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14 July 2015
Bristol, Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Knowingly Failing to Update His Sex Offender RegistrationRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Bristol, Va. man who failed to update his sex offender registration, after resisting arrest and fleeing from police officers in August 2014, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.
Stevenson G. Harrison, Jr., 34, of Bristol, Va., pled guilty today to a one count indictment of failing to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act [SORNA]. At sentencing, Harrison faces a maximum possible penalty of ten years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.
Harrison admitted today that he was required to register under SORNA because of three 1996 convictions he received in Washington County, Virginia for aggravated sexual assault of a minor. Harrison also admitted to failing to update his sex offender registration in August 2014 as required by SORNA. At the guilty plea hearing, Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Jayne stated that had the government gone to trial, it would had been prepared to prove that in August 2014, Harrison resisted arrest and fled from Bristol, Virginia Police Department officers who attempted to serve Harrison with an arrest warrant. Two officers were injured as a result of the struggle. A manhunt ensued for Harrison, and he was arrested in November 2014 in Lakeland, Florida by the United States Marshals Service.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, the Virginia State Police, and the Bristol, Virginia Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Jayne is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Bowling Green, Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Marijuana and Cocaine and Possession of A Firearm by A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A Bowling Green armed career criminal was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 5 years of Supervised Release by United States District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers, for conspiring to possess and distribute marijuana, cocaine and cocaine base, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, distribution of cocaine base, and maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing controlled substances, today announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Antwain Santez Sweatt, age 37, pled guilty to five charges in a Superseding Indictment on April 21, 2015. According to the Plea Agreement, between June and July 2014, in Warren County, Kentucky, Sweatt knowingly conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute marijuana, cocaine and cocaine base. He also admitted to distributing cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack cocaine,” on July 3, 2014. Further, Sweatt admitted to renting a house located at 834 Victoria Street, in Bowling Green, for the purpose of distributing or using controlled substances. Finally, Sweatt admitted to knowingly possessing a Jiminez Arms, 9 millimeter pistol and ammunition, after having been convicted of a felony. In fact, Sweatt was a multi-convicted felon.
On March 10, 1997, Sweatt was sentenced to 7 years in prison for trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. On February 3, 2003, Sweatt was sentenced to 10 years in prison for trafficking in a controlled substance and, in a separate case, 15 years in prison for disarming a police officer, second degree assault and resisting arrest.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Bowling Green Police Department, and the Bowling Green/Warren County Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.
Bertha Croom Convicted of Stealing over $125,000 from Social Security AdministrationRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Walt Green announced that Bertha Augustus Croom, age 60, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty on Monday, July 6, 2015 before United States District Judge Shelly Dick to defrauding the U.S. Social Security Administration for more than a decade.
Croom pled guilty to a Bill of Information which alleged that she stole and converted to her own use $127,137 in Retirement Survivor Insurance funds of the Social Security Administration (“SSA”), which she received in the name of her deceased mother. The funds were stolen over the course of 18 years. The government funds misappropriated were retirement survivor funds to which Croom’s mother was entitled, as long as she was alive.
On multiple occasions, Croom falsely represented to SSA that her mother was alive, residing with her, and that she (Croom) was expending the government retirement survivor funds for the benefit of her mother. The funds were disbursed by SSA and collected by Croom beginning on or about March 3, 1995 and continuing through January 3, 2013. According to the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office, however, Croom’s mother had died on February 8, 1995.
On multiple occasions between 2011 and 2013, Croom submitted Verification Forms to SSA in which she falsely represented that her mother resided with her (Croom). Additionally, Croom advised SSA in writing that she (Croom) and her mother used the SSA payments to share the cost of living together.
This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney René Salomon.
Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to More Than Nine Years in Prison for Role in Heroin ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Pleasantville, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to distribute heroin in around Atlantic County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Nassaun Hines, a/k/a “Bubbles,” a/k/a “Nay,” 30, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to a superseding information charging him with knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute 100 to 400 grams of heroin, and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From late 2009 and through May 2010, law enforcement officers identified a large-scale, criminal organization that distributed more than one kilogram of heroin throughout the southern New Jersey area. Jamal Reid, 30, of Mays Landing, New Jersey, was the organizer and leader of the ring.
Hines admitted that from January 2009 through May 2010, he sold quantities of heroin in Atlantic County and conspired with others in connection with his drug trafficking activity. Hines admitted that after Reid “fronted” him bulk amounts of heroin, Hines gave the drugs to other members of the conspiracy for distribution and collected payment on Reid’s behalf. In addition, Hines, who is a previously convicted felon, also admitted that he knowingly possessed a firearm on May 15, 2010.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Hines to serve five years of supervised release.
Reid previously pleaded guilty to Count 1 and Count 2 of a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. He was sentenced to 154 months in prison on May 28, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, which consisted of officers from Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, Atlantic City Police Department, Northfield Police Department and Pleasantville Police Department; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: John F. Renner Esq., Marlton, New Jersey
Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden Announces Leadership Staff Positions in the Environment and Natural Resources DivisionRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) announced the appointment of key positions within his leadership staff.
Varu Chilakamarri – Chief of Staff
As Chief of Staff, Chilakamarri will advise Assistant Attorney General Cruden on strategic goals and initiatives, serve as a liaison to senior leadership offices and work on special projects, including helping to coordinate the development of the division’s new animal welfare program.
“Varu is an outstanding lawyer, and a dedicated and accomplished public servant who has already proven herself in a variety of challenging positions with this Justice Department,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “We are lucky to have her now with the Environment Division and I look forward to drawing on her wise counsel, impeccable judgment and administrative skill as we carry out our mission.”
Ms. Chilakamarri has served as a career attorney in the Justice Department for the past nine years, most recently joining ENRD’s Appellate Section earlier this year. Prior to that, she served in the Office of the Associate Attorney General, where she advised department leadership on Civil Division litigation, national security cases, immigration reform and worked to improve agency coordination in the enforcement of federal animal welfare laws. Ms. Chilakamarri joined the Justice Department in 2006 through the Attorney General’s Honors Program as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch, where she was lead counsel representing federal agencies in a broad range of cases concerning the constitutionality of government policies, programs and statutes. She was the recipient of an Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2013 and she has also received awards from the Civil Division for her work on preemption cases involving state immigration laws, including in United States v. Arizona. Before joining the Justice Department, she clerked for Judge R. Guy Cole in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Timothy B. Dyk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ms. Chilakamarri graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Order of the Coif and Articles Editor for the Georgetown Law Journal. She earned degrees in Environmental Science and Political Science from Ohio State University, with honors.
Patricia McKenna – General Counsel and Attorney Educational Coordinator
Assistant Attorney General Cruden named Patricia McKenna to the newly created position of General Counsel and Attorney Educational Coordinator. In this role, Ms. McKenna has the dual responsibility of formulating and coordinating legal policies, plans and objectives on matters related to employee and labor relations, contract and procurement law, appropriations law and other programmatic, operational, administrative and general legal issues as well as serving as the principal division official responsible for managing, overseeing and administering ENRD’s attorney training program. This new position places renewed emphasis on the importance of attorney training in the division.
“Patricia’s depth of experience makes her an ideal candidate to strengthen the human capital of the division and lead efforts to continually train and equip ENRD attorneys so they can grow professionally,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “With her valuable leadership and talent, I believe we can hone the skills that in turn will strengthen our representation of the United States in federal court.”
Ms. McKenna has been an attorney with the Environmental Enforcement Section (EES) of the Environment and Natural Resources Division for 16 years, the last nine as a Senior Attorney supervising EES matters in the Northeast and the Caribbean. She has broad experience representing the United States in all of the major pollution control statutes and has worked extensively on environmental issues in the Caribbean, most notably the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewage Authority and Virgin Island Water and Power Authority cases. In addition, during her time at EES she has been actively involved in hiring and training for the division. Ms. McKenna has also received multiple awards within the department, including the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award in 2002 and the Drenaye Houston Mentor Award in 2013, as well as many awards from the Environmental Protection Agency for her outstanding work. Ms. McKenna began her career as a law clerk for Magistrate Judge A. Simon Chrein in the Eastern District of New York and spent three years as a general litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in New York City. She graduated Order of the Coif from the College of William & Mary, Marshall Wythe School of Law and graduated magna cum laude from Siena College.
Amarillo Man Faces up to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Prepubescent Child PornographyRead the Press Release
AMARILLO, Texas — Brent Michael McClain, 39, of Amarillo, Texas, appeared today before U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
McClain, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.
According to plea documents filed in the case, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), working in an undercover capacity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program, saw an invitation from an individual, later identified as McClain, and accepted that invitation. McClain initiated a chat conversation with the undercover agent and gave the undercover agent his password to share files on the P2P network.
The undercover agent browsed McClain’s shared folders and downloaded approximately 30 child pornography images and one child pornography video, including at least one image of a prepubescent male.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Hammer is in charge of the prosecution.
Alleged Armed Robber of Three Manhattan Banks Arrested and Charged in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the arrest last night of LEONID KAZIYEV by agents and detectives of the FBI-NYPD Joint Violent Crimes Task Force (the “Task Force”). KAZIYEV is charged with the armed robberies of three Manhattan banks over the last six months.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “In this day and age of electronic banking, old-fashioned, stickup bank robberies still happen. As alleged in the Complaint, Leonid Kaziyev went on an armed bank robbery spree over the last several months, targeting two banks in Manhattan on three different occasions, putting innocent people at risk. Thanks to the work of the FBI-NYPD Joint Violent Crimes Task Force, Kaziyev is now in custody.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez said: “As alleged, Leonid Kaziyev brandished a weapon to obtain cash from bank tellers carrying out their daily duties. This dangerous situation happened not once, but at least three times. Thanks to the diligent work of FBI Special Agents and NYPD Detectives assigned to the FBI/NYPD Joint Violent Crimes Task Force, Kaziyev was arrested yesterday."
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “There is no better example of collaboration: NYPD detectives and FBI agents working together to address a crime problem. Diligent investigative work has led to the arrest of Mr. Kaziyev for holding up banks across Manhattan, as alleged. I want to thank the agents, detectives and prosecutors who have been working to make this possible.”
A six-count Complaint was unsealed in Manhattan federal court.[1] According to the Complaint, on two different occasions, on December 9, 2014 and June 5, 2015, KAZIYEV robbed the same branch of HSBC bank located on Fifth Avenue and East 21st Street in Manhattan, while brandishing a firearm; and robbed a branch of Bank of America, on Broadway and West 63rd Street in Manhattan, while brandishing a firearm, on May 21, 2015. During each of these robberies, KAZIYEV demanded money from the bank teller working at the window, while displaying a firearm. He escaped with over $10,000 cash each time. KAZIYEV was captured on surveillance video footage during each of the three armed robberies, and a vehicle registered to KAZIYEV was captured on Automatic License Plate Reader (“LPR”) data, arriving to, and leaving, the scenes of the robberies.
KAZIYEV was arrested last night in Queens, New York, by the Task Force, which comprises FBI agents and NYPD detectives. He will be presented later today in Manhattan federal court before U.S Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis. KAZIYEV is charged with three counts of bank robbery, each of which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and three counts of brandishing a firearm in connection with each robbery, each of which carries a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, up to life in prison. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
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Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI-NYPD Joint Violent Crimes Task Force. He added that the investigation is continuing.
The Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit is overseeing the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justina L. Geraci is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
ADX inmate convicted of three counts of assault, resisting and impeding a federal employeeRead the Press Release
DENVER – Ishmael Petty, age 46, an inmate at the USP Florence Administrative Maximum Security Prison (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, was found guilty today following a two day jury trial of three counts of assault, resisting and impeding a federal employee using a dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced. The jury deliberated for one hour and twenty minutes before reaching their unanimous guilty verdicts. The jury trial was heard before U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer. Petty is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Brimmer on October 30, 2015.
Petty was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 27, 2015. The jury trial began on July 13, 2015. It concluded today, July 14, 2015.
According to court documents, and evidence presented at trial, on September 11, 2013, Petty, who was serving a life sentence at ADX for killing his 71 year old cell mate at the United States Penitentiary Pollock in Louisiana, attacked two BOP librarians and a case manager as they were delivering books to his cell. At ADX there is an outer door, a secure area, and then an inner door before entering the actual cell. While the BOP employees believed that Petty was in his cell, he was in fact hiding in the area between the outer and inner doors. He was wearing self-made body armor, consisting of cardboard box like material, and had a weapon, specifically a shank. When the attack began, Petty threw hot sauce in the eyes of one BOP librarian, and then attacked the other librarian. The third BOP employee, a case manager, quickly came to their aid and called for help. One of the BOP employees used their baton to try and subdue Petty. Petty ultimately took control of two batons and used them in his attack. Once the call for help was made Petty went back into his cell.
Prior to Petty’s life sentence for killing his cellmate, he was sentenced to federal prison for 420 months for an elaborate armed bank robbery in Mississippi where he was wearing a police officer’s uniform.
“Defendant stands convicted of a cowardly and brutal assault on defenseless staff at ADX. The defendant, who was serving time at ADX for murdering his cellmate at another prison, ambushed and brutally assaulted two staff librarians, using his much greater size to injure the older of the two severely and permanently,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Only the courageous intervention of a third staff member prevented the defendant from killing that librarian.”
Petty, who is currently serving a life sentence, faces not more than 20 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine per count for each of the three counts of conviction.
This case was investigated by the FBI with support from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
This trial was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Covell and Rebecca Weber.
13 July 2015
Williamsburg Man Sentenced for Timeshare FraudRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Keith D. Kosco, 57, of Williamsburg, Va., was sentenced today to 74 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Specified Unlawful Activity. Additionally, Kosco was ordered to pay restitution, jointly with his co-defendant, Julie Duffield, in excess of $740,000.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.
Kosco was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 17, 2014, and pled guilty on March 17, 2015. In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement Keith Kosco admitted to being the owner and operator of a number of entities involved in travel, tourism and timeshare businesses including Resort Realty, Inc., Resort Solutions, Inc., and Exotic Equity Transfers, LLC (“EET”). A timeshare unit, generally a fully furnished resort accommodation, is a deeded or non-deeded interest in real estate divided into intervals, most commonly by week. Since at least 2007, EET conducted timeshare transfers in exchange for fees charged to the original owner.
Keith Kosco and his employees represented that the timeshare unit transfers conducted by EET would be legitimate and result in clean title passing to a new owner with no further obligations of timeshare ownership (including maintenance fees) on the original owner once the transfer was complete. Transfer paperwork was handled by EET in coordination with Professional Closing Company which served as a third party closing entity, and was operated by co-defendant Julie Duffield. From at least 2009 – 2013, Kosco, Duffield and their employees conducted fraudulent transfers of over 1,000 timeshare units into the names of stolen identities, including Kosco’s incarcerated daughter, who were unaware that they were receiving these properties, and straw buyers (about ten total), who they paid $35-$50 for each transferred unit. The defendants collected fees for conducting the transfers from the original owners. None of the stolen identities / straw buyers paid the required maintenance fees or taxes on the timeshare units, resulting in over $800,000 in losses to select resorts for the unpaid fees. Kosco, Duffield and their employees engaged in various fraudulent acts in support of the scheme, including false statements and promises to resorts, propping up stolen identities with email accounts, bank accounts and tax returns, falsely notarizing signatures and preparing fraudulent deed paperwork. The transfers also had a devastating impact on the credit of the stolen identities/straw buyers.
Julie Duffield pled guilty on January 12, 2015, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. On May 5, 2015, she was sentenced to twenty-six months in prison and ordered to pay restitution, jointly with Kosco, in excess of $740,000. In a related case, Brendan Hawkins pled guilty on December 22, 2014, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and on April 29, 2015, he was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Kaitlin C. Gratton are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:14cr66.
Waterville Man Resentenced to an Additional 18 Months for Failing to Pay RestitutionRead the Press Release
Contact: Jim Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Gregory Violette, 59, of Waterville, was resentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release for failing to pay restitution.
Court records reflect that on October 31, 2002, Violette was sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire, mail and bankruptcy fraud; making false statements to financial institutions; and money laundering. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $422,657 in restitution to the victims of his fraud. As of June 2, 2015, he still owed $406,487 in restitution. The Court resentenced the defendant to an additional 18 months in prison to be followed by two more years of supervised release after finding that Violette transferred more than $70,000 to his wife in order to prevent the money from being used to pay restitution to his victims.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S Probation Office and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States Files Enforcement Action Against Iowa Dietary Supplement Company and Principals to Stop Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Dietary SupplementsRead the Press Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – The United States filed a civil complaint today in federal court against Iowa Select Herbs LLC, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, its president and CEO, Gordon L. Freeman, and a partial owner, Lois A. Dotterweich, to prevent the distribution of adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Iowa Select Herbs LLC manufactures and distributes a variety of dietary supplements, consisting primarily of extracts from various plants, including papaya leaf, echinacea, elderberry and nettle leaf. The firm also produces a product called “Cold BeGone,” which purports to be a complex of natural ingredients. The complaint alleges that the company’s dietary supplements are manufactured under conditions that are inadequate to ensure the safety of its products and also make unlawful claims to treat or prevent diseases. The department filed the injunction action in the Northern District of Iowa on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that dietary supplements are manufactured and distributed in compliance with the law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer. “We will pursue actions against manufacturers who do not manufacture their products under proper conditions or who make unlawful claims about them.”
According to the complaint, an FDA inspection performed in August 2014 revealed that the company’s dietary supplements are adulterated within the meaning of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because they are manufactured, prepared, packed or held in a manner that does not conform to Dietary Supplement Current Good Manufacturing Practices. The complaint alleges, for example, that the company repeatedly failed to test its dietary ingredients, in order to verify their identity, before using them. The complaint also alleges that the firm’s dietary supplements qualify as unapproved and misbranded drugs, in that they claim to treat or prevent a variety of diseases, including cancer, malaria and heart disease, but have never been submitted to the FDA for approval, and have never been found safe and effective for those purposes.
The government is represented by Trial Attorney Heide L. Herrmann of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Laura Akowuah of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel – Food and Drug Division.
A complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-cv-60.
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Truck Driver Sentenced to Max in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A truck driver, initially attempting to transport illegal aliens through the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint, has been ordered to federal prison after authorities found child pornography on his cell phone, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Timothy Glenn Williams, 50, of Carl Junction, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography on Nov. 12, 2014.
As part of the sentencing which concluded at a hearing this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo heard additional evidence regarding Williams’ contact list from his cell phone which included 83 underage females he claimed to have met online. Although their birthdates clearly appeared on his phone, Williams attempted to convince the court that he did not realize all of the girls were underage and that he did not know he had befriended so many young females online. Judge Marmolejo ultimately handed Williams a sentence of 120 months, the statutory maximum, in federal prison to be immediately followed by 25 years of supervised release. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
On May 8, 2012, Williams was arrested at the BP station located on Interstate 35, north of Laredo, for transporting illegal aliens within the U.S. for profit. A BP canine had alerted to the tractor and he was driving which led authorities to conduct further inspection. A total of 15 aliens were subsequently discovered within the trailer. Upon further investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, they found suspected images of child pornography on Williams’ cell phone. Forensic analysis ultimately led to the discovery of 297 images of child pornography in his possession. Williams also admitted to HSI agents that he had downloaded the child pornography from the Internet.
Williams has been in custody since his arrest where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
HSI investigated with the assistance of BP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonah Lee is prosecuting the case.
Three Colorado Men Plead Guilty to Illegally Traficking in PaddlefishRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that three Colorado men pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally trafficking in paddlefish caviar after being caught in an undercover operation in the Warsaw, Mo., area.
In support of Missouri’s paddlefish conservation efforts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation conducted a covert investigation, “Operation Roadhouse,” centered on an area known as the Roadhouse in Warsaw. As part of the covert operation, state and federal officers operated a paddlefish snagging business. Covert officers also sold paddlefish to people who were interested in buying them.
“Federal law protects our natural resources, such as Missouri’s paddlefish, which have been over-fished until their population has suffered a steep decline,” Dickinson said. “We take seriously the environmental protections provided by federal and state laws, and will investigate and prosecute those who violate them.”
“The American paddlefish is an important cultural and sport-fishing resource to the people of Missouri. This investigation reaffirms our commitment to work with our state wildlife law enforcement partners to protect our nation's wildlife resources and hold violators accountable for their actions,” said Edward Grace, Deputy Chief for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement.
“We appreciated the support and partnership of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in helping to protect Missouri’s natural resources,” said Missouri Department of Conservation Protection Chief Larry Yamnitz.
Arkadiy Lvovskiy, 54, of Aurora, Colo., and Dmitri Elitchev, 49, of Centennial, Colo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to participating in a conspiracy to illegally traffic in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act. Artour Magdessian, 48, of Lone Tree, Colo., pleaded guilty to trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.
By pleading guilty today, Lvovskiy and Elitchev admitted that in April 2011 they traveled to Warsaw, where they illegally purchased five female paddlefish and a container of paddlefish eggs. They processed the eggs from all of those paddlefish into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado. Lvovskiy and Elitchev further admitted that they returned to Warsaw, in March 2012 and purchased eight more female paddlefish. As they had in 2011, they processed the eggs into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado.
Lvovskiy, Elitchev, and Magdessian further admitted that they traveled to Warsaw in April 2012 with co-defendant Felix Baravik, 50, of Aurora, Colo. While in Warsaw, the men befriended covert Fish and Wildlife Service agents who were posing as fishermen staying in the same area. The defendants purchased two female paddlefish from the covert agents. The defendants also purchased three more female paddlefish from other sources and harvested paddlefish in excess of the Missouri take and possession limits. The defendants processed the eggs from all of those paddlefish into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado.
The retail value of the paddlefish caviar at issue in this case is estimated to be between $30,000 and $50,000.
Baravik pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2014, to illegally trafficking in paddlefish in violation of the Lacey Act.
Under federal statutes, Lvovskiy, Elitchev and Magdessian are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
The Lacey Act
The Lacey Act is a federal statute which makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase fish that were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any state, or to attempt to do so. Such conduct constitutes a felony crime if the defendant knowingly engaged in conduct involving the purchase or sale, offer to purchase or sell, or intent to purchase or sell, fish with a market value in excess of $350, knowing that the fish were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, a law or regulation of any state.
Paddlefish Trafficking
The American paddlefish (Polydon spathula), also called the Mississippi paddlefish or the “spoonbill,” is a freshwater fish that is primarily found in the Mississippi River drainage system. Paddlefish eggs are marketed as caviar. Paddlefish were once common in waters throughout the Midwest. However, the global decline in other caviar sources, such as sturgeon, has led to an increased demand for paddlefish caviar. This increased demand has led to over-fishing of paddlefish, and consequent decline of the paddlefish population.
Missouri law prohibits the transportation of paddlefish eggs which have been removed or extracted from a paddlefish carcass. Missouri law also prohibits the sale or purchase, or offer of sale or purchase, of paddlefish eggs. There are also several restrictions on the purchase and possession of whole paddlefish in Missouri.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. It was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation, with assistance by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Statement of Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates on the President's Clemency DecisionsRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates released the following statement after the clemency announcement made today by President Obama:
“Last year, the President asked the Justice Department to develop criteria for identifying and recommending for executive clemency those non-violent, low-level offenders who received harsh sentences they would not receive if sentenced today. The President's decision to commute the sentences of 46 more individuals today is another sign of our commitment to correcting these inequities. We will continue to recommend to the President appropriate candidates for clemency, and we will continue to work with Congress on recalibrating our sentencing laws for non-violent drug offenders.”
Six Nigerian Nationals Extradited from South Africa to Mississippi to Face Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Six Nigerian nationals were extradited from South Africa to Gulfport, Mississippi, to face a nine-count federal indictment in the Southern District of Mississippi alleging various Internet fraud schemes. A total of 20 defendants are charged in this case.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.
Oladimeji Seun Ayelotan, 30; Rasaq Aderoju Raheem, 31; Olusegun Seyi Shonekan, 33; Taofeeq Olamilekan Oyelade, 30; Olufemi Obaro Omoraka, 26; and Anuoluwapo Segun Adegbemigun, 39, are charged along with 15 others in an Oct. 7, 2014, indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, use of unauthorized account access devices, theft of U.S. government funds and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from the defendants alleged participation in numerous Internet-based complex financial fraud schemes, including romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, as well as bank, financial and credit card account takeovers.
According to the allegations in the indictment, from as early as 2001, the defendants identified and solicited potential victims through online dating websites and work-at-home opportunities. In some instances, the defendants allegedly carried on fictitious online romantic relationships with victims for the purpose of using the victims to further certain objectives of the conspiracy. For example, the indictment alleges that the defendants convinced victims to ship and receive merchandise purchased with stolen personal identifying information (PII) and compromised credit card and banking information, to deposit counterfeit checks, and to transfer proceeds of the conspiracy via wire, U.S. mail or express delivery services.
To date, defendants Teslim Olarewaju Kiriji, 30; Olutoyin Ogunlade, 41; and Dennis Brian Ladden, 75, have been convicted of offenses relating to their roles in the schemes. Defendants Susan Anne Villeneuve, 49; and Genoveva Farfan, 45; Sesan Olumide Farin, 40; Femi Alexander Mewase, 44; Rhulane Fionah Hlungwane, 24; and Adekunle Adefila, 40, are awaiting trial. The United States is seeking extradition from Nigeria of defendants Kayode Bamidele, Ajayi Oluwaseyi Stephen and Emmanuel Adeniyi Osokomaiya. Defendants Gabriel Oludare Adeniran and Oduntan Sikiru Lawani remain fugitives.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Significant assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the HSI Cyber Crimes Center, HSI Attachés in Pretoria and Dakar, U.S. Marshals Service’s International Investigations Branch and the Southern District of Mississippi, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) Electronic Crimes Unit, the SAPS Interpol Extradition Unit, the South African National Prosecution Authority, and the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Robert Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annette Williams and Scott Gilbert of the Southern District of Mississippi.
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If you believe that you may have been a victim of criminal fraud committed by any of the defendants, please go to http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/scams and complete the questionnaire using the password scams. Defendants allegedly used the following email addresses and names to perpetuate the scheme:
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
Richard Wasser Adeline Piper
Glenn Sattelberg Folly Edwards
Samuel Maxwell Stacy Adams
Regina Darwin Justin Worsham
Marlon Chase Karen Robinson
Dickson Jones Mark Miller
Kimberly Faye Mark Smith
Lorene M. Garrett John Gervino
Mark Gentile Sarah Powell
Kevin Smith Anita Lauren
Any information that you provide through the questionnaire may be helpful in the criminal investigation and prosecution of this case. A federal investigator may contact you with additional questions or to request documents you may have. Please note that submitting the questionnaire is not a substitute for consulting with your own attorney to determine what actions and remedies may be available to you through civil litigation. If you have any questions related to this matter that are not addressed at the above websites, you may contact federal law enforcement authorities at [email protected].
Ayelotan Second Superseding Indictment
Six Nigerian Nationals Extradited from Sout Africa to Mississippi to Face Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Six Nigerian nationals were extradited from South Africa to Gulfport, Mississippi, to face a nine-count federal indictment in the Southern District of Mississippi alleging various Internet fraud schemes. A total of 20 defendants are charged in this case.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.
Oladimeji Seun Ayelotan, 30; Rasaq Aderoju Raheem, 31; Olusegun Seyi Shonekan, 33; Taofeeq Olamilekan Oyelade, 30; Olufemi Obaro Omoraka, 26; and Anuoluwapo Segun Adegbemigun, 39, are charged along with 15 others in an Oct. 7, 2014, indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, use of unauthorized account access devices, theft of U.S. government funds and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from the defendants alleged participation in numerous Internet-based complex financial fraud schemes, including romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, as well as bank, financial and credit card account takeovers.
According to the allegations in the indictment, from as early as 2001, the defendants identified and solicited potential victims through online dating websites and work-at-home opportunities. In some instances, the defendants allegedly carried on fictitious online romantic relationships with victims for the purpose of using the victims to further certain objectives of the conspiracy. For example, the indictment alleges that the defendants convinced victims to ship and receive merchandise purchased with stolen personal identifying information (PII) and compromised credit card and banking information, to deposit counterfeit checks, and to transfer proceeds of the conspiracy via wire, U.S. mail or express delivery services.
To date, defendants Teslim Olarewaju Kiriji, 30; Olutoyin Ogunlade, 41; and Dennis Brian Ladden, 75, have been convicted of offenses relating to their roles in the schemes. Defendants Susan Anne Villeneuve, 49; and Genoveva Farfan, 45; Sesan Olumide Farin, 40; Femi Alexander Mewase, 44; Rhulane Fionah Hlungwane, 24; and Adekunle Adefila, 40, are awaiting trial. The United States is seeking extradition from Nigeria of defendants Kayode Bamidele, Ajayi Oluwaseyi Stephen and Emmanuel Adeniyi Osokomaiya. Defendants Gabriel Oludare Adeniran and Oduntan Sikiru Lawani remain fugitives.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Significant assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the HSI Cyber Crimes Center, HSI Attachés in Pretoria and Dakar, U.S. Marshals Service’s International Investigations Branch and the Southern District of Mississippi, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) Electronic Crimes Unit, the SAPS Interpol Extradition Unit, the South African National Prosecution Authority, and the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Robert Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annette Williams and Scott Gilbert of the Southern District of Mississippi.
# # #
If you believe that you may have been a victim of criminal fraud committed by any of the defendants, please go to http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/scams and complete the questionnaire using the password scams. Defendants allegedly used the following email addresses and names to perpetuate the scheme:
Richard Wasser Adeline Piper
Glenn Sattelberg Folly Edwards
Samuel Maxwell Stacy Adams
Regina Darwin Justin Worsham
Marlon Chase Karen Robinson
Dickson Jones Mark Miller
Kimberly Faye Mark Smith
Lorene M. Garrett John Gervino
Mark Gentile Sarah Powell
Kevin Smith Anita Lauren
Any information that you provide through the questionnaire may be helpful in the criminal investigation and prosecution of this case. A federal investigator may contact you with additional questions or to request documents you may have. Please note that submitting the questionnaire is not a substitute for consulting with your own attorney to determine what actions and remedies may be available to you through civil litigation. If you have any questions related to this matter that are not addressed at the above websites, you may contact federal law enforcement authorities at [email protected].
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Seaport and Fort Point the Focus of U.S. Attorney Review of Disability AccessRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that it has launched a review of restaurants in Boston to determine whether they are being operated in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has selected for review restaurants in Boston’s Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods. With the ongoing construction and development in this area of the city, the review is intended to ensure that these neighborhoods are accessible to the increasing numbers of residents and tourists who will be visiting.
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and reminds us that all individuals with disabilities deserve to have full access to public places,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “We look forward to partnering with restaurants to make sure that they are accessible to every resident and visitor to our City.”
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by the owners and operators of places of public accommodation, which includes restaurants. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to undertake periodic reviews of covered establishments. This initiative is being conducted in accordance with the Department of Justice’s statutory responsibility to review compliance with federal law and not in response to any specific complaint against any of the restaurants.
To facilitate its compliance review, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been conducting site visits of the restaurants to assess accessibility and to evaluate compliance with federal ADA regulations. If the site visits reveal that a particular restaurant is not in compliance with the law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to notify the owners and operators to secure voluntary compliance. The Department of Justice is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or raises issues of general public importance.
In 2010, to coordinate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in enforcing federal civil rights laws, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz formed the Civil Rights Enforcement Team (CRET), which is composed of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and professional staff from the criminal and civil divisions of the office. The primary goals of the CRET are to uphold the constitutional rights of all residents, particularly the most vulnerable members of society and to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin.
Additional information about the ADA is available at www.ADA.gov or through contacting the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (617) 748-3100.
Ridgefield Physician Sentenced to Prison for Health Care Fraud, Pays $270K in False Claims Act SettlementRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID LESTER JOHNSTON, 46, of Ridgefield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to three months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, the first six months of which must be served in home confinement, for committing health care fraud. JOHNSTON also was ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.
JOHNSTON is an osteopathic physician who operates Osteopathic Wellness Center, LLC, in Ridgefield. On January 16, 2015, JOHNSTON pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and admitted that he engaged in a scheme to defraud several private health insurance companies by submitting claims for evaluation and management services (physician office visits) that he did not perform, and by misrepresenting the nature of the services that were performed.
According to court documents and statements made in court, JOHNSTON submitted claims for physician office visits that were not performed at all. Instead, the patients only received massages and related services from a massage therapist. In addition, JOHNSTON falsely described the services rendered and falsely stated that he himself had rendered the services. The investigation revealed that on several occasions, JOHNSTON was out of the country when the massage therapist was seeing JOHNSTON’s patients.
JOHNSTON was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $172,950.
In addition, as part of the resolution of this case, JOHNSTON entered into a civil settlement with the government and has agreed to pay $270,528 to settle federal civil claims that JOHNSTON submitted false claims to the Medicare program for office visits, osteopathic manipulative treatment and physical therapy services that were not performed. Instead, the Medicare patients treated by the massage therapist in JOHNSTON’s practice only received massages and related services. Medicare does not recognize massage therapists as providers and they are not eligible to participate in the Medicare program. JOHNSTON nevertheless billed the Medicare program as if he had provided the services in question.
Pursuant to the civil settlement, Johnston has been excluded from participation in all federal health care programs for a period of five years.
This matter was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Mattei, Heather Cherry and Richard Molot.
Producer of Child Pornography ConvictedRead the Press Release
Miami-Dade resident convicted at trial of producing child pornography.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge George Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Patrick Killen, Jr., 22, of Hialeah, was convicted of 15 of 16 charged counts following a jury trial before U.S. District Court Chief Judge K. Michael Moore. Killen was convicted of three counts of production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a); two counts of distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2); four counts of receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2); four counts of possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B); and two counts of transmission of interstate threats, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(d). Killen was acquitted of destruction of evidence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519.
Killen is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief Judge Moore on September 24, 2015. At sentencing, Killen faces a minimum mandatory term of 15 years’ imprisonment.
According to the court records and trial testimony, beginning at least as early as November of 2012, Killen created fraudulent social media accounts using assumed identities of teenage girls. Killen stole photographs of minor females from Facebook, Instagram and other sources that he used in support of his falsified accounts. Using the assumed female identities, Killen would search social media websites and engage teenage boys, generally between 11 and 14 years of age, in conversation using internet chat applications such as Kik, Skype, and Omegle. Over the course of these conversations, some of which lasted hours and others months, Killen falsely presented himself to be a teenage girl. Killen would beg, bribe, and cajole the unsuspecting boys to send him sexually explicit pictures of themselves. In response to Killen’s fraudulent representations, hundreds of teenage boys sent Killen sexually explicit photographs identified as child pornography. When many of these young boys expressed reticence in sending additional sexually explicit photographs, Killen would blackmail them by threatening to post the previously provided material on Instagram and other social media sites. Killen collected, catalogued, and traded the child pornography photographs and videos with other individuals around the world using peer-to-peer file sharing programs. Killen produced, possessed, distributed and received thousands of images and video of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
With this conviction, U.S. Attorney Ferrer noted “[T]he defendant used the internet to target children and to sexually exploit numerous vulnerable victims. Our Office will continue to join forces with the FBI to combat child pornography offenses. This particular type of criminal activity, now being commonly referred to as “sextortion,” represents an evolving and pernicious threat. Parents must understand this new danger, and make certain that their children are similarly aware. With just an internet connection or a smart phone, even the youngest of children are susceptible to this type of trickery and criminal exploitation.”
“Sextortion is a growing Internet crime by which online predators take advantage of children through terror and manipulation,” said Brenda L. Moxley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “More information about sextortion and how to protect children from this vile crime can be found at FBI.gov.”
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Norwood New Jersey Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robb Emery and Ben Widlanski.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
President Obama Grants CommutationsRead the Press Release
Today, President Barack Obama granted commutations of sentence to 46 individuals.
The President granted commutations of sentence to the following 46 individuals:
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Jerry Allen Bailey – Charlotte, NC
Offense: Conspiracy to violate narcotics laws (crack) (Western District of North Carolina)
Sentence: 360 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Apr. 2, 1996)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Shauna Barry-Scott – Youngstown, OH
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Northern District of Ohio)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Oct. 18, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Larry Darnell Belcher – Martinsville, VA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute marijuana (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Dec. 15, 1997)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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John L. Houston Brower – Carthage, NC
Offense: Distributed cocaine base (“crack”) (Middle District of North Carolina)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (June 22, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Nathaniel Brown – Orange Park, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine (more than five kilograms) and cocaine base (more than 50 grams); distribution of cocaine base (two counts) (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Aug. 1, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Norman O’Neal Brown – Hyattsville, MD
Offense: Distribute quantity of mixture or substance containing a detectable amount cocaine base (crack), aiding and abetting (five counts); possess with intent distribute quantity of mixture or substance containing detectable amount of cocaine base (crack), aiding and abetting (District of Maryland)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 15, 1993)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Joseph Burgos – Chicago, IL
Offense: Distribution of cocaine; use of a communication facility in the commission of a felony (Northern District of Illinois)
Sentence: 360 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release; $200,000 fine (Sept. 2, 1993)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Clarance Callies – San Antonio, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute in excess of 50 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”); possession with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”) (Western District of Texas)
Sentence: 240 months imprisonment; 8 years’ supervised release (Mar. 25, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Anthony Leon Carroll – Tampa, FL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; 5 years’ supervised release (Sept. 3, 1999)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Juan Diego Castro – Laredo, TX
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a quantity in excess of five kilograms of cocaine (Southern District of Texas)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Feb. 1, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Joe Louis Champion – Houston, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 376.9 grams of cocaine base (crack); aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute 376.9 grams of cocaine base (crack) (Southern District of Texas)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release; $4,000 fine (June 19, 1997)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015, and the remaining balance of the fine remitted.
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Cedric Culpepper – Orlando, FL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 188 months’ imprisonment; 4 years’ supervised release (Nov. 15, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Walter R. Dennie – Gary, IN
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine (two counts) (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Apr. 25, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Steven D. Donovan – Oak Creek, WI
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; interstate travel to promote distribution of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine (Eastern District of Wisconsin)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Oct. 16, 1992)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Romain Dukes – Chicago, IL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, “crack”; distribution of cocaine base, “crack” (two counts) (Southern District of Iowa)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Oct. 1, 1997)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Tony Lynn Hollis – Knoxville, TN
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 26.5 grams of cocaine base (Eastern District of Tennessee)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release (June 8, 2001)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Alex William Jackson – Mineral, VA
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; 60 months’ supervised release (Dec. 22, 1999); amended to 240 months’ imprisonment (June 25, 2008)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Jackie Johnson – Townsend, DE
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a cocaine base (District of Delaware)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 30, 2007)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Jerome Wayne Johnson – Fort White, FL
Offense: 1. Cultivation of marijuana plants (Middle District of Florida)
2. Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: 1. 60 months’ imprisonment, 5 years’ supervised release (June 25, 2003)
2. 20 years’ imprisonment, concurrent to sentence imposed above, 10 years’ supervised release (May 27, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Willie C. Johnson – Steele, MO
Offense: The defendant did knowingly conspire to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base; the defendant did knowingly distribute cocaine base; the defendant did knowingly possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base (Eastern District of Missouri)
Sentence: 360 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Feb. 18, 2005); amended to 168 months’ imprisonment (Feb. 12, 2015)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
- Mark Anthony Jones – Boynton Beach, FL
Offense: Distribution of cocaine base (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (July 28, 1999)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Roy Larry Lee – St. Petersburg, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (enhanced penalty); distribution of 50 grams or more of cocaine base (two counts) (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (May 3, 1990)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Kenneth Lorenzo Lewis – Charlottesville, VA
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Nov. 17, 2000)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Douglas M. Lindsay, II – Newberry, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and cocaine base (District of South Carolina)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Dec. 20, 1996); amended to 293 months’ imprisonment (Mar. 4, 2015)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Kevin Matthews – James Island, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (District of South Carolina)
Sentence: 232 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Feb. 11, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Marlon McNealy – St. Petersburg, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to commit racketeering (two counts); conspiracy to distribute cocaine base; knowingly and intentionally distributing 50 grams or more of cocaine base (three counts) (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Aug. 18, 1993)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Brian Nickles – New Orleans, LA
Offense: Distribution of more than 50 grams of cocaine base (two counts) (Eastern District of Louisiana)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Apr. 28, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Jermaine Lee Osborne – Roanoke, VA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of cocaine base (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (May 2, 2006)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Marcus H. Richards – Miami, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 50 grams of cocaine base (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (June 13, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Patrick Roberts – Detroit, MI
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances (Eastern District of Michigan)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (July 8, 1999)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Bryant Keith Shelton – Kissimmee, FL
Offense: Distribution of cocaine base (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 188 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Apr. 1, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Ezekiel Simpson – St. Louis, MO
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Eastern District of Missouri)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Feb. 3, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Katrina Stuckey Smith – Montrose, GA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (Middle District of Georgia)
Sentence: 292 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (July 20, 2000); amended to 240 months’ imprisonment (Apr. 2, 2008).
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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James Marion Stockton – Martinsville, VA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base; possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 420 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release (May 27, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire November 10, 2015.
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Bart Stover – Ashland, OH
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine; use of a communication facility to facilitate the commission of drug trafficking offense, aiding and abetting (Northern District of Ohio)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Apr. 12, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Robert Earl Thomas, Jr. – Houston, TX
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Eastern District of Texas)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (June 29, 1999)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Bruce Todd – Atlanta, GA
Offense: Distribution of at least 50 grams of crack cocaine (Northern District of Georgia)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Mar. 3, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Jeffery Jerome Toler – Pensacola, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (June 13, 1996)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Donald Vanderhorst – Charleston, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of cocaine base (District of South
Carolina)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Mar. 15, 2006)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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James Nathan Walton – Thibodeaux, LA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Louisiana)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Sept. 16, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Telisha Rachette Watkins – Charlotte, NC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (Western District of North Carolina)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release (Oct. 25, 2007)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Dunning Wells – Fort Myers, FL
Offense: Unlawful possession of a firearm; distribution of a quantity of cocaine; possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 502 months’ imprisonment; six years’ supervised release (Feb. 20, 1992)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Kimberly A. Westmoreland – Columbus, OH
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute in excess of 50 grams of cocaine base; carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime (Southern District of Ohio)
Sentence: 180 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Jan. 21, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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James Rufus Woods – Leasburg, NC
Offense: Possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”) (Middle District of North Carolina)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Nov. 23, 1998)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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John M. Wyatt – Las Cruces, NM
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute marihuana (Southern District of Illinois)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release; $500 fine (Aug. 30, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Robert Joe Young – Joppa, AL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine; possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine; use of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing cocaine; carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; endeavoring to influence and impede the administration of justice (Northern District of Alabama)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 5 years’ supervised release (Dec. 16, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on November 10, 2015.
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Orlando Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Investment FraudRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Dante S. Giovannetti (50, Orlando) to five years and three months in federal prison for wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay $663,975.61 in restitution. Giovannetti pleaded guilty on April 14, 2015.
According to court documents, Giovannetti solicited four individuals to provide him with approximately $700,000 that Giovannetti claimed would be pooled, placed into a trading account, and used to trade in E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts. To induce his investors, Giovannetti represented that he had experience in earning profits from trading S&P futures, and provided investors with statements that showed large trading profits that Giovannetti claimed to have earned. Contrary to his representations, Giovannetti did not invest the monies in S&P futures, but instead used significant portions of the investors' funds for his personal benefit. To conceal his fraud, he provided his victims with false trading statements that had been doctored to show tens of millions of dollars in fictitious profits from trading S&P 500 futures contracts and more than $53 million in cash on deposit as of July 31, 2014.
After Giovannetti failed to return their money, his investors complained to the National Futures Association, which commenced an emergency examination of one of Giovannetti’s companies on October 14, 2014. On October 30, 2014, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil action against Giovannetti and several of his entities in federal court, in Orlando. A statutory restraining order was entered against Giovannetti and his entities freezing their assets, granting expedited discovery, and prohibiting the destruction of documents. Giovannetti failed to comply with the orders of the Court, was held in contempt, and a warrant was issued for his arrest in the CFTC civil case in November 2014. On November 21, 2014, Giovannetti was charged in a sealed criminal complaint in the Middle District of Florida (MDFL).
After his scheme was uncovered, Giovannetti fled to Canada. On January 15, 2015, he was deported back to the United States. The following day, Giovannetti made his initial appearance on the criminal complaint in federal court, in Seattle, Washington. He was detained and returned to the MDFL by the United States Marshals Service.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
North Alabama OCDETF Earns National Recognition for Group Fighting Heroin SupplyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force for the federal Northern District of Alabama earned national recognition for the focused effort it launched in 2012 to stem the flow of heroin into Birmingham by prosecuting some of the largest heroin distributors in the city, on down to street-level dealers, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.
OCDETF Regional Director Michael F. Smith today presented a 2014 National OCDETF Award to an interagency Heroin Initiative Group of investigators and prosecutors working with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory R. Dimler and L. James Weil. Dimler leads the OCDETF section in the U.S. Attorney's Office. The bi-annual awards recognize outstanding investigations from the OCDETF Regions, as well as individuals who best exemplify the mission and spirit of the OCDETF Program, said national Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Director Bruce Ohr.
"The initiative launched in 2012 was a major strike at the supply of heroin into Birmingham, which significantly interrupted the flow of the drug into our community and shut down some major suppliers," Vance said. "Of course, there are always new sources, new traffickers and new street dealers, so the fight continues," she said. "We have an ongoing commitment to working with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to interdict the heroin supply, while working with our community-based initiative and partners in the medical community to prevent and treat addiction," she said. "I am grateful we have groups like this, committed to protecting the community."
During today’s award presentation, Ohr thanked the interagency Heroin Initiative Group for developing a unified approach to address the heroin epidemic threatening the Birmingham area. “Your contributions and achievements have bolstered the OCDETF Program’s efforts to fight heroin and positively impact our communities,” he said.
The OCDETF Program is a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF Program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug-trafficking organizations primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Participants in the 2012-2013 Heroin Initiative Group that received the award, along with Dimler and Weil, are: Hattie French and Jude Washington, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; Gregory S. Gauger and M. Wayne Gerhardt, FBI; Jason Green, Pelham Police Department; M. Ezra Heath, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; Scott Holmes, Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office; Alan Miller, Shelby County District Attorney’s Office; John Walker, Birmingham Police Department, and Patrick Wilson and Troy Wilson, Drug Enforcement Administration.
A spike in heroin overdose deaths in the Greater Birmingham Metro Area spurred the group's formation. The U.S. Attorney called law enforcement together in July 2012 to develop a unified approach to reduce the spread of the deadly drug. Heroin deaths had almost doubled in Jefferson County from 2011 to 2012, climbing from 30 to 58. The number of heroin deaths also soared, from 15 to 82, between 2008 and 2012 in Jefferson, Shelby and Tuscaloosa counties. The rise in heroin deaths leveled off for a year after the law enforcement push, but took off again in 2014, with 137 in Jefferson County alone.
The 2012 initiative saw federal, state and local law enforcement combine to share intelligence and work within the framework of two OCDETF investigations to disrupt the supply of heroin and dismantle the organizations distributing it. While the investigations were under way, the U.S. attorney and law enforcement leaders began a media outreach to educate the community about the growing presence and deadly nature of heroin.
On the supply side, the OCDETF investigation called, "King of the Hill,” focused on the heroin trafficking activities of Billy “Champ” Williams Jr., and his associates. The work dismantled Williams' organization and included the seizure of two kilograms of nearly pure heroin and a kilogram and a half of cocaine. Williams and 10 members of his organization were convicted of drug trafficking or money laundering and the government seized more than $500,000 in cash, jewelry, furs and luxury vehicles. Williams was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
In a second OCDETF operation, called "Blue Magic," the DEA, and multiple local and state agencies, simultaneously targeted lower-level heroin dealers and their sources of supply. The office wanted drug dealers and the community to know that federal authorities are serious in tackling the heroin problem at the street level and up the supply chain.
Of the 49 defendants indicted on federal charges in Blue Magic, 40 pleaded guilty and one was convicted at trial. One of those defendants pleaded guilty to distributing heroin that caused a death and was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. The remaining sentences ranged from probation for the first-time offenders to 12 ½ years for the dealers who qualified as career offenders under Federal Sentencing Guidelines. As part of the initiative, more than 30 individuals were charged in state courts with trafficking small amounts of heroin.
Nine Excelsior Springs Residents Among 26 Indicted for $4.4 Million Drug-Trafficking ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that nine Excelsior Springs residents are among 26 persons indicted for their roles in related drug-trafficking conspiracies that distributed more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine and three pounds of heroin over the past five years.
Steven Lee Schreier, Jr., 30, Marion Eugene Brammer, 51, Darrin Gene Berry, 50, Rodney Earl King, 49, Jackie R. Love, Jr., 58, Anthony Ray Stevenson,44, Paula Rae Scott, 46, William Dean Campbell, 34, and Jason Lee Kirtley, 42, all of Excelsior Springs, Mo.; Sabrena Lynn Morgan, 38, Elgin Eugene Dothage, 39, and Ryan A. Battagler, 36, all of Kearney, Mo.; Joshua Keith Bowers, 31, and Taylor Lee Syas, 23, both of Polo, Mo.; Jason Daniel Davis, 41, of Liberty, Mo.; Brian Michael Bowers, 32, of Richmond, Mo.; Ronald Louis Roberts, 52, of Lathrop, Mo.; Jay Harrison Lee Carder, 29, and Gary Dewayne Brown, 35, both of Cowgill, Mo.; Franklin Charles Carter, 26, of Grandview, Mo.; Jose Luis Ruiz-Salazar, 36, Gabriel Ruiz-Salazar, 32, Gregory C. Bullock, 46, Bryan D. Carroll, 27, and Caleb Dean Hayes, 34, all of Kansas City, Mo., and Brittany James Brehm, 37, of Bland, Mo., were charged in an eight-count superseding indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, July 7, 2015.
The superseding indictment, which replaces two indictments returned on July 29, 2014, and Feb. 11, 2015, includes additional defendants and additional charges. Schreier, Morgan, Dothage, Joshua Bowers, Roberts and Carter were charged in those earlier indictments.
The superseding indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrest and initial court appearances of several defendants. Ten defendants arrested today were Brammer, Berry, King, Love, Stevenson, Scott, Campbell, Syas, Brown and Gabriel Ruiz-Salazar. Dothage, Joshua Bowers, Roberts, Carter and Jose Luis Ruiz-Salazar were already in custody.
The superseding indictment alleges that all of the defendants (except Bullock and Brehm) participated in a conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2010, to July 7, 2015. Bullock and Brehm are charged in a separate conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2010, to July 7, 2015.
The superseding indictment alleges that Joshua Bowers and his brother, Brian Bowers, Syas, Brown and Carder participated in a conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin from Jan. 1, 2010, to July 7, 2015.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracies, Joshua and Brian Bowers and Syas are charged together in one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.
Joshua and Brian Bowers, Syas, Morgan and Dothage are also charged together in one count of possessing firearms during an in relation to a drug-trafficking crime. They allegedly were in possession of a loaded Springfield Armory .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a New England 12-gauge shotgun, a pink pump-action shotgun, a loaded 9mm Hi Point pistol, a loaded Smith & Wesson .22-caliber pistol, and various unrecovered firearms identified by numerous drug customers and co-conspirators as being in their possession during the conspiracy period.
Joshua and Brian Bowers and Dothage are also charged together in one count of being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Joshua Bowers, Syas, Morgan and Dothage are also charged together in one count of maintaining their residences in Kearney and Polo for the purpose of distributing and using methamphetamine and heroin.
The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require all of the defendants, jointly and severally, to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of $4,359,600. This money judgment is based on a conservative street price of $1,200 per ounce of methamphetamine and the total conspiracy distribution of at least 100 kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as a conservative street price of $2,500 per ounce of heroin and an overall conspiracy distribution of approximately three pounds of heroin.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Clay County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Caldwell County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
New York Woman Charged in Real Estate Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York woman was charged today with running a real estate investment scheme that defrauded victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Alisa Adler, 54, of New York, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. Adler made her initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court. She was released on unsecured $100,000 bond.
According to the criminal complaint:
From January 2009 through December 2011, Adler took loans and investments from multiple victims and told them that their money would be used to purchase and develop real estate projects through her company, ASG Real Estate Services Group Inc. To induce potential victim investors to give her money, Adler provided them with promotional materials and other documents, and told them that their money would be repaid within a certain amount of time.
Instead, Adler allegedly perpetrated a Ponzi scheme in which she used new investor money to fund principal and interest payments to existing investors and to pay for her own personal expenses. For instance, in May 2010, after soliciting a victim to invest $500,000 to fund a real estate acquisition in or around of Kerkonkson, New York, Adler instead used most of the money to pay other investors and to pay her household bills, transportation costs, meals and entertainment.
The wire fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of the loss caused by the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charge.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Tyler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Jacob Laufer Esq., New York
Naples Man Pleads Guilty to $7 Million Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Dorian Garcia (30, Naples) today pleaded guilty to wire fraud for operating an investment scheme involving nearly 100 victims who invested more than $7 million. Garcia faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and he will be required to pay restitution in the amount of $3,108,734.52, representing losses to victims as a result of his scheme. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, between February 2009 and April 2015, Garcia solicited and received at least $7,348,620 from approximately 96 victims located throughout the United States. Of that amount, he has repaid approximately $3,990,285 to his victims. Garcia, through a number of companies that he controlled, including DG Wealth Management, persuaded individuals to invest with him. He induced these investors based on misrepresentations that he would invest their funds in a pool and would guarantee their initial investment, as well as a specific rate of return over a defined period of time. In support of his representations that these investments were secured, Garcia provided investors with fake bank statements that reflected large balances. The true account balances were a fraction of the amounts claimed, and were insufficient to support the guarantees that he had promised.
Garcia invested only a small portion of the funds he received. After investors gave him money, he would send them false trading statements that reflected false earned trading profits. Garcia used a greater portion of the investors’ funds to repay other investors. He also used a significant portion of the funds for personal and business expenses, including artwork, rent, luxury car payments, domestic help (including a personal chef), jewelry, and dinner parties.
When investors began asking for their money back, Garcia provided a series of misrepresentations as to why he could not return their money, often insisting that they sign new agreements falsely appearing to convert their investments into loans. In addition, Garcia encouraged investors to mislead others, including investigators, about the true nature of their investments with him. He encouraged his investors to falsely claim that they had made a loan to his companies when, in fact, they had provided Garcia money to invest on their behalf.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Garcia will forfeit to the United States five pieces of artwork that were purchased with fraud proceeds. In addition, he will also forfeit a $10,000 retainer that he paid to a law firm using fraud proceeds and will be liable for a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of the proceeds he obtained from the offense.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the State of Florida, Office of Financial Regulation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Lazarus.
NYPD Officer Andre Clarke Arrested for Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone in VermontRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Andre Clarke, age 36, of the Bronx, New York, was arrested today in Queens for conspiring to distribute Oxycodone in Vermont from 2011 through June 2014. Clarke, who has been employed as a New York City police officer since 2002, will have his initial appearance tomorrow in federal court in Brooklyn. At this hearing, he is expected to be given a date to report to Vermont federal court for arraignment. At the arraignment in Vermont, he will enter a plea to the charge. On July 7, 2015, a federal grand jury sitting in Burlington handed down a multi-count Indictment, which charges Clarke, Michael Foreste, and Dannis Hackney with the Vermont Oxycodone conspiracy. Foreste and Hackney are charged with additional drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.
According to prosecutors, Clarke, who lived in the Bronx and Long Island during the events in question, supplied oxycodone to Michael Foreste, of Valley Stream, New York. Foreste, in turn, supplied the pills to Dannis Hackney, of Burlington, Vermont, who sold them to Burlington area addicts. Foreste personally brought Hackney pills, and sometimes sent them via U.S. Mail. Clarke, Foreste, and Hackney transferred drug proceeds using various bank accounts. Foreste and Hackney are also each charged with two counts of money laundering based on this banking activity. Foreste and Hackney have been in custody since their arrests in June 2014 and are awaiting trial.
The Indictment charging Clarke with drug trafficking is an accusation only; he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted on the oxycodone conspiracy charge, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. The money laundering counts carry also carry a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment. The actual sentence, in the event of conviction, will be determined by the Court with reference to the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory sentencing factors.
The investigation spanned more than a year and was a collaborative effort of Homeland Security Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the New York City Police Internal Affairs Bureau.
Assistant United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan is handling the prosecution.
Moundsville, WV man convicted of methamphetamine traffickingRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Nicholas S. Dubrowski, 27, an oil and gas worker living in Moundsville, West Virginia, was convicted of methamphetamine trafficking, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
An investigation by the Marshall County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed that Dubrowski received shipments of crystal methamphetamine from a source in the southwestern United States. He would then redistribute to fellow oil and gas industry workers in Marshall County, West Virginia.
Dubrowski, also known as “Country,” pled guilty to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00. 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 Sarah Montoro prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
Mercer County, New Jersey, Woman Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Paying $671,000 in Bribes to Fraudulently Obtain Government Construction ContractsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Hopewell, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for bribing a former Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) supervisory engineer at the VA’s campus in East Orange, New Jersey, in order to fraudulently obtain $6 million in construction contracts, including those reserved for service-disabled, veteran owned small businesses, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Donna Doremus, 47, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper to three counts of a four-count information charging her with one count of bribing a public official, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of making and subscribing to false federal tax returns. Judge Cooper imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The bribes were paid in connection with VA contracts awarded to companies Doremus owned. She also admitted to a conspiracy to defraud the United States by falsely representing that one of her companies was owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran.
From 2007 to July 2012, Doremus paid approximately $671,000 in bribes to a former VA official, Jarod Machinga, 45, also of Hopewell, in connection with VA contracts awarded to three companies she owned and controlled. In his position as a supervisory engineer, Machinga had the authority and influence to direct certain VA construction contracts to particular companies. Machinga directed more than $6 million of VA construction projects to Doremus’ companies.
One of Doremus’s companies, Tyro General Construction (Tyro), entered into a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business contract with the VA. Congress has established a program whereby certain VA contracts are reserved for small businesses that are owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. Doremus conspired with Machinga to falsely represent to the VA that Tyro was a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business so that Tyro could improperly obtain a lucrative construction contract from the VA. Machinga then used his official position and influence at the VA to award such a contract to Tyro. In total, Tyro was paid more than $3 million by the VA in connection with this service-disabled veteran-owned contract.
For tax years 2009 and 2010, Doremus falsely reported that certain bribe payments she made to Machinga, as well some personal expenditures, were her companies’ business expenses. As a result, she failed to pay $250,374 in federal income taxes that she owed the IRS.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cooper ordered Doremus to serve one year of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a hearing on Aug. 26, 2015. As part of her plea, she agreed to a forfeiture money judgment of $671,975.
On Sept.18, 2013, Machinga pleaded guilty before Judge Cooper in connection with his accepting kickbacks from Doremus and engaging in a scheme to defraud the VA. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison on June 30, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Hughes; the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vikas Khanna of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Peter Gaeta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Michael A. Caudo Esq., Philadelphia
Massachusetts Man Charged with Being a Felon in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
Government Moves for Pretrial Detention Based on Terrorist Attack Plans
An Adams, Massachusetts, man has been arrested and charged in connection with a plot to engage in terrorism on behalf of ISIL. The announcement was made today by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Vincent Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Field Division.
A criminal complaint, charging Alexander Ciccolo, aka Ali Al Amriki, 23, with being a felon in possession of firearms was unsealed today. Additional information regarding Ciccolo’s plans was filed this morning in advance of a detention hearing to be held tomorrow afternoon in Springfield, Massachusetts.
According to the complaint affidavit, on July 4, 2015, Ciccolo took delivery of four firearms which he had ordered from a person who was cooperating with members of the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and who had been communicating with Ciccolo about Ciccolo’s plans to engage in a terrorist act. Ciccolo was arrested immediately after taking delivery of the firearms, which included a Colt AR-15 .223 caliber rifle, a SigArms Model SG550-1 556 caliber rifle, a Glock 17- 9mm pistol and a Glock 20-10 mm pistol. Ciccolo had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in jail and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms.
In an affidavit filed in support of the government’s detention motion, it is alleged that Ciccolo is a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to the affidavit, Ciccolo spoke with a cooperating witness in recorded conversations about his plans to commit acts of terrorism inspired by ISIL, including setting off improvised explosive devices, such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, nails, ball bearings and glass, in places where large numbers of people congregate, such as college cafeterias. Prior to his arrest, agents observed Ciccolo purchase a pressure cooker similar to that used in the Boston Marathon bombings.
It is also alleged that during a search of Ciccolo’s apartment after he was arrested, agents found several partially constructed “Molotov cocktails.” These incendiary devices contained what appeared to be shredded Styrofoam soaking in motor oil. Ciccolo had previously stated that this mixture would cause the fire from the exploded devices to stick to people’s skin and make it harder to put the fire out.
A detention hearing has been scheduled for July 14 at 3:30 p.m. at the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This investigation is being conducted by the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin O’Regan and Deepika Shukla of the District of Massachusetts and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The details contained in the charges are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ciccolo Complaint
Ciccolo Detention Memo
Ciccolo Detention Memo (Exhibit A)
Ciccolo Detention Memo (Exhibit B)
Ciccolo Detention Memo (Exhibit C)
Massachusetts Man Charged with Being a Felon in Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Adams man has been arrested and charged in connection with a plot to engage in terrorism on behalf of ISIL. A criminal complaint, charging Alexander Ciccolo, a/k/a Ali Al Amriki, 23, with being a felon in possession of firearms was unsealed today. Additional information regarding Ciccolo’s plans was filed this morning in advance of a detention hearing to be held tomorrow afternoon in Springfield.
According to the complaint affidavit, on July 4, 2015, Ciccolo took delivery of four firearms which he had ordered from a person who was cooperating with members of the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and who had been communicating with Ciccolo about Ciccolo’s plans to engage in a terrorist act. Ciccolo was arrested immediately after taking delivery of the firearms, which included a Colt AR-15 .223 caliber rifle, a SigArms Model SG550-1, 556 caliber rifle, a Glock 17- 9mm pistol, and a Glock 20-10 mm pistol. Ciccolo had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in jail and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms.
In an affidavit filed in support of the government’s detention motion, it is alleged that Ciccolo is a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to the affidavit, Ciccolo had spoken with a cooperating witness in recorded conversations about his plans to commit acts of terrorism inspired by ISIL, including setting off improvised explosive devices, such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, nails, ball bearings and glass, in places where large numbers of people congregate, like college cafeterias. Prior to his arrest, agents had observed Ciccolo purchase a pressure cooker similar to that used in the Boston Marathon bombings.
It is also alleged that during a search of Ciccolo’s apartment after he was arrested, agents found several partially constructed “Molotov cocktails.” These incendiary devices contained what appeared to be shredded Styrofoam soaking in motor oil. Ciccolo had previously stated that this mixture would cause the fire from the exploded devices to stick to people’s skin and make it harder to put the fire out.
A detention hearing has been scheduled for July 14 at 3:30 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Springfield.
The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. This investigation is being conducted by the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and member agencies of the JTTF including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Springfield Police Department, the Ludlow Police Department, the Holyoke Police Department, the West Springfield Police Department, the Easthampton Police Department, the Pittsfield Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and Homeland Security Investigations, with critical assistance from the Adams Police Department and the Massachusetts State Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin O’Regan and Deepika Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office in coordination with Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
The details contained in the charges are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Madison Woman Sentenced for Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today, that Angela Jones, 51, of Madison, Illinois, was sentenced on July 10, 2015, for engaging in a scheme to commit health care fraud by defrauding the Home Services Program, which is a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home.
Jones was sentenced to two years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, Jones must pay a special assessment of $100, and restitution in the amount of $13,401.05. Jones pled guilty in United States District Court to the charges on March 12, 2015. At the plea she admitted that she had submitted false and fraudulent bills in regard to the providing of personal assistant services in the Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead entering a nursing home. Jones admitted that she was actually incarcerated while she was billing the Home Services Program.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ranley R. Killian and Michael Hallock.
Louisiana U.S. Attorneys announce grant awards totaling almost $29 million to support state and local law enforcementRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT/MONROE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorneys Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana, Walt Green of the Middle District of Louisiana and Kenneth Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana jointly announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded almost $29 million to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLC), which is approximately three times the amount of the previous year’s awards.
LCLE is a state agency whose mission is to promote public safety by providing progressive leadership and coordination within the criminal justice community and to continue to improve the operations of the criminal justice community. U.S. Department of Justice awards, such as those being announced today, advance the LCLE’s mission by supporting the development, coordination, and implementation of broad system-wide programs, and by assisting in the improvement of the state’s criminal justice community through the funding of innovative, essential and needed initiatives at the state and local level.
U.S. Attorney Finley stated: “This increase in funding to the LCLE shows the Justice Department’s commitment to this program. We are eager to continue working with the LCLE and look forward to an increased partnership in the coming year. These funds will allow the LCLE to provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement statewide and to implement programs that will further its mission to improve the criminal justice system. I think that this is a major step in support of law enforcement that will benefit our communities statewide.”
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “We are extremely pleased to announce our increased support and partnership with LCLE, one of our most important statewide law enforcement partners. Chairman Sid Gautreaux and the other LCLE members have worked seamlessly with my office and other components of the U.S. Department of Justice in the pursuit of justice and security for everyone in this state. Today’s announcement reflects our deep commitment to assist, support, and enhance state and local law enforcement efforts in Louisiana through the LCLE. These awards strengthen our unity and our collective efforts against crime.”
U.S. Attorney Polite stated: “These vital awards will help fight crime and build safer communities across our state. We look forward to our continued work with LCLE in pursuing justice for all Louisiana residents.”
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, who serves as the LCLE Chairman, stated: “I am extremely proud that we have been able to secure this additional funding that will enhance and strengthen what is already a strong partnership focused on making our community safer. With the increased grant money we will be able to commit more personnel and resources through our local, state and federal partners in order to continue to combat drugs, illegal weapons and overall crime. Since taking office I have been committed to a level of unprecedented collaboration with our partners that only gets better with each year.”
To find out more about the LCLE visit www.cole.state.la.us.
Louisiana U.S. Attorneys Announce Grant Awards Totaling Almost $29 Million to Support State and Local Law EnforcementRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorneys Walt Green of the Middle District of Louisiana, Stephanie Finley of the Western District of Louisiana, and Kenneth Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana jointly announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded almost $29 million to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLC), which is approximately three times the amount of the previous year’s awards.
LCLE is a state agency whose mission is to promote public safety by providing progressive leadership and coordination within the criminal justice community and to continue to improve the operations of the criminal justice community. U.S. Department of Justice awards, such as those being announced today, advance the LCLE’s mission by supporting the development, coordination, and implementation of broad system-wide programs, and by assisting in the improvement of the state’s criminal justice community through the funding of innovative, essential and needed initiatives at the state and local level.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: "We are extremely pleased to announce our increased support and partnership with LCLE, one of our most important state-wide law enforcement partners. Chairman Sid Gautreaux and the other LCLE members have worked seamlessly with my office and other components of the U.S. Department of Justice in the pursuit of justice and security for everyone in this state. Today’s announcement reflects our deep commitment to assist, support, and enhance state and local law enforcement efforts in Louisiana through the LCLE. These awards strengthen our unity and our collective efforts against crime.”
U.S. Attorney Finley stated: “This increase in funding to the LCLE shows the Justice Department’s commitment to this program. We are eager to continue working with the LCLE and look forward to an increased partnership in the coming year. These funds will allow the LCLE to provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement statewide and to implement programs that will further its mission to improve the criminal justice system. I think that this is a major step in support of law enforcement that will benefit our communities statewide.”
U.S. Attorney Polite stated: “These vital awards will help fight crime and build safer communities across our state. We look forward to our continued work with LCLE in pursuing justice for all Louisiana residents.”
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, who serves as the LCLE Chairman, stated: “I am extremely proud that we have been able to secure this additional funding that will enhance and strengthen what is already a strong partnership focused on making our community safer. With the increased grant money we will be able to commit more personnel and resources through our local, state and federal partners in order to continue to combat drugs, illegal weapons and overall crime. Since taking office I have been committed to a level of unprecedented collaboration with our partners that only gets better with each year.”
Italian Fugitive Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Luciano Angrilli (39) to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to the charges on December 22, 2006, and subsequently fled the United States to Italy.
According to court documents, Angrilli met with a DEA confidential source for the purpose of purchasing 10 kilograms of cocaine. Angrilli negotiated the purchase and delivery of the cocaine. He also facilitated the laundering of the monetary proceeds received by the confidential source.
Subsequent to his arrest, Angrilli was released on bond conditions. After pleading guilty to the conspiracy charge, he fled the United States to Italy. In March 2014, Angrilli was arrested in the Netherlands by Royal Military Police. He had in his possession fraudulent identification documents and was using a false identity.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James A. Muench and Stacie B. Harris.
Investigation into July 4th Blast and Homicide Leads to Federal Charges Against 3 West Haven ResidentsRead 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 three West Haven residents have been charged with federal offenses as a result of an investigation of an explosion and homicide that occurred in Hamden on July 4, 2015.
According to allegations contained in court documents, at approximately 11:00 a.m. on July 4, 2015, an explosion took place on Wintergreen Avenue in Hamden. Responding law enforcement located a deceased white male, who had been wrapped in plastic garbage bag material and bound by rope material, in a wooded area close to where the explosion had occurred. An explosive-type device and debris were also located in close proximity to the body. The victim, who had also sustained three apparent gunshot wounds, was subsequently identified as Edward Brooks, 39, of West Haven. After West Haven Police informed investigators that Brooks had been residing with CHRISTOPHER MILLER at 59 Front Avenue in West Haven, and that MILLER and other residents of 59 Front Avenue were subjects of an ongoing narcotics investigation, investigators executed a state narcotics search and seizure warrant at 59 Front Avenue and seized numerous items, including pipe bomb making materials that were consistent with the materials found at the Wintergreen Avenue explosion scene, approximately 16 grams of cocaine base (“crack cocaine), approximately 10.6 grams of methamphetamine and narcotics packaging material. Investigators also seized a surveillance DVR, which captured video surveillance from eight cameras placed around the residence.
CHRISTOPHER MILLER, 40, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of an explosive that had been shipped or transported in or affecting interstate commerce. This offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. MILLER is currently in state custody and faces additional state charges.
A separate criminal complaint charges two other residents of 59 Front Avenue, DEBORAH MILLER, 59, and NATALI MARTINEZ, 29, with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and methamphetamine. This offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. DEBORAH MILLER, who is CHRISTOPHER MILLER’s mother, and MARTINEZ were arrested earlier today.
“This case highlights that great work can be accomplished quickly when local, state and federal law enforcement work together,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “I want to thank all of our investigative partners in this matter including the FBI, Connecticut State Police, West Haven Police, Hamden Police and our colleagues at the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford.”
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police, Hamden Police Department and West Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Reynolds, Jacabed Rodriguez-Coss and Vanessa Richards. This investigation and prosecution is being coordinated with the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford.
Huntington woman sentenced for role in heroin conspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington woman who participated in a heroin distribution conspiracy in 2012 was sentenced today to five years’ probation, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Kathleen M. Young, 51, previously pleaded guilty in March 2015 to conspiring to distribute heroin. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
During the month of June 2012, Young assisted others in distributing heroin in and around Huntington. Young frequently delivered heroin for others to locations where it was subsequently distributed. Young also collected cash proceeds from distributions and delivered them to other heroin dealers.
On June 28, 2012, Young was stopped by agents in the 2100 block of 9th Avenue in Huntington. Agents observed Young attempting to stuff a plastic bag in her pants and subsequently discovered the bag to contain approximately 20 grams of heroin.
The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Honolulu Businessman Convicted of Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – A federal jury today found Albert S.N. Hee, 61, of Kailua, Hawaii, guilty of corruptly interfering with the Internal Revenue Service in the calculation and collection of his taxes, and with filing six false individual tax returns which failed to report his income for the years 2007 through 2012. The verdict concluded deliberations which had begun on Friday, July 10, after an 11-day trial.
Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that, according to evidence presented in court, Hee owned Waimana Enterprises, Inc., a holding company which owned various subsidiaries including Sandwich Isles Communications and ClearCom, Inc. Between 2002 and 2012, Hee directed Waimana to pay approximately $2.3 million in personal and family expenses on his behalf, and falsely deducted the payments as if they were legitimate business expenses. According to the trial testimony, Hee also failed to report the value of the benefits which he received as income on his own income tax returns. The personal expenses paid for by Waimana included the following items:
- Personal massage payments totaling $96,000 for two-hour massages given to Hee twice a week;
- $119,909 in credit card charges made for personal expenses, including trips to DisneyWorld, Tahiti, France and Switzerland made by Hee’s wife, children, and others, and a four-day family vacation at the Mauna Lani resort, which Hee falsely characterized as a "stockholder’s meeting";
- College tuition and housing expenses totaling over $736,900 for Hee’s three children, who attended college on the mainland; and
- Approximately $1,676,685 in wages and fringe benefits paid to Hee’s wife and three children, who did little or no work for Waimana.
According to testimony presented during the trial, Hee also had Waimana buy a home in Santa Clara, California for $1.3 million, which he used as college housing for his two children. The children were also allowed to rent rooms out to others, and to keep the money to fund their own expenses.
Hee will face a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, as to each of the seven counts when he is sentenced on October 26, 2015.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Les Osborne and Larry Tong, and Trial Attorney Quinn Harrington of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice.
Historic Memorandum of Agreement Signed Regarding Reentry Services on the Standing Rock ReservationRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler for the District of South Dakota, and Christopher C. Myers, Acting United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Multijurisdictional Reentry Services Team at a ceremony at Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council Chambers in Fort Yates, ND. The ceremony took place on Tuesday July 7, 2015.
The historic agreement is the first time this many federal, state, and tribal agencies have worked together to address a nationwide problem that is amplified in Indian country. The agreement is also unique because it covers Standing Rock Reservation, which encompasses both South Dakota and North Dakota, and has jurisdictional issues because of its location. The Multijurisdictional Reentry Services Team recognizes that this remote area of reservation typically does not allow people returning home to have access to services and resources found in larger urban areas. The team shares a common interest and goal towards the successful reentry of people returning home to the reservation after their incarceration.
The agreement was lauded by Troy Morley, a reentry services team member, Assistant U.S Attorney, and Tribal Liaison for the District of South Dakota. “This truly is a great opportunity for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all of the state and federal partners to work together. The goal of the team is taking positive steps towards re-acclimating tribal members, in a positive and culturally related manner, that are returning home from serving time away in prison. The population our team is targeting are returning home to the reservation regardless, so the Tribe’s creation of this working group, and the programs they intend to introduce, will increase public safety and reduce recidivism on the Standing Rock Reservation,” said Morley.
The agreement was also commended by Gary Delorme, a reentry services team member, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota. “It was a lengthy process that required the collaboration of many federal, state, and tribal reentry group members contributing significant time and expertise in formulating this groundbreaking agreement. We have a sovereign tribal government coming together with authorities from two different states and two different federal districts, historically agreeing to partner together in aiding the Standing Rock Tribe to formulate a reentry program that will benefit the community, increase the safety of tribal members, and assist tribal members returning from prison in choosing a path that will help lead them away from a life of crime,” said Delorme.
The MOU was signed by the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, North Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Standing Rock Agency, South Dakota Department of Corrections, North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, South Dakota Unified Judicial System, North Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, and the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission.
Guilty Verdicts on All Counts in Mortgage Fraud Scheme for 4 Sacramento Area ResidentsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, after a three-week jury trial, a federal jury found Olga Palamarchuk, 45, of Rancho Cordova; Pyotr Bondaruk, 44, of Sacramento; Vera Zhiry, 35, of Sacramento; and Peter Kuzmenko, 37, of West Sacramento, guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, related to a mortgage fraud conspiracy. Palamarchuk and Bondaruk were also found guilty of making false statements to a financial institution and money laundering. Zhiry was also found guilty of money laundering.
According to evidence presented at trial, Palamarchuk, a loan officer at Capital Mortgage Lending Inc., recruited Bondaruk to purchase two houses using 100 percent financing and to refinance and obtain a home equity line of credit on one of the houses. In order to qualify for the loans, Palamarchuk and Bondaruk submitted fraudulent loan applications to lenders, falsely stating Bondaruk’s employment, income, assets, and intent to occupy the homes as his primary residence.
In addition, the defendants fraudulently inflated the value of the properties and diverted the excess funds to themselves. For example, Peter Kuzmenko received $32,378 in seller’s proceeds for landscaping and pool work his company Pete’s Pool Service purportedly performed on a house that didn’t have a pool. Similarly, Zhiry received $100,000 to pay off a purported debt owed by the sellers that the sellers denied existed, and Zhiry provided $40,000 of that money back to Olga Palamarchuk.
In February, Peter Kuzmenko was found guilty in a separate mortgage fraud scheme in this district. (2:11-cr-210-JAM) He is currently in custody.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Lee S. Bickley and Heiko P. Coppola are prosecuting the case.
The defendants’ sentencing is set for October 1, 2015, before United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley. The defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, 10 years in prison for money laundering, and a $1 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.
Geographic Targeting Order Issued by FinCEN Aims at Combatting Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud in South FloridaRead the Press Release
MIAMI- Federal Authorities announced today that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) for South Florida check cashers to temporarily enhance the identification requirements on customers cashing Federal tax refund checks. The GTO will require check cashers in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to obtain and record specific identification information from customers cashing federal income tax refund checks over $1,000. This information will include the customer’s identification, a digital photograph of the customer taken at the time of the transaction, the customer’s telephone number, and, in accordance with Florida law, the individual’s thumbprint.
FinCEN issued the GTO in close coordination with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (SDFL), which established the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force to combat the wave of stolen identity tax refund scams over the last several years. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation further provided valuable assistance to the federal authorities in issuing the GTO.
FinCEN, the IRS, and the SDFL are particularly concerned that identity thieves are attempting to perpetrate their schemes outside of the tax filing season in hopes that their illegal activity will catch financial institutions off guard and be more likely to slip through their anti-money laundering controls, which are aimed at preventing criminal funds from entering and moving through the financial system. The GTO will, therefore, cover a time period (August 3, 2015, through January 30, 2016) in which the proportion of fraudulent tax refund transactions is high, but the total volume of transactions is relatively low.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida stated, “Prosecuting stolen identity tax refund fraud remains a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We greatly appreciate the continued efforts of FinCEN and the IRS in this area and look forward to working with financial institutions in the private sector through this GTO in order to further combat these fraudulent schemes that impact our South Florida communities.”
A copy of the Order is available at the following website: http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/pdf/20150710GTO.pdf.
Failure to comply could result in substantial criminal and civil penalties.A copy of the FinCEN release may be found at the following website: http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/pdf/20150713.pdf.
Gastonia Man Sentenced to 11.5 Years Prison for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced today James McConnell, 48, of Gastonia, N.C. to 138 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on charges stemming from an April 2012 bank robbery, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
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, Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, and the Chief Robert C. Helton of the Gastonia Police Department.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on April 11, 2012, McConnell robbed a BB&T branch located at 9200 S. Tryon Street, stealing $505 in cash. Court records show that McConnell walked into the branch and told the bank teller he had a gun and demanded $2,500 in large bills. Court records indicate that the teller told McConnell she did not have $2,500 and instead handed him $505 in small bills. McConnell then fled with the money in his hand. According to documents filed in the case, McConnell was arrested on June 16, 2012 on unrelated charges and was identified by a witness as the man captured on the bank’s cameras.
McConnell pleaded guilty in July 2014 to one count of bank robbery. According to court documents and statements made in court, McConnell has two prior federal bank robbery convictions.
McConnell remains in federal custody and will be turned 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 handled by the FBI’s and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department with assistance from the Gastonia Police Department. The prosecution for the government was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Ellis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Fredericksburg Man Sentenced for Investment Fraud Scheme Related to Quantico Corporate Center at StaffordRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – James Ashby Moncure, Jr., 42, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 65 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. Additionally, Moncure was ordered to pay approximately $8.3 million in restitution to his victims.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and David M. McGinnis, Acting Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Moncure pleaded guilty to these charges on Feb. 6, 2015. According to court documents, Moncure agreed that, as a partial owner of Moncure Brothers LLC, he had partnered with The Silver Companies to develop property known as the Quantico Corporate Center at Stafford (QCCS), a business park located in Stafford County, Virginia., adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico. Beginning prior to January 2010 and continuing through March 2014, Moncure solicited individuals for investment opportunities in exchange for short term promissory notes offering returns ranging from 10 percent up to 25 percent. In connection with those investments, Moncure claimed that the investment funds would be used for acquiring and developing land for the QCCS or another specified property. He also made misrepresentations about how the promised returns would be generated and the security of investment funds. Instead, Moncure misappropriated a significant amount of investor funds for payment of returns to earlier investors and transfers to investment trading accounts from which he day-traded stocks and options.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Fredericksburg Resident Agency, IRS-CI, and USPIS. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Gill and Katherine Lee Martin prosecuted the case.
This investigation was coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia. The task force is comprised of several federal and state agencies, including the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and it also serves as an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), an interagency national task force. For more information on FFETF, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:14-cr-137.
Former Treasurer of Religious Conference Sentenced to Prison for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – Today, Marie Ann Stoltz, 38, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi to 21 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $408,021 in restitution. Stoltz’s husband, Mark Edwin Stoltz, 44, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced to 9 months of home confinement and also ordered to pay $408,821 in restitution. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Ms. Stoltz abused her position as the treasurer and secretary of the Arizona Light & Life Conference of the Free Methodist Church to fraudulently obtain over $423,000. In the course of the scheme, she drafted over $79,000 in Conference checks made payable to her spouse, many of which he endorsed, and also used the Conference’s credit cards for personal expenses. As a result of fraud, the Conference was forced to cease operations, another conference was required to assume the Conference’s responsibilities, and three Conference employees lost their jobs. As of sentencing, the Stoltzes had repaid $15,063 to the Conference.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Phoenix Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The prosecution was handled by Frederick A. Battista, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-15-444-PHX-JTT
RELEASE NUMBER: 2015-052_Stoltz
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Florida Business Owners Indicted for Harboring Illegal Aliens as Branson WorkersRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two Florida men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for harboring illegal aliens working for their labor leasing businesses in Branson, Mo.
Martin Ghambaryan, 29, and Mikayel V. Abrahamyan, 34, both of whom are Armenian nationals and legal permanent residents of the United States residing in Delray Beach, Fla., were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.
Ghambaryan incorporated MGM Union, LLC, in Missouri in 2008 and Abrahamyan incorporated Seasonal Labor Solutions, LLC, in Missouri in 2009. Both businesses have Branson addresses. According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.
The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knowingly and in reckless disregard of the fact that aliens were in the United States in violation of law, concealed, harbored, and shielded numerous illegal aliens from detection. The indictment alleges Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan conspired with, and aided and abetted, the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions to harbor those illegal aliens and conceal them from detection.
The operators of MGM applied for federal authorization to employ non-citizen workers with H-2B visas (a non-immigrant visa granted to aliens seeking to work in the United States on a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural work basis). MGM’s application to employ alien workers with H-2B visas was denied, the indictment says, and MGM never received authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas. No one acting on behalf of Seasonal Labor Solutions ever even applied for that authorization, according to the indictment.
Even though MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions never received legal authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas, the indictment says, the operators of those companies routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas.
The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions allegedly also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.
These alien workers, whether they were undocumented or had some form of work visa, were typically required to live in certain hotels and apartments in the Branson area, the indictment says, creating a situation where the workers had to make a rent payment to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions. These alien workers also were dependent on the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions for transportation to and from their living quarters to their jobs, and were transported in vans provided by their employers.
According to the indictment, workers often ended up owing large debts to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions, which were then deducted from the workers’ paychecks, leaving the workers with minimal take home pay.
The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely allowed alien workers to remain on the payroll following expiration of a temporary work visa, the indictment says. They allegedly collected fees from the alien workers based on the promise of obtaining extensions of the temporary work visa, but routinely failed to do so, leaving the alien workers in an illegal employment status. The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions used the alien workers’ illegal employment status, and the threat of potential removal and deportation from the United States, as a way to compel the aliens to continue working.
The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status, and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas. The indictment also alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.
Between April 27, 2009, and Dec. 28, 2009, the de facto operators of MGM funneled more than $220,000 into MGM’s business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by MGM.
Between Jan. 8, 2010, and Nov. 2, 2010, the de facto operators of Seasonal Labor Solutions funneled more than $490,000 into Seasonal Labor Solutions’ business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by Seasonal Labor Solutions.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Chief Gene Porter. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Also participating in the investigation were the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services; the U.S. Department of State, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
Federal Grand Jury Criminal Indictments AnnouncedRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.—The results of the July 2015 Federal Grand Jury were announced today by Danny C. Williams Sr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged federal crimes which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Stuart H. Clark. Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Clark, 24, of Tulsa, is charged with failing to register as a sex offender as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. If convicted the statutory maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Marshals Service is the investigative agency.
Ray Diaz-Gonzalez. Alien in the United States After Deportation. Diaz-Gonzalez, 36, is charged with having returned to the United States unlawfully after being deported in December 2013 near Del Rio, Texas. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the investigating agency.
Jamie Christine Elliot. Possession of Counterfeit Obligations and Securities of the United States. Elliot, 27, of Tulsa, is charged with possessing counterfeit $10 bills in April 2015. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Secret Service is the investigating agency.
Victor Lozaria-Montoya. Alien in the United States After Deportation. Lozaria-Montoya, 22, is charged with having returned to the United States unlawfully after being deported in December 2014 near Del Rio, Texas. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the investigating agency.
Jose Juan Munoz-Martinez. Alien in the United States After Deportation. Munoz-Martinez, 44, is charged with having returned to the United States unlawfully after being deported in August 2011 near Hidalgo, Texas. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the investigating agency.
Kenneth Alexander Rostron. Assimilated Crime of Burglary in the Second Degree in Indian Country. Rostron, 20, of Tulsa, is charged with breaking and entering into a pickup truck. If convicted, the statutory minimum penalty is two years in prison and the maximum penalty is seven years with a $250,000 fine. The Osage Nation Police Department is the investigating agency.
Ronald Gene Thomas Jr. Assaulting a Federal Officer. Thomas, 37, of McAlester, Oklahoma, is charged with using a motor vehicle to assault a Deputy United States Marshal who was performing official duties. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Marshals Service is the investigating agency.Janet L. Whitfield. Theft of Government Funds. Whitfield, 57, of Tulsa, is charged with stealing approximately $24,272 in benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board from September 2012 to January 2015. If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States Railroad Retirement Board is the investigating agency.
Defendant Sentenced to 540 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – William Santiago-Reyes was sentenced to 540 months (45 years) in prison for his participation in various crimes, including Hobbs Act robbery, carjacking and firearms violations, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The defendant pled guilty on February 4, 2015, before United States District Court Senior Judge Daniel R. Domínguez.
On or about May 5, 2012, in the District of Puerto Rico, the defendant herein, aiding and abetting another individual, knowingly carried and used a firearm, during and in relation to a crime of violence, resulting in death of Ranger American Security Guard Nelson Mills Bernabe.
During the afternoon of May 5, 2012, at approximately 1:20 p.m., the defendant, William Santiago-Reyes and an associate by the name of Juan Benítez-Rodríguez (Benítez-Rodríguez) entered the Plaza Loíza Supermarket, wearing Suiza Dairy company polo shirts. The subjects were captured on video, which shows them scouting the area, looking for the manager. When they found the manager, Santiago-Reyes flashed the revolver that he was carrying and directed him to take the defendants to the money room.
Once inside the office, Benítez-Rodríguez ordered the manager to give them all the cash contained in the safe. Minutes later, a Ranger American Security Guard, Nelson Mills Bernabe, arrived at the supermarket for a scheduled money pick-up. Mills Bernabe proceeded to the manager’s office door where Santiago-Reyes assaulted him from behind, and a scuffle ensued between the two men. Both Santiago-Reyes and Benítez-Rodríguez attempted to subdue the guard, but Mills Bernabe was able to remove his pistol from the holster, and fired some shots at the two subjects, striking both of them.
Santiago-Reyes responded by firing shots at Mills Bernabe from the revolver he was carrying, wounding him on the right arm and shoulder. The defendants attempted to flee from a back door located in the cafeteria area but they were unable to do so. Benítez-Rodríguez collapsed by the door, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The video shows Santiago-Reyes as he picked up Mill Bernabe’s pistol and placed it inside his waistband; he flipped the body of Benítez-Rodríguez over and searched through his pockets, removing cash and car keys. He also picked up the red cooler, which contained the money stolen from the supermarket, $18,970.07, and exited through the front doors of the supermarket.
Santiago-Reyes got into a green Mitsubishi Lancer and attempted to exit the parking lot. The driver of the armored truck, attempted to block his exit, but was unable to do so. The police arrived and were able to apprehend the defendant without incident. Santiago-Reyes had been seriously injured, and was bleeding profusely at the time of his apprehension. He was transported to a local hospital, where he eventually recovered from his injuries. The security guard, Nelson Mills Bernabe was transported to a local hospital, but was unable to recover from his trauma, and was pronounced dead later that day.
The FBI Investigation revealed that William Santiago Reyes and Benítez-Rodríguez had broken out of local jail on or about April 15, 2012, approximately three weeks prior to the commission of the Plaza Loíza Supermarket armed robbery. They also were involved in another carjacking and an armed robbery to a Financial Institution while they were runaways from the local authorities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) were in charge of the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Olga B. Castellón.
Concord Resident Sentenced to Six Months in Custody for Role in Submitting Fraudulent Asylum ApplicationsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Buyantod Thomas was sentenced on July 9, 2015, to six months in prison, for aiding and abetting the submission of fraudulent asylum applications, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.
Thomas, 30, of Concord, Calif., pleaded guilty on March 27, 2015, to a one count indictment filed on January 27, 2015, charging her with knowingly aiding and abetting a person to make a false statement in an asylum application. Asylum applications generally are submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in cases where removal from the United States would be contrary to law. To qualify for asylum, applicants must demonstrate that their removal would put them at significant risk based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, or on account of a torture convention. In this case, Thomas admitted she helped Mongolian nationals apply for asylum based on fictitious stories and false documents.
At sentencing, the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Judge found that Thomas assisted in filing at least 25 fraudulent asylum applications. In sentencing Thomas, Judge Illston emphasized the need for deterrence for crimes of this nature, explaining: “I find these to be very serious crimes. The asylum system is such a precious system we have and if it’s abused in the way that it was abused here, then it won’t be used anymore and we won’t have it… [this case] is really damaging to the immigration system that we have in place.” In addition to the prison term, Judge Illston also sentenced Thomas to a three year period of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on September 4, 2015.
This case was prosecuted by the Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Special Prosecutions and National Security Unit. The prosecution is the result of a multi-year investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations San Francisco Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force.
Columbia County Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael Elcox, 43, of Ghent, New York, was sentenced to 37 months in prison by United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), New York Division, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office. As part of the sentence, Judge McAvoy also imposed a $7,500 fine and three-year term of supervised release to follow Elcox’s prison term.
Elcox pled guilty in March 2015 for his role in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of an illegal marijuana distribution network. The conspiracy involved routing illegal proceeds through various bank accounts and moving cash from New York to Florida. Federal agents seized more than $300,000 in cash, representing proceeds of Elcox’s illegal marijuana distribution, from locations in New York and Florida.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the DEA in Albany, New York and Gainesville, Florida, and Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office, as well as the Columbia County Sherriff’s Department, as part of the DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.
Champaign Man Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – A federal grand jury in Springfield returned an indictment on Friday, July 10, that charges Ryan T. Hayman, 39, of the 2400 block of Leeper Drive, Champaign, Ill., with distribution and possession of child pornography, announced Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois.
The indictment alleges that in March 2015 Hayman distributed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment further alleges that in June 2015 Hayman possessed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of computers and related materials allegedly used to commit or promote the offenses.
If convicted, the statutory penalty for distribution of child pornography is a mandatory minimum of five years in prison to 20 years in prison and a term of supervised release of up to life following any term of imprisonment. For possession of child pornography, the penalty is a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Hayman was arrested on June 18, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with distribution and possession of child pornography. During a court appearance on June 22, 2015, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long, in Urbana, Hayman was ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Arraignment for Hayman has been scheduled on July 17 at 10:00 a.m.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Boyle. The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Urbana Police Department, the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the East Central Illinois Cyber Crimes Working Group.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
CEO of Diplomat Companies Pleads Guilty to Defrauding InvestorRead the Press Release
R.C. Patel aka Rajesh C. Patel, 55, of Duluth, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tenn., to two counts of wire fraud, for defrauding an investor, announced David Rivera, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
During a hearing before U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., Patel pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud arising from an investment deal involving a mortgage on a hotel property in Atlanta, Georgia. Patel was a hotel owner and developer and was also a substantial shareholder in a community bank in Georgia that was involved in bidding on mortgages being auctioned by the FDIC. Patel admitted accepting $500,000 from a Brentwood, Tennessee investor in connection with an anticipated $3.75M bid on a hotel mortgage. The bid submitted by Patel was not the winning bid and Patel instead, used these funds to pay a debt arising from an unrelated transaction. Patel also admitted making misrepresentations to the investor regarding the outcome of the mortgage auction and concealing the fact that he used the investor’s funds for unrelated purposes.
Patel has already made full restitution to the victim of this fraud.
Patel will be sentenced on October 5, 2015. He faces up to twenty years in prison on each count, in addition to potential fines and forfeiture of any money or property derived from the fraud.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely.