham is currently serving a 262-month sentence for armed pharmacy robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence for the Eastern District of Tennessee, with a release date of May 17, 2030.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Davon Lymon with Violating Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon a federal grand jury filed a four-count indictment charging Albuquerque resident Davon Lymon, 34, with violating the federal firearms laws, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of ATF and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charge Lymon with unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 27, 2015, and Count 4 charges him with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015. Lymon was then prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously has been convicted of felony offenses in two state court cases. Lymon’s crimes of conviction include voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm, fraud and forgery. Count 3 charges Lymon with unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm in late May 2015. The indictment alleges that Lymon committed the four crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.
According to court filings, the crime charged in Count 4 of the indictment arises out of a traffic stop by an APD officer in southeast Albuquerque on the evening of Oct. 21, 2015, during which Lymon allegedly fired six rounds at the APD officer as the officer attempted to handcuff Lymon. Several rounds struck the APD officer, including one that struck the officer in the face near the chin; the officer died on Oct. 29, 2015, as a result of injuries sustained on Oct. 21, 2015.
Lymon was arrested on Oct. 26, 2015, on a federal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He remains in federal custody pending his trial date, which has yet to be scheduled. A hearing for Lymon’s arraignment on the indictment has yet to be scheduled.
If convicted, Lymon faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison on each of the four counts in the indictment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and APD, with assistance from the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Rio Rancho Police Department and the New Mexico Transportation Police Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
lymon_indictment.pdf (99.09 KB)
FBI's James Comey Swears in New Interpol Washington DirectorRead the Press Release
On November 17, 2015, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James B. Comey administered the oath of office for new Interpol Washington Director Geoffrey S. Shank. The installation ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. Director Comey provided remarks that highlighted the values of partnership and cooperation, underlining both the domestic and international work of Interpol Washington. He also congratulated the members of Director Shank’s family, who were in attendance at the ceremony.
Other guest speakers at the event included Acting Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Director Shank’s home agency, David L. Harlow; Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Alan D. Bersin; and Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Controller and recently elected Interpol Executive Committee Delegate, Jolene A. Lauria.
After taking the oath of office, Director Shank addressed the audience by acknowledging the challenges that law enforcement faces in the future and Interpol Washington’s commitment to adopting the methods necessary to bring international criminals to justice. “In order to continue to be effective in this world, law enforcement must evolve as our enemies do,” said Director Shank. “By continuing to grow the information nexus that is Interpol Washington, we improve our nation’s effective counterweight to the criminal and terrorist networks of the Information Age.”
Among those in attendance were Associate Deputy Attorney General Armando Bonilla; representatives from domestic federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; representatives of international partners and embassies such as Mexico, Montenegro, and Turkey; and the staff of Interpol Washington, who the Director thanked profusely for their dedication to the agency, justice, and public service.
Dubuque Man Charged with Racially Motivated Hate CrimeRead the Press Release
Randy Metcalf, age 40, from Dubuque, Iowa, has been charged with committing a hate crime by causing bodily injury to a person because of that person’s race. The charges are contained in a Complaint unsealed yesterday in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Complaint alleges that, on or about January 12, 2015, Metcalf assaulted an African American male at the Northside Bar in Dubuque, Iowa, by stomping on and kicking his head. The complaint further alleges that Metcalf assaulted this man because he was African American and that Metcalf had been using racial slurs in reference to the man over the course of the night prior to the assault.
If convicted, Metcalf faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and not more than 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Metcalf appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Metcalf’s next appearance for a detention and preliminary hearing is set for 9:00 a.m. on November 20, 2015.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-MJ-325.
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