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25 August 2015
Acoma Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting his Intimate PartnerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Randy P. Shutiva, 53, a member of the Acoma Pueblo who resides in San Fidel, N.M., pleaded guilty in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault charge.
Shutiva was arrested on Dec. 19, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting an Acoma Pueblo woman who was his intimate partner by punching her in the face and head and kicking her body. The criminal complaint alleged that Shutiva committed the assault on Dec. 6, 2014, in Acoma Pueblo within Cibola County, N.M. The victim lost the hearing in one ear and sustained other injuries as a result of the assault.
During today’s proceedings, Shutiva pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault by striking, beating or wounding. In entering his plea, Shutiva admitted striking the victim on the head and face and kicking her body on Dec. 6, 2014. He also acknowledged that the victim suffered multiple injuries and temporary hearing loss in one ear as a result of the attack.
At sentencing, Shutiva faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison followed by a maximum of one year of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Acoma Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raquel Ruiz-Velez and Elaine Ramirez are prosecuting this case.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
24 August 2015
Whitefield Man Indicted for Illegal Transportation of Hazardous MaterialsRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – A federal grand jury in the District of New Hampshire has indicted Lewis Scott Niles, 54, of Whitefield, New Hampshire, on four counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials, reports Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.
The indictment alleges that from about September 2013 through about April 2014, Niles sold diesel fuel or fuel oil and a flammable liquid to be used in heating furnaces in his customers’ homes and businesses. Niles is charged with transporting hundreds of gallons of those combustible and flammable liquids without the required placards identifying them as hazardous materials.
Niles appeared today in the United States District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, for an initial appearance and arraignment hearing. A trial date was scheduled for October 20, 2015. Niles was released on personal recognizance pending his trial.
If convicted, Niles is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the United States Department of Transportation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman.
An indictment is merely an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Ohio men sentenced for selling heroin, cocaine near WV playgroundsRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Shannon Jerome Hinton, 25, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Gregory Edward Allen, 28, of Bridgeport, Ohio, were sentenced in federal court today for selling heroin and cocaine near playgrounds located in the Northern District of West Virginia, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Hinton was sentenced today to 77 months in prison. He sold heroin in August 2014 near Clark Field Playground in Hancock County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in June 2015 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location,” following an investigation led by the Hancock, Brooke, Weirton Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The Columbiana County, Ohio Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration Youngstown, Ohio Field Office assisted in the investigation.
Allen was sentenced today to 41 months in prison. He was discovered in possession of crack cocaine in February 2015 near Bridge Park, a playground located on Wheeling Island in Ohio County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in May 2015 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location,” following an investigation by the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Perri prosecuted Allen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted Hinton on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
Two Former North Carolina Correctional Officers IndictedRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announces that on August 19, 2015, a federal grand jury in Raleigh returned a four count Indictment against two former Correctional Officers that worked at Polk Correctional Institution (“Polk”) in Butner, North Carolina.
The Indictment charges GREGORY DUSTIN GOULDMAN, 31 and JASON DEAN, 29, each with one count of Extortion Under Color of Official Right, 18 U.S.C. § 1951. Additionally, DEAN was charged with one count of making a False Statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 18 U.S.C § 1001, and one count of lying before a federal Grand Jury, 18 U.S.C. § 1623.
U.S. Attorney Walker stated, “Corruption by correction officers undermines the criminal justice system and puts the general public at risk. We will always prosecute these kinds of cases to maintain the integrity of our system.”
GOULDMAN was employed as a Correctional Officer at Polk from 2005, through May of 2015. From 2012, through September of 2014, GOULDMAN held the position of Sergeant and worked as a supervisor in Polk’s “high security maximum control unit” (hereinafter “HCON”). The HCON unit was opened in 1998 to serve as North Carolina’s supermax prison for “the state’s most violent and assaultive offenders.” The indictment alleges that GOULDMAN engaged in a scheme with a number of prisoners held in HCON under which he smuggled tobacco, marijuana, cellular telephones, and packages of AA batteries (often used to fashion a device for charging the cellular telephones) to such inmates in exchange for cash. The cellular telephones were used by the inmates to communicate with persons outside of prison. It is further alleged that, after being transferred out of HCON in September of 2014, GOULDMAN continued to smuggle contraband into Polk for at least one additional inmate.
DEAN is alleged to have misused his position as a Correction Officer to extort things of value from inmates. DEAN is also alleged to have lied as to a material fact during an interview with FBI Agents and to have committed perjury while testifying before a federal Grand Jury.
The United States Attorney’s Office and FBI’s investigation into Polk was prompted by the circumstances relating to the kidnapping conspiracy alleged to have been orchestrated by defendant Kelvin Melton through the use of a cellular telephone in his cell in HCON.
"These men put many lives at risk for their own profit. They were entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that North Carolina's convicted criminals serve their sentences. Instead, this type of conduct made it possible for a dangerous gang member to reach outside of prison walls which lead to the kidnapping of Mr. Frank Janssen. The FBI will keep pursuing this case and will not stop until everyone who played a role in this ruthless crime is held accountable," said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI.
Polk is operated under the purview of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (“DPS”). DPS Secretary Frank L. Perry said: "The department has participated in and cooperated with this investigation and we strongly support this prosecution in this very serious case to the fullest extent of the law. DPS has so many professional and dedicated employees who serve the state in this very challenging and dangerous environment and it is truly regrettable when a corrupt staff member puts their co-workers and the public at risk."
If convicted of Extortion Under Color of Official Rights both defendants face maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. In addition, DEAN faces a maximum of 5 years imprisonment if convicted of making a False Statement and a fine of $250,000 and 5 years imprisonment if convicted of Perjury and a fine of $250,000.
The charges and allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Duffy and Leslie Cooley.
Tuscola Businessman Pleads Guilty to Income Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – Sentencing has been scheduled on Jan. 4, 2016, for a Tuscola, Ill., businessman, Lorenzo Shane Stewart, owner of Ten Acres Excavating, who pled guilty on Friday to two counts of income tax evasion. Stewart appeared in Springfield before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough. Stewart remains on bond pending sentencing.
During court proceedings and according to court documents, Stewart, 48, admitted that he failed to pay more than $1.12 million in income tax for the 2008 and 2009 tax years. In 2006, Stewart began conducting his excavation and construction business under the name Ten Acre Excavating. Stewart put the business under the name of one of his employees. Although Stewart operated the business and received the income generated from the business, Stewart did not claim income generated by Ten Acre Excavating on his own tax returns.
In approximately July 2008, Stewart was awarded contracts to perform excavating and construction work on several natural gas pipeline substations that were being built in the Tuscola area. Stewart and his employees performed work on these substations and received checks related to this pipeline work totaling approximately $1.7 million in 2008 and $5.9 million in 2009. Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $74,199, when in fact, his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $279,803. For 2009, Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income was approximately $257,361, when in fact, his adjusted gross income was approximately $3,044,980.
Each count carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a $100,000 fine plus the costs of prosecution, and restitution.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller. The charges are the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
Topeka Man Sentenced for Downloading Child PornRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to 84 months in federal prison for downloading child pornography from the Internet, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Mark A. Hastert, 55, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
“Consumers of child pornography help create a market and demand for the production of images of sexual abuse and exploitation of real children,” Grissom said. “They contribute to the cycle of abuse and are in part responsible for the harm suffered by children.”
In his plea, Hastert, admitted that the investigation began in September 2011 when a task force with the FBI cyber crime unit in Kansas City, Mo., downloaded child pornography from Hastert’s computer using a file sharing program. Investigators followed an electronic trail to Hastert’s home in Topeka. A forensic examination located 875 images and 58 videos of child pornography on Hastert’s computer.
Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney for their work on the case.
Topeka Man Gets 13 Years in Federal Prison in Valero Robbery, ShootingRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to 13 years in federal prison for robbing a Valero gas station and shooting the clerk, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Corey Eugene Johnson, 41, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on July 28, 2013, he robbed a Valero gas station at 1161 S.W. Gage in Topeka.
In his plea, Johnson admitted he was carrying a .40 caliber handgun when he entered the gas station and demanded money from the cash register. Seeing a customer at the counter, Johnson ordered him to the floor and put his foot on the customer’s head. When a clerk refused to turn over money from the cash register, Johnson shot the clerk several times. Then Johnson ordered the customer to open the cash register. Johnson fled the store in a black Monte Carlo. Police found the wounded clerk, who was taken to the hospital and survived the shooting.
In June, co-defendant Shawn Michael Sneed, 22, Topeka, Kan., was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Topeka Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.
Three Stockton Residents Arrested for Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme, 6 Others Remain at LargeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three of nine defendants were arrested today for participating in a credit card fraud conspiracy aimed at Target REDcard account holders across the United States and involving hundreds of fraudulent transactions and at least 1,000 victims, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
A 12-count indictment, unsealed today, charges nine defendants with conspiracy, credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegal possession of credit card-making equipment. The indictment alleges that Stockton residents Boon B. Khoonsrivong, 38; Thongchone Vongdeng, 35; Daisy Sysengrat, 29; Vuthiya Tim, 30; Meghan Paradis, 31; Sequoia Valverde, 32; Amber Collins, 30; Somaly Siv, 29; and Jaffrey Brown, 31, conspired to make and use unauthorized credit cards at large retailers, relying on fraudulently obtained victims’ identities. Today, law enforcement agents arrested Vongdeng, and Brown, in Stockton. Agents arrested Siv in Reno, Nevada. The other six defendants remain at large.
According to the indictment, between March 2014 and September 2014, the nine conspirators obtained personal information from victims through various methods. The conspirators then used that information to create unauthorized credit card accounts and used those cards and accounts to obtain things of value in excess of $1,000. Part of the scheme involved using unauthorized Target REDcard account numbers to buy large amounts of electronics, prepaid gift cards, and other goods at Target locations throughout the Sacramento area, northern California, and elsewhere. The indictment further alleges that one of the defendants, Boone B. Khoonsrivong, possessed device-making equipment with the intent to defraud and engaged in aggravated identity theft.
In all, the indictment alleges that more than 300 counterfeit and unauthorized credit card account numbers were created, used, or sold by members of the conspiracy, and over 1,000 victims have been identified as having had their identities compromised as a result of the conspiracy.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.
If the defendants are convicted, they face maximum statutory penalties ranging from five to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tehachapi Doctor Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Patients and Insurers by Implanting IUDs That Were Not Approved by the FDARead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Dr. Paul S. Singh, 55, of Tehachapi, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud for a scheme to defraud his patients and their insurers by implanting and billing for unapproved intrauterine devices (IUDs), United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Singh, a medical doctor licensed to practice in California, had an office in Tehachapi. He provided obstetric and gynecological services to women, including providing forms of birth control. One form of birth control he provided were IUDs, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates. The FDA has approved only one IUD that uses copper as its active ingredient, the ParaGard T-380A, which was sold only by its manufacturer and not available on third-party websites. The insertion of a non-FDA-approved copper IUD risks a patient’s safety. It can result in an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, hysterectomy, and other serious complications.
According to court documents, Singh bought unapproved IUDs on the Internet but fraudulently billed his patients and their insurers as if he had inserted FDA-approved IUDs, all without the permission or consent of his patients,
According to court documents, Singh was sent multiple bulletins and newsletters warning against the use of unapproved IUDs. He was also warned that products sold by online pharmacies were not identical to the ParaGard T-380A and had not been approved as safe and effective by the FDA. In spite of the warnings, Singh purchased unapproved IUDs from online retailers and implanted them in numerous patients without their consent, between April 2008 and June 2012.
In August 2010, agents from the FDA confronted Singh about his history of implanting unapproved IUDs. During the meeting, Singh agreed to stop implanting them in his patients. Agents later conducted a search warrant of Singh’s office in 2012 and learned that he had continued to implant unapproved IUDs in his patients.
Singh failed to advise his patients of the risks of unapproved IUDs or of the fact that one had been implanted in them. According to the plea agreement, many of Singh’s patients later complained to him and other doctors about medical complications they associated with Singh’s insertion of the IUD. In multiple instances, Singh responded to such complaints by re-inserting the IUD rather than removing it. Some patients ultimately had to switch doctors in order to have the IUD removed.
Singh profited from the implanting unapproved IUDs by billing his patients and their insurers for the higher cost of approved IUDs, which was false and fraudulent.
United States Attorney Wagner stated: “Doctors who take shortcuts by utilizing unapproved medical devices willingly put their own financial interests ahead of their obligation to care for the health of their patients. My office is increasing its focus on health care fraud cases, and those who benefit while disregarding the health of patients will be first in line for investigation and prosecution.”
“Medical doctors have a special responsibility to make the best choices for their patients. When they ignore that responsibility and use unapproved medical devices, they put patients’ safety and health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Lisa L. Malinowski, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Los Angeles Field Office. “Our office will continue its work to ensure that doctors and other healthcare professionals understand the consequences of using medical products that have not been approved by the FDA.”
This case is the product of an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick R. Delahunty and Kirk E. Sherriff are prosecuting the case.
Singh is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on November 23, 2015. Singh faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Spice Distribution Kingpin John Bowen Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DENVER – U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer today sentenced John Bowen, age 68, of Las Vegas to 60 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release for his role as the kingpin in a Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Distribute Controlled Substances, and Money Laundering, federal law enforcement announced today. In addition to the prison sentence, assets were ordered forfeited, including $1,800,000 in cash as well as three real properties in Florida.
Following an eight month investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement in May 2014, a federal grand jury in Denver returned indictments charging nine individuals from across the country with conspiracy and drug distribution charges related to “Spice”.
“Spice” is a common term for synthetic cannabinoids. From August through September 2013, there were 221 documented synthetic cannabinoid related emergency room visits in the Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas. There were hospitalizations in other states as well. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially investigated the outbreak of these emergency room visits, declaring an emergency health epidemic in 2013. In response to the crisis, federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutors came together to identify solutions to protect the public, especially youth, from the purchase and use of Spice and other synthetic cannabinoid products.
The majority of “Spice” victims were between the ages of 12 through 29, with victims ranging in age from 12 to 70 years of age. Seventy-five percent of the victims were male. Local convenience stores and gas stations made retail sales of the spice products. In this case, investigators determined that the original chemical product was sent to the United States from China. The indictment alleges the chemical was imported to Florida and received by defendant Daniel Bernier. In Florida the chemical was sprayed on a green vegetable substance. The chemical-coated substance was then packaged and shipped to both wholesalers and retailers in Colorado and throughout the United States.
The indictment and other court documents stated that the distribution was organized by John Bowen. He first operated under the name “The Really Cool Stuff Company”. After the product received negative media attention, Bowen changed the distribution name to “Heart of Asia.” Creager Mercantile, run by defendant Donald Creager, III, was one of the wholesalers. Creager shipped the product to local corner stores and gas stations in Colorado. Defendant James Johnson of Castle Rock was a salesperson working for “The Really Cool Stuff Company” and later “Heart of Asia.”
The defendants also shipped product to retail outlets in other states, including Avalon on 4th LLC, associated with defendant Kenneth Chastain in Wisconsin; Main Stop, Inc., associated with defendant Altaf Hussain in Illinois; and “Tobacco Hut,” associated with defendants Peter Karfias and Stephanie Christensen in Nebraska.
To date, eight individuals have been convicted and sentenced as follows:
- John Bowen – 60 months in federal prison
- Daniel Bernier – 42 months in federal prison
- James Johnson – 18 months in federal prison
- Donald Creager, III – 5 years’ probation with 1 year home detention as a condition of probation and a $50,000 fine
- Kenneth Chastain – 60 days imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release to follow
- Altaf Hussain Dandia – 5 years’ probation
- Peter Karfias – 5 years’ probation with 6 months home detention as a condition of probation
- Stephanie Christenson – 5 years’ probation with 3 months of home detention as a condition of probation
The investigation encompassed Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Alaska, Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Nevada, with documented distribution of synthetic cannabinoids from Heart of Asia to numerous additional states.
Law enforcement agencies emphasizes that no brand of “Spice” or similar products are safe. All synthetic cannabinoids are dangerous. No “Spice” products have been approved by the FDA, and may constitute controlled substances in violation of state and federal law.
“Synthetic cannabinoid, also known as Spice, is a dangerous illegal substance that can make individuals very ill, and even kill them,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Thanks to the hard work of law enforcement at every level in Colorado, including the Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and the agents from the DEA, FDA Office of Inspector General and the IRS Criminal Investigation, as well as our state partners, the District Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial District and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office -- we’ve removed a substantial amount of Spice from the streets of Colorado, and put in prison those who were making and selling the dangerous substance.”
“The investigation of Bowen’s organization was key to one of the most significant synthetic drug investigations conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration.” said Barbra Roach, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Denver Field Division. “Synthetic cannabinoids pose significant and dangerous health threats to our communities, and those who would try to profit from them must be held accountable. There is no such thing as safe ‘Spice’.”
“Those who distribute drugs in a manner that defeats the government’s ability to regulate those products put consumers at risk,” said Catherine A. Hermsen, Special Agent in Charge of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ Kansas City Field Office. “Our agents will continue to work with other federal partners to bring these criminals to justice.”
“Spice is a dangerous concoction of chemicals and can be deadly,” said Steven Osborne, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. “By using our financial expertise to follow the money and working with other law enforcement partners we were able to dismantle the operation and get Spice off the streets which in the end will save lives.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation (FDA OCI), the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), the ATF, the District Attorney’s Office of the 18th Judicial District, the Aurora Police Department, the North Metro Drug Task Force, the West Metro Drug Task Force, the Castle Rock Police Department, the Denver Police Department, the Lakewood Police Department, and the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The United States Attorney’s Office also commends the 18th Judicial District and the Colorado Attorney General’s office for their work to remove Spice from the shelves of stores in Colorado.
The United States Attorney’s Offices for the Central District of Florida, the District of Nebraska, the District of Nevada, the Western District of Wisconsin and the Northern District of Illinois have provided substantial assistance in this matter as well.
The defendants were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jaime Pena and Tim Neff, with Tonya Andrews handling the asset forfeiture.
Sanford Wallace Pleads Guilty to Spamming Facebook Users and Disobeying A Court OrderRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Sanford Wallace pleaded guilty in federal court in San Jose today to fraud and criminal contempt in connection with misusing electronic mail and related activity, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
In connection with his guilty plea, Wallace, 47, of Las Vegas, Nevada, admitted that, from approximately November 2008 through March 2009, he developed and executed a plan to fraudulently obtain Facebook users’ login credentials in order to gain access to their accounts and send them unsolicited commercial electronic messages (spam). Wallace further admitted that as a result of his plan he accessed approximately 500,000 Facebook accounts and sent more than 27 million commercial electronic messages through Facebook’s servers.
Wallace, also known as “Spam King,” acknowledged accessing Facebook’s computer network in order to send transmissions on three occasions: November 5, 2008, December 28, 2008 and February 17, 2009. As part of his November 2008 activity, Wallace initiated transmission of a program that resulted in more than 125,000 messages being sent to Facebook users. His December 2008 activity resulted in transmission of nearly 300,000 messages to Facebook users and his February 2009 activity resulted in transmission of 125,000 spam messages being sent to Facebook users.
Furthermore, as part of his plea agreement, Wallace admitted he knowingly violated the order of United States District Judge Jeremy Fogel directing Wallace not to access Facebook’s computer network. Specifically, during the proceedings in the civil case Facebook, Inc. v. Sanford Wallace, et al, No.C09-00798 JF, Judge Fogel specifically ordered Wallace not to access Facebook’s computer network on three occasions: March 2, 2009, March 24, 2009, and September 18, 2009. Wallace admitted that that he nevertheless willfully and knowingly violated Judge Fogel’s order on April 17, 2009, by logging into his Facebook account while aboard a Virgin Airlines flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to New York, New York.
Wallace was indicted by a grand jury on July 6, 2011. He was charged with six counts of fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1037(a)(1) and (b)(2)(A); 18 U.S.C. §§ 1037(a)(2) and (b)(2)(C), and 18 U.S.C. §§ 1037(a)(4) and (b)(2)(B). Wallace was also charged with three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(a)(5)(A) and (c)(4)(B)(i), and two counts of criminal contempt, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 401(3). Under the plea agreement, Wallace pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail and one count of criminal contempt.
Wallace is currently released on bond. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 7, 2015, before the Honorable Edward J. Davila, U.S. District Court Judge, in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1037(a)(1) and (b)(2)(A) is three years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 401(3) is determined by the Court. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Susan Knight and Hanley Chew are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
San Antonio Businessman Sentenced to Federal Prison for his Role in an Estimated $1.65 Million Food Stamp Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
In San Antonio this morning, Senior United States District Judge David Ezra sentenced a San Antonio businessman to federal prison for his role in an estimated $1.65 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamp fraud scheme announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.
Judge Ezra sentenced 52-year-old Sunny Joseph, owner of Picnic Food Mart on South Hamilton Avenue, to 48 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Ezra also ordered the defendant to pay $1,652,000 in restitution to the federal Government.
On April 23, 2015, Sunny Joseph pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. By pleading guilty, the defendant admitted that between November 2009 and March 2011, he, and employees under his direction, sold ineligible items, including tobacco and alcohol, to SNAP beneficiaries. Furthermore, the defendant admitted that he, and employees under his direction, traded SNAP benefits for cash for a fee averaging between 35-42 cents for every dollar.
The case was investigated by agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Moore.
Roanoke Man Sentenced for Stealing Disability Benefits from Railroad Retirement BoardRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – The owner of Thelma’s Chicken and Waffles, a restaurant located in downtown Roanoke, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke for stealing disability benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board.
Christopher Mayo, 46, of Roanoke, previously pled guilty to one count of stealing government monies. The defendant admitted that beginning in 2007 he falsely applied for and received monthly disability annuity payments from the Railroad Retirement Board [RRB]. In all, Mayo received $228,556 in disability payments for which he was not entitled.
Today in District Court, Mayo was sentenced to 14 months of federal incarceration. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the RRB in the amount of $228,556.
An investigation into Mayo began in late 2014 after the RRB received a complaint from Norfolk Southern. The investigation revealed that after applying for disability benefits in 2007, Mayo worked to knowingly hide his employment and ownership of Thelma’s Chicken and Waffles from the RRB. When questioned by investigators in early 2015, the defendant initially stated that he was an investor in the restaurant, was waiting for a big pay day from it and did not make any money from his role in the downtown eatery. He did, later, admit to investigators that he knowingly hid his income in order to continue to receive disability benefits.
The investigation of the case was conducted by investigators with the Railroad Retirement Board- Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.
Previously Indicted McAllen Area Doctor Charged Again and Ordered into CustodyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas ‐ A McAllen area doctor, previously indicted in an illegal kickback scheme, has been charged on new allegations of health care fraud for his scheme to defraud Medicare, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Dr. Eduardo Carrillo, 42, of Edinburg, was previously released on bond on the initial charges in June 2015. Following the return of the superseding indictment on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, the government filed a motion to revoke that bond, alleging he violated his previously imposed conditions and engaged in illegal conduct, to include health care fraud. At a hearing held today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Carrillo surrender to authorities at the time of his initial appearance on the superseding indictment to be held tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos.
The 12-count superseding indictment alleges Carrillo attempted to cause others to bill Medicare for 34 patients who were actually deceased on the dates Carrillo claimed to have provided services to the them. Carrillo allegedly submitted fraudulent documentation to a billing company so that the company would file claims with Medicare for reimbursement of physician services.
Carrillo was previously charged along with his assistant, Martha Medrano, 47, also of Edinburg, in an indictment returned June 9, 2015, for their scheme to solicit and obtain illegal kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals. In that scheme, Carrillo and Medrano allegedly solicited and obtained cash in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to prospective home health agencies.
The superseding indictment charges Carrillo with six new counts of health care fraud in addition to the previously filed charges, which include three counts of illegal remunerations, one count of making false statements and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Each of the counts of health care fraud carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in federal prison, while illegal remunerations and false statements each carry a possible five-year prison term. If convicted of either of the aggravated identity theft charges. He will also face a mandatory 24 months in federal prison which must be served consecutively to any other prison sentence imposed.
The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‐Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Day is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Owner of Mystic Pizza Sentenced to Federal Prison for Tax Evasion and Structuring Cash TransactionsRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that JOHN ZELEPOS, 49, of North Stonington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for tax evasion and structuring cash transactions. ZELEPOS also was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, forfeit more than $500,000, and pay back taxes with interest and penalties.
According to court documents and statements made in court, ZELEPOS is the sole owner of Mystic Pizza, LLC, a Schedule C retail restaurant business in Mystic, Connecticut. From 2006 to 2010, ZELEPOS diverted approximately $567,435 in cash from Mystic Pizza’s gross receipts, approximately $330,005 of which was deposited into his personal bank account, his and his wife’s personal checking account, his wife’s personal checking account and passbook savings accounts in the name of each of his three minor children. During the same time period, ZELEPOS caused Mystic Pizza to pay a total of $162,168 to two “no-show” employees who performed no work for the restaurant. He then deducted the wages as expenses on his tax return’s Schedule C for Mystic Pizza. ZELEPOS failed to disclose to his tax return preparer receipt of the diverted cash and the two no-show employees.
Based on this conduct, the federal tax loss for 2006 to 2010 was $234,407. ZELEPOS has paid restitution in that amount, but still is required to pay interest and substantial penalties.
ZELEPOS also intentionally structured financial transactions to avoid having the bank file Currency Transaction Reports (“CTR”). Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a CTR for currency transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000. Structuring involves the repeated depositing of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements. Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law. Structured funds are subject to forfeiture to the United States.
Between January 2010 and January 2011, ZELEPOS engaged in 61 currency transactions in amounts less than $10,000, depositing a total of $522,658 into the business account, his personal account, his and wife’s personal bank account, and his three children’s bank accounts in amounts ranging from $3,000 to $9,998. The cash deposits were made on sequential days, or multiple cash deposits were made on the same day. ZELEPOS knew that the bank was required to issue a report for a currency transaction in excess of $10,000 and by conducting his financial transactions in amounts less than $10,000 he intended to evade the transaction reporting requirements.
ZELEPOS was ordered to forfeit $522,658 as a result of his illegal structuring.
On January 2012, pursuant to a court-authorized federal seizure warrant, the IRS seized $63,084.49 from a payroll account Mystic Pizza held at Chelsea Groton Bank. Those funds are being applied to the forfeiture, reducing the remaining forfeiture amount to $459,573.51.
On March 31, 2015, ZELEPOS waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of structuring financial transactions.
ZELEPOS was ordered to report to prison on October 30, 2015.
This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.
Orange County Man Pleads Guilty in Two-Pronged Ponzi Scheme that Cause Scores of Investors to Lose More Than $14 MillionRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Orange County man who operated a Ponzi scheme that featured false promises of large returns to victims who invested in debt obligations and distressed real estate pleaded guilty today to federal mail fraud and wire fraud charges.
William Donnelly Yotty, 69, who currently resides in Monarch Beach, but during the course of the scheme lived in Lodi, California, pleaded guilty to the two felony counts before United States District Judge Margaret M. Morrow.
Yotty, who has been held without bond since being arrested in this case in May 2014, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced by Judge Morrow on November 23.
In a plea agreement filed last week in United States District Court, Yotty admitted that he ran several Lodi-based companies that offered bogus investments in corporate debt obligations and in distressed real estate that he and his salespeople said could be “flipped” for substantial profit.
In the first scheme, which ran from the spring of 2007 through 2009, Yotty and his associates “offered victims investments in convertible debentures (CDs), promissory notes and other financial instruments that defendant falsely and fraudulently represented and promised were safe and secure and would pay substantial interest,” according to the plea agreement. Using companies he operated under the names Global Capital Associates, Inc.; Infostar Systems, Inc.; Pacific Financial Solutions, Inc.; and The Money People, Inc., Yotty solicited money from victims by promising annual interest rates as high as 25 percent. Yotty and salesmen working for him told prospective investors that the companies issuing the debt had sufficient income to pay the promised interest on the investments, and that the capital investment would be returned when the notes matured.
“In fact, as defendant then well knew, the returns were not guaranteed and the investors’ principal was not secure because the only way defendant could fund the ‘interest’ payments he promised to investors was with other investors’ money,” Yotty admitted in his plea agreement.
In the second scheme, which was run through a company he called Fortuno, Inc. and took place during roughly the same time at the first scheme, Yotty offered victims the opportunity to purchase foreclosed real estate at below-market prices, which would allow them to resell, or “flip,” the properties at two or three times their purchase price. In fact, Yotty himself was flipping the properties to the investors at substantial profits for himself. Yotty concealed from the investors that the price they were paying for the properties was double or triple what Fortuno had paid, and that this inflated price would prevent the victims from realizing any profit of their own. As a further inducement to invest in Fortuno, Yotty and his salespeople also falsely promised victims that the properties were in livable condition and that Fortuno would manage the properties until the promised resale.
Yotty and others involved in the scheme raised more than $10 million in the debt obligation scheme, and more than $6 million in the real estate flipping scheme. When the schemes collapsed, approximately 240 investors lost over $14 million.
The investigation into Yotty’s Ponzi scheme was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
North Texas Man Sentenced to 93 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) SchemeRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A north Texas man who pleaded guilty to his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme was sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Reminco Zhangazha was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 93 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,648,334 in restitution. Zhangazha, who is in custody, pleaded guilty in June 2014 to one count of theft of public funds. Zhangazha’s co-defendant in the case, Tonderai Sakupwanya, pleaded guilty last year to the same offense and was sentenced earlier this year to 87 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution. The restitution is payable jointly and severally by the two defendants.
The plea agreements with the government note that the defendants will forfeit the following property seized by law enforcement in May 2012 during the investigation of this case: $10,613 cash seized from Zhangazha’s vehicle; $93,513 cash from Villa Piana Luxury Apartments on Noel Road in Dallas; and $4,500 from a residence on Spring Mountain in Plano, Texas.
According to the factual resumes filed in the case, Zhangazha and Sakupwanya engaged in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by obtaining stolen tax refunds that were generated by e-filing false and fraudulent income tax returns. They rented private mailboxes in the names of aliases by using forged United Kingdom passports. They then established bank accounts using the alias names and mailing addresses acquired at the private mailboxes. During the course of the scheme, Zhangazha used the aliases of “Martin V. Masters” and “Roy Daniel Black.” Sakupwanya used the aliases of “Webster G. Rice,” “Floyd Robbins,” and “Floyd Roberts,” during the scheme, according to the factual resume.
According to the factual resumes, the Forms 1040 directed the IRS to electronically deposit the refunds into bank accounts the defendants established. Alternatively, the Forms 1040 directed refunds to be issued by a treasury check and mailed to an address under the control of the defendants. The income tax returns also directed refunds to accounts established at a third-party financial services company, such as EPS Financial, that would enable them to issue a check containing the tax refund. These third party checks and the treasury checks were deposited into bank accounts the defendants established. After the checks were deposited, or the tax refunds were electronically deposited, the defendants would withdraw the funds for their own use and benefit. The factual resumes note that the cash, mentioned above, which was seized from the defendants during the investigation, was obtained by them as a result of their scheme.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Stokes prosecuted.
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Naples Man Sentenced to More Than Seventeen Years for Three Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell sentenced John Robert Haldemann (31, Naples) today to 17 years and 7 months in federal prison for committing three armed bank robberies. As part of his sentence, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $14,308, representing the combined proceeds of the robberies. The Court also ordered Haldemann to pay restitution to each of the financial institutions he robbed, plus an additional $799.25 in restitution to Synovus Bank for damages to the bank’s door he had caused during an attempted robbery. Haldemann pleaded guilty on March 24, 2015.
According to court documents, Haldemann committed three armed bank robberies last summer. On June 4, 2014, he robbed a Capital Bank in Venice. He then committed an armed robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank in Naples on July 12, 2014. And, in Punta Gorda on July 25, 2014, he robbed a Bank of America. During each armed bank robbery, Haldemann displayed what appeared to be a firearm and demanded money from bank employees.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Task Force, the Punta Gorda Police Department, the Naples Police Department, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the Venice Police Department, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Lazarus.
Mescalero Apache Woman Sentenced for Federal Assault Conviction Arising out of Drive-By ShootingRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Julianna Rosynelle Venego, 29, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., for her assault conviction. Venego was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Venego was arrested on July 11, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that she drove a vehicle while a defendant in a separate case, Rufus Juan Lester, 23, also a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, fired multiple shots at a residence located on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in the early hours of Nov. 24, 2012. Venego was subsequently indicted on Oct. 16, 2013, and charged with two-counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.
Venego pled guilty to the indictment on July 8, 2014. In entering the guilty plea, Venego admitted that on Nov. 24, 2012, she drove Lester past a residence in Mescalero where Lester used two rifles to shoot at a residence which at the time was occupied by two adults and six children.
Lester was indicted in a separate case and charged with eight counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence. On May 16, 2014, Lester pled guilty to the eight counts in the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. Lester admitted riding in the passenger seat of the vehicle while Venego drove past a residence in Mescalero. As the vehicle went past the residence, Lester used two rifles to shoot at the residence which was occupied by two adults and six children at the time of the shooting, and that he assaulted each of the occupants when he shot at the residence. Lester was sentenced on Nov. 20, 2014, to 66 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Man Who Put Gun to Girlfriend’s Head Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A Wichita man who was arrested after putting a gun to his girlfriend’s head pleaded guilty Monday to a federal firearm charge, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Teagan C. Gulley, 35, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. In his plea, he admitted that Wichita police officers responding to a report of domestic violence saw him pointing a gun at his girlfriend. He was arrested and officers seized a .45 caliber handgun. He was a previously convicted felon at the time and he was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 9. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 77 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Wichita Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster for their work on the case.
Man Sentenced to Time Served for Re-Entering the United States from Guatemala and Use of a False Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
A man who illegally re-entered the country and then used a false social security number to obtain employment was sentenced on August 20, 2015, to time served.
Elmer Gomez-Ordonez, age 36, from Guatemala, received the prison term after a June 25, 2015, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry of a removed alien and one count of use of a false social security number.
At the guilty plea, Gomez-Ordonez admitted he illegally re-entered the United States after being deported on March 9, 2012, and that he had used a false social security number to obtain employment in Wright County. In April of 2015, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents learned that Gomez-Ordonez had been arrested and charged with OWI in Wright County, Iowa, on March 20, 2015. Immigration records reflected Gomez-Ordonez was a citizen of Guatemala and had previously been removed from the country in 2012. Agents discovered Gomez-Ordonez was employed in Eagle Grove, Iowa, under a different name. Records obtained at his place of employment reflected he had used a false social security number to obtain employment.
Gomez-Ordonez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Gomez-Ordonez was sentenced to time served. He must serve a 1-year term of supervised release.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-3023.
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Man Sentenced to Three Months Prison for Illegally Re-Entering the United States from MexicoRead the Press Release
A man who illegally re-entered the country was sentenced on August 20, 2015, to three months in federal prison.
Jose Colis-Salas, age 28, from Mexico, received the prison term after a June 26, 2015, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry of a removed alien.
At the guilty plea, Colis-Salas admitted he illegally re-entered the United States after being deported on April 5, 2013. Colis-Salas came to the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on April 10, 2015, when he was arrested in Clay County, Iowa for failure to appear on charges of identity theft and tampering with records.
Colis-Salas was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Colis-Salas was sentenced to three months imprisonment. He must serve a 1-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-4040.
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Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting Federal AgentRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Stacey Haynes (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that James William Lewis, a/k/a “Jessie,” a/k/a “Phoenix,” age 32, of Kings Mountain, North Carolina pled guilty today in federal court. Lewis plead guilty to a 2nd/subsequent offense of use/possession/discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, to wit: assault on a federal agent, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) and 924(c)(1)(C). Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. accepted the plea and will impose a sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that during the early morning hours of January 7, 2014, deputized task force agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Charlotte Safe Streets Task Force/Violent Crime Apprehension Team were in Fort Mill, South Carolina searching for Lewis, who was wanted for an armed robbery of a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant in North Carolina. Agents, in police attire and accompanied by York County Sheriff’s Department officers in marked units, approached the residence of Lewis’ girlfriend, Kirstie Elaine Philome Barratt, age 22, in an attempt to determine if Lewis was in the residence. After approximately 15 minutes of the agents knocking on the door and announcing their presence with a loud speaker, Barratt came to the door. Barratt, who was advised by agents that it was a crime to make a false statement to federal agents, told the agents that Lewis was not in the home, that she had not seen him for two (2) months because they had broken up, and that the only other persons in the residence were her parents. Barratt gave the agents consent to search the residence. Upon completing a sweep of the residence, agents located Barratt’s parents asleep in one upstairs bedroom and noticed the door shut to another upstairs bedroom. Agents could hear a dog barking in that other upstairs bedroom, so they asked Barratt to secure the dog so they could search the bedroom. Barratt went into the bedroom and came out with the dog. Agents then went into the bedroom and found Lewis crouched in the corner with his weapon drawn. Gunfire ensued and an FBI task force agent, as well as Lewis, was shot. Both Barratt and Lewis were taken into custody. Barratt later advised agents that she knew Lewis was in the residence, that she thought he was going to hide in the attic, and that when she entered the bedroom to retrieve the dog, she saw him in the corner with the gun, but did not tell the agents before allowing them to enter the bedroom.
On October 22, 2014, Barratt plead guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. At Barratt’s sentencing, the court granted the government’s motion for an upward departure from the federal guidelines sentencing range of 0 to 6 months, noting that this was a “rare” case and that Barratt “knowingly placed a law enforcement officer’s life in jeopardy” by her false statement. Barratt was sentenced to 24 months (2 years) imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Barratt is currently in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Barratt also may face deportation as a result of her conviction.
Mr. Nettles stated that Lewis faces a statutory mandatory minimum 25 years imprisonment consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years following the term of imprisonment. In July 2015, Lewis was sentenced to 108 months (9 years) in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina for the December 2013, robbery of the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant and possession of a firearm during that crime of violence, to wit: robbery. Lewis also has prior North Carolina state convictions for possession of cocaine (1999) and larceny of a motor vehicle (2000).
The case was investigated by the FBI, the York County Sheriff’s Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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Kern County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Ramon Gomez Garcia, 44, of Arvin, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with a scheme to submit hundreds of false federal tax returns in the names of third parties, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. His co-conspirator, Ramon Duran Gallardo, 56, of Planada, pleaded guilty to the same offense on August 12, 2015.
According to court documents, Garcia and Gallardo agreed with others to defraud the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by submitting false federal income tax returns in the names of third parties. The conspirators submitted the returns with false IRS Form W-2s showing fraudulent wages and withholdings. On the basis of these false tax returns and W-2s, the conspirators fraudulently claimed tax refunds in the names of the purported taxpayers. The conspirators caused over 500 false tax returns to be filed, and Garcia and Gallardo each admitted to causing over $100,000 in false claims to the IRS.
This case was the product of an investigation by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan A. S. Richards and Kirk Sherriff are prosecuting the case.
Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on November 23, 2015, and Gallardo is scheduled to be sentenced on November 16, 2015, by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill. Garcia and Gallardo face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Nebraska-Based Meat Packing CompanyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with Nebraska Beef Ltd., a meat packing company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The settlement resolves an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) into whether the company was engaging in employment discrimination in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In particular, OSC investigated whether the company was requiring non-U.S. citizen employees, because of their citizenship status, to present proof of their immigration status for the employment eligibility verification process.
The department’s investigation found that the company required non-U.S. citizens, but not similarly-situated U.S. citizens, to present specific documentary proof of their immigration status to verify their employment eligibility. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from making documentary demands based on citizenship or national origin when verifying an employee’s authorization to work.
“The department is committed to ensuring that individuals who are authorized to work in the United States can support their families and contribute to our country’s economic growth without facing unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to employment,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “We will vigorously enforce the law to remove such barriers where we find them, and ensure that affected individuals have a means of seeking relief.”
Under the settlement agreement, Nebraska Beef Ltd. will pay a $200,000 civil penalty to the United States and will establish an uncapped back pay fund to compensate individuals who lost wages because of the company’s practices. The settlement also requires the company to undergo compliance monitoring for two years, train its employees on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, and to review and revise its office policies. For more information on the back pay fund or to make a claim for lost wages, please call 202-616-2603 or email [email protected].
OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation. Trial Attorneys Katherine E. Lamm and Silvia Dominguez-Reese of the Civil Rights Division investigated this matter.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php, email [email protected]; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to different documentary requirements based on their citizenship status, immigration status or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship status, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee should contact OSC’s worker hotline for assistance.
Nebraska Beef Settlement Agreement (720.79 KB)
Hurricane man sentenced to federal prison for obstruction of justiceRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Hurricane man who threw guns from his car during a traffic stop on I-64 was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. John Anthony Roberts, 47, plead guilty May of 2015 in federal court in Huntington to obstruction of justice.
On July 20, 2014, Roberts was traveling on I-64 in Barboursville when a West Virginia State Trooper attempted to stop of his vehicle. Roberts refused to stop and attempted to evade the Trooper. While fleeing from the Trooper, Roberts threw two guns from his moving vehicle. During his guilty plea, Roberts admitted that he threw the guns from his car in an attempt to hide them because he was aware that he was prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.
Huntington woman pleads guilty to federal firearm chargeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington woman who brought a concealed weapon into the federal building in Huntington pleaded guilty today in federal court, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Whitney H. Borders, 29, entered a guilty plea before Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On May 28, 2015, Borders entered the federal courthouse and approached the security post to be screened for entry into the building. While Borders was being screened, security officers found a .22 caliber pistol in a purse Borders was carrying. Borders was prohibited from possessing a firearm based on a previous felony conviction in Cabell County.
Borders faces up to 10 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 23, 2015.
The United States Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is responsible for the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.
Huntington man sentenced in federal court for distributing heroinRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who sold heroin to a confidential informant on multiple occasions in 2014 was sentenced today to one year in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Tayvon Mykal Gaulds, 21, previously pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington in May of 2015 to distributing heroin.
On November 12, 2014, Gaulds arranged to sell heroin to a confidential informant working at the direction of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force. Gaulds met the informant in the 1800 block of 9 1/2 Alley in Huntington and sold the informant approximately 5 grams of heroin in exchange for $650. Gaulds also distributed heroin to the informant on two other occasions in Huntington.
The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Fresno Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Javier Solis, 29, of Fresno, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to 11 years and nine months in prison for sex trafficking of a minor, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. On August 17, 2015, co‑defendant Michael Anthony Andrade, 34, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison.
According to court documents, Andrade and Solis forced two girls, ages 15 and 17, perform sex acts for money first in Fresno and then in San Luis Obispo. In addition, the 15‑year-old girl was taken to a tattoo parlor in Fresno where the defendants’ nicknames were tattooed on her, one name on each shoulder.
Court documents further reflect the 17-year-old, a runaway, spoke with Fresno Police officers on October 24, 2013, after her mother brought her home from San Luis Obispo. While being interviewed, she told officers about the 15-year-old who was still in San Luis Obispo under the control of the defendants as well as the motel where she was staying. In response, the San Luis Obispo Police Department was contacted, and officers were able to successfully remove her from that location.
“The public should be outraged that men like Solis and Andrade market and 'rent' teens to others for profit and to the detriment of their young victims,” said Supervisory Special Agent Robert Guyton form the Fresno resident agency of the FBI's Sacramento field office. “We are thankful for our collaborative relationship with the Fresno Police Department and other law enforcement partners. Working together, we can recover victims and ensure their exploiters face justice.”
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow, who prosecuted the case before it was filed in federal court, commented: “Collaboration, such as occurred here between federal, state, and local agencies, is the key to stopping human trafficking networks. We are pleased with the guilty pleas and the message that this tough sentence sends to anyone involved in sex trafficking of minors. We will continue to be vigilant to seek out and take down the perpetrators of human trafficking by using the collaboration of our anti-human trafficking task force.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno Police Department, the San Luis Obispo Police Department and the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Frye and Mia Giacomazzi prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
Four Eufaula and Checotah Individuals Plead Guilty to Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that KERENSA KAELENE MARA, age 38, JAMES WESTLEY RADFORD, age 28, MARQUIS WAYNE BRANDT a/k/a Mark Brandt, age 40, all of Eufaula, Oklahoma and REBEL LYNN CRABTREE, age 47, of Checotah, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Drug Conspiracy, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846.
Charges arose from an investigation by the Navarro County Sheriff’s Department in Texas, the District 18 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. The defendants were indicted in July 2015.
The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about October 2014 and continuing to in or about January 2015, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendants knowingly and intentionally agreed together, with each other, and with other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to illegally obtain Schedule II and IV controlled substances by means of presenting fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacies and conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute Schedule II and IV controlled substances.
As part of the conspiracy the defendants would obtain stolen prescription pads, legitimate DEA numbers and copies of doctor’s signatures from the Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, for the purpose of forging prescriptions of controlled substances. The defendants would recruit people to present those forged prescriptions on their behalf in return for pay and then distribute the fraudulently obtained illegal drugs or trade illegal drugs for other drugs.
MARA and CRABTREE both are former employees at the Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Muskogee.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty pleas and ordered the completion of presentence reports. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled following their completions.
The statutory range of punishment is up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine or both.
First Assistant United States Attorney Doug Horn represented the United States.
Four Additional Defendants Sentenced on a-PVP (a.k.a. “Gravel”or “Flakka”) Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Ronnie Lee Shelton, 43, and Brenda Lee Bolton, 46, both of Greeneville, Tenn., Eric Matthew Vance, 33, of Blountville, Tenn., and Geri Kim Ward, 33, of Church Hill, Tenn., were sentenced between August 18 and August 20, 2015, by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to federal prison terms of 235 months, 95 months, 135 months and 78 months respectively. These sentences were a result of their roles in an extensive a-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina. Both Shelton and Vance were also convicted for possessing a firearm in furtherance of their a-PVP trafficking.
A-PVP is a synthetic drug, primarily ordered from China, which is commonly referred to on the street as “gravel” or “flakka.” Common effects on users include: extreme paranoia; hallucinations; elevated blood pressure; extremely high body temperature; excited delirium; staying awake for days; hostility and having exceptional strength without apparent fatigue. These are many of the characteristics of the drug that make it very dangerous for the user but also for law enforcement responding to people who are high on it. A-PVP has been referred to by users of the substance as “meth on steroids.”
According to the plea agreements signed and filed with the district court clerk’s office, the combined aggregate total of a-PVP stipulated to by Shelton, Bolton, Vance and Ward was approximately 37,000 grams. Shelton admitted to being accountable for 20,000 grams of that total. Shelton was initially arrested in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., in January 2014, in a vehicle that contained approximately 530 grams of a-PVP and a loaded .40 caliber handgun. A few months later, in early May 2014, he escaped from the Greene County Jail. In numerous jail recorded conversations, Shelton conspired with several other people to plan the escape and admitted that he wanted to escape because he was facing a long sentence on federal gravel charges.
Vance was arrested in March 2014 after a hit and run incident in Unicoi County, Tenn. A subsequent search of Vance revealed a loaded .380 handgun and 11 baggies containing approximately 50 grams of a-PVP. Each was baggie was individually wrapped and had the names of individuals, dates and weights on them. Shelton, Bolton, Vance and Ward all made repeated trips to North Carolina to obtain a-PVP and transported it back to the Eastern District of Tennessee for resale.
Others who have been previously sentenced in this a-PVP trafficking investigation include Richard McNeal Hillman, Austin Michael Stallard, Johnny Michael Stallard, Desera Jade Allen, Phillip Wayne Mullins, Johnny White, Michael Ray Mangum and Evelyn Vickers, who were sentenced to serve 188 months, 121 months, 180 months, 151 months, 151 months, 120 months, 120 months and 110 months in federal prison respectively.
Law enforcement agencies participating in this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Kingsport Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Johnson City Police Department, Greeneville, Tennessee Police Department, Hendersonville, North Carolina Police Department, and Scott County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, all of which provided invaluable assistance during the course of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.
Law enforcement investigations have revealed that A-PVP began to appear in the Eastern District of Tennessee as early as 2012 and federal, state and local law enforcement immediately joined forces to combat this growing problem. Studies have shown that it is one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs available anywhere. The seriousness of these offenses is further aggravated by the propensity of many individuals involved in the sale of a-PVP to carry and use firearms.
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Former USAF Captain Sentenced for Violating Restrictions on Post-Government Employment and Making a False Statement to Federal AuthoritiesRead the Press Release
SIOUX CITY, IOWA - A former Captain in the United States Air Force (USAF) who served in 2010 as a U.S. military contracting officer representative in Afghanistan, was sentenced last Thursday in United States District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, after having earlier pleaded guilty to violating restrictions on post-government employment and making a false statement to law enforcement agents, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kevin W. Techau of the Northern District of Iowa.
Adam J.J. Pudenz, 35, of Carroll, Iowa, was sentenced by Senior United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett to serve two concurrent three-year terms of probation. Pudenz pleaded guilty on March 10, 2015, to a two-count criminal information that charged him with willfully violating federal conflict-of-interest laws stemming from his post-government employment with an Afghan clothing manufacturer in Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition, Pudenz pled guilty to making a false statement to federal law enforcement agents.
According to the criminal information, the plea agreement, exhibits, and other documents filed in the case, in 2010, Pudenz, then a USAF Captain, was stationed at Camp Eggers, near Kabul, Afghanistan, where he spent a year overseeing major U.S. government contracts, all held by a single Afghan company, for the provision of clothing and footwear to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Pudenz also served on a source selection team for another major boot supply contract.
Prior to departing Afghanistan in December 2010, Pudenz began negotiating for future employment with the same Afghan company that held the contracts he administered – a fact he later denied when interviewed by U.S. law enforcement agents. Prior to his discharge in January 2011, Pudenz received from the military a legal opinion that specifically prohibited him from working for the company that held the contracts he administered in Afghanistan. Pudenz immediately disregarded this legal advice and signed an agreement with that company, returning to Afghanistan in March 2011. From then until November 2011, Pudenz repeatedly lobbied U.S. government officials in person and via email on behalf of his Afghan employer. His lobbying efforts were directly tied to the same contracts he administered as a USAF officer the year before, and in many case, Pudenz was lobbying U.S. officials in the same office in which he had worked. In return, Pudenz was scheduled to receive $500,000 per year from his Afghan employer, of which $250,000 was paid up front in March 2011.
To cover his violation of federal law, Pudenz repeatedly told U.S. government contracting officials that he had been given “safe harbor” to represent his Afghan employer, and on several occasions gained entry to U.S. military compounds by lying to guards, telling them he was still in the U.S. military and that he still worked as a U.S. contracting official.
At the sentencing hearing, Pudenz admitted to the court that “without a doubt” he broke the law, and stated “I ignored the [legal] advice when I saw it.” Further, “I should not have engaged on both sides of the contract as the JAG told me.” And, “I should have found a way to take my ego out of this.”
The court found that his series of deceptions was a “substantially” aggravating factor. However, on the whole, given his military service and the letters received from numerous friends and family members, the court found Pudenz was not likely to reoffend and sentenced him to serve terms of probation.
As part of his plea agreement with the United States, Pudenz will forfeit his home in Carroll, Iowa, purchased with his ill-gotten gains. He also will forfeit three Afghan still rugs.
This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigation, Army Criminal Investigation Command, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Murphy of the Northern District of Iowa.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-3008.
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Former Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Springfield, Mo., man who was a fugitive from justice in Mexico for nearly seven years pleaded guilty in federal court today to tax evasion.
Scott Christopher Lucas, also known as Scott C. Bogan, 57, formerly of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a Dec. 17, 2008, federal indictment. Lucas was arrested in Colorado in April 2015 and remains in federal custody without bond.
Lucas was employed by Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Inc. (doing business as Fairfield Resorts) as a time-share salesman in Branson, Mo., from 2002 to 2005. During those four years, according to today’s plea agreement, Lucas earned a gross income of $811,367 in wages and a total taxable income of $719,505, for a total tax due and owing of $142,418.
According to court documents, Lucas fled to Mexico when he learned of the federal grand jury investigation. The United States obtained a “Red Notice” – an international wanted persons alert – by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). For several years, efforts to locate Lucas within Mexico or obtain the active assistance of the Mexican authorities remained unsuccessful. A U.S. Marshal’s Service task force officer traced Lucas’s whereabouts to Playa del Carman, Mexico, in February 2015.
On April 29, 2015, Lucas was arrested at the Denver International Airport, in Denver, Colo., when he returned to the United States to seek medical treatment. Because of Lucas’s health concerns, his appearance in federal court was delayed.
By pleading guilty today, Lucas admitted that he failed to file income tax returns from 2002 through 2005. Throughout his employment with Wyndham, Lucas used the name Scott Christopher Lucas, when his legal surname, and the surname he used in his dealings with the IRS, was Bogan. To avoid having income taxes withheld from his pay, Lucas filed IRS forms in which he claimed exemption from the withholding of income taxes.
Lucas also admitted that he titled a 1998 Hummer H-1 vehicle, purchased in 2003, in another person’s name, in an attempt to conceal his ownership of the vehicle from the IRS. Lucas also left the title and registration to a houseboat he purchased in February 2006 in the name of the previous owner, instead of registering the houseboat in his own name as required by law, in an attempt to conceal his ownership of the houseboat from the IRS.
Lucas used a false Social Security number throughout the application and loan documents in connection with his purchase of a $275,000 Springfield residence in February 2004. This represented an attempt by Lucas to conceal his ownership of the residence from the IRS.
In pleading guilty to Count One of the indictment, charging him with income tax evasion for the 2002 tax year, Lucas admitted that he received a total income of approximately $244,974 in 2002, of which approximately $233,274 was taxable income. Lucas also admitted that he owed an income tax of approximately $65,701.
Lucas will be required to pay $125,241 in restitution for the total remaining balance of unpaid taxes, plus interest, from 2002 through 2005. Lucas also will be required to pay $41,368 in restitution to the state of Missouri for state taxes evaded.
Under federal statutes, Lucas is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Former Seacy Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Possession of HydrocodoneRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Grover Crossland, Resident Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), announced today that former Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark pled guilty to an Information charging him with a violation of federal controlled substance law.
Clark, 36, of Searcy, pled guilty to a one-count misdemeanor Information charging him with possession of Hydrocodone, a controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 844(a). The case number is 4:15-cr-0214 DPM. Clark pled guilty and was sentenced Monday before United States Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe.
According to the facts stated in open court, Clark admitted that in August 2014 he obtained a quantity of Hydrocodone from at least one other person who was not authorized to distribute a controlled substance. Judge Volpe then sentenced Clark to one year of probation, to include drug counseling and random drug tests, and a $1,000 fine.
On March 3, 2015, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on Clark’s home. That afternoon, Clark resigned as Searcy Police Chief. As part of the plea agreement, Clark agreed to surrender his law enforcement certification to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training and subsequently not apply for, request, receive, or maintain any law enforcement certification or commission. In addition, Clark agreed that he will neither seek nor accept employment as a law enforcement officer with any Federal, state or local agency; to include paid, part-time, elected, or volunteer appointments.
This investigation was conducted by the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Givens.
Former Saltwater Disposal Well Operator Indicted in North Dakota on Multiple Felony ChargesRead the Press Release
Jason A. Halek, 41, of Southlake, Texas, was indicted in federal court in Bismarck, North Dakota, on 13 felony charges stemming from the operation of a saltwater disposal well near Dickinson, in Stark County, North Dakota, the Justice Department announced.
Halek was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Safe Drinking Water Act and defraud the United States. He was also charged with four counts of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act, four counts of making false statements and four counts of obstructing grand jury proceedings.
The well, named the Halek 5-22, received “produced water” constituting “brine and other wastes” commonly and generically referred to as “saltwater.” “Saltwater” in this context covers a wide array of drilling waste fluids, including hydraulic fracturing fluid, which is water combined with chemical additives such as biocides, polymers and “weak acids.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stressed that this water is often saltier than seawater and can “contain toxic metals and radioactive substances.”
Previously, on Sept. 26, 2014, Nathan Garber pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts relating to the well.
“Our nation’s energy independence and security is enhanced by the safe, responsible, and lawful extraction of domestic energy, but it is undermined when laws are abused in a race to profit,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The American people expect nothing less than legal behavior from those involved in oil and gas development and the Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who do not honor this obligation.”
“Oil and gas production must be safe and legal every step of the way, including the treatment and disposal of drilling byproducts,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “People who deliberately violate rules that protect drinking water from contamination put communities at risk. These charges show that EPA takes this very seriously and will hold violators accountable.”
According to the indictment, Halek conspired with others, including Garber, in a number of coordinated and illegal acts, including injecting saltwater into the well without first having the state of North Dakota witness a test of the well’s integrity and continuing to inject saltwater after failing a Feb. 2, 2012 pressure test. Halek is also charged under the Safe Drinking Water Act with injecting fluids down the “annulus” or “backside” of the well in violation of the well’s permit which required that fluids be injected through the tubing.
Further, Halek is charged with telling Garber to move a device called a “packer” up the wellbore in violation of the well’s permit, without first getting approval from the state. Then, Garber allegedly gave false information to a state inspector regarding the depth of the packer.
Halek is charged with making multiple false statements to the state of North Dakota, including false statements about the depth of the packer. In addition, Halek is charged with obstructing and impeding a grand jury investigation into the matter, by withholding responsive documents and making false statements.
The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. Significant cooperation was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota and the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Former President of Bay Area Home Builder Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Ayman Shahid Admits to Participation in Builder Bailout Scheme to Inflate Home Prices during Peak of Mortgage Crisis
Ayman Shahid, 39, of Danville, California, the former president of Discovery Sales Inc. (DSI), pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland, California, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Special Agent in Charge Leslie DeMarco for the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG). Shahid is the most recent and highest placed individual charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California as a result of a wide-ranging investigation by the FBI into mortgage fraud in connection with the sale of homes by DSI and its affiliates.
Shahid was the president of DSI, which was the sales arm of affiliated residential construction companies, including Discovery Home Builders and Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. According to Shahid’s plea agreement that was unsealed today, DSI was created to sell new homes built by Discovery Builders Inc. (DBI), Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. Inc. (AD Seeno) and other entities affiliated with Albert Seeno III and the Seeno family. The homes were built in developments throughout the East Bay Area, including in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.
In connection with his plea agreement, Shahid admitted that he conspired with others to fraudulently cause bank underwriters to approve mortgage loans for unqualified buyers during the height of the financial crisis. From 2006 to 2008, when Shahid was DSI’s vice president, buyers with little or no money of their own were induced to purchase homes at prices that were inflated through the use of financial incentives. The buyers were not required to possess or post any of their own money when buying a home; DSI, the builders and their affiliates provided money to buyers to make down payments. Further, DSI inflated the sale price of the new homes by offering significant cash and other incentives to new home buyers. The primary purpose of the price inflation was to support a large line of credit maintained by the builders; the new homes and the property on which the homes would be built collateralized the line of credit.
Shahid’s plea agreement explained that it was important to the scheme to maintain inflated property values because if the home and property values dropped, the value of the collateral would drop and the line of credit would be put at risk. Specifically, the line of credit could be reduced or terminated, or additional collateral would be required to secure the line of credit. This is what has become known as a “builder bailout” scheme.
Shahid’s plea agreement also explains that DSI made loans that were secured by homes that were in some cases worth less than the loan amount and that DSI did not make an effort to determine the true value of these homes. Shahid admitted he and others took steps to ensure information that would reflect poorly on the value of the homes was kept out of bank loan files. Specifically, Shahid ensured the details of the incentives that were being given to specific buyers would not appear in the bank loan files because the loan-to-value ratio would not support the requested loan on the inflated sales price of the home. If the incentives appeared in the bank loan files, Shahid explained, the loan underwriters would likely reject the loans. Accordingly, Shahid instructed DSI employees not to inform appraisers of the incentives being given to buyers.
Over 325 Seeno and Discovery homes during the period of 2006 to 2008 involved the use of incentives, amounting to sales in excess of $200 million. Shahid agreed that the losses that resulted from foreclosures or short sales on these homes were approximately $75 million; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased mortgage loans used to pay for Seeno and Discovery Homes, lost almost $3.5 million.
Shahid was charged in April 2014 with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and 17 individual counts of bank fraud. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the lead conspiracy count, which encompassed the conduct alleged in the remaining counts.
“Shahid and his coconspirators were responsible for saddling the banking system with dozens of fraudulent mortgage loans without regard for the damage those loans would cause to individual home buyers, downstream investors, and, ultimately, the U.S. economy as a whole,” said U.S. Attorney Haag. “Shahid fraudulently inflated the price of homes purchased by individuals who were unable to pay their mortgages in the long run. By doing this to serve their own narrow economic interests, Shahid, and actors like him, contributed to the housing bubble.”
“The actions of Ayman Shahid, certain sales managers and others directly contributed to one of the most significant housing and financial crises of recent memory,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson. “While this case was extremely complex, the FBI and Department of Justice built this case, brick by brick, from low-level employees all the way up to the president of the company. We will continue to pursue executives and corporations who fraudulently took advantage of the country's financial turmoil for their own corporate gain.”
“Shahid participated in a fraudulent scheme involving over $230 million in mortgage loans, many of which ultimately defaulted, to the detriment of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the American taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge DeMarco. “We are proud to support our law enforcement partners in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
Carey Hendrickson and Jason Sterlino, sales managers for Seeno properties, were previously charged. Former Bank of America loan officer Jennifer Xiao, Homecomings Financial underwriter Tony Phan and independent brokers Sharon Wang, Heather Yin, Miguel Arenas, George Zevada and Chang Park were also charged as participants in the scheme. All of these defendants have pleaded guilty pursuant to cooperation agreements with the government, except Xiao, who is a fugitive.
Because Shahid is cooperating with the ongoing FBI investigation, a sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Shahid is next scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing on Dec. 10, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. PST before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers of the Northern District of California. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit bank fraud is 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or twice the gain or loss and restitution to be decided by the court. However, any sentence would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco’s Special Prosecutions Unit. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from IRS-CI and FHFA-OIG.
Former President of Bay Area Home Builder Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Ayman Shahid, the former president of Discovery Sales, Inc. (DSI), pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland to conspiracy to commit bank fraud announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge (IRS-CI) Thomas McMahon, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) Special Agent in Charge Leslie DeMarco. Shahid is the most recent and highest placed individual charged by the Northern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office as a result of a wide-ranging investigation by the FBI into mortgage fraud in connection with the sale of homes by DSI and its affiliates.
Shahid, 39, of Danville, Calif., was the president of DSI, which was the sales arm of affiliated residential construction companies, including Discovery Home Builders and Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. According to Shahid’s plea agreement unsealed today, DSI was created to sell new homes built by Discovery Builders, Inc. (“DBI”), Albert D. Seeno Construction Co., Inc. (“AD Seeno”), and other entities affiliated with Albert Seeno III and the Seeno family. The homes were built in developments throughout the East Bay Area, including in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.
In connection with his plea agreement, Shahid admitted he conspired with others to fraudulently cause bank underwriters to approve mortgage loans for unqualified buyers during the height of the financial crisis. From 2006 to 2008, when Shahid was DSI’s vice president, buyers with little or no money of their own were induced to purchase homes at prices that were inflated through the use of financial incentives. The buyers were not required to possess or post any of their own money when buying a home; DSI, the builders, and their affiliates provided money to buyers to make down payments. Further, DSI inflated the sale price of the new homes by offering significant cash and other incentives to new home buyers. The primary purpose of the price inflation was to support a large line of credit maintained by the builders; the new homes and the property on which the homes would be built collateralized the line of credit.
Shahid’s plea agreement explained that it was important to the scheme to maintain inflated property values because if the home and property values dropped, the value of the collateral would drop and the line of credit would be put at risk. Specifically, the line of credit could be reduced or terminated, or additional collateral would be required to secure the line of credit. This is what has become known as a “builder bailout” scheme.
Shahid’s plea agreement explains that DSI made loans that were secured by homes that were in some cases worth less than the loan amount and that DSI did not make an effort to determine the true value of these homes. Shahid admitted he and others took steps to ensure information that would reflect poorly on the value of the homes was kept out of bank loan files. Specifically, Shahid ensured the details of the incentives that were being given to specific buyers would not appear in the bank loan files because the loan-to-value ratio would not support the requested loan on the inflated sales price of the home. If the incentives appeared in the bank loan files, Shahid explained, the loan underwriters would likely reject the loans. Accordingly, Shahid instructed DSI employees not to inform appraisers of the incentives being given to buyers.
Over 325 Seeno and Discovery homes sold during the period 2006 – 2008 involved the use of incentives, amounting to sales in excess of $200 million. Shahid agreed that the losses that resulted from foreclosures or short sales on these homes were approximately $75 million; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased mortgage loans used to pay for Seeno and Discovery Homes, lost almost $3.5 million.
Shahid was charged in April 2014 with one count of bank fraud conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 and 17 individual counts of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the lead conspiracy count, a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 1349, which encompassed the conduct alleged in the remaining counts.
Shahid and his coconspirators were responsible for saddling the banking system with dozens of fraudulent mortgage loans without regard for the damage those loans would cause to individual home buyers, downstream investors, and, ultimately, the U.S. economy as a whole,” commented U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag. “Shahid fraudulently inflated the price of homes purchased by individuals who were unable to pay their mortgages in the long run. By doing this to serve their own narrow economic interests, Shahid, and actors like him, contributed to the housing bubble.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson said, “The actions of Ayman Shahid, certain sales managers and others directly contributed to one of the most significant housing and financial crises of recent memory. While this case was extremely complex, the FBI and Department of Justice built this case, brick by brick, from low-level employees all the way up to the president of the company. We will continue to pursue executives and corporations who fraudulently took advantage of the country's financial turmoil for their own corporate gain.”
Special Agent in Charge Leslie DeMarco stated, “Shahid participated in a fraudulent scheme involving over $200 million in mortgage loans, many of which ultimately defaulted, to the detriment of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the American taxpayers. We are proud to support our law enforcement partners in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
Sales managers for Seeno properties who have been previously charged are Carey Hendrickson and Jason Sterlino. Former Bank of America loan officer Jennifer Xiao, Homecomings Financial underwriter Tony Phan, and independent brokers Sharon Wang, Heather Yin, Miguel Arenas, George Zevada, and Chang Park were also charged as participants in the scheme. All of these defendants have pleaded guilty pursuant to cooperation agreements with the government, except Xiao who is a fugitive.
Because Shahid is cooperating with the on-going FBI investigation, a sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Shahid is next scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing on December 10, 2015, at 3:00 pm before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit bank fraud is 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or twice the gain or loss, and restitution to be decided by the court. However, any sentence would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Unit of the United States Attorney’s office in San Francisco. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from IRS-CI and FHFA-OIG.
Former Pastor of Louisville Parish Charged with Viewing Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The former pastor of a Louisville, Kentucky parish was charged by criminal complaint with knowingly accessing material with intent to view images of child pornography during 2015, on two computers located in the office and rectory of St. Margaret Mary Parish, located at 7813 Shelbyville, Road in Louisville, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Stephen Pohl, age 57, of Louisville, was charged by criminal complaint on August 21, 2015. The complaint, affidavit and warrant were unsealed this morning by United States Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin. Pohl is scheduled for an Initial Appearance on the charge today, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli, at 2:00 p.m., in United States District Court located in Tampa, Florida.
Law enforcement executed two federal search warrants on August 12, 2015, in the work and living areas used by Pohl in the parish office and rectory. Subsequently, a warrant for Pohl’s arrest was issued Friday, August 21, 2015. FBI Tampa Division, Pinellas Resident Agency and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Pohl in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, Friday evening, August 21, 2015. Pohl was then held at the Pinellas County Jail until his transfer to the United States Marshal’s custody today.
The specific charge is knowingly accessing with intent to view material that contained an image of child pornography that had been transported using any means or facility of interstate commerce and foreign commerce by any means including by computer.
If convicted, Pohl faces maximum potential penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine and at least five years of Supervised Release.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
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The charging of a person by a Criminal Complaint is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Florida Man Sentenced for Fraud Scheme Against M&T BankRead 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 Frank Garcia, 54, of Florida, who was convicted of fraud affecting a financial institution, was sentenced to 87 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $10,609,903.92 of which approximately $2,500,000 million will be paid to M&T Bank.Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant is the former owner of Federal Guaranty Mortgage Company in the State of Florida. Garcia recruited “straw buyers” to obtain mortgages from M&T Bank and other financial institutions then misrepresented their assets and liabilities, failed to record the liens on the properties in the county clerk=s office and failed to pay off pre-existing liens on the properties when they were transferred from one owner to another.
Furthermore, the defendant directed employees of Federal Guaranty Mortgage Company to prepare loan packages for borrowers. The employees were then directed to sign the documents acting as the loan officer. The loan documents were then sent to the investor financial institutions, including M&T Bank. The loan proceeds for the fraudulent loans were subsequently wired into the account of a company associated with Federal Guaranty Mortgage Company.
Ignacio Huergo, 44, of Florida, an employee of Federal Guaranty Mortgage Company, was convicted of concealing massive financial institution fraud and sentenced to two years probation with six months to be served on home confinement. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $736,254.25 to M&T Bank.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation.Five Defendants Pay over $8 Million to Resolve Civil Fraud Allegations That They Billed Medicare and Medicaid for Unlicensed and Unnecessary Inpatient Detoxification ServicesRead the Press Release
Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Region (HHS-OIG), today announced that three New York hospitals, Benedictine Hospital, Columbia Memorial Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Medical Center, together with SpecialCare Hospital Management Corporation (SpecialCare), a Missouri-based company, and SpecialCare’s chief executive officer, Robert McNutt, had agreed to pay over $8 million to resolve claims that they had defrauded the Medicare and Medicaid programs in connection with detoxification treatment provided to patients at the hospitals.
The settlements resolved claims brought jointly by the United States and the New York State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that the defendants operated inpatient drug and alcohol detoxification programs under the name "New Vision" without having received licenses from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Because the programs were unlicensed, the hospitals were not entitled to bill Medicare and Medicaid for treatment provided to patients. The government also alleged that two of the hospitals, Columbia Memorial and St. Joseph’s, paid SpecialCare for patient referrals in violation of federal and state anti-kickback statutes. Additionally, the government claimed that services provided to New Vision patients were not medically necessary. The period covered by the government’s allegations spanned 2002-2006.
The government=s claims arose from an investigation of allegations made in suits filed by private individuals pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. '' 3729-33, United States ex rel. Mathew I. Gelfand, M.D. v. SpecialCare Hospital Management Corp., et al., Civil Action
No. 02-CV-6079, and United States ex rel. Montaperto v. New Parkway Hospital, et al., Civil Action No. 05-CV-491. United States District Judge Leonard D. Wexler presided over the two cases and approved each of the settlements announced today, including the settlement with St. Joseph’s Hospital which was entered on August 14, 2015. Under the terms of their agreement with the government, SpecialCare and McNutt agreed to pay $6 million and to be enjoined from doing business with any Medicaid or Medicare provider in New York State for five-years. SpecialCare and McNutt also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. Pursuant to separate agreements, Benedictine Hospital paid $880,000; St. Joseph’s Medical Center paid $600,000, and Columbia Memorial Hospital paid $650,000. These settlements bring the total recovery from the government’s investigation into SpecialCare and hospitals with New Vision programs to over $25 million. Previously, New York Downtown Hospital and Our Lady of Mercy Medical paid $13.4 million and $4.5 million, respectively, to resolve the government’s civil fraud claims.
“Health care providers must understand that they cannot bill Medicare or Medicaid for unlicensed or otherwise unauthorized care. These practices are not only fraudulent, but inflate the cost of health care in general," stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “Those who defraud and jeopardize the nation=s vital, federally-funded health care programs will be held fully accountable." Mr. Currie thanked New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and his staff, including Acting Director of the New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Amy Held and Principal Auditor Investigator Margaret McArdle, for their partnership in investigating the case.
“Health care providers will be held accountable for the quality of care they deliver and the manner in which that care is provided,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Lampert. “This settlement is another example of HHS-OIG’s commitment to protecting the federally funded health care programs intended for our most vulnerable individuals.”
The United States’ investigation was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard K. Hayes, with assistance from Affirmative Civil Enforcement Auditor Emily Rosenthal.
Final Defendant Sentenced in Savannah Drug Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA - Telly Savalas Riley, a/k/a KoJak, 39, from Crescent, Georgia was sentenced last week by United States District Judge William T. Moore, Jr. to 146 months in prison for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking organization. Defendant Riley was the last of 22 defendants sentenced for running a drug-trafficking organization that operated out of Savannah, Atlanta, South Carolina and elsewhere.
The two-year investigation of this case was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and involved the use of court-authorized wiretaps, undercover purchases of cocaine and search warrants. Agents with the DEA, Chatham County-Narcotics Team (CNT), Beaufort County South Carolina Sheriff’s Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division worked the joint investigation. During the investigation, agents seized cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.5 million, marijuana with an estimated street value of $50,000, over $300,000 in cash and numerous automobiles. Additionally, agents seized 10 firearms from convicted felons.
The 21 other defendants convicted in this case included:
Grilly Holloway, Jr, a/k/a “Cheese,” a/k/a “Grill Cheese,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 121 months incarceration;
Rashawn Ahamd Stewart, a/k/a “Black,” a/k/a “Magic,” a/k/a “Black Magic,” a/k/a “Smokey,” a/k/a “Spot,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 128 months of incarceration;
Steven Patrick McCoy, a/k/a “Patche,” a/k/a “Scratch,” a/k/a “Lil Pat,” a/k/a “Project,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 121 months of incarceration;
Jack Lee Brown, a/k/a “Smooth,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 112 months of incarceration;
Anthony Dether Aaron, a/k/a “The Tire Doctor,” a/k/a “Joe Jizzle,” a/k/a “Jizzleasy,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 120 months of incarceration;
Leonard Anthony Kennedy, a/k/a “Jamal Harris,” a/k/a “Bernard Anthony Gramm,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 127 months of incarceration;
Jarvis King, a/k/a “Jeezy,” a/k/a “Anthony Jarvis King,” a/k/a “Anthony Heyward,” a/k/a “Timothy Monroe Hughes, a/k/a “Ghost,” of South Carolina, was sentenced to 57 months of incarceration;
Chad F. McCoy, a/k/a “Feezy,” of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 46 months of incarceration;
Michael J. Singleton, a/k/a “Cheese,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 92 months of incarceration;
Dyshawn J. Beasley, a/k/a “Aubrey Beasley,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 40 months incarceration;
Leroy Chisolm, a/k/a “Fats,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 151 months incarceration;
Ron B. Allen, a/k/a “Ron Low,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 51 months incarceration;
Ricardo J. Crawford, a/k/a “Rico,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 12 months incarceration;
Jawyanna P. Pringle, a/k/a “Jiggie,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 78 months incarceration;
Joseph Medlock, a/k/a “Poochie Medlock,” of South Carolina, was sentenced to 77 months incarceration;
Michael L. Bostic, a/k/a “Mike B,” of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 48 months of incarceration;
Edward L. Williams, of Crescent, Georgia, was sentenced to 9 months of incarceration;
George Moran, of Crescent, Georgia, was sentenced to 52 months of incarceration;
Willie Jones, of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 151 months of incarceration;
James Wright, of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 71 months of incarceration; and,
Earnest Edwards, of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 160 months of incarceration.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Gilluly, Jr. and Karl Knoche. The lead investigators in this case were DEA Special Agent Michael Sarhatt and CNT Agent David Arbizo.
Federal Court Sentences Benton Harbor Heroin Trafficker, Joseph Jackson, to 204 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles announced today that Joseph Jackson, aka “Jo Jo,” the lead defendant of a nine defendant heroin distribution conspiracy centered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was sentenced to 204 months (17 years) in prison. All nine defendants have been charged, convicted and sentenced in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The Honorable Gordon J. Quist sentenced Jackson to also serve ten years of supervised release following his return to society from prison. Judge Quist noted that Jackson was “a major supplier of heroin in Benton Harbor,” and lamented the severe effect heroin was having in Michigan and throughout the country. “Heroin leads to death,” Judge Quist said.
U.S. Attorney Miles announced the sentence as the result of a joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Berrien County Sheriff’s Department. The investigation initially focused on two of the alleged conspiracy members and ultimately resulted in the charging of nine conspirators and the seizure of approximately 100 grams of heroin, several medical-grade fentanyl patches, a small amount of crack cocaine, and approximately $27,000 in alleged drug proceeds.
According to a 100-page affidavit filed in support of the federal arrests and search warrants in the case, the investigation revealed that Jackson lead a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing between 50 and 65 grams of heroin per week in Benton Harbor from 2013 to the date of his arrest. Jackson, 44, of Benton Harbor, also known as “Jo Jo,” assigned responsibility for heroin acquisition and distribution to other individuals. As relayed in the complaint, Jackson acquired his heroin in Chicago, and then recruited others to transport it to Benton Harbor for him. Once in Benton Harbor, Jackson tasked others with the heroin’s storage and further distribution.
All nine defendants now have been sentenced. On June 11, 2015, the District Court sentenced Jacoby Ervin to 132 months’ imprisonment, Javel McElrath to 110 months’ imprisonment, and Antwon Peterson to 27 months’ imprisonment. On July 14, 2015, the Court sentenced Omar Osorio to 21 months’ imprisonment. On August 20, 2015, the Court sentenced Willie Tibbs Jackson to 54 months’ imprisonment, Johnny Green to 7 months’ imprisonment, followed by 5 months’ home confinement, Kyeisha Bennett, a courier for Jackson, to 1 day in custody and 2 years’ supervised release, and Tanisha Swift, another courier, to 68 days’ time served, to be followed by 4 months’ home confinement.
“This investigation is a prime example of the benefits of coordinated law enforcement efforts to root out organized drug trafficking in our district. The extraordinary cooperation among the DEA, FBI, Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, Berrien County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and Michigan State Police made these charges possible,” said U.S. Attorney Miles. “Heroin remains a plague upon our society. My office will continue to seek appropriate penalties for those who would profit from it,” he said.
U.S. Attorney Miles announced these sentences with Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, Paul Bailey, Sheriff of Berrien County, and Michael J. Sepic, Berrien County Prosecuting Attorney.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Baker represented the United States in the case.
END
Fake Hospice Nurse Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Dallas woman who stole the identity of a registered nurse and used that identity to work at several Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area hospice companies, where she saw and purportedly treated 243 hospice patients, was sentenced this morning, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Jada Necole Antoine, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $233,000.00 in restitution following her guilty plea in December 2014 to one count of fraud in connection with means of identification. She has been in custody since her arrest in July 2014 on a related criminal complaint filed in May 2014.
According to documents filed in the case, Antoine, who was not licensed as a physician, registered nurse, or other health care provider, stole a registered nurse’s driver’s license and social security card, and used that victim’s driver’s license, social security number, and other means of identification to obtain employment at eight different hospice companies in the DFW area, including Heart to Heart Hospice of Texas, Odyssey Healthcare GP, LLC, Community Hospice of Texas, Elysian Hospice, Hospice Pharmacy Solutions, New Century Hospice, Keystone Custom Care Hospice, and Silverado Senior Living Hospice.
Having fraudulently obtained employment as a registered nurse at Heart to Heart and Odyssey, Antoine had direct responsibility for patient care. She submitted documents to Heart to Heart and Odyssey that falsely indicated that care was provided to patients under her supervision by a registered nurse, namely the registered nurse whose identification she had stolen.
Antoine’s false statements, theft of the victim’s identity, and other fraudulent activity caused Heart to Heart, Odyssey and other hospice agencies to submit false claims for, and obtain reimbursement from, Medicare and Medicaid for hospice services provided to Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid clients. From approximately January 2009 through April 20, 2012, approximately $800,000 in hospice claims were submitted to Medicare for services purportedly performed by Antoine while she was impersonating the victim registered nurse.
In its motion for upward departure and/or variance, which the Court granted in part, the government noted that Antoine victimized 243 hospice patients by depriving them of legitimate healthcare from a properly licensed individual. Records indicate Antoine treated patients who were mentally ill, comatose, asleep, and otherwise unresponsive to sound and touch, and in those instances, she made her own assessments of the patient’s pain and comfort levels, digestive function, and breathing. She was also involved in admitting patients onto hospice care where the focus changes from curative treatment to end-of-life palliative treatment. Antoine also victimized patients by violating their privacy in that the patients routinely revealed parts of their bodies to her for examination that they most likely would not have revealed had they known the truth about her lack of qualifications. She violated patients’ privacy by gaining access to patient charts and speaking with nursing home staff and patients’ family members. She further violated their privacy by gaining access to the patients’ detailed demographic information, which, according to the government’s motion, is particularly troublesome given her history of identity theft crimes.
Antoine received approximately $107,000 in compensation from the hospice agencies where she worked.
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher prosecuted.
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El Departamento De Justicia Resuelve Una Denuncia De Discriminación Relacionada Con La Inmigración Contra Una Empresa De Embalaje De Carne Basada En NebraskaRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con Nebraska Beef Ltd, una empresa de embalaje de carne con sede en Omaha, Nebraska. El acuerdo resolvió la investigación liderada por la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas a Inmigración (OSC, por sus siglas en inglés) para determinar si la compañía tenía prácticas laborales discriminatorias, en violación de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés). En concreto, la OSC investigó si la empresa requería que sus empleados no ciudadanos estadounidenses, debido a sus estatus de ciudadanía, presentaran pruebas de su estatus migratorio para el proceso de verificación de su autorización para trabajar.
La investigación del departamento encontró que la empresa requirió únicamente a los que no eran ciudadanos estadounidenses –y no a sus homólogos que sí lo eran– que presentaran pruebas documentales específicas de sus estatus migratorio para verificar su autorización para trabajar. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores pidan documentos por motivos de ciudadanía o país de origen al verificar si un empleado cuenta con autorización para trabajar.
“El departamento se compromete a asegurar que los individuos que están autorizados para trabajar en los Estados Unidos puedan apoyar a sus familias y contribuir al crecimiento económico de nuestro país sin tener que enfrentarse a barreras innecesarias y discriminatorias al empleo,” declaró la Subprocuradora General Interina, Vanita Gupta, la cabeza de la División de Derechos Civiles. “Aplicaremos la Ley activamente para derrumbar tales barreras donde las hallemos y garantizar que los individuos afectados tengan una vía para buscar la rectificación de estas conductas.”
Conforme al acuerdo, Nebraska Beef Ltd, pagará una multa civil a los Estados Unidos que asciende a 200.000 $ y establecerá un fondo ilimitado de pagos retroactivos para indemnizar a los individuos en cuestión por concepto de los salarios que no percibieron debido a las prácticas de la empresa. Asimismo, el acuerdo requiere que la compañía se someta al control de conformidad durante dos años, capacite a sus empleados acerca de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA y repase y revise sus políticas de oficina. Para más información sobre el fondo de pagos retroactivos o para presentar una reclamación por sueldos no percibidos, favor de llamar al 202-616-2603 o mandar un correo electrónico al [email protected].
La OSC tiene la responsabilidad de aplicar la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, la ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía o país de origen en la contratación, el despido o el reclutamiento o la referencia por comisión prácticas documentales injustas; las represalias o la intimidación. El caso lo investigaron las Abogadas Litigantes de la OSC de la División de Derechos Civiles, Katherine E. Lamm y Silvia Dominguez-Reese.
Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo bajo las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de la OSC para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1‑800-237-2515, TTY para las personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para las personas con discapacidades auditivas); matricúlese para una conferencia en línea gratuita en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] o visite la página web de la OSC en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Los postulantes o empleados que creen haber sido víctimas de discriminación por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o país de origen en la contratación, el despido o el reclutamiento o la referencia por comisión deberán llamar a la línea directa para trabajadores mencionada arriba y serán atendidos.
Nebraska Beef Settlement Agreement (720.79 KB)
Deming Man Sentenced to Five Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Perez, 41, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Perez was arrested on Feb. 20, 2014, on a two-count indictment charging him and co-defendants Rebecca Torres, 41, Matthew Peña, 30, both of Deming, N.M., and Robert Snow, now deceased, with distributing methamphetamine. Count 1 of the indictment charged Peña and Torres with distributing methamphetamine in Doña Ana County, N.M., on June 18, 2013, and Count 2 charged Peña, Snow and Perez with distribution of methamphetamine in Luna County, N.M., on July 3, 2013.
Perez and Peña both pled guilty to the indictment on May 14, 2014, without the benefit of plea agreements. Peña was sentenced on March 3, 2015, to 120 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Torres entered a guilty plea on April 18, 2014, and was sentenced on Aug. 28, 2014, to 10 months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the New Mexico HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force (RIDTF)/Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Anna R. Wright of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The HIDTA Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
DOJ Files Settlement on Behalf of Federal Trade Commission Concerning Third Point's Violation of Premerger Notification RequirementsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against Third Point LLC and three Third Point funds. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, will settle the charges. Further details about this matter are described in the FTC’s press release issued today, and in the attached complaint and Competitive Impact Statement.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Competitive Impact Statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Daniel P. Ducore, Special Attorney, United States, c/o Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Chicopee Man Charged with Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Victor Stepus, 47, of Chicopee, was charged on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 in U.S. District Court in Springfield with one count of receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of children.
On the morning of Aug. 21, 2015, federal agents executed a search warrant at Stepus’s residence where they seized a personal computer that contained over 8,000 images and 33 videos of child pornography. These included images that depicted the sexual abuse, including bondage, of girls as young as eight years old.
During an interview with federal agents, Stepus stated that for the past several years he used his home computer to access and download child pornography two to three times per week while his wife was at work. Stepus admitted that he is sexually attracted to 12 to 15 year old girls.
The charging statute provides a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Chicago Woman Indicted for Stealing Identities of Nursing-Home Residents and Using Their Names to Claim Refunds from Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO —A Chicago woman sought federal tax refunds through a series of fraudulent returns she filed in the names of other people, including a number of nursing-home residents who had no knowledge that their personal information was being used, according to a federal indictment announced today.
SHANTELL WINTERS, 28, prepared and electronically filed a dozen individual federal income tax returns that were made out in the names of actual persons whose identities she had acquired, according to the 16-count indictment. The returns claimed false amounts of income, deductions and losses, including phony wages, withholdings and education credits, the indictment states.
The scam lasted from late 2009 or early 2010 until the middle of 2012, according to the indictment, which was returned Thursday in federal court in Chicago.
Winters was charged with 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of filing a false claim against the United States, and three counts of identity fraud. An arraignment has been scheduled for Aug. 27, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.
According to the indictment, some of the individuals knowingly allowed Winters to use their information to file returns and claim refunds in their names. However, several others - including certain residents of a nursing home facility - had no knowledge that their identities had been used in the scheme, according to the indictment. In addition to the personal information of the individuals, the indictment states that Winters also used the electronic identification numbers of corporate entities to create fraudulent W-2 Forms that purportedly had been issued by those businesses.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation in Chicago.
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The count of filing a false claim carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. Each count of identity fraud is punishable by 5 years in prison. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Gillogly.
Indictment
Catholic Priest who Sexually Assaulted Female Passenger on Cross-Country Flight Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Catholic priest who touched a woman’s breast, inner thigh and groin on an overnight cross-country airplane flight was sentenced today to one year – a term that will include six months in federal prison and six months of home confinement.
Marcelo De Jesumaria, 46, formerly of Lake Arrowhead and who currently resides in the high desert community of Valyermo, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell.
Judge O’Connell, who also ordered the defendant to register as a sex offender, noted the “devastatingly negative impact” the crime had on the victim.
De Jesumaria was found guilty in May by a federal jury of abusive sexual contact, a federal felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The evidence at trial showed that De Jesumaria was on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on August 17, 2014 when he moved to the last row of the aircraft after asking a flight attendant if could “sit next to his wife.” De Jesumaria took the middle seat, between a male in the window seat and the victim in the aisle seat. The victim slept through much of the flight, but she was awakened when she felt De Jesumaria’s hand on the top of her left leg near her groin, and then she felt him wrap his arm around her body and grab her breast. For a period of time, De Jesumaria had a tight grip on the woman, but when the grip relaxed, she got up and went to the bathroom. The victim used a call button to summon a flight attendant and reported that De Jesumaria had been touching her inappropriately.
The flight crew reseated De Jesumaria in the front of the plane in a seat between two male passengers, according to the testimony at trial. The captain of the airplane requested law enforcement meet the plane after it landed at Los Angeles International Airport. FBI agents subsequently interviewed De Jesumaria, who admitted that he enjoyed “cozy flights” with women.
The victim spoke at today’s sentencing hearing and described the “fear, frustration and anxiety” that the crime has caused. She said she is reminded of the “ordeal” every day, in part because she must regularly travel on airplanes for her job.
In papers filed in relation to today’s sentencing, prosecutors wrote that De Jesumaria’s “testimony at trial provided numerous bizarre explanations for his conduct and blamed the victim.” They wrote that De Jesumaria testified that he considered his touching of the victim was “consensual because she did not reject his touches and he interpreted her silence, because she was asleep, as ‘coyness.’”
The case against De Jesumaria was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Baltimore Man Exiled to 182 Years in Prison for Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Paul Chance, age 28, of Baltimore, today to 182 years in prison for conspiring to commit robbery, three counts of robbery, four counts of possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Russell also entered an order that Chance pay restitution of $19,011.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams.
“Paul Chance will spend the rest of his life in federal prison, and many other Baltimore criminals who are caught with a gun will join him,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The defendant’s first adult conviction was for armed robbery at age 18, and he only stopped committing armed robberies when he was behind bars.”
According to evidence presented during his six day trial, on March 29, 2013, Chance and co-defendant Sharmaine Diggs brandished semi-automatic handguns at the owner of the Ashland Café on York Road in Cockeysville, Maryland. They forced the owner inside his business and bound his hands with duct tape. They threatened to shoot him if he did not provide money, and pistol-whipped him. The defendants took $4,000 and a .45 caliber weapon that was in the kitchen safe, and another $15,000 from a downstairs safe. The robbers then forced the owner into the walk-in freezer, and left.
According to trial testimony, Chance, armed with a firearm, also robbed the following businesses: Pizza Hut on Annapolis Road in Severn, Maryland on April 7, 2013; the Hobbit Liquor Store on Bowleys Lane in Baltimore on April 26, 2013; and attempted to rob the Olive Garden on Perry Hall Boulevard in Baltimore on April 29, 2013. The jury also found that on April 19, 2013, Chance possessed a semi-automatic rifle and a pump action shotgun. Because of a prior felony conviction, Chance was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Sharmaine Christopher Diggs, age 35, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to his participation in the March 29, 2013 robbery, as well as an additional, subsequent attempt to rob the same cafe. Judge Russell sentenced Diggs to 20 years in prison and entered an order that Diggs pay restitution of $19,000.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County Police Departments and Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Bonnie S. Greenberg and Patricia C. McLane, who prosecuted the case.