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18 March 2015
The Leader and Two Members of Folk Nation Gang Operating in the Ebbets Field Houses in Brooklyn Convicted of Racketeering and MurderRead the Press Release
Yesterday, following a three-week trial, the defendants Yasser Ashburn, Jamal Laurent, and Trevelle Merritt were found guilty by a jury in Brooklyn federal court of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, including as racketeering acts the murders of Courtney Robinson, Brent Duncan, and Dasta James, and related crimes. The defendants were members of, and committed crimes with, a violent set of the Folk Nation street gang.
The verdicts were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“Today’s verdict is a victory for the residents of the Ebbets Field Houses and the Brooklyn community,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “For far too long, the defendants and their fellow gang members terrorized this community, murdering innocent young men and committing other violent crimes in their attempt to control what they mistakenly believed was their turf. These defendants will now be held to account for their crimes.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department, the agencies responsible for leading the government’s investigation.
“Street gangs breed dangerous allegiances that ultimately lead to turf battles, bloodshed, and other senseless acts of aggression against rival gang affiliates and innocent members of the public. The residents of the Ebbets Field Houses should not be plagued by this type of violent criminal behavior. Everyone has a right to live in a society that is free from violence, and today we are one step closer to restoring a sense of security for the residents of this community,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
For almost a decade, the defendant Yasser Ashburn led a Folk Nation set of 20 to 25 members that operated in the Ebbets Field Houses, a New York City public housing community in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. From approximately 2007 until their arrests in 2011 and 2012, the defendants were responsible for numerous acts of gang-related violence, including homicides, non-fatal shootings, and robberies in and around Crown Heights and Flatbush, and elsewhere in the tri-state area.
The government’s evidence at trial established that on April 20, 2008, a fight erupted at a birthday party held in an apartment at the Ebbets Field Houses. After Courtney Robinson entered the fight to protect his nephew who was being beaten by Folk Nation gang members, Ashburn left the melee and retrieved a handgun from the building stairwell where the gang typically stored weapons. Ashburn then returned to the apartment and shot Robinson at point blank range in the back, killing him.
Two years later, on June 19, 2010, the defendant Jamal Laurent shot and killed 18-year-old Brent Duncan while Duncan sat in his car outside party in Brooklyn. Laurent subsequently told a friend that he shot Duncan because Duncan was a member of the rival Crips gang, although no evidence established that Duncan actually belonged to that gang. Two days after the murder, NYPD officers responded to a shots-fired call at Laurent’s residence on Schenectady Avenue in Brooklyn. There, the officers found that a bullet had been fired from Laurent’s bedroom through an adjoining wall into the room of another tenant in the building. The officers entered Laurent’s room and recovered a 9-millimeter Smith and Wesson handgun hidden in a slit in the box-spring of Laurent’s bed. The NYPD Firearms Analysis Section subsequently determined that it was the same gun that Laurent had used to murder Duncan.
During a three-week period in January 2011, the defendant Trevelle Merritt and fellow gang members participated in a robbery spree that culminated in murder. In the first two robberies, Merritt and others robbed two residents of the Ebbets Field Houses of their cell phones. On January 28, 2011, Merritt, Laurent, and another man attempted to rob Dasta James at his residence on McKeever Place in Brooklyn. During the course of the robbery, James was shot in the back and head. He was then taken to Kings County Hospital, where he died.
When sentenced, on July 10, 2015, the defendants Yasser Ashburn and Jamal Laurent face mandatory life imprisonment, and the defendant Trevelle Merritt faces ten years to life.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Darren LaVerne, M. Kristin Mace, and Margaret Lee.
The Defendants:
YASSER ASHBURN, a/k/a “Indio,” “Swerve,” “Supa Swerve 6,” and “Yassen Ashburn”
Age: 31
Brooklyn, NY
JAMAL LAURENT, also known as “Tails”
Age: 25
Brooklyn, NY
TREVELLE MERRITT, also known as “Tiger”
Age: 22
Brooklyn, NY
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 11-CR-303 (NGG)
Texarkana Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
Texarkana, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that William Gauld, age 33 of Texarkana, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by ten years of supervised release for Receipt of Images of Child Pornography, a charge he pleaded guilty to in September, 2014. The sentencing took place before the Honorable Susan O. Hickey in the United States District Court in Texarkana.
U. S. Attorney Eldridge stated, “Children are the number one priority for our office, and we will not rest in our efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who commit these despicable crimes against them. Every time a video or image involving sexual abuse of children is downloaded or viewed, those children are re-victimized. We appreciate the hard work of law enforcement to bring these sexual predators to justice.”
“This case shows anyone involved in the trade of child pornography can and will be held accountable for their criminal actions,” said Cindy M. Johnson, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans. “Sexual abuse scars children for life and HSI will continue to use all the tools in its arsenal to identify and seek prosecution of these criminals, and to seek justice on behalf of their victims.”
According to court records, in March of 2014, during the course of an investigation into the online trafficking of Child Pornography, agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Internet Crimes Against Children’s Taskforce conducted an interview with Gauld concerning pictures and sexually explicit comments he posted to the internet. During the interview, Gauld admitted to downloading child pornography on both his cell phone and his laptop computer. A subsequent forensic examination of those items revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography. One of the videos depicted three nude minor males, approximately nine to twelve years of age, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. At sentencing, the Government presented the Court with evidence that at the time of this offense, Gauld was required to register as a sex offender based on a previous conviction.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts and Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ross prosecuted the case for the United States.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov
Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Child ObscenityRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ‑ Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing child obscenity.
Rusty Mann, 35, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush.
On the night of Oct. 21, 2011, a Springfield police detective observed Mann approach a playground on a bicycle. The detective made contact with Mann just outside the fenced area of the playground. Mann was attired in a black mini skirt and women’s knee-high boots; he was identified as the person who had been leaving soiled diapers and clothing on the playground.
As a registered sex offender, Mann was not permitted within 1,000 feet of school property under state law. Mann was placed under arrest at that time. Mann has prior convictions for child molestation and sexual misconduct involving a child.
Mann’s bicycle, backpack and fanny pack were collected from the scene. A search of the backpack yielded a cell phone, along with other items. The investigators conducted a search of the cell phone and located several images of suspected child pornography and obscene cartoon depictions of minors, including a cartoon image of a prepubescent female being sexually assaulted.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Mann will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole, followed by a life term of supervised release. Upon release from federal incarceration, Mann will be committed to the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health for control, care and treatment as a sexually violent predator (under the terms of the Judgment and Order of Commitment entered in Case Number 1131-PR00937, in the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri, Probate Division).
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Smith County Man Sentenced for Tyler Automax FraudRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 38-year-old Tyler, Texas, man has been sentenced for wire fraud in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Mohammad Moosa Yahya pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2014, to wire fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Yahya was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $455,000.
According to information presented in Court, Yahya served as president of EMN Global Trading Corporation, a Texas corporation based in Tyler. In April 2001, EMN Global Trading began doing business as a used car dealership in Tyler operating under the name Tyler Automax. Beginning in May 2011, Yahya devised a scheme to defraud investors by representing that their funds would be used for operation of the dealership, specifically for the purchase of vehicles that would be resold. Yahya told the prospective investors that they would be paid profits from the vehicle sales. Yahya failed to sue the investors’ money to purchase vehicles and instead misappropriated the funds for his personal use. Yahya was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 13, 2012. In October 2013, Yahya was arrested in Saudi Arabia by Saudi law enforcement officials and returned to U.S. custody in March 2014.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.
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Smith County Man Sentenced for Possessing Firearm after Family Violence ConvictionRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 43-year-old Whitehouse, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Robert Dean Jackson pleaded guilty on Nov. 4, 2014, to being a misdemeanant family violence in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.
According to information presented in court, on June 19, 2014, state and federal agents executed an arrest warrant for Jackson at his residence in Whitehouse, Texas. Jackson was located on the premises and taken into custody. Jackson’s common-law wife was also present and gave agents consent to search the residence. A search of the home revealed paraphernalia associated with the use of methamphetamine, three firearms and approximately 30 rounds of ammunition. Further investigation revealed Jackson had been previously convicted of assault family violence on Jan. 23, 2009 in Smith County, Texas. As such, Jackson is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
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Six Cuban Citizens Indicted for Credit Card FraudRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned four indictments charging Eduardo Hernandez Quinones, 46, Yasser Carrillo Chartrand, 23, Claudia Diaz Diaz, 21, Yaily Santurio Millian, 31, Jose Valdivia Quinones, 40 and Misael Toledo Rios, 39, all citizens of Cuba legally present in the United States, with fraud charges.
Hernandez, Chartrand, Santurio and Diaz are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Valdivia and Toldeo are charged with bank fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges for all six defendants carry a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison, a maximum penalty of 30 years, and a fine of $1,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, the defendants are accused of fraudulently obtaining the actual credit/debit card numbers of people and then encoding counterfeit cards with the information illegally obtained. The defendants then used the counterfeit cards to purchase merchandise at retail stores throughout Western New York. In addition, some of the defendants used the counterfeit cards to purchase gasoline from area gas stations and then re-sold the gasoline for cash.
Four of the defendants, Hernandez, Chartrand, Santurio and Diaz, were recently arrested in DeWitt, NY, near Syracuse, and are facing state fraud charges for similar conduct.
Defendants Chartrand, Hernandez, Quinones, and Santurio were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott and are being held pending a detention hearing on March 25, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. Defendants Rios and Valdivia Quinones were released on conditions.
The indictments are the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge C. Todd Laster, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto.
The fact that a defendant has been charged in an indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Salisbury Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Charles Riley, Jr., age 45, of Salisbury, Maryland, today 20 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and for two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Judge Hazel enhanced Riley’s sentence based on his previous federal drug conviction and the amount of drugs involved in the conspiracy. Riley was convicted on December 11, 2014, after a three day trial.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Wicomico County Sheriff Michael A. Lewis; Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan; Chief Michael Phillips of the Fruitland Police Department; and Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matthew Maciarello.
“Mr. Riley was responsible for trafficking a large amount of cocaine throughout the Salisbury area in a very short amount of time,” said Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office. “DEA and our law enforcement partners put an end to Mr. Riley's drug trafficking days. A new day has dawned for Mr. Riley - from a jail cell in a federal prison,” added Tuggle.
The government proved at trial that Riley distributed over 15 kilograms of cocaine in less than two months. Riley distributed approximately 10 kilograms of that amount while on pretrial release on state drug charges.
According to trial testimony and his co-defendants’ plea agreements, from July 2013, through August 27, 2013, Riley conspired with David Wayne Nelson, Royce Levi Brown, Charles Rudolph White and others to distribute cocaine. During the investigation, DEA and the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force initiated wire taps on cellular telephones belonging to the conspirators and executed search warrants at multiple locations, including residences associated with Riley, Brown, Nelson and White. Law enforcement overheard and observed the conspirators engage in drug transactions. During the investigation, law enforcement identified Riley as a source of supply for Brown, who redistributed the cocaine to Nelson. Brown also purchased cocaine from White.
In late July 2013, law enforcement intercepted telephone conversations and text messages in which Brown told Riley that he was delivering – or had already delivered – large cash payments. The payments to Riley were for kilograms of cocaine that Riley had previously “fronted,” or provided on consignment, to Brown. On August 16, 2013, Riley retrieved a package containing almost 500 grams of cocaine from a residence in Salisbury. Riley was seen on videotape retrieving the package and was in possession of the package later that afternoon, when he was arrested on state drug charges. According to evidence presented at trial, following his arrest Riley discussed the package with Brown, who in turn discussed it with other co-conspirators.
According to trial testimony, on August 16, 2013, law enforcement executed a search at Riley’s home and recovered drug paraphernalia including a cocaine press, a scale, money counter, and drug packaging material. Law enforcement also recovered a loaded AK-47 and a loaded 9mm handgun, as well as ammunition.
According to testimony at his trial, early on August 21, 2013, Riley parked a Jeep Grand Cherokee containing between nine and 10 kilograms of cocaine, in Brown’s yard. On August 27, 2013, a search of the vehicle recovered 5.5 kilograms of cocaine. A subsequent search of Brown’s home recovered an additional two kilograms of cocaine that Brown had removed from the Jeep and hidden in a backpack in his bedroom.
Co-conspirators David Wayne Nelson, age 32, of Salisbury, Maryland, was sentenced to 140 months in prison; Royce Levi Brown, age 31, of Mardela Springs, Maryland, was sentenced to four years in prison; and Charles Rudolph White, age 34, of Salisbury, was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA and the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force comprised of the Maryland State Police, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, Salisbury Police Department, Fruitland Police Department and the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Peter J. Martinez and Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Red Oak Man Sentenced in Collin County Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas – A 63-year-old Red Oak, Texas man has been sentenced for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Stephen King pleaded guilty on Mar. 16, 2015, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with his role in a Collin County Mortgage fraud scheme and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone to 33 months in federal prison. King was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $685,704.73.
According to information presented in court, in 2008, King, a real estate agent, conspired with Euneisha Hearns, Yvonne Gumaer and Kathy Moore to devise a scheme to defraud and obtain money and property by means of false pretenses for the purpose of executing a wire fraud scheme. King, who was assisting buyers in purchasing residences located in Dallas and Lancaster, Texas, referred the buyers to Hearns to obtain mortgage loans to purchase the property. King knew the buyers did not have sufficient funds to make down payments for the loans and he knew that Hearns would make materially false statements on the loan applications in order to obtain the loans. Hearns prepared and submitted materially false applications requesting loans and reflecting that the buyers had funds in bank accounts for the down payments. Hearns and King knew that these statements were false and the buyers did not have that amount of money in bank accounts or sufficient savings to make down payments. King knew the buyers’ down payments would be made from the proceeds of the loans. This scheme resulted in losses to mortgage lenders, including The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
Hearns, 34, of Desoto, Texas, was indicted along with King by a federal grand jury on Apr. 11, 2013, for violations related to the mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment for Hearns was superceded in April 2014, for violations of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A trial date has not been set for Hearns. A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, Hearns faces up to 40 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Others who have been sentenced in connection with the mortgage fraud scheme include:
Yvonne Gumaer, 68, of Galveston, Texas, who was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $791,782.89; and Kathy Moore, 50, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $774,377.63.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force 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.
This case was investigated by HUD-Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation and Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andy Williams and Chris Eason.
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Randolph County Resident Sentenced on Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
On March 17, 2015, Carmen J. Clover, 41, of Tilden, IL, was sentenced for her involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Clover, who had previously pled guilty to the one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and fined $200. The offense occurred between 2012 and March 2014, in Jackson, Randolph, and St. Clair Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Clover was involved with her husband, Allen Clover, and others in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The Clovers often traveled together to obtain pseudoephedrine, which they would later provide to methamphetamine manufacturers. Co-defendants Allen Clover and Jimmy Richeson have pled guilty to their roles in the methamphetamine offense and are awaiting sentencing.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Tilden Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Queens, N.Y., Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Role in New Jersey Heroin Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A St. Albans, N.Y., man was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to distribute heroin in and through New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Ronald Burnell Bassett, 62, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to Count One of an Indictment charging him with knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Pursuant to federal wiretap orders, the first of which was initiated in December 2009, DEA special agents were able to intercept Bassett’s telephone conversations. The monitored calls and other law enforcement information revealed that Bassett was distributing large amounts of heroin. During the calls, agents overheard Bassett agreeing to deliver heroin to others, among them, James Edward Pender, 42, of Newark, who appeared before Judge Walls on June 5, 2012, and pleaded guilty in connection with his role in the heroin distribution scheme. Agents observed Bassett meeting with Pender on numerous occasions and learned that at least some of the heroin originating with Bassett was delivered to individuals in the Monroeville, Pa., area.
To date, 20 people have been charged for their roles in this heroin distribution conspiracy. Approximately seven kilograms of heroin and $450,000 have been seized.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Bassett to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $17,500 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the DEA’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert G. Koval, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Ashe, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Narcotics/Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit in Newark.
13-020
Defense counsel: Ronald Rubinstein Esq., New York
Queens Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Minor at Fort Hamilton Army BaseRead the Press Release
Yesterday at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Fausto Bonifaz pled guilty to coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Bonifaz began to sexually abuse the victim in late 2009 when she was 12 years old. Over the course of the next year, he sexually assaulted her on a weekly basis at the victim’s home at the Fort Hamilton Army Base. At the plea proceeding, Bonifaz admitted that he sexually abused the victim. Bonifaz was a civilian who was admitted to the base as a visitor because he was friends with the victim’s mother. The defendant’s actions were uncovered years later when the victim reported the abuse to a counselor.
In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency responsible for leading the government’s investigation.
The plea proceeding took place before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. When sentenced, Bonifaz faces a mandatory minimum term of at least ten years in prison and up to a maximum of life, as well as restitution, a fine of up to $250,000, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiana Demas.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to protect children by combatting the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
The Defendant:
Name: FAUSTO BONIFAZ
Age: 39
Queens, New York
Portland Man Sentenced to over Nine Years for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Contact: Daniel J. Perry
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that David Jones, 30, of Portland, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 110 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for distributing marijuana and money laundering.
According to court records and proceedings, from August 2011 through October 2013, Jones obtained hundreds of pounds of marijuana from an out-of-state source and distributed it in Maine. In October 2013, agents executing search warrants seized $291,981 from a storage unit Jones rented, $92,104 from an associate’s apartment and $6,278 from the defendant’s residence. Agents also seized two boats, a truck, several motorcycles, two trailers, numerous pieces of electronic recording equipment and jewelry. All the seized cash and items were forfeited. Agents also learned that Jones laundered $177,500 of his drug proceeds through financial transactions involving Gary Prolman, Esq. and $39,000 through transactions involving Michael Paul.
This case results from a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Portland Police Department and the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Philadelphia Store Owners Charged with Defrauding Government Food Assistance ProgramRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Farhan Ali Abu Siam, 42, and Mohammed Abuawada, 26, both of Philadelphia, were charged yesterday by indictment in a conspiracy to defraud a government assistance program, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the federal Food Stamp program.
Abu Siam and Abuawada owned and operated S&S Farmer’s Market, a retail grocery store, now defunct, that was located at 2722 Germantown Avenue, in Philadelphia. According to the indictment, the defendants trafficked SNAP benefits by purchasing those benefits from customers of S&S Farmer’s Market in exchange for cash, which is illegal. It is further alleged that from June 2012 until March 2013, as a result of their trafficking activities, the defendants sought and received redemption of more than $1 million in SNAP benefits from USDA.
If convicted, each defendant faces a substantial period of incarceration, restitution to the government, three years of supervised release and possible fines.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcemen Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Owner of Medical Clinic and Accountant Plead Guilty for Roles in $50 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and operator of a New Orleans-based medical clinic and an accountant pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Orleans for their roles in a $50 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office and Louisiana Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell made the announcement.
Paige Okpalobi, 58, of Slidell, Louisiana, and Christopher White, 48, of Destrehan, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to falsify records in a federal investigation. Sentencing hearings for each are scheduled for July 1, 2015.
According to her plea agreement, Okpalobi owned and operated a New Orleans-based medical clinic that employed doctors to certify that Medicare beneficiaries were qualified to receive home health care. Okpalobi admitted that doctors employed at her clinic falsely certified that certain of their clients—specifically, Medicare beneficiaries—were homebound and in need of home health care services. Okpalobi further admitted that she and other co-conspirators then used the false certifications to bill Medicare for fraudulent home health care services through home health care companies she jointly operated with another co-conspirator.
According to his plea agreement, White managed financial and accounting services at Okpalobi’s companies and other companies. White admitted that he coordinated the payment of patient recruiters who illegally sold Medicare beneficiary information to Okpalobi and her co-conspirators. This information was used by home health companies operated by Okpalobi and others to bill Medicare for home health care services that were not medically necessary and often not delivered at all.
Okpalobi and White each also admitted that they fabricated tax and employment records in response to a federal grand jury subpoena to conceal the illegal kickbacks paid and mislead the grand jury.
Okpalobi admitted that between 2007 and 2014, she caused the submission of $49,989,323 in claims to Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided.
Thirteen individuals have been indicted in connection with this Medicare fraud scheme, and eight have now pleaded guilty, including two doctors employed at Okpalobi’s medical clinic.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William Kanellis and Antonio Pozos and Assistant Chief Benton Curtis of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Owner of Medical Clinic and Accountant Plead Guilty for Roles in $50 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The owner and operator of a New Orleans-based medical clinic and an accountant pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Orleans for their roles in a $50 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office and Louisiana Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell made the announcement.
Paige Okpalobi, 58, of Slidell, Louisiana, and Christopher White, 48, of Destrehan, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to falsify records in a federal investigation. Sentencing hearings for each are scheduled for July 1, 2015.
According to her plea agreement, Okpalobi owned and operated a New Orleans-based medical clinic that employed doctors to certify that Medicare beneficiaries were qualified to receive home health care. Okpalobi admitted that doctors employed at her clinic falsely certified that certain of their clients—specifically, Medicare beneficiaries—were homebound and in need of home health care services. Okpalobi further admitted that she and other co-conspirators then used the false certifications to bill Medicare for fraudulent home health care services through home health care companies she jointly operated with another co-conspirator.
According to his plea agreement, White managed financial and accounting services at Okpalobi’s companies and other companies. White admitted that he coordinated the payment of patient recruiters who illegally sold Medicare beneficiary information to Okpalobi and her co-conspirators. This information was used by home health companies operated by Okpalobi and others to bill Medicare for home health care services that were not medically necessary and often not delivered at all.
Okpalobi and White each also admitted that they fabricated tax and employment records in response to a federal grand jury subpoena to conceal the illegal kickbacks paid and mislead the grand jury.
Okpalobi admitted that between 2007 and 2014, she caused the submission of $49,989,323 in claims to Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided.
Thirteen individuals have been indicted in connection with this Medicare fraud scheme, and eight have now pleaded guilty, including two doctors employed at Okpalobi’s medical clinic.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William Kanellis and Antonio Pozos and Assistant Chief Benton Curtis of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
North Richland Hills Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Federal Prison for Preparing and Submitting False Income Tax Returns That Resulted in over A $1 Million Loss to IRSRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A defendant who admitted causing false income tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was sentenced today, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Michael Lloyd Moody was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 36 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution to the IRS.
Moody was indicted in March 2013 on 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent individual income tax returns. He pleaded guilty in December 2013 to two of those counts. He was on pretrial release until October 2013 when the Court found he had violated its terms and conditions and remanded him into custody.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, from 2009 through 2010, Moody prepared U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Form 1040, along with supporting schedules, at his residence in North Richland Hills, Texas. After meeting his customers, Moody would deliver the completed returns to Universal Tax, located at 415 East Airport Freeway in Irving, Texas, to be electronically filed with the IRS. Universal Tax was assigned an Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) by the IRS authorizing the electronic filing of tax returns.
Moody admits, according to the factual resume, that he inserted false or inflated deductions and credits to produce fraudulent refunds for the IRS to pay.
As an example noted in the factual resume, in one instance, on approximately March 1, 2010, Moody prepared and caused to be filed an individual tax return for a particular individual. In preparing the Form 1040, Moody knowingly, and with the intent to deceive the IRS, included $37,044 as a Schedule C business loss and $2,349 on Form 8863 as an education credit due the individual. In reality, however, this individual did not own a Schedule C business, nor did he incur education expenses for the education credit. Due to the false deduction and credit inserted by Moody, the refund was inflated and resulted in a loss to the government of $7,906.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Stokes prosecuted.
Montgomery County Man Pleads Guilty to A $1.1 Million Fraud Scheme Targeting Victims Found on Online Dating SitesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland - Krist Koranteng, age 33, of Burtonsville and Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and to money laundering, in connection with a scheme in which the conspirators pretended to be romantically interested in the victims in order to cause the victims to wire, deposit, and mail money to Koranteng’s business. The total losses to the victims, including elderly individuals, as a result of the scheme are more than $1.1 million. Koranteng also pleaded guilty to violating his supervised release for a previous federal drug conviction.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Michalko of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, between September 2012 and February 2014, Koranteng and others executed a scheme in which the conspirators searched online dating websites to initiate romantic relationships with men and women, including several elderly individuals, in order to obtain money from those individuals. Members of the conspiracy used phone calls, emails, and text messages to form romantic relationships with the victims.
According to the plea agreement, to execute the scheme, the conspirators used a number of false stories and promises to convince the victims to give money to the members of the conspiracy, including: stories about investing in fake gold that required payments for shipping and storage; fictitious sick family members who needed money; fake hospital bills; and fake plane trips to visit the victims. Members of the conspiracy convinced the victims to mail checks to Kristsons LLC, a corporation that Koranteng created and controlled, or to wire money into bank accounts held in the name of that corporation, which Koranteng also controlled.
To conceal the scheme from the victims, the conspirators created false documents, including false certificates of origin certifying the existence of gold bars, and false documentation creating the impression that the gold bars were being stored at a safe house for a fee.
Koranteng disbursed the money that he received from the victims by transferring money to other accounts, by withdrawing sums of money, and by writing checks to other individuals. For example, on May 30, 2013, Koranteng transferred by wire $39,039.88 from one of his business’ bank accounts to another account, with the knowledge that the transaction involved the proceeds of a criminal offense.
Koranteng was regularly in communication with his co-conspirators immediately following a victim’s transfer of money into Koranteng’s business bank accounts. For example, on February 20, 2013, a victim transferred $25,000 into Koranteng’s business bank account in Maryland. That same day, Koranteng’s co-conspirator sent an email to Koranteng that included two attachments: a receipt for that victim’s wire transfer; and a purported agreement indicating the victim believed she was investing in gold bars by transferring the money to Koranteng.
In addition to receiving money from the victims during the conspiracy, Koranteng also used a false name to order and send roses to one victim. Shortly thereafter, that victim mailed a check in the amount of $65,000 to Koranteng’s business in Maryland, which Koranteng deposited.
As part of his plea agreement, Koranteng will be required to pay restitution of $1,171,657, which represents the full amount of the victims’ losses.
Koranteng’s participation in the wire and mail fraud conspiracy violated the terms of his supervised release for a 2013 conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.
Koranteng faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for money laundering. Koranteng also faces a maximum of three years in prison for violating his federal supervised release. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for July 2, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. Koranteng remains detained pending sentencing.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for its assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leah J. Bressack and David I. Salem, who are prosecuting the case.
Monroe County Man Charged with Producing and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Tobyhanna man was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Scranton on charges of producing child pornography and receiving and distributing child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the grand jury alleges that Robert Ferraro, age 44, persuaded and induced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of such conduct. The indictment alleges that Ferraro committed the crimes between August 2013 and January 2015.
The charges stem from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
Ferraro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if he is convicted of the production of child pornography charge; and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted of receiving and distributing child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
# # #Milwaukee Woman Indicted for Aiding and Assisting in the Filing of False Federal Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on March 10, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Tina M. Gentry (age: 47) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, charging her with filing false claims against the United States for tax refunds in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287. If convicted of these offenses, Gentry faces a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release on each of the five counts.
According to the indictment, Gentry assisted individuals in falsely obtaining federal income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. To obtain the refunds, Gentry prepared tax returns claiming false and fraudulent federal taxable income and federal income tax withheld, when she knew that none of the individuals she prepared returns for had federal taxable income or federal income tax withheld. In total, Gentry caused approximately 112 federal income tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service, falsely claiming federal income tax refunds of more than $90,000.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Wesley.
An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Maryland Man Sentenced to 3 ½-Year Prison Term for Sexually Assaulting Woman in Northwest Washington WoodsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christopher Wallace, 30, formerly of Bladensburg, Md., was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for attempting to sexually assault a woman in a park last year, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Wallace pled guilty in December 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of attempted first-degree sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. Upon completion of his prison term, Wallace will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 1, 2014, at about 7:30 p.m., the victim and Wallace exited a Circulator bus near the Georgetown waterfront in Northwest Washington. Wallace, whose name was not known to the victim, directed the victim to the Capital Crescent Trail, which they walked along until entering Glover-Archbold Park. At that point, the victim confronted Wallace over going further into the woods. Wallace grabbed her by her hair and directed her further into the woods. He then sexually assaulted her.
Afterwards, the victim immediately went to a hospital and reported the assault. She described a distinctive tattoo that her assailant had on his hand, which law enforcement used along with other leads to identify Wallace. He has been in custody since his arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work performed by those who investigated the case from the United States Park Police and Metro Transit Police Departments. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department. He acknowledged the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins and Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff T. Cook, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Man Sentenced for Tampering with Blowout Preventer Testing RecordsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that SEAN GRANGER, 36, of Rayne, Louisiana, was sentenced today for knowingly and willfully tampering with a method of record required to be maintained under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced GRANGER to three years probation and ordered him to pay a $3,000 fine.
According to court documents, on June 4, 2012, GRANGER was employed as a coil tubing supervisor to perform coil tubing services on a well at a drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico at Ship Shoal 359 in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Prior to starting the contracted coil tubing services at Ship Shoal 359, GRANGER tested his coil tubing unit’s blowout preventer. A coil tubing unit should not be placed into service for the contract until all the BOP components pass pressure testing.
The results of BOP tests are recorded on a circular graphic chart known as the BOP pressure test chart. To record pressures, a test chart is placed into a chart recorder that has a needle with a pen attached to it. As the recorder spins, the needle makes a record on the test chart of how much pressure the BOP components are holding. The BOP test chart is the record that inspectors review to determine if the BOP units are functioning properly.
On June 4, there were irregularities in the BOP testing process. Rather than take action to properly document the pressures of the BOP components or remedy the irregularities in the testing, GRANGER tampered with the pressure test chart by spinning it on the recorder. When inspectors reviewed the pressure test chart a few days later, they were unable to determine whether the BOP on the coil tubing unit was functioning properly.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of Interior-Office of Inspector General and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement for their work on this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield of the National Security Unit was in charge of the prosecution.
Lincoln County nurse pleads guilty to obtaining drugs by fraudRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Betty Jo Tudor, 35, of Alkol, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston to obtaining hydrocodone by fraud. Tudor, a former nurse at Sweetbriar Assisted Living in Dunbar, West Virginia, admitted that in June of 2013 she stole hydrocodone intended for patients for her own personal use and falsified records to cover up the theft.
Tudor faces up to 4 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., scheduled the sentencing for June 18, 2015.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Las Vegas Attorney and Three Others Convicted for Their Roles in a Fraudulent Scheme to Take over Homeowners’ AssociationsRead the Press Release
Following a 14-day trial, a federal jury in Las Vegas returned guilty verdicts yesterday in a case against a Las Vegas attorney and three others for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently take control of homeowners’ associations (HOAs) for the purpose of directing the HOAs’ construction defect litigation and repair work to a law firm and construction company owned by other co-conspirators.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Laura A. Bucheit of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office, Special Agent in Charge John Collins of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Las Vegas Field Office and Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department made the announcement.
Keith Gregory, 61, of Las Vegas, Salvatore Ruvolo, 86, of Henderson, Nevada, David Ball, 47, of Las Vegas, and Edith Gillespie, 54, of Las Vegas, were found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Gregory and Ball were also convicted of two counts of wire fraud each, Ruvolo was convicted of three counts of wire fraud, and Gillespie was convicted of one count of wire fraud. Ruvolo was found not guilty of one count of mail fraud. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for June 17, 2015, before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan of the District of Nevada.
According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately August 2003 through February 2009, the defendants engaged in a complex scheme to direct construction defect litigation and construction repairs at more than 10 condominium complexes in the Las Vegas area to a law firm operated by a co-conspirator and a construction company, Silver Lining Construction, owned by Leon Benzer. In order to accomplish the scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators identified HOAs for condominium complexes that had potential construction issues that could result in construction defect litigation and require repair. They then sought to take controlling interests on the identified HOAs’ boards by purchasing units in the condominium complexes and running for election to the boards.
Specifically, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Benzer and others, including Gillespie, enlisted “straw purchasers” to use their names and credit to purchase condominiums in the identified complexes. Ruvolo, Ball and Gillespie, among others, acted as straw purchasers, and the evidence demonstrated that Gillespie provided false information on her loan application in connection with the purchase of a condominium in furtherance of the scheme.
According to the evidence, Ruvolo and Ball then sought to be elected to HOA boards in the complexes where they had purchased condominiums. Other straw purchasers were directed to transfer a partial interest in their condominiums to other co-conspirators to make them look like homeowners who could stand for election to the HOA boards. To ensure that conspirators won the HOA elections, the defendants employed deceitful tactics, such as submitting fake and forged ballots, and hiring complicit attorneys to run the elections as “special election masters,” who presided over the elections and supervised the counting of ballots.
The evidence demonstrated that, once elected, the conspiring board members, including Ruvolo and Ball, met with Benzer and other co-conspirators in order to manipulate the selection of property managers, contractors, general counsel and construction defect attorneys to represent the HOAs. Gregory, an attorney licensed in Nevada, agreed to become the general counsel for two HOAs and to take direction from Benzer.
At trial, the evidence showed that 33 of the 37 condominium units purchased as part of the scheme went into foreclosure. Over the course of the scheme, more than $7 million in construction contracts were awarded to Benzer’s company from a single HOA. Several million dollars in legal fees were also directed to another co-conspirator. Benzer compensated each of the defendants for their participation in the fraud scheme. For example, the evidence demonstrated that Ruvolo received monthly payments of approximately $2,000, and Ball received $5,000 per year, for acting as straw purchasers and board members. Benzer also directed approximately $90,000 in HOA-related legal work to Gregory and paid him approximately $12,000 in kickbacks.
On Jan. 23, 2015, Benzer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, fourteen counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of tax evasion. He is awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-CI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Intelligence Section. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Charles La Bella and Trial Attorneys Thomas B.W. Hall and Alison L. Anderson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Jury Finds Rogers Man Guilty of Kidnapping Texas WomanRead the Press Release
Crime planned over four months to prevent woman from testifying in criminal case
Fayetteville, Arkansas – Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Theron Vance, age 22 of Rogers, was found guilty on one count of Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping and one count of Kidnapping, Aiding, and Abetting after a two day jury trial. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the trial in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “The sheer terror that this victim faced at the hands of the defendants involved in this case is unimaginable. For four months they planned a methodical scheme that they then played out in order to keep her from testifying against one of them. We will not rest in our efforts to hold those that commit these violent crimes accountable so that the residents of the Western District of Arkansas can live in a community free from fear.”
“Vance is a criminal who conspired to kidnap and impersonated a FBI Agent while carrying out this violent act,” stated Special Agent in David T. Resch with the Little Rock FBI Field Office. “He has earned the consequences of his decisions, and we once again appreciate the U.S. Attorney’s steadfast pursuit of justice.”
According to evidence presented at the trial, On June 14, 2014, the Bentonville Police Department received a 911 call from an employee at the Walmart Supercenter that a woman had been kidnapped. Once officers arrived on scene they were able to determine the victim entered the restroom at Walmart and handed an employee a note informing them that she had been kidnapped from Dallas, Texas by her ex-boyfriend Michael Roberts. By the time officers arrived at Walmart, Roberts had fled the scene. According to an interview of the victim, the previous night between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. she was walking into her apartment in Dallas, Texas when she was attacked from behind by Michael Roberts and physically assaulted. The defendant, Theron Vance, was present and assisted Roberts by acting as the lookout. Roberts forced the victim into her apartment and began restraining and choking her when Vance entered the apartment and identified himself as an FBI agent. The victim was told she could either go with the two men or she would be killed. The victim cooperated and packed a bag with her belongings. She was also told to write a note to her roommate explaining her disappearance. She did so, but also left another note in the refrigerator that said “call 911.” The victim was then transported against her will to the Western District of Arkansas in Bentonville by Roberts and Vance. Prior to leaving the Dallas area, defendant Vance took the victim’s phone and broke it on the sidewalk, making it inoperable. On the way to Bentonville the victim advised they stopped in Eufaula, Oklahoma at a gas station, where she left another note in the restroom identifying the vehicle in which she was being transported (this note was later recovered by Oklahoma Police). The victim was brought to the defendant’s residence located at 807 Southwest Krug in Bentonville during the early morning hours of June 14th. Later that day the victim was taken to Walmart where the employee was notified that she had been kidnapped.
While interviewing the victim officers noted that her lip appeared to be busted on the inside of her mouth and she had a large bruise on her right forearm. According to the victim, she was told by Roberts and Vance that she had been kidnapped because they did not want her to testify against Roberts in a pending criminal case in Texas and that they were going to keep her until the proceedings were over. The victim was able to positively identify defendant Vance as one of the individuals that kidnapped her and transported her from Dallas, Texas to Bentonville, Arkansas against her will.
As the Bentonville Police Department was investigating the case, Detectives with the Dallas Police Department searched the victim’s apartment and located the two notes and also found a blood stain on the carpet. Bentonville Detectives then executed a search warrant at defendant Roberts’ residence, where they located the victim’s bloody clothing.
On June 16, 2014, defendant Vance was located and arrested. Subsequent to being advised of and waiving his Miranda rights he admitted his role in the kidnapping. Specifically, Vance admitted that approximately four months prior to the kidnapping that he and Roberts began planning; Vance admitted that a week prior to the abduction, he and Roberts drove to Dallas to scout the area; Vance admitted to wearing a fake FBI badge during the abduction and breaking the victim’s cell phone so they would not be tracked. In addition, Vance disclosed to investigators the location of several items used in the kidnapping, including a blonde wig, razor blades, zip ties and a book on human anatomy. These items were subsequently recovered by investigators. Furthermore, Vance’s vehicle was used to transport the victim from Texas to Arkansas.
Vance was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in August 14, 2014. Sentencing will be held at a later date. The maximum penalty for each count is Life in Prison or any term of years, not more than $250,000 fine, or both. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violations. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum for each count in this case, and in most cases will be less than the maximum.
The other two defendants involved in this case, Michael Roberts and Jason Pettit have both pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Bentonville Police Department, The Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Harris and Assistant United States Attorney Kim Davis 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
Jasper Tax Preparer and Jefferson County Inmate IndictedRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas –An east Texas man and woman have been charged with federal income tax violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Derek Cornelius Briscoe, also known as Terrance Briscoe, also known as Derek Anderson, 36, of Jasper, Texas, and Angela Dunaway, also known as Angela Coudrain, 45, an inmate in Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont, Texas, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn today.
Briscoe and Dunaway were indicted on Mar. 5, 2015, and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Briscoe was also charged with eight additional counts of preparing false tax returns.
According to information presented in court, Briscoe held himself out as a tax preparer sometimes doing business as “Thaferrets Tax Service” from his residence in Jasper, Texas. Briscoe maintained contacts with the female inmates at the Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont, Texas. Briscoe offered those inmates a fee in exchange for personally identifying information of other inmates that could be used to facilitate the filing of false tax returns. Dunaway was one of those inmates who supplied Briscoe with the personally identifiable information of other inmates to file false tax returns. The information was transmitted to Briscoe by means of recorded collect phone calls placed from the Jefferson County Jail. Briscoe also utilized JPay services to transmit money to conspirators and inmates. JPay is an entity organized for the purpose of facilitating communication and financial transactions between inmates and non-inmates. As part of the scheme, the false tax returns contained false wage, income and employment information, false education credits, false Making Work Pay Credit forms and false or nonexistent home addresses for taxpayers. Brisco and Dunaway aided in the preparation and electronic filing of over 500 false federal income tax returns for the tax years 2009, 2010 and 2011 and requested fraudulent refunds in excess of $1 million.
If convicted, both Briscoe and Dunaway face up to 20 years in federal prison for the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Briscoe faces an additional three years in federal prison for each of the eight counts for preparing false tax returns. Briscoe also faces the forfeiture of his personal residence in Jasper, Texas.
This case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Anne Bartow.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Failing to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Anthony Vincent Burkitt, a/k/a “Vincent Thomas Wolfe,” (45, Jacksonville) to 27 months in federal prison for failing to register as sex offender after traveling to Florida from Maryland. He pleaded guilty on December 5, 2014. Burkitt has been in custody since his arrest on April 13, 2014.
According to court documents, on or about June 24, 2002, Burkitt was convicted of attempted second degree rape in Baltimore County, Maryland. Subsequent to his conviction, and after being released from prison, he traveled from Maryland to Jacksonville, where he established residency in February 2013, but failed to register as a sex offender as required by the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On April 13, 2014, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a residence in Jacksonville, in reference to a domestic disturbance. At the time, Burkitt was living at the residence under the alias “Vincent Thomas Wolfe” and was arrested. Further investigation revealed that he was a sex offender, and that he had been living in Jacksonville since February 2013 without registering as required by law.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service (USMS), to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the USMS, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown and Kelly S. Karase.
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.
Investigation into Drug Trafficking Organization in Carrol County Results in Six Defendants Being Sentenced to A Total of over 50 YearsRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that six individuals have been sentenced this week to a combined total of over 50 years in prison for drug-trafficking offenses stemming from an investigation into a drug-trafficking organization active in the Carroll County, Arkansas, area. The defendants were originally charged in an indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury on May 7, 2014. The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge, presided over the sentencing hearings in Fort Smith.
The defendants sentenced this week are as follows:
Bryan McClelland, 51, of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
Shellie McClelland, 50, of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was sentenced to 50 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
Shane Stephenson, 37, of Berryville, Arkansas, was sentenced to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Distribution of Methamphetamine.
Chad Mott, 35, of Oak Grove, Arkansas, was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Distribution of Methamphetamine.
Andrew Crane, 34, of Clinton, Missouri, was sentenced to 188 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, and to 60 months in prison for Travel in Interstate Commerce to Aid Drug Trafficking, to run concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release.
William Adcock, 40, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for Distribution of Methamphetamine.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Children across our district deserve to grow up in communities free from trafficking in drugs and the violence and other crime that comes with it. We remain focused on identifying and prosecuting those responsible for bringing large amounts of methamphetamine and other drugs onto our streets. I appreciate the cooperative effort of local, state, and federal law enforcement who worked together to make certain that these defendants were brought to justice.”
“Drug traffickers inflict significant harm upon law-abiding communities without any regard for the violence and destruction that often accompanies their illegal activities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Cindy M. Johnson. “This case illustrates the successful partnership between HSI, the DEA, and local partners with the Eureka Springs Police Department, Rogers Police Department, Springdale Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department to identify and bring Arkansas drug traffickers to justice.”
"We are relentless in our pursuit of drug trafficking organizations who prey on young people and ruin neighborhoods and communities. This organization kept the flow of methamphetamine steady into rural areas of Arkansas. The DEA and its law enforcement partners have long been dedicated to pursuing and weeding out these drug trafficking organizations by applying continuous pressure. We will continue to combine our resources to improve the safety of our communities for the good citizens of Arkansas and increase knowledge of the dangers of methamphetamine use,” stated DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Downing.
According to court records, in 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations launched an investigation into a drug trafficking organization in Carroll County, Arkansas, headed by Bryan McClelland that had ties to Kansas and Missouri. During the course of the investigation, agents learned that Andrew Crane was supplying large quantities of methamphetamine to Bryan McClelland from a source in Kansas. After corroborating this information, agents were able to interview Crane, who after waiving his Miranda rights, admitted to agents that he had been delivering methamphetamine to Bryan McClelland. After receiving this methamphetamine, Bryan McClelland would distribute or sell quantities of methamphetamine to drug dealers under him who would then sell smaller quantities of methamphetamine to users, or McClelland himself would sell directly to users. Law enforcement made several controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Adcock, Stephenson, Mott, and Bryan McClelland. Agents were able to identify Shellie McClelland as a co-conspirator in the organization with her husband, Bryan McClelland. On May 8, 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant which resulted in the seizure of 18 firearms and over $24,000 in United States currency. Shellie McClelland, Bryan McClelland, and Chad Mott were each arrested on May 8, 2014, and pleaded guilty to their respective charges on September 29, 2014. Stephenson was arrested on May 27, 2014, and pleaded guilty September 18, 2014. Adcock was arrested July 1, 2014, and pleaded guilty September 18, 2014. Crane was arrested June 2, 2014, and pleaded guilty to the charge of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine on September 18, 2014, and to the charge of Travel in Interstate Commerce to Aid Drug Trafficking on November 6, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Eureka Springs Police Department, the Rogers Police Department, the Springdale Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. Due to its impact on multiple states, this investigation was designated an OrganizedCrime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the cases 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
ID Theft Conspiracy Leader Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay $88,131 in RestitutionRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Cedar Hill, Texas man, who was convicted at trial on various federal felony offenses stemming from an identity (ID) theft conspiracy he ran in the metroplex from October 2009 to July 2013, was sentenced today, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Anthony Minor, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 16 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $88,131 in restitution. A federal jury convicted Minor in September 2014 on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, one count of using or trafficking in an unauthorized access device, and two counts of aggravated identification theft.
Minor is the last defendant convicted in the conspiracy to be sentenced. Other defendants pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. Minor’s girlfriend, Tilisha Morrison, 25, of Dallas, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $88,131 in restitution. Katrina Thomas, 41, of Garland, Texas, was also sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, and she was ordered to pay $76,831 in restitution. Defendants Kario Butler, 29, of Mansfield, Texas; Cyrus Pritchett, 25, of Dallas; and Jamilah Karriem, 21, of Dallas and Desoto, Texas, were sentenced to time served. One defendant, Karen Mendoza, 44, most recently of Dallas, remains a fugitive.
Minor was the leader of the conspiracy. The government presented evidence at trial that he stole identities in a variety of ways, including purchasing them from a group of safe robbers and recruiting a Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) employee, Katrina Thomas, to steal more than 1000 identities from her Fannie Mae workstation. Once the IDs were in hand, Minor and Morrison accessed the victims’ bank accounts and performed hundreds of account take-overs. As part of the conspiracy, they recruited their co-conspirators to walk into banks and withdraw cash.
Law enforcement caught Minor and arrested him at the W Hotel in Dallas. Law enforcement found numerous stolen and fake IDs, counterfeit checks, a laptop computer containing a template for the Texas Department of Public Safety Temporary Driver License, a printer, and a $900 bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne he had just ordered from room service using one of the stolen credit cards. He had rented the room using another’s identification.
Minor and the conspirators stole personal identifying information for true Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase account holders (the victim-customers) and used this information to fraudulently access funds contained in their bank accounts. They also created false identities using the stolen personal identifying information.
The U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney P. J. Meitl and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher G. Poor prosecuted.
Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that EDUARD TERCERO-LAGOS, age 25, a citizen of Honduras, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to a one-count Bill of Information for illegal reentry of a removed alien.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced TERCERO-LAGOS to time served and a $100 special assessment. TERCERO-LAGOS will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
According to court documents, TERCERO-LAGOS was found in the United States on December 8, 2014 after having been officially deported and removed on or about June 24, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis was in charge of the prosecution.
Henderson County Man Sentenced for Federal Income Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A 65-year-old Athens, Texas, man has been sentenced for federal income tax violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Joseph A. Masso pleaded guilty on Dec. 12, 2014 to making and subscribing to a false tax return for the calendar year 2011 and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Masso was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $900,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to information presented in Court, Masso formed a Texas limited liability company known as Lone Star Western & Casual LLC in December 2007. Lone Store operated retail clothing stores in Athens, Corsicana, and Waxahachie, Texas. For tax years 2009-2011, Masso falsely understated the gross receipts for these businesses on his IRS Form 1040 Schedule C by more than $5 million. As a result, he falsely understated his tax liability for the three tax years by approximately $950,000.
Masso has already agreed to pay a civil fraud penalty of more than $450,000. Also, Masso agreed in a related civil action to forfeit $800,000 to the United States. The funds were originally seized during the execution of federal seizure warrants.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.
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Hardin County Deputy Guilty of Lying to Federal AgentRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A 46-year-old Lumberton, Texas man pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Jerry Lynn Roberts pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zachary J. Hawthorn.
According to information presented in court, on Mar. 6, 2013, federal agents executed a search warrant at Roberts’ residence in Lumberton, Texas, to search for evidence of child pornography that was mailed to a P.O. Box in Silsbee, Texas, under the name “Jerry Roberts.” Agents were able to determine that Jerry Roberts, who was employed by the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office as a detective, lived in Lumberton, Texas. Investigators were further able to determine that the child pornography was ordered using a credit card under Roberts’ control, using his e-mail address, and using his cell phone number. While at his residence, Roberts agreed to be interviewed by a U.S. Postal Inspector. Roberts told the federal agent that he did not order the videos of suspected child pornography, did not charge their purchase to his credit card and was unfamiliar with the website from which they were ordered. Although investigators did not locate child pornography at the residence, further investigation confirmed that Roberts did order and charge the suspected videos to his credit card, and, as such, his statements were false and were material to the investigation. Roberts was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 5, 2015.
Roberts faces up to eight years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Hable and Christopher T. Tortorice.
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Hacker Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Unleashing A Virus and Attacking Media OutletsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A computer programmer was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for launching a virus that infected approximately 100,000 computers around the world and directed them to attack media outlets that republished stories that mentioned him, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
In September 2010, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Bruce Raisley, 48, of Kansas City, Mo. – formerly of Monaca, Pa. – following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler. Raisley was convicted of the count charged in the Indictment on which he was tried: launching a malicious computer program designed to attack computers and Internet websites, causing damages. Judge Kugler also imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Raisley formerly volunteered for Perverted Justice, an organization that worked with the Dateline NBC television show “To Catch a Predator” to identify and apprehend pedophiles. After a falling out with the group and its founder, Xavier Von Erck, Raisley became an outspoken critic of Perverted Justice and Von Erck.
Von Erck retaliated by posing online as an adult woman named “Holly” and initiating an Internet relationship with Raisley. Eventually, Raisley agreed to leave his wife for “Holly” and was photographed by a Perverted Justice volunteer waiting for “Holly” at the airport.
In September 2006, Radar Magazine published an article entitled “Strange Bedfellows,” and in July 2007, Rolling Stone Magazine published an article entitled, “To Catch a Predator: The New American Witch Hunt for Dangerous Pedophiles.” Both articles discussed the television show “To Catch a Predator” and, more specifically, the techniques employed by Perverted Justice and the show to ensnare pedophiles. Both articles discussed the episode between Raisley and Von Erck posing as “Holly.”The two articles proved popular, and were later posted on a number of websites beyond Radar and Rolling Stone, including a website operated by the Rick Ross Institute of New Jersey. As a result, Raisley devised a plan to remove the articles from the websites.
Specifically, Raisley developed a virus that would spread over the Internet and infect computers. When he deployed the virus, it infected approximately 100,000 computers across the world, creating what is known as a “botnet.” Expert witnesses explained that a botnet is a collection of victim computers that are remotely controlled to accomplish tasks such as sending out e-mail spam or, as in this case, attacking websites.
Raisley used the botnet to launch distributed denial of service attacks. Such attacks caused the 100,000 computers to repeatedly attempt to access any websites that posted the two articles in an effort to overwhelm the computers that hosted the websites and shut down the websites. The effect of denial of service attacks is akin to an “all circuits are busy” message – making it impossible for Internet users to access the content of the victim websites, including, of course, the two articles.Evidence admitted at trial demonstrated that Raisley targeted and attacked a number of websites, including those of Rolling Stone, Radar, Nettica, Corrupted Justice, and the Rick Ross Institute of New Jersey. In total, those websites suffered damages in excess of $100,000 in lost revenues and mitigation.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Raisley to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $90,386.34 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erez Liebermann and Lee Vartan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section in Newark.
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Defense counsel: John Yauch, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark, N.J.Guatemalan National Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ESWIN ESTUARDO MARTINEZ-REYES, age 42, a citizen of Guatemala, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to a one-count Bill of Information for illegal reentry of a removed alien.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced MARTINEZ-REYES to time served and a $100 special assessment. MARTINEZ-REYES will be surrendered to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.
According to court documents, MARTINEZ-REYES was found in the United States on December 2, 2014, after having been officially deported and removed on or about June 7, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis was in charge of the prosecution.
Gilbane Building Company to Pay $1.1 Million to Resolve False Claims AllegationsRead the Press Release
Gilbane Building Company will pay the United States $1.1 million to resolve allegations that W.G. Mills Incorporated – a company with which Gilbane merged in November 2010 – violated the False Claims Act by creating a front company, Veterans Constructors Incorporated (VCI), in order to be awarded a Coast Guard contract that was designated for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), the Justice Department announced today. The Justice Department also announced that VCI has agreed to pay the United States $50,000 plus five annual contingency payments equal to one percent of VCI’s total annual revenues to resolve these same allegations.
“Those who seek to do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate contractors who seek to profit at the expense of our veterans and taxpayers.”
“Those who apply for federal contracts must be honest and forthright in their dealings, especially when seeking contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida. “Working jointly with DOJ and our agency partners has allowed us to make substantial recoveries in these types of cases in recent months. Our office remains committed to pursuing these matters vigorously.”
To qualify as a SDVOSB, a company must be operated and managed by service-disabled veterans and must not be affiliated with a large company. The government alleged that W.G. Mills created VCI merely as a contracting vehicle and that VCI’s affiliation with W.G. Mills rendered it ineligible to be awarded set-aside contracts for SDVOSBs. The government further alleged that W.G. Mills performed the work that VCI was required to perform under the Coast Guard contract, and alleged that if the Coast Guard and the Small Business Administration (SBA) had known that VCI was nothing but a front company, the Coast Guard would not have awarded it the contract.
“Providing the government false information to gain access to set-aside contracts is unacceptable,” said Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson of the SBA. “The OIG will aggressively investigate such misrepresentations to ensure only eligible businesses are awarded these contracts. I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice for its dedication to pursuing justice in this case.”
“SBA’s contracting programs, including the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, provide eligible small businesses with the opportunity to grow and create jobs,” said General Counsel Melvin F. Williams Jr of the SBA. “SBA has no tolerance for fraud or abuse in any government contracting program and is committed to working with our federal partners to ensure the benefits of these programs flow only to the intended recipients.”
The settlement resolves allegations originally filed in a lawsuit by Michael Jeske and Samuel McIntosh. The investigation was a coordinated effort among the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida and is captioned United States ex rel. Michael Jeske and Samuel McIntosh v. Gilbane Building Company, W.G. Mills, Inc., and Veterans Constructors Inc., Case No. 8:11-cv-1205 (M.D. Fla.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Gilbane Building Company to Pay $1.1 Million to Resolve False Claims AllegationsRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – Gilbane Building Company will pay the United States $1.1 million to resolve allegations that W.G. Mills Incorporated – a company with which Gilbane merged in November 2010 – violated the False Claims Act by creating a front company, Veterans Constructors Incorporated (VCI), in order to be awarded a Coast Guard contract that was designated for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), the Justice Department announced today. The Justice Department also announced that VCI has agreed to pay the United States $50,000 plus five annual contingency payments equal to one percent of VCI’s total annual revenues to resolve these same allegations.
“Those who seek to do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not tolerate contractors who seek to profit at the expense of our veterans and taxpayers.”
“Those who apply for federal contracts must be honest and forthright in their dealings, especially when seeking contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida. “Working jointly with DOJ and our agency partners has allowed us to make substantial recoveries in these types of cases in recent months. Our office remains committed to pursuing these matters vigorously.”
To qualify as a SDVOSB, a company must be operated and managed by service-disabled veterans and must not be affiliated with a large company. The government alleged that W.G. Mills created VCI merely as a contracting vehicle and that VCI’s affiliation with W.G. Mills rendered it ineligible to be awarded set-aside contracts for SDVOSBs. The government further alleged that W.G. Mills performed the work that VCI was required to perform under the Coast Guard contract, and alleged that if the Coast Guard and the Small Business Administration (SBA) had known that VCI was nothing but a front company, the Coast Guard would not have awarded it the contract.
“Providing the government false information to gain access to set-aside contracts is unacceptable,” said Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson of the SBA. “The OIG will aggressively investigate such misrepresentations to ensure only eligible businesses are awarded these contracts. I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice for its dedication to pursuing justice in this case.”
“SBA’s contracting programs, including the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, provide eligible small businesses with the opportunity to grow and create jobs,” said General Counsel Melvin F. Williams Jr of the SBA. “SBA has no tolerance for fraud or abuse in any government contracting program and is committed to working with our federal partners to ensure the benefits of these programs flow only to the intended recipients.”
This case was investigated jointly by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Harden of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; Trial Attorney David Finkelstein of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; Adam Kaplan, Assistant Counsel to the Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Trial Attorney Sabrina Daly of the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration; and Kevin Kupperbusch, Supervisory Special Agent of the Atlanta office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The settlement resolves allegations originally filed in a lawsuit by Michael Jeske and Samuel McIntosh. The investigation was a coordinated effort among the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida and is captioned United States ex rel. Michael Jeske and Samuel McIntosh v. Gilbane Building Company, W.G. Mills, Inc., and Veterans Constructors Inc., Case No. 8:11-cv-1205 (M.D. Fla.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Ghanaian National Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Monessen, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months incarceration and restitution in the amount of $55,029.10 on his conviction of money laundering, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Steven Mensah Yawson, 37, and ordered that Yawson, a Ghanaian National, be immediately deported from the United States following completion of his sentence as a result of his conviction.
According to the information presented to the court, in 2012, Yawson conspired with others to steal identities which were later used to open credit cards and to purchase merchandise and gift cards in Western Pennsylvania. Yawson wired proceeds from the fraud to an individual in Accra, Ghana.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force (WPFCTF) for conducting the investigation. The WPFCTF was established as a collaborative, multi-agency effort to effectively combat financial crimes, including identity fraud, in Western Pennsylvania. Partnering in this effort are the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, the Allegheny County Police Department, the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Georgia Businessman Pleads No Contest to Participating in Kickback Scheme and Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that KENNETH JOHNSON, SR., age 52, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pled nolo contendere (no contest) on March 16, 2015, to conspiring to pay kickbacks in a federal debris removal contract and guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.
According to court documents, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hired a Phillips and Jordan, a national construction firm, to manage the removal of storm debris from the City of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the metro area. After they were awarded the contract, Phillips and Jordan hired Company A, a local solid waste management company to assist with the debris removal project. Shortly after securing the contract, Company A hired ANTHONY PENN, a local businessman, to manage the debris removal project for them. After some time on the job, PENN approached the owners of Company A and asked if they would consider hiring his brother-in-law, KENNETH JOHNSON, as a sub-tier subcontractor to work on the project. The owners of Company A accepted the recommendation and hired JOHNSON’s company, KCJ Enterprises, as a sub-tier subcontractor. Sometime thereafter, PENN asked JOHNSON to provide him with a cut of the revenue that KCJ Enterprises was receiving from Company A as a reward for steering the contract to him. JOHNSON agreed to the scheme and wired a total of $236,461.55 in kickback payments to PENN from July 12, 2006, to February 8, 2008.
As part of the investigation, it was determined that JOHNSON filed false tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2007 and 2008 in an effort to conceal the kickback scheme and to avoid paying taxes on his income from the debris removal work. As a result, JOHNSON avoided paying $113,771.00 in federal taxes.
At sentencing, JOHNSON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on the conspiracy charge and a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on the tax charges. U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. set sentencing for July 15, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Department of Defense, and the Internal Revenue Service in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Spiro G. Latsis and Theodore R. Carter, III are in charge of the prosecution.
Franklin County Resident Pleads Guilty to Heroin ConspiracyRead the Press Release
On March 17, 2015, George A. Mayo, 34, of West Frankfort, IL, pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to distribute heroin, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Evidence at the plea hearing established that Mayo was routinely obtaining heroin from co-defendant Frank R. Johnson, a/k/a "Mo." Mayo would then redistribute some of the heroin and keep some of the heroin for his own use. When Mayo was arrested in January 2014, he was found in possession of heroin.
The heroin offense carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and a fine of $1,000,000. Mayo is currently being held without bond, pending a June 10, 2015, sentencing hearing. Co-defendant Johnson was previously sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for his role in the heroin conspiracy.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Southern Illinois Enforcement and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, West Frankfort Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Four sentenced on drug trafficking chargesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Four individuals were sentenced today on drug trafficking charges, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Jeremiah Dustin Dean, 34, of Moorefield, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for oxycodone trafficking in Grant County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in November 2014 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone” following an investigation by the West Virginia State Police and the Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
Dennis Lynn Smith, 56, of Upper Tract, West Virginia was sentenced today to five years of probation for his role in manufacturing methamphetamine in Pendleton County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in March 2014 to one count of “Maintaining Drug-Involved Premise” following an investigation by the West Virginia State Police. Smith was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,990.50.
Terry J. Sutter, 51, of Mill Creek, West Virginia, was sentenced today to five years of probation for marijuana trafficking in Randolph County, West Virginia in June 2014. He pled guilty in November 2014 to one count of “Manufacture and Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribute Marijuana” following an investigation by the National Forest Service and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
Arnold Lee Mayle, 72, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced today to two years of probation for distributing clonazepam, an anti-anxiety medication, in Randolph County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in September 2014 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting in the Distribution of Clonazepam” following an investigation by the United States Forest Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar prosecuted Smith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the remaining defendants on behalf of the government.
Chief U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Four Former Georgia Correctional Officers Sentenced for Offenses Related to Assaults of Inmates and Ensuing Cover-UpRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced that Darren Douglass-Griffin, Kerry Bolden, Emmett McKenzie and Kadarius Thomas—four former members of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Georgia—were sentenced today for federal offenses related to the beating of MSP inmates in 2010 and the cover-up that followed.
U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell sentenced Douglass-Griffin to serve 12 months in prison for conspiracy against rights and for writing a false report. Bolden was sentenced to serve nine months in prison for conspiracy against rights and conspiracy to obstruct justice. McKenzie received a sentence of six months in prison for conspiracy against rights. Thomas was sentenced to serve six months in prison for writing a false report regarding the beating of an inmate.
In June 2014, a federal jury trial in United States v. Hinton, et al., resulted in the conviction of former CERT Sergeant Christopher Hall and senior CERT officers Ronald Lach and Delton Rushin. Evidence introduced at trial and in court documents filed in connection with the guilty pleas of Douglass-Griffin, Bolden, McKenzie and Thomas showed that CERT officers conspired to assault handcuffed inmates as punishment for past misconduct. CERT officers beat multiple inmates, two of whom suffered serious injuries. One inmate, Terrance Dean, suffered a traumatic brain injury during an assault by CERT officers. Evidence also showed that CERT officers conspired to cover up their unlawful practice, and that officers turned in false reports and provided misleading statements to investigators.
On Dec. 4, 2014, U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell sentenced the defendants who were convicted at trial to the following terms of incarceration: Lach, 90 months; Hall, 72 months; and Rushin, 60 months.
Former CERT member Willie Redden is the last defendant to be sentenced in connection with these cases. A sentencing date has not yet been set for Redden.
“Eight former corrections officials from Macon State Prison now have been sentenced for criminal conduct that ranged from beating inmates to obstructing our investigation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute corrections officers who betray the public trust, assault people in their custody, and otherwise use their power to violate federal law.”
“While our corrections officials have a difficult yet important job, we must insist that they follow the law and not use the authority that comes with a prison guard’s uniform to assault the very people they are charged with supervising,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia. “In this case, it wasn’t just inmates who were victims, it was also the public who had entrusted these officials with maintaining order while respecting and following the law.”
These cases were investigated by the Macon Resident Agency of the FBI, with the support of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The cases were prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd for the Civil Rights Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon.
Four Former Georgia Correctional Officers Sentenced for Offenses Related to Assaults of Inmates and Ensuing Cover-UpRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced that Darren Douglass-Griffin, Kerry Bolden, Emmett McKenzie and Kadarius Thomas—four former members of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Georgia—were sentenced today for federal offenses related to the beating of MSP inmates in 2010 and the cover-up that followed.
U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell sentenced Douglass-Griffin to serve 12 months in prison for conspiracy against rights and for writing a false report. Bolden was sentenced to serve nine months in prison for conspiracy against rights and conspiracy to obstruct justice. McKenzie received a sentence of six months in prison for conspiracy against rights. Thomas was sentenced to serve six months in prison for writing a false report regarding the beating of an inmate.
In June 2014, a federal jury trial in United States v. Hinton, et al., resulted in the conviction of former CERT Sergeant Christopher Hall and senior CERT officers Ronald Lach and Delton Rushin. Evidence introduced at trial and in court documents filed in connection with the guilty pleas of Douglass-Griffin, Bolden, McKenzie and Thomas showed that CERT officers conspired to assault handcuffed inmates as punishment for past misconduct. CERT officers beat multiple inmates, two of whom suffered serious injuries. One inmate, Terrance Dean, suffered a traumatic brain injury during an assault by CERT officers. Evidence also showed that CERT officers conspired to cover up their unlawful practice, and that officers turned in false reports and provided misleading statements to investigators.
On Dec. 4, 2014, U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell sentenced the defendants who were convicted at trial to the following terms of incarceration: Lach, 90 months; Hall, 72 months; and Rushin, 60 months.
Former CERT member Willie Redden is the last defendant to be sentenced in connection with these cases. A sentencing date has not yet been set for Redden.
“Eight former corrections officials from Macon State Prison now have been sentenced for criminal conduct that ranged from beating inmates to obstructing our investigation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute corrections officers who betray the public trust, assault people in their custody, and otherwise use their power to violate federal law.”
“While our corrections officials have a difficult yet important job, we must insist that they follow the law and not use the authority that comes with a prison guard’s uniform to assault the very people they are charged with supervising,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia. “In this case, it wasn’t just inmates who were victims, it was also the public who had entrusted these officials with maintaining order while respecting and following the law.”
These cases were investigated by the Macon Resident Agency of the FBI, with the support of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The cases were prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd for the Civil Rights Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon.
If you have questions, please call the Office of Public Affairs at 202-514-2007.
Fort Smith Man Arraigned for Sex Trafficking of Two Minor FemalesRead the Press Release
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Odis Charles Grant, Jr. age 29 of Fort Smith, appeared today in Magistrate Court before United States Magistrate Judge Mark E. Ford for arraignment on two counts of knowingly transporting minors with the intent that the individuals engage in prostitution.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Human trafficking and child sex trafficking are horrendous, despicable crimes. We will vigorously enforce federal criminal laws against human trafficking, including against those who seek out, promote, and use minors for prostitution. We will do so across the Western District of Arkansas.”
On November 23, 2014, two juvenile residents of Fort Smith Arkansas were transported from the Western District of Arkansas to Texas by Grant with the intent that the two minor females engage in prostitution in the Houston, Texas area. In doing so, Grant utilized the internet service of backpage.com to promote prostitution of the minors. The statutory penalty for sex trafficking is not less than ten years and not more than life, not more than $250,000 fine, or both.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Smith Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Aaron Jennen and Assistant United States Attorney Ashleigh Buckley are prosecuting the case for the United States.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless or until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov
Former Shelbyville Bank Vice President Sentenced for Misappropriating FundsRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON — A former vice-president of a Shelbyville bank has been sentenced to 12 months in prison, with an additional six months of home-incarceration, for misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of bank funds.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced Roy T. Edwards to his prison term and also ordered him to pay $308,482 in restitution.
According to court documents, from March 2005 through November 2006, Edwards fraudulently authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to applicants who were not qualified based on their credit histories and the bank suffered financial losses based on the loans. More specifically, Edwards knowingly approved loan applications that contained false information regarding applicants’ income, employment, and assets.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Patrick T. Collins, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of Inspector General, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FDIC. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Sparks prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.
Former Parochial Vicar Indicted on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Mark Haynes, 56, of West Chester, PA, was indicted on March 12, 2015, on charges of child exploitation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Haynes, a former parochial Vicar, is charged with using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, transfer of obscene material to a minor, distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and destruction or concealment of evidence.
According to court documents, around 2010, Haynes posed as a 16-year old girl named “Katie” on a teen dating website. As “Katie,” Haynes would meet minor girls online and allegedly request that they take and send sexually explicit pictures. Haynes is also charged with distributing other images and videos of children being sexually assaulted over the Internet in 2014, again posing as “Katie.”
If convicted of all charges, Haynes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, possible fines, and at least five years up to a lifetime of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Chester County Criminal Investigative Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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 better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former NMSU Student Pleads Guilty to Hindering Investigation into Internet Threats to Shoot up the UniversityRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Zachary Milton Hess, 19, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon in federal court to a misdemeanor information charging him with being an accessary after the fact to the interstate transmission of an extortionate communication. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hess will be sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $77,934.00 in restitution.
Hess was arrested on Aug. 25, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with sending in interstate commerce a threat to shoot up his college campus. According to the criminal complaint, on May 27, 2014, an individual anonymously threatened to “shoot [his] college campus up in 3 days” and identified his college as New Mexico State University (NMSU) while “chatting” on an Internet website. The threat subsequently was posted on to NMSU’s Facebook page and was passed onto law enforcement, including the FBI. The FBI’s investigation revealed that the IP Address from which the threat was posted was subscribed to Hess’s residence. An examination of Hess’s computer revealed that it had been used to visit the website on the same date and time on which the threat was posted.
The criminal complaint states that NMSU expended significant resources in responding to the threat. Among other things, NMSU officials informed approximately 18,774 students, facility, staff and private citizens about the anonymous threat; advised students, faculty and staff to depart the campus; and shut down its new student registration process. NMSU lost approximately 1,000 staff hours in responding to the threat.
During today’s proceedings, Hess pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the interstate transmission of an extortionate communication. In his plea agreement, Hess admitted that on May 29, 2014, he knew that communications had been sent over the Internet making threats to shoot up NMSU and that he assisted in hindering the investigation into the threats.
Hess remains on conditions of release pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be schedule. The plea agreement requires that Hess be sentenced to five years of probation and to pay $77,934.00 in restitution to cover the costs of NMSU’s response to the threats.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the NMSU Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Former Millersburg Bus Company Executive and Corporation Sentenced in $1.4 Million School District Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a former Millersburg, Pennsylvania-based bus company executive and his corporation were sentenced today in United States District Court in Harrisburg on charges they defrauded two area school districts out of more than $1.4 million.
Todd M. Harris, age 49, a resident of Dalmatia, Pennsylvania and the former Vice President and 2 percent owner of the Harris Transportation Corporation (HTC), was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo to 24 months incarceration, and 3 years Supervised Release. Judge Rambo also entered an order of forfeiture of $1,464,613 against Todd Harris and the Harris Transportation Corporation and ordered both defendants to pay restitution in the same amount.
Todd Harris and HTC were charged in November 2014 with mail fraud. The Information alleged the two defendants defrauded the Halifax Area and the Upper Dauphin Area School Districts out of approximately $1.4 million between 2008 and 2011. The Pennsylvania Department of Education was also alleged to have been a victim of the scam.
According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, HTC, a small family owned business provided student bus and van transportation services for the Halifax and Upper Dauphin Area school districts for many years. The compensation HTC received for its services was based upon a formula established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education that included the mileage incurred with and without students, the age and size of the bus or van, and the number of students transported. The Pennsylvania Department of Education reimburses Pennsylvania school districts for a significant portion of their annual student transportation expense.
According to evidence summarized by Assistant United States Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel, HTC was paid approximately $1.3 million by Halifax and approximately $3.6 million by Upper Dauphin for the 2008-2011 school years. The Information alleged that between September 2008 and June 2011 Todd Harris routinely submitted inflated mileage claims to the two school districts, resulting in overpayments to HTC by Halifax of $566,556 and by Upper Dauphin of $898,057. The Pennsylvania Department of Education also was a victim of the scheme because the Department eventually reimbursed Halifax for approximately 82 percent, and Upper Dauphin approximately 84 percent, of their transportation expenses for those years.
The fraud was first discovered in the summer of 2011 as the result of an audit conducted by Upper Dauphin. Subsequent audits by Halifax and the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Office revealed that Harris’ mileage claims were grossly inflated, typically by 10-30 percent. Interviews of former HTC drivers confirmed Harris’ mileage submissions were false and that Todd Harris occasionally instructed them to take much longer routes than necessary. The combined losses sustained by both school districts were $1,464,613. Upper Dauphin and Halifax terminated their contracts with HTC in early 2012 and the company ceased doing business shortly thereafter.
Todd Harris and HTC entered their guilty pleas pursuant to plea agreements with the government in November 2014. The agreements require Todd Harris to cooperate with the government, obligate both defendants to forfeit $1,464,613, and to make restitution to the two school districts as ordered by the court. Pursuant to HTC’s plea agreement, the company tendered an up-front, $425,000 restitution payment at the time the corporation entered its guilty plea. HTC previously refunded $337,715 to Upper Dauphin in 2011, bringing the total restitution paid by the corporation to date to $762,715.
The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s Office in Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division and the PA Auditor General’s Office, Office of General Counsel.
“I am proud of the work of OIG Special Agents and our investigative partners in holding Mr. Harris accountable for his criminal actions,” said Chris Cooper, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Mid-Atlantic Office. "We will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of our nation’s students. America’s students and taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel.
# # #Former Governor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Illegal Activity in Two Congressional CampaignsRead the Press Release
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Former governor JOHN G. ROWLAND was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for attempting to conceal the extent of his involvement in two federal election campaigns. ROWLAND also was ordered to pay a $35,000 fine. ROWLAND, 57, of Middlebury, served as governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991.
“It is disheartening that an individual who once held two of our country’s highest elected offices, and who also served time in prison for a previous federal conviction, chose to deceive voters and violate laws that were established to ensure fair and open elections,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson. “Hopefully, today’s sentence will deter both this defendant from future criminal behavior and all who may consider ignoring campaign financing laws. I want to thank the U.S. Postal Inspectors who diligently investigated this scheme, as well as our trial team who have expertly and fairly prosecuted this case.”
“Postal Inspectors dedicated two years to this complex fraud investigation” stated Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge for the Boston Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “John Rowland’s conviction and today’s sentence validate that the undertaking was well worth the effort. Those who plot in secret to violate the public trust are not immune to the law and, as demonstrated in this case, will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent for unscrupulous behavior.”
According to the evidence introduced during his trial, in approximately October 2009, ROWLAND devised a scheme to work for the campaign of a candidate seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District during the 2009 and 2010 election cycle, and to conceal from the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) and the public that he would be paid to perform that work. To make the illegal arrangement appear legitimate, ROWLAND drafted a sham consulting contract pursuant to which he would purportedly perform work for a separate corporate entity owned by the candidate.
During the 2011 and 2012 election cycle, another candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, was seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District. Wilson-Foley’s husband, Brian Foley, owns a Connecticut nursing home company and a number of other related companies, including a real estate company. ROWLAND conspired with Wilson-Foley, Foley and others to conceal from the FEC and the public that ROWLAND was paid money in exchange for services he provided to Wilson-Foley’s campaign.
As part of the scheme, ROWLAND proposed to Wilson-Foley and Foley that he be hired to work on the campaign. In order to retain ROWLAND’s services for the campaign while reducing the risk that his paid campaign role would be disclosed to the public, ROWLAND, Wilson-Foley and Foley agreed that ROWLAND would be paid by Foley to work on the campaign. ROWLAND, Foley and others then created and executed a fictitious contract outlining an agreement purportedly for consulting services between ROWLAND and the law offices of an attorney who worked for Foley’s nursing home company. Foley made regular payments to ROWLAND for his work on behalf of Wilson-Foley’s campaign and routed those payments from his real estate company through the law offices of the attorney. ROWLAND provided nominal services to Foley’s nursing home company in order to create a “cover” that he was being paid for those nominal services when, in fact, he was being paid in exchange for his work on behalf of Wilson-Foley’s campaign.
Between September 2011 and April 2012, ROWLAND was paid approximately $35,000 for services rendered to Wilson-Foley’s campaign. The payments originated with Foley and constituted campaign contributions, but were not reported to the FEC in violation of federal campaign finance laws.
On September 19, 2014, ROWLAND was found guilty of two counts of falsification of records in a federal investigation, one count of conspiracy, two counts of causing false statements to be made to the FEC, and two counts of causing illegal campaign contributions.In December 2004, ROWLAND pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and tax fraud. On March 18, 2005, he was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment and four months of home confinement.
On March 31, 2014, Foley and Wilson-Foley each pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions. On January 9, 2015, Foley, who received credit for cooperating with the investigation, was sentenced to three months in community confinement (halfway house). Wilson-Foley awaits sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liam Brennan and Christopher Mattei.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Former Director of Domestic Violence Shelter Sentenced for $400,000 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former director of a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Marshall, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for embezzling more than $100,000 from the shelter and defrauding the state on federal grants earmarked for victims of crime.
Deborah L. Wallace, 51, of Marshall, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Wallace to pay $433,688 in restitution (including $115,219 in restitution to the Lighthouse Shelter and $268,468 in restitution to the Missouri Department of Public Safety).
On June 26, 2014, Wallace pleaded guilty to one count of stealing government property and one count of making false claims for reimbursement under a federal grant.
Wallace was the executive director of the Lighthouse Shelter, Inc., from April 1999 to April 2013. Wallace admitted that she embezzled money from Lighthouse, including money obtained from grants funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Over a five-year period from 2008 through 2013, Wallace used Lighthouse credit cards to pay personal expenses. Wallace also made unauthorized payments on personal credit cards and her personal cell phone from the Lighthouse bank account.
In her position as executive director, Wallace certified that the grant applications submitted to the Missouri Department of Public Safety for federal grants – the Victims of Crime Act and the State Services for Victims Fund – were true and accurate statements in support of the grant applications. Wallace also certified that the monthly invoices made in support of disbursement of the grant monies were true and accurate. Wallace admitted that she submitted fraudulent monthly invoices. For example, she falsely claimed that employees who actually performed other duties were working in positions funded under the grants.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
Former Coast Guard Member Sentenced to 50 Years for Producing Child Pornography of Young GirlsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Eric Devin Masters, 28, of St. Ignace, Michigan, received a 50-year sentence in federal prison for producing child pornography of three young girls, ages 18 months to 12 years old. The judge ordered him to pay $76,640 in restitution for counseling costs to the youngest victim, whom Masters brutally sexually assaulted. Masters pled guilty in federal court in September 2014 to three counts of producing numerous child pornography videos and photographs between May 2012 and August 2013.
Over the course of five years, Masters molested five young girls in five West Michigan counties: Kent, Ionia, Muskegon, Grand Traverse, and Mackinac Counties. Three of the victims’ cases were resolved in this federal case, and the other two were addressed in separate state court charges. Starting in June 2011, when Masters was on active duty with the Coast Guard, Masters began making what he described in emails to others as “sleep rape” videos of him molesting young girls as they slept. The following year, in May 2012, Masters violently assaulted an 18-month-old girl in a Grand Rapids hotel room, recorded the abuse on video, and emailed the videos out to people in exchange for other child pornography. State charges for the sexual assault are pending in Kent County. Throughout that year and the next, Masters continued to make “sleep rape” videos of young girls, and he also took hidden video of one child exiting the shower, changing clothes in a bedroom, and using the bathroom. Masters was convicted in Ionia County in January 2014 of Criminal Sexual Conduct (Second Degree) for molesting a 17-year-old. While on bond for that offense and awaiting sentencing, he “friended” a 13-year-old in Muskegon County through a fake Facebook account and had sex with her. He pled no contest to Criminal Sexual Conduct (Third Degree) for that offense. His path of destruction came to an end in February 2014 when he was detained on the Ionia County conviction, and he has been detained since that time. The federal case arose out of two separate investigations by the Nashville Police Department in Tennessee and the FBI in Birmingham, Alabama, where child pornographic videos that Masters created were found on computers of other child pornography collectors. Masters admitted that he sent the explicit material to other people in the hopes that they would send him their own child pornography in return.
At the sentencing hearing today, the mothers of two of the victims in the federal case spoke. They emotionally described the pain Masters put them and their children through, as well as the fear and shame the children will live with for the rest of their lives. Masters then addressed the court and said he was “feeding an addiction” that he could not stop. In imposing the 50-year sentence, U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell stated that this was one of the worst scenarios he could think of and one of the worst cases he had ever seen. Judge Bell told Masters, “I am stunned by your lack of understanding of yourself and why you did what you did.” He expressed concern for the lifetime impact on the children and the fact that nothing can stop the images and videos from being distributed around the world through the internet.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles stated, “Thankfully state and federal agencies throughout the nation are working hard and collaborating to address the scourge of child pornography. Through such collaboration they found these horrific child pornography materials in Alabama and Tennessee, identified the perpetrator here in West Michigan, and helped bring Eric Masters to justice in federal court.”
FBIA Special Agent in Charge, Paul M. Abbate stated, “Today’s sentencing clearly reflects the FBI’s relentless efforts to combat child exploitation in all forms. Defendant Masters’ capture and ultimate sentencing should send the strongest of messages to child predators that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will bring them to justice and hold them accountable under the law.”
The federal investigation was conducted by the FBI and the West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX), a collaborative of state and local law enforcement in West Michigan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa K. Hessmiller prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office; county prosecutor’s offices; and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, including resources for children and parents, visit: http://www.justice.gov/usao/miw/programs/psc.html.
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Former Assistant Branch Manager of Credit Union Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Male Yahaira Rivera (35, Orlando) today pleaded guilty to embezzlement from a federally insured credit union. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Rivera was an Assistant Branch Manager of Fairwinds Credit Union. Over a period of about 10 months, she stole $258,000 in cash from the credit union. Funds were taken on 16 separate occasions in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $40,000. Each of the thefts involved cash that was supposed to be deposited into an ATM machine or cash that was removed from an ATM machine. Rivera used more than $44,000 as a partial payment for a Porsche.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.