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Monday 6 April 2015
Fourth Brooklyn, New York, Resident Charged with Attempt and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Defendant Allegedly is Part of ISIL Foreign Fighter Local Support Network; Travelled to Kennedy Airport on Feb. 25 to Provide Cash to Co-Defendant Shortly Before Co-Defendant Was Arrested Attempting to Board Flight to Turkey to Join ISIL
U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Assistant Director in Charge Diego G. Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office, Commissioner William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department and Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) New York announced that earlier today, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned a superseding indictment charging Dilkhayot Kasimov, 26, a Brooklyn resident, with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization. The defendant, who is charged along with three other Brooklyn residents whose arrests were first announced on Feb. 25, 2015, is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at 2 p.m., before U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II of the Eastern District of New York.
As alleged in the superseding indictment and other court filings, the investigation began last year when Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, one of Kasimov’s co-defendants, came to the attention of law enforcement after posting on an Uzbek-language website that propagates ISIL’s ideology. The investigation subsequently revealed that Juraboev and another co-defendant, Akhror Saidakhmetov, planned to travel to Turkey and then to Syria for the purpose of waging violent jihad on behalf of ISIL. Saidakhmetov was arrested on Feb. 25, 2015, at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul. Juraboev previously purchased a plane ticket to travel from New York to Istanbul and had been scheduled to leave the United States in March 2015.
Working closely with co-defendant Abror Habibov, Kasimov allegedly helped fund Saidakhmetov’s efforts to join ISIL. Kasimov and Habibov collected over $1,600 from multiple individuals for Saidakhmetov to use in Syria. Kasimov thereafter delivered the money to Saidakhmetov at Kennedy Airport shortly before Saidakhmetov was apprehended trying to board his flight in February. Additional investigation uncovered electronic messages in which Kasimov encouraged others to participate in violent jihad and made clear his role in facilitating the travel of foreign fighters to Syria.
“This defendant is the fourth Brooklyn resident charged as part of the same network of individuals who are alleged to have conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIL,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Terrorist support networks like the one this defendant was involved in offer critical funding, travel logistics, and encouragement to persons seeking to join ISIL and other foreign terrorist organizations. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and to disrupt and dismantle the networks, here and abroad, that support them.” U.S. Attorney Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which comprises a large number of federal, state and local agencies from the region.
“Dilkhayot Kasimov allegedly attempted and conspired with others to provide material support to ISIL,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The National Security Division remains committed to holding accountable all who seek to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations. I would like to thank all of the agents, analysts and prosecutors who are responsible for this case.”
“Kasimov served as a money man in support of a co-defendant’s efforts to join ISIL,” said Assistant Director in Charge Rodriguez. “He provided encouragement and facilitated travel for foreign fighters. As the recent series of cases indicate, we will pursue every lead and every person who succumbs to this radical agenda. It is my hope that these cases deter others from sharing Kasimov’s fate: being under arrest and in trouble with the law.”
“Money is the oxygen that fuels terrorism,” said Commissioner Bratton. “This investigation proves again that we will leave no stone unturned to disrupt the finance, support, or membership in terrorist organizations like ISIL.”
“These arrests are the culmination of an extensive joint law enforcement effort to disrupt the recruitment of alleged terrorist sympathizers,” said Special Agent in Charge Parmer. “ICE-HSI will continue to use its unique immigration and customs authorities to assist our domestic and international law enforcement partners to stop jihadists from supporting terrorist organizations such as ISIL.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The charges in the superseding indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Solomon, Douglas M. Pravda and Peter W. Baldwin of the Eastern District of New York, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Danya Atiyeh of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Kasimov Superseding Indictment
Fourth Brooklyn Resident Charged with Attempt and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Earlier today, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned a superseding indictment charging Dilkhayot Kasimov, a Brooklyn resident, with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization. The defendant, who is charged with three other Brooklyn residents whose arrests were first announced on February 25, 2015, is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 2 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York.
As alleged in the superseding indictment and other court filings, the investigation began last year when Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, one of Kasimov’s co-defendants, came to the attention of law enforcement after posting on an Uzbek-language website that propagates ISIL’s ideology. The investigation subsequently revealed that Juraboev and another co-defendant, Akhror Saidakhmetov, planned to travel to Turkey and then onward to Syria for the purpose of waging violent jihad on behalf of ISIL. Saidakhmetov was arrested on February 25, 2015, at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Juraboev had previously purchased a plane ticket to travel from New York to Istanbul and had been scheduled to leave the United States in March 2015.
Working closely with co-defendant Abror Habibov, Kasimov allegedly helped fund Saidakhmetov’s efforts to join ISIL. Kasimov and Habibov collected over $1,600 from multiple individuals for Saidakhmetov to use in Syria. Kasimov thereafter delivered the money to Saidakhmetov at Kennedy Airport shortly before Saidakhmetov was apprehended trying to board his flight in February. Additional investigation uncovered electronic messages in which Kasimov encouraged others to participate in violent jihad and made clear his role in facilitating the travel of foreign fighters to Syria.
“This defendant is the fourth Brooklyn resident charged as part of the same network of individuals who are alleged to have conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIL,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Terrorist support networks like the one this defendant was involved in offer critical funding, travel logistics, and encouragement to persons seeking to join ISIL and other foreign terrorist organizations. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and to disrupt and dismantle the networks, here and abroad, that support them.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which comprises a large number of federal, state, and local agencies from the region.
“Dilkhayot Kasimov allegedly attempted and conspired with others to provide material support to ISIL,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The National Security Division remains committed to holding accountable all who seek to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations. I would like to thank all of the agents, analysts and prosecutors who are responsible for this case.”
“Kasimov served as a money man in support of a co-defendant’s efforts to join ISIL,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez. “He provided encouragement and facilitated travel for foreign fighters. As the recent series of cases indicate, we will pursue every lead and every person who succumbs to this radical agenda. It is my hope that these cases deter others from sharing Kasimov’s fate: being under arrest and in trouble with the law.”
“Money is the oxygen that fuels terrorism. This investigation proves again that we will leave no stone unturned to disrupt the finance, support, or membership in terrorist organizations like ISIL,” said NYPD Commissioner Bratton.
“These arrests are the culmination of an extensive joint law enforcement effort to disrupt the recruitment of alleged terrorist sympathizers,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge, HSI New York. "ICE-HSI will continue to use its unique immigration and customs authorities to assist our domestic and international law enforcement partners to stop jihadists from supporting terrorist organizations such as ISIL.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The charges in the superseding indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon, Douglas M. Pravda, and Peter W. Baldwin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Danya Atiyeh of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendant:
DILKHAYOT KASIMOV
Age: 26
Nationality: Uzbeki
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-095 (WFK)
Former St. Louis City Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Former St. Louis City Police Officer DON McGHEE pled guilty to charges of providing a firearm to known drug dealers to facilitate their distribution of crack cocaine and marijuana in the City of St. Louis.
According to court documents, McGhee was a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer, assigned as a Patrolman in the Sixth District. Officer McGhee knew and associated with individuals who stored and distributed quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana in and from a house located on Cottage Avenue, in the City of St. Louis. On March 2, 2014, Officer McGhee took a Mossberg 12-gauge pistol grip shotgun to the Cottage Avenue drug house and gave it to one of the drug dealers knowing, believing or having reason to believe that the drug dealer would use the shotgun in relation to and in furtherance of the drug trafficking. During the execution of a search warrant at the Cottage Avenue house several days later, law enforcement officers recovered the Mossberg pistol grip shotgun, fully loaded, along with several other firearms, ammunition, quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana and a large amount of cash.
McGhee, St. Louis City, pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime before United States District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig. Sentencing has been set for July 14, 2015.
This charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
United States Attorney Richard Callahan noted that this investigation originated with the St. Louis City Police Department, which then partnered with additional law enforcement agencies as its investigation expanded. In addition to the St. Louis City Police Department, the case is also being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Former Restaurant Owner Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the owner of a now-closed Oronogo, Mo., restaurant has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Jerry Batchelor, 51, of Carthage, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on April 1, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Batchelor’s arrest and initial court appearance.
Batchelor was the owner of Benchwarmer’s Neighborhood Restaurant and Sports Pub in Oronogo. The federal indictment alleges that Batchelor received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Aug. 10, 2012, and April 4, 2014.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.
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."
Former Navy Serviceman Stationed in Connecticut Charged with Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven has returned an indictment charging ADAM M. SIMPSON, 28, a former member of the U.S. Navy who was stationed at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, with enticing minors to perform sexually explicit acts during online video chats, and receipt and possession of child pornography. The indictment was returned on March 24, 2015, and SIMPSON was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford.
According to the indictment, between approximately January 2013 and November 2013, SIMPSON engaged in video chats with minors using online video chatting services such as Skype and Omegle. During these video chats, SIMPSON enticed the minors to perform sexual acts and engage in sexually explicit conduct, which SIMPSON recorded, saved on his computer, and then shared with others. In order to deceive and entice the minors, SIMPSON sometimes posed as a young boy. He also coerced minors to perform more sexual acts for him by threatening to publicly release their sexually explicit videos. In addition, the indictment alleges that SIMPSON possessed a collection of child pornography, which he downloaded over the Internet onto his computer.
SIMPSON has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on January 7, 2014.
If convicted of the charge of enticement, SIMPSON faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and the charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service also provided critical assistance in this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Former Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced for TheftRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT — A former deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, who previously admitted to using evidence collected from an investigation to pay for personal expenses, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and two months of home incarceration.
U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced Matthew Christian Brown, 32, for theft of government property and ordered him to pay $17,840.54 in restitution. Of that amount, $9,900 will be paid to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Under federal law, Brown must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence; and following his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
According to his plea agreement, Brown, who also served as the chief narcotics officer, executed a search warrant at a suspect’s residence, where he seized a watch and a ring. Instead of logging those items as evidence, Brown kept them for himself. He further admitted that he sold the ring back to the suspect.
Brown served as a deputy sheriff from May 2007 until December 2012.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rodney C. Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement today.
The investigation was conducted by the Kentucky State Police and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Former Fort Drum Employee Sentenced for False StatementRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – On April 2, 2015, ANTHONY B. FELDER (44) of Redwood, New York, was sentenced to 2 years of Probation and a $5,000 fine by the Honorable David E. Peebles, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Marion F. Robey, Director, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (Army CID), Quantico, Virginia. Judge Peebles also ordered Felder to pay $35,500 in restitution to the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Felder pled guilty in November 2014 to knowingly making a false statement regarding outside positions he held while employed by the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Drum in Jefferson County, New York. Felder subsequently resigned his position as a project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers.
In January 2009, Felder incorporated a proprietary engineering company named East Coast Mitigation, which soon thereafter began performing environmental subcontract work at Fort Drum. The following month, Felder, who was legally barred from doing outside work on any contracts at Form Drum while employed by the Army Corps of Engineers, submitted a certification form in which he was required to report "[a]ll positions [held] outside the U.S. Government." When he submitted the form, Felder reported various outside positions which did not conflict with his employment at Fort Drum, but he did not disclose his ownership interest in East Coast Mitigation. As a result, Felder earned a personal profit of $35,500 from the subcontract work performed by East Coast Mitigation before his false statement was discovered.
This case was investigated by the Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Army CID, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Perry. Please direct press inquiries to Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John Duncan at 315-448-0672.
Former E-Commerce Executive Charged with Price Fixing in the Antitrust Division's First Online Marketplace ProsecutionRead the Press Release
A former executive of an e-commerce seller of posters, prints and framed art has agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to fix the prices of posters sold online, the Department of Justice announced.
A one-count felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California in San Francisco against David Topkins. According to the charge, Topkins and his co-conspirators fixed the prices of certain posters sold online through Amazon Marketplace from as early as September 2013 until in or about January 2014. Topkins also has agreed to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
“Today’s announcement represents the division’s first criminal prosecution against a conspiracy specifically targeting e-commerce,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “We will not tolerate anticompetitive conduct, whether it occurs in a smoke-filled room or over the Internet using complex pricing algorithms. American consumers have the right to a free and fair marketplace online, as well as in brick and mortar businesses."
According to the charge, Topkins and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of certain posters sold in the United States through Amazon Marketplace. To implement their agreements, the defendant and his co-conspirators adopted specific pricing algorithms for the sale of certain posters with the goal of coordinating changes to their respective prices and wrote computer code that instructed algorithm-based software to set prices in conformity with this agreement.
“These charges demonstrate our continued commitment to investigate and prosecute individuals and organizations seeking to victimize online consumers through illegal anticompetitive conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. “The FBI is committed to investigating price fixing schemes and remains unwavering in our dedication to bring those responsible for theses illegal conspiracies to justice.”
Topkins is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a fine of $1 million for individuals. The maximum fine for an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
This prosecution arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing in the online wall décor industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office with the assistance of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. Anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the wall décor industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.
Topkins Information
Former Corry Physician Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa - A resident of Corry, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 39 months in jail and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,000 on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on William Jay Blazes, 47.
According to information presented to the court, Blazes possessed thousands of computer images and movies depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Corry Police Department, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Blazes.
Former Chelsea Housing Authority Executive and Former Public Housing Inspector Convicted of Rigging Inspection ProcessRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former executive of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) and a former public housing inspector were convicted on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, for their roles in rigging the inspection process of federally funded housing units.
James Fitzpatrick, 63, of Acton, Mass., and Bernard Morosco, 50, of Utica, NY, were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by impairing, impeding, and defeating the proper operation of HUD’s physical condition assessment.
Pursuant to federal regulations, to determine whether a public housing authority is meeting the standard for its residents of conditions that are “decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair,” HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is required to “provide for an independent physical inspection of a public housing authority’s property or properties that includes, at a minimum, a statistically valid sample of the units in the CHA’s public housing portfolio to determine the extent of compliance with the standard.” REAC inspections are conducted by independent contractors who have received training from REAC on the inspection protocol and applicable regulations, and have been certified by HUD. Once certified, an inspector is given an inspector number, and with a password, can access the secure REAC server, which contains data on all public housing authorities and also later enable the inspector to generate a random sample of units to inspect on the scheduled date of the inspection.
Before the REAC inspections of the CHA in 2007, 2009, and 2011, Morosco gave Fitzpatrick, the Assistant Director of the CHA, an advance list that revealed which units at the CHA would be inspected. During those years, Morosco, who was a REAC-certified inspector, worked for the CHA as a consultant, advising the CHA about how to get better scores on its REAC inspections.
One or two months before each REAC inspection, using information provided by Fitzpatrick, Morosco accessed HUD’s secure database and downloaded information to which he was not entitled. That information enabled him to use his REAC software to generate, in advance, the random sample that would later be generated by the assigned REAC inspector. Morosco then gave the samples to Fitzpatrick who, in turn, provided it to the CHA’s Executive Director, Michael McLaughlin.
McLaughlin divided CHA employees into pairs, calling each pair a SWAT team, and sent them to inspect the units identified by Morosco. For the month before each inspection, the SWAT teams visited several apartments a day, inspecting and re-inspecting them as maintenance crews visited the units to make repairs, fumigate, and exterminate. When the REAC inspectors conducted the inspections, the units that were selected were the same as the ones provided in advance by Morosco.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit and Brian Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Former Allegheny College Professor Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Meadville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Kirk Nesset, 57, pleaded guilty to three counts before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Nesset distributed, received and possessed thousands of computer movies and images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Some of these images and movies depicted infants and toddlers.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for August 10, 2015 at 2:15 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 50 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Nesset on bond for one month. At the conclusion of the month, Nesset must report to prison.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Nesset.
Festus Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Mailing Threatening CommunicationsRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that William J. Mabie, 56, of Festus, Missouri, was sentenced Friday, April 3, 2015, in federal district court in East St. Louis, following his conviction on December 11, 2014, on three counts of Mailing Threatening Communications.
Evidence showed that Mabie, who had been previously convicted of similar crimes in the Eastern District of Missouri, mailed three threatening letters to persons within the Southern District of Illinois. Mabie wrote two of the threatening letters in 2012 while he was incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lompoc, California; he wrote the third threatening letter while he was incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado.
Mabie sent one of the letters to the Sheriff of Bond County, Illinois, in 2012; Mabie sent the other two letters to the wife of a policeman in 2012 and 2013.
At the times Mabie sent the letters, he was serving an 88-month prison sentence for an earlier conviction in the Eastern District of Missouri in 2010. The 2010 conviction resulted in part from a threatening communication concerning the same policeman whose wife received two of the letters charged in the Southern District of Illinois.
The prosecution presented evidence that Mabie had written numerous threatening letters to witnesses, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and the judge who had presided over his
2010 case in the Eastern District of Missouri. The prosecution also presented evidence that Mabie had recently spit upon a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the East St. Louis courthouse, following a court hearing on March 12, 2015.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Michael J. Reagan noted that Mabie had a long history of making threats, having six prior convictions involving making threats to various people. The judge found that Mabie is capable of carrying out his threats upon release from prison; hence, the judge indicated that a lengthy sentence was appropriate in this case.
The judge also found many of Mabie’s letters to others, and his spitting on the Deputy Marshal, to be outrageous and malicious. The judge indicated that, by his sentence, he needed to stop Mabie from further crime and from harming the public. The judge noted that prior punishment had not deterred Mabie; therefore, a lengthy sentence was appropriate.
The judge imposed a total sentence of 15 years – that is, five years on each count, to run consecutively to each other, and consecutive to the sentence he is still serving on the Eastern District of Missouri case. The judge stated that he had never previously imposed such a sentence; the judge called it a "breathtaking sentence for breathtaking conduct." The judge also imposed a $15,000 fine, a $300 special assessment, and a 3-year term of Supervised Release, to run concurrently with the term of Supervised Release to which Mabie is subject in the Eastern District of Missouri.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Clark and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Drucker. The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service.
Fairview, Pa., Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Fairview, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months in jail on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Graham K. Yahn, 27.
According to information presented to the court, Yahn received and possessed computer images and movies depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Yahn.
Elkins man convicted of unlawful possession of firearmRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Johnny Lee Green Jr., 56, of Elkins, was convicted in federal court today of unlawful possession of a firearm, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
In 1978, Green was convicted of the felony offenses of “First Degree Murder” and “Using a Weapon in Commission of a Felony.” As a result of that conviction, he is prohibited from possessing firearms. He was discovered in July 2014 in possession of a 9mm pistol.
Green pled guilty today to one count of “Felon in Possession of a Firearm.” He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Montoro prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull presided.
Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office Cracks Down on Men Traveling from Out-of-state to Colorado to Have Sex with ChildrenRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), have cracked down on individuals who travel to Colorado from other states with the intention of having sex with minor children. Two arrests were made last week, and a third individual pled guilty to the crime. All three are held in custody.
Brian Franklin Howard, age 37, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was arrested on April 2, 2015, at Denver International Airport by HSI and the Denver Police Department after he flew here to have sex with children. Howard initially came into contact with an undercover HSI agent on line. The agent was using the persona of a single mother of children, ages 10 and 14. At one point Howard took photos of his penis and sent them to the single mother persona, indicating that he would like for her to show them to her daughters. He then arranged to meet her and her children in Denver. He flew from Las Vegas to Denver, where he was met with an agent acting in an undercover capacity at DIA. Once he confirmed his intent to have sex with the children he was arrested. Howard faces one count of aggravated sexual abuse with children (with a penalty of not less than 30 years and up to life in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine), two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (with a penalty of not more than 30 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine), and two counts of attempted coercion and enticement (with a penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine). Howard is scheduled to have a detention hearing on April 8, 2015.
Also last week Matthew Hornung, age 33, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was arrested by HSI and the Colorado State Patrol on March 28, 2015, after driving to Colorado to have sex with children. Hornung also met an undercover agent on line. The agent was using the single mother persona, saying she had children ages 10 and 14. The defendant, intent on meeting the single mother and her two children, drove from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Hornung made it to Colorado, although his vehicle started to fail before he reached Greeley. He was arrested by HSI and the Colorado Highway Patrol after he approached the marked CSP car for assistance. The defendant faces one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (with a penalty of not more than 30 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine). He has been ordered held without bond pending a resolution of his case.Finally, Darwin Gowen, age 62, of St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty on March 31, 2015, before U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson, to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (the penalty of which is not more than 30 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine). Gowen also met an HSI agent online, using the persona of a single mother with young children. He traveled from Missouri to Denver by plane, where he was arrested by HSI at DIA after confirming his intent to have sex with children, ages 11 and 15. Gowen is in federal custody pending sentencing.
“Preventing the sexual abuse of children is a top priority of this office,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “These cases should demonstrate to those who plan to travel from other states to Colorado in hopes of sexually exploiting children that there will be immediate and severe criminal consequences.”
“The sexual exploitation of children by predators has reached epidemic proportions nationally and internationally,” said David A. Thompson, special agent in charge of HSI Denver. “Targeting these predators through the tireless efforts by our HSI special agents has been a high priority for more than a decade. These cases demonstrate how every parent must remain vigilant to Internet predators who may pose in various disguises to meet and ultimately sexually exploit children.”
These cases were investigated by HSI with support from the Colorado State Patrol.
Howard and Gowen are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts. Hornung is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Gibson. Howard and Hornung have been charged by Criminal Complaint. Anyone accused of committing a felony violation of federal law has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a grand jury. Both of those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Gowen has pled guilty.
Cocaine Trafficker Faces up to 20 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Kendall Ferrara, 33, of Providence, faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $1,000,000 when he is sentenced in July, having pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Providence to trafficking cocaine, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office of the FBI.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi, Ferrara pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of cocaine. At sentencing on July 16, 2015, Ferrara faces statutory penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment to be followed by 3 years to lifetime supervised release, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
According to court documents and information presented to the court, an undercover FBI Safe Streets Task Force investigation into drug trafficking activities in and around Providence in the fall of 2014 included five purchases of cocaine of varying amounts from Ferrara during a five-week period of time. The purchases totaled nearly 59 grams of cocaine.
Ferrara was arrested by members of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force on February 23, 2015.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin.
The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force consists of agents and law enforcement officers from the FBI, RI State Police, Providence, Cranston, Woonsocket, Johnston and Central Falls Police Departments and the RI Adult Corrections Institutions.###
To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Calais Man Fined $5,000 and Sentence to Probation for False StatementRead the Press Release
Contact: Jim Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Clyde Eldridge, 65, of Calais, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr, to one year of probation and fined $5,000 for making a false statement to federal agents.
According to court records, Eldridge owned C&E Feeds, a feed and pet store in Calais. In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Canadian counterpart, Environment Canada, were investigating the illegal use of the pesticide cypermethrin. On September 23, 2010, when asked by two EPA special agents to identify anyone to whom he had sold cypermethrin and whether he had kept records of the sales, Eldridge said he sold different amounts of cypermethrin to different people and that he did not keep track of the sales. The investigation revealed, however, that Eldridge sold cypermethrin on 10-11 occasions to one regional production manager employed by Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture, and that on each occasion Eldridge made a note of the quantity picked up by the manager. In April of 2013, Cooke Aquaculture pled guilty in New Brunswick Provincial Court and paid a $490,000 fine for illegally using pesticides that killed hundreds of lobsters in waters that were about a mile from Maine’s border.
In imposing a sentence, Judge Woodcock said that Eldridge violated the trust of his fellow citizens in selling the pesticide, knowing that it would likely be used in violation of Canadian law and that violating laws meant to protect the environment is a serious matter.
The investigation was conducted by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and Environment Canada.
Broward County Resident Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Prison for Identity Theft Schemes Involving Fraudulent Income Tax Refunds and Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
A Broward County resident was sentenced to 61 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $57,949, for his participation in identity theft schemes involving fraudulent income tax refunds and Social Security benefits.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, Thomas Caul, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.
Sheldon Mozie, II, 23, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mozie’s residence and seized papers/notes containing at least 182 victims’ personal identifying information (PII), a thumb drive containing at least 99 additional victims, Mozie’s computer, and debit cards. Computer forensic investigators determined that Mozie’s computer contained the PII of many of the same victims’ that were found in the notes/papers in Mozie’s bedroom, in addition to other victims’ PII. Mozie filed 49 federal income tax returns for tax year 2013 using the PII of many of the victims that were found on the papers/notes in his bedroom. Between February 10, 2014 and May 6, 2014, for the tax year 2013, Mozie claimed $208,559 on the fraudulent tax returns.
Mozie also utilized the stolen PII to divert Social Security benefit payments to himself that belonged to additional identity theft victims. To accomplish this scheme, Mozie logged onto the Social Security Administration website, “my Social Security,” with the victims’ names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers to open online accounts in those victims’ identities. Once the online accounts were opened, Mozie was able to divert the Social Security benefit payments from the victims to himself by having the funds deposited onto prepaid debit cards (mostly Green Dot cards) or by directly depositing the funds into his personal bank account. Between September 2013 and May 2014, Mozie diverted approximately $25,027 in Social Security benefits to himself.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, the USSS, SSA-OIG, and BSO. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia E. Shick.
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.
Broward County Resident Sentenced in Connection with International Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Broward county resident was sentenced by United States District Judge Beth Bloom in Fort Lauderdale to 71 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a fraudulent international lottery scheme that targeted senior citizens living in the United States.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), made the announcement.
On January 23, 2015, Mikhail Gorbachev George Williams, 26, of Fort Lauderdale, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Williams participated in a fraudulent lottery scheme, emanating from Jamaica, in which elderly victims throughout the United States were falsely told that they had won a lottery/sweepstake contest. Williams and his co-conspirators sent letters and made multiple telephone calls to the victims, wherein they fraudulently claimed to be representatives of the sweepstakes/lottery company that was to award the prize monies. The victims were told that in order to claim their winnings, they had to pay taxes, duties or fees. The co-conspirators directed the victims to pay Williams in order to receive their purported winnings. The elderly victims were induced to send thousands of dollars to cover bogus fees, taxes and insurance for the fraudulent lottery winnings. The victims paid Williams by wire transfers, money orders, U.S. currency, and checks. Payment was made though the U.S. mail and by prepaid debit cards.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and ICE-HSI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani.
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.
Beckley man sentenced for federal drug chargeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Beckley man was sentenced in federal court in Huntington on a federal drug charge. Michael Greer, 30, of Beckley, was sentenced as a career offender to a 120-month term of imprisonment, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Greer previously pled guilty in December of 2014, to distributing heroin to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Brooks Street in Beckley. The sentence was imposed by Chief United States District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers.
This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.
This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – David Godfrey, Jr., 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court to a heroin trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Godfrey was arrested on Sept. 8, 2014, on a two-count indictment charging him with distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to the indictment, Godfrey committed the crime on Feb. 13, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Godfrey pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with distribution of heroin. In entering the guilty plea, Godfrey admitted that on Feb. 13, 2013, he handed a bag containing more than 100 grams of heroin to another person in northeast Albuquerque. Godfrey also admitted that at the time he had a .45 caliber pistol in his waistband for protection.
At sentencing, Godfrey faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. He remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec is prosecuting this case.
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.
Saturday 4 April 2015
Brunswick Men Convicted on Federal Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
Contact: Karen E. Kelly
Assistant Chief, U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division
James W. Chapman, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II and Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Caroline D. Ciraolo, announced that F. William Messier, 70, and David E. Robinson, 78, both of Brunswick, Maine, were convicted yesterday by a federal jury in U.S. District Court for conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding and impairing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). Messier was also convicted of corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS. Messier was acquitted of willful failure to file income tax returns for 2008 through 2012.
According to testimony during the trial, Messier, doing business as Oak Hill Communications, earned income generated on leases from telecommunication towers located on his Brunswick property. From 1999 through 2014, Messier engaged in conduct intended to obstruct the enforcement of the Revenue laws, including providing false tax documents to customers, obstructing IRS collection activities and the extensive use of cash. In 2012, the IRS assessed taxes and interest against Messier totaling $172,000 for the tax years 2000 to 2004. According to the testimony of witnesses, after the IRS sent Notices of Levy to Messier’s customers, Robinson and Messier took a number of steps to obstruct and impede the IRS in the enforcement of the levy, including presenting the IRS with a fake and worthless money order for the amount due by Messier. According to witness testimony, Messier and Robinson urged customers not to honor the levies or to pay the IRS, urged customers to pay Messier in cash to conceal their payments from the IRS, sent false documents to the IRS and sent threatening and misleading correspondence to customers of Messier’s business urging them not to cooperate with the IRS. Robinson claims to be the “Interim Attorney General” of the “Maine Republic Free State.”
Messier faces up to 8 years in prison and fines totaling $500,000. Robinson faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney James W. Chapman, and Karen E. Kelly, Assistant Chief at the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Friday 3 April 2015
Webster Man Pleads Guilty to DistributingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Karen Brown
PHONE: (716) 843-5836
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Erik Smothers, 36, of Webster, NY, pled guilty to distributing cocaine to various individuals in Rochester, NY, between 2009 and his arrest on November 28, 2014. Smothers faces a minimum sentence of 5 years and maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who is prosecuting the cases, stated that Smothers consistently sold ounce levels of cocaine during the five year period. He will return to court to be sentenced before United States District Court Judge Elizabeth Wolford on October 5, 2015 at 12:00 p.m.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Office, with the assistance of the New York State Police under the direction of Major Scott M. Crosier.
Waggaman Woman Charged with Wire Fraud After Embezzling over $200,000 from EmployerRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DELORES TROUILLET, age 58, of Waggaman, was charged today in a one-count Bill of Information with wire fraud.
According to the Bill of Information, from 1999 to 2014 TROUILLET was employed by a carpet, flooring, and drapery sales and installation company (“Company A”) headquartered in Gretna, Louisiana, where she served as a bookkeeper. In her capacity as bookkeeper, TROUILLET was responsible for overseeing the company’s finances and accounts. TROUILLET had access to Company A’s bank accounts, including the ability to conduct wire transfers from Company A’s bank accounts.
Using her access to the company’s accounts, TROUILLET stole money from Company A in various ways, including generating checks drawing on Company A’s bank accounts to pay her personal expenses. To make the payments appear legitimate, TROUILLET listed in Company A’s internal records checks she made out to herself and deposited into her personal bank account as being made payable to entities with whom Company A engaged in business or frequently paid funds, such as “State Farm Insurance” and “IRS.” TROUILLET also paid for her personal daily expenses using Company A’s corporate credit and debit cards. Further, TROUILLET added money to her biweekly payroll in excess of her agreed upon salary. In total, TROUILLET embezzled approximately $208,082.03 from Company A.
If convicted, TROUILLET faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any person.
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Secret Service and investigators with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
Delores Trouillet Bill of Information
US Army National Guard Soldier and His Cousin Indicted for Conspiring to Support Terrorism (ISIL)Read the Press Release
CHICAGO ― U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, and Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Holley of the Chicago Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that two Aurora, Illinois, men were indicted Thursday for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization.
Army National Guard Specialist HASAN EDMONDS, 22, and JONAS EDMONDS, 29, were arrested last month by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and remain in federal custody. The defendants were charged in an indictment filed yesterday in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Both defendants will be arraigned April 8, at 10:00 in front of Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan
Conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and John Kness of the Northern District of Illinois, and Trial Attorney Lolita Lukose of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
U.S. Attorney's Office to Conduct Election Day Monitoring Election Day Hotline: (312) 469-6157Read the Press Release
CHICAGO -- Consistent with a long-standing practice of the office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will monitor the election in Chicago on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today. As part of the monitoring effort, the office will operate a hotline for candidates or the public to call to report any complaints relating to voting. In addition, Assistant U.S. Attorneys will be available to respond to complaints as needed.
The hotline number is (312) 469-6157.
Coordination of the monitoring efforts and subsequent investigations, if any, will be directed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Merin. The Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service will assist in this effort by following up, if necessary, on any election fraud complaints.
U.S. Army National Guard Soldier and His Cousin Indicted for Conspiring to Support TerrorismRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Holley of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office announced today that two Aurora, Illinois, men were indicted on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization.
U.S. Army National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds, 22, and his cousin, Jonas Edmonds, 29, were arrested last month by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and remain in federal custody. The defendants were charged in an indictment filed yesterday in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Both defendants will be arraigned on April 8, at 10:00 before Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan.
Conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and John Kness of the Northern District of Illinois, and Trial Attorney Lolita Lukose of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Two Philadelphia Men Charged with Defrauding Assistance ProgramRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Abdoulaye Diallo, 50, and Lassana Nianghane, 51, both of Philadelphia, PA, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Both defendants were arrested today.
According to the indictment, Diallo, the owner and operator of Brothers Food Market, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, trafficked in SNAP benefits with SNAP program beneficiaries by purchasing benefits for cash, which is illegal. It is further alleged that Nianghane, also known as the “purse man,” aided Diallo by acting as the initial contact person for beneficiaries who wanted to sell their SNAP benefits for cash. According to the indictment, instead of accompanying SNAP beneficiaries to Brothers Food Market, defendant Nianghane telephoned defendant Diallo and relayed to Diallo the particulars of the proposed illegal sales over the phone.
Between June of 2011 and May of 2014, according to the indictment, Diallo submitted to USDA, on behalf of Brothers, total SNAP reimbursements of approximately $1.1 million.
If convicted, Diallo and Nianghane face a substantial period of incarceration, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $1.8 million, and restitution.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.
Stevensville Businessman Pleads Guilty to FraudRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – Steven Vincent Sann, a 59-year-old resident of Stevensville plead guilty today to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. If the maximum sentences were imposed and ordered to be served consecutively, Sann faces 30 years in prison, $500,000 in fines and 6 years supervised release. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen set sentencing for July 17, 2015. Sann was released pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot told the court that Sann managed the “Sann Companies” which were engaged in the business of marketing a stand-alone voice mail and fax service using a practice known as Local Exchange Carrier (“LEC”) billing to collect for the service’s charges. Sann was the president, secretary, treasurer, and director of one of those companies – Emerica Media Corporation. The Sann Companies were incorporated in Nevada and most of them designated one person – either a relative or friend of Sann’s – to serve as president, secretary, treasurer, and director. The United States alleged the offense occurred between March 2009 and December 2011.
Utilizing LEC billing to collect for services has come under intense scrutiny over the past several years based on allegations that charges are placed on customers’ monthly bills without their knowledge or consent. Such unauthorized billing is known as cramming. Cramming is the placing of unauthorized charges on your wireline, wireless, or bundled services telephone bill. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has estimated that cramming has harmed tens of millions of American households. Crammers often rely on confusing telephone bills to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive, or that cost more than the consumer was led to believe.
In order to place charges on land-line telephone bills for its services, the Sann Companies contracted with billing aggregators such as Transaction Clearing. Transaction Clearing worked with the phone companies (LECs) to facilitate the placing of charges on the monthly phone bills of the Sann Companies’ customers.
The federal charges were based on Sann’s fraudulent misrepresentations to Transaction Clearing related to his and his companies’ business relationships with Transaction Clearing. In March of 2010, Transaction Clearing defined for the Sann Companies what it considered a “cramming complaint” and in its contracts with the Sann Companies required them to report complaints meeting that definition on a monthly basis. The reporting obligation applied whether or not the complaint actually related to a customer being signed up for the service without their consent or knowledge, or was justified or unjustified; it only mattered that a complaint had been made. If the complaints reached a certain threshold, the LECs and billing aggregators would require entities such as the Sann Companies to submit action plans in an effort to reduce the volume of complaints. If complaints persisted, the LECs could suspend the Sann Companies and terminate the billing arrangement.
The contracts also required each Transaction client, including the Sann Companies, to disclose the names of other companies or entities owned or controlled by that client’s officers or principals. In order to continue to receive revenue for the Sann Companies from Transaction Clearing, Sann and his agents failed to accurately report complaints meeting Transaction Clearing’s definition of cramming, and also failed to fully disclose Sann’s interest in the Sann Companies.
An employee of Tri-Data Systems in Montana (Emerica’s accounting firm), at the direction of Emerica in Montana, sent an email to Transaction Clearing in Texas on March 3, 2011, representing the Sann Companies had no complaints meeting Transaction Clearing’s definition of cramming during February 2011. In fact, the Sann Companies received approximately 479 complaints that met Transaction Clearing’s definition of cramming during February 2011.
In addition, Sann transferred $100,000 from a bank account to a Charles Schwab and Company investment account on April 4, 2011. The money involved in that transfer was paid to the Sann Companies in connection with funds received from utilizing LEC billing and therefore was derived from the wire fraud scheme described above.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.
Springfield Businessman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Schemes, Must Pay $3 Million RestitutionRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., businessman pleaded guilty in federal court today to engaging in fraud schemes, even after he was under indictment and while incarcerated, that totaled more than $3 million in losses.
Richard Thomas Gregg, 59, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of bank fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud.
Gregg was the principal shareholder and a director of Southwest Community Bank in Springfield, which failed in May 2010. In the factual basis to his plea agreement, Gregg admitted that the United States could prove he substantially jeopardized the soundness of that financial institution and directly contributed to the failure of the bank. Southwest Community Bank lost $679,399 on Gregg’s personal line of credit and $871,125 on a commercial real estate fraud scheme perpetrated by Gregg, for a total loss of $1,550,524.
Gregg and his wife also were majority shareholders in Glasgow Savings Bank in Glasgow, Mo., which failed in 2012. Prior to Glasgow Savings Bank’s failure, it was one of the oldest operating banks west of the Mississippi River. Gregg was also a real estate developer, an investor and a licensed insurance agent for the Shelter Mutual Insurance Company. Gregg had ownership interest in and controlled a number of business entities.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Gregg will be sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison without parole and must pay $3,098,896 in restitution to the victims of his fraud schemes. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Bank Fraud
By pleading guilty today, Gregg admitted he defrauded Great Southern Bank by selling the collateral securing a $2 million loan, and keeping the proceeds. In February 2009, Gregg borrowed $2 million from Great Southern Bank in Springfield, using 160,000 shares of stock for First Bancshares, Inc. (FBSI), the holding company for First Homes Savings Bank, as collateral. Gregg physically deposited the stock certificate with Great Southern Bank. Between May 6, 2009 and June 6, 2009, Gregg devised and executed a scheme to defraud Great Southern Bank, and to obtain securities under the custody and control of Great Southern Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.
As a part of this scheme, on May 6, 2009, Gregg checked out the original FBSI stock certificate from Great Southern Bank, using as a pretext the stated purpose of separating the large certificate into multiple smaller certificates. At that time, the loan from Great Southern Bank had a balance of $1,511,194. Gregg signed a trust receipt promising to return the stock certificates to the bank within 30 days. Gregg, however, chose not to return the stock certificates to Great Southern Bank and instead used the funds for other purposes. On May 7, 2009, Gregg deposited the collateralized FBSI shares into his account at Scottrade (a privately-owned retail brokerage firm). On May 28, 2009, Gregg borrowed $440,000 from Scottrade, from the margin account on which he used the FBSI stock as collateral.
As a result of Gregg’s fraud, Great Southern Bank consolidated several of his outstanding loans in order to cover the missing collateral. In the end, Great Southern Bank “charged off” $2,316,264 on this consolidated loan. However, the actual value of the FBSI shares, $1,350,400, is the loss directly attributable to the fraud.
Bankruptcy Fraud
While Gregg was already under indictment for bankruptcy fraud relating to the bankruptcy petition of his corporation, 1717 Market Place, LLC, he filed a personal bankruptcy petition that contained numerous false declarations and concealed fraudulent transfers of property.
On March 19, 2013, Gregg filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition. Between Feb. 20, 2013, and Sept. 1, 2014, Gregg devised a scheme to defraud the Bankruptcy Court, the United States Trustee and his creditors. By pleading guilty today, Gregg admitted that his bankruptcy petition contained materially false statements and knowingly omitted material facts. Gregg also admitted that he transferred his property to place that property beyond the reach of the Bankruptcy Court, the United States Trustee and his creditors.
Gregg transferred his interest in two parcels of real estate, a 97.2-acre tract and a 6.4-acre tract in Nixa, Mo. Gregg also filed $250 million in bogus liens on his real and personal property in order to keep them out of the hands of his creditors. Gregg admits that the United States could prove he reported $45,773,834 in unsecured debts to others, which he fraudulently attempted to have discharged in his personal bankruptcy case.
Other Crimes
In addition to the two counts to which he pleaded guilty, Gregg admitted the United States could prove by a preponderance of the evidence all of the other conduct alleged in the indictment against him, including two other bank fraud schemes, wire fraud schemes targeting two casinos, and money laundering.
In one bank fraud scheme, in 2008 Gregg defrauded Southwest Community Bank by selling the bank a piece of commercial real estate at 2814 S. Fremont in Springfield for $1,551,9440, when it was worth less than half that amount. Gregg did not disclose to the other bank directors that he had purchased that property for $775,000 a few months earlier, nor did he disclose that two appraisals had been conducted on the property in recent months. One appraisal valued the property at $762,000. The second appraisal was cancelled when Gregg disagreed with the preliminary work. After Gregg cancelled the appraisal, he had the bank order an appraisal of the Fremont property by another appraiser, who valued the property at $1,580,000. Gregg did not disclose to the bank that this appraisal was not an independent valuation of the property, but rather was something Gregg had, in essence, directed.
In another bank fraud scheme, Gregg used collectible automobiles as collateral to obtain loans, then sold the cars without paying back the loans. Gregg admitted that the United States could prove that in January and February 2010 he executed separate but related schemes to defraud Great Southern Bank, Metropolitan National Bank and People’s Bank of the Ozarks. As a part of these schemes, Gregg sold seven collectible automobiles at the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. Five of the automobiles were encumbered at the three banks.
Gregg borrowed $400,000 from Great Southern Bank in October 2007, which he secured with four collectible automobiles, including a 2006 Ford GT. Gregg consigned the 2006 Ford GT with the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., where on Jan. 23, 2010, the vehicle was sold at auction for approximately $150,000. Gregg chose to not return the proceeds of the sale of the Ford GT ($138,000 after deducting the auctioneer’s fee) to Great Southern Bank and instead used the funds for other purposes. When Gregg defaulted on the loan, Great Southern Bank realized a $129,644 loss.
Also, Gregg borrowed $400,000 from Metropolitan National Bank in 2005. He secured this loan with a “floor plan” financing, meaning the loan was a revolving line of credit made against specific pieces of collateral, in this case automobiles. When each vehicle on the floor plan was sold, the loan advanced against that piece of collateral was to be repaid. This loan was renewed in December 2009. In January 2010, the collateral included a 1971 Chevy Cheyenne Pickup. The portion of the loan’s balance collateralized by the 1971 Chevy Cheyenne Pickup was $17,221. Gregg also consigned the 1971 Chevy Cheyenne Pickup with the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, and it was sold for approximately $29,000. Gregg admits the United States could prove he chose to not return the proceeds of the sale ($26,680 after deducting the auctioneer’s fees) to Metropolitan National Bank and instead used the funds for other purposes. When Gregg defaulted on the loan, Metropolitan National Bank realized a $17,221 loss.
Gregg also admits the United States could prove he committed wire fraud related to bounced checks at two Oklahoma casinos. On Jan. 3, 2012 Gregg presented five checks, payable to Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla., each in the amount of $10,000, knowing his credit union account contained insufficient funds to cover those checks. Between Feb. 16 and March 1, 2012, Gregg presented five checks payable to Downstream Casino and Resort in Quapaw, Okla., in the total amount of $60,000, knowing his bank account contained insufficient funds to cover those checks.
Gregg also admits the United States could prove that on Aug. 14, 2012, he filed a substantially fraudulent corporate bankruptcy petition for his company, 1717 Marketplace, LLC, that misrepresented the company’s financial situation to the material detriment of creditors, and concealed more than $9 million in debt owed to the company by insiders, payments he had directed.
Ongoing Criminal Conduct
Some of Gregg’s criminal conduct occurred while he was on bond and while he was incarcerated.
Following his indictment by a federal grand jury on Feb. 28, 2013, Gregg was released on a personal recognizance bond. While he was on bond, Gregg committed substantial, additional criminal offenses, for which the grand jury issued the first superseding indictment on July 23, 2014. The court found that Gregg had violated his conditions of bond by committing federal crimes while on release. The court found that Gregg posed a danger to the community in the form of potential economic harm, and that Gregg was unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release. For those reasons, the court ordered Gregg’s bond revoked and he was incarcerated.
Gregg, through counsel, filed a motion asking the court to reconsider its order. Prior to the hearing, the government obtained and reviewed recordings of Gregg’s telephone conversations and prison visits, preserved on the Greene County Jail’s recording equipment. The recordings revealed that Gregg had conspired with others to commit new crimes from jail. On Nov. 3, 2014, the court issued an order denying the motion to reconsider bond.
On Nov. 4, 2014, the grand jury returned a second superseding indictment, which charged Gregg with additional acts of bankruptcy fraud.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the FDIC Office of Inspector General and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Snohomish County Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Gun TraffickingRead the Press Release
A 36-year-old Monroe, Washington man who burglarized a Fred Meyer store stealing 29 firearms and selling them to criminals was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. MATTHEW ELSHAUG pleaded guilty in October 2014 to Conspiracy to Possess and Sell Stolen Firearms, Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms, Theft of Firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee, and being a Felon in Possession of Firearms. U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered three years of supervised release to follow the prison term and recommended a residential drug treatment program while ELSHAUG is incarcerated.
According to records filed in the case, in the early morning hours of November 17, 2013, ELSHAUG burglarized the Snohomish Fred Meyer store, using a crowbar to steal 29 firearms from the gun case. ELSHAUG, accompanied by his then-roommate Casey Yount, 27, then sold the guns to two other defendants for money and drugs. Yount was sentenced last December to three years in prison for Conspiracy to Receive, Possess, Barter, and Sell Stolen Firearms. Levi Herz, 31, of Everett, Washington, bought nine of the stolen guns and was sentenced last November to 54 months in prison for Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms and Distribution of Controlled Substances. Raymond Baron, 53, of Marysville, Washington also bought some of the stolen guns. He was sentenced last January to five years in prison for Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms and possession of an unregistered firearm. Of the 29 stolen guns, only nine have been recovered by law enforcement.
ELSHAUG has prior convictions in Snohomish County for burglary, theft, and illegal firearms possession. Yount has prior convictions in Snohomish County for theft and drug crimes. Herz has prior convictions in Snohomish County for drug crimes.
The case was investigated by the Snohomish Police Department, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department, the Marysville Police Department, the Everett Police Department, the Washington State Department of Corrections, the Snohomish Fugitive Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). The Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement on the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.
Santa Fe Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Oxycodone Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel Trujillo, 32, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his Oxycodone trafficking conviction. Romero is one of five Santa Fe residents charged in Sept. 2013, with participating in an Oxycodone trafficking ring in a 16-count indictment.
Trujillo and his co-defendants, Ashraf Nassar, 31, Phillip Anaya, 38, Krystal Holmes, 28, and Sarah Romero, 35, were arrested as part of a multi-agency law enforcement operation that included the execution of search warrants at three residences and a business in Santa Fe. The investigation, “Operation High Desert Bash,” was initiated in Jan. 2013 by the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in Albuquerque, N.M., the Santa Fe Police Department and HIDTA Region III Narcotics Task Force in response to the epidemic increase in prescription drug abuse, addiction and overdose deaths in New Mexico, particularly among teens and young adults.
Operation Desert Bash investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The investigation primarily targeted a drug trafficking organization unlawfully distributing quantities of Oxycodone in Santa Fe County. Oxycodone is an opioid narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine that is medically prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain and can be habit-forming. Officers seized approximately 7300 mg of Oxycodone during the investigation.
Count 1 of the 16-count indictment charged the five defendants with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone in Santa Fe County between Dec. 2012 and Sept. 2013. Counts 2 through 4 of the indictment charged Nassar, Anaya and Holmes with substantive Oxycodone distribution offenses, and all five defendants were charged with using telephones to facilitate drug trafficking crimes in Counts 5 through 16.
Trujillo pled guilty on Jan. 30, 2015, to a conspiracy count and admitted his participation in a conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone in the Santa Fe area between Dec. 2012 and Sept. 2013. Trujillo also admitted that he would frequently receive oxycodone from a co-defendant which he would then redistribute.
Two of Trujillo’s co-defendants also have entered guilty pleas. Anaya pled guilty on Nov. 19, 2014, and Romero pled guilty on Oct. 28, 2014; each admitted participating in the Oxycodone trafficking conspiracy charged in the indictment. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Anaya will be sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. Romero was sentenced on March 26, 2015, to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Nassar and Holmes have entered pleas of not guilty and are awaiting trial. Charges in indictments are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA’s Albuquerque office, the Santa Fe Police Department and the HIDTA Region III Drug Enforcement Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shammara H. Henderson and Joel R. Meyers.
DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squads combine DEA resources with those of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an innovative effort to investigate, disrupt and dismantle those suspected of violating the Controlled Substances Act or other appropriate federal, state or local statutes pertaining to the diversion of licit pharmaceutical controlled substances or listed chemicals.
The HIDTA Region III Drug Enforcement Task Force is comprised of officers from the New Mexico State Police, Santa Fe Police Department and Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. It is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program which was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort 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 and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Richmond Store Owner Sentenced to 41 Months for Cigarette and Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Defendant evaded paying over $1 million in sales tax to Virginia while selling cigarettes to traffickers
RICHMOND, Va. – Mohamed Seid Ahmed Mohamed, 57, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit wire fraud and to traffic in contraband cigarettes. He was also ordered to pay $1,009,046 in restitution to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Taxation.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Robert E. Payne.
Mohamed pleaded guilty on September 3, 2014. According to court documents, Mohamed was the owner and operator of The Cigarette Club, LLC, a cigarette retail store in Richmond, Virginia, doing business as City Cigarettes. From June 2011 to January 2014, Mohamed and his co-conspirators purchased over 440,000 cartons—worth approximately $19.8 million—of various brands of cigarettes at wholesale stores in the Richmond area using multiple membership accounts. In making the cigarette purchases, Mohamed and/or co-conspirators certified that the cigarettes would be resold through Mohamed’s retail business. As a result, he and his co-conspirators were not required to pay the Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax on the cigarettes at the time they purchased them. Instead, they were responsible to collect and pay the taxes once they sold them.
In fact, at the time of each purchase, Mohamed and his co-conspirators intended to sell, and ultimately did sell, the overwhelming majority of the cigarettes to individuals who they knew were transporting the cigarettes to jurisdictions outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia for resale as untaxed cigarettes. Mohamed and his co-conspirators never intended to, and ultimately did not, collect or pay the applicable Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax for the cigarettes purchased at the wholesale stores. As a result of the conspiracy, the Commonwealth of Virginia lost sales tax revenue in the amount of $1,009,046.
This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation in Richmond, Virginia, with assistance from the Multi-Jurisdictional Special Operations Group. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:14CR00143.
Port Angeles Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Eleven Years in Prison for Meth Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
The former owner of ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership in Sequim, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, announced Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. TIMOTHY P. SMITH, 31, pleaded guilty in January 2015. SMITH was arrested in February 2014, following a high speed chase that ended after two sets of spike strips were placed on the highway. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said SMITH was the organizer of an “ongoing, long-term, large conspiracy” involving “weapons and violent undertones.”
“This defendant was a menace in his community who spread methamphetamine and its attendant harm on the Olympic Peninsula,” said Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “The fact that this defendant has been held to account is a testament to effective coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement.”
According to records in the case, SMITH was the leader of a longstanding methamphetamine distribution ring that supplied large quantities of the drug over several years. SMITH sold methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement on multiple occasions in June, July and August 2013 at or near his ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership on Old Blyn Highway near Sequim. SMITH also possessed and sold methamphetamine at other locations in and around Port Angeles. Law enforcement surveillance also revealed SMITH conducting drug deals with his suppliers at multiple locations in Kitsap County including the Four Corners Chevron and Hilltop gas stations in Poulsbo, the parking lot of the Walmart in Poulsbo, and the parking lot of the Target store in Silverdale.
In conjunction with a separate investigation and take-down of another drug ring, which was supplying methamphetamine to SMITH and others, law enforcement arrested SMITH as he traveled back to Sequim from Kitsap County on Sunday evening, February 23, 2014. Shortly after SMITH’s vehicle crossed the Hood Canal Bridge, the Washington State Patrol pulled the car over. After initially stopping, SMITH sped away, traveling at speeds nearing 100 mph and weaving into the lane for oncoming traffic. Troopers noticed white bags being tossed from the car. The car hit one set of spike strips and continued on. After hitting a second set of spike strips the car came to a halt and SMITH and his girlfriend were taken into custody. Inside the bags tossed from the car, law enforcement found 1.6 pounds of methamphetamine. The girlfriend also had $4,000 in cash on her person, which she revealed in a monitored jail call to have been given to her by SMITH during the police chase.
One of SMITH’s co-conspirators, Tammy R. Coburn, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison. The other defendants, Holli A. Bell, Jacob E. Davis, and Charles D. Aslin, have also pleaded guilty in the case and are pending sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET), a task force containing officers from Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department, Neah Bay Department of Public Safety, Elwha Klallam Police, LaPush Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, the Washington Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol and the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNet).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.
Philadelphia Woman Arrested for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that Keonna Thomas, also known as Fatayat Al Khilafah and YoungLioness, 30, of Philadelphia, was charged today by criminal complaint with knowingly attempting to provide material support and resources, including herself as personnel, to a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to the complaint, Thomas attempted to travel overseas in order to join and fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
As alleged in the complaint, Thomas posted on Twitter the following statement: “If we truly knew the realities . . . we all would be rushing to join our brothers in the front lines pray ALLAH accept us as shuhada [martyrs].” The complaint further alleges that Thomas applied for a U.S. passport and advised an associate that she had deactivated her Twitter “till i leave for sham [greater Syria]. . . . don’t want to draw attention of the kuffar [non-believers].” Thomas then allegedly engaged in electronic communications with an ISIL fighter in Syria, who asked Thomas if she wanted to be a part of a martyrdom operation. Thomas responded by stating, “that would be amazing….a girl can only wish.” Thomas also allegedly conducted online research into various indirect travel routes to Turkey, and allegedly purchased an electronic visa to Turkey. The complaint alleges that Turkey is known to be the most common and most direct transit point for individuals traveling from locations in Europe who are seeking to enter Syria and join ISIL. On or about March 26, 2015, Thomas allegedly purchased airline tickets to fly overseas on March 29, 2015.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years’ incarceration.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
A criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Philadelphia Woman Arrested on Suspicions of Trying to Join ISILRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Keonna Thomas, a/k/a “Fatayat Al Khilafah,” a/k/a “YoungLioness,” 30, of Philadelphia, was charged today by Criminal Complaint with knowingly attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the complaint, Thomas knowingly attempted to travel overseas in order to join, fight with, and martyr herself on behalf of ISIL.
The Complaint alleges that Thomas posted on Twitter the following statement: “If we truly knew the realities . . . we all would be rushing to join our brothers in the front lines pray ALLAH accept us as shuhada [martyrs].” The Complaint further alleges that Thomas applied for a U.S. Passport, and advised an associate that she had deactivated her Twitter “till i leave for sham [greater Syria]. . . . don’t want to draw attention of the kuffar [non-believers]. Thomas then allegedly engaged in electronic communications with an ISIL fighter in Syria, who asked Thomas if she wanted to be a part of a martyrdom operation. Thomas responded by stating, “that would be amazing….a girl can only wish.” Thomas also allegedly conducted online research into various indirect travel routes to Turkey, and allegedly purchased an electronic visa to Turkey. The Complaint alleges that Turkey is known to be the most common and most direct transit point for individuals traveling from locations in Europe who are seeking to enter Syria and join ISIL. And on or about March 26, 2015, Thomas allegedly purchased airline tickets to fly to Spain three days later, on March 29, 2015.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
A Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute MethmaphetamineRead the Press Release
El Dorado, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Anthony F. Winters, age 51, of Longvalley, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Honorable Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in El Dorado.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “With today’s sentence, Arkadelphia and the surrounding community have become a safer place for all residents. Our office is committed to eliminating the trafficking of illegal drugs and the violence and other crime it brings with it. I would like to thank the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the Arkansas State Police, the Group 6 Task Force, and the DEA for all their hard work throughout this entire investigation.”
Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson praised the efforts of all the special agents, investigators and officers involved in this extended investigation. Watson commented, “The public expects and deserves the kind of collaboration that was involved in this case. This was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Highway Police, Group 6 Task Force, Arkadelphia Police Department, and Clark County Sheriff’s Department that would not have been possible by any one of these agencies alone.” Watson stated further "The investigation involved hundreds of hours by officers too numerous to mention, but they all deserve credit for their efforts in this investigation; I am very proud of this positive outcome.” Clark County Prosecutor Blake Batson and Sheriff Watson thanked U.S. Attorney Eldridge for his continued assistance in combating drug trafficking in Clark County.
“By working together, DEA and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners are utilizing our respective resources and expertise to achieve results that we could not accomplish on our own. Our combined efforts are making communities in the Western District of Arkansas safer by disrupting the flow of dangerous drugs to our neighborhoods. The sentencing today should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you distribute illegal drugs you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence,” state DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Downing.
According to court records, beginning in October 2013, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Group 6 Drug Task Force and the Arkansas State Police initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine in Southwest Arkansas. During the investigation, agents learned that Anthony Winters was an out-of-state distributor of multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine that originated in Clark County. After further investigation, DEA began setting up an undercover sting operation in Clark County targeting Winters. During April, 2014, Winters traveled from New Jersey to Arkansas in order to pick up a supply of methamphetamine and take it back to New Jersey for distribution. Upon his arrival at the agreed upon location in Clark County, Winters was provided with a shrink wrapped block of counterfeit substance represented to be a half pound (or eight ounces) of methamphetamine. In exchange for that counterfeit substance, Winters exchanged two signed business account checks, and mentioned that he priced the methamphetamine out for $3,000 an ounce to another distributor in New Jersey. After the transaction was completed, Winters was stopped in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, by an Arkansas State Trooper and arrested on a federal warrant. The shrink-wrapped counterfeit substance was found wrapped in a red sleeping bag in the rear passenger area of the pickup truck Winters was driving. Winters was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on May 7, 2014, and pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine on December 1, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Group 6 Drug Task Force, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Arkadelphia Police Department, and the Arkansas State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Ben Wulff prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
Milwaukee Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that Jeffrey Feldman (age: 48), of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pled guilty today to an indictment charging him with one count of receipt of child pornography.
According to the plea agreement, in January of 2013, Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents detected Feldman sharing files containing child pornography over the Internet via a peer-2-peer network. Based in part on this information, law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant for Feldman’s residence, where they recovered numerous encrypted computers and electronic storage devices. Subsequent decryption and forensic analysis of those devices revealed that Feldman had knowingly received thousands of child pornography image and video files via the Internet, including the files charged in the indictment.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2015, before United States District Court Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. At the conclusion of today’s hearing, the defendant was remanded into federal custody.
In announcing today’s plea, United States Attorney Santelle stated: “The plea entered today by Jeffrey Feldman is a reflection not only of his acknowledgment of guilt for his receipt of substantial amounts of child pornography but also of the focused and effective work of investigators and prosecutors in bringing him to justice. In partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, our office remains committed to this high priority mission - that is, identifying and stopping people who prey on our children, victimizing them, their families, and the communities in which we all live and work.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karine Moreno-Taxman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Jeffrey Zeeman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
This criminal prosecution is a 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 United States Department of Justice. 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, investigate, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue the victims of their criminal conduct. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Millennium Capital Exchange CEO Arrested for Running Foreign Exchange Market Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Stafford S. Maxwell, the former owner of Millennium Capital Exchange, Inc., has been arraigned on charges of orchestrating a multi-million dollar foreign exchange market Ponzi scheme. He was indicted March 17, 2015.
“Maxwell allegedly lured investors to his forex firm with false promises of trading success,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Even with an improving economy, investment fraud schemes are as popular as ever, and citizens need to be careful when choosing where to entrust their hard earned money.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “The investigation that led to the indictment and arrest of Maxwell reflects the FBI’s commitment to the many victims that have suffered significant financial losses and hardships as a result of this fraudulent investment scheme as alleged in the indictment. Investors are reminded to be cautious of investment pitches that promise exceptionally high rates of return such as those allegedly promised in this case.”
According to Acting United States Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: In March 2007, Maxwell incorporated and owned Millennium Capital Exchange, Inc. (“Millennium”), which purported to be a foreign exchange market trading firm. The foreign exchange market (or forex market) is the global market in which participants buy, sell, exchange, and speculate on currencies. The forex trading market consists of banks, commercial companies, central banks, investment management firms, hedge funds, retail forex brokers, and individual investors. Forex trading involves the trading of currencies from different countries against each other. An example of a forex trade is to buy Japanese yen while simultaneously selling United States dollars. Trading in foreign exchange markets frequently exceeds $5 trillion per day.
From about 2008 to January 2012, Maxwell solicited investments from individuals across the United States with promises of high fixed rates of return to be generated from successful foreign currency trading. In particular, to obtain money from investors, Maxwell falsely stated that: (a) he possessed excellent forex trading skills; (b) he had a long history of forex trading success; (c) he often assured investors that they would earn an annualized rate of return on their investments from approximately 48% to 72%; (d) he used “stops” and “floors” on currency trades to insure that the gains would be large, but that the losses would be small; (e) investors had realized significant gains based on his trading; and (f) he had reserve funds that enabled him to cover any trading losses.
According to the indictment, Maxwell: (a) had little success executing forex trades; (b) lost almost all the money that he traded in forex markets; (c) was unable to pay investors the promised investment dividends; and (d) possessed no reserve fund to cover forex trading losses.
According to Millennium’s business model, Maxwell was supposed to use the invested funds to make forex trades through accounts at a financial firm in Geneva, Switzerland. Based on his false representations, investors wired Maxwell well over $1 million, expecting that the funds would be traded in the Swiss accounts the indictment alleges. After receiving money from investors, however, Maxwell diverted approximately half of the money for other improper purposes. First, in an effort to perpetuate the scheme and make it appear that he was a successful forex trader, Maxwell used the money received from new investors (that was supposed to be traded on the forex market) to pay “dividends” to older investors. Second, Maxwell used the money received from investors (that was supposed to be traded on the forex market) to pay his own personal living expenses. In the end, Maxwell spent or lost almost every dollar invested with him.
Stafford S. Maxwell, 46, of Mableton, Georgia, was indicted on March 17, 2015, on ten counts of wire fraud.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Men Sentenced for Food Stamp FraudRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Two men who previously pled guilty to federal charges of Conspiracy to Commit Food Stamp Fraud were sentenced to terms of incarceration in U. S. District Court in Syracuse. Ebrima KRUBALLY, 46, of Syracuse, NY, was sentenced to 48 months incarceration and Alieu JAITEH, 32, also of Syracuse, was sentenced to 18 months incarceration according to U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Brian Devine, Resident Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Syracuse Office. U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also ordered both to pay restitution of $1,709,304.81 in connection with the fraud scheme. JIATEH is also facing possible deportation as a result of this conviction as well as for other immigration violations.
KRUBALLY, a naturalized U.S. citizen from The Gambia, had been employed by the New York Department of Transportation as an engineer. KRUBALLY also owned and operated MAMA’s Imports, a food store formerly located at 529 N. State Street, Syracuse, NY. JAITEH, a foreign national, also from The Gambia, is a former employee of MAMA’s Imports. Between 2009 and 2012, the defendants conspired to commit more than $1.7 million fraud scheme by exchanging SNAP (Food Stamp) benefit coupons (including electronic benefits cards) for a discounted amount of cash or non-food items (i.e., clothing, cellular phones, DVD’s).
The Food Stamp Program is now referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP uses tax dollars to subsidize food purchases by eligible low-income or no-income households. SNAP benefits may only be used to purchase food in approved retail food stores, and may not be exchanged for cash or non-food items.
These sentencings are the culmination of a joint investigation conducted by Special Agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York in Syracuse. Substantial assistance was also provided throughout the investigation by the Onondaga County Department of Social Services’ Welfare Fraud Unit, Oneida County Social Services, and the New York State Police.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Geoff Brown. Further questions may be directed to Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John Duncan at 315-448-0672.
Massachusetts Dairy Farm Agrees to Permanent Injunction for Improper Medication PracticesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Michael P. Ferry Inc. and its owner, Michael P. Ferry (Ferry), to block them from violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in connection with their alleged unlawful use of new animal drugs in cows slaughtered for food. The Justice Department filed the suit on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The defendants have agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction that enjoins them from committing violations of the FDCA. The proposed consent decree has been filed with the court and is awaiting judicial approval.
“Failing to maintain appropriate controls in food-producing animals bound for slaughter jeopardizes the public health,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The resolution of this matter ensures that, should it choose to re-enter business, this farm will have the necessary procedures in place to ensure that it delivers safe food to consumers.”
The defendants are primarily in the dairy business, but also sell cows for slaughter as food. Government inspections as recently as June 2014 revealed that Ferry sold animals for slaughter containing excessive and illegal drug residues in their edible tissues. The inspections also revealed that the defendants failed to maintain complete records concerning the medication of their animals. The FDA issued a warning letter to the farm concerning its violations in 2011 and also held a regulatory meeting with the farm in 2013 to discuss unlawful residues found in its cattle. The complaint states that consumers of edible animal tissues who are susceptible to antibiotics may experience severe allergic reactions as a result of ingesting food containing out-of-tolerance antibiotic levels. Furthermore, food containing above-tolerance antibiotic levels contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in those who eat or handle food containing residues of such drugs.
Under the consent decree, the defendants have agreed to shutter their business selling animals for slaughter. To resume selling cows for slaughter, the consent decree requires the defendants to take certain actions and institute measures that must be confirmed by the FDA as compliant.
This matter was handled by Trial Attorney David Sullivan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Scott Kaplan of the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.
Man Sentenced for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert V. McLaughlin, age 58, of Mechanicville, New York, was sentenced today by the Honorable Mae A. D’Agostino to 720 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sentence follows McLaughlin’s guilty plea on November 13, 2014 to two counts of production of child pornography.
The evidence supporting this conviction included McLaughlin’s admission that between 2012 and 2014, he engaged in sexually explicit conduct with two young girls for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that abuse, and that he produced such depictions. In discussing the seriousness of the offenses, which involved the deliberate grooming of two innocent children, Judge D’Agostino noted that to describe McLaughlin’s actions as "disturbing" would be an understatement. The Judge went on to note that the public must be protected from McLaughlin’s predatory behavior.
This prosecution resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher and Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda W. Cox.
Man Convicted of PerjuryRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – JOSEPH JENKINS, age 45 of Geneva, New York, was found guilty of perjury on April 1, 2015 following a jury trial in federal court in Syracuse, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.
The perjury charges arose from JENKINS’s request for appointment of counsel to represent him in connection with prior federal charges filed in 2011 relating to possession and transportation of child pornography. In his application for appointment of counsel, JENKINS made sworn statements to the court about his financial condition. Based on those statements, the court found JENKINS eligible for appointment of free counsel. But JENKINS did not disclose in his sworn statements that he in fact owned investment accounts worth more than $200,000. JENKINS also failed to disclose his ownership of various boats and recreational vehicles.
United States District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford scheduled sentencing for August 3, 2015. JENKINS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
JENKINS was previously convicted on February 6, 2014, following a jury trial, of possession and transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced on November 18, 2014, to a term of imprisonment of 225 months and a fine of $40,000, and he was ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamara B. Thomson and Nicolas Commandeur.
Little Rock Woman Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison in Scheme to Defraud Undocumented WorkersRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Wendy Espinoza, a 32 year old foreign national from Honduras who was living in Little Rock, was sentenced to 96 months in prison and three years of supervised release on each count of Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud. The sentences are to run concurrent with each other. Espinoza was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $541,520.00. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge stated, “With today’s sentence, justice has now been served on behalf of the vulnerable and unsuspecting victims drawn into the devious trap set by Ms. Espinoza. The means in which she represented herself to them and the methods of intimidation that she used in order to enrich herself is nothing short of heartless. She threatened these victims with things she knew would most deeply affect them; arrest, deportation, and the loss of their children. Our office remains dedicated to pursuing fraud cases in the Western District of Arkansas and holding accountable those who swindle and take advantage of others.”
“Criminals routinely make false promises and seek to exploit individuals hoping to gain legal status in the United States,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Cindy M. Johnson. “This case illustrates the importance of being cautious when dealing with service providers, and also shows that Homeland Security Investigations will investigate and seek prosecution of those who prey on individuals to commit fraud.”
Beginning in 2007 and continuing through July, 2014, Espinoza devised a scheme to defraud illegal immigrants and to take their money by falsely representing that she could provide legal advice and services for them to obtain legal resident status in the United States. Specifically, Espinoza misrepresented that she worked with or for an immigration attorney and that she and or the attorney would prepare legitimate immigration documents for a fee. Espinoza in fact has no legal training and has never been associated with an immigration attorney. She would then state that she needed the individuals to pay various illegitimate “fees” and “fines” to continue the immigration process, such as a $10,000.00 “state pardon fee” and a $10,000.00 IRS fine. If those payments were not forthcoming, Espinoza threatened arrest, deportation, and, in one case, losing custody of their children. In order to comply with Espinoza’s demands, the defrauded individuals arranged for payment from family members to accounts designated by Espinoza. During a search of Espinoza’s residence in Little Rock, federal investigators found counterfeit documents that resembled the bogus Social Security Administration and immigration documents Espinoza had provided to some of the victims. Espinoza pleaded guilty to the charges in September, 2014.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records Website at www.Pacer.gov
Lakeland Man Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for Producing and Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell today sentenced Benjamin Cuadrado (41, Lakeland) to 80 years in federal prison for the production and transportation of child pornography. Cuadrado pleaded guilty on January 9, 2015.
According to court documents, between July 26, 2012, and March 25, 2014, Cuadrado produced, transported, received, and possessed child pornography. He used his cellular phone to produce at least 70 videos of him sexually assaulting an infant and a toddler in his care. He transported the child pornography over the Internet using his email account and an Internet messaging program.
A forensic review of Cuadrado’s cellular phone revealed 250 videos and more than 4,000 images of child pornography, including files depicting pre-pubescent children and sadomasochistic conduct.
“Justice has truly been served in this case. Cuadrado’s heinous crimes were against children that were not able to defend themselves,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “Working hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners, HSI will aggressively protect our communities from those who seek to sexually exploit children.”
“The sentence handed down in the case against Mr. Cuadrado brings to an end one of the most disturbing child exploitation cases in the history of our office,” said Alysa Erichs special agent in charge of HSI Miami. “This also sends a message to those who take advantage of the innocence of our children, that we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Miami Beach Police Department, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.
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.
Justice Department seeks information from potential monitors regarding Cleveland Division of PoliceRead the Press Release
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
INDEPENDENT MONITOR
Negotiated Court Enforceable Settlement Agreement
Regarding the Cleveland Division of Police
March 26, 2015
I. DESCRIPTION
The United States and the City of Cleveland (“City”) currently are in negotiations to work toward a court-enforceable settlement agreement (“Consent Decree” or “Agreement”) to address findings issued by the United States on December 4, 2014. The parties have publicly announced that they will jointly select an independent monitor to assess and report to the parties and the Court whether the requirements of the negotiated Agreement are being fully implemented.
The United States Department of Justice, through the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, and the City of Cleveland (collectively, the “Parties”) are seeking interested individuals, firms, or organizations to serve as the Independent Monitor (“Monitor”), either as the lead Monitor or as a subject-matter expert on the Monitor’s team.
The Monitor and his or her team will assist the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (“Court”), the Parties, and the Cleveland community in assessing the implementation of the Agreement in an independent and transparent manner. Once selected by agreement of the Parties and appointed by the Court, the Monitor and his or her team will assess implementation, provide technical assistance, and issue public reports on the City’s compliance with the Agreement.
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This Request is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This Request is not part of, and shall not be governed by, any formal municipal, state, or federal procurement process. Further, this Request does not commit the Parties to select an individual, firm, or organization to serve as the Monitor or a member of the Monitor’s team. The Parties may seek and solicit information regarding interested parties through means other than this Request. Responders are advised that the Parties will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this Request; all costs associated with responding to this Request will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this Request does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued, nor does it eliminate an individual, firm, or organization from being considered to serve as the Monitor or a member of the Monitor’s team.
II. BACKGROUND
On December 4, 2014, the Department of Justice announced its findings resulting from a civil investigation it conducted into use of force by the Cleveland Division of Police (“CDP”). The investigation was conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141. The Department of Justice concluded that it had reasonable cause to believe that CDP engages in a pattern or practice of unreasonable use of force. The City does not agree with the Department’s findings concerning a pattern or practice of unreasonable use of force by the CDP. Nevertheless, the City and CDP cooperated in the investigation, and the Parties have agreed to work collaboratively in an effort to craft an Agreement that will ensure constitutional policing. The Parties affirmed their commitment to reaching an Agreement in a Statement of Principles signed on December 2, 2014 and to selecting an independent monitor to assist in assessing compliance with the terms of the Agreement being negotiated by the parties.
The Agreement will be submitted to the United States District Court in the Northern District of Ohio for approval and entry as an order. It is anticipated that the Court will issue an Order that will include steps to implement, monitor, and enforce such Agreement negotiated by the Parties.
The Findings Letter and Statement of Principles, and other related documents, can be found on the following webpage: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/findsettle.php.
III. MONITOR’S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Agreement will provide for a Monitor to assist the Court, the Parties, and the Cleveland community in assessing and assisting the City’s compliance with the terms of the anticipated Agreement. The Agreement will specify the duties and responsibilities of the Monitor, who will be subject to the supervision and orders of the Court. For the purposes of this Request for Information, you should assume that the scope of the Agreement anticipated between the parties will focus on issues related to the subject areas described in the Unites States’ Findings Letter.
The Monitor will provide objective, cost-effective, and thorough assessments of whether the terms of the anticipated Agreement are being met, and whether implementation of the Agreement is resulting in constitutional policing by the CDP and increased community trust of CDP. The Monitor also will assist in compliance by offering technical assistance, issuing recommendations, and preparing public reports on the Agreement’s implementation. The Monitor will not replace or assume the role and duties of the City or CDP, including the Chief of Police, or any other City official. The Chief of the CDP will always retain full authority to run the Division of Police in accordance with the laws of Cleveland.
IV. qualifications
Experience in the following areas may be useful, although lack of experience in any particular area will not disqualify a candidate.
- law enforcement practices including use of force and force investigations, community policing, crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, training, and search and seizure practices;
- experience evaluating, developing, or implementing processes for supervisors and managers to oversee accountability in a large organization;
- experience managing or overseeing law enforcement personnel;
- monitoring, auditing, investigating, or otherwise reviewing performance of organizations;
- evaluating organizational change and institutional reform, including applying qualitative and quantitative analyses to assess progress and performance;
- experience monitoring and ensuring compliance with settlement agreements, consent decrees, or court orders;
- working with government agencies, municipalities, collective bargaining units, elected officials, civilian oversight bodies, and community members interested in policing issues;
- engaging with diverse community stakeholders to promote civic participation, strategic partnerships, and community policing;
- mediation and dispute resolution;
- use of technology and information systems to support and enhance law enforcement;
- appearing in court as a judge, monitor, counsel, or expert witness, or providing other types of testimony;
- providing formal and informal feedback, technical assistance, training, and guidance to law enforcement agencies;
- experience reviewing policies, procedures, manuals, and other administrative orders
or directives, and training programs related to law enforcement practices; and
- experience with municipal budgetary and fiscal issues.
V. REQUESTED INFORMATION
The Parties request that interested individuals, firms, or organizations submit information to assist the Parties in identifying potential candidates to serve as Monitor or as subject-matter experts on the Monitor’s team. Interested individuals or firms may provide a resume and a letter of interest describing their current or recent experience relevant to the qualifications described above. Please describe any areas of expertise in which you may want to retain additional staff. If you know any specific individuals or entities, including subcontractors and consultants, who will assist the interested party in fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of the Monitor, please include a brief summary of each team member’s relevant background or experience and attach a resume. If the identities of the individuals or entities that would assist in performing the monitoring function are unknown at the present time, please state the areas of expertise that will be sought and the process that will be used to obtain the necessary services and assistance. If you have performed similar services as part of a team before, you can describe the nature and qualifications of the team members employed.
As the Parties negotiate toward an Agreement, the Parties will likely request supplemental information, including references, proposed methodologies, and budget estimates. The Parties will provide additional information on the scope of the anticipated Agreement at that time. Candidates considered for Monitor or as a subject-matter expert on the Monitor’s team will be required to disclose all actual and potential conflicts of interest.
VI. INFORMATION RESPONSE AS A PUBLIC RECORD
Under the laws of the State of Ohio, all parts of the information response, other than trade secret or proprietary information, may be considered a public record which, if properly requested, the City must make available to the requester for inspection and copying. Additionally, the Parties may choose to share all or some of the submissions with the public. Therefore, to protect trade secret or proprietary information, the Responder should clearly mark each portion of each page—but only that portion of each page—of its information response that contains that information. The City will notify the Responder if such information in its information response is requested, and will make every attempt to protect trade secret or proprietary information by citing to the applicable exemption in Ohio’s Public Records Laws. Blanket marking of the entire information response as “proprietary” or “trade secret” is not acceptable and will not protect the entire response unless each part of the entire response is in fact trade secret or proprietary information. The City is not obligated to protect information that is obviously not a trade secret, obviously not proprietary, and obviously public, even if labeled as such. Upon submission of an information response that contains clearly marked trade secret or proprietary information, the Responder is agreeing to defend and indemnify the City against any lawsuit or claim that the City improperly withheld a public record based upon the Responder marking it as a trade secret or proprietary information.
Letters of interest should be submitted as soon as possible in electronic format (preferably pdf) to the Parties as follows:
For the United States Department of Justice:
Carole S. Rendon Rashida J. Ogletree
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Trial Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office U.S. Department of Justice
Northern District of Ohio Civil Rights Division
801 West Superior Avenue Special Litigation Section
Suite 400 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Washington, D.C. 20530
[email protected] [email protected]
For the City of Cleveland:
Barbara A. Langhenry
Director of Law
City of Cleveland
Department of Law
601 Lakeside Avenue. Suite 106
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Justice Department Files Brief to Address Health Care for Prisoners Suffering from Gender DysphoriaRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest today in the Middle District of Georgia in Diamond v. Owens, et al. The plaintiff in that case, a transgender prisoner, alleges that the Georgia Department of Corrections failed to provide adequate care for her gender dysphoria. The statement of interest discusses the unconstitutionality of “freeze-frame” policies, such as the policy allegedly used in the Georgia Department of Corrections. These policies unconstitutionally prohibit treatment beyond the type of care the prisoner received in the community prior to incarceration. Through this filing, without taking a position on the merits of the allegations, the United States stated that the Eighth Amendment mandates individualized assessment and care for gender dysphoria.
“By taking action in this case, the Justice Department is reminding departments of corrections that prison officials have the obligation to assess and treat gender dysphoria just as they would any other medical or mental health condition,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Prisoners with gender dysphoria should not be forced to suffer needlessly during their incarceration simply because they were not receiving care, or could not prove they were receiving care, in the community. Freeze-frame policies can have serious consequences to the health and well-being of transgender prisoners, who are among the most vulnerable populations incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails.”
Based on the facts as alleged, Ashley Diamond was first diagnosed with gender dysphoria as a teenager, nearly twenty years ago. She began taking feminizing hormones, which helped her develop secondary sex characteristics and helped ease the significant physical and emotional discomfort she felt with her biological sex. Yet, when she entered the Georgia Department of Corrections, she was not identified or referred for continuation of this treatment. Instead, her hormone therapy was terminated and she was placed in a secure prison for men.
When Ms. Diamond requested treatment during her incarceration, she was evaluated by Department medical personnel who confirmed Diamond’s gender dysphoria and recommended reinstatement of hormone therapy and other clinically-indicated treatments. However, department officials continued to deny this treatment, telling Diamond that she was ineligible for treatment pursuant to the department’s policy. Because the department did not properly identify Diamond’s gender dysphoria at intake and refer her for treatment at that time, she was, and continues to be, denied necessary medical care.
The facts alleged in this case indicate that the Department of Corrections relied on its freeze-frame policy to deny Diamond the care recommended by the department’s own physicians, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. As stated by the Justice Department in its filing, “[t]wo things are clear from the record in this case: one, the generally accepted standards for treatment of gender dysphoria require treatment decisions be individualized; and two, Ms. Diamond did not receive individualized care.”
Diamond v. Owens, et al. was filed in February 2015.
Information: Federal Court ArraignmentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that those persons listed below were arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate and the indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ostby in Billings on April 1, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- FRANKLYN DON HAMMONTREE, a 42-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, HAMMONTREE faces life in prison, $5,000,000 in fines and 4 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. PACER Case Reference: 15-27
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Johnston in Great Falls on March 31, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- COBRA JADE SPOTTED WOLF, a 35-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of burglary and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. If convicted the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SPOTTED WOLF faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice. PACER Case Reference: 15-19
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ostby in Billings on March 27, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- JUEL REBECA GRAHAM, a 29-year-old resident of Hardin, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, GRAHAM faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. PACER Case Reference: 15-26
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynch in Missoula on March 25, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- ARMANDO GOMEZ-HERNANDEZ, a 51-year-old resident of Mexico, appeared on charges of illegal reentry. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, GOMEZ-HERNANDEZ faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol. PACER Case Reference: 15-05
- RAFAEL RAMOS-ROMERO, a 28-year-old resident of Mexico, appeared on charges of illegal reentry. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, RAMOS-ROMERO faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. PACER Case Reference: 15-19
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ostby in Billings on March 20, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- MELVIN LEE WOODENTHIGH, JR., a 33-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared on charges of sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, abusive sexual contact and abusive sexual contact of a minor. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, WOODENTHIGH faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. PACER Case Reference: 15-20
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ostby in Billings on March 19, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- RENEE ANN ZINNECKER, a 50-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of wire fraud. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, ZINNECKER faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. PACER Case Reference: 15-09
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ostby in Billings on March 17, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- MICHAEL SERREL JOHNSON, a 45-year-old resident of Minot, North Dakota, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, JOHNSON faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 15-13
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynch in Missoula on March 17, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- BLAINE GARRETT REPOSA, a 30-year-old resident of Corvallis, Oregon, appeared on charges of distribution of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, REPOSA faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Bozeman Police Department and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. PACER Case Reference: 14-29
- ANTHONY DANE ROBERTY, a 54-year-old resident of Bozeman, appeared on charges of receipt of child pornography. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, ROBERTY faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Bozeman Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 15-16
If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system so that you stay current and not miss any important developments in the case.
To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
Indianapolis residents convicted of trafficking firearms to HondurasRead the Press Release
Three convicted of illegally purchasing and exporting handguns
PRESS RELEASE
Indianapolis – Josh J. Minkler, the United States Attorney, announced today the recent convictions of three Indianapolis residents in two separate schemes to unlawfully purchase handguns in Indiana and export those weapons to Honduras, Central America.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence sentenced Wilmer A. Mejia-Fuentes (“Mejia”) to 36 months imprisonment and a $1,500 fine for his role in purchasing and exporting 21 handguns to Honduras. Judge Lawrence had previously sentenced Mejia’s ex-wife, Starlene Mejia, to two years of probation for illegally straw-purchasing three of the 21 handguns her ex-husband exported to Honduras.
In a separate but nearly identical case, on July 31, 2014, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Alex Martinez to 39 months imprisonment and a $5,000 fine for unlawfully purchasing and then exporting 28 handguns from Indiana to Honduras.
This case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Policia National Civil de Honduras, after law enforcement officials in Puerto Cortez, Honduras, located three identical, stainless steel, Beretta 9 millimeter handguns, wrapped in foam and duct tape, concealed inside a box containing clothing and household items that had been shipped from the United States. All three weapons were traced back to a purchase made by Alex Martinez at an Indianapolis area gun store. During the course of a lengthy subsequent investigation, ATF and HSI agents determined that between August of 2006 and November of 2010, Martinez and the Mejias purchased a total of forty nine (49) handguns from approximately nine (9) different federally licensed gun dealers in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Of those forty nine 49 firearms, eighteen (18) were subsequently located in Honduras, where they were registered to various individuals in the Honduran national firearms registry. Thirty-one of the weapons remain unaccounted for.
When contacted by federal agents in Indianapolis, both Alex Martinez and Wilmer Mejia admitted they had exported the weapons they purchased to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for the purpose of reselling them. Starlene Mejia admitted she had purchased firearms for her ex-husband which he subsequently exported to Honduras. Wilmer Mejia admitted that he was able to sell the handguns in Honduras for nearly $800 per weapon more than he paid for them.
These crimes were particularly egregious given the destination of the illegally exported firearms. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the city of San Pedro Sula, where many of the guns ended up, has been particularly hard hit by violence.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Rinka, who prosecuted the case for the government, both Alex Martinez and Wilmer Mejia were ordered to serve two years of supervised release following their release from incarceration. Wilmer Mejia, who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, also faces deportation proceedings.
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Indianapolis man sentenced for witness tamperingRead the Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS – Josh J. Minkler, United States Attorney, announced today that Logan Mediate, 21, a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced to prison by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt to 156 months (13 years) imprisonment following his guilty plea to tampering with a federal witness and possession of a sawed-off shotgun in furtherance of a crime of violence. Mediate was also sentenced to five years of supervised release upon his release from incarceration.
“Anyone who threatens or intimidates a witness will feel the full wrath of federal prosecution,” said Minkler. “Violent crime cannot be tolerated in our neighborhoods and reducing it, will remain a top priority of this office.”
On February 26, 2014, the FBI arrested Mediate’s mother, Jennifer Gaddy, for the distribution of methamphetamine. On March 17, 2014, Mediate confronted the confidential informant who had purchased the methamphetamine from Gaddy in the Mars Hill area of Indianapolis. Mediate told the informant that he knew the informant’s cooperation had led to Gaddy’s arrest and threatened to kill the informant. Mediate produced a sawed-off shotgun from his vehicle and pointed it at the informant. Mediate then pointed the sawed-off shotgun into the air and discharged a round from the shotgun. Mediate then repeated his threat to kill the informant. On March 24, 2014, the FBI located the sawed-off shotgun at a residence in Mars Hill. The FBI also located photographs of Mediate posing with the sawed-off shotgun that Mediate had posted on his Facebook page.
On June 6, 2012, a Marion County jury found Mediate not guilty on charges stemming from a double homicide in Indianapolis.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and prosecuted by Bradley A. Blackington, Senior Litigation Counsel for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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