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Tuesday 27 January 2015
Columbia Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Child PornRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man who used a false identity as a woman to trick seven minor victims, whom he knew through his involvement in the Boy Scouts of America, was sentenced in federal court today for producing, receiving and distributing child pornography.
Ian Francis Burow, 25, of Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Burow to serve the rest of his life on supervised release following his prison term.
Burow, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 3, 2014, admitted that he used the alias “Sarah McGee” to communicate online (through Facebook, Skype and Yahoo) and via cell phone with several Boy Scouts, ranging in age from 14 to 17. Burow tricked the minor victims into sending him pornographic photos of themselves in inappropriate poses, or make videos or live broadcast themselves engaged in sexually explicit behavior over the Internet (through Skype or a Windows movie media attachment).
Burow sent the victims photos of a woman (claiming it was “Sarah McGee”) in various poses, including nudity, to encourage the victims to send similar photos. Once he received victims’ photos and movies, he frequently distributed some of them to one of the minor victims and to others. He also sent photos of three of the minor victims to a fourth minor victim.
Burow, who was also a Boy Scout, told persons asking about “Sarah McGee” that he knew her, that she was a good friend and that she lived in the same housing complex. In fact, she did not exist.
According to court documents, witnesses saw Burow carrying and displaying nude photos of young boys on his phone, and at least one caught him in an inappropriate communication over the Internet. When confronted by this person, Burow falsely claimed he was working for a task force investigating Internet predators. He suggested to her that he was assisting law enforcement in its efforts to capture persons who were predators of young people.
Law enforcement investigators identified many persons (not all of whom were minors) who were solicited by Burow to produce photos and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct and send them to “Sarah McGee.” Not all of these persons sent the requested materials, but many did.
Burow pleaded guilty to seven counts – involving six different victims, ages 14 through 17 – of receiving and distributing child pornography between Dec. 27, 2010, and Aug. 1, 2011. Burow also pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography on Oct. 14, 2011, when he used a 15-year-old victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which was transmitted live over the Internet by using Skype.
Burow must forfeit to the government any property used to commit the offenses, including an Apple iPad, a laptop computer, an Apple iTouch, a Blackberry Curve, two external hard drives and other items.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the FBI and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Co-Owner of Italian Village Pizza Stores Sentenced for Skimming Cash from Businesses and Evading TaxesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County business owner has been sentenced in federal court to four years probation, which will include one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay a $45,000 fine, on his conviction of conspiracy and tax evasion, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on John R. Miller of South Park, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, Miller and his partner, Frank Veltri, owned certain Italian Village pizza stores, and licensed the Italian Village name to owners of other stores. Miller and Veltri skimmed cash from the businesses which was not reported as income, and also did not report license fees paid in cash by some of the 15 to 20 licensees. Some expenses were also paid in cash, and not reported on the tax returns, in order to maintain an appropriate balance between sales and expenses.
The stipulated tax loss for Miller was $92,916. The criminal tax loss includes both the amounts owed to the IRS for personal tax due (Form 1040) and employment tax due for the businesses (Form 941). At the time of sentencing, Miller had paid this amount to the government, as well as interest and penalties.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Internal Revenue Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Miller.
Cleveland Metal Plating Company Fined for Making Illegal Discharges into Sewer SystemRead the Press Release
A metal plating company in Cleveland was fined $50,000 for making illegal discharges with high concentrations of metals such as chrome and zinc into the sewer system, which in turn, after treatment, discharges to Lake Erie, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Kelly Plating Company, a metal-plating operation located in Cleveland, also agreed to make a $25,000 charitable donation to the Cleveland Foundation, which will be used to improve water quality in Northeast Ohio.
Thomas E. White, of Fairview Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of making improper discharges. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 16.
White was an employee at Kelly Plating and responsible for operating the equipment which reduced the amount of pollutants discharged into the sewer system to an acceptable level. Starting around January 28, 2012, White changed the way wastewater at the Kelly Plating facility was processed. During the weekdays, White ensured that the pollution control equipment was operated properly, according to court documents.
However, on the weekends White bypassed the pollution control equipment and discharged partially treated wastewater and sludge directly into the sewer system. These discharges contained high concentrations of chrome and zinc. This practice ended on May 19, 2012, according to court documents.
“We here in Northeast Ohio know the importance of clean water, both for our economy and our quality of life,” Dettelbach said. “We will aggressively investigate and prosecute cases in which people pollute Ohio’s streams, rivers and lakes.”
“Discharging untreated and partially treated industrial wastewater into the sewer system is illegal and endangers human health, wildlife, and the environment,” said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio. “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this offense and EPA’s commitment to protecting our natural resources and the communities that rely upon them.”
“Illegal dumping into Ohio sewers can result in severe consequences both for our environment and for human health,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “My office is committed to bringing to justice violators who knowingly participate in illegal dumping.”
“It was through the continuous water quality monitoring of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District that it identified rising levels of pollution at its Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Sewer District then took action and identified the source, and then worked with the U.S. EPA, the Ohio EPA and the Ohio BCI to determine the extent of the wrongdoing by Kelly Plating,” said Julius Ciaccia, NEORSD Chief Executive Officer. “The sentencing of Kelly Plating should be a swift reminder that violating and jeopardizing the health of our waterways will not be tolerated by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.”
“Today’s sentencing concludes a successful investigation and prosecution of the discharge of chrome and zinc into waters of the state, which violated the federal Clean Water Act,” said Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler. “I’m proud of the work done by our Office of Special Investigations and all of our partners, including the U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.”
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
Clay County Man Convicted in Overdose Death CaseRead the Press Release
Conviction First of its Kind in the Eastern District of KentuckyLONDON, KY - A Clay County man has been convicted by a federal jury of illegally distributing prescription drugs that resulted in the death of another individual, Patty Smallwood.
Terry Smith, 54, was found guilty on Monday of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. The jury also convicted Terry's wife, Gerry, of conspiring with Terry and others to distribute oxycodone. In addition, Terry Smith was found guilty on a charge of possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The jury returned the verdict after four hours of deliberation, following five days of trial.
Of all the convictions in overdose death cases, this is the first one in the Eastern District of Kentucky that occurred without an autopsy report being used as evidence.
"This is an important victory in the effort to hold drug dealers accountable for the carnage they cause in our communities,” said Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Overdose deaths are an unfortunate, but all too common, consequence of illegal drug trafficking. Federal law imposes a heavy penalty on drug dealers who cause a death. Our office and our law enforcement partners intend to seek that penalty whenever the proof warrants, even in the absence of an autopsy. Drug dealers should take heed-they will pay a heavy price for their callous disregard for human life."
Evidence at trial established that on or about September 9, 2011, Terry Smith had sponsored Patty Smallwood and others to travel to an out-of-state pain clinic called Georgia Health Associates in Tucker, Georgia to obtain oxycodone pills. Upon their return, Smith then paid for them to fill these prescriptions at the Community Drug Pharmacy in Manchester, Ky. These individuals then gave the pills to Smith who kept a portion for himself and divided the rest among the people that had made the trip.
The evidence further showed that Patty Smallwood took a portion of her pills that night, went to bed, and never woke up. She was found dead the following morning by her live-in boyfriend. Although an autopsy was not performed, toxicology reports reflected that, along with smaller levels of several other drugs, Smallwood had four times the therapeutic level of oxycodone in her system. In support of its case, the United States offered the testimony of a forensic toxicologist, who offered his expert opinion concerning the levels of drugs present in Ms. Smallwood’s system. The toxicologist testified that the oxycodone use was the likely cause of Ms. Smallwood’s death.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration jointly announced the conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 15, 2015. Terry Smith faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the overdose death offense. Gerry Smith faces a maximum of 20 years on the conspiracy offense. However, the court will carefully consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and federal statutes before imposing sentence.
Chicago Twins’ Cooperation Against Sinaloa Cartel Yields 14-Year Prison Terms; New Charges Target Cartel’s Top EchelonRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Twin brothers PEDRO and MARGARITO FLORES, regarded as Chicago’s most significant drug traffickers who rose from street level dealers to the highest echelons of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and a rival cartel before they began providing unparalleled cooperation to the Drug Enforcement Administration, were each sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison. The sentencing marked the Flores brothers’ first public court appearance since they entered protective federal custody in 2008. Their August 2012 guilty pleas to a narcotics distribution conspiracy were unsealed in November 2014.
Also today, federal law enforcement officials announced the unsealing of an expanded eighth superseding indictment in the case in which the Flores brothers and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were initially indicted here in 2009. The eighth superseding indictment and three separate new indictments announced today, add significant new defendants, including two alleged cartel money laundering associates who were arrested in the United States, and extend the government’s efforts in Chicago and elsewhere to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel under JOAQUIN GUZMAN LOERA, 60, also known as “Chapo,” and ISMAEL ZAMBADA GARCIA, 67, aka “Mayo.”
“The persistent determination of DEA special agents and leadership in Chicago, coupled with the efforts of those in DEA offices worldwide, is having a significant impact on the global operations of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “This case put an end to the Flores brothers’ Chicago hub for transshipment of cartel narcotics nationwide. Our investigation and prosecution of cartel members is continuing,” Mr. Fardon said.
“The extraordinary work in this investigation continues,” said Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “Agents, investigators, prosecutors and our worldwide law enforcement partners continue to expand this investigation against members of the Sinaloa Cartel ― working to bring them to justice and in doing so ― helping to make the great city of Chicago a safer place.”
James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago, said, “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working together with the DEA and the United States Attorney’s Office to fight the war on drugs. IRS CI brings, and will continue to bring, its financial expertise to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking organization.”
Flores Brothers Sentencing
In sentencing the 33-year-old Flores brothers, U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said that but for the Flores brothers’ cooperation, he would have imposed a life sentence, and noted that because of the peril their ongoing cooperation poses to them and their families, they effectively “are going to leave here with a life sentence.” If the City of Chicago had walls, Judge Castillo said, the brothers’ operation “devastated the walls of this city,” adding that their operation “became just a highway of drugs into this city.”
But, Judge Castillo added, “It is never too late to cooperate,” which is what earned the Flores brothers a significant discount in their sentences.
Judge Castillo ordered the Flores brothers to forfeit more than $3.66 million that was seized from them and a sport utility vehicle. In addition, more than $400,000 worth of assorted jewelry, several luxury automobiles, smaller amounts of cash, and electronics equipment were seized and forfeited in administrative proceedings by the DEA. The brothers left behind millions of dollars in additional assets in Mexico after they began cooperating.
The judge also placed each of the brothers on court supervision for five years when they are released from prison after serving at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Flores brothers and their crew operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution cell for the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival drug trafficking organization controlled by Arturo Beltran Leyva, receiving on average 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month. Approximately half of this cocaine was distributed to the Flores’ customers in the Chicago area, while the other half was distributed to customers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Vancouver, among other cities. In total, the brothers admitted to facilitating the transfer of approximately $1.8 billion of drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico, primarily through bulk cash smuggling.
At great personal risk to themselves and their families, the Flores brothers began cooperating with the government in October 2008 and recorded conversations, including two directly with Chapo Guzman. Their cooperation resulted in indictments against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization, as well as the complete dismantling of the brothers’ own Chicago-based criminal enterprise. In late 2008 alone, their cooperation facilitated approximately a dozen seizures in the Chicago area totaling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and more than $15 million in cash, as well as the seizure of more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Los Angeles area that was bound for Chicago.
Further cooperation by the Flores brothers and members of their dismantled crew resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen of their high-level customers who received on average 50 to 100 kilos of cocaine per month. “While not as high-profile as the cartel figures, the successful prosecution of these defendants made a very real difference in combating the scourge of drug trafficking that fuels so much violence and the destruction of communities in Chicago,” prosecutors said in recommending a sentence at or near the low end of the agreed 10- to 16-year sentencing range.
“The Flores brothers (and their families) will live the rest of their lives in danger of being killed in retribution,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memo. “The barbarism of the cartels is legend, with a special place reserved for those who cooperate.” In 2009, the brothers’ father was kidnapped and presumed killed when he reentered Mexico despite the U.S. government warning him not to do so.
The Primary ― Eighth Superseding ― Indictment
The eighth superseding indictment unsealed today charges a total of nine defendants, including Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada, and Guzman’s son, JESUS ALFREDO GUZMAN SALAZAR, 31, aka “Alfredillo” and “JAGS,” each of whom was among the initial group of co-defendants in the original indictment in 2009. Mayo Zambada and Guzman Salazar are fugitives, while Chapo Guzman remains in Mexican custody following his arrest last February.
Co-defendant, JESUS RAUL BELTRAN LEON, 31, aka “Trevol” and “Chuy Raul,” was arrested in Mexico this past November and remains in Mexican custody. The remaining co-defendants, all fugitives, are: HERIBERTO ZAZUETA GODOY, 54, aka “Capi Beto;” VICTOR MANUEL FELIX BELTRAN, 27, aka, “Lic Vicc;” HECTOR MIGUEL VALENCIA ORTEGA, 33, aka “MV;” JORGE MARIO VALENZUELA VERDUGO, 32, aka “Choclos;” and GUADALUPE FERNANDEZ VALENCIA, 54, aka “Don Julio” and “Julia.”
This indictment alleges that all nine defendants conspired between May 2005 and December 2014, when the indictment was returned under seal, to import and distribute narcotics and to commit money laundering. They allegedly conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Central and South America, as well as heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico to the United States and through Chicago for distribution nationwide. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control today announced the designation of Felix Beltran, who is Guzman Salazar’s brother-in-law, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, freezing all of his assets in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. persons, and generally prohibiting any U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him. A second designation was announced today against Alfonso Limon Sanchez, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate under federal indictment with Mayo Zambada and others in San Diego. Other alleged cartel leaders, including Chicago defendants Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada, Guzman Salazar, and Zazueta Godoy, were previously designated drug kingpins.
Charges brought in earlier versions of this primary indictment remain pending against three additional co-defendants: FELIPE CABRERA SARABIA, 44, who is in custody in Mexico; GERMAN OLIVARES, age unknown and a fugitive; and EDGAR MANUEL VALENCIA ORTEGA, 27, aka “Fox,” and Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega’s brother, who was arrested last year in the United States and is in federal custody in Chicago. His next court date is Feb. 19 for a status hearing.
In addition to the Flores brothers, ALFREDO VASQUEZ HERNANDEZ, 59, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last November to 22 years in prison. Two other co-defendants, Mayo Zambada’s son, VICENTE ZAMBADA NIEBLA, 39, and TOMAS AREVALO RENTERIA, 45, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in Chicago. Altogether, 18 defendants have been charged in the primary case in Chicago.
Three New Indictments
Those 18 are among a total of 62 defendants, most of whom have been convicted and sentenced, who were indicted in nearly two dozen related cases in Chicago since 2009. Two new defendants, ALVARO ANGUIANO HERNANDEZ, 38, aka “Panda,” and JORGE MARTIN TORRES, 38, were arrested separately in the U.S. in November and are facing separate indictments here alleging they were high-level money laundering associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and participated in money laundering conspiracies. Anguiano Hernandez’s indictment seeks forfeiture of $950,000.
Torres allegedly conspired to launder in excess of $300,000 of drug proceeds from Mexico to the United States to purchase, refurbish, and transfer from Ohio to Mexico, a 1982 Cessna Turbo 210 to promote the cartel’s alleged narcotics conspiracy. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $1 million.
A third separate indictment announced today charges VENANCIO COVARRUBIAS, 26, aka “Benny,” of Elgin, who was arrested last October, with being a high-level cartel customer in the Chicago area. In September 2013, law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Tex., seized 159 kilograms of cocaine that was allegedly destined for a warehouse in Elgin leased by Covarrubias. The cocaine, wrapped in 118 brick-shaped packages, was hidden in a tractor-trailer containing a shipment of fresh tomatoes from a fictitious Mexican business called Tadeo Produce. The charges allege that during the prior year, Covarrubias wire transferred drug proceeds to Tadeo Produce while receiving narcotics disguised as tomato shipments. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $2.89 million.
The money laundering conspiracy charges against Anguiano Hernandez, Torres and Covarrubias carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the amount of the funds involved in illegal activity. The narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy charges against Covarrubias and each defendant in the primary indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The defendants against whom charges are pending are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Total Seizures Since 2008
Overall, the Chicago-based investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately 11 tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 78 kilograms of heroin. Law Enforcement in Chicago has worked closely with federal agents and prosecutors in San Diego to target the senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. This partnership yielded the prosecutions here as well as 14 indictments announced this month in San Diego against 60 alleged Sinaloa leaders, lieutenants, and associates, including Mayo Zambada, two of his four sons, and another of Chapo Guzman’s sons.
The investigation in Chicago has been led by the DEA, joined by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Chicago Police Department. Also assisting were DEA offices worldwide, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Mexico City, and its El Paso Intelligence Center; the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF); the Chicago High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in San Diego, Springfield, Ill., and Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Police Department; the Chicago and Peoria offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Cook County Sheriff’s Department; suburban police departments in Calumet City, Evergreen Park, Oak Park, and Palos Heights; and the Beverly Hills, Calif., Police Department. The investigation was assisted by agents and analysts of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Special Operations Division (SOD), and attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, and Office of International Affairs.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Ferrara, Erika Csicsila, Naana Frimpong, Georgia Alexakis, Kathryn Malizia, and Thomas D. Shakeshaft.
"Chapo" Guzman Loera et al Indictment
Hernandez Indictment
Covarrubias Indictment
Torres Indicment
Chicago Twins’ Cooperation Against Sinaloa Cartel Yields 14-Year Prison Terms; New Charges Target Cartel’s Top EchelonRead the Press Release
Twin brothers Pedro and Margarito Flores, regarded as Chicago’s most significant drug traffickers who rose from street level dealers to the highest echelons of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and a rival cartel before they began providing unparalleled cooperation to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), were each sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison. The sentencing marked the Flores brothers’ first public court appearance since they entered protective federal custody in 2008. Their August 2012 guilty pleas to a narcotics distribution conspiracy were unsealed in November 2014.
Also today, federal law enforcement officials announced the unsealing of an expanded eighth superseding indictment in the case in which the Flores brothers and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were initially indicted here in 2009. The eighth superseding indictment and three separate new indictments announced today, add significant new defendants, including two alleged cartel money laundering associates who were arrested in the United States and extend the government’s efforts in Chicago and elsewhere to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquin Guzman Loera, 60, also known as “Chapo,” and Ismael Zambada Garcia, 67, aka “Mayo.”
“The persistent determination of DEA special agents and leadership in Chicago, coupled with the efforts of those in DEA offices worldwide, is having a significant impact on the global operations of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois. “This case put an end to the Flores brothers’ Chicago hub for transshipment of cartel narcotics nationwide. Our investigation and prosecution of cartel members is continuing,”
“The extraordinary work in this investigation continues,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Wichern of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “Agents, investigators, prosecutors and our worldwide law enforcement partners continue to expand this investigation against members of the Sinaloa Cartel ― working to bring them to justice and in doing so ― helping to make the great city of Chicago a safer place.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working together with the DEA and the United States Attorney’s Office to fight the war on drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) in Chicago. “IRS CI brings, and will continue to bring, its financial expertise to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking organization.”
Flores Brothers Sentencing
In sentencing of the 33-year-old Flores brothers, U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said that but for the Flores brothers’ cooperation, he would have imposed a life sentence and noted that because of the peril their ongoing cooperation poses to them and their families, they effectively “are going to leave here with a life sentence.” If the city of Chicago had walls, Judge Castillo said the brothers’ operation “devastated the walls of this city,” adding that their operation “became just a highway of drugs into this city.”
But, Judge Castillo added, “it is never too late to cooperate,” which is what earned the Flores brothers a significant discount in their sentences.
Judge Castillo ordered the Flores brothers to forfeit more than $3.66 million that was seized from them and a sport utility vehicle. In addition, more than $400,000 worth of assorted jewelry, several luxury automobiles and smaller amounts of cash and electronics equipment were seized and forfeited in administrative proceedings by the DEA. The brothers left behind millions of dollars in additional assets in Mexico after they began cooperating.
The judge also placed each of the brothers on court supervision for five years when they are released from prison after serving at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Flores brothers and their crew operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution cell for the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival drug trafficking organization controlled by Arturo Beltran Leyva, receiving on average 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month. Approximately half of this cocaine was distributed to the Flores’ customers in the Chicago area, while the other half was distributed to customers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver, among other cities. In total, the brothers admitted to facilitating the transfer of approximately $1.8 billion of drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico, primarily through bulk cash smuggling.
At great personal risk to themselves and their families, the Flores brothers began cooperating with the government in October 2008 and recorded conversations, including two directly with Chapo Guzman. Their cooperation resulted in indictments against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization, as well as the complete dismantling of the brothers’ own Chicago-based criminal enterprise. In late 2008 alone, their cooperation facilitated approximately a dozen seizures in the Chicago area totaling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and more than $15 million in cash, as well as the seizure of more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Los Angeles area that was bound for Chicago.
Further cooperation by the Flores brothers and members of their dismantled crew resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen of their high-level customers who received on average 50 to 100 kilos of cocaine per month.
“While not as high-profile as the cartel figures, the successful prosecution of these defendants made a very real difference in combating the scourge of drug trafficking that fuels so much violence and the destruction of communities in Chicago,” said the prosecutors in recommending a sentence at or near the low end of the agreed 10- to 16-year sentencing range.
“The Flores brothers (and their families) will live the rest of their lives in danger of being killed in retribution,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memo. “The barbarism of the cartels is legend, with a special place reserved for those who cooperate.”
In 2009, the brothers’ father was kidnapped and presumed killed when he reentered Mexico despite the U.S. government warning him not to do so.
The Primary ― Eighth Superseding ― Indictment
The eighth superseding indictment unsealed today charges a total of nine defendants, including Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and Guzman’s son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 31, aka “Alfredillo” and “Jags,” each of whom was among the initial group of co-defendants in the original indictment in 2009. Zambada and Salazar are fugitives, while Guzman remains in Mexican custody following his arrest last February.
Co-defendant, Jesus Raul Beltran Leon, 31, aka “Trevol” and “Chuy Raul,” was arrested in Mexico this past November and remains in Mexican custody. The remaining co-defendants, all fugitives, Heriberto Zazueta Godoy, 54, aka “Capi Beto,” Victor Manuel Felix Beltran, 27, aka “Lic Vicc,” Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega, 33, aka “Mv,” Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo, 32, aka “Choclos” and Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, 54, aka “Don Julio” and “Julia.”
This indictment alleges that all nine defendants conspired between May 2005 and December 2014, when the indictment was returned under seal, to import and distribute narcotics and to commit money laundering. They allegedly conspired to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Central and South America, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico to the United States and through Chicago for distribution nationwide. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control today announced the designation of Felix Beltran, who is Salazar’s brother-in-law, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, freezing all of his assets in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. persons and generally prohibiting any U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him. A second designation was announced today against Alfonso Limon Sanchez, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate under federal indictment with Zambada and others in San Diego. Other alleged cartel leaders, including Chicago defendants Guzman, Zambada, Salazar and Godoy, were previously designated drug kingpins.
Charges brought in earlier versions of this primary indictment remain pending against three additional co-defendants: Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, 44, who is in custody in Mexico; German Olivares, age unknown and a fugitive; and Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega, 27, aka “Fox,” and Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega’s brother, who was arrested last year in the United States and is in federal custody in Chicago. His next court date is Feb. 19, 2015 for a status hearing.
In addition to the Flores brothers, Alfredo Vasquez Hernandez, 59, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last November to 22 years in prison. Two other co-defendants, Mayo Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, 39, and Tomas Arevalo Renteria, 45, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in Chicago. Altogether, 18 defendants have been charged in the primary case in Chicago.
Three New Indictments
Those 18 are among a total of 62 defendants, most of whom have been convicted and sentenced, who were indicted in nearly two dozen related cases in Chicago since 2009. Two new defendants, Alvaro Anguiano Hernandez, 38, aka “Panda,” and Jorge Martin Torres, 38, were arrested separately in the U.S. in November and are facing separate indictments here alleging they were high-level money laundering associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and participated in money laundering conspiracies. Anguiano Hernandez’s indictment seeks forfeiture of $950,000.
Torres allegedly conspired to launder in excess of $300,000 of drug proceeds from Mexico to the United States to purchase, refurbish, and transfer from Ohio to Mexico, a 1982 Cessna Turbo 210 to promote the cartel’s alleged narcotics conspiracy. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $1 million.
A third separate indictment announced today charges Venancio Covarrubias, 26, aka “Benny,” of Elgin, who was arrested last October, with being a high-level cartel customer in the Chicago area. In September 2013, law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Texas, seized 159 kilograms of cocaine that was allegedly destined for a warehouse in Elgin leased by Covarrubias. The cocaine, wrapped in 118 brick-shaped packages, was hidden in a tractor-trailer containing a shipment of fresh tomatoes from a fictitious Mexican business called Tadeo Produce. The charges allege that during the prior year, Covarrubias wire transferred drug proceeds to Tadeo Produce while receiving narcotics disguised as tomato shipments. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $2.89 million.
The money laundering conspiracy charges against Anguiano Hernandez, Torres and Covarrubias carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the amount of the funds involved in illegal activity. The narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy charges against Covarrubias and each defendant in the primary indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States sentencing guidelines. The defendants against whom charges are pending are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Total Seizures Since 2008
Overall, the Chicago-based investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately 11 tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine and 78 kilograms of heroin. Law Enforcement in Chicago has worked closely with federal agents and prosecutors in San Diego to target the senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. This partnership yielded the prosecutions here as well as 14 indictments announced this month in San Diego against 60 alleged Sinaloa leaders, lieutenants and associates, including Zambada, two of his four sons and another of Guzman’s sons.
The investigation in Chicago has been led by the DEA, joined by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Chicago Police Department. Also assisting were DEA offices worldwide, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, Mexico City and its El Paso Intelligence Center, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force the Chicago High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in San Diego, Springfield, Illinois and Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Police Department, the Chicago and Peoria offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, suburban police departments in Calumet City, Evergreen Park, Oak Park, Palos Heights and the Beverly Hills Police Department. The investigation was assisted by agents and analysts of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Special Operations Division, the attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Office of International Affairs.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Ferrara, Erika Csicsila, Naana Frimpong, Georgia Alexakis, Kathryn Malizia and Thomas D. Shakeshaft.
California Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft for Retail Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOISE – Arleen Gadrina Cifuentes, 31, of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set for April 27, 2015, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
Cifuentes was indicted, along with Rocio Contreras-Loya, 40, of Sante Fe Springs, California, and Ivan Fonseca, 30, of Richmond, California, in September 2014, for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of 15or more unauthorized access devices. According to the plea agreement, Cifuentes engaged in a retail scheme between July 2013 and July 2014, whereby she defrauded retail stores by applying for, and obtaining, credit accounts in the identities of unknowing third party victims. Cifuentes then used the credit accounts to fraudulently purchase merchandise and gift cards. Cifuentes admitted obtaining victim identification information from a third party, running credit reports on the victims, and obtaining California driver's licenses in the victims' names, containing her photo, or a photo of her co-defendants. Cifuentes admitted that she and her co-defendants executed the scheme on at least 15 occasions in the District of Idaho. Cifuentes and Contreras-Loya were arrested shortly after executing the scheme at the Boise Town Square Mall.
Wire Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, and a $100 special assessment. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years, a term of supervised release of not more than one year, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $100. As part of her plea, Cifuentes also agreed to forfeit $26,777.13 in cash proceeds of the charged offenses.
Co-defendant Rocio Contreras-Loya is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on January 30, 2015. Co-defendant Ivan Fonseca remains a fugitive.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Boise Police Department.
Businessman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Anabolic Steroids as Dietary Supplements and Mislabeling ProductsRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Joseph De Melo, Sr., 59, of New Orleans, LA, pleaded guilty in federal court to a two-count criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and one count of intentionally misbranding a purported dietary supplement sold under the name “Vertical,” announced Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
According to the facts revealed in the information and statements made in open court, Joseph De Melo, Sr. owned Rezultz Distribution LLC, located in Carrollton, Texas, which sold purported dietary supplements throughout the United States and the Western District of Tennessee.
Beginning in September of 2012 and continuing through September of 2013, De Melo conspired with individuals to distribute 40,000 pills of anabolic steroids, which are Schedule III controlled substances. De Melo also distributed into interstate commerce a purported dietary supplement called Vertical, which listed false and misleading ingredients. Vertical in fact contained erectile dysfunction drugs that were not listed on the label of the drug, which is in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 331(a) and 333(a)(2).
As part of the conspiracy De Melo deposited proceeds of the sales into various financial accounts and instruments he controlled. De Melo agreed to forfeit over $650,000, which were proceeds obtained as a result of these violations. De Melo will be sentenced on April 30, 2015, by U.S. District Judge S. Thomas Anderson.
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tony R. Arvin and Damon K. Griffin represented the government.
Spanish Version
Buffalo Man Arrested, Charged with Production AndRead 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 Daniel Huzinec, 23, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a $250,000 fine.Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie O. Lamarque, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in December 2014, the defendant shared photographs of male children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a peer to peer website. This conduct included the sexual abuse of male children by adult males and male children engaging in sexual activity with other male children.
On January 27, 2015, a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s Marilla St. residence. Numerous items were seized from the residence including a laptop computer. A preliminary forensic analysis located visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
It was indicated in Court that Huzinec works at two different organizations involving minor age children: Child and Family Services and the Boy Scouts of America. Anyone with information regarding Mr. Huzinec is urged to contact the Buffalo Office of Homeland Security Investigations at (716) 565-2039 extension 105, and ask for Special Agent Leroy Oswald.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott. Huzinec was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for January 29, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Brownsville Man Ordered to Prison in Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Oscar J. Aguilar, 38, a Mexican citizen legally residing in Brownsville, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit international money laundering, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Janice Ayala, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Antonio. Aguilar pleaded guilty May 16, 2014.
Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, handed Aguilar the 168-month sentence. He was further ordered to pay a $1,893,170 money judgment which represented the proceeds of drug smuggling that were laundered in the scheme. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
“HSI special agents often investigate complex financial schemes in order to disrupt and dismantle the ongoing operations of transnational criminal organizations,” said Ayala. “These investigations deprive the organizations from enjoying the fruits of their illicit crimes while preventing them from furthering the ongoing criminal enterprise. HSI will continue to aggressively investigate schemes that jeopardize the integrity of our financial system.”
Aguilar admitted to recruiting nine others, some of whom were family members, to open bank accounts at Bank of America in Brownsville. Later, co-conspirators in Florida would deposit money from narcotics sales into the accounts. Aguilar’s recruits withdrew the money in amounts under the $10,000 reporting requirement and would give that money to Aguilar or other co-conspirators. The recruits were paid for moving the money through their bank accounts.
After Aguilar received the money, he facilitated its crossing from Brownsville to Matamoros, Mexico, where it was delivered to the Gulf Cartel.
From September 2008 through November 2012, the conspirators moved approximately $1,893,170 through nine bank accounts, with nearly $1.5 million from September 2011 through November 2012 alone.
Nine others have been convicted in relation to this case. With the exception of Francisco Jesus Arambul-Cortez, who also pleaded to conspiracy to commit International money laundering, the eight others entered guilty pleas to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Aguilar will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Betancourt and Joseph Leonard.
Boise Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
BOISE – Anton Philip Raider, 22, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to court proceedings, a search warrant was served on the defendant’s Boise residence on May 9, 2014. Law enforcement found approximately three pounds of marijuana in a safe in the defendant’s bedroom. Next to the safe, law enforcement found four firearms: a .32 semi-automatic pistol, a semi-automatic AK-47 Kalshnikov variant, a semi-automatic SKS rifle, and a bolt-action rifle. Raider admitted that he knowingly possessed the firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
The maximum penalty for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is at least five years in prison and not more than life, which must be consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, at least five years of supervised release and $100 special assessment. The sentencing is set for April 20, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.
The case was investigated by the Boise City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Attorney Matthew Libous Found Guilty in White Plains Federal Court of Subscribing to False Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Caroline D. Ciraolo, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, announced that Matthew Libous, 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. Judge Briccetti also found that Libous was not guilty of false subscription counts for his 2010, 2011, and 2011 amended returns and not guilty of one count of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”).
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Yesterday’s verdict was a just conclusion for Matthew Libous’s repeated, willful failures to report all his income to the IRS over a period of years. 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.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo said: “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.”
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 his verdict yesterday, 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.
Each of the three false subscription counts of which Libous was found guilty carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29, 2015.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office's White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McMahon and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kameros of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are in charge of the prosecution.
Attorney General Holder Statement on the Nomination of Stuart Delery as the Associate Attorney GeneralRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement today on Stuart F. Delery’s nomination to be Associate Attorney General:
“I am delighted to join President Obama in congratulating Stuart Delery on his nomination as Associate Attorney General – an office in which he has distinguished himself in an acting capacity over the last four months.
“Throughout his tenure at the Department of Justice – from his time as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General, to his service as Senior Counselor in my office, and his leadership of the Department’s Civil Division, Stuart has proven himself to be an outstanding attorney, an extraordinarily dedicated public servant, and an indispensable part of our senior leadership team.
"In the last few years alone, Stuart has made significant contributions in our ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity of America’s financial system, to safeguard the health and safety of our citizens, to protect consumers throughout the nation, and to bolster national security. I am confident that, should he be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Stuart will continue to build on the record of progress he has already established – and to uphold the standards of excellence that have always defined his work. I join the President in urging Senate leaders to confirm Stuart Delery as Associate Attorney General in a timely manner, and look forward to all that he will help this Department achieve in the days ahead.”
Anamosa Man Sentenced to 14 Years Imprisonment for Manufacturing Meth Near A SchoolRead the Press Release
Contact: Steve Young
A man who attempted to manufacture methamphetamine near a school, was sentenced on January 26, 2015, to 14 years in federal prison.
Zackery Smock, 37, from Anamosa, received the prison term after a July 1, 2014, guilty plea to one count of attempted manufacture of methamphetamine by a drug felon near a school.
At the guilty plea, Smock admitted that, on March 7, 2014, he attempted to manufacture methamphetamine at a residence in Anamosa. During the course of his manufacturing, he started a fire at the residence. The residence was within 1000 feet of St. Patrick’s school in Anamosa. Evidence at sentencing showed that over 80 separate one-pot methamphetamine cooks were recovered from the basement area where Smock manufactured methamphetamine. The fire resulted in the total destruction of the residence.
Smock was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade to 168 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Smock is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by Anamosa Police Department, Anamosa Fire Department, Iowa Division of State Fire Marshal, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-cr-57.
Alien Smuggler Pleads Guilty in Death of Two Mexican CitizensRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO, CA – Nicholas George Zakov pleaded guilty to immigration crimes in federal court today, admitting that he acted with “extreme disregard” for the lives of two Mexican citizens who perished while being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border in Zakov’s trunk.
Zakov, 43, a U.S. citizen, admitted that on August 12, 2014, he attempted to transport two Mexican citizens, Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas, into the United by hiding them within the trunk of his 2012 Dodge Challenger. Zakov was going to be paid $3,500 for his actions.
Zakov further admitted that he continued to drive the vehicle through the San Ysidro, California Port of Entry while ignoring the two Mexican citizens’ pleas to be let out of the trunk because of the extreme heat. At the Port of Entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the two Mexican citizens unresponsive in Zakov’s trunk. Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas later died of hyperthermia and mechanical asphyxiation.
Zokov entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Bartick. He pleaded guilty to two counts of encouraging and inducing illegal aliens resulting in death and two counts of bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain. According to his plea agreement, Zakov admitted that Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas died as a result of being concealed in his trunk.
Zakov faces up to life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2015 before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14CR2363-AJB Nicholas George Zakov Age: 43 Hawthorne, California CHARGES Counts 1 and 2: Encouraging and Inducing Illegal Aliens, Aiding and Abetting, Resulting in Death, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), (v)(II), and (a)(1)(B)(iv)Counts 3 and 4: Bringing in Illegal Aliens for Financial Gain, Aiding and Abetting 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(2)(B)(ii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESU.S. Customs and Border Protection
Homeland Security InvestigationsAlbuquerque Woman Sentenced for Attempted Theft from Laguna Pueblo’s Route 66 CasinoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Charlene Baca, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today to time-served (189 days in custody) followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction for theft from an Indian gaming establishment.
Baca was arrested on Oct. 5, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging her with threatening a cashier and attempting to rob the Route 66 Casino located on Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. According to the complaint, Baca told the cashier that she had a bomb in the casino and demanded money.
On Sept. 17, 2014, Baca entered a guilty plea to a felony information and admitted that she attempted to steal money belonging to the Route 66 Casino on Oct. 5, 2013, by suggesting to the cashier that there was a destructive device in the Casino that would explode in seconds and that she could remotely deploy the bomb if the cashier did not give her money. Baca was arrested by officers of the Pueblo of Laguna Trial Police Department shortly thereafter. No explosive device was found during the course of the investigation.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Programs, the Pueblo of Laguna Pueblo Tribal Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Commercial Robbery and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Gonzales, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today to violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Gonzales will be sentenced to 156 months (13 years) in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Gonzales was arrested in June 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on May 25, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, an officer of the Albuquerque Police Department found a firearm and ammunition in a vehicle Gonzales was driving following a routine traffic stop. At the time, Gonzales was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses in the 2nd Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.
Gonzales subsequently was indicted in April 2014, in a five-count superseding indictment charging him with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a stolen firearm, one count of commercial robbery , and using and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The indictment alleged that Gonzales unlawfully possessed firearms in Bernalillo County on May 25, 2013 and June 5, 2013. It further alleged that he possessed a stolen firearm on May 25, 2013. It also alleged that Gonzales interfered with interstate commerce by robbing a commercial business at gunpoint on May 29, 2013, and brandishing a firearm at an employee of the business during the robbery.
During today’s proceedings, Gonzales pled guilty to the armed robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce and to brandishing a firearm during the robbery. In his plea agreement, Gonzales admitted that on May 29, 2013, he obstructed interstate commerce by robbing Southwest Communications, located at 120 San Pedro SE in Albuquerque. Gonzales further admitted brandishing a firearm at an employee of that business during the armed robbery.
Gonzales has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistants U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Louis E. Valencia are prosecuting this case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Adams County Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Alien Smuggling CaseRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on January 26 Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced Martha Ortiz, 46, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to 36 months in prison for her participation in alien smuggling. On July 23, 2014, Ortiz pleaded guilty to bringing aliens to the United States and conspiring with her husband and others to carry out the scheme.
According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, in August and September 2013, Ortiz and others smuggled aliens across the United States-Mexico border by commercial aircraft, in a vehicle with a hidden compartment or “trap” to conceal their presence from law enforcement and on foot. At least two of these aliens, including a 7 year old boy, traveled from Mexico, through Texas and ultimately into Central Pennsylvania. Ortiz was paid for bringing aliens across the border. On September 24, 2013, Ortiz and her husband were stopped with tickets to Mexico City at the Harrisburg International Airport by agents from DEA and taken into custody.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith A. Taylor.
13 Bay Area Defendants Charged in Four Separate Tax Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – The grand jury returned indictments charging 13 people in connection with four separate tax fraud schemes, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez.
On January 6, 2015, San Francisco residents Josiah Larkin, 38, Monica Cobbins, 47, Krishell Robinson, 25, Thomalyn Virden, 51, and Ursula Choice, 28, were charged in a 32 count indictment with conspiracy to file false claims and filing false claims. According to the indictment, Larkin owned and operated a tax preparation business in San Francisco that he called Colbert Ball Tax Service. “Colbert/Ball Tax Service” is a national income tax preparation service with over 283 locations. The indictment alleges that Larkin did not have a franchise or other licensing arrangement with Colbert/Ball and used its name without authority from the company. Cobbins, Robinson, Virden, and Choice were hired by Larkin and prepared tax returns for his Colbert Ball Tax Service. Between November 2012 and August 2013, the defendants filed with the IRS, or assisted in filing, federal income tax returns falsely claiming that education expenses had been paid and the taxpayers were therefore eligible for the American Opportunity Tax Credit and a corresponding tax refund. Larkin directed that the tax refunds be paid in a manner that allowed him to control the refunds and collect his fee, which was approximately half the refund.
Cobbins made her initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on January 21, 2015, and was released on bail set at $20,000. Larkin, Choice, and Robinson made their initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on January 22, 2015. Larkin was released on bail set at $200,000. Choice and Robinson were released on bail set at $50,000. These defendants appeared before the Honorable Jacqueline Scott Corley, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge. Virden made her initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on January 26, 2015, before the Honorable Joseph Spero, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge. The next scheduled appearance for Larkin, Cobbins, Choice, Robinson, and Virden is a status conference set at 2:30 on January 30, 2015, before the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Court Judge.
On January 8, 2015, Jamillah Thompson, 23, of Antioch, was charged in a four count indictment with conspiracy to file false claims and wire fraud, unrelated to the conspiracy alleged in the indictment of Cobbins, Robinson, Virden, and Choice. According to the indictment charging Thompson, between January 2010 and February 2012, Thompson and others filed or helped file false claims with the IRS requesting refunds in the names of others. The indictment alleges that, as part of the scheme, Thompson procured the names and identities of taxpayers through illegal means or by agreement with participants in the scheme. The tax returns were electronically filed and included fictitious Forms W-2 to support the wages reported on the false tax returns filed.
Thompson was arrested in Antioch on January 21, 2015, and made her initial appearance in federal court the same day. Thompson was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond. Thompson appeared before the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge in Oakland. Her next scheduled appearance is set for January 29, 2015.
On January 8, 2015, Kenneth Brown, 49, of Oakland, and Kenya Brown, 30, of Dublin, were charged in a nine count indictment with conspiracy to file false claims, wire fraud, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft. Between April 2009 and June 2011, the defendants filed or help file false claims with the IRS requesting refunds in the names of others. The indictment alleges that the defendants electronically filed with the IRS or assisted in filing with the IRS false federal income tax returns using personal information obtained by illegal means. The returns falsely claimed that the people listed on the returns earned wages in amounts specified on a fictitious Form W-2 that was filed with the tax return. The defendants forged the purported filers’ electronic signature on the filed tax returns.Kenneth Brown was arrested in Oakland on January 21, 2015, and made his initial appearance in federal court the same day before Judge Westmore in Oakland. He was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond and is set to appear next at a status conference on January 30, 2015, before the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Court Judge. Kenya Brown has not made her initial appearance in federal court.
On January 15, 2015, Cassandra Tompkins, of Oakland, Cordia Spearman, of Vacaville, Damien Mitchell, of El Sobrante, and Tanya Keith, of Oakland, were charged in a 13 count indictment with conspiracy to file false claims. Tompkins was also charged with theft of government property, filing false claims, and aggravated identity theft. Keith was also charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Mitchell was also charged with theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. The indictment alleges that between January 15, 2011, and May 15, 2012, these defendants conspired to defraud the IRS by obtaining and aiding to obtain the payment of false claims. According to the indictment, as part of the scheme, the defendants filed or helped others file false federal income tax returns with the IRS requesting refunds. These federal income tax returns falsely reported that taxpayers earned wages in amounts specified on fictitious Forms W-2 filed with each return. The false income tax returns reported that taxes had been withheld by employers and falsely claimed refunds from the IRS.
Tompkins and Spearman made their initial appearances in federal court in Oakland on January 20, 2015, and were released on bail set at $50,000. Mitchell made her initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on January 21, 2015, and was released on bail set at $50,000. The defendants all appeared before Judge Westmore. Keith has not made her initial appearance in federal court. The next scheduled appearance for Tompkins, Spearman, and Mitchell is on March 20, 2015, before the Honorable James Donato, U.S. District Court Judge.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 286, is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for each count of false claims, in violation of a Title 18, U.S.C § 287, is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for theft of public money, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C § 641, is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C § 1343, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for each count of identity fraud, in violation of a Title 18, U.S.C § 1028A, is two years in prison, consecutive to the underlying felony and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court 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 and Cynthia Stier are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting these cases. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Monday 26 January 2015
Woman Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding St Albert the Great’s Parent Teacher Organization of More Than $67,000Read the Press Release
DAYTON – Jennifer Boggan, 41, of Centerville, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to one year in prison for wire fraud, placed on three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $50,464.02.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Mark Porter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, and Kettering Police Chief James M. O’Dell announced the sentence handed down today by U.S District Judge Walter H. Rice.
According to court documents, from approximately September 2010 until February 2012, Boggan served as the volunteer treasurer for St. Albert The Great Catholic School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) in Kettering, Ohio. During that time, Boggan embezzled funds from the PTO’s bank account by a variety of methods, including preparing and endorsing checks to herself and her mother. Boggan attempted to conceal her fraudulent activities by falsely coding the checks as legitimate expenditures. She also made unauthorized cash withdrawals and purchases of gift cards from Target and the Greene Town Center using money from the PTO’s bank account.
As a result of Boggan’s scheme, she caused a loss of approximately $67,329.98 to the St. Albert PTO.
Boggan pleaded guilty on March 14, 2014 to wire fraud.“Boggan stole money raised by elementary school kids that was used to help offset the costs of school field trips, purchase teaching supplies, acquire ‘Smart Boards,’ fund scholarships and arrange for guest speakers,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Sistla told the court. “Her entire tenure as the PTO’s volunteer treasurer was marked by deceit and fraud.”
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the Secret Service and Kettering Police Department, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Alex R. Sistla, who is representing the United States in this case.
West Jordan Woman Pleads Guilty to Using the Personal Identifiers of Deceased Individuals to Get Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY - Jacquelin Boyd, aka Jacquelyn Boyd, age 37, of West Jordan, entered a guilty plea to making a false claim to the IRS in U.S. District Court Friday afternoon. Boyd admitted that from May 2, 2012, through about Oct. 13, 2012, she worked with others to obtain the names, addresses, social security numbers and other personal identifiers of deceased individuals and used the information to file false and fraudulent tax returns with the IRS.
Boyd admitted that she created false records of employers, wages, and Utah addresses to submit with the returns. She directed that the refunds, based on the fraudulent information, be deposited to various bank accounts under her control. She withdrew the money after it was deposited in the accounts.
She pled guilty to a count involving a false tax return filed on Oct. 13, 2012, in the name of A.B., who is deceased. A return of $2,444 was mailed to Boyd.
“IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, continue to do our part in protecting the integrity of the tax system and those individuals whose identities were stolen, as well as recovering any monetary loss against the U.S. Treasury”, stated John G. Collins, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of Utah.
The plea agreement includes a recommendation for a sentence of one year and a day, which is subject to court approval. Boyd also agreed to pay $32,243 in restitution to the IRS.
A scheduling hearing has been set for April 15, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., in Judge Tena Campbell’s courtroom.
Webb County, Texas Commissioner Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Official ActionsRead the Press Release
An elected county commissioner for Precinct 1 of the Webb County Commissioners Court in Texas was sentenced today to 76 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for official actions.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI’s San Antonio Division made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo of the Southern District of Texas imposed the sentence.
Kristopher Michael Montemayor, 37, of Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of federal programs bribery on June 19, 2014. In addition to the prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a fine of $109,405.72 and to forfeit $13,721.16.
In his plea agreement, Montemayor admitted that he solicited and accepted multiple bribes in exchange for promising to perform official acts. Specifically, Montemayor admitted that he accepted three separate bribe payments totaling $11,000 and over $2,700 in electronics and other merchandise, including two Apple iPads and two pairs of Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD headphones, from a businessman who, unbeknownst to Montemayor, was an undercover law enforcement agent. In exchange for the cash and the other items, Montemayor promised to take various forms of official action to promote the business interests of the undercover agent.
Montemayor also admitted to accepting a 2012 Ford F-150 pick-up truck, worth approximately $37,000, in exchange for providing government jobs to the vehicle owner and his spouse. As a result of these appointments, the vehicle owner and his wife received salaries of $26,000 and $45,553 from Webb County. Montemayor admitted that the vehicle owner performed little or no work in exchange for his government salary.
The case was investigated by the Laredo Resident Agency of the FBI’s San Antonio Division. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Emily Rae Woods and Mark J. Cipolletti of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Virginia man sentenced on heroin chargeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Justin M. Kent, 32, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Kent pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in October 2014. During a traffic stop on Aug. 14, 2012, members of the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force found Kent to be in possession of 10 individually wrapped packets of heroin. Kent was also involved in sales of heroin to a confidential informant on two separate occasions in May and June 2012.
Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
The case was investigated by the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Greg McVey was in charge of the prosecution.
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Two convicted of tax fraudRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two West Virginia residents were convicted of tax fraud today in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Connie Sue Cole, 71, of Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, ran a tax preparation service from her home. Cole repeatedly falsified tax returns by either understating the true income earned by her clients or inflating and overstating the expenses incurred by her clients to fabricate deductions. She admitted today to falsifying a specific tax return in March 2013. The client was entitled to claim business expenses in the amount of $3,682.00. Cole filed a tax return on behalf of the client fraudulently claiming nearly $36,000.00 in business expenses. Cole pled guilty today to a criminal Information charging her with one count of “Aiding and Assisting the Preparation of Fraudulent Tax Returns.” She faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00.
Morgantown, West Virginia businessman Michael A. Vecchio, Jr., 53, of Morgantown, West Virginia, admitted today that he repeatedly misappropriated profits from his various businesses. He diverted corporate income into his personal bank accounts, used business income to pay his personal credit card debt, and used his business credit card for personal living expenses. He failed to declare any of these payments as corporate or personal income. Vecchio pled guilty today to a criminal Information charging him with one count of “Attempts to Interfere with the Administration of the Internal Revenue Laws.” He faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
“Those that don’t comply with the federal tax laws, are in reality stealing from honest tax paying Americans who comply with their tax obligations,” said Guy Ficco, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office. “We should not forget that we are the ultimate victims of tax fraud.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar is prosecuting Cole and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McWilliams is prosecuting Vecchio on behalf of the government. The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation is leading the investigations.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull presided.
Two Wheeling men sentenced for cocaine traffickingRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Jackie Byrd, 25, and Marisol Rodriguez, 34, both of Wheeling, were sentenced today for cocaine trafficking, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
An investigation by the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed that Byrd and Rodriguez sold crack cocaine in the Northern District of West Virginia throughout 2014. Additionally, Byrd stabbed a confidential informant in July 2014.
Byrd and Rodriguez each pled guilty in November 2014 to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent and to Distribute Cocaine Base.” Byrd further pled guilty to one count of “Retaliation Against a Cooperating Witness.” Byrd was sentenced today to 46 months in prison on each count. The sentences will run concurrently for a total of 46 months in prison. Rodriguez was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Bernard prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
Texas Man Arrested in Kansas Charged in Federal Court with KidnapingRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Texas man was charged with kidnapping in federal court in Wichita Monday, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Joseph Andrew DeRusse, 24, Austin, Texas, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
The complaint alleges that on Jan. 23, 2015, DeRusse kidnaped a victim identified as HMM. He intended to force her to spend three weeks with him at a bed and breakfast in Narka, Kan., during which time he intended to convince her to marry him. He is alleged to have abducted her at gunpoint in Austin. He handcuffed her and blindfolded her before driving her from Texas to Kansas. It was not until later she learned that the weapon was a BB gun.
DeRusse’s car was tracked by GPS during the drive to Kansas. On Friday, the Newton Police Department used the GPS information to find his car and pull him over on northbound I-135 at milepost 41, where they freed the victim. In the car, they found an engagement ring DeRusse had purchased.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The Newton Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct
Tennessee Man Convicted at Trial for Failure to Register as A Sex Offender to Serve 30 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsRonald Douglas, a 59-year old, Memphis, Tennessee, man was sentenced on January 23, 2015, in federal district court in East St. Louis, Illinois, for violation of the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Douglas was convicted by a jury following a three day trial which started on September 17, 2014. Douglas was sentenced to 30 months’ in prison. Additionally, he will serve a five year term of supervised release following service of his sentence. Douglas was also fined $250 and ordered to pay a $150 special assessment.
The violation was discovered after local officers conducting a sex offender registration compliance check on October 25, 2012, at Douglas’ registered address in Granite City, Illinois, were informed by a live-in girlfriend that Douglas had moved to Memphis, TN in September 2012. Douglas was required to register because of a June 5, 1992, conviction for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse in Third Judicial Circuit Court in Madison County, Illinois. He violated federal registration requirements by crossing a state line and by failing to register or to update a registration within three days.
Further information about federal sex offender registration requirements is available here: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide/citizensguide_sorna.html
The case was investigated by the Granite City Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorneys’ Daniel T. Kapsak and Nathan D. Stump prosecuted the case.
Sex Offender Sentenced for Failure to RegisterRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Kenyen R. Brown, announces that Sulayman Basim Akbar was sentenced for failing to register as a sex offender in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2250A. Judge Charles R. Butler sentenced Akbar to time served imprisonment and five years supervised release. The defendant also has to pay a $100 Special Assessment.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney=s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, AUSA Maria E. Murphy.
Severn Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Darrius Carr, age 22, of Severn, today to 25 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for producing child pornography arising from his sexual assault of a toddler on March 7 and 11, 2014. Judge Hollander ordered that upon his release from prison, Carr must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams.
According to his plea agreement, in March 2014, Carr did not have a place to stay. Carr moved in with a family in order to provide daycare for the couple’s young children on March 6, 2014.
The next day, while the parents were at work, Carr was alone with the children. During a four minute time span, Carr produced six photos and a video of himself and the girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On March 11, 2014, Carr was again left alone with the children. Carr produced another video of himself and the victim. The video is a close up of the victim’s genitals, and during the video Carr touches her.
Additionally, since at least 2012, Carr used his email accounts, online storage accounts, and Instagram account to store and distribute child pornography. The distributed files of child pornography included more than 600 images of prepubescent minors, and videos.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police Department and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.
Saratoga County Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – JOHN J. TIGHE, age 57, of Milton, New York, pled guilty today in Albany before United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
TIGHE faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years of imprisonment, as well as a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. He also faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and mandatory registration as a sex offender. TIGHE will be sentenced in Albany, New York on June 8, 2015.
As part of his guilty plea, TIGHE admitted that in June 2013 he knowingly received child pornography and that in October 2013 he knowingly possessed child pornography involving prepubescent minors and minors who had not attained 12 years of age.
This case was investigated by the New York State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda W. Cox.
Saranac Lake, NY Fraud Scheme Nets Man 144 Month Prison TermRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NY –A Ventura, California man has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison after admitting his participation in an $8 million investment scheme luring investors with false promises relating to the development of an alternative energy technology, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. This case, based out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, was resolved in the Central District of California as a result of a change in venue.
William A. Stehl, 70, received the following sentences from Senior United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. in Federal Court in Los Angeles on January 21:
144 months for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud;
60 months for lying to federal agents;
60 months each for evading federal income taxes in 2003 and 2004; and
36 months for subscribing to a false federal income tax return in 2003.All sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Stehl was also ordered to pay $8,118,037.18 restitution to more than 300 victims of the fraud, and to serve a term of supervised release for 3 years upon his release from prison.
Stehl and a co-defendant, Richard M. Rossignol, 64, of Los Angeles, California, were arrested in Oxnard, California four years ago in connection with an indictment filed in the Northern District of New York. Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Additionally, Stehl was charged with several tax charges and lying to federal agents.
The conspiracy count alleged that from 2001, up to the time of the indictment in March 2010, Stehl, Rossignol, and others induced victims to invest money in companies that were purportedly developing or utilizing an alternative energy source Stehl claimed he had developed. Investors were told that one of Stehl’s applications related to the processing of precious metals, allegedly contained in a slag pile in Silver City, New Mexico.
Stehl and Rossignol were charged with fraudulently obtaining money from investors by making false representations about the status of the process, claiming that contracts and licensing agreements had either been signed, or were about to be signed, that would result in significant financial returns for the investors. Stehl, Rossignol, and others obtained more than $8 million from more than 300 victims, and attempted to obtain at least an additional $50 million. None of the investors received the returns promised by Stehl and Rossignol. Most of the money obtained was used for personal expenditures.
Stehl was living near Saranac Lake, New York, when the scheme started, and moved to Southern California in late 2005. Fraud victims lived all across the United States.
Although the indictment was originally filed in Federal Court in Binghamton, New York, in October 2012, the case was transferred to the Central District of California to accommodate Stehl, who received injuries in an explosion that occurred in a building in Sylmar, California, on August 9, 2011.
Judge Hatter ordered Stehl to surrender himself at the facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on March 20, 2015.
Trial and Sentencing of Co-Defendant Richard Rossignol
Rossignol’s case went to trial in Los Angeles on January 14, 2014. On February 28, the jury convicted Rossignol of the sole count he faced, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. On July 28, the Court sentenced Rossignol to 20 years – the maximum statutory sentence – and immediately remanded him into custody. The Court also ordered Rossignol to pay more than $8.1 million in restitution to the fraud victims, describing the fraud as being among the most egregious it had seen in 20 years.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office, and the Albany, New York, Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin P. Dooley of the Binghamton branch office in the Northern District of New York. Additional inquiries can be directed to Marilyn Morey or Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Coombe at 518-431-0247.
Saranac Lake Fraud Scheme Nets Man 144 Month Prison TermRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NY –A Ventura, California man has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison after admitting his participation in an $8 million investment scheme luring investors with false promises relating to the development of an alternative energy technology, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. This case, based out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, was resolved in the Central District of California as a result of a change in venue.
William A. Stehl
, 70, received the following sentences from Senior United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. in Federal Court in Los Angeles on January 21:
144 months for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud;
60 months for lying to federal agents;
60 months each for evading federal income taxes in 2003 and 2004; and
36 months for subscribing to a false federal income tax return in 2003.
All sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Stehl was also ordered to pay $8,118,037.18 restitution to more than 300 victims of the fraud, and to serve a term of supervised release for 3 years upon his release from prison.
Stehl and a co-defendant, Richard M. Rossignol, 64, of Los Angeles, California, were arrested in Oxnard, California four years ago in connection with an indictment filed in the Northern District of New York. Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Additionally, Stehl was charged with several tax charges and lying to federal agents.
The conspiracy count alleged that from 2001, up to the time of the indictment in March 2010, Stehl, Rossignol, and others induced victims to invest money in companies that were purportedly developing or utilizing an alternative energy source Stehl claimed he had developed. Investors were told that one of Stehl’s applications related to the processing of precious metals, allegedly contained in a slag pile in Silver City, New Mexico.
Stehl and Rossignol were charged with fraudulently obtaining money from investors by making false representations about the status of the process, claiming that contracts and licensing agreements had either been signed, or were about to be signed, that would result in significant financial returns for the investors. Stehl, Rossignol, and others obtained more than $8 million from more than 300 victims, and attempted to obtain at least an additional $50 million. None of the investors received the returns promised by Stehl and Rossignol. Most of the money obtained was used for personal expenditures.
Stehl was living near Saranac Lake, New York, when the scheme started, and moved to Southern California in late 2005. Fraud victims lived all across the United States.
Although the indictment was originally filed in Federal Court in Binghamton, New York, in October 2012, the case was transferred to the Central District of California to accommodate Stehl, who received injuries in an explosion that occurred in a building in Sylmar, California, on August 9, 2011.
Judge Hatter ordered Stehl to surrender himself at the facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on March 20, 2015.
Trial and Sentencing of Co-Defendant Richard Rossignol
Rossignol’s case went to trial in Los Angeles on January 14, 2014. On February 28, the jury convicted Rossignol of the sole count he faced, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. On July 28, the Court sentenced Rossignol to 20 years – the maximum statutory sentence – and immediately remanded him into custody. The Court also ordered Rossignol to pay more than $8.1 million in restitution to the fraud victims, describing the fraud as being among the most egregious it had seen in 20 years.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office, and the Albany, New York, Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin P. Dooley of the Binghamton branch office in the Northern District of New York. Additional inquiries can be directed to Marilyn Morey or Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Coombe at 518-431-0247.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for A Mortgage Fraud Scheme in Chico and SacramentoRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Leonard E. Williams, 52, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to over seven years and three months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Williams was found guilty on July 24, 2014, by a federal jury after a six–day trial.
At sentencing today, United States District Judge William B. Shubb stated that one of the factors he used in imposing the sentence was Williams' outburst in front of the jury during trial. On the last day of the trial, Williams began shouting at the jury about his case. Judge Shubb asked him to stop talking until the jury could be dismissed. Williams, nevertheless, continued yelling at the jury as they filed out. Today, Judge Shubb characterized the outburst as "unacceptable" and said that Williams had intended to cause a mistrial and mislead the jury about his defense.
According to evidence presented at trial, from late 2006 into 2008, Williams conspired with others to carry out a mortgage fraud scheme in the Chico and Sacramento areas using his companies Diamond Hill Financial and Bay Area Real Estate Holdings. The scheme resulted in the issuance of more than $2 million in home loans, with most of the buyers ultimately defaulting.
To carry out the scheme, Williams and his partner Joshua Clymer recruited underqualified buyers, including family and friends, to purchase homes with promises of cash back, no money down, and illusory equity in the homes. Williams and others assisted these home buyers in securing loans with fraudulent loan applications that contained lies about the buyers' employment, income, assets, and intent to occupy the homes as a primary residence. In most cases, at Williams' suggestion and encouragement, the loan applications falsely stated that the buyers worked at Diamond Hill Financial, and Williams himself maintained the charade by confirming this false information when lenders called to verify it.
The loan applications also listed false assets and were accompanied by various forged documents, which increased the amount of the loans to the buyers, which in turn increased the profits of the fraud to Williams, Clymer, and others. The profit to Williams and Clymer varied from $5,000 to over $30,000 per transaction, with the two of them often splitting the proceeds.
Prior to trial, Clymer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2015.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and the Butte County District Attorney's Office's Major Crimes Unit. Williams is the last of 14 defendants who have been convicted of mortgage fraud offenses in connection with this and related cases. Others who already been convicted and sentenced include William E. Baker, Shane Burreson, Christopher M. Chiavola, Carlos Chamorro, Eric Clawson, Niche Fortune, Garret Gililland, Kesha Haynie, Remy Heng, Nicole Magpusao, Brandon Resendez, and Anthony Symmes. Twelve of the defendants pleaded guilty. Juries have convicted the two defendants who went to trial, Williams and Haynie. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Audrey B. Hemesath prosecuted the case.Sacramento Defense Contractor Agrees to Pay $2 Million to Settle Allegations of Inflating CostsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Composite Engineering Inc., a Sacramento-based subsidiary of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions that manufactures remote-controlled subscale aircraft for the U.S. military, has agreed to pay the United States $2 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated costs in connection with a 2007 contract, United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced today.
The contract at issue was a firm fixed-price contract modification for the procurement of spare parts to meet the requirements of the Air Force’s Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT) program. The United States alleges that, in submitting its contract proposal, CEI knowingly or recklessly included significantly overstated materials costs and labor hours, resulting in a windfall to CEI. The False Claims Act allows the government to recover damages and penalties for the presentation of false claims for payment to the United States. By basing its contract price with the government on overstated materials and labor costs, CEI caused the United States to pay artificially inflated prices.
“In this era of shrinking budgets, it is particularly important to safeguard public coffers against the unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer funds,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “Ensuring the integrity of federal contracting programs is one of the objectives of this office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, and results like this one help accomplish that objective.”
Deputy Inspector General for Investigations James B. Burch of the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) said: “Fraud directly impacts our armed services’ resources and capabilities. DCIS works closely with our federal investigative partners to identify and bring to justice those seeking to steal from the American taxpayers and harm our armed services. The results of this case will ensure troops can finish their jobs without the burden of shortages created by such opportunists.”
The settlement is the product of an investigation by DCIS, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen M. Kennedy prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and CEI denies liability.
Rochester Man Charged with Assaulting Mail Carrier, Brandishing FirearmRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Orlando Justice, 27, of Rochester, NY, with assaulting a U.S. Postal Service employee with a dangerous weapon, and brandishing a firearm to commit the assault. The charges carry a minimum sentence of seven years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $250,000.Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, the defendant assaulted a Postal Service mail carrier while he was engaged in his official duties delivering mail in Rochester. During the assault, Justice brandished a firearm.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shelly Binkowski.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Real Estate Businessman Convicted of Tax Fraud by Concealing Income Using Nominee Entities and AliasesRead the Press Release
A federal jury sitting in Providence, Rhode Island, convicted a Cranston, Rhode Island, man of one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), one count of tax evasion and two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false corporate tax returns, the Justice Department and the IRS announced.
John Fall was remanded into custody after the jury verdict. Fall faces a statutory maximum sentence of 14 years in prison and a $1 million fine at his sentencing on April 28 before U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. for the District of Rhode Island.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Fall was a real estate consultant who bought, sold and brokered real estate. Fall also participated in handling the financial affairs of his wife and her businesses, including her dental practice, Comfort Dental Inc., and Broad Street Investments. Between 1999 and 2010, Fall used numerous nominee entities and business names to conceal his business and financial transactions. Fall also used multiple bank accounts, including commingled or “warehouse” bank accounts, in at least six states to conceal his financial transactions, as well as certain financial transactions of Comfort Dental and Broad Street Investments. To further disguise business and financial transactions, Fall used fake names and aliases to conceal his ownership and control over his nominee entities.
The evidence at trial proved that Fall filed false federal income tax returns for 1998 and 1999, and failed to file any tax returns for the years 2000 through 2010. The IRS audited Fall for 1998 through 2000, assessing him taxes totaling approximately $72,000.
The evidence at trial further established that Fall caused the filing of false tax returns on behalf of Comfort Dental for the years 2005 through 2007. Fall caused his wife’s businesses to make payments to his various entities which were falsely recorded on the corporate tax returns as deductible business expenses. When Comfort Dental and Fall’s wife were audited civilly by the IRS in late 2008, Fall attempted to obstruct the audit by encouraging his wife’s accountant not to provide the IRS with information requested through an IRS summons, and instead provided false and fraudulent information and documentation to the IRS concerning the nature of the payments by Comfort Dental and Broad Street Investments to his various entities. Fall also attempted to obstruct his wife’s compliance with an IRS summons.
This case was investigated by special agents with the IRS – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief John Kane and Trial Attorney Jeffrey Bender with the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Raleigh Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss – Octavious Burkes-Palmer, 37, of Raleigh, Mississippi, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced today.
Burkes-Palmer was arrested by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on November 13, 2013 after they responded to a 911 call concerning an attempted robbery. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He pled guilty to the charge on January 26, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry L. Rushing
Previously Convicted Fraudster Faces Consecutive Sentence for Failure to Report to PrisonRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsKevin D. Dowell, 38, of St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty to failure to surrender for service of a sentence the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Dowell faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years supervised release. Dowell was previously convicted of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud and embezzle from the FKG Oil Company and, in June of 2014, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. On August 20, 2014, Dowell failed to surrender to the prison as ordered and was apprehended about a week later. If convicted of the new offense, the new sentence will have to run consecutive to the previous sentence of imprisonment. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 18, 2015.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshal's Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.
Phoenix Tax Preparer Sentenced to 12 Months Imprisonment for Preparing Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On Jan. 23, 2015, Margaret Nicole Hall, 40, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 12 months and one day of imprisonment. Hall was also ordered to pay $92,937 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. On Oct. 20, 2014, Hall pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing or impeding the administration of internal revenue laws and one count of aiding or assisting preparation or presentment of a fraudulent or false return.
According to her plea agreement, Hall owned and operated a tax return preparation service known as Taxes R Us which was located in Phoenix, Ariz. During an Internal Revenue Service civil audit proceeding, Hall falsely represented that this client received income from self-employment and that the client received tip income. Hall also knowingly provided fabricated lease documents and fabricated rental receipts to the Internal Revenue Service as purported substantiation for items claimed in the false tax returns that Hall had prepared for her client.
Additionally, Hall prepared a Federal income tax return that fraudulently stated the taxpayer's purported wages, purported business income, and tips.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Frank Galati, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-14-00418-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2015-007_Hall
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Owner of Miami Home Health Company Sentenced to 106 Months in Prison for $30 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and operator of a Miami home health care agency was sentenced today to 106 months in prison for his participation in a $30 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
Ramon Regueira, 66, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud on Nov. 13, 2014. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida ordered Regueira to pay $21 million in restitution, both jointly and severally with his co-conspirator.
According to his plea agreement, Regueira was an owner of Nation’s Best Care Home Health Corp. (Nation’s Best), a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Regueira admitted that he and his co-conspirators operated Nation’s Best for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or not provided.
Specifically, Regueira admitted that he and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters who provided patients to Nation’s Best, as well as prescriptions, plans of care (POCs) and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services. Regueira and his co-conspirators then used these prescriptions, POCs and medical certifications to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for unnecessary home health care services.
From January 2007 through January 2011, Nation’s Best submitted approximately $30 million in claims for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and Medicare paid approximately $21 million for these fraudulent claims.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Joseph S. Beemsterboer and Trial Attorney Kelly Graves of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Orlando Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon, II has sentenced Joe E. Clinton, Jr. (23, Orlando) to 17 years in federal prison for aiding and abetting the attempted robbery of a Walgreen’s store, the robbery of a CVS store, and using and carrying a firearm during those violent crimes. Clinton pleaded guilty on March 24, 2014.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial of Clinton’s co-conspirator, Jacques Maddox, on the night of September 2, 2013, Clinton and Maddox went to the Walgreen’s store on South Kirkman Road near Universal Studios. After surveilling the store for hours, they walked into the store for the final time around 11:00 p.m. Maddox acted as a lookout near the center of the store, while Clinton forced the store manager inside an office at gunpoint. Clinton demanded that the manager open the store’s safe, threatening to shoot him if he failed to do so. When the manager refused to comply with Clinton’s demands, Clinton pistol whipped him, striking him several times in the head and shoulders. Clinton then ran out of the office, met up with Maddox in the middle of the store, and pulled his gun on other employees and store customers as he and Maddox fled the scene.
On the night of September 10, 2013, Clinton walked into the CVS store located at 1201 East Colonial Drive, in Orlando. He took a beverage from the cooler and brought it to the front counter. As the clerk tried to ring up the purchase, Clinton pulled out his handgun, pointed it at the clerk, and demanded that she open the register. The clerk gave Clinton all of the cash from the register; he then fled from the store.
Clinton admitted to committing a series of additional armed commercial robberies in Central Florida before being captured by police in Dothan, Alabama, on October 1, 2013.On July 9, 2014, a federal jury found Maddox guilty of aiding and abetting the attempted Walgreen’s robbery. He was subsequently sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.
Ocala Man Sentenced to Prison for Methamphetamine Lab in Ocala National ForestRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges has sentenced Charles Michael Curry, Jr. (50, Ocala) to 30 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2014.
According to court documents, on August 9, 2014, United States Forest Service officers responded to the Ocala National Forest based on complaints that individuals had been illegally manufacturing methamphetamine there. Upon arrival, officers found a campsite occupied by Curry and two other individuals. Curry initially fled from the officers, but was quickly apprehended. Subsequently, he directed the officers to his makeshift methamphetamine laboratory, where they found approximately 155 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Curry ultimately admitted that he had been manufacturing the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. Officers also recovered drug paraphernalia in the immediate area.
This case was investigated by the United States Forest Service and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
Oakland Man Pleads Guilty to Counterfeit Media Scheme in FresnoRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Emilio Perez-Solis, 39, of Oakland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels, documentation and packaging, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Perez-Solis used a building in a rural area of Fresno as a distribution point for counterfeit CDs and counterfeit DVDs. From the building, Perez-Solis sold counterfeit CDs and DVDs, including movies that were only in theatrical release and not yet available on DVD. On February 21, 2014, the building was searched and found to contain approximately 70,000 counterfeit music CDs and movie DVDs.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Patrick R. Delahunty are prosecuting the case.
Perez-Solis is currently in custody, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on April 20, 2015. Perez-Solis faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Notice of HearingRead the Press Release
September 29, 2014Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Charleston, South Carolina ---- An Initial Appearance has been scheduled in connection with United States v. Dorothy Barnett, a case involving International Parental Kidnapping and False Statements in a Passport Application. United States Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant will preside over the proceedings as indicated below.
September 29, 2014, 1:30 p.m. 83 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29401 Courtroom TBDNinth Circuit Affirms Former Nevada Lobbyist’s Conviction for Making Unlawful Campaign ContributionsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the convictions of a former Nevada lobbyist for making excessive campaign contributions and contributions in the name of another person, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.
“We're pleased that today's decision confirms that the cornerstones of our campaign finance laws - contribution limits and transparency - are not subject to creative misinterpretations of those determined to break the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.
“Harvey Whittemore knew the law, he knew how to raise money the right way, he knew right from wrong, and he knew how he could violate the law and avoid detection,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He made a conscious and willful choice to violate federal elections laws in order to increase his own power and influence at the expense of the voting public and the election process.”
F. Harvey Whittemore, 62, of Reno, Nevada, a prominent Nevada lawyer, former lobbyist and land developer, was convicted by a jury in the District of Nevada in May 2013 of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in others’ names, and causing a materially false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). He was sentenced on Sept. 30, 2013, to two years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
According to evidence presented at trial, Whittemore was aware of the strict limits on individual federal campaign contributions. In an effort to circumvent those limits, he devised a scheme to unlawfully funnel more than $130,000 of his own money through approximately 29 family members, employees and their spouses to the campaign committee for a U.S. senator. This scheme allowed Whittemore to make an individual campaign donation in excess of the federal limits. Whittemore concealed the scheme from the FEC, the senator, and the senator’s campaign committee.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre of the District of Nevada. Appellate Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Olson White of the District of Nevada argued the appeal.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Former Lobbyist's Conviction for Making Unlawful Campaign ContributionsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the convictions of a former Nevada lobbyist for making excessive campaign contributions and contributions in the name of another person, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.
“We're pleased that today's decision confirms that the cornerstones of our campaign finance laws - contribution limits and transparency - are not subject to creative misinterpretations of those determined to break the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.
“Harvey Whittemore knew the law, he knew how to raise money the right way, he knew right from wrong, and he knew how he could violate the law and avoid detection,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He made a conscious and willful choice to violate federal elections laws in order to increase his own power and influence at the expense of the voting public and the election process.”
F. Harvey Whittemore, 62, of Reno, Nevada, a prominent Nevada lawyer, former lobbyist and land developer, was convicted by a jury in the District of Nevada in May 2013 of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in others’ names, and causing a materially false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). He was sentenced on Sept. 30, 2013, to two years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
According to evidence presented at trial, Whittemore was aware of the strict limits on individual federal campaign contributions. In an effort to circumvent those limits, he devised a scheme to unlawfully funnel more than $130,000 of his own money through approximately 29 family members, employees and their spouses to the campaign committee for a U.S. senator. This scheme allowed Whittemore to make an individual campaign donation in excess of the federal limits. Whittemore concealed the scheme from the FEC, the senator, and the senator’s campaign committee.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre of the District of Nevada. Appellate Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Olson White of the District of Nevada argued the appeal.Nifty Fifty's Accountant Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
William J. Frio, 58, of Springfield Township, pleaded guilty today to his role in a tax evasion scheme involving the Nifty Fifty’s restaurant chain. Frio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax evasion. Frio is the sixth defendant to plead guilty in the long-running scheme to avoid paying millions of dollars in personal and employment taxes, by failing to properly account for more than $15 million in gross receipts, thereby evading federal taxes of over $2.28 million. Frio also pleaded guilty to filing his own false tax returns, aggravated structuring of financial transactions, and loan fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Mary McLaughlin scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 29, 2015.
Frio, an accountant and income tax preparer who provided services to the Nifty Fifty’s organization since 1986, conspired with the owners and principals of Nifty Fifty’s. The defendants skimmed cash to pay themselves, their employees, and people and businesses who supplied goods and services to the Nifty Fifty’s restaurants, providing those persons and businesses with the opportunity to evade the payment of their own taxes.
In 2008, Frio submitted a false loan application to Sovereign Bank for a $417,000 mortgage for his personal residence. Frio submitted to the bank bogus federal income tax returns for 2006 and 2007, and bogus Forms W-2, falsely representing he had earned substantial income from Tanfasia, Inc. The 2006 and 2007 tax returns that he had actually submitted to the IRS showed far less income than the false returns supplied to Sovereign Bank, and Frio had not been employed by Tanfasia, Inc. in 2006 or 2007.
Frio also used his position as the Nifty Fifty’s accountant to embezzle over $4 million of funds that belonged to the organization. As part of that scheme, between 2006 and 2009, Frio knowingly structured cash transactions totaling over $2.6 million out of Nifty Fifty’s accounts at Sovereign Bank.
Frio faces a maximum possible sentence of 57 years in prison, full restitution to the IRS, a fine of up to $2.75 million, and criminal forfeiture.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Shapiro and Nancy E. Potts.
New York Man Involved in Danbury Home Invasion Drug Robberies Sentenced to 7 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on Friday, January 23, SCOTT MYRIE, also known as “Venom,” 27, of Bedford Hills, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in two Danbury-area violent home invasion robberies of illegal drugs and drug trafficking proceeds.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2013 the Danbury Police Department began investigating a narcotics trafficking network that maintained a series of drug distribution locations, known as trap houses, in Danbury, out of which members of the organization sold crack and heroin. The organization also rented hotel rooms where they packaged and distributed narcotics. During the investigation, law enforcement learned that the individuals who headed the drug trafficking ring had organized and committed armed home invasion robberies of marijuana dealers.
MYRIE participated in home invasion robberies on January 30 and February 18, 2013. During both of these robberies, and a third robbery in which MYRIE did not participate, several men wearing masks and armed with firearms forced entry into the residence of a known marijuana dealer. Once inside, the perpetrators attempted to or did steal marijuana and cash. In each instance, the perpetrators pistol whipped a victim and threatened to kill others within the home.
MYRIE was armed with a .32 caliber handgun during both of the robberies in which he participated, and children were present in both homes. During the robbery on February 18, MYRIE struck a male victim in the head with the handgun repeatedly before dropping the gun during a struggle. Investigators subsequently recovered the gun and found that it was fully loaded.
MYRIE has been detained since his arrest on October 16, 2013. On August 22, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery.
This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force and the Danbury Police Department. The DEA Task Force includes personnel from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Dayton and Vanessa Richards.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]New York Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking of MinorsRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CTDeirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that a jury in Hartford has found EDWARD THOMAS, also known as “Fire,” 40, of New York, guilty of the sex trafficking of minors. The trial before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny began on January 15.
According to the evidence at trial, in September 2012, THOMAS, a New York-based pimp, answered an Internet prostitution advertisement for a 17-year-old girl (“MV1”) in Oregon. Over the next month, THOMAS recruited and enticed MV1 to travel to New York to work for him. MV1 eventually agreed and traveled to New York with a second girl (“MV2”), who was 16 at the time, using bus tickets purchased by THOMAS. THOMAS discussed with both MV1 and MV2 that they would be prostituting for him in New York and Connecticut.
After MV1 and MV2 arrived in New York, THOMAS and the two minor girls went immediately to a hotel in Milford, Connecticut, where they met Kayla Walters, THOMAS’ co-defendant, and posted prostitution advertisements. THOMAS knew that MV1 and MV2 were under the age of 18. In Milford, MV1 and MV2 saw customers for commercial sex acts at the direction of THOMAS. While MV2 escaped from a hotel room window after several hours, MV1 continued to work for THOMAS for about a month, turning over all of the money she earned in prostitution to THOMAS. When MV1 attempted to leave, THOMAS forcibly restrained her. Ultimately, MV1 was recovered for the first time by the FBI and local police in Milford on November 8, 2012. Law enforcement seized nearly $4,000 in cash from THOMAS during the first recovery, along with several computers and cellular phones.
THOMAS recruited MV1 a second time in July 2013 and again paid for her travel from Oregon to the East Coast. After THOMAS sent Walters and MV1 to Connecticut to make money for him, the FBI and local police again recovered MV1 from a hotel in Milford.
“This defendant preyed on the vulnerabilities of two girls whom he lured 3000 miles away from their homes,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “The U.S. Attorney Office is committed to prosecuting individuals who manipulate minors into committing sexual acts – often under the threat of violence – and profit handsomely from this illegal and reprehensible conduct. I thank the FBI for their vigilance in investigating these crimes, which have resulted not only in criminal convictions, but in the rescue of numerous girls and young women from terrible environments.”
“Human trafficking, especially for the purpose of underage prostitution, is a heinous crime,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Ferrick. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue these criminals and hold them accountable.”
THOMAS was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of sex trafficking of a minor. Judge Chatigny scheduled sentenced for April 17, 2015, at which time THOMAS faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
On November 10, 2014, Walters pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. She awaits sentencing.
THOMAS and Walters have been detained since their arrests on February 28, 2014.
THOMAS’ criminal history includes a 2007 conviction in New Jersey for promoting prostitution with a child under the age of 18.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The Stratford and Milford Police Departments have assisted the investigation.
The Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which is housed at the main FBI office in New Haven, investigates crimes against children occurring over the Internet, and provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. For more information about the Task Force, or to report child exploitation crimes, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Novick and Sarala V. Nagala.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]New York Man Admits Participating in Armed Robberies of Electronic Stores in New JerseyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A New York man today admitted participating in armed robberies of electronics stores in New Jersey, including armed robberies in Linden, Paramus, and Woodbridge, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Eric Williams, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to a superseding information that charged him with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies.
Williams was arrested on Feb. 14, 2013, and charged in a superseding indictment — along with Carl Williams, 31, and Unique Randolph, 28, both of Brooklyn – in connection with several armed robberies of electronic stores in New Jersey. Eric Williams has been in custody since his arrest.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 20, 2012, Carl Williams and Leonard Arrington, 28, of Roslyn Heights, New York, walked into a T-Mobile store in Linden brandishing a firearm, while Eric Williams and other conspirators served as lookouts and get-away drivers. Carl Williams and Arrington then tied up the employees in the back of the store, stole 50 to 60 cell phones and fled in a Land Rover. Eric Williams and other conspirators then delivered the stolen phones to a cell phone store in Brooklyn.
On Oct. 2, 2012, Arrington entered a T-Mobile store in Woodbridge, brandishing a firearm, along with another man. After locking the front door, the men took the employees to the back of the store and tied them up, then stole approximately 40 cell phones. One of the robbers then called the getaway driver, who drove them away in a Land Rover. Eric Williams and others delivered the stolen phones to the same Brooklyn store.
Eric Williams participated in the planning of a subsequent robbery of an electronics store in Paramus, which took place on Jan. 16, 2013. Randolph and another individual entered an electronics store and, after forcing employees and a customer into the back of the store, Randolph tied them up using zip-ties, while his conspirator held them at gunpoint. As Randolph and his conspirator were looting the store of cell phones, a UPS employee walked into the backroom. Randolph forced him onto the ground and used zip-ties to tie him up. Randolph and his conspirator then fled, along with Carl Williams who was waiting outside as a lookout.
The charge of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Carl Williams, Arrington and Randolph have previously pleaded guilty.U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Linden, Paramus, and Woodbridge police departments, as well as the New York City and Nassau County police departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Osmar J. Benvenuto of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division.15-033
Defense counsel:
Carl Williams: Mark A. Berman Esq., River Edge, N.J.
Eric Williams: Michael A. Armstrong Esq., Willingboro, N.J.
Unique Randolph: Damian P. Conforti Esq., Newark
Leonard Arrington: Dennis S. Cleary Esq., Newark