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14 October 2015
Contractor Charged with $1.2 Million Fraud in Connection with Mechanicsburg Naval Facility ContractRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a former U.S. Navy contractor has been indicted and arrested for submitting False Statements to the government and defrauding his subcontractors out of $1.2 million involving a project at the Naval Support Activity facility in Mechanicsburg.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, an Indictment by a grand jury in Harrisburg, filed with United States District Court today in Harrisburg, Andrew Persaud, age 43, of Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, was charged with making false statements to the government.
The Indictment alleges Persaud was the President and Corporate Director of Persaud Companies, Inc., a Virginia and Maryland based construction company that entered into a $4.4 million contract in 2011 to renovate warehouses at the Naval facility. Persaud hired approximately 17 sub-contractors to work on the project which began in May 2012.
In June and July of 2012 Persaud allegedly submitted invoices for progress payments to the Navy. In the documents Persaud certified that all of the subcontractors had been paid for their work on the project. Relying on the verity of Persaud’s representations, the Navy sent Persaud payments totaling $1,206,470 between June and August 2012.
By September 2012 most of the subcontractors had walked off the job site. The Navy terminated Persaud’s contract after it learned, contrary to Persaud’s certifications, that none of the subcontractors had received any payment for their work on the project.
Because the Navy had required Persaud to purchase a materials/labor bond, the subcontractors eventually received payments from the bond carrier totaling $1,281,753.
The Indictment alleges that the government is seeking forfeiture of the proceeds of the criminal conduct in the amount of $1,206,470.
No date has been set for Persaud’s arraignment on the charges.
The case was investigated by the Inspector General’s Offices of the US Navy and Department of Defense, and is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty for the offense is 10 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a 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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Chesterfield Man Guilty of Producing Child Pornography of Local VictimRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Zebulon Resolve Wendt, 34, of Chesterfield County, pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography of a local juvenile whom he had babysat and sexually abused and exploited on numerous occasions.
According to court documents, Canadian law enforcement detected Wendt after he uploaded several images of a juvenile female engaged in sexually explicit conduct from his Chesterfield residence to an Internet website. Federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), subsequently executed a search warrant at Wendt’s residence where they recovered several computers, external hard drives, and other computer equipment. A subsequent forensic examination of the seized items revealed thousands of images and videos of a juvenile female engaged in sexually explicit conduct that Wendt himself had taken with a digital camera and saved onto his computer equipment. Evidence showed that he then distributed these images and videos to other individuals over the Internet.
Wendt was charged by superseding indictment on July 7, 2015. Wendt faces mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison when sentenced on January 14, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Upon release from prison, Wendt will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. 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; Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey E. Rohrs and Samuel E. Fishel of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office 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. 3:15cr095.
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Cedar Rapids Woman Sentenced to More Than Five Years’ in Prison for Tax Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
A woman who filed more than 150 fraudulent tax returns over a three year period and stole the identity of a woman to file a fraudulent tax return was sentenced on October 13, 2015, to more than five years in federal prison.
Gwendolyn Murray, age 34, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 8, 2015, guilty plea to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft.
In a plea agreement, Murray admitted she, without lawful authority, used another person’s name, social security number, and signature on a fraudulent tax return she filed in January 2012. Murray further admitted she then stole from the government more than $6,000 when she cashed the refund check. She also admitted to filing more than 150 fraudulent tax returns between April 2010 and April 2013, claiming refunds to which the taxpayer named in the return was not entitled. Her criminal activity resulted in the Internal Revenue Service paying out more than $350,000 in fraudulent tax refunds to her.
Murray was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Murray was sentenced to sixty-one months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $200 was imposed, and she was ordered to make $386,515 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Investigating refund fraud and identity theft is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation,” said Special Agent Andrew M. Thornton, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Stealing identities and filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers and undermines the U.S. Treasury.”
Murray was released on conditions of release previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on November 3, 2015.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/. The case file number is 15-CR-00015.
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Bridgeport Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LORENZO CARTER, 20, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 8, 2015, law enforcement officers located a .22 caliber handgun that CARTER had placed on the tire of a vehicle parked on Trumbull Avenue in Bridgeport. Prior to that date, CARTER had been convicted of carrying a pistol without a permit and illegally receiving a pistol, both felony offenses.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
CARTER has been detained since his arrest on April 8. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Laraia.
Boeing Pays $18 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
The Boeing Company has paid the United States $18 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims for labor charges on maintenance contracts with the U.S. Air Force for the C-17 Globemaster aircraft, the Justice Department announced today. Boeing, an aerospace and defense industry giant, is headquartered in Chicago.
“Defense contractors are required to obey the rules when billing for work performed on government contracts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Justice Department will ensure that government contractors meet their obligations and charge the government appropriately.”
The government alleged that Boeing improperly charged labor costs under contracts with the Air Force for the maintenance and repair of C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Boeing’s Long Beach Depot Center in Long Beach, California. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which is both manufactured and maintained by Boeing, is one of the military’s major systems for transporting troops and cargo throughout the world. The government alleged that the company knowingly charged the United States for time its mechanics spent on extended breaks and lunch hours, and not on maintenance and repair work properly chargeable to the contracts.
The allegations resolved by the settlement announced today were originally brought by former Boeing employee James Thomas Webb under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The act permits private individuals to sue on behalf of the government those who falsely claim federal funds, and to share in the recovery. Mr. Webb’s share of the settlement has not yet been determined.
The case was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.
The False Claims Act lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Webb v. The Boeing Company, CV13-000694 (C.D. Cal.). The claims resolved by today’s civil settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Baton Rouge man pleads guilty to role in Natchitoches bank fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Baton Rouge man pleaded guilty Tuesday to his role in a Natchitoches bank fraud scheme in which more than $305,000 was stolen.
Joe Lee Colbert Jr., 38, of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Colbert and bank branch manager Deirdre Christophe Nelson, 36, of Natchez, La., conspired to steal more than $305,000 from 2011 until July of 2014 from a Natchitoches bank. Nelson would steal cash money and issue money orders from the bank to be deposited into Colbert’s account. Nelson and bank teller Valerie K. Culpepper, 35, of Natchitoches, falsified bank records in order to hide the money that was stolen during that time period.
Colbert faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, forfeiture and restitution. A sentencing date of January 22, 2016 was set.
Nelson pleaded guilty on September 10, 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She faces up to 30 years in prison, five years supervised release, a $1 million fine and restitution. A sentencing date of December 17, 2015 was set. Culpepper pleaded guilty on July 17, 2015 to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in bank records. She faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution. A sentencing date of October 23, 2015 was set.
The FBI and conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan is prosecuting the case.
Albuquerque Man Arraigned on Federal Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Pete Pasqual Chavez, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court on an indictment charging him with being felon in possession of a firearm. Chavez entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and was ordered detained pending trial.
The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
Chavez was arrested on Sept. 16, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 14, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. The complaint alleges that on Sept. 14, 2015, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) responded to the La Quinta Inn on San Antonio Blvd. in Albuquerque after Chavez allegedly told hotel personnel that he had just shot a person who was breaking into his vehicle. Upon arrival, the APD officers found a firearm under Chavez’s vehicle. Thereafter the officers executed search warrants for Chavez’s hotel room and vehicle. In the vehicle, the officers allegedly found a single projectile that was removed from the inside of the passenger door and a box of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition. In Chavez’s hotel room, the officers allegedly found four rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition. In the bushes outside Chavez’s room, the officers allegedly found a firearm loaded with ten rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.
Chavez was indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
At the time of his arrest, Chavez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, because he previously had been convicted of attempting to traffic a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, shooting from or into a vehicle and use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.
If convicted of the crime charged in the indictment, Chavez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. If the court determines that Chavez is an armed career criminal, he faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and APD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
Arrestado Un Hombre De Bakersfield Con Cargos Contra El Crimen Del Odio, Posesión De Arma De Fuego Y Falso TestimonioRead the Press Release
BAKERSFIELD, California — Justin Whittington de 24 años y vecino de la localidad de Bakersfield fue detenido hoy por interferir con los derechos de vivienda de un persona por motivos de raza, color de piel, o origen nativo empleando el uso de la fuerza o amenaza de fuerza, el uso de armas de fuego durante un crimen violento, la posesión ilícita de un arma de fuego prohibida, y por hacer una declaración falsa dolosa a un agente especial de la Oficina Federal de Investigación (FBI), según comunicó el Teniente Jefe Auxiliar de la Procuraduría General Vanita Gupta, que encabeza la Sección para los Derechos Humanos del Departamento de Justicia, y el Fiscal de Los Estados Unidos Benjamín B. Wagner.
El 24 de septiembre del 2015, un gran jurado en los tribunales de la jurisdicción federal dictó el auto de procesamiento con cuatro acusaciones en el pliego de cargos que permanecía precintado después de la detención de Whittington. Según la acusación formal del 19 de diciembre del 2012, Whittington increpó a base de calumnias racistas y disparó a un hombre Latino con una escopeta recortada mientras que el hombre y su familia permanecían en el exterior del hogar familiar en Oildale. El auto de procesamiento alega que Whittington tomó acción en un intento de amenazar e interferir con la ocupación de vivienda de la victima por motivos de raza, color de piel u origen nativo.
Además, el auto declara que Whittington hizo declaraciones falsas a un agente del FBI cuando afirmó falsamente que en la tarde del incidente, había sido pagado por alguien para guardar la escopeta recortada en el maletero de su coche.
“El uso de violencia motivada por el racismo y las amenazas de violencia para intimidar a las personas en vinculación con sus preferencias de vivienda es un acto criminal,” dijo el Fiscal de los Estados Unidos Wagner. “El investigar y el procesar a aquellos que vulneran los derechos civiles de los demás continuarán siendo el núcleo de la misión de esta oficina.”
Este caso es el producto de una investigación de la Oficina Federal de Investigación (FBI) y de la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Kern. El Fiscal Auxiliar de los Estados Unidos Brian K. Delaney está procesando el caso con la asistencia del Abogado Litigante Samantha Trepel de la Sección de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia.
Si es declarado culpable, Whittington se enfrenta a una pena máxima establecida por la ley de cadena perpetua y una multa de $250,000. Aunque cualquier sentencia sería establecida a discreción por parte del tribunal después de considerar cualquier factor estatutario aplicable y consultar las Pautas Federales para Dictar Sentencia. Las acusaciones son solo alegaciones; el demandado es considerado inocente hasta y a menos que sea comprobado culpable sin caber duda razonable.
15 Savannah Residents Charged with Federal Firearm Drug Trafficking and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA – 15 Savannah residents were charged within the past week with federal firearms and drug-trafficking offenses as part of a joint federal and state violent-crime reduction initiative in the Savannah area. In addition to federal charges, 90 state arrests were made within the past two weeks during a state and federal operation to remove violent offenders, drugs and illegal weapons off of the streets of Savannah.
The Savannah residents charged within the past week with federal crimes include:
Shavar Spence, a/k/a “Veezy,” 31; charged with drug trafficking, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and related crimes;
Antwan Leshawn Coley, a/k/a “Felix,” 32; charged with drug trafficking;
Braylon Williams, a/k/a “Little Gangster,” 20; charged with drug trafficking;
Lajordan Johnson, 22; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furthering of drug trafficking;
Blanche Spence, 50; charged with drug trafficking and with maintaining a drug-related premises;
Charles Leonard Mobley, 21; charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Miguel Antwan Mitchell, 28; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Bruce Lloyd, 30; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Brandon Anthony Adams, 28; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Laron Allen, 28; charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Kwesi Nkosi Chew, 28; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Tsaddiq Ndesha Chew, 26; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Rakeem Gallop, a/k/a “Slice,” 25; charged with drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon;
Michael Simpson, 51; charged with an attempted carjacking; and,
Todd Benjamin, a/k/a “Todd Royal,” 20; charged with an attempted carjacking.
U.S. Attorney Edward Tarver said, “Law enforcement’s top priority is the safety of our citizens. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will work hand in hand with our federal and state law enforcement partners to remove dangerous criminals who traffick in guns, drugs and fear in the Savannah area. Let me be clear. I believe that some people are dangerous and need to go to prison, sometimes for a very long time. But, arresting criminals is not the only answer to Savannah’s violent crime problem. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to provide its support to a number of other anti-crime initiatives, including recidivism reduction campaigns and the City’s “Step Forward” strategy. Working together, we can end the violent crime problems plaguing the great city of Savannah.”
District Attorney Meg Heap stated, “I have said before that the key to the success of the Step Forward strategy is a consistent, collaborative effort from all stakeholders in Savannah and Chatham County. This recent effort is just one step in the journey to stop violence and develop long term positive change in our community. I want to commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office and all of the law enforcement agencies who were involved in this operation.”
Joseph H. Lumpkin, Sr., Chief of Police of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department said, “This is a great example of how collaborations between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies can effect real change in reducing violent crime. The goal of our “End Gun Violence: Step Forward” initiative is to target individuals such as these prohibited gun carriers as well as get illegal guns off the street. The citizens of Savannah and Chatham County can expect to see more of this focused teamwork and prosecution aimed at the .5% percent of our population who are engaged in gun violence and are creating fear in our neighborhoods.”
Mr. Tarver emphasized that criminal charges are accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
13 October 2015
Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for O’Fallon Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Denise K. Dodson, 45, of Troy, Illinois, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court to 70 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Robbery and Bank Robbery in connection with the robbery of the May 2013 robbery of Scott Credit Union in O’Fallon, Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois announced today. Following her prison sentence, Dodson will be on federal supervised release for 3 years. Dodson was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $101,532.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court establish that at noon on May 24, 2013, Denise Dodson drove her husband, Steven Dodson, to the Scott Credit Union to commit a bank robbery. As two employees of Scott Credit Union were filling the outside ATM with money, Steven Dodson approached them on foot wearing a flesh-colored mask and yelled "Get away." "I have a gun." The two women stepped back and Steven Dodson walked away from the credit union with the three "cassettes" containing $100,000 of United States currency. Denise Dodson picked Steven Dodson up a short distance from the Scott Credit Union and the two fled the area.
Steven Dodson was also charged and convicted for the bank robbery of Scott Credit Union. He was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the O’Fallon Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers.
Wesson Man Pleads Guilty to Tampering with a Consumer ProductRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss - Alfred Thornhill, 41, of Wesson, Mississippi, pled guilty on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to tampering with a consumer product, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Patrick Munday, Acting Special Agent in Charge, USDA - Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Thornhill was employed at a dairy farm near Crystal Springs, Mississippi, when he poured chlorine, acid and bleach into a stainless steel container of milk right after the milk had been collected from the cows on March 28, 2014. The toxic chemicals were discovered in the milk by the farm’s owner just before the milk was to be picked up for transportation to a distribution center in New Orleans. The contents of the caustic agents were confirmed by a lab analysis conducted at Mississippi State University.
According to evidence disclosed during the guilty plea hearing, Thornhill confessed to USDA-OIG Special Agents that he poisoned the milk because he was angry at the dairy farm owner and intended to ruin the milk in order to financially harm the dairy farmer.
Acting USDA-OIG Special Agent in Charge Patrick Munday stated: "USDA-OIG is committed to identifying individuals committing these types of senseless acts that could potentially affect the health and well-being of the American public and seek prosecutions to the fullest extent of the law. This case was conducted jointly with the Mississippi Agriculture Theft Bureau and is an example of the results we can achieve by working with our law enforcement partners."
Thornhill will be sentenced on January 19, 2016 at 9:00 am by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as payment of restitution to the dairy farm.
This case was investigated by the USDA- OIG and the Mississippi Agriculture Theft Bureau. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Gilbert.
United States Settles with Pitney Bowes Presort Services for Underpaying Postage Owed to U.S. Postal ServiceRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Pitney Bowes Presort Services Inc. (Pitney Bowes) has agreed to pay the United States $9.4 million to resolve allegations that it underpaid postage for mail processed at its Reading, Pennsylvania, facility by claiming discounts to which it was not entitled. Pitney Bowes, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska, helps prepare mailings for large mailers by, among other things, gathering, sorting and presenting the mail to the U.S. Postal Service.
“Those who obtain government benefits are expected to comply with the terms of those benefits,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates that there will be consequences for those who do not live up to their obligations.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Pitney Bowes claimed discounted postage rates for mail that failed to comply with the Move Update standard, which requires that mail be updated with change-of-address information provided by the Postal Service. Pitney Bowes was obligated to ensure that mail it submitted on behalf of its customers at discounted postage rates complied with Move Update, by either updating addresses on the mail directly or having its customers perform the updates. The Postal Service offered lower postage rates to Pitney Bowes for complying with Move Update and other requirements.
“When mailers don’t adhere to Move Update standards it negatively affects the entire mailing community,” said Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Philadelphia Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to investigate mailers who fail to comply with postal regulations.”
This matter was jointly investigated by USPIS and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. The claims settled in this case are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
United States Attorney’s Office announces demolition of Outlaw motorcycle gang clubhouseRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- United States Attorney Josh Minkler and United States Marshal Kerry Forestal announced today the demolition of three buildings that the Outlaws Motorcycle Club (OMC) used as a compound to facilitate their illegal activity. The first building, located at 305 North Jefferson Avenue, served as the clubhouse for the OMC for several decades. The second building, located at 2204 East New York Street, served as the bunkhouse for the OMC for several decades. The third building, located at 2210 East New York Street, housed members of the OMC for several years. All three properties are being razed by contractors through the United States Marshal’s Office.
“This clubhouse has long been the epicenter of criminal activity for the Outlaws in Indianapolis,” said Minkler. “It was the ‘safe house’ the Outlaws ran their criminal enterprise from and the residential face of organized crime.”
Fifty-one defendants were indicted following an organized crime investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The indicted defendants included all fifteen members of the Indianapolis chapter of the OMC, two members of the Fort Wayne chapter of the OMC, one member of the Sandusky, Ohio chapter of the OMC, and one former member of the Indianapolis chapter of the OMC. All of the OMC members were charged and convicted of violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (“RICO”) statute, as well as offenses such as mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, drug trafficking, witness tampering, and illegal gambling. Forty-nine of the fifty-one defendants have been sentenced. Two low-level members of the Mexican drug trafficking organization who supplied the OMC with cocaine were deported before the indictment and have not been extradited from Mexico.
The government initiated the forfeiture proceedings against the three properties in the original indictment on July 2, 2012. The forfeiture became appropriate because the properties provided the indicted members of the OMC with a source of influence over the criminal enterprise (the OMC). Judge Tanya Walton Pratt initially dismissed challenges to the forfeiture on August 15, 2014. Associates of the OMC, however, appealed Judge Pratt’s ruling to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. After the Seventh Circuit upheld Judge Pratt’s dismissal of these challenges, the forfeitures became final on July 9, 2015.
The United States Marshals Service took custody of the properties in mid-September, 2015. They have managed the properties until today’s demolition of the properties. The USMS serves as the primary custodian of federally seized property and plays a critical role in managing and selling assets seized and forfeited by federal law enforcement agencies.
“The combined efforts of all levels of law enforcement were essential to remove this deeply entrenched organized crime motorcycle gang from our community,” said U.S. Marshal Kerry J. Forestal. “The demolition of their Indianapolis-based club house is not your tax dollars at work. The funds expended were those seized from other criminals and fraudsters used for the betterment and safety of our community.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott said, “Today’s demolition plays a significant role as it eliminates this long-standing structure which has been the focal point of criminal activity for years.”
“Our continued efforts to disrupt and dismantle organized crime groups like the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang does not stop with taking them off the streets,” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Field Office. “In this instance, it has led to the destruction of an asset acquired as a result of their crimes.”
The structures from all three properties will be demolished and the land near the intersection of New York Street and Jefferson Avenue will be donated to the City of Indianapolis for the benefit of the community.
Drug and Violent Crime Chief Bradley A. Blackington prosecuted this case for the government.
Two Plead Guilty to Credit Card ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Chernoh A. Jalloh, age 28, and Abraham B. Freeman, age 30, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today in federal court in Greenville, to a conspiracy to defraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(b)(2). United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks, of Greenville accepted the pleas and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on August 24, 2015, Jalloh and Freeman’s vehicle was stopped on Interstate 85 for a traffic infraction. Upon approaching the vehicle, law enforcement observed the smell of marijuana emanating from the vehicle and conducted a search.
During the search of the vehicle, officers located more than 90 credit and debit/gift cards secreted in various locations throughout the vehicle. Of these cards, at least twenty-three (23) were embossed with Jalloh’s name. Eight (8) of the cards were located in a wallet which was in the vehicle seat which Freeman had occupied. Of these eight (8) cards, five (5) were embossed with Freeman’s name.
In the vehicle, officers also discovered a laptop computer and a device capable of encoding the magnetic stripe data on credit, debit, and similar magnetic-striped cards.
All of the twenty-three (23) cards embossed with Jalloh’s name were found to be encoded with magnetic stripe data that did not match the number embossed on the cards. All of the eight (8) cards found in Freeman’s wallet, including the five (5) cards embossed with Freeman’s name, were also found to be encoded with magnetic stripe data that did not match the number embossed on the cards. Law enforcement estimates that over $40,000 in fraudulent transactions are connected to the counterfeit and altered cards found in the vehicle.
Mr. Nettles stated the maximum penalty the Defendants can receive is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for 5 years, plus a special assessment of $100.
The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations, and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.
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Third Case Filed in Federal Court for Arson During Baltimore RiotRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A criminal complaint has been filed charging Donta Betts, age 19, of Baltimore, with attempted arson of a police cruiser, civil disorder and unlawful making of a destructive device. The criminal complaint was filed on October 6, 2015 and unsealed today. Betts was arrested on July 7, 2015, on unrelated state charges. Betts will make his initial appearance on the federal charges on Friday, October 23, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department.
“The rule of law must be upheld, and criminals who destroy property and jeopardize lives must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Recordings from public and private surveillance cameras allow police and prosecutors to identify suspects and prosecute them even when immediate arrests are not possible.”
“These violent acts endangered the safety of dozens of officers and citizens in the area that day,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan. “ATF is committed to making sure that the perpetrators of these acts are held responsible and we will continue to investigate anyone who threatens the well-being of our community.”
On April 27, 2015, riots and widespread looting erupted in Baltimore. The CVS Pharmacy located at 2509 Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore was looted and burned.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, at 4:49 p.m. that day, Baltimore CitiWatch surveillance footage captured an individual removing the gas cap from a Baltimore Police cruiser, then placing a piece of flammable material into the fuel filler pipe, and igniting the material.
At 5:43 p.m., additional surveillance footage and still photos taken by the media covering the riots captured an assemblage of propane cylinders and charcoal briquettes approximately 10 to 12 feet from the curb directly outside the main entrance to CVS. The individual is captured setting fire to a roll of toilet paper and placing it on top of the propane cylinders and charcoal briquettes. The individual can be seen a few minutes later squirting lighter fluid onto the burning roll of toilet paper atop the incendiary materials. At approximately 5:49 p.m., the individual is seen running away from the improvised incendiary device that he made as it burned in the street. At approximately 5:58 p.m., the improvised incendiary device exploded approximately 40 feet in front of a Baltimore Police riot line that had assembled across Pennsylvania Avenue just north the front entrance of CVS. ATF investigators have determined that the explosion resulted in flying debris of large metal fragments from the propane cylinders and a large fireball with blast effects felt by nearby by-standers.
Additional surveillance footage showed the individual inside the CVS and exiting the store carrying items; throwing rocks at police; and attempting to tip over MTA vehicles while encouraging others to join him.
According to the affidavit, further investigation identified the individual seen in the CitiWatch surveillance camera footage as Donta Betts.
Betts faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for attempted arson; five years in prison for civil disorder; and 10 years in prison for the unlawful making of a destructive device. Betts remains detained.
The investigation into this and other arsons that occurred on April 27, 2015, is continuing. Anyone with information is urged to call the ATF hotline, 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473). ATF continues to offer a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any individual responsible for these incidents.
Federal prosecutors previously have charged two other defendants for arson crimes committed during the Baltimore riot on April 27, 2015. Darius Raymond Stewart is charged with malicious destruction of a commercial building for allegedly setting fire to a liquor store on West North Avenue. Raymon Carter pleaded guilty to the federal crime of rioting, including the arson of the CVS pharmacy on Pennsylvania Avenue.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Matthew J. Maddox , who are prosecuting the case.
Rocky Boy Health Clinic Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to False Income Tax Returns and Is Remanded into CustodyRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS –The United States Attorney’s Office announced that DARIN LEE MILLER, 43, of Havre, Montana, pleaded guilty during a federal court hearing in Great Falls, Montana, on October 13, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris, to filing false federal income tax returns in which he did not report the interest he received from extensive tribal loans. In a plea agreement with the United States, Miller will serve a sentence of nine months in jail, pay a $90,000 fine, and pay the Internal Revenue Service $73,125.50 in taxes, penalties and interest within 18 months of his sentence. Although the government presented the plea agreement as conditioned upon Miller receiving that sentence, Judge Morris ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for January 21, 2016. Judge Morris may at that time reject the plea agreement and allow Miller to proceed to trial on felony charges of tax evasion.
During the period of the Superseding Information, Darin Miller was a pharmacist at the Rocky Boy Health Clinic (RBHC or the Clinic). The psychologist at the Clinic was Dr. James Eastlick.
Eastlick operated a loan program—called the JE Loan Program—with the Chippewa Cree Tribe, wherein he loaned money both to the Tribe in large amounts and to individual tribal employees in smaller amounts. After a couple of years running the loan program, Eastlick brought in Miller as a partner with the intention of turning the business over to Miller. The loans Eastlick made for the Tribe generally included interest rates of 10%, and were paid back within 10 weeks of Eastlick loaning the money. On an annualized percentage rate (APR) basis, loans from the JE Loan program would constitute a 70% to 80% return.
With regard to the loans to the tribal employees, Eastlick and Miller had an arrangement with the Tribe that they would provide loans to tribal employees, and to guarantee the repayment of those debts, money would be taken from the employee’s paycheck, consolidated with other debtors of the JE Loan program, and then tribal checks would be regularly issued to Eastlick and Miller representing both interest and principal. The JE Loan Program had a similar working relationship with the Finance Offices of the Tribe’s various subsidiary enterprises, such as the Rocky Boy Health Clinic and the Rocky Boy’s School District, which handle their payroll internally and not through the Tribe’s main finance office. These loans were also short-term loans that carried an interest rate of between 10% and 15%; with an annualized rate being significantly higher—75% to 100% return if the loans were calculated over the full year.
Both Eastlick and Miller were responsible for their own tax liability for the interest income they earned. Miller claimed $10,000 of interest income on his 2010 tax return, but did not claim interest income from the tribal loan program on any other years. Once under investigation, Miller sought the services of a Great Falls accountant to amend his returns to include interest from the lending business. Miller told the accountant, at the time he originally filed his returns, he did not think he had to claim the interest income until he used it. However, Miller had claimed interest income from other sources and had claimed interest income on his prior years’ tax returns and even the returns filed for the tax years under investigation—2009, 2010, and 2011.
The amounts of unreported interest income were significant. Miller earned $17,148.68, $76,373.37, and $23,378.17 in interest income from tribal loans in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively. According to the accountant, Miller had not kept track of the interest in the tax years in which it was realized and Miller and his accountant had to retrieve records from the Tribe to have his tax returns amended. Even when amended, Miller’s returns failed to account for significant interest received.
According to the accountant, Miller did not reveal that at some point during these years he increased the interest rate he charged for individual loans from 10% to 12.5% until after the amended returns had been prepared. It would have been important for a tax preparer to know that interest rate had been increased to 12.5% in order to accurately amend Miller’s tax returns. Eastlick also knew Miller had increased the interest rate he charged to 12.5% when he took over the loan program with the CCT. Some employees of the RBHC and loan recipients also verified Miller raised his interest rate to 12.5%.
Miller had a bank account with Wells Fargo Bank. From 2009, when Miller first became involved with Eastlick’s loan program, and 2011, Miller deposited $635,818.48 in tribal loan checks into his Wells Fargo Bank account. This figure does not include any checks Miller transacted into cash at Wells Fargo. In addition to the bank account with Wells Fargo, during the same time period, Miller cashed $71,109.53 in checks at Leon’s Buy & Sell and another $142,042.87 at Leon’s Finance, businesses operated by Havre businessman, Shad Huston.
Miller’s conviction on tax charges is the latest in a series of prosecutions brought and convictions obtained by the investigators and prosecutors of the U.S. Attorney’s Guardians Project, an anti-corruption strike force created in 2011.
Once Miller plead guilty to the tax charges, the Court remanded him into custody to begin serving the sentence outlined in the agreement.
Princeton area man pleads guilty to role in hydromorphone conspiracyRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Peter B. McKinley, Jr., 32, of Princeton, West Virginia, plead guilty in federal court in Bluefield to conspiracy to distribute hydromorphone. McKinley admitted that from July of 2014 to September of 2015, he and a co-defendant used the mail to ship and receive hydromorphone. McKinley received the drugs in packages mailed from Los Angeles, California. He then sold the pills in and around Bluefield and Princeton, West Virginia. After the sales, McKinley admitted that he mailed packages containing drug proceeds back to California. During the investigation of the case, agents seized over 2,500 hydromorphone pills and approximately $19,000 in cash.
McKinley faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. United States District Judge David A. Faber scheduled the sentencing for February 17, 2015.
The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the United States Postal Service conducted the investigation.
This case was 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 opiates. The United States 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.
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Owner of U.S. Energy Partners, Inc. of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Charged with Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Fraudulent Investment scam resulted in $1,370,000 loss to eleven partners
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The owner of U.S. Energy Partners, Inc. of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was charged by grand jury indictment on September 9, 2015 with wire fraud and money laundering for a scheme that cost investors $1,370,000 announced U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. The indictment was unsealed on October 5, 2015.
Clay Shelton, 46, of Bowling Green, was charged with three counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering for devising a scheme that fraudulently obtained money from eleven investors.
According to the indictment, between March 2011 and September 2012, Shelton created Monterey Pipeline Partners, LLC, purportedly to purchase the Monterey Pipeline in Tennessee. Shelton also operated Escrow 2011 LP, an investment partnership he created to fund an escrow account to purchase and operate the Monterey (gas) Pipeline. Further, Shelton operated Brakaw Energy Management LLC, which was created by Shelton to manage and operate the Monterey Pipeline once he completed the purchase.
From March 2011 through September 2012, Shelton solicited $1,370,000 from eleven investors for the purchase of the Monterey Pipeline. He fraudulently represented to the investors that their funds would be held in escrow as a down payment until he was able to complete financing to purchase the Monterey Pipeline (about 60 days). Once the loan closed, investors would receive either a 25 percent return on their investment or Monterey Pipeline would buy their interest in any Tennessee well program they previously purchased through U.S. Energy Partners. Investors were, therefore, assured they would receive their investment back in at least 60 days and that their investment would be held in escrow.
According to the indictment, Shelton misappropriated $1,000,000 of investor funds, which were wired into Escrow 2011, by investing the majority in collateralized mortgage obligations. An additional $125,000 of investor funds deposited into the Escrow 2011 fund were used to pay operating and business expenses of U.S. Energy Partners. Another $245,000 of investor funds initially deposited into the Monterey Pipeline Partners LLC’s account were used to pay Brakaw and U.S. Energy Partners’ operating and business expenses and other miscellaneous expenses.
If convicted at trial, Shelton could be sentenced to no more than 20 years per count for counts one through three and no more than ten years per count, for counts four through nine. Further, Shelton could be required to pay a fine of $2,250,000 and serve a 27 year period of supervised release.
This case in being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bryan Calhoun and is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.
The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Oscar Anchondo Arrested on Criminal Complaint Alleging a Violation of the Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Oscar Anchondo, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the federal firearms laws. Anchondo made his initial appearance in federal court this morning and remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing, both scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Anchondo’s arrest was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Chief Tom Romero of the Bernalillo Police Department, Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and Chief Michael Geier of the Rio Rancho Police Department.
The criminal complaint alleges that Anchondo unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 6, 2015, in Sandoval County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 6, 2015, a resident of the Town of Bernalillo called the Bernalillo Police Department to report a stolen vehicle. The victim reported that Anchondo stole the vehicle after threatening to kill her; Anchondo allegedly was armed when he made the threat. Officers responded to the call and located the vehicle parked in the driveway of another residence in Bernalillo. In response to an inquiry from the officers, an occupant of the residence allegedly said that Anchondo was in the residence.
According to the criminal complaint, officers conducted surveillance at the residence until they observed Anchondo leave the residence. Anchondo allegedly held a firearm under his chin as he walked to and got into the stolen vehicle. Anchondo then fled from the area and eventually got stuck in a muddy area. Anchondo was taken into custody after he allegedly fled on foot to another residence. Thereafter the officers allegedly found a revolver in the stolen vehicle that was abandoned in the mud.
According to court records, on Oct. 6, 2015, Anchondo was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses in state court: armed robbery with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Anchondo faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are mere accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the ATF office in Albuquerque and the Bernalillo Police Department with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the Rio Rancho Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders based on their criminal histories for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
Operator of Botnet and Elite, International Hacking Forums Extradited from Italy to Face Hacking Charges in New JerseyRead the Press Release
Defendant Operated Army of More Than 13,000 Infected Computers and Administered Two Criminal Online Forums for Computer Hackers
NEWARK, N.J. – A Ukrainian citizen is scheduled to appear in Newark federal court today after being extradited from Italy to face charges that he participated in an international conspiracy to hack into the computer networks of individual users and corporations to steal log-in credentials and payment card data, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Sergey Vovnenko, a/k/a “Sergey Vovnencko,” “Tomas Rimkis,” “Flycracker,” “Flyck,” “Fly,” “Centurion,” “MUXACC1,” “Stranier,” and “Darklife,” 29, most recently of Naples, Italy, is charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of unauthorized computer access, and four counts of aggravated identity theft. Vovnenko will appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk. An arraignment has been scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Oct. 19, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court.
Vovnenko was arrested on June 13, 2014, following an international investigation led by the U.S. Secret Service in coordination with Italian law enforcement. He had been detained by the Italian authorities pending the resolution of extradition proceedings, which he contested for more than 15 months.
“As described in the indictment, Vovnenko commandeered thousands of computers to create a virtual army of hacked computers that he and his conspirators used to break into other networks and steal valuable information,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners here and in Italy, he is now in America to answer for his alleged crimes.”
“Over the course of our 150-year history, the Secret Service has evolved into an agency recognized worldwide for its investigative expertise and innovative approaches in detecting, investigating and protecting our nation’s critical financial infrastructure,” Secret Service Director Joseph P. Clancy said. “This case demonstrates the continued commitment of our cyber investigators and showcases the successful results of partnering with our international law enforcement colleagues. Our investigative reach will continue to expand beyond geographical borders despite the perceived anonymity these cybercriminals mistakenly think they enjoy.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From September 2010 through August 2012, Vovnenko and his conspirators operated an international criminal organization that hacked into the computers of individual users and companies located in the United States and elsewhere. They used that access to steal data, including, user names and passwords for bank accounts and other online services, as well as debit and credit card numbers and related personal identifying information.
To steal this data, Vovnenko operated a “botnet” – more than 13,000 computers infected with malicious computer software – programmed to gain unauthorized access to computers and to identify, store, and export information from hacked computers. A number of the infected computers were located in New Jersey. After stealing this data, Vovnenko and his conspirators used that information to illegally access and withdraw money from bank accounts and to incur unauthorized charges.
Vovnenko was also a high-level administrator of several online criminal forums and used his position to traffic in the data he stole as part of the conspiracy. These forums featured electronic bulletin boards, which members used to publicly communicate with all members and also send private messages directly to individual members. The public and private discussions on these forums typically pertained to criminal activity, including the purchase, sale, and use of stolen log-in credentials and payment card data, as well as discussions related to cybercrime activity such as malicious computer hacking. For example, in August 2012, one of the forums offered various illicit products for sale, including access to compromised computer servers located in the United States. A price was listed for each product, and customers could click an “order” button and purchase the product using “credits” associated with their accounts.
The maximum potential penalties for each count are as follows:
Count
Violation
Maximum Penalty
1
Wire Fraud Conspiracy
30 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $1 million or twice the gain or loss from the offense
2
Unauthorized Computer Access
Five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense
3-6
Aggravated Identity Theft
Mandatory two years (consecutive to any other imposed sentence) in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, Criminal Investigations, under the direction of Director Joseph P. Clancy, and special agents from the Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli, with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s charges.
He also thanked the Department’s Office of International Affairs in Washington and its attaché in Rome; the Office of the U.S. Ambassador to the Italian Republic and the Republic of San Marino, John R. Phillips; and the Italian Ministry of Justice and Italian law enforcement officials for their extraordinary support.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Shapiro of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section of the Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New York Man Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Role in Tax Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that, CESAR PENSON-PEREZ, 28, of New York, N.Y., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of more than $7.5 million from the U.S. Treasury.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation into individuals who, through various means, obtained fraudulent U.S. Treasury tax refund checks using stolen identities. After obtaining the checks, individuals sold them for less than face value of the checks, or deposited them into bank accounts that had been opened using fraudulent identifying documents. The funds were then quickly withdrawn from the bank accounts.
The investigation revealed that Julio Lara Trinidad, a resident of Waterbury, and his co-conspirators opened at least 59 bank accounts in the names of identity theft victims, deposited U.S. Treasury tax refund checks into the accounts, and then quickly withdrew the funds, resulting in more than $663,000 in loss to the U.S. Treasury. Between December 2012 and February 2013, one of the accounts was used to purchase six licenses for a brand of tax preparation software. These licenses were used to file more than 36,000 federal income tax returns, seeking more than $234 million in federal tax refunds intended to be issued to Trinidad and his co-conspirators. Nearly $6.8 million in fraudulent refunds were issued before the scheme was identified.
On May 15, 2015, PENSON-PEREZ pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money and admitted that he worked with Trinidad to open bank accounts using fraudulent identities, deposit stolen checks into the accounts and withdraw the resulting funds.
PENSON-PEREZ was found to be responsible for a loss of $360,026.66, and he was ordered to pay restitution in that amount.
Trinidad pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money and one count of aggravated identity theft and, on May 26, 2015, was sentenced to 144 months of imprisonment.
Four other individuals were convicted of charges stemming from this scheme.
This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Danbury and Darien Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarala V. Nagala.
New Hampshire Woman Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Misty Maciejewski, a 36-year-old resident of Northfield, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 15 months in in federal prison after pleading guilty in June 2015 to falsely obtaining health care benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration (VHA), announced Acting U.S Attorney Donald Feith. Maciejewski was also sentenced to three years of supervised release that will begin when she is released from prison. During the period of supervised release, Maciejewski’s activities will be supervised by the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office.
In an application for health care benefits that Maciejewski submitted to the VHA on October 3, 2012, Maciejewski falsely claimed to be a veteran of the U.S. Army and that she was honorably discharged after serving in combat. The application was mistakenly approved by the VHA due to an administrative error. After the application was approved, Maciejewski received VHA medical benefits totaling $29,442.13. The benefits were paid to a half-way house in Boston, Massachusetts, to non-VA medical providers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and applied to medical services Maciejewski received from VA hospitals in Boston and Manchester, New Hampshire.
Maciejewski was also order to repay $29,442.13 to the VHA.
“More than 8.7 million honorably discharged veterans receive medical benefits for their service related injuries and illnesses at VA and non-VA medical facilities,” stated Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith. “Those who would engage in fraud and illegally obtain benefits cause harm to the entire program and cause injury to those true veterans who deserved our support. Our office will work with law enforcement to protect the integrity of these benefit programs and bring to justice those who scheme to defraud those programs.”
The case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by AUSA Robert M. Kinsella.
Mescalero Apache Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – David Charles Prins, 47, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, pled guilty Friday afternoon in Las Cruces, N.M., to a federal assault charge.
Prins was arrested on April 24, 2015, on a criminal complaint that charged him with assault by striking resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the complaint, on Sept. 19, 2014, security guards at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel responded to a disturbance in Prins’ hotel room, where they allegedly found Prins in bloody clothes and the victim unconscious on the floor covered in blood. As a result of her injuries, the victim had to have her ear sewn and she suffered facial bone fractures.
Prins was subsequently charged by indictment on June 17, 2015, with assault resulting in serious bodily injury which occurred on Sept. 19, 2014, in Otero County, N.M. During Friday’s proceedings, Prins entered a guilty plea to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
At sentencing, Prins faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release. Prins remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Mercer County man sentenced for possessing child pornographyRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A 31-year old Mercer County man received eight years and one month in federal prison, after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Lindsey Dale Bowling, of Princeton, West Virginia was sentenced before Senior United States District Court Judge David A. Faber in Bluefield. After Bowling is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for 20 years.
Bowling admitted that on November 21, 2013, he possessed images and videos of prepubescent minors engaged in sexual acts. The images were on his personal computer located at his residence in Princeton, West Virginia. The investigation further revealed that defendant was using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download child pornography and that he transferred some of the child pornography images and videos to discs.
The West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.
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Melville man pleads guilty to possessing child pornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Melville man pleaded guilty last week to storing child pornography on electronic devices.
Russell Guillory, 34, of Melville, La., entered a conditional guilty plea Friday for one count of possession of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik. According to the guilty plea, Guillory’s home was searched in January of 2015. The investigation uncovered four electronic devices Guillory owned containing 75 videos and six images of child pornography.
Guillory faces up to 10 years in prison, five years to life supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He is also required to register as a sex offender and forfeit the devices and images seized during the investigation. A sentencing date was not set.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamilla A. Bynog and John Luke Walker are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application (http://www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app). Tips also may be submitted anonymously.
Media advisoryRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS--United States Attorney Josh Minkler will hold a press conference TODAY, October 13, 2015, at 1:00 pm, at the former site of the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubhouse, 305 North Jefferson Avenue, Indianapolis, IN. The clubhouse will be demolished as part of a federal asset forfeiture procedure.
Minkler will be joined by U.S. Marshal Kerry Forrestal, officials from the FBI, IRS, IMPD, ISP and Mayor Ballard’s Office. This will be an outdoor event.
McLean Man Sentenced to Prison for Gold Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Philip Barnard, Jr., 54, of McLean, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for one count of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering for his role in a gold investment fraud scheme involving multiple investors and up to $1 million in investor deposits. Barnard was also ordered by the court to pay $816,612 in restitution to victims.
Barnard pleaded guilty on July 22, 2015; three days into trial and after prosecutors had presented 10 witnesses and entered over 200 exhibits into evidence. According to court documents, Barnard owned and operated various companies that purportedly were in the business of coordinating gold transactions. Barnard claimed to have a global clientele including foreign governments, the world’s richest private investors, foreign private banks, and major purchasers of precious metals. Barnard solicited funds from investors through false and misleading representations regarding the use of funds, the amount of return on the investments, and the risk associated with investment of the funds. He also misrepresented that investors would receive minimum and/or guaranteed profits. For example, Barnard told one victim, “This opportunity involves no risk of losing your investment due to the nature of how we take possession of the bullion we work with ... And, remember, I would never allow you to lose one dime.” Barnard guaranteed short term returns as high as 1,500 percent.
According to court documents, Barnard sent charts, graphs, and certificates related to the purported investment designed to lull investors into a false sense of profitability. Unknown to investors, Barnard spent investment funds on personal expenses including private school tuition, personal vehicles, jewelry, and travel. After the investments failed to yield any profit, Barnard lied to investors about the security of their funds. For example, although he had already spent their funds on personal use, Barnard told one investor, “Your investment is in good hands. All of the assurances that I made to you are real. You can rely on my statements.” When some investors contemplated contacting law enforcement authorities, Barnard coerced them into signing agreements that claimed to immunize him from any civil or criminal liability. Ultimately, investors suffered losses up to $1 million.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Uzo Asonye and Christopher Catizone prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-60.
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Massachusetts Man Sentenced in Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced today that Rafael Beamud, age 34, formerly of Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in connection with pharmacy robberies in Nashua and Manchester in 2013. During a hearing before U. S. District Judge Joseph A. DiClerico, Beamud was sentenced to a prison term of 25 years and 1 day and a supervision term of 5 years upon his release from U.S. Bureau of Prisons custody. He was also ordered to make full restitution to the victims of both robberies.
On May 28, 2015, Beamud admitted guilt to using a firearm during the commission of a robbery at CVS Pharmacy in Nashua on March 25, 2013 and to the robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Manchester on April 22, 2013. Beamud was arrested on April 23, 2013 in Salem, NH while operating his motor vehicle, in which the firearm was discovered. He has been in custody since his arrest.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA Tactical Diversion Group located in Worcester, MA, and the Nashua, Manchester and Salem, NH Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Veiga.
Man Sentenced to Prison for Motion Picture Tax Credit ScamRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced that MATTHEW KEITH, age 38, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to 6 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,200,000 in restitution to the State of Louisiana.
KEITH previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the State of Louisiana’s Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit Program ("Tax Credit Program"). At his guilty plea, KEITH admitted that he owned and operated Dirty District Entertainment, LLC, which provided technical services for the productions of motion pictures. KEITH admitted that he conspired with at least one other person to present falsely inflated expenditures to the State of Louisiana in the application for film tax credits.
Between June 10, 2009 and March 31, 2010, a co-conspirator applied for, and received, tax credits from the Louisiana Economic Development Office ("LED") for various movies. The LED is a state entity with the mission to lead economic development for the State of Louisiana. LED operated the Tax Credit Program, which was designed to entice production companies to shoot films and video productions in Louisiana. The Tax Credit Program provided a 30% tax credit on qualified expenditures for the production of films in Louisiana. Once issued by LED, the tax credits were fully transferable. In this case, however, KEITH admitted that he conspired with at least one other individual to make a series of financial transfers, which were later used to falsely reflect $4,000,000 of expenditures that had purportedly been incurred in motion picture productions. These false expenditures allowed a co-conspirator to be awarded tax credits, and KEITH admitted that the co-conspirator was not entitled to $1,200,000 of the tax credits he received.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Louisiana Inspector General’s Office. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frederick A. Menner, Jr.
Madison County Man Charged with Sex and Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Joseph-Michael Elias McFarland, 21, of Madison, Florida, with sex trafficking of a minor and with drug trafficking. McFarland was arraigned today in the United States District Court in Tallahassee. The indictment was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that, in September 2015, in the Northern District of Florida, McFarland knowingly enticed a person less than 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act, and that he knowingly distributed methylone. The trial is scheduled for December 14, 2015, at 8:15 a.m.
This case resulted from investigations by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Tallahassee Police Department, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Harwin.
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]Louisiana Residents Sentenced for Involvement in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Two residents of Hammond, Louisiana, were sentenced for their involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana announced today.
Angela Chaney, 43, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Craig Lewis, 40, was sentenced by Judge Zainey to serve three years of probation. Chaney and Lewis each pleaded guilty to one count of a multi-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit theft of public money and mail fraud on July 2 and June 23, respectively. Chaney additionally pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft. Their restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be determined at a later date.
According to court documents, Chaney, Lewis and their co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Chaney, Lewis and their co-conspirators brought checks to others who falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
The indictment also charged Cedrick Mitchell, aka Skeet, 40; Corey Lewis, 37; Thaddeus Richardson, 49; and others with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit theft of public money. Corey Lewis was also charged with three counts of theft of public money and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Mitchell was sentenced to serve 33 months in prison on Sept. 15, Corey Lewis was sentenced to serve 75 months in prison on Sept. 29 and Richardson was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison on Oct. 6. All of the remaining defendants in this case have pleaded guilty to various charges and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Louisiana Residents Sentenced for Involvement in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two residents of Hammond, Louisiana, were sentenced for their involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana announced today.
Angela Chaney, 43, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Craig Lewis, 40, was sentenced by Judge Zainey to serve three years of probation. Chaney and Lewis each pleaded guilty to one count of a multi-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit theft of public money and mail fraud on July 2 and June 23, respectively. Chaney additionally pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft. Their restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be determined at a later date.
According to court documents, Chaney, Lewis and their co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Chaney, Lewis and their co-conspirators brought checks to others who falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
The indictment also charged Cedrick Mitchell, aka Skeet, 40; Corey Lewis, 37; Thaddeus Richardson, 49; and others with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit theft of public money. Corey Lewis was also charged with three counts of theft of public money and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Mitchell was sentenced to serve 33 months in prison on Sept. 15, Corey Lewis was sentenced to serve 75 months in prison on Sept. 29 and Richardson was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison on Oct. 6. All of the remaining defendants in this case have pleaded guilty to various charges and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Little Rock Doctor Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud Admits to $2.2 Million in Fradulent BillingRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, David Shepard, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Little Rock Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Special Agent in Charge CJ Porter of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General (HHS–OIG) announced that Dr. Robert Barrow, 62, of Little Rock, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes.
Dr. Barrow owned and operated a Little Rock medical clinic named "Your Doctor’s Office." At today’s hearing, Dr. Barrow admitted that he conspired with Billy Marc Young, a local massage therapist. Dr. Barrow referred patients to Young and Young’s services were subsequently billed to health insurers under Dr. Barrow’s provider number as if they were physical therapy—even at times when Dr. Barrow himself was out of the state or out of the country in places like Las Vegas, Hawaii, and London. Bills to health insurers ultimately surpassed $2.2 million. In the plea agreement, Dr. Barrow admitted that he abused his position of trust and that his scheme victimized health insurers and former patients alike in that some former patients bore out-of-pocket expenses (for example, co-payments) believing that they were receiving physical therapy.
Young previously pled guilty in April 2014 in connection with Dr. Barrow’s scheme in case number 4:14-cr-00056 DPM.
"Our healthcare system relies on trust," Thyer said. "Insurers process millions upon millions of claims each year on good faith. Doctors and other providers who abuse this trust by submitting fraudulent claims for services that are not properly reimbursable or not provided place the entire system in jeopardy and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
"Dr. Barrow’s theft from his patients not only deprived his patients of their money, but also their faith—and the public’s faith—in the health care system," Shepard said. "Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to work with our partners at HHS-OIG and the U.S. Attorney’s office to stamp out health care fraud."
"The scam perpetrated by Dr. Barrow defrauded Medicare and private insurers, and it also deprived patients of proper health care," Porter said. "HHS–OIG is dedicated to aggressively investigating this type of criminal activity because of the impact on quality of care and the health care economy as a whole."
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Dr. Barrow is required to pay $702,361.12 in restitution to Medicare and Blue Cross (less what Young pays) and up to $100,000 to former patients who bore out-of-pocket expenses believing that they were receiving physical therapy. In exchange, the United States has agreed to dismiss all remaining charges against Dr. Barrow and his wife, Dr. Angela Barrow.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years’ supervised. Sentencing before Judge Holmes will follow at a later date.
The case was the result of a multi-year joint investigation by the FBI and HHS-OIG. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alex Morgan and Shannon Smith.
Last Two Members of the Jamal Dean Getaway Team SentencedRead the Press Release
The last two members of the Jamal Dean Getaway Team were sentenced today in federal court for their roles in obstructing a joint state-federal investigation and search for Jamal Dean in April and May of 2013.
“The arrests, convictions and sentencing’s in both the Jamal Dean case and the related Jamal Dean Getaway Team cases are the result of a law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local levels working together to help make Woodbury County and the surrounding region safer for everyone," said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Kevin W. Techau.
Techau also noted, “We will continue to work side-by-side with our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who break the law and particularly those who commit violent offenses.”
Evette Morris-Hernandez, age 34 (a F-13 gang member), of Sioux City, Iowa, and Esteban Hernandez, age 36 (her husband at the time), of Mercedes, Texas, received the sentences after guilty pleas to conspiring to defraud the United States by interfering with the federal investigation of and search for Jamal Dean.
Evidence presented at their guilty plea and sentencing hearings revealed that from about April 30, 2013 to May 5, 2014, the pair moved Jamal Dean from Ingmar Hernandez’s South Sioux City, Nebraska home, to Anna Baker’s home on the Winnebago Indian reservation, to the Palmer House Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa, and ultimately to within 70 miles of the Texas/Mexico Boarder to help him escape the joint state and federal investigation and manhunt of which he was then the subject.
Evette Morris-Hernandez and Esteban Hernandez were sentenced today in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Evette Morris-Hernandez was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. She must serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Esteban Hernandez was sentenced to 6-months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Both defendants will surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set by the Court.
The case was prosecuted as a part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state, and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Marshal’s Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Iowa Department of Transportation, Bureau of Investigation & Identity Protection, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, the Nebraska Department of Public Safety; the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Nebraska State Patrol, the Tri-State Drug Task Force, the Woodbury County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office; the Dakota County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Office; the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department, the South Sioux City, Nebraska Police Department; the North Sioux City, South Dakota Police Department, the Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Police Department, and the Dakota County, Nebraska County Attorney’s Office, and the Woodbury County, Iowa County Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 14-4088.
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Las Vegas Woman Found Guilty of Defrauding Southern Illinois Residents in Telemarketing ScamRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that late Friday afternoon, a federal jury in East St. Louis found Elpenike Eddy-Aldava, 75, of Las Vegas, NV, guilty of telemarketing fraud. The fraud scheme that Eddy-Aldava participated in victimized individuals throughout the United States, including Southern Illinois.
Evidence at trial showed that for more than 5 years, Eddy-Aldava worked as a telemarketer for a telemarketing business in Las Vegas. Although the business frequently changed names, the two primary names of the business were Showcase Resorts and Vacation Max. Telemarketers from Showcase Resorts and Vacation Max called timeshare owners throughout the United States and offered to help them sell their timeshares. The telemarketers then falsely represented that they had found corporate buyers interested in acquiring blocks of timeshare units and that the victims’ timeshare units could be included in these blocks. In order to participate in this "corporate block," however, the telemarketers told the victims that they had to pay upfront fees, which usually ranged from $2,000 to $3,000. The telemarketers falsely told the victims that these fees were needed to pay closing costs. Instead, the fees were used as revenues for Showcase Resorts and Vacation Max. In addition, the telemarketers were paid a large commission for each fraudulent sale. These commissions typically ranged from 40% to 50%.
Because Showcase Resorts and Vacation Max had no corporate buyers, no timeshares were ever sold to any corporations. Showcase Resorts and Vacation Max employed individuals known as "Updaters" to handle all of the calls from customers who called in to ask why their timeshares had not been sold as had been promised. The job of these Updaters was to provide false excuses to the victims in order to string them along and prevent them from contacting their credit card companies and demanding their money back.
The scheme operated from at least December 5, 2006 until January 24, 2012. The losses caused by the scheme exceeded $11,000,000.
"These telemarketing scams are truly reprehensible," United States Attorney Wigginton stated. "These scam artists reach their tentacles into people’s homes and steal money by lying to those in need. When scammers reach out and steal from the citizens of Southern Illinois, we are going to aggressively prosecute them."
In May 2013, the owner of Vacation Max, Michael Patrick Sullivan, was indicted. Sullivan pled guilty and on January 9, 2015, was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Three other telemarketers from the scheme (John Nicosia, Robert Kelly Mathews, and Rebecca Mars), as well as one of the Updaters (Patrick Nosack) were also charged. Both Nicosia and Mathews pled guilty and were sentenced to prison. Nosack also pled guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19, 2015. Rebecca Marrs’ trial is scheduled to begin on January 26, 2016.
The sentencing hearing for Eddy-Aldava is scheduled for February 4, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. Eddy-Aldava is subject to a term of imprisonment of up to 25 years, a fine of $250,000 and five years of supervised release. In addition, Eddy-Aldava can be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of her crime.
The case against Eddy-Aldava is one of approximately 80 cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois relating to timeshare resale fraud and part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Verseman and Special Assistant United States Attorney Vanessa Lu.
Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jared Alan Slyh, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty Friday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces to a heroin trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Slyh will be sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Slyh was arrested on June 16, 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with distributing heroin and participating in a heroin distribution conspiracy. According to the complaint, Slyh provided 353.4 grams of heroin to an undercover law enforcement officer on June 3, 2015.
During Friday’s proceedings, Slyh pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Slyh remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Nebraska Beef to Enforce Civil Rights SettlementRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit against Nebraska Beef Ltd., which is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, for failing to comply with the terms of a settlement agreement that the parties entered to resolve a civil rights investigation.
The complaint alleges that Nebraska Beef entered into a settlement agreement with the Justice Department on Aug. 24, 2015, to resolve the department’s investigation into whether Nebraska Beef was discriminating against work-authorized non-citizens. The agreement requires Nebraska Beef to pay $200,000 as a civil penalty, and also to compensate affected workers who present valid claims for backpay, among other terms. Although Nebraska Beef’s civil penalty payment was due ten business days after the agreement was signed by both parties, the company has failed to make any payments. Nebraska Beef has stated that it will not comply with almost all of the terms of the agreement because it feels that the department’s press release announcing the agreement should have been worded differently. The parties’ agreement, however, does not contain any terms or provisions restricting the language in the department’s press release.
“The Department of Justice will take swift action not only when an employer discriminates against its employees, but also when an employer fails to live up to its end of an agreement,” said Principal Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “It is important that employers understand and abide by their duties not to engage in discriminatory practices, and honor their commitments under a settlement.”
The Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which was the subject of the department’s investigation of Nebraska Beef. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against people with permission to work in the United States because of their citizenship status, including by asking non-citizens to present more or different documents than necessary to prove their authorization to work in the United States.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php, email [email protected]; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Jackson Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of a Firearm by Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Antonio Anderson, 24, of Jackson, was sentenced on October 13, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to 82 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for possessing a firearm after having previously been convicted of a felony, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis. Anderson pled guilty to the charge on July 23, 2015. His previous felony conviction was in Hinds County Circuit Court for house burglary.
On October 28, 2014, members of the Jackson Police Department received information that a vehicle was in the process of being burglarized in the Highland Village parking lot. Police officers responded to Highland Village and then pursued the suspect’s vehicle for approximately four miles to an area near Pleasant and Illinois Avenues. Anderson was observed by officers running with two firearms into a nearby house. Anderson and the two firearms were found inside the house. One of the firearms discovered during the search of the house had been stolen from the vehicle during the burglary at Highland Village.
Anderson was indicted as part of the Jackson Violent Crime Initiative, a joint initiative between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who are working together to reduce violent crime in the city of Jackson and to remove violent offenders from the streets of this community. The Initiative is an ongoing operation aimed at making the streets of Jackson and the surrounding communities safe for all citizens. Jackson Violent Crime Initiative partners include the Jackson Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Secret Service.
This case was investigated by the ATF and the Jackson Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon.
Isaiah C. Fisher Sentenced for RobberyRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that Isaiah C. Fisher, 34, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced today in federal court by Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr for robbery of a credit union.
Fisher was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment, 3 years supervised release and ordered to pay $11,460.00 in restitution.
According to documents in the case, on April 16, 2015, at around 10:49 A.M., Fisher entered a credit union located in Michigan City, Indiana, jumped over a teller counter and announced that the place was being robbed. Fisher told police that he carried a box cutter into the Credit Union and fashioned the covering over the box cutter to resemble a firearm. The funds of the institution are insured by the National Credit Union Administration, a federal entity. The total amount of loss reported by bank personnel was $11,460.
This case was the result of an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Michigan City Police Department. The case was handled by the Assistant United States Attorney William T. Grimmer.
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Iraqi-Born US Citizen Admits Making False Statement to FBIRead the Press Release
DALLAS – A Mesquite, Texas man, Bilal Abood, 37, appeared this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez and pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging one count of making a false statement to a federal agency, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.
Abood faces a maximum statutory penalty of eight years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2015 by special agents with the FBI on a related criminal complaint. A sentencing date was not set.
According to plea documents filed in the case, Abood admits that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the U.S. at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight. While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel, and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family. During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent on March 29, 2013, was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the U.S. through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria. On September 16, 2013, Abood returned to the U.S. and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups.
A search warrant was executed on Abood’s computer on July 9, 2014. A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, “I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” Abood stipulated that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on October 4, 2011, and remains so to date.
Abood admits that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime. He further stipulates that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents that he had never pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi. He also stipulates that he was aware the FBI special agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.
The FBI’s Dallas Division is investigating the case. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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International Fugitive Arrested for Role in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Cuban national who had been wanted since 2013 on charges relating to a multi-million dollar health care fraud scheme was arrested on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, when he arrived in Miami on a flight from Cuba.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Division and Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez, aka Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez Sigler, 47, of Cuba, was charged by indictment, returned on July 31, 2013, with 14 counts of health care fraud. The indictment was unsealed today following his initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida.
According to the indictment, Rodriguez was the president and owner of G.R. Services Equipment & Supplies Inc. (G.R. Services), a Largo, Florida, company that purported to provide durable medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries. The indictment alleges that, between May and July 2013, Rodriguez caused G.R. Services to submit to Medicare approximately $2,579,695 in false and fraudulent claims seeking reimbursement for durable medical equipment that was not prescribed by doctors and not provided to beneficiaries. For example, according to the indictment, G.R. Services sought thousands of dollars in reimbursement for wound therapy electrical pumps and sterile collagen dressings purportedly provided in 2013 to Medicare beneficiaries who had died in 2010.
Federal law enforcement agents previously seized from the bank account for G.R. Services approximately $243,339 in proceeds from the health care fraud scheme.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Guillermo Rodriguez Indictment
Heather Morgan Sentenced for Making False Statements to Federal Law Enforcement in Breakthrough Pain Management InvestigationRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- On Oct. 13, 2015, Heather Morgan, 28, of Maryville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge. Upon her release from prison, Morgan will serve a two year period of supervised release.
Morgan pleaded guilty to a federal grand jury indictment charging her with making false statements to a federal law enforcement agent. She admitted to lying to law enforcement regarding the location of customer files during the investigation of the Breakthrough Pain Management Clinic (Breakthrough) in Maryville, Tenn.
The co-owners of Breakthrough, along with two family members, were previously convicted for their roles in operating the pain clinic and are currently serving prison terms. The pain clinic ceased operations after raids at several locations by federal and local law enforcement agents in December 2010, when agents seized significant quantities of prescription narcotic pain pills, firearms, and nearly $700,000 in cash.
The investigation into the pill mill case was the collaborative effort of several law enforcement agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, and Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.
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Hardy County, WV man convicted for role in manufacturing methamphetamineRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Johnny Biggs, 36, of Moorefield, West Virginia, was convicted in federal court today for his role in manufacturing methamphetamine, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Biggs was discovered in May 2015 in Hardy County, West Virginia in possession of materials commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine. Those materials included a bottle, coffee filters, drain cleaner, batteries, cold medicine, and fuel.
Biggs pled guilty today to one count of “Possession of Material used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” He faces up to 10 years in prison and fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Aloi presided.
Grand Prairie Man Admits Role in Counterfeit Goods Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A 31-year-old, Grand Prairie, Texas, man, Evan Patterson, pleaded guilty today in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez to his role in a conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Patterson, who remains on bond, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for February 16, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay.
According to documents filed in the case, from approximately January 2010 through December 2013, Patterson and a co-defendant conspired together to knowingly and intentionally traffic in goods they knew bore counterfeit marks. The marks on these goods were spurious and identical, or indistinguishable from trademarks registered for those goods in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Patterson and his co-defendant imported and sold clothing, apparel, and accessories manufactured by unauthorized suppliers in China that replicated the authentic brand name goods bearing the counterfeit marks of Nike, Ugg, Beats, Burberry, Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, Carolina Herrera, New Era, Oakley, Michael Kors, North Face, National Football League, Coach, Gucci, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Ray Ban, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Vera Wang, White Diamonds, Tory Burch, Armani, True Religion, Rolex, Lacoste, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton.
Patterson and his co-defendant displayed and sold the counterfeit goods to customers at a showroom and warehouse located on W. Pioneer Parkway in Grand Prairie. They also established and maintained at least 17 websites where customers could order and pay for the goods online. Orders for the goods were directed to suppliers in China, who would then ship the items directly to customers in the U.S.
On June 6, 2013, Patterson sold an undercover federal agent one Louis Vuitton handbag, one Louis Vuitton wallet, one Michael Kors handbag, one Buffalo Bills jersey, one Dallas Cowboys jersey, and one Texas Rangers jersey, all bearing counterfeit marks, for a total of $200.
In November 2013, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), executed a federal search warrant at the showroom and seized approximately 750 counterfeit items, including sports jerseys, Nike sports shoes, Ugg boots, and designer handbags, wallets, belts, watches, sunglasses and perfumes, all bearing counterfeit trademarks. Industry representatives confirmed the seized items were counterfeit and the combined estimated Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) was $200,000.
ICE HSI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stokes is prosecuting.
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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Unlicensed Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
Defendant Cashed Fraudulent Tax Refund Checks Totaling More than $1.3 Million
A Columbus, Georgia, resident pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia announced today.
According to court documents, between February 2013 and March 2014, Sawan Shah, aka Sunny, 43, owned, operated and managed several money transmitting companies in the Columbus area. Shah offered check-cashing services to the public, including cashing checks that exceeded $1,000. Shah knew that he and his companies were required to be registered with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and with the state of Georgia. Neither Shah nor any of the businesses he controlled were registered with FinCEN or the state of Georgia as a money transmitting business or as a check cashier.
Several individuals approached Shah about cashing tax refund checks that were issued in the names of other individuals. Shah agreed to do so and did not require proof of identification for the individuals listed on the checks. Shah charged fees between 10 and 30 percent of the check’s worth, due to his knowledge that the checks were involved in tax fraud. In 2013 and 2014, Shah cashed approximately 567 federal tax refund checks that totaled $1,357,476.18. Those refund checks were the result of fraudulent claims for refund submitted in the names of stolen identities.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 26, 2016. Shah faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Shah agreed to a forfeiture order in the amount of $1,357,476.18.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Moore commended special agents of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Michael C. Boteler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford L. Seals of the Middle District of Georgia, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts against stolen identity tax refund fraud may be found on the division’s website.
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Unlicensed Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Columbus, Georgia, resident pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia announced today.
According to court documents, between February 2013 and March 2014, Sawan Shah, aka Sunny, 43, owned, operated and managed several money transmitting companies in the Columbus area. Shah offered check-cashing services to the public, including cashing checks that exceeded $1,000. Shah knew that he and his companies were required to be registered with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and with the state of Georgia. Neither Shah nor any of the businesses he controlled were registered with FinCEN or the state of Georgia as a money transmitting business or as a check cashier.
Several individuals approached Shah about cashing tax refund checks that were issued in the names of other individuals. Shah agreed to do so and did not require proof of identification for the individuals listed on the checks. Shah charged fees between 10 and 30 percent of the check’s worth, due to his knowledge that the checks were involved in tax fraud. In 2013 and 2014, Shah cashed approximately 567 federal tax refund checks that totaled $1,357,476.18. Those refund checks were the result of fraudulent claims for refund submitted in the names of stolen identities.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 26, 2016. Shah faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Shah agreed to a forfeiture order in the amount of $1,357,476.18.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Moore commended special agents of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Michael C. Boteler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford L. Seals of the Middle District of Georgia, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts against stolen identity tax refund fraud may be found on the division’s website.
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Garden City Man Sentenced to 9+ Years for Distributing Child PornRead the Press Release
WICHITA KAN. – A Garden City man was sentenced Tuesday to 110 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Alfredo Franco, Jr., 33, Garden City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. He admitted that from June 2012 to November 2013 he used a file-sharing program to download and share child pornography over the Internet. In September 2013, law enforcement downloaded images of child pornography from his shared files via the Internet. When investigators served a search warrant at his residence, they found child pornography with creation dates spanning a year’s time on his computer.
Grissom commended the Finney County Sheriff’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Founder and Managing Partner of Investment Firm Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court for Securities and Commodities FraudRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RYAN TOMAZIN, the founder and managing partner of R2 Capital Group LLC (“R2 Capital”), was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to six months in prison for crimes stemming from his defrauding investors and misappropriating investment funds. Among other things, TOMAZIN lied to investors in an R2 Capital commodity pool by disseminating, or causing others to disseminate, documents containing false representations regarding how assets in the commodity pool would be managed, and falsely informed investors that their investments were increasing when, in fact, the value was declining. Furthermore, TOMAZIN and other principals at R2 Capital caused over $850,000 of investors’ funds to be withdrawn from bank accounts associated with the commodity pool and directed to bank accounts held in their own names or those of their respective holding companies. TOMAZIN, 35, of Stamford, Connecticut, pled guilty on July 30, 2015, and was sentenced today before United States District Judge Paul A. Crotty.
According to the Indictment and other statements made in open court:
In late 2009, R2 Capital created a commodity pool, R2 Capital Partners I L.P. (the “Commercial Pool”) and began to solicit investors, eventually raising approximately $2.2 million. In early 2010, TOMAZIN solicited a potential investor in the Commercial Pool (“Investment Fund-1”) and provided Investment Fund-1 with documentation that stated, among other things, that R2 Capital would receive a management fee limited to 50% of the profits earned by the Commercial Pool. Investment Fund-1 invested over $1 million in the Commercial Pool. From June 2010 up to and including July 2011, the Commercial Pool experienced significant net losses. In July 2011, all trading activity in the Commercial Pool ceased. By August 2011, there was less than $5,000 remaining in bank accounts associated with the Commercial Pool. Nonetheless, between August 2011 and March 2013, TOMAZIN caused false “Trading Statements” to be sent to Investment Fund-1 reflecting false purported monthly trading profits and inaccurate trade balances. Furthermore, contrary to prior representations that R2 Capital’s management fee would be limited to 50% of profits earned, TOMAZIN and other principals at R2 Capital caused approximately $850,000 to be withdrawn from bank accounts associated with the Commercial Pool for their own personal benefit.
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TOMAZIN was convicted of one count of securities fraud (Count One) and one count of commodities fraud (Count Two). In addition to the prison term, TOMAZIN was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution to the victims of the offense in the amount of $288,000.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aimee Hector and Harry A. Chernoff are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Mamou, Louisiana, Police Chief Sentenced, Second Former Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Firing Taser at Non-Combative PrisonersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that the former Mamou, Louisiana, Police Chief Gregory W. Dupuis was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and former Mamou Police Officer and Chief Robert McGee pleaded guilty to one count of the deprivation of rights under color of law, both for their roles in a series of incidents in which they deployed TASERs on non-resistant inmates at the Mamou Jail. Dupuis’s and McGee’s guilty pleas are the result of a federal investigation into the illegal use of excessive force upon inmates at the Mamou jail.
Dupuis, 57, of Mamou, pleaded guilty to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights on Apr. 13, 2015, and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik of the Western District of Louisiana.
According to evidence presented at Dupuis’s plea hearing, Dupuis served as police chief from 1994 to 1997 and from 2004 to 2014. During his tenure as chief, officers, including McGee, repeatedly administered TASER shocks as a form of punishment on inmates who were being disruptive, even if the inmates’ disruption was purely verbal, and on inmates who were calm and compliant when the officer deployed the TASER. On Apr. 25, 2010, Dupuis went to the department’s jail to deal with a verbally disruptive detainee. Dupuis ordered the detainee to get down from his bunk and put his hands on the far wall. The detainee complied. Dupuis then entered the cell and deployed the TASER on the detainee’s back, causing the detainee to fall to the ground, suffer pain and injure his knee. At his plea hearing, Dupuis admitted that he knew at the time that his actions were unlawful.
McGee, 44, of Mamou, pleaded guilty today to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights committed as an officer in 2010, prior to his 2014 election as chief of the Mamou Police Department. According to McGee’s guilty plea, McGee was called to the Mamou Police Department on multiple occasions in 2010 and 2011 to deal with disruptive inmates. On Aug. 6, 2010, McGee and an inmate were engaged in a conversation. Although the inmate posed no threat to himself or the officers, McGee fired the TASER at the inmate, causing the inmate to fall and experience pain. McGee, who was elected Mamou police chief after this incident, resigned his position as chief on Oct. 8, 2015, as a result of the federal investigation. McGee faces up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.
“The defendants abused the trust given to them as law enforcement officers when they engaged in a pattern of repeatedly tasing compliant detainees,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who violate the civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those in custody, are protected.”
“Law enforcement officers have a duty to ensure that detainees are treated fairly and humanely when taken into custody,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana. “Mr. Dupuis and Mr. McGee breached that trust and violated their oaths by using excessive force on incarcerated individuals.”
The FBI and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Stephen Curran and Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and Robert Abendroth of the Western District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.
Former Mamou police chief sentenced, 2nd former police chief pleads guilty to firing TASER at non-combative prisonersRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the former Mamou Police Chief Gregory W. Dupuis was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and former Mamou Police Officer and Chief Robert McGee pleaded guilty to one count of the deprivation of rights under color of law, both for their roles in a series of incidents in which they deployed TASERs on non-resistant inmates at the Mamou Jail. Dupuis’s sentencing and McGee’s plea are the result of a federal investigation into the illegal use of excessive force upon inmates at the Mamou jail.
Dupuis, 57, of Mamou, La., pleaded guilty to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights on April 13, 2015, and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik.
According to evidence presented at Dupuis’s plea hearing, Dupuis served as police chief from 1994 to 1997 and from 2004 to 2014. During his tenure as chief, officers, including McGee, repeatedly administered TASER shocks as a form of punishment on inmates who were being disruptive, even if the inmates’ disruption was purely verbal, and on inmates who were calm and compliant when the officer deployed the TASER. On Apr. 25, 2010, Dupuis went to the department’s jail to deal with a verbally disruptive detainee. Dupuis ordered the detainee to get down from his bunk and put his hands on the far wall. The detainee complied. Dupuis then entered the cell and deployed the TASER on the detainee’s back, causing the detainee to fall to the ground, suffer pain and injure his knee. At his plea hearing, Dupuis admitted that he knew at the time that his actions were unlawful.
McGee, 44, of Mamou, pleaded guilty today to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights committed as an officer in 2010, prior to his 2014 election as chief of the Mamou Police Department. According to McGee’s guilty plea, McGee was called to the Mamou Police Department on multiple occasions in 2010 and 2011 to deal with disruptive inmates. On Aug. 6, 2010, McGee and an inmate were engaged in a conversation. Although the inmate posed no threat to himself or the officers, McGee fired the TASER at the inmate, causing the inmate to fall and experience pain. McGee, who was elected Mamou police chief after this incident, resigned his position as chief on Oct. 8, 2015, as a result of the federal investigation.
McGee faces up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.
“The defendants abused the trust given to them as law enforcement officers when they engaged in a pattern of repeatedly tasing compliant detainees,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who violate the civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those in custody, are protected.”
“Law enforcement officers have a duty to ensure that detainees are treated fairly and humanely when taken into custody,” Finley stated. “Mr. Dupuis and Mr. McGee breached that trust and violated their oaths by using excessive force on incarcerated individuals.”
The FBI and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Stephen Curran and Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and Robert Abendroth of the Western District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.