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Tuesday 30 June 2015
Corpus Christi Man Gets 10 Years for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Kevin Justin Esquivel, 24, of Corpus Christi, has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Esquivel pleaded guilty March 12, 2015.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced Esquivel to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
At the time he entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby, the court heard that agents with the FBI Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force, while using peer-to-peer software, were able to successfully download of various files containing child pornography from an IP address that was associated with Esquivel. As a result of this information, the FBI office in Corpus Christi was contacted to assist in the investigation.
In August 2014, agents executed a search warrant at Esquivel’s residence, at which time they seized various electronic devices. Forensic analysis on those devices revealed more than 4,000 images and more than 900 videos of child pornography. Esquivel admitted having an sexual interest in children between the ages of 10 and 13 years of age and having downloaded child pornography.
Esquivel was arrested on the federal charges in August 2014 and has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The charges against Esquivel were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."
Contractor Admits Attempting to Bribe West New York, New Jersey, Official to Eliminate More Than $8.7 Million in Fire Code ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A North Bergen, New Jersey, man today admitted paying cash bribes to a West New York, New Jersey, fire official to eliminate millions of dollars in outstanding fines and penalties on buildings with fire code violations, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Victor Coca, 48, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count One and Count Two of an indictment charging him with paying bribes to a local government employee.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Coca was the owner and president of a general contracting company in West New York. Two buildings in West New York had outstanding fines for fire code violations. The first building, located on Bergenline Avenue and owned by a friend of his, had approximately $14,500 in fines and penalties for outstanding fire code violations. Coca agreed to pay a fire official for the West New York Bureau of Fire Prevention, a witness who was voluntarily cooperating with federal authorities, a $2,000 cash bribe to eliminate the outstanding fire code fines and penalties. On March 27, 2014, Coca handed the fire official a $2,000 cash bribe.
The second building, located on Hudson Avenue and partly-owned by Coca, had more than $8.7 million in fines and penalties for outstanding fire code violations. Coca paid a $5,000 cash bribe to the fire official in return for the fire official purportedly reducing the amount due to the West New York Bureau of Fire Prevention to the initial fine amount of $5,000.
The two bribery counts to which Coca pleaded guilty each carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 20, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel:
Howard Brownstein Esq., Union City, New Jersey
Nelson Gonzalez Esq., Dover, New JerseyComputer Industry Consultant Sentenced for Using Identity of Deceased InfantRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Boston computer industry consultant was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston for assuming the identity of an infant who died in 1966 and using that identity to obtain a Social Security number.
Steven Nolte, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to three years in prison and a fine of $3,000. In March 2015, following a five-day jury trial, Nolte was convicted of passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and use of a falsely-obtained Social Security number.
Nolte was born in Arizona in 1963 as Steven Nolte, but in 1997, he assumed the identity of a four-day-old infant who died in 1966. At the time Nolte adopted this identity, he was in the process of stealing over $571,000 from a real estate company for which he had provided computer consulting services. Nolte then obtained a passport in the assumed identity and traveled to Costa Rica, where proceeds of the theft had been wire-transferred. Nolte thereafter traveled extensively in the South Pacific and ultimately settled in the Boston area, where he worked in the computer industry for many years under his assumed identity. In 1999, he applied for a Social Security number by using the same false identity. Nolte’s true identity was discovered in May 2012 when he submitted an application for a replacement passport in Boston under his assumed name. State Department officials realized that the Social Security number Nolte was using had not been issued to Nolte in the assumed name until he supposedly was 33 years old. Upon further investigation, agents learned of the infant’s death in 1966, and ultimately uncovered Nolte’s true identity.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; David W. Hall, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pérez-Daple and Robert E. Richardson of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Colombian Paramilitary Leader Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for International Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
A senior paramilitary leader and one of Colombia’s most notorious drug traffickers was sentenced today to serve 190 months in prison for leading an international drug trafficking conspiracy that imported into the United States ton-quantities of cocaine. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Deputy Administrator Jack Riley of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.
“Through his leadership position in the AUC, Salvatore Mancuso-Gomez directed the manufacture and shipment of over 100,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States and elsewhere,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “In addition to enriching himself, Mancuso-Gomez and the AUC used this drug money to raise and arm a paramilitary force of more than 30,000 fighters and cement his control over regions of Colombia. This case is yet another example of our continued commitment to collaborating with our international partners to prosecute criminals and warlords who traffic in illegal narcotics, violence and intimidation.”
“DEA is committed to relentlessly attacking global criminal networks who use drug trafficking as a means to finance their terrorist activities,” said Acting Deputy Administrator Riley. “The arrest and prosecution of Salvatore Mancuso-Gomez clearly illustrates this dedication. As a senior leader in the AUC, Mancuso-Gomez controlled huge amounts of cocaine production in Colombia, and oversaw its movement to the United States and other parts of the world. Proceeds from his drug trafficking enterprise were used to acquire weapons and further the AUC’s violent criminal agenda. DEA is pleased that this significant narco-terror leader has faced justice in a U.S. court of law.”
Salvatore Mancuso-Gomez, aka El Mono and Santander Lozada, formerly of Monteria, Colombia, pleaded guilty in October 2008 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of the District of Columbia imposed the sentence.
According to the statement of facts agreed to as part of his guilty plea, Mancuso-Gomez held one of the highest level leadership positions within the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self Defense Forces of Colombia or AUC), a terrorist and paramilitary organization in Colombia. In September 2001, the AUC was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State. In May 2003, the AUC was placed on the Significant Foreign Narcotics Traffickers list by order of the President, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. In February 2004, Mancuso-Gomez individually was designated as a Tier II Kingpin by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, subjecting him to severe economic sanctions under the Kingpin Act.
The statement of facts also established that the AUC consisted of approximately 30,000 armed soldiers organized into blocs (or regions) with commanders for each bloc. In connection with his guilty plea, Mancuso-Gomez admitted that, from the mid-1990s through 2004, he directed thousands of soldiers in two blocs of the AUC, controlling large areas where cocaine was produced.
Mancuso-Gomez admitted that the AUC produced approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month during the conspiracy, and that he and members of the organization transported the cocaine to the coastal areas of Colombia where it was loaded onto go-fast boats and other vessels for ultimate transportation to the United States and Europe. Mancuso-Gomez also admitted that he levied taxes on other narcotics traffickers who needed passage through AUC-controlled territories, and that he used proceeds from his drug trafficking activities to purchase weapons and other supplies for AUC activities. Mancuso-Gomez further admitted that he and the AUC maintained tight control of their territories in Colombia through intimidation of corrupt members of the Colombian government, including law enforcement and military personnel and politicians.
Today’s sentence does not account for violations of Colombian human rights-related laws allegedly committed by Mancuso-Gomez, which are being addressed in Colombia through the Justice and Peace process – a legal framework enacted in 2005 to facilitate the demobilization of its paramilitary organizations – and Colombian criminal justice system.
The case was investigated by DEA’s Bogotá and Cartagena, Colombia, Country Offices, and the DEA Special Operations Division. The government of Colombia provided unprecedented assistance through the investigation, prosecution and sentencing phase of this case.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Paul W. Laymon and Carmen Colon of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS). NDDS Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia; the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs; and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Colombia (Fiscalia), including the Fiscalia’s Transitional Justice program, provided significant assistance.
Co-Conspirators Sentenced to over 10 Years for Federal Bank Fraud and Stolen Mail SchemeRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Shawn Dewayne Cox of Prairie Grove, Christopher Joseph Evans of Colcord, Oklahoma, Spencer Mason of Bentonville, and Erick Picker-Ramirez of Fayetteville were sentenced this week on one count each of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Possession of Stolen Mail. Benjamin Ramsfield, of Greenland, had previously been sentenced to one count of Bank Fraud and one count of Possession of Stolen Mail. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Fraud and theft of mail are serious crimes that involve the personal finances of hard-working individuals and can have long lasting impacts on numerous victims. We remain committed to investigating and prosecuting those who perpetrate fraud and swindle others out of their hard earned money.”
In June and July 2014, numerous persons in the Northwest Arkansas area began reporting to law enforcement that checks they had placed in the mail to pay bills were coming through their bank accounts with altered information. The checks had been altered to be made payable to people they did not know and for amounts other than the amounts the checks were made out for. On July 11, 2014, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a residence in Springdale which they had identified being used to “wash” checks. During a search of that residence, law enforcement recovered numerous pieces of opened and unopened mail that was not addressed to any of the occupants or that address, multiple personal checks belonging to persons other than the occupants that had been “washed”, checks that had not been “washed” and were made payable to persons to other than the occupants, and chemicals commonly used in the “washing” process. The residence belonged to Spencer Mason and his girlfriend. Mason, Christopher Evans, and several others were at the residence at the time of the search.
Shawn Cox was arrested and during a post-Miranda interview admitted that he had been involved with other individuals in stealing checks from mailboxes in Northwest Arkansas, altering the stolen checks, and then cashing them at area banks. Cox estimated that he had passed 2-3 checks per day, and obtained $400-800 per check over the course of a few months, totaling approximately $24,000. After his arrest, Erick Picker-Ramirez admitted he had stolen numerous checks and “washed” them along with Cox, Mason and Evans. Mason admitted to stealing mail from residential mailboxes in the Northwest Arkansas area with Picker-Ramirez, Evans, and Cox. Evans also gave a post-Miranda statement admitting that he had stolen mail from approximately 100 residential mailboxes in the Northwest Arkansas area along with Mason and Picker-Ramirez. All of the banks where the checks were passed were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. During the investigation of that mail theft ring law enforcement identified another group operating in the same area during the same time, the leader of which was determined to be Benjamin Ramsfield. Investigators learned this group was operating out of a hotel room in Fayetteville and obtained a search warrant. During the search officers located a bleach pen and bleach, numerous pieces of stolen mail, and personal checks that had been “washed.” Ramsfield was arrested, interviewed, and admitted to stealing mail from area mailboxes in order to obtain personal checks. Ramsfield estimated he passed 40-50 checks and obtained approximately $20,000. Ramsfield also admitted to having several other individuals pass stolen and washed checks for him.
The defendants were sentenced as follows:
Shawn Dewayne Cox, age 31, of Prairie Grove, Arkansas was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,870.28 in restitution -jointly and severally with co-defendants.
Christopher Joseph Evans, age 31, of Colcord, Oklahoma was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,870.28 in restitution -jointly and severally with co-defendants, and $850 restitution.
Spencer Mason, age 34, of Bentonville was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,870.28 in restitution - jointly and severally with co-defendants.
Erick Picker-Ramirez, age 35, of Fayetteville, Arkansas was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,870.28 in restitution -jointly and severally with co-defendants.
Benjamin David Ramsfield, age 34, of Greenland, was charged separately and sentenced on May 15, 2015 to 41 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and $8,353.82 restitution.
These cases were investigated by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayetteville Police Department, the United States Postal Service and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney, Aaron Jennen prosecuted the cases for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov
California Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Luis Alexander Garcia, 18, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Garcia was arrested on Dec. 17, 2014, at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque after a consensual search of his baggage by DEA agents revealed that he was carrying approximately 3.65 kilograms of methamphetamine. According to court documents, agents found four bundles of methamphetamine concealed within Garcia’s luggage. Garcia was subsequently indicted on Jan. 8, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Dec. 17, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Garcia pled guilty to the indictment. Garcia admitted that he was transporting methamphetamine on the Amtrak train and that he intended to deliver the drugs to another person.
At sentencing, Garcia faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard is prosecuting the case.
Brunswick Man Sentenced to 19 ½ Years in Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
BRUNSWICK, GA -- Larry James Carter, 38, of Brunswick, Georgia, was sentenced last week by United States Chief District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood to 235 months in federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking organization.
Carter previously pled guilty in October 2014 to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. 8 other Brunswick residents were charged with Carter in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2014. The 8 other defendants, who also pled guilty and have been sentenced, include:
- Dedrick Wilkerson, 37, sentenced to 151 months in prison;
- Eric Demery, 41, sentenced to 151 months in prison
- Anthony Wilkerson, 42, sentenced to 113 months in prison;
- Demetrius Jones, 41, sentenced to 96 months in prison;
- Larry Roberson, 33, sentenced to 56 months in prison;
- Joseph Edward Lang, 37, sentenced to 27 months in prison;
- Earl Moore, 36, sentenced to 21 months in prison; and,
- Michael Doomes, 41, sentenced to 18 months in prison.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver said, “Defendant Carter and his cohorts were responsible for trafficking enormous amounts of cocaine in communities across the Southern District of Georgia. Due to the cooperative efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement partners, Carter’s organization is now out of business, and he and his fellow traffickers are serving lengthy prison sentences. This type of law enforcement cooperation is promoted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the keystone drug enforcement program of the Department of Justice.”
The case was the result of an investigation by the DEA, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, the Glynn County Police Department, and the Brunswick Police Department, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlton Bourne and Daniel Crumby prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Brotherly Love Ambulance Company Employee Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Fritzroy Brown, 38, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, false statements in a health care matter, and theft of government property. He faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $750,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment. U.S. District Court Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 10, 2015.
In July 2010, Feda Kuran, charged elsewhere, began operating Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. with a co-schemer. From approximately October 2010 through approximately October 2011, Fritzroy Brown, a licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), transported patients for Brotherly Love even though those patients could walk and could have been transported safely by means other than ambulance and were, therefore, not eligible for ambulance service under Medicare and Medicaid requirements. Brown also transported patients in his personal vehicles and in a minivan owned by Brotherly Love, both of which lacked the lifesaving equipment found in an ambulance. Even when he transported patients in his personal vehicle, Brown completed ambulance “run sheets” for the trips and certified those sheets with his signature and EMT identification number. In order to make the transport appear as though it had been conducted by ambulance, those run sheets misstated the medical condition of the patient and the care provided to the patient during the transport. In addition, for a period of nearly six months during which he was working full time at Brotherly Love, Fritzroy Brown applied for and received unemployment benefits, repeatedly lying to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor by claiming that he was not working.
As a result of the overall scheme at Brotherly Love, the Medicare program was billed for more than $4.9 million and paid more than $2 million in inappropriate bills. As a result of Fritzroy Brown’s theft from the unemployment insurance program, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania paid over $14,000 in improper benefits to him. Feda Kuran was sentenced in November 2014 to 64 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Paul W. Kaufman.
Bristol Resident Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Possession and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Mathew S. Antignano, 32, of Bristol, was sentenced today to 5 years in federal prison for possessing and distributing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Antignano to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Antignano pleaded guilty on April 10, 2015, to one count each of possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography.
According to information presented to the court at the time of Antignano’s guilty plea, in July 2014, a member of the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force detected an IP address being used to share numerous files of child pornography. Investigators quickly determined that the account holder and address of the IP holder belonged to Mathew Antignano.
On July 23, 2014, detectives assigned to the ICAC Task Force executed a court authorized search warrant at Antignano’s residence and seized a computer and other digital media which contained images of child pornography. Antignano was arrested a short time later at his place of employment.
A forensic examination of the computer and digital media resulted in the discovery of approximately 7,750 images and 180 video depicting child pornography primarily involving prepubescent males and females engaged in sexual acts with adults.
Antignano has been detained since his arrest.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.
Homeland Security Investigations assisted the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the investigation of this matter.
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Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
email: [email protected]
on Twitter @USAO_RI
Bridgeport Grocery Store Operator Who Illegally Redeemed Food Stamp Benefits is SentencedRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KHALID ABOUTAYEB, 47, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to approximately three weeks of imprisonment, time already served, three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for illegally redeeming food stamp benefits at a grocery store he operated in Bridgeport. ABOUTAYEB also was ordered to pay $199,505 in restitution.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (“SNAP”) is administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households to provide them with the opportunity to achieve a more nutritious diet by increasing their food-purchasing power. SNAP recipients purchase eligible food items at retail food stores through the use of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, and SNAP benefits may be accepted by authorized retailers only in exchange for eligible items. Items such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, paper goods and soaps are not eligible for purchase with Food Stamp benefits, and it is a violation of the rules and regulations governing the food stamp program to allow benefits to be used to purchase ineligible items. SNAP benefits may not lawfully be exchanged for cash under any circumstances. The program is designed so that the total amount of each purchase is electronically transferred to the retailer’s designated bank account.
ABOUTAYEB operated the M&J Deli Market, a grocery and convenience store located at 988 State Street in Bridgeport.
On December 17, 2014, ABOUTAYEB pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of food stamp benefits. In pleading guilty, he admitted that he and others, including his sister, Jamilia Aboutayeb, unlawfully exchanged customers’ food stamp benefits for ineligible items and cash at the M&J Deli Market between approximately December 2011 and February 2013. The investigation revealed that more than $285,000 in illegal SNAP benefits were redeemed at the store.
On January 8, 2015, Jamilia Aboutayeb pleaded guilty, admitting that she unlawfully exchanged customers’ food stamp benefits for ineligible items and cash at M&J Deli Market between approximately June 2013 and March 2014. On May 1, 2015, she was sentenced to five days of imprisonment, time already served, six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. She also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $69, 209.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Felice M. Duffy.
Blackstone Man Pleads Guilty to Tax CrimeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Blackstone, Mass. man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to charges that he impeded the IRS by cashing nearly $3 million in checks from his masonry business at check cashing services to evade the IRS.
John W. Lippolis, 55, pleaded guilty today to one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Oct. 14, 2015.
From 2005 to 2011, Lippolis was the sole proprietor of JW Masonry, a masonry company which operated in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At various times, he also worked for his son’s business, JM Masonry Inc. When Lippolis was paid by check for work performed, he used check cashing services to cash the checks instead of depositing the funds into a bank account in an effort to avoid IRS scrutiny. Lippolis operated his business in cash, paid workers in cash, and requested that customers not write checks to him for amounts exceeding $10,000, which would trigger a reporting requirement for financial institutions that cashed the checks. Lippolis also failed to file tax returns for many years. The tax loss to the IRS exceeded $450,000.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Baltimore Armed Robber Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Rob Three Cell Phone StoresRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Justin Jose Snow, a/k/a “J.O.,” age 22, of Baltimore today to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to rob three cell phone stores in which Snow used a firearm.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Gary Gardner of the Howard County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement and court documents, Justin Snow, his brother Johnny Snow, their cousin Taylor Snow and Arkeene Redditt-Abrams planned to steal cash, cell phones and other electronic devices, and then sell the stolen merchandise. Prior to June 17, 2014, the defendants had shoplifted two to three cell phones at a time from stores and sold them, but decided that they could make more money by robbing cell phone stores of larger quantities of cell phones.
On June 17, 2014, the defendants used a car rented by Taylor Snow to travel to an AT&T store on Dual Highway in Hagerstown. Taylor Snow entered the store to conduct surveillance. Justin Snow then entered the store brandishing a gun and directed the store employee to get on the floor. Johnny Snow stood near the door and Redditt-Abrams remained in the car parked outside. When the defendants realized the store had cameras, they fled in the waiting car.
A few hours later the defendants drove to an AT&T store in Ellicott City, Maryland. Redditt-Abrams entered the store to “case” it. After he left, the Snows entered with Justin Snow again brandishing a gun. They stole cash, cell phones and tablet computers worth more than $18,000. Surveillance video at an adjoining gas station captured images of Taylor Snow’s car at the gas pumps and while it was parked in front of the AT&T store. The video showed the defendants leaving the car and entering the store, and a short time later, running from the store and getting back into the car.
After Johnny Snow’s arrest, on June 24, 2014, Justin and Taylor Snow traveled to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where Justin used a gun to rob a T-Mobile store of cash, cell phones and tablet computers. Police responding to the scene saw their car and pulled it over. They noticed that Justin Snow appeared to be changing his clothes while sitting in a passenger seat, and recognized clothing that matched witness descriptions of clothing worn by the robbers. At this point, Taylor Snow, who was driving, pulled away and a high speed chase reaching speeds of up to 100 mph ensued. As the robbers’ car approached an exit of Route I-81, it abruptly pulled over. Justin and Taylor Snow were arrested. A search warrant was executed for the car and police seized 28 unopened boxes each containing a cellphone stolen from the store.
Johnny Devon Snow, age 20; Taylor Yvonne Snow, age 23; and Arkeene Antoyn Redditt-Abrams, a/k/a “Duke,” age 26, all of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the robberies. Johnny Snow was sentenced on June 4, 2015 to 150 months in prison. Taylor Snow was sentenced to nine years in prison. Redditt-Abrams is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2015.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney John F. Purcell, who prosecuted the case.
Anchorage Woman Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Possessing A Silencer and Being A Drug User in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
Anchorage Woman Sentenced To 36 Months In Prison For Possessing A Silencer And Being A Drug User In Possession Of Firearms
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Megan Lindsey O’Connor was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for one count of being a drug user in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. O’Connor previously pled guilty to the charges on June 16, 2014.
O’Connor, 29, was sentenced Friday, June 26, 2015, by United States District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason, to 36 months in prison.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder, O’Connor is an admitted methamphetamine user, and is connected to convicted drug trafficker Max Jewett. Jewett was sentenced in federal court on May 20, 2015, to 10 years imprisonment. In the summer of 2013, O’Connor rented a storage unit. When law enforcement officers searched the storage unit on November 18, 2013, they found 77 firearms, 27 of which had been stolen in the previous year. When Jewett pled guilty, he admitted he regularly traded drugs for stolen property. In addition to the stolen guns, the law enforcement officers found a 17-inch sawed off shotgun, a fully automatic machine gun, and silenced .44 magnum rifle. O’Connor pled guilty to possessing the silencer on the rifle.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation of this case.
Alton Man Sentenced for His Part in Cocaine Conspiracy and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
An Alton man, previously convicted by a jury in the Southern District of Illinois for Maintaining Drug-Involved Premises Near a School, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Felon in Possession of Ammunition, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Distribution of Cocaine Near a School, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison on June 26, 2015, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Miles L. Musgraves, a/k/a, "Lou," 41, of Alton, Illinois received a 240 month sentence on the drug convictions, and a 120 month sentence on the firearm and ammunition offenses. Following release from imprisonment, Musgraves will serve a 6 year term of supervised release. Musgraves was also ordered to pay a $500 special assessment, and he forfeited his interest in the firearm and ammunition.
Evidence at trial showed that after Musgraves had been caught by police selling cocaine and in possession of ammunition, he agreed to work as a confidential informant. Instead of providing actual assistance, however, Musgraves planted cocaine and a gun in another man’s car and called police in an attempt to frame the other man. Police recovered the cocaine and the gun, and the other man was initially charged with felony offenses punishable by 6-30 years in prison. After the Alton police discovered what Musgraves had done, the charges against the other man were dropped, and Musgraves was charged with the offenses in federal court.
This case was investigated by the Alton Police Department with assistance from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce.
Akron man sentenced to two years in prison for operating a dog-fighting ventureRead the Press Release
An Akron man was sentenced to two years in prison for operating a dog-fighting venture and related counts, law enforcement officials said.
Alvin Banks, 56, was also ordered to pay more than $44,000 in restitution to the Human Society of Greater Akron.
Banks pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts: sponsoring and exhibiting a canine in an animal fighting venture; buying, selling, delivering, possessing, training and transporting canines for participation in an animal fighting venture; attending an animal-fighting venture; being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession with intent to manufacture and distribute less than 50 marijuana plants.
The sentenced was announced by Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland Office, Akron Police Chief James Nice, Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry and Summit County Prosecutor Sherry Bevan Walsh.
"This defendant had a dog-fighting ring at his home, and a firearm that he was forbidden from having," Dettelbach said. "The entire range of conduct uncovered at Banks' home was disturbing."
Banks is one of 10 people to plead guilty in federal court related to a dog-fighting operation uncovered in Akron last year. They will be sentenced in July.
Federal and local authorities raided a home on Cordova Avenue in Akron on Nov. 15, 2014 as part of an investigation into dog fighting. In addition to firearms, narcotics and more than $52,000 in cash, investigators discovered a blood-stained 16x16 foot ring used as part of an animal fighting venture, as well as two “break sticks” used to pry a dog’s mouth and teeth off another dog when the fight is finished. They also found eight pit bull or pit bull mixes, two of which were covered in blood and had fresh wounds from a fight that occurred just prior to the execution of the search warrant, according to court documents.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Akron Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office and the Humane Society of Greater Akron. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Linda H. Barr.
Monday 29 June 2015
Wichita Woman Sentenced in Mail Theft Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Wichita woman was sentenced Monday to five years on federal probation for her role in a scheme to steal mail from postal boxes and cash counterfeit checks, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. She and the other defendants also were ordered to pay more than $27,000 in restitution.
Jennifer R. Harper, 35, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to steal mail. In her plea, she admitted that in 2013 and 2014 she and her co-defendants entered an agreement to steal mail from U.S. Postal Service blue boxes.
The defendants removed mail from U.S. Postal Service blue boxes. They opened the stolen mail and took information and checks from the mail. They used the information and the checks to create counterfeit checks and cash them.
Co-defendants include:
Justin Anderson, who was sentenced to 78 months.
Jeremy S. Robinson, who was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department, the Wichita Police Department, the Derby Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett for their work on the case.
United States Attorney's Office recovers $1.5 million in case against home healthcare companyRead the Press Release
Josh J. Minkler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced today a civil settlement with United Home Healthcare, Inc. and B&L Personal Services, Inc. (known collectively as “United”). Both companies are located in Indianapolis and are owned and operated by Byron and Laura Harris. The settlement will result in a total payment of $1.5 million to the United States and the State of Indiana.
United provided home healthcare services such as personal and attendant care services throughout Central Indiana. In 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General and the State of Indiana Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating a complaint that United was billing for services that it did not actually provide. Agents and investigators with HHS and the Indiana Attorney General’s Office interviewed patients and former employees, and reviewed multiple patient files.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Shelese Woods, who handled the case for the United States, the review of patient files showed that from 2012 through 2014 United had engaged in a pattern of overbilling services. Specifically, the patient files and corresponding billing data showed that many services billed for personal care and attendant care services were not documented; that there were dates for which United was reimbursed where the patient file showed that the patient did not receive the service; or that United over-billed the number of service hours actually provided to the patient.
"The civil False Claims Act was created to serve as a tool for combating fraud, waste and abuse in federally funded programs," Minkler stated. "A financial injury to the United States is a financial injury to all of us. This recovery sends the message that health care providers must comply with various applicable state and federal regulations when billing the United States Government for services, or they will face consequences."
Under the False Claims Act, the Government may collect three times the loss it incurred, plus a fine of $5,500 to $11,000 for each false bill submitted. According to AUSA Woods, the estimated loss to the Medicaid Program was $589,042.60 for thousands of individual claims. United is paying $1,454,490.27 to the United States, which is more than two times the estimated loss. United has also agreed to pay $45,509.73 to the State of Indiana for its investigative fees and costs.
“It’s a brazen violation of public trust when a healthcare provider hired to assist patients then fraudulently bills the Medicaid program, as taxpayers ultimately are victims in such a scheme. With the legal tool of the False Claims Act that encourages whistleblowers to come forward, the State of Indiana and our federal counterparts are able to claw back the tax dollars that were wrongfully paid out and hold defendants accountable,” said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) can receive information about suspected fraud at this link: http://bit.ly/1JDtOK2.
In agreeing to these terms, United denied all liability under the False Claims Act. In investigating the case, HHS did not uncover any evidence of physical injury or harm to patients as a result of the conduct.
Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison Terms for 2014 Murder of Man in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –William Smallwood, 23, has been sentenced to a 22-year prison term and Demitrich Jones, 17, has been sentenced to 18 years of incarceration on charges stemming from the killing of man during an attempted robbery of a laptop last year in Northeast Washington, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
The defendants, both from Washington, D.C., pled guilty in April 2015, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder for the death of Rashard Raigns. They were sentenced on June 26, 2015, by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson. Upon completion of their prison terms, Smallwood and Jones will be on supervised release for five years.
According to the government’s evidence, on June 3, 2014, Mr. Raigns, 33, purchased a laptop at a Best Buy store. Later, at about 10 p.m., Mr. Raigns laid a blanket out on the sidewalk in the 1900 block of Fenwick Street across from a retail distributor known as ProFish Limited and watched his laptop. Mr. Raigns had his personal items laid out on the blanket, including a backpack, some clothing, a container of Chinese takeout food, a laptop case and power cord.
Jones noticed the laptop and decided he wanted to take it. He then went home and told Smallwood and a juvenile about the laptop and they all agreed to rob Mr. Raigns. Jones grabbed a BB gun and Smallwood grabbed a handgun. Jones and Smallwood also carried T-shirts around their necks that they used to cover their faces. All three suspects then left the house and walked back to Mr. Raigns’s location.
Jones and Smallwood placed the shirts over their heads and approached Mr. Raigns, while the juvenile stayed further back and acted as a look-out. Jones tried to grab the laptop, but Mr. Raigns resisted and grabbed Jones’s arm. Jones broke free. Mr. Raigns then tried to get away, but Smallwood shot him. Jones and Smallwood walked away from the crime scene and went home. Once back home, Jones changed his clothes, got on a bike and went back to get the laptop computer. Mr. Raigns died from a single gunshot wound to his chest.
In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, crime scene officers, and the Fifth Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the assistance provided by the U.S. Secret Service. He expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Marcia Rinker, of the Victim /Witness Assistance Unit; Paralegal Specialist Vanessa Trent-Valentine; and Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin. Finally, he praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Sanchez, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.
Two Charged Plead Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two defendants pleaded guilty on June 26, 2015, in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson III, to a single charge of bank robbery by force or violence announced Acting United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Leonard Duane Sisk, age 54, of Cecilia, in Hardin County, Kentucky, and Justin Matthew Collinge, age 32, of Leitchfield, in Grayson County, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to the December 23, 2014 robbery of the Westport Bank in Glendale, Kentucky.
According to the plea agreements, on December 23, 2014, defendant Sisk, knowingly aided and abetted by defendant Collinge, who acted as the getaway driver, robbed the West Point Bank. Sisk admitted to wearing a disguise while inside the bank, to demanding money from the teller, and to pointing a toy pistol at the teller which was painted black. The teller handed Sisk $8,815.00. Collinge admitted to driving a vehicle provided by Sisk, to the bank and to waiting for the robbery to occur, before acting as the getaway driver subsequent to the robbery. Further, Sisk acknowledged his role in the robbery to detectives of the Kentucky State Police on January 5, 2015.
If convicted at trial, the defendants could have been sentenced to no more than 20 years in prison, followed by a three year period of supervised release and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled before Senior Judge Simpson on September 11, 2015, in Louisville.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assistance from the Kentucky State Police.
Twice-removed Honduran Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Illegally Re-entering U.S.Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A citizen of Honduras has been sentenced in federal court to 10 months incarceration and one year supervised release on his conviction of illegal re-entry by an alien into the United States, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose imposed the sentence on Jose Samuel Mejia-Chavez .
According to information presented to the court, Jose Samuel Mejia-Chavez, an alien, was formally removed from the United States by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 2, 2006 and Feb. 27, 2009. Jose Samuel Mejia-Chavez was found to be illegally present in Harrison Township, Pennsylvania, on March 4, 2015.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Enforcement and Removal Operations, Department of Homeland Security for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Mejia-Chavez.
Tucker County woman convicted of fraudulently collecting government benefitsRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Dorothy Lawson Jones, 66, of Hendricks, West Virginia, was convicted today of fraudulently collecting spousal death benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Dorothy Lawson was previously married to a veteran who passed away in 1991. Lawson remarried in 1995 and continued to unlawfully collect spousal death benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs until at least 2013. Lawson falsely reported on at least two government forms that she had never remarried.
Jones pled guilty today to one count of “False Statement in Document.” She faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull presided.
Trafficker Guilty of Distributing Dangerous Counterfeit Viagra® and Cialis®Read the Press Release
HOUSTON – Martez Alando Gurley, 40, of Napa, California, has entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit Viagra® and Cialis® and introducing misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, along with Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston and Special Agent in Charge Katherine A. Hermsen of the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Kansas City Field Office.
Gurley admitted at his re-arraignment hearing today that he purchased 15,000 – 18,000 counterfeit Viagra® and counterfeit Cialis® tablets from an individual in China he knew as “Alice,” as well as an additional 3,600 – 4,800 tablets from another individual within the U.S. He admitted he knew the drugs were prescription medications and that he could not legally distribute them. He also said he knew the drugs were counterfeit.
“The introduction of counterfeit drugs into the market should be of concern to every consumer of these products,” said Moskowitz. “The best defense against unknowingly buying these untested items of unknown origin is to purchase them from legitimate authorized sources."
Gurley sold the counterfeit drugs to at least 11 individuals across the country for between $40 and $50 a bottle. Testing on samples of the counterfeit Viagra® revealed the drugs contained less than the 100 mg of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), while the testing on the counterfeit Cialis® revealed small quantities of the Viagra® API and none of the Cialis® API. In addition, some of the counterfeit Viagra® tablets were found to contain the unrelated compound 2-MBT.
“Counterfeit prescription drugs pose a risk to the public health and undermine the public’s confidence in the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs, which the FDA oversees,” said Hermsen. “We will continue to protect the public’s health by working to remove counterfeit drugs from the marketplace and bring counterfeiters to justice.”
U.S. District Judge David Hittner accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for Sept. 22, 2015. At that time, Gurley faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
This charges are the result of a joint investigation with the FDA-OCI and HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Redlinger is prosecuting the case.
Tonawanda Woman Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining Ssi BenefitsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Tracy Anderson, 43, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of unlawfully receiving supplemental security income, was sentenced to three years probation by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay $11,726 in restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, stated that between December 1, 2012 and February 1, 2014, the defendant received Supplemental Security Income benefits on behalf of her disabled son when in fact, the child was not living with her. Anderson received a total of $11,726 to which she was not entitled.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation from the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan.
Toms River, New Jersey, Sports Medicine Doctor Admits Accepting $60,000 in Cash Bribes for Prescription Referrals, Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A sports medicine doctor with a practice in Toms River, New Jersey, today admitted accepting more than $60,000 in cash bribes in return for referring pain cream prescriptions and falsifying health records on behalf of Prescriptions R Us (PRU), a compound pharmacy in Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
James Morales, 45, of Toms River, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to accept kickbacks and commit health care fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Prescriptions R Us (PRU) was owned and operated by Vladimir Kleyman, 44, of Lakewood, New Jersey. As a compounding pharmacy, PRU prepared medication using different types and dosages of drugs in order to provide more personalized medications for patients. PRU supplied a topical cream for pain treatment that was made from ketamine (a Schedule III non-narcotic), lidocaine, diclofenac and other ingredients.
Morales operated Shore Sports Medicine, a medical practice in Toms River. Morales admitted that from February 2013 through December 2013, he accepted at least $60,000 in cash bribes from PRU in exchange for referring pain cream prescriptions.
Morales also admitted that on Dec. 19, 2013, Kleyman told Morales that the quantity of pain cream that Morales had prescribed was too high to get reimbursed by Horizon, a private health insurance plan. Kleyman asked Morales to start omitting quantity information on his prescriptions for the compounded pain cream. Morales admitted that he agreed to omit quantity information on prescriptions for patients enrolled in Horizon in order to help PRU obtain reimbursements.
The conspiracy charge to which Morales pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2015.
Kleyman previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay kickbacks in exchange for prescription referrals and committing health care fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for July 7, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane H. Yoon and Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $635 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: A. Ross Pearlson Esq., Matthew E. Beck Esq., William Finizio Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
Third Co-conspirator Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Cocaine Seized in BakersfieldRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Luis Montoya-Salazar, aka Rafael Salazar-Sanchez (Montoya), 42, of Mexico City, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with Jimmy Gil, 35, of Shafter, and Luis Ricardo Eslava-Corral (Eslava) 42, of Sinaloa, Mexico, to import, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 38 kilograms, or about 84 pounds, of cocaine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Montoya also agreed to the forfeiture of over $3.1 million in cash that drug agents seized during the investigation of the case.
In pleading guilty, Montoya admitted that he had conspired with Eslava and Gil to smuggle the cocaine into the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The cocaine was off-loaded in Bakersfield, where Gil and Montoya took possession of the drug. Follow-up investigation resulted in the seizure of $3,104,661 in cash, representing drug proceeds, hidden in an asphalt roller at another location in Bakersfield. The seized cocaine has a street value of over $3 million.
Montoya is scheduled to appear for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno on September 21, 2015. He faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. Eslava and Gil previously pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing on July 20 and July 27, respectively. Eslava and Montoya are subject to removal to Mexico after serving any prison sentence imposed.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Tennessee Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Illicit Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Tennessee man was sentenced in federal court today for enticing a minor victim to engage in illicit sexual activity in Lawrence County, Mo.
Dylan Wade Garcia, 29, of Huntingdon, Tenn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Garcia to a 15-year term of supervised release following incarceration.
Garcia, who pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2014, admitted that he used the Internet and a cell phone between June 9 and 26, 2014, to entice a minor under the age of 17 to engage in illicit sexual activity in Lawrence County.
On June 26, 2014, the Marionville School District notified the Aurora-Marionville Police Department that the child victim was missing from summer school. An officer reviewed the middle school’s video surveillance of the parking lot and saw the victim getting into a car with Tennessee license plates. The officer recognized the vehicle as one she had seen the day before at the Aurora Inn Motel. Officers located Garcia’s vehicle at the motel and found Garcia and the victim in a motel room.
The victim reported that she met Garcia online a few weeks earlier; he told her he was 16 years old. They had discussed him coming to Missouri to have sex with her and they engaged in several sexual acts in the motel room.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Aurora-Marionville, Mo., Police Department and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Stone Mountain Tax Return Preparer Sentenced for Filing Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Joan Leger has been sentenced to serve two years in federal prison for filing false tax returns that claimed over $4 million in fraudulent refunds for refugees who were unaware of the fraud.
“This defendant took advantage of refugees’ limited understanding of tax laws to file fraudulent tax returns in their names,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Her fraudulent actions cost American taxpayers millions of dollars.”
“An integral part of IRS Criminal Investigation’s mission involves detecting, investigating, and stopping fraudulent refund schemes,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge, James E. Dorsey. “Special Agents work year round to investigate and root out unscrupulous return preparers like Ms. Leger.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Between 2008 and 2012, Leger operated two tax preparation businesses in Stone Mountain, Georgia; “J & Company Tax Service” and “1804 Tax Group, Inc.” While operating these businesses, she filed thousands of federal income tax returns that claimed fraudulent deductions, expenses, and credits, which resulted in her clients receiving fraudulent refunds. Leger’s scheme primarily targeted Bosnian refugees who spoke little or no English and had a limited understanding of tax laws. In particular, Leger included false income and created phony businesses, faking both income and expenses for those businesses. Leger received monetary fees from the fraudulent refunds. In total, Leger prepared tax returns claiming over $4 million in fraudulent refunds.
Joan Leger, 48, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $134,961. Leger was convicted on March 12, 2015, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Brown prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
South Charleston man pleads guilty to federal drug chargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Michael Andrew Rude, 34, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it. Rude admitted that on April 23, 2015, he had heroin at his home in South Charleston that he intended to sell. Rude also admitted that he had sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement on several other occasions in April.
Rude faces up to twenty years of imprisonment when he is sentenced on October 1, 2015.
The investigation was conducted by the Metro Drug Enforcement Network Team. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is 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 pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
South Carolina Attorney Charged with Fraud and Money Laundering in UA Sorority House Furnishing SchemeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Federal authorities today arrested a South Carolina attorney on fraud and money laundering charges as part of a scheme that involved submitting false invoices for furnishings and equipment for a University of Alabama sorority house and receiving payment without providing the furnishings and equipment, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Craig Caldwell, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Keith Morris.
An eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week charges JENNIFER ELIZABETH MEEHAN, 38, with wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Meehan used interstate electronic communication to submit fraudulent invoices totaling about $95,000 to Greek Resource Services, a contract company that handles the finances for fraternities and sororities at UA. Meehan was in charge of furnishing the newly constructed Gamma Phi Beta sorority house between September 2013 and March 2015.
The indictment also charges Meehan with executing a bank fraud scheme involving about $375,000, in which Meehan opened an account at First Citizens Bank under a fraudulent business name and then submitted additional fraudulent invoices to Greek Resource Services. GRS then gave Meehan two checks totaling about $375,000, which she deposited into the newly opened First Citizens account.
Meehan, a former member of Gamma Phi Beta at Alabama, was acting in her position as president of the House Corporation Board of the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority in an unpaid, volunteer capacity during the course of the fraud, according to the indictment.
Meehan is charged with money laundering for, on four separate occasions, wiring more than $10,000 gained through the bank and wire fraud into accounts she owned.
Meehan could face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the mail fraud.
The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney David H. Estes is prosecuting.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Seven New Haven-Area Men Charged after FBI Task Force Investigation into Heroin and Crack DistributionRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that on June 24, 2015, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging the following individuals with federal narcotics offenses:
JEFFREY SMITH, aka “J-Money,” 21, of New Haven
ROBBIE SMITH, aka “Lil Rob,” 26, of New Haven
SEAN LONDON, 22, of New Haven
ROBERT OATHOUT, 35, of Branford
JASON LANGLEY, 39, of East Haven
HARRY ANASTASIO, 54, of East Haven
ANTONIO DELUCIA, 26, of WallingfordThis investigation was conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, which consists of FBI agents and officers from the New Haven Police Department, West Haven Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Correction. Six of the defendants were arrested on June 10, 2015. ROBBIE SMITH is currently in state custody on unrelated charges.
The indictment alleges that between February and May 2015, JEFFREY SMITH, ROBBIE SMITH and LONDON conspired with others to distribute heroin and crack cocaine. According to court documents and statements made in court, the three men shared a mobile telephone on which they were contacted by drug customers throughout the New Haven area. The men would then deliver the drugs that were ordered in exchange for cash.
JEFFREY SMITH, ROBBIE SMITH and LONDON are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine base (“crack”). In addition, JEFFREY SMITH is charged with four counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base, and one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin. LONDON is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base. OATHOUT, LANGLEY, ANASTASIO and DELUCIA, who are alleged to be drug customers of the conspiracy, are each charged with one count of using a telephone to facilitate a narcotics trafficking felony offense.
If convicted of the charges, JEFFREY SMITH and LONDON face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of imprisonment and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years on the conspiracy charge, and up to 20 years in prison on each distribution charge. ROBBIE SMITH faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and OATHOUT, LANGLEY, ANASTASIO and DELUCIA each face a maximum term of imprisonment of four years.
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Daly stated that the investigation is ongoing.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys H. Gordon Hall and Jennifer R. Laraia.
Self-Styled "Sex Slave Trainer" Ryan Van Stevenson from Lansing Sentenced to 30 Years for Coercing and Enticing A 15-Year-Old Girl OnlineRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Ryan Van Stevenson, 33, of Lansing, Michigan, received a 30-year sentence in federal prison on June 25, 2015, for coercing and enticing a minor online from 2012 to 2014. The judge ordered Stevenson to pay approximately $11,000 in restitution to the victim for counseling costs. Stevenson pled guilty in federal court in December 2014 and faced a possible sentence of 10 years to life.
While living with his wife and young children in Lansing in 2012, Stevenson met a 15-year-old girl from Oregon in a chatroom online. Over the next two and a half years, Stevenson molded her into being his "sex slave," giving her "assignments" to send him pornographic pictures of herself to his email handle of "sexslavetrainer." Stevenson sent her emails about how "slave training is future oriented," where the slave’s "job is to serve and make me look good." When she turned 18, Stevenson moved the victim into his family home to fill the role of "sex slave." It seemed that the teen moved voluntarily and was physically unharmed. The FBI executed a federal search warrant at Stevenson’s house soon thereafter, in August 2014, and found thousands of pornographic images of the victim as a child on Stevenson’s computers. The FBI also found photographs of Stevenson having sex with and molesting another child over a period of at least five years, starting when she was age 13 and Stevenson was 19. Additionally, agents discovered a briefcase filled with CDs of internet child pornography, screenshots of web camera chats with various other girls between approximately 14 and 17 years old, a large number of baggies containing individual pairs of girls’ or women’s underwear, a package from a now convicted child pornographer with a child’s picture in it, and videos Stevenson took of unknown women and teenage girls from the waist down out in public.
Stevenson told the judge at the sentencing hearing that he was a social misfit in high school, never had many friends, and was looking for acceptance. He could not answer why or how he believed that he could seek such acceptance from a child across the country. In delivering the 30-year sentence, U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell described the offense as "reprehensible" and commented on Stevenson’s "complete lack of respect for the law."
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles stated, "The vast reach of the internet makes it easier than ever before for predators to find, befriend, and groom minors online for sexual behavior without the parents ever knowing. It is important to teach children in our community about the dangers of ‘fantasy’ relationships online, which can become all too real and beyond the child’s control."
"Online predators have become adept at leveraging the global reach and anonymity of the Internet to identify, contact, and exploit children," stated Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "It is imperative that parents and loved ones educate children thoroughly regarding the dangers associated with ‘meeting’ strangers online. The FBI and its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners will continue to combat these depraved predators and bring to justice those who use technology to target our youth."
The federal investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa K. Hessmiller prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office; county prosecutor’s offices; and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, including resources for children and parents, visit: http://www.justice.gov/usao/miw/programs/psc.html.
San Juan County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Casey Lamotte, 30, of Flora Vista, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 75 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his drug trafficking conviction.
Lamotte was one of 29 individuals charged with drug trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation targeting drug trafficking in northwestern New Mexico. The investigation culminated on Feb. 26, 2014, when 26 of the defendants were arrested during a law enforcement operation led by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force. Two other defendants were arrested during the course of the investigation and the final defendant was arrested on March 3, 2014.
The 29 defendants were charged as a result of Operation “Brown Ice,” a year-long investigation that initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization led by Isaac Anaya that distributed quantities of methamphetamine throughout San Juan County and expanded to include other drug trafficking activity in the area. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
Thirteen of the defendants, including ringleader Isaac Anaya, 31, of Farmington, N.M., were charged in a 15-count federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in San Juan County from May 2013 through Sept. 2013. The remaining 16 defendants were charged with state drug trafficking and firearms offenses based on criminal complaints. During the course of the investigation, officers seized approximately five pounds of methamphetamine and five firearms. The law enforcement operation on Feb. 24, 2014, included the execution of eleven federal search warrants at two Bloomfield residences, four Farmington residences, two residences in San Juan County, two Bloomfield businesses, two Farmington businesses and a storage unit in Bloomfield. It also included the execution of three state search warrants at two residences in San Juan County and one Farmington residence. Officers seized numerous firearms, including a fully automatic Glock 19, a short-barreled rifle and a carbine with an obliterated serial number, four blasting caps, four small binary explosives and approximately 31.7 grams of methamphetamine during the execution of the search warrants and the law enforcement operation.
On Feb. 26, 2015, Lamotte pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. In entering the guilty plea, Lamotte admitted that from May 28, 2013 through Sept. 25, 2013, he and his co-defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in San Juan County. Lamotte also admitted that he acted as a drug courier for Isaac Anaya by traveling from Arizona and California to Farmington to deliver methamphetamine to Isaac Anaya, and connected Isaac Anaya with other defendants in this case in order to obtain more methamphetamine. At the time of his arrest, Lamotte was traveling back to Farmington from California, and was found to be in possession of approximately 851 grams of methamphetamine.
The federal and state cases filed as a result of Operation “Brown Ice” were investigated by the HSI office in Albuquerque, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force, Bloomfield Police Department, Farmington Police Department and Aztec Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reeve L. Swainston is prosecuting the federal case, and Assistant District Attorney David Cowen of the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state cases.
The HIDTA Region II Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomfield Police Department and Aztec Police Department, and is part of 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.
Pizza Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison for Unlawfully Exporting Firearms and Accessories to PakistanRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Kamran Ashfaq Malik, age 35, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland today to two years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for unlawfully exporting semi-automatic rifles, parts and accessories to Pakistan.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Malik owned and operated a pizza shop in Upper Marlboro, and maintained a second residence in Lahore, Pakistan. Co-defendant Waleeb Aftab worked at the pizza shop. According to Malik’s plea agreement, between September and October 2012, Malik purchased, or caused to be purchased, approximately 48 AR-15 100 round dual drum magazines from various firearms and related accessories dealers. In order to take advantage of the lack of magazine capacity restrictions in Virginia, some of the purchases were made by Malik under the name, Virginia address and bank account of an associate. In other instances Malik provided a false commercial shipping address in Springfield, Virginia.
Between October and November 2012, Malik shipped or caused Aftab and others to ship, several illegal shipments of firearms and firearms parts and accessories to Lahore, Pakistan. In order to conceal the unlawful export of defense items, which are controlled for export, Malik placed false return addresses and names on the packages, as well as falsely identified the contents of the packages, and falsely declared the contents to be of nominal value. Malik directed Aftab to do the same.
On November 28, 2012, during a routine airport security screening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one of the packages was found to contain firearm parts and accessories that are prohibited from export to Pakistan without an export license, including: two lower receivers of a semi-automatic rifle, two rifle bolt carriers, rounds of magazines, an optical gun sight and an LED rail mounted flashlight with laser. The defendants never obtained the required licenses to export such items.
On March 7, 2013, after arriving at JFK Airport from Pakistan, Malik’s cell phone and laptop computer were subjected to a border search. Malik’s cell phone contained pictures of AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles and magazines, in some cases in the hands of individuals. The pictures were taken at locations near his residences in Pakistan and Maryland. A text message was also found on Malik’s phone that referenced the tracking number of the shipment detained in Dubai.
On March 6, 2014, Malik dropped off a package for shipment to Pakistan. Malik provided a false address and falsely identified the contents as “screw holders and metal screws.” Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents intercepted the package, which was found to contain 28 .223 caliber bolt carriers. Those items are regulated for export. Malik never sought nor obtained a valid export license for those items.
Malik received numerous export warnings regarding the export restrictions on firearms and related accessories. A notice of these export restrictions were contained on the firearms transaction records for various weapons purchased by Malik between 2012 and 2013, including the purchase of the Colt M-4 whose lower receiver was confiscated in Dubai. In addition, the shipping invoice receipts for the various shipments to Pakistan completed by Malik, or Aftab acting at his direction, contained an export notice and signature block for the shipper certifying that the identifying information for the package was accurate and that it was being shipped in accordance with U.S. export regulations.
Co-defendant Waleed Aftab, age 23, also of Upper Marlboro, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to time served of one year.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised Baltimore HSI for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Christine Manuelian, who prosecuted the case.
Philadelphia Man Admits Trying to Distribute 1.7 Kilograms of Pure MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Philadelphia man today admitted trying to deliver 1.7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine in Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aaron Vega-Castelo, 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Dec. 11, 2013, Vega-Castelo was stopped while driving a blue Jeep on the New Jersey Turnpike in Elizabeth. Law enforcement found four plastic food storage-style containers of methamphetamine hydrochloride and two shoeboxes containing approximately $110,000 in cash in the back seat area of his vehicle. Vega-Castelo admitted that at the time he was stopped by law enforcement, he was on his way to deliver the drugs and cash to other individuals near an Ikea in Elizabeth.
DEA testing of the seized methamphetamine revealed that it had a net weight of 1.79 kilograms and substance purity of 95.1 percent, which results in 1.7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine hydrochloride.
The charged offense carries a minimum penalty of ten years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara F. Merin of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Eric M. Mark Esq., Newark, New Jersey
Pensacola Man Sentenced to 8 Years for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Thomas Victor Sway, 25, of Pensacola, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for receipt of child pornography. The sentence was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
At trial, the government presented evidence that, between November 2012 and May 2013, Sway received and possessed child pornography, including videos depicting images of minors less than 12 years of age engaged in sex acts. Undercover law enforcement officers discovered and downloaded the pornographic files from a public file sharing network that could be traced to Sway’s computer. After agents executed a search warrant at Sway’s residence, a forensic analysis of his hard drive revealed at least 140 video files containing images of child pornography. Additionally, the system file history indicated a pattern of Sway using dozens of distinct search terms to locate child pornography on the internet. Sway was convicted on April 15, 2015.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Pensacola Police Department, and the other agencies that are part of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose joint investigation led to the charges in this case. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Ryan Love.
“This sentence is just one example of the hard work of our district’s prosecutors and law enforcement professionals to combat child exploitation crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Marsh. “These cases illustrate how dangerous the internet can be, and we will continue to investigate and charge those who target children.”
"Protecting children is a top priority for HSI, and we will continue to work in partnership with other agencies, like the Pensacola Police Department and the Northwest Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, to stop the exploitation of our children," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “It is imperative for law enforcement to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, [email protected]New York Attorney Convicted of Defrauding ADP Inc., Broadridge Financial Solutions, Out of Hundreds of Thousands of DollarsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York attorney was convicted of mail fraud today for his role in an alleged scheme to defraud two international companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by fraudulently billing them for services that were never provided, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Marijan Cvjeticanin, 50, of St. James, N.Y., was convicted of nine counts of mail fraud following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton federal court. The jury deliberated two hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
According to the documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
From September 1996 to September 2012, Cvjeticanin worked for Wildes & Weinberg P.C., a New York law firm specializing in immigration law, first as a paralegal and then as an attorney. Among other clients, the firm represented Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (Broadridge) in connection with various immigration law matters. Cvjeticanin was the case manager handling day-to-day tasks, such as preparing Department of Labor certifications and applications for permanent residency for certain foreign workers of those companies employed in the United States on a temporary basis.
The application process required ADP and Broadridge to place job advertisements in the geographic location where the relevant position was located, to demonstrate that there were no minimally qualified United States citizens available to fill that position. Wildes & Weinberg arranged for an independent advertising agency to contract with ADP and Broadridge to place the advertisements. At some point prior to 2010, Cvjeticanin caused ADP and Broadridge to replace the independent advertising agency with Flowerson Holdings Inc., a/k/a Flowerson Advertising (Flowerson). Unbeknownst to Wildes & Weinberg, ADP, or Broadridge, Cvjeticanin was the owner and principal of Flowerson. From that point until September 2012, Flowerson purportedly handled all of the certification advertisement obligations for ADP and Broadridge. In reality, Cvjeticanin did not place the majority of the advertisements as required and instead pocketed the monies paid to him by ADP and Broadridge.
In September 2012, Wildes & Weinberg learned through a routine audit of employee email accounts that Cvjeticanin owned and controlled Flowerson and fired him. The subsequent investigation revealed that between 2010 and September 2012, ADP and Broadridge collectively paid Flowerson approximately $579,000 for advertisements relating to permanent residency applications. Virtually all of the invoices that Flowerson submitted to ADP and Broadridge included charges for advertisements purportedly placed in Computer World magazine as well as advertisements placed in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Star-Ledger, The Seattle Times, and others. However, Cvjeticanin never placed the majority of advertisements. Instead, he kept the money for his personal benefit.
The investigation also revealed that from time to time the government would conduct audits of labor certifications submitted on behalf of ADP and Broadridge and request additional information from the filer, including copies of the print advertisements that had been placed. Cvjeticanin was responsible for gathering the print advertisements responsive to the government audit requests. Because Cvjeticanin had not placed most of the print advertisements, he was unable to provide the copies. Cvjeticanin took out advertisements after he received notice of the audit. Cvjeticanin then fraudulently superimposed those advertisements on a newspaper from another date and made a photocopy, which he submitted to the government. The photocopied submissions purported to show that the relevant advertisements had been placed on the appropriate dates.
Cvjeticanin faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the counts on which he was convicted. The government is seeking the forfeiture of all funds fraudulently obtained by Cvjeticanin as a result of the scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, Newark Field Office, and the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge David Schnorbus, with the investigation leading to today’s verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro and Dennis C. Carletta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo Esq., Verona, New Jersey; Thomas Ambrosio Esq., Lyndhurst, New Jersey
New Jersey Man Federally Charged with Robbing 14 Banks and Two Businesses in Central Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and MarylandRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Warren, New Jersey man was charged in a Criminal Information with committing 14 bank robberies and two robberies of businesses over a period of a year in five states. The charges were filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Francis Simmons, age 41, is alleged to have robbed banks and businesses located in Lewisburg, Fogelsville, Dillsburg, Allentown, Wyomissing, Tannersville, Lancaster, Columbia, Hellertown, Hanover, Pennsylvania and Marathon, New York, Swedesboro, New Jersey, Hagerstown, Maryland and Asheboro, North Carolina. The wave of robberies occurred between November 6, 2013 and November 29, 2014. Simmons was allegedly identified by witnesses and surveillance video.
The investigation involved close coordination and cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Cortland County, New York Sheriff Department, and the Police Departments of Upper Macungie Township, Carroll Township, Logan Township, New Jersey, Spring Township, Hagerstown, Maryland, Pocono Township, Lancaster City Bureau of Police, Asheboro, North Carolina, Columbia Borough, Hellertown and Hanover Borough. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
The government also filed a plea agreement that requires approval of the court.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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New Jersey Man Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISIL and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was arrested today on charges of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and aiding and abetting an attempt to do so, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark, New Jersey, Division.
Alaa Saadeh, 23, of West New York, New Jersey, was arrested early this morning at his home. He is charged in a complaint with conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL, aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL and attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI. The defendant is scheduled to make his initial appearance at 2:30 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor of the District of New Jersey.
According to documents filed in this case:
The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) have been investigating a group of individuals from New York and New Jersey who have allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIL. Co-Conspirator 1 (CC-1) is Saadeh’s brother and was a resident of Rutherford, New Jersey, until departing the United States on May 5, 2015, allegedly to join ISIL. Co-Conspirator 2 (CC-2) was a resident of Queens, New York, until he was arrested on June 13, 2015, in New York on terrorism charges. Samuel Rahamin Topaz was a resident of Fort Lee, New Jersey, until he was arrested on June 17, 2015, in New Jersey and charged with conspiring to provide services and personnel to ISIL.
On May 5, 2015, CC-1 attempted to travel from New Jersey to the Middle East, via John F. Kennedy International Airport, allegedly in order to join ISIL. CC-1 was accompanied to JFK by Saadeh and CC-2. On the way to the airport, CC-1 stated that he, Saadeh, CC-2 and Topaz had plans to reunite overseas within a few weeks.
After CC-1’s departure, and despite learning from CC-1’s family that he had been arrested in Jordan on suspicion of supporting ISIL, Saadeh, CC-2 and Topaz continued to discuss their plan to travel overseas to join ISIL. Electronic communications later recovered from Topaz’s phone corroborated their plans. On May 21, 2015, Saadeh and Topaz discussed that they needed to “lay low” and refrain from taking action in furtherance of the conspiracy to provide material support to ISIL that might be detected by law enforcement. Saadeh and Topaz also discussed needing to meet in person to discuss “hijra.” Topaz later told members of the JTTF that he and his conspirators used the term “hijra” (often spelled “hijrah”) to refer to traveling overseas to join ISIL. The next day, Saadeh told another individual that he suspected that CC-2 or Topaz had “snitched” on CC-1 and caused his arrest overseas, and that, if true, Saadeh thought he would have to “kill someone.”
In recorded conversations with an informant, Saadeh revealed his support for ISIL, including the terrorist organization’s use of beheadings and mass killings to impose its violent agenda. Saadeh also stated that he planned to travel overseas with CC-2 “at some point.” Saadeh further stated that he knew CC-1 planned to travel to join ISIL before CC-1 departed the United States, and that he bought CC-1’s airline ticket despite knowing this. The investigation revealed that Saadeh provided CC-1 transportation and removed a SIM card from CC-1’s phone in an apparent effort hide incriminating communications and other data.
In June, after becoming aware that he was under FBI surveillance, Saadeh directed an individual in New Jersey not to tell the FBI about CC-1’s support for ISIL or CC-1’s plans to travel to Syria and Iraq to join ISIL. Saadeh instructed the individual to “play dumb” and be “honest up to a point,” but to be sure not to tell the FBI anything about ISIL.
Each count in the complaint carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and JTTF. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Judson Welle, Dennis C. Carletta and Francisco J. Navarro of the District of New Jersey, with the assistance of Trial Attorney Robert Sander of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Saadeh Criminal Complaint
New Jersey Man Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISIL and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was arrested at his home this morning for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, and Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark Division announced.
Alaa Saadeh, 23, of West New York, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL, aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL, and attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case:
The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) have been investigating a group of individuals from New York and New Jersey who have allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIL. Conspirator 1 (CC-1) lived in Rutherford, New Jersey, until leaving the country on May 5, 2015, allegedly to join ISIL. Conspirator 2 (CC-2) was a Queens, New York, resident until he was arrested in New York on June 13, 2015, on terrorism charges. Samuel Rahamin Topaz was a Fort Lee, New Jersey, resident until he was arrested in New Jersey on June 17, 2015, and charged with conspiring to provide services and personnel to ISIL.
When CC-1 attempted to travel to the Middle East via John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), allegedly in order to join ISIL, he was accompanied by Saadeh and CC-2. On the way to the airport, CC-1 allegedly stated that he, Saadeh, CC-2, and Topaz had plans to reunite overseas within a few weeks.
After CC-1’s departure, and despite learning from CC-1’s family that he had been arrested in Jordan on suspicion of supporting ISIL, Saadeh, CC-2, and Topaz allegedly continued to discuss their plan to travel overseas to join ISIL. Electronic communications later recovered from Topaz’s phone corroborated their plans. On May 21, 2015, Saadeh and Topaz discussed the need to “lay low” and refrain from taking action in furtherance of the conspiracy to provide material support to ISIL that might be detected by law enforcement. Saadeh and Topaz also allegedly discussed needing to meet in person to discuss “hijra,” which Topaz later told members of the JTTF that referred to traveling overseas to join ISIL. The next day, Saadeh allegedly told another individual that he suspected that CC-2 or Topaz had “snitched” on CC-1 and caused his arrest overseas, and, if that was true, Saadeh thought he would have to “kill someone.”
In recorded conversations with an informant, Saadeh revealed his support for ISIL, including its use of beheadings and mass killings to impose its violent agenda. He said he planned to travel overseas with CC-2 “at some point.” Saadeh allegedly said he knew CC-1 planned to travel to join ISIL before CC-1 departed the United States and that he bought CC-1’s airline ticket despite knowing this. The investigation also revealed that Saadeh provided CC-1 transportation and removed a SIM card from CC-1’s phone in an apparent effort to hide incriminating communications and other data.
In June, after becoming aware that he was under FBI surveillance, Saadeh allegedly directed an individual in New Jersey not to tell the FBI about CC-1’s support for ISIL or CC-1’s plans to travel to Syria and Iraq to join ISIL. Saadeh instructed the individual to “play dumb” and be “honest up to a point,” but to be sure not to tell the FBI anything about ISIL.
Each count in the complaint carries a maximum of potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the FBI and the JTTF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frankel, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Judson Welle, Dennis C. Carletta, and Francisco J. Navarro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark, with the assistance of Trial Attorney Robert J. Sander of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. –Walter Morton, 49, of Laconia, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to three counts of Social Security Fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.
In June 2009, Morton began receiving Social Security disability benefits. He also began receiving Child’s Insurance Benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of two minor children, his biological daughter and his former stepson, serving as their representative payee. In this role, Morton was responsible for using the benefits he received on behalf of the children for their current needs, such as food, clothing, housing, and medical care.
On three separate occasions between August 2010 and December 2012, Morton advised SSA that the children resided with him and that he used the benefit payments he received as their representative payee for the children’s care and support. An investigation conducted by SSA’s Office of the Inspector General, however, revealed that the children had not lived with Morton since 2003 and he had not used their benefits for their current needs. Morton’s concealment of the true residency of the children and his failure to use the benefits for their care and support caused him to fraudulently receive $58,459.70 in Child’s Insurance Benefits payments.
“My office will continue to work closely with the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration to identify and prosecute those individuals who steal from the Social Security Fund by making false claims for benefits,” stated Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith. “Benefit programs exist so that those in need may receive the financial assistance necessary to survive. Those who engage in fraud to obtain benefits threaten the financial security of those citizens legitimately entitled to benefits. I thank the OIG for its excellent investigative work in this case.”
Morton is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2015. He is facing a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment on each of the three counts. He was released on conditions pending sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen Burzycki.
New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced that James Oberfeldt, 31, of Claremont, New Hampshire, appeared in United States District Court today and pled guilty to robbing three banks in October and November of 2013 in violation of federal law.
Oberfeldt pled guilty to robbing the One Credit Union in Claremont, New Hampshire on October 11, 2013, The Lake Sunapee Bank in Lebanon, New Hampshire on November 20, 2013 and the Claremont Savings Bank in Claremont, New Hampshire on November 26, 2013. In each of the bank robberies, Oberfeldt wore a dark face mask and carried an air pistol which appeared to be an automatic handgun.
The defendant was identified after being arrested in Massachusetts on December 7, 2013 on other charges after a traffic stop. At the time of his arrest, Massachusetts State Police recovered an air pistol, dark ski mask and several items of clothing in the car driven by Oberfeldt. The clothes and gun were consistent with those of the bank robber, as seen on a surveillance video from the Claremont Savings Bank. Finger prints taken from the door of that bank were tested by the FBI’s Forensic Laboratory and found to match Oberfeldt’s.
The defendant faces a maximum prison term of twenty years on each count and will be sentenced on October 5, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Claremont Police Department, the Lebanon Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and the Holyoke, Massachusetts Police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation aided in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.
Nevada Woman Sentenced for Stealing $336,000 from Her EmployerRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Nevada, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a bank fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $336,000 from her employer and failed to pay taxes on the stolen money.
Patricia Culbertson, 52, of Nevada, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Culbertson to pay $412,022 in restitution to the business and to the government.
On Dec. 4, 2014, Culbertson pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. According to court documents, Culbertson’s four-year-long criminal scheme started just a few years after being released from state probation for trafficking in illegal narcotics.
Culbertson worked for Barrington Manufacturing Corporation (a subsidiary of Hammond Sheet Metal) as a book keeper from June 2009 until she was suspended on June 24, 2014. Her fraud scheme began within six months of being hired. Culbertson admitted that she forged the company owner’s signature on checks from the company’s bank account without authorization in order to cover her gambling debts and for other personal expenses.
On hundreds of occasions, Culbertson stole the identity of various company officials, forged their signatures, and wrote unauthorized checks on the company's operating account and a separate account created to provide financial assistance to her fellow employees. The checks were either deposited into Culbertson’s personal bank account, the bank accounts of her mother and son, or the bank account of her company, PC Tech.
Culbertson’s criminal conduct continued when she realized her fraud had been discovered. In July of 2014, agents spoke with Culbertson at her home and they observed Barrington's financial records that had been removed from the business office. Agents immediately seized and preserved those financial records. After completing their investigation, agents determined that Culbertson destroyed and stole financial documents in an effort to conceal the true scope of her crimes.
Culbertson also admitted that she failed to report this embezzled income on her federal income tax returns for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Culbertson’s actions resulted in a total tax loss to the federal government (without penalties and interest) of $60,431. The total tax loss to the state of Missouri (without penalties and interest) was $14,754.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the El Dorado Springs, Mo., Police Department.
Morgantown man sentenced for unlawful possession of stolen firearmsRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jacob Honaker, 21, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for possession of stolen firearms, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Throughout 2014, Honaker possessed, bartered, sold, and disposed of multiple stolen firearms, including three semi-automatic pistols and five revolvers. He pled guilty in February 2015 to a criminal Information charging him with one count of “Possession of a Stolen Firearm.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Morgan prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Montgomery County Conservation Director Charged with Bank Fraud, Wire FraudRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A former director of the Montgomery County Conservation District appeared in federal court here Monday on bank fraud and wire fraud charges, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Danielle R. Passauer, 29, Neodesha, Kan., was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. It is alleged that she authorized $27,678 in checks to be paid to her in excess of the amount of her salary. Furthermore, it is alleged she authorized $23,694 in electronic transfer to VISA to pay for her personal, unauthorized expenditures.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on each count.
The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
Millenium Capital Exchange CEO Pleads Guilty to running Foreign Exchange Market Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Stafford S. Maxwell, the former owner and Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Capital Exchange, Inc., has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud for orchestrating a multi-million dollar foreign exchange market Ponzi scheme.
“Maxwell lured investors to his forex firm with bravado and false promises of trading success,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Maxwell’s claims led to nothing more than common theft, as he used lies and deceit to fleece people of their savings.”
“It is hoped that this guilty plea will provide some comfort to the many investors turned victims in this case that Mr. Maxwell will be held accountable for his greed based criminal conduct. The FBI continues to caution investors to be wary of those individuals promising such high rates of returns,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: In March 2007, Maxwell incorporated and owned Millennium Capital Exchange, Inc. (“Millennium”), which purported to be a foreign exchange market trading firm. The foreign exchange market (or forex market) is the global market in which participants buy, sell, exchange, and speculate on currencies. The forex trading market consists of banks, commercial companies, central banks, investment management firms, hedge funds, retail forex brokers, and individual investors. Forex trading involves the trading of currencies from different countries against each other. An example of a forex trade is to buy Japanese yen while simultaneously selling United States dollars. Trading in foreign exchange markets frequently exceeds $5 trillion per day.
From about 2008 to January 2012, Maxwell solicited investments from individuals across the United States with promises of high fixed rates of return to be generated from successful foreign currency trading. In particular, to obtain money from investors, Maxwell falsely stated that: (a) he possessed excellent forex trading skills; (b) he had a long history of forex trading success; (c) he often assured investors that they would earn an annualized rate of return on their investments from approximately 48% to 72%; (d) he used “stops” and “floors” on currency trades to insure that the gains would be large, but that the losses would be small; (e) investors had realized significant gains based on his trading; and (f) he had reserve funds that enabled him to cover any trading losses.
In fact and in truth, Maxwell: (a) had little success executing forex trades; (b) lost almost all the money that he traded in forex markets; (c) was unable to pay investors the promised investment dividends; and (d) possessed no reserve fund to cover forex trading losses.
According to Millennium’s business model, Maxwell was supposed to use the invested funds to make forex trades through accounts at a financial firm in Geneva, Switzerland. Based on his false representations, investors wired Maxwell well over $1 million, expecting that the funds would be traded in the Swiss accounts. After receiving money from investors, however, Maxwell diverted approximately half of the money for other improper purposes. First, in an effort to perpetuate the scheme and make it appear that he was a successful forex trader, Maxwell used the money received from new investors (that was supposed to be traded on the forex market) to pay “dividends” to older investors. Second, Maxwell used the money received from investors (that was supposed to be traded on the forex market) to pay his own personal living expenses. In the end, Maxwell spent or lost almost every dollar invested with him.
On March 17, 2015, Stafford S. Maxwell, 46, of Mableton, Georgia, was indicted on 10 counts of conspiratorial and substantive wire fraud.
Sentencing for Maxwell is scheduled for September 2, 2015, at 10:00 a.m., before United States District Judge Eleanor L. Ross.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Miami Couple Sentenced for Operating Clinic to Defraud MedicareRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced a Miami couple today for their roles in operating a sham clinic. Gladys Fuertes (41) was sentenced to 19 years and 6 months in federal prison for engaging in a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstruction of a healthcare fraud investigation. Her husband and business partner, Mario Fuertes (41) was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, and obstruction of a healthcare fraud investigation. The Court also ordered them to forfeit $1,036,759.72, proceeds that are traceable to the charged conduct. The Fuerteses were convicted by a federal jury on March 24, 2015.
According to evidence presented during the seven-day trial, Gladys and Mario Fuertes established and operated a sham clinic, Gables Medical and Therapy Center, for the purpose of committing health care fraud. They employed unlicensed medical professionals and misused the Medicare billing numbers of other medical professionals, without their knowledge, in order to claim that they had rendered medical treatment to Gables patients. The Fuerteses also paid a co-conspirator to recruit Medicare beneficiaries for Gables, and to drive patients to the clinic for basic and sham medical services.
Once recruited, Gladys and Mario Fuertes urged the Gables patients to enroll in Universal’s Medicare Part C and Part D plans. They believed that Universal paid a relatively high percentage of its claims. The Fuerteses fraudulently billed Universal and caused Universal’s Medicare Part C plan to be billed for Gables patients’ supposed treatments. The treatments included expensive HIV-related treatments that patients never actually received. Gladys and Mario Fuertes also billed Universal and caused Universal to be billed for services that required a physician’s presence when no licensed physician had been present or had rendered the service. The Fuerteses billed Universal in excess of $900,000.
The Fuerteses and their co-conspirators paid the Medicare beneficiaries, who were recruited to come to Gables for their Medicare identification numbers, to allow Gables to bill Universal for services that were never rendered. In addition, Gladys and Mario Fuertes facilitated the provision of fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, including oxycodone, to Gables patients. In some cases, the signatures on the prescriptions were forged. The patients who received these oxycodone prescriptions were assisted in filling them by a co-conspirator. The co-conspirator also purchased the pills from some of the patients and sold them on the street. These prescriptions were paid for as part of the beneficiaries’ Medicare Part D benefits.
Once they learned of the federal health care fraud investigation into their actions, the Fuerteses instructed Gables patients to lie to law enforcement agents and otherwise obstruct a federal investigation into health care fraud at the clinic. The Fuerteses also provided altered Medicare billing documentation to federal agents investigating their activities.
“Today, Gladys and Mario Fuertes found out what health care providers who defraud Medicare are finding out all over America: if you commit health care fraud, you will be held accountable for your greed. From billing for services never provided to selling fraudulent narcotic prescriptions to altering medical records to conceal their crimes, this couple earned their stiff prison sentences,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “HHS OIG special agents will continue to work closely with our State and Federal law enforcement partners to protect Federal health care programs and the patients they serve.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Kelley Howard-Allen.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Meridian Man Sentenced to 133 Months in Prison on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss - Cliff Williams, 37, of Meridian, Mississippi, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 133 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute actual methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown.
Williams was indicted as a result of DEA’s "Operation Yeti Ice", an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi. The drug network involved the distribution of over 100 Kilograms of Methamphetamine and encompassed the states of California and Mississippi.
This OCDETF operation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics with assistance from the U.S. Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Leake County Sherriff’s Office, Madison County Sherriff’s Office, Carthage Police Department, Forest Police Department, Newton County Sherriff’s Office, Lauderdale County Sherriff’s Office, Decatur Police Department, Richland Police Department, Pearl Police Department, Ridgeland Police Department, and the Jackson Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk.
The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
McAlester Man, Oklahoma City Woman Plead Guilty to Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that DAVID DEAN CAGLE, age 33, of McAlester, Oklahoma and JESSICA SUZANNE FELIX, age 33, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Drug Conspiracy, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(l) and 841(b)(1)(A).
The charge is a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. OCDETF is an initiative led and coordinated by the United States Attorney’s Office. The defendant was indicted in April, 2015.
The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about July 2014, the exact date being unknown to the Grand Jury, and continuing until on or about the date of the Indictment, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendants did knowingly and intentionally conspire, confederate and agree together and with others, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) and 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty pleas and ordered presentence reports to be completed. The defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment for CAGLE and FELIX is not less than 10 years imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Macy Man Sentenced for Habitual Domestic Abuse and Aiding the Killing of A Bald EagleRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Antonio Bertucci, age 24 of Macy, Nebraska, was sentenced today upon his convictions for habitual domestic abuse and aiding and abetting the unlawful killing of a bald eagle. Chief United States District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Bertucci to 35 months of imprisonment on the habitual domestic abuse conviction to be followed by three years of supervised release. Bertucci was further ordered to serve one year of supervised release upon his conviction for the unlawful killing of a bald eagle.
Bertucci was convicted on two counts of habitual domestic abuse relating to incidents which occurred on October 2, 2014 and October 13, 2014 on the Omaha Indian Reservation. In each incident, Bertucci punched his live-in girlfriend in the face and also struck her in the body by either punching or kicking her. Bertucci had two previous convictions for domestic abuse assault in Woodbury County, Iowa.
In February of 2014, Bertucci was the driver of a vehicle in a field on the Omaha Indian Reservation when witnesses observed the passenger shooting at two bald eagles which were in the area. When the tribal police and the tribal game warden responded, Bertucci attempted to flee by driving away at a high rate of speed. However, he was ultimately caught when his vehicle broke down. A search of the vehicle revealed a bald eagle carcass in the trunk.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Land Developer Involved in Failed Project of Luxury Homes Is Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for His Role in A $23 Million Bank Loan Scheme and Related ChargesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Keith Vinson to 18 years in prison for his role in a scheme involving the failed land development deal of Seven Falls, a golf course and luxury residential community in Henderson County, N.C., announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Vinson, age 57, of Arden, North Carolina, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $18,384,584.53. A federal jury convicted Vinson in October 2013 of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); and Jason T. Moran, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Inspector General’s Office of Investigation, Atlanta office.
“Keith Vinson was the central figure among a group of rogue bankers, CPA’s, appraisers, investors and others who together not only violated federal laws, but violated the trust of legitimate investors and potential home owners. The U.S. Attorney’s Office engaged our full resources to investigate and successfully prosecute this greedy group, but the greater message is to those who seek to engage in similar fraudulent activities: we are not finished. Western North Carolina is enticing to investors and developers because of the beauty of the landscape and continued growth; however, those who seek to conduct business in this area should prepare to do so fairly, legally and transparently because we are paying close attention to business transactions by investors, developers and would-be gate keepers” stated Acting United States Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose.
According to filed court documents, evidence presented at Vinson’s trial and today’s sentencing hearing:
Beginning in 2008, Vinson and his co-defendants conspired and obtained money from several banks through a series of straw borrower transactions in order to funnel monies to Vinson and his failing development of Seven Falls, a proposed golf course and luxury residential community in Henderson County, N.C. A straw borrower is an individual whose name appears on a loan and on the books and records of a bank as the beneficiary of a loan, but whose name is substituted for that of the true borrower and does not in fact receive the benefits of the loan. Lending institutions cannot properly assess the risk of making such loans as they do not know the true circumstances of the loans or the creditworthiness of the true borrowers. Vinson and his conspirators devised this scheme in order to funnel monies to Vinson and his failing development of Seven Falls.
In order to advance this scheme Vinson and his co-conspirators, including Avery Ted “Buck” Cashion, III, Raymond M. “Ray” Chapman, and others, recruited local bank officials including George Gordon “Buddy” Greenwood and Ted Durham, who at the time were, respectively, President of the Bank of Asheville and the President of Pisgah Community Bank. When bank officials realized that they had reached their legal lending limits with respect to some of the straw borrowers, additional straw borrowers were recruited to the scheme and more straw borrower loans were made to them. Additional straw borrower loans were also necessary to keep loans current, a scheme known as “loan kiting.” The loan kiting scheme became necessary when conspirators were unable to make payments on loans made early in the scheme. Seven Falls and another luxury residential golf development by Vinson named “Queens Gap” failed, resulting in millions in property losses. In addition, both the Bank of Asheville and Pisgah Community Bank failed and were taken over by the FDIC.
Many of Vinson’s co-conspirators were sentenced on June 2, 2015. Avery Ted “Buck” Cashion, III, 61, of Lake Luke, N.C., was sentenced to 36 months in prison; Raymond M. “Ray” Chapman, 68, of Brevard, N.C., was sentenced to 36 months in prison; Thomas E. “Ted” Durham, Jr., former President of the failed Pisgah Community Bank, 60, of Fletcher, N.C., was sentenced to 30 months in prison; and Aaron Ollis, 68, a former licensed Real Estate Appraiser, of Arden, N.C., was sentenced to two years of probation, including 12 months and 1 day home detention. Cashion, Chapman, Durham and Ollis each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution as follows
Avery Ted “Buck” Cashion, III, $14,266,256.47
Raymond M. “Ray” Chapman, $14,266,256.47
Thomas E. “Ted” Durham, $ 6,237,453.37
Aaron Ollis, $10,199,106.87
George M. Gabler, age 60, of Fletcher, N.C., was convicted of one count of willfully failing to report misconduct associated with two Seven Falls lot loans in March 2010. In court documents, Gabler admitted that he withheld documents from a federal grand jury knowing that they were related to fraudulent loans taken out on behalf of conspirator Keith Vinson. For this offense, Gabler, a former Certified Public Accountant, was sentenced to two years of probation, including 500 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.
Previously, Buddy Greenwood was sentenced to 42 months in prison; Nicholas Dimitris was sentenced to 12 months plus one day in prison; the former Pisgah Community Bank Chief Credit Officer, Robert Craig Gourlay was sentenced to 15 months in prison; David G. Smith, who worked as a loan officer for Pisgah Community Bank was sentenced to nine months in prison, and Andrew Hager was sentenced to eight months in prison in connection with the Seven Falls scheme.
Vinson is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was being jointly handled by the FBI, IRS-CI, and FDIC-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Don Gast and Michael Savage are in charge of the prosecution.