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Wednesday 18 February 2015
McKees Rocks Man Charged with December Robberies of 2 Local BanksRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A McKees Rocks resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank robbery, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Clarence Troutman, 38, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on Dec. 23, 2014, Troutman robbed a First Niagara Bank located at 810 South Aiken Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and on Dec. 30, 2014, Troutman robbed a Citizens Bank located at 31 Foster Avenue, Crafton, Pa. Both of the banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, per count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Crafton Borough Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree MurderRead the Press Release
In Strangulation of Girlfriend
-Defendant Fled Apartment After Murder, Was Arrested the Following Day-WASHINGTON – Kevin McDarrin Johnson, 52, of Landover, Md., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder for killing his girlfriend last year at the apartment they shared in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Johnson pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a prison sentence between 20 and 26 years. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2015.
According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 20, 2014, Johnson strangled his girlfriend, Detra Martin, 48, to death in the apartment they shared in the 800 block of Southern Avenue SE. After strangling her, Johnson left Ms. Martin in her bed, locked the bedroom door, and fled the apartment. Johnson did not show up to work the next day. Law enforcement acted swiftly, and arrested Johnson the day after the murder at a relative’s home in Maryland.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to the District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Lashone Samuels, Ethel Noble, and Meridith McGarrity; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard DiZinno and Natalia Medina, who are prosecuting the case.
15-22Manhattan U.S. Attorney Settles Civil Fraud Claims Against Compassionate Care Hospice for Fraudulently Billing Medicare and Medicaid for Hospice Nursing Services Not Adequately ProvidedRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Scott Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (“HHS-OIG”) New York Region, announced today that the United States has settled civil fraud claims under the False Claims Act against COMPASSIONATE CARE HOSPICE OF NEW YORK, LLC (“CCH-NEW YORK”) and COMPASSIONATE CARE HOSPICE GROUP LTD. (“CCH GROUP” and collectively, “CCH”) related to CCH’s submission of fraudulent claims for reimbursement by Medicare and Medicaid, for hospice nursing services not adequately provided by CCH-NEW YORK.
In the settlement, approved today in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, CCH-New York accepted responsibility for failing, at its Bronx location, to treat patients according to an individualized plan of care, failing to meet the needs of certain patients, failing to make nursing services available 24 hours a day and seven days a week as required, and failing to maintain adequate clinical records, while CCH Group accepted responsibility for failing to provide sufficient oversight of CCH-New York through its compliance audits. CCH-New York agreed to pay $4,992,000 to the United States and $1,680,000 to the State of New York to resolve its liability for this conduct. In addition, CCH entered into a corporate integrity agreement with HHS-OIG, through which it agrees to implement certain institutional compliance measures and submit to monitoring by HHS-OIG for five years.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “In addition to protecting public monies, this settlement agreement protects patients who require hospice care, by holding Compassionate Care Hospice accountable for providing inadequate services and sending a message to all similarly situated providers.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Scott Lampert said: “CCH’s conduct compromised both the care provided to its patients as well as the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This settlement affirms HHS-OIG’s commitment to holding providers accountable so that they provide high quality of care to their patients and bill health care programs appropriately.”
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
Between May 2010 and September 2011, CCH-New York, at its Bronx location, failed to provide hospice nursing services in the manner required by the applicable regulations, including following patients’ plans of care, which typically required a hospice nurse to visit the patient one to three times per week. The complaint alleges that nurses employed by CCH-New York routinely missed these visits, then, at the direction of management in the Bronx office and with the knowledge of CCH Group, falsified nursing notes in patients’ files in order to make it appear as though the visits had been performed. CCH, nonetheless, billed Medicare and Medicaid for services not actually performed or not performed in compliance with the applicable regulations, and received millions of dollars as a result of the fraudulent claims.
Mr. Bharara thanked the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the New York State Attorney General’s Office for its assistance in the investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Cristy Irvin Phillips is in charge of the case.
Madison County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing, Possessing and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – A Madison County man pleaded guilty today in federal court to multiple charges of producing child pornography, some of it taken with cameras he had hidden in the bathrooms of three Huntsville-area businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr., Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sec. Spencer Collier and Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin.
JEREMY JOSEPH NELSON, 42, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala to the seven counts of an indictment filed against him in November. The indictment charged him with producing child pornography between 2012 and 2014, with possessing child pornography depicting children under age 12, and with distributing child pornography. His sentencing is scheduled June 9.
Nelson acknowledged in his guilty plea that, for several years, he used hidden cameras to surreptitiously record underage girls in the bathroom of his residence. He also acknowledged that, while working as a janitor, he had hidden cameras in the employee bathroom of a Huntsville television news studio, in the customer bathroom of a Cadillac dealership, and in the bathroom and changing rooms of a dance studio.
Nelson pleaded guilty to four counts of using or causing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct so he could record the conduct. One of those counts stated that the crime took place at a Huntsville dance studio. Nelson also pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on computer, computer disk or videotape, and to distributing the pornography over the Internet.
Nelson's plea agreement with the government states that in exchange for his guilty plea to the indictment, the government agrees not to file additional charges for attempted production, receipt or possession of child pornography for images taken by Nelson at the dance studio before Oct. 7, 2014. Those images could have resulted in more than 130 additional criminal counts, according to the plea agreement.
The maximum penalty for producing child pornography is 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison. The maximum penalty both for possessing and distributing child pornography is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but the distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn Hutzell and Daniel Fortune are prosecuting.Louisiana Man Charged with Robbing First National Bank on Steubenville Pike in JanuaryRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Crowley, Louisiana, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on a charges of Bank Robbery, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Kirk Stutes, 52, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on Jan. 16, 2015, Stutes robbed First National Bank located at 6298 Steubenville Pike, Pittsburgh, Pa. The bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robinson Township Police Department, North Fayette Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Long Beach Woman and Son Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Teenagers Who Worked as ProstitutesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach woman pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal charges of working with her son to prostitute a local runaway beginning when the girl was 15 and another young woman beginning when she was 18.
Sharilyn Kae Anderson, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiring with her son to engage in sex trafficking, an offense that carries a potential penalty of life in federal prison.
In a plea agreement filed in United States District court, Anderson admitted that she and her son used force, threats of force or coercion against the adult victim.
Anderson’s guilty plea comes nine days after her son, Joshua Jerome Davis, 23, pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking conspiracy, as well as two substantive counts of sex trafficking of a minor and an adult by force, threats of force or coercion. The charge of sex trafficking of a child by force carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years. The sex trafficking of an adult by force, threats of force, or coercion, or any combination of these means, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years.
Anderson was arrested in August 2013 outside a residence he leased in North Las Vegas. At the time of his arrest, investigators located and rescued the minor victim who was with Anderson.
The Long Beach Police Department initially opened the investigation after the minor victim’s father reported her missing. The ensuing investigation uncovered evidence that Davis, assisted by his mother, had prostituted the victim at several hotels in Southern California and transported her across state lines to Nevada to engage in commercial sex in Las Vegas.
According to court documents, Davis first communicated with the minor victim on Facebook in 2010, when she was 14, leading to an initial meeting in early 2012. Several months later, the minor victim created an account on a website commonly used to promote prostitution and escort services. Anderson helped facilitate the prostitution scheme by booking hotel rooms and transporting both victims to hotels to engage in prostitution when her son was unavailable. Anderson also threatened the adult victim to intimidate her to continue making money for her son by prostituting.
Anderson and Davis each pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder, who is scheduled to sentence Anderson on May 18 and Davis on May 4.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Long Beach Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Release No. 15-013
Logan County man gets three years' probation, fine for federal tax crimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Alvis Porter, 61, of Holden, Logan County, West Virginia, was sentenced to three years of federal probation and a $2,000 fine.
In July 2014, Porter pleaded guilty to failing to collect, account for and pay over federal employment taxes. He also admitted to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to David Runyon, general manager of Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County.
Porter owned and operated Quality Oil, Inc., which did construction work at the Mountain Laurel complex. Porter admitted that he began paying kickbacks to Runyon in 2009, so Runyon would continue to hire Porter’s company to do work at the mine. Porter paid Runyon $5,000 per month initially, with the sum eventually growing to $10,000 per month. Porter estimates he paid Runyon around $400,000 in kickbacks over four years.
Porter also admitted that in 2013, he paid a Quality Oil employee under-the-table cash wages to avoid withholding federal taxes. Failing to collect and pay over federal employment taxes is a crime. Porter paid the employee more than $63,000 in cash.
Porter agreed to forfeit $350,000 to the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the kickback scheme, and $29,851.48 in restitution for his failure to withhold employment taxes.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.
This sentence stems from an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service and West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas handled the prosecution.
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Lawrenceville Man Who Fled to Mexico Sentenced for Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsDaryl G. Nenninger, a 34-year old, Lawrenceville, Illinois, man was sentenced on February 18, 2015, in federal district court in Benton, Illinois, for violation of the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Nenninger was sentenced to 48 months in prison with 5 years of supervised release to follow; fined $100, and ordered to pay $100 special assessment.
The violation was discovered after the Department of State and the U.S. Consulate in Mexico notified the United States Marshal’s Service that Nenninger had been arrested in Mexico on March 28, 2014. Nenninger was extradited to Illinois and taken into custody by law enforcement officials, where he then admitted that after registering in Lawrence County, Illinois, on December 11, 2013, he took a train from Effingham, IL, to El Paso, Texas, and then crossed the Mexican border without properly informing the State of Illinois as to his whereabouts. Nenninger was convicted on November 17, 2005, for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse in Third Judicial Court in Bond County, Illinois.
Further information about the federal sex offender registration requirements is available here: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide/citizensguide_sorna.html.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.
Las Vegas Telemarketer Sentenced to over Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on February 17, 2015, Robert K. Mathews, 52, of Las Vegas, NV, was sentenced in the United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, to 63 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Mathews was also ordered to pay $1,460,343 in restitution and a $100 special assessment.
“I can only hope that this sentence sends a very loud and clear message to the scammers and thieves who try to prey on Southern Illinois consumers – Illinois is a “no call” state!” said United States Attorney Wigginton.
The charge arose out of a telemarketing scam which operated in Las Vegas, Nevada, which defrauded over 3,000 victims more than 10 million dollars. Consumers were victimized in all fifty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, all ten Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territory of Canada, as well as Australia, Israel and the United Kingdom. There were at least twelve victims in nine of the thirty-eight counties comprising the Southern District of Illinois. Court filings state that the scheme operated from December 5, 2006 until January 24, 2012.
The company purported to be a Georgia corporation located in Delaware, but actually operated in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vacation Max represented that they had found corporate buyers interested in acquiring blocks of timeshare units including the consumer's timeshare unit for purported business and tax purposes. Then fees were solicited of up to several thousand dollars from each timeshare owner in purported pre-paid closing costs and related expenses. However, sales did not occur and Vacation Max did not successfully sell any consumer’s timeshare interest except a relatively small number at fire sale prices.
This prosecution is one of nearly 75 timeshare resale fraud prosecutions brought in the Southern District of Illinois over the past four years. The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Verseman and Michael Hallock.
Las Vegas Business Man and His Mother Charged with Arson for 2010 Convenience Store Fire in Which Man DiedRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man and his mother have been indicted by the federal grand jury on charges that they destroyed the mini-mart store they owned in North Las Vegas in order to collect the insurance proceeds, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Peter Argyris, 46, of Las Vegas, and his mother, Joann Argyris, 67, of Boulder City, Nev. are charged with conspiracy to commit arson, arson resulting in death, use of fire to commit mail fraud, six counts of mail fraud, and criminal forfeiture. They were arrested yesterday evening by ATF Special Agents, and are scheduled for an arraignment and plea at 3:00 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr. If convicted, they face up to life in prison on the conspiracy and arson charges, 10 years consecutive on the use of fire to commit mail fraud charge, up to 20 years in prison on each mail fraud charge, and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.
“The allegations against the defendants are very serious,” said U.S. Bogden. “Not only did the fire destroy the property, but a life was lost. We will use federal resources to ensure that the persons who committed this crime for monetary gain are convicted and punished.”
"Death by an act of arson is a heinous crime and leaves a devastating impact on the victim’s family and the community," said Special Agent in Charge, Joseph M. Riehl. "ATF and its partners will aggressively pursue this investigation and bring those responsible to justice."
According to the allegations in the indictment, in 2010, the defendants and their company, Argyris Enterprises, LLC, owned a commercial property located at 3820 E. Craig Road in North Las Vegas, which housed a gas station, convenience store and restaurant called the JCW Mini-Mart. The defendants held an insurance policy on the property for approximately $4.7 million. From about June to September 2010, the defendants conspired and devised a scheme to intentionally burn down the mini-mart in order to collect the insurance proceeds. On Sept. 19, 2010, the defendants caused the mini-mart to be destroyed by fire, which resulted in the death of B.D. In December 2010, Peter Argyris submitted an insurance claim seeking approximately $1.4 million for the replacement cost of the building and loss of business income, and falsely represented that the fire damage did not originate by any act of his own.
This case is being investigated by ATF, the North Las Vegas Fire Department, and the North Las Vegas Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip N. Smith, Jr.
Kingsland Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzling over $1.2 Million from EmployerRead the Press Release
Brunswick, GA: James Jeffrey Hosea, 56, of Kingsland, Georgia, pleaded guilty last week before Chief United States District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood in connection with a long-term embezzlement scheme he perpetrated upon his employer.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing, Hosea was employed by TDS Telecommunications Corp. Over the course of nearly seven years, Hosea executed an embezzlement scheme whereby he created a fake vendor, falsified invoices from that fake vendor, and then submitted those phony invoices to his employer for electronic payment to a PayPal account. Once the invoices were paid by his employer, Hosea would then transfer the money from the PayPal account to his personal bank accounts. Hosea made over 800 fraudulent transactions. As part of the plea agreement, Hosea consented to a judgment against himself in the amount of $1,230,634.21, which represents the sum stolen from his employer.
Hosea pled guilty to wire fraud. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Hosea’s sentencing will be scheduled after the United States Probation Office completes a presentence investigation. Hosea remains out on bond pending his sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney T. Shane Mayes is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Washington County, Missouri, to Ensure Accessibility of Public FacilitiesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today an agreement with Washington County, Missouri, to resolve issues of accessibility of buildings that offer county services and programs. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which the Civil Rights Division plays a critical role in enforcing.
Washington County and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the ADA. Under the agreement the county is required to ensure that people with disabilities can get inside buildings that offer county services and programs, and take full advantage of those services and programs.
The agreement with Washington County will allow people with disabilities to access county services and programs, such as Randy Barron, who attempted to apply for a marriage license. Barron was met with barriers after he got through the front door of the county building and found that the ramp going to the Recorder of Deeds office was too steep for him to safely get his wheelchair down. In addition, there was no room for him to maneuver his wheelchair to a flat surface and reach the door. Experiences like this, however, will become a thing of the past over the next three years thanks to the PCA agreement. You can learn more about Barron’s story by checking out the Justice Department blog, where each month of 2015, the department is highlighting how PCA agreements have an impact on the everyday lives of people with disabilities.
Under the agreement, Washington County will ensure that people with disabilities can get inside buildings that offer county services and programs, and take full advantage of those services and programs. The county is required to remove architectural barriers in its buildings, including making entrances accessible. Washington County has already installed an elevator to provide access to the upper and lower levels of the courthouse.
“Access to a county government’s programs, services and activities is a fundamental civil right guaranteed to community members,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Through this agreement, Mr. Barron and other individuals with disabilities will have the opportunity not only to get in the front door of county buildings, but have access to all aspects of civic life provided by the county.”
For more information about the ADA, today’s agreement and the PCA initiative, individuals may access the ADA Web page at http://www.ada.gov/civicac.htm or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).
Indian National Pleads Guilty to Using Altered Immigration DocumentsRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that an Indian national pleaded guilty Tuesday to making and using altered immigration documents.
Ajay Jawahar, 49, of India, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. According to the evidence presented at the guilty plea, while Jawahar was at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety’s Office of Motor Vehicles in Shreveport on August 3, 2012, he presented five I-29s (U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services Notices of Action), which is a petition for a non-immigrant worker to stay in the United States. Three of the I-29s were altered by changing the dates on them to show Jawahar was lawfully in the United States. An Office of Motor Vehicles employee detected the fraudulent documents and notified federal authorities. When Homeland Security Investigations special agents questioned Jawahar about the documents, he admitted to altering them.
Jawahar faces not more than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The court can also order him deported. Jawahar is on bond pending his sentencing date of June 25, 2015.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Independence Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn, Faces 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to produce child pornography by secretly recording videos of unsuspecting victims in restrooms and changing rooms in various businesses at Independence Center and elsewhere.
Nicholas A. Braile, 25, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah W. Hays to two counts of attempting to produce child pornography.
Braile was arrested at a Walmart store in Independence on May 15, 2014, when a Walmart security guard caught him taking an “up skirt” photo of a female customer with his cell phone. Law enforcement officers arrested Braile and obtained search warrants for his cell phone and residence, where they seized a desktop computer and a laptop computer.
Investigators located video files on the desktop computer of women and girls changing in store dressing rooms, videos taken in the restroom at Braile’s work place (Harbor Freight Tools in Independence) and “up skirt” video files from several businesses at Independence Center. All of the businesses involved in the investigation cooperated fully with law enforcement officers.
The store manager at Harbor Freight Tools identified photographs of two teenage victims as store employees. The photographs were taken from videos that depicted the teens using the restroom and changing clothes at Harbor Freight Tools. Braile also filmed customers who used the restroom, including adults and small children. Detectives observed the restroom where the videos had been produced. There was a small section of the ceiling where the ceiling tile was missing. This restroom was next to a janitor closet. Located in the ceiling of the janitor closet was a paint roller, without the brush, that was positioned over the hole in the ceiling tile in the restroom. Detectives surmised that the paint roller was used to hold Braile’s cell phone over the hole in the ceiling tile so that he could film the teens in the restroom without their knowledge.
Detectives determined that a victim in one of the “up-skirt” videos located on Braile’s computer worked at a store in Independence Center. The store manager identified the 16-year-old victim. The video depicts Braile asking the victim for assistance and then, because of his close proximity to her, Braile is able to maneuver his phone into a position to film up the victim’s skirt.
Braile’s cell phone contained several “up skirt” and dressing room videos from dates shortly prior to his arrest. In several videos, Braile followed females around stores until he was able to get his phone under their skirt. In one video he looked under a dressing room stall and moved to another dressing room to get closer to a female victim. In another instance a prepubescent girl was standing next to her father when Braile took a video up her skirt.
The forensic examination of Braile’s computers and phone also located approximately 468 photographs he had taken of prepubescent female children. These images were taken at Braile’s work place and at Independence Center. The images depict children shopping with their parents. There is no nudity in the images but they focus on the buttocks and crotch area of the children.
The forensic examiner also located child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet. The collection, most of which was located on a laptop computer, included 138 video files of child pornography. There were also so-called “modeling images” of young girls approximately 9 to 14 years of age.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Braile will be sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Under Department of Justice guidelines, the attempted production of child pornography is ordinarily charged in cases that involve surreptitious recordings. The statutory penalties for producing child pornography are the same as the penalties for attempting to produce child pornography.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
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."
Importing Methamphetamine and Heroin Lands 10-Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas - Mexican national Sergio Cobaruvias-Romero, 55, has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. He pleaded guilty April 14, 2014.
Today, U.S. Senior District Judge George Kazen handed Cobaruvias-Romero a sentence of 120 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
On or about Jan. 18, 2014, Cobaruvias-Romero entered the U.S. from Mexico via the Laredo Port of Entry Bridge #2 in Laredo driving a 2002 Ford Ranger pickup van. Upon entering the primary inspection lane, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents discovered anomalies within the vehicle’s tire.
Agents then conducted further examination and extracted 20 bundles of methamphetamine weighing 20.88 kilograms in addition to four bundles of heroin weighing 5.9 kilograms.
Cobaruvias-Romero admitted to trafficking these drugs from Mexico and planned to deliver them to Conroe. He further admitted to multiple prior drug trafficking, during which he would receive $3,000 on each occasion.
The charges are the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and CBP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker is prosecuting the case.
Illinois Woman Sentenced for Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that, Lakeshia W. White, 24, of Cahokia, IL, was sentenced on a one-count indictment charging that she engaged in a scheme to commit health care fraud. The district court sentenced White to three years of probation and ordered her to pay $1,957.72 in restitution as well as a $100 special assessment.
Facts revealed in court showed that White was the personal assistant for her cousin. Information in the record showed that White billed for hours of care when she was either not caring for her cousin or when her cousin was actually in jail. White simply pocketed the payments for her own financial gain even though she was on court supervision at the time.
“Nationwide, the biggest fraud problem in the Medicaid program has been these personal assistant programs which represent the number one fraud complaint to state Medicaid fraud units. Especially vulnerable to fraud are programs, such as the one implemented in Illinois, that allows the Medicaid recipient to control the selection and payment of personal care attendants. In most cases, the personal care assistant is a relative or family friend, who often is a ghost employee. In a typical fraud scenario, the scam payments made by the State of Illinois are split between the Medicaid recipient and the ghost employee.” noted United States Attorney Wigginton. “My goal is that our prosecutions help end this fraud so that funds which are essential to needy persons are not illegally paid to fraudsters.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Illinois State Police - Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hallock.
If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with healthcare laws or public aid programs, you may report this activity to the local office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General or call 800.447.8477.
Hurst, Texas, Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Hurst, Texas, man appeared in federal court this morning and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging child pornography offenses, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Specifically, Randy Ray Wesson, 29, pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography. He faces a maximum statutory sentence on the possession count of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. On the receipt count, he faces a statutory sentence of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. However, according to the plea agreement filed, if the Court accepts this plea agreement, the parties agree that the appropriate punishment in this case is no more than 30 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for June 25, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.
Wesson has been in custody since his arrest in November 2014 on related charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, the investigation began when a detective with the Hurst Police Department received information form the Dallas Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit regarding a Cybertip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). That referral indicated that a particular Instagram member had uploaded an image of child pornography through their server on June 7, 2014. The investigation revealed that Wesson was the owner of that account.
Officers with the Hurst Police Department executed a state search warrant at Wesson’s home on November 18, 2014, in an effort to search for and seize evidence of child pornography. Wesson was present during the search. A forensic examination revealed that Wesson’s desktop computer contained files visually depicting minors, including a prepubescent minor, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
In addition, according to the filed factual resume, on February 9, 2014, Wesson used the Internet and Instagram to receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Hurst Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.
Huron Man Charged with Use of Fraudulent Identification DocumentRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man living in Huron, South Dakota, but originally from Mexico, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Use of Fraudulent Identification Document.
Milton Oropeza-Chavarria, a/k/a Alfredo De Jesus De Leon, age 21, was indicted on February 4, 2015. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 12, 2015, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 5 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about November 30, 2011, Oropeza-Chavarria used an identification document, namely, a social security card and identification card bearing the name Alfredo De Leon knowing it was not issued lawfully for his use, for the purpose of satisfying a requirement of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The charge is merely an accusation and Oropeza-Chavarria is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie G. Sanderson is prosecuting the case.
Oropeza-Chavarria was released on bond pending trial which has been set for April 7, 2015.
Groton Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JUAN G. CHEVEREZ, also known as “Guinchi,” 33, of Groton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 77 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release for conspiring to import and distribute cocaine in southeastern Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in early 2012, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the U.S. Secret Service and the New London Police Department initiated an investigation to combat the large-scale trafficking of heroin and cocaine from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico into and around southeastern Connecticut. The investigation revealed that certain members of the conspiracy coordinated the shipment of heroin, and sometimes cocaine, via human couriers from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Other members of the conspiracy obtained kilogram-quantities of cocaine in Puerto Rico and then mailed the drug to locations in and around New London where it was sold to distributors and customers. Narcotics were also obtained from sources in New York City and Rhode Island.
More than 100 individuals were charged with federal and state offenses as a result of this investigation.
The investigation revealed that CHEVEREZ received kilogram-quantities of cocaine in the mail from Axel Matta Figueroa, also known as “Joelito,” in Puerto Rico, and distributed the drug in southeastern Connecticut.CHEVEREZ has been detained since his arrest on April 3, 2013. On March 19, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Axel Matta Figueroa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on November 20, 2014, he was sentenced to 66 months of imprisonment.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; Connecticut State Police; New London Police Department, Norwich Police Department, Waterford Police Department, Groton Town Police Department, East Lyme Police Department and Putnam Police Department. The United States Marshals Service; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; Drug Enforcement Administration; HSI Assistant Attaché, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; HSI Arecibo, Puerto Rico Resident Office; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services; and the Groton City, Willimantic, New Haven and Bristol Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah P. Karwan, Alina P. Reynolds and Henry K. Kopel. The state cases are being prosecuted by the State’s Attorney for the New London Judicial District and Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Paul Narducci and Stephen Carney.
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Tom Carson
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[email protected]Glen Burnie Bank Robber Sentenced to 9 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Jermel Henderson, age 38, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, to 9 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbing a bank in Glen Burnie. Judge Blake also ordered Henderson to pay $1,766 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Wes Adams.
According to his plea agreement, on October 11, 2013, Henderson demanded cash from a teller at the TD Bank located at 7926 Crain Highway in Glen Burnie, Maryland. After receiving $1,971from the teller, Henderson demanded that all bank employees get on the ground. Henderson then fled. A dye pack that was included in the cash that Henderson took exploded a short distance from the bank, and $205 was later recovered from that location.
Anne Arundel County Police detectives learned that Henderson was the fifth customer to enter the bank that day and that a cleaning crew had cleaned the bank the previous night. They also saw from the bank’s video surveillance that Henderson had placed his left hand down on the counter in front of the tellers while demanding the money. Henderson was not wearing gloves, and it had been raining that day. An Anne Arundel County crime scene technician lifted a wet, latent palm print from the bank counter, and the print was identified as Henderson’s.
The teller identified Henderson from photos as the robber. On November 8, 2013, Baltimore City Police officers arrested Henderson for an unrelated incident. During an interview, Henderson told Anne Arundel County Police detectives, “I’m guilty no matter what I tell you.” Henderson also told them that he had previously been found guilty of a bank robbery in Baltimore and served federal prison time.
Judge Blake had sentenced Henderson in 1996 to 70 months in prison for a previous bank robbery.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore Police Departments and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted the case.
Former Wells Fargo Bank Manager Pleads Guilty to Fraud and TheftRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Sharon Lynn Shaw pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to bank fraud and theft by bank officer, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Marino.
In pleading guilty, Shaw, 67, of San Jose, Calif., admitted that from 2001 through 2012 that she engaged in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank while serving as a manager at that bank. Shaw admitted that she used the names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information belonging to her parents, without their knowledge or authorization, to create false and fraudulent business loan applications which she submitted to her employer Wells Fargo Bank; and a checking account in the name of her parent to receive those loan proceeds. Shaw admitted that she used her position as a bank manager to submit fraudulent applications to Wells Fargo Bank, to approve the loans, and to conceal their fraudulent nature. Shaw admitted that she was advanced credit based on those fraudulent loans and then converted the proceeds for her own personal use (including paying off the mortgage on her house) without Wells Fargo’s knowledge or authorization. Shaw also admitted that she embezzled from Wells Fargo bank a $12,800 line of credit advance in January 2010 as well as a $20,000 line of credit advance in February 2010.
Shaw was charged in an indictment filed in San Jose federal district court on May 21, 2014. There is no plea agreement in the case. Shaw pleaded guilty to all six counts in the indictment.
After Shaw’s guilty plea, U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman set this matter for a sentencing hearing on May 19, 2015 at 9 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and Theft by Bank Officer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 656, is 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and five years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Fazioli and Philip Guentert are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service.
Former Title Company Owner Heads to Prison in Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Harris County resident Kirk Smith has been ordered to prison following his conviction for defrauding seven different Houston-area banks or more than $2 million in 2007 and 2008, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Smith pleaded guilty Oct. 9, 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Smith a 36-month sentence to be followed by three years of supervised release. He will also have to pay $2,078,783.68 in restitution.
As outlined in documents filed with the court and admitted by Smith during his guilty plea, he orchestrated a check kiting scheme that targeted seven different financial institutions in the Houston area. The scheme used multiple bank accounts held in the name of title companies and financial service companies Smith controlled. Smith carried out the scheme by signing checks drawn on the business accounts of these companies knowing the accounts lacked sufficient funds to cover the checks.
At Smith’s direction, an employee of the title companies named Maria Eliza Garza deposited the checks into other company accounts. This conduct artificially inflated the account balances. Smith then wrote additional checks, using the inflated balance caused by the deposit of the insufficient fund checks and caused Garza to deposit those checks into either the original issuing account or other company accounts.
Smith admitted that he used the fraudulently-inflated account balances at the Houston-area banks without institutional approval as interest-free loans, lines of credit and sources of funds for his personal use. He admitted he and Garza discussed these account balances on a near daily basis and that even after two of the Houston-are banks discovered the kiting scheme and notified him that they were closing his accounts, Smith continued the kiting scheme by opening new accounts at two different financial institutions.
From January through June 2008, the number and amount of checks kited by Smithincreased substantially. During this six-month time period, the combined deposits of nine accounts at the remaining Houston-area banks totaled $128,499,315.99. Almost 99% of these deposits - $127,010,571.40 - were from checks made payable between the nine accounts. The kiting activity occurred on a near-daily basis and averaged almost 14 deposited items per day. Smithsigned approximately 98% of the checks used during this time period.
The scheme collapsed in June 2008, when another bank learned of these financial irregularities and suspended Smith’s immediate access to checks deposited in the corporate accounts. The scam caused a total loss of $2,078,783.68.
Garza also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She was sentenced Jan. 21, 2015, to 18 months in prison and restitution for the full loss amount.
Smith was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The investigation was worked jointly by the FBI, Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Webster and Friendswood Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pearson is prosecuting the case.
Former New York City Police Department Officer Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 28 Months in Prison for Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JOHN L. MONTANEZ, a former police officer with the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 28 months in prison for credit card fraud and identity theft. Sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “While a Police Officer, John Montanez engaged in credit card fraud and identity theft. As Montanez said on tape, ‘I am not the cop you think I am.’ For certain, he was not the cop the public deserved and not one who deserved to carry an NYPD badge. By breaking the law, John Montanez not only threatened the safety of others, but also undermined the position of law enforcement as a pursuer of justice. We will continue to actively prosecute cases of police corruption.”
According to the Complaint, Information, prior filings, and today’s proceeding:
In 2011, an individual, who subsequently agreed to cooperate with law enforcement (the “CW”), informed MONTANEZ, who was at the time a police officer with the NYPD, that the CW had a suspended and/or revoked driver’s license. In response, MONTANEZ offered to provide the CW with the name and driver’s license number of a real person – so that if the CW were stopped by law enforcement, the CW could pretend to be someone else – in return for items that the CW would purchase for MONTANEZ with fraudulently obtained or stolen credit cards. After that, in return for the CW purchasing merchandise for MONTANEZ, and providing to MONTANEZ credit card/debit card numbers that MONTANEZ understood were stolen or fraudulently obtained, MONTANEZ provided to the CW multiple names, dates of birth, and driver’s license identification numbers of other people. One such person, referred to in the Complaint as “Victim-1,” was a fellow police officer with the NYPD, serving in the same precinct as MONTANEZ.
The CW was arrested in June 2013 and later began recording meetings with MONTANEZ as part of the CW’s cooperation with law enforcement. During these meetings, MONTANEZ offered to provide additional identities to the CW in return for merchandise purchased with credit cards that MONTANEZ believed the CW had stolen or fraudulently obtained. In one recorded meeting, MONTANEZ said to the CW: “I am not the cop you think I am. I am a piece of s***.”
In connection with MONTANEZ’s arrest, law enforcement executed a search of his apartment and of his locker at his precinct. The search of the apartment yielded, among other things, identification documents in other names and a device allowing for the swiping of a credit/debit card. The search of the locker yielded 16 identification documents in other names, including driver’s licenses, benefits cards, and Social Security cards. The identification documents obtained from the search of the locker appeared to come from arrests that MONTANEZ effected or participated in throughout the course of his career as a police officer.
MONTANEZ, 28, of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty in August 2014 to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to his prison term, he was sentenced to two years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $2,500, and pay a $200 special assessment.
Mr. Bharara thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, which worked to develop evidence implicating MONTANEZ and assisted in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Bharara also praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Richenthal is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Miami-Dade County, Florida, Vendor Involved in Kickback Scheme Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
A resident of Great Neck, New York, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to a one-count information charging him with filing a false federal income tax return, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced today.
According to the Information and court filings, Paul Raifaizen was an owner of Data Industries Inc., a computer consulting company located in the state of New York, which provided information technology services to public and private sector entities. Between 1998 and 2012, Data Industries provided information technology services to Miami-Dade County. Jesus Pons was a Computer Services Manager at the General Services Administration of Miami-Dade County. Pons was responsible for managing and allocating resources to information technology projects for Miami-Dade County, as well as supervising work performed by county vendors. From 2007 to 2011, Raifaizen and Pons engaged in an illegal kickback scheme in which Raifaizen made kickback payments to Pons in exchange for Pons approving payments from Miami-Dade County to Raifaizen’s company for consulting work that was never performed. Raifaizen did not report the payments he received from this kickback scheme on his 2011 individual income tax return. According to the plea agreement, the tax due and owing to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a result of this scheme is between $200,000 and $400,000.
Raifaizen is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine for filing a false tax return.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their assistance, as well as Trial Attorneys Jeffrey McLellan and Erin Pulice of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Former Corrections Officers Charged with Conspiracy to Violate Civil RightsRead the Press Release
PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging that William F. Finch, 35, of Wauseau, Florida, Dalton E. Riley, 24, of Bethlehem, Florida, James F. Perkins, 39, of Graceville, Florida, Robert L. Miller, 48, of Lynn Haven, Florida, and Christopher B. Christmas, 32, of Chipley, Florida, conspired to violate the civil rights of an inmate at the Northwest Florida Reception Center (“NWFRC”), a state prison in Chipley, Florida. The indictment was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that, on August 5, 2014, the defendants physically assaulted an inmate at NWFRC without justification and caused the inmate bodily injury. To cover-up the defendants’ actions, the indictment further alleges that defendant William Finch falsified reports of the incident by falsely stating that the assault was in response to the inmate spitting on another officer. The arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Larry A. Bodiford at the United States Courthouse, 30 West Government Street, Panama City, Florida.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Corrections – Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gayle E. Littleton. United States Attorney Marsh expressed her deep appreciation for the dedicated and difficult work by the investigative team.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html
Former Army Captain Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Michael Benjamin Crowder, 37, of Bradenton, Florida, was sentenced in federal court yesterday to 60 months in prison for wire and mail fraud. The sentence was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
While attending law school at the University of Florida under the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program, Crowder operated M & H Coins and Precious Metals, LLC, from his Gainesville home. Crowder continued to operate the business while serving as a Judge Advocate General in the United States Army when stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Evidence introduced at his August 2014 trial established that Crowder took more than $1.2 million from his customers claiming the funds would be used to purchase coins and precious metals. Crowder embezzled the money instead, using it to purchase real estate and invest in the commodities market. No money has been recovered.
Crowder was subject to an Army Board of Inquiry upon the return of the indictment and, in lieu of disciplinary action, resigned his commission, effective November 1, 2013.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Court Judge Mark E. Walker sentenced Crowder to a three-year term of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1,214,282 in restitution. At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, Crowder was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.
United States Attorney Marsh praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation whose investigation led to the convictions and sentence in this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg McMahon.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Florida Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Murder a Foreign National; Sale and Smuggling of Deadly ToxinsRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General of National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Special Agent in Charge John P. Woods of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, New Jersey, and Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark Division announced that a Florida man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for producing and selling potentially deadly toxins ricin and abrin for use as weapons, and conspiring to kill a woman in the United Kingdom.
Jesse William Korff, 20, of Labelle, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan on Aug. 12, 2014, to an information charging him with five counts of developing, producing, transferring and possessing toxins, five counts of smuggling toxins and one count of conspiring to kill a person in a foreign country.
Korff was arrested in Florida on Jan. 18, 2014, following a joint investigation by HSI and the FBI of Korff’s sales of toxins through an underground, Internet-based marketplace known as “Black Market Reloaded” (BMR).
“Jesse Korff peddled his poison in a shadowy, online network favored by cybercriminals,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “He also offered guidance on its effective use, and his sentence today appropriately took account of his participation with an overseas customer in an attempted murder plot. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to intercede before Korff could conclude his deadly transaction.”
“This sentence should serve as a warning to those who capitalize from the use of underground websites such as BMR,” said Special Agent in Charge Woods. “HSI will maintain its unrelenting commitment to protecting our land borders as well as virtual borders from individuals like Korff. Anyone who mistakenly thinks that they can get away with these types of crimes by hiding in the endless depths of the internet must know that HSI will seek them out and bring them to justice.”
“Jesse Korff acquired abrin and ricin, potentially lethal toxins, through an underground internet-based marketplace, so they could be used for deadly purposes,” said Special Agent in Charge Frankel. “Thankfully, with the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners, and the tactical and technical expertise of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, he was intercepted and his potentially deadly threats did not become a reality.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in April 2013, HSI special agents in Newark launched an investigation of illicit sales activity on BMR. The website provided a platform for vendors and buyers to conduct anonymous online transactions involving the sale of a variety of illegal goods, including biological agents, toxins, firearms, ammunition, explosives, narcotics and counterfeit items.
From August 2013 through January 2014, Korff maintained a seller’s profile on BMR under the moniker “Snowman840.” Korff advertised the sale of deadly toxins and provided his prospective purchasers with information about quantities necessary to kill a person of a given weight, along with instructions on how to secretly administer the toxin so as to avoid suspicion by law enforcement officials. Korff sold various quantities of ricin and abrin to international purchasers located in India, Austria, Denmark and England. Korff smuggled the toxins from Florida to the international purchasers by concealing the toxins in packages sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
On at least one occasion in December 2013, Korff agreed to produce, and ultimately provided, a quantity of abrin to a purchaser in London who intended to poison and kill an individual she claimed was her mother. After the purchaser’s receipt and administration of the initial dose, which was ineffective, Korff agreed to provide a second quantity of the toxin in order to assist the purchaser in the implementation of the murder plot.
Before Korff had an opportunity to smuggle the second dose of abrin to the London purchaser, an undercover agent contacted Korff through BMR and commenced negotiations for the sale of two liquid doses of abrin. During their online conversations, Korff told the agent about his delivery methods – concealing vials in a carved-out and re-melted candle – and discussed how much abrin was needed to kill a person of a particular weight and how best to administer the toxin. Korff also assured the agent that a victim’s poisoning symptoms would mimic a bad case of the flu, subsequently resulting in death. Korff claimed that the toxin would not ordinarily be detected in an autopsy.
Korff and the agent agreed on a total purchase price of $2,500 for two doses of the poison, which was intended to be smuggled from Florida, through New Jersey, en route to a destination in Canada. Korff designated a prearranged location for the transfer of the toxins, and e-mailed the agent pictures of a specific spot at a rest stop approximately 10 miles outside Fort Myers, Florida, where he planned to leave a package containing the abrin.
On the arranged day, Korff dropped off a fast food bag containing two wax candles at the location. Another undercover agent collected the bag and left behind the required payment. Law enforcement had Korff under surveillance throughout the transaction.
Subsequent forensic analysis by the FBI of the liquid contained within the vials revealed the presence of active abrin. Even a small dose of the toxin is potentially lethal to humans if ingested, inhaled or injected – causing death within 36 to 72 hours from the time of exposure.
Following Korff’s arrest, law enforcement agents conducted an exhaustive, three-day search of Korff’s property. As a result of those efforts, agents recovered several computers, castor beans, rosary peas, capsules, vials, jars, syringes, filters, respirators and other items commonly utilized in the manufacture, production, sale, packaging and shipping of toxins and chemical substances, as well as numerous firearms. Among the items recovered was the second liquid dose of abrin that Korff had intended to ship to the London purchaser. Significantly, information and evidence obtained by U.S. law enforcement agents in this case was shared with, and successfully used by, authorities in England, Denmark and Austria to disrupt related criminal activities in those nations.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson sentenced Korff to five years of supervised release and fined him $1,000.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin joins U.S. Attorney Fishman in thanking the special agents of HSI offices in Newark and Ft. Myers, Florida, and the FBI offices in Newark and Tampa, Florida, for their efforts with the investigation that led to today’s sentence. He also thanked the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Glades County, Henry County and Lee County, Florida, sheriff’s offices for their assistance. Vital support was provided by the FBI WMD Directorate in Washington, D.C., the FBI Laboratory Division, the DHS National Bioforensic Analysis Center, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, under the direction of Commander Duncan Ball.
The government is represented by Attorney Joseph N. Kaster of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Carletta of the District of New Jersey.
Florida Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Murder a Foreign National, Sale and Smuggling of Deadly ToxinsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - A Florida man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for producing and selling potentially deadly toxins ricin and abrin for use as weapons and conspiring to kill a woman in the United Kingdom, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jesse William Korff, 20, of Labelle, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan on Aug. 12, 2014, to an information charging him with five counts of developing, producing, transferring and possessing toxins, five counts of smuggling toxins and one count of conspiring to kill a person in a foreign country.
Korff was arrested in Florida on Jan. 18, 2014, following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI of Korff’s sales of toxins through an underground, Internet-based marketplace known as “Black Market Reloaded” (BMR).
“Jesse Korff peddled his poison in a shadowy, online network favored by cybercriminals,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “He also offered guidance on its effective use, and his sentence today appropriately took account of his participation with an overseas customer in an attempted murder plot. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to intercede before Korff could conclude his deadly transaction.”
“This sentence should serve as a warning to those who capitalize from the use of underground websites such as BMR,” John P. Woods, acting special agent in charge of HSI Newark, said. “HSI will maintain its unrelenting commitment to protecting our land borders as well as virtual borders from individuals like Korff. Anyone who mistakenly thinks that they can get away with these types of crimes by hiding in the endless depths of the internet must know that HSI will seek them out and bring them to justice.”
“Jesse Korff acquired abrin and ricin, potentially lethal toxins, through an underground internet-based marketplace, so they could be used for deadly purposes,” Richard M. Frankel, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Newark, said. “Thankfully, with the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners, and the tactical and technical expertise of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, he was intercepted and his potentially deadly threats did not become a reality.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in April 2013, HSI special agents in Newark launched an investigation of illicit sales activity on BMR. The website provided a platform for vendors and buyers to conduct anonymous online transactions involving the sale of a variety of illegal goods, including biological agents, toxins, firearms, ammunition, explosives, narcotics and counterfeit items.
From August 2013 through January 2014, Korff maintained a seller’s profile on BMR under the moniker “Snowman840.” Korff advertised the sale of deadly toxins and provided his prospective purchasers with information about quantities necessary to kill a person of a given weight, along with instructions on how to secretly administer the toxin so as to avoid suspicion by law enforcement officials. Korff sold various quantities of ricin and abrin to international purchasers located in India, Austria, Denmark, and England. Korff smuggled the toxins from Florida to the international purchasers by concealing the toxins in packages sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
On at least one occasion in December 2013, Korff agreed to produce, and ultimately provided, a quantity of abrin to a purchaser in London who intended to poison and kill an individual she claimed was her mother. After the purchaser’s receipt and administration of the initial dose, which was ineffective, Korff agreed to provide a second quantity of the toxin in order to assist the purchaser in the implementation of the murder plot.
Before Korff had an opportunity to smuggle the second dose of abrin to the London purchaser, an HSI undercover agent contacted Korff through BMR and commenced negotiations for the sale of two liquid doses of abrin. During their online conversations, Korff told the agent about his delivery methods – concealing vials in a carved-out and re-melted candle – and discussed how much abrin was needed to kill a person of a particular weight and how best to administer the toxin. Korff also assured the agent that a victim’s poisoning symptoms would mimic a bad case of the flu, subsequently resulting in death. Korff claimed that the toxin would not ordinarily be detected in an autopsy.
Korff and the agent agreed on a total purchase price of $2,500 for two doses of the poison, which was intended to be smuggled from Florida, through New Jersey, en route to a destination in Canada. Korff designated a prearranged location for the transfer of the toxins, and e-mailed the agent pictures of a specific spot at a rest stop approximately 10 miles outside Fort Myers, Florida, where he planned to leave a package containing the abrin.
On the arranged day, Korff dropped off a fast food bag containing two wax candles at the location. Another undercover agent collected the bag and left behind the required payment. Law enforcement had Korff under surveillance throughout the transaction.
Subsequent forensic analysis by the FBI of the liquid contained within the vials revealed the presence of active abrin. Even a small dose of the toxin is potentially lethal to humans if ingested, inhaled or injected – causing death within 36 to 72 hours from the time of exposure.
Following Korff’s arrest, law enforcement agents conducted an exhaustive, three day search of Korff’s property. As a result of those efforts, agents recovered several computers, castor beans, rosary peas, capsules, vials, jars, syringes, filters, respirators and other items commonly utilized in the manufacture, production, sale, packaging, and shipping of toxins and chemical substances, as well as numerous firearms. Among the items recovered was the second liquid dose of abrin that Korff had intended to ship to the London purchaser. Significantly, information and evidence obtained by U.S. law enforcement agents in this case was shared with, and successfully used by authorities in England, Denmark, and Austria to disrupt related criminal activities in those nations.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson sentenced Korff to five years of supervised release and fined him $1,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of HSI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Woods in Newark; special agents of the FBI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frankel; and FBI special agents under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal, Tampa Division, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence. He also thanked HSI in Ft. Myers, Florida, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan McCormick, for their work. The U.S. Attorney also thanked the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Glades County, Henry County and Lee County, Florida, sheriff’s offices for their assistance. Vital support was provided by the Justice Department’s National Security Division Counterterrorism Section and FBI WMD Directorate in Washington, the FBI Laboratory Division, the DHS National Bioforensic Analysis Center; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; and the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, under the direction of Commander Duncan Ball.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Carletta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
14-061
Defense counsel: David Holman Esq., Newark
Felon sentenced for concealing illegal firearmRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Reginald Bennett, 41, of Cedar Grove, West Virginia, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
In August 2014, Bennett pleaded guilty to unlawful concealment of a firearm. He was stopped by the Charleston Police Department for a traffic offense Sept. 12, 2013, during which he was found to be in possession of a .38-caliber Colt revolver. Bennett was prohibited from possessing firearms due to multiple felony convictions in Baltimore.
After being charged with felony possession of the revolver, Bennett moved a Ruger M77 rifle from his home to hide it at another location in South Charleston. It was Bennett’s intent to keep federal authorities from locating the rifle, which was ultimately located and recovered when agents executed a federal search warrant in South Charleston.
Bennett agreed to forfeit both firearms.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.
The case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.
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Father and Son Pizza Store Owners Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
The father and son owners and operators of pizza stores in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area were sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina for willfully filing false tax returns, the Justice Department announced.
Thair Alwan was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, and was required to pay a $10,000 fine. Saill Fadhil, Alwan’s son, was sentenced to serve 30 days in prison to be served during three years of probation and was required to pay a $5,000 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to these tax crimes on July 15, 2014.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Alwan and Fadhil own and operate I Love NY Pizza stores in the Raleigh area. During tax years 2008 and 2009, Alwan and Fadhil skimmed approximately $1.34 million from the company’s various stores and willfully filed false federal income tax returns that failed to report the income, resulting in substantial tax underpayments. The skimmed cash receipts were used for personal expenditures and deposited into their personal bank accounts. When making cash deposits, Alwan structured the transactions to be under $10,000 and avoided the filing of Currency Transaction Reports.
This case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Todd Ellinwood of the Justice Department's Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Hulbig of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Fair Oaks Man Sentenced for Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Orest Shaynyuk, 22, resident of Fair Oaks, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 57 months in prison for Possession of Child Pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, in July 2013, Shaynyuk was found with a cell phone containing multiple videos and photos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including two between the ages of 12 and 15. The cell phone also contained communications between Shaynyuk and various underage females with the purpose of enticing the underage females into sex. Shaynyuk solicited and received photographs of females that he knew to be minors engaging in sex acts, and made some of the images and videos of the minors himself using his cell phone camera. Shaynyuk used internet messaging programs to communicate with underage females and in some cases send them naked pictures of himself, and admitted to having sexual contact with numerous different underage females. Shaynyuk has been in custody since his arrest on July 10, 2013.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Kyle Reardon prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety.
Eagle Butte Man Charged with Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.
Loren Laplante, Jr., age 24, was indicted on February 11, 2015. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 17, 2015, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on January 9, 2015, Laplante unlawfully assaulted the victim in Dupree, South Dakota. The assault resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim.
The charge is merely an accusation and Laplante is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson is prosecuting the case.
Laplante was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Dubuque Woman Pleads Guilty to Violating the Anti-Structuring RegulationsRead the Press Release
Contact: Steve Young
A Dubuque woman who broke up cash deposits to avoid federal reporting requirements pled guilty on February 17, 2015, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Janet E. Malone, 68, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of one misdemeanor count of willful violation of an anti-structuring regulation.
In a plea agreement, Malone admitted that she made 12 structured cash deposits totaling $89,100.00 into her bank account. The deposits were made approximately one year after IRS agents warned Malone’s husband, in her presence, that structuring laws forbid such transactions.
Sentencing before United States District Court Magistrate Judge Jon S. Scoles will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Malone remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Malone faces a possible maximum sentence of less than one years’ imprisonment, a $100,000.00 fine, $25.00 in special assessments, and up to one year of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cole and was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-CR-01006.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Drug Indictment in Kansas Began with Traffic Stop in UtahRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An investigation that began with a traffic stop in Utah led to a federal indictment in Kansas City, Kan., Wednesday charging five people with drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Ana Claudia Rodriguez-Rodriguez, 39; Sergio Lopez, 41; Migel Lopez-Lopez, 22; Daniel Rivera, 32; and Andres Marquez, 22, are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Rodriguez-Rodriguez was stopped by the Utah Highway Patrol Jan. 21, 2015, driving a red 1991 Jeep Cherokee. Troopers found approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine in the car. Investigators determined that she was headed to the Kansas City area to deliver the drugs. In Kansas City, Kan., officers set up a sting operation and arrested the other defendants when they attempted to take delivery of the drugs.
If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $10 million. The Utah Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Tomasic is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Derick Allen Spicer, 34, is charged with failing to register as required by the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The crime is alleged to have occurred Dec. 12, 2014.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
Andrew J. Denning, 23, Wichita, Kan., and Tyler W. Lewis, 22, Wichita, Kan., are charged with one count of distributing marijuana and one count each of unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Feb. 3, 2015, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the marijuana count and a penalty of not less than five years on the gun charges. The Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
District Man Sentenced to over Nine Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
For Series of Burglaries Targeting Senior Citizens
-Defendant Posed as a Cable Company Worker to Gain Entry Into Houses-WASHINGTON – Tyrone Calliham, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to nine years and two months in prison for a series of burglaries and thefts, all targeting senior citizens, in which he gained entry to the victims’ residences by posing as a cable company employee, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Calliham pled guilty in November 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts count of first-degree burglary of a senior citizen; three counts of attempted first-degree burglary of a senior citizen, and one count of first-degree identity theft. He was sentenced by the Honorable Milton C. Lee. Upon completion of his prison term, Calliham will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Calliham’s crimes spanned a period of several years. They took place in daylight hours, with Calliham typically knocking on the doors of senior citizens’ homes and pretending to be a cable company employee or a former cable worker. In at least one incident, he was wearing a shirt with the company’s logo. He typically said that he needed to come inside the homes to check the wiring or offered to perform services that would lower monthly cable bills. Once inside, he headed into various rooms and took money, wallets, credit cards, cellphones and other items. He pled guilty to charges stemming from five incidents on four days. The crimes took place in Northeast and Northwest Washington on Oct. 1, 2010; Aug. 16, 2013; June 26, 2014, and July 10, 2014. Victims ranged in age from 73 to 90.
In one incident, for example, on July 10, 2014, Calliham approached a 75-year-old woman outside her residence. He stated that he used to work for a cable company and he offered to do electrical work. She accepted. She allowed him into her home so he could see the circuit breakers. He then asked her to stand by the circuit breakers, saying he would yell to her from outside to turn them on and off. The victim stood by the circuit breakers, waiting, until a neighbor came to check on her some minutes later after seeing the defendant leave the location. He had left with the victim’s wallet.
Calliham was identified last year after he was caught on surveillance video and after he brazenly left his name with one of the victims. He was arrested in North Carolina and extradited to the District of Columbia. Far from being ashamed of what he had done, prior to his arrest, on his Facebook account, Calliham “Liked” an article on a news website about his own crimes.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Bruckmann, of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, who investigated and prosecute the case.
15-23
District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder While Armed in 2013 Slaying of Howard University StudentRead the Press Release
-Killing Took Place in Botched Robbery Attempt-
WASHINGTON – Rasdavid Lagarde, 28, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from a botched attempted armed robbery of two Howard University students in which one of the victims was killed, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Lagarde pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to second-degree murder while armed for the death of 22-year-old Omar Sykes and attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for the attack on the surviving victim. He is to be sentenced on May 8, 2015, by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. The plea, which is contingent on the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of 20 to 30 years of incarceration.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 4, 2013, at about 11:20 p.m., Lagarde and an accomplice were in the 700 block of Fairmont Street NW. Mr. Sykes and another Howard University student were also on the block, walking ahead of them.
Lagarde’s accomplice pulled out a gun. He ran towards the student who was with Mr. Sykes, and ordered him to the ground. He struck the student in the head multiple times with the gun, hit him in the ribs, and kicked him. He then ordered the student multiple times not to look at him or Lagarde. At one point during the assault, Lagarde told the accomplice that he thought the student was looking at him. The accomplice then hit the student yet again.
During this attack, Lagarde pulled out a gun and approached Mr. Sykes to assist in the robbery. Lagarde’s accomplice ordered Mr. Sykes to the ground and tried to force him to the ground next to the other victim. As Lagarde attempted to pistol-whip Mr. Sykes, Lagarde fired his gun at Mr. Sykes. Mr. Sykes was shot by a single gunshot that traversed through his arm and into his chest. Lagarde and the accomplice then fled from Fairmont Street.
Mr. Sykes died from the gunshot wound. The other student suffered lacerations to his head, including a huge gash to his forehead that required multiple stitches to treat. He also suffered several bruised ribs.Lagarde was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on Oct. 15, 2013 for the murder of Mr. Sykes. He told detectives that the accomplice initiated the robbery. However, once the attempted robbery began, Lagarde helped with it. Lagarde admitted that he was armed with a .380 firearm, which he used during the robbery attempt. Lagarde stated that he did not intend for the gun to fire, but it did fire during a tussle with Mr. Sykes when he tried to force Mr. Sykes to the ground. No other arrests have been made in the case.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, crime scene officers, and the Third Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department, as well as Jacob Kunkle of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Marcia Rinker, James Brennan, M. Laverne Forrest, Debra Cannon, and Michael Hailey, all of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Paralegal Specialist Vanessa Trent-Valentine; former Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Marian Russell; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Litigation Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown, and Intern Abhi Mehta. He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shana Fulton and Veronica Sanchez, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.
15-24
Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Announce Agenda for Public Workshop on Examining U.S. Health Care CompetitionRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued the agenda for their joint public workshop, Examining Health Care Competition, which will be held on Feb. 24 and 25, 2015, at the Constitution Center Auditorium located at 400 7th Street S.W., Washington, D.C., 20024.
The workshop will study recent developments related to health care provider organization and payment models, with an emphasis on how they may affect competition in the provision of health care services. Specific discussion topics will include early observations regarding accountable care organizations; alternatives to traditional fee-for-service payment models; trends in provider consolidation; trends in provider network and benefit design strategies, as well as contracting practices and regulatory activity that may enhance or undermine these strategies; and early observations regarding health insurance exchanges.
The workshop will be webcast live on the FTC’s website. Registration information and directions to the FTC Conference Center are available on the event web page. Advance registration is not required, but is strongly encouraged.
Public comments can be submitted through April 30, 2015. Suggested comment topics, and instructions on how to submit comments online and by mail, can be found in the Federal Register notice.
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities who wish to attend the workshop in person are available upon request. Requests should be submitted via email to [email protected] or by calling Lara Kittelson at 202-326-3388. Requests should be made in advance. Please include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and provide contact information.
Press contacts:
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
Emily Pierce
202-514-2007Federal Trade Commission
Office of Public Affairs
Betsy Lordan
202-326-3707Staff contacts:
Department of Justice
Antitrust Division, Office of Legal Policy
Patrick M. Kuhlmann
202-305-4639Federal Trade Commission
Office of Policy Planning
Stephanie A. Wilkinson
202-326-2084Co-Creator of “Blackshades” Malware Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALEX YÜCEL, the co-creator of malicious software known as the Blackshades Remote Access Tool, or “RAT,” which has been sold and distributed through YÜCEL’s Blackshades organization to thousands of people in more than 100 countries, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to one count of distribution of malicious software. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel presided over the plea proceedings.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Through his creation and sale of the Blackshades RAT, Alex Yücel enabled anyone, for just $40, to violate the property and privacy of his victims. With his guilty plea today, Yücel will now have to pay for his conduct. This Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and around the world to find and prosecute those who create, market, and employ malicious software.”
According to the allegations in documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at today’s plea and other court proceedings:
Beginning in at least 2010, the “Blackshades” organization, which Yücel owned and controlled, sold and distributed malware to thousands of cybercriminals throughout the world. Blackshades’ flagship product was the RAT – a sophisticated piece of malware that enabled cybercriminals secretly and remotely to gain control over a victim’s computer. After installing the RAT on a victim’s computer, a user of the RAT had free rein to, among other things, access and view documents, photographs, and other files on the victim’s computer, record all of the keystrokes entered on the victim’s keyboard, steal the passwords to the victim’s online accounts, and even activate the victim’s web camera to spy on the victim – all of which could be done without the victim’s knowledge. A Blackshades user could also exploit victims’ computers for Distributed Denial of Service (“DDoS”) attacks by commanding Blackshades-infected computers to overwhelm websites or computer servers with traffic, and thereby disable them.
The RAT was typically advertised on forums for computer hackers and marketed as a product that conveniently combined the features of several different types of hacking tools. Copies of the Blackshades RAT were available for sale, typically for $40 each, on a website maintained by Blackshades. After purchasing a copy of the RAT, a user had to install the RAT on a victim’s computer – i.e., “infect” a victim’s computer. The infection of a victim’s computer could be accomplished in several ways, including by tricking victims into clicking on malicious links or by hiring others to install the RAT on victims’ computers.
Once a computer was infected with the RAT, the user of the RAT had complete control over the computer. The user could, among other things, remotely activate the victim’s web camera. In this way, the user could spy on anyone within view of the victim’s webcam inside the victim’s home or in any other private spaces where the victim’s computer was used. The RAT also contained a “keylogger” feature that allowed users to record each key that victims typed on their computer keyboards. To help users steal a victim’s passwords and other log-in credentials, the RAT also had a “form grabber” feature. The “form grabber” automatically captured log-in information that victims entered into “forms” on their infected computers (e.g., log-in screens or order purchase screens for online accounts).
YÜCEL co-created the Blackshades RAT with Michael Hogue and operated the Blackshades organization with the help of several employees. The RAT was purchased by at least several thousand users in more than 100 countries and used to infect more than half a million computers worldwide.
YÜCEL, 24, a Swedish national, was arrested in Moldova in November 2013. He was the first defendant ever to be extradited from Moldova to the United States. His guilty plea to distribution of malicious software carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Castel on May 22, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress, and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Michael Hogue, the co-creator of the RAT, pled guilty before Judge Castel in January 2013 and is awaiting sentencing.
Brendan Johnston, an administrator for the Blackshades organization, pled guilty on November 21, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman to conspiracy to commit computer hacking, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Furman on May 27, 2015, at 3:30 p.m.
Marlen Rappa, a customer of Blackshades who purchased the RAT and used it to infect victims’ computers, spy on those victims using their web cameras, and steal personal files from their computers, pled guilty on October 31, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Caproni on March 13, 2015, at 3:00 p.m.
Kyle Fedorek, a customer of Blackshades who purchased the RAT and used it to steal financial and other account information from more than 400 victims, pled guilty on August 19, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick on February 19, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Lai and Daniel Noble are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.
U.S. v. Alex Yucel S1 Indictment
Career Offender Sentenced to Nearly 18 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Raymond Estrada, 35, of Corpus Christi, has been ordered to serve a significant sentence following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and the court’s finding that he was a career offender, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson today. He pleaded guilty Nov. 3, 2015.
Estrada was on serving a term of supervised release following a 2008 conviction at the time he committed the offense charges in this case involving 56 grams of cocaine base.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ordered he serve 188 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Estrada had been previously convicted of several felonies and was determined to be a career offender by the court. In addition, Judge Jack revoked Estrada’s supervised release on the 2008 conviction further ordered he serve an additional 24 months imprisonment, to run consecutively, for a total sentence of 212 months.
On May 15, 2014, Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) conducted a traffic stop on Estrada whom they believed was preparing to cook cocaine base. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for his residence in Corpus Christi, at which time they discovered a digital scale and packing materials on the kitchen table. They also found a knit cap in a chair that contained approximately 56 grams of crack cocaine. He was immediately arrested.
Estrada will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charge stems from an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration and the CCPD’s Gang and Narcotics Units. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuted the case.Buffalo Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding University of Rochester and Filing A False A False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
Rochester, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Doron Feldman, 54, of Williamsville, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a false tax return, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to the University of Rochester totaling $1,460,000. In addition, Feldman must pay $157,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who handled the case, stated that the defendant practiced as an anesthesiologist for CGF Anesthesia and Associates in Buffalo, NY. CGF provided anesthesia services to patients undergoing surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, Highland Hospital and other medical facilities in the Rochester, N.Y. area. Between September 2007 and December 2009, Feldman, along with co-defendant Debra Bulter and others, devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money from the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Rochester.
In September 2007, fraudulent invoices were submitted to the Department of Anesthesiology for services that were never provided by Feldman. In her position as Program Administrator for the department, Debra Bulter approved payment of the fraudulent invoices. From 2008 through 2010, the Department of Anesthesiology paid fraudulent fees totaling approximately $1,460,000 with the defendant receiving approximately $630,000 of that amount.
Debra Bulter has been convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering and is awaiting sentencing on March 19, 2015.
The sentencing is the culmination of a joint investigation on the part of the Internal Revenue Service, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge, Boston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service.
Bon Air Man Charged with Robbing Six South Hills BanksRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank robbery, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The six-count indictment named Christopher Furay, 33, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, between Dec. 1, 2014, and Jan. 16, 2015, Furay robbed six different banks in the Pittsburgh area including a First Commonwealth Bank located in Dormont, Pa.; a First National Bank located in Castle Shannon, Pa.; a PNC Bank located in Bethel Park, Pa.; a Citizens Bank located in Bethel Park, Pa.; a First Commonwealth Bank located in West Mifflin, Pa; and a Citizens Bank in Brentwood, Pa. All of the banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, per count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dormont Borough Police Department, Castle Shannon Police Department, Bethel Park Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, and Brentwood Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Austin Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
In Austin today, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel sentenced 32-year-old Josh Rube to 15 years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for production of child pornography announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo.
On May 30, 2014, federal and state authorities executed a search warrant on a recreational vehicle owned by the defendant and seized a digital camera, several computers and related storage media. An analysis of computer related equipment collected by authorities revealed numerous images of a minor female engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including several images where Rube sexually assaulted his victim. In October 2014, Rube pleaded guilty to enticing a person under the age of 18 into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of such conduct.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI together with the Austin Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Devlin prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Attorney General Holder Statement on the Departure of Brendan Johnson as the United States Attorney of the District of South DakotaRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement on the departure of U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson:
“During Brendan Johnson's tenure as United States Attorney for South Dakota, he has distinguished himself as an exemplary leader, a passionate advocate for his fellow citizens, and an extraordinarily dedicated public servant," said Attorney General Holder. "As a lawyer and as a leader, Brendan has set a standard of excellence that will not soon be surpassed. Particularly with regard to public safety challenges on tribal lands, he has served as a key advisor to senior Justice Department officials - including me. As past Chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee, he is not only a respected champion for tribal justice in his own right, but a critical national leader - offering sound guidance, wise counsel, and candid advice on a host of pressing issues. In standing against violent crime, fraud, drug trafficking, violence against women, and countless other threats, Brendan's fierce and determined service, on behalf of the people of South Dakota, has been without equal. Although he will be greatly missed, his many contributions will endure. I thank him for his outstanding service - to South Dakota, and to our nation - and wish him all the best as he takes on new challenges and opportunities.”
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking and Firearms ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Charles Padilla, 46, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 15 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Field Division, and Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, Jr.
Padilla was arrested on Nov. 30, 2012, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Padilla subsequently was indicted in Dec. 2012, and charged with two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and two counts of using and carrying firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
According to court filings, on Nov. 30, 2012, law enforcement officers seized approximately 21 pounds of methamphetamine that were concealed in an underground storage area when they searched a residence located in southwest Albuquerque. Thereafter, officers surreptitiously recorded a telephone conversation during which Padilla acknowledged ownership of the methamphetamine. Following Padilla’s arrest, officers searched his residence and seized 19 firearms.
On July 28, 2014, Padilla pled guilty to a methamphetamine trafficking charge and a firearms count. In his plea agreement, Padilla admitted that on Nov. 30, 2012, he unlawfully possessed methamphetamine with the intention of distributing it to others. He also admitted possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel R. Meyers and Shana B. Long.
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to 72 Months for Federal Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Faviano Lopez, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court to 72 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for receipt of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Lopez will also be required to register as a sex offender. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas; New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, and Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, Jr.
Lopez was arrested on July 11, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging federal child pornography charges. According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Lopez was initiated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico State Police in Nov. 2013, after the NMSP obtained information indicating that an IP address subscribed to the residence in which Lopez was residing was being used to share video and image files consistent with child pornography. In Feb. 2014, HSI and the Albuquerque Police Department executed a federal search warrant at Lopez’s residence and seized computer and computer-related media containing video and image files consistent with child pornography from Lopez’s bedroom. Lopez was arrested on state charges for violating his probation in Feb. 2014; those charges were later dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
On Oct. 20, 2014, Lopez entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with receipt of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Lopez admitted receiving child pornography from May 2013 to Feb. 2014, by downloading images and videos of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing system.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department, all of which are members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Tuesday 17 February 2015
Wheeling man convicted of selling crack cocaineRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – William “B.J.” Farmer, 39, of Wheeling, was convicted in federal court today of distributing crack cocaine, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
An investigation by the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed that Farmer sold crack cocaine in Ohio County, West Virginia in June 2014.
Farmer pled guilty today to a criminal Information charging him with one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base.” As a result of the guilty plea entered today, Mr. Farmer faces up to 20 months in prison.
In addition, Farmer admitted today that he had violated the conditions of a previously imposed period of supervised release. He was sentenced today to an additional 18 months in prison for the supervised release violation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parr is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
West Haven Man Who Embezzled Funds from Bank in New Canaan Where He Was Employed Is SentencedRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STEPHEN DeCRESCENZO, 37, of West Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one day of imprisonment, time already served, six months in community confinement (“halfway house”) and three years of supervised release for embezzling more than $100,000 in funds from the bank where he was employed.
According to court documents and statements made in court, DeCRESCENZO was employed as personal banker for JPMorgan Chase Bank in New Canaan. Between approximately September 2008 and November 2011, DeCRESCENZO embezzled $106,028 in funds from customer accounts by transferring the funds into a separate customer account to which he had access. As part of his scheme, DeCRESCENZO disguised numerous withdrawals from the accounts as authorized cash withdrawals by customers when, in fact, he had stolen the money. DeCRESCENZO also wired funds stolen from a customer account into another bank account for his personal benefit.
DeCRESCENZO was ordered to pay full restitution.
On November 24, 2014, DeCRESCENZO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
DeCRESCENZO is a former member of the West Haven City Council.
This investigation was conducted by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, the Greenwich Police Department and the New Canaan Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
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[email protected]Wahpeton Man Sentenced for Producing Child Pornography North Dakota's First Sextortion CaseRead the Press Release
Fargo - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 17, 2015, Dustin Coleman, age 22, Wahpeton, N.D., was sentenced before Honorable U. S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 32 years’ incarceration for three counts of production of child pornography, two counts of extortion of sexually explicit images and videos from a child by threat of injury and damage to the reputation and three counts of possession of child pornography. Judge Erickson also sentenced Coleman to a lifetime of supervised release and pay an $800 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.
Beginning in 2013 and continuing until on about July 2013, Coleman used Kik Messenger and Touch, which are free messaging application for mobile devices, to transmit threatening communications with the intent to extort sexually explicit images and videos from female minors. Coleman used social networking websites such as Facebook to gather information about minor females located throughout the United States. He then used this information to extort the girls into creating sexually explicit images of themselves. On at least one occasion, he lied about already having possessed sexually explicit images of a minor female to extort sexually explicit images from her. Coleman used several different online screen names, including the screen name "debt collector" to both intimidate the minor females and conceal his identity and location when communicating with the minors.
After Coleman received sexually explicit images from minor females, he continued to demand that the victims send him additional and more graphic sexually explicit still images and videos. Coleman would communicate to the minor females that if they did not comply with his demands for additional material, he would injure their reputation by posting the sexually explicit images and videos to their friends and family. In at least one instance, he also threatened to sexually assault a minor female’s prepubescent sister if she did not comply. Coleman continued this pattern of extortion until law enforcement discovered his criminal activity while executing a search warrant for child pornography.
On August 26, 2013, Coleman’s former roommate in Wahpeton, North Dakota reported to the Wahpeton Police Department that she had viewed child pornography depicting a 14-year-old minor with whom she was familiar on Coleman’s electronic media. She took the media to a Wahpeton Police Department officer who obtained a search warrant for the media. This media was eventually forensically examined by a BCI special agent who discovered hundreds of sexually explicit images of young girls that appeared to be self-produced. Through further investigation, the BCI forensic agent was able to recover chats logs from the media which were associated with these sexually explicit images and videos. It was in these chats, that BCI discovered that defendant was extorting many of the girls into creating sexually explicit images and videos. In one instance, BCI recovered a chat log between the defendant and a 13-year-old minor girl who informed Defendant she was going to take her own life so as to avoid having to create additional material. HSI and BCI quickly located this girl who identified herself in the material found on Coleman’s media. The young girl further informed an HSI special agent that Coleman threatened to sexually assault her younger sister if she did not comply with his demands. A further forensic examination of the media also revealed child pornography depicting prepubescent children.
This case was investigated by the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to include the Wahpeton Police Department, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood in conjunction with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) help Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems or computer technology to sexually exploit children. The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces engaging in proactive investigations, forensic investigations and criminal prosecutions. Project safe childhood also helps to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Union County Resident Sentenced for Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsOn February 13, 2015, Jonathan E. Merydith, 27, of Cobden, IL, was sentenced for a methamphetamine violation, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Merydith, who had previously pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years supervised release, and fined $200.00. The offense occurred between 2012 and March 2014, in Union, Williamson, and Jackson Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Merydith was involved with co-defendant Rusty Smith and others in the manufacture of methamphetamine. At sentencing, the district court determined that Merydith was responsible for the possession of more than 74 grams of pseudoephedrine. Co-defendant Ruth Diane Wiseman was previously sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in the methamphetamine conspiracy. Co-defendants Rusty Smith and Shannon Connett have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Marion Police Department, Carbondale Police Department, Illinois State Police Methamphetamine Response Team and Drug Enforcement Administration. The 19th Judicial District Drug Task Force (Tennessee) assisted in the investigation.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Dettelbach in Washington to Participate in Conference on Countering Violent ExtremismRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach is in Washington, D.C. to participate in a conference focused on countering violent extremism.
“This is an opportunity to further home a national security strategy designed to make us all safer,” Dettelbach said. “Not only can we share the important work done in our district but, as importantly, we will learn more about what is working in other parts of the country and internationally to prevent homegrown extremism. We need to continue to forge strong partnerships among different government agencies and with the community to counter the false narratives being put out by extremists and keep our communities and our citizens safe."
The conference, convened by the White House, will take place from Tuesday to Thursday. It will focus on domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence, efforts made even more imperative in light of recent, tragic attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, and Paris. This summit will build on the strategy the White House released in August of 2011, Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States, the first national strategy to prevent violent extremism domestically.
Efforts to devise a national strategy in this area rely heavily on well-informed and resilient local communities. National efforts must focus on building frameworks integrating a range of social service providers, including education administrators, mental health professionals, and religious leaders, with law enforcement agencies to address violent extremism as part of the broader mandate of community safety and crime prevention. The summit will highlight best practices and emerging efforts in that vein.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has prosecuted domestic terrorism and religiously motivated attacks in recent years, including a group of self-described anarchists who plotted to blow up a bridge in Northeast Ohio, the arson of the largest mosque in the Toledo area and a man in the Toledo area who illegally assembled an arsenal of weapons, ammunition and body armor while tracking the movements of Jewish and African-American leaders.
The office has also done extensive community outreach to a variety of communities, including hosting a “Civics Day” for Arab and Muslim teens, conducting computer safety training for teens and parents and held town hall meetings focused on improving relationships between the community and law enforcement.