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29 September 2015
Man Sentenced for Wilson PNC Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced ROBERT EARL MAYS, 58, from the District of Columbia, to 125 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. On July 6, 2015 a federal jury convicted MAYS and PARIS CORDAVA WILLIAMS of bank robbery and aiding and abetting. WILLIAMS also was found guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon. Prior to trial, on June 29, 2015, a third defendant RICKY FRANKS pled guilty to bank robbery; aiding and abetting and felon in possession of a firearm. WILLIAMS and FRANKS are scheduled for sentencing for the November 2, 2015, term of court.
According to the investigation, MAYS, WILLIAMS, and FRANKS were traveling in a car rented by FRANKS from the District of Columbia. On November 13, 2014, close to closing time, WILLIAMS and FRANKS entered the PNC Bank located at 3401 Raleigh Road Parkway in Wilson, North Carolina and robbed it. FRANKS vaulted the teller counter and took approximately $1,579.00 in United States currency from a teller’s drawer. When FRANKS grabbed the money, he also grabbed the GPS tracking device. FRANKS and WILLIAMS hid with the money and tracking device in the trunk of the rental car. MAYS drove the car a short distance away. The Wilson Police Department was alerted of the robbery and also notified that the moving tracking device became stationary on Raleigh Road. After a systematic search of cars in a stopped line of traffic near the bank, by Wilson Police Department officers, officers located FRANKS and WILLIAMS in the car’s trunk with the bag of money, GPS tracker and a firearm.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Wilson Police Department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also assisted. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Katherine Burnette and Carrie D. Randa represented the government.
Madison County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that James L. Wagner, 49, of Madison County, Illinois, pled guilty to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. At sentencing, Wagner faces a minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison, a $10 million fine, not less than 5 years’ supervised release, and a special assessment of $100.00.
Information leading to the charge against Wagner was obtaining in an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois. This case is being handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Vanessa T. Lu.
Louisiana Resident Sentenced for Involvement in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A resident of Hammond, Louisiana, was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana announced today.
Corey Lewis, aka Coco, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 75 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Zainey set a later date for ordering restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lewis pleaded guilty on June 23 to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and theft of public money.
According to court documents, Lewis and his co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Lewis and others falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren M. Castaldi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Lawrence Man Sentenced to 16+ Years in Marijuana Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Lawrence man was sentenced Tuesday to 201 months in federal prison in a marijuana trafficking case. He also was sentenced to a consecutive 30 months on a supervised release violation in a prior case.
Roosevelt Rico Dahda, 33, Lawrence, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial in July 2014 on conspiracy (count 1), using a telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking (counts 42, 45, 53, 55, 70) possession with intent to distribute marijuana (counts 43, 49, 73) possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Holcomb Sports Complex in Lawrence (count 56).
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence Dahda was a member of a drug trafficking organization that was responsible distributing $16.9 million worth of marijuana in the Lawrence area. Starting in 2008 law enforcement agencies began receiving information that Dahda’s brother and co-defendant, Los Rovell Dahda, was distributing marijuana in the Lawrence area. When Roosevelt Dahda was released from prison in November 2010 in a prior case, he joined his brother in the trafficking organization.
The Dahdas used a business they owned in Lawrence, Gran-Daddy’s BBQ at 1447 West 23rd Street, as well as other properties to receive, store and process marijuana for distribution.
The Dahdas bought marijuana from suppliers in California for $1,800 a pound to $2,800 a pound and sold it in the Lawrence for $3,500 to $4,800 a pound. It is estimated the traffickers distributed more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana from 2005 to 2012.
Co-defendant Los Rovell Dahda is awaiting sentencing.
Agencies involved in the investigation and the arrest of defendants include the Douglas County Sheriff=s Office, the Johnson County Sheriff=s Office, the Lawrence Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff=s Drug Task Force, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Lenexa Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Hayward, Calif., Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Kenyan child pornography producer sentenced to life in prison for participation in Dreamboard child sexual exploitation websiteRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced that a Kenyan child pornography producer was sentenced late yesterday to life in prison for participating in the Dreamboard child sexual exploitation website.
Brian Musomba Maweu, 52, who was extradited from Kenya to the United States in September 2014, pleaded guilty in April 2015 before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. In addition to serving life in prison, Judge Hicks ordered that Maweu will be required to register as a sex offender.
In connection with his guilty plea, Maweu admitted that, while using the online alias “Catfish,” he posted 121 messages on the Dreamboard website – a private, members-only online bulletin board that promoted pedophilia and encouraged the sexual abuse and exploitation of very young children in an environment designed to avoid detection by law enforcement – including 34 posts containing child pornography that he produced. Maweu was considered a “Super VIP” member of Dreamboard, a designation that was given to members who were prominent on the site and produced their own child pornography.
This defendant, and people like him, who advertise, participate, distribute or exploit children to access child pornography work hard to evade law enforcement and disguise what they are doing,” said U.S. Attorney Finley. “Their sole purpose is to view children hurting for their own sexual satisfaction. We want them to know, that like Mr. Maweu, they will face serious consequences for their actions. Our office will continue to vigorously prosecute this type of criminal activity to the fullest extent of the law. We want the community to know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice, along with our federal, state and local partners, are committed to protecting children from these vile criminals.”
The prosecution of Maweu was the result of Operation Delego, an investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. A total of 72 individuals, including Maweu, were charged as a result of Operation Delego. To date, 57 of those defendants have been arrested either in the United States or abroad, and 49 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial. Sentences have ranged between five years to life in prison.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Child Exploitation Section of ICE’s Cyber Crime Center, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit, and 35 ICE offices in the United States and 11 ICE attaches offices in 13 countries around the world, with assistance provided by numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and throughout the world.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Michael O’Mara of the Western District of Louisiana, and Trial Attorney Keith Becker of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Kenyan Child Pornography Producer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Participation in Dreamboard WebsiteRead the Press Release
A Kenyan child pornography producer was sentenced late yesterday to life in prison for participating in the Dreamboard child sexual exploitation website, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana.
Brian Musomba Maweu, 52, who was extradited from Kenya to the United States in September 2014, pleaded guilty in April 2015 before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. In addition to serving the prison term, Maweu will be required to register as a sex offender.
In connection with his guilty plea, Maweu admitted that, using the online alias “Catfish,” he posted 121 messages on the Dreamboard website – a private, members-only online bulletin board that promoted pedophilia and encouraged the sexual abuse and exploitation of very young children in an environment designed to avoid detection by law enforcement – including 34 posts containing child pornography that he produced. Maweu was considered a “Super VIP” member of Dreamboard, a designation that was given to members who were prominent on the site and produced their own child pornography.
The prosecution of Maweu was the result of Operation Delego, an investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. A total of 72 individuals, including Maweu, were charged as a result of Operation Delego. To date, 57 of those defendants have been arrested either in the United States or abroad, and 49 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial. Sentences have ranged between five years to life in prison.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Child Exploitation Section of ICE’s Cyber Crime Center, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit, and 35 ICE offices in the United States and 11 ICE attaches offices in 13 countries around the world, with assistance provided by numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and throughout the world.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Keith Becker of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Michael O’Mara of the Western District of Louisiana. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Kalamazoo Security Company Owner, Michael Downey, Sentenced to 27 Years for Child Pornography and Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Former security company owner Michael Downey, 45, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was sentenced today to 27 years in federal prison for child pornography and illegal firearm charges, announced U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. Downey received 18 years for the child pornography count and 9 years for the firearm count, which will be served consecutively. Downey pled guilty in March 2015 to attempting to receive child pornography over the internet through live streaming videos and illegally possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle. After the 27-year term of imprisonment, Downey will serve 10 years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender wherever he works or lives.
Downey admitted engaging in online chats with people overseas to solicit children as young as eight years old for live sex shows. Homeland Security Investigations identified Downey after a couple in the Philippines was arrested for selling live sex shows of children to people online. Philippine authorities raided the couple’s home and rescued two children who were being used for child pornography. A search warrant on the couple’s email revealed that Downey was corresponding with them and that they were sending him child pornography by email. A search warrant on Downey’s email discovered chats between him and numerous other people between February 2012 and August 2013 where he offered to pay to see live videos of people sexually abusing children.
When Homeland Security Investigations conducted a search warrant on Downey’s residence in Kalamazoo, Michigan, they found unregistered and illegal firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) seized the firearms, resulting in three charges for possession of the unregistered short-barreled rifle and an unregistered silencer with no serial markings. Downey was released on bond on conditions including no computers and no firearms. While Downey was on bond, ATF discovered additional firearms hidden in his home after he offered to sell one of them to a friend, and Downey’s bond was revoked.
“The participation of the defendant in these chatroom conversations in which he was seeking youngsters to perform some sexual conduct and paying for it is the basest form of abuse,” said U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney in announcing the sentence. “Individuals like Mr. Downy create the market for this filth,” he continued, and “the word needs to get out” about the seriousness with which Congress and the courts view these “abhorrent” crimes.
“The internet has dramatically increased the reach of child predators, who believe they are operating anonymously,” stated U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. “However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal investigative partners will continue working to expose and prosecute these perpetrators and rescue children.”
“This case is another disturbing example of how some child predators believe they can evade detection and prosecution by sexually exploiting minors on the internet overseas,” said Marlon V. Miller, special agent in charge of Homeland Security (HSI) Detroit. “Child predators are mistaken if they believe they can hide behind a computer screen and keyboard to commit sex crimes against children. HSI has highly trained, computer savvy special agents with the expertise and technology to find them and bring them to justice.”
“ATF has always been very active within our statutory jurisdiction to follow the gun, which, in this case, led to a heinous investigation involving crimes again children,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge S. Robin Shoemaker. “Crimes such as this against our children cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa K. Hessmiller prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office; county prosecutor’s offices; and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, visit: http://www.justice.gov/usao/miw/programs/psc.html.
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Justice Department Sues Gates-Chili School District for Violating the Service Animal Requirements of the AdaRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department filed today a lawsuit against a public elementary school for refusing to permit a student with disabilities to attend school with a service dog unless accompanied by a separate handler provided by the student’s family. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rochester, New York, alleges that the Gates-Chili Central School District violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).This case involves a student whose service dog performs numerous tasks directly related to the student’s disabilities including alerting to oncoming seizures, preventing her from wandering or running away, and providing mobility support so she can walk independently. Due to her disabilities, the student needs periodic assistance during the school day in handling her service dog – primarily, tethering the dog and issuing limited verbal commands. Despite repeated requests, the district has refused to permit the student’s 1:1 aide – already provided by the district to assist with the student’s instruction and other needs during the school day due to her disabilities – or other staff to provide the student with this assistance.
“Individuals with disabilities are entitled to choose the manner in which they manage their disabilities so that they may live their lives with independence and autonomy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Honoring an individual’s choice to be accompanied by her service animal in all aspects of community life, including at school, promotes the ADA’s overarching goals of ensuring equal opportunity for, and full participation by, persons with disabilities.”
“It is no longer acceptable – if ever it was – for a district to refuse reasonable modifications to a child who seeks to handle her own service dog,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York. “Certainly since passage of the American with Disabilities Act in 1990, such failure not only violates the dictates of conscience, it also violates the law. This office will simply not tolerate any discrimination against any person of any age who may happen to be affected by disabilities.”
Title II of the ADA mandates that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. The service animal provisions of the Title II regulation are a specific application of the regulation’s reasonable modifications requirement and provide that, generally, a public entity must modify its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability, subject to specific, enumerated exceptions.
The department’s complaint seeks to make the student and her parent whole, by requesting a declaratory judgment that the district violated the ADA; an order requiring the district to permit the student to act as the handler of her service dog with assistance from school staff; and compensatory damages for the student and her parent.
Individuals interested in finding out more about the ADA or this lawsuit may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov. Complaints of disability discrimination may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.
Justice Department Sues Gates-Chili Central School District for Violating the Service Animal Requirements of the ADARead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed today a lawsuit against a public elementary school for refusing to permit a student with disabilities to attend school with a service dog unless accompanied by a separate handler provided by the student’s family. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rochester, New York, alleges that the Gates-Chili Central School District violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
This case involves a student whose service dog performs numerous tasks directly related to the student’s disabilities including alerting to oncoming seizures, preventing her from wandering or running away, and providing mobility support so she can walk independently. Due to her disabilities, the student needs periodic assistance during the school day in handling her service dog – primarily, tethering the dog and issuing limited verbal commands. Despite repeated requests, the district has refused to permit the student’s 1:1 aide – already provided by the district to assist with the student’s instruction and other needs during the school day due to her disabilities – or other staff to provide the student with this assistance.
“Individuals with disabilities are entitled to choose the manner in which they manage their disabilities so that they may live their lives with independence and autonomy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Honoring an individual’s choice to be accompanied by her service animal in all aspects of community life, including at school, promotes the ADA’s overarching goals of ensuring equal opportunity for, and full participation by, persons with disabilities.”
“It is no longer acceptable – if ever it was – for a district to refuse reasonable modifications to a child who seeks to handle her own service dog,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York. “Certainly since passage of the American with Disabilities Act in 1990, such failure not only violates the dictates of conscience, it also violates the law. This office will simply not tolerate any discrimination against any person of any age who may happen to be affected by disabilities.”
Title II of the ADA mandates that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. The service animal provisions of the Title II regulation are a specific application of the regulation’s reasonable modifications requirement and provide that, generally, a public entity must modify its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability, subject to specific, enumerated exceptions.
The department’s complaint seeks to make the student and her parent whole, by requesting a declaratory judgment that the district violated the ADA; an order requiring the district to permit the student to act as the handler of her service dog with assistance from school staff; and compensatory damages for the student and her parent.
Individuals interested in finding out more about the ADA or this lawsuit may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov. Complaints of disability discrimination may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.
Justice Department Requires Cox Automotive to Divest Inventory Management Solution in Order to Complete Acquisition of DealertrackRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Cox Automotive Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., to divest Dealertrack Technologies Inc.’s automobile dealership full-featured inventory management solution (IMS) business in order for Cox to acquire Dealertrack through an approximately $4 billion tender offer.
The department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.
“Cox’s proposed acquisition of Dealertrack would have allowed Cox to become the dominant inventory management solution provider in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division. “The divestiture will ensure that automotive dealerships in the United States continue to benefit from the competition that now exists among inventory management solution providers.”
According to the department’s complaint, Cox and Dealertrack are the two leading IMS providers. Cox’s acquisition of Dealertrack would increase Cox’s market share from 60 percent to 86 percent. Inventory management solutions use algorithms and sophisticated analytics to assist automotive dealerships in managing their vehicle inventories. They are used most frequently by large franchised and independent dealerships, which are more dependent on robust, automated solutions to manage their businesses. The elimination of competition between Cox and Dealertrack would likely result in higher prices and lower quality for automotive dealerships that use this technology.
The proposed consent decree, which requires Cox to divest Dealertrack’s IMS business to DealerSocket Inc., or to another buyer approved by the United States, remedies the loss of competition in the IMS market. The proposed consent decree also requires Cox to enable the continuing exchange of data and content between the divested IMS business and other data sources, internet sites and automotive solutions that Cox will control. Additionally, Cox must undertake various obligations to prevent Cox from using Dealertrack’s interest in Chrome Data Solutions LP, a company that compiles and licenses vehicle information data for use in inventory systems and other automated solutions and services for the automotive industry.
Cox Enterprises Inc. and its subsidiary Cox Automotive Inc. are privately-held Delaware corporations with their headquarters in Atlanta. Cox sells a diverse portfolio of leading automated solutions and services for automotive dealers and consumers, including vAuto, an IMS. Cox’s total annual automotive revenue in 2014 was about $4.9 billion, of which it’s U.S. IMS revenue was a small part.
Dealertrack is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Lake Success, New York. Dealertrack sells a variety of automated solutions and services for automotive dealers, including Inventory+, an IMS that combines the functionality from two IMSs that Dealertrack acquired – AAX and eCarList. Dealertrack’s total annual net revenue in 2014 was about $854 million, of which it’s U.S. IMS revenue was a small part.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to James J. Tierney, Chief, Networks & Technology Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street N.W., Suite 7100, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Cox Complaint (205.74 KB)
Cox Hold Separate & PFJ (186.8 KB)
Cox CIS (188.69 KB)
Cox Explanation (48.19 KB)
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Eagle Bank and Trust Company to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination in St. LouisRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a consent order today to resolve allegations that Eagle Bank and Trust Company (Eagle Bank) engaged in a pattern or practice of “redlining” predominantly African-American neighborhoods in and around St. Louis. “Redlining” is the discriminatory practice by banks or other financial institutions to deny or avoid providing credit services to a consumer because of the racial demographics of the neighborhood in which the consumer lives. This is the second redlining settlement that the department has announced in the past week.
As a result of the settlement, Eagle Bank will open two new locations to serve the residents of African American neighborhoods in northern St. Louis. The bank will also invest at least $975,000 to provide banking and borrowing opportunities to residents and businesses in those areas. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The complaint alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which prohibit financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race and color in their mortgage lending practices.
“The Department of Justice is committed to holding banks accountable for their role in continuing historic trends of residential segregation,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “The practice of redlining violates our laws and harms our communities. We commend Eagle Bank for becoming part of the positive change that must come to the African American neighborhoods in St. Louis. The community partnerships and lending programs that are part of our settlement will bring much-needed investment to communities in northern St. Louis.”
Under the settlement, Eagle Bank will invest $800,000 in a special financing program to increase the amount of credit the bank extends to majority African American areas in the Missouri portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, spend $75,000 for consumer education and credit repair programs, and spend $100,000 for outreach to potential customers and promotion of their products and services. Eagle Bank will also open two locations to serve predominantly African American areas within the Missouri portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, and will conduct fair lending training for its employees. The agreement prohibits Eagle Bank from discriminating on the basis of race or color in any aspect of a residential real estate-related or credit transaction.
The lawsuit originated from information gathered by the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunities Council and provided to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC conducted an investigation and referred this matter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The department’s enforcement of fair lending laws and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. Since 2010, the Civil Rights Division has provided approximately $1.3 billion in monetary relief for individual borrowers and impacted communities through its enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, ECOA and the SCRA. The Attorney General’s annual reports to Congress on ECOA enforcement highlight the department’s accomplishments in fair lending and are available at www.justice.gov/crt/publications/.
The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri and the FDIC are members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.
A copy of the complaint, as well as additional information about the department’s fair lending enforcement, can be obtained on the department’s website at http://www.justice.gov/fairhousing.
Hospital Agrees to $4 Million Settlement of Voluntary DisclosuresRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – The United States announced today that it has settled claims under the False Claims Act with St. Francis Hospital for improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid for patients admitted into its inpatient rehabilitation unit in Wilmington, Delaware between 2007 and 2010, when admission was not medically necessary and/or the services provided did not fully qualify for reimbursement. St. Francis closed the inpatient rehabilitation unit in early 2011. The settlement agreement also resolves separate allegations that St. Francis employed an individual who was excluded from participating in any Federal health care programs.
After it discovered the issues, St. Francis took corrective action to resolve the improper payments, and voluntarily disclosed the issues to the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. St. Francis has agreed to pay $4,081,816.00 to the United States and $199,894.00 to the State of Delaware to resolve the matter.
“This resolution is an example of how voluntary self-disclosure benefits both the government and providers who report potential fraud and compliance problems,” said Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware. “The government was able to recover monetary damages for compliance issues that might not have been revealed without St. Francis’ self-disclosure, and St. Francis can move forward without concern about lingering liabilities related to this conduct.”
This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Hall and Shannon Hanson, Deputy Attorney General Tiphanie Miller of the State of Delaware Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Lisa Veigel, an attorney with the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.
Hazleton Man Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Federal Heroin Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Hazleton man pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Wilkes-Barre before Senior United States District Judge A. Richard Caputo, to a federal heroin trafficking charge and was then sentenced to prison.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Adam Castro, age 28, of Hazleton, admitted to the charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
The charge arose after investigators made purchases of heroin from Castro and, on January 21, 2015, obtained a search warrant for a residence located on West Elm Street in Hazleton where Castro was staying. As a result of that search, investigators seized approximately 1,050 bags of heroin, drug packaging materials and United States currency.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hazleton Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police.
In addition to the prison term, Senior Judge Caputo also ordered that Castro be supervised by a probation officer for three years following his release from prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.
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Hammond Resident Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Stolen Identity Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A resident of Hammond, Louisiana, was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his involvement in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana announced today.
Corey Lewis, a/k/a “Coco,” 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve 75 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Zainey set a later date for ordering restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lewis pleaded guilty on June 23rd to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and theft of public money.
According to court documents, Lewis and his co-defendants conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns using stolen identities, including the victims’ names and social security numbers, to claim large tax refunds. The refund checks were mailed to addresses in Louisiana, including post office boxes that were opened by the co-conspirators. Once the checks were received, Lewis and others falsely endorsed and deposited the refund checks into bank accounts under their control. The co-conspirators then divided the proceeds of the refund checks amongst themselves.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Polite commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Dall Kammer of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Lauren M. Castaldi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Guardian Industries Corp. to Cut Harmful Air Pollution at Flat Glass Manufacturing Plants in Seven StatesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. that will resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Under the proposed settlement, Guardian will invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its flat glass manufacturing facilities. Guardian will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000.
“This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are also particularly grateful to the states of Iowa and New York, as well as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, all of whom were active partners in achieving this important outcome for the American people.”
“Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities.”
“We applaud Guardian Industries, who today became an industry leader by committing to a substantial investment to reduce emissions of air pollutants that are harmful to human lungs,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. “This agreement strikes the appropriate balance between promoting manufacturing and protecting the clean air that is essential to public health and Michigan’s future.”
Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Guardian violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control plans when it made major modifications to its flat glass furnaces that significantly increased harmful air emissions. This settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing National Enforcement Initiative addressing Clean Air Act New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration program violations and is the agency’s first settlement involving the flat glass manufacturing sector. Flat glass, also known as float glass, is used as windows for office buildings and homes as well as for automobile windshields.
The $150,000 mitigation project with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District will provide incentives to low-income residents living in the San Joaquin Valley to replace or retrofit inefficient, higher-polluting wood-burning appliances with cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient appliances. The San Joaquin Valley is an area with poor air quality.
EPA expects that the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by 7,300 tons per year, including approximately 6,400 tons per year of NOx, 550 tons per year of SO2, 200 tons per year of PM and 140 tons of H2SO4. The mitigation project in California will yield additional reductions of PM. These emissions reductions will result in significant human health and environmental benefits for communities. Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities are located in Kingsburg, California, DeWitt, Iowa, Carleton, Michigan, Geneva, New York, Floreffe, Pennsylvania, Richburg, South Carolina, and Corsicana, Texas.
SO2 and NOX have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. Once airborne, these pollutants can also convert into particulate matter. PM, especially the fine particles, can travel deep into a person’s lungs causing severe respiratory impacts, such as coughing, decreased lung function, and chronic bronchitis. Fine PM is also associated with cardiovascular impacts and even premature death. H2SO4 irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat and lungs, and exposure to high concentrations can lead to more severe health impacts.
The states of Iowa and New York actively participated in the settlement and will each receive $78,000 of the total penalty. The United States will receive $156,000. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also actively participated in the settlement.
“New Yorkers’ health, environment, and economy depend on clean air,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “This settlement will ensure that the Guardian facility in Geneva operates in full compliance with air pollution laws. It will also significantly cut emissions from the facility, providing a breath of fresh air to New Yorkers living in the Finger Lakes region.”
The proposed consent decree was lodged today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
For more information on the settlement and to read the proposed settlement, visit http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/guardian-industries-corp-clean-air-act-settlement.
For more information on the settlement or to read a copy of the consent decree, visit
http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.Guardian Industries Corp. to Cut Harmful Air Pollution at Flat Glass Manufacturing Plants in Seven StatesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. that will resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Under the proposed settlement, Guardian will invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its flat glass manufacturing facilities. Guardian will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000.“This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are also particularly grateful to the states of Iowa and New York, as well as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, all of whom were active partners in achieving this important outcome for the American people.”
“Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities.”
“We applaud Guardian Industries, who today became an industry leader by committing to a substantial investment to reduce emissions of air pollutants that are harmful to human lungs,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. “This agreement strikes the appropriate balance between promoting manufacturing and protecting the clean air that is essential to public health and Michigan’s future.”
“The day has long passed when profits by corporate polluters take priority over the health and safety of workers and communities,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. for the Western District of New York. “Thanks to today’s settlement, Guardian Industries will make necessary investments which will give workers, neighbors and the company itself the best chance to thrive in both the short and long term.”
Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Guardian violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control plans when it made major modifications to its flat glass furnaces that significantly increased harmful air emissions. This settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing National Enforcement Initiative addressing Clean Air Act New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration program violations and is the agency’s first settlement involving the flat glass manufacturing sector. Flat glass, also known as float glass, is used as windows for office buildings and homes as well as for automobile windshields.
The $150,000 mitigation project with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District will provide incentives to low-income residents living in the San Joaquin Valley to replace or retrofit inefficient, higher-polluting wood-burning appliances with cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient appliances. The San Joaquin Valley is an area with poor air quality.
EPA expects that the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by 7,300 tons per year, including approximately 6,400 tons per year of NOx, 550 tons per year of SO2, 200 tons per year of PM and 140 tons of H2SO4. The mitigation project in California will yield additional reductions of PM. These emissions reductions will result in significant human health and environmental benefits for communities. Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities are located in Kingsburg, California, DeWitt, Iowa, Carleton, Michigan, Geneva, New York, Floreffe, Pennsylvania, Richburg, South Carolina, and Corsicana, Texas.
SO2 and NOX have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. Once airborne, these pollutants can also convert into particulate matter. PM, especially the fine particles, can travel deep into a person’s lungs causing severe respiratory impacts, such as coughing, decreased lung function, and chronic bronchitis. Fine PM is also associated with cardiovascular impacts and even premature death. H2SO4 irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat and lungs, and exposure to high concentrations can lead to more severe health impacts.
The states of Iowa and New York actively participated in the settlement and will each receive $78,000 of the total penalty. The United States will receive $156,000. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also actively participated in the settlement.
“New Yorkers’ health, environment, and economy depend on clean air,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “This settlement will ensure that the Guardian facility in Geneva operates in full compliance with air pollution laws. It will also significantly cut emissions from the facility, providing a breath of fresh air to New Yorkers living in the Finger Lakes region.”
The proposed consent decree was lodged today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
For more information on the settlement and to read the proposed settlement, visit http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/guardian-industries-corp-clean-air-act-settlement.
For more information on the settlement or to read a copy of the consent decree, visit http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Glocester Resident Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Kevin Lewis, 40, of Glocester, R.I., pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to manufacturing methamphetamine (meth), announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Glocester Police Chief Joseph S. Delprete and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division.
According to court documents, on July 28, 2015, a Glocester patrol officer stopped a vehicle being driven by Lewis, knowing that an active arrest warrant for Lewis had been issued by the Rhode Island Family Court. During the traffic stop, the officer saw on the back seat of the vehicle materials he recognized as items used in the production of meth. The officer also detected a strong odor of acetone, which is associated with the production of meth.
After placing Lewis in custody on the arrest warrant, police requested of Lewis’ wife, who was a passenger in the vehicle, that she drive the vehicle to the Glocester Police Department while under police supervision. A subsequent search of Lewis’ vehicle at the Glocester police station by members of the Glocester Police Department, the R.I. DEA Drug Task Force and the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Tactical Team resulted in the discovery and seizure from the trunk of the vehicle a batch of meth in the process of being produced. Also seized were three hydrochloric acid gas generators used in the production of meth, a completed one-pot meth cook and additional items used in the production of meth.
Glocester Police and members of the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Tactical Team also conducted a court authorized search of a vehicle parked behind Lewis’ Glocester residence where they discovered numerous items used in the manufacture of meth.
Lewis, who has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on July 28, 2015, will be sentenced on a date yet to be determined by the court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Georgia and Florida Residents Charged in Stolen Mail SchemeRead the Press Release
Two men have been separately charged with possession of mail that had been stolen from various condominium complexes throughout Broward County, Florida.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.
Anthony Bouquette, 24, of Valdosta, Georgia, was charged by indictment with four counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. James Mathurin, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged by information with two counts of possession of stolen mail, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1708 and 2. If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison.
According to information contained in the court records, from February through September 2011, the defendants possessed mail that had been stolen from various apartment complexes in Broward County, including locations in Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Sunrise and Wilton Manors. The defendants and other individuals possessed checks that had been made out to businesses and stolen from the condominium complex mail receptacles. The defendants separately deposited the stolen checks into accounts at local banks. The defendants’ unauthorized conduct caused both the check writer and the intended business recipient to sustain a financial loss.
Mathurin is scheduled to have his initial appearance on October 7, 2015 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer and is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on October 8, 2015 in front of U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. Bouquette’s initial appearance date has not yet been scheduled.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.
An indictment or information is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Gang Member to Federal Prison for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who distributed crack cocaine for nearly a decade was sentenced today to more than twenty years in federal prison.
Albert Allen, Jr., 30, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base, a/k/a crack cocaine. At the guilty plea, Allen admitted he and his co-conspirators agreed to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine. At sentencing, Allen was found to be a leader of an organization responsible for distributing more than two kilograms of crack cocaine in the Cedar Rapids area since 2002.
Allen was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Allen was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Allen’s sentence was ordered to run consecutive to a previously imposed 60-year sentence, which followed his conviction for First Degree Murder in Cook County, Illinois. As a condition of his supervised release, Allen was ordered to have no association with other gang members.
Allen 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 Justin Lightfoot and investigated by a joint effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force. The DEA Task Force consists of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City
Police Department; the Clinton Police Department; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, High Risk Unit (HRU); and the Iowa National Guard. The FBI Safe Streets Task Force consists of the FBI; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, High Risk Unit (HRU).
Court file information available https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 13-66.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Fort Thompson Man Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding A Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man convicted of Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on September 28, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Tony O. St. John, a/k/a Anthony St. John, age 26, was sentenced to 17 months in custody, followed by 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
St. John was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 15, 2014. He pled guilty on July 6, 2015.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on September 30, 2014, when a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer was called to the Lodestar Casino in Fort Thompson, due to a report of an unknown male attempting to get the keys of a vehicle from a female patron of the casino. The officer arrived at the casino and spoke with the patron, who advised that as she was walking to her vehicle in the casino parking lot, she unlocked the door with her remote control. As she approached her vehicle, the man walked up to her and demanded that she give him the keys to her vehicle. She locked the doors again and walked quickly back into the casino and notified security.
As the officer was talking with the woman, others in the casino advised him that the man was back in the parking lot. The officer approached the man, identified as St. John, and directed him to walk towards the officer. St. John did not comply and took off running. Another BIA officer came to assist and both officers attempted to stop St. John, who continued to run and not follow commands. The second officer and St. John struggled on the ground, as the first officer attempted to get St. John in handcuffs. At this time, St. John kicked the second officer in the face, while the first officer was still attempting to place a resistant St. John in handcuffs. St. John then reached for the second officer’s gun in his holster, and was maced by the first officer with limited effect. As the first officer was trying to get the handcuffs on St. John, he pulled that officer’s hand, causing his thumb and finger to bend backwards. The officers were finally able to place handcuffs on St. John, who continued to struggle as they walked him to the car. Both officers received medical treatment and were employed as BIA officers and on duty at the time of the assault.
This case was investigated by the BIA, Crow Creek Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
St. John was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Former Obion County Jailer, Inmate Indicted for Smuggling MarijuanaRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – A former Obion County Jail correctional officer, a jail inmate, and the inmate’s girlfriend have all been indicted on federal drug charges. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the indictment today.
According to the indictment, from February 2015 until June 2015, Markia Patton, 30; Cara Bing, 34; and Shalyndrea Williams, 25, conspired with each other to smuggle and distribute marijuana inside Obion County Jail.
Patton, an inmate at the Obion County Jail, had his girlfriend, Williams, bring marijuana into the jail. From there, Bing, a correctional officer at the time, would retrieve the marijuana, smuggle it inside the jail, and distribute it to Patton.
According to information presented in court, agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) were informed that Patton was having marijuana brought into the jail. The investigation also revealed that Bing was aiding Patton in the criminal offense.
Based on the aforementioned information, surveillance was set up on the entrance to the women’s restroom in the lobby of the facility. In June 2015, agents discovered more than 30 grams of marijuana in the trash can of the restroom. Williams was allegedly directed by Patton to bring the drugs into the restroom.
Williams allegedly dropped off drugs and tobacco in the facility’s women’s restroom on at least six occasions for Patton, according to court information. Bing was paid several hundred dollars to retrieve and deliver the smuggled drugs to Patton.
All three defendants have been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana. They each have also been charged with one count of aiding and abetting, distributing, attempting to distribute, and possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana.
If convicted, the defendants face individual sentences of up to five years imprisonment. They also face individual fines of up to $250,000.
This case’s investigation was led by TBI. The Obion County Sheriff’s Department and 27th Judicial District Drug Task Force assisted with the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Boswell.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Florida Man Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 77 Months in Prison for Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that STEVEN STALTARE was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 77 months in prison for defrauding investors in connection with two fraudulent investment schemes. STALTARE’s first scheme involved fraud in connection with the transfer of stock in Dematco, Inc. (“Dematco”). STALTARE’s second scheme involved defrauding investors in connection with investments in various stocks, including Dematco, Preventia, Inc. (“Preventia”), First Choice Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (“First Choice”), and Savtira Corporation (“Savtira”). STALTARE admitted to misleading investors in both schemes through numerous false statements and misrepresentations, as well as by misappropriating investment funds for his own personal use. STALTARE pled guilty on December 2, 2014, and was sentenced today by United States District Judge George B. Daniels.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Steven Staltare offered investors bogus investment opportunities, knowing that it was a shell game in which he pocketed over $800,000 of investors’ money. Thanks to the efforts of the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Staltare will now begin to pay the price for his scheme to defraud innocent investors.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made during court proceedings:
First, from at least in or about 2011 through in or about 2012, STALTARE defrauded two investors (“Victim-1” and “Victim-2”) in connection with the transfer of shares of Dematco stock. In or about late 2011, STALTARE approached Victim-1 and asked Victim-1 to transfer hundreds of thousands of shares of Dematco stock that Victim-1 owned to a “partner” of STALTARE’s in exchange for $70,000 in cash. Victim-1 agreed to turn over his shares in Dematco in exchange for $70,000. At approximately the same time, STALTARE and another individual (“Partner-1”) approached Victim-2 and asked Victim-2 to loan them approximately $150,000 so that STALTARE could purchase shares of Dematco stock. STALTARE and Partner-1 promised Victim-2 that he would be paid $200,000 in three weeks and that Victim-2 would receive approximately one-third of the profits from the eventual sale of Dematco stock. Victim-2 was also promised that he would receive Dematco stock certificates as collateral for this loan. Based upon these representations, Victim-2 agreed to make this $150,000 loan to STALTARE and Partner-1. After Victim-2 made this loan, STALTARE provided Victim-2 with stock certificates that had been provided to STALTARE by Victim-1. Ultimately, STALTARE did not provide Victim-1 with the $70,000 that he had promised to pay in exchange for Victim-1’s shares of Dematco nor did STALTARE provide Victim-2 with any repayment for the $150,000 loan or any profits from any sale of Dematco stock. In reality, STALTARE transferred Victim-1’s shares in Dematco to Victim-2 without compensating Victim-1 and misappropriated the funds provided by Victim-2 for STALTARE’s own personal benefit.
Second, from at least in or about 2012 through in or about 2013, STALTARE defrauded two other investors (“Victim-3” and “Victim-4”) by misappropriating funds intended for investment in the stock of various companies. STALTARE agreed to invest approximately $25,000 for Victim-3 in Preventia stock, promising significant investment returns. STALTARE also agreed to invest approximately $357,000 for Victim-4 in various securities, including stock in Dematco, Preventia, First Choice and Savtira, again promising significant investment returns. However, once Victim-3 and Victim-4 provided STALTARE with the funds to invest in these stocks, rather than investing these funds in stocks on behalf of Victim-3 and Victim-4 as promised, STALTARE misappropriated these funds for his own personal benefit.
In the course of effectuating these fraudulent schemes, STALTARE defrauded victims in excess of $800,000.
* * *
In addition to the prison sentence, STALTARE, 50, of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $846,250, and ordered to pay restitution of $846,250 to victims of his offenses.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, for its assistance.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Blais is in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Jury Finds Doctor Guilty on 20 Counts of Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Dr. David M. Pon (57, Windermere) guilty of 20 counts of health care fraud connected to his scheme to defraud the Medicare program. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count. Following the jury’s verdict, the Court remanded Pon to the custody of the United States Marshals Service. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 14, 2016.
Pon was indicted on April 24, 2014.
According to testimony and evidence presented during the past four weeks, Pon intentionally and fraudulently misdiagnosed more than 500 Medicare beneficiaries as suffering from wet macular degeneration, a degenerative and incurable disease. Pon then used his false diagnoses to bill the Medicare program for unnecessary diagnostic testing and unwarranted laser treatments. In connection with the unnecessary testing, Pon injected his victims with various dyes that posed potential serious health risks, including cardiac arrest. Several of the misdiagnosed patients testified and explained the significant emotional impact the false diagnosis had on their lives, including the fear of going blind as a result of the disease. During the scheme to defraud Medicare, Pon operated two medical offices, one in Leesburg and another in Orlando.
“Misdiagnosing patients to provide invasive, potentially harmful services just to falsely bill Medicare is unconscionable” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond. “HHS-OIG will vehemently investigate those who would harm our seniors and steal from the Medicare program.”
“Protecting seniors from fraud is a top priority of our Office,” said United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III. “The fraud committed by Dr. Pon, a well-trained ophthalmologist, was particularly egregious. He abused his position of trust and falsely diagnosed hundreds of Medicare patients with wet macular degeneration, a progressive eye disease that can lead to blindness. He instilled fear in his victims, performed unnecessary and sometimes dangerous medical procedures on their eyes, and asked the taxpayers of this country to pick up the tab.”
This case was investigated by United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark B. Devereaux and Mac D. Heavener.
Federal Inmate Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder of a U.S. Correctional OfficerRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO—Federal inmate Joseph Cabrera Sablan, 47, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of release for the murder of United States Correctional Officer Jose Rivera, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced.
On July 22, 2015, Sablan pleaded guilty to murdering Officer Rivera. According to court documents, on June 20, 2008, Officer Rivera was conducting his daily count at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater when Sablan attacked him with an eight‑inch homemade knife. Officer Rivera tried to flee, but was knocked backwards by Sablan and tackled by Sablan’s co-defendant, James Ninete Leon Guerrero. Leon Guerrero held Rivera down as Sablan stabbed him. Sablan and Leon Guerrero were indicted for the murder on August 14, 2008, in Fresno, but the case was transferred to Los Angeles in the Central District of California on December 19, 2014. On May 30, 2014, Leon Guerrero was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release for his part in the murder.
“With today’s sentencing, both of the defendants who carried out this reprehensible and senseless act have received life sentences without the possibility of release, and have been held accountable,” U.S. Attorney Wagner stated. “Those who work within our correctional facilities walk in harm’s way every day, and when one of them is attacked, we will respond vigorously.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duce Rice of the Eastern District of California and Trial Attorney Robert Feitel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section prosecuted the case.
False Income Tax Returns from Inmates Part of Tax Preparer’s SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Preparing false income tax returns in the names of prison inmates was one of the schemes a Kansas City tax preparer used to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of more than $400,000, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Tuesday.
Prayshana Washington, 28, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of preparing false income tax returns and one count of aggravated identity theft. In her plea, she admitted that from 2012 to 2015 she was in the business of preparing individual income tax returns for clients, who generally paid between $500 and $1,000 for her services. She admitted:
- Preparing a 2012 return for a client that included false claims about dependents, false household help income, and false American Opportunity Credits.
- Directing the IRS to deposit fraudulent returns onto prepaid debit cards and mail them to addresses she controlled.
- Obtaining names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for prison inmates and preparing fraudulent income tax returns in their names.
Sentencing will be set for a later date. The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 37 months in federal prison. Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask and Matthew Kluge, Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, for their work on the case.
Excerpts of Attorney General Lynch at the Launch of the Strong Cities Network to Combat Violent ExtremismRead the Press Release
In her first address at the United Nations General Assembly, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will join other leaders from around the world to launch the Strong Cities Network to combat violent extremism.
Copied below are excerpts from her prepared remarks about how these collaborative efforts will improve social cohesion and resilience to violent extremism:
“Some [violent extremists] aspire to travel overseas to train or to fight. Others plot attacks on targets within their homelands. But all are antithetical to the shared vision and common cause that joins us here today in this renowned international forum: commitment to collaboration; dedication to peace; and devotion to the cause of justice within our nations and throughout the world.”
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“It is clear that the challenge of building resilience against violent extremism – a challenge that spans vast oceans and borders while impacting our most tightly-knit cities and towns – requires a response that is both wide-ranging and highly focused.”
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“As residents and experts in their communities, local leaders are often best positioned to pinpoint sources of unrest and discord; best equipped to identify signs of potential danger; and best able to recognize and accommodate community cultures, traditions, sensitivities, and customs. By creating a series of partnerships that draws on the knowledge and expertise of our local officials, we can create a more effective response to this virulent threat.”
***
“Through the Strong Cities Network that we have unveiled today, we are making the first systematic effort in history to bring together cities around the world to share experiences, to pool resources, and to forge partnerships in order to build local cohesion and resilience on a global scale. Today we tell every city, every town, and every community that has lost the flower of its youth to a sea of hatred – you are not alone. We stand together, and we stand with you.”
***
“Our experience tells us that partnering with city-level officials and the communities they represent extends the reach and deepens the perspective of national governments and international alliances. And connecting those localities to one another – as the Strong Cities Network is doing – is not only a powerful way to lift up our communities worldwide. It also sends a message about who we are and what we aspire to be – as an alliance of nations and as a global community. When the representatives of the Strong Cities Network join together for their first Annual Summit in Paris in Spring 2016, they will be making a strong and clear statement to their citizens and to the world: we stand united against violence, united against fear, and united in the pursuit of a better and brighter future.”
***
"By connecting municipal leaders, facilitating information-sharing and providing training and other assistance where appropriate, the Strong Cities Network will help to fashion a global response to a global issue, without losing sight of its inherently local roots. It will offer city leaders a way to learn from one another about successful initiatives and productive programs. It will provide a platform for discussing community policing and prevention strategies that safeguard the individual rights of citizens. And it will support the practical delivery of community resilience programs in cities that are taking a new look at this evolving issue."
Essex County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 53 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm, Smuggling Drugs into Federal JailRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Orange, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 53 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and conspiring with others to smuggle contraband, including marijuana and tobacco, into a federal pretrial detention facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Muhammad Subpunallah, 34, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an indictment charging him with illegal possession of a firearm and to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to smuggle contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and other cases and statements made in court:
On Oct. 11, 2011, Subpunallah had a loaded .38 caliber Cobra firearm in his waistband while standing near Broad and Market streets in Newark. He had previously been convicted of robbery in Essex County Superior Court. After Subpunallah was arrested and detained on the illegal possession of a firearm, he engaged in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility. From September 2013 to February 2014, Subpunallah directed a relative, Vladimir Sauzereseteo, 41, of East Orange, New Jersey, to deliver contraband, including marijuana and tobacco, to Brian Kapalin, 68, of Maplewood, New Jersey, a lawyer, who then smuggled the contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility in exchange for a cash fee. Subpunallah sent inmates to the attorney visitor room to meet with Kapalin and retrieve the contraband.
In January 2014, Subpunallah spoke with Kapalin over a recorded correctional facility phone. Subpunallah asked Kapalin to deliver contraband to an inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility. Sauzereseteo was then paid $1,650 via Western Union money transfers, which he used to purchase marijuana that he delivered to Kapalin, along with a cash payment for Kapalin’s service. A few days later, Kapalin met the inmate from the Essex County Correctional Facility in the attorney visitor room and delivered the marijuana.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Subpunallah to serve three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited officers with the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable and Chief Anthony Campos; special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; and investigators with the Internal Affairs Division of the Essex County Correctional Facility, under the leadership of Warden Roy Hendricks, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Tyler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais of the Criminal Division, General Crimes Unit; Robert Frazer, of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit; and Rahul Agarwal of the Special Prosecutions Division, in Newark.
Defense counsel: David Holman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
East St. Louis Man Sentenced for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Darral C. Morris, 35, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court on September 25, 2015, to 180 months in prison, to be followed by three years supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $750 fine, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
"Again, I would warn convicted felons – possess a weapon and you will do hard federal time." noted United States Attorney Wigginton.
Court proceedings revealed that on August 8, 2013, the Project Safe Neighborhoods Detail patrolling in the Metro East Area observed two vehicles at a gas station in East St. Louis parked next to one another other, with neither vehicle obtaining fuel. Officers, believing a drug transaction to be occurring, approached the vehicles. Upon seeing law enforcement officers, Morris, the driver of one of the vehicles, placed what appeared to be several pieces of crack in his mouth. After being removed from the car, Morris’ saliva tested positive for cocaine. The officers searched his vehicle and found a loaded .9mm semi-automatic pistol between the driver’s seat and center console.
This investigation was conducted by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Drucker.
Dorchester Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of MinorsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dorchester man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a long-running, cross-country teen sex trafficking operation.
Corey Norris, a/k/a “Case,” a/k/a “Jacorey Johnson,” 26, of Dorchester, pleaded guilty today to a five count indictment charging him with various sex trafficking crimes including crimes related to sex trafficking of minors. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2016.
Norris, along with co-defendant Raymond Jeffreys, 27, and others, engaged in a sex trafficking conspiracy from approximately August 2008 to May 2014 in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, and California. Norris was charged for both his involvement in the conspiracy, and for specific counts involving the sex trafficking of two 17-year-old girls. One of the girls was trafficked from approximately Oct. 8, 2011 to Nov. 10, 2011 in Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, and California. The other girl was trafficked in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in December 2012.
The individual sex trafficking charges carry a range of mandatory minimum terms of 10 to 15 years and up to a lifetime in prison. Each count has a mandatory minimum term of five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain/loss, whichever is greater. 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; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Boston Police Department’s Human Trafficking and Homicide Units, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also wishes to recognize and thank Shawn Meehan, Resident Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations’ Portland Office; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Aaron Steps, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent in Charge of the FBI Maine Office; the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Cumberland County (Maine) District Attorney’s Office; the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine; the Massachusetts State Police; the Portland (Maine), Old Town (Maine), Braintree, and South Portland (Maine) Police Departments; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Harman Burkart and Christopher Pohl of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Suffolk County D.A.’s Office.
District Woman Pleads Guilty to Voluntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Loretta Hall, also known as Loretta Beckwith, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of voluntary manslaughter for fatally stabbing her longtime boyfriend, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
Hall pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She is to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2016, by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston.
According to the government’s evidence, Hall lived with her boyfriend, Kenneth Fogle, 54, and the two had been romantically involved for many years. On June 13, 2015, at approximately 5 p.m., Hall was verbally arguing with Mr. Fogle in the hallway outside the basement apartment that they shared in the 3200 block of 23rd Street SE. During the argument, Hall used a large kitchen knife to stab Mr. Fogle multiple times, including one stab wound to the left chest area that punctured Mr. Fogle’s aorta and caused his death. Hall then entered the shared apartment and hid the knife in a cat litter box.
Within minutes, witnesses discovered Mr. Fogle, slumped unconscious on the steps down to the basement level of the apartment building in a pool of blood. Hall then fled past Mr. Fogle and out of the building. A witness called 911 and an ambulance transported Mr. Fogle to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead that same day.
Hall was arrested on June 19, 2015 and has been in custody ever since. She had been on supervised release for a 2009 conviction for assault with significant bodily injury, and could face additional prison time for violating her release conditions. During her plea today, Hall acknowledged that she was not acting in reasonable self-defense when she stabbed Mr. Fogle.
In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, crime scene officers, and the Seventh Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Lead Paralegal Specialist Kwasi Fields; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, and Interns Gillian Tishuk and Rebecca Roher. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bruckmann, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jeffrey R. Shope, 44, of Blacklick, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of insurance fraud.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, Director of Ohio Department of Insurance and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.
According to court documents, Shope was a licensed chiropractor and owner of True Health Chiropractic in Westerville, Ohio. From January 2009 to December 2012, Shope made false statements to defraud federal health care benefit programs and obtained nearly $700,000 in fraudulent payments. Shope would bill for equipment and services not rendered to maximize insurance payments and would bill two separate programs for identical services provided to the same patients on the same day.
Health care fraud is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI and Ohio Department of Insurance, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Ken Affeldt, who is representing the United States in this case
Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Williamson County Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
On September 24, 2015, David T. Walls, Jr., a/k/a "Gun," 36, of Chicago, IL, pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and heroin, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Evidence at the plea hearing established that Walls was involved with others in the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in Williamson County. Walls and others were transporting the drugs from northern Illinois for distribution. The group oftentimes possessed firearms during their involvement in the drug conspiracy. The offense occurred between 2012 and October 2014. Walls is currently being held without bond pending a December 29, 2015, sentencing date.
The crack cocaine and heroin offense carries a minimum penalty of 10 years, to a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, to be followed by 8 years’ supervised release, and a fine of $8,000,000.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Southern Illinois Enforcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Williamson County State’s Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Carbondale Resident Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Duquoin Shell Gas StationRead the Press Release
On September 23 2015, Stanley L. Cohen, 32, of Carbondale, IL, pled guilty to a two-count indictment charging Interference with Commerce by Robbery, in violation of the Hobbs Act, and Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Evidence at the plea hearing established that, on May 16, 2014, Cohen committed an armed robbery of the Shell Gas Station in DuQuoin, Perry County. Cohen, who was armed with a firearm, struck a clerk in the head with the gun. The clerk required staples for his wound.
The penalties for the Hobbs Act violation are up to 20 years to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. The firearm offense carries a penalty of 7 years’ to life imprisonment to be followed by 5 years’ supervised release. Federal law requires that any term of imprisonment imposed on the firearm offense must be served consecutive, that is, in addition to any term imposed on the Hobbs Act charge. Both offenses also carry a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by the DuQuoin Police Department, Perry County Sheriff’s Department, and Carbondale Police Department.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, and Failure to AppearRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that Neal LaPointe, age 31, of Sacramento, California, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on September 28, 2015, and pled guilty to an Indictment that charged him with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors. He also pled guilty to a separate Indictment charging him with Failure to Appear.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 60 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors stem from incidents between March 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013. During that timeframe, LaPointe was living in California, and under the guise of various aliases and online identities, would use computers, the internet, and the social networking site Facebook to solicit images of minors engaging in explicit sexual conduct, and would then distribute these images via computer and over the internet. Some of the minor victims lived on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation and elsewhere in South Dakota.
The Failure to Appear charge stems from an incident when the Court allowed LaPointe to be released, ordered him on electronic monitoring, and to reside with a third party on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. LaPointe failed to appear for his next court appearance on July 14, 2014, and his whereabouts were unknown until February 13, 2015, when he was apprehended in Miami, Florida.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Maher and Sarah Collins are prosecuting the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for December 21, 2015. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
CEO of New Jersey Engineering Consulting Firm Admits Role in $130,000 Unemployment Insurance Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Also Admits Failure to Collect More Than $100,000 in Payroll Taxes
TRENTON, N.J. – The head of an engineering consulting firm in Wall Township, New Jersey, today admitted that in order to reduce his payroll costs, he launched a scheme in which several of his employees fraudulently collected unemployment benefits while he paid the remaining portion of their salaries, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Lino DeAlmeida Jr., 68, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the N.J. State Division of Unemployment Insurance (NJUI) and one count of failing to collect Social Security, Medicare, and income payroll taxes.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
DeAlmeida operated an engineering consulting firm, Consolidated Construction Management Services (CCMS) in Wall Township. In late 2011, DeAlmeida told his four employees that due to financial difficulties, he could not continue paying their salaries. He proposed a scheme in which the employees would claim to have been terminated from CCMS and seek unemployment benefits from the NJUI. In return, he promised to continue to pay them “under the table” for the remaining portion of their salaries that would not be covered by the benefits. Three of the CCMS employees agreed to the scheme and submitted false applications with the NJUI.
DeAlmeida’s employee conspirators received a total of $130,363 in benefits between July 2011 and January 2013 while receiving CCMS checks from DeAlmeida. In addition, DeAlmeida failed to pay payroll taxes of $109,068 on the undisclosed wages of $790,860 he and his conspirators received during the scheme.
The conspiracy to defraud the NJUI charge to which DeAlmeida pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The failure to collect payroll taxes charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia, New York Region; and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by V. Grady O’Malley, Senior Litigation Counsel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Jeffrey D. Smith Esq., Teaneck, New Jersey
Buffalo Man Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of A Firearm and A Violation of Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Rai Johnson, 36, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and violation of supervised release, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by U.S. Senior District Judge Richard J. Arcara.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, stated that in August 2014, the defendant was sentenced to time served and two years supervised release for violating the Clean Air Act. On December 23, 2014, Johnson was found to be in possession of a shotgun, a rifle, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition that he kept hidden from his probation officer. The United States Probation Search Team recovered the firearms and ammunition during a search of the defendant’s residence. The search occurred after Johnson negligently discharged a round into his neighbor’s house while attempting to clean his rifle.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-In-Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division.
Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Lottery FraudRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Horace Anthony Buddle, 45, of Brooklyn, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that the defendant defrauded elderly individuals residing in the United States by leading the victims to believe they won cash prizes of more than $1,000,000 and, in at least one case, a Mercedes Benz automobile. The victims were told they must pay “taxes” and other administrative expenses in order to collect their “prizes.”
One victim, a man from the Rochester, N.Y. area, was told numerous times, in phone calls, to send packages of money to an address in Brooklyn. As a result, the victim sent 16 packages via UPS and the U.S. Mail to the defendants’ residence in Brooklyn.
Another victim, a resident of Missouri, was directed to deposit money into the accounts of co-defendant Corey Buddle who is the defendant’s son. None of the victims received anything as a result of their “winnings.”
Charges are pending against Corey Buddle. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, Boston Division, and Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Boston Police Detective Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Obstruct a Federal InvestigationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston Police detective pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obstruct a FBI investigation related to the Academy Homes Street Gang (AHSG), a violent narcotics trafficking gang that operated out of the Academy Homes housing development in Roxbury.
Brian Smigielski, 43, of Norton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States during the course of a federal investigation. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2016.
From early 2009 to 2011, the FBI and Boston Police Department (BPD) were conducting a joint investigation into AHSG, during the initial stages of which Smigielski was the lead investigator. In late 2009, Smigielski, became upset after being ordered to turn over the investigation to the FBI and other BPD units, and thereafter, in 2010 and 2011, conspired with a fellow BPD officer and AHSG gang members to impede the FBI in its investigation of AHSG. Smigielski assisted the AHSG gang members by, among other things, informing the gang members of the FBI’s pending investigation and warning them that their arrests were imminent.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Ortiz; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Superintendent Frank Mancini of the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
Baltimore Woman Pleads Guilty to Food Stamp and Medicaid FraudRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Tiffany Saunders Carraway, age 34, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to theft of government property arising from a scheme to falsify her income and living arrangements to illegally obtain food stamp and Medicaid benefits.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration (SSA) - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division; and Inspector General William E. Johnson, Jr. of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, Office of Inspector General.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program, is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), together with state agencies. The program funds low-income individuals to allow them to purchase food. SNAP paid monthly benefits to individuals found to be eligible based in part on the beneficiary’s income and living arrangements.
Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program for low-income and needy people. Medicaid paid benefits to individuals found to be eligible based in part on the beneficiary’s income and living arrangements.
According to her plea agreement, Carraway worked at SSA. She began receiving Medicaid benefits for her four children in 2006. In 2007, Carraway married and began living together with her spouse who was also employed by SSA. Carraway did not report this change in living arrangements or household income to Medicaid. In 2009, Carraway and her husband bought a $170,000 home in Baltimore.
In 2008, Carraway applied for SNAP benefits, underreporting her own income and failing to disclose her marriage and her husband’s income. She also provided SNAP with documents purporting to show that she was paying rent, rather than living in the home that she and her husband purchased.
Between 2008 and 2011, Carraway received $26,885.31 in SNAP benefits; and between 2008 and 2013, she received approximately $68,482.60 in Medicaid benefits, to which she would not have been entitled if her true income and living arrangements had been disclosed.
Carraway faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for theft of government property and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar scheduled sentencing for December 2, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the SSA- OIG and DHR-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Lauren E. Perry, on detail from the Social Security Administration, who is prosecuting the case.
Army Sergeant First Class Sentenced for Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced ROBERT WARREN GREEN, 46, of Wade, North Carolina, to 10 months of imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release. The Court further ordered GREEN to pay $45,000.00 in restitution and the forfeiture of criminal proceeds in the same amount.
On April 27, 2015, GREEN pled guilty to demanding, seeking, and receiving gratuities.
According to the Criminal Information and information in the public record, between January, 2008 and April, 2009, while deployed to Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class GREEN was assigned to a Movement Control Team (MCT) and responsible for logistics and transportation, including the administration of Transportation Movement Requests (TMRs). TMRs are the means by which a military unit in the field submits a request for logistics support and the transport of military items from one location to another across Afghanistan, including food, fuel, equipment, and other supplies.
Beginning sometime in January 2008, Green sought and received $45,000 in cash from an Afghan national who was, at the time, the owner of an Afghan trucking company, and who was seeking contracts through the TMR process. In exchange for the $45,000, Green facilitated the award of TMRs to that Afghan trucking company. In fact, Green caused to be awarded at least 40 TMRs worth approximately $3 million to that company.
“It is especially disappointing when a service member violates the position he is entrusted with by putting his profit above his mission. The FBI and our investigative partners will work tirelessly to bring those to justice who misuse government resources designated to benefit those who sacrifice for our country,” said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.
John F. Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction stated, "The vast majority of the men and women of our armed forces possess the integrity and trust that the United States has learned to expect. There is a small percentage that betrays that trust. Sadly, Green represents that small percentage."
“Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office, commented, "It is disheartening when a military member abandons his code of conduct and violates a position of trust for personal enrichment. The DCIS investigates fraud and corruption that undermines the integrity of the Department of Defense. We continue to aggressively investigate violators to preserve precious American taxpayer dollars and better support our Warfighters serving honorably and selflessly in Southwest Asia."
"We will not tolerate this type of criminal behavior in our ranks - period, " said Frank Robey, the director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "We will continue to aggressively pursue those who attempt to steal, commit bribery, or receive kickbacks while employed by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Government."
The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS), Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID), the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina and DOJ Criminal Fraud Section Trial Attorney Wade Weems, on detail from SIGAR.
15 Individuals Charged with Drug Trafficking in the Municipality of BayamónRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On September 23, 2015, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a six-count indictment against 15 defendants charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, controlled substances, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), Bayamón Strike Force, are in charge of the investigation.
The indictment alleges that beginning in 2009, the organization distributed heroin, crack, cocaine, marihuana, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) within 1,000 feet of a real property comprising Los Laureles Public Housing Project and other areas nearby and within the Municipality of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, all for financial gain and profit.
The 15 defendants are: Otoniel Ortiz-Acevedo, aka “Otto;” Roberto Cañon-Guzmán, aka “Claudio;” Luis Iván Vicente-Ocasio, aka “Lento;” Anthony Lee Vicente-Ocasio, aka “Pelú;” Fernando Olivo-Martis, aka “Gordo;” Darwin Pagán-Soto, aka “Darwin;” Michael Ortiz-Maysonet, aka “Bimbo;” Orlanto Rivera-Fernández, aka “Kiki;” Jesús M. Pizarro-Rojas, aka “Chocky;” Christian Oquendo-Álvarez, aka “Fresita;” Enrique Fernández-Riera, aka “Kike;” Geovanni Torres-Santana, aka “Geova;” Elías A. Meléndez-Esquilin, aka “Calvo;” Orlando Rodríguez-Lara; and Marta J. Rivera-Lara.
The 15 co-conspirators had many roles in order to further the goals of the conspiracy. The following are the roles as alleged in the indictment: one leader; five managers/drug owners; one drug processor; two runners; five sellers; one facilitator; enforcers and lookouts. Nine of the defendants are facing one count of possession of firearms of different brands and calibers in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
The indictment alleges that, as part of the manner and means of the conspiracy, some of the defendants and their co-conspirators would evict residents from their apartments by force to use those apartments for other co-conspirators. The defendants would conduct drug transactions in the presence of minors and would use and employ them to distribute narcotics at the drug distribution points.
Assistant U.S. Attorney César Rivera-Giraud is in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
28 September 2015
Worcester Woman Charged in $3.6 Million Food Stamp FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Worcester woman was charged today in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with a $3.6 million food stamp fraud scheme that she operated out of her Worcester convenience store.
Vida Ofori Causey, 45, was charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit SNAP benefits fraud, one count of SNAP fraud, and one count of money laundering in connection with a four year fraud scheme.
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides eligible households with government subsidies for certain foodstuffs, and allows holders to exchange their SNAP benefits for food at authorized retail food stores.
Causey was the owner and operator of J&W Aseda Plaza, a convenience store on Main Street in Worcester. From April 2010 to October 2014, Causey conspired with others to commit SNAP fraud by purchasing SNAP benefits from recipients rather than exchanging them for food. Causey purchased the benefits at a discounted value of approximately fifty cents for every SNAP dollar. By so doing, Causey caused the USDA to electronically deposit into a bank account controlled by her the full face value of the SNAP benefits fraudulently obtained.
During the course of the conspiracy, Causey defrauded the USDA of approximately $3,638,900 in SNAP funds.
The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison and three years of supervised release. The charge of SNAP fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Each charge also provides for a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and forfeiture and restitution. 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 G. Squires, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Northeast Region; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.
U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Awards Nearly $18 Million to Combat Violence Due to Methamphetamine, Heroin and GangsRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates today announced nearly $18 million in COPS Office grant funding aimed at addressing and reducing violent crime through programs focused on methamphetamine use and production, the distribution of heroin and other opioids and gang activity.
“The funding awarded through these COPS Office initiatives will expand the capacity of the recipients, including some of our local partners, to proactively address contributors to violent crime and increase public safety,” said Deputy Attorney General Yates.
“We look forward to the work of our local and state law enforcement partners,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “By getting methamphetamine off the streets and shutting down laboratories, investigating illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or unlawful distribution of prescriptive opioids, and combating gang activity through enforcement, prevention, education and intervention, we can make the country safer for everyone.”
The COPS Office is awarding more than $6.1 million under the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program to seven state-level law enforcement agencies dealing with high seizures of precursor chemicals, finished methamphetamine and laboratories. The agencies will use the funds to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. For more information about the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program and a list of grant recipients, visit http://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2716.
Under the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program, the COPS Office is awarding close to $5.8 million to six state-level law enforcement agencies to investigate illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or unlawful distribution of prescriptive opioids. The goal of the program is to address the troubling trend of increases in heroin seizures and heroin-related overdose deaths. For more information about the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program and a list of grant recipients, visit http://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2776.
Under the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative, the COPS Office is awarding close to $5.8 million to nine multijurisdictional task forces to address gang activity. The initiative focuses on combating gang activity through enforcement, prevention, education and intervention. All the award recipients under this initiative are agencies leading multijurisdictional partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement to address all forms of gang activity. For more information about the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative and a list of grant recipients, visit http://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2775.
The COPS Office, headed by Director Ronald Davis, is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance. For additional information about COPS, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats Named to Co-Chair Key CommitteesRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City —United States Attorney Sanford C. Coats has been recently named to serve as Co-Chair of several key advisory and policy committees within the Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney Coats was named as Co-Chair of the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee (DTEC) with Assistant Attorney General John Carlin and the FBI domestic terrorism section. The DTEC was created by Attorney General Reno after the Oklahoma City Bombing and was reconstituted in 2014 by Attorney General Holder. The DTEC is intended to bring together all government agencies that investigate and prosecute domestic terrorism. Participants include the United States Attorneys’ Offices, FBI, DOJ National Security Division, DOJ Civil Rights Division, DOJ Tax Division, IRS, Secret Service, ATF, DEA, and the Bureau of Land Management.
In addition, Mr. Coats was named to Co-Chair the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee along with U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade from the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit. Twenty-seven other United States Attorneys from across the country serve as members of the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee.
"Protecting our country from terrorist attacks remains the top priority for the Department of Justice," said U.S. Attorney Coats. "I am honored to serve as co-chair of these committees which will work diligently to address issues and policy impacting the investigation, prevention, and prosecution of terrorism."
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman Announces over $2.1 Million in Federal Law Enforcement Grants to Help Address Gang Activity, Heroin Distribution in New JerseyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, in conjunction with the U.S. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), today announced federal funding awards to four state and city law enforcement agencies in the District of New Jersey that investigate gang activity and heroin distribution through statewide collaboration.
COPS will award over $18 million nationally through the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI), the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program (AHTF), and the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program, including $2,107,166 for New Jersey law enforcement agencies. The list of this year’s grantees includes:
CAGI Grants:
Agency Name
Award Amount
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
$594,023
Jersey City
$750,000
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
$659,916
AHTF Grants:
Agency Name
Award Amount
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
$103,227
“These grants provide much-needed funding to several important law enforcement initiatives to battle the ongoing problems of gang violence and illegal drug trafficking. Providing our local law enforcement partners with more than $2 million in federal funding specifically targeted to these areas will give them additional tools to push back against the relentless threat of drugs and gangs. These awards are especially important, as they are being used to target gangs that have a nationwide footprint.”
The CAGI provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies with a multijurisdictional partnership composed of federal, state, and local partners. Primary consideration was given to agencies that target gangs of national significance. The AHTF provides funds to agencies that use statewide collaboration to investigate heroin or unlawful prescriptive opioid distribution.
For the entire list of grantees and additional information about the CAGI, the AHTF, and the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program, visit the COPS website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.
Travel Agent, Sandra M. White, Booked for Nearly Eight Years in Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today the sentencing of Sandra M. White, 53, of Coloma, Michigan, for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. White, who was convicted in June after an eight-day jury trial that was held in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo, was sentenced to serve 7 years and 10 months for a long-running scheme that not only caused over $600,000 in loss, but that also caused severe harm to other travel agencies through which she booked airline tickets.
Doing business as "Corporate Travel Consultants/Travel by Design (CTC/TBD)," White defrauded airlines that included United, American, Delta and Lufthansa of hundreds of thousands of dollars in airfares by falsely claiming that CTC clients were entitled to substantially discounted "military fares," by claiming that they possessed discount and/or upgrade certificates, and by manipulating online ticketing programs to sell fares that were no longer available. By consistently obtaining significantly lower fares for CTC’s clients than they could obtain anywhere else, White developed and maintained a large and loyal client base which – unaware that their fares were being obtained by fraud – used CTC exclusively. By maintaining an extremely high volume of sales, White was able to collect booking fees, agent commissions, and bonuses that constituted a large percentage of CTC’s overall income.
CTC functioned independently as an industry-accredited travel agency until 2003, when its license to directly sell air carrier inventories was revoked after airline audits discovered six-figure-fraud. From 2003 on, however, CTC continued its fraudulent practices, with White obtaining sub-contractor positions with accredited travel agencies in Indiana, Colorado, Texas, Florida, and elsewhere, working online from CTC’s location in Berrien County.
By exploiting the access to airline inventory of accredited travel agencies, White was able to continue her fraudulent ticketing as a subcontractor without the airlines realizing who they were dealing with. In each instance, however, airline audits did eventually identify the fraud, and the agencies through whom White had done the ticketing were left with liability for six-figure losses. In some cases, the debts caused by White’s misconduct endangered the survival of the host-agencies. Further, when airline audits would expose what appeared to be fraud, White would manufacture and present fake birth certificates, passports, discount and upgrade certificates, and U.S. military identification cards in attempts to prove that the fares were properly obtained. In other instances, she would use credit accounts of wealthy clients to pay for the costs of other clients’ fares.
In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Maloney commented on the seriousness and pervasiveness of White’s fraud, and on the fact that she had continued to commit fraud even after airlines revoked her license to sell directly.
White was allowed to remain on bond pending assignment by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to a specific facility, and she will be allowed to self-surrender to commence serving her sentence. White was also ordered to pay close to $600,000 in restitution to the host travel-agencies she victimized, and also to several airlines.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagen W. Frank.
END
Transcript of Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin’s Briefing at the Foreign Press Center on the Foreign Terrorist Threat and Other National Security IssuesRead the Press Release
MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome to the New York Foreign Press Center. This is an on-the-record briefing on Department of Justice measures to combat violent extremism with Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin. We’re very pleased to host him today. I would like to ask, after his initial remarks we’ll go to Q&A, and please wait for the microphone and please identify yourself.
Thank you. Mr. Carlin.
CARLIN: Thank you. Good afternoon. At the Department of Justice, the National Security Division was the first new litigating division created in about 50 years. And we were created in 2006 as one of the post-9/11 reforms. And our number one mission, simply, is to prevent terrorist attacks here inside the United States. And our mission, first and foremost, when it comes to ISIL is to prevent attacks against U.S. citizens here in the United States and abroad. And we work in coordination with our law enforcement intelligence community partners and with countries around the world to ensure that we can disrupt terrorist actors before they commit those acts.
This is a good week with United Nations General Assembly in town and the Global Counterterrorist Forum to take a step back and talk a little bit less about our efforts to protect U.S. citizens and more about our responsibilities as global partners to prevent terrorist attacks elsewhere in the world. We have a fundamental responsibility to prevent ISIL from having U.S. citizens join ISIL in its campaign to rape, to commit sexual slavery and to murder innocent civilians, including children, as tactics. And so together last year, when I was here in New York for these same events, we worked on the UN Security Council Resolution 2178, which was an unprecedented mandatory resolution for every country around the world to work to put laws on the books to prevent foreign terrorist fighters from their country from going to join the fight and also to take steps to keep them from returning to commit terrorist attacks once they left the battleground in Iraq or Syria.
Since that resolution last year, we commend the over 20 nations that since last year have put new laws on the books that are specifically designed to combat the support for these foreign terrorist organizations either through actual citizens from their countries or from providing material or financial support. And among those since last year, over three dozen nations have taken law enforcement actions – have arrested individuals before they could go join these foreign terrorist organizations.
At the Justice Department we’ve provided assistance both in the legislation and as some countries try using these statutes for the first time. And we’ve sent our prosecutors over the last year on countless trips to work hand-in-hand with foreign partners all over the world as they draft these new laws.
We also house and support Interpol. And since last year, when there was a commitment by countries at this very event – and in conjunction with 2178 and also with the Global Counterterrorism Forum that consists of over 30 countries, there was a new commitment to provide information to Interpol, which we house and support. And since last year, that has resulted in six times the amount of information being shared, approximately 4,000 new profiles on foreign terrorist fighters, from over 45 countries.
And we recognize, to talk a little bit about what we face in the United States versus other countries as they face this foreign terrorist fighter threat, although the overall number some put at 25,000 or 30,000 individuals – and that’s higher than what we saw even at the height of the conflict in Afghanistan and the FATA – that when it comes to the numbers that are from the United States, our numbers are lower, particularly even compared to our Western partners. And we have about – we estimate around 250 U.S. citizens who have either attempted to or gone over to fight, or who have gone over and returned. That number also includes those we’ve arrested.
Since about last year, we’ve brought criminal cases against 70 individuals. Sixty of those individuals, it was for conduct related to either supporting foreign terrorist fighters or attempting to join the group. The other 10 is a trend that we’ve started to see here in the United States since ISIL changed its tactics and called on individuals to commit terrorist attacks where they live, particularly in Western countries. We have over 10 criminal cases brought to date of individuals inspired by ISIL or other terrorist groups to commit attacks here in the United States. So between the 60 who wanted to join the foreign terrorist fighter groups and the 10 who wanted to commit attacks here in the United States, that’s how we have over 70 cases.
In terms of trends inside the United States, in almost every case social media is involved. Unlike some other countries, we’re not seeing it in any particular geographic part of the United States nor confined to any ethnic group. The FBI currently has open investigations in all 50 states, and we have brought criminal cases in 25 different jurisdictions to date across the United States, so places that have not traditionally confronted a foreign terrorist threat.
Consistent with the fact that this is a social media-driven threat here, in over 50 percent of the cases the defendants are 25 years or younger, and in over a third of the cases they are 21 years or younger. And for us in confronting the terrorist threat, that is different than the demographic we saw who went to support core al-Qaida in the Afghanistan FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Areas) region.
I think what you’ll hear tomorrow under the President of the United States, leadership is the summit that he’s convening of countries throughout the world – over 60 countries – dedicated to combating this terrorist threat. And what you’ll see is a focus – in addition to the efforts that I’ve talked about to date, the law enforcement criminal justice efforts – is a focus on efforts to prevent it from ever reaching the law enforcement system in the first place. And that means working on countering the message and propaganda that ISIL uses to draw recruits from our communities, and it means exposing ISIL for what it really is and not what it pretends to be.
They put out images of child soldiers handing out candy to children, but in reality they’re a group that beheads and kills Muslims and non-Muslims alike with equal impunity, that rapes and sells women and children into sexual slavery, and that deliberately looks to destroy the cultural heritage of the countries in which it resides. So a law enforcement response is essential, and we need to continue the progress that we’ve made since last year’s resolution. But it also can only be part of the answer, and others need to dissuade would-be foreign fighters from joining ISIL in the first place.
You’ll see the Attorney General of the United States convene a first-of-its-kind Safe Cities Forum tomorrow as well that will consist of mayors across the United States but also from other countries across the world, because fundamentally dissuading individuals in the first instance from joining these types of groups is going to require local-level, community-driven engagement. And so I think tomorrow’s forum, the Safe Cities Forum, is going to work and introduce mayors to each other so they can talk about best practices at keeping these individuals from ever going down the path of radicalization.
I will stop there and open it up for questions.
QUESTION: Hajime Matsuura, Japan, Sankei's columnist here based in New York. A question about the most – the breakdown of the social media ISIL is using. Do you have the breakdown of which social media is popular and how you’re working with the host of or owners of the social media?
CARLIN: So when it comes to social media, I think you see ISIL use pretty much every available service that they can find, and they target people according to who uses the service. So – and it’s different depending on which country that you’re in, although it is a global problem. So here in the United States, we’re seeing it with those who are using sites that are frequented by English-language speakers or are popular in the United States. And that really ranges through the most familiar names, be it Twitter to Facebook to YouTube videos.
And what they do is they blast out these often slickly-produced, propagandistic messages using the same type of techniques that Madison Avenue advertisers use to put out images like handing out candy to children, or they’ll have an ISIL soldier in the caliphate with a kitten in one hand and a gun in the other and they’ll say, “Come join the caliphate.” They bombard the internet with thousands and thousands of these messages a day, and the number of people who respond to them is a tiny, tiny percentage of those who they reach with that message, but it only takes a very small number from each country to either prevent or present a terrorist threat our home country, but also to reach the numbers that they’re reaching of getting people to join the fight when you’re talking about having that message reach 100 different countries.
So to the extent they’re able to get people who are language or cultural experts, then they will use those individuals who have joined ISIL already to target a particular country or audience.
QUESTION: Hi, thank you. Diego Senior from Caracol Radio in Colombia. I know you’re focusing on ISIL, but this is a question that I have to ask, and it’s about a terrorist organization – deemed terrorist organization by the U.S. government in Colombia. And they just reached this peace accord – not a complete peace accord, but one regarding transitional justice in our country. I’m wondering what the strategy from your department or from wherever within the Justice Department is capable of doing. What are you guys doing or thinking to do facing terrorism – that terrorism threat which it might stop be or at some point – when will you stop calling them terrorists since they’re going to give in their weapons?
CARLIN: So I’ll describe generally. In the American legal system, the model that we’ve used to confront the international terrorist threat is using a statute called the material support to terrorism statute. As we’ve discussed, as countries around the world are putting new statutes on their books, this is one model that they’ve – that some countries have elected to follow. And what it hinges upon is there’s a formal process for the designation of a group or an individual as an international terrorist organization, and then the criminal consequences of that designation follow. So to the extent that there is an armistice, what would be the key for those of us in the prosecution and law enforcement community would be whether or not they remove the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) as a designated terrorist organization as part of the reconciliation process, and so we’ll wait and see what occurs in that regard.
And obviously, long-term, and this includes ISIL, the endgame – we need to use law enforcement and prosecution as a tool to prevent these terrorist attacks from occurring, but we recognize that the long-term solution is one that requires the participation of states and local governments to prevent these groups from existing in the first place, and that’s what success looks like. And that’s why I think you’ll see the President tomorrow emphasize the need to combat violent extremism and the Attorney General at the Safe Cities event talk to mayors about getting rid of those root causes to that these groups don’t exist in the first instance.
MODERATOR: We have a question from Washington. Washington, please go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Anatoly Bochinin, TASS News Agency, Russia. Sir, as you said today, this ISIL problem affects many countries – also Russia. So my question is: do you cooperate with Russian security services? And are you going to work with this new informational center in Baghdad which will be established these days? Thank you.
CARLIN: So I’ll say that generally, that the FBI has partnerships with law enforcement agencies throughout the world, and some countries have made a real dedicated push to share intelligence or law enforcement information regarding the terrorist threat. Some countries have work to do in that regard, but it’s going to take a partnership when it comes to combating these foreign terrorist organizations. And we’ve seen improvements, like I discussed in terms of Interpol and sharing information about terrorist identities, or since last year, with a dedicated focus on this, the number of terrorist identities has increased six times. We have 4,000 identities into that system.
It needs to improve further, and we hope it will.
QUESTION: Thank you. Harriet Alexander from The Telegraph. You spoke about the 250 estimated citizens who’ve gone or attempted to go, and those against which you’ve got criminal cases. I wondered if you’d talk a little bit more about the backgrounds of those people, just generally. I ask because in Europe, we find that an awful lot of people who are going to join these organizations have already got criminal records and have previously spent time specifically in prison. That was very much the case in France with the Paris attacks and with the Toulouse attacks. And I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about any de-radicalization programs that you may have in prisons.
CARLIN: That’s a good question, Harriet. So I’d say in terms of the trends that what we’ve seen is there isn’t a particular profile other than the common factors that I discussed, which is, one, in almost every case there’s some connection to social media; and two, the general demographic trending young. And as you can imagine, as it trends younger and younger, these are not people with long criminal histories inside the United States. And although we remain very much vigilant and concerned about the issue of prison radicalization and what occurs to individuals when they are released, that has not comprised currently the majority of the cases that we’ve seen.
What we are seeing is with this new focus on targeting the young or the unstable, that they’ll attract individuals who you would not necessarily think of as being ISIL adherents but end up going down the process of radicalization after being exposed through one of these general social media sites. And then what they do often is once they have someone on the hook, if you will, they end up in direct communication in some of these cases – so the terrorist overseas is in direct communication with the young person or troubled person here, personally walking them down the path towards radicalization using social media. And this is new, I know, for the United Kingdom, having talked to counterparts there, and for the United States. In terms of a trend, I think both our countries together are struggling on new approaches to combat what is a new strategy or tactic by the terrorist group.
It is different than – although we still remain concerned, and al-Qaida still has the intent to commit the large-scale spectacular attack against a Western target, as does al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Nusrah, the al-Qaida franchise in the Syria region. So we remain concerned and need to disrupt that large-scale spectacular attack, but this new tactic of urging people to commit the attack, even small-scale, immediately – we use the expression sometimes “the short flash to bang,” which is social media-driven, which means if you think about a fuse of dynamite, the time between when you light the fuse and when the dynamite explodes is very, very short. That’s a hard problem for the intelligence community and law enforcement to crack and really is going to rely on partnerships.
QUESTION: Hi there. Justin Fishel with ABC. I have two quick questions. The first is about the migration issue and the refugee crisis. As you know, the U.S. wants to bring in 85,000 refugees from Syria next year, and there are some sort of opposing views about whether this – there’s risks associated with this and risks of ISIL infiltration. So what’s your assessment of that risk and plan to combat it? Then I have one more other question.
CARLIN: Look, our job in the law enforcement/intelligence community is to see what the decision is by policymakers to try to accommodate those who are in a terrible situation and who are facing unbelievable brutality, both by the regime and by ISIL. And whatever decision is made, then we need to work and apply the resources to make sure that the terrorist groups don’t try to take advantage of a humanitarian gesture to get individuals predisposed to commit terrorist attacks either in Europe or the United States. And we’ve faced that sort of challenge before and we’ll apply the resources necessary to combat it.
QUESTION: Okay. My last question, more a domestic politics issue. Your division of the Justice Department is overseeing the email review, and the one piece of clarification I think – and one of the things that got really confused throughout this whole thing was why this is not a criminal probe but the – there are federal – there are people like yourselves involved in it, so how is it that it is not criminal? That’s something that I think a lot of people are confused about, and I apologize to my colleagues for the domestic nature of this question.
CARLIN: Well, I’m going to stick to the foreign press questions for this event.
QUESTION: I’m Sajidu Haque from Bangladeshi television channel. Do you think Bangladesh fall in high risk in near future? Because some existing terrorist group, like ISIL and al-Qaida, they are all in Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Pakistan, India fall in high risk.
CARLIN: I’m sorry, I didn’t fully catch the question.
QUESTION: Do you think near future, Bangladesh fall in high risk for terrorism – in terrorism?
CARLIN: Oh, do I think that there’s a high risk of terrorism occurring in Bangladesh?
QUESTION: Yeah.
CARLIN: I confess to not being an expert in terms of what the risks are of terrorist attacks occurring inside Bangladesh. I’d say more generally, as we’ve seen, this is a phenomenon that has already crossed in an unprecedented way. It has foreign terrorist fighters from over 100 countries. I believe Bangladesh is one of those 100 countries. And there is a concern, certainly, if any citizen goes over to fight with one of those foreign terrorist groups, what happens when they return armed, trained on how to commit attacks, and spending a long time being steeped in this ideology? So in that sense there’s a concern that cuts across all of these countries.
And the other issue would be the same social media phenomenon of individuals who stay at home and are contacted by this terrorist group and are encouraged to commit, if they can’t travel, terrorist acts where they live.
QUESTION: Vasco Jesus, VascoPress Communications, Brazil. (Inaudible.) Is there any sharing of information, collaboration, between the government of Brazil and United States, your department, concerning the threat of international terrorism? I ask you this because next year – well, Brazil doesn’t have a history of international terrorism on its borders, but next year Brazil is hosting the Summer Games, and our neighbor Argentina in the ‘90s had two huge cases – the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) case and the bombing of the Israeli consulate. I would like you to comment on those, thank you.
CARLIN: I’d say prior to each of the last Olympics – and this is the world in which we live now – I know that we have offered assistance, including the sharing of information, primarily through the channel of the FBI and law-enforcement-to-law-enforcement channels, but also in others, to help protect not only our own citizens participating in the games but to help protect the games themselves. And I know we have extended and will extend similar outreach to Brazil and look forward to working as appropriate with their authorities to help protect the games.
QUESTION: So far?
CARLIN: I’d have to refer you probably over to FBI or other avenues to talk about current efforts to date.
QUESTION: Sorry, me again. Can I just ask for a bit more information about this Safe Cities Forum? So what actually do you think will come out of that? I mean, is that just a talking shop where people are going to be exchanging ideas, or do you think that there’ll be concrete policies and agreements resulting from that?
CARLIN: I think it is both. It is, one, to make sure to focus individuals’ attention on this issue and to make sure that there’s a channel for community-to-community engagement. But I also think they hope to, if not at that forum, to kick it off into smaller sessions to develop best practices, similar to the type of best practices we’ve developed through the Global Combating Terrorist Forum that led to resolutions like encouraging certain changes in the criminal code, like protecting classified information and figuring out a way to do that while preserving due process or undercover operations. That’s been the type of best practice produced in my space, in the space of a group focused on criminal prosecutions. I think for the mayors, they’re hoping when it comes to combating violent extremism that similarly there may be some community-based, local-oriented best practices for cities to take into account when they’re developing their own programs as to how to keep people from going down this path in the first instance.
QUESTION: Alexey Osipov from Israeli Novosti. Most of the international media and of course politicians are politically correct; they call terrorism as at least international, but for sure 99 percent of terrorism has specific religion or specific nationality. In your department, in your office, do you use words like “Islamic terrorist,” “anti-Israel terrorism,” “Palestinian terrorism,” et cetera?
CARLIN: So for us as lawyers under our statutes, we have the full remit for the prosecution of terrorist cases. When it comes to international terrorism, the statute that we use, as I was describing earlier, is based on whether or not the particular group is designated as an international terrorist group. So it keys off identifying that group and then if you provide any support – financial, even yourself to support to the group – you fall within our criminal laws. So I wouldn’t – I don’t indict a religion or a nationality, but the name of the designated terrorist group will be in the indictment.
For our domestic terrorism groups, those without an international connection, there is not a similar statute in U.S. law. There’s a definition of terrorism that works as a sentencing enhancement and for certain evidentiary purposes, but usually what we’re charging will be the actual criminal conduct, because many times under our system – and this is different than most countries throughout the world – because of the First Amendment and our dedication to free speech and free expression and the way it plays out in our legal system, in many instances talking the talk, if you will, in support of these groups is not sufficient for a criminal charge. You have to show some type of overt act in furtherance of a violation of a criminal statute.
QUESTION: Me again. For domestic enforcement, sort of ethnic or racial profiling has been an issue under scrutiny. How about your stance with this regard? And is there any possibility that you’re using that kind of screening?
CARLIN: So you cannot profile an individual based on their – or target an individual and use legal tools against an individual based solely upon their First Amendment-protected rights under our guidelines. And as I said, when it comes to who that profile would be, at least with our current version of the ISIL terrorist threat, what we’re seeing is a threat that cuts across all 50 states, where we’ve currently brought criminal cases in over 25 different jurisdictions and where there’s little in common between the 70 individuals who are currently charged other than some connection to social media and being connected to one of these groups.
And so I think we do need to look for – this is a lesson even in the criminal realm – but is to make parents, community members aware of what could be going on with their friend or neighbor when they’re on social media, because it’s new for a lot of parents that they’re facing this type of threat, and look for those signs which both law enforcement but also community organizations are putting out of someone who’s started down this path of radicalization.
According to one study of cases that did end up in the criminal justice system, in 80 percent of those cases there was someone who saw that process of radicalization occurring, and in over half of those cases they did not take a step to intervene. So if we can improve those numbers and have people in the community take steps to intervene, hopefully we can reduce the number of people that ever enter the criminal system.
MODERATOR: We are out of time. I’m afraid we’ll have to leave it there. Thank you very much.
CARLIN: Thank you.
Topeka Woman Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to $400,000 EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka woman pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than $400,000 from her employer, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Lisa M. Davenport, 42, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of embezzled funds. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred while she was an officer manager for Kansas Associates, Inc., which was the Prudential Real Estate franchise in Topeka. The company is now known as Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. She embezzled money from KAI by taking proceeds from the company’s commissions and depositing them into her personal account. A forensic audit determined she embezzled approximately $416,000 from the company.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 4. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and fine up to $250,000. Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway for their work on the case.
Three Decatur Men Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. - On Friday, Kameron L. Farrington, 26, became the third Decatur, Ill., man in two weeks to be sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for trafficking crack cocaine as a repeat drug offender. On Sept. 25, U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce sentenced Farrington, of the 4700 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. St., to 130 months (10 years, 10 months) in federal prison for distributing crack cocaine in January 2012. Following release from prison, Farrington was ordered to remain on supervised release for a period of six years. Farrington entered a plea of guilty to the offense on Apr. 24, 2015.
One week ago, on Sept. 21, Judge Bruce ordered Chonice L. Burtley, 34, of the 1000 block of North Pine, to serve 14 years in federal prison for possessing approximately an ounce of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it on July 25, 2014. Burtley was also ordered to remain on supervised release for six years following his release from prison. Burtley pled guilty to the charge on May 7, 2015.
Two weeks ago, on Sept. 14, Judge Bruce sentenced Wallace N. Pugh, 38, of the 1500 block of North College, to 17 years in federal prison for possessing over 2 ½ ounces of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Pugh was ordered to remain on supervised release for eight years following his release from prison. Pugh pled guilty on April 29, 2015, to possession with intent to distribute on Nov. 21, 2014.
Each of the men was classified as a Career Offender under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and was eligible for enhanced sentences, because each of them had at least two prior convictions for either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. According to court documents, each of the men has prior drug convictions in Macon County Circuit Court.
The three men have remained detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since their respective arrests: Farrington on July 8, 2014; Burtley on Nov. 5, 2014; and Pugh, arrested on Dec. 9, 2014.
The cases are the result of ongoing investigations related to drug and gun violence in the Decatur area by the Decatur Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government at sentencing for each of the defendants.
Three Clarksburg residents convicted of heroin traffickingRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Three individuals were convicted of heroin trafficking today in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Billy Cunningham, Sr., 62, of Clarksburg, sold heroin in January 2015 near an elementary school and a playground in Harrison County, West Virginia. He pled guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location – Aiding and Abetting.” He faces between one and forty years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000,000.
Robert Goy Emerson, 40, and Waneta K. Cunningham, 35, both of Clarksburg, sold heroin in Harrison County, West Virginia throughout 2014. Emerson pled guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Heroin.” Cunningham pled guilty today to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Heroin.” They each face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Montoro prosecuted Billy Cunningham and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley prosecuted Emerson and Waneta Cunningham on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated each of the defendants.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.