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Wednesday 28 January 2015
Charleston woman sentenced on heroin, firearm chargesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Chandra Ross, 30, of Charleston, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
In October 2013, Ross pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. In March 2014, she also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of her drug trafficking.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.
The case was investigated by the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Steve Loew was in charge of the prosecution.
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Certified Nurse Practioner Diantha Miller Sentenced to Federal Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky of the Mobile Division of the FBI announce that Certified Nurse Practitioner Diantha Miller has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, and has been ordered to pay $347,868.26 in restitution to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama. Her sentencing comes three months after a federal jury found Miller guilty on two counts of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy.
At trial, the evidence established that while Diantha Miller was the co-owned the Laser Skin Care Center of Mobile, she engaged in a scheme to fraudulently up-code, a scheme to fraudulently re-code, and conspired to with others to engage in both schemes. Specifically, the jury found that Miller knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to falsify bills to insurance companies so that it would appear as if services were performed by Dr. Carpenter, not Miller. This was done because patient services are reimbursed at higher rates when performed by physicians. In addition, Miller knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to fraudulently alter billing codes on rejected bills so that the Laser Skin Care Center would be reimbursed. Finally, the jury found that Miller conspired with Dr. Carpenter to commit these crimes. As co-owners of the business, Miller and Dr. Carpenter both benefited financially from the fraudulent billings. In total, these fraud schemes resulted in Laser Skin Care Center receiving nearly $1 million in fraudulent reimbursements.
At Diantha Miller’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade found that a reasonable estimate of the restitution owed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield was $347,868.26, but that the true loss caused by Miller’s fraudulent schemes was between $400,000.00 and $1,000,000.00. Judge Granade also found that Miller organized and supervised the fraud schemes, and that her actions abused the trust instilled in her by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Ultimately, Judge Granade concluded that incarceration for 12 months and 1 day was a sufficient period of time to meet the ends of justice in this case.
United States Attorney Kenyen Brown was pleased with today’s result: “By sentencing defendant Diantha Miller to over a year in federal prison, the Court has sent a strong message that those willing to engage in fraudulent medical billing practices should expect to wind up in federal prison. My office will continue to vigorously prosecute fraud cases, particularly fraud cases that syphon money away from our healthcare system.” Special Agent in Charge Robert Laskey also noted: “Health Care Fraud continues to be a tremendous problem, draining taxpayers’ dollars and putting them in the pockets of criminals,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky. “The FBI will continue to dedicate a substantial amount of investigative resources to pursue those that steal from our healthcare system.” A spokesperson for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama said the company is pleased with today’s ruling: “Financial losses due to healthcare fraud have a direct effect on our members. Blue Cross remains committed to fighting fraud and abuse to protect our members’ health and well-being and help reduce the cost of healthcare.”
This case was investigated by FBI-Mobile and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Buffalo Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Crack CocaineRead 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 Kayla Renee Combs, 25, of Buffalo NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute crack cocaine, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara.Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that the charge stems from an investigation into the trafficking of crack cocaine and cocaine from the Cleveland, Ohio area into Western New York, and the distribution of those drugs in North Tonawanda, Niagara Falls, Lockport, and Buffalo.
Co-defendants Nathaniel Clark, 29, of Niagara Falls and Tommy Eugene Clark, a/k/a Boo, have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing. Charges are pending against Raysean Clark, 27, of Buffalo.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, in conjunction with the Niagara County Sheriff's Department and Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour, and the North Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Hall.
Boston Career Criminal Sentenced to 17 Years for Drug Trafficking and Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession.
Kenneth Whigham Jr., 33, of Boston, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 17 years in prison. In October 2014, Whigham was convicted following a three-day jury trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm n and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
Shortly before midnight on Feb. 28, 2013, two Massachusetts State Police troopers stopped Whigham for erratic driving in the O’Neil Tunnel in Boston. A video recording of the traffic stop showed one of the troopers attempting to enter Whigham’s car as Whigham slid a loaded handgun under the front passenger seat. The troopers entered the car, found the gun – a .25 caliber Raven Arms handgun with an obliterated serial number loaded with six rounds of ammunition – and arrested Whigham. The troopers seized individually-wrapped pieces of crack cocaine packaged for sale and $666 on Whigham when they arrested him.
At today’s sentencing hearing, the prosecutor recommended that the Court sentence Whigham to 21 years in prison. The prosecutor’s recommended sentence was based in large part on Whigham’s lengthy criminal record, which included two previous federal crack cocaine distribution convictions and state convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Due to his criminal history, Whigham faced a fifteen year mandatory minimum sentence for possessing the firearm.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of Ortiz’s Organized Crime Strike Force Unit.
Bogalusa Men Sentenced for Their Role in Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and Mail FraudRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CHARLES E. “CHUCK” MIZELL, JR., age 44, a resident of Bogalusa, Louisiana, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy commit mail fraud in a scheme to defraud the Louisiana Workforce Commission of unemployment benefits, and five counts of mail fraud.
U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan sentenced MIZELL to 21 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Additionally, MIZELL was found to be jointly and severally liable with his co-defendants for $53,356 in restitution.
According to court records, beginning at a time unknown, but no later than on or about September 24, 2009, and continuing through on or about January 11, 2014, MIZELL, TERRY CASTILOW, WILLIAM DARRYL KING, DAVID LOWE, JAMES CREEL, JERRY ATHEY, TENILLE NIELSON, JACQUELINE MYERS, and ROGER NADEAU conspired to defraud the Louisiana Workforce Commission (“LWC”) of money and property by means of false and fraudulent representations, pretenses and promises, well knowing the representations, pretenses and promises were false, and mailed and caused to be mailed through the United States Postal Service unemployment (“UI”) benefit claim forms for the purpose of obtaining UI benefits to which they were not entitled. Specifically, at the time CASTILOW, KING, LOWE, CREEL, ATHEY, NIELSON, MYERS, and NADEAU applied for UI benefits and made weekly representations to LWC that they were unemployed and not getting paid, MIZELL actually employed them at Chamico, Inc., a Bogalusa construction company that concentrates on public, municipal, and industrial contracts.
MIZELL was the President of Chamico and, according to the factual bases in the court record, asked those employees to fraudulently file for unemployment so that he would not have to pay their full salaries during tough economic times for Chamico. The employees would each get cash from Chamico during the weeks they were claiming unemployment benefits reporting that they were not working and not getting any income from work.
Also sentenced today was JAMES CREEL, age 48, a resident of Bogalusa, Louisiana, and WILLIAM DARRYL KING, age 47, a resident of Angie, Louisiana. CREEL and KING each received 2 years’ probation and a $500 fine for their role in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud. ROGER NADEAU, age 51, of Linn, Missouri, is the last remaining defendant in this case. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy at today’s proceeding. NADEAU faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release on the conspiracy conviction.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of Labor-OIG and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Louisiana Workforce Commission in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield is in charge of the prosecution.
Atlanta Businessmen Arrested on Market Manipulation ChargesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Marc E. Bercoon and William A. Goldstein have been indicted and arrested on federal charges that they manipulated the market for shares of Medcareers Group, Inc., a publicly traded company, and that they carried out a second investment fraud scheme using a new business corporation that they organized as the bait for investors.
“These defendants are charged with manipulating the stock of a publicly traded company by carrying out pump and dump schemes,” said Acting United States Attorney John Horn. “They are also charged with orchestrating an investment fraud scheme using a separate, private company, and laundering the proceeds of that fraud. This office is committed to fighting all types of investment fraud – including securities fraud involving publicly traded companies.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “Investment based fraud is not a victimless crime and the FBI will continue to dedicate significant resources toward identifying, investigating, and presenting for prosecution those individuals involved.”
According to Acting United States Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: From July 2009 through September 2011, the defendants conspired with each other and others to manipulate the market for shares of Medcareers Group, Inc., a publicly traded company quoted on the over-the-counter bulletin board under the ticker symbol MCGI. The conspiracy culminated in two “pump and dump” schemes carried out in March and May 2010. To carry out the pump and dump schemes, Bercoon and Goldstein arranged for Medcareers Group, Inc. to issue a series of misleading press releases and SEC filings, at the same time as co-conspirators sent out mass emails touting the stock. While the price of MCGI and the demand for the stock were both artificially high because of these efforts, the defendants orchestrated a massive sell-off of their stock, coordinating activity in multiple “nominee” accounts, which were titled in the names of other people and entities to hide the defendants' involvement.
The indictment further alleges that from May 2009 through June 2010, Bercoon and Goldstein also carried out a second investment fraud concerning a privately held company. Specifically, Bercoon and Goldstein organized a private corporation, Findcom Acquisition, Inc., and then solicited investments from dozens of individuals. Bercoon and Goldstein told investors, and induced brokers working for them tell investors, that their funds would be used to develop an Internet search engine named “Find.com.” In fact, Bercoon and Goldstein used the bulk of the over $1.5 million raised from investors for unrelated purposes, such as subsidizing their other business ventures and making payments to themselves and their family members. In fact, much of the $1.5 million invested in Find.com was simply withdrawn from the bank in cash shortly after being invested.As part of the scheme, investors were provided with written offering materials. In addition to stating that the investments would be used to develop the Find.com Internet search engine business, the written materials stated that investors were being offered the opportunity to buy stock at a uniform price of $1.00/share, and that no more than 12.5% of investments would go toward commissions. Despite these representations in the written offering materials, Bercoon and Goldstein sold stock to some investors at heavily discounted prices, without informing other investors, and paid commissions of up to 35% to brokers on some investments.
These charges flow from a securities fraud investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in which court-authorized wiretaps were used to intercept telephone conversations.
Marc E. Bercoon, 54, of Dunwoody, Ga. and William A. Goldstein, 51, of Atlanta, Ga., were arrested and had initial appearances and bond hearings before Linda T. Walker, United States Magistrate Judge, on federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering in connection with two fraudulent schemes. Goldstein was also arraigned at the court hearing. Bercoon and Goldstein were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 21, 2015.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Valuable assistance has been provided by the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Assistant United States Attorneys Alana R. Black and Stephen H. McClain are prosecuting the case.
This announcement 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’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Two Detroit men convicted of oxycodone traffickingRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Cary Dailey, 25, and Lance Demarco Harris, 21, both of Detroit, Michigan, were convicted in federal court today for prescription painkiller trafficking, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
An investigation by the Mon Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force revealed that Dailey and Harris were involved in the distribution of oxycodone in Monongalia County, West Virginia during the fall of 2014. Dailey was discovered in possession of oxycodone in September 2014. He pled guilty today to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone.” Harris sold oxycodone in September 2014. He pled guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Oxycodone.”
Both defendants face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull presided.
Traveler Heads to Prison for Importing Cocaine from MexicoRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas– Ruben Judas Ruiz-Vazquez, 42, a legal permanent resident from Mexico, has been ordered to prison for conspiracy/importation/possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Ruiz-Vazquez pleaded guilty Oct. 21, 2014.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo handed Ruiz-Vazquez a sentence of 70 months in federal prison. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
On July 28, 2014, Ruiz-Vazquez attempted to enter the United States from Mexico by crossing the Lincoln Juarez International Bridge (POE #2) in Laredo. He was driving a 2007 Jeep Compass vehicle which a drug canine alerted to contain contraband.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents conducted an x-ray examination of the vehicle and discovered 18 bundles of cocaine weighing 18.24 kilograms within the vehicle’s undercarriage. Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents were notified for further investigation.
Ruiz-Vazquez initially denied knowledge of the drugs and claimed he was traveling in a work vehicle. Agents contacted his employer in Wisconsin who indicated he did not have permission to travel into the United States for work.
Ruiz-Vazquez later wrote a letter to his employers from jail, apologizing for his conduct.
The charges are the result of an investigation HSI and CBP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker is prosecuting the case.
Three Men Sentenced for Fraud Scheme That Used Homeless to Cash Counterfeit ChecksRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that three men have been sentenced for their roles in a bank fraud conspiracy that used homeless men to cash counterfeit payroll checks at banks in the Kansas City area.
More than $400,000 in counterfeit checks was passed in the Kansas City area over the course of a few months in late 2012 and early 2013. Nationwide, more than $8 million in counterfeit checks has been passed by various crews that travel across the country to steal business mail, create counterfeit payroll checks and recruit homeless men to cash the counterfeit checks.
Truly Matthews, 48, and Calvin Almond, 47, both of Atlanta, Ga., and Gary Merritt, 55, of Kansas City, Kan., (formerly of Atlanta) were sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Matthews was sentenced to 10 years and four months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $62,861 in restitution. Merritt was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $239,092 in restitution. Almond was sentenced to two years and 11 months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $57,772 in restitution.
Each of the three men pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud from Dec. 21, 2012, to Feb. 1, 2013.
Matthews, Merritt and Almond admitted that they and the other conspirators recruited homeless men to cash a total of $233,728 in counterfeit checks in December 2012 and January 2013. They unsuccessfully attempted to cash an additional $59,344 in counterfeit checks.
Matthews’s role in the conspiracy was to assist in the printing of counterfeit payroll checks that he knew would be passed by homeless men at banks in Kansas City. Merritt and Almond found homeless men in Kansas City and recruited them to pass counterfeit payroll checks at banks in Kansas City.
Almond was first recruited to the bank fraud scheme in 2002, when he was arrested and served prison time for his role in the scheme. In January 2013, Almond was again recruited into the scheme and agreed to act as a driver on road trips to Kansas City, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb., knowing that the purpose of these trips was to recruit homeless men to pass counterfeit checks. When conspirators became suspicious about police surveillance in Kansas City, they traveled to Lincoln to continue the same scheme.
Co-defendants Anthony Bernard Lowe, 54, and Marcus Bryant, 34, both of Atlanta, Derrick Nate Andrews, 23, of Decatur, Ga., and Howard Youngblood, 41, and Michael Lee McWilliams, 54, both of Kansas City, Mo., have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Lowe was sentenced to four years and four months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $233,728 in restitution. Andrews was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay $57,772 in restitution. Youngblood was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay $10,693 in restitution.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Cowles. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Leawood, Kan., Police Department and the Atlanta, Ga., Police Department.
Thirteen Sentenced for Narcotic Distribution and Violent Home InvasionsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that TAVARIS DELINO BATTLE, 30, of Elm City, TONY MARICHAL SHARP, 31, of Sharpsburg, BYRON DALE WHITAKER, 23, of Sharpsburg, GREGORY DEVONTE ROBERTSON, 20, of Rocky Mount, NATALIE BAKER LYNCH, 33, of Roanoke Rapids, TREMAYNE A. LYNCH, 35, of Rocky Mount, TANGI SONYETTE WILLIAMS, 37, of Rocky Mount, ROBERT MACK RICHARDSON, 33 of Enfield, MATHEW LEE LEAK, 32, of Sharpsburg, ANDREW LEONARD LEAK, 30, of Rocky Mount, JEROLD JERALD MASON, 30, of Sharpsburg, SHAMEKA JOHNESE WINN, 28of Wilson and ROY LATRON RICHARDSON, 23, of Nashville were each sentenced resulting from their earlier guilty pleas to distributing large quantities of cocaine and cocaine base (crack). The charges involved a large scale narcotics ring responsible for selling kilos of crack from around May 2011 to on or about July 16, 2013 in the Sharpsburg area.
Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, Wayne L. Dixie, Jr. stated, “This case is another example of ATF’s commitment to ensure the public’s safety by removing drug traffickers and violent individuals from our communities. These results could not have occurred without the outstanding partnerships that we have with our law enforcement partners (USAO; Drug Enforcement Administration, Rocky Mount Police Department, Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office).”
All 13 defendants were sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III. BATTLE was sentenced to life imprisonment. SHARP was sentenced to 480 months imprisonment; WHITAKER was sentenced to 480 months imprisonment; ROBERTSON was sentenced to 262 months imprisonment; NATALIE LYNCH was sentenced to 132 months imprisonment; TREMAYNE LYNCH was sentenced to 450 months; WILLIAMS was sentenced to 90 months; ROBERT RICHARDSON was sentenced to 75 months imprisonment; MATTHEW LEAK was sentenced to 156 months imprisonment; ANDREW LEAK was sentenced to 132 months imprisonment; MASON was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment; WINN was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment; and ROY RICHARDSON was sentenced to 102 months imprisonment.
According to the investigation, BATTLE was the leader of this narcotics distribution organization. SHARP helped plan a brutal home invasion and was instrumental in the group selling kilos of crack cocaine.
During the violent home invasion WHITAKER and TREYMAYNE LYNCH were searching for drugs and money that resulted in a brutal rape of young mother while her small child watched. LYNCH also shot the mother’s boyfriend, the father of the child, during the home invasion twice. ROBERTSON participated in the home invasion by beating the already shot and bound boyfriend.
In addition to the home invasion, TREYMAYNE LYNCH was involved with three other exceedingly violent incidents. In 2 of them he walked up and started shooting at competitors and in the third he kidnapped someone who owed the group money and held him hostage for a couple of days repeatedly strangling the victim into unconsciousness, tying him to a tree and shooting a gun in front of him, beating him, and threatening to have WHITAKER burn his groin with heated keys.
WILLIAMS drove the home invasion crew to the victims house knowing they were going in armed and with masks to commit robbery. After the robbery, she drove the group to a hotel room and located someone to sell TREMAYNE LYNCH a gun. She also drove LYNCH to Washington, D.C. to avoid arrest.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Rocky Mount Police Department, Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, and Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney John Bowler is handling the prosecution for the government.
Storeowner Sentenced to Time-served for Stolen Identity SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Allegheny County has been sentenced in federal court to time served on his conviction of mail fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark Hornak imposed the sentence on Bhavikkumar H. Koladiya, aka “Bob Patel”, of Monroeville, PA. Koladiya has been incarcerated in federal custody since his arrest in October 2013.
According to the information presented to the court, Koladiya, the operator of the “Atwood Xpress” in Oakland, stole identities from other persons which he used to open credit card accounts at U.S. Bank, Chase Bank, Discover card and others, and then bought merchandise, including diamonds, with the stolen credit cards.
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 this 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.
Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to 'Sex Tourism,' Victimized Five Filipino ChildrenRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a prior sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually abusing five separate child victims in the Philippines.
Kenneth Gaylord Stokes, 70, a U.S. citizen who resided near the city of Cebu in the Philippines, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.
Stokes has been in federal custody since his arrest on Dec. 3, 2012 and is being held without bond. Stokes has a prior conviction for the statutory rape of a 7-year-old child in the state of Washington.
In July 2012, a federal agent located a Craigslist advertisement from Stokes that offered photography services in the Philippines. Stokes and the agent communicated via e-mail for several months, during which time Stokes e-mailed to the agent photos of juvenile females, some of whom were in sexually explicit poses. The agent expressed his interest in meeting Stokes, who encouraged the agent to visit and indicated that he would help facilitate sexual liaisons.
On Dec. 3, 2012 the agent met Stokes at his residence in the Philippines. Stokes, who showed the agent a laptop computer with multiple images of child pornography, was arrested.
Investigators seized Stokes’ computers and conducted a forensic examination. They were able to determine the identities of five minor females (identified as Jane Doe #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5) who later told law enforcement officers that Stokes paid them to pose for the sexually explicit photos.
Under federal statutes, Stokes is subject to a sentence of up to 60 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000, on each of the five counts. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Sanden Corp. Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Automobile Parts Installed in U.S. CarsRead the Press Release
Sanden Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Gunma, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $3.2 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition for the purchase of compressors used in air conditioning systems sold to Nissan North America Inc. for installation in vehicles manufactured and sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Sanden conspired to fix the prices of compressors sold to Nissan. In addition to the criminal fine, Sanden has agreed to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
“Today’s charge is the latest in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation of automobile parts suppliers,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The division continues to vigorously prosecute companies and individuals that seek to maximize their profits through illegal, anticompetitive means.”
The department said that Sanden and its co-conspirator held meetings and conversations to discuss and agree upon the bids and price quotations submitted to Nissan for the purchase of compressors used in automotive air conditioning systems. Sanden’s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from as early as August 2008 until at least April 2009.
Including Sanden, 33 companies and 50 individuals have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the automotive parts industry. All of the charged companies have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty and to pay a combined total of more than $2.4 billion in fines.
Sanden is charged with fixing prices in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s charges were brought by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office and the FBI’s New York Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1–888–647–3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s New York Field Office at 212-384-1000.
Quincy, Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Bank Robbery ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – PIERRE LAMONT PARRISH pled guilty to the October 2, 2014, robbery of the Martinsburg Bank and Trust in Montgomery County, Missouri.
Parrish, Quincy, IL, pled guilty to one felony count of robbery of a federally insured institution before United States District Judge Ronald L. White. Sentencing has been set for May 1, 2015.
This charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Mehan is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Mail TheftRead the Press Release
Contact: Steve Young
A former postal services employee who stole mail pled guilty January 23, 2015, in federal court in Sioux City.
Danny D. Miller, 55, from Ventura, Iowa, was convicted of theft of mail by a postal services employee.
At the plea hearing, Miller admitted that from about May 2013 through July 2014, while serving as the Postmaster for Forest City, Iowa, he opened mail, specifically pain medication parcels from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs addressed to a Forest City, military veteran. Miller further admitted to stealing the contents of the packages, namely Oxycodone.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Miller remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Miller faces a possible maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and up to one year of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Bowers and was investigated by U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 14-3051.
Pittsburgh Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Frank Currington, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pa. was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute over 100 grams of heroin, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Currington, 41, was sentenced in Pittsburgh by United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer. Judge Fischer also imposed a four-year term of supervised release to follow the federal prison sentence.
Between 2011 and 2013, Currington invested thousands of dollars into the interstate heroin re-supply ventures of a large-scale heroin trafficking organization with several members from or associated with Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood. Currington would thereafter receive his share of the heroin. In this manner, Currington received and re-distributed hundreds of bricks of heroin.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Drug Enforcement Administration in Pittsburgh and New York, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the Wilkins Township Police Department, the East Pittsburgh Police Department, the New York Police Department, the Blair County District Attorney's Office, and the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office conducted the investigation leading to the conviction and sentence in this case.
Peruvian Man Sentenced for Defrauding and Extorting Spanish-Speaking U.S. Residents through Fraudulent Call CentersRead the Press Release
A Peruvian man charged with running an operation that threatened and defrauded Spanish-speaking U.S. residents was sentenced today to more than 17 years in prison in federal district court in Miami, the Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced.
Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, 35, was sentenced to serve 210 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his operation of Angeluz Florida Corporation and call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements for nonexistent debts. In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez Cuya was ordered to forfeit assets.
In October 2014, Rodriguez Cuya was convicted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation following a two-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz. The 26 charges against him included conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and attempted extortion. His mother, Maria Luzula, pleaded guilty to all counts against her midway through trial and on Dec. 18, 2014, was sentenced to serve 165 months in prison.
“The victims of this case tell horrible stories of false threats made against them – threats of seized property, arrest and sometimes even deportation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will be particularly vigilant in cases such as this, in which individuals target and exploit specific populations.”
According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants’ employees in Peru used Internet-based telephone calls to threaten Spanish-speaking victims in the United States. The Peruvian callers falsely accused the victims of having failed to accept delivery of certain products and claimed that the victims owed thousands of dollars in fines and that lawsuits would be brought against them. In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and nothing had been delivered.
Additional evidence at trial established that the call center employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the fines if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.” Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to arrest, deportation or seizure of property. Thousands of victims succumbed to these threats and paid fees that they did not owe.
Victims who testified at trial spoke of how anxious the calls made them. The victims were so afraid of the threats that they paid fees they simply could not afford. At sentencing, victims told the judge that they have lost trust in people and that they still become nervous when their phones ring. Also at sentencing, a victim told the judge that, like many other people, she came to this country for opportunity and a better life, but the crime made her feel she was not in the United States. It made her feel assaulted without any recourse.
“Consumer fraud that targets a specific population is shameful,” said U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida. “In this case, the defendants targeted Spanish-speaking consumers and falsely threatened them with arrest, deportation, forfeiture of property or harm to their credit scores when the consumers refused to settle claims for products that were not delivered or ordered. Such tactics are intolerable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed and stands united with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Consumer Protection Branch to protect our consumers from fraud.”
“The USPIS will continue to aggressively investigate and go after those who defraud citizens of their hard earned money through the use of threats and other abusive tactics,” said Postal Inspector in Charge Ronald Verrochio of the USPIS Miami Division.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda commended the USPIS for its investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their contributions to the case. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Assistant Director Richard Goldberg of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Peruvian Man Sentenced for Defrauding and Extorting Spanish-Speaking U.S. Residents through Fraudulent Call CentersRead the Press Release
A Peruvian man charged with running an operation that threatened and defrauded Spanish-speaking U.S. residents was sentenced today to more than 17 years in prison in federal district court in Miami, the Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced.
Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, 35, was sentenced to serve 210 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his operation of Angeluz Florida Corporation and call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements for nonexistent debts. In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez Cuya was ordered to forfeit assets.
In October 2014, Rodriguez Cuya was convicted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation following a two-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz. The 26 charges against him included conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and attempted extortion. His mother, Maria Luzula, pleaded guilty to all counts against her midway through trial and on Dec. 18, 2014, was sentenced to serve 165 months in prison.
“Consumer fraud that targets a specific population is shameful,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida. “In this case, the defendants targeted Spanish-speaking consumers and falsely threatened them with arrest, deportation, forfeiture of property or harm to their credit scores when the consumers refused to settle claims for products that were not delivered or ordered. Such tactics are intolerable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed and stands united with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Consumer Protection Branch to protect our consumers from fraud.”
“The victims of this case tell horrible stories of false threats made against them – threats of seized property, arrest and sometimes even deportation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will be particularly vigilant in cases such as this, in which individuals target and exploit specific populations.”
According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants’ employees in Peru used Internet-based telephone calls to threaten Spanish-speaking victims in the United States. The Peruvian callers falsely accused the victims of having failed to accept delivery of certain products and claimed that the victims owed thousands of dollars in fines and that lawsuits would be brought against them. In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and nothing had been delivered.
Additional evidence at trial established that the call center employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the fines if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.” Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to arrest, deportation or seizure of property. Thousands of victims succumbed to these threats and paid fees that they did not owe.
Victims who testified at trial spoke of how anxious the calls made them. The victims were so afraid of the threats that they paid fees they simply could not afford. At sentencing, victims told the judge that they have lost trust in people and that they still become nervous when their phones ring. Also at sentencing, a victim told the judge that, like many other people, she came to this country for opportunity and a better life, but the crime made her feel she was not in the United States. It made her feel assaulted without any recourse.
“The USPIS will continue to aggressively investigate and go after those who defraud citizens of their hard earned money through the use of threats and other abusive tactics,” said Postal Inspector in Charge Ronald Verrochio of the USPIS Miami Division.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda commended the USPIS for its investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their contributions to the case. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Assistant Director Richard Goldberg of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Pascua Yaqui Man Sentenced to 70 Months Imprisonment for AssaultRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – On Jan. 22, 2015, Peter Ron Acuna, 26, of Tucson, Ariz., a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Marquez to 70 months of imprisonment, to be followed by a three year term of supervised release. Acuna pleaded guilty on April 23, 2014 to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On Nov. 18, 2013, Pascua Yaqui Tribal Police officers responded to a report of a fight occurring on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Nation, in Tucson, Ariz. Officers found an unconscious victim on the ground, covered in blood. Witnesses stated that the defendant had confronted the victim about his presence in the neighborhood and a fight broke out. Acuna and one other combatant combined in assaulting the victim by striking and kicking his head and face. Even after the victim lost consciousness, the two continued to kick the victim’s head. The victim was medically treated for an orbital skull fracture, and multiple lacerations to his face, and he continues to suffer from residual medical concerns.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Police. The prosecution was handled by Lawrence C. Lee, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-14-00037 TUC RM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2015-008_Acuna
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
North Carolina Couple Sentenced to Pay $342,447 in Restitution for Participating in Health Care Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CRYSTAL FINDLEY MCDONALD, and her husband, COREY MCDONALD (the “MCDONALDs”), ages 32 and 43, respectively, were sentenced after previously pleading guilty to a one-count Bill of Information for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal remuneration.
U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced both to 5 years’ probation. As a condition of probation, the MCDONALDs, residents of North Carolina, were ordered to spend 12 months in home detention. In addition, the MCDONALDs were ordered to pay $342,447 in restitution.
According to court documents, the defendants were paid illegal kickbacks to refer patients to Care Concepts for Durable Medical Equipment. The equipment was neither needed nor wanted by the patients, but was reimbursable by Medicare. The defendants also paid illegal kickbacks to their employees to procure such referrals.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrice Harris Sullivan was in charge of the prosecution.
New York Corrections Officer Sentenced to 14 Years for Attempted Child EnticementRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Jude Thaddeus Danahy (35, Buffalo, NY) to 14 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a child for sexual activity. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the equipment he had used to commit the offense. Danahy pleaded guilty on August 27, 2014.
According to court documents, between June 2013 and July 2014, Danahy communicated via email and text messages with an undercover agent that he believed was the mother of an 11-year-old girl. Danahy responded to an online advertisement and expressed in graphic detail his desire to engage in sexual acts with the “child.” He repeatedly sent graphic messages to the “mom” and attempted to persuade and induce the “child’s” assent by sending her a princess dress. Danahy also repeatedly solicited pornographic images of the “child,” and he mailed the “mom” a digital camera so that she could send him images. Danahy was arrested on July 1, 2014.
“It is especially egregious when a person in a position of authority, like this corrections officer, attempts to victimize our children,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “HSI will continue to aggressively pursue criminals who prey on the most vulnerable members of our communities.”
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
New York Attorney Found Guilty of Subscribing to False Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
An attorney licensed to practice in New York was found guilty yesterday of three counts of subscribing to false tax returns for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 tax years following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York, announced today.
Matthew Libous was found not guilty by Judge Briccetti of false subscription counts for his 2010, 2011 and 2011 amended returns and not guilty of one count of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Yesterday’s verdict was a just conclusion for Matthew Libous’s repeated, willful failure to report all his income to the IRS over a period of years,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “As a practicing attorney, Libous knew better. My office will continue to make every effort to ensure that everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes.”
“Yesterday’s conviction should serve as clear notice that the Tax Division, working with IRS Criminal Investigation and the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys, will vigorously enforce our nation’s criminal tax laws and prosecute those individuals, including legal professionals, who willfully file false federal tax returns,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.
According to the superseding indictment and the evidence presented at trial, Libous engaged in the practice of law from 2006 through 2008. Libous deposited the fees he received into his personal bank account but never reported them on his tax return. In 2008, Libous became a minority partner and manager of Wireless Construction Solutions LLC (WCS), a company that maintained cellular telephone towers. Libous caused WCS to pay thousands of dollars in his personal expenses on his behalf from 2008 to 2011. In returning yesterday’s verdict following a three-day bench trial, Judge Briccetti said that he found that Libous willfully failed to report the income from his law practice in 2007 and 2008, and the income he received as a result of his causing WCS to pay his personal expenses in 2008 and 2009.
Libous faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each of the false subscription convictions. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29.
This prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McMahon for the Southern District of New York and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kameros of the Tax Division are in charge of the prosecutions.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 9+ Years for Overland Park Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man was sentenced Tuesday for robbing a bank in Overland Park, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Alvin J. Williams, 24, Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 114 months in federal prison.
Williams pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery and one count of using a firearm during the robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on Feb. 27, 2014, he and two co-defendants robbed Inter-State Federal Savings at 8620 Metcalf in Overland Park. They entered the bank about noon and held employees at gunpoint before fleeing with stolen money.
Co-defendant Randy A. Cornelius, 21, Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 57 months, and co-defendant Allen J. Williams, 24, Kansas City, Mo., is awaiting sentencing.
Grissom commended the Overland Park Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt for their work on the case.
Miami Telemarketer Sentenced for FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on January 23, 2015, Kyle Richard Robertson, 32, of Miami, FL, was sentenced in the United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Robertson was sentenced to 28 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Robertson was also ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $100 special assessment.
The investigation determined that Robertson was a manager at C&G Marketing Associates, LLC, also known as Premier Timeshare Solutions (PTS). Working out of office buildings in Florida, PTS, UMS, and CVS targeted owners of timeshares throughout the United States and Canada. In various court filings related to the PTS scam, the government has alleged that the overall scam bilked consumers of $14.5 million from over 7,000 people throughout the United States and Canada.
This prosecution is one of nearly 75 timeshare resale fraud prosecutions brought in the Southern District of Illinois over the past four years. The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock and Assistant United States Attorney William Coonan.
Mexican National Sentenced to 15 Years for Participating in a Brutal Family Run Sex Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced a sentencing and guilty plea for two members of a family run sex trafficking organization based in southern Florida. Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joes E. Martinez to serve 15 years in prison and Carmen Cadena pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Jose Martinez for participating in a brutal family run sex trafficking organization.
Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa
Cadena-Sosa, 46, a Mexican national, was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for conspiring and holding a person in a condition of involuntary servitude. Judge Martinez also ordered Cadena-Sosa to pay $1,261,563 in restitution to sixteen different victims.
On Oct. 9, 2014, Cadena-Sosa pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to holding a person in a condition of involuntary servitude. As part of his plea, Cadena-Sosa admitted that he, along with other family members and associates, approached women and girls, some as young as fourteen years old, in Veracruz, Mexico, and lured them into coming to the United States using false promises of legitimate jobs. After illegally smuggling women and girls into the United States, Cadena-Sosa and other family members imposed a smuggling debt and used brutal physical force and violence, sexual assaults, and threats of death and bodily harm to the victims and their families to compel the victims to engage in prostitution 12 hours a day, six days a week and turn over the proceeds to the defendants to pay down the smuggling debts the defendants imposed. Cadena-Sosa and other family members would also search for victims who had run away from a brothel and subject them to beatings and rapes upon capture.
Carmen Cadena
Cadena, 48, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for conspiring with other members of the Cadena organization to unlawfully encourage and bring undocumented victims into the U.S.; unlawfully transport victims within the U.S.; unlawfully harbor victims within the U.S.; unlawfully coerce and transport victims, including victims as young as 14-years-old, into the U.S. for purposes of illegal sexual activity; and unlawfully use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit made to the victims.
Cadena faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $500,000. Sentencing is scheduled to occur on May 18, 2015. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the parties will jointly recommend the maximum sentence of five years in prison and $1,261,563 in restitution to 16 victims.
Sixteen defendants were charged in a superseding indictment filed in 1998. Mexican authorities arrested Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa and Carmen Cadena and extradited them to the United States in November 2013 and December 2014, respectively. Four other members of the Cadena sex trafficking organization have been convicted, including Cadena-Sosa’s uncle, Rogerio Cadena, who pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years; Cadena-Sosa’s brother, Abel Cadena-Sosa, who was convicted in Mexico and sentenced to 24 years, and two other brothers, Hugo and Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa—Carmen Cadena’s husband—, who pleaded guilty in 2002 and 2008, and were sentenced to five years and 15 years respectively. Six other defendants previously pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the scheme, and one was convicted in state court for a murder outside a Cadena-run brothel.
Since 2009, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security as well as law enforcement agencies in Mexico, have worked to develop high-impact prosecutions to dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, bring human traffickers to justice, restore the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims, and reunite victims with their children held under the trafficking networks’ control. These efforts have resulted in numerous successful prosecutions, including U.S. federal prosecutions of over 50 defendants in multiple cases in Georgia, New York, Florida, and Texas since 2009.
“Rafael Cadena-Sosa and Carmen Cadena preyed on vulnerable girls and young women and lured them to the United States with the promise of a better life,” said U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida. “Instead, Cadena-Sosa and his family and associates robbed these victims of their freedom and dignity, brutally beat them and subjected them to modern-day slavery. The dismantling of the Cadena organization reaffirms our unwavering commitment to prosecute those who seek to profit at the expense of the suffering of to others. We will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to bring justice to those who engage in this inhumane practice. This case is one example of bilateral progress to effectively dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
“No human being should have to endure the violence and brutality these young women and girls suffered at the hands of the Cadena organization,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division. “These violations of the victims’ individual rights and freedom are intolerable and the Department of Justice will continue in its commitment to bringing human traffickers to justice and restore the rights and dignity of the courageous survivors of this crime.”
“The long prison sentence imposed upon Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa is a testament to the cooperation and commitment of numerous law enforcement agencies both here and in Mexico to stop this appalling criminal activity,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami Office. “We will continue working with our partners to dismantle human trafficking networks such as this one that operate in the shadows and brutalize their victims.”
U.S. Attorney Ferrer and Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta praised the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the investigation and prosecution, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Pierce Police Department, Avon Park Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam McMichael and Trial Attorney Matthew Grady of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Mexican National Sentenced for Meth, Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Mexican national was sentenced in federal court today for his role in the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.
Bardomiano Jungo, 36, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years and one month in federal prison without parole.
A law enforcement officer encountered co-defendant Jose Angel Loaiza, 27, of Lamirada, Calif., at the Greyhound bus station at 1101 Troost Ave., Kansas City, Mo., on March 26, 2013. Loaiza was carrying three bundles containing a total of approximately 1.4 kilograms of pure methamphetamine inside a red backpack. While the officer was speaking to him, Loaiza’s cell phone rang and he answered in Spanish, “I’m here.”
The officer who arrested Loaiza told the other officers that someone was probably waiting in the parking lot to pick up Loaiza. Officers saw Jungo waiting in a Ford Explorer, then start to drive out of the parking lot without picking anyone up. An officer stopped Jungo and began to question him; Jungo’s cell phone rang and displayed the same Long Beach, Calif., telephone number that had called Loaiza a few minutes earlier.
Jungo identified himself under a false name and showed law enforcement officers a Kansas driver’s license and Social Security card with that name. That Social Security number, however, belongs to an Inglewood, Calif., resident.
After being convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, Jungo was deported from the United States on March 20, 2002. Jungo admitted that he was illegally in the United States.
Loaiza was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Davids and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.
Member of “Traveling Group” of FraudstersRead the Press Release
BOISE — Brandt Stewart, 29, of Southfield, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The defendant appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush at the federal courthouse in Boise. Sentencing is set for April 28, 2015, before Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
According to the plea agreement, Brandt Stewart, co-defendants Myron Pardon and Matthew Lane and others, were part of a “traveling group” from the Detroit, Michigan area that traveled to southern Idaho in December 2013 and February 2014, to make purchases at large “box stores” using counterfeit credit cards. Stewart knowingly and with intent to defraud used counterfeit credit cards to purchase “general use” charge cards at ten stores in Twin Falls, Boise and Meridian causing losses in the amount of $4,105.43. Some of the credit cards fraudulently used by Stewart belonged to actual account holders, thus constituting aggravated identity theft.
Stewart, Pardon and Lane were indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 2014. Co- defendant Pardon has pleaded guilty to similar charges and will be sentenced on February 2, 2015, before Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Trial is currently set for February 2, 2015, for co-defendant Lane at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The charge of fraudulent use of a credit card carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in prison with a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than two years in prison consecutive to the penalty imposed for other counts.
“Vigorous prosecution of those who travel here to carry out schemes to defraud Idaho citizens and businesses is a priority of this United States Attorney’s Office,” said Olson. “My office will work effectively and aggressively with local police departments and federal law enforcement agencies to put a quick end to these schemes.”
The case is the result of a joint investigation result of the Boise Police Department, United States Secret Service, and U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Las Cruces Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Justin E. Clark, 22, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in Las Cruces federal court to 63 months in federal prison for violating the federal firearms laws. Clark will be on supervised release for 3 years after completing his term of incarceration.
Clark was arrested on April 22, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of a controlled substance, possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm by a drug addict, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possession of a silencer. Clark has been in federal custody since his arrest.
On Sept. 3, 2014, Clark pled guilty to a two-count felony information charging him with being a drug addict in possession of a firearm, and unlawfully possessing a machinegun. In his plea agreement, Clark admitted that on April 18, 2014, he illegally purchased and possessed a fully automatic machinegun that had an obliterated serial number and silencer. Clark further admitted that he possessed the firearm at a time when he was addicted to crack cocaine.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the New Mexico HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force (RIDTF)/Metro Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The HIDTA Region VII Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Las Cruces Man Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of Forged and Counterfeit Postage StampsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – James H. Clark, Jr., 62, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in Las Cruces federal court for possession with intent to use forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps. Clark was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $365,827.00 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service.
Clark, the owner and operator of a business selling books through internet websites, was indicted on Feb. 19, 2014, and charged with possession with intent to use forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps. He pled guilty to the indictment on April 10, 2014.
In entering his guilty plea, Clark admitted that on Oct. 19, 2010, he knowingly possessed 1,527 forged and counterfeited postage meter stamps that he created by copying original postage meter stamps that he purchased from stamps.com. Clark also admitted that he intended to use the forged and counterfeited stamps to mail packages through the U.S. Postal Service. He acknowledged that the total face value of the forged and counterfeited stamps was $9,142.98. In his plea agreement, Clark acknowledged that the U.S. Postal Service sustained $365,827.00 in losses as a result of his criminal activities, and agreed to pay restitution in that amount.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
KC Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud Scheme, Stealing Clients' RefundsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a tax fraud scheme in which she stole portions of her client’s inflated tax refunds.
Dinette Kay Cadenhead, also known as Kay Taylor, 47, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 18 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Cadenhead to pay $14,082 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, which represents the amount Cadenhead skimmed from the inflated tax refunds of nine of her clients.
On July 16, 2014, Cadenhead pleaded guilty to the theft of public money. Cadenhead admitted that she prepared federal income tax returns for clients containing material false and fraudulent claims. Cadenhead, working at her office in Raytown, Mo., or from her residence, assisted at least 12 individuals to file at least 29 false and fraudulent income tax returns for the tax years 2008 through 2010. The tax loss associated with those false returns is $109,627. The aggregate tax loss, including relevant conduct is $134,237.
Cadenhead admitted that she utilized false deductions to increase her clients’ refunds. The false entries included fraudulent charitable deductions, medical expenses, accounting expenses, attorney expenses, unreimbursed employee expenses and other expenses. She also included false IRA deductions on 18 of the returns. She reported net business losses, false energy credits and fraudulent dependents for some clients. Cadenhead electronically filed many of the returns from her home computer, but indicated the returns were self-prepared.
Cadenhead charged her clients a return preparation fee of between $65 and $600 per return. However, without the knowledge of nine of her clients, Cadenhead diverted a portion of the fraudulent refund into her own bank account, which increased the amount she actually received for each return. Cadenhead directed over $14,000 into her bank accounts by splitting her clients’ refunds without their knowledge or permission.
The specific charge to which Cadenhead pleaded guilty is related to her unauthorized splitting of her clients’ refunds without their knowledge or permission. Cadenhead admitted that she stole portions of her clients’ inflated tax refunds, totaling $14,082, between Feb. 12, 2010, and March 14, 2012.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roseann A. Ketchmark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Missouri Department of Revenue Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau.
Johnson County Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing False Tax Return, Wire FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A tax preparer in Johnson County was sentenced Tuesday to 78 months in federal prison for filing false tax returns that cost a Kansas company more than $744,000, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
John M. Moore, 53, Lenexa, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud. In his plea, he admitted a company he owns, Accent Payroll Services (APS), was hired to provide payroll processing services for Tytan International L.L.C. of Lenexa, Kan. From 2008 to 2010, APS was responsible for paying the wages of Tytan’s employees, withholding employment taxes, filing Tytan’s employment tax returns on Internal Revenue Service form 941 and paying withheld employment taxes to the IRS.
Moore transferred more than $2 million in employment tax withholdings from Tytan’s bank account to his company’s bank account. However, he only paid the IRS approximately $1.3 million. To keep Tytan from receiving notices from the IRS that taxes were not paid, Moore gave the IRS an address for Tytan at a post office box he controlled.
“These victims trusted Mr. Moore to properly remit their taxes, but instead he used their funds for his own purposes. Unfortunately, these victims are left holding the bag,” said Sybil Smith, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Businesses who utilize a third party for paying their payroll taxes must realize that if the taxes aren’t paid, they are ultimately responsible for the tax liability. The IRS will work with victims to set up payment plans or possibly reduce penalties.”
Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.
Immokalee Man Sentenced for Theft of Government Money and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Ernest Freeman, Jr. to three years and six months in federal prison for theft of government money and aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervision following his release from prison. In addition, the Court entered a special assessment in the amount of $2,200, due immediately, and imposed a fine of $7,500. Restitution is yet to be determined. A federal jury found him guilty on October 27, 2014.
According to testimony and other evidence presented at trial, between September 2011 and March 2012, Freeman signed and deposited 11 federal income tax refund checks into his business account at Fifth Third Bank, of which he was the sole beneficiary. The checks were issued in the names of others who had not given Freeman authority to cash the checks. In total, he stole more than $100,000 belonging to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
Honduran National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JOSE EDGARDO CANALES-MADRID, age 25, a citizen of Honduras, was charged today in a one-count Bill of Information with illegal reentry of a removed alien.
According to the Bill of Information, CANALES-MADRID reentered the United States on or about December 1, 2014, after having been previously removed therefrom on or about October 6, 2011.
If convicted, CANALES-MADRID faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a fine of up to $250,000, one year supervised release after imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that a Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Customs and Border Protection in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene González is in charge of the prosecution.
Fort Myers Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Kevin Charles Kaszynski (49, Fort Myers) today pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, while going through boxes that had been stored in a leased storage unit, Kaszynski’s estranged wife found a computer hard drive among other items belonging to her husband. On August 27, 2013, she accessed the hard drive and opened a file that depicted a prepubescent girl in a sexual pose. The hard drive was turned over to law enforcement for further investigation. On September 5, 2013, agents obtained a search warrant for the hard drive and discovered more than 7,000 images and 400 videos depicting child pornography. On January 27, 2014, agents obtained a search warrant for Kaszynski’s computer and found 300 images and 15 videos depicting child pornography.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with the participation of the Fort Myers Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
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 (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former Waldo Chiropractor Sentenced for $3 Million Medicare FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former owner of a Kansas City, Mo., clinic was sentenced in federal court today for a $3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Michael Kelly Miller, 59, of Temple Terrace, Fla., formerly the owner of Waldo Rehabilitation Health & Wellness in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 15 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Miller to pay $879,582 in restitution to Medicare.
On April 29, 2014, Miller pleaded guilty to health care fraud for submitting Medicare claims for nerve block injections that were not medically necessary.
Miller was a licensed chiropractor and the owner of Brookside Health Services, doing business as Waldo Rehabilitation Health & Wellness at 7337 Broadway, Kansas City, during the time period of February 2009 to December 2011. He later practiced at Miller Clinic for Optimal Health in Temple Terrace. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Miller has surrendered his chiropractic license.
Miller admitted that he submitted claims to Medicare for nerve block injections that were false and fraudulent because the nerve block injections were not medically indicated and necessary for the patients’ health per Medicare coverage guidelines. Between February 2009 and December 2011, the clinic billed Medicare approximately $3,083,454, and Medicare paid the clinic approximately $879,582 for nerve block injections.
Beginning in 2009, the clinic shifted its focus from primarily providing chiropractic services to purportedly diagnosing and treating neuropathy. This shift in focus was due, in part, to information Miller received from a third party promoting a new, “cutting edge” treatment for neuropathy, which included nerve block injections. At the time, Medicare had no specific coverage guidelines regarding the use of nerve block injections for peripheral neuropathy. Miller did not investigate or inquire whether Medicare considered nerve block injections to be medically indicated and necessary for patients experiencing neuropathy.
Miller’s patients typically received nerve block injections, anodyne infrared light and electrical stimulation therapies two or three times per week for four to eight weeks. The clinic’s purported treatment of neuropathy was not supported by medical research studies or peer-reviewed medical publications, and would be considered an experimental or investigational treatment or alternative medicine.
During this time, most of the clinic’s patients were Medicare beneficiaries, and most of the clinic’s revenues were received from Medicare. Medicare will not cover experimental or investigational procedures and treatments or alternative medicine. Miller was aware of these Medicare requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cindi S. Woolery and Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
Former Sycamore Resident Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A former Sycamore, Ill. resident pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to possessing child pornography. MICHAEL PODOLSKY, 27, now of Elkader, Iowa, admitted in the written plea agreement that on and prior to July 12, 2013, he owned and was in possession of a computer at his home in Sycamore that contained more than 600 images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Podolsky faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography, a term of supervised release following imprisonment of at least 5 years and up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined by a United States District Court Judge, guided by the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Sentencing for Podolsky is set for April 29, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent‑in‑Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Glenn Theriault, Chief of the Sycamore Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Love.
Plea Agreement
Former Morgan County Judge-Executive Sentenced to 87 Months for Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT, KY - Timothy Alexander Conley, the former Morgan County Judge-Executive, was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for soliciting and accepting over a hundred thousand dollars in illegal kickbacks from a bridge contractor.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced Conley for honest services mail fraud and ordered him to pay $130,000 in restitution. Judge Van Tatehnove ordered that Conley pay $104,000 to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and $26,000 to Morgan County. Under federal law, Conley will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
“Mr. Conley's reprehensible scheme betrayed the trust placed in him by the people of Morgan County,” said Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “He transformed his high public office into a criminal enterprise designed to line his pockets, at the expense of the citizens who elected him. The sentence imposed is an appropriate punishment for a man who so thoroughly abused the public trust, at a time when his community most needed honest leadership. Our office and our law enforcement partners will continue to use every tool available to fight public corruption in our district.”
Conley admitted at his guilty plea in August 2014 that, between early 2009 through August 2013, he rigged the county’s competitive bidding process to ensure that contracts for certain Morgan County bridges were awarded to PBTHNOJJ Construction, a Salyersville, Ky., bridge contractor owned by Kenneth and Ruth Gambill. Conley admitted that, as part of that scheme, he directed Kenneth Gambill to deliver kickbacks to him from the proceeds of PBTHNOJJ Construction’s bridge contracts. For example, in 2013, Conley secretly altered bid documents for three bridges to ensure that PBTHNOJJ Construction would receive the contract to build each bridge. Conley solicited $15,000 per bridge and accepted $45,000 in cash from Kenneth Gambill for the three bridges.
According to the plea agreement, these kickbacks were part of a scheme to defraud the citizens of Morgan County of their right to Conley’s honest services.
Kenneth and Ruth Gambill have each pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for conspiring to launder the proceeds of Conley’s kickback scheme.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, FBI; and Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly announced the sentence today.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone and trial attorney Jennifer Blackwell with the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice.
Former Lincoln Bank Employee Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Prison for Embezzling from BankRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – The former head teller at a Lincoln, Ill., bank, Nancy J. Huskins, 63, was sentenced today for embezzling approximately $2 million from the bank over a 17-year period. U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough sentenced Huskins to 45 months (3 years, 9 months) in federal prison and ordered that she pay restitution to the bank in the amount of $2,042,782. Huskins was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and to remain under supervised release for a period of five years upon her release from prison. Huskins, who remains on bond, was ordered to self-report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on a date to be determined by BOP. Judge Myerscough also ordered that funds held in various bank accounts, including a retirement account, and personal checking and savings accounts, be immediately applied as a lump sum to the payment of restitution.
In July 2014, Huskins pled guilty to an information charging her with one count of bank embezzlement. Huskins admitted that during her employment as the head teller at the State Bank of Lincoln, from about January 1996 to November 2013, she embezzled the funds for her personal use. Huskins admitted that in her position as head teller, she had access to the bank’s vault and was entrusted with significant access to portions of the vault that maintained large amounts of cash. Huskins admitted that she disguised the embezzlement by personally participating in audits of cash amounts and engaging in other fraudulent acts designed to further conceal her embezzlement.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the full cooperation of the State Bank of Lincoln. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Childress.Former IRS Employee Pleads Guilty to Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Valorie Shaw pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to conspiracy to file false claims, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez.
In pleading guilty, Shaw, 38, of Oakland, admitted that for the past three years she was employed as a tax return preparer at “Kwiktax”. Prior to working at Kwiktax, she held a variety of jobs, including working as a document transporter for the IRS.
According to the plea agreement, during 2011 and 2012, Shaw prepared false tax returns that she filed with the IRS. She received personal identifying information of Kwiktax clients, including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The purported filers listed on those tax returns were not entitled to tax refunds because the wage and tax withholding information listed on the returns was fictitious. Shaw filed false W-2 information that reported to the IRS that the purported filers worked for the employers listed on the W-2’s, even though she knew that information was false. Shaw filed the false tax returns using both Kwiktax client and non-client personal information, all of which she obtained illegally. When Shaw filed the false tax returns, she asked that the tax refunds be deposited onto debit cards and sent to various mailboxes that Shaw rented in the Bay Area. Shaw admitted that she personally picked up the debit cards from those mailboxes and in some cases agreed to split the tax refunds with others. During 2011, Shaw assisted in filing false tax returns requesting refunds in an amount no less than $487,248, for the 2010 tax year. During 2012, Shaw assisted in filing false tax returns requesting refunds totaling amount $495,789, for the 2011 tax year.
Shaw was indicted on August 14, 2014. She was charged with conspiracy to file false claims. Under the plea agreement, Shaw pleaded guilty to that charge.
Shaw’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 22, 2015, before The Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Court Judge. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Thomas Newman is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Former Funeral Home Owner Faces up to 20 Years in Federal Prison on Food Stamp Benefit Fraud ConvictionRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Mansfield, Texas, woman appeared today in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan and pleaded guilty to one count of food stamp benefit fraud, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas
Rachel Hardy, 35, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain to Hardy or loss to the victims, and restitution. Sentencing is set for May 13, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn. Hardy remains on pre-trial release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Stamp Program is known as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) administers SNAP in Texas.
The investigation began in 2012 when the Southwest Region USDA, Office of the Inspector General, received a referral about an individual who was receiving SNAP benefits who had failed to disclose a change in household composition and income from the ownership of two businesses. That individual was later identified as Hardy.
The investigation revealed that Hardy and her husband, who is the father of her youngest child, were married on February 14, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. On April 8, 2010, Hardy submitted a SNAP benefits application, certifying she was a “single-parent-mother,” with no income, living in a household that consisted only of her children. Hardy’s application was approved, and she began receiving SNAP benefits.
On December 1, 2010, Hardy registered with Tarrant County as the owner operator of a tax refund and estate planning business called “Mighty Dollar Tax,” in Arlington, Texas. From April 8, 2010, through June 5, 2011, Hardy completed and submitted THHSC certifications reporting no income and claiming to live alone with her children.
On February 21, 2011, Hardy purchased a 2006 H2 Hummer for $26,000 and a 2008 Mercedes Benz CL S500 sedan for $41,700; she paid for each with a cashier’s check. At the time she purchased these vehicles, Hardy reported to THHSC that she was an unemployed, single-parent-mother living alone at home with her children.
On April 19, 2011, Hardy registered with Tarrant County as the owner operator of the Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth, Texas. Again, on June 14, 2011, Hardy reported to THHSC that she was an unemployed single-parent-mother living alone at home with her children.
That same day, Hardy went to the Dallas County THHSC office where she completed and submitted a THHSC Application for Assistance Form. In doing so, she certified she was a “single-parent-mother” with no income living in a household that consisted only of her children.
On February 11, 2012, Hardy purchased a 2008 Land Rover Range Rover from Park Place Motors with a $53,000 cashier’s check. A few days later, on February 22, 2012, Hardy again certified to THHSC that she was an unemployed single-parent-mother living at home with her children.
The THHSC re-certifications and interviews revealed Hardy neither claimed a spouse nor any other income provided to her, or to anyone else in the household. Hardy admits that she failed to disclose material facts to THHSC and admits unlawfully receiving SNAP benefits to which she was not entitled.
The THHSC, OIG; USDA, OIG; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, OIG; and U.S. Department of Education, OIG are investigating.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wiley is in charge of the prosecution.
Former DEA Employee Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Kim M. Costello, 55, of Harrisburg, PA, pleaded guilty on January 22, 2015, to one count of embezzlement of government funds, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. In September 2012, Costello was the impress funds manager for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Harrisburg Resident Office when she embezzled $2,079 in government funds.
U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo will schedule a sentencing hearing at a future date. Costello faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General New Jersey Area Office, and is being prosecuted in the Middle District of Pennsylvania by Assistant United States Attorney Kishan Nair, from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Former Countryside Police Chief, Kankakee County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud,money Laundering, Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. -- Sentencing has been set for May 29, 2015, before Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, in Peoria, for Timothy J. Swanson, the former Chief of Police of Countryside, Ill., who later served as a deputy with the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office. Today, Swanson, 56, of Bourbonnais, Ill., entered open pleas of guilty to two counts of mail fraud, one count of money laundering, two counts of tax evasion, and two counts of filing a false tax return, as announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. Swanson remains on bond pending sentencing.
During the change of plea proceeding today, before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal, the government provided the following factual basis to the Court in support of the defendant’s open plea of guilty to all seven charged counts in the indictment:- In 2005 and 2006, Swanson was employed as the City of Countryside, Illinois, Chief of Police. In 2009, the defendant left this position and joined the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office. During 2005 and 2006, Swanson obtained the use of two U.S. Department of Defense helicopters to be used for certain law enforcement activities. To obtain funds to operate the helicopters, Swanson established the Illinois Regional Air Support Service (IRASS). IRASS was a tax-exempt organization and no officer or director was to profit from its operation.
- From at least 2005 through 2012, Swanson solicited police departments, corporations and individuals to make contributions to IRASS. From 2006 to 2010, Swanson used a credit card in the name of IRASS to make personal purchases in excess of $259,000, and used money donated or awarded to IRASS to make payments on the credit card. Swanson also used this money to purchase a business, Rotors & Wings, LLC., that Swanson operated.
- The United States seeks $189,128 by way of a personal judgment against Swanson representing the amount of property involved in or traceable to the property involved with the offenses involving the IRASS.
- Based on Swanson’s tax returns for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Swanson should have paid additional income tax of $27,371 for 2007; $9,437 for 2008; $16,886 for 2009, and $1,446 for 2010.
Swanson faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud (two counts) and money laundering (one count); up to five years in prison for each count of income tax evasion (two counts); and up to three years in prison for each count of filing a false income tax return (two counts).
The charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General; and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller.
Evansville man sentenced for two eastside robberiesRead the Press Release
Evansville – Josh J. Minkler, Acting United States Attorney, announced today that David J. Nalley, 41 of Evansville, Indiana, was sentenced to 84 months (seven years) in prison by U.S. District Chief Judge Richard L. Young following his guilty plea to two counts of robbery and violation of supervised release. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force and the Evansville Police Department.
“The reduction of violent crime remains one of the highest priorities in my office,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to disrupt our lives with violence will be held accountable.”
Immediately before sentencing, Nalley admitted that on March 21, 2013, he entered the Chuckles Convenience Store located on South Weinbach Avenue in Evansville, Indiana. He approached the cash register clerk and said “I am robbing you,” with one hand in a jacket pocket. The clerk surrendered the cash to Nalley.Nalley also admitted that on the following day, he entered the CVS Pharmacy on Covert Avenue in Evansville, and approached a CVS cash register clerk and said “give me all the money in the register.” Evansville police investigators examined the videos from the stores and identified Nalley as the robber.
Nalley was a resident of an Evansville federal work release facility based on a prior federal firearms conviction at the time of the robberies. Nalley admitted violating his supervised release conditions by committing the robbery offenses during the hearing. He further stated, he used the robbery proceeds to purchase illegal drugs.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Young imposed 3 years of supervised release following Nalley’s release from prison and ordered restitution of $95 be paid to CVS Pharmacy and $103 to Chuckles Convenient Store. Nalley must submit to drug testing and treatment while on supervision.
Empresario Se Declara Culpable De Conspirar Para Distribuir Esteroides Anabolicos Como Suplementos Dieteticos Y Etiquetar Incorrectamente Los ProductosRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN –Sr. Joseph De Melo, 59, de New Orleans, LA, se declaró culpable en una corte federal de dos cargos de información criminal que lo acusa de un cargo de conspiración para distribuir esteroides anabólicos y un cargo de utilizar falsas etiquetas intencionalmente para un suplemento dietético supuestamente vendido bajo el nombre de "Vertical", anunció Edward L. Stanton III, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Oeste de Tennessee.
De acuerdo a los hechos revelados en la información y declaraciones hechas en audiencia pública, Sr. Joseph De Melo, propietario de Rezultz Distribution LLC, con sede en Carrollton, Texas, vendió suplementos dietéticos por todos los Estados Unidos y el Distrito Oeste de Tennessee.
A partir de septiembre de 2012 y continuando hasta septiembre de 2013, De Melo conspiró con individuos para distribuir 40,000 pastillas de esteroides anabólicos, que son Schedule III sustancias controladas. De Melo también distribuyó en el comercio interestatal un suplemento dietético supuestamente llamado Vertical, que enumera los ingredientes falsos y engañosos. Vertical de hecho contenía medicamentos para la disfunción eréctil que no figuraban en la etiqueta de la droga, que està en violación del Título 21, Código de los Estados Unidos, Secciones 331(a) y 333(a)(2).
Como parte de la conspiración De Melo depositó los ingresos de las ventas en diferentes cuentas financieras y los instrumentos que él controlaba. De Melo aceptó la confiscación de màs de $ 650,000, que fueron los ingresos obtenidos como resultado de estas violaciónes. De Melo serà sentenciado el 30 de abril de 2015, por el Juez de Distrito de EE.UU. S. Thomas Anderson.
El caso fue investigado por la Oficina de Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Investigación Criminal. Los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Tony R. Arvin y Damon K. Griffin representaron el gobierno.
Version en Inglés
Elkhorn Resident Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Trevor P. McLaurine, 25, formerly of Richland, Washington, but residing in Elkhorn, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 60 months in prison by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf for possession child pornography. McLaurine will also pay $3,500 in restitution to the victims and be on supervised release from 5 years after serving his prison sentence. This conviction will also require him to register as a sex offender once released.
In April of 2013, investigators with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office became aware of a computer using a file-sharing network with an IP address that was identified as offering to participate in the sharing of files that had been classified as being of interest in a child pornography investigation. Investigators then set up automated software to make contact with this computer and to request those files of interest. Between April and July of 2013, investigators were able to downloaded numerous files which showed children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Investigators then identified the address of the subscriber of that IP address and a search warrant was obtained. During the search, investigators made contact with McLaurine and located a desktop computer and external hard drive in the bedroom belonging to McLaurine. The desktop computer was found to have file-sharing software installed on the hard drive.The items that were seized during the execution of the search warrant at McLaurine’s residence were then examined at the Nebraska AG’s computer lab, and over 8,000 files affiliated with Child Sexual Exploitation were located.
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."
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Doctor from Effingham, Illinois Convicted of Illegal Dispensation of Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsNAEEM MAHMOOD KOHLI, 60, of Effingham, Illinois, was convicted of seven counts of illegal dispensation of a Schedule II Controlled Substance following a 17-day jury trial held in federal district court, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Kohli faces up to 20 years for each of the seven counts of illegal dispensation of a Schedule II Controlled Substance. Sentencing is scheduled forMay 20, 2015. Evidence showed that from May 2009 through May 2013, Kohli wrote prescriptions out of Kohli Neurology and Sleep Center in Effingham, Illinois for Schedule II Controlled Substances including Oxycodone and Hydromorphone, outside the usual course of medical practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
The successful prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. The prosecution was being handled by Assistant United States AttorneysMichael J. Quinley and Ranley R. Killian.
Deborah Williamson Imprisoned for Embezzling from Grocery EmployerRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Deborah Williamson, 37, a former resident of Wheelock who now lives in Florida, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Brattleboro to four months of imprisonment following her guilty plea to a charge of mail fraud. U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha also ordered that Williamson serve three years of supervised release following completion of her prison term and pay restitution in the amount of $69,905. As a condition of supervised release, the court ordered Williamson to serve an additional four months of home confinement. The court directed Williamson to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 24 to begin serving her sentence.
On March 20, 2014, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned a one-count indictment accusing Williamson of wire fraud. According to the indictment, Williamson was employed as the manager of White Market, a grocery store in Lyndonville. Her duties included regularly cashing checks drawn against the company's bank account to obtain one dollar bills and coins for the cash registers. The indictment alleges that between 2010 and 2012, Williamson stole nearly $70,000 in cash from the store's safe. She allegedly tried to cover up these thefts by not recording, or underreporting, the amount of cash and coins received from the bank in the store's computerized accounting system.
This case was investigated by the Lyndonville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Williamson is represented by Brooks McArthur. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
DOJ Public Integrity Section Chief to Take Number Two Post at U.S. Attorney's Office in NashvilleRead the Press Release
Jack Smith, the head of the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, will leave his post at the end of the month to become the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in Nashville, Tenn., announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The First Assistant U.S. Attorney position has been vacant since David Rivera was named U.S. Attorney.
“We are most fortunate to be gaining someone with such exceptional talent and experience in leading the prosecution of an array of criminal cases including violent criminal enterprises, white collar crimes, international crimes and public corruption,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “Jack’s leadership ability and prosecutorial experience will greatly enhance our current staff of exceptional prosecutors the office.”
Smith has been the Chief of the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. since 2010, where he has lead a team of 30 prosecutors in litigating complex public corruption cases throughout the United States, including the conviction yesterday of former CIA Officer Jeffrey Sterling, for illegally disclosing national defense information and obstructing justice. Smith’s unit also recently secured bribery and extortion convictions of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and racketeering, bribery and extortion convictions of former Arizona U.S. Representative Rick Renzi.
Before taking the helm of the Public Integrity Section, Smith served as the investigation coordinator for the Office of the Prosecutor with the International Criminal Court, where he lead the investigative teams conducting international investigations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Smith previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York from 1999-2008, where he held increasing responsible positions including Chief of the Criminal Litigation Unit. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office he was a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office for five years. Smith is a 1994 graduate of Harvard Law School.“I have had the extraordinary privilege of working for the American people in a variety of offices and alongside some of the most dedicated public servants,” said Smith. “I look forward to beginning the next chapter and serving the people of the Middle District of Tennessee as we continue the great work of this office in seeking justice for our constituents.”
Smith assumes the role as First Assistant on February 9, 2015.
Convicted Sex Offender Faces up to 60 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A 42-year-old Irving, Texas, man appeared this morning in federal court, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging one count of production of child pornography and one count of enhanced penalties for registered sex offenders, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Shannon Buck, who remains in federal custody, faces a maximum statutory penalty, for the two counts of conviction, of at least 35 years and up to 60 years of imprisonment. Each count also carries a maximum statutory penalty of a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for May 13, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
According to documents filed in the case, in June 2014, Buck used Jane Doe, a real female under the age of 18, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and then used his camera to record that conduct. In addition, Buck admitted that in February 2010, he pleaded guilty in the 195th District Court of Dallas County to two felony offenses of possession of child pornography, and he was sentenced to an eight-year period of deferred adjudication.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The Irving Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.
Columbus Woman Sentenced for Cashing Stolen Treasury ChecksRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that, Wytrenia Reynolds, aged 44, of Columbus, Georgia, was sentenced on January 27, 2015 to serve 5 years (61 months) in federal prison for theft of government property, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen United States Treasury checks. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $39,000.00. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land in Columbus, Georgia.Ms. Reynolds was found guilty of the charges on September 25, 2014 following a four-day jury trial. Evidence presented at trial showed that in September 2010, Ms. Reynolds cashed or attempted to cash three stolen treasury checks at Navy Federal Credit Union in Columbus, Georgia. All three of these checks were payable to individuals living in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. All three checks bore forged endorsements and were presented by Ms. Reynolds without the permission or authority of the intended recipient.
In October and November of 2010, Ms. Reynolds cashed thirteen stolen Treasury checks at a package store in Columbus, Georgia. The payees for these checks primarily were residents of the Atlanta, Georgia area, although two lived Alabama.
In January 2011, agents recovered three stolen Social Security checks in a vehicle leased by Ms. Reynolds. These checks were payable to elderly victims living in Thomaston, Georgia, and Ellenwood, Georgia.
In addition to the checks listed above, other government checks were found in Ms. Reynolds’ possession. These checks were determined to be stolen by a worker or workers at the United States Post Office in Atlanta, Georgia. The total face value of the checks possessed, cashed, or attempted to be cashed by Ms. Reynolds was approximately $515,000.
U.S. Attorney Michael Moore said, “Identity theft is an ever-increasing problem across the
country. Victims have their lives invaded in a way that often causes long lasting financial
consequences; businesses are forced to implement costly security procedures; and consumers are left looking over their shoulders for fear that someone has stolen their personal information. With every check that is issued or every credit card that is swiped, we are vulnerable to criminals who are willing to steal our personal information for their own gain. As we put our resources into these cases, we are sending the message that if prosecuting identity thieves is a way to protect other victims, then that is exactly what my office will do.”Special Agent in Charge Thomas Caul, Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration stated, “Social Security payments are a lifeline for many Americans who are unable to work due to a temporary or permanent disability. Our office is gratified by the U.S. Attorney’s shared commitment to investigate and prosecute those who defraud Social Security trust funds. One of our highest priorities is ensuring that those who steal SSA payments are swiftly detected and prosecuted. Social Security fraud affects all Americans. The individual convicted today is a testament to our serious commitment to pursuing those who would victimize Social Security beneficiaries."
“The Secret Service remains committed to protecting our nation’s financial security, to include aggressively investigating those responsible for stealing and cashing United States Treasury checks. Along with our law enforcement partners we will continue to pursue those committing these crimes,” said Clint A. Bush, Resident Agent in Charge, Albany, Georgia Resident Office, United States Secret Service.
The case was investigated by Special Agent Teresa Hudson of the United States Secret Service and Special Agent Pablo Griffiths of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Mel Hyde prosecuted the case for the Government.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.