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Thursday 27 August 2015
Romanian National Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MARINICA MIREL COTOI, age 37, of Romania, pled guilty today to one count of bank fraud related to the use of ATM “skimming” devices.
According to court documents, in January 2015, the U.S. Secret Service and the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force began investigating the unauthorized collection of debit card numbers through the installation of “skimming devices” on various ATM machines and the subsequent illegal use of fake debit cards. In March of this year, COTOI and another man rented a hotel room in Covington. Shortly thereafter, COTOI was captured on surveillance video using fake debit cards to withdraw funds from three local bank accounts. COTOI later admitted that he illegally entered the United States.
COTOI faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, and up to three years of supervised release. COTOI also faces deportation consequences as a result of his conviction. U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown set sentencing on December 3, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward J. Rivera and Carter Guice are in charge of the prosecution.
Rochester Man Charged with Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jerry Little, 44, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with bank robbery. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on August 15, 2015, the defendant entered First Niagara Bank branch located at 2255 Eastridge Road in Rochester. Little approached a bank teller, displayed a note which read “this is a robbery,” and told the teller to give him everything in the top drawer. The teller gave the defendant two envelopes with a specific amount of money in them. Little then fled the scene.
The defendant was apprehended on August 19, 2015 after a member of the community recognized Little from a photograph of the robbery suspect that was issue to the public.
The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and is being detained. Little is due back in court on October 15, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.
The complaint is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Irondequoit Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard V. Tantalo, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Republic Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Republic, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to producing child pornography.
Benjamin Michael Hopper, 23, of Republic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charge contained in a May 13, 2015, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Hopper admitted that he used a minor, identified as “Jane Doe #1,” to produce child pornography between Jan. 21 and 25, 2015.
According to court documents, Hopper met the 14-year-old victim in an on-line chat room. She later snuck out of her home and was picked up by Hopper, who kept her at his home for several days, during which time he engaged in various sexual acts with the minor. These acts were recorded on Hopper’s iPad.
Under federal statutes, Hopper is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI and the Republic, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH -A Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute a quantity of crack cocaine, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Mark Spearman, 34, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies joined forces in a multi-agency wiretap investigation of drug trafficking and violence in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh. The interception of wire and electronic communications began in December 2013 and continued through the end of August 2014. During that timeframe, Spearman was intercepted over the wire conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute crack cocaine, which was shipped, in powder form, from California to the Western District of Pennsylvania through the United States Postal Service or commercial carrier.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for Jan. 6, 2016. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Spearman’s bond and conditions of release.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Munhall Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Monroeville Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Mark Spearman.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Possession of A Firearm by A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Dumar Combs, 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was charged today by indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of ten years imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yvonne Osirim.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Peruvian Man Charged with Leading Conspiracy to Defraud and Extort Spanish-Speaking Consumers through Call CentersRead the Press Release
A resident of Lima, Peru, was indicted by a Miami grand jury on fraud and attempted extortion charges for allegedly operating call centers that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims in the United States, convincing them to pay fraudulent settlements.
Cesar Luis Kou Reyna, 40, was charged in a 33-count indictment with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and attempted extortion.
The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and Inspector in Charge Ronald J. Verrochio of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division.
“The Department of Justice is committed to addressing the noted increase in fraud schemes targeting specific communities of U.S. residents,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer. “As this case and other recent examples show, we will track down those responsible for defrauding American consumers, no matter where the fraudster resides, what language the fraudster uses or which population he or she targets.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s investigations have no borders when it comes to investigating crimes committed in the U.S. or on American victims,” said Inspector in Charge Verrochio. “Postal inspectors will track down criminals, anywhere in the world, and bring them to justice.”
According to allegations in the indictment, Kou Reyna owned and controlled a corporation, Fonomundo FC, which operated call centers in Peru and payment and fulfilment operations in Miami. Fonomundo FC and its affiliates in South America used Internet-based telephone calling services to place cold calls to Spanish-speaking residents in the United States. The callers falsely claimed to be attorneys and sometimes claimed to be government representatives. Callers claimed that victims had failed to pay for or receive a delivery of products, although the victims had not ordered these products.
According to the indictment, callers claimed that victims would be sued and that the companies would obtain large monetary judgements against them. Some victims were also threatened with negative marks on their credit reports, imprisonment or deportation. The callers said these threatened consequences could be avoided if the victims immediately paid “settlement fees.” Many victims made monetary payments based on these threats.
Kou Reyna was originally charged by criminal complaint and was arrested by USPIS on July 31 in Houston. He has remained incarcerated since his arrest.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer commended USPIS for its investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida for its contributions to the case. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Phil Toomajian and Stephen T. Descano of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Penn Hills Man Admits Dealing Cocaine and HeroinRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Penn Hills, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Douglas Smith, Jr., 43, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies joined forces in a multi-agency wiretap investigation of drug trafficking and violence in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh. The interception of wire and electronic communications began in December 2013 and continued through the end of August 2014. During that timeframe, Douglas Smith, Jr. was intercepted over the wire conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine, which was shipped from California to the Western District of Pennsylvania through the United States Postal Service or commercial carrier, and heroin, which the conspirators obtained in Cleveland, Ohio, and transported to the Western District of Pennsylvania for further distribution.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for Jan. 7, 2016. For each count, the law provides for a minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of not more than $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the defendant’s detention.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Munhall Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Monroeville Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Douglas Smith.
PSP Investigation Leads to Indictment of New Bedford Man on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of New Bedford, Pennsylvania, was indicted on August 25, 2015, by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Sean J. Barner, 37, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, on Jan. 25, 2015, Barner distributed visual depictions, namely videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment further charges that Barner, on March 28, 2015, unlawfully possessed in computer graphics files, photographs and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Owners and Nurses of Chicago Home-Healthcare Company Among Seven Indicted in Medicare Fraud and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The husband-and-wife owners of a Chicago home-healthcare business paid kickbacks to employees and marketers in exchange for referring elderly and disabled patients to the company for unnecessary or non-existent treatment that was funded by Medicare, according to a 23-count federal indictment unsealed today.
HCN Home Healthcare Inc., through its owners, ESTRELLITA DUQUILLA and MIGUEL DUQUILLA, paid kickbacks to employees and marketers to induce the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to HCN, according to the indictment. The indictment further contends that HCN employees altered nursing reports and patient files to falsely create the appearance that its patients qualified for in-home treatment. As a result of the kickback and fraudulent billing scheme, Medicare made overpayments to HCN in excess of $6 million, according to the indictment.
The Duquillas, of Des Plaines, were each charged with conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks. Also charged in the conspiracy were four employees of HCN and an outside marketer who is married to an HCN nurse.
The indictment comes amid a lengthy federal investigation that included the execution of a search warrant at HCN’s office. The investigation was carried out by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which consists of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Fraud Section. The strike force is part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to prevent fraud and to enforce anti-fraud laws around the country.
In addition to the kickback conspiracy charge, Estrellita Duquilla, 58, was charged with five counts of paying kickbacks to induce referrals of Medicare beneficiaries. Miguel Duquilla, 60, was charged with two counts of paying kickbacks to induce referrals of Medicare beneficiaries. The indictment also charges the Duqillas with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, and ten counts of Medicare fraud. The Duquillas are the owners and operators of HCN, which is located at 6288 N. Cicero Ave. in Chicago. The indictment states that the fraud scheme spanned from 2008 to 2012.
According to the indictment, many of the beneficiaries were not qualified for home-health services, and in several instances never needed or received the care. In some cases, the employees and marketers paid cash to the patients in exchange for allowing the patients’ information to be used in paperwork submitted to Medicare, the indictment states.
One of HCN’s registered nurses, ZENAIDA DIMAILIG, 78, of Bensenville, solicited and received kickbacks from the Duquillas, in exchange for steering Medicare beneficiaries to HCN, according to the indictment. Dimailig is charged with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and one count of conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud.
HCN’s Quality Assurance Nurse, GRACE MENDEZ, 59, of Des Plaines, put false information in patient files, such as the dates of non-existent nursing visits, knowing this information would be submitted to Medicare as a basis for seeking payments to HCN, according to the indictment. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, two counts of knowingly and willfully soliciting and receiving a Medicare kickback, one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, and one count of Medicare fraud.
HCN’s Director of Nursing, DANIEL FAJARDO, 45, of Chicago, is charged with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. HCN’s nursing assistant, SHERROD HARRIS, 49, of Chicago, is charged with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and two counts of knowingly and willfully soliciting and receiving a healthcare kickback.
In addition to the HCN employees, an outside marketer was also charged in the scheme. ROBERTO JONSON, 58, of Bensenville, was the owner of Berzen Home Care Services Inc., a now-defunct company that was based out of his home. The charges allege that Jonson, who is Dimailig’s husband, received payments from the Duquillas in exchange for referring non-homebound Medicare beneficiaries to HCN. Jonson is charged with one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
The indictment was returned last week and unsealed today in advance of the arraignments of Harris and Mendez, which were scheduled for 11:00 a.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason. The arraignments of the other defendants will be scheduled by the Court at a later date.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in- Charge of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The investigation is ongoing, the officials said.
The healthcare fraud conspiracy and the Medicare fraud counts carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The kickback and kickback conspiracy counts are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, restitution is mandatory and the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Renai S. Rodney and Justice Department Senior Trial Attorney Jon M. Juenger.
To report health care fraud or to learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), logon to: StopMedicareFraud.gov.
Indictment
New York Man Convicted in Manhattan Federal Court for Attempting to Acquire Deadly Toxin, RicinRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CHENG LE was found guilty of attempting to acquire ricin to use as a weapon, postal fraud, and identity theft. LE was convicted after a four-day jury trial before United States District Judge Alison J. Nathan.
U.S. Attorney Bharara said: “As a unanimous jury has found, Cheng Le attempted to acquire ricin, a potentially lethal toxin, through the Dark Web so that it could be used to kill without a trace. As Le himself put it, he was looking for ‘simple and easy death pills’ and ways to commit ‘100% risk-free’ murder. Thanks to the FBI, the NYPD, and the Postal Inspection Service, he was thwarted in his poisonous plot.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and Indictment filed in federal court, and the evidence presented at trial:
Ricin is a highly potent and fatal toxin with no known antidote. The “Dark Web” is a colloquial name for a number of extensive, sophisticated, and widely used online criminal marketplaces, which allow participants to buy and sell illegal items, including ricin.
In early December 2014, LE contacted an FBI online covert employee (the “OCE”) on a particular Dark Web marketplace using an encrypted messaging service. The OCE had taken over the Dark Web identity from another individual who had a reputation for selling lethal poisons. After making contact with the OCE, LE inquired, “this might sound blunt but do you sell ricin?”
Following that initial contact, LE exchanged a series of messages with the OCE concerning his efforts to purchase ricin. During these messages, LE confirmed his understanding of the lethal nature of ricin, revealed his intent to resell the ricin to at least one secondary buyer, proposed that the OCE conceal the ricin in a single pill in an otherwise ordinary bottle of pills, and indicated a desire to obtain more ricin in the future. LE’s messages to the OCE included the following:
- “If [the ricin’s] good quality, I’ve already had buyers lining up.”
- “Does ricin have antidote? Last I check there isn’t one, isn’t it?”
- “Injection can be difficult to pull off. Ricin doesn’t work immediately. You wouldn’t expect the target to not fight back after being jabbed.”
- “The client would like to know . . . if it is wise to use ricin on someone who is hospitalized. . . . Injection will leave needle holes on the body which could be found in regular forensic examination. But hospitalized people already have needles in them so it wouldn’t be suspicious. Thing is, would ricin make the death look like someone succumbed to the injuries after an accident and didn’t make it through? In that case then, a little anethestical gas in the target’s car, get him drowsy when driving, get into an accident, and then kill him in the hospital bed.”
- “I probably told you this before, about mixing one and only one toxic pill into a bottle of normal pills. They all look identical. And as the target takes the medicine every day, sooner or later he’d ingest that poisonous pill and die. Even if there is a murder investigation, they won’t find any more toxin. 100% Risk Free.”
- “If you can make them into simple and easy death pills, they’d become bestsellers.”
- “I’ll be trying out new methods in the future. After all, it is death itself we’re selling here, and the more risk-free, the more efficient we can make it, the better.”
- “Also, besides that one bottle of pills with one poisonous pill in there, can you send some extra loose powder/liquid ricin? I’d like to test something.”
Moreover, during these exchanges, LE further revealed to the OCE that he had a specific victim in mind: “someone middle-aged. Weight around 200 lbs.”
On December 18, 2014, LE directed the OCE to send a quantity of ricin in the name of an individual whose stolen identity LE had assumed, and to a particular postal box in Manhattan (the “Postal Box”). On December 22, 2014, the FBI prepared a mock shipment of ricin (the “Sham Shipment”) that was consistent with LE’s request to the OCE. The Sham Shipment included both a fake “ricin” tablet concealed in a pill bottle (the “Pill Bottle”), and a quantity of loose fake “ricin” powder. The next day, the Sham Shipment was delivered to the Postal Box. LE, wearing latex gloves, retrieved the Sham Shipment, opened it, and took the contents to his apartment.
When FBI agents entered LE’s apartment to arrest LE and to search the apartment, pursuant to a search warrant, they saw the Pill Bottle open in his apartment. The agents additionally recovered from LE’s apartment an envelope containing castor seeds, which is the substance from which ricin is derived. The agents further observed that LE’s computer – which was protected with encryption software – was open to the online account that he had used to communicate with the OCE and to LE’s personal email account.
* * *
LE, 22, of New York, New York was convicted of one count of attempting to possess a biological toxin for use as a weapon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 175(a), which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of using a fictitious name in furtherance of unlawful business involving the mail, in violation of Title 18, United States, Section 1342, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft during and in relation to a terrorism offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(2), which carries an additional mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. This prosecution marked the first convictions after trial in this District for violations of Sections 175(a) and 1028A(a)(2).
The mandatory minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force – which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department – and the United States Postal Inspection Service. He also thanked the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for its assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilan Graff and Andrew D. Beaty are in charge of the prosecution.
Navajo Man from Gamerco, N.M., Sentenced for Making a False Statement to FBIRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning in federal court, Benson Pete, 75, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gamerco, N.M., was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for making a false statement to the FBI.
Pete was arrested on June 3, 2014, on an indictment charging him two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. According to the indictment, the crimes were committed between Jan. 1, 2013 and March 31, 2013, within the Navajo Nation in McKinley County, N.M.
On March 30, 2015, Pete pled guilty to an information charging him with making a false statement to a law enforcement agency. In entering the guilty plea, Pete admitted that on July 30, 2013, he provided false information regarding the aggravated sexual abuse of a victim to the FBI. Pete also admitted that he withdrew any claims that he was coerced to make the false statements by an FBI agent, and acknowledged that he voluntarily made the false statements.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine Y. Ramirez and Raquel Ruiz-Velez.
Morgantown woman sentenced in multi-state heroin, oxycodone trafficking schemeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Loren Delaney, 24, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for her role in a multi-state heroin and oxycodone trafficking operation, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Delaney was among 21 individuals charged in a 65-count federal indictment in November 2014. The indictment disrupted an extensive drug trafficking operation in which heroin and oxycodone were transported across state lines from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Morgantown, West Virginia for redistribution and sale throughout the region.
Delaney, also known as “Lo,” sold oxycodone in Monongalia County, West Virginia. She pled guilty in March 2015 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Oxycodone.”
The leader of the drug trafficking operation, Juwan Robert Woods, 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pled guilty in April 2015 to a criminal Information charging him with one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Oxycodone within 1000’ of Protected Location.” Specifically, Woods admitted that he distributed oxycodone near Wiles Hill playground in Monongalia County, West Virginia in May 2014. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2015.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mon Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Mexican Man Convicted of Using Fraudulent Identification Documents and Fictitious Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
A Mexican man who used fraudulent identification documents and a fictitious Social Security number to obtain employment in the United States was convicted by a jury on August 26, 2015, after a one-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Jose Miguel Machorro-Xochicale, age 28, a Mexican living in Lime Springs, Iowa, was convicted of one count of unlawful use of identification documents and one count of misuse of a Social Security account number. The verdict was returned on August 26, 2015, following about four hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that Machorro-Xochicale, a Mexican citizen not lawfully admitted into the United States, used a fraudulent permanent resident card and a fraudulent Social Security card when applying to work in the United States on October 31, 2014. The fraudulent permanent resident card had Machorro-Xochicale’s picture with an identification number assigned to a female from Iran. Machorro-Xochicale represented that the Social Security number belonged to him but in fact it was an invalid number.
Sentencing before Senior United States Circuit Judge Michael J. Melloy will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Machorro-Xochicale remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-2020.
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Member of Baltimore Cocaine Conspiracy Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake, sentenced Deshawn Steven Yarborough, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
According to his plea agreement, from December 2013 through April 2014, Yarborough was a member of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, along with Tyrone Robert Bailey, Lamont George Thomas, and others. As part of the conspiracy, Yarborough obtained kilograms of cocaine from a New York supplier. Law enforcement intercepted drug related calls and text messages through court-ordered wiretaps on Yarborough’s phones.
For example on March 10, 2014, Yarborough was overheard talking to Bailey about Bailey’s plans to travel to New York that day with co-conspirator Lamont Thomas in order to obtain cocaine. Later that day, as Bailey returned from New York, Maryland State Police conducted a traffic stop of Bailey’s pick-up truck for speeding. Lamont Thomas was driving the vehicle and Bailey was the front seat passenger. After a K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics, law enforcement located an electronically controlled false compartment in the seat back of the rear bench seat. The compartment contained approximately 4.2 kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement recovered $1,600 in cash and multiple cell phones from Bailey. One of the cell phones was the phone Bailey used to talk to Yarborough.
On March 11, 2014, investigators intercepted communications between Yarborough and his Baltimore-based customers, which indicated that Yarborough was waiting to be resupplied with drugs. After Thomas and Bailey’s arrest by Maryland State Police, Yarborough attempted to contact Bailey on one of the telephones law enforcement had seized from Bailey at the time of his arrest.
Yarborough admitted that during his participation in the conspiracy he was responsible for the distribution of between five and 15 kilograms of cocaine
Tyrone Robert Bailey, age 28, and Lamont G. Thomas, age 34, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore Police Department, Maryland State Police, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Marion Prison Inmate Sentenced to an Additional 2 Years for Possessing WeaponsRead the Press Release
Juan Luevanos-Montiel, 33, an inmate at the United States Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, was sentenced on August 26, 2015, in United States District Court in Benton to a term of imprisonment of 24 months for possessing two weapons within that facility, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Luevanos-Montiel previously pled guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of possessing a weapon. The offenses were committed at USP-Marion on September 11, 2014.
At the time he possessed the weapons, Luevanos-Montiel, who is an illegal alien from Mexico, was serving a 46 month sentence for reentering the United States after having been deported or removed. The 24 month sentence was imposed consecutively to that sentence.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Luevanos-Montiel was ordered to pay the United States fines and special assessments totaling $300 and was placed on a three year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration.
Luevanos-Montiel was immediately returned to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to resume serving his sentences.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Guilty Plea of Defendant Who Conspired to Import 100 Kilograms of North Korean Methamphetamine into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the guilty plea of SCOTT STAMMERS, a citizen of the United Kingdom, to conspiring to import 100 kilograms of North Korean-produced methamphetamine into the United States. STAMMERS was arrested in September 2013, along with co-defendants Philip Shackels, Ye Tiong Tan Lim, Kelly Allan Reyes Peralta, and Adrian Valkovic, following a long-term investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). STAMMERS pled guilty before Magistrate Judge James L. Cott.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Scott Stammers conspired to import into the United States 100 kilograms of dangerously pure North Korean methamphetamine. Thanks to the work of the DEA and the cooperation of law enforcement partners around the world, including in Thailand, Liberia and Romania, Stammers’s scheme ended, not with the North Korean methamphetamine flooding American streets as he had intended, but rather with a guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, the plea agreement for STAMMERS, and statements made in court proceedings:
In 2012, Tan Lim and Peralta, members of a criminal organization operating in Hong Kong and the Philippines, sold more than 30 kilograms of methamphetamine that had been produced in North Korea. STAMMERS and Shackels were responsible for storing the methamphetamine after it had been sold by Tan Lim and Peralta. This North Korean methamphetamine was later seized by law enforcement agents in Thailand and in the Philippines and tested at more than 99% pure.
In 2013, Tan Lim and Peralta again agreed to provide North Korean methamphetamine, this time agreeing to supply 100 kilograms of the methamphetamine to confidential sources working at the direction of the DEA (the “CSes”) for importation to the United States. As Tan Lim explained, his criminal organization was the only one currently able to obtain methamphetamine from North Korea: “Because before, there were eight [other criminal organizations]. But now only us, we have the NK [i.e., North Korea] product. . . . [I]t’s only us who can get from NK.” Tan Lim further explained that, because of recent international tensions, the North Korean government had destroyed some methamphetamine labs, leaving behind only the labs of Tan Lim’s organization: “And all the, the NK government already burned all the labs. Only our labs are not closed. . . . To show Americans that they [the North Korean government] are not selling it any more, they burned it. Then they transfer to another base.” In anticipation of these geo-political complications, Tan Lim noted that his organization had stockpiled one ton of North Korean methamphetamine in the Philippines for storage.
As a prelude to the 100-kilogram methamphetamine deal, Tan Lim and Peralta arranged to have a sample of the drug delivered to Shackels, who sent that sample (along with a second sample from another supplier) to an address from which the methamphetamine samples would be sent to the United States. These two methamphetamine samples tested at more than 98% and 96% pure.
Tan Lim and Peralta agreed to deliver the 100 kilograms of North Korean methamphetamine in Thailand, from where they understood it would be shipped to the United States by boat. In preparation, Tan Lim and Peralta arranged for a “dry run,” sending a shipping container of tea leaves from the Philippines to Thailand in order to test delivery channels that would later be used for the shipment of methamphetamine.
STAMMERS, Valkovic, and Shackels agreed to provide security, transportation, and storage for the 100 kilograms of methamphetamine once it arrived in Thailand. Valkovic, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club (“OMC”) in Thailand, was to be the “ground commander,” and would supervise an armed crew of OMC members that would provide security for the methamphetamine. STAMMERS and Shackels were to arrange for the 100 kilograms to be taken to a warehouse, counted, re-packaged, and delivered to a marina in Thailand, to be transferred to a boat that would deliver the methamphetamine to the United States.
In September 2013, Tan Lim and Peralta traveled to Thailand in order to receive payment for the 100 kilogram methamphetamine deal. STAMMERS, Tan Lim, Peralta, Valkovic, and Shackels were arrested by Thai law enforcement on September 25, 2013.
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As a result of his guilty plea, STAMMERS, 46, faces a maximum possible term of life in prison and a mandatory term of 10 years in prison. The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence will be determined by the judge. A sentencing date for STAMMERS has not been scheduled.
Valkovic pled guilty on August 5, 2015, before Judge Carter to conspiring to import 100 kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States. Peralta pled guilty on August 18, 2015, and Tan Lim pled guilty on August 19, 2015, to the same charge before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.
The remaining defendant, Shackels, 32, is charged with conspiracy to import methamphetamine into the United States. His trial is scheduled to commence before Judge Carter on September 21, 2015.
The guilty plea was the result of the close cooperative efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit; and DEA’s Bangkok, Manila, Ghana, Pretoria, Bucharest, Nassau, and Copenhagen Country Offices. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau and Crime Suppression Division; the Royal Thai Immigration; the Royal Thai Attorney General’s Office; the Republic of Liberia’s National Security Agency; the Republic of Liberia’s Attorney General’s Office; the Romanian National Police; Interpol; and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs for their support and assistance.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Anna Skotko, Michael D. Lockard, and Emil Bove are in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations against Shackels in the Indictment are merely accusations and that defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Manatee County Man Indicted for Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Ledale Johnson with three counts of credit card fraud, two counts of filing false tax returns, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of up to ten years in federal prison for each count of credit card fraud, up to five years for each of the false tax filing counts, and a consecutive two-year term for the aggravated identity theft counts. The indictment also notifies Johnson that the United States is seeking a money judgment of $48,416, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Johnson had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli and was detained.
According to the indictment, on several occasions between October 2011 and March 2012, Johnson possessed and used unauthorized and counterfeit debit cards that had been loaded with fraudulently obtained tax refunds. Those refunds were the result of tax returns that had been filed using stolen identities. Johnson also filed a fraudulent tax return in his name and the name of another individual.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.
Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years on Federal Heroin, Money Laundering, and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Stacey Haynes (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated that Eric Shawn Bradley, a/k/a “E,” age 47, of Columbia, South Carolina and formerly of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to a total of 210 months (17.5 years) imprisonment today in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, after earlier pleading guilty to the following charges: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, money laundering conspiracy, and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, all in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(B) and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(h), 922(g)(1), and 924(a)(2). Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., of Columbia imposed the sentence, which will be followed by 8 years of supervised release.
Bradley was one of 10 defendants charged in April 2014, following a series of court-authorized, DEA-monitored wiretaps over several telephones in the Columbia area. The investigation revealed that a group of individuals in the Columbia area were obtaining heroin from various sources outside of South Carolina and then distributing it in the Midlands. Evidence indicated that Bradley and others were involved in the 2011 and 2012 importation of heroin into the United States from India. Several packages destined for Columbia and containing heroin were intercepted by law enforcement during the investigation. Evidence further showed that the co-defendants later obtained heroin in New York and transported it back to Columbia where it was distributed. The New York heroin suppliers have been charged by the Eastern District of New York for their role in the drug conspiracy. Bradley faced an enhanced sentence based upon his prior felony drug convictions. Bradley had prior state convictions for grand larceny, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of heroin, strong arm robbery, and possession of cocaine.
Five of Bradley’s co-defendants have plead guilty to their role in the drug conspiracy here in South Carolina and have been sentenced as follows: Kenneth Crawford, age 42, of Washington, D.C. and formerly of Columbia, was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment with 8 years of supervised release to follow; Charles Bradley, age 32, of Columbia was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment with 6 years of supervised release to follow; Anthony Glover, age 40, of Columbia was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment with 8 years of supervised release to follow; and Jessany Lyons, age 25, of Far Rockaway, New York, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release. Co-defendant Larry Bookman, age 52, of Columbia, has plead guilty and is currently awaiting sentencing. Four other co-defendants charged in the indictment remain fugitives.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) High Intensity Drug Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.
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Maine Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
A Brunswick, Maine, businessman was sentenced to prison today for tax crimes in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II of the District of Maine.
F. William Messier, 71, and David E. Robinson, 78, both of Brunswick, were convicted on April 3 after a five-day jury trial of conspiracy to defraud the United States and corruptly endeavoring to impede the lawful administration of the Internal Revenue Code. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby of the District of Maine sentenced Messier to serve one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. The court also ordered Messier to pay a $15,000 fine and file federal income tax returns dating back to 2005. Robinson’s sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 5.
According to trial testimony, Messier, doing business as Oak Hill Communications, earned income generated on leases from telecommunication towers located on his Brunswick property. From 1999 through 2014, Messier engaged in conduct that was intended to impede and obstruct the enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws, including the provision of false tax documents to customers, obstruction of IRS collection activities and extensive use of cash. In 2012, the IRS assessed taxes and interest against Messier totaling $172,094 for tax years 2000 to 2004. Robinson claimed to be the “Interim Attorney General” of the “Maine Republic Free State” and advocated that people not pay federal and state taxes. According to witness testimony, after the IRS sent Notices of Levy to Messier’s customers to collect the taxes due and owing, Robinson and Messier presented the IRS with a fake money order for the amount due by Messier and other false documents. Messier and Robinson also urged customers not to honor the levies or to pay the IRS, directed customers to pay Messier in cash, and sent threatening and misleading correspondence to Oak Hill Communications customers urging them not to cooperate with the IRS. The defendants also filed civil lawsuits against some of Messier’s customers and employees of the IRS, which were dismissed in separate proceedings.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Delahanty commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James W. Chapman Jr. of the District of Maine and Assistant Chief Karen E. Kelly of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Lueders, Texas, Man Sentenced to 193 Months in Federal Prison on Federal Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
ABILENE, Texas —Rockey Koonce, 40, of Lueders, Texas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 192 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in April 2015 to one count of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Following the sentencing, Judge Solis remanded Koonce, who had been on bond, into custody.
According to documents filed in the case, Koonce used a laptop computer at his residence, connected to the Internet, to search for images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In May 2014, Koonce knowingly received a video file depicting a prepubescent female, under age 18, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Koonce received the video through the use of peer-to-peer file sharing software.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Wichita Falls Police Department and the Stamford Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, prosecuted.
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Lorain man indicted for possessing images of child sex abuseRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Robert B. Ray, 52, of Lorain, with receiving and distributing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and with possessing child pornography, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. McDonough following an investigation by the FBI Cleveland Field Office, Elyria Resident Agency.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Logan man sentenced for being a convicted felon in possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Gary Brian Adams, 35, of Logan, West Virginia was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston to 37 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of three firearms. In May of 2013, officers with the West Virginia State Police and the Logan County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home near Chapmanville and recovered three firearms that Adams had stored in the home. Adams has two prior felony drug trafficking convictions from Logan County, so he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms.
This case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
Logan County man sentenced to five years for mailing threatening lettersRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. –A Logan County man who wrote threatening letters while incarcerated was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Kelly Gerald Crosby, 32, previously pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to mailing threatening communications.
On September 8, 2014, Crosby was incarcerated at the Southwestern Regional Jail on state criminal charges relating to the use of minors in filming sexually explicit conduct. While incarcerated, Crosby mailed a letter addressed and delivered to the Logan County Courthouse, in which he made several threats to workers, public officials and others in the Logan County area. The threats included a list of people who he wanted to “kill, rape and make suffer.”
The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspector’s Service, the United States Secret Service, the Logan County Sheriff’s Department, and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is responsible for the prosecution.
Logan County man pleads guilty to drug distributionRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that William Leslie Toler, 29, of Logan, West Virginia entered a guilty plea to distribution of oxymorphone, commonly known as “Opana”. During his plea hearing, Toler admitted that on April 10, 2014, he sold a 40 mg Opana pill to a confidential informant working with law enforcement for $65.00. The drug sale took place at a residence new Chapmanville in Logan County, West Virginia.
Toler faces up to 20 years imprisonment when he is sentenced on January 6, 2016.
This case was invested by the US 119 Drug Task Force, Logan County Sheriff's Department, WVSP-BCI-Charleston, Chapmanville Police Department, DEA- Charleston Office, IRS Criminal Investigation- Charleston Office, and WVSP Logan Detachment.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Local Man Charged in Federal Indictment Involving three Drug-Related HomicidesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – ANTHONY JORDAN, St. Louis, Missouri, was charged with multiple drug and weapons charges which resulted in the deaths of three area people.
According to the indictment, on December 29, 2013, Jordan shot and killed Robert "Parker G" Parker and Clara Walker in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Ms. Walker was inadvertently struck by gunfire while she was inside her apartment at the time of the drug-related shooting. Additionally, the indictment alleges that on January 21, 2014, again in furtherance of drug a trafficking crime, Jordan shot and killed Michail “Yellow Mack” Gridiron.
The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on August 26, but remained sealed until the arrest of Jordan earlier today.
If convicted, the charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; possession and/or discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death carries a range of punishment that includes life imprisonment. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
United States Attorney Richard Callahan stated that this indictment is part of an on-going coordinated effort between his office, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, to address the rising homicide rate in the City of St. Louis.
This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.Last Defendant in Federal, State, Local Joint Drug Organization Investigation Sentenced to 12 Years; U.S. Attorney Announces Sharing of Forfeited Drug Proceeds; Thanks Officials, Officers and Agencies for Their WorkRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania today announced the successful conclusion of the investigation and prosecution of a major Harrisburg-area drug trafficking organization and recognized the efforts of law enforcement agencies in the case.
United States Attorney Peter Smith particularly thanked Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico and Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter, for their key role as long-time partners in drug law enforcement in the Harrisburg area.
In 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations in Harrisburg began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization whose members were bringing substantial quantities of cocaine hydrochloride into this area and distributing it to local drug dealers. Some of it was cooked into crack cocaine. Both the powder cocaine and crack cocaine were sold on the streets of Harrisburg.
The agents dubbed the investigation “Operation Ghost Hunter” because the main targets, including John Rawls and Antwaun Byrd, had eluded law enforcement for a long time. The investigation involved court-authorized wiretaps as well as federal funding. It resulted in the conviction of 22 drug dealers for drug offenses and money laundering. In addition, law enforcement officers seized cash drug proceeds, firearms, and luxury cars.
During the course of the investigation, agents learned that, generally, Harrisburg-area dealers, including Antwaun Byrd, sent couriers by Amtrak to the Atlanta, Georgia, area. The couriers carried cash which they turned over to Rawls who, in turn, provided them with large quantities of cocaine hydrochloride. The couriers traveled back to Harrisburg, usually by bus, and turned the drugs over to Byrd and other members of the organization. Drug proceeds were laundered, in part, through the purchase and sale of luxury automobiles.
The last of the defendants, and one of two defendants convicted at jury trials, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William Caldwell this morning. The Court sentenced Shaine L. Williams, age 44, of Harrisburg, to 144 months’ imprisonment. Previously, Judge Caldwell sentenced Adrian Totton, the other defendant who went to trial, to 240 months’ imprisonment. The prosecutor was Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Fawcett, currently head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Other defendants received substantial sentences as well (see the attached list). Nearly all these defendants were drug dealers or career criminals or both. The drug seizures included three kilos of cocaine hydrochloride seized from Rawls’ house in Atlanta, another three kilos seized from a courier at the Harrisburg bus station, and a half kilo of methamphetamine seized in Atlanta, as well as additional drugs.
Eight firearms, including a pistol-grip shotgun, were seized. One of the more unusual firearms that was seized was a handgun the drug dealers called “Pinky.”
Five luxury vehicles paid for with drug profits and used to transport drugs were confiscated. These included two BMWs, two Mercedes Benz, and a Cadillac Escalade.
Agents and officers seized almost $620,000 in cash, including $435,000 found at a safe in a house owned by Rawls in Atlanta.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that $432,103 of that money was turned over to its partners in local law enforcement to fund their efforts in drug law enforcement, including $340,386.59 that went to the Dauphin County Drug Task Force.
This case, and other similar ongoing cooperative and joint efforts, demonstrate the remarkable and often unsung work of state and local law enforcement in the effort to combat criminal activities involving illegal drugs as part of their overall responsibility to protect the public.
Other law enforcement agencies and law enforcement personnel contributed significantly to this case. They include the DEA Atlanta Field Division Strike Force Group 1, IRS Criminal Investigations in Atlanta, the United States Marshals Service, Dauphin County Probation, Lebanon County Drug Task Force, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, the Clayton County Georgia, Sheriff’s Office, The Columbia County, Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
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KC Business Owner Indicted for $125,000 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the owner of a Kansas City, Mo., business has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a wire fraud scheme in which he stole more than $125,000 from a retiree who wished to assist the inner city community by renovating homes for those in need.
Gregory T. Evans, 59, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Evans was arrested today and has an initial court appearance this afternoon.
Evans is co-owner of Regal Homes, LLC. According to the indictment, Evans was introduced to the victim in 2012 and portrayed a desire to help her to assist impoverished neighborhoods. Evans suggested that she buy a house in the 4100 block of Chestnut in Kansas City, Mo., which Regal Homes would renovate so that it could be provided to a needy family.
The victim agreed to purchase the house and wired money to Regal Homes on two occasions. The first wire transfer, in the amount of $17,000 on Aug. 15, 2012, was for the purpose of buying the house. Evans allegedly bought the house for only $8,000 to $12,000. The second wire transfer, in the amount of $22,000 on Aug. 24, 2012, was for the purpose of renovating the house. Evans allegedly did not renovate the house as promised but instead used those funds for cash withdrawals and personal expenses, and transferred money to his personal bank account.
According to the indictment, Evans also offered the same victim a chance to invest in a securities deal with a bank in Thailand in 2012. Evans claimed that he had personally invested $500,000 with the company and was involved in the proposed securities deal. The victim investor authorized two $50,000 wire transfers to Regal Homes but she never received any money from the investment.
Analysis of the Regal Homes bank account, the indictment says, revealed that $90,000 of her total investment was transferred into Evans’ personal bank account. Analysis of Evans’ personal bank account, the indictment says, revealed that more than $57,000 was drawn out in cash via checks, withdrawals, and ATMs, and that an additional $13,000 was spent at retail stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, restaurants, hardware stores, health and beauty stores, and the like.
According to the indictment, Evans stole a total of $125,480 from his victim.
Evans is charged with three counts of wire fraud. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Evans to forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offense, including $125,480, representing the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the FBI.
Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG Reaches Resolution under Justice Department's Swiss Bank ProgramRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG (HBL) has reached a resolution under the department’s Swiss Bank Program.
The Swiss Bank Program, which was announced on Aug. 29, 2013, provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Swiss banks eligible to enter the program were required to advise the department by Dec. 31, 2013, that they had reason to believe that they had committed tax-related criminal offenses in connection with undeclared U.S.-related accounts. Banks already under criminal investigation related to their Swiss-banking activities and all individuals were expressly excluded from the program.
Under the program, banks are required to:
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Make a complete disclosure of their cross-border activities;
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Provide detailed information on an account-by-account basis for accounts in which U.S. taxpayers have a direct or indirect interest;
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Cooperate in treaty requests for account information;
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Provide detailed information as to other banks that transferred funds into secret accounts or that accepted funds when secret accounts were closed;
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Agree to close accounts of accountholders who fail to come into compliance with U.S. reporting obligations; and
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Pay appropriate penalties.
Swiss banks meeting all of the above requirements are eligible for a non-prosecution agreement.
According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement signed today, HBL agrees to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, demonstrate its implementation of controls to stop misconduct involving undeclared U.S. accounts and pay penalties in return for the department’s agreement not to prosecute the bank for tax-related criminal offenses.
HBL was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Lenzburg, Switzerland. Its principal business, focused on the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, is issuing mortgages on real property and lending to businesses.
HBL offered a variety of traditional Swiss banking services that it knew could assist, and that did assist, U.S. clients in the concealment of assets and income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For example, HBL, upon client request, did not send mail associated with some U.S.-related accounts to the United States. In addition, HBL offered numbered accounts to its clients, a service by which access to information about an account, including the identity of the accountholder, was limited to only certain employees of HBL. In a handful of instances, the accountholders of U.S.-related accounts who refused to provide a Form W-9 or who admitted that they were not tax compliant withdrew significant amounts of cash or physical assets when HBL forced these accounts to be closed.
In or about 2008, Swiss bank UBS AG publicly announced that it was the target of a criminal investigation by the IRS and the department, and that it would be exiting and no longer accepting certain U.S. clients. In a later deferred prosecution agreement, UBS admitted that its cross-border banking business used Swiss privacy law to aid and assist U.S. clients in opening accounts and maintaining undeclared assets and income from the IRS. HBL opened one account for a U.S. person who exited UBS. For another long-standing holder of a U.S.-related account, HBL received a transfer of funds from an account held at UBS into a pre-existing account at HBL.
Another accountholder who resided in the United States for many years had two accounts, one of which was a numbered account. In 2012, the accountholder’s relationship manager requested a Form W-9 for the numbered account and the accountholder refused to provide one. As a result, the relationship manager directed the accountholder to close the numbered account. Thereafter, the accountholder came to Lenzburg to close the numbered account. The accountholder withdrew 240,000 Swiss francs and 12,000 euros and purchased precious metals in the amount of 318,000 Swiss francs.
Since Aug. 1, 2008, HBL had 96 U.S.-related accounts with an aggregate value of $69.8 million. HBL’s average annual revenue attributable to U.S.-related accounts in the form of fees, commissions and earnings on client funds that were loaned out by HBL was $198,000, or a total of $1.2 million since Aug. 1, 2008. HBL will pay a penalty of $560,000.
In accordance with the terms of the Swiss Bank Program, HBL mitigated its penalty by encouraging U.S. accountholders to come into compliance with their U.S. tax and disclosure obligations. While U.S. accountholders at HBL who have not yet declared their accounts to the IRS may still be eligible to participate in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, the price of such disclosure has increased.
Most U.S. taxpayers who enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to resolve undeclared offshore accounts will pay a penalty equal to 27.5 percent of the high value of the accounts. On Aug. 4, 2014, the IRS increased the penalty to 50 percent if, at the time the taxpayer initiated their disclosure, either a foreign financial institution at which the taxpayer had an account or a facilitator who helped the taxpayer establish or maintain an offshore arrangement had been publicly identified as being under investigation, the recipient of a John Doe summons or cooperating with a government investigation, including the execution of a deferred prosecution agreement or non-prosecution agreement. With today’s announcement of this non-prosecution agreement, noncompliant U.S. accountholders at HBL must now pay that 50 percent penalty to the IRS if they wish to enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division thanked the IRS, and in particular, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the IRS Large Business and International Division for their substantial assistance. Ciraolo also thanked Brian D. Bailey, who served as counsel on this matter, as well as Senior Counsel for International Tax Matters and Coordinator of the Swiss Bank Program Thomas J. Sawyer and Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
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Husband and Wife Charged with Sex Trafficking of MinorRead the Press Release
Marcus Dewayne Thompson, 28, and his wife Robin Thompson, 24, from Park Hills, Missouri, were charged by a criminal complaint, unsealed on August 24, 2015, in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois, for one count of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, and one count of conspiracy to do the same, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, and members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, Fairview Heights. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.projectsafechildhood.gov
A Criminal Complaint is merely a procedural method of bringing charges against a defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of those charges unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Honduran National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JAROL DAVID SOSA-PALMA, age 34, a citizen of Honduras, was charged today in a one-count Indictment with illegal reentry of a removed alien.
According to the Indictment, JAROL DAVID SOSA-PALMA reentered the United States after having been previously deported on June 21, 2013. If convicted, JARONL DAVID SOSA-PALMA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that an Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
Honduran Citizen Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a grand jury in Williamsport has indicted Alexander Cebilla-Amaya on charges of Illegal Reentry to the United States after a prior deportation.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Cebilla-Amaya, age 38, of Honduras, was charged in an indictment alleging that he illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported in 2013. In April 2015, he was arrested in Towanda, Pennsylvania.
The case was investigated by the by the Allenwood Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law is two years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Crack Cocaine Distribution ChargeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that COURTNEY BYRD, also known as “Buck,” 31, of Hartford, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to one count of distributing cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).
According to court documents and statements made in court, in February and March 2015, BYRD distributed approximately 98 grams of crack cocaine to an individual working with law enforcement.
On March 5, 2015, BYRD twice fled at a high rate of speed from law enforcement officers who were attempting to stop his vehicle, first in East Hartford and then in Hartford. During his second flight, BYRD hit a pedestrian in the area of Ann Uccello Street and Church Street in Hartford. The victim suffered a broken leg. A six-year-old child was in BYRD’s car at the time.
BYRD was arrested on March 19, 2015.
Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for November 23, 2015, at which time BYRD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
BYRD, whose criminal history includes multiple felony convictions, has been detained since his arrest.
This prosecution stems from Project Longevity, a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence. A critical component of the Project Longevity strategy is the “call-in,” a face-to-face meeting where Project Longevity partners engage group members and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it. BYRD attended a call-in in August 2014.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.
Groton Man Involved in Cocaine Trafficking Ring Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JEAN NEGRON, also known “Pollo,” 24, of Groton was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 19 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in early 2012, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the U.S. Secret Service and the New London Police Department initiated an investigation to combat the large-scale trafficking of heroin and cocaine from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico into and around southeastern Connecticut. The investigation revealed that certain members of the conspiracy coordinated the shipment of heroin, and sometimes cocaine, via human couriers from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Other members of the conspiracy obtained kilogram-quantities of cocaine in Puerto Rico and then mailed the drug to locations in and around New London where it was sold to distributors and customers. Narcotics were also obtained from sources in New York City and Rhode Island.
More than 100 individuals were charged with federal and state offenses as a result of this investigation.
The investigation revealed that Juan G. Cheverez, known as “Guinchi,” and Juan Hernandez, known as “Johnny,” received kilogram-quantities of cocaine in the mail from Axel Matta Figueroa, known as “Joelito,” in Puerto Rico, and then distributed the drug in southeastern Connecticut. Cheverez and Hernandez used NEGRON and others to transport their cash to Puerto Rico and to package and mail the cocaine back to the Connecticut area. In Connecticut, NEGRON accepted packages that had been delivered from Puerto Rico and, at times, distributed cocaine to Cheverez’s customers.
On November 25, 2014, NEGRON pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
Cheverez, Hernandez and Matta Figueroa also pleaded guilty. On February 18, 2015, Cheverez was sentenced to 77 months of imprisonment and, on November 20, 2014, Matta Figueroa was sentenced to 66 months of imprisonment. Hernandez awaits sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; Connecticut State Police; New London Police Department, Norwich Police Department, Waterford Police Department, Groton Town Police Department, East Lyme Police Department and Putnam Police Department. The United States Marshals Service; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; Drug Enforcement Administration; HSI Assistant Attaché, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; HSI Arecibo, Puerto Rico Resident Office; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services; and the Groton City, Willimantic, New Haven and Bristol Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah P. Karwan, Alina P. Reynolds and Henry K. Kopel. The state cases are being prosecuted by the State’s Attorney for the New London Judicial District and Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Paul Narducci and Stephen Carney.
Gasport Man Sentenced on Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Christopher Wittcop, 44, of Gasport, NY, who was convicted of possessing child pornography, was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment and 10 years supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant will also be required to undergo sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender.Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that Wittcop possessed child pornography on a laptop computer in Lockport, NY on July 18, 2011. A forensic analysis determined the computer contained over 600 images and video files of child pornography. Wittcopp used peer to peer software to share the images with others through the Internet.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Task Force and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour.
Gainesville Man Charged in Child Exploitation CaseRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Jonathan Marshall Taylor, 46, of Gainesville, Florida with sex trafficking of a minor. Taylor was arraigned today in the U.S. District Court in Gainesville. The indictment was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that, on June 13, 2015, Taylor solicited a person, and that he did so knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the person was less than 18 years of age and would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act. The trial is scheduled for October 27, 2015, at 8:30 a.m.
This case resulted from investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Gainesville Police Department, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Williams.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, [email protected]Four Plead Guilty in Health Care Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, Jeffrey Suh, Kang Young Chung, Sophia Lin, and Emily Shim pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud in connection with a $4 million health care fraud scheme.
Today’s guilty pleas were announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations’ New York Region (HHS-OIG), and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
The defendants were charged as part of a nationwide Medicare Fraud takedown in June 2015.
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, from approximately December 2010 through June 2013, the four defendants at Plaza Medi Group, Inc. and New Plaza Group, Inc., located in Flushing, NY, submitted more than $4 million in false claims to Medicare for physical therapy, occupational therapy and chiropractic services that were not medically necessary, were often not provided, and otherwise did not qualify for reimbursement.
“Clinic owner Jeffrey Suh and his employees defrauded Medicare for personal financial gain, and they now will be held to account for their crimes,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “Health care fraud prevention is a priority of the Department of Justice and this office. We are committed to preserving the resources of the Medicare program for truly needy recipients.”
The fraud scheme that Mr. Suh and his employees engaged in was motivated by nothing more than greed,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Lampert. “HHS-OIG and its law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue to the fullest extent of the law those who seek to unlawfully enrich themselves by victimizing participants of the Medicare program.”
“Public health insurance programs, such as Medicare, incur staggering financial losses when their programs are exploited. Today, the defendants in this scheme have admitted to their illegal behavior and will now be held accountable for the error of their ways as they face the due process of law,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
Today’s guilty pleas took place before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. When sentenced, the defendants face up to 10 years in prison, as well as restitution to reimburse Medicare for the false claims paid, fines and forfeiture of $2,808,190 for Suh, $2,183,012 for Chung, $272,641 for Lin, and $115,136 for Shim.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Security Fraud Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Sylvia Shweder and Whitman Knapp are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein of the Office’s Civil Division, which is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.
The Defendants:
JEFFREY SUH
Age: 55
Bay Side, New YorkKANG YOUNG CHUNG
Age: 42
Woodside, New YorkSOPHIA LIN
Age: 34
Rocky Point, New YorkEMILY SHIM
Age: 40
Flushing, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-300 (CBA)
Four Jacksonville Residents Plead Guilty to Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that four Jacksonville residents who were born in the Philippines have pleaded guilty to immigration fraud offenses. Mark Laurence Barlaan (36) and Winnie Rabaya Barlaan (65) pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and face a maximum penalty of five years each in federal prison. Peter Laforteza Barlaan (63) pleaded guilty to immigration document fraud and Mary Helen Amaba Barlaan (32) pleaded guilty to obtaining U.S. citizenship by fraud. They each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. In their plea agreements, Mark and Mary Barlaan have agreed to leave the United States after the completion of the legal proceedings and any prison sentence imposed by the Court. The sentencing dates have not yet been set.
According to court documents, Winnie and Peter Barlaan are naturalized U.S. citizens. Mary Barlaan entered the United States with a temporary visitor’s visa in November 2007, and Mark Barlaan entered the country with a temporary work visa in December 2008.
Mark Barlaan is Peter Barlaan’s son. Before Mark and Mary Barlaan came to the United States, they were involved in a romantic relationship with each other, and that relationship continued after they came to the United States.
On September 9, 2009, the day after Peter Barlaan became a U.S. citizen, he married Mary Barlaan, his son’s girlfriend. On October 25, 2011, Mark Barlaan and Winnie Barlaan were married. Peter Barlaan paid Winnie Barlaan several thousand dollars in exchange for her marrying Mark Barlaan and cooperating in the immigration proceedings.
Under U.S. immigration law, aliens married to U.S. citizens are given priority in the granting of immigration benefits. By marrying U.S. citizens, Mark and Mary Barlaan could obtain these benefits faster and without meeting the requirements applicable to persons who are not married to U.S. citizens. In an attempt to conceal the fact that they had committed marriage fraud, these individuals made false statements on documents they had submitted to immigration authorities, and that made false statements during interviews and other encounters with immigration officials.
On June 5, 2013, Mary Barlaan became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Because she obtained her citizenship by fraud, her conviction will result in a revocation of citizenship by the Court.
"Marriage fraud is a federal crime, and can have grave consequences for national security," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa "Defrauding the U.S. government is not a victimless crime."
"As an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, USCIS has zero tolerance for marriage fraud," said Kathy Redman, USCIS Southeast Regional Director. "We remain vigilant in detecting and assisting in the prosecution of any immigration fraud."
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.
Four Individuals Sentenced for Biodiesel Production FraudRead the Press Release
Dean Daniels, 52, Richard Smith, 57, Brenda Daniels, 45 and William Bradley, 58, all of Florida, pleaded guilty and were sentenced today in U.S. district court for charges related to a scheme involving the false production of biodiesel.
Dean Daniels was sentenced to 63 months incarceration, Bradley was sentenced to 51 months incarceration, Smith was sentenced to 41 months incarceration and Brenda Daniels was sentenced to 366 days incarceration. In addition, the court sentenced the defendants to pay $23 million in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart for the Southern District of Ohio, Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy N. Stemen for the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS) and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Martinez of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Enforcement Program in Ohio and Regional Special Agent in Charge Max D. Smith of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General announced the sentences handed down today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham.
According to court documents, the defendants profited by unjustly generating and selling biodiesel credits (RINs) and unjustly claiming biodiesel tax credits for the production and blending of fuel that was not actually biodiesel.
“Congress enacted incentives for the production of biofuels to make the United States stronger and more energy independent and to move our energy economy into the 21st century,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “The fraud perpetrated by the defendants threatens these important public policies. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those seeking to line their pockets using scams like this one.”
The defendants were all employees and officers of New Energy Fuels LLC, a business in Waller, Texas, that claimed to process animal fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. The defendants subsequently relocated, operating a similar scheme at Chieftain Biofuels LLC in Logan, Ohio.
The defendants would purchase low-grade feedstock and perform minimal processing to produce a low-grade fuel. The fuel was not biodiesel, however, the defendants would represent to the EPA that they had produced biodiesel. They would generate fraudulent biodiesel RINs and sell them to various third parties. Biodiesel RINs cannot be generated unless the biodiesel produced meets industry standards. In total, the defendants sold over $15 million worth of fraudulent biodiesel RINs.
The defendants also made false claims to the IRS in order to obtain the biodiesel tax credit that they were not eligible to receive. Throughout 2009, 2010 and 2011, refundable tax credits were available for renewable fuel producers. If companies complied with IRS regulations, they could earn one dollar per gallon of biodiesel. It was illegal to claim this tax credit unless the biodiesel was produced, blended and sold in compliance with rules and regulations. Among other requirements, the biodiesel had to meet industry standards, which the defendant’s fuel did not. In total, the defendants claimed over $7 million in false biodiesel tax credits.
In addition, New Energy Fuels’ production process generated substantial hazardous by-products. Defendant Dean Daniels arranged for an employee of New Energy Fuels to transport the wastes off-site at night. That employee, Lonnie Perkins, previously pleaded no-contest in Texas to several charges related to the dumping of hazardous waste in and around the city of Houston.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard helps reduce the climate impact of transportation fuel sold in this country,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Martinez. “The criminal activity by these defendants has real consequences. The defendants manipulated and utilized federal governmental programs to line their pockets by fraud. These guilty pleas demonstrate EPA’s commitment, working closely with our partners at the Department of Justice, to pursue these criminal cases vigorously. Companies and their managers need to understand there are serious consequences to skirting the rules and undermining the integrity of an EPA program.”
“Today’s sentencings mark the successful end of an investigation that uncovered a complicated fraudulent scheme that generated millions of dollars through false biodiesel tax credits,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stemen. “We want everyone to take advantage of the deductions and credits to which they are entitled by law; however, no one is entitled to defraud the government."
“The Office of Inspector General is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of those who choose to endanger the public by illegally transporting, distributing, or disposing of hazardous materials,” said Regional Special Agent in Charge Smith. “Today’s sentencing should send a clear warning that these fraudulent actions and illegal hazmat violations will not be tolerated.”
Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the United States. Dean Daniels also pleaded guilty to offering a hazardous material for transport without providing or affixing proper placards.
Assistant Attorney General Cruden and U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement, including the Houston Police Department, as well as Department of Justice Trial Attorney Adam Cullman and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous, who represented the United States in this case.
Four Individuals Sentenced for Biodiesel Production FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dean Daniels, 52, Richard Smith, 57, Brenda Daniels, 45 and William Bradley, 58, all of Florida, pleaded guilty and were sentenced today in U.S. district court for charges related to a scheme involving the false production of biodiesel.
Dean Daniels was sentenced to 63 months incarceration, Bradley was sentenced to 51 months incarceration, Smith was sentenced to 41 months incarceration and Brenda Daniels was sentenced to 366 days incarceration.
Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart for the Southern District of Ohio, Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy N. Stemen for the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS) and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Martinez of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Enforcement Program in Ohio and Regional Special Agent in Charge Max D. Smith of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General announced the sentences handed down today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham.
According to court documents, the defendants profited by unjustly generating and selling biodiesel credits (RINs) and unjustly claiming biodiesel tax credits for the production and blending of fuel that was not actually biodiesel.
“Congress enacted incentives for the production of biofuels to make the United States stronger and more energy independent and to move our energy economy into the 21st century,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “The fraud perpetrated by the defendants threatens these important public policies. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those seeking to line their pockets using scams like this one.”
The defendants were all employees and officers of New Energy Fuels LLC, a business in Waller, Texas, that claimed to process animal fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. The defendants subsequently relocated, operating a similar scheme at Chieftain Biofuels LLC in Logan, Ohio.
The defendants would purchase low-grade feedstock and perform minimal processing to produce a low-grade fuel. The fuel was not biodiesel, however, the defendants would represent to the EPA that they had produced biodiesel. They would generate fraudulent biodiesel RINs and sell them to various third parties. Biodiesel RINs cannot be generated unless the biodiesel produced meets industry standards. In total, the defendants sold over $15 million worth of fraudulent biodiesel RINs.
The defendants also made false claims to the IRS in order to obtain the biodiesel tax credit that they were not eligible to receive. Throughout 2009, 2010 and 2011, refundable tax credits were available for renewable fuel producers. If companies complied with IRS regulations, they could earn one dollar per gallon of biodiesel. It was illegal to claim this tax credit unless the biodiesel was produced, blended and sold in compliance with rules and regulations. Among other requirements, the biodiesel had to meet industry standards, which the defendant’s fuel did not. In total, the defendants claimed over $7 million in false biodiesel tax credits.
In addition, New Energy Fuels’ production process generated substantial hazardous by-products. Defendant Dean Daniels arranged for an employee of New Energy Fuels to transport the wastes off-site at night. That employee, Lonnie Perkins, previously pleaded no-contest in Texas to several charges related to the dumping of hazardous waste in and around the city of Houston.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard helps reduce the climate impact of transportation fuel sold in this country,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Martinez. “The criminal activity by these defendants has real consequences. The defendants manipulated and utilized federal governmental programs to line their pockets by fraud. These guilty pleas demonstrate EPA’s commitment, working closely with our partners at the Department of Justice, to pursue these criminal cases vigorously. Companies and their managers need to understand there are serious consequences to skirting the rules and undermining the integrity of an EPA program.”
“Today’s sentencings mark the successful end of an investigation that uncovered a complicated fraudulent scheme that generated millions of dollars through false biodiesel tax credits,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stemen. “We want everyone to take advantage of the deductions and credits to which they are entitled by law; however, no one is entitled to defraud the government."
“The Office of Inspector General is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of those who choose to endanger the public by illegally transporting, distributing, or disposing of hazardous materials,” said Regional Special Agent in Charge Smith. “Today’s sentencing should send a clear warning that these fraudulent actions and illegal hazmat violations will not be tolerated.”
Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the United States. Dean Daniels also pleaded guilty to offering a hazardous material for transport without providing or affixing proper placards.
Assistant Attorney General Cruden and U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement, including the Houston Police Department, as well as Department of Justice Trial Attorney Adam Cullman and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous, who represented the United States in this case.
Former police officer indicted for selling firearms to felonsRead the Press Release
A former police officer was indicted for two counts of selling firearms to people he knew were felons, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Cleveland office.
Kevin R. Lumpkin, 29, of North Olmsted, is accused of selling a Hi-Point .45-caliber rifle and a Ruger .380-caliber pistol on different occassions to people he knew were convicted of felonies and therefore forbidden from possessing a firearm. These sales took place between 2011 and 2013, when Lumpkin was a North Randall police officer, according to court documents.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Kendra Klump following an investigation by the FBI.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Plano, Texas, Resident Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison on Federal Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A 37-year-old former resident of Plano, Texas, Wellman Anderson Reyes, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn to 144 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in April 2015 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Judge Lynn ordered that his sentence run consecutive to any sentence he may receive in an unrelated, pending online solicitation of a minor case currently pending in the 291st Judicial District in Dallas County. Reyes will be deported to El Salvador after serving his sentence.
The investigation began in 2013 when the Garland Police Department received a tip about an inappropriate text that was sent to a minor girl. The investigation revealed that Reyes had sent that text. To locate Reyes, a detective with the Garland Police Department, acting in an undercover capacity and assuming the persona of a 14-year-old female, sent a friend request to Reyes. Reyes accepted the request, and for two months conversation between the two ensued, with Reyes enticing her to engage in sex acts with him. Reyes sent sexually explicit photos of himself, and he requested the girl send him nude photos of herself. They agreed to meet at an apartment in Garland to engage in sex acts, but when Reyes arrived, he was taken into custody.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The Garland Police Department, Plano Police Department and U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Sparks and Lori Walker prosecuted.
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Former Parma housing official sentenced to prison for stealing $232,000Read the Press Release
A former employee at Parma Public Housing Agency was sentenced to more than a year in prison for stealing $232,000 from the agency, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Amy Belz, 34, of Brunswick, Ohio, was sentenced to 16 months in prison. She previously pleaded guilty to theft of government funds.
“This defendant lined her pockets with nearly a quarter of a million dollars that was meant to help poor people,” Dettelbach said. “Public employees who steal from taxpayers will be held accountable for their actions.”
Between 2008 and 2014, while Belz was program manager of the Parma Public Housing Agency, she stole $232,407.48 by writing 138 checks to herself, money which was provided to Parma from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In order to conceal her theft of funds from Parma Public Housing Agency and HUD, Belz made the checks out to herself, but typed vendor names on the carbon copies in the Parma Public Housing Agency check registers. Belz then created false invoices from these legitimate Parma Public Housing Agency vendors, attached them to the false carbon copies, and placed them in the Parma Public Housing Agency files to make it appear that the vendor was paid for work, knowing that such was never actually ordered or completed, according to court documents.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hollingsworth after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General and the Parma Police Department.
Former Financial Manager of Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative and Church Treasurer Receives 18 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Bruce L. Johnson, 50, of Wayne City, Illinois, the former Manager of Finance and Office Services for Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative and Treasurer of the Wayne City First Christian Church, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Benton to 18 months in prison for defrauding both organizations, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Johnson pled guilty in April to charges that between 2007 and 2013 he used his trusted positions with both organizations to steal over $350,000 in Cooperative and Church funds. Throughout that time period Johnson regularly used the United States mail to send unauthorized, and in many cases forged, checks drawn on the organizations’ respective bank accounts to his personal creditors and others.
In addition to the 18 month term of imprisonment, Johnson was ordered to pay $400 in special assessments to the United States and restitution as follows: 1) a total of $334,871.24 to Wayne-White Electrical Cooperative and its insurer, Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange; and 2) a total of $47,876.96 to the First Christian Church of Wayne City and its insurer, Erie Insurance Company. Johnson was also placed on a 3 year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration during which time he will be required to perform 250 hours of community service.
Johnson will remain on bond pending designation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to the facility where he will begin serving his sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fairfield Police Department and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Former Chief of Staff to House GOP Minority Leader Sentenced to Prison for Profiting by Steering Campaign BusinessRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GEORGE GALLO, 47, of East Hampton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for receiving more than $100,000 from a political campaign direct mail vendor to whom he steered business.
“While he was a well-paid state employee, this defendant took advantage of Connecticut’s public campaign financing system by steering business to campaign vendors with whom he had a business relationship and profited handsomely as a result,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “He further abused his position of trust as Chief of Staff to the Minority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives by lying and causing others to lie to candidates who were following his directions. This prison term should serve as a warning. Corrupt public employees will be prosecuted.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, GALLO was an employee of the State of Connecticut as the Chief of Staff to the Minority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives. As part of his responsibilities, GALLO was responsible for designing and overseeing the campaign program of the House Republican Campaign Committee (“HRCC”), a state-registered political action committee that provides material and strategic support to Republican candidates for the Connecticut House of Representatives.
In 2008, GALLO and others developed a HRCC campaign program in anticipation of the first general election cycle in which candidates seeking election to the Connecticut General Assembly or statewide office would receive public financing through the state’s Citizens’ Election Program (“CEP”). The purpose of the new program, in part, was to enable the HRCC to centrally coordinate CEP funded campaigns by providing Republican House candidates with access to comprehensive campaign related services, including direct mail services, voter information, polling, messaging advice and campaign management. GALLO selected the campaign service vendors that were permitted to participate in the HRCC program.
GALLO informed an employee of a Florida-based company that provided direct mail services to political campaigns of a new business opportunity in Connecticut. GALLO indicated to the employee that the CEP would lead to greater numbers of well-funded Republican House candidates in need of direct mail services, and that the Florida company could serve as a HRCC sponsored vendor with access to CEP funded Republican candidates. In exchange, the company would make payments to GALLO equal to 10 percent of the revenue that the company received from candidates participating in the HRCC program. GALLO indicated to the employee that such an arrangement would be “good for [the company] and good for George Gallo.” The employee agreed to GALLO’s proposal.
As part of the scheme, GALLO and the HRCC hosted “campaign schools” for House Republican candidates where HRCC sponsored vendors, including the Florida company, gave presentations marketing their services. GALLO and others arranged for candidates to meet individually with the Florida company to discuss in greater detail the company’s services, prices and a direct mail plan. These meetings occurred at several locations, including the State Capitol.
During the 2008 and 2012 election cycles, GALLO made false representations to the Minority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives that he did not have a financial relationship with or receive any compensation from any of the HRCC sponsored vendors. During the 2008, 2010 and 2012 election cycles, GALLO made additional false representations to others, knowing that his statements would be communicated to House Republican candidates participating in the HRCC campaign program, that he did not receive any compensation from any HRCC sponsored vendor.
From 2008 through 2012, the Florida company mailed checks made payable to the Vinco Group, a Cromwell based limited liability company in which GALLO was the sole member, totaling approximately $117,266.63.
GALLO also made multiple false statements to FBI special agents on October 1, 2013, when he was interviewed about his relationship with HRCC sponsored vendors. In the interview, GALLO denied that either he or the Vinco Group had a business relationship with any vendors utilized by HRCC, and he denied that he had received any income through the Vinco Group since becoming Chief of Staff to the Connecticut House Minority Leader.
Judge Bryant ordered GALLO to pay restitution in the amount of $117,266.63
On April 27, 2015, GALLO pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.
GALLO was ordered to report to prison on November 30, 2015.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force and the State Election Enforcement Commission. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Mattei.
Citizens are encouraged to report corruption to the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force by calling 203-238-0505.
Florida Businessman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
Dozens of Investors Lost More Than $13 Million in Scheme
A Florida businessman was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for his role in an investment fraud scheme resulting in over $13 million in losses to dozens of investors.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Kimberly A. Lappin of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
Donovan G. Davis Jr., 34, of Palm Bay, Florida, was found guilty by a jury on May 14, 2015, of one count of conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and eight counts of money laundering. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza of the Middle District of Florida, who ordered him to pay $10,520,005 in restitution jointly and severally with his co-defendants.
“Donovan Davis Jr. and his co-conspirators lied to persuade victims to invest their retirement savings and children’s college funds, and then concealed the investment fund’s extreme losses so that the victims would stay invested,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “The investors lost everything, while Davis and others running the scam looted the fund to pay their own six-figure salaries, purchase luxury cars and travel in private planes. This sentence will help hold Davis accountable for his crimes, but the investors he deceived will suffer for decades because of his greed and deceit.”
“Dozens of investors and their families lost millions of dollars because they put their trust in an investment firm that lied about its performance,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “The deception of Donovan Davis Jr. and the others involved in this scheme caused great personal and financial harm to people, including many who lost their retirement savings. Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s greedy, deceptive conduct and underscores our commitment to prosecuting those who commit financial crimes. I commend the prosecutors from here in D.C. who held these criminals accountable for their deception in a Florida courthouse.”
“Today's sentencing demonstrates how federal law enforcement will band together to help put an end to the criminal behavior of those who prey on investors to unjustly enrich themselves,” said Special Agent in Charge Lappin. “IRS Criminal investigation and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who mastermind and perpetrate investment fraud schemes.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Davis was the managing member of Capital Blu Management LLC, a Florida-based corporation that purported to offer investment and managed account services for investors in the off-exchange foreign currency, or “forex,” marketplace. In 2007 and 2008, Davis solicited relatives, friends and associates to invest in Capital Blu.
In or about September 2007, according to evidence presented at trial, Davis and his co-conspirators formed the CBM FX Fund LP, which pooled investors’ money into a common fund to be traded by Capital Blu Management. Many of Capital Blu’s managed-account investors transferred their investments into the CBM FX Fund.
According to the evidence presented at trial, CBM FX Fund had sustained significant trading losses, resulting in large losses for its investors. Nevertheless, the evidence demonstrated that Davis and his co-conspirators made a series of misrepresentations to the investors about Capital Blu’s trading performance, the value of the fund and the risks of the fund.
For example, according to the evidence presented at trial, the Davis and his co-conspirators informed CBM FX Fund’s investors of positive monthly returns from January through August of 2008, even though the fund and its investors had sustained net losses of millions of dollars. In addition, they diverted investors’ money from the fund to pay for Capital Blu’s operational expenses and personal expenses, including their own six-figure salaries and payments for the use of private airplanes and luxury cars.
In or about September 2008, the National Futures Association, an independent self-regulatory organization that oversees commodities and futures trading in the United States, conducted a surprise audit of Capital Blu and suspended its operations. As of September 2008, investors had invested over $16.9 million into the CBM FX Fund and lost over $13 million.
Co-defendant Blayne S. Davis (no relation to Donovan Davis Jr.), 34, formerly of Naples, Florida, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $13,215,874 in restitution. Co-defendant Damien L. Bromfield, 39, of Ocoee, Florida, pleaded guilty in November 2013 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by a task force consisting of agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; U.S. Secret Service; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Brevard County, Florida, Sherriff’s Office. Attorneys, agents and accountants from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), National Futures Association, Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also provided assistance to the investigation. A related civil litigation was pursued by the CFTC, which resulted in a civil judgment against the defendants after a trial in 2011.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys David M. Fuhr and Ephraim Wernick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks of the District of Columbia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine K. Connelly and Anthony Saler of the District of Columbia provided invaluable assistance on asset forfeiture matters.
Florida Businessman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Florida businessman was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for his role in an investment fraud scheme resulting in over $13 million in losses to dozens of investors.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Kimberly A. Lappin of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
Donovan G. Davis Jr., 34, of Palm Bay, Florida, was found guilty by a jury on May 14, 2015, of one count of conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and eight counts of money laundering. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza of the Middle District of Florida, who ordered him to pay approximately $10,520,005 in restitution jointly and severally with his co-defendants.
“Donovan Davis Jr. and his co-conspirators lied to persuade victims to invest their retirement savings and children’s college funds, and then concealed the investment fund’s extreme losses so that the victims would stay invested,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “The investors lost everything, while Davis and others running the scam looted the fund to pay their own six-figure salaries, purchase luxury cars and travel in private planes. This sentence will help hold Davis accountable for his crimes, but the investors he deceived will suffer for decades because of his greed and deceit.”
“Dozens of investors and their families lost millions of dollars because they put their trust in an investment firm that lied about its performance,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “The deception of Donovan Davis Jr. and the others involved in this scheme caused great personal and financial harm to people, including many who lost their retirement savings. Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s greedy, deceptive conduct and underscores our commitment to prosecuting those who commit financial crimes. I commend the prosecutors from here in D.C. who held these criminals accountable for their deception in a Florida courthouse.”
“Today's sentencing demonstrates how federal law enforcement will band together to help put an end to the criminal behavior of those who prey on investors to unjustly enrich themselves,” said Special Agent in Charge Lappin. “IRS Criminal investigation and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who mastermind and perpetrate investment fraud schemes.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Davis was the managing member of Capital Blu Management LLC, a Florida-based corporation that purported to offer investment and managed account services for investors in the off-exchange foreign currency, or “forex,” marketplace. In 2007 and 2008, Davis solicited relatives, friends and associates to invest in Capital Blu.
In or about September 2007, according to evidence presented at trial, Davis and his co-conspirators formed the CBM FX Fund LP, which pooled investors’ money into a common fund to be traded by Capital Blu Management. Many of Capital Blu’s managed-account investors transferred their investments into the CBM FX Fund.
According to the evidence presented at trial, CBM FX Fund had sustained significant trading losses, resulting in large losses for its investors. Nevertheless, the evidence demonstrated that Davis and his co-conspirators made a series of misrepresentations to the investors about Capital Blu’s trading performance, the value of the fund and the risks of the fund.
For example, according to the evidence presented at trial, the Davis and his co-conspirators informed CBM FX Fund’s investors of positive monthly returns from January through August of 2008, even though the fund and its investors had sustained net losses of millions of dollars. In addition, they diverted investors’ money from the fund to pay for Capital Blu’s operational expenses and personal expenses, including their own six-figure salaries and payments for the use of private airplanes and luxury cars.
In or about September 2008, the National Futures Association, an independent self-regulatory organization that oversees commodities and futures trading in the United States, conducted a surprise audit of Capital Blu and suspended its operations. As of September 2008, investors had invested over $16.9 million into the CBM FX Fund and lost over $13 million.
Co-defendant Blayne S. Davis (no relation to Donovan Davis Jr.), 34, formerly of Naples, Florida, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $13,215,874 in restitution. Co-defendant Damien L. Bromfield, 39, of Ocoee, Florida, pleaded guilty in November 2013 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.
This case was transferred from the Middle District of Florida to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice, Criminal Division.
The case was investigated by a task force consisting of agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; U.S. Secret Service; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Brevard County, Florida, Sherriff’s Office. Attorneys, agents and accountants from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), National Futures Association, Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also provided assistance to the investigation. A related civil litigation was pursued by the CFTC, which resulted in a civil judgment against the defendants after a trial in 2011.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys David M. Fuhr and Ephraim Wernick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks of the District of Columbia. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the District of Columbia provided invaluable assistance on asset forfeiture matters.
Five Men Plead Guilty to Bank Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five men have pleaded guilty to multiple felonies arising from a five-year conspiracy to defraud banks by manufacturing fraudulent checks using compromised account information and to deposit the checks into bank accounts under false identities.
The following men have pleaded guilty to felonies arising from this conspiracy: Ray Ekobena, 27, of Alexandria; Stefan Ekobena, 24, of Atlanta; Rodney Hardy, 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Alan Lamin, 25, of Washington, D.C.; and Jerome Johnson, 32, of Washington, D.C.
According to statements of fact filed with the plea agreements, Ray Ekobena and his younger brother, Stefan Ekobena, printed fraudulent checks using victims’ bank account information. The Ekobenas’ obtained this information by enlisting bank tellers and other insiders who had access to sensitive personal information through their employment. Co-conspirators such as Hardy, Lamin, and Johnson furthered the conspiracy by depositing the fraudulent checks into bank accounts under false names and withdrawing the resulting funds before the banks discovered the fraud. Ray Ekobena also obtained loans in the names of his identity theft victims to buy luxury vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche, and an Audi. In total, the conspiracy victimized over 200 individuals, small businesses, and charities, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Children’s National Medical Center.
The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on June 25, 2015. For the bank fraud conspiracy, they each face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced in November 2015. Ray and Stefan Ekobena will also receive a mandatory two-year sentence for their convictions for aggravated identity theft. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; David G. Bowers, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department, made the announcement after the final plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-180.
Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Impersonating an Armed Federal AgentRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Daniel M. Harbison has been sentenced to one year, nine months in federal prison for impersonating an armed DEA agent, after having previously been convicted of a felony.
“The impersonation of a federal agent undercuts the validity of a genuine law enforcement officer’s mission to protect the public,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Thankfully, Harbison made the mistake of pulling over a Doraville police officer who questioned Harbison’s authority and took quick action that resulted in Harbison being arrested that day, and today being sentenced for his crime.”
“Through the cooperation of multiple agencies, Dunwoody Police, FBI, DEA and The Department of Justice, Harbison will be getting the just sentence he deserves. He only serves as a reminder to the community that they should always be aware of what is going on around them. I am thankful that our officer was alert and took the appropriate steps to ensure this successful, peaceful conclusion,” said Chief John King, Doraville Police Department.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: In the spring of 2015, Harbison began impersonating a Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) agent. Specifically, on April 3, 2015, in Doraville, Georgia, Harbison conducted a traffic stop of a Chevrolet Suburban by engaging green and white flashing light-emitting diode (“LED”) lights. Unbeknownst to Harbison, the vehicle was being driven by an off-duty Corporal with the Doraville Police Department. During the unauthorized traffic stop, Harbison wore a T-shirt printed with the letters “DEA,” carried a .45 caliber handgun in a thigh holster, and possessed an identification card purportedly issued by the DEA. The Doraville Corporal also saw that Harbison possessed a realistic gold and blue badge engraved with the letters “US.”
The Corporal told Harbison that he was a Doraville Police Officer and asked Harbison why his LED lights were green and white (as opposed to the blue and white lights used by genuine police officers). In response to the question, Harbison replied that his LED lights were green and white because he was a federal agent. The Doraville Corporal then stated that other police officers were in route to check the validity of Harbison’s law enforcement credentials. At that point, Harbison returned to his car and fled from the scene.
Doraville and Dunwoody Police Officers then went to Harbison’s residence and arrested Harbison. From Harbison’s residence, police officers recovered several items, including: (a) a Springfield .45 caliber handgun, (b) a DEA T-shirt, (c) LED lights, (d) an identification card purportedly issued by the DEA, and (e) a gold and blue badge engraved with the letters “US.” Harbison has previously been convicted of at least two felonies, and as a result, could not legally possess the gun. Harbison had been impersonating a federal agent for several weeks before he was caught.
On April 23, 2015, a grand jury charged Harbison, 40, of Dunwoody, Georgia, with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Harbison pleaded guilty to that charge on June 9, 2015. He was sentenced to one year, nine months in federal prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay a special assessment of $100.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Doraville Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin E. Sanders 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.
Federal law enforcement leaders collaborate in Detroit to combat regional heroin, painkiller traffickingRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld, II, joined federal law enforcement leaders this week at a summit in Michigan to finalize plans for an initiative designed to enhance interstate collaboration in order to slow the southward flow of drugs from Detroit to the Appalachian Region.
Federal agents and prosecutors, led by Barbara L. McQuade, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, met on Wednesday to develop a strategic initiative designed to disrupt the flow of heroin and opioids from the Detroit region to West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee. Under the initiative, law enforcement and prosecutors across the region will identify key transportation routes and concentrate resources to target the criminal organizations that use those routes, sometimes referred to as the “Southern Pipeline.” The goal of the initiative is to dismantle drug trafficking organizations by enhancing coordination, data gathering, targeting and information sharing.
“We need to take more of a data-driven approach to the investigating heroin and painkiller trafficking in West Virginia and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “The demand for illegal drugs does not stop at arbitrary borders between jurisdictions. As long as drug dealers can profit from this demand, they will continue to find creative ways to transport drugs cross state lines using intricate distribution networks. Collaboration among law enforcement agencies across the Midwest will allow us to more clearly understand and quickly respond to drug trafficking patterns.”
United States Attorneys from Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia participated in the summit. The meeting was also attended by Directors of the Ohio, Appalachia, and Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, as well as Special Agents in Charge from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Federal Jury Finds Junction City Man Was Not War Hero He Claimed to BeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. –A federal jury Thursday returned a guilty verdict in the case of a Junction City man who stole his father’s identity to apply for a loan to buy a $490,000 house, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Matthew Williams, 47, Junction City, Kan., was convicted on one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Williams filled out a loan application with Pulaski Bank using his father’s name, Social Security number and other identifying information in an attempt to get a loan to buy a house in Shawnee, Kan. The defendant was in bankruptcy proceedings at the time.
The government presented evidence that Williams claimed to be an Army veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart award for valor in Vietnam. In fact, Williams’s father, Earl, fought in both Vietnam and Desert Storm and earned a Purple Heart, as well as other commendations.
Sentencing will be set for a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge, and a penalty of 2 years consecutive to any other sentence on the identity theft charge. Grissom commended the Veterans Administration – Office of Inspector Genera, Special Agent Tim Mugrage and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble for their work on the case.