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Monday 18 May 2015
Savannah Man Indicted for Bank Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
Savannah, GA – Jerald Bowman, 40, of Savannah, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Savannah on charges related to five bank robberies in the Savannah area. Bowman was charged with five counts of armed bank robbery, five counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and the unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The indictment alleges that Bowman robbed: (1) the Georgia’s Own Credit Union located at 401 Mall Boulevard, Savannah, Georgia on September 30, 2014; (2) the Wells Fargo located at 7939 Waters Avenue, Savannah, Georgia on November 12, 2014; (3) the Heritage Bank located at 14010 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Georgia on December 4, 2014; (4) Navy Federal Credit Union located at 3490 Highway 17 South, Richmond Hill, Georgia on February 3, 2015; and (5) the Wells Fargo located at 6999 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Georgia on March 19, 2015.
If convicted on all counts, Bowman faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 107 years. Mr. Tarver emphasized that an indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation of this case was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southeast Georgia Violent Crimes Task Force with assistance from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, the Richmond Hill Police Department, and the Savannah Parole Office. Assistant United States Attorney Scarlett S. Nokes is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
San Diego Storage Company Agrees to Pay $170,000 to Settle Justice Department Allegations That it Unlawfully Sold Navy Service Members' BelongingsRead the Press Release
Across Town Movers, a San Diego-based storage company, and its owner, Daniel E. Homan, have agreed to pay nearly $170,000 to resolve allegations by the Department of Justice that it unlawfully sold U.S. Navy service members’ stored goods.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in March by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Southern District of California. The lawsuit alleged that Across Town Movers had a practice of selling active-duty service members’ storage lots without obtaining necessary court orders.
The lawsuit was filed under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which protects the rights of service members while on active duty by suspending or modifying certain civil obligations. Under the SCRA, a storage lien may not be enforced against service members during, or 90 days subsequent to, their period of military service without a court order.
Among the aggrieved service members is Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas E. Ward, now retired, who will receive $150,000 as compensation for his auctioned personal property. A long-time car enthusiast and 30-year veteran, Master Chief Ward placed his valuable car parts and many household items into storage when he was deployed overseas. He entrusted Across Town Movers to keep his personal property safe until he returned to his home in San Diego. Just before completing his final tour, Master Chief Ward learned that Across Town Movers had auctioned all of his stored personal property, including rare, vintage car parts, without providing any notice or obtaining a court order. Moreover, Across Town Movers allegedly continued to collect payment of storage fees from the government after it sold Master Chief Ward’s goods.
“This settlement will not only provide relief to ten service members, but also will ensure that business practices change to better protect others,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “I want to thank the United States Navy for referring this case to the Department of Justice. I’m hopeful that through the department’s newly created Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, we will continue to build on our strong ties with federal partners and protect the rights of all the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”
“We hope that this consent order will send a clear message to all storage companies that before they auction off anyone’s belongings, they should check the Defense Department’s military database and their own files to see if the customer is protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the rights of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, and we will continue to devote time and resources to make sure that they are given the legal protections they deserve.”
“Federal law protects our military service members and their dependents from businesses taking certain adverse actions against them,” said U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California. “These protections permit service members to devote their full attention to defending the United States. While Master Chief Ward was overseas focusing on defending our country, he understandably did not expect the very company paid to safeguard his valuable property to instead auction it off in his absence. Across Town Movers’ $150,000 payment provides Master Chief Ward the opportunity to repurchase his lost goods.”
Across Town Movers must also compensate other aggrieved service members for unlawfully auctioning their goods.
Furthermore, as part of the settlement, a consent order has been entered that requires Across Town Movers to make systemic changes to its business practices, including developing new policies and procedures consistent with the SCRA and providing SCRA training to its employees. Across Town Movers is enjoined from engaging in future SCRA violations.
A consent order incorporating the terms of this settlement was on Friday, May 14, 2015, in the Southern District of California. This matter resulted from a referral to the Justice Department by the U.S. Navy.
Service members and their dependents who believe that their SCRA rights have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php. Additional information on the Justice Department’s enforcement of the SCRA and other laws protecting service members is available at www.servicemembers.gov.
This matter is being handled by an attorney from the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dylan M. Aste and Leslie M. Gardner of the Southern District of California.
San Diego Storage Company Agrees to Pay $170,000 to Settle Justice Department Allegations That It Unlawfully Sold Navy Servicemembers’ BelongingsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Across Town Movers, a San Diego-based storage company, and its owner, Daniel E. Homan, have agreed to pay nearly $170,000 to resolve allegations by the Department of Justice that it unlawfully sold U.S. Navy service members’ stored goods.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in March by the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Southern District of California and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The lawsuit alleged that Across Town Movers had a practice of selling active-duty service members’ storage lots without obtaining necessary court orders.
The lawsuit was filed under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), which protects the rights of service members while on active duty by suspending or modifying certain civil obligations. Under the SCRA, a storage lien may not be enforced against service members during, or 90 days subsequent to, their period of military service without a court order.
Among the aggrieved service members is Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas E. Ward, now retired, who will receive $150,000 as compensation for his auctioned personal property. A long-time car enthusiast and 30-year veteran, Master Chief Ward placed his valuable car parts and many household items into storage when he was deployed overseas. He entrusted Across Town Movers to keep his personal property safe until he returned to his home in San Diego. Just before completing his final tour, Master Chief Ward learned that Across Town Movers had auctioned all of his stored personal property, including rare, vintage car parts, without providing any notice or obtaining a court order. Moreover, Across Town Movers allegedly continued to collect payment of storage fees from the government after it sold Master Chief Ward’s goods.
“Federal law protects our military service members and their dependents from businesses taking certain adverse actions against them. These protections permit service members to devote their full attention to defending the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy. “While Master Chief Ward was overseas focusing on defending our country, he understandably did not expect the very company paid to safeguard his valuable property to instead auction it off in his absence. Across Town Movers’ $150,000 payment provides Master Chief Ward the opportunity to repurchase his lost goods.”
“This settlement will not only provide relief to ten service members, but also will ensure that business practices change to better protect others,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “I want to thank the United States Navy for referring this case to the Department of Justice. I’m hopeful that through the department’s newly created Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, we will continue to build on our strong ties with federal partners and protect the rights of all the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”
“We hope that this consent order will send a clear message to all storage companies that before they auction off anyone’s belongings, they should check the Defense Department’s military database and their own files to see if the customer is protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the rights of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, and we will continue to devote time and resources to make sure that they are given the legal protections they deserve.”
Across Town Movers must also compensate other aggrieved service members for unlawfully auctioning their goods.
Furthermore, as part of the settlement, a consent order has been entered that requires Across Town Movers to make systemic changes to its business practices, including developing new policies and procedures consistent with the SCRA and providing SCRA training to its employees. Across Town Movers is enjoined from engaging in future SCRA violations.
A consent order incorporating the terms of this settlement was issued in the Southern District of California. This matter resulted from a referral to the Justice Department by the U.S. Navy.
Service members and their dependents who believe that their SCRA rights have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php. Additional information on the Justice Department’s enforcement of the SCRA and other laws protecting servicemembers is available at www.servicemembers.gov.
This matter is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dylan M. Aste and Leslie M. Gardner, and an attorney from the Civil Rights Division.
Repeat Identity Thief Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Mail Theft, Access Device Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
A repeat offender with prior convictions for forgery and identity theft was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to four years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. BOBBIE DENISE CATTON, 50, pleaded guilty in January 2015 to two counts of possession of stolen mail, one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said he wanted to protect the public from “a sophisticated ID theft criminal who is also a drug addict.”
According to records filed in the case, between March of 2013 and January of 2014, CATTON and her cohorts stole large volumes of mail throughout King County from homes and apartment complexes. They used stolen checks, credit and debit card information and identifying documents to commit various types of fraud. When arrested by a King County Sheriff’s Deputy following a traffic stop, CATTON had dozens of credit/debit cards and bank statements in others’ names in her possession, along with financial and identifying information for hundreds of others. Investigators identified 382 victims in the scheme.
In asking for a significant prison sentence, prosecutors highlighted the impact identity theft has on victims. “For individual victims, the time and money required to repair the immediate damage is only the beginning. Once stolen, their identities become a commodity capable of being bought, sold, and traded. Apprehension and prosecution of the initial perpetrator may do little to end a victim’s ordeal. They must remain vigilant and continually invest extra time, and money monitoring their financial lives,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
CATTON was previously prosecuted federally in 2002 for identity fraud and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.
Ray M. Mubarak Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Ray M. Mubarak, 55, of Knoxville, Tenn., pleaded guilty on May 18, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction with bank fraud proceeds. Sentencing has been set for 10:00 a.m., on September 28, 2015.
Mubarak faces a maximum of up to 130 years in prison, as well as supervised release following incarceration, restitutions, and fines. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Mubarak admitted that the loss to the banks resulting from the scheme was more than $1,000,000, but less than $2,500,000.
The plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court details the scheme to which Mubarak admitted, including providing false tax returns and financial statements to Pinnacle National Bank, SmartBank, and Bank of America in association with loans totaling in excess of $6,000,000. Mubarak further admitted to using loan proceeds for purposes other than those for which he represented the funds would be used, including paying gambling debts, making deposits to a personal stock trading account, and purchasing vehicles.
Agencies involved in the investigation leading to the indictment and guilty plea included the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau Investigation. The investigation and prosecution of Mubarak was coordinated with the Office of the District Attorney General, Sixth Judicial District. Matthew T. Morris, Assistant U.S. Attorney, represented the United States.
Pharmacist Found Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court of Misbranding and Fraud Offenses Arising from Internet Pharmacy SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that LENA LASHER, a licensed pharmacist, was found guilty in federal court of misbranding and fraud offenses arising from an Internet pharmacy scheme. LASHER was convicted on Friday, May 15, in Manhattan federal court after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
According to the Indictment, and Superseding Indictment, public filings, and evidence presented at trial:
From 2008 through late November 2012, LASHER, along with others, engaged in a scheme to dispense prescription drugs, including addictive pain medications, to customers who ordered them online, without meeting or consulting with a physician. Over the course of the scheme, LASHER, a licensed pharmacist who was the Pharmacist-In-Charge at Hellertown Pharmacy in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, and who supervised a second pharmacy, Palmer Pharmacy & Much More in Easton, Pennsylvania, dispensed and caused others to dispense hundreds of thousands of pain pills without valid prescriptions.
LASHER also directed employees at the two pharmacies she supervised to ship pills in vials with false or misleading labels. At LASHER’s direction, instructions on the labels for how often a customer should take certain drugs were often altered, and the descriptions on the labels regarding the quantity of pills in the pill vial were often inaccurate. She also directed employees to take pills that had been returned by customers or delivery services, remove the labels, and then to re-dispense the pills to other customers with new labels, without informing those new customers that they were receiving pills that had previously been dispensed to others. LASHER also instructed her employees to store pills without required information, such as a lot number or expiration date.
As part of her effort to conceal the nature of the Internet pharmacy business at both pharmacies, LASHER made false representations to multiple state boards of pharmacy and to an investigator with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. LASHER also instructed her employees to use code when talking about the Internet pharmacy scheme, telling them to refer to prescription drugs dispensed pursuant to prescriptions obtained over the Internet as “nursing home meds” and not to use the word “Internet” in describing the pharmacies’ business to walk-in customers or the United States Post Office.
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LASHER, 47, of High Bridge, New Jersey, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce and to misbrand prescription drugs while held for sale, with intent to defraud or mislead, which carries a maximum sentence of five years; one count of introducing misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce, with intent to defraud or mislead, which carries a maximum sentence of three years; one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. LASHER was acquitted of one count of witness tampering. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
LASHER, who is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2015 at 2 p.m., was arrested on November 29, 2012, along with Peter J. Riccio, the owner of Hellertown Pharmacy and Palmer Pharmacy & Much More, multiple physicians, and others involved in the Internet pharmacy scheme. Other than defendant Gergana Chervenkova, who remains at large abroad, and who is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, all defendants in the case have been convicted.
United States Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and expressed his appreciation for the assistance of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of State, and the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety, Division of Law, Professional Boards Prosecution Section.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Richenthal and Kristy J. Greenberg are in charge of the prosecution.15-127
Oregon Man Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Missouri to Engage in Illicit SexRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a LaGrande, Ore., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to traveling across states lines to Missouri to engage in illicit sexual activity with two minors, whom he believed were the daughters of an undercover law enforcement officer.
Abdul Lamont Gamble, 40, of LaGrande, Ore., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to the charge contained in an April 30, 2014, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Gamble admitted that he traveled from Oregon to Missouri between March 25 and April 9, 2014, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and a commercial sex act with a minor.
Gamble contacted an undercover law enforcement officer through an online social media site in October 2013 and offered to have sex with her fictitious 12-year-old and 15-year-old daughters. Gamble engaged in numerous conversations with the undercover detective through late 2013 and early 2014 via this social media site, email and text messages. Gamble described the specific sexual acts he intended on performing with and on the two minor females, for which he agreed to pay $250.
Gamble traveled to Kansas City, Mo., on a Greyhound bus and arrived on April 9, 2014. The undercover officer met him at the bus station. Gamble reconfirmed the sexual acts he intended on performing on and with the two minor girls.
Gamble and the undercover officer stopped at a CVS on Independence Avenue. Police officers arrested Gamble when he exited the car and began to approach the CVS.
Under federal statutes, Gamble is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Olshen Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud, Money Laundering in Connection with Fraud Scheme Involving Sports DrinkRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY – Randy Olshen, age 52, of Newport Beach, Calif., indicted by a federal grand jury in September on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with an investment fraud scheme, entered guilty pleas to money laundering and wire fraud Friday in federal court. At times relevant to the charges in the case, Olshen maintained a residence in Summit County, Utah.
Olshen was one of the founders and president of an entity known as Innovative Health Solutions, LLC (IHS), organized in 2008. IHS specialized in manufacturing and selling sports hydration drinks designed to boost energy and stamina. Olshen, in an effort to promote the growth of IHS, sought investors and made representations to encourage investments in the company.
As a part of the plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Olshen admitted that beginning around 2009 and continuing until about February 2013, he devised a scheme to get money and property from IHS investors through materially false representations and the omissions of material facts. He also admitted he diverted portions of the invested funds for purposes not disclosed to or authorized by investors.
For example, Olshen admitted in the plea agreement that he represented to victim investors that IHS had approximately $1.1 million in sales in 2009, when it had approximately $98,275 in sales in 2009. He represented that IHS had projected sales of more than $28 million in sales in 2012, when it had approximately $579,239 in sales in 2012. He also represented that the company had large receivable accounts with various national chains such as Costco, Rite Aid, CVS, and Food Lion. In fact, no such large receivable accounts were owed to IHS.
Olshen admitted he created two sets of IHS accounting records, one that accurately represented company finances and one that was provided to investors and potential investors; fabricated paperwork, such as sales records, to support his misrepresentations regarding the growth of IHS; failed to make numerous payments to creditors; paid a portion of investor funds to others as commissions for obtaining investments for IHS; that he personally declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy around October 18, 2011; and that he used IHS funds for his own personal benefit and expenses in excess of his reported salary. He concealed these material facts from investors as a part of his fraud scheme.
The loss to IHS victim investors resulting from his scheme is approximately $7 million. A final figure will be determined at sentencing. There are more than 50 victims.
The plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of 54 months in federal prison and 36 months of supervised release at the conclusion of the prison term. The sentence is subject to the approval of the court. Sentencing in the case is set for July 29, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.
The case is being investigated by special agents of the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Utah Division of Securities. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.
Mexican National Sentenced to 5 Years for Participating in a Brutal Family-Run Sex Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced that United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of Florida sentenced defendant Carmen Cadena, 48, a Mexican national, to serve five years in prison for her role in a brutal family-run sex trafficking organization. The defendant shall also be ordered to pay restitution and hearing is set on August 10, 2015 to determine the amount.
The defendant pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2015, for her role in furthering the criminal conspiracy to lure vulnerable, undocumented Mexican women and girls—some as young as 14 years old—into the United States on false promises of legitimate jobs. Members of the Cadena organization would then use force and violence, sexual assaults and threats to harm to the victims and their families to compel the victims to engage in prostitution in South Florida, 12 hours a day, six days a week and turn over the proceeds to the defendants in order to pay smuggling debts the defendants imposed. When victims ran away, members of the Cadena organization searched for them and subjected them to beatings and rapes upon capture.
Sixteen defendants were charged in a superseding indictment filed in 1998. Mexican authorities arrested Cadena and extradited her to the U.S. in December 2014. Five other family members have been convicted, including Cadena’s husband, Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to 15 years; Cadena’s uncle-in-law, Rogerio Cadena, who pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years; and three of Cadena’s brothers-in-law, Abel Cadena-Sosa, who was convicted in Mexico and sentenced to 24 years, and Hugo and Rafael Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty in 2002 and 2014, and were sentenced to five years and 15 years respectively.
Six other defendants previously pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the scheme, and one was convicted in state court for a murder outside a Cadena-run brothel.
“Today’s sentence marks the culmination of our long fight for justice over the past 16 years on behalf of the young women and girls whose lives were torn apart by the unspeakable violations they endured at the hands of their traffickers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The relentlessness of our efforts is rivaled only by the courage the survivors demonstrated in coming forward and partnering with us for over a decade to see the perpetrators brought to justice. We are humbled by their resilience and resolve, and we are unwavering in our commitment to combating modern-day slavery.”
“Since 1998, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked tirelessly with international, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to bring to justice sixteen defendants who preyed on vulnerable women and children through documented violence and horrific sexual abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “Today’s sentencing of Defendant Carmen Cadena allowed those who were exploited to bear witness to justice.”
“The sentencing of Carmela Cadena concludes a significant investigation of human trafficking and civil rights violations that included the investigative efforts and collaboration of several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office. “This investigation brought to an end a brutal family-run sex trafficking organization and helped raise awareness about human trafficking and involuntary servitude in the form of forced prostitution.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta and United States Attorney Ferrer praised the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies involved throughout the investigations and subsequent prosecutions over the years, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Pierce Police Department, Avon Park Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam McMichael and Trial Attorney Matthew Grady of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Mexican National Sentenced to 5 Years for Participating in a Brutal Family-Run Sex Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced that United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez of the Southern District of Florida sentenced defendant Carmen Cadena, 48, a Mexican national, to serve five years in prison for her role in a brutal family-run sex trafficking organization. The defendant shall also be ordered to pay restitution and hearing is set on August 10, 2015 to determine the amount.
The defendant pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2015, for her role in furthering the criminal conspiracy to lure vulnerable, undocumented Mexican women and girls—some as young as 14 years old—into the United States on false promises of legitimate jobs. Members of the Cadena organization would then use force and violence, sexual assaults and threats to harm to the victims and their families to compel the victims to engage in prostitution in South Florida, 12 hours a day, six days a week and turn over the proceeds to the defendants in order to pay smuggling debts the defendants imposed. When victims ran away, members of the Cadena organization searched for them and subjected them to beatings and rapes upon capture.
Sixteen defendants were charged in a superseding indictment filed in 1998. Mexican authorities arrested Cadena and extradited her to the U.S. in December 2014. Five other family members have been convicted, including Cadena’s husband, Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to 15 years; Cadena’s uncle-in-law, Rogerio Cadena, who pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years; and three of Cadena’s brothers-in-law, Abel Cadena-Sosa, who was convicted in Mexico and sentenced to 24 years, and Hugo and Rafael Cadena-Sosa, who pleaded guilty in 2002 and 2014, and were sentenced to five years and 15 years respectively.
Six other defendants previously pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the scheme, and one was convicted in state court for a murder outside a Cadena-run brothel.
“Since 1998, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked tirelessly with international, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to bring to justice sixteen defendants who preyed on vulnerable women and children through documented violence and horrific sexual abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “Today’s sentencing of Defendant Carmen Cadena allowed those who were exploited to bear witness to justice.”
“Today’s sentence marks the culmination of our long fight for justice over the past 16 years on behalf of the young women and girls whose lives were torn apart by the unspeakable violations they endured at the hands of their traffickers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The relentlessness of our efforts is rivaled only by the courage the survivors demonstrated in coming forward and partnering with us for over a decade to see the perpetrators brought to justice. We are humbled by their resilience and resolve, and we are unwavering in our commitment to combating modern-day slavery.”
“The sentencing of Carmela Cadena concludes a significant investigation of human trafficking and civil rights violations that included the investigative efforts and collaboration of several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office. “This investigation brought to an end a brutal family-run sex trafficking organization and helped raise awareness about human trafficking and involuntary servitude in the form of forced prostitution.”
United States Attorney Ferrer and Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta praised the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies involved throughout the investigations and subsequent prosecutions over the years, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Pierce Police Department, Avon Park Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam McMichael and Trial Attorney Matthew Grady of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
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.
Man Sentenced to 19 1/2 Years in Prison for Swindling Millions from Persons in Golf Course SchemeRead the Press Release
RENO, Nev. – A man who made false statements and used phony documents to solicit millions from victims who thought they were helping him purchase a golf course in Gardnerville, Nev., was sentenced today to 19½ years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Scott H. Summerhays, 56, currently in custody, but formerly of the South Lake Tahoe area, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks. Summerhays pleaded guilty in February 2014 to 14 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, two counts of identity theft, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
“If you are considering a financial arrangement with someone, be sure to check the veracity of any documents they provide you, as fraudulent documents are common and easy to create,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.
According to the court records, during 2008 to 2010, Summerhays represented to potential investors that he was purchasing the Genoa Lakes Golf Club located west of Gardnerville, Nev. for $17 million and needed a short term loan to complete the deal because his own money was tied up in a trust. Summerhays also represented to the potential investors that he solicited funds for oil and gas investments in Texas and owned over $30 million in Berkshire, Las Vegas Sands and MGM stocks. Summerhays showed some of the investors a fraudulent investment account statement. Summerhays also claimed that he was in partnership with Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Aldelson, and showed potential investors a partnership agreement containing the forged signature of Adelson. In reality, Summerhays had no investment portfolio, and Adelson never heard of Summerhays or had any partnerships with him. Using this scheme, Summerhays was able to convince 11 persons to loan him money for the golf course, totaling approximately $3.6 million. None of the investors were repaid and they lost all of the money they loaned Summerhays.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Rachow.
“The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.”
Los Angeles Man Who Produced Child Pornography by Photographing Girl While in Philippines Sentenced to Life in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man who was convicted of producing child pornography in the Philippines while being required to register as a sex offender due to his prior conviction for raping a 14-year-old girl was sentenced today to life without parole in federal prison.
Stanley Dan Reczko III, 50, who resided in the Koreatown District of Los Angeles, was sentenced today by United States District Judge George H. King, who in March found the defendant guilty of producing child pornography while being required to register as a sex offender.
“This defendant has a life-long history of violent behavior,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “He has received treatment and counseling, but in light of this case, the help offered to him appears to have had no effect. Even though he has previously served prison time for the rape of a minor, this punishment did not deter his behavior. In light of his recidivism, the life prison sentence is richly deserved.”
In the first part of a bifurcated trial, a federal jury in February found Reczko guilty of sexual exploitation by producing child pornography in the Philippines.
Reczko received the life sentence for the sexual exploitation charge, and he received a consecutive 10-year term for producing child pornography while being required to register as a sex offender.
Reczko has been in custody since 2007, when he was arrested after returning to the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“This sentence should serve as a warning to sexual predators who mistakenly believe they can escape justice by exploiting children overseas,” said Mark Selby, deputy special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “There can be no place for the abuse of foreign children by our citizens, and HSI will seek to vindicate the rights of those victims no matter how far they live from our shores. Fortunately, the sentence imposed today virtually assures that no additional children will be harmed by this defendant.”
Authorities began investigating Reczko in May 2007 after the minor victim handed over a CD containing child pornography to the International Justice Mission (IJM), a non-governmental organization working in the Philippines. IJM provided the CD, along with other evidence, to law enforcement officers working out of the U.S. Embassy in Manila. The evidence showed that Reczko had used the minor to produce eight series of child pornography, which included images of him and the victim engaging in sexual intercourse.
Reczko sexually, physically, emotionally, and mentally abused the victim for three years, according to prosecutors.
Release No. 15-047
Lakeland Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Wayne “Bam Bam” Broderick (39, Lakeland) to 20 years in federal prison for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty on February 24, 2015.
According to court documents, on February 21, 2014, the Lakeland Police Department (LPD) searched Broderick’s apartment in Lakeland and recovered crack cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia consistent with cooking, packaging, and selling crack cocaine, loaded firearms, including a Hi-Point .40 caliber pistol, a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver, a Browning 9mm pistol, approximately $881 in cash, other ammunition, and evidence of stolen identity refund fraud, including a ledger of stolen personal identifying information.
Again, on June 27, 2014, LPD conducted a search of Broderick’s residence after observing him selling narcotics from his doorway, and found him to be in possession of ammunition, marijuana, crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded Springfield Armory M1911 .45 semi-automatic pistol. Broderick had numerous prior convictions for drug trafficking offenses, and at least one crime of violence that qualified him as a career offender.
This case was investigated by the Lakeland Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.
Kennesaw Man Sentenced for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Shawnston Beaudoin has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.
“Producing child pornography is an unspeakable crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Beaudoin preyed on the vulnerable and innocent of our society for his own personal pleasure. This office’s Project Safe Childhood program is dedicated to searching out and prosecuting anyone who victimizes children to contribute to the child pornography market.”
“Those who collect and distribute child pornography victimize and exploit the children in those images again with each re-distribution. To have an individual such as Mr. Beaudoin, who was actually producing child pornography, off of our streets is a major step toward protecting our community’s children from those who would prey on them,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In February 2014, the FBI received information that Shawnston Beaudoin was collecting and distributing child pornography. On March 5, 2014, FBI agents executed federal search warrants at Beaudoin’s apartment and at a business that he managed in Kennesaw, Georgia. Beaudoin initially admitted to having child pornography but denied having any inappropriate contact with a child. He agreed to take a polygraph test to support his claim.
During the polygraph test, his answers to key questions indicated that he was being deceptive. At that time, he admitted to FBI agents that they would find homemade pornographic images of young girls on his computers. The forensics analysis of his computers revealed that he had personally produced pornographic images of three different children between 2005 and 2013.
Shawnston Beaudoin, 31, of Kennesaw, Georgia, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. Beaudoin was convicted on these charges on March 4, 2015, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
KC Man Charged with Bank Robbery after Fleeing Through Nearby HomeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man who tried to flee from police by breaking into a nearby home was charged in federal court today with robbing the Commerce Bank in the Brookside area on Saturday morning.
Frank L. White, 35, of Kansas City, was charged in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with one count of bank robbery.
Today’s criminal complaint alleges that White stole $1,971 from Commerce Bank, 6336 Brookside Place, Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday, May 16, 2015.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, White originally came into the bank that morning, approached a teller while she was helping a customer and asked when the bank closed. He then left the bank and returned about 10 or 15 minutes later. White approached a teller station while she was helping another customer, the affidavit says, and she told him to step back. Another teller told him they could help him in a moment. White came back to the first teller station, the affidavit says, and was fumbling with a white piece of lined notebook paper that he was not able to get open. The teller locked her bottom teller drawer. White allegedly told the teller not to press any buttons, but she activated the alarm. White allegedly demanded money, stating words to the effect of “give me all the money in the drawer, give me everything” and “give me all the 100’s.” The teller gave White all of the money in her top drawer, the affidavit says, and White left the bank.
Kansas City police officers spotted White walking quickly eastbound on 65th Street across Holmes, according to the affidavit. When White saw their unmarked car, he allegedly began to run through the back yard of a residence on Holmes. The officers pursued on foot, with several citizens showing them the direction where White was running.
As officers entered the back yard of a residence on East 65th Terrace, they saw a broken rear door window. The owner of the residence was in the front yard and pointed the direction White was running. The homeowner later told police that when White broke into his house, he stated several times, “I have a gun, give me the keys to your car.” The homeowner kept telling White, “No, get out of my house” and told him the police were coming. White ran out the front door without taking anything.
When the officers reached the back of another residence on East 65th Terrace, White was being taken into custody by other responding officers.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce E. Clark. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Justice Department Charges Owner of Indiana Mobile Home Park with Discrimination Against Families with ChildrenRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the corporate owner and agent of the Gentle Manor Estates, a 173-lot mobile home park located in Crown Point, Indiana, for discriminating against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, alleges that Gentle Manor Estates, LLC and John Townsend, the corporate owner and agent, respectively, of the Gentle Manor Estates, violated the Fair Housing Act by maintaining and enforcing a discriminatory policy of refusing to allow families with children to live at the mobile home park. The allegations are based on evidence generated by the department’s Fair Housing Testing Program, in which individuals pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices.
“For over 25 years, the Fair Housing Act has prohibited housing providers from discriminating against families with children,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to ensure that families with children have equal access to housing opportunities.”
The lawsuit seeks an order prohibiting the defendants from engaging in future unlawful discrimination. It also seeks the payment of a civil penalty and monetary damages for the individuals who were refused the opportunity to rent at Gentle Manor Estates because of familial status.
Individuals who may have information related to this lawsuit should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox 9994, or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected]. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.
The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations must still be proven in federal court.
Judge Sentences Felon to 7+ Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing WeaponRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 92 months imprisonment on his conviction of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Jarron Darvez Jackson, 31.
According to information presented to the court, On April 16, 2011, Jackson became involved in a physical altercation inside the McDonald’s restaurant on Sassafras Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. After the altercation, Jackson retrieved a Kimber .45 caliber handgun from his vehicle and shot at other individuals as they were driving away from the restaurant. Jackson was prohibited from firearm possession because of his prior criminal convictions.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Erie Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Jackson.
Justice Department Charges Owner of Indiana Mobile Home Park with Discrimination Against Families with ChildrenRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the corporate owner and agent of the Gentle Manor Estates, a 173-lot mobile home park located in Crown Point, Indiana, for discriminating against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, alleges that Gentle Manor Estates, LLC and John Townsend, the corporate owner and agent, respectively, of the Gentle Manor Estates, violated the Fair Housing Act by maintaining and enforcing a discriminatory policy of refusing to allow families with children to live at the mobile home park. The allegations are based on evidence generated by the department’s Fair Housing Testing Program, in which individuals pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices.
“For over 25 years, the Fair Housing Act has prohibited housing providers from discriminating against families with children,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to ensure that families with children have equal access to housing opportunities.”
The lawsuit seeks an order prohibiting the defendants from engaging in future unlawful discrimination. It also seeks the payment of a civil penalty and monetary damages for the individuals who were refused the opportunity to rent at Gentle Manor Estates because of familial status.
Individuals who may have information related to this lawsuit should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox 9994, or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected]. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.
The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations must still be proven in federal court.
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Individual Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
San Juan, Puerto Rico – On May 13, 2015, defendant Miguel A. Merced-Torres was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 72 months (six years), followed by three years of Supervised Release Term by US District Court Judge Jay A. García-Gregory, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.
On April 24, 2014, a federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment charging the defendant for the use of interstate wired communications to commit fraud and money laundering. Miguel A. Merced-Torres plead guilty on September 2, 2014. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.
Merced-Torres was the incorporator and resident agent of MM Technology Wireless Group, a corporation registered with the Puerto Rico State Department since June 9, 2009. From on or about July, 2006, to on or about February, 2013, the defendant devised a scheme and artifice to defraud other persons, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.
Through the scheme Merced-Torres obtained money from investors by falsely representing himself as a representative of the Federal Communications Commission, hereinafter “FCC.” Merced-Torres falsely promised said investors that they were going to receive financial benefits and profits from their investments in cellular tower administration contracts. The defendant would convince victims to invest money by falsely representing that the FCC was actively seeking individuals to invest money in exchange for the FCC’s issuance of cellular tower administration contracts, which would render considerable profit for the investors.
Merced-Torres requested and received bank wire transfers totaling the sum of approximately $15,000,000 from all the victims.
Miguel Merced-Torres is facing a money judgment of $9,089,777.37. During a two day hearing the victims addressed the Court on the monetary losses they suffered and how it affected their lives. The Court reserved judgment and will impose restitution on a later date. Merced-Torres is also facing a forfeiture allegation of: a land lot located at Turabo Ward in the municipality of Caguas; a residential apartment located at Islabella Condominium in Caguas; a land lot located at Tomas de Castro Ward in Caguas; an apartment at Villas del Mar Condominium in the municipality of Cabo Rojo; a land lot located at La Serranía Urbanization in Caguas; a lot located in Turabo Gardens Urbanization in Caguas; a land lot located at Tejas Ward in the municipality of Las Piedras; a land lot located in San Lorenzo Valley Urbanization in the municipality of San Lorenzo; and a house located on Calle Rufo Ramirez, Barrio Celada, in the municipality of Gurabo.
“This individual defrauded investors who trusted him with their savings and he stole money from them for personal gain. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute financial crimes and protect the citizens of Puerto Rico,” said United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “Although this sentence can’t by itself undo the damage suffered by the many victims of this fraudulent scheme, justice was done.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Olga Castellón.
Head Administrator of Online Bulletin Board Sentenced for Promoting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A German citizen was sentenced today to six years in prison for operating a web-based bulletin board for child pornography.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Postal Inspector in Charge Gary Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Washington, D.C., Division, Postal Inspector in Charge Robert Wemyss of the USPIS Los Angeles Division and Special Agent in Charge Claude Arnold of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Los Angeles.
Klaus Von Der Heide, 51, of Berlin, pleaded guilty on July 15, 2014, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiring to promote child pornography, one count of promoting child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography.
According to his plea agreement, from April 2011 through February 2014, Von Der Heide and others conspired to operate Cam-Foundation, a secure web-based bulletin board that traded images of child pornography, mostly in the form of self-produced webcam images. Members could join this group only upon invitation and after approval by the group’s administrators, including Von Der Heide. As of February 2014, 719 members belonged to Cam-Foundation, which was hosted on computer servers under Von Der Heide’s control and located in Germany.
Von Der Heide, as the lead administrator, maintained Cam-Foundation and controlled the design, creation and management of the site, and oversaw its day-to-day operations. Von Der Heide published rules and guidelines regarding membership, posting and accessing images on the site and payment to belong to the site. Von Der Heide solicited fees from Cam-Foundation members to be paid directly to him in order to cover the cost of a new cloud storage system that he controlled. Von Der Heide encouraged Cam-Foundation members to meet him in person within the United States to personally hand him money for Cam-Foundation membership. He traveled to the United States to collect the money and was arrested by federal law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the USPIS Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles Divisions and the HSI Los Angeles in collaboration with the HSI-led Orange County, California, Child Exploitation Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jennifer Toritto Leonardo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).
This 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 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.
Hartford Crack Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSHUA EASTERLING, also known as “Skeet,” “Squash” and “SQ,” 28, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
This matter stems from “Operation Vinefield,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in Hartford’s North End. As a result of the nine-month investigation, 38 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine and the unlawful possession and dealing of firearms in and around Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the investigation revealed EASTERLING controlled the distribution of crack cocaine in Hartford’s lower Vine Street area. EASTERLING distributed crack to other street-level dealers, and also sold the drug directly to customers.
During the investigation, EASTERLING’s drug trafficking organization was responsible for distributing more than six kilograms of crack.
EASTERLING’s criminal history includes several felony convictions.
EASTERLING has been detained since his arrest on February 23, 2012, and he pleaded guilty on February 15, 2013.
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
Georgia Man Sentenced to Prison in Wire Fraud Scheme That Bilked Airlines by Obtaining Free ‘Non-Rev’ Tickets for Non-EmployeesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Georgia man who fraudulently booked airline reservations by pretending to be a flight crew member was sentenced today to six months in federal prison, as well as six months of home detention.
Gilbert Myers Jr., 38, of Atlanta, was sentenced this afternoon in Los Angeles by United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Pregerson ordered Myers to pay $91,660 in restitution to the victim airlines.
Myers pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting that he orchestrated a scheme to defraud air carriers by having travelers illegally board aircrafts while pretending to be employees of other airlines. In exchange for arranging their travel as “non-rev” employee travelers, Myers typically charged approximately $2,000 for one year of unlimited free flights.
Myers fraudulently booked hundreds of flights on victim airlines that include AirTran Airways, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and United Airlines.
The fraudulent travelers utilized Myers’ services to fly in and out of Los Angeles County airports by pretending to be in-flight crew members employed by other airlines. To obtain boarding passes and stand-by tickets (for which airline employees pay little or nothing, hence non-revenue), Myers called the victim airline’s reservation call center and gave the victim airline’s representative the name of a traveler, the airline he supposedly worked for, a bogus employee identification number, and a date of hire. Myers typically lied to the victim airline and said he worked on a flight crew for another airline, according to court documents.
Myers advised the fraudulent travelers to avoid detection by dressing appropriately and responding to questions about their employment at another airline. With the fraudulently obtained boarding pass and their real photo identification, the fraudulent traveler went through Transportation Security Administration security screening. The fraudulent travelers boarded planes listed as employees of other airlines. All of the travelers were subject to full security screenings by the Transportation Security Administration.
In the plea agreement, Myers admitted to several specific, fraudulent booking calls. As part of the conspiracy, Myers acknowledges that he “fraudulently booked these and hundreds of other flights with victim airlines.”
The fair market value of the fraudulently obtained plane tickets was more than $277,000, and attorneys in the case agreed that the applicable amount of restitution is approximately $91,660.
All of the victim airlines fully cooperated in the investigation.
Myers was arrested in July 2014 without incident at a Beverly Hills hotel after agreeing to meet a potential traveler who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
The case against Myers is the result of an investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Release No. 15-048
Garden City Resident Pleads Guilty to ThreateningRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA – David Nolan Evans, 41, of Garden City, Georgia pled guilty last week before United States District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. for threatening to blow up the State Probation Office in Savannah.
Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing revealed that Evans, who was on state probation at the time, called the 911 center on December 22, 2014 and threatened to use an explosive device to kill people at the State Probation Office in Savannah. As a result of his call, the Probation Office was evacuated. Later in January 2015, Evans constructed a fake bomb that he planted in a rest room at the State Probation Office. When questioned by law enforcement, Evans admitted that his threatening actions were motivated by a desire to get out of probation reporting requirements.
Evans now faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, 3 years supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Evans’ sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the United States Probation Office completes a presentence investigation.
The Indictment arose out of a joint investigation by the FBI, the ATF, the Savannah Probation Office and Parole, and the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Charlie Bourne is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. Any further questions should be directed to First Assistant James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Fourth MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty in Violent Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Carlos Beltran-Flores, aka “Joker,” age 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including murder, attempted murder, assault, extortion and robbery; and carrying, using and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Alan Goldberg of the Takoma Park Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rival gangs.
According to his plea agreement and court documents, from 2009 until at least 2013, Beltran-Flores was a member of the Peajes Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. Beltran-Flores and MS-13 members committed crimes to further the interests of the gang, including murder, assault, robbery, extortion by threat of violence, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and witness retaliation.
Beltran-Flores admitted that on September 3, 2010, he and another MS-13 member assaulted and robbed a victim in the area of New Hampshire Avenue in Hyattsville. On November 15, 2010, Beltran-Flores and other MS-13 members robbed two other victims in the area of Jamestown Road in Hyattsville, and one member stabbed the victims.
On January 10, 2011, Beltran-Flores and other MS-13 members murdered a person they believed was a rival gang member, and attempted to murder another purported rival gang member, in the parking lot of the former Shoppers Food Warehouse on University Boulevard in Hyattsville. The group repeatedly punched, kicked, and stabbed the victims, one of which survived the attack. Beltran-Flores helped plan the attack and afterwards, hid the murder weapons in a nearby park.
On January 13, 2011, after attending a Peajes clique meeting at which a member criticized other MS-13 members for not committing enough violent crimes, Beltran-Flores, co-defendant Wilmer Argueta, and other MS-13 members got into a mini-van driven by co-defendant Roni Arriola-Palma. Near the Fort Totten Metro Station, they saw a person they believed was an associate of a rival gang. Argueta and other MS-13 members attacked the victim and dragged him back into the mini-van. Beltran-Flores and others continued to assault him, at times attempting to use a seat belt to strangle the victim. Arriola-Palma eventually parked near a dead end in the vicinity of Chillum Manor Road. Beltran-Flores, Argueta, and others kicked, stabbed and choked the victim. They forcefully stripped the victim of all of his heavy winter clothing in order to stab him. After assaulting the victim near the mini-van, they dragged the victim into the woods, where they left him for dead, and fled. The victim survived the attack.
From March to November, 2011, members of the Peajes clique threatened to kill a fellow MS-13 gang member unless he paid them. Beltran-Flores arranged the extortion payments using Facebook and text messaging to relay the extortion demands to the victim. Beltran-Flores picked up several extortion payments, and sent other members to pick up payments on his behalf.
From September to November 2011 and while incarcerated in the Prince George’s County Corrections Facility, Argueta ordered MS-13 members to kill a victim who planned to testify against him in state court. Acting on this order to kill, Beltran-Flores and two others drove to the victim’s house on November 15, 2011, and spotted the victim in front of his house. Beltran-Flores shot at the victim several times from the moving car, striking the victim once in the chest. A short car chase ensued during which Beltran-Flores threw the gun out of the car. He was arrested with the two other MS-13 members. The victim survived the attack.
Beltran-Flores and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Beltran-Flores will be sentenced to between 20 and 40 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus has scheduled sentencing for November 13, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. Beltran-Flores remains detained pending sentencing.
Francisco Hernandez, age 22, Roni Arriola-Palma, age 25, and Wilmer Argueta, age 23, all of Hyattsville, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the racketeering conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on June 29, June 30, and August 4, 2015, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County and Montgomery County Police Departments, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Takoma Park Police Department, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also recognized the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau, Lindsay Eyler Kaplan, and Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting this case.
Four Persons Charged with Eastern Iowa Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Shiloh Palmer, 22, Andrew Palmer, 24, Elizabeth Olinger, 26, and Peter Olinger, 42, from Mechanicsville, Iowa, each have been charged with four counts of bank robbery and related offenses. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about April 6, 2015, defendants robbed, and/or aided and abetted the robbery of, the Exchange State Bank of Martelle, Iowa. The Indictment alleges defendants either personally, or aided and abetted, the theft of over $30,000 from an employee of the bank through force, violence, and intimidation; used, carried and brandished two shotguns in furtherance of the bank robbery, or aided and abetted the same; and used fire to commit a federal felony offense, or aided and abetted the same.
If convicted on all charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1 million fine, $400 in special assessments, and 16 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
All four individuals appeared yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids and were held without bond. Their next appearance will be a detention hearing set for May 20, 2015, at 9 a.m.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the FBI, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa DCI, the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Lisbon Police Department, the Mt. Vernon Police Department, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the Mechanicsville Police Department, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-0047-LRR.
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Former Faculty Member at UW Business School Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Connection with ‘Ponzi’ SchemeRead the Press Release
A Seattle man who operated an investment advisory business for more than 20 years, pleaded guilty to wire fraud today in U.S. District Court in Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. SATYEN CHATTERJEE, a/k/a Satyen Chattopadhyay, 65, owned and operated Strategic Capital Management, Inc. from 1992 until the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions ordered it to cease operating illegally in October 2013. CHATTERJEE, who once taught at the University of Washington Business School, admitted engaging in a scheme to defraud investors between 2007 and 2013. Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly on August 20, 2015.
According to records filed in the case and with the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the investigation revealed that at least five victims were defrauded of more than $600,000. CHATTERJEE convinced various investors to make investments with him in what he represented were fixed rate securities. But in fact CHATTERJEE transferred the funds to his own bank accounts, used the money for his own expenses, or lost it as a day trader in the stock market. CHATTERJEE also solicited and accepted investments in a nutritional supplement company called Metamune, Inc, but instead of actually using the money for the nutritional supplement company, CHATTERJEE used the money for his own expenses or to pay off prior investors in the fixed rate securities scheme.
For one investor CHATTERJEE created a false account statement making the investor believe his investment was secure. In 2011, CHATTERJEE sent a series of lulling emails to some clients falsely indicating that long time investment associates had defaulted on agreements he had with them, and blaming them for losses in the investments.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend no more than 63 months in prison for CHATTERJEE. However, Judge Zilly is free to sentence CHATTERJEE up to the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin W. Arnold and Special Assistant United States Attorney Robert Kondrat. Mr. Kondrat is an attorney with DFI.
Former Chief Clerk of the Chatham CountyRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA – Former Chief Clerk of the Chatham County Probate Court, Kim H. Birge, 61, has been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Savannah on charges of mail fraud and federal program fraud.
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, between January 2011 and November 2014, Birge embezzled and stole more than $700,000 from the Probate Court’s bank accounts. Birge would deposit fees and conservatorship funds into the Court’s bank accounts, but would later write checks payable to cash out of those accounts for her personal benefit. In addition, Birge forged the signatures of conservators or their attorneys to create false documentation of conservatorship money being spent or disbursed.
Birge faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release on each of the four mail fraud charges, and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release on the federal program fraud charge. An indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian T. Rafferty and Scarlett S. Nokes are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. Any questions should be directed to First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Former Bank of America Executive Sentenced to Serve 26 Months in Prison for Role in Conspiracy and Fraud Involving Investment Contracts for Municipal Bond ProceedsRead the Press Release
A former Bank of America executive was sentenced today for his participation in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced today.
Phillip D. Murphy, the former managing director of Bank of America’s municipal derivatives group from 1998 to 2002, was sentenced to serve 26 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of North Carolina.
On Feb. 10, 2014, Murphy pleaded guilty to participating in multiple fraud conspiracies and schemes with various financial institutions and brokers from as early as 1998 until 2006. Bank of America and other financial institutions, acting as “providers,” offered a certain type of contract – known as an investment agreement – to state, county and local governments and agencies, and not-for-profit entities, throughout the United States. These public entities sought to invest money from a variety of sources, primarily the proceeds of municipal bonds that they had issued to raise money for, among other things, public projects. Public entities typically hire a broker to assist them in investing their money and to conduct a competitive bidding process to determine the winning provider.
“Individual accountability is the cornerstone of protecting the integrity of our financial markets,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement Program. “This sentence is a result of our continued resolve to vigorously prosecute bank executives whose greed and illegal schemes undermine our free and fair financial markets.”
According to court documents, Murphy conspired with employees of Rubin/Chambers Dunhill Insurance Services Inc., also known as CDR Financial Products, a broker of municipal contracts, and others. Murphy also pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to make false entries in the reports and statements originating from his desk, which were sent to bank management. Murphy conspired with CDR and others to increase the number and profitability of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts awarded to Bank of America. Murphy won investment agreements through CDR’s manipulation of the bidding process in obtaining losing bids from other providers, which is explicitly prohibited by U.S. Treasury regulations. As a result, various providers won investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts at artificially determined prices. Murphy also submitted intentionally losing bids for certain investment agreements and other contracts when requested, and, on occasion, agreed to pay or arranged for kickbacks to be paid to CDR and other co-conspirator brokers.
In conjunction with the bid rigging, Murphy and his co-conspirators submitted numerous intentionally false certifications that were relied upon by both municipalities and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These false certifications misrepresented that the bidding process had been conducted in a competitive manner that was in conformance with U.S. Treasury regulations. These false certifications caused municipalities to award contracts to Bank of America and other providers based on false and misleading information. The false certifications also impeded and obstructed the ability of the IRS to collect revenue owed to the U.S. Treasury.
“We trust those in positions of leadership and power to do the right thing when it comes to taking care of our money,” said Chief Richard Weber of the IRS’s Criminal Investigation. “When that trust is broken through these types of criminal activities, than those individuals need to be held accountable. Today's sentencing reflects our commitment to ensuring fairness for those engaged in these types of investments.”
“By knowingly exploiting vulnerabilities in the bidding process, Murphy ignored policies put in place to allow for the ethical distribution of municipal bond proceeds,” said Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “In the end, he brokered a deal that served his own best interests. Today’s sentence is proof of our continued determination to root out those whose business practices contribute to the deterioration of healthy competition in the municipal bidding process.”
Including Murphy, 17 individuals and one corporation have been convicted or pleaded guilty as a result of the Antitrust Division’s municipal bonds investigation.
The sentence announced today resulted from an investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the FBI and IRS-CI. The division also coordinated its investigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of North Carolina provided valuable assistance in this matter.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging and related offenses in any financial market should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Office at 212-335-8000, the FBI at 212-384-5000, the IRS-CI at 212-436-1761, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.
Former Bakersfield Real Estate Agent Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Arlene Jeanette Mojardin, 32, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to two years and six months in prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in Bakersfield, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, from 2007 to 2010, Mojardin conspired with others to use straw buyers to purchase residential properties in Bakersfield. They paid straw buyers to purchase properties developed by Jara Brothers Investments (JBI) and Pershing Partners LLC and funded the purchases using loans they obtained based on false and fraudulent loan applications. The loan applications contained false statements concerning the straw buyers’ employment status, income, assets, intent to occupy the properties as their personal residences, and the source for the down payments for the purchase of the properties. The conspirators concealed from the lenders that the property developers funded some down payments. They submitted false supporting documentation to lenders such as false and altered bank account statements purporting to show that the straw buyers had high bank account balances, false verifications of the straw buyers’ bank account funds, false verifications of rent purporting to be from the straw buyers’ landlords, false pay stubs, and false verifications of employment.
Mojardin was a licensed real estate agent and handled many of the real estate transactions in furtherance of the conspiracy. She was also employed at relevant times at JBI, was a property buyer from Pershing Partners on at least two of the real estate transactions in the conspiracy, and obtained loans based on false and fraudulent information. Mojardin received proceeds from the conspiracy including payments for purchasing property as a nominee buyer and payments for acting as the real estate agent on many of the other transactions in the conspiracy. Mojardin admitted she caused lenders approximately $3,713,600 in losses due to her role in the conspiracy.
This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk E. Sherriff, Henry Z. Carbajal III, and Megan A. S. Richards are prosecuting the case.
Co-defendant Antonio Perez-Marcial was sentenced on May 12, 2014, to three years and 10 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Co-defendant Candace Gonzales previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud, and her sentencing is set for June 8, 2015. Co-defendant Ricardo Salinas previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud, and his sentencing is set for June 29, 2015. Co-defendant Melissa Jara pleaded guilty to wire fraud and her sentencing is set for June 22, 2015. Co-defendants Eliseo and Sergio Jara previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud, and their sentencing hearings are set for June 22, 2015. Co-defendants Lucia and Joseph Chavez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud and their sentencing hearings are set for July 20, 2015.
The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Erik Weinmann Sentenced to 21 Months for Robbery of Merchants Bank in ColchesterRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Erik Weinmann, 31, of Newport, Vermont was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for robbing a Merchants Bank in Colchester, Vermont in July 2014. U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered that Weinmann receive a two-year period of supervised release following the term of imprisonment. The Court ordered Weinmann to surrender to serve his sentence on June 23, 2015.
According to court records, on July 25, 2014, Weinmann entered the Merchants Bank on Bessette Drive in Colchester and gave a demand note to a bank teller. The note indicated that the robber had a gun and demanded money. The bank teller gave Weinmann $4,770 in cash and he left the bank. The Colchester Police Department apprehended Weinmann minutes later at the nearby Visiting Nurse Association. At the time of his arrest, Weinmann was in possession of the cash and a toy gun. Upon his arrest, Weinmann admitted to robbing the bank.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colchester Police Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Doyle. Weinmann was represented by Michael L. Desautels, Esq., the Federal Defender for the District of Vermont.
Erie Man Sentenced for Violating Federal Gun LawsRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 4 years probation, 24 months home detention and ordered to forfeit firearms, destructive devices and explosive materials on his conviction of violating federal gun laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Gerald Szymanowski, 67.
According to information presented to the court, on or about June 19, 2014, Szymanowski possessed approximately 38 unregistered firearms, including machineguns, silencers and destructive devices not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer record and manufactured approximately 372 devices of varying sizes containing explosive materials.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone commented on the seriousness of the offense, but imposed the sentence on Szymanowski primarily because of Szymanowski’s frail health.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Szymanowski.
Court of Appeals Upholds Edison Burgos-Montes ConvictionRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On May 13, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit submitted a 57 page opinion affirming the conviction of Edison Burgos-Montes, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
Edison Burgos-Montes appealed from his conviction for two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of murder. The latter stemmed from the disappearance of Burgos-Montes’ girlfriend – Madelin Semidey-Morales – shortly after Burgos-Montes learned that she had been acting as a government informant. Burgos-Montes challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, the denial of several pre-trial motions to suppress evidence, and a number of other district court actions before and during trial.
In upholding the jury’s verdict, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals found Burgos-Montes’ arguments unpersuasive and, thus, affirmed his conviction.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico congratulates all the prosecutors and agents who worked tirelessly in the investigation and prosecution of Burgos-Montes, with great success,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The appeal was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco A. Besosa, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Appellate Division.
Colorado Liquor Store Owner Pleads Guilty to Failing to Report $3.2 Million in Income to the IrsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Alan Timothy Hershey, age 50, of Gilcrest, Colorado, pled guilty last week before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion, United States Attorney John Walsh, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert R. Garza announced. Judge Arguello is scheduled to sentence Hershey on August 25, 2015. Hershey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on July 3, 2014 along with co-conspirator Renee Molinar. Molinar plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States on May 7, 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2015.
According to information contained in the indictment and the plea agreements, Johnstown Liquor is a retail liquor store located in Johnstown, Colorado. In March of 2001, Hershey transferred the store to co-conspirator Molinar. They concealed from the IRS that Hershey retained true ownership and control of the store.
They used a "Keystroke" point of sale record-keeping system at the store which was connected to the store's cash registers and accurately recorded the business's cash, check, and credit card receipts. At Hershey's direction, Molinar would remove a certain amount of the cash receipts before preparing the deposit slips and give that cash to Hershey. To conceal the existence of the cash receipts that had been removed, they used a second set of books. Hershey directed an unindicted co-conspirator to make entries into a separate record-keeping system (QuickBooks system) for this purpose. They also used the check-cashing business operated by Johnstown Liquor, which required the store to have a large amount of cash on hand, to conceal the true amount of the business's cash receipts.
Hershey willfully filed no federal income tax returns for the entire period of the conspiracy, (for tax years 2001 through 2011), and made no payments of income taxes to the IRS. To conceal the gross receipts they were skimming from the store, Hershey used nominees to act as purchasers, and bought two other liquor stores (Liquor Plus in Greeley, and Gilcrest Liquor in Gilcrest) and a number of houses with the cash skimmed from Johnstown Liquor’s gross receipts. Hershey controlled the operations of the stores, and he and Molinar collected the rents from the houses. Hershey also ran Corona’s and More, a liquor store in Bennett, Colorado. He failed to pay federal taxes on any of the four stores’ $3,223.027 taxable income.
As part of the fraud, many employees were paid “off the books” in cash wages. Any employees paid entirely in cash were issued no Forms W-2. Those who were paid partly in cash and partly by check received Forms W-2 reflecting only the payments made by check. To ensure that the IRS would not discover this deceit, Hershey instructed the employees who were paid in cash not to file tax returns.
Johnstown Liquor was required to collect state sales taxes on its sales of beverages, file monthly sales tax returns, and to pay those taxes monthly to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Hershey directed the unindicted co-conspirator to create the business's monthly state sales tax returns using the understated sales figures from the QuickBooks records. Johnstown Liquor collected sales tax on each sale, but failed to pay $440,000 of what was collected to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The total restitution owed by Hershey in this case is $1,777,183, consisting of $1,337,183 owed to the IRS for all federal taxes owed by Hershey for tax years 2001- 2011 and $440,000 owed to the Colorado Department of Revenue for state sales taxes collected by Johnstown Liquor from 2001 through 2010. Molinar’s restitution is based on the unpaid federal taxes related to Johnstown Liquor and the sales tax collected by Johnstown Liquor and not remitted to the state, or $1,464,952.
Hershey and Molinar each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross loss or twice the gross gain from the offense. Hershey also pled guilty to two counts of income tax evasion, each of which carries a penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $100,000
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Special Enforcement Program of the Internal Revenue Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Kaufman.
Clermont Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that Aaron Michael Murray (22, Clermont) has pleaded guilty to transporting child pornography over the Internet. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 23, 2015, in Orlando.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers in Texas executed a search warrant at a residence and discovered child pornography on a computer that was used by a minor child. Further investigation revealed that the child had received images depicting child pornography from an individual in Florida. This individual, who was subsequently identified as Murray, had portrayed himself to be a minor during online conversations with the child in Texas.
A search warrant was executed at Murray’s home, and a laptop computer and iPod Touch were analyzed by the FBI. Online chat messages sent by Murray, posing as a child, were recovered, along with at least 250 images and videos depicting child pornography. Evidence obtained from his email account showed that Murray had sent at least 246 images of child pornography to other users, including several that depicted young boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas (Texas) Police Department, and the Carrollton (Texas) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown and Assistant United States Attorney Bryon R. Aven.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Cibola County Woman Sentenced to 51 Months for Conviction on Federal Heroin and Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rachel Chavez Basurto, 53, of Grants, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Basurto also was ordered to pay a $13,133.33 fine.
Basurto was arrested in March 2013, on a criminal complaint charging her with heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Basurto subsequently was indicted and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to court filings, Basurto was arrested on March 5, 2013, after law enforcement officers executed a consensual search at her residence and seized 94.1 net grams of heroin, 11.5 grams of actual methamphetamine, drug trafficking paraphernalia, and more than $28,000 in cash.
Basurto entered a guilty plea to the two-count indictment on March 4, 2014, without the benefit of a plea agreement.
On March 22, 2014, only eighteen days after Basurto entered her guilty plea in this case and while she was on conditions of release pending her sentencing hearing, Basurto sold heroin to an individual who was working under the supervision of the Grants Police Department. On March 27, 2014, Basurto again sold heroin to the same individual. Thereafter, Basurto’s conditions of release were revoked and she has been in federal custody since that time.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Grants Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn W.Y. Wang and Linda Mott.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
California Woman Sentenced to 192 Months in Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering CaseRead the Press Release
POCATELLO - Reynalda Estrada-Gutierrez, 38, of Bakersfield, California, was sentenced today to 192 months in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Estrada-Gutierrez to forfeit $92,880 in cash proceeds of the charged offenses, and imposed a $500 fine. Judge Winmill further ordered Estrada-Gutierrez to turn over a firearm she possessed in connection with her crimes, and to forfeit her residence, which was acquired with drug trafficking proceeds and used to launder money. Judge Winmill ordered Estrada-Gutierrez to serve five years of supervised release if she is not deported to Mexico once she has completed her prison term. She pleaded guilty on December 9, 2014.
According to court records, Estrada-Gutierrez distributed just over 900 grams of methamphetamine in the Burley, Idaho, area between April and November 2013. During the same time period, she arranged to be paid for the methamphetamine through cash deposits and wire transfers into various bank accounts. Estrada-Gutierrez’s codefendants have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking and money laundering activities.
Codefendant Angelina Nava was sentenced January 15, 2015, to 28 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Codefendant Porfirio Gutierrez was sentenced on March 10, 2015, to 90 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Codefendant Raquel Rios was sentenced on November 18, 2014, to 27 months in prison. The last codefendant, Araxy Suarez, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello on June 2, 2015.
The case was investigated by the Minidoka and Cassia County Sheriffs’ Offices and Idaho State Police, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Burlington Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison for Drug Dealing and Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that, on May 18, 2015, Daniel Ayala, 24, of Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to charges that he conspired to distribute heroin, cocaine base, and marijuana, and conspired to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered that Ayala serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
According to court records, Ayala sold drugs in the Burlington area from approximately April 2012 until his arrest on August 4, 2014. When he was arrested on August 4, 2014, Ayala was using his apartment on Spruce Street in Burlington as a base for drug dealing. When law enforcement searched that apartment, they found cocaine packaged for sale, a loaded semi-automatic handgun, and digital scales, among other evidence. At the time of the search, Ayala shared the apartment with his girlfriend and the couple’s young daughter.
For his crimes, Ayala faced a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison on each count. The United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are advisory, recommended that Ayala receive a prison term between 57 and 71 months. In determining that a more lenient sentence was appropriate in this case, Judge Sessions considered Ayala’s difficult childhood and his lack of a serious criminal record, among other factors.
Acting United States Attorney Eugenia A.P. Cowles commended the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the Vermont Drug Task Force, the Burlington Police Department, and the South Burlington Police Department for their coordinated efforts in this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Doherty, Jr. Ayala is represented by Steven Barth of the Federal Public Defender’s Office.
Brothers Plead Guilty in Cocaine Distribution SchemeRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - Two residents of Erie, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal drug laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Levonne Rowan, 32, and Dywon Rowan, 31, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the Rowans were arrested after ordering 3.5 kilograms of cocaine in exchange for $142,800. The cash was seized from the Rowans when they arrived in Edinboro, Pennsylvania to purchase the cocaine.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for August 31, 2015. The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the Rowans on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
A federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Levonne and Dywon Rowan. The task force is headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations and is comprised of members drawn from the Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Organized Crime Section, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Brookfield Physician Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Distributing Prescription NarcoticsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle, announced that on May 6, 2015, Jerry Yee (age: 82) a former Brookfield physician was sentenced in federal court to one year and a day in prison for illegally distributing prescription narcotics. Yee who was a doctor of osteopathic medicine, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of illegally attempting to distribute controlled substances by issuing prescriptions for narcotics outside of his professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
As a physician, Yee was authorized to issue prescriptions for narcotics but only for legitimate medical purposes. Yee, however, issued prescriptions in the names of individuals who were not his patients and who he had never examined, let alone treated. In some instances, Yee issued prescriptions in the names of fictitious individuals and provided the prescriptions to third parties. Based on this conduct, Yee was charged with 15 specific instances of illegally issuing prescriptions for controlled substances and pleaded guilty to two representative counts.
In December 2013, after the allegations against Yee came to light, Yee surrendered his license to practice medicine.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew L. Jacobs.
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Brockport Investment Advisor Pleads Guilty to Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Eduardo Galan, 64, of Brockport, NY, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. The combined charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that Galan owned and controlled a financial services business, S&G Unlimited Services, in Brockport. The defendant was a registered securities broker until October 2008, at which time he was barred from the industry. From January 2008 to March 2013, Galan engaged in a Ponzi scheme. The defendant promised investors that he would use their money to broker private mortgage transactions, but instead used it to repay earlier investors and cover personal and business expenses. In total, he defrauded 18 investors out of $821,912 before the fraud was discovered. As part of the plea deal, Galan also admitted that he owes other clients money as well, and agreed to pay the investment fraud victims and his other clients a total of $1,098,567.26.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-In-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 2, 2015, at 10:00, before Judge Geraci.
Brian Krzeczowski Sentenced to Twenty-Four Years in Prison for Child Pornography ProductionRead the Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Brian Lee Krzeczowski, 42, of Dayton, Tenn., has been convicted and sentenced by the Honorable Harry S. Mattice, U.S. District Judge, to serve 292 months in prison followed by a five year term of supervised release. Krzeczowski pleaded guilty in December 2014, to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with production of child pornography.
The indictment and subsequent conviction of Krzeczowski was the result of a year-long investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Rhea County Sheriff’s Department, and Gallatin Tennessee Police Department. The investigation began when a young woman reported to the Gallatin Police that when she was 16 years old, Krzeczowski, a man with whom she had had a romantic relationship over the internet, had coerced her into taking sexually explicit pictures of herself and sending them to him. After they broke off their online relationship, Krzeczowski posted some of the sexually explicit photos of her on her Facebook page. The FBI, along with an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Officer from the Gallatin Police Department, discovered after searching Krzeczowski’s computer that there was at least one other minor victim who had sent sexually explicit images of herself to Krzeczowski.
Assistant United States Attorney Terra Bay represented the United States.
Biddeford Man Sentenced to Almost 6 Years for Heroin and Crack Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
Contact: Daniel J. Perry
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Garrett Griffin, age 25, of Biddeford, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to 70 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, a/k/a “crack” cocaine and heroin. He pled guilty to the charges on January 29, 2015.
According to court records, in 2014, Griffin distributed heroin and crack cocaine in the Lewiston area. Agents learned of a specific delivery that Griffen was to make, intercepted him when he arrived to make the delivery, and seized from him the heroin and crack cocaine that he intended to deliver.This case results from a joint investigation conducted by Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine State Police.
Bank Robber, Who Stashed Guns and Stolen Goods While on the Run from Police, Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A convicted bank robber who absconded from supervised release, and lived on the lam for more than five years, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 12 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. BRADLEY STEVEN ROBINETT, 46, was arrested in Hillsboro, Oregon, on June 2, 2014, when Hillsboro Police took him into custody in a shopping mall parking lot as he returned to a car that had been reported stolen. ROBINETT pleaded guilty in January 2015 to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. As part of his guilty plea, ROBINETT agreed to tell investigators where he had stashed dozens of stolen firearms and other stolen goods near Portland, Oregon, Sammamish, Washington and in Olympic National Park. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart imposed three years of supervised release following prison and $12,886 in restitution.
“This defendant left a dangerous wake wherever he went – for the law enforcement officials who tried to apprehend him, and the public who lived near his stashes of weapons and other stolen goods,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “I commend the FBI and ATF agents who continue to use information from this defendant to protect public safety.”
According to the indictment and other court filings, ROBINETT was convicted of bank robbery and in 2004 was sentenced to seven years in prison. In August 2009 he was released from a federal prison in Arizona and put on a bus to Seattle with the requirement that he was to report to a designated halfway house within 48 hours. ROBINETT never reported to the halfway house and a warrant was issued for him for escape. In September 2009, police on Bainbridge Island, Washington attempted to stop a car that led them on a high speed chase. ROBINETT fled from the car and got away. Inside the car officers found a Glock 9mm pistol and a ballistic vest. Both items were stolen from the Seattle Police Department several years earlier. The vehicle ROBINETT was driving was also reported stolen in Oregon.
Before his Oregon arrest, the last time law enforcement saw ROBINETT was in November of 2009, when Washington State Patrol detectives encountered ROBINETT at a park & ride facility in Bellevue. At the time, ROBINETT was operating a stolen vehicle. ROBINETT attempted to ram a WSP vehicle before fleeing the area. The WSP trooper driving the vehicle managed to avoid the collision, but ROBINETT was able to escape.
ROBINETT was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm for the gun found in the car on Bainbridge. In addition to his bank robbery conviction, ROBINETT has prior felony convictions for possession of stolen property (King County and Clallam County), unlawful possession of a machine gun, car theft and burglary (King County).
In 2011, ROBINETT was featured on the programs Washington’s Most Wanted and America’s Most Wanted.
Last June Hillsboro police were patrolling the Fred Meyer parking lot with an automated license plate reader. Plate readers match license plates to those of stolen cars that have been entered into the system’s database. The reader noted a Kia with license plates stolen in Portland, while the car’s VIN number linked to a vehicle that had been reported stolen in King County, Washington. The police officers waited for the driver to return to the vehicle. They arrested ROBINETT without incident.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Washington State Patrol (WSP), the Bainbridge Island Police Department, and the Hillsboro, Oregon Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Dion.
Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Gilbert Stokes, age 46, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the December 12, 2013 armed robbery of a Windsor Mill, Maryland, convenience store. Stokes also admitted to the attempted armed robbery of a hotel on December 6, 2013, and to the armed robbery of a fast food restaurant on December 23, 2013.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
According to Stokes’ plea agreement, on December 6, 2013, he entered a hotel on W. Madison Street in Baltimore, displayed a gun to the hotel clerk and demanded money. The clerk advised that the only money on hand at the hotel was in the safe and the clerk did not have a key to the safe. Stokes fled without obtaining any money. After reviewing hotel surveillance video Baltimore Police detectives identified Stokes as the robber and the victim clerk identified Stokes from a photo array.
On December 12, 2013, Stokes entered a convenience store in Windsor Mill and brandished a handgun at two victims. The victims were able to hide in the store and Stokes stole multiple packs of cigarettes and left the store. The vehicle Stokes used to flee was identified by witnesses at the scene and subsequently located by police. Recovered from under the front seat was a .357 Magnum revolver that matched the firearm seen in the store’s surveillance video. A witness identified Stokes as the person who brandished the gun and committed the robbery.
Stokes also admitted that on December 23, 2013, he robbed a fast food restaurant on N. Howard Street in Baltimore, brandishing a weapon and demanding money. Stokes stole approximately $200 from the register and fled. Officers located Stokes on Greene Street, ducking near a vehicle. Stokes was seen throwing an object under the vehicle. Law enforcement recovered a .17 caliber BB-gun from under the vehicle and $190 from Stokes. The victims were brought to the scene of the arrest and positively identified Stokes as the person who committed the armed robbery.
Stokes and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Stokes will be sentenced to 18 years in prison. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III, has scheduled sentencing for August 21, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew K. Hoff, a cross-designated Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney, part of the Baltimore initiative to combat violent crime, and Assistant United States Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.
Avondale Woman Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Lisa Stratton, 55, of Avondale, Pennsylvania was charged today by Information with wire fraud announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, fine in the amount of $ 250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Babb Wilmoth.
An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Austin Businesswoman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
Last week in Austin, 37–year-old Abby Lindemann Johnson, owner of Pain Management Solutions, a licensed Durable Medical Equipment provider, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for her role in a health care fraud scheme with an estimated intended loss of more than $1 million, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Sam Sparks ordered that Johnson pay $846,171.12 restitution to the government and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing her prison term.
On February 5, 2015, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud. Johnson, admittedly, submitted numerous fraudulent bills for payment to the Department of Labor – Office of Workers Compensation Programs between January 2011 and May 2014 for reusable adhesive pads used with electrical nerve stimulators. Those items were never delivered to patients.
An investigation by the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the United States Postal Inspection Service was initiated after a patient inquired about an Explanation of Benefits received in the mail that showed the Department of Labor was being billed for items that the patient never received.
This case was investigated by the Department of Labor – OIG, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dan Guess and Daniel Castillo for the Western District of Texas.
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Attorney Representing Witnesses in 'Chinese Birthing House' Investigation Charged with Attempted Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
Irvine Lawyer Arrested after Accepting $6,000 to Smuggle a Witness Out of U.S.
SANTA ANA, California – An Irvine-based immigration attorney has been arrested and charged with attempted witness tampering after agreeing to help a Chinese national flee from the United States after the woman had been designated as a “material witness” in a criminal investigation into “birthing houses” operating in Southern California.
Ken Zhiyi Liang, 38, of Irvine, was arrested Friday afternoon after accepting $6,000 from the witness in exchange for assisting her abscond to China. In a criminal complaint filed Saturday, Liang was charged with attempted witness tampering, a charge that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Liang is scheduled to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court.
The Chinese national had been designated as a material witness in the federal investigation, meaning she was subject to a court order preventing her from leaving the United States without authorization from the government or court. Liang had represented the witness in the matter until the court removed him as attorney of record, over his objections, on April 17.
The federal investigation, which became known when authorities executed dozens of search warrants in early March, focuses on so-called birthing houses that “provided services to Chinese nationals, who travelled into the United States from China, for the purpose of giving birth to children so that the children could obtain United States citizenship,” according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Liang.
The affidavit, which was written by a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, recounts several video- and audio-recorded calls and meetings between Liang and the witness. During these conversations, Liang outlined a plan in which he would assist the witness by having her board a commercial airliner in the United States without travel documentation, so she could escape to China undetected by federal authorities. At one of the meetings, Liang told the witness that he could guarantee her safe return to China in exchange for a $6,000 fee for himself, and up to $3,000 to pay for help provided by three others.
During the meetings detailed in the affidavit, Liang refused to provide a written contract to the witness and requested that she pay him in cash, delete text messages and call logs, and begin using a prepaid cellular phone for all future communications.
Unbeknownst to Liang, the witness was cooperating with federal agents, who were monitoring the conversations between Liang and the witness. Liang was arrested by federal authorities as he was walking with the witness towards his car, supposedly to begin a trip to a coffee shop in Corona, where he was going to introduce the witness to the co-conspirators, who are not identified in the affidavit. After his arrest, Liang led agents back to his office, where he returned the $6,000 he had accepted from the witness.
According to the affidavit in Liang’s case, the attorney provided assistance to two other material witnesses – LongJing Yi, and her husband, Jun Xiao – who fled to the U.S. on April 4 and were subsequently charged in relation to their flight from the U.S. (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/2015/040.html). Another material witness who allegedly received help from Liang was intercepted at Los Angeles International Airport on April 15.
The investigation into the birthing houses is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and IRS – Criminal Investigation.
Release No. 15-046
Attorney General Lynch Launches National Community Policing Tour in CincinnatiRead the Press Release
Justice Department Announces $163 Million in Grant Opportunities to Advance 21st Century Policing Recommendations
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will travel to Cincinnati TOMORROW, TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015, as part of a national Community Policing Tour that will highlight collaborative programs and innovative policing practices designed to advance public safety, strengthen police-community relations and foster mutual trust and respect. The Attorney General will be joined by U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio, Director Ron Davis of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, Mayor John Cranley of Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell for a convening with city officials, law enforcement, local leaders, young people and other members of the community at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
While in Cincinnati, the Attorney General will also visit the Right to Read Program at Chase Elementary School where Cincinnati police officers work with University of Cincinnati students to tutor and mentor children. Later in the day, the Attorney General will visit with the Cincinnati Police Department where she will have an opportunity to thank officers for their hard work and speak to officers that were hired with COPS Office hiring grants.
The Community Policing Tour will build on President Obama’s commitment to engage with law enforcement and other members of the community to implement key recommendations from the 21st Century Policing Task Force report. To help with that effort, the Justice Department through its COPS Office announced five separate grant funding opportunities of up to $163 million for law enforcement agencies to help implement the recommendation made by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Additional cities on the tour will be announced at the convening on community policing in Cincinnati.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TOURS CHASE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH STUDENTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT:
WHO:
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell
WHEN:
TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2015
11:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE:
Chase Elementary School
4154 Turrill Street
Cincinnati, OH 45223
OPEN PRESS
(Media Gather Time: 10:00-10:20 a.m. EDT; main entrance)
ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDS COMMUNITY POLICING CONVENING AT NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER:
WHO:
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart for the South District of Ohio
Director Ron Davis of the COPS Office
Mayor John Cranley of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell
WHEN:
TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2015
2:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE:
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
50 East Freedom Way
Cincinnati, OH 45202
OPEN PRESS
(Media Gather Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT; check-in location in lobby)
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials. Members of the media must RSVP to [email protected] by Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Cameras planning to cover the event should arrive an hour prior to the start time. Space is limited and not guaranteed. Press inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Kevin Lewis at [email protected] and Sabrina Curtis at [email protected].
Airport Baggage Handlers Charged in Wide-Ranging Conspiracy to Transport Drugs Across the CountryRead the Press Release
Fourteen persons have been charged in connection with an alleged wide-ranging criminal conspiracy to violate airport security requirements and transport drugs throughout the country announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) for the Northern District of California and Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case highlights the government’s determination to address security concerns in and around the nation’s airports.
In a criminal complaint partially unsealed today, the co-conspirators were described as a drug trafficking organization determined to use the special access some of them had been granted as baggage handlers at the Oakland International Airport to circumvent the security measures in place at the airport. As alleged in the complaint, the baggage handlers entered the Air Operations Area (AOA) of the Oakland Airport while in possession of baggage containing marijuana. The AOA is an area of the airport that is accessible to employees but not to passengers who have completed security screening through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint. The baggage handlers were not required to pass through a TSA security screening checkpoint to enter the AOA. The baggage handlers then used their security badges to open a secure door that separates the AOA from the sterile passenger terminal where outbound passengers, who have already passed through the TSA security and screening checkpoint, wait to board their flights. The baggage handlers then gave the baggage containing drugs to passengers who then transported the drugs in carry-on luggage on their outbound flights. After arriving in a destination city, the drugs were distributed and sold.
According to the complaint, the conspiracy was operating as early as July 2012. Baggage handlers Kenneth Wayne Fleming, 32, of San Leandro, California; Keith Ramon Mayfield, 34, of Oakland, California; and Michael Herb Videau, 28, of Oakland, California, are accused of using their security badges to cross security barriers while carrying unscreened baggage filled with packages of marijuana. They would then hand off the baggage to co-conspirators, including Major Alexander Session III, 24, of Oakland, California; Clyde Barry Jamerson, 41, of Oakland, California; Kameron Kordero Eldridge Davis, 26, of Dublin, California; Ronnell Lamar Molton, 34, of Oakland, California; Francisco Manuel Carrasco, 29, of Hayward, California; Sophia Cherise West, 44, of Castro Valley, California; and others, who then would board outbound aircraft and bring the drugs to destinations throughout the country. Proceeds from the sale of the marijuana eventually were deposited into accounts controlled by defendants Ahshatae Marie Millhouse, 27, of Oakland, California; Laticia Ann Morris, 40, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Donald Ray Holland II, 42, of Discovery Bay, California; and others. Additionally, Mayfield used his privileges as an airline employee to ship drugs as cargo and have co-conspirators such as Brandon Jarred Davillier, 27, of Slidell, Louisiana, receive them for distribution. The defendants have been charged in a complaint with conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846.
Nine defendants were taken into custody in arrests coordinated throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Arkansas. Eight defendants made their initial appearances this morning before the Honorable U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore, in Oakland, California. The defendants’ next appearances are scheduled as follows: defendants Holland, Fleming, Baker, Session, Davis and West are scheduled to appear tomorrow morning for a hearing at which they may be appointed counsel. Defendants Mayfield and Videau are scheduled to appear on May 21, 2015, for detention hearings. Defendant Morris made her initial appearance in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was released on bond. Defendants Jamerson and Molton are currently serving state prison sentences in Arkansas and Louisiana, respectively, for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Defendants Davillier, Millhouse and Carrasco are presently fugitives.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana is 40 years imprisonment and $5 million. The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment.
Additional periods of supervised release, fines and special assessments also could be imposed. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Hire is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Melissa Dorton, Michelle Alter, Kathleen Turner and Vanessa Vargas. This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Airport Baggage Handlers Charged in Wide-Ranging Conspiracy to Transport Drugs Across the CountryRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Fourteen persons have been charged in connection with an alleged wide-ranging criminal conspiracy to violate airport security requirements and transport drugs throughout the country announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Northern District of California, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson. The case highlights the government’s determination to address security concerns in and around the nation’s airports.
In a criminal complaint partially unsealed today, the co-conspirators were described as a drug trafficking organization determined to use the special access some of them had been granted as baggage handlers at the Oakland International Airport to circumvent the security measures in place at the airport. As alleged in the Complaint, the baggage handlers entered the Air Operations Area (AOA) of the Oakland Airport while in possession of baggage containing marijuana. The AOA is an area of the Airport that is accessible to employees but not to passengers who have completed security screening through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint. The baggage handlers were not required to pass through a TSA security screening checkpoint to enter the AOA. The baggage handlers then used their security badges to open a secure door that separates the AOA from the sterile passenger terminal where outbound passengers, who have already passed through the TSA security and screening checkpoint, wait to board their flights. The baggage handlers then gave the baggage containing drugs to passengers who then transported the drugs in carry-on luggage on their outbound flights. After arriving in a destination city, the drugs were distributed and sold.
According to the complaint, the conspiracy was operating as early as July 2012. Baggage handlers Kenneth Wayne Fleming, 32, of San Leandro; Keith Ramon Mayfield, 34, of Oakland; and Michael Herb Videau, 28, of Oakland, are accused of using their security badges to cross security barriers while carrying unscreened baggage filled with packages of marijuana. They would then hand off the baggage to co-conspirators, including Major Alexander Session III, 24, of Oakland; Clyde Barry Jamerson, 41, of Oakland; Kameron Kordero Eldridge Davis, 26, of Dublin; Ronnell Lamar Molton, 34, of Oakland; Francisco Manuel Carrasco, 29, of Hayward; Sophia Cherise West, 44, of Castro Valley; and others, who then would board outbound aircraft and bring the drugs to destinations throughout the country. Proceeds from the sale of the marijuana eventually were deposited into accounts controlled by defendants Ahshatae Marie Millhouse, 27, of Oakland; Laticia Ann Morris, 40, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Donald Ray Holland II, 42, of Discovery Bay; and others. Additionally, Mayfield used his privileges as an airline employee to ship drugs as cargo and have co-conspirators such as Brandon Jarred Davillier, 27, of Slidell, Louisiana, receive them for distribution. The defendants have been charged in a complaint with conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846.
Nine defendants were taken into custody in arrests coordinated throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Arkansas. Eight defendants made their initial appearances this morning before the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore, United States Magistrate Judge, in Oakland. The defendants’ next appearances are scheduled as follows: Defendants Holland, Fleming, Baker, Session, Davis, and West are scheduled to appear tomorrow morning for a hearing at which they may be appointed counsel. Defendants Mayfield and Videau are scheduled to appear on May 21, 2015, for detention hearings. Defendant Morris made her initial appearance in Little Rock, Arkansas and was released on bond. Defendants Jamerson and Molton are currently serving state prison sentences in Arkansas and Louisiana, respectively, for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Defendants Davillier, Millhouse, and Carrasco are presently fugitives.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana is 40 years imprisonment and $5,000,000. The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment.
Additional periods of supervised release, fines, and special assessments also could be imposed. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Hire is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Melissa Dorton, Michelle Alter, Kathleen Turner, and Vanessa Vargas. This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.