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Tuesday 29 September 2015
Springfield Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Child ObscenityRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for possessing child obscenity.
Rusty Mann, 35, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Upon release from federal incarceration, Mann will be committed to the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections for control, care and treatment as a sexually violent predator (under the terms of the Judgment and Order of Commitment entered in Case Number 1131-PR00937, in the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri, Probate Division). The court also sentenced Mann to spend the rest of his life under supervised release following incarceration.
On March 18, 2015, Mann pleaded guilty to possessing child obscenity.
On the night of Oct. 21, 2011, a Springfield police detective observed Mann approach a playground on a bicycle. The detective made contact with Mann just outside the fenced area of the playground. Mann was attired in a black mini skirt and women’s knee-high boots; he was identified as the person who had been leaving soiled diapers and clothing on the playground.
As a registered sex offender, Mann was not permitted within 1,000 feet of school property under state law. Mann was placed under arrest at that time. Mann has prior convictions for child molestation and sexual misconduct involving a child.
Mann’s bicycle, backpack and fanny pack were collected from the scene. A search of the backpack yielded a cell phone, along with other items. The investigators conducted a search of the cell phone and located several images of suspected child pornography and obscene cartoon depictions of minors, including a cartoon image of a prepubescent female being sexually assaulted.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Settlement Will Provide Nearly $194 Million for Cleanup Work at the Superfund Site in Bridgewater Township, New JerseyRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that Wyeth Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of the Pfizer Corporation, will perform nearly $194 million worth of cleanup work at the American Cyanamid Superfund Site in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. The cleanup work that the company has agreed to perform includes work to address six disposal areas at the site, where chemicals were manufactured for nearly 100 years. In addition, the company will pay $1 million for EPA’s past costs of overseeing cleanup work at the site.
“Just as we must act to meet the environmental challenges of the present and the future, we cannot leave unaddressed the toxic legacies of the past like American Cyanamid’s site in Bridgewater Township,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement will help protect waterways from seeping contaminated groundwater and makes significant progress towards closing waste disposal areas at the site.”
“This agreement marks an important milestone in EPA’s work to clean up pollution throughout this complex site,” said Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck for EPA. “This will allow critical work to reduce problems posed by soil and groundwater contamination on parts of the site.”
The cleanup work includes addressing contaminated soil, groundwater and six waste disposal areas at the site. In addition, the agreement includes the closure of two waste disposal areas whose contents were previously excavated and sent off-site. Under the agreement, Wyeth will continue to operate a system for collecting and treating contaminated groundwater underneath the site to prevent it from seeping into the nearby Raritan River, Cuckel’s Brook and Middle Brook. A study to evaluate alternatives for cleaning up two additional waste disposal areas is ongoing.
The American Cyanamid Superfund Site has a history of industrial pollution dating back to 1915. For nearly a century, prior owners manufactured chemicals at the property. A number of impoundments were constructed and used for waste storage and disposal throughout this time period, which eventually contaminated soil and groundwater. The site was placed on the federal Superfund list in 1983 after hazardous chemicals were found in the impoundments, soil and groundwater.
The soil, groundwater and waste disposal areas are contaminated with volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds and heavy metals. The extent and nature of potential health effects depend on many factors, including the level of contamination to which people are exposed and how long people may be exposed to the contaminants. The groundwater underlying the site is highly contaminated with benzene and other contaminants. Many of the site contaminants are known or suspected to cause cancer in people and animals, and benzene can cause cancer in people.
The public has the opportunity to submit written comments on the consent decree. The consent decree is subject to the 30-day comment period and final approval by the court. A copy of the consent decree is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Sanford Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin and Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Adam Hill, 34, of Sanford, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.
According to court records, on April 10, 2015, Hill was arrested while in possession of about 43 grams of heroin and 20 grams of cocaine.
Hill faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Sanford Police Department, and the Office of the Maine Attorney General, with assistance from the Maine State Police and South Berwick Police Department.
Sanford Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that James Levesque, 54, of Sanford, Maine pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to distribution of oxycodone.
Court records reveal that on March 7, 2014, in Sanford, Levesque sold forty 80-milligram oxycodone pills, through a middleman, to an individual working with law enforcement.
Levesque faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the York County Sheriff’s Office.
San Felipe Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Kewa Pueblo ChildRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gregory Kyle Chavez, Jr., 28, a resident and member of San Felipe Pueblo, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a federal assault charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Chavez will be sentenced within the range of six to 14 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Chavez was arrested on July 6, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a two-year-old Kewa Pueblo child. According to the complaint, on June 13, 2015, in Indian Country in Sandoval County, N.M., Chavez allegedly assaulted the child resulting in injuries to the child’s left facial and forehead area including dark bruising and swelling to the left eye, left cheek, right jaw and bruising on the neck.
During today’s plea hearing, Chavez pled guilty to an information charging him with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury. He admitted that on June 13, 2015, within the Kewa Pueblo, he assault the 2-year-old child causing substantial bodily injury.
Chavez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.
San Angelo, Texas, Psychiatrist Admits Committing Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
AMARILLO, Texas — A licensed psychiatrist from San Angelo, Texas, Robert Hadley Gross, 58, pleaded guilty last week to one count of health care fraud stemming from a scheme he ran to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by submitting claims for services not rendered in the manner billed, including submitting claims for services allegedly rendered after patients’ deaths. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Gross faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, according to the plea agreement filed in the case, he agrees to pay $1,832,869 in restitution to the U.S., representing all overpayments made to Gross from health care providers during the scheme. Gross has been in federal custody since his arrest in mid-October 2014 on related charges outlined in a federal indictment.
According to documents filed in the case, beginning in January 2009 and continuing until approximately June 20, 2014, Gross filed, and caused to be filed, claims against Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance carriers, for payment for services that were never rendered and services that were billed using inappropriate CPT codes.
Gross regularly submitted claims for services rendered to nursing home residents in and around San Angelo and he also regularly submitted claims for services provided to clients of mental health and mental retardation (MHMR) organizations in San Angelo, Midland, and Abilene, Texas, in addition to claims for services provided to foster care children in Brownwood, Texas.
As part of his scheme, Gross filed claims against Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance carriers for services for nursing home patients on dates he did not actually render services to patients. In those instances, the patients may have died or been discharged before Gross allegedly visited them in the nursing home.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of the Texas Attorney General are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Cruce-Haag and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams are prosecuting. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Fahey is handling the forfeiture.
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Salinas Man Charged in Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Neal Morton on bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon.
According to the indictment, Morton, a resident of Salinas, was employed in the accounting department at Tehama Golf Club, a privately owned entity located in Carmel. From 2009 through February 2014, Morton allegedly devised a scheme to embezzle funds from the Tehama Golf Club. As part of the scheme, he issued or caused to be issued checks drawn on the Tehama Golf Club bank accounts that were made payable to himself. To conceal the scheme, Morton either made or caused to be made entries in Tehama Golf Club’s accounting records falsely reflecting that the checks were for valid business expenses when in fact they were made payable to himself. Morton deposited the proceeds from the fraudulent checks into a bank account he controlled. Many of the fraudulent checks Morton signed were required to be co-signed by another authorized signatory at Tehama Golf Club. To evade this requirement, and in furtherance of his fraudulent scheme, Morton forged those signatures using electronic copies of them he had saved on his computer. In at least one instance, Morton also forged a co-signer’s signature by hand.
Morton is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in San Jose on October 29, 2015, before the Honorable Paul Singh Grewal, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of thirty years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 for bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2). The maximum sentence for aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, is two years in prison to run consecutive to the underlying felony and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Newman and Jose A. Olivera are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Russian Developer of the Notorious “Citadel” Malware Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Dimitry Belorossov, a/k/a Rainerfox, has been sentenced to four years, six months in prison following his guilty plea for conspiring to commit computer fraud. Belorossov distributed and installed Citadel, a sophisticated malware that infected over 11 million computers worldwide, onto victim computers using a variety of infection methods.
“Global cyber-crime requires a global response, and this case is a perfect example,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This defendant committed computer hacking offenses on victims in the United States from the relative safety of his home country of Russia, but he was arrested by our law enforcement partners in Spain. As malware and hacking toolkits continue to victimize computer users around the world, we will step up our efforts to focus internationally on the criminals who develop these programs.”
“The FBI, in working with its international partners, continues to demonstrate that international boundaries no longer provide a safe haven for cybercriminals targeting U.S. individuals or interests domestically. Successful investigation and prosecution of cases such as this are directly attributable to the increased capabilities and determination of our cyber trained investigators and our foreign based legal attachés working collectively to not only disrupt and dismantle these foreign based hacking efforts, but also to bring those individuals responsible to justice,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In late 2011, a malicious software toolkit named “Citadel” began appearing for sale on invite-only Internet website forums frequented by cybercriminals. Citadel was a sophisticated form of malware known as a “banking Trojan” designed to steal online banking credentials, credit card information, personally identifiable information, and, ultimately, funds through unauthorized electronic transfers. Citadel electronically infected the computers of unsuspecting individuals and financial institutions, creating “bots,” which cybercriminals, such as Belorossov, then remotely accessed and controlled.
Cybercriminals, including Belorossov, distributed and installed Citadel onto victim computers through a variety of infection methods, including malicious attachments to spam emails and commercial Internet ads containing malware or links to malware. Since 2011, multiple versions of Citadel have been distributed and operated throughout the world. Citadel became one of the most advanced crimeware tools available in the underground market, as it had the capability, among other things, to block antivirus sites on infected computers. According to industry estimates, Citadel, and other botnets like it, infected approximately 11 million computers worldwide and are responsible for over $500 million in losses.
In 2012, Belorossov downloaded a version of Citadel, which he then used to operate a Citadel botnet primarily from Russia. Belorossov remotely controlled over 7,000 victim bots, including at least one infected computer system with an IP address resolving to the Northern District of Georgia. Belorossov’s Citadel botnet contained personal information from the infected victim computers, including online banking credentials for U.S.-based financial institutions with federally insured deposits, credit card information, and other personally identifying information.
In addition to operating a Citadel botnet, Belorossov also provided online assistance with the goal of developing suggested improvements to Citadel, including posting comments on criminal forums on the Internet and electronically communicating with other cybercriminals via email and instant messaging.
For example, in 2012 Belorossov made numerous postings to Citadelmovement.com, an online forum in which Belorossov discussed his Citadel botnet and recommended improvements to the Citadel malware. In those postings, which were in Russian, Belorossov shared his concurrence with the improvements to Citadel recommended by others and commented on the efficacy of additional criminal functions other customers had recommended as enhancements to the Citadel malware.
Belorossov, 22, of St. Petersburg, Russia, has been sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr., to four years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $322,409.09. Belorossov was convicted on July 18, 2014, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg and Scott Ferber prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Roswell Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jaime Juan Alvarado, 37, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Alvarado was arrested on Jan. 20, 2015, in Roswell after agents and officers from the DEA, Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Lea County Drug Task Force executed a federal search warrant at his residence. According to the criminal complaint, the law enforcement officers seized approximately 35.7 grams of methamphetamine, heroin, several safes and a digital scale when they executed the search.
On March 25, 2015, Alvarado pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Alvarado admitted that on Jan. 20, 2015, in Chaves County, N.M., agents executed a federal search warrant on his residence and found methamphetamine in his kitchen which he planned to distribute to others.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted this case.
The Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department.
The Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Lea County Drug Task Force are part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. 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.
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Thomas Hegarty, 21, of Rochester, New Hampshire, appeared in United States District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.
Hegarty walked into a Bank of America in Rochester, New Hampshire, on January 20, 2015 and handed the teller a note demanding money. He then made off with $400 in stolen funds. Surveillance cameras captured images of the robbery and law enforcement quickly identified Hegarty. He was apprehended later that day.
Hegarty – who faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and criminal fines of up to $250,000 – will be detained pending sentencing, which is presently scheduled for January 12, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Rochester Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana Konesky.
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty in Jamaican Lottery ScamRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Charles Hanks, 47, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to mail fraud before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that Hanks worked with co-defendant Ricky Miller and a Jamaican group in a fraudulent sweepstakes telemarketing scheme that targeted elderly individuals. Victims were called on the telephone and told that they had won a sweepstakes prize or lottery. Victims were then asked to pay an upfront fee in order to release the purported winnings.
Hanks and Miller agreed to act as a point of contact in the United States to receive the money from the victims and then forward it to Jamaica after taking a substantial cut. Between January 2012 and September 2013, the victims sent approximately $300,000 to Hanks and Miller.
Ricky Miller was convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, Boston Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 5, 2016, at 11:00 am, before Judge Larimer.
Roanoke Man Convicted of Making False StatementRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man who willfully made a false statement to an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke.
Shane Giles Eaton, 21, of Roanoke, Va., waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty today to a one count Information charging him with willfully making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.
“Mr. Eaton falsely accused an ex-girlfriend of making threats against the President of the United States and of her intentions to join a known terrorist organization,” United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno said today. “We take the act of making false statements to law enforcement officials extremely seriously. Mr. Eaton’s false accusations wasted precious federal resources and unnecessarily subjected his former girlfriend to the trauma of a federal investigation. Today’s conviction should serve as a warning to others who may be contemplating making similar false statements.”
According to evidence presented at today’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar, on March 12, 2015, Eaton walked into the downtown Roanoke offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and made a statement to an agent that his ex-girlfriend made threats against the life of the President of the United States and her of intentions to join ISIS.
During interviews with Eaton’s ex-girlfriend and her mother, agents determined that Eaton’s original statements were false. In subsequent interviews with Eaton, conducted on March 16, 2015 by agents with the FBI and United States Secret Service, Eaton admitted that his prior statements were not truthful and that he lied about his ex-girlfriend to get her into trouble. In a Mirandized statement he wrote, “I lied to the agent,” and “Sorry for what I had done.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar will prosecute the case for the United States.
Repeat Offender Sentenced to 10 Years for Bank Fraud, Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A woman with multiple felony convictions has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentencing today.
According to facts presented in court, from December 2014 to March 2015, Patricia Ann Johnson, 38, targeted and obtained the bank account numbers and other identifying personal information of individuals who had the same name as her. She impersonated these individuals to make cash withdrawals from their accounts at area banks, which included First Citizens, Regions, SunTrust, and First Tennessee. The victims were from Tennessee and other states.
One of the fraudulent bank transactions occurred on December 3, 2014 at First Citizens Bank on Highway 70. The defendant impersonated another Patricia Johnson and obtained $9,000 from the victim’s account.
Another fraudulent transaction occurred on March 7, 2015 at First Tennessee Bank on Kirby Parkway. Once again, the defendant impersonated another Patricia Johnson and obtained $4,000 from the victim’s account.
On March 19, 2015, the defendant was arrested while attempting to make a fraudulent transaction at SunTrust Bank on Poplar. In total, the defendant obtained more than $20,000 during her scheme.
Johnson has an extensive criminal record, which includes 24 felony convictions.
Johnson was charged with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and violating the supervised release of her last federal conviction for identity theft. She was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on Monday, September 28th by Judge Jon Phipps McCalla.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hall prosecuted the case.
Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate StalkingRead the Press Release
Contact: Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Makwan Jaff, 35, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to interstate stalking.
According to the criminal complaint affidavit and evidence introduced at the plea hearing, Jaff previously attended medical school in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis (“St. Kitts”). Between February 11, 2014 and June 25, 2014, with the intent to harass or intimidate a female former medical school classmate, Jaff created about five Facebook accounts in the victim’s name (or variations of her name with added words, such as “slut” and “whore”) and put pictures of her in them without her knowledge or permission. Once the Facebook accounts were deleted by the victim, Jaff sent threatening email and Facebook private messages to her and her immediate family. During these communications from St. Kitts, Jaff threatened to harm the victim and another classmate who were attending school in Scarborough, Maine from May 2014 until June 2014.
During some of the communication sent to the victim while she was in Maine, Jaff threatened: “Let me tell you what I am gonna do when I get home; rent a car first thing and come to [M]ain[e]….It is only a 24 hours drive...I won’t stop believe me I will f**k your world upside down!...I will turn your life in to a living hell…I will not go away I will f**k with you for the rest of your f**ken life…Keep thinking I am playing game till I hit where it f**ken hurts!”Jaff’s conduct caused substantial emotional distress to the victim and her immediate family. Jaff also sent hundreds of email messages to the classmate about the victim, many of which were similarly threatening and harassing.
Jaff faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Peabody Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Peabody tax preparer was sentenced yesterday to federal prison for defrauding small-business clients out of nearly $900,000 that his clients had given him to pay their federal payroll taxes.
Barry Ginsberg, 63, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 21 months in prison, six months of home confinement following release from prison, and ordered to pay restitution. In June 2015, Ginsberg pleaded guilty to multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, preparing false tax returns, and obstructing the IRS.
Ginsberg owned and operated a payroll tax business that had a number of so-called “escrow” clients. Ginsberg not only prepared their payroll tax returns, but these clients also sent him money on a regular basis for the purpose of paying their payroll taxes to the IRS. Instead of doing so, however, Ginsberg took the money and used it for other business or personal reasons. As a result, the defendant’s clients—some of whom had trusted him for years—became significantly indebted to the IRS over time.
To cover up his scheme, Ginsberg falsified his clients’ tax returns, which he was hired to prepare, indicating that the clients’ payroll taxes had been paid in full, when they had not. When asked by clients about their mysterious IRS debts, Ginsberg gave them a litany of false excuses, including blaming the IRS and his own staff.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric P. Christofferson and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Owner of Orlando Health Care Clinic Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Engaging in Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner of an Orlando health care clinic was sentenced today to five years in prison for engaging in a $2.4 million health care fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Florida region made the announcement.
Juan Carlos Delgado, 58, and Nereyda Infante, 48, both of Orlando, pleaded guilty on June 24, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron of the Middle District of Florida to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Infante, Delgado’s wife, who was also an owner of the health care clinic, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. In addition to imposing the prison terms, the court ordered the defendants to pay $1,520,850 in restitution and to forfeit $1,520,850.
Delgado and Infante owned and operated several health care clinics in Orlando, Florida, under variations of the name Prestige Medical. According to admissions made in connection with their guilty pleas, between February 2012 and September 2014, the defendants fraudulently billed Medicare on behalf of the Prestige clinics for services that were never provided and for medications that were not prescribed or administered. In particular, Delgado and Infante admitted to billing Medicare for pentostatin, an expensive anticancer chemotherapeutic medication used to treat Leukemia, despite never administering the drug. Delgado and Infante admitted also that, to further the scheme, they submitted false documents to Medicare regarding the ownership and operation of the Prestige Clinics.
In connection with the scheme, the defendants billed Medicare approximately $2.4 million, over $1.2 million of which was for pentostatin. Medicare paid approximately $1.5 million on the fraudulent claims.
The case is being investigated by the HHS-OIG 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 Middle District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Andrew H. Warren 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 over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
One Current and Three Former U.S. Army Soldiers Sentenced for Fuel Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
One current and three former U.S. Army soldiers were sentenced today in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, for their involvement in a bribery scheme in Afghanistan that resulted in the theft of fuel valued at more than $10 million.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker of the Eastern District of North Carolina, Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Division, Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (Army CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement.
Each defendant previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery. U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina imposed the following sentences:
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Jeffery B. Edmondson, 38, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was the senior enlisted member of the unit who supervised all of his co-conspirators, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
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Christopher Ciampa, 33, of Lillington, North Carolina, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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Enmanual Lugo, 32, of Ocean Township, New Jersey, was sentenced to four years in prison.
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Geoffrey Montague, 39, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was a senior enlisted member of the unit who reported to Edmondson, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
In 2011, Edmondson, Ciampa, Lugo and Montague were U.S. Army soldiers serving with the 3rd Special Forces Group Service Detachment deployed to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. During the deployment, the defendants were responsible for managing Transportation Movement Requests (TMRs) for fuel and other items in support of military units in Afghanistan paid for by the U.S. government.
In connection with their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted to submitting fake TMRs for thousands of gallons of fuel that were neither necessary nor used by military units. The defendants admitted that, in return for cash bribe payments, they awarded all of the TMRs to the same Afghan trucking company, which used the fake TMRs to download fuel from depots on Kandahar Air Field and then sold the fuel on the black market.
The defendants admitted that they sent some of the illicit proceeds to the Unites States via wire transfer or hidden in personal items, and transported cash back to the United States either on their persons or in their luggage. In addition, Edmondson and Ciampa admitted to using the funds to purchase automobiles.
According to the plea agreements, the scheme caused losses to the United States of over $10 million.
The case was investigated by the DCIS, FBI, Army CID and SIGAR. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from SIGAR, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
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One Current and Three Former U.S. Army Soldiers Sentenced for Fuel Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – One current and three former U.S. Army soldiers were sentenced today in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina for their involvement in a bribery scheme in Afghanistan that resulted in the theft of fuel valued at more than $10 million.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Division, Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (Army CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement.
Each defendant previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit offense against the United States and one count of bribery. U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina imposed the following sentences:
- Jeffery B. Edmondson, 38, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was the senior enlisted member of the unit who supervised all of his co-conspirators, and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
- Christopher Ciampa, 33, of Lillington, North Carolina, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- Enmanual Lugo, 32, of Ocean Township, New Jersey, was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
- Geoffrey Montague, 39, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was a senior enlisted member of the unit who reported to Edmondson, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
"These men were trusted to provide their fellow soldiers with the resources needed to successfully complete our mission in Afghanistan. Instead, they chose to personally profit from selling stolen fuel valued at millions of dollars. These federal sentences should reassure the public that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate the theft of government resources intended to protect our servicemen and women overseas," said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.
“John F. Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction stated, “The vast majority of the men and women of our armed forces possess the integrity and trust that the United States has learned to expect. There is a small percentage that betrays that trust. Sadly, these four represent that small percentage."
"Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), with our investigative partners, continues to aggressively pursue those who deprive the Department of Defense of much needed resources, such as fuel, critical to accomplishing its global missions," said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Khin. "Corruption and theft in a combat environment, especially on such a large scale, degrade the effectiveness of the U.S. armed forces, and increases the danger to our warfighters by diverting those resources to our enemies.”
"This sentencing demonstrates our firm commitment to hold accountable those who commit fraud, receive kickbacks or otherwise steal from our government, in or out of uniform," said Frank Robey, director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "Special agents from our Major Procurement Fraud Unit, along with those from other federal law enforcement agencies, are unwavering in our commitment to seek out and hold responsible all those who conduct criminal activity against the United States Army and the American taxpayer."
In 2011, Edmondson, Montague, Ciampa and Lugo were U.S. Army soldiers serving with the 3rd Special Forces Group Service Detachment deployed to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. During the deployment, the defendants were responsible for managing Transportation Movement Requests (TMRs) for fuel and other items in support of military units in Afghanistan paid for by the U.S. government.
In connection with their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted to submitting fake TMRs for thousands of gallons of fuel that were neither necessary nor used by military units. The defendants admitted that, in return for cash bribe payments; they awarded all of the TMRs to the same Afghan trucking company, which used the fake TMRs to download fuel from depots on Kandahar Air Field and then sold the fuel on the black market.
The defendants admitted that they sent some of the illicit proceeds to the U.S. via wire transfer or hidden in personal items, and transported cash back to the U.S. either on their persons or in their luggage. In addition, Edmondson and Ciampa admitted to using the funds to purchase automobiles.
According to the plea agreements, the scheme caused losses to the U.S. of over $10 million.
The case was investigated by the DCIS, FBI, Army CID and SIGAR. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from SIGAR, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Ohio County, West Virginia leaders announce creative efforts to thwart substance abuseRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Expanding their efforts to combat substance abuse, local leaders are launching a program that will make free drug testing kits available to Ohio County, West Virginia residents, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, along with a diverse group of community leaders, announced today.The saliva-based drug tests are simple and non-invasive. Results are available within 20 minutes. The test screens for a variety of commonly abused substances including marijuana, opioid painkillers, stimulants, tranquilizers, cocaine, methadone, and PCP. The kits also contain information on how parents can effectively discuss substance abuse with their children. Further, the packets contain information to locate educational and treatment resources. The kits also contain a pre-stamped envelope to voluntarily report test results. No personal information is collected.
The testing kits are provided through a partnership with the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. The kits will be distributed at the following locations in Ohio County:
1. Ohio County Sheriff’s Department • 1500 Chapline Street #103 • Wheeling, WV 26003
2. Wheeling Police Department • 1500 Chapline Street #101 • Wheeling, WV 26003
3. Triadelphia Police Department • 4453 National Road • Triadelphia, WV 26059
4. Ohio County Health Department • 1500 Chapline Street #106 • Wheeling, WV 26003
5. The Medicine Shoppe • 620 National Road • Wheeling, WV 26003
6. Elm Grove Pharmacy • 102 E. Bethlehem Boulevard • Wheeling, WV 26003
7. YWCA Wheeling • 1100 Chapline Street • Wheeling, WV 26003
8. Wheeling Park High School • 1976 Park View Road • Wheeling, WV 26003
9. Ohio County Board of Education Office • 2203 National Road • Wheeling, WV 26003In addition to distributing the free drug testing kits, several other programs were discussed on Tuesday:
- The “Handle with Care” program will be implemented in Ohio County. This program involves a formal system to notify school officials whenever police officers respond to a dangerous or drug-involved situation where a child is present. School officials will know that a child has been involved in a potentially traumatic situation and that he or she should be handled with care.
- The Appalachia HIDTA educational trailer will be coming to Northern West Virginia in the near future. The trailer is designed to inform students about substance abuse in an interactive manner.
- High schools in Ohio County will participate in the inaugural prevention competition to be held among schools throughout West Virginia. This competition will involve students designing educational programming that addresses substance abuse prevention. Students will then present their ideas at a regional competition.
Northeast Iowa Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail FraudRead the Press Release
A woman who agreed to mail counterfeit money orders as part of a scheme to defraud people across the country, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Shirley Hills, age 51, from Oelwein, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
In a plea agreement, Hills admitted that, in March 2013, United States Postal Service investigators discovered she was sending counterfeit money orders and checks through the mail. When investigators confronted Hills and advised her that the money orders were counterfeit, Hills claimed she was sending them as part of a job she found on the Internet. Hills told Postal investigators she would no longer continue this practice. However, Hills further admitted in her plea agreement that, beginning in October 2013, she again started mailing counterfeit money orders to people throughout the country as part of a scheme to defraud them. She admitted the scheme involved informing these people they had been selected as “Mystery Shoppers” and should cash the money orders and then wire funds to other people designated in the instructions accompanying the counterfeit money orders. Hills admitted that, in October and November 2013, she attempted to mail $170,164.50 worth of counterfeit money orders and that, in May 2014, she also attempted to mail a package containing $401,220.60 worth of counterfeit money orders.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hills remains free on conditions of release set by the court pending sentencing. She faces a possible maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the United States Postal Service.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 15-CR-2034.
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Northeast Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Assets Pledged as Collateral for a Farm LoanRead the Press Release
A man who had pledged assets as collateral for a United States Department of Agriculture farm operating loan and then sold those assets without notifying the Department he was doing so, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Andrew Hansen, age 36, from Decorah, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conversion of property pledged to a farm credit agency.
In a plea agreement, Hansen admitted that he pledged assets, including farm equipment and dairy goats, as security on Farm Services Agency loans he procured to operate a dairy goat farm in northeast Iowa. Hansen further admitted that, in August 2013, without notifying the Farm Services Agency, he sold goats that he had pledged as security on the loans and then used the proceeds from the sale for his own purposes rather than to pay off the farm loans. He also admitted to selling various pieces of farm equipment that he had also pledged as security on the loans.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hansen remains free on conditions of release set by the court pending sentencing. Hansen faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 15-CR-2039.
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New York Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Counterfeit MerchandiseRead the Press Release
A man who was selling counterfeit merchandise at a “Clearance Sale” located on 16th Ave. S.W. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Yahya Jawad, age 57, from Binghamton, New York, was convicted of one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
In a plea agreement, Jawad admitted that on January 9, 2015, he was selling counterfeit merchandise at a “Clearance Sale.” Law enforcement officers purchased three counterfeit items from him including a pair of headphones that appeared to be “Beats Audio” headphones and two purses. One appeared to be a “Michael Kors” purse and the other a “Louis Vuitton” handbag. After confirming that these items were counterfeit, law enforcement officers returned to the “Clearance Sale” and seized additional counterfeit items, including more headphones and purses, as well as other clothing items.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Jawad remains free on conditions of release set by the court pending sentencing. Jawad faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 15-CR-83.
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Mobile Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Mail Fraud, Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen Brown announces that Jean Sanborn of Mobile, Alabama was sentenced to thirty (30) months imprisonment and three years supervised release in United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, Alabama on September 28, 2015. Sanborn had pled guilty to one count of mail fraud in regard to falsely claiming to be entitled to monies in an insurance claim she filed with State Farm Insurance for a fire at her former business, The Complete Skin Care Center, 3404 Old Shell Road in Mobile, and one count of falsification of documents in relation to a bankruptcy case. Sanborn was also ordered to pay restitution of $490,495.27.
Sanborn’s claim for monies in the insurance claim to State Farm was false and fraudulent because Sanborn knew that she started the
Sunday, December 21, 2008 fire intentionally or with willful disregard of the fact that a fire would occur through her actions. Sanborn knew that she was therefore not entitled to payment on the claim.
Sanborn also pled guilty to a charge that her sworn Schedule of Assets and Statement of Financial Affairs filed in her July, 2014 bankruptcy case falsely
answered questions about her investments and income, which concealed the investments and income from the bankruptcy court, the Trustee and creditors. The statutory maximum penalty for the alleged violations is twenty years imprisonment, plus a fine of not more than $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Mobile Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Mobile Fire Department. United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown stated: "This prosecution shows that the Department of Justice understands its duty to work to ensure that Mobile firefighters and residents are not endangered by those who start fires to commit insurance fraud and that bankruptcy relief is allowed only to those who are honest and candid with the Court and creditors, and not to those who would scam the system." ATF Special Agent In Charge Steven Gerido stated: "This indictment shows ATF, Mobile Fire Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office realize that starting a fire to commit insurance fraud is a crime of violence that places innocent people’s lives and property in harm’s way, and demonstrates their collaborative efforts to fight the crime of arson. ATF’s frontline strategy utilizes every available resource to make our communities a safer place to live." The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys George May, Michael Anderson and Charles Baer on behalf of the United States Attorney=s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Miami-Dade County Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing $1,428,027 in Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
A Miami-Dade County resident pled guilty to stealing tax refunds totaling $1,428,027.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Franklin Adderley, Chief, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, made the announcement.
Bobby Cooks, 40, pled guilty to one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. As part of his plea agreement, the defendant agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $1,428,027. At sentencing, Cooks faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison.
According to court documents, between 2011 and 2014, Cooks received three United States Treasury tax refunds totaling $1,428,027 based on fraudulent tax returns filed with the IRS. Specifically, on March 11, 2011, Cooks received a tax refund in the amount of $528,071.33 based on a false 2010 tax return filed in Cooks’ name. The tax return claimed significant gambling winnings from, and tax withheld by, a casino. In fact, Cooks won no such money, no such tax was withheld, and the Form W2-G attached to the tax return showing the purported winnings was fake.
Court documents also state that on November 22, 2013, Cooks received a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $332,534 based on a fraudulent tax return filed in another individual’s name. Cooks obtained a Florida driver’s license in the name of the individual using a fake Georgia birth certificate, and opened bank accounts in the victim’s name where Cooks then deposited the fraudulent tax refund check. On September 23, 2014, Cooks received another U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $567,422 based on a 2011 fraudulent tax return filed in the name of Cooks’ father who had the same name as Cooks and who had been deceased since 2008. Cooks deposited the check in a bank account that he set up in his name.
Cooks is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Gonsoulin.
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.
Miami Lakes Resident Sentenced for Structuring and Causing the Filing of False Currency Transaction ReportsRead the Press Release
A Miami Lakes resident was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $595,500 and to pay a fine of $6,000 for structuring and causing the filing of false currency transaction reports.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.
Jorge R. Raynaud, 31, previously pled guilty to thirty-one counts, including five counts of structuring currency transactions with the intent to evade reporting requirements, in violation of Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324(a)(3), and twenty-six counts of causing and attempting to cause a financial institution to fail to file a currency transaction report, in violation of Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324(a)(1). As part of his plea agreement, Raynaud agreed to forfeit $595,500 in U.S. currency.
The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions to file a currency transaction report with the Treasury Department for each financial transaction that involves currency in excess of $10,000. According to court documents, Raynaud structured currency withdrawals at two different banks by intentionally arranging a series of separate transactions, each one involving less than $10,000, for the purpose of evading the $10,000 currency reporting requirement. Raynaud also caused the banks to fail to file twenty-six currency transaction reports for currency withdrawals and the cashing of checks in 2012 and 2013.
The intended loss resulting from the offense is between $400,000 and $1,000,000.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elijah Levitt
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.
McLaughlin Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact by ForceRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact by Force was sentenced on September 21, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Brian Ducheneaux, age 40, was sentenced to 110 months in custody, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Ducheneaux was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 11, 2015. He pled guilty on June 22, 2015.
The conviction stemmed from an incident which occurred in October 2014. Ducheneaux, who was staying with family in Wakpala, South Dakota, entered a bedroom belonging to young girls. Once inside the bedroom, Ducheneaux laid on the bed next to the victim and placed his hands between her legs, making direct skin to skin contact with her genitalia.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Ducheneaux was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
McLaughlin Man Acquitted of Aggravated Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man was acquitted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse as a result of a federal jury trial in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on September 15, 2015.
John Eagle, age 30, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 14, 2015.
The charge stemmed from an alleged March 2015 incident, when Eagle allegedly sexually abused a female acquaintance.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.
Mattapan Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Mattapan man pleaded guilty today to drug distribution and firearms violations.
Manuel Pereyra, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, and one count of receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment. U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Jan. 6, 2016.
In March 2015, a cooperating witness told federal agents that Pereyra was a heroin dealer, and that Pereyra had previously traded heroin to obtain a firearm. As a result, on April 2, 2015, at the direction of law enforcement officers, the cooperating witness purchased heroin from Pereyra at the Old Colony Public Housing Development in South Boston. During that meeting, Pereyra asked the cooperating witness to obtain a firearm for him. On April 14, 2015, the cooperating witness and an undercover federal agent met with Pereyra in a hotel room in Dorchester. There, Pereyra gave the undercover federal agent 11 grams of heroin in exchange for a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. Pereyra was immediately arrested.
At the time of the incident, Pereyra was also under felony indictment in connection with unrelated state drug offenses in Salem, N.H., which prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
The charge of distribution of heroin provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years (consecutive to any other sentence) and up to a lifetime in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordi de Llano of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Marijuana Growers ArrestedRead the Press Release
BOISE – Carlos Avalos-Cervantes, 30, and Martin Diaz-Lara, 26, both Mexican nationals currently living in Walla Walla, Washington, were arrested in the remote mountain area early in the morning on September 23, 2015, on charges of conspiracy and manufacturing with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and illegal aliens in possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Two other individuals, Rogelio Arevalo-Villasenor, 23, a Mexican national living in Caldwell, Idaho, and David Becerra-Saucedo, 41, a Mexican national residing in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, were later arrested on September 24 and September 26 on the conspiracy and manufacture with intent to distribute marijuana charges. A federal complaint formalizing the charges was filed in United States District Court on September 24, 2015.
The complaint alleges that beginning in about April 2015, and extending up until the time of their arrests, Avalos-Cervantes, Arevalo-Villasenor, Becerra-Saucedo, and Diaz-Lara conspired and manufactured several thousand marijuana plants with the intent to distribute the controlled substance. The marijuana plants were found in a remote, timbered canyon in the forest north of Banks, in Boise County, Idaho. The complaint also alleges that Avalos-Cervantes and Diaz-Lara possessed firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and were further unlawfully in possession of handguns being Mexican nationals who had entered the United States illegally.
“The vast forests, rangelands, and creeks of Idaho will not be used as a hothouse for growing marijuana to sell on the streets of our communities,” said Olson.
"These armed drug traffickers no longer pose a danger to the environment or those who enjoy Idaho's pristine public lands,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis.
The maximum penalty for manufacturing more than 1,000 marijuana plants is not less than 10 years and up to life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine. The maximum penalty for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes is not less than five years imprisonment consecutive to any other penalty, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for illegal alien in possession of a firearm is 10 years imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment. A complaint is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The arrests and complaints are the result of a joint investigation and cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit (SIU). Other agencies include Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Boise County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Gooding County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho National Guard – Counterdrug Support Office, Meridian Police Department, Milton-Freewater Police Department, Oregon State Police, Power County Sheriff’s Office, Spokane Police Department, United States Forest Service, Valley County Sheriff’s Office, Walla Walla Police Department, Washington State Patrol.
The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces New Civil Rights Charges in Beating Death at Rikers IslandRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the return of a superseding indictment charging BRIAN COLL, a New York City Correction Officer, with causing the death of Ronald Spear, a pre-trial detainee at Rikers Island. COLL, then a correction officer on Rikers Island, had previously been charged with causing injury to Mr. Spear by repeatedly kicking him in the head while he was fully restrained and lying prone on the floor, in violation of his rights under the United States Constitution. Mr. Spear died shortly after the attack. Today’s Superseding Indictment newly alleges that COLL’s assault of Spear was the proximate cause of Spear’s death, and exposes COLL to a maximum prison term of life. COLL was arrested on a complaint on June 10, 2015, and has been in federal custody since that time.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Ronald Spear’s death at Rikers Island in December 2012 was a tragedy that should never have happened. As alleged, his tragic death was the direct result of Correction Officer Brian Coll’s unconstitutional beating. Repeatedly kicking a downed inmate in the head and then picking up and dropping his head on the ground as he lay helpless, as Correction Officer Coll is alleged to have done, had deadly consequences for Ronald Spear.”
According to the Complaint and Superseding Indictment:
Rikers Island is a jail complex, located in the Bronx, New York, maintained by the New York City Department of Correction. At the time of his death, Ronald Spear was a pretrial detainee incarcerated on Rikers Island in the North Infirmary Command, a facility housing detainees who, like Mr. Spear, have serious or chronic medical needs. In the early morning hours of December 19, 2012, Mr. Spear left the housing area in the infirmary unit in an attempt to see the on-duty doctor but was stopped by COLL, who said that the doctor was not available to see him. In an altercation that ensued, COLL punched Mr. Spear several times in the face and stomach, and Mr. Spear was then restrained by two other correction officers, Anthony Torres and Byron Taylor. While Mr. Spear was lying prone on the ground and was still restrained, COLL repeatedly kicked Spear in the head, even after Torres attempted to shield the inmate’s head with his hand and shouted to COLL to stop. After COLL stopped kicking Mr. Spear, COLL lifted Mr. Spear’s head up, told him in substance not to forget who had done this to him, and then dropped Spear’s head to the ground. Mr. Spear was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the assault.
Spear’s autopsy was conducted at the Bronx Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. As described in today’s Superseding Indictment, the autopsy revealed that Spear had three recent contusions on his skull, including a “brain bleed” caused by blunt force impact to the head, consistent with Spear being kicked in the head while he was lying prone on the ground. The Medical Examiner conducting the autopsy concluded that the cause of death was “hypertensive cardiovascular disease” with “physical altercation including blunt force trauma to head” and diabetes as contributing factors, and ruled the death a homicide. The assault by COLL was therefore, as alleged, a proximate cause of Spear’s death.
COLL, along with another officer involved in the incident, Byron Taylor, is also charged with obstruction of justice related offenses for covering up COLL’s assault, which resulted in the death of Mr. Spear. The third officer, Anthony Torres, previously pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges and is cooperating with the Government.
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BRIAN COLL, 45, of Smithtown, New York, is charged with one count of death resulting from deprivation of rights under color of law, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison or death, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, one count of obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, one count of filing false forms, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to file false forms, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Byron Taylor, 31, of Brentwood, New York, is charged with one count of obstruction of justice by lying to a federal grand jury, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count conspiracy to file false forms, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three counts of perjury, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Anthony Torres, 59 of New Rochelle, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and file false reports, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and one count of filing a false report, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Torres is scheduled to be sentenced before Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska on December 9, 2015.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigators at the United States Attorney’s Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the New York City Department of Correction, Investigative Division, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the investigation, which remains ongoing.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights and Public Corruption Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke E. Cucinella and Jeannette A. Vargas are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and COLL and Taylor are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Manchester Man Sentenced to Ten Years on Bank Robbery ChargeRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Matthew Ireland, 36, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on one count of bank robbery announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith. The Court imposed a term of 120 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and full restitution to the victim.
Ireland walked into a TD Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 31, 2015 wearing a black ski mask, a hood, sunglasses, and dark clothing. He demanded money from two tellers and made off with more than $4,000 in stolen funds.
Ireland was apprehended the same day near the Manchester/Bedford town line. When Manchester and Bedford Police attempted to initiate a traffic stop of Ireland’s vehicle, he led them on a brief chase. After crashing his car into a median, he fled on foot but surrendered shortly thereafter, dropping to his knees, reaching into his pockets, and throwing a large sum of cash into the road. Manchester Police recovered most of the stolen money and found clothing consistent with that worn during the robbery in Ireland’s vehicle.
This case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department, the Bedford Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana L. Konesky.
Man Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison in Multi-million Dollar Stolen Goods CaseRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Monday, September 28, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced the leader of an organized retail crime ring that sold and distributed over $12 million in stolen over-the-counter (“OTC”) drugs and health-and-beauty (HBA) products, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Steve Hale, 66, of Terrell, N.C., was sentenced to 97 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after serving his prison term. Hale also was ordered to pay a $3,100 special assessment, to forfeit a sports boat and $332,195 in seized funds and to pay restitution to his victims, the amount of which will determined by the Court at a later date.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by Matthew Quinn, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Division; Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); Chief James W. Buie of Gaston County Police Department; and Chief Robert C. Helton of the Gastonia Police Department.
In April 2014, a federal jury convicted Hale of interstate transportation of stolen goods conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen goods, making false statements in income tax forms, failure to collect employee income and FICA taxes, and obstruction of justice.
Hale was the last of eight defendants convicted and sentenced for organized retail crime offenses resulting from arrests made in “Operation Cash Back,” a multi-agency investigation into the buying and selling of stolen OTC drugs and HBA products that began in September 2010. Hale’s codefendants were previously sentenced to prison terms ranging from 18 to 86 months. In addition to the prison terms, prior forfeiture orders included more than $29,000 in seized cash, 20 motor vehicles, two real estate properties and a forfeiture money judgment of $7 million.
According to filed court documents, court proceedings and evidence submitted at Hale’s trial, Hale and his conspirators participated in what is known in the retail industry as Organized Retail Crime (“ORC”) and Organized Retail Theft (“ORT”). Court documents show that from 2006 to March 2011, the defendants engaged in a scheme whereby they bought and sold stolen over-the-counter products, including medications and dietary supplements, and health and beauty aid products. According to court records, organized retail theft begins with individuals, known as “boosters,” who shoplift popular OTC and HBA products from the shelves of various pharmacy and retail stores. The individuals who operated as “boosters” in this conspiracy stole OTC and HBA products from stores in North Carolina, South Carolina West Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The “boosters” then sold the shoplifted goods far below retail and wholes prices to first-level “fences.” First-level fences in turn served as middlemen between the “boosters” who stole the OTC and HBA products from retail merchant stores and second-level fences who further distributed the stolen goods to a higher-level fence or distributor, who then distributed the stolen products back into the retail marketplace.
According to court records and court hearings, Hale’s conspirators served as first-level fences, purchasing stolen OTC and HBA products from “boosters.” The first-level fence conspirators then sold the stolen OTC and HBA products to Hale, a second-level fence, at prices far below the retail and wholesale prices of the stolen goods. Hale paid cash to his first-level fence conspirators, who in turn paid cash to “boosters” for the stolen OTC drugs and HBA products.
According to court records and court hearings, OTC and HBA goods stolen by “boosters” must be “cleaned,” which means removing retail store security labels, tags, stickers, and pricing labels, before they can be reintroduced into the retail marketplace through the various levels of fences. Hale provided the necessary cleaning services for stolen OTC drugs and HBA products before shipping the stolen goods to higher-level fences in illegal distribution channels. One of Hale’s previously convicted conspirators, Jeff Telsey, owner and operator of JCA Enterprises in Boca Raton, Florida, served as a third-level fence who repacked the stolen goods in industry-standard “case packs” for resale into the retail marketplace. The amount of stolen property involved in the investigation from 2006 to 2011 exceeded $16 million.
Hale’s bond was revoked in April 2014, and remains in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by the Secret Service, IRS-CI, the Gaston County Police Department and the Gastonia Police Department. This prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Tom O’Malley and Ben Bain-Creed of the Western District of North Carolina.
Man Sentenced for Wilson PNC Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced ROBERT EARL MAYS, 58, from the District of Columbia, to 125 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. On July 6, 2015 a federal jury convicted MAYS and PARIS CORDAVA WILLIAMS of bank robbery and aiding and abetting. WILLIAMS also was found guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon. Prior to trial, on June 29, 2015, a third defendant RICKY FRANKS pled guilty to bank robbery; aiding and abetting and felon in possession of a firearm. WILLIAMS and FRANKS are scheduled for sentencing for the November 2, 2015, term of court.
According to the investigation, MAYS, WILLIAMS, and FRANKS were traveling in a car rented by FRANKS from the District of Columbia. On November 13, 2014, close to closing time, WILLIAMS and FRANKS entered the PNC Bank located at 3401 Raleigh Road Parkway in Wilson, North Carolina and robbed it. FRANKS vaulted the teller counter and took approximately $1,579.00 in United States currency from a teller’s drawer. When FRANKS grabbed the money, he also grabbed the GPS tracking device. FRANKS and WILLIAMS hid with the money and tracking device in the trunk of the rental car. MAYS drove the car a short distance away. The Wilson Police Department was alerted of the robbery and also notified that the moving tracking device became stationary on Raleigh Road. After a systematic search of cars in a stopped line of traffic near the bank, by Wilson Police Department officers, officers located FRANKS and WILLIAMS in the car’s trunk with the bag of money, GPS tracker and a firearm.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Wilson Police Department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also assisted. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Katherine Burnette and Carrie D. Randa represented the government.
Madison County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that James L. Wagner, 49, of Madison County, Illinois, pled guilty to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. At sentencing, Wagner faces a minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison, a $10 million fine, not less than 5 years’ supervised release, and a special assessment of $100.00.
Information leading to the charge against Wagner was obtaining in an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois. This case is being handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Vanessa T. Lu.
Louisiana Resident Sentenced for Involvement in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A resident of Hammond, Louisiana, was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, 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 announced today.
Corey Lewis, aka Coco, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 75 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Zainey set a later date for ordering restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lewis pleaded guilty on June 23 to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and theft of public money.
According to court documents, Lewis and his co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Lewis and others falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren M. Castaldi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Lawrence Man Sentenced to 16+ Years in Marijuana Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Lawrence man was sentenced Tuesday to 201 months in federal prison in a marijuana trafficking case. He also was sentenced to a consecutive 30 months on a supervised release violation in a prior case.
Roosevelt Rico Dahda, 33, Lawrence, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial in July 2014 on conspiracy (count 1), using a telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking (counts 42, 45, 53, 55, 70) possession with intent to distribute marijuana (counts 43, 49, 73) possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Holcomb Sports Complex in Lawrence (count 56).
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence Dahda was a member of a drug trafficking organization that was responsible distributing $16.9 million worth of marijuana in the Lawrence area. Starting in 2008 law enforcement agencies began receiving information that Dahda’s brother and co-defendant, Los Rovell Dahda, was distributing marijuana in the Lawrence area. When Roosevelt Dahda was released from prison in November 2010 in a prior case, he joined his brother in the trafficking organization.
The Dahdas used a business they owned in Lawrence, Gran-Daddy’s BBQ at 1447 West 23rd Street, as well as other properties to receive, store and process marijuana for distribution.
The Dahdas bought marijuana from suppliers in California for $1,800 a pound to $2,800 a pound and sold it in the Lawrence for $3,500 to $4,800 a pound. It is estimated the traffickers distributed more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana from 2005 to 2012.
Co-defendant Los Rovell Dahda is awaiting sentencing.
Agencies involved in the investigation and the arrest of defendants include the Douglas County Sheriff=s Office, the Johnson County Sheriff=s Office, the Lawrence Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff=s Drug Task Force, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Lenexa Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Hayward, Calif., Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Kenyan child pornography producer sentenced to life in prison for participation in Dreamboard child sexual exploitation websiteRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced that a Kenyan child pornography producer was sentenced late yesterday to life in prison for participating in the Dreamboard child sexual exploitation website.
Brian Musomba Maweu, 52, who was extradited from Kenya to the United States in September 2014, pleaded guilty in April 2015 before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. In addition to serving life in prison, Judge Hicks ordered that Maweu will be required to register as a sex offender.
In connection with his guilty plea, Maweu admitted that, while using the online alias “Catfish,” he posted 121 messages on the Dreamboard website – a private, members-only online bulletin board that promoted pedophilia and encouraged the sexual abuse and exploitation of very young children in an environment designed to avoid detection by law enforcement – including 34 posts containing child pornography that he produced. Maweu was considered a “Super VIP” member of Dreamboard, a designation that was given to members who were prominent on the site and produced their own child pornography.
This defendant, and people like him, who advertise, participate, distribute or exploit children to access child pornography work hard to evade law enforcement and disguise what they are doing,” said U.S. Attorney Finley. “Their sole purpose is to view children hurting for their own sexual satisfaction. We want them to know, that like Mr. Maweu, they will face serious consequences for their actions. Our office will continue to vigorously prosecute this type of criminal activity to the fullest extent of the law. We want the community to know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice, along with our federal, state and local partners, are committed to protecting children from these vile criminals.”
The prosecution of Maweu was the result of Operation Delego, an investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. A total of 72 individuals, including Maweu, were charged as a result of Operation Delego. To date, 57 of those defendants have been arrested either in the United States or abroad, and 49 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial. Sentences have ranged between five years to life in prison.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Child Exploitation Section of ICE’s Cyber Crime Center, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit, and 35 ICE offices in the United States and 11 ICE attaches offices in 13 countries around the world, with assistance provided by numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and throughout the world.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Michael O’Mara of the Western District of Louisiana, and Trial Attorney Keith Becker of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Kenyan Child Pornography Producer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Participation in Dreamboard WebsiteRead the Press Release
A Kenyan child pornography producer was sentenced late yesterday to life in prison for participating in the Dreamboard child sexual exploitation website, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana.
Brian Musomba Maweu, 52, who was extradited from Kenya to the United States in September 2014, pleaded guilty in April 2015 before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. In addition to serving the prison term, Maweu will be required to register as a sex offender.
In connection with his guilty plea, Maweu admitted that, using the online alias “Catfish,” he posted 121 messages on the Dreamboard website – a private, members-only online bulletin board that promoted pedophilia and encouraged the sexual abuse and exploitation of very young children in an environment designed to avoid detection by law enforcement – including 34 posts containing child pornography that he produced. Maweu was considered a “Super VIP” member of Dreamboard, a designation that was given to members who were prominent on the site and produced their own child pornography.
The prosecution of Maweu was the result of Operation Delego, an investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. A total of 72 individuals, including Maweu, were charged as a result of Operation Delego. To date, 57 of those defendants have been arrested either in the United States or abroad, and 49 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial. Sentences have ranged between five years to life in prison.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Child Exploitation Section of ICE’s Cyber Crime Center, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit, and 35 ICE offices in the United States and 11 ICE attaches offices in 13 countries around the world, with assistance provided by numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and throughout the world.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Keith Becker of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Michael O’Mara of the Western District of Louisiana. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Kalamazoo Security Company Owner, Michael Downey, Sentenced to 27 Years for Child Pornography and Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Former security company owner Michael Downey, 45, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was sentenced today to 27 years in federal prison for child pornography and illegal firearm charges, announced U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. Downey received 18 years for the child pornography count and 9 years for the firearm count, which will be served consecutively. Downey pled guilty in March 2015 to attempting to receive child pornography over the internet through live streaming videos and illegally possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle. After the 27-year term of imprisonment, Downey will serve 10 years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender wherever he works or lives.
Downey admitted engaging in online chats with people overseas to solicit children as young as eight years old for live sex shows. Homeland Security Investigations identified Downey after a couple in the Philippines was arrested for selling live sex shows of children to people online. Philippine authorities raided the couple’s home and rescued two children who were being used for child pornography. A search warrant on the couple’s email revealed that Downey was corresponding with them and that they were sending him child pornography by email. A search warrant on Downey’s email discovered chats between him and numerous other people between February 2012 and August 2013 where he offered to pay to see live videos of people sexually abusing children.
When Homeland Security Investigations conducted a search warrant on Downey’s residence in Kalamazoo, Michigan, they found unregistered and illegal firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) seized the firearms, resulting in three charges for possession of the unregistered short-barreled rifle and an unregistered silencer with no serial markings. Downey was released on bond on conditions including no computers and no firearms. While Downey was on bond, ATF discovered additional firearms hidden in his home after he offered to sell one of them to a friend, and Downey’s bond was revoked.
“The participation of the defendant in these chatroom conversations in which he was seeking youngsters to perform some sexual conduct and paying for it is the basest form of abuse,” said U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney in announcing the sentence. “Individuals like Mr. Downy create the market for this filth,” he continued, and “the word needs to get out” about the seriousness with which Congress and the courts view these “abhorrent” crimes.
“The internet has dramatically increased the reach of child predators, who believe they are operating anonymously,” stated U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. “However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal investigative partners will continue working to expose and prosecute these perpetrators and rescue children.”
“This case is another disturbing example of how some child predators believe they can evade detection and prosecution by sexually exploiting minors on the internet overseas,” said Marlon V. Miller, special agent in charge of Homeland Security (HSI) Detroit. “Child predators are mistaken if they believe they can hide behind a computer screen and keyboard to commit sex crimes against children. HSI has highly trained, computer savvy special agents with the expertise and technology to find them and bring them to justice.”
“ATF has always been very active within our statutory jurisdiction to follow the gun, which, in this case, led to a heinous investigation involving crimes again children,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge S. Robin Shoemaker. “Crimes such as this against our children cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa K. Hessmiller prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office; county prosecutor’s offices; and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, visit: http://www.justice.gov/usao/miw/programs/psc.html.
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Justice Department Sues Gates-Chili School District for Violating the Service Animal Requirements of the AdaRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department filed today a lawsuit against a public elementary school for refusing to permit a student with disabilities to attend school with a service dog unless accompanied by a separate handler provided by the student’s family. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rochester, New York, alleges that the Gates-Chili Central School District violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).This case involves a student whose service dog performs numerous tasks directly related to the student’s disabilities including alerting to oncoming seizures, preventing her from wandering or running away, and providing mobility support so she can walk independently. Due to her disabilities, the student needs periodic assistance during the school day in handling her service dog – primarily, tethering the dog and issuing limited verbal commands. Despite repeated requests, the district has refused to permit the student’s 1:1 aide – already provided by the district to assist with the student’s instruction and other needs during the school day due to her disabilities – or other staff to provide the student with this assistance.
“Individuals with disabilities are entitled to choose the manner in which they manage their disabilities so that they may live their lives with independence and autonomy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Honoring an individual’s choice to be accompanied by her service animal in all aspects of community life, including at school, promotes the ADA’s overarching goals of ensuring equal opportunity for, and full participation by, persons with disabilities.”
“It is no longer acceptable – if ever it was – for a district to refuse reasonable modifications to a child who seeks to handle her own service dog,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York. “Certainly since passage of the American with Disabilities Act in 1990, such failure not only violates the dictates of conscience, it also violates the law. This office will simply not tolerate any discrimination against any person of any age who may happen to be affected by disabilities.”
Title II of the ADA mandates that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. The service animal provisions of the Title II regulation are a specific application of the regulation’s reasonable modifications requirement and provide that, generally, a public entity must modify its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability, subject to specific, enumerated exceptions.
The department’s complaint seeks to make the student and her parent whole, by requesting a declaratory judgment that the district violated the ADA; an order requiring the district to permit the student to act as the handler of her service dog with assistance from school staff; and compensatory damages for the student and her parent.
Individuals interested in finding out more about the ADA or this lawsuit may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov. Complaints of disability discrimination may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.
Justice Department Sues Gates-Chili Central School District for Violating the Service Animal Requirements of the ADARead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed today a lawsuit against a public elementary school for refusing to permit a student with disabilities to attend school with a service dog unless accompanied by a separate handler provided by the student’s family. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rochester, New York, alleges that the Gates-Chili Central School District violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
This case involves a student whose service dog performs numerous tasks directly related to the student’s disabilities including alerting to oncoming seizures, preventing her from wandering or running away, and providing mobility support so she can walk independently. Due to her disabilities, the student needs periodic assistance during the school day in handling her service dog – primarily, tethering the dog and issuing limited verbal commands. Despite repeated requests, the district has refused to permit the student’s 1:1 aide – already provided by the district to assist with the student’s instruction and other needs during the school day due to her disabilities – or other staff to provide the student with this assistance.
“Individuals with disabilities are entitled to choose the manner in which they manage their disabilities so that they may live their lives with independence and autonomy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Honoring an individual’s choice to be accompanied by her service animal in all aspects of community life, including at school, promotes the ADA’s overarching goals of ensuring equal opportunity for, and full participation by, persons with disabilities.”
“It is no longer acceptable – if ever it was – for a district to refuse reasonable modifications to a child who seeks to handle her own service dog,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York. “Certainly since passage of the American with Disabilities Act in 1990, such failure not only violates the dictates of conscience, it also violates the law. This office will simply not tolerate any discrimination against any person of any age who may happen to be affected by disabilities.”
Title II of the ADA mandates that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. The service animal provisions of the Title II regulation are a specific application of the regulation’s reasonable modifications requirement and provide that, generally, a public entity must modify its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability, subject to specific, enumerated exceptions.
The department’s complaint seeks to make the student and her parent whole, by requesting a declaratory judgment that the district violated the ADA; an order requiring the district to permit the student to act as the handler of her service dog with assistance from school staff; and compensatory damages for the student and her parent.
Individuals interested in finding out more about the ADA or this lawsuit may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov. Complaints of disability discrimination may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.
Justice Department Requires Cox Automotive to Divest Inventory Management Solution in Order to Complete Acquisition of DealertrackRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Cox Automotive Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., to divest Dealertrack Technologies Inc.’s automobile dealership full-featured inventory management solution (IMS) business in order for Cox to acquire Dealertrack through an approximately $4 billion tender offer.
The department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.
“Cox’s proposed acquisition of Dealertrack would have allowed Cox to become the dominant inventory management solution provider in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division. “The divestiture will ensure that automotive dealerships in the United States continue to benefit from the competition that now exists among inventory management solution providers.”
According to the department’s complaint, Cox and Dealertrack are the two leading IMS providers. Cox’s acquisition of Dealertrack would increase Cox’s market share from 60 percent to 86 percent. Inventory management solutions use algorithms and sophisticated analytics to assist automotive dealerships in managing their vehicle inventories. They are used most frequently by large franchised and independent dealerships, which are more dependent on robust, automated solutions to manage their businesses. The elimination of competition between Cox and Dealertrack would likely result in higher prices and lower quality for automotive dealerships that use this technology.
The proposed consent decree, which requires Cox to divest Dealertrack’s IMS business to DealerSocket Inc., or to another buyer approved by the United States, remedies the loss of competition in the IMS market. The proposed consent decree also requires Cox to enable the continuing exchange of data and content between the divested IMS business and other data sources, internet sites and automotive solutions that Cox will control. Additionally, Cox must undertake various obligations to prevent Cox from using Dealertrack’s interest in Chrome Data Solutions LP, a company that compiles and licenses vehicle information data for use in inventory systems and other automated solutions and services for the automotive industry.
Cox Enterprises Inc. and its subsidiary Cox Automotive Inc. are privately-held Delaware corporations with their headquarters in Atlanta. Cox sells a diverse portfolio of leading automated solutions and services for automotive dealers and consumers, including vAuto, an IMS. Cox’s total annual automotive revenue in 2014 was about $4.9 billion, of which it’s U.S. IMS revenue was a small part.
Dealertrack is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Lake Success, New York. Dealertrack sells a variety of automated solutions and services for automotive dealers, including Inventory+, an IMS that combines the functionality from two IMSs that Dealertrack acquired – AAX and eCarList. Dealertrack’s total annual net revenue in 2014 was about $854 million, of which it’s U.S. IMS revenue was a small part.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to James J. Tierney, Chief, Networks & Technology Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street N.W., Suite 7100, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Cox Complaint (205.74 KB)
Cox Hold Separate & PFJ (186.8 KB)
Cox CIS (188.69 KB)
Cox Explanation (48.19 KB)
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Eagle Bank and Trust Company to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination in St. LouisRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a consent order today to resolve allegations that Eagle Bank and Trust Company (Eagle Bank) engaged in a pattern or practice of “redlining” predominantly African-American neighborhoods in and around St. Louis. “Redlining” is the discriminatory practice by banks or other financial institutions to deny or avoid providing credit services to a consumer because of the racial demographics of the neighborhood in which the consumer lives. This is the second redlining settlement that the department has announced in the past week.
As a result of the settlement, Eagle Bank will open two new locations to serve the residents of African American neighborhoods in northern St. Louis. The bank will also invest at least $975,000 to provide banking and borrowing opportunities to residents and businesses in those areas. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The complaint alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which prohibit financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race and color in their mortgage lending practices.
“The Department of Justice is committed to holding banks accountable for their role in continuing historic trends of residential segregation,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “The practice of redlining violates our laws and harms our communities. We commend Eagle Bank for becoming part of the positive change that must come to the African American neighborhoods in St. Louis. The community partnerships and lending programs that are part of our settlement will bring much-needed investment to communities in northern St. Louis.”
Under the settlement, Eagle Bank will invest $800,000 in a special financing program to increase the amount of credit the bank extends to majority African American areas in the Missouri portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, spend $75,000 for consumer education and credit repair programs, and spend $100,000 for outreach to potential customers and promotion of their products and services. Eagle Bank will also open two locations to serve predominantly African American areas within the Missouri portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, and will conduct fair lending training for its employees. The agreement prohibits Eagle Bank from discriminating on the basis of race or color in any aspect of a residential real estate-related or credit transaction.
The lawsuit originated from information gathered by the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunities Council and provided to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC conducted an investigation and referred this matter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The department’s enforcement of fair lending laws and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. Since 2010, the Civil Rights Division has provided approximately $1.3 billion in monetary relief for individual borrowers and impacted communities through its enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, ECOA and the SCRA. The Attorney General’s annual reports to Congress on ECOA enforcement highlight the department’s accomplishments in fair lending and are available at www.justice.gov/crt/publications/.
The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri and the FDIC are members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.
A copy of the complaint, as well as additional information about the department’s fair lending enforcement, can be obtained on the department’s website at http://www.justice.gov/fairhousing.
Hospital Agrees to $4 Million Settlement of Voluntary DisclosuresRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – The United States announced today that it has settled claims under the False Claims Act with St. Francis Hospital for improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid for patients admitted into its inpatient rehabilitation unit in Wilmington, Delaware between 2007 and 2010, when admission was not medically necessary and/or the services provided did not fully qualify for reimbursement. St. Francis closed the inpatient rehabilitation unit in early 2011. The settlement agreement also resolves separate allegations that St. Francis employed an individual who was excluded from participating in any Federal health care programs.
After it discovered the issues, St. Francis took corrective action to resolve the improper payments, and voluntarily disclosed the issues to the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. St. Francis has agreed to pay $4,081,816.00 to the United States and $199,894.00 to the State of Delaware to resolve the matter.
“This resolution is an example of how voluntary self-disclosure benefits both the government and providers who report potential fraud and compliance problems,” said Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware. “The government was able to recover monetary damages for compliance issues that might not have been revealed without St. Francis’ self-disclosure, and St. Francis can move forward without concern about lingering liabilities related to this conduct.”
This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Hall and Shannon Hanson, Deputy Attorney General Tiphanie Miller of the State of Delaware Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Lisa Veigel, an attorney with the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.
Hazleton Man Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Federal Heroin Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Hazleton man pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Wilkes-Barre before Senior United States District Judge A. Richard Caputo, to a federal heroin trafficking charge and was then sentenced to prison.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Adam Castro, age 28, of Hazleton, admitted to the charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
The charge arose after investigators made purchases of heroin from Castro and, on January 21, 2015, obtained a search warrant for a residence located on West Elm Street in Hazleton where Castro was staying. As a result of that search, investigators seized approximately 1,050 bags of heroin, drug packaging materials and United States currency.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hazleton Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police.
In addition to the prison term, Senior Judge Caputo also ordered that Castro be supervised by a probation officer for three years following his release from prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.
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Hammond Resident Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A resident of Hammond, Louisiana, was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, 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 announced today.
Corey Lewis, a/k/a “Coco,” 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 75 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Zainey set a later date for ordering restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lewis pleaded guilty on June 23rd to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and theft of public money.
According to court documents, Lewis and his co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Lewis and others falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren M. Castaldi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Guardian Industries Corp. to Cut Harmful Air Pollution at Flat Glass Manufacturing Plants in Seven StatesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. that will resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Under the proposed settlement, Guardian will invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its flat glass manufacturing facilities. Guardian will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000.
“This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are also particularly grateful to the states of Iowa and New York, as well as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, all of whom were active partners in achieving this important outcome for the American people.”
“Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities.”
“We applaud Guardian Industries, who today became an industry leader by committing to a substantial investment to reduce emissions of air pollutants that are harmful to human lungs,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. “This agreement strikes the appropriate balance between promoting manufacturing and protecting the clean air that is essential to public health and Michigan’s future.”
Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Guardian violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control plans when it made major modifications to its flat glass furnaces that significantly increased harmful air emissions. This settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing National Enforcement Initiative addressing Clean Air Act New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration program violations and is the agency’s first settlement involving the flat glass manufacturing sector. Flat glass, also known as float glass, is used as windows for office buildings and homes as well as for automobile windshields.
The $150,000 mitigation project with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District will provide incentives to low-income residents living in the San Joaquin Valley to replace or retrofit inefficient, higher-polluting wood-burning appliances with cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient appliances. The San Joaquin Valley is an area with poor air quality.
EPA expects that the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by 7,300 tons per year, including approximately 6,400 tons per year of NOx, 550 tons per year of SO2, 200 tons per year of PM and 140 tons of H2SO4. The mitigation project in California will yield additional reductions of PM. These emissions reductions will result in significant human health and environmental benefits for communities. Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities are located in Kingsburg, California, DeWitt, Iowa, Carleton, Michigan, Geneva, New York, Floreffe, Pennsylvania, Richburg, South Carolina, and Corsicana, Texas.
SO2 and NOX have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. Once airborne, these pollutants can also convert into particulate matter. PM, especially the fine particles, can travel deep into a person’s lungs causing severe respiratory impacts, such as coughing, decreased lung function, and chronic bronchitis. Fine PM is also associated with cardiovascular impacts and even premature death. H2SO4 irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat and lungs, and exposure to high concentrations can lead to more severe health impacts.
The states of Iowa and New York actively participated in the settlement and will each receive $78,000 of the total penalty. The United States will receive $156,000. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also actively participated in the settlement.
“New Yorkers’ health, environment, and economy depend on clean air,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “This settlement will ensure that the Guardian facility in Geneva operates in full compliance with air pollution laws. It will also significantly cut emissions from the facility, providing a breath of fresh air to New Yorkers living in the Finger Lakes region.”
The proposed consent decree was lodged today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
For more information on the settlement and to read the proposed settlement, visit http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/guardian-industries-corp-clean-air-act-settlement.
For more information on the settlement or to read a copy of the consent decree, visit
http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.Guardian Industries Corp. to Cut Harmful Air Pollution at Flat Glass Manufacturing Plants in Seven StatesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. that will resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Under the proposed settlement, Guardian will invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its flat glass manufacturing facilities. Guardian will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000.“This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are also particularly grateful to the states of Iowa and New York, as well as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, all of whom were active partners in achieving this important outcome for the American people.”
“Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities.”
“We applaud Guardian Industries, who today became an industry leader by committing to a substantial investment to reduce emissions of air pollutants that are harmful to human lungs,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. “This agreement strikes the appropriate balance between promoting manufacturing and protecting the clean air that is essential to public health and Michigan’s future.”
“The day has long passed when profits by corporate polluters take priority over the health and safety of workers and communities,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. for the Western District of New York. “Thanks to today’s settlement, Guardian Industries will make necessary investments which will give workers, neighbors and the company itself the best chance to thrive in both the short and long term.”
Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Guardian violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control plans when it made major modifications to its flat glass furnaces that significantly increased harmful air emissions. This settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing National Enforcement Initiative addressing Clean Air Act New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration program violations and is the agency’s first settlement involving the flat glass manufacturing sector. Flat glass, also known as float glass, is used as windows for office buildings and homes as well as for automobile windshields.
The $150,000 mitigation project with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District will provide incentives to low-income residents living in the San Joaquin Valley to replace or retrofit inefficient, higher-polluting wood-burning appliances with cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient appliances. The San Joaquin Valley is an area with poor air quality.
EPA expects that the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by 7,300 tons per year, including approximately 6,400 tons per year of NOx, 550 tons per year of SO2, 200 tons per year of PM and 140 tons of H2SO4. The mitigation project in California will yield additional reductions of PM. These emissions reductions will result in significant human health and environmental benefits for communities. Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities are located in Kingsburg, California, DeWitt, Iowa, Carleton, Michigan, Geneva, New York, Floreffe, Pennsylvania, Richburg, South Carolina, and Corsicana, Texas.
SO2 and NOX have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. Once airborne, these pollutants can also convert into particulate matter. PM, especially the fine particles, can travel deep into a person’s lungs causing severe respiratory impacts, such as coughing, decreased lung function, and chronic bronchitis. Fine PM is also associated with cardiovascular impacts and even premature death. H2SO4 irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat and lungs, and exposure to high concentrations can lead to more severe health impacts.
The states of Iowa and New York actively participated in the settlement and will each receive $78,000 of the total penalty. The United States will receive $156,000. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also actively participated in the settlement.
“New Yorkers’ health, environment, and economy depend on clean air,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “This settlement will ensure that the Guardian facility in Geneva operates in full compliance with air pollution laws. It will also significantly cut emissions from the facility, providing a breath of fresh air to New Yorkers living in the Finger Lakes region.”
The proposed consent decree was lodged today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
For more information on the settlement and to read the proposed settlement, visit http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/guardian-industries-corp-clean-air-act-settlement.
For more information on the settlement or to read a copy of the consent decree, visit http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Glocester Resident Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Kevin Lewis, 40, of Glocester, R.I., pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to manufacturing methamphetamine (meth), announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Glocester Police Chief Joseph S. Delprete and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division.
According to court documents, on July 28, 2015, a Glocester patrol officer stopped a vehicle being driven by Lewis, knowing that an active arrest warrant for Lewis had been issued by the Rhode Island Family Court. During the traffic stop, the officer saw on the back seat of the vehicle materials he recognized as items used in the production of meth. The officer also detected a strong odor of acetone, which is associated with the production of meth.
After placing Lewis in custody on the arrest warrant, police requested of Lewis’ wife, who was a passenger in the vehicle, that she drive the vehicle to the Glocester Police Department while under police supervision. A subsequent search of Lewis’ vehicle at the Glocester police station by members of the Glocester Police Department, the R.I. DEA Drug Task Force and the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Tactical Team resulted in the discovery and seizure from the trunk of the vehicle a batch of meth in the process of being produced. Also seized were three hydrochloric acid gas generators used in the production of meth, a completed one-pot meth cook and additional items used in the production of meth.
Glocester Police and members of the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Tactical Team also conducted a court authorized search of a vehicle parked behind Lewis’ Glocester residence where they discovered numerous items used in the manufacture of meth.
Lewis, who has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on July 28, 2015, will be sentenced on a date yet to be determined by the court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Georgia and Florida Residents Charged in Stolen Mail SchemeRead the Press Release
Two men have been separately charged with 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, was charged by indictment with four counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. James Mathurin, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged by information with two counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison.
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. The defendants’ unauthorized conduct caused both the check writer and the intended business recipient to sustain a financial loss.
Mathurin is scheduled to have his initial appearance on October 7, 2015 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer and is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on October 8, 2015 in front of U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. Bouquette’s initial appearance date has not yet been scheduled.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.
An indictment or information is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.