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30 March 2015
Weirton man convicted of unlawful possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Michael Northcraft, 41, of Weirton, West Virginia, was convicted in federal court today of unlawful possession of firearms, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.Michael Northcraft, 41, of Weirton, West Virginia, was previously convicted in the Circuit Court of Hancock County, West Virginia of the felony offense of “Entering a Building Other than a Dwelling.“ As a result of that conviction, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was discovered in possession of multiple firearms in December 2014, including three pistols, one revolver, two shotguns, and two rifles.
He pled guilty today to one count of “Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm” following an investigation by the Brooke County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided.
Washington, D.C.-Area Pharmacist Indicted and Arrested on Charges Involving Illegal Pharmaceutical ShipmentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A man who owned a pharmacy in Washington, D.C. has been arrested following his indictment on federal charges that he and a physician from Florida operated an Internet pharmacy site that illegally shipped prescription-required controlled and non-controlled drugs from Washington, D.C. to more than 38,000 customers in the United States.
Titilayo (Tomi) Akintomide Akinyoyenu, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Nigeria, was arrested March 27, 2015, at his home in Bethesda, Md., by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The arrest followed his indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendant, also known as Tommy Akin, appeared in court later that day and was released on personal recognizance pending a hearing on April 3, 2015.
The indictment, which was unsealed March 27, was announced today by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); David M. McGinnis, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Washington Division, and Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Metro Washington Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
The indictment alleges that Akinyoyenu, a pharmacist licensed by the District of Columbia Board of Health, owned and operated an Internet pharmacy website known as apexonlinepharmacy.com between January 2005 and June 29, 2010. According to the indictment, pharmaceutical orders were illegally shipped to more than 38,000 U.S. customers from Apex Care Pharmacy, a pharmacy owned by the defendant that previously was located in the 4000 block of Minnesota Avenue NE.
Between June 2006 and June 2010, sales income for online transactions totaled at least $8.3 million, the indictment alleges.
The indictment also charges Alan J. Saltzman, 65, a physician from Coral Springs, Fla., with joining in the crimes. Saltzman, an osteopath who is licensed in Florida and Pennsylvania, has been sent a judicial summons to appear to answer the charges.
Physicians who write or authorize prescriptions without a valid doctor-patient relationship are issuing invalid prescriptions because the physicians are acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Likewise, pharmacists who knowingly fill such prescriptions, or who have reason to know such prescriptions are invalid, are violating the law.
The indictment alleges that Akinyoyenu, as chief pharmacist, filled more than 58,000 prescriptions (including refills) for pharmaceuticals for customers who ordered drugs over the Internet solely on the basis of their answers to an on-line medical questionnaire. Such prescriptions are invalid and hence illegal, according to the indictment, because no valid doctor/patient relationship exists by a customer requesting prescription required drugs over the Internet solely on the basis of completing an on-line questionnaire. A doctor approving such prescription requests never sees or examines the customer making the request, cannot verify the identity of such a customer, makes no physical examination, cannot verify the nature of the malady, makes no diagnosis, conducts no medical tests, and implements no treatment plan.
For example, according to the charges, Akinyoyenu filled more than 9,000 Internet orders for Fioricet, which contains butalbital, a Schedule III controlled substance. The indictment charges that these and other prescriptions were illegally filled, then shipped to Internet customers across the country, all from the back of the Apex Care Pharmacy in Northeast Washington.
The indictment alleges that Saltzman conspired with Akinyoyenu, and that he agreed to approve prescriptions requested on-line by the customers over the Internet; the indictment alleges he did so for a negotiated fee per each approved prescription. Saltzman is accused of approving all 38,000 customer requests for the Internet customers coming from all over the United States, based solely on their answers to an on-line medical questionnaire.
Both defendants are charged with four offenses: conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances, which carries a maximum possible sentence of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $500,000; conspiracy to distribute controlled drugs over the Internet, which carries a maximum imprisonment of up to 10 years, and a fine of up to $500,000; conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, which carries a maximum period of imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to $500,000; and conspiracy to engage in mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000. The indictment also makes a forfeiture allegation for at least $8.3 million, which is the amount of funds allegedly involved in the illegal Internet operation.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This investigation was sponsored and supported by the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch provided assistance in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Dominguez, who coordinated the investigation and presented the evidence to the grand jury.
Washington, D.C., Area Pharmacist Indicted and Arrested on Charges Involving Illegal Pharmaceutical ShipmentsRead the Press Release
Defendant is Accused of Operating a Rogue Internet Pharmacy, Generating about $8.3 Million in Illegal Proceeds
A man who owned a pharmacy in Washington, D.C., has been arrested following his indictment on federal charges that he and a physician from Florida operated an Internet pharmacy site that illegally shipped prescription-required controlled and non-controlled drugs from Washington, D.C., to more than 38,000 customers in the United States.
Titilayo Akintomide Akinyoyenu, 47, also known as Tomi, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Nigeria, was arrested on March 27 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The arrest followed his indictment in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. The defendant, also known as Tommy Akin, appeared in court later that day and was released on personal recognizance pending a hearing on April 3.
The indictment, which was unsealed March 27, was announced today by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Washington, D.C., Division Office, Acting Inspector in Charge David M. McGinnis of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Washington, D.C., Division, and Special Agent in Charge Antoinette V. Henry of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington, D.C., Field Office.
The indictment alleges that Akinyoyenu, a pharmacist licensed by the District of Columbia Board of Health, owned and operated an Internet pharmacy website known as apexonlinepharmacy.com between January 2005 and June 29, 2010. According to the indictment, pharmaceutical orders were illegally shipped to more than 38,000 U.S. customers from Apex Care Pharmacy, a pharmacy owned by the defendant that previously was located in the 4000 block of Minnesota Avenue, N.E.
Between June 2006 and June 2010, sales income for online transactions totaled at least $8.3 million, the indictment alleges.
The indictment also charges Alan J. Saltzman, 65, a physician from Coral Springs, Florida, with joining in the crimes. Saltzman, an osteopath who is licensed in Florida and Pennsylvania, has been sent a judicial summons to appear to answer the charges.
Physicians who write or authorize prescriptions without a valid doctor-patient relationship are issuing invalid prescriptions because the physicians are acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Likewise, pharmacists who knowingly fill such prescriptions, or who have reason to know such prescriptions are invalid, are violating the law.
The indictment alleges that Akinyoyenu, as chief pharmacist, filled more than 58,000 prescriptions (including refills) for pharmaceuticals for customers who ordered drugs over the Internet solely on the basis of their answers to an on-line medical questionnaire. Such prescriptions are invalid and hence illegal, according to the indictment, because no valid doctor/patient relationship exists by a customer requesting prescription required drugs over the Internet solely on the basis of completing an on-line questionnaire. A doctor approving such prescription requests never sees or examines the customer making the request, cannot verify the identity of such a customer, makes no physical examination, cannot verify the nature of the malady, makes no diagnosis, conducts no medical tests and implements no treatment plan.
For example, according to the charges, Akinyoyenu filled more than 9,000 Internet orders for Fioricet, which contains butalbital, a Schedule III controlled substance. The indictment charges that these and other prescriptions were illegally filled, then shipped to Internet customers across the country, all from the back of the Apex Care Pharmacy in Northeast Washington, D.C.
The indictment alleges that Saltzman conspired with Akinyoyenu and that he agreed to approve prescriptions requested online by the customers over the Internet; the indictment alleges he did so for a negotiated fee per each approved prescription. Saltzman is accused of approving all 38,000 customer requests for the Internet customers that came from all over the United States based solely on their answers to an online medical questionnaire.
Both defendants are charged with four offenses: conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000; conspiracy to distribute controlled drugs over the Internet, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000; conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000; and conspiracy to engage in mail fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The indictment also makes a forfeiture allegation for at least $8.3 million, which is the amount of funds allegedly involved in the illegal Internet operation.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This investigation was sponsored and supported by the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the DEA, USPIS, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch provided assistance in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Dominguez of the District of Columbia, who coordinated the investigation and presented the evidence to the grand jury.
West Leyden Man Arrested for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced the arrest today of a West Leyden, New York man on federal child pornography charges.
A criminal complaint filed in United States District Court charges BRIAN MINGO, age 38, with knowingly distributing child pornography through an Internet file sharing program. The complaint alleges that in February of 2015 an undercover agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) downloaded 104 files of child pornography that were being shared by MINGO through an Internet account.
MINGO made his initial appearance this afternoon before Hon. David E. Peebles, United States Magistrate Judge, and was detained pending a hearing set for Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, with maximum penalty of 20 years. He also faces a potential fine of up to $250,000, a required term of supervised release of at least 5 years, and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
"One image depicting the sexual exploitation of a child is too many. HSI, along with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will continue to use our unique and robust investigative authorities to identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit these kinds of crimes." said Brian Devine, resident agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Syracuse.
MINGO’s arrest is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher, as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.
The charges against MINGO are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
U.S. Attorneys Michael Cotter and Damon P. Martinez to Lead Attorney General’s Native American Issues SubcommitteeRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointment of U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter for the District of Montana and U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez for the District of New Mexico as the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).
“Throughout my tenure as Attorney General, the Native American Issues Subcommittee has been a critical source of expertise, guidance, and inspiration in addressing the department’s goals of reducing crime and strengthening communities across Indian country,” said Attorney General Holder. “As public servants from districts with significant responsibilities related to tribal nations, Mike Cotter and Damon Martinez possess a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will serve to promote the mission of the NAIS and benefit Indian country as a whole. I am confident that, with their dedication, their vision, and their leadership, we will continue to deliver on this department’s important work and to fulfil this nation’s historic relationship of trust and cooperation with Native American and Alaska Native people.”
U.S. Attorney Cotter was appointed to the NAIS in 2009. He replaces U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon of the District of North Dakota. The District of Montana has served as a successful example of the Attorney General’s 2010 Indian Country Initiative. Prosecutors are assigned to individual reservations and travel monthly for meetings with tribal and federal partners. The strategy includes utilizing tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, tribal prosecutors who focus on domestic violence matters. Prosecutors also participate in bi-monthly case meetings with tribal prosecutors and law enforcement, as well as develop cross-disciplinary trainings, such as presentations to first responders on the new federal strangulation statutes in Indian Country.
As part of ongoing Initiative efforts, Assistant U.S. Attorneys facilitated the creation of and continuing work by the Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), which are comprised of prosecutors, law enforcement, as well as medical and social service providers. The SARTs represent a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach to responding to sex crimes that occur on reservations.
U.S. Attorney Martinez, who was appointed to the NAIS in May 2014, has continued and expanded the implementation of the Attorney General’s 2010 Indian Country Initiative and other federal initiatives in New Mexico which is home to 22 Indian pueblos and tribes. Through the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project, sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, federal prosecutors train tribal prosecutors and officers in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques so that every viable sexual and violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. Working with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, New Mexico has established one of the first HIDTA drug task forces in Indian Country. It also supports two Indian Country Project Safe Neighborhood programs that focus on reducing gun violence in tribal communities. Under the Attorney General’s Smart on Crime Initiative, the District of New Mexico has been working with an interdisciplinary team to develop one of the nation’s Indian Country reentry programs which will be launched in May of this year. Prosecutors also partner with BIA to train tribal, local and state officers so that they may be commissioned as special federal officers of the BIA and enhance public safety in the District’s tribal communities by enforcing federal law.
The AGAC was created in 1973 to serve as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys and to advise the Attorney General on policy, management, and operational issues impacting the offices of the U.S. Attorneys. The NAIS is made up of U.S. Attorneys from across the U.S. whose Districts contain Indian Country or one or more federally recognized tribes. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian Country issues, both criminal and civil and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General of the U.S. regarding public safety and legal issues that impact tribal communities.
Two Odenton Men Sentenced in Scheme to Force Women into ProstitutionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Michael Wesley Lee, a/k/a “King,” or “King P,” age 31, of Odenton, Maryland, today to 13 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, for use of an interstate facility to promote a prostitution business, and conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force and fraud. Judge Motz also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Lee register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Also today, Judge Motz also sentenced co-defendant Robert Downing, a/k/a “Luck,” and “Shamrock,” age 46, also of Odenton, to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for use of an interstate facility to promote a prostitution business.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.
According to their plea agreements, from at least 2012 to his arrest in August 2013, Lee used social media websites to entice females to prostitute for him. Downing worked for Lee. The defendants used the internet to recruit women, and to advertise sex services. The defendants rented hotel rooms to house the women and to serve as a place to prostitute. The defendants used prepaid gift and debit cards to pay for the rooms.
More specifically, after Lee had transported a female, “J,” from New York to prostitute in Maryland, on February 23, 2013, Lee and Downing accompanied “J” to the Maryland Live! casino in Anne Arundel County. The defendants are seen on video cameras watching “J” unsuccessfully solicit prostitution customers in the casino. At some point, Downing left the casino; and later, Lee and “J” also left. The two walked to Lee’s car in the casino’s garage. Video cameras recorded Lee yelling and scolding the woman, and then striking her head repeatedly with a closed fist. Lee grabbed her by the hair and ripped off her wig, and violently shoved her when she tried to shield her body against the car. Police arrived and arrested Lee. Downing arrived at the scene and took “J” back to his home. On February 25th, Downing drove “J” to a local hotel so that she could earn money by prostituting – money that would help pay Lee’s bail. “J” escaped when Downing left briefly. Ultimately, “J” refused to press charges, and the state assault charges were dismissed against Lee a few months later and he was released from custody.
In August 2013, Lee used a social media website to lure another woman, “S,” from St. Louis, Missouri to Baltimore to prostitute. Lee bought a bus ticket for “S,” who arrived in Baltimore on August 10. When Lee picked her up at the bus station, he told her that he was a pimp. He took “S” to a hotel in Linthicum Heights, Maryland and demanded her identification card. “S” was intimidated by Lee’s size and demeanor, so she gave him her identification card and worked as a prostitute. Lee told her that she needed to reimburse him for the bus ticket and that she had to pay a $1,000 initiation fee. He transported “S” from Maryland to New Jersey to prostitute. After two weeks of working for Lee as a prostitute, “S”, who wanted to get away, called an ambulance on August 26, 2013, regarding pain she was having in her vaginal area, and reported her situation to the EMTs upon their arrival. Lee was arrested that day.
Further, in August 2013, Lee tried to persuade “M,” an exotic dancer in Baltimore, to prostitute for him. “M” agreed to meet Lee at a hotel room believing that she was going to dance at a private party. When Lee attempted to prostitute her, she tried to leave the room, but Lee stopped her. Subsequently, “M” overheard Lee on the phone with a man who Lee said was from Florida and was driving up to meet “M.” “M” became scared about being made to have sex or being taken out of state. “M” contacted her friends by text message and her father ultimately called 911. At the same time, “M” devised a plan whereby she told Lee she was thirsty. When Lee gave her money to get a soda in a nearby vending machine, “M” began running away from the hotel. She heard Lee running behind her. Lee chased her until she was able to hop a fence behind the hotel. By the time the police arrived at the hotel as a result of the 911 call, “M” was already safe.
After Lee was arrested on August 26, 2013, Downing began pimping “MS” for Lee while Lee was in jail. Lee had previously lured “MS” to engage in prostitution and had transported her to Ocean City to prostitute. At the time of Lee’s arrest, “MS” was in the hospital being treated for a serious medical condition. Downing picked “MS” up from the hospital upon her discharge in September and immediately installed her at a hotel. “MS” and Downing traveled to New York and New Jersey so that “MS” could prostitute. At times, Downing drove “MS” to methadone clinics for treatment.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution and sex trafficking by force and fraud, with members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Patricia A. McLane, who prosecuted the case.
Travel Agent Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Stealing over $272,000 from Fort Smith Southside High School BandRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Calliope “Ope” Rocky Saaga, age 40, of Eagle Mountain, Utah, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release on one count of Wire Fraud. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $272,235.89. This sentence is to run concurrent with the sentence imposed in the Western District of Missouri for a similar charge. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith. Saaga was indicted in May, 2014 by a federal grand jury for stealing the money from the Fort Smith Southside High School Band.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Approximately 260 students, parents, and chaperones, were denied a-once-in-a-lifetime band trip because of this defendant’s greed in using the funds he was entrusted to handle for his own personal use. The students were to travel to Hawaii to perform as part of the Southside High School Band. Justice has now been served on behalf of the students, and our office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting this type of fraudulent activity in Fort Smith and throughout all of the Western District of Arkansas.”
“Saaga is a thief who stole from hardworking citizens and their children,” stated Special Agent in Charge David T. Resch, FBI Little Rock. “The sentencing today serves as a reminder that our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office and the IRS will continue to work together to identify these predators and their victims.”
According to court records, in August 2011, Saaga was doing business through his companies, Performing Hawaii Tours, LLC and Present America Tours, LLC, when he contracted with the Southside High School Band in Fort Smith, Arkansas to provide travel arrangements for a 2012 trip to Hawaii. The Southside High School Band wired him three payments between September 2011 and February 2012. Instead of arranging the trip, Saaga converted the money for his personal use, and the band trip to Hawaii was subsequently canceled due to a lack of funds. The scheme resulted in defrauding the Fort Smith Southside Band, students, and parents of over $272,000.00. Saaga pleaded guilty to the Wire Fraud charge on October 16, 2014.
In a separate case, Saaga was indicted on May 7, 2014 and charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Missouri for stealing $360,000.00 from the Willard High School Band Boosters, which forced the cancellation of a trip to Hawaii for more than 300 students and chaperones. Saaga was sentenced on March 12, 2015 to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay $780,000.00 in restitution in that case.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Webb prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
Three Men and a Woman Arrested on Federal Charges Arising out of March 21, 2015, Homicide and Assault in FruitlandRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Three brothers, all enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, were arrested last week on a criminal complaint charging them with murder and assault offenses arising out of a homicide and an assault that occurred in Fruitland, N.M., on March 21, 2015. Also arrested was a Navajo woman who impeded law enforcement efforts to apprehend the three men. The arrests were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director John Billison of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Elijah Shirley, 30, and Michael Shirley, 31, both of Kirtland, N.M., and Maynard Shirley, 36, who until recently resided in the Phoenix, Ariz., area, are charged in a criminal complaint with the murder of a Navajo man and an assault on the murder victim’s father on March 21, 2015, in Fruitland in San Juan County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Elijah Shirley, Maynard Shirley and Michael Shirley allegedly broke into the victims’ residence in the early hours of March 21, 2015, and assaulted the victims with a machete-like knife and a gun. One victim allegedly died as a result of a stab wound to the chest and the second victim allegedly suffered serious bodily injuries, including a collapsed lung and multiple stab wounds, during the attack.
Elijah Shirley was arrested on March 25, 2015, and his brothers Maynard Shirley and Michael Shirley were arrested on March 27, 2015. Elijah and Maynard Shirley were ordered detained pending trial during federal court proceedings held in Albuquerque, N.M., earlier today. Michael Shirley remains in custody pending a detention hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Arnelia Williams, 25, was arrested on March 27, 2015, on a separate criminal complaint charging her with being an accessory after the fact for hindering and preventing the apprehension of Maynard and Michael Shirley. During today’s court proceedings, Williams was also ordered detained pending a detention hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
If convicted on the charges in the criminal complaint, Elijah Shirley, Maynard Shirley and Michael Shirley each face a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison on the murder charge and a ten-year prison sentence on the assault charge. Williams faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison if convicted for being an accessory after the fact. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
These cases were investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Kayenta and Shiprock offices of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Mott.
Texas Drug Source Pleads Guilty in Multi-State Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Rodney D. Butler, a/k/a “Rodney Davenport,” 48, of the Houston, Texas, area, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute more than 50 kilograms of cocaine and conspiring to launder tens of thousands of dollars in cocaine-derived currency. The plea was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Butler is the twelfth defendant to plead guilty in the case.
During his plea, Butler admitted to supplying and distributing large amounts of cocaine in and around Houston, Texas, Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Florida panhandle between 2012 and 2014. During the investigation, Butler was intercepted over a federal wiretap arranging for the payment and transportation of multiple kilograms of cocaine. Butler conspired with co-defendants Nastassja Sassau and Terrance Stone to launder drug proceeds through Butler’s Wells Fargo bank accounts in Texas and Pensacola.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 18, 2015, before Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola, Florida. Butler faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, at least five years supervised release, and a maximum fine of $10 million dollars.
United States Attorney Marsh praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Gulf Breeze Police Department, the Pensacola Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office for the 1st Judicial Circuit, and the Louisiana State Police, whose joint investigation led to the charges in this case. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
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.
Ronnie Cosby Indicted for Transporting A Minor with Intent to Engage in ProstitutionRead the Press Release
Hammond, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that a Grand Jury sitting in Hammond, Indiana, returned the following indictment on March 19, 2015.
Ronnie Cosby, 39, of Hammond, Indiana, is charged with transporting a 15-year old minor on or about February 12, 2015, from Indiana to Illinois, with the intent that the minor engage in prostitution. The defendant is in custody and appeared today in federal court for his arraignment.
This indictment was the result of an ongoing investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Anyone with information about this investigation or Ronnie Cosby is urged to contact the Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or email at [email protected]. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abizer Zanzi and Jill Koster.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and not proof of guilt. All persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of the federal sentencing statutes and federal sentencing guidelines.
Richmond Women Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlingRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Faye C. Morgan, 64, of Richmond, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to use of an unauthorized access device.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young.
Morgan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years for this offense when she is sentenced on June 29, 2015. The maximum statutory penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, Faye Morgan admitted that she was employed for over a decade as the bookkeeper for Rawlings Wilson and Associates, an architectural firm located in Richmond, Virginia. In that capacity, Morgan opened a credit card in the name of Rawlings Wilson without the firm’s knowledge or authorization. From November 2003 through March 2013, Morgan charged over $159,000 to this credit card, which she used to purchase VISA and American Express gift cards in varying amounts. Morgan paid off her charges to the credit card by making unauthorized electronic transfers from the firm’s operating accounts. None of these payments were reflected in the firm’s accounting records. Instead, Morgan falsified the firm’s accounting records by recording payments to the Internal Revenue Service that never actually occurred. Besides the electronic payments to the credit card, Morgan also made numerous unauthorized electronic transfers from the firm’s operating account to pay other personal expenses, including her power, cable and phone bills. In total, Morgan embezzled $168,009.96 from Rawlings Wilson and Associates, which ceased operating in January 2013 due to a lack of income.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lee Martin is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:15cr30.
Prince George’s County Drug Dealer Exiled to 12 Years in Prison for Distribution of Crack Cocaine and Illegal Possession of A GunRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Gabriel Vashon Seay, age 35, of Camp Springs, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Judge Chasanow also ordered that Seay forfeit a gun, ammunition and over $23,000 in cash seized from his home.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to Seay's plea agreement, on February 12, 2014, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Seay. During the stop, Seay informed the officers that he did not have a valid license. In addition, Seay was found to have an open warrant from Dougherty County, Georgia, for violation of probation in relation to a prior conviction. Seay was placed under arrest and during a subsequent search law enforcement officers recovered 26.95 grams of cocaine base from Seay.
Also on February 12, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Seay’s residence. Officers recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a fully loaded 30-round magazine, and a bulletproof vest. In addition, throughout Seay’s apartment the officers recovered the following controlled substances: 87.35 grams of crack cocaine; 452.36 grams of powder cocaine; 331.9 grams of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethcathinone (Methylone); 32.96 grams of heroin; and 31.74 grams of marijuana. Law enforcement also seized $23,013 in cash, a digital scale, a grinder, a hydraulic press, and packaging materials.
Seay further admitted that he maintained his residence as a premise for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who prosecuted the case.
Postal Employee Sentenced for Seven-Year Disability ScamRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Colette Lee, age 49, of Baltimore, today to 18 months confinement, followed by three years of supervised release for making false statements to obtain federal employee compensation benefits. Judge Garbis also entered an order that Lee pay restitution of $244,912.65, the loss suffered by the Postal Service and the Department of Agriculture.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Paul Bowman of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; John L. Phillips, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General; and Inspector General William E. Johnson, Jr. of the Maryland Department of Human Resources.
“Taxpayers foot the bill for phony disability claims by government workers,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Postal employee Colette Lee filed a fraudulent disability claim in 2007 and kept the scam going for seven years until she was caught. This case is an insult to taxpayers and honest government employees.”
According to her plea agreement, from 2003 to 2014, Lee worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier and then became a mail handler.
In May 2007, February 2008, August 2009 and October 2009, Lee submitted claims for disability for a work-related injury under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). Lee failed to disclose relevant parts of her medical history on a questionnaire she submitted on June 19, 2003 at the start of her Postal Service employment, including that: she had an active injury claim; had been previously treated in the emergency room; had been in physical therapy programs; and had CT scans. Lee also failed to disclose to medical professionals who evaluated her injury and potential treatment and assessed her possible return to work that Lee had a prior medical history that included injuries from at least four motor vehicle accidents that pre-dated her claims for FECA benefits. Lee was also involved in a motor vehicle accident not related to her Postal Service employment in September 2009, after she submitted claims for FECA benefits.
From May 17, 2007 through January 24, 2014, Lee received wage payments and FECA benefits for her alleged work-related injuries.
On August 23, 2012, Lee was interviewed regarding her claimed physical limitations and capability to return to work. Lee denied that she had any injuries prior to working for the Postal Service; stated that she had only been in one vehicle accident; stated she could not open her car door with her right hand; claimed that she drove her vehicle with her left hand while keeping her right hand down, needed to take breaks every 20 to 25 minutes, and could not use both hands to turn the steering wheel; advised that she could not grasp items with her right hand and had to ask people for assistance when shopping; and stated that she could not play with her son.
Surveillance conducted from December 2010 to February 4, 2014 showed Lee engaging in activities inconsistent with what she reported during the August interview. Agents observed Lee opening and unlocking her car door with her right hand, driving her vehicle at times with only her right hand, driving long periods without breaks, using her right hand to lift herself into a van, using both hands to maneuver the steering wheel, grasping items with her right hand, talking on her cell phone with her right hand, shopping by herself while grabbing items and unloading items without any assistance, and playing with children while running, walking, lifting, bending, and riding a bike. Insurance records also showed that Lee had prior injuries from motor vehicle accidents that she did not report during the August 23, 2012 interview.
Additionally, Lee admitted that she applied for food stamp benefits, which are funded by the Department of Agriculture, in 2010, 2011 and 2012, without disclosing that she was receiving FECA benefits.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General’s Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury Inspector General’s Office; and Maryland Department of Human Resources Inspector General’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein commended the National Insurance Crime Bureau for their assistance in the investigation, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted the case.
Phillip Wayne Mullins Sentenced to Serve 151 Months for A-PVP “Gravel” Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Mar. 26, 2015, Phillip Wayne Mullins, 39, of Kingsport, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Judge, to serve 151 months in federal prison for his role in an extensive a-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered around the Sullivan County area. A-PVP is a synthetic drug which is commonly referred to on the street as “gravel.” Mullins will serve this federal sentence consecutive to a previously ordered state sentence for manufacturing methamphetamine.
According to the plea agreement on file with the district court clerk’s office, Mullins admitted that he conspired to distribute and was accountable for a conservative estimate of 5,500 grams of a-PVP, to a large number of customers and other dealers in and around the Eastern District of Tennessee. The plea agreement also provided a stipulation by Mullins that he had traded firearms for a-PVP.
U.S. Attorney William C. Killian stated, “Gravel is a very dangerous and harmful substance. We are pleased with this significant sentence because it reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed.”
Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Mullins include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Kingsport Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Johnson City Police Department, Greeneville Tennessee Police Department, Hendersonville, North Carolina Police Department, and Scott County Virginia Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.
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North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy for Filing False Claims for Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
A Raleigh, North Carolina, man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Raleigh to conspiring to file false claims for tax refunds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
According to court documents and statements in court, from 2010 through at least February 2014, Rodney Wright and others conspired to prepare and file false income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Wright obtained the personal identification information of taxpayers and used this information to file false federal income tax returns, which included fictitious information in order to generate false and fraudulent claims for tax refunds. Wright and others directed the IRS to deposit tax refunds into bank accounts of the taxpayers listed on the tax returns or into accounts controlled by Wright and others involved in the conspiracy.
Wright faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Walker commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Menzer of the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorneys Lauren Castaldi and Rebecca Perlmutter of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Navajo Man from Gamerco, N.M., Pleads Guilty to Making a False Statement to the FBIRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning in federal court, Benson Pete, 74, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gamerco, N.M., pled guilty to a felony information charging him with making a false statement to a law enforcement agency. Under the terms of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Pete will be sentenced to a range of 12 to 33 months in federal prison followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Pete was arrested on June 3, 2014, on an indictment charging him two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 between Jan. 1, 2013 and March 31, 2013, in Indian Country in McKinley County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Pete pled guilty to an information charging him with making a false statement to a law enforcement agency. In entering the guilty plea, Pete admitted that on July 30, 2013, he provided false information regarding the aggravated sexual abuse of a victim to the FBI. Pete further admitted that he withdrew any claims that he was coerced by an FBI agent, and that the statements he made on July 30, 2013, were voluntarily made.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine Y. Ramirez and Raquel Ruiz-Velez.
Modesto Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Real Estate InvestorsRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Xue Heu, 38, of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent real estate investment scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, between August 2007 and October 2013, Heu solicited individuals to invest in real estate businesses that purchased and sold real estate. Heu claimed to be an officer of Liquid Assets & Land Investments Inc. and Capital Land Investments LLC. In furtherance of the scheme and to persuade the investors that the investment opportunities were legitimate, Heu gave investors fraudulent documents, such as forged and fictitious grant deeds, fraudulent HUD-1 settlement statements, and portfolio listings of properties he claimed he intended to purchase, including properties that had already been sold and were no longer available to purchase. In his plea agreement, Heu admitted to defrauding investors of approximately $412,896.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baker is prosecuting the case.
Heu is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on June 8, 2015. The maximum statutory penalty for each of the two counts of wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Mexican National Gets 14 Years for Trafficking Methamphetamine, Cocaine and HeroinRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – Cesar Eloy Munoz-Silva, of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, has been sentenced to 168 months imprisonment for importing methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin into the United States from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
At the time of his guilty plea, he admitted that on March 8, 2014, he had driven a vehicle from Mexico into the United States through the Anzalduas, Texas, port of entry, knowing the vehicle contained a controlled substance. Upon inspection, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered several controlled substances hidden within the front and rear seats of the vehicle. In all, agents seized 18 bricks of methamphetamine weighing approximately 29 kilograms, nine bricks of cocaine weighing approximately 10 kilograms and five bricks of heroin weighing approximately four kilograms.
At the time of his arrest, Munoz admitted to having transported narcotics to Houston on nine or 10 previous occasions. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane took that into account upon imposition of the sentence today.
Munoz has been in custody without bond since his arrest in March 2014, where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and CBP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Requénez prosecuted the case.
Mexican Citizen Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Transport A Child from Las Vegas to Jacksonville for Illegal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Javier Guerrero Molina (34, citizen of Mexico) to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to transport a minor child from Las Vegas to Jacksonville with the intent that the child engage in sexual activity with him. Molina was in the United States illegally. He was arrested on May 30, 2014, at the Jacksonville International Airport.
According to court documents, on May 29, 2014, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Police Department (JAAPD) received a telephone call from an individual who advised that a child had disappeared from her home in Las Vegas and was believed to be traveling by air to Jacksonville. JAAPD officers learned that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) had made a “missing persons” entry regarding a 14-year-old female with the same name. A check of airline manifests confirmed that this child was listed as a passenger on a flight from Las Vegas to Jacksonville, with a connection in Charlotte, North Carolina. JAAPD coordinated with officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department (CMPD), who intercepted the child at the Charlotte International Airport. The child had been scheduled to board a flight from Charlotte to Jacksonville, due to arrive shortly after midnight on May 30, 2014.
As the expected arrival time for the Jacksonville flight approached, a JAAPD officer observed Molina in a waiting area in the Jacksonville International Airport lobby. When asked by the officer, Molina advised that he was there to meet a particular passenger. He was subsequently detained and interviewed.
During an interview, Molina admitted that he had entered the United States in 1999 or 2000 by paying a smuggler $700 to help him cross the border on foot near Laredo, Texas. He also stated that he had previously engaged in sexual activity with the child in Jacksonville, before the child and her family moved to Las Vegas. He also stated that he had sent the child money to pay for a one-way airline ticket from Las Vegas to Jacksonville, and that he expected their sexual relationship to continue when the child returned to Jacksonville.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Police Department, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Charlotte, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Jacksonville State Attorney’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Marijuana Trafficker Sentenced After Fleeing to MexicoRead the Press Release
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN –Pedro Andres Kobasic, age 45, formerly of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles, Jr. announced today. Kobasic was convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 50 kilograms of marijuana after fleeing from justice and hiding in Mexico for about three years.
U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell presided over the sentencing. Kobasic’s sentencing marks the end of a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) that began in October 2009, when law enforcement learned that a package of marijuana was being sent via a parcel delivery service to Jason Scott Schwalbach in Escanaba. DEA and UPSET learned that a number of residents of the Escanaba area were receiving marijuana by mail and distributing it in the area. The investigation revealed that Pedro Kobasic was the source of this marijuana. Defendants who were previously convicted in this case were:
- Schwalbach, sentenced to 6 months in federal prison on December 14, 2010,
- Joshua Carl Harrison, sentenced to 30 months in prison on December 14, 2010,
- Jody Michael Williams, sentenced to 100 months in prison on March 24, 2011, and
- Nathan Peter Kobasic, sentenced to 78 months in prison on August 18, 2011.
Each of these defendants pled guilty to a federal drug charge. Pedro Kobasic was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Marquette on April 20, 2011, to enter his guilty plea. He fled to Mexico instead. He was arrested upon returning to the United States in the summer of 2014, and entered his guilty plea on November 3, 2014.
Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maarten Vermaat.
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Man Pleads to Accessory to Arson Resulting in Personal InjuryRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman, Michael James Duncan, 32, pled guilty to accessory after the fact to arson resulting in personal injury. He is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, and his sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2015.
By his guilty plea, Duncan admitted that on November 15, 2013, he knew that Marcus Tyler had committed an arson inside Pal’s Shanty Tavern in NE Portland that resulted in extensive burns to Tyler. Duncan further admitted that he assisted Tyler in order to hinder and prevent Tyler’s apprehension, trial and punishment. Tyler pled guilty in federal court on November 5, 2014, to arson resulting in personal injury. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24, 2015, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison.
With respect to Duncan’s plea to accessory after the fact to arson, Duncan drove Tyler away from Pal’s Shanty Tavern after the arson, which occurred at approximately 1:24 a.m. on November 15, 2013. Tyler was severely burned during the course of the arson after slipping on gasoline he had poured on the floor to ignite the fire. However, instead of taking Tyler to the hospital, and in order to avoid detection by the police, Duncan drove Tyler back to his house in SE Portland and attempted to treat Tyler’s burns without medical attention. Eventually, over an hour after the arson, Duncan called 911 to ask for an ambulance to transport Tyler to the hospital. Duncan, who has been friends with Tyler since high school, falsely told the 911 operator and police that he did not know Tyler and that he had simply found a badly burned, naked man in the middle of the street in SE Portland. Duncan also instructed his girlfriend to lie to the police about the circumstances around the arson at Pal’s Shanty Tavern.
“The arson fire at Pal’s Shanty caused catastrophic losses for the property owner, and the neighborhood lost a treasured establishment. The Fire Investigations Unit did what it is highly trained to do - uncover the root of arson and help bring the perpetrators to justice,” stated Portland Fire & Rescue Chief Erin Janssens.
Duncan faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $125,000, and three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Portland Fire Bureau and the Portland Police Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Pamala Holsinger and Craig Gabriel.
Maine Nursing Home to Pay $1.2 Million to Resolve Allegations Concerning Rehabilitation TherapyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Maine skilled nursing facility, Ross Manor, entered into an agreement with the United States to pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations concerning inflated Medicare claims for rehabilitation therapy.
Ross Manor, which is located in Bangor, Maine, and owned by First Atlantic Corporation and Rosscare Nursing Homes, Inc., entered into an agreement concerning claims for therapy purportedly provided by its subcontractor, RehabCare Group East, Inc. (RehabCare), a part of Kindred Healthcare, Inc. This settlement resolves allegations that Ross Manor caused the submission of claims to Medicare that sought inflated amounts of reimbursement based on the provision of unreasonable or unnecessary rehabilitation therapy.
The United States alleges that, prior to Oct. 1, 2011, Ross Manor failed to take sufficient steps to prevent RehabCare from engaging in a pattern and practice of providing high levels of therapy that were not reasonable or necessary during so-called “assessment reference periods,” thereby causing Ross Manor to bill for its Medicare patients’ care at the highest reimbursement level, even though RehabCare was providing less therapy to those same patients outside the assessment reference periods, when Ross Manor was not required to report to Medicare the amount of therapy its Medicare patients were receiving.
“This settlement is the latest in a series of resolutions involving Medicare billing for rehabilitation therapy at skilled nursing facilities,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “We will continue our work to ensure that the provision of care in skilled nursing facilities is based on patients’ clinical needs and not tied to the financial targets of the companies providing their care.”
This settlement further resolves allegations that, even after Oct. 1, 2011, Ross Manor failed to prevent other RehabCare practices designed to inflate Medicare reimbursement, including: (1) presumptively placing patients in the highest reimbursement level unless it was shown that the patients could not tolerate that amount of therapy, rather than using individualized evaluations to determine the level of care most suitable for each patient’s clinical needs; (2) planning the minimum number of therapy minutes required to bill at the highest reimbursement level while discouraging the provision of therapy in amounts beyond that minimum threshold, despite the Medicare requirement that the amount of care provided be determined by patients’ clinical needs; and (3) providing significantly higher amounts of therapy on the final day of a period that determines reimbursement in order to reach the next highest threshold level.
This matter was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg Shapiro and Patrick Callahan of Ortiz’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit and Department of Justice Trial Attorneys Christelle Klovers and Rohith Srinivas.
Local Business Owner Indicted for Defrauding Exxon Mobil of More Than $5 MillionRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – R. Scott Jordan, 52, of Houston, has surrendered to authorities following the return of an indictment alleging he defrauded Exxon Mobil and caused a loss of more than $5 million, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The indictment was returned under seal March 23, 2015, and unsealed today as he made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy.
As outlined in the indictment, Jordan owned and operated a company called One Source Industrial, which operated in the Houston area providing welding services. Exxon’s Baytown Olefins Plant (BOP) was One Source Industrial’s primary client. The indictment alleges that from 2004 through 2010, Jordan conspired with Garry W. Arnold, 63, of Dayton, who was employed by Exxon Mobil, to deprive Exxon Mobil of both its money and property and its right to Arnold’s honest services. The indictment also alleges four substantive counts of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, Arnold’s job responsibilities included overseeing the maintenance and repair of numerous large furnaces located at the plant, including ordering replacement parts and coordinating the purchase, delivery and installation of these parts. Arnold also allegedly controlled and was part owner of Metal Blinds Unlimited Inc. The indictment alleges that during the relevant time period, Metal Blinds had minimal legitimate business operations, had no employees other than Jordan and operated out of his residence.
Beginning in approximately January 2004 and continuing through October 2010, Jordan and Arnold allegedly carried out a fraudulent invoicing scheme which caused Exxon to pay at least approximately $5.5 million for furnace parts and fabrication services that were never provided, were provided with materials already owned by Exxon or for which they paid an excessive amount. The indictment alleges Jordan and Arnold shared the proceeds of the scheme by having Exxon send the payment checks to One Source Industrial, after which Jordan caused that company to make payments to a sham corporation owned by Arnold. According to the indictment, Jordan also made payments to Arnold for legitimate work done by One Source Industrial for Exxon and other clients, again by making regular payments by check to Metal Blinds.
In total, Jordan and Arnold allegedly caused Exxon to create approximately 78 purchase orders and pay at least $5.5 million to One Source Industrial for work purportedly done by Metal Blinds. The indictment alleges Arnold received at least $3.2 million in association with these invoices through his sham corporation. Jordan also allegedly paid more than $300,000 to Arnold as part of the concealed profit-sharing agreement.
A conviction for conspiracy to commit mail fraud or substantive mail fraud carries as possible punishment a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss.
Arnold has already pleaded to his role in the scheme was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pearson.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Linn Man Indicted for Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Linn, Mo., man has been indicted for illegally possessing firearms.
Charles Howard Trimble, 58, of Linn, was charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on Feb. 25, 2015. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Trimble’s arrest and initial court appearance.
The federal indictment alleges that Trimble was in possession of 12 firearms on Dec. 4, 2012, including a Gewehr bolt-action 8mm rifle, an Armscor .38-caliber revolver, a Winchester semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle, a Harrington and Richardson .30-06-caliber rifle, a Remington semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle, a Mossberg pump action .410-caliber shotgun, a Mossbergt pump action 12-gauge shotgun, a Marlin bolt action .22-caliber rifle, a Remington semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun, a Ruger semi-automatic .40-caliber pistol and an EIG .22-caliber revolver with no serial number.
The federal indictment also alleges that Trimble was in possession of two firearms on Sept. 20, 2013, including a Taurus .357-caliber revolver and a Mossberg pump action 12-gauge shotgun.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Trimble has two prior felony convictions for driving while intoxicated and prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon and forgery.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Linn, Mo., Police Department, the Osage County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Lexington Park Man Admits to Gun Charges and Trafficking Contraband CigarettesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – William Terrance Proctor, a/k/a “Boobie,” and “Booby,” age 31, of Lexington Park, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting the theft of a firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful sale of a firearm to a prohibited person; and receipt, possession and transportation of contraband cigarettes.
The plea agreement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry; St. Mary=s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
“ATF worked hand-in-hand with our local counterparts to uncover a calculated scheme involving the theft and subsequent sale of numerous firearms,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan. “The law enforcement community in Southern Maryland strives to protect the public and prevent firearms from getting into the hands of criminals. We will continue to work to ensure that all of those responsible for the theft of these firearms are brought to justice.”
According to his plea agreement, on October 27, 2012, individuals who stole approximately 48 firearms from a gun shop in Lexington Park transported the guns to Proctor’s residence. Knowing that the guns were stolen, Proctor agreed to store the guns at his house. Thereafter and until June 2014, Proctor sold 45 of the stolen firearms, including eight stolen firearms to a previously convicted felon.
On March 20, 2014, Proctor sold for $1,000 a rifle which had a barrel measuring less than 16 inches. And from April to June, 2014, Proctor sold seven firearms in exchange for contraband cigarettes – that is, cigarettes for which the applicable Maryland cigarette taxes were not paid. Proctor then sold all of the contraband cigarettes.
On June 27, 2014, Proctor was arrested in Maryland when he attempted to sell an eighth firearm in exchange for contraband cigarettes.
Proctor faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the gun charges and five years for receiving and transporting contraband cigarettes. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for August 3, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Charles County and St. Mary’s County Sheriffs’ Offices and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Deborah A. Johnston, who is prosecuting the case.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging that Southeastern Oklahoma State University Discriminated Against Transgender WomanRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit against Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern) and the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against a transgender employee on the basis of her sex and retaliating against her when she complained about the discrimination. Attorney General Eric Holder announced in December 2014 that the Department of Justice takes the position that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination is best read to extend the statute’s protection to claims based on an individual’s gender identity, including transgender status.
According to the United States’ complaint, filed in federal district court in Oklahoma City today, Rachel Tudor began working for Southeastern as an Assistant Professor in 2004. At the time of her hire, Tudor presented as a man. In 2007, Tudor, consistent with her gender identity, began to present as a woman at work. Throughout her employment, Tudor performed her job well, and in 2009, she applied for a promotion to the tenured position of Associate Professor. Southeastern’s administration denied her application, overruling the recommendations of her department chair and other tenured faculty from her department. The United States’ complaint alleges that Southeastern discriminated against Tudor when it denied her application because of her gender identity, gender transition and non-conformance with gender stereotypes.
“By standing beside Dr. Tudor, the Department of Justice sends a clear message that we are committed to eliminating discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “We will not allow unfair biases and unjust prejudices to prevent transgender Americans from reaching their full potential as workers and as citizens. And we will continue to work tirelessly, using every legal tool available, to ensure that transgender individuals are guaranteed the rights and protections that all Americans deserve.”
In 2010, Tudor filed complaints regarding the denial of her application for promotion and tenure. Shortly after it learned of her complaints, Southeastern refused to let Tudor re-apply for promotion and tenure despite Southeastern’s own policies permitting re-application. At the end of the 2010-11 academic year, Southeastern and RUSO terminated Tudor’s employment because she had not obtained tenure.
Tudor filed a charge of discrimination with the Oklahoma City Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that Southeastern’s decisions were unlawful. The EEOC investigated the charge and determined that there was reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. The EEOC’s attempts at conciliation were unsuccessful, and it referred the matter to the Department of Justice.
This lawsuit was brought by the Department of Justice as a result of a joint effort to enhance collaboration between the EEOC and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division for vigorous enforcement of Title VII.
“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, including transgender Americans,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Discrimination against employees because of their gender identity, gender transition, or because they do not conform to stereotypical notions about how men and women should act or appear violates Title VII. Retaliating against an employee for complaining about unlawful discrimination, as happened in this case, is also unacceptable under Title VII.”
“This is a tremendous example of how collaboration between EEOC and the Department of Justice leads to strong and coordinated enforcement of Title VII,” said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. “This case furthers the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan, which includes coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals under Title VII's sex discrimination provisions as a national enforcement priority.”
“The American workplace must be a level playing field free from discrimination – a place where employees compete based on their merit,” said Director Holly Waldron Cole of the EEOC’s Oklahoma City Area Office. “Here, the decisions about Dr. Tudor’s employment should have been based on her qualifications, not on impermissible bias and stereotype.”
As alleged in the complaint, Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination includes discrimination because of gender identity or because an employee has completed a gender transition or is undertaking a gender transition. Title VII also prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because her behavior or appearance does not conform to traditional gender stereotypes. In addition, Title VII prohibits employers from retaliating against employees, like Tudor, who lodge complaints about discriminatory treatment. Through its lawsuit, the United States seeks both monetary and injunctive relief.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced in December 2014 that the Department of Justice takes the position that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination is best read to extend the statute’s protection to claims based on an individual’s gender identity, including transgender status.
More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the website of the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division (www.justice.gov/crt/about/emp/).
The continued enforcement of Title VII has been a priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information on the Civil Rights Division’s work is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt/.
Justice Department Files Brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the State of Texas et al v. United States of AmericaRead the Press Release
Attached is a brief for the federal government filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in State of Texas, et al. v. United States of America, et al.
Immigration CA5 - US PI Brief
Jacksonville Man Sentenced in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today Senior United States District Judge W.Earl Britt sentenced JOHN TOBIAS SWEENEY, 38, to 78 months imprisonment followed by 15 years supervised release. A $10,000 fine was imposed. SWEENEY is also required to register as a sex offender.
A Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on May 21, 2014.On November 3, 2014, SWEENEY pled guilty to receipt of child pornography.
According to the investigation, in March 2013, an investigation was initiated when law enforcement learned of a 12-year-old engaging in explicit communications with SWEENEY, online applications such as TextNow, a test messagin application, and Oovoo, an instant messaging client application. During the communications SWEENEY repeatedly requested sexually explicit images from the 12-year-old victim. That same month, an agent working undercover assumed the identity of the victim and continued the communication through September, 2013. SWEENEY was a high school teacher and the girls/boys soccer coach at South Onslow County High School at the time.
In December, 2013, a search warrant was executed at SWEENEY’s residence and the high school. During that time it was learned that SWEENEY used approximately 50 email accounts and fake profiles on chat sites and had nude images of minors on his phone. Forensic examination of SWEENEY’s computer revealed nude images of the victim, which were also duplicated on his thumb drive.
This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Wilmington. Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes prosecuted the case.
Ishpeming Woman Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN – Rachel Lynn Hansen, age 32, of Ishpeming, Michigan, was sentenced to 151 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr., announced today. After her release, she will serve three years of court supervision. Hanson, a mother of three, was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell found that Hanson was a “career offender” due to her extensive criminal history, which included three prior felony drug convictions. As a result, Hanson was subject to a significantly increased sentence.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) began their most recent investigation of Hanson in January 2014, when they learned that she was again involved in drug trafficking. The DEA and UPSET executed a search warrant at Hanson’s residence in Ishpeming on January 30, 2014. Police found drugs and money in the residence. Hanson was interviewed and admitted selling cocaine and heroin in the Ishpeming area during 2013 and 2014. Her prior convictions include delivery or manufacture of marijuana in 2005, possession of cocaine in 2007, and delivery or manufacture of crack cocaine in 2010.
Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maarten Vermaat.
END
Investment Adviser Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Stealing Client FundsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Pittsburgh woman was sentenced on Friday, March 27, 2015 for orchestrating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that harmed scores of victims.
Patricia S. Miller, 68, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to six years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and forfeiture. In December 2014, Miller pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud for orchestrating a large Ponzi scheme that harmed over 80 victims.
Miller used her position as a trusted financial adviser, as well as her association with a Massachusetts-based broker dealer, to obtain money from clients for purported investments that she never made on behalf of clients. Specifically, Miller promised high returns if clients put their money into “investment clubs” called, among other things, “KS Investments” and “Buckharbor.” Miller represented, among other things, that funds put into her “investment clubs” would be placed in fixed-income notes and other investments. Miller was able to obtain over $4.1 million from more than 80 clients for these purported investment clubs. Instead of investing the money as promised, she misappropriated client funds for her own use, which robbed many victims of their life savings.
“The personal nature and scope of Ms. Miller’s fraud, as well as the calculated effort she took while carrying it out, makes this one of the more serious white collar cases,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “The crime has had tangible and long-lasting effects on the lives of the victims who now face the frightening reality of financial insecurity.”
“Ms. Miller engineered an elaborate scam and stole millions of dollars from dozens of unsuspecting victims who trusted her,” said Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “The FBI will continue to go after people like her who shamelessly swindle others out of their hard-earned money for the benefit of themselves.”
U.S. Attorney Ortiz and SAC Lisi made the announcement today. U.S. Attorney Ortiz also expressed appreciation for the help and cooperation her office received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pittsburgh Field Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. DiSantis of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Today’s announcement is part of the ongoing efforts of President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The interagency FFETF was created to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force, chaired by Attorney General Eric Holder, includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Haroon Aswat, Abu Hamza Co-Conspirator, Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Charges in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York announced that Haroon Aswat pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to terrorism charges related to Aswat’s efforts to establish a terrorist training camp in the United States. Aswat was arrested in Zambia in July 2005, and in August 2005, Aswat was deported from Zambia to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant that was issued in response to a request by the U.S. government in connection with this case. Aswat was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom on Oct. 21, 2014. Aswat pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, and one count of providing material support to al Qaeda.
“With this guilty plea, Haroon Aswat is being held accountable for his provision of material support to al Qaeda and his role in a plot to establish a terrorist training camp on American soil,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Aswat was arrested almost 10 years ago, and his guilty plea is a testament to our determination to bring to justice all those who wish to harm the United States, whether at home or abroad, no matter how long it takes. I would like to extend my gratitude to all of the many agents, analysts and prosecutors whose dedication and persistence made possible the guilty plea in this case.”
“Haroon Aswat fought his extradition to the United States for almost 10 years,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “He then pled guilty to material support charges within just six months of arriving here, showing again our legal system’s capacity for swift justice. For providing support to al Qaeda, Aswat now comes face-to-face with justice and faces up to 20 years in prison, and after the completion of his term he will be deported.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment, statements made at related court proceedings including today’s guilty plea, and evidence presented at prior trials:
In late 1999, Aswat, along with co-defendants Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, aka Abu Hamza, Ouassama Kassir and Earnest James Ujaama, attempted to create a terrorist training camp in the United States to support al Qaeda, which has been designated by the U.S. Department of State as a foreign terrorist organization. Aswat conspired with Abu Hamza, Kassir and Ujaama to establish the terrorist training camp on a rural parcel of property located in Bly, Oregon. The purpose of the Bly camp was for Muslims to receive various types of training – including military-style jihad training – in preparation to fight jihad in Afghanistan. As used by the conspirators in this case, the term “jihad” meant defending Islam against purported enemies through violence and armed aggression, including, by using murder to rid Muslim holy lands of non-believers in Islam.
In a letter faxed from Ujaama, who was in the United States, to Abu Hamza in the United Kingdom, the property in Bly was described as a place that “looks just like Afghanistan,” and the letter noted that the men at Bly were “stock-piling weapons and ammunition.” In late 1999, after transmission of the faxed letter, Abu Hamza directed Aswat and Kassir, both of whom resided in London and attended Abu Hamza’s mosque there, to travel to Oregon to assist in establishing the camp. On Nov. 26, 1999, Aswat and Kassir arrived in New York, and then traveled to Bly.
Aswat and Kassir traveled to Bly for the purpose of training men to fight jihad. Kassir told witnesses that he supported Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and that he had previously received jihad training in Pakistan. Kassir also possessed a compact disc that contained instructions on how to make bombs and poisons. After leaving Bly, Aswat and Kassir traveled to Seattle, where they resided at a mosque for approximately two months. While in Seattle, Kassir, in Aswat’s presence, provided men from the mosque with additional terrorist training lessons – including instructions on different types of weapons, how to construct a homemade silencer for a firearm, how to assemble and disassemble an AK-47 and how an AK-47 could be altered to be fully automatic and to launch a grenade. On another occasion, with Aswat sitting by his side, Kassir announced to the men in Seattle that he had come to the United States for martyrdom and to destroy, and he informed his audience that some of them could die or get hurt.
A ledger recovered in September 2002 from an al Qaeda safe house in Karachi, Pakistan, listed a number of individuals associated with al Qaeda, including ASWAT. The al Qaeda safe house was used by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al Qaeda’s chief operational planner and the alleged planner of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
* * *
Aswat pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, each of which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. 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.
Abu Hamza and Kassir were previously convicted for their roles in attempting to establish a terrorist training camp in the United States. On May 12, 2009, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Kassir was found guilty of charges relating to his efforts to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly and his operation of several terrorist websites. On Sept. 15, 2009, U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan of the Southern District of New York sentenced Kassir to life in prison.
On May 19, 2014, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Abu Hamza was found guilty of charges relating to his role in the conspiracy to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly, as well as his role in a hostage-taking in Yemen in 1998 that resulted in four deaths and his support of violent jihad in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001. On Jan. 9, 2015, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York sentenced Abu Hamza to life in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin joins U.S. Attorney Bharara in praising the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s Manhattan-based Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents of the FBI and detectives of the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department of London. Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S. Attorney Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Cronan, Ian McGinley and Shane T. Stansbury of the Southern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Erin Creegan of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. This prosecution began with the investigation, arrest and prosecution of James Ujaama in the Western District of Washington. The FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Seattle and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington provided substantial assistance with these prosecutions.
Haroon Aswat, Abu Hamza Co-Conspirator, Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Charges in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin announced that HAROON ASWAT pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to terrorism charges related to ASWAT’s efforts to establish a terrorist training camp in the United States. ASWAT was arrested in Zambia in July 2005. In August 2005, ASWAT was deported from Zambia to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant that was issued in response to a request by the U.S. Government in connection with this case. ASWAT was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom on October 21, 2014. ASWAT pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, and one count of providing material support to al Qaeda.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Haroon Aswat fought his extradition to the United States for almost 10 years. He then pled guilty to material support charges within just six months of arriving here, showing again our legal system’s capacity for swift justice. For providing support to al Qaeda, Aswat now comes face-to-face with justice and faces up to 20 years in prison, and after the completion of his term he will be deported.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said: “With this guilty plea, Haroon Aswat is being held accountable for his provision of material support to al Qaeda and his role in a plot to establish a terrorist training camp on American soil. Aswat was arrested almost 10 years ago, and his guilty plea is a testament to our determination to bring to justice all those who wish to harm the United States, whether at home or abroad, no matter how long it takes. I would like to extend my gratitude to all of the many agents, analysts and prosecutors whose dedication and persistence made possible the guilty plea in this case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, statements made at related court proceedings including today’s guilty plea, and evidence presented at prior trials:
In late 1999, ASWAT, along with co-defendants Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, a/k/a “Abu Hamza” (“Abu Hamza”), Ouassama Kassir, and Earnest James Ujaama, attempted to create a terrorist training camp in the United States to support al Qaeda, which has been designated by the United States Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization. ASWAT conspired with Abu Hamza, Kassir, and Ujaama to establish the terrorist training camp on a rural parcel of property located in Bly, Oregon. The purpose of the Bly, Oregon camp was for Muslims to receive various types of training – including military-style jihad training – in preparation to fight jihad in Afghanistan. As used by the conspirators in this case, the term “jihad” meant defending Islam against purported enemies through violence and armed aggression, including, if necessary, by using murder to rid Muslim holy lands of non-believers in Islam.
In a letter faxed from Ujaama, in the United States, to Abu Hamza, in the United Kingdom, the property in Bly was described as a place that “looks just like Afghanistan,” and the letter noted that the men at Bly were “stock-piling weapons and ammunition.” In late 1999, after transmission of the faxed letter, Abu Hamza directed ASWAT and Kassir, both of whom resided in London, England, and attended Abu Hamza’s mosque there, to travel to Oregon to assist in establishing the camp. On November 26, 1999, ASWAT and Kassir arrived in New York, and then traveled to Bly.
ASWAT and Kassir traveled to Bly for the purpose of training men to fight jihad. Kassir told witnesses that he supported Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and that he had previously received jihad training in Pakistan. Kassir also possessed a compact disc that contained instructions on how to make bombs and poisons. After leaving Bly, ASWAT and Kassir traveled to Seattle, Washington, where they resided at a mosque for approximately two months. While in Seattle, Kassir, in ASWAT’s presence, provided men from the mosque with additional terrorist training lessons – including instructions on different types of weapons, how to construct a homemade silencer for a firearm, how to assemble and disassemble an AK-47, and how an AK-47 could be altered to be fully automatic and to launch a grenade. On another occasion, with ASWAT sitting by his side, Kassir announced to the men in Seattle that he had come to the United States for martyrdom and to destroy, and he informed his audience that some of them could die or get hurt.
A ledger recovered in September 2002 from an al Qaeda safe house in Karachi, Pakistan, listed a number of individuals associated with al Qaeda, including ASWAT. The al Qaeda safe house was used by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al Qaeda’s chief operational planner and the alleged planner of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
ASWAT pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization (al Qaeda), and one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization (al Qaeda), each of which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. 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.
Abu Hamza and Kassir were previously convicted for their roles in attempting to establish a terrorist training camp in the United States. On May 12, 2009, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Kassir was found guilty of charges relating to his efforts to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly, and his operation of several terrorist websites. On September 15, 2009, U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan sentenced Kassir to life in prison.
On May 19, 2014, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Abu Hamza was found guilty of charges relating to his role in the conspiracy to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly, as well as his role in a hostage-taking in Yemen in 1998 that resulted in four deaths, and his support of violent jihad in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001. On January 9, 2015, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest sentenced Abu Hamza to life in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Manhattan-based Joint Terrorism Task Force – which principally consists of agents of the FBI and detectives of the New York City Police Department, and includes officers of numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies – the United States Marshals Service, and the Metropolitan Police Department of London, England. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Cronan, Ian McGinley, and Shane Stansbury are in charge of the prosecution.
Governor Tomblin, Goodwin and other leaders to unveil statewide initiative to benefit childrenRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin, West Virginia State Police Colonel Jay Smithers, and other state leaders, along with school, law enforcement, child advocacy and mental health professionals will come together at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, 2015, to unveil a statewide initiative to address child maltreatment and children’s exposure to trauma.
EVENT INFORMATION:
WHO: Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin and WVSP Colonel Jay Smithers
WHAT: Unveiling of a statewide initiative to benefit children
WHEN: 2:00 p.m., Tuesday March 31
WHERE: West Virginia State Police Professional Development Center, 123 Academy Drive, Dunbar, WV 25064
Georgia Man Indicted for Child Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Devin Lee Smith (27, Waynesville, GA) with child sex trafficking, enticing a minor to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution or unlawful sexual activity, transporting a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution or unlawful sexual activity, and using a facility of interstate commerce to promote and carry on prostitution activities. If convicted on all counts, he faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.
According to the indictment, Smith transported a minor female from Georgia to Jacksonville, where he then engaged in commercial sex trafficking of the minor. The indictment also alleges that Smith used a mobile phone to carry out his illicit activities.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by Northeast Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, a specialized task force made up of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mac D. Heavener, III.
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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Gallegos Sentenced to Serve 180 Months for Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to DistributeRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced Antonio Gallegos, also known as “Lego”, age 35, from Valdosta, Georgia was sentenced on March 25, 2015 by the Honorable Hugh Lawson, Senior United States District Judge in Valdosta, Georgia. Mr. Gallegos was sentenced to serve 15 years (180 months) imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Mr. Gallegos had entered his plea of guilty to the offense on January 14, 2015.
On April 29, 2014, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Officer in Lowndes County, Georgia received information from DEA Atlanta that a Hispanic male would be delivering a package of methamphetamine to Valdosta via a bus line. Agents observed Jose Renteria-Cortez get off the bus carrying a backpack. The Task Force Officer found 9 packages of methamphetamine with a gross weight of 6.6 pounds. Mr. Renteria-Cortez admitted that he was delivering the drugs to Juan Gabriel Pecina, a co-defendant, for eventual delivery to Antonio Gallegos. Mr. Pecina has previously been sentenced to 168 months imprisonments and Mr. Renteria-Cortez has previously been sentenced to 140 months.
“Methamphetamine destroys the lives of users and non-users alike. The only bus Mr. Gallegos will be waiting on now won’t be one carrying his shipment of drugs, it will be the one taking him to federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore.
“As with all drug traffickers, this methamphetamine distributor was driven by greed and power,” Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Daniel R. Salter stated. “Today he stands powerless and will spend well-deserved time in prison. This case would not have been possible without the spirited level of cooperation between our law enforcement counterparts.”
Sheriff Chris Prine, of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is “extremely proud to see this case come to a successful close. With the continued increase in methamphetamine production and distribution, this must be a priority for everyone in the law enforcement community. This sentence is the result of a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration, The United States Attorney’s Office and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and a great example of what must be done to impact the flow of illegal drugs in our communities.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. McCullers prosecuted the case on behalf of the Government.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office at 478-621-2603.
Former U.S. Postal Contractor and Wife Charged by Federal Grand Jury with Stealing Meds from VeteransRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A former U.S. Postal Service contractor and his wife have been charged in a federal indictment that accuses them of conspiring to steal packages of prescription pharmaceuticals intended for military veterans.
Kevin Cochrane, 34, of Verbena, Alabama, and Carmen Cochrane, 36, also of Verbena, Alabama, were named in a four-count indictment charging the couple with conspiracy to possess stolen U.S. Mail; two counts of theft of Veteran’s Administration U.S. Mail packages; and one count of conspiracy to possess hydrocodone with the intent to distribute it. Carmen Cochrane was arrested last Thursday and Kevin Cochrane was taken into custody this morning by U.S. Postal Inspectors.
The thefts occurred at a U.S. Postal Service loading facility in Memphis in November 2013. The packages contained prescription medications intended for veterans. The Cochranes are also charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute hydrocodone stolen from the packages.
“The defendants’ alleged scheme of stealing medicine intended for veterans from a U.S. Postal facility is a shameful betrayal of our dedicated service members,” stated U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton III. “This husband and wife will now be held accountable in a court of law for their alleged criminal actions.”
“The U.S. Postal Service has hardworking, honest employees. The arrest of these individuals is a priority to the Postal Inspection Service to ensure the nation’s mail system is protected and those who violate the public trust will be aggressively prosecuted,” said Tom Noyes, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division – Memphis Field Office.
If they are convicted, the couple would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Tate County Sheriff's Deputy Indicted for Using Excessive Force Against a Pre-Trial DetaineeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Oxford, Mississippi, returned a one-count indictment charging former Tate County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy T. Doss, 62, with unlawfully assaulting J.W., a pre-trial detainee at the Tate County Jail, with a dangerous weapon on Jan. 27, 2011. The indictment charges that Doss’s actions resulted in bodily injury to the victim, J.W.
Doss is charged with violating J.W.’s right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law. The indictment alleges that Doss unlawfully assaulted J.W. by deploying a Taser electronic control device into J.W.’s back while he was in the custody of the Tate County Sheriff’s Office.
If convicted, Doss faces a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Jackson Division of the Federal Bureau Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Coleman of the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
Former President and Ceo of Immigration Consultation Company Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Fraud, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A Union, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for providing fraudulent immigration documents involving sham marriages and attempting to deposit a fraudulent tax return check of more than $100,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Maxwell Poku, 36, a naturalized United States citizen from Ghana, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to an information charging him with one count each of immigration fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Poku was the president and CEO of Max$Max Finance and Travel LLC (Max$Max), a business with offices in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Orange, New Jersey and Ghana. Max$Max purported to offer immigration consultation and other services to the African community.
Poku admitted that he helped numerous individuals obtain immigration benefits to which they were not entitled by filing documents that falsely reflected that they were married to United States citizens. Poku admitted that he paid individuals to act as sham spouses and provided fraudulent letters of employment, utility bills, credit card statements, W-2 forms and tax return transcripts, which he downloaded and altered, to demonstrate the marital status of the immigrant petitioners.
Poku used forged Ghanaian government stamps, which he obtained from a store in New Jersey, as well as blank Ghanaian birth certificates. He used an iron and coffee to give the documents an aged appearance.
The money laundering count arose from an entirely separate scheme in which Poku came into possession of a refund check for $115,138 that was issued as a result of a fraudulent tax return. Poku admitted he incorporated a business entity in the state of New Jersey named “Brian Robinson Equipment Sales LLC,” opened a bank account at Sovereign Bank under that name, and deposited the refund check into the account. The sum was recovered by law enforcement before it could be withdrawn.
As part of the plea, Poku must forfeit to the United States $10,500, and computer media and equipment seized from Max$Max on the day of his arrest on August 10, 2012.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Poku to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a fine of $75,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly; special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Rodney A. Davis; and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Defense counsel: Henry E. Klingeman Esq., Newark, N.J.
Former Joplin Oncologist Pleads Guilty to Dispensing Foreign, Misbranded DrugsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an oncologist who operated a clinic in Joplin, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to dispensing foreign, misbranded drugs to his cancer patients.
Robert L. Carter, 74, of Carthage, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges him with buying and selling misbranded prescription drugs.
Carter was the president and medical practitioner of Robert L. Carter, M.D., in Joplin, from Oct. 23, 1991, to April 2, 2012. As a medical oncologist, Carter provided care and treatment for patients with cancer and blood diseases. The practice purchased prescription drugs, including chemotherapy drugs, which were prescribed by Carter and were administered and dispensed through the practice. Reimbursement for the drugs and their administration was sought from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, Tricare as well as other private health care benefit programs.
In April 2010, Dr. Carter began ordering prescription cancer drugs from Quality Specialty Products (QSP) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. QSP sold drugs – which had been obtained from foreign sources and which had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for distribution or use in the United States – to physicians and other health care providers in the United States.
QSP shipped misbranded and FDA-unapproved drugs to Carter at his practice in Joplin. These misbranded and FDA-unapproved drugs were administered to Carter’s cancer patients and Carter was reimbursed by government and private health insurance programs.
The labeling for the prescription drugs that Carter purchased from QSP was different than the versions of the drugs the FDA had approved for distribution in the United States. Among other things, they did not have labels bearing the symbol “Rx only,” and the labeling for some of the drugs was in one or more foreign languages. Some of the prescription drugs lacked mixing and use instructions in the English language.
Carter paid $971,854 in restitution today to Medicare, Tri-Care, Missouri Medicaid, Oklahoma Medicaid and Kansas Medicaid. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Carter also must forfeit to the government $1.2 million, of which $228,145 was paid today, representing the proceeds from his scheme. Carter is subject to a sentence of up to one year in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $100,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Former Federal Agents Charged with Bitcoin Money Laundering and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Agents Were Part of Baltimore’s Silk Road Task Force
Two former federal agents have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering and related offenses for stealing digital currency during their investigation of the Silk Road, an underground black market that allowed users to conduct illegal transactions over the Internet. The charges are contained in a federal criminal complaint issued on March 25, 2015, in the Northern District of California and unsealed today.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lori Hazenstab of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. made the announcement.
Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, was a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Both were assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, which investigated illegal activity in the Silk Road marketplace. Force served as an undercover agent and was tasked with establishing communications with a target of the investigation, Ross Ulbricht, aka “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Force is charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, money laundering and conflict of interest. Bridges is charged with wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the complaint, Force was a DEA agent assigned to investigate the Silk Road marketplace. During the investigation, Force engaged in certain authorized undercover operations by, among other things, communicating online with “Dread Pirate Roberts” (Ulbricht), the target of his investigation. The complaint alleges, however, that Force then, without authority, developed additional online personas and engaged in a broad range of illegal activities calculated to bring him personal financial gain. In doing so, the complaint alleges, Force used fake online personas, and engaged in complex Bitcoin transactions to steal from the government and the targets of the investigation. Specifically, Force allegedly solicited and received digital currency as part of the investigation, but failed to report his receipt of the funds, and instead transferred the currency to his personal account. In one such transaction, Force allegedly sold information about the government’s investigation to the target of the investigation. The complaint also alleges that Force invested in and worked for a digital currency exchange company while still working for the DEA, and that he directed the company to freeze a customer’s account with no legal basis to do so, then transferred the customer’s funds to his personal account. Further, Force allegedly sent an unauthorized Justice Department subpoena to an online payment service directing that it unfreeze his personal account.
Bridges allegedly diverted to his personal account over $800,000 in digital currency that he gained control of during the Silk Road investigation. The complaint alleges that Bridges placed the assets into an account at Mt. Gox, the now-defunct digital currency exchange in Japan. He then allegedly wired funds into one of his personal investment accounts in the United States mere days before he sought a $2.1 million seizure warrant for Mt. Gox’s accounts.
Bridges self-surrendered today and will appear before Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California at 9:30 a.m. PST this morning. Force was arrested on Friday, March 27, 2015, in Baltimore and will appear before Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan of the District of Maryland at 2:30 p.m. EST today.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Division, the IRS-CI’s San Francisco Division, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also provided assistance with the investigation of this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Haun and William Frentzen of the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Criminal Complaint
Former Federal Agents Charged with Bitcoin Money Laundering and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Two former federal agents have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering and related offenses for stealing digital currency during their investigation of the Silk Road, an underground black market that allowed users to conduct illegal transactions over the Internet. The charges are contained in a federal criminal complaint issued on March 25, 2015, in the Northern District of California and unsealed today.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lori Hazenstab of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. made the announcement.
Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, was a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Both were assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, which investigated illegal activity in the Silk Road marketplace. Force served as an undercover agent and was tasked with establishing communications with a target of the investigation, Ross Ulbricht, aka “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Force is charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, money laundering and conflict of interest. Bridges is charged with wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the complaint, Force was a DEA agent assigned to investigate the Silk Road marketplace. During the investigation, Force engaged in certain authorized undercover operations by, among other things, communicating online with “Dread Pirate Roberts” (Ulbricht), the target of his investigation. The complaint alleges, however, that Force then, without authority, developed additional online personas and engaged in a broad range of illegal activities calculated to bring him personal financial gain. In doing so, the complaint alleges, Force used fake online personas, and engaged in complex Bitcoin transactions to steal from the government and the target of the investigation. Specifically, Force allegedly solicited and received digital currency as part of the investigation, but failed to report his receipt of the funds, and instead transferred the currency to his personal account. In one such transaction, Force allegedly sold information about the government’s investigation to the target of the investigation. The complaint also alleges that Force invested in and worked for a digital currency exchange company while still working for the DEA, and that he directed the company to freeze a customer’s account with no legal basis to do so, then transferred the customer’s funds to his personal account. Further, Force allegedly sent an unauthorized Justice Department subpoena to a online payment service directing that it unfreeze his personal account.
Bridges allegedly diverted to his personal account over $800,000 in digital currency that he gained control of during the Silk Road investigation. The complaint alleges that Bridges placed the assets into an account at Mt. Gox, the now-defunct digital currency exchange in Japan. He then allegedly wired funds into one of his personal investment accounts in the United States mere days before he sought a $2.1 million seizure warrant for Mt. Gox’s accounts.
Bridges self-surrendered today and will appear before Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California at 9:30 a.m. PST this morning. Force was arrested on Friday, March 27, 2015, in Baltimore and will appear before Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan of the District of Maryland at 2:30 p.m. EST today.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Haun and William Frentzen of the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Division, the IRS-CI’s San Francisco Division, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also provided assistance with the investigation of this case.
Former FBI Special Agent Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Bribery and Obstruction SchemeRead the Press Release
A former FBI special agent was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $70,000 for soliciting and accepting bribes to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving a defense contractor, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen of the District of Utah and Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.
“FBI agents—like all federal law enforcement—must be above reproach, but former Special Agent Lustyik sold his badge and position of public trust to the highest bidder,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “This sentence serves as a stark reminder that no one is above the law. Corrupt officials who break the law and breach their oaths will be prosecuted and sent to prison, even if they come from within the ranks of federal law enforcement.”
“These three defendants attempted to thwart a significant criminal investigation in Utah,” said U.S. Attorney Christensen. “Two of these defendants were entrusted with protecting our citizens and upholding the law. Their conduct, in particular, stands in stark contrast to the integrity and sacrifice of the men and women in our military and law enforcement ranks and their sentences today send a powerful message that no one is above the law.”
“Today’s sentencings represent important steps toward justice in this case,” said Inspector General Horowitz. “Department of Justice employees and their associates must be held accountable when they abuse their authority and betray the public’s trust.”
Robert G. Lustyik Jr., 52, of Sleepy Hollow, New York, a 24-year veteran of the FBI, pleaded guilty to all charges in an 11-count indictment on Sept. 29, 2014. Specifically, Lustyik pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction, eight counts of honest services wire fraud, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and obstruction of an agency proceeding.
Lustyik’s co-defendants, Michael L. Taylor, 54, of Harvard, Massachusetts, and Johannes W. Thaler, 51, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, were also sentenced today to 24 months in prison and 13 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in this scheme. Thaler was also ordered to forfeit $70,000, joint and several with Lustyik. U.S. District Senior Judge Tena Campbell of the District of Utah imposed all three sentences.
Lustyik and Thaler both pleaded guilty for their involvement in a similar bribery scheme in the Southern District of New York. Thaler was sentenced to 30 months in prison in that case, and will serve the two sentences consecutively. Lustyik is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2015, in the Southern District of New York.
According to court documents, from October 2011 to September 2012, Lustyik and Thaler conspired to use Lustyik’s official position as an FBI counterintelligence special agent to obstruct a criminal investigation into Taylor, a businessman who owned and operated American International Security Corporation. Taylor was under investigation for allegedly paying kickbacks to obtain a series of contracts from the Department of Defense worth approximately $54 million. Taylor promised Lustyik and Thaler that, in exchange for their help, he would provide them cash and multimillion dollar business contracts. In an email message, Taylor told the two men, “I’ll make you guys more money than you can believe, provided they don’t think I’m a bad guy and put me in jail.”
According to court documents, Lustyik attempted to obstruct the investigation into Taylor by identifying Taylor as an official FBI confidential source in an effort to persuade the FBI, the Justice Department and the prosecutors and law enforcement agents in Utah that Taylor’s usefulness to the government outweighed the government’s interest in prosecuting him. Indeed, Lustyik emphasized that indicting Taylor would threaten the nation’s security. Lustyik also sought to take steps to directly intervene in the investigation by interviewing key witnesses.
According to court documents, the defendants boasted about the success of their scheme. In one email message, Lustyik wrote to Taylor, “The rate this is going. I will be indicted way before u ever are !!” Lustyik wrote separately to Thaler, “I can leave [the FBI] in June. But I’m afraid to if [Taylor] gets indicted n I’m not an agent I’m no help. Has he mentioned giving me‐u a salary?”
Taylor admitted at his plea hearing that, as part of this conspiracy, he offered Lustyik a six-figure salary and a share of the proceeds from various multi-million dollar business deals he was pursuing. Acknowledging this, Lustyik wrote to Taylor, “Let’s just get Utah over with and get stinking rich,” to which Taylor replied, “Getting stinking rick [sic], we are well on the way with that so I have the ball.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Peter Koski and Trial Attorney Maria Lerner of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Trial Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Trial Attorney Scott Ferber of the National Security Division’s Counterespionage Section also assisted in the prosecution.
Former Contract Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison for Theft of an Estimated $478,000 in U.S. Postal Service PropertyRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, 68-year-old Marvis Charles Box of Converse, TX, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for stealing an estimated $478,000 of United States Postal Service equipment announced Acting United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, Houston Division.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge David A. Ezra ordered that Box pay $467,044.75 restitution to the U.S. Postal Service and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
As a U.S. Postal Service contract employee, Box was responsible for transporting mail to and from the Canyon Lake Post Office. On approximately 175 occasions between August 22, 2012 and December 4, 2013, Box stole U.S. Postal Service mail transportation equipment, namely sacks, pouches, trays, metal containers, wire cages, pallets and other items. He subsequently sold the materials, including an estimated 418,000 pounds of metal to a San Antonio scrapyard, for personal financial gain. On May 30, 2014, Box pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property.
This case was investigated by inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Hardy prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Federal and Local Law Enforcement Along with Michigan Department of Corrections Officials Meet with State Parolees to Improve Kalamazoo Prisoner ReentryRead the Press Release
Officials encourage parolees to take advantage of services and make smart choices in leading law abiding lives or risk returning to prison
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – In an effort to reduce the risk and rate of repeat offenses by recently released prisoners, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Patrick Miles, in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), has brought a new program called “Facing Choices” to Kalamazoo. As part of the Facing Choices Program, state and federal law enforcement officials met late last week with state parolees in the Kalamazoo area. Parolees also heard from several speakers who have successfully turned their lives around. Representatives of service providers and programs available to parolees were also in attendance. This is the third in a series of such meetings to be held throughout Western Michigan.
The program is intended to help parolees make decisions that keep them on a law-abiding path and away from offending again. “The goal of the Facing Choices program is to reduce recidivism. That means less crime which means fewer victims as well as lessening the burden on law enforcement, the judicial and prison systems, and taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney Miles stated. “Nationally, approximately two-thirds of ex-offenders are rearrested within three years of release and almost half are re-incarcerated. In Michigan, the recidivism rate is 28 percent. According to one report I read, if 93 percent of prisoners in the U.S. did not commit another offense, American taxpayers would save between $17.3 billion and $1.1 trillion.”
U.S. Attorney Miles, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley, Chief Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting, other law enforcement representatives and MDOC officials reminded the parolees that law enforcement, prosecutors, and the MDOC are prepared to see them sent back to jail if they make poor choices and re-offend. But, they prefer seeing them become productive members of society and succeed. A parolee who re-offends is a high priority target for law enforcement. “But the point of this meeting is not just to remind you that we’ll hold you accountable if you do wrong,” U.S Attorney Miles explained. “We’re here to remind you that parole is an opportunity for you. Take advantage of the resources and the contacts that your parole status affords you.”
MDOC Deputy Administrator Brian Shipman noted: “The mission of the Department of Corrections is to hold offenders accountable while promoting their success. The MDOC envisions the placement of an offender into the community as a carefully planned process. It is guided by a case plan which is meant to prepare him or her for a legally and socially acceptable adjustment to life in the community. Supported by experienced professionals in the public and private sectors, the offender will have the resources and guidance necessary to support successful community adjustment.”
Over 50 parolees attended the event. Following the comments and encouragement of the speakers, the parolees were directed to the attending service providers.
Representatives of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also spoke and shared in the message to the parolees. U.S. Attorney Miles praised the cooperation and collaboration that are critical to the Facing Choices program, “I am pleased that local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as County Prosecutors see the value in working together to reduce recidivism,” he said.
ENDEssex County, New Jersey, Man Admits Illegally Possessing Fireram and Smuggling Marijuana into Federal Pretrial Detention FacilityRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted illegally possessing a firearm and conspiring with others to smuggle contraband, including marijuana and tobacco, into a federal pretrial detention facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Muhammad Subpunallah, 33, of Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an indictment charging him with the illegal possession of a firearm and to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to smuggle contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility, a federal pretrial detention facility. Subpunallah is being held without bail.
According to the documents filed in this case and other cases and statements made in court:
On Oct. 11, 2011, Subpunallah had a loaded .38 caliber Cobra firearm in his waistband while standing near Broad and Market streets in Newark. He had previously been convicted of robbery in Essex County Superior Court. After Subpunallah was arrested and detained on the illegal possession of a firearm, he engaged in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility. From September 2013 to February 2014, Subpunallah directed a relative, Vladimir Sauzereseteo, to deliver contraband, including marijuana and tobacco, to Brian Kapalin, a New Jersey lawyer, who then smuggled the contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility in exchange for a cash fee. Subpunallah sent inmates to the attorney visitor room to meet with Kapalin and retrieve the contraband.
In January 2014, Subpunallah spoke with Kapalin over a recorded correctional facility phone. Subpunallah asked Kapalin to deliver contraband to an inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility. Sauzereseteo was then paid $1,650 via Western Union money transfers, which he used to purchase marijuana that he delivered to Kapalin, along with a cash payment for Kapalin’s service. A few days later, Kapalin met the inmate from the Essex County Correctional Facility in the attorney visitor room and he delivered the marijuana.
The charge for illegally possessing a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge for conspiring to provide contraband, including marijuana, to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited officers with the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable and Chief Anthony Campos; special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark: and investigators with the Internal Affairs Division of the Essex County Correctional Facility, under the leadership of Warden Roy Hendricks, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Tyler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais of the Criminal Division, General Crimes Unit; Robert Frazer, of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit; and Rahul Agarwal of the Special Prosecutions Division, in Newark.
Defense counsel: David Holman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Dubuque Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of an Unregistered Sawed-Off ShotgunRead the Press Release
A Dubuque man who possessed an unregistered sawed-off shotgun was sentenced on March 26, 2015 to more than seven years in federal prison.
Jordan Michael Edmonds, age 24, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 29, 2014 guilty plea to one count of possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
At the plea hearing, Edmonds admitted that, on or about June 14, 2014, he knowingly possessed a 12-gauge shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches that had a partially obliterated serial number. The shotgun was not registered to him.
Edmonds was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Edmonds was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to pay $626.78 in restitution. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin R. Eldridge and Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-1017.
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District Court Enters Permanent Injunction against Los Angeles Seafood Company and Senior Officers to Stop Distribution of Adulterated ProductsRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against L.A. Star Seafood Company Inc. of Los Angeles and its corporate officers Sima Goldring and Sam Goldring to prevent the distribution of adulterated seafood products, the Department of Justice announced today.
The department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Jan. 5, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleging that the company’s seafood products are produced under conditions that are inadequate to ensure the safety of its products. The complaint alleges that L.A. Star Seafood imports, receives, prepares, processes, packs, holds and distributes ready-to-eat smoked and salt-cured seafood, including cold-smoked mackerel and steelhead trout, and pickled herring and sprats. The complaint also alleges that Sima Goldring and Sam Goldring are L.A. Star Seafood’s corporate officers with the authority and responsibility for preventing and correcting violations of federal law at the company.
In conjunction with the filing of the complaint, the defendants agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction that prohibits them from committing violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The consent decree requires L.A. Star Seafood to cease all manufacturing operations and requires that, in order for the defendants to resume distributing seafood products, the FDA first must determine that its manufacturing practices have come into compliance with the law.
“L.A. Star Seafood was repeatedly informed that the sanitation practices at its facility were deficient,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The failure to actively plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins commonly found in seafood processing facilities can pose a serious risk to the public health.”
According to the complaint, FDA inspections in 2013 and 2014 documented a pattern of insanitary conditions resulting in the presence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono). These insanitary conditions were the result of deviations from current good manufacturing practices, such as not adequately cleaning surfaces and utensils used for cutting fish. Further, the FDA’s most recent inspection in February and March of 2014 documented the defendants’ failure to have and implement adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans that control Clostridium botulinum (C. bot) and L. mono hazards. L. mono is the bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious and sometimes fatal infection for vulnerable groups such as newborns, the elderly and those with an impaired immune system. Ingestion of the neurotoxin C. bot can cause botulism. Though the incidence of botulism is rare, its effect is severe. The disease can cause paralysis or death if not promptly treated.
“Companies and their owners who violate food safety regulations endanger public health,” said Associate Commissioner of Regulatory Affairs Melinda K. Plaisier of the FDA. “The FDA will continue to take every necessary action to assure the food supply is safe.”
According to the complaint, the FDA documented numerous seafood HACCP and current good manufacturing practice violations when it inspected L.A. Star Seafood’s facility. The complaint alleges that the company’s products are therefore adulterated within the meaning of the FDCA. As further alleged, the company was told to take certain precautions while brining fish to control potential C. bot hazards but failed to take appropriate corrective action. According to the complaint, L.A. Star Seafood failed to adequately clean food-contact surfaces and food manufacturing equipment, utensils and containers to protect against contamination of food, and failed to protect in-process fish products from contamination. The complaint alleges that the company’s insanitary practices resulted in widespread L. mono contamination and that FDA environmental samples from critical areas of L.A. Star Seafood’s facility, such as the processing-room floor and on food-contact surfaces, tested positive for L. mono.
The government is represented by Trial Attorney Kerala T. Cowart of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Donald Yoo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Melissa J. Mendoza of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel’s Food and Drug Division.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez, on March 30, 2015, sentenced Rudy Bridges, 31, to 33 months in prison for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
According to court records, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors discovered 290 rounds of ammunition in Bridges’ luggage when he arrived in St. Thomas aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale on April 18, 2013.
On December 18, 2014, Bridges pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Judge Gomez also sentenced Bridges to three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and CBP. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.
Caddo Parish Commissioner Michael Williams indicted for stealing from nonprofitRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a federal grand jury indicted Caddo Parish Commissioner Michael Dwayne Williams for defrauding the Caddo Parish Commission and stealing from a nonprofit meant to help at-risk youth.
Williams, 54, of Shreveport, was indicted on 12 counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges that from October 1, 2012 through July 1, 2014, Williams devised a scheme to take more than $2,000 from a nonprofit’s bank account. Williams urged the parish commission to appropriate public funds for the nonprofit SWAG Nation. Once those funds were allocated from the parish’s budget to SWAG Nation, Williams caused a bank debit card to be issued for the nonprofit. Between April of 2013 and July of 2014, Williams used an ATM card to remove money on numerous occasions. According to the indictment, he took $100 to $200 each time that he made a withdrawal initializing 12 transactions from August 2013 to June 2014 for personal use. SWAG Nation’s declared purpose is to partner with local institutions to help mentor and counsel at-risk individuals ages 7 to 17 so that they can better function in society.
“The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated Michael Williams for several months and is pleased with the return of this indictment,” said Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator. “Unfortunately, there are people elected to office who will abuse the public’s trust. This money was meant for children, not politicians.”
Williams faces up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine for each count.
The FBI and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph G. Jarzabek and Brandon B. Brown are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bridgeport Man Sentenced to 55 Months in Prison for Stolen Check SchemeRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAYQUAN JACKSON, also known as “Quan” and “DaeDae,” 27, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 55 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for operating a mail fraud and bank fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, JACKSON and others stole mail from residences in Fairfield County throughout 2013 and 2014 to obtain either blank checks or credit card “convenience checks.” JACKSON and others then used some of the stolen checks to purchase cars, motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles listed for sale on the Internet from unsuspecting victims in surrounding states. Some of the stolen checks also were provided to “runners” who deposited the checks into their bank accounts. JACKSON and others then withdrew the funds from the accounts.
The court calculated the intended loss to financial institutions and individual victims resulting from this scheme as more than $177,000. JACKSON was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $84,242.
JACKSON was arrested on August 22, 2014. On October 29, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with substantial assistance from the Connecticut Financial Fraud Task Force and the Greenwich, Fairfield, Wilton, and Bridgeport Police Departments, as well as law enforcement in New Hampshire. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Silverman.