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1 October 2015
Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced for Conviction on Assault by Strangulation and Attempted Manslaughter ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Duane Day, 25, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his assault by strangulation and attempted manslaughter charges.
Day was arrested on May 22, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with attempted manslaughter, assault of an intimate partner by strangling, and child abuse. According to the complaint, on May 12, 2014, in Laguna Pueblo within Cibola County, N.M., Day assaulted the victim, a Laguna Pueblo woman, by strangling her and causing her to lose consciousness. Day fled the scene of the assault with the victim’s two young children, an 11-month-old and a two-year-old, to a nearby mesa. Court documents indicate that the victim suffered a severe stroke as a result of the strangulation which required her to undergo emergency brain surgery to relieve swelling and bleeding in the brain.
Day subsequently was indicted on June 11, 2014, and charged with (1) assaulting an intimate partner by strangling; (2) attempted manslaughter; and (3) endangering the lives and health of two children.
On March 11, 2015, Day pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment. In entering his guilty plea, Day admitted that on May 12, 2014, he assaulted the victim by placing his knee on her neck and placing his hand over her mouth causing her to suffocate. Day acknowledged that he attempted to kill the victim by impeding the victim’s breathing causing her to lose consciousness.
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez commended the FBI, BIA and Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department on their outstanding investigation of this case and also noted the invaluable work of the Victim Advocates who assisted the victim to reclaim her life as she recuperated from the life threatening injuries she sustained at the hands of her intimate partner. “Victim Advocates play a critically important role in violent crime cases. In addition to assisting victims to obtain the services they require to ease the impact of victimization and to assert their rights in the criminal justice system, they often speak on behalf of victims,” said U.S. Attorney Martinez. “The Victim Advocates from the BIA, FBI, Laguna Pueblo and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did all that and more in this case. In this case, the Victim Advocates helped the victim find her own voice so that she no longer views herself as a victim. Today she is a survivor who is using her voice to help other women who are victims of domestic violence.”
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services, and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams prosecuted the case.
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.
KC Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a fraudulent tax return preparation scheme that claimed $433,365 in fraudulent income tax refunds.
Demichael A. Johnson, 37, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to two years in federal prison without parole. Today’s sentence will run consecutively to the seven-year sentence Johnson is currently serving in federal prison for drug trafficking. The court also ordered Johnson to pay $67,281 in restitution to the government.
On June 3, 2015, Johnson pleaded guilty to making a false claim. Co-defendant Mika Francis, 40, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., has pleaded guilty to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 4, 2016.
Johnson and Francis, along with others, participated in a scheme using false IRS Form W-2s. They solicited friends and acquaintances to file their tax returns using false W-2 information. These “taxpayers” had little to no legitimate income and would not otherwise have to file tax returns. According to court documents, the scheme resulted in a total actual loss to the government of $329,000.
Johnson admitted that he caused a tax return to be filed in his name for tax year 2010 that claimed a refund of $13,184. Johnson claimed income that he did not actually receive and falsely claimed two dependents. The government has evidence of seven other instances of Johnson’s involvement in false claims, with a total criminal tax loss of $75,928.
Francis admitted that she caused a tax return to be filed in her name for the tax year 2010 that claimed a refund of $8,048. Francis falsely claimed income that she did not receive.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Gregg Coonrod. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Justice Department Announces BHF-Bank (Schweiz) AG Reaches Resolution under Swiss Bank ProgramRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that BHF-Bank (Schweiz) AG (BHF) has reached a resolution under the department’s Swiss Bank Program.
The Swiss Bank Program, which was announced on Aug. 29, 2013, provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Swiss banks eligible to enter the program were required to advise the department by Dec. 31, 2013, that they had reason to believe that they had committed tax-related criminal offenses in connection with undeclared U.S.-related accounts. Banks already under criminal investigation related to their Swiss-banking activities and all individuals were expressly excluded from the program.
Under the program, banks are required to:
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Make a complete disclosure of their cross-border activities;
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Provide detailed information on an account-by-account basis for accounts in which U.S. taxpayers have a direct or indirect interest;
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Cooperate in treaty requests for account information;
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Provide detailed information as to other banks that transferred funds into secret accounts or that accepted funds when secret accounts were closed;
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Agree to close accounts of accountholders who fail to come into compliance with U.S. reporting obligations; and
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Pay appropriate penalties.
Swiss banks meeting all of the above requirements are eligible for a non-prosecution agreement.
According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement signed today, BHF agrees to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, demonstrate its implementation of controls to stop misconduct involving undeclared U.S. accounts and pay penalties in return for the department’s agreement not to prosecute this bank for tax-related criminal offenses.
BHF was established in 1974 as a wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary of BHF-BANK Aktiengesellschaft (BHF-BANK AG), a private bank located in Germany. Deutsche Bank AG purchased BHF-BANK AG in 2010, and in 2014, BHF-BANK AG was sold to a consortium of investors. BHF is headquartered in Zurich and has a branch in Geneva. The name of the group is now BHF Kleinwort Benson Group.
BHF opened and maintained undeclared accounts for U.S. taxpayers. It chose to continue to service U.S. customers without disclosing their identities to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or taking steps to ensure that clients were compliant with U.S. tax laws and without considering the impact of U.S. criminal law on that decision.
BHF offered a variety of traditional Swiss banking services that it knew could assist, and did assist, U.S. clients in the concealment of assets and income from the IRS, such as “hold mail” services, which minimized the paper trail between the U.S. clients and undeclared assets and income, and debit cards, which allowed U.S. clients to access their undeclared accounts without having to visit BHF.
In 1982, Plinius Management Limited, Zurich (Plinius), a trust company, was formed as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHF to provide special services for wealthy clients, which included advice regarding trusts, foundations, fiduciary agreements and holding companies in order to protect assets and minimize tax liability. Plinius had no employees, and BHF provided it with staff and infrastructure.
Plinius also assisted with referrals to establish various types of structures, including Liechtenstein Anstalten and Stiftungen, and British Virgin Islands and Panamanian entities. Plinius did not create the structures; instead, it would contact an external trust company or law firm in Liechtenstein to set up the entity within the agreed-upon jurisdiction. While Plinius’ relationship managers did not have access to the Forms A held by BHF that identified the beneficial owners, in some cases they were aware of the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of the accounts. Four subsidiary-related structured accounts were established for U.S. persons, which improperly sheltered U.S. taxpayer-clients and hid their assets from the IRS.
U.S.-related accounts, including offshore structured accounts, came into BHF through its relationship managers, through external asset managers or otherwise. For example, one account in the name of an offshore entity was referred to a BHF manager from a U.S.-based structuring lawyer prior to 2008, and transferred to BHF from another Swiss bank. The file contained a Form W-8BEN and certification of non-U.S. persons for the offshore corporate accountholder. BHF’s management approved opening the account even though the account also held U.S. securities. There was no Form W-9 completed or provided to BHF for the U.S. beneficial owner. BHF did not confirm that the U.S. beneficial owner was compliant with U.S. tax obligations.
In the fourth quarter of 2000, BHF signed a Qualified Intermediary (QI) Agreement with the IRS. The QI regime provided a comprehensive framework for U.S. information reporting and tax withholding by a non-U.S. financial institution with respect to U.S. securities. The QI Agreement was designed to help ensure that, with respect to U.S. securities held in an account at BHF, non-U.S. persons were subject to the proper U.S. withholding tax rates and that U.S. persons were properly paying U.S. tax.
BHF implemented a policy that every client had to sign either a Form W-9 or a Declaration of Non-U.S. Person Status, which required the customer to declare whether he or she was a U.S. person for tax purposes. Some U.S. clients who did not want to have their identities disclosed to the IRS could avoid detection by declining U.S. securities. Approximately five clients refused to sign a Form W-9, but BHF nevertheless continued to service these clients’ accounts and kept them open.
While participating in the Swiss Bank Program, BHF encouraged existing and prior accountholders and beneficial owners of U.S.-related accounts to provide evidence of tax compliance or of participation in any of the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs or Initiatives or to disclose their accounts to the IRS through such a program. BHF sought waivers of Swiss bank secrecy from all accountholders and obtained waivers for more than 50 percent of its accounts. BHF has also provided certain account information related to U.S. taxpayers that will enable the government to make requests under the 1996 Convention between the United States of America and the Swiss Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income for, among other things, the identities of U.S. accountholders.
Since Aug. 1, 2008, BHF held a total of 125 U.S.-related accounts, comprising total assets under management of approximately $202,964,006. BHF will pay a penalty of $1.768 million.
While U.S. accountholders at BHF who have not yet declared their accounts to the IRS may still be eligible to participate in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, the price of such disclosure has increased.
Most U.S. taxpayers who enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to resolve undeclared offshore accounts will pay a penalty equal to 27.5 percent of the high value of the accounts. On Aug. 4, 2014, the IRS increased the penalty to 50 percent if, at the time the taxpayer initiated their disclosure, either a foreign financial institution at which the taxpayer had an account or a facilitator who helped the taxpayer establish or maintain an offshore arrangement had been publicly identified as being under investigation, the recipient of a John Doe summons or cooperating with a government investigation, including the execution of a deferred prosecution agreement or non-prosecution agreement. With today’s announcement of this non-prosecution agreement, noncompliant U.S. accountholders at BHF must now pay that 50 percent penalty to the IRS if they wish to enter the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo thanked the IRS, and in particular, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the IRS Large Business & International Division for their substantial assistance. Ciraolo also thanked Charles M. Duffy, who served as counsel on this matter, as well as Senior Counsel for International Tax Matters and Coordinator of the Swiss Bank Program Thomas J. Sawyer, Attorney Kimberle E. Dodd and Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
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Justice Department Announces $53 Million in Grant Awards to Reduce Recidivism Among Adults and YouthRead the Press Release
New Second Chance Grants Announcement Will Impact Nearly 45 Jurisdictions around the Country
The Justice Department announced today that it will award grants totaling $53 million to 45 jurisdictions, to reduce recidivism among adults and youth returning to their communities after confinement.
The Second Chance Act (SCA) programs, administered through the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP’s) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) support state, local and tribal community organizations in their efforts to reduce recidivism, provide reentry services and support research programs.
SCA funding covers a broad range of services, training, mentorship and technical assistance programs.
BJA grant awards:
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SCA Two-Phase Adult Reentry Demonstration, 10 awards totaling $7,774,158;
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SCA Reentry Program for Adults with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders, 10 awards totaling $5,989,258;
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SCA Mentoring, six awards totaling $5,983,401;
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National Reentry Resource Center (supplement), one award totaling $5,281,751
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SCA Statewide Recidivism Reduction (supplements), four awards totaling $3,995,861;
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SCA Technology Career Training Program, four awards totaling $2,949,536;
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SCA Statewide Recidivism Reduction Planning, seven awards totaling $594,222;
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SCA and Corrections Visiting Fellows, two awards totaling $487,551; and
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Vera Institute of Justice Postsecondary Education/Pell Experiment (supplement), one award totaling $200,000.
OJJDP grant awards:
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SCA Supporting Latino/a Youth from Out-of-Home Placement to the Community, six awards totaling $2,900,000;
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SCA Strengthening Relationships Between Young Fathers and Their Children: A Reentry Mentoring Project, seven awards totaling $2,939,067;
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SCA Strengthening Families and Children of Incarcerated Parents, three awards totaling $1,239,276;
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SCA Comprehensive Statewide Juvenile Reentry System Reform Implementation, three awards totaling $2,196,894;
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SCA Smart of Juvenile Justice: Enhancing Youth Access to Justice Initiative, Training and Technical Assistance (to provide legal services to youth reentering the community), one award totaling, $708,106;
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SCA Smart on Juvenile Justice: Community Supervision, six awards totaling $1,000,000;
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SCA Smart on Juvenile Justice: Community Supervision Training and Technical Assistance, one award totaling $650,000; and
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Initiative to Develop Juvenile Reentry Measurement Standards, one award totaling $750,000.
These programs include training and job placement for incarcerated or detained adults and juveniles in technology-related jobs; training for mentors to assist pre- and post-release; screening and assessments pre-release and evidence-based treatment after incarceration to improve outcomes for incarcerated individuals with substance abuse and mental disorders; and assistance for jurisdictions providing reentry services to members of Native American tribes.
These grants also provide supplemental funding to improve existing reentry research and programs, including ongoing data-driven assessments of the needs, policy barriers and resource gaps for successful reentry. Additional funding will enable the Vera Institute to deliver technical assistance in post-secondary education and corrections and to share best practices through its resource center.
In addition, the Justice Department awarded two fellowships: its first-ever Second Chance Visiting Fellow, Daryl Vincent Atkinson, who will engage formerly incarcerated individuals to gather what is needed for successful reentry; and a Corrections Visiting Fellow, Dr. Emily Wang of Yale University, who will measure the risk of hospitalization following prison release among Medicaid beneficiaries and the impact of community primary care on patient recidivism.
Lastly, the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) will continue to offer training and technical assistance for grantees and administer the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse, a “one-stop shop” for research on the effectiveness of a wide variety of reentry programs and practices. The NRRC collaborates with the Attorney General’s Federal Interagency Reentry Council (FIRC), and other federal agencies.
For more information on the NRRC, please visit: www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org.
For more information on FIRC, please visit: csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc/projects/firc/.
About OJP
OJP, headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: BJA; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; OJJDP; the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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Joint Investigation Dismantles Violent New Haven Street Gang; Members Charged with 6 MurdersRead the Press Release
New Haven – U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly, ATF Special Agent in Charge Daniel J. Kumor and New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman today announced federal murder, racketeering, firearms, narcotics and money laundering charges against several members and associates of the Red Side Guerilla Brims, a violent New Haven street gang. In 2011 and early 2012, members and associates of the gang are alleged to have committed six murders and four attempted murders.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2014, ATF and the New Haven Police Department began “Operation Red Side” through a series of controlled narcotics purchases and firearms seizures. The investigation revealed that members and associates of the Red Side Guerilla Brims (“RSGB”), a sect of the Bloods street gang based in New Haven, were engaged in narcotics trafficking and related acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, assaults and armed robberies. In addition to distributing crack cocaine and other narcotics in and around New Haven, the investigation indicated that members and associates of the RSGB, under the direction of one of its alleged leaders, JEFFREY BENTON, transported crack cocaine and heroin to Bangor, Maine, and sold the drugs in Bangor and its surrounding communities. The RSGB also traded narcotics for firearms, brought the firearms back to New Haven and distributed them to gang members.
“The Red Side Guerilla Brims were a plague on the streets of New Haven,” said U.S. Attorney Daly. “This indictment charges six members of this violent New Haven street gang with racketeering to include murders, shootings, armed robberies and assaults, as well as firearms and narcotics offenses. Other Red Side gang members and associates have or are expected to plead guilty to similar charges shortly. We thank our law enforcement partners, particularly the ATF and New Haven Police Department, for their tireless dedication to this long-term investigation. We are confident that these prosecutions targeting our most violent offenders, together with our anti-violence program Project Longevity which calls upon gang members to give up their violent lifestyle, have reduced the number of murders and shootings in New Haven making New Haven a safer and better place to live.”
“Today’s announcement demonstrates ATF’s commitment to working with its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to combat violent gun crime and to dismantle criminal street gangs and their ongoing criminal enterprise,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kumor. “Moreover, it shows that these criminal street gangs will not get away with such acts of violence, which wreak fear and havoc on the citizens of our communities.”
“Cooperation between all levels of law enforcement and the community are what’s required to achieve progress, and this impressive collaboration between the New Haven Police, ATF, U.S. Attorney’s Office and other valuable partners has solved many violent crimes,” said Chief Esserman. “Too many young men in our community have been lost to gun violence, and too many family members and friends are grieving. Violence in our city will not be tolerated. I’m proud of those who’ve put in the long hours to see this operation through. The City of New Haven is safer for it.”
The Victims
- On February 23, 2011, an individual was shot and wounded in New Haven.
- On March 18, 2011, Derrick Suggs was shot and killed in New Haven.
- On March 29, 2011, and individual was shot and wounded in New Haven.
- On April 20, 2011, Kevin Lee was shot and killed in New Haven.
- On June 24, 2011, Donell Allick was shot and killed in New Haven.
- On September 19, 2011, Darrick Cooper was shot and killed in Hamden.
- On October 21, 2011, an individual was shot in the face in New Haven.
- On December 22, 2011, an individual was shot in the face in New Haven.
- On December 23, 2011, Joseph Zargo was shot and killed in New Haven.
- On March 19, 2012, Donald Bolden was shot and killed in New Haven.
- On December 23, 2014, an individual was assaulted with a firearm in New Haven.
The Connecticut Indictment
On September 30, 2015, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 34-count indictment charging the following six individuals with engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity, including murder and other violent offenses:
JEFFREY BENTON, a.k.a. “Tall Man” and “Fresh,” 30, of New Haven
KEITH YOUNG, a.k.a. “Capo,” “Bapo” and “Poncho,” 25, of Hamden
ROBERT SHORT, a.k.a. “Santana,” 29, of New Haven
TREVOR MURPHY, a.k.a. “Snookie,” 27, of West Haven
ROBERT HARRIS, a.k.a. “Skully Mack,” 19, of New Haven
CHRISTOPHER GRAHAM, a.k.a. “Ugg,” 28, of New Haven
As alleged in the indictment:
On February 23, 2011, BENTON and LUIS PADILLA, who is charged separately, conspired to murder an individual.
On April 20, 2011, BENTON, PADILLA and others, including RODRIGO RAMIREZ and MILES PRICE, who are charged separately, murdered Kevin Lee while attempting to rob marijuana from Lee.
On June 24, 2011, BENTON, YOUNG, PADILLA and KAVON ROGERS, who is charged separately, murdered Donell Allick.
On September 19, 2011, YOUNG and SHORT murdered Darrick Cooper.
On October 21, 2011, BENTON and HARRY ANDERSON, who is charged separately, conspired to murder an individual.
On December 23, 2011, MURPHY murdered Joseph Zargo.
On March 20, 2012, BENTON and another individual, who has since been murdered, murdered Donald Bolden.
On December 23, 2014, HARRIS and GRAHAM used a firearm to assault an individual
In addition to the racketeering charge, the indictment charges BENTON and YOUNG with engaging in a racketeering conspiracy; BENTON, YOUNG, SHORT and MURPHY with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering (VCAR) related to one or more of the charged murders; HARRIS and GRAHAM with VCAR related to a charged assault with a dangerous weapon; BENTON, SHORT, MURPHY, HARRIS and GRAHAM with firearms offenses; HARRIS and GRAHAM with narcotics offenses; and BENTON and YOUNG with money laundering offenses related to wire transfers of narcotics proceeds from Maine to Connecticut.
YOUNG and MURPHY were arrested yesterday, and HARRIS was arrested this morning. They appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven and are presently detained.
BENTON has been in federal custody since May 17, 2012, and is serving a 108-month sentence for trafficking narcotics. SHORT is in state custody on a parole violation.
GRAHAM is currently being sought by law enforcement.
As to BENTON, YOUNG, SHORT and MURPHY, if convicted of the charge of VCAR murder, each defendant faces a mandatory term of life imprisonment or death if the government seeks the death penalty in this case. The most serious charge against HARRIS and GRAHAM, brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, carries a mandatory term of imprisonment of seven years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
Previously-charged RSGB Members and Associates
On September 29, 2015, LUIS PADILLA, a.k.a. “Chewie,” 22, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity, VCAR murder, and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. In pleading guilty, PADILLA admitted his involvement in the murders of Derrick Suggs, Kevin Lee and Donell Allick, and the attempted murders of two others. PADILLA also admitted his involvement in a home invasion robbery in New Haven in May 2012, as well as his role in the trafficking of narcotics in Connecticut and Maine.
On June 16, 2015, RODRIGO RAMIREZ, a.k.a “Rico,” 34, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to racketeering and admitted his involvement in the murder of Kevin Lee and in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Maine.
On July 1, 2014, a grand jury returned an indictment charging MILES PRICE, a.k.a. “Molly Rock,” 27, of New Haven, with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
On May 6, 2015, KAVON ROGERS, 28, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
On May 20, 2015, a grand jury returned an indictment charging HARRY ANDERSON, a.k.a. “Ace,” 22, of New Haven, with one count of VCAR related to the attempted murder of an individual, and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
On September 8, 2015, DELTON PYLES, a.k.a. “Koolie,” 26, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.
The Maine Indictment
On February 12, 2015, a grand jury in the District of Maine returned an indictment charging JEFFREY BENTON and ten other individuals, including RSGB members and associates, with offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine, the illegal purchase of more than 20 firearms, and the transportation of firearms and drug proceeds to Connecticut. BENTON is awaiting trial in Maine.
On July 30, 2015, WILLIE GARVIN, a.k.a. “Tank” and “Black,” 22, of New Haven, pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in relation to the shooting of an individual on December 22, 2011. GARVIN also agreed to have his Maine case transferred to Connecticut and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws.
On September 2, 2015, CHRISTIAN TURNER, a.k.a. “P,” 29, of New Haven, pleaded guilty in the District of Maine to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws.
On August 17, 2015, TORRENCE BENTON a.k.a. “T-Black” and “Scotty,” 28, of New Haven, pleaded guilty in the District of Maine to one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the New Haven Police Department, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut State Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Hamden Police Department. The New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office also provided critical assistance in the investigation.
An instrumental component of the investigation has been the work of the Connecticut State Crime Laboratory in utilizing the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to analyze ballistics evidence.
These cases are being prosecuted in the District of Connecticut by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert M. Spector and Peter D. Markle. The District of Maine case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey.
Jaime Dávila Reyes, aka “Peluche” Sentenced to 21 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, Jaime Dávila-Reyes, aka “Peluche,” was sentenced to 21 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearm violations, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. On June 12, 2015, the defendant plead guilty to four counts from three separate indictments, charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He also plead guilty to using and carrying firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Since the year 2006, and continuing up to and until the return of the Indictment in Criminal Case 09-390(ADC), Jaime Dávila-Reyes and others, did knowingly and intentionally, combine, conspire, and agree with each other and with diverse other persons known and unknown to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute, heroin, cocaine, cocaine base, and marihuana in protected locations throughout the Municipality of Naguabo and Caguas, Puerto Rico, specifically in Ignacio Morales-Dávila Public Housing Project in Naguabo and Jose Gautier-Benítez in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
In the second indictment, Criminal Case 13-435(FAB), the object of the conspiracy was to distribute controlled substances at the Gautier Benitez Public Housing Project for financial gain and profit. Dávila-Reyes was a leader of the drug trafficking organization and controlled the drug distribution points located at the Gautier Benitez Public Housing Project.
In the third indictment, Criminal Case 13-534(CCC), the object of the conspiracy was to distribute controlled substances at the Morales Ward, in the Municipality of Caguas for significant financial gain and profit. As a leader in Barriada Morales, Dávila-Reyes was in control of the drug distribution points. He directly supervised the operations at Barriada Morales, received the proceeds from the distribution of narcotics sold during the span of his leadership in the conspiracy and was in charge of maintaining control of all the drug distribution activities. He also received payment or “rent” from other drug point owners in Barriada Morales. He also acted as an enforcer and supplier within the conspiracy.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue working along with state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute criminals who deprive our communities of a peaceful and safe environment,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “I commend our prosecutors and investigative agencies who did not rest until they were able to arrest Davila-Reyes and successfully bring him to justice.”
The defendant was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Aida Delgado-Colón. The cases were being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys César Rivera-Giraud, Alberto López-Rocafort and Teresa Zapata-Valladares.
Harrold Man Sentenced for Domestic Assault by an Habitual OffenderRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Harrold, South Dakota, man convicted of Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender was sentenced on September 28, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lonnie Patrick Big Eagle, age 39, was sentenced to 33 months in custody, followed by 2 years of supervised release, $78.20 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Big Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 14, 2015. He pled guilty on July 6, 2015.
The conviction stemmed from an incident between August 9, 2014, and August 10, 2014, when the victim, who had been in a relationship with Big Eagle for several years and has five children with him, went to the pow wow in Lower Brule. She took four of her five children with her and left her youngest son with Big Eagle. She started receiving phone calls that Big Eagle was drunk and she returned home. Once she got there, the victim went inside the house, and Big Eagle came in after her and started telling her she was not going anywhere. He also made accusations against her and called her names. Big Eagle threatened to break the windows of the victim’s vehicle and knocked her phone out of her hand. She tried to get in her car, but Big Eagle struck the window with a lawn chair, so she went around her car in order to avoid getting hit by Big Eagle.
Big Eagle started kicking the victim, who then fell, stood back up, and went around the vehicle. Big Eagle continued to follow her and grabbed her shirt. She tripped and fell to the ground, and Big Eagle got on top of her and hit her in the face multiple times, causing blood to run down her face. The assault ended when Big Eagle’s brother intervened to help the victim. The victim then went to her aunt’s house to get help, and was seen by an ambulance attendant.
Big Eagle has several prior arrests and two prior convictions for domestic violence.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Crow Creek Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Big Eagle was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Guardian Industries Corp. to Cut Harmful Air Pollution at Flat Glass Manufacturing Plant in TexasRead the Press Release
DALLAS —The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. that will resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. One of those facilities is located in Corsicana, Texas, noted U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Under the proposed settlement, Guardian will invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its flat glass manufacturing facilities. Guardian will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000.
Guardian has operated its flat glass manufacturing facility in Corsicana since 1980. The EPA alleged that major facility modifications undertaken by the company beginning in 1993 led to a production increase at the Corsicana facility, and consequently, significant net emissions increases of air pollutants that occurred without Guardian obtaining the required Clean Air Act permits and without complying with the Act’s requirements regarding the installation of pollution control technology, emission limits, monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting.
“We commend Guardian Industries for its commitment to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants from its Corsicana facility and others it operates in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “By requiring phased-in pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment at Guardian’s Corsicana facility, this agreement appropriately balances the promotion of manufacturing and the protection of clean air for all Texas residents.”
“This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are also particularly grateful to the states of Iowa and New York, as well as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, all of whom were active partners in achieving this important outcome for the American people.”
“Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Guardian violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control plans when it made major modifications to its flat glass furnaces that significantly increased harmful air emissions. This settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing National Enforcement Initiative addressing Clean Air Act New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration program violations and is the agency’s first settlement involving the flat glass manufacturing sector. Flat glass, also known as float glass, is used as windows for office buildings and homes as well as for automobile windshields.
The $150,000 mitigation project with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District will provide incentives to low-income residents living in the San Joaquin Valley to replace or retrofit inefficient, higher-polluting wood-burning appliances with cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient appliances. The San Joaquin Valley is an area with poor air quality.
EPA expects that the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by 7,300 tons per year, including approximately 6,400 tons per year of NOx, 550 tons per year of SO2, 200 tons per year of PM and 140 tons of H2SO4. The mitigation project in California will yield additional reductions of PM. These emissions reductions will result in significant human health and environmental benefits for communities. In addition to the Corsicana plant, Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities are also located in Kingsburg, California, DeWitt, Iowa, Carleton, Michigan, Geneva, New York, Floreffe, Pennsylvania, and Richburg, South Carolina.
SO2 and NOX have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. Once airborne, these pollutants can also convert into particulate matter. PM, especially the fine particles, can travel deep into a person’s lungs causing severe respiratory impacts, such as coughing, decreased lung function, and chronic bronchitis. Fine PM is also associated with cardiovascular impacts and even premature death. H2SO4 irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat and lungs, and exposure to high concentrations can lead to more severe health impacts.
The states of Iowa and New York actively participated in the settlement and will each receive $78,000 of the total penalty. The United States will receive $156,000. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also actively participated in the settlement.
The proposed consent decree was lodged Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
For more information on the settlement and to read the proposed settlement, visit http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/guardian-industries-corp-clean-air-act-settlement.
For more information on the settlement or to read a copy of the consent decree, visit
http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.# # #
Grocery Store Owner Charged with Trafficking SNAP BenefitsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Mohammed Uddin, 51, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with defrauding a government assistance program, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Uddin is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud and 13 counts of trafficking in SNAP benefits. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the federal Food Stamp program, run by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to reduce and end hunger in the United States.
Uddin owned and operated Al Madina Halal Meat & Grocery, a retail grocery store, located at 6637 Castor Avenue in Philadelphia. According to the indictment, the defendant trafficked SNAP benefits by purchasing those benefits from customers of Al Madina Halal Meat & Grocery in exchange for cash, which is illegal. It is further alleged that between January 2012 and September 2015, as a result of his trafficking activities, defendant sought and received from USDA, redemption of more than $1 million in SNAP benefits.
If convicted, defendant Uddin faces a substantial period of incarceration, restitution to the program, a $2,800 special assessment, up to three years of supervised release, and possible fines.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former State Fraud Enforcement Official is SentencedRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LYNWOOD PATRICK, JR., 40, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to three years of probation, the first six months of which PATRICK must serve in home confinement, for submitting a fraudulent application for a personal mortgage modification.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately October 2012 through May 2013, while he was employed as the Director of Investigations for the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), Office of Quality Assurance, PATRICK applied for a mortgage modification through JP Morgan Chase under the Making Home Affordable program, a federal initiative designed to assist homeowners who have experienced a decline in income access secure loans at lower rates. The application requested assistance in connection with a property PATRICK owned in East Hartford.
During the application process, PATRICK represented that the East Hartford property was his primary residence and was owner occupied when, in fact, the property was not his primary residence and he did not occupy it. PATRICK also fabricated State of Connecticut paystubs and lied about his assets in order qualify for the program. Specifically, PATRICK claimed total assets of $500 in one checking account to show that he had experienced a loss of income causing a hardship when, in fact, he had thousands of dollars spread out over multiple accounts at several institutions and his rate of pay had not diminished.
The investigation revealed that, in connection with the loan application, PATRICK faxed fraudulent documents to JP Morgan Chase from DSS offices and used a DSS fax coversheet.
In his capacity as the Director of Investigations, PATRICK was responsible for coordinating and conducting activities to prevent, detect and investigate fraud, waste, abuse and overpayments in the Connecticut Medicaid, Care4Kids, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance and Connecticut Energy Assistance Programs. PATRICK’s salary was partially paid for by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On June 8, 2015, PATRICK pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.
This matter was investigated by the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force, which includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Mattei.
Citizens are encouraged to report corruption to the Connecticut Public Corruption Task Force by calling 203-238-0505.
Former School Bus Driver Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former school bus driver has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving and possessing child pornography.
Shawn Allen Swan, 39, of Eugene, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on Sept. 28, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Swan’s arrest and initial court appearance. Swan remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Tuesday, Oct.6, 2015.
Swan was employed as a school bus driver by a contractor for the Jefferson City School District.
The federal indictment alleges that Swan received and distributed child pornography over the Internet on Sept. 29, 2013. Swan is also charged with possessing child pornography between Sept. 17, 2013, and April 30, 2015.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Boone County Cybercrimes Task Force and the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Former Peanut Company Officials Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Product OutbreakRead the Press Release
Two former officials of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) were sentenced to prison today in Albany, Georgia, for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud their customers by shipping salmonella-positive peanut products before the results of microbiological testing were received and falsifying microbiological test results, the Department of Justice announced today. Last week, PCA’s former president received 28 years in prison, the largest criminal sentence ever given in a food safety case.
Samuel Lightsey, 50, of Blakely, Georgia, a former operations manager at PCA’s Blakely plant, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands of the Middle District of Georgia to serve 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Daniel Kilgore, 46, also of Blakely, and a former operations manager at PCA’s Blakely plant, was sentenced to serve 72 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Both Lightsey and Kilgore pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and the sale of misbranded and adulterated food. Additionally, both Lightsey and Kilgore served as witnesses in the 2014 trial of Stewart Parnell, 61, of Lynchburg, Virginia, the former owner and president of PCA; Michael Parnell, 56, of Midlothian, Virginia, Stewart Parnell’s brother, who worked at P.P. Sales and was a food broker who worked on behalf of PCA; and Mary Wilkerson, 41, of Edison, Georgia, who held various positions at PCA’s Blakely plant, including receptionist, office manager and quality assurance manager. Lightsey was on the witness stand during nine trial days and Kilgore testified as a witness during five trial days.
The trial, which led to the convictions of Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell and Mary Wilkerson, established that tainted food led to a salmonella outbreak in 2009 with more than 700 reported cases of salmonella poisoning in 46 states. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on epidemiological projections, that number translates to more than 22,000 total cases, including nine deaths. During the sentencing phase of the case, the court found that the evidence presented at trial linked PCA’s contaminated peanut products to the victims’ illnesses.
“Today’s sentences are a just result,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “They reflect the roles that the defendants played in these terrible acts, their acceptance of responsibility for those roles, and their willingness to assist the government, albeit after the fact, in ensuring that all of those who engaged in criminal activity were held accountable. The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively with its partners to ensure that the American people are protected from food that is adulterated or misbranded.”
The government presented evidence at trial to establish that Stewart Parnell and Michael Parnell, with Lightsey and Kilgore, participated in several schemes by which they defrauded PCA customers and jeopardized the quality and purity of their peanut products. Specifically, the government presented evidence that the defendants misled customers about the presence of salmonella in their products. For example, the Parnells, Lightsey and Kilgore fabricated certificates of analysis (COAs) that accompanied various shipments of peanut products. COAs are documents that summarize laboratory results, including test results concerning the presence or absence of pathogens in food. According to the evidence, on several occasions, the Parnells, Lightsey and Kilgore participated in a scheme to fabricate COAs that stated that the food at issue was free of pathogens when in fact there had been no testing of the food or tests had revealed the presence of pathogens.
The government also presented evidence that demonstrated that when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited PCA’s Blakely plant to investigate the outbreak, Stewart Parnell, Lightsey and Wilkerson gave untrue or misleading answers to questions posed by those officials.
“By making sure that the individuals involved in the corporate fraud at PCA were held accountable, I am confident that the message to other executives is clear,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia. “Because we all know that it is people who make decisions about what goes on behind the corporate curtain, we'll be looking to hold those individuals personally accountable when they steer their businesses down the path of fraud. Mr. Kilgore and Mr. Lightsey acknowledged their wrongdoing, and today their sentences reflect not only their acceptance of that responsibility, but also the requirement of accountability.”
“Today’s sentencing in federal court will afford these defendants, former corporate officers at Peanut Corporation of America, plenty of time to reflect on their roles in the fatal 2009 salmonella outbreak as a result of their criminal conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “It is the FBI’s hope that this will provide some solace to the families of those that died and the many more that suffered as a result of this outbreak.”
On Sept. 21, Judge Sands sentenced Stewart Parnell to serve 336 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, Michael Parnell to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and Mary Wilkerson to serve 60 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Patrick Hearn and Mary M. Englehart of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Dasher of the Middle District of Georgia. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer and U.S. Attorney Moore thank the investigative efforts of the FBI and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
Former Oregon Woman Pleads Guilty for Conspiring to File Fraudulent Income Tax Returns Claiming More than $1 Million in RefundsRead the Press Release
A former resident of Portland, Oregon, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to file fraudulent income tax returns claiming more than $1 million in refunds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of the District of Oregon.
According to the plea agreement, Tataneisha White, 42, admitted that during 2010, she conspired with other individuals to prepare and file more than 227 fraudulent income tax returns. The false information on the tax returns included fictitious wage and withholding information and fraudulent refundable credits. White has agreed to pay $626,750 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is the amount of fraudulent claims for refunds that were deposited into bank accounts under her control.
White also pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds and one count of filing a false claim.
White faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the theft of government funds count, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy count and a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the false claims count. White also faces a maximum potential sentence of three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of conviction.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Lori Hendrickson and Ryan Raybould of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland for their valuable assistance in this case.
Former Nashville Airport Official Pleads Guilty to $1.1 Million Fraud and Bribery Scheme Involving Airport ContractorsRead the Press Release
John T. Howard, Jr., 45, of Nashville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today to three felony charges resulting from his role in a fraudulent invoice scheme and his solicitation and receipt of a bribe, announced David Rivera, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Howard was formerly an Assistant Vice President of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (“MNAA”), a public entity responsible for the operation of the Nashville International Airport.
Howard was charged in a criminal information on September 25, 2015, and pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, one count of soliciting and receiving a bribe, and one count of money laundering.
“Persons who hold a position of public trust and abuse their position to enrich themselves with taxpayer money will be held strictly accountable,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue public corruption at all levels.”
In a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger, Howard admitted conspiring with certain MNAA contractors to submit fraudulent invoices to MNAA for construction and repair work that they had not performed, overseen, or verified. Howard instructed one contractor to submit fraudulent invoices to MNAA, and also agreed that this contractor would recruit other contractors to submit fraudulent invoices. Howard approved these fraudulent invoices and then accepted cash payments from the contractors. Howard acknowledged that the total amount paid by MNAA in connection with these fraudulent invoices was more than $1.1 million.
Howard also admitted asking a contractor to purchase more than $49,000 in airline tickets to Las Vegas for players, coaches, and others affiliated with a youth basketball organization run by Howard. In return, Howard awarded an MNAA cleaning job to this contractor.
Howard faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years in prison on the counts of bribery and money laundering. Howard will also be ordered to pay restitution to MNAA, and will face forfeiture of the proceeds of his offense. Howard will be sentenced by Judge Trauger on January 28, 2016.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation and the Office of the District Attorney General for Davidson County. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely.
Former Harrison County Supervisor Kim Savant Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit BriberyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss - Former Harrison County supervisor Kim Savant, 65, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden today to sixty months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, IRS - Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jerome McDuffie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway. Savant was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
Savant previously pled guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with his role as a board member of the Harrison County Utility Authority. Savant admitted that, from January 2011 through January 2013, while he was a supervisor for Harrison County and a member of the board of the Harrison County Utility Authority, he conspired with the owner of a company that performed work for the utility authority and accepted bribe payments in the amount of $1,500 per month in exchange for his official actions such as voting on the awarding of contracts, payments, emergency work, and other items.
U.S. Attorney Davis praised the efforts of special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for their work on the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Morgan who prosecuted the case.
Former Employee Steals Nearly $200,000 from Employer: Heading to Prison for more than Two YearsRead the Press Release
A former employee of Crossroads Mobile Maintenance in Williamsburg, Iowa, who stole nearly $200,000 was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.
Jeremy Murphy, age 33, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 16, 2015, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.
In a plea agreement, Murphy admitted that while working for Crossroads Mobile Maintenance, he made fraudulent charges on a company credit from April 2013 through August 2014. Murphy further admitted that he had set up a fake company and then used his company credit card to make charges purporting to be in payment to that company for work performed for Crossroads. In fact, the payments eventually went into Murphy’s personal bank account. Over the course of the scheme, he made $195,375.27 in fraudulent charges on the company credit card.
Murphy was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. He was sentenced to twenty-seven months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed and he was ordered to make $187,241.87 in restitution to Crossroads’ insurance companies. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Murphy was released on conditions previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by Williamsburg Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 15-CR-00052.
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Former Carnival Worker Pleads Guilty to Felony Murder for Role in Death of Medina Comic Book CollectorRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Donald R. Griffin, 37, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to committing a murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce, who is handling the case, stated that Griffin was one of three individuals who broke into the Medina, NY home of 78 year old Homer Marciniak in the early morning hours of July 5, 2010. The intent of the burglary was to steal Marciniak’s valuable collection of comic books with an estimated value of $30,000. During the course of the burglary, Marciniak woke up and stumbled into the hallway where he encountered Griffin and the others. The defendant struck Marciniak in the face causing lacerations. After Griffin and the others left, Marciniak was transported by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital where his lacerations were sutured. However, following his release from the hospital’s emergency room, Marciniak went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later.
Medical evidence that the government was prepared to offer at trial demonstrated that the blow Griffin struck, as well as the emotional trauma caused by the burglary, directly contributed to Marciniak’s cardiac arrest and resulting death.
Rico Vendetti, the former owner of the East Side Gold and Audio Pawn Shop and Al’s Green Tavern on North Goodman Street in Rochester, engineered the burglary. He was convicted of Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
Defendants Terry Stewart and Brandon Meade were also convicted in connection with this case.
The two other individuals involved in the burglary were Juan Javier, a juvenile at the time of the burglary who was convicted of robbery in Orleans County Court, and Albert Parsons who will be tried in federal court beginning on December 8, 2015 along with co-defendants Arlene Combs and Dayon Shaver.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila and Officers from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 3, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.Family Members Arrested on Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Four members of an Arlington, Texas, family were arrested earlier this week on charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint, unsealed late yesterday, stemming from their alleged conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration (SSA) by feigning mental illnesses to fraudulently collect Social Security benefits, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Charged in the criminal complaint are Doreen Mitchell, 53, and her two sons, Michael Mitchell, 29, and Sonny Mitchell, 27, and her cousin, John Mitchell, a/k/a “Patrick Rena,” 58. Each defendant made an initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Stickney, who ordered that all four remain in custody pending detention hearings set for tomorrow, Friday, October 2, 2015, and Monday, October 5, 2015.
According to the complaint, beginning in 1978 and continuing through the present, Doreen Mitchell, John Mitchell, Michael Mitchel and Sonny Mitchell conspired together to conceal, or fail to disclose, the true activity level and medical condition of Doreen Mitchell, Michael Mitchell and Sonny Mitchell, which would have affected each person’s continued entitlement to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. This was done to secure benefits in a greater amount or quantity than was due or when no such benefit was authorized.
The SSA’s ability to determine an applicant’s medical and financial eligibility for the SSI program is directly dependent upon the SSA’s access to accurate and current information regarding that applicant. If an applicant is initially found to be eligible, and therefore becomes an SSI recipient, the SSA’s ability to determine that recipient’s continuing eligibility, and the correct monthly benefit due that recipient, is directly dependent upon the SSA’s ongoing access to accurate and current information regarding that recipient. The SSA requires disabled SSI recipients to advise the SSA of any improvements in their medical condition, their return to work of any kind, and any changes in their income, resources, address, living arrangements, family size or composition, or family income or resources.
Over the 37-year period beginning in 1978 and continuing to the present, SSA paid and continues to pay SSI benefits each month to Doreen Mitchell, Michael Mitchell and Sonny Mitchell. As of August 31, 2015, the SSA has paid approximately $461,913 in benefits based on the representation that these three individuals were disabled.
A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. The government has 30 day to present the matter to a federal grand jury for indictment. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The maximum statutory penalty for this offense as charged is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General/Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit is investigating. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana is in charge of the prosecution.
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El Salvadoran Man Guilty of Illegally Reentering the United States After Previous DeportationsRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Willian Santos-Velasques, of El Salvador, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported, announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.
Santos-Velasques was found in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 13, 2015 when he was observed by agents of the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement riding as a passenger in a vehicle. Santos-Velasques was familiar to ICE agents because he had been previously deported by ICE officers working in New Hampshire. An investigation determined that Santos-Velasques was deported twice in 2014 from Louisiana and Texas and once in 2015 from Texas.
Santos-Velasques pled guilty to knowingly reentering the United States after previously having been deported to his native El Salvador and was sentenced to time served since his arrest by Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 13, 2015.
Santos-Velasques will again be deported.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega.
Ecuadorian National Charged with Tax Refund FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Ecuadorian national residing in New York City was arrested and charged on Tuesday, Sept. 29th in connection with his role in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme.
Ricardo E. Candelo, 58, was charged with one count of theft of public money. He was arrested at his home in Queens, New York and had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. Candelo was released on conditions and ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston on Oct. 6, 2015, before Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy.
According to the criminal complaint, in 2012, federal agents learned that a New York criminal organization was searching for a way to cash fraudulently obtained federal income tax refund checks. Thereafter, with the assistance of a cooperating witness, agents arranged a series of undercover meetings with members of the New York organization. During these meetings, which took place in South Attleboro, Mass. between July and September 2012, Candelo and his associates delivered federal income tax refund checks totaling over $75,000. As part of the undercover operation, agents cashed these checks and returned the proceeds to the New York organization as instructed. All of the refund checks involved in the scheme trace back to fraudulent federal income tax filings submitted without the authorization of the tax payer.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Boston; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Lisa A. Quinn, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordi de Llano of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Dominican Man Pleads Guilty to Misrepresenting A Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced that Richard Arias-Aquasvivas, of the Dominican Republic, has pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment alleging that he misrepresented a social security number while attempting to get a New Hampshire drivers license at the Nashua office of the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles.
Agents of the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement were called to the Nashua office of the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles on July 15, 2015 to provide investigative assistance relating to a man attempting to obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license. The individual insisted he was an American citizen born in Puerto Rico. ICE officers attempted to obtain digital fingerprints of the individual but his fingertips had been mutilated and the agents were unable to obtain a positive identification.
Subsequent investigation allowed the agents to identify the individual as Arias-Aquasvivas. Inked fingerprints confirmed that identity and that Arias-Aquasvivas was the subject of a previous deportation order.
Arias-Aquasvivas will be sentenced at 11:00 AM on January 12, 2016, and will be deported after serving his sentence.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega is prosecuting this case.
Dominican Man Guilty of Illegally Reentering the United States After Previous DeportationRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Onix Abreu, of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty late this morning to a one-count Information alleging that he illegally reentered the United States after having been previously deported.
On June 15, 2015 agents of the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement approached Abreu at the Salem office of the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles. Abreu was at the office attempting to obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license under a false identity. Abreu admitted to the agents that his real name was Onix Abreu and that he had been deported previously. Fingerprint analysis confirmed Abreu’s identity. An investigation established that Abreu was deported in 2005 at Alexandria, Louisiana.
Abreu will be sentenced at 10:00 AM on January 6, 2016, and will be deported after serving his sentence.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega.
Doctor Arrested for Illegal Distribution of More Than Ten Thousand Oxycodone Pills, Resulting in One Known DeathRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James A. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint against a doctor and a co-conspirator who are alleged to have participated in a drug distribution conspiracy involving the prescription painkiller oxycodone. As alleged, the doctor, ALFRED RAMIREZ, sold medically unnecessary prescriptions for over 10,000 oxycodone tablets over a four-year period, resulting in at least one death.
RAMIREZ, a psychiatrist, and JAMES COONEY, a co-conspirator, were arrested this morning on the charges in the Complaint. Both defendants were presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison this afternoon in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Abuse of prescription pills is a national health epidemic – causing more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. Unscrupulous healthcare professionals like Doctor Alfred Ramirez, who is alleged to have prescribed over 10,000 medically unnecessary oxycodone pills over a four-year period, and his alleged distributor, James Cooney, fuel this epidemic of poison by prescription. The danger of this type of criminal distribution of prescription pills was brought home by a tragic death allegedly resulting from Dr. Ramirez’s prescriptions.”
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge James A. Hunt said: “Criminals are constantly scheming ways to make an illegal profit, and Dr. Ramirez was no different. Allegedly selling scripts for money, Dr. Ramirez supplied opioid addicts with their fix and supplied street distributors, like James Cooney, with doses of death. Today’s arrests come after a five-month investigation into the illegal practices of Dr. Ramirez and the subsequent consequences of James Cooney’s street distribution.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “As alleged, this doctor traded cash for prescriptions, pushing pills into the illegal drug market, resulting in the senseless death of at least one person. I commend the work of the NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners for holding these individuals accountable for their actions.”
The following allegations are based on the Complaint unsealed today in White Plains federal court[1]:
Starting in approximately 2012 and continuing until his arrest, RAMIREZ operated out of offices in Orange and Dutchess Counties, where RAMIREZ, a Board certified doctor and State licensed psychiatrist, wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for more than ten thousand oxycodone pills in exchange for cash payments. On numerous occasions over the course of this four-year period, RAMIREZ charged hundreds of dollars in cash for “patient visits” that involved little, if any, actual examination and resulted in the issuance of multiple prescriptions for large quantities of 30-milligram oxycodone tablets, sometimes for patients who were not even present.
Also charged in the Complaint is COONEY, who obtained prescriptions for thousands of oxycodone tablets from RAMIREZ, including in the name of third persons. COONEY resold many of these pills for profit.
The pills distributed by RAMIREZ and COONEY caused one known death: On March 23, 2015, a school teacher was found dead in his Yonkers, New York, apartment. Medical reports concluded that the death resulted from an overdose of oxycodone and alprazolam, another drug frequently prescribed by RAMIREZ and distributed by COONEY. Records show that the victim obtained the lethal oxycodone, and likely the alprazolam as well, from COONEY, and that RAMIREZ had issued prescriptions for those drugs in COONEY’s name.
Oxycodone is a prescription-strength Schedule II narcotic used to treat severe and chronic pain conditions. Oxycodone can result in addiction similar to an addiction to codeine or morphine, and there is an illegal market for oxycodone, as a substitute for – or adjunct to – other illegal narcotics, such as heroin.
* * *
The defendants are charged with violations of the federal narcotics laws carrying a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the judge will determine any sentence imposed on the defendants.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, composed of agents and officers of the DEA New York Division, the NYPD, the New York State Police, the New York Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the Westchester County Police Department, and the Town of Orangetown Police Department. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Town of New Windsor Police Department, the New York Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the Orange County Drug Task Force, the New York Office of Professional Medical Conduct, and the Town of Woodbury Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Schorr and Hagan Scotten are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
District Man Found Guilty of Charges in 2010 Murder in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Emanuel Guzeh, 29, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty of charges stemming from a 2010 murder in Northeast Washington, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced today.
Guzeh was found guilty by a jury on Sept. 29, 2015, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of second-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Guzeh is to be sentenced on Dec. 11, 2015, by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson.
At trial, the government’s evidence showed that on Feb. 15, 2010, at approximately 11:30 p.m., officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were called to an apartment in the 900 block of 48th Street NE, and discovered the body of Michaeldeon Talley, 33, who was dead on the hallway floor of the apartment, having been shot several times.
MPD homicide detectives learned, and the subsequent investigation revealed, that on the night of the murder, Mr. Talley was inside the apartment with his male friend, a girlfriend, and (later) two prostitutes who had advertised on “Backpage.com.” The two prostitutes knew Mr. Talley and were invited over to “party” with the group. One of the prostitutes had recently begun dating the defendant, Emmanuel “Manny” Guzeh, who accompanied the prostitutes to the apartment, but remained outside. The prostitutes went over to the apartment, socialized with the group, and looked around the apartment for money or valuables to later take with them. They did not find anything of value at first but, while the prostitutes were still inside the apartment, Guzeh came inside, went to a back room, and started a struggle with Mr. Talley, eventually shooting him four times. Guzeh and the prostitutes fled the apartment.
In announcing the verdicts, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen expressed his appreciation for the work of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also commended the efforts of Paralegal Specialists Debra Joyner, Meridith McGarrity, and Zekiah Wright; Paralegal Supervisor Sharon Newman; Law Clerk Adam Bereston; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcey Rinker; Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Victim/Witness Specialists Wanda Queen and M. LaVerne Forrest; Supervisory Victim/Witness Specialist Michael Hailey; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, and Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator David Foster. Finally, he commended former Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Shick, who assisted in the investigation of this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gorman and Robert Eckert, who investigated and prosecuted the case at trial.
Derry Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Child Pornography DistributionRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Stephen Cote, 51, of Derry, New Hampshire, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith. The Court imposed a term of 10 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by an 8 year term of supervised release.
Cote’s sentencing capped an extensive multi-agency investigation, which began in 2013 when Cote sent an e-mail containing child pornography to an undercover federal agent. Search warrants were subsequently executed on Cote’s e-mail account and residence, leading to the discovery of hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Cote used his e-mail account to store those images and distribute them to dozens of other individuals by e-mail over the course of several months.
The case was investigated by Manchester, New Hampshire Homeland Security Investigations and the Portsmouth and Washington D.C. offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Task Force (NH ICAC) and the Derry and Manchester, New Hampshire Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nick Abramson and Seth Aframe.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals, federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Defendant Charged with Alleged Participation in the Murder of Ice Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the Attempted Murder of Ice Special Agent Victor Avila Extradited from MexicoRead the Press Release
Four Others Have Already Pleaded Guilty to Charges in the Case
A Mexican national was extradited from Mexico to face charges for his alleged participation in the February 2011 murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila in Mexico.
The charges and extradition were announced today by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia, Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division and Director Sarah R. Saldaña of ICE.
Jose Emanuel Garcia Sota, aka Juan Manuel Maldonado Amezcua, Zafado or Safado, 34, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was charged on May 6, 2013, in a four-count indictment with one count of murder of an officer or employee of the United States; one count of attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States; one count of attempted murder of an internationally protected person; and one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. The indictment was unsealed today when Garcia Sota made his initial appearance before Chief U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia. His next appearance in court is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2015.
“It has been over four and a half years since ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata valiantly lost his life and Special Agent Victor Avila suffered grave injuries when they were ambushed by gunfire while on assignment in Mexico,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “As evidenced by today’s announcement, the passage of time has not lessened our resolve to keep our promise to the family of Special Agent Zapata and to Special Agent Avila and his family, and bring to justice those responsible for this senseless and brutal attack. And we are grateful to the Government of Mexico for its continued partnership in this case.”
“Four years ago, on a Mexican roadside, two American heroes came under attack in a violent ambush by members of Los Zetas, a dangerous criminal cartel,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “Four people have already accepted responsibility for their actions, and now a fifth will be brought to an American courtroom for justice. We will not stop in the pursuit of justice – no matter how far away and how long it takes.”
“Today's announcement is the direct result of unwavering resolve and unrelenting cooperation to bring to justice those accountable for the murder of Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of Victor Avila,” said Assistant Director Campbell. “Although this cowardly act of violence occurred more than four years ago, this investigation remains a priority for the FBI.”
“This extradition is another step closer to the justice Special Agents Zapata and Avila deserve,” said ICE Director Saldaña. “ICE is grateful to our partners whose tireless efforts brought about today's news. Their dogged pursuit of justice, often in face of great danger, enables us to continue in our quest to make these criminals pay for their deeds. While nothing can ever truly heal such a loss, we hope today's news brings Agent Zapata's family and friends a measure of peace. His ultimate sacrifice will always be honored by the men and women of ICE.”
Four defendants previously pleaded guilty to offenses based on their roles in the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents. Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka Piolin, 34, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2013, to the murder of Special Agent Zapata and the attempted murder of Special Agent Avila. Ruben Dario Venegas Rivera, aka Catracho, 27, pleaded guilty on Aug. 1, 2011, to federal charges concerning the murder of Special Agent Zapata and attempted murder of Special Agent Avila. Jose Ismael Nava Villagran, aka Cacho, 33, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4, 2012, also to federal charges concerning the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents. Francisco Carbajal Flores, aka Dalmata, 40, pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2012, to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents.
As part of their guilty pleas, Espinoza, Rivera and Villagran admitted to being members of a Los Zetas hit squad and to participating directly in the Feb. 15, 2011, ambush of the two special agents. The fourth defendant, Flores, acknowledged assisting Zetas members after the attack.
An indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, with substantial assistance from ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The investigation was also coordinated with the assistance of the Government of Mexico.
The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided substantial assistance.
Garcia Sota Indictment
Defendant Charged with Alleged Participation in the Murder of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the Attempted Murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila Extradited from MexicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Mexican national was extradited from Mexico to face charges for his alleged participation in the February 2011 murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila in Mexico.
The charges and extradition were announced today by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia, Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division and Director Sarah R. Saldaña of ICE.
Jose Emanuel Garcia Sota, aka Juan Manuel Maldonado Amezcua, Zafado or Safado, 34, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was charged on May 6, 2013, in a four-count indictment with one count of murder of an officer or employee of the United States; one count of attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States; one count of attempted murder of an internationally protected person; and one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. The indictment was unsealed today when Garcia Sota made his initial appearance before Chief U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia. Garcia Sota was ordered detained without bail. His next appearance in court is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2015.
“It has been over four and a half years since ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata valiantly lost his life and Special Agent Victor Avila suffered grave injuries when they were ambushed by gunfire while on assignment in Mexico,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “As evidenced by today’s announcement, the passage of time has not lessened our resolve to keep our promise to the family of Special Agent Zapata and to Special Agent Avila and his family, and bring to justice those responsible for this senseless and brutal attack. And we are grateful to the Government of Mexico for its continued partnership in this case.”
“Four years ago, on a Mexican roadside, two American heroes came under attack in a violent ambush by members of Los Zetas, a dangerous criminal cartel,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “Four people have already accepted responsibility for their actions, and now a fifth will be brought to an American courtroom for justice. We will not stop in the pursuit of justice – no matter how far away and how long it takes.”
“Today's announcement is the direct result of unwavering resolve and unrelenting cooperation to bring to justice those accountable for the murder of Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of Victor Avila,” said Assistant Director Campbell. “Although this cowardly act of violence occurred more than four years ago, this investigation remains a priority for the FBI.”
“This extradition is another step closer to the justice Special Agents Zapata and Avila deserve,” said ICE Director Saldaña. “ICE is grateful to our partners whose tireless efforts brought about today's news. Their dogged pursuit of justice, often in face of great danger, enables us to continue in our quest to make these criminals pay for their deeds. While nothing can ever truly heal such a loss, we hope today's news brings Agent Zapata's family and friends a measure of peace. His ultimate sacrifice will always be honored by the men and women of ICE.”
Four defendants previously pleaded guilty to offenses based on their roles in the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents. Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka Piolin, 34, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2013, to the murder of Special Agent Zapata and the attempted murder of Special Agent Avila. Ruben Dario Venegas Rivera, aka Catracho, 27, pleaded guilty on Aug. 1, 2011, to federal charges concerning the murder of Special Agent Zapata and attempted murder of Special Agent Avila. Jose Ismael Nava Villagran, aka Cacho, 33, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4, 2012, also to federal charges concerning the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents. Francisco Carbajal Flores, aka Dalmata, 40, pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2012, to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents.
As part of their guilty pleas, Espinoza, Rivera and Villagran admitted to being members of a Los Zetas hit squad and to participating directly in the Feb. 15, 2011, ambush of the two special agents. The fourth defendant, Flores, acknowledged assisting Zetas members after the attack.
An indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, with substantial assistance from ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The investigation was also coordinated with the assistance of the Government of Mexico.
The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided substantial assistance.
Crescent City Keepers Mentoring Program Made a Part of the President’s My Brother’s Keeper InitiativeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that the White House has brought Crescent City Keepers (“CCK”), a mentoring program launched by U. S. Attorney Polite in 2014, under the umbrella of the President’s My Brother’s Keeper (“MBK”) Initiative. MBK seeks to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensures that all young people can reach their full potential.
To date, Crescent City Keepers is the only MBK initiative created by a U.S. Attorney. CCK focuses on all young people, including boys and young men of color, ages 14 through 16, who are considered as having a "high risk" of being killed as a result of gun violence. CCK identifies its participating mentees based on data compiled by the City of New Orleans, in its capacity as one of ten cities participating in DOJ’s National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. Each participant has been identified as "high risk" because he/she either has already been the victim of gun violence or is in the social network of another homicide victim of gun violence. While the average New Orleans resident has a homicide rate of 24/100,000, individuals falling into this high risk category have a homicide rate of 1,600/100,000. That is, these young people, predominantly boys and young men of color, are nearly 63 times more likely to be killed by gun violence than the average New Orleans resident. By providing intensive mentoring and other support, CCK would intervene in the lives of these young people and help direct them towards safe, productive, and successful pathways.
In a shift from the more traditional one-on-one or group mentoring techniques, CCK will utilize an "institutional mentoring" concept. Capitalizing on the role that faith-based and other community organizations have historically played as a foundation for community development and preservation, CCK will pair one mentee with one faith-based or other community organization. The faith-based or other community organization will, in essence, "adopt" each mentee, and its membership will provide guidance and support. Each participating organization will recruit three members within the congregation or membership to serve as primary mentors. Using a team approach, these primary mentors will be the first-line personnel to engage with the young person. By relying on "what already works" – i.e., well-established and –recognized mentoring programs in the New Orleans area – CCK will develop a life skills curriculum as part of the mentoring process. Other members of the organization will also play a vital role in CCK. The entire membership – which in most cases will include individuals with a variety of professional backgrounds, including entrepreneurs, teachers, and skilled laborers – will provide the ancillary mentoring and support necessary to address some of the immediate needs of the mentee and his or her family. Furthermore, these organizations can leverage their relationships with various social services agencies to provide additional resources for those issues that are beyond the capacity of a traditional mentor program, including, but not limited to, housing, transportation, and health care.
U.S. Attorney Polite said: “It is not enough for us to wait for these young people to show up in a police report, or worse, on a coroner’s slab. We must intervene in order to save their lives. This initiative is about public safety in its truest sense, and it allows our community’s organizations and residents to be part of the solution.”
To date, the following organizations have now been matched with CCK mentees:
The New Orleans Chapter of Links, Inc.
Progressive Baptist Church
St. Peter Claver Catholic Church
St. Pius X Catholic Church
Urban League of Greater New Orleans
If you or your organization is interested in participating in CCK, please contact Shane M. Jones at 504-680-3000 or [email protected], or visit our website at www.justice.gov/usao-edla.
Collinsville Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child and EnticementRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.–Derick Dean Brown, 24, of Collinsville, pleaded guilty today to sexual exploitation of a child and enticement, announced United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. for the Northern District of Oklahoma. A sentencing date has been set before United States District Court Judge Claire V. Eagan on January 8, 2016.
At the change of plea hearing, Brown admitted, that in March 2015, he communicated with a female minor in Montana via text messaging and the Internet and enticed her to produce a sexually explicit video. Further, Brown admitted, that from January to March 2015, he communicated via cellphone and the Internet with a female minor in Oklahoma and enticed her to engage in sexual activity. Both victims were under the age of 18 years old.
At the time of sentencing, for the sexual exploitation charge, Brown faces the statutory minimum penalty of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison; and the enticement charge carries the statutory minimum penalty of not less than 10 years or up to life in prison. As part of his sentence, Brown’s Ford Mustang used to commit or facilitate the commission of the enticement offense will be forfeited to the United States.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tulsa Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeff Gallant and Catherine Depew prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Page Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
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Co-Founder of Oxywater Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A co-founder of Imperial Integrative Health Research and Development LLC (Imperial) was sentenced to serve 83 months in prison in federal court today for his role in a fraud scheme related to Imperial and its product, OXYwater, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio.
Thomas E. Jackson, 40, of Powell, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost of the Southern District of Ohio. In addition to the prison sentence, Jackson was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $8.8 million in restitution to victims of the fraud. On March 25, Jackson was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, eight counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of money laundering.
Jackson’s business partner, Preston J. Harrison, 43, and Harrison’s wife, Lovena Harrison, 42, both of Lewis Center, Ohio, also went to trial in March and were convicted of multiple crimes. Preston Harrison was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false income tax return, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering. Lovena Harrison was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false income tax return and structuring financial transactions to evade currency reporting requirements.
The Harrisons were sentenced on Aug. 25. Preston Harrison was also sentenced to serve 83 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $8.8 million to victims of the fraud and approximately $376,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He was also ordered to forfeit $1.1 million, including two vehicles, eight weapons, cash and the contents of a bank account. Lovena Harrison was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $376,000 in restitution to the IRS.
According to court testimony, Jackson and Preston Harrison operated Imperial, based in Westerville, Ohio, and developed OXYwater, a beverage that promoters claimed was an all-natural, vitamin-enhanced sports drink that contained added oxygen for improved physical performance.
The defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive Imperial’s investors about Imperial and OXYwater’s structure, composition, finances, sales and profits in order to make the company appear to be a lucrative and profitable financial investment. Jackson and Preston Harrison produced and sent false and fraudulent documents intended to deceive investors in order to obtain additional investments in Imperial. They then misappropriated that money for their own personal use, which included purchasing jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade, a BMW vehicle, weapons, clothing, home improvements and a swimming pool.
Between August 2010 and spring 2013, Jackson and Preston Harrison misappropriated approximately $2 million of the investors’ funds. The defendants’ scheme caused investors to suffer substantial losses when the corporation was forced to declare bankruptcy with no assets. As a result of the defendants’ conduct, investors lost approximately $9 million.
In 2011, Preston Harrison misappropriated approximately $1.1 million from Imperial, which he and Lovena Harrison diverted into an account in the name of a daycare business and used for personal expenses. The Harrisons did not report the money as income on their 2011 income tax return.
“When you knowingly mix deceit and trickery into the financial well-being of individuals, you create a recipe for devastation that could last a lifetime,” said Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) Cincinnati Field Office. “Today's sentencing demonstrates how federal law enforcement will band together to help put an end to the criminal behavior of those who prey on investors for their personal financial gain.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Stewart commended special agents of IRS-CI and the FBI, who investigated the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Kim of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Jason Scheff of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Co-Founder of OXYwater Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
A co-founder of Imperial Integrative Health Research and Development LLC (Imperial) was sentenced to serve 83 months in prison in federal court today for his role in a fraud scheme related to Imperial and its product, OXYwater, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio.
Thomas E. Jackson, 40, of Powell, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost of the Southern District of Ohio. In addition to the prison sentence, Jackson was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $8,840,706 in restitution to victims of the fraud. On March 25, Jackson was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, eight counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of money laundering.
Jackson’s business partner, Preston J. Harrison, 43, and Harrison’s wife, Lovena Harrison, 42, both of Lewis Center, Ohio, also went to trial in March and were convicted of multiple crimes. Preston Harrison was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false income tax return, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering. Lovena Harrison was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false income tax return and structuring financial transactions to evade currency reporting requirements.
The Harrisons were sentenced on Aug. 25. Preston Harrison was sentenced to serve 83 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $8.8 million to victims of the fraud and approximately $376,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He was also ordered to forfeit $1.1 million, including two vehicles, eight weapons, cash and the contents of a bank account. Lovena Harrison was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $376,000 in restitution to the IRS.
According to court testimony, Jackson and Preston Harrison operated Imperial, based in Westerville, Ohio, and developed OXYwater, a beverage that promoters claimed was an all-natural, vitamin-enhanced sports drink that contained added oxygen for improved physical performance.
The defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive Imperial’s investors about Imperial and OXYwater’s structure, composition, finances, sales and profits in order to make the company appear to be a lucrative and profitable financial investment. Jackson and Preston Harrison produced and sent false and fraudulent documents intended to deceive investors in order to obtain additional investments in Imperial. They then misappropriated that money for their own personal use, which included purchasing jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade, a BMW vehicle, weapons, clothing, home improvements and a swimming pool.
Between August 2010 and spring 2013, Jackson and Preston Harrison misappropriated approximately $2 million of the investors’ funds. The defendants’ scheme caused investors to suffer substantial losses when the corporation was forced to declare bankruptcy with no assets. As a result of the defendants’ conduct, investors lost approximately $9 million.
In 2011, Preston Harrison misappropriated approximately $1.1 million from Imperial, which he and Lovena Harrison diverted into an account in the name of a daycare business and used for personal expenses. The Harrisons did not report the money as income on their 2011 income tax return.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Stewart commended special agents of IRS-CI and the FBI, who investigated the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Kim of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Jason Scheff of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Clovis Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Montoya, 37, of Clovis, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Montoya will be sentenced within the range of 121 to 151 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Montoya and his co-defendants, Brian Acuna, 23, and Dianna Hernandez-Trujillo, 24, both of Clovis, N.M., and Alexander Page, 28, of Tucumcari, N.M., were arrested in Nov. 2013, on a six-count indictment charging them with trafficking methamphetamine in three New Mexico counties. Count 1 charged Montoya and his co-defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County, N.M., between Oct. 2007 and Nov. 2013. Count 2 charged Montoya with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 11, 2011 in Curry County. Count 3 charged Montoya and Acuna, and Hernandez-Trujillo with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on March 27, 2012, in Cibola County. Count 4 charged Montoya and Page with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 7, 2012, in Socorro County. Count 5 charged Montoya with money laundering for purchasing a residence with money derived from a drug trafficking activity on Sept. 22, 2010. Count 6 charged Acuna with using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime on March 27, 2012, in Cibola County.
During today’s proceedings, Montoya pled guilty to Count1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and Count 5 charging him with money laundering. In his plea agreement, Montoya admitted arranging for drivers to travel to California in vehicles he provided so that they could transport methamphetamine from his sources of supply. Montoya then distributed the methamphetamine in New Mexico. He also admitted being the owner of the 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from Acuna on March 27, 2012, and the 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from Page on Nov. 7, 2012, as well as providing the vehicles Acuna and Page were driving.
In entering his guilty plea, Montoya also admitted that on Sept. 22, 2010, he purchased a residence Clovis with proceeds from his ongoing narcotics activities. He also admitted that drug trafficking proceeds were his only source of income from 2005 through 2011, and that he did not file federal income tax returns on that income during those years.
Montoya is in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
On July 7, 2015, Page pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In his plea agreement, Page admitted that he was stopped for driving 85 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone by a deputy of the Socorro County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 7, 2012, while traveling near Socorro, N.M. During a search of the vehicle driven by Page, the deputy found approximately 1259 grams of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment in the vehicle. At the time, Page was transporting the methamphetamine to Clovis where the drugs were to be sold and where Page was to be paid for transporting the drugs. His sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for Oct. 13, 2015.
Acuna pled guilty on June 26, 2014, to Counts 1 and 3 of the indictment, charging him with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He also pled guilty to Count 6 of the indictment, charging him with using and carrying a firearm in relation to and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In entering his guilty plea, Acuna admitted that on March 27, 2012, he and a co-defendant were stopped by police while transporting methamphetamine from California to Clovis. At the time of the stop, Acuna and the co-defendant knew that a large quantity of methamphetamine was concealed in a secret compartment in the vehicle and that additional methamphetamine was in a backpack in the vehicle. Acuna also admitted that he had a revolver and ammunition in the vehicle for protection.
At sentencing, Acuna faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life imprisonment on the methamphetamine trafficking charges. On the gun charge, Acuna faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug charges. Acuna remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
Hernandez-Trujillo has entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and is participating in a judicial pretrial diversion program. Charges in indictments are merely accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Socorro County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J. Sullivan and Jennifer M. Rozzoni are prosecuting this case.
Chinese Businessman Charged with Theft of Trade SecretsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A criminal bill of information was filed today in federal court in Charlotte, charging a Chinese businessman, Xiwen Huang, 55, of Charlotte, with one count of theft of trade secrets, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong, of the FBI’s Charlotte Division. A plea agreement was also filed today and Huang is expected to appear in court on Friday, October 2, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. to enter his formal guilty plea.
“After having received the benefit of an American education, the defendant worked for companies in the U.S. which developed technology for the U.S. government and private enterprises. The defendant then stole secret information from these entities to bring back to China to benefit himself and others. For this reprehensible conduct the defendant is going to federal prison. We will do the same to other industry thieves in a continued effort to protect American intellectual property and maintain fairness in the marketplace,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rose.
“For years Xiwen Huang targeted U.S. companies intending to steal the intellectual property others had worked so diligently to develop. The research and product development information he stole from a North Carolina business put our state’s economy and people’s jobs at risk. The FBI will work tirelessly to hold accountable the criminals who try to profit off the work of others,” said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI.
According to court documents filed today, from about 2006 through May 2015, Huang engaged in a scheme to steal trade secrets from multiple companies within the United States, and intellectual property from the United States government, to further his aspirations of forming and operating his own company in the People’s Republic of China (China). Huang is a native of China and naturalized U.S. Citizen.
Filed court documents show that prior to coming to the United States to obtain his doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering, Huang wrote that he “had a dream of learning more advanced technology to serve [his] homeland” of China and decided that to “fulfill [his] wish” he needed to go abroad and then “return to China with [his] newly acquired methodology and research skills to teach in China.”
According to court records, Huang came to the United States in 1998 to study and work. From approximately December 2004 until he was fired by his employer in approximately March 2014, court records show that Huang stole proprietary and confidential information, including trade secret information and other intellectual property belonging to a Government Research Facility and two United States companies, with the intent to use the stolen information for the economic benefit of himself, a Chinese company, and others.
Filed court documents show that Huang stole a large amount of intellectual property from the Government Research Facility, including technology related to military vehicle fuel cells. Court records also show that Huang stole from one U.S. company more than 500 documents containing confidential and proprietary information, including trade secret information related to 30 different products with research and development costs associated therewith of more than $65 million. According to court records, Huang stole from a second U.S. company, more than 100 documents containing trade secret, confidential and proprietary information with research and development costs associated therewith of more than $25 million.
Court documents filed today show that upon being fired from the second U.S. company in 2014, Huang returned to China and began working for a Chinese company in a managerial role. According to court records, Huang took with him to China all of the intellectual property and trade secrets he stole with the intent to use that stolen property to further his personal goals and the business interests of the Chinese company.
According to court records, after returning to China, upon attaining his goals first annunciated in 2003, Huang recounted his accomplishments of stealing U.S. intellectual property in a document he titled, “Trip of Dream Realization.” In the document, translated from Chinese, court records show that Huang states in sum and substance: “Throughout these 16 years, I always have a dream of returning to China to develop my ambition. In order to realize this dream, I have worked in US national research academies [laboratories], largest chemical companies in the world. I have also worked in small companies in the US. My goal was to learn, digest, accumulate, and make preparations for realizing the dream. . .Consequently, I started scheming, planning that last for close to 2 years, and returned to China formally in this year, and initiated my own ‘Trip of Dream Realization’. . . As the main thrust during the country’s development, it is necessary an obligatory for our generation to fulfill our share of responsibility in contributing towards the societal progress of China.”
Huang has been in federal custody since May 2015, when he was arrested following his return from China. He has agreed to plead guilty to stealing trade secrets from multiple U.S. companies. The theft of trade secrets charge carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. In determining Defendant’s actual sentence, the Court will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide advisory sentencing ranges.
The Charlotte Division of the FBI is investigating the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Zolot and Maria K. Vento of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are handing the prosecution for the government.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Trafficking Dozens of Guns from Indiana to the Streets of ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago man who helped purchase 43 firearms in Indiana and transport them to Illinois for sale on the streets of Chicago was sentenced today to 37 months in prison.
After purchasing the weapons at gun shows and from individual vendors in Crown Point and Indianapolis, WINSTON GERALDS helped bring the firearms into Illinois and sell them on the South Side of Chicago. Unbeknownst to Geralds, the Chicago buyer was cooperating with law enforcement officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Geralds, 25, pleaded guilty in May to one count of illegally transporting firearms across state lines. U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee imposed the 37-month sentence in federal court in Chicago.
“The defendant arranged for the sale of unregistered and untraceable firearms on the side streets and back alleys of Chicago’s neighborhoods,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany K. Biesenthal and Christopher V. Parente argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “By directly assisting in the supply of firearms to this city, the defendant very directly contributed to the cycle of gun violence.”
Geralds used middlemen to facilitate selling the guns to the cooperating source. In four separate meetings on April 22, 2012, the middlemen sold 20 weapons to the cooperating source at locations in the Greater Grand Crossing and Chinatown neighborhoods of Chicago. The following day, the middlemen sold 23 more guns to the cooperating source in a Chinatown parking lot.
Five other defendants, including one middleman, were charged in connection with this investigation:
- Levaine Tanksley, of Chicago, served as a middleman in the transactions with the cooperating source. Tanksley pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting a firearm and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
- Charles Lemle, of Chicago, acted as security for at least one of the firearm deals with the cooperating source. Lemle pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting a firearm and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prior to the guilty plea, Lemle violated the terms of his pretrial release by possessing a gun on New Year’s Eve 2013. An additional indictment was filed, and Lemle pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is set to be sentenced by Judge Lee on Oct. 7, 2015.
- Michael Hall, of Chicago, acted as security for at least one of the firearm deals. Hall pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman on Nov. 18, 2015.
- David Lewisbey, of South Holland, served as the leader of the Indiana-to-Illinois gun trafficking ring. He was convicted at trial of dealing and transporting firearms. Lewisbey was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.
- Maurice Strickland, of Chicago, lived in a residence in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood where the guns were sold to the cooperating source. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully transporting a firearm and was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffery Magee, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois State Police assisted in the investigation, which was conducted with the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA).
The government is represented by Ms. Biesenthal and Mr. Parente.
Chattanooga Pill Mill Owner Sentenced to 44 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- On Oct. 1, 2015, Faith Blake, 40, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 44 years in federal prison by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Judge. Upon her release from prison, Blake will serve a three year period of supervised release. Additionally, she was ordered to forfeit $2,700,000 to the United States, which represented the gross income generated by her illegal clinics.
Blake pleaded guilty to a federal grand jury indictment charging her with conspiring to distribute prescription drugs outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. She admitted to being involved in two drug conspiracies. One conspiracy involved Superior One Medical Clinic, which she co-owned with her mother Barbara Lang, who was also charged in this case. The other conspiracy involved Elite Care Medical Clinic, which was solely owned by Blake. Blake also pleaded guilty to failing to appear after she was released on conditions of bond and became a fugitive. She was apprehended five months later in Maryland, living under an assumed name.
Three others involved in the operation of the clinics were separately convicted and have been sentenced. Dr. Jerome Sherard, the medical director for Superior One and Elite Care, was sentenced to serve five years in prison. Charles Larmore, a nurse practitioner who worked at Superior One and co-defendant Barbara Lang’s clinic, Primary Care, received a 13 year prison sentence. Barbara Lang, Blake’s mother, was convicted after trial of several offenses including drug conspiracies involving Superior One and Primary Care. She was sentenced to serve 280 years in prison. Over $500,000 in seized assets were forfeited as part of their sentences.
Blake’s clinics distributed over 28 kilograms of oxycodone (or almost 1,000,000 tables of Oxycodone 30mg pills) to thousands of individuals, many of whom illegally abused the drugs and redistributed them to others. Oxycodone pills are typically sold on the street for $1 per milligram. The clinics catered to pill-seeking individuals from the Southeastern United States.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Collier noted that prescription pill abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. He remarked that Blake’s substantial sentence was intended to deter others from engaging in this illegal activity and to keep her from ever committing this type of crime in the future.
“The substantial sentences ordered for these individuals will act as a deterrent for others who may be considering the illegal selling of highly addictive opioids. The defendants’ use of the medical training of others to effectuate this criminal scheme was particularly reprehensible. The public should be aware that federal law enforcement officials, in conjunction with the state and local authorities, are focusing on these illegal opioid transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian.
Daniel R. Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said, “DEA and its law enforcement counterparts will continue to target and crack down on pill mill operators who distribute pain medications for non-medical reasons. The success of this investigation is a direct result of the hard work and dedication put forth by our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts.”
“Illegally prescribing narcotics for profit is a serious offense,” stated Christopher A. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation. “Today’s sentencing should send a message to operators of these illegal pill mills that this activity will be investigated and prosecuted. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of these illegal drugs into our communities.”
Law enforcement agencies participating in this joint investigation included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Trustee’s office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga Police Department, Roane County Sheriff’s Department, and Rockwood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg L. Sullivan and Michael D. Porter represented the United States at trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Stone prosecuted other individuals involved in the drug conspiracies.
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Calmar Bank Robber Sentenced to 87 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who robbed the State Bank in Calmar, Iowa in May of this year was sentenced today in United States District Court to more than seven years in federal prison.
Tyrone Wilson, age 49, from Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 25, 2015, guilty plea to one count of bank robbery.
Wilson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Wilson was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make over $1400 in restitution to State Bank. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
At the sentencing hearing, the Court found Wilson entered the State Bank in May, reached across the teller counter, grabbed the teller’s wrist, and demanded the money in the teller’s drawer. Wilson then jumped onto the counter and grabbed $900 from the teller’s drawer. Wilson fled the area, spent most of the $900 on cocaine, and ultimately was arrested without incident in the Rock Island, Illinois, area. The Court’s restitution award includes the $900 Wilson robbed from the bank, over $500 in lost profits to the Bank, and prejudgment interest.
Wilson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Vavricek and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Calmar Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa Division of Intelligence, the Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office, the East Moline Police Department, the Milan Police Department, the Postville Police Department, the Decorah Police Department, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information available: https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-2014.
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Buffalo Man Arrested on Cocaine ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Alvin L. Livingston, Jr., 36, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on September 26, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on Stevenson Street. Livingston was alone in the residence at the time. Officers recovered bundled U.S. currency, a money counter, two digital scales containing suspected cocaine residue, and a vacuum sealing package device.
Following the search of the residence, officers searched a car rented to Livingston, which was parked outside. Inside, they found approximately five kilograms of cocaine in vacuum-sealed packages in the trunk of the vehicle.
The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being held in custody pending a detention hearing on October 20, 2015, at 11:00 a.m.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Bristol Man Sentenced for Domestic Violence ChargesRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Robert W. McCandless, 38, of Bristol, Florida, was sentenced to 151 months in prison today for interstate domestic violence and interstate violation of a protection order. The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
During his guilty plea on July 9, 2015, McCandless admitted to violating a protection order by unlawfully entering the victim’s residence on January 16, 2015. McCandless and the victim had lived together previously for approximately five years and had two children. After strangling the victim with a communications cord and assaulting the victim, McCandless forced her and their children to travel with him out of Florida. Approximately eight hours later, law enforcement agents arrested McCandless, rescuing the victim and her children on Interstate 95 in South Carolina. The victim received medical treatment for injuries consistent with strangulation.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen M. Kunz.
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.
Bossier City man pleads guilty to possessing ammunition after being convicted of feloniesRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a man from Bossier City pleaded guilty to possessing shotgun shells and bullets even though he was prohibited from doing so because he had prior felony convictions.
Sidney Joseph Patterson, 44, of Bossier City, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, on January 9, 2015, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the discharge of a homemade “zip gun” firearm at Patterson’s residence which wounded Patterson in his back. Found at the residence was the discharged “zip gun” and three other “zip guns” loaded with two rounds of 12 gauge shotgun ammunition and one round of .380 caliber ammunition. Prior to this offense, Patterson had other felony drug convictions.
Patterson faces up to 10 years in prison, one to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of February 17, 2016 was set.
This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm and to promote firearm safety.
The ATF and the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Annapolis Residential Developer Pleads Guilty in Fraudulent Mortgage SchemeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Timothy L. Ritchie, age 44, of Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to making false statements arising from a real estate closing.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Rene Febles of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Fran Mace, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General.
Ritchie owned and operated Richland Homes, Inc., and was in the business of building, purchasing and selling homes.
According to his plea agreement, on July 7, 2005, Ritchie attended a residential closing for his purchase of three lots located at 24058 St. Michael’s Road in St. Michael’s, Maryland. John Davis, a real estate agent, conducted the closing, and listed Ritchie on the HUD statement as the buyer/ borrower. The HUD statement falsely stated that Ritchie provided $1,153,937.23 in cash at the closing. In fact, Ritchie did not provide any funds to Davis at the closing. As a result of the false statement, Ritchie fraudulently obtained approximately $2,445,102 from a mortgage lender by wire transfer to fund the settlement.
Ritchie faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled his sentencing for January 14, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
In a related case, John L. Davis, age 55, of Chestertown, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud arising from his participation in the scheme, and awaits sentencing. Davis admitted that the loss arising from his participation in the scheme is between $400,000 and $1 million.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_financialfraud.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FHFA - OIG and FDIC – OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin V. DiGregory and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who are prosecuting the case.
Alleged Fraudster Used Social Media as Crime ToolRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - An indictment was unsealed today charging Aaron Dashawn Caple, 23, of Philadelphia, PA, in a fraud scheme involving bad checks and social media. Caple is charged with four counts of bank fraud and 22 counts of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the indictment, Caple used social media services Twitter and Facebook to solicit potential co-schemers to message him if they wanted to make quick cash and had an account at a bank or other financial institution. From those that responded, he obtained their bank ATM cards and PIN numbers and allegedly used that information to deposit bad checks into those accounts and withdraw the funds before the banks and other financial institutions realized that the checks were bad. He also allegedly used the ATM cards and PIN numbers at various stores to purchase goods and obtain cash back prior to the banks discovering that the checks were bad. It is further alleged that Caple paid the account holders a portion of the more than $45,000 he unlawfully obtained as a result of the scheme.
If convicted, defendant Caple faces a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison with a statutory maximum sentence of 144 years, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $9.5 million, and restitution of at least $47,000.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Synthetic Drug Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Sabah Al-Washah, 48, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on “spice” trafficking. Sabah Al-Washah is one of three men arrested in the District of New Mexico in May 2014, as part of Project Synergy Phase II, a nationwide investigative effort by the DEA, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, IRS and other federal, state, and local partners. Project Synergy Phase II targeted every level of the dangerous global synthetic designer drug market. From Jan. 2014 through May 2014, nationwide enforcement operations took place targeting the drug trafficking organizations that have operated in communities across the country.
Sabah Al-Washah and his co-defendants, Iman Al-Washah, 25, and Amjad Al-Washah, 26, also of Albuquerque, were charged with “spice” trafficking charges in criminal complaints. Sabah Al-Washah, the owner of Carlos’ Smoke Shop, was charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance analogue based on a sale of synthetic cannabinoid to an undercover officer at the smoke shop on Jan. 7, 2014. Sabah Al-Washah also was charged with maintaining drug-involved premises. Amjad Al-Washah was charged with distribution of a controlled substance analogue based on his sale of synthetic cannabinoid to an undercover officer at Carlos’ Smoke Shop at 806 Old Coors Drive SW in Albuquerque on Dec. 4, 2013. Iman Al-Washah was charged with conspiracy and distribution of a controlled analogue based on his participation in the sale of synthetic cannabinoid to an undercover officer at Carlos’ Smoke Shop on Jan. 7, 2014.
The three men subsequently were charged in a four-count indictment filed on May 21, 2014. Count 1 charged the three men with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue from Dec. 4, 2013 through May 7, 2014. Count 2 charged Sabah Al-Washah and Amjad Al-Washah with distributing a controlled substance analogue on Dec. 4, 2013. Count 3 charged Sabah Al-Washah and Iman Al-Washah with distributing a controlled substance on Jan. 7, 2014, and Count 4 charged Sabah Al-Washah with maintaining a place, Carlos Smoke Shop, for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using a controlled substance analogue. The indictment also called for the forfeiture of multiple vehicles and cash obtained through the drug offenses charged in the indictment.
On April 28, 2015, Sabah Al-Washah pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment and admitted that Iman Al-Washah and he sold 30 packets of “spice” to an undercover law enforcement officer. In his plea agreement, Sabah Al-Washah agreed to forfeit a 2011 Cadillac, a 2012 Camaro, a 2013 Dodge Viper, a 2008 Lamborghini, a 2004 Dodge Viper, a 2005 Cadillac and a 2011 Camaro.
Amjad Al-Washah pled guilty on Feb. 11, 2015, to Count 2 of the indictment and admitted that on Dec. 4, 2013, he sold ten packets of “spice” to an undercover law enforcement officer for $200.00 at Carlos’ Smoke Shop. At his sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled, Amjad Al-Washah faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by a minimum of three years of supervised release.
Iman Al-Washah pled guilty on April 9, 2015, to Count 3 of the indictment, and admitted that he sold 30 packets of “spice” along with Sabah Al-Washah to an undercover law enforcement officer. Iman Al- Washah was sentenced on July 23, 2015, to three years of probation.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni and Stephen R. Kotz.
The controlled substance analogues charged in the complaints and indictment are commonly referred to as synthetic marijuana or “spice.” According to the DEA, over the past several years, there has been a growing use of synthetic cannabinoids. Smoke-able herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular because they are easily available and, in many cases, more potent and dangerous than marijuana. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. These substances, however, have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human consumption, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process. Synthetic cannabinoids often are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Eight Albuquerque-Area Businesses in Summer 2014Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Rodriguez, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Hobbs Act and firearms laws by robbing eight businesses involved in interstate commerce at gunpoint. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department.
Rodriguez was charged in March 2014, in a four-count indictment alleging that he robbed two Albuquerque-area businesses that were engaged in interstate commerce. It further alleged that Rodriguez brandished firearms during each of the two robberies. Rodriguez was arrested on April 22, 2015, after he was transferred to federal custody from state custody where he was being held on related state charges which were later dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
During today’s proceedings, Rodriguez entered a guilty plea to a nine-count felony information charging him with violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws. The first eight counts of the information charged Rodriguez with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing the following eight businesses between June 2014 and Aug. 2014:
- Papa John’s Pizza on Gibson Blvd. SE in Albuquerque on June 29, 2014;
- Twisters on Gibson Blvd SW in Albuquerque on July 5, 2014;
- Flowers Bakery on Gibson Blvd. SE in Albuquerque on July 14, 2014;
- Pump-N-Save gas station on Menaul Blvd. NE in Albuquerque on July 17, 2014;
- Krispy Kreme on Wyoming Blvd NE in Albuquerque on July 30, 2014;
- M&M Gas Station on Coors Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on Aug. 5, 2014;
- Phillips 66 Gas Station on Coors Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on Aug. 6, 2014;
- Church’s Chicken on Central Ave NW in Albuquerque on Aug. 7, 2014.
The ninth count of the information charged Rodriguez with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, specifically, the robbery of the Church’s Chicken on Aug. 7, 2014. In addition, in his plea agreement, Rodriguez admitted that he used a firearm, which he brandished at employees of the businesses he robbed, during seven of the eight robberies.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Rodriguez will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 36 to 60 months on Counts 1 through 8, the Hobbs Act charges, of the information, and to 84 months on Count 9, the firearms charge. The 84 months must be served consecutive to the sentence imposed on the Hobbs Acts counts for a prison sentence of not less than 120 months and not more than 144 months. Rodriguez has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei 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.
Alaska Resident Pleads Guilty to Drug Dealing, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DuWayne LeDoux, 55, of Kodiak, Alaska, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to structure cash deposits, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, LeDoux enlisted Sacramento resident Jennifer MacDougal to obtain and ship methamphetamine and crack cocaine to LeDoux at various addresses in Kodiak and under various names, so that LeDoux could sell the drugs. LeDoux paid for the drugs by depositing cash into a Wells Fargo account held by MacDougal in amounts designed to avoid bank reporting requirements.
Kodiak, Alaska is on an island off the southern coast of Alaska, with approximately 14,000 residents.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service’s Financial Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Jason Hitt and Jean M. Hobler are prosecuting the case.
Co-defendant MacDougal pleaded guilty in November 2012, and is currently serving a five-year sentence.
LeDoux is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley on January 7, 2016. LeDoux faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Alabama Man’s Minor Role in Heroin Transaction Leads to 18 Month Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
SCRANTON--The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 19-year-old Alabama man was sentenced to 18 months in prison today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton, for playing a minor role in a single heroin transaction in October 2014.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Corey Wortham, of Montgomery, Alabama, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin. Wortham admitted to traveling from Alabama to Luzerne County to participate with others in a heroin transaction on October 11, 2014. Agents arrested Wortham and others after the transaction.
Wortham was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2014, as a result of an investigation by agents of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Kingston Police Department.
Judge Munley ordered Wortham to serve three years on supervised release following his prison sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
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"Purse Man" Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Lassana Nianghane, 52, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by information, filed yesterday, with trafficking in counterfeit goods, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the information, Nianghane, also known as “the Purse Man,” sold counterfeit womens’ designer purses and counterfeit sneakers, among other items, on the sidewalk near Germantown and Chelten Avenues in Philadelphia PA.
According to the information, between September 2011 and June 2014, Nianghane intentionally trafficked in approximately $127,200 worth of goods and used counterfeit marks identical to and substantially indistinguishable from the shape and imprints found on genuine designer purses and sneakers.
If convicted, defendant Nianghane faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $2 million, a $100 special assessment and up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd Miller.
An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
30 September 2015
YMM Gang Members Sentenced to 21-Plus Years in Prison for Drug and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ALFRED COBBINS, age 23, and SHAWN GRACIN, age 22, both residents of New Orleans, were sentenced today for their participation in a drug conspiracy and a conspiracy to possess and use firearms in connection with the drug trafficking activities of a local gang known as the “Young Melph Mafia” or “YMM.”
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced COBBINS to 252 months (21 years) of imprisonment and GRACIN to 270 months (22.5 years) imprisonment. Each defendant was also given 5 years of supervised release following their term of incarceration.
COBBINS and GRACIN were originally charged in a five-count Superseding Indictment with nine other YMM members, who frequented the area of the former Melpomene Housing Project. According to the factual basis filed in open court, COBBINS and GRACIN and other YMM members participated in a wide ranging conspiracy to distribute street level quantities of crack cocaine in Central City and participated in several acts of violence against rival gangs, such as the 110ers. The members of the YMM were associates of the members of the Allen family, who were also indicted and convicted in federal court last year. Three members of the 110ers gang were convicted on January 29, 2015, in Orleans Parish Criminal Court for the Briana Allen shooting.
“This is just another example of how serious the federal government is in helping turn the tide of violence that is occurring in New Orleans,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “These local gangs have caused serious harm to the neighborhoods of this City, and the federal government will continue to work with local authorities to bring these individuals to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in leading this investigation along with members of the NOPD led Multi-Agency Gang Unit (MAG UNIT). As an integral component of NOLA FOR LIFE’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy, the Multi-Agency Gang (MAG) Unit consists of a partnership with New Orleans Police Department (NOPD); Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (DA); Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO); Louisiana State Police (LSP); Parole Board of the Louisiana Department of Corrections; United States Attorney’s Office (USAO); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); United States Marshal’s Service (USMS); and the United States Probation & Parole Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward J. Rivera and Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr. were in charge of the prosecution.
Wisconsin man found guilty of federal drug and Racketeering chargesRead the Press Release
LUFKIN, Texas – A 41-year-old man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been convicted on federal drug and money trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
Henry Korvett Bams, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was found guilty by a jury today after a three day trial before the Honorable Michael H. Schneider. Bams was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine in an amount of five kilograms or more and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering.
Bams and his co-defendant, Frederick Mitchell, were indicted on September 3, 2014. On Sunday, July 6, 2014, Bams and Mitchell were stopped for a traffic violation by the Texas Department of Public Safety while traveling southbound on US Highway 259 in Nacogdoches County, Texas. The officer eventually conducted a search of the vehicle and seized approximately $253,341 in cash and a small quantity of marijuana. Following an arrest on state charges, both men were released when the charges were dismissed. In addition, the Nacogdoches County District Attorney’s office returned all but $100,000 of the seized currency to Bams and Mitchell. On July 22, 2014, Bams and Mitchell were stopped for a traffic violation by Arkansas State Police in Hot Springs County, Arkansas, on Interstate Highway 30. The officer received consent to search the vehicle and discovered approximately ten kilograms of suspected cocaine located inside hidden compartments within the vehicle. Two bank deposit slips were also discovered within the vehicle. On Aug. 1, 2014, agents with the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a seizure warrant on the bank account referenced in the deposit slips and seized approximately $135,015.14 in drug proceeds.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to the charges on January 7, 2015 and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 84 months on April 9, 2015.
Bams faces a minimum of 10 years to life in federal prison for the drug distribution violation and up to five years for the interstate transportation in aid of racketeering violation. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Milwaukee, Wisconsin District Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Texas Department of Public Safety, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Baylor Wortham and Lauren Gaston.
Winston-Salem Man Sentenced for Firearms ViolationRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a felon, announced United States Attorney Ripley Rand.
Xavier Pierre Walker, 44, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Walker was sentenced on September 29, 2015, by United States District Judge Catherine C. Eagles, to 180 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release and a special assessment of $100.00.
Walker was arrested on June 1, 2014, in Chatham County on state charges. At that time, Walker possessed two firearms, in violation of federal of federal law.
This case was investigated by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. DeFranco.
Docket Number 1:15CR117
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Wilmington Man Sentenced for Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced ADREAN LAMONT JONES, 29, of Wilmington, to 90 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release. On June 1, 2015 JONES pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of Phencyclidine (PCP) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on June 3, 2014.
According to the investigation, a deputy with the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office attempted to make a traffic stop after observing a vehicle on I-40 operated by JONES swerving back and forth across the center line. After deputies successfully forced JONES to stop, JONES refused to exit his vehicle. It was later revealed that JONES was under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP), a Schedule II controlled substance. In the vehicle, law enforcement located a loaded handgun and PCP.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted the case for the government.