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Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
4 March 2015
Orange County, California, Man Charged in New Indictment with Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Yonekura of the Central District of California and Assistant Director in Charge David Bowdich of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office announced today that an Orange County, California, man who attempted to travel to Syria last year has been indicted on a series of federal offenses, including attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Adam Dandach, 21, of Orange, California, was named in a superseding indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California. Dandach, a U.S. citizen, also known as “Fadi Fadi Dandach,” is charged in the indictment with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization; two counts of making a false statement on a passport application that was obtained in order to facilitate international terrorism; and one count of obstruction of justice for attempting to destroy records after his arrest last July.
Dandach was arrested on July 3, 2014, and initially charged in a federal criminal complaint with making a false statement on his passport application. The complaint alleged that Dandach lied in order to replace his passport so that he could travel without being stopped by a family member who possessed his original passport. At that time, Dandach was attempting to travel from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport to Istanbul with the intention of traveling to Syria. Dandach told FBI agents that he was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance and assistance to ISIL, and that he believed the killings of American soldiers are justified, according to court documents.
On July 16, 2014, Dandach was indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements on a passport application. He entered a plea of not guilty in July 2014 and has been held in federal custody without bond since that time.
According to the first superseding indictment returned today, Dandach knowingly attempted to provide material support and resources, namely himself, to work under the direction and control of ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qa’ida in Iraq, ISIS, and the Islamic State, according to the indictment, which notes that the ISIL has been continuously designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization since 2004. The indictment further alleges that Dandach, in order to facilitate an act of international terrorism, lied when applying for a replacement passport and then presented the passport to an airline employee for the purpose of traveling to Istanbul. The indictment further alleges that Dandach attempted to obstruct the investigation by directing another person to instruct a website administrator to delete his post history on that website.
Dandach is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on March 16, 2015.
If convicted of all the charges in the indictment, Dandach would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for the material support charge, up to 25 years for each of the two passport fraud charges, and a statutory maximum of 25 years for obstruction of justice offense.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Orange County. Dandach is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with the assistance of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.
Orange County Man Who Tried to Travel to Syria in Support of Isil Charged in New Indictment with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who attempted to travel to Syria last year has been indicted on a series of federal offenses, including attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Adam Dandach, 21, of Orange, Calif., was named in a superseding indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana. Dandach, a United States citizen also known as “Fadi Fadi Dandach,” is charged in the indictment with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, two counts of making a false statement on a passport application obtained in order to facilitate international terrorism, and one count of obstruction of justice for attempting to destroy records after his arrest last July
Dandach was arrested on July 3, 2014 and initially charged in a federal criminal complaint with making false statements on a passport application. The complaint alleged that Dandach lied in order to replace his passport so that he could travel without being stopped by a family member in possession of the original. At that time, Dandach was attempting to travel from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, with the intention of traveling to Syria. Dandach told FBI Agents that he was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance and assistance to ISIL, and that he believed the killings of American soldiers are justified, according to court documents.
On July 16, Dandach was indicted by a federal grand jury for making the false statements on a passport application. He entered a plea of not guilty in July, and he has been held in federal custody without bond since that time.
According to the first superseding indictment returned today, Dandach knowingly attempted to provide material support and resources, namely himself, to work under the direction and control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qa’ida in Iraq, and the Islamic State, according to the indictment, which notes that ISIL has been continuously designated by the United States State Department as a foreign terrorist organization since 2004. The indictment further alleges that Dandach, in order to facilitate an act of international terrorism, lied when applying for a replacement passport and then presented the passport to an airline employee for the purpose of traveling to Istanbul, Turkey. The indictment further alleges that Dandach attempted to obstruct the investigation by instructing a website administrator to delete his post history.
Dandach is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on March 16.
If convicted of all the charges in the indictment, Dandach would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for the material support charge, up to 25 years for each of the two passport fraud charges, and a statutory maximum of 25 years for obstruction of justice offense.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Orange County.
Release No. 15-022
Ohio man sentenced for role in pill distribution ringRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that David Frizzell, 44, of Grove City, Ohio, was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston to five years’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Frizzell previously pled guilty in September of 2014, to conspiring with others to sell prescription pills containing hydrocodone. Frizzell admitted that he arranged and financed multiple trips to Florida where eight or nine people on each trip obtained prescription pills that were later sold in the Charleston area and in Ohio. The drug ring was responsible for buying and reselling more than 60,000 Lortab pills during the nearly two-year conspiracy.
The successful prosecution of Frizzell and his associates was the result of an investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (“MDENT”).
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Nurse Practitioner Charged with Unlawfully Dispensing Oxycodone in Curry CountyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – David L. Jones, 61, of Portales, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with unlawfully dispensing of Oxycodone, a pain medication, outside the scope of his professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose. Jones entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the criminal complaint and was released pending trial on conditions of release under pretrial supervision.
According to the criminal complaint, Jones is a licensed nurse practitioner employed by a healthcare center in Clovis, N.M. It alleges that in Oct. 2014, DEA received information from the Curry County Sheriff’s Department that Jones was illegally prescribing prescription controlled substances. Acting on that information, the DEA interviewed one of Jones’ former patients who asserted that Jones allegedly provided him with prescriptions for Oxycodone despite knowing that he was addicted to painkiller. The former patient alleged that Jones provided the prescription with the understanding that he would provide Jones with Oxycodone.
The complaint further alleges that in Feb. 2015, the DEA and Curry County Sheriff’s Office pursued an investigation during which two confidential sources allegedly obtained prescriptions for Oxycodone from Jones with the understanding that they would give some of the Oxycodone to Jones. It further alleges that on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20, 2015, Jones provided three prescriptions for Oxycodone to the confidential sources which they used, under the supervision of DEA agents, to obtain Oxycodone. On Feb. 20, 2015, one of the informants allegedly provided some of the Oxycodone obtained with the prescriptions to Jones. Jones allegedly was in possession of the Oxycodone when DEA agents executed a search warrant on his vehicle.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Jones faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA’s Albuquerque office and the Curry County Sheriff’s Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel R. Meyers.
DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squads combine DEA resources with those of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an innovative effort to investigate, disrupt and dismantle those suspected of violating the Controlled Substances Act or other appropriate federal, state or local statutes pertaining to the diversion of licit pharmaceutical controlled substances or listed chemicals.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
New York Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography and Interstate Travel to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Warwick, New York, man is charged with coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and traveling from New York to Passaic County, New Jersey, to have sexual intercourse with another minor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Clifford W. Wares, 42, is charged by complaint with one count of the production of child pornography and one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
According to the Complaint filed in Newark federal court:
From August 2011 through November 2011, Wares allegedly used email, telephone and Facebook to communicate with a thirteen year old female in Passaic County (“Victim 1”). Wares used a fake Facebook account to pretend to be another minor who was known to Victim 1 and introduce himself as someone with whom Victim 1 should communicate. Afterwards, Wares regularly sent Victim 1 pornographic images and engaged in sexually explicit communications, ultimately asking that she send him images and videos of herself nude or engaging in sex acts, which she did. On occasions when she did not comply, Wares threatened to distribute nude images of Victim 1 to her parents and friends.
In June 2011, Wares allegedly met a fourteen year old female residing in Passaic County (“Victim 2”) via an online social network. From June 2011 through August 2011, Wares regularly engaged in sexually explicit communications with Victim 2, sent her pornographic images and told her that he was interested in “hanging out” with her. Wares then drove from his home in Warwick, New York, to Passaic County where he picked her up in his vehicle. Wares had sexual intercourse with Victim 2 in a nearby park and had her perform a sex act on him. After a second encounter, Wares allegedly threatened to kidnap and kill Victim 2 when she refused to meet him again.
Wares was ultimately apprehended after a search for him was conducted via land and helicopter in an Orange County, New York park. Among his possessions upon his arrest were a roll of duct tape, a pair of handcuffs, a knife, and a handwritten list of the names of other minors who were known to Victims 1 and 2.
The charge of production of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited Special Agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New York State Police with the investigation leading to these charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
15-078
Defense counsel: TBD
New York Jewelry Store Owner Pleaded Guilty for Purchasing and Reselling Jewelry Stolen in Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
A New York jeweler pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta yesterday to two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with jewelry he purchased from an armed robbery ring and then sold in New York.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia made the announcement.
Carlos Parra, 64, a resident of New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 2015.
Parra admitted in court that he was contacted by a member of an armed robbery crew that stole over $100,000 in jewelry from a courier on Jan. 31, 2013. Parra flew from New York, where his jewelry business was based, to Atlanta to purchase the jewelry from the robbery crew for approximately $16,000. Parra admitted that he had dealt with these robbers or their associates in the past and knew the jewelry was stolen.
Parra further admitted to purchasing jewelry from a robbery crew in Houston in August 2012. In that instance, the robbery crew stole over $500,000 from a jewelry courier during an armed robbery on Aug. 27, 2012. Parra admitted that he flew to Texas to purchase the stolen jewelry at a discounted rate because it was stolen. He later sold the jewelry in New York to wholesalers for a profit.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Gwinnett County Police Department, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Dammers of the Northern District of Georgia.
Morris County, New Jersey, Plastic Surgeon Charged with Stealing Social Security Benefits from Disabled SonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A retired plastic surgeon from Chatham, New Jersey, has been charged with stealing more than $80,000 in social security benefits from his severely disabled son, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced today.
Richard H. McShane, 78, of Chatham, New Jersey, was arrested this morning by agents with the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and charged by complaint with one count of theft of government funds and four counts of wire fraud. McShane is scheduled to appear at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
McShane’s son suffered severe brain injury after a 2004 car accident that killed his mother, McShane’s wife. As a result of the car accident, the child suffered permanent and life-threatening injuries, including partial paralysis in his upper and lower extremities. The complaint alleges that between 2005 and 2012, McShane falsely represented to the Social Security Administration that the child resided with him in the United States, when in fact the child lived with his maternal grandparents in Ukraine. During that time period, the Social Security Administration sent McShane, as the representative payee for the child, monthly payments between $606.00 and $1,069.00. The funds were wired by the Social Security Administration to a New Jersey bank account controlled by McShane. The payments were supposed to be used for the care and maintenance of the child. The complaint alleges that the child’s grandparents, who have provided for the child’s basic needs, including food, clothing, shelter, and medical care, received little or no financial assistance from McShane since at least 2005.
McShane faces a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment on the theft of government funds charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on the wire fraud charges.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan, for the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Harris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
15-076
Defense counsel: TBD
Monroe County Man Charged with Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 22-year-old Monroe County resident was arrested yesterday for allegedly distributing heroin during June and July of last year.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Emmanuel Delcastillo, a/k/a “Capo,” of Tobyhanna, was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2014, and had been a fugitive from justice until surrendering to federal agents today. The indictment alleges that Delcastillo distributed heroin on June 26 and July 1, 2014, in Monroe County.
The charges stem from an investigation by special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Pocono Mountain Regional Police.
Delcastillo was arraigned yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton. He was ordered to be detained in prison pending trial, which is scheduled for May 14, 2015.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 40 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Minnesota Professor Sentenced for Enticing a Louisiana Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Minnesota professor was sentenced on Monday, to 135 months in prison for contacting a minor in Union Parish in order to start a sexual relationship.
Woody Dale Branton, 63, of Minneapolis, Minn., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James on one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to evidence presented at the August 27, 2014 guilty plea, Branton, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and a 15-year-old girl exchanged thousands of messages on Facebook from October 2013 through December 1, 2013. Many of the messages were sexual in nature, and he also asked the young girl to send him explicit pictures of herself. From November 29, 2013 to December 1, 2013, Branton attempted to set up a meeting with the girl in Louisiana and purchased a plane ticket to meet in Shreveport.
“This case is yet another example why it is so important for parents to monitor the computer usage of their children and stay active in their lives,” Finley stated. “We also hope that this case deters the conduct of other sexual predators and spares other potential victims. Protecting children from these malicious predators is a top priority for my office, and we will continue to work closely with the federal, state and local law enforcement partners to bring them to justice.”
The FBI and the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Monroe FBI office number is (318) 387-0773.
Mining Official Pleads Guilty in Alaska to Making Illegal Discharges from the Platinum Creek Mine and for Making False Statements to Federal OfficialsRead the Press Release
A former general manager of the Platinum Creek Mine in Platinum, Alaska, pleaded guilty today to three felony violations of the federal Clean Water Act, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler of the District of Alaska.
Robert Pate, 63, of Spokane, Washington, entered his guilty pleas today in federal court in Anchorage, Alaska. Pate admitted to knowingly discharging wastewater from the Platinum Creek mine into Platinum/Squirrel Creek, without a Clean Water Act Permit, knowingly violating the conditions of XS Platinum Inc.’s Clean Water Act permit for discharges to the Salmon River and falsely reporting to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in the 2010 Annual Report for placer mining at the Platinum Creek Mine that there was “no discharge” during 2010, a statement Pate knew to be false.
Pate was XS Platinum Inc.’s general manager and a senior member of its office staff in Seattle, Washington, from February 2010 to June 2012. According to the plea agreement, Pate documented unpermitted discharges of turbid effluent process water into the Salmon River beginning on July 3, 2010. Turbid process water from the placer mining at the Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants such as suspended particles and sediments and may have also included waste such as dissolved metals that posed a potential threat to aquatic life. After documenting the first discharges of turbid effluent process water, Pate supervised the construction of a ditch to divert the effluent directly into nearby Squirrel/Platinum Creek, also without a permit. Turbid discharges, which XS Platinum Inc. never reported to regulators as required, continued into the Salmon River for much of the remaining season. When Pate filed XSP’s annual water quality report in January 2011, he falsely wrote that the Platinum Creek Mine had experienced no discharges in 2010. The discharges continued in 2011.
“The defendant had a responsibility to ensure the wastewater at the Platinum Creek Mine was handled safely and responsibly but instead took specific actions that posed serious risks to the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “By pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted responsibility and will be held accountable under our nation's environmental laws.”
“Enforcement of our environmental laws is a priority for federal law enforcement in Alaska,” said U.S. Attorney Loeffler. “It is essential to balance the importance of resource extraction to Alaska with the importance of doing it safely and in accordance with the law and regulations. Mr. Pate’s guilty pleas to federal felonies sends the proper message that there are consequences to illegal actions and we will vigilantly enforce environmental laws.”
“The wastewater produced at Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants that posed a potential threat to both aquatic life and human health,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jay M. Green of the EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Program in Alaska. “As general manager of XS Platinum, the defendant knew first-hand about the discharges of mine wastewater into the Salmon River. Unpermitted discharges of turbidity and suspended solids have a negative impact on the diverse, complex and sensitive ecosystems contained in our Nation’s waters. Today’s plea demonstrates that if companies and their managers skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable.”
“This guilty plea highlights the importance that mining permittees adhere to the regulations that govern their operations, and how important it is for them to be open and transparent in their reporting obligations,” said State Director Bud Cribley of BLM-Alaska. “BLM continues to support the responsible development of federal public lands where appropriate. We are working closely with our state and federal partners as well as with the current claim owner to bring the Platinum Creek Mine back into production in a manner that will protect the Salmon River and restore it to a functioning condition.”
The Honorable Sharon Gleason set sentencing for Sept. 2, 2015, and will ultimately decide what sentence to impose. According to the plea agreement, the United States will recommend a sentence that will include both imprisonment and home confinement. Pate also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement and Security and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Alaska, Trial Attorney Todd S. Mikolop of the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and U.S. EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel Dean Ingemanson.
Mining Official Pleads Guilty to Making Illegal Discharges from the Platinum Creek Mine in Alaska and for Making False Statements to Federal OfficialsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – A former general manager of the Platinum Creek Mine in Platinum, Alaska, pled guilty today to three felony violations of the federal Clean Water Act, announced Karen L. Loeffler, United States Attorney for the District of Alaska, and John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Robert Pate, 63, of Spokane, Washington, entered his guilty pleas today in federal court in Anchorage. Pate admitted to knowingly discharging wastewater from the Platinum Creek mine into Platinum/Squirrel Creek, without a Clean Water Act Permit; knowingly violating the conditions of XS Platinum, Inc.’s, Clean Water Act permit for discharges to the Salmon River; and falsely reporting to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in the 2010 Annual Report for placer mining at the Platinum Creek Mine that there was “no discharge” during 2010, a statement Pate knew to be false.
Pate was XS Platinum, Inc.’s, General Manager and a senior member of its office staff in Seattle, Washington, from February 2010 to June 2012. According to the plea agreement, Pate documented unpermitted discharges of turbid effluent process water into the Salmon River beginning on July 3, 2010. Turbid process water from the placer mining at the Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants such as suspended particles and sediments, and may have also included waste such as dissolved metals that posed a potential threat to aquatic life. After documenting the first discharges of turbid effluent process water, Pate supervised the construction of a ditch to divert the effluent directly into nearby Squirrel/Platinum Creek, also without a permit. Turbid discharges, which XS Platinum, Inc., never reported to regulators as required, continued into the Salmon River for much of the remaining season. When Pate filed XSP’s annual water quality report in January 2011, he falsely wrote that the Platinum Creek Mine had experienced no discharges in 2010. The discharges continued in 2011.
U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler praised the result. “Enforcement of our environmental laws is a priority for federal law enforcement in Alaska. It is essential to balance the importance of resource extraction to Alaska with the importance of doing it safely and in accordance with the law and regulations. Mr. Pate’s guilty pleas to federal felonies sends the proper message that there are consequences to illegal actions and we will vigilantly enforce environmental laws.”
“The defendant had a responsibility to ensure the wastewater at the Platinum Creek Mine was handled safely and responsibly but instead took specific actions that posed serious risks to the environment,” said John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “By pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted responsibility and will be held accountable under our nation's environmental laws.”
“The wastewater produced at Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants that posed a potential threat to both aquatic life and human health,” said Jay M. Green, Acting Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Alaska. “As general manager of XS Platinum, the defendant knew first-hand about the discharges of mine wastewater into the Salmon River. Unpermitted discharges of turbidity and suspended solids have a negative impact on the diverse, complex and sensitive ecosystems contained in our Nation’s waters. Today’s plea demonstrates that if companies and their managers skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable.”
“This guilty plea highlights the importance that mining permittees adhere to the regulations that govern their operations, and how important it is for them to be open and transparent in their reporting obligations,” said Bud Cribley, State Director BLM-Alaska. “BLM continues to support the responsible development of federal public lands where appropriate. We are working closely with our state and federal partners as well as with the current claim owner to bring the Platinum Creek Mine back into production in a manner that will protect the Salmon River and restore it to a functioning condition.”
The Honorable Sharon Gleason set sentencing for September 2, 2015, and will ultimately decide what sentence to impose. According to the plea agreement, the United States will recommend a sentence that will include both imprisonment and home confinement. Pate also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement and Security and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, Trial Attorney Todd S. Mikolop of the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel Dean Ingemanson.
Michigan Man Pleads Guilty to Making Telephone Bomb Threats to San Benito High SchoolRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE -- Jason Keith Smith pleaded guilty yesterday to charges related to multiple telephone bomb threats he made to San Benito High School, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Change David J. Johnson.
In pleading guilty, Smith, 30, of Lincoln Park, Michigan, admitted that in November 2012 he began sending threatening internet messages to a student at San Benito High School in Holllister, Calif. (“the Student”). In one instance, the defendant sent the Student a text message indicating that someone would be hurt unless she contacted him. The defendant admitted in his plea agreement that in early December 2012 he knowingly placed a number of telephone bomb threats from his home in Michigan to San Benito High School. Specifically, on December 2 and 3, 2012, defendant placed a call to San Benito High School claiming to be a police detective, stating that the student, to whom he had sent threatening messages, was in trouble with the law and requesting that she contact him. The defendant admitted in his plea agreement that, on December 3, 2012, he called San Benito High School and left a series of telephone bomb threats on the school attendance message. In one of these messages, the defendant said that there was a bomb in the high school and that people should run and hide. The defendant further admitted that he left another telephone message indicating that no one knew where he had placed the bomb, but he would blow the school to pieces. The defendant also admitted that he stated during one of these calls, “And by the way, I want you to look up this one chick named [the Student]. If she goes to school there, please let her know that I am watching her.” The Defendant also admitted making additional telephone bomb threats on December 4 and 7, 2014. As a result of defendant’s telephone bomb threats, San Benito High School had to be evacuated on several occasions and significant law enforcement resources were dedicated to investigate the bomb threats.
Smith was charged in an indictment filed in San Jose federal district court in February 19, 2014, with Interstate Communications (Threat) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). Smith has been in federal custody since October 6, 2014. After Smith’s guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh set the matter for sentencing on June 3, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for Interstate Communications (Threat) is 5 years prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.
The case was prosecuted by Northern District of California Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fazioli and Eastern District of Michigan Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy, with the assistance of Legal Assistant Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Northern California and Detroit, the Hollister Police Department and the Lincoln Park Police Department.
Metroeast Resident Pleads Guilty to Participating in Fraudulent Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
Lamarion Shanes, 33, from East St. Louis, pled guilty to two counts of making a false claim for a federal tax refund in submitting a false federal income tax return, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Shanes faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, and up to 3 years’ supervised and mandatory restitution. Shanes was indicted with three other metro east individuals for participating in a tax refund scheme. Sentencing has been set for July 10, 2015.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.
Memphis Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Sex Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
Defendant Engaged in Conspiracy to Use Threats, Violence and Coercion to Compel Women into Prostitution in New Orleans and Elsewhere
Today, Laquentin Brown, aka “Nino,” 32, originally of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in sex trafficking of adult victims in New Orleans and elsewhere, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana. Brown also pleaded guilty to one count of transportation for purposes of prostitution.
According to Brown’s admissions in court in the course of his guilty plea hearing and documents filed in the case, Brown—together with co-defendants Granville Robinson, aka “Bear” and “HB”; Duane Phillips, aka “P-nut”; Anthony Ellis, aka “Anthony Deshun Lloyd,” “Animal,” and “AD”; and Christopher Williams, aka “Gutter,” all of whom are from Memphis, Tennessee—conspired to target adult, U.S. citizen women, whom they recruited, groomed, and forced and coerced to engage in prostitution. Brown and his co-defendants maintained control over the women by enforcing rules, including requiring the women to earn a certain amount of money each day and requiring the women to turn over the earnings to the conspirators.
The defendants also enforced rules prohibiting the women from speaking to or looking at another pimp, and some of the co-conspirators took the women’s identification. In addition to requiring the women to prostitute in New Orleans, the co-conspirators on occasion transported the women to other states to engage in prostitution. The co-conspirators enforced the rules and compelled the women’s continued engagement in prostitution for the co-conspirators’ profit by using physical beatings, withholding of food and other punishments.
“These defendants preyed on vulnerable women and cruelly exploited them for profit,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “At the Department of Justice, we will continue to enforce our human trafficking laws to restore the rights, freedom and dignity to victims of this modern-day slavery.”
“These defendants brought vulnerable women to New Orleans to engage in commercial sex trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Polite. “These crimes often pass without detection because victims live in fear from physical abuse, threats and other forms of coercion. My office is committed to prosecuting individuals who manipulate victims into committing commercial sex acts and profit from this illegal conduct.”
“This investigation and prosecution should serve as a clear reminder to all those individuals engaged in the heinous crime of sex trafficking that the full force of federal law enforcement, across geographical boundaries, will bring them to swift justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Office.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that Homeland Security Investigations fights as one of its highest priorities via a coordinated global effort with the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) New Orleans. “The results speak for themselves; over the past two years HSI has doubled its number of human trafficking arrests. HSI will continue to investigate and seek prosecution of these criminals while also ensuring the victims of this terrible crime are rescued and get the care they need.”
At sentencing, Brown faces a maximum of ten years for transporting women for purposes of prostitution, and a maximum of five years for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17, 2015.
On Oct. 3, 2014, a federal Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana returned a nine-count indictment charging Robinson, Phillips, Ellis and Williams with conspiring to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. The indictment also charged Robinson, Phillips and Williams with sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and with interstate transportation for prostitution. The indictment also charged motel owner Kanubhai Patel, age 73, of Kenner, Louisiana, with benefiting financially from participation in the sex trafficking venture. An indictment is merely a charge and the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On June 25, 2014, Zacchaeus Taylor, aka “Little Z,” “Little Zay,” and “Little 5,” pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme. Taylor is scheduled for trial on April 20, 2015.
The New Orleans Field Offices of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Right Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Memphis Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Sex Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, Laquentin Brown, aka “Nino,” 32, originally of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in sex trafficking of adult victims in New Orleans and elsewhere, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana. Brown also pleaded guilty to one count of transportation for purposes of prostitution.
According to Brown’s admissions in court in the course of his guilty plea hearing and documents filed in the case, Brown—together with co-defendants Granville Robinson, aka “Bear” and “HB”; Duane Phillips, aka “P-nut”; Anthony Ellis, aka “Anthony Deshun Lloyd,” “Animal,” and “AD”; and Christopher Williams, aka “Gutter,” all of whom are from Memphis, Tennessee—conspired to target adult, U.S. citizen women, whom they recruited, groomed, and forced and coerced to engage in prostitution. Brown and his co-defendants maintained control over the women by enforcing rules, including requiring the women to earn a certain amount of money each day and requiring the women to turn over the earnings to the conspirators.
The defendants also enforced rules prohibiting the women from speaking to or looking at another pimp, and some of the co-conspirators took the women’s identification. In addition to requiring the women to prostitute in New Orleans, the co-conspirators on occasion transported the women to other states to engage in prostitution. The co-conspirators enforced the rules and compelled the women’s continued engagement in prostitution for the co-conspirators’ profit by using physical beatings, withholding of food and other punishments.
“These defendants preyed on vulnerable women and cruelly exploited them for profit,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “At the Department of Justice, we will continue to enforce our human trafficking laws to restore the rights, freedom and dignity to victims of this modern-day slavery.”
“These defendants brought vulnerable women to New Orleans to engage in commercial sex trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Polite. “These crimes often pass without detection because victims live in fear from physical abuse, threats and other forms of coercion. My office is committed to prosecuting individuals who manipulate victims into committing commercial sex acts and profit from this illegal conduct.”
“This investigation and prosecution should serve as a clear reminder to all those individuals engaged in the heinous crime of sex trafficking that the full force of federal law enforcement, across geographical boundaries, will bring them to swift justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Office.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that Homeland Security Investigations fights as one of its highest priorities via a coordinated global effort with the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) New Orleans. “The results speak for themselves; over the past two years HSI has doubled its number of human trafficking arrests. HSI will continue to investigate and seek prosecution of these criminals while also ensuring the victims of this terrible crime are rescued and get the care they need.”
At sentencing, Brown faces a maximum of ten years for transporting women for purposes of prostitution, and a maximum of five years for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17, 2015.
On Oct. 3, 2014, a federal Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana returned a nine-count indictment charging Robinson, Phillips, Ellis and Williams with conspiring to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. The indictment also charged Robinson, Phillips and Williams with sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and with interstate transportation for prostitution. The indictment also charged motel owner Kanubhai Patel, age 73, of Kenner, Louisiana, with benefiting financially from participation in the sex trafficking venture. An indictment is merely a charge and the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On June 25, 2014, Zacchaeus Taylor, aka “Little Z,” “Little Zay,” and “Little 5,” pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme. Taylor is scheduled for trial on April 20, 2015.
The New Orleans Field Offices of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Right Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Local Oil Operator Admits Role in Multi-Million Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT — A central Kentucky oil operator has admitted to his role in a scheme that defrauded investors nationwide out of millions of dollars.
On Tuesday, Mark Cornell pleaded guilty to securities fraud before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove. In January of this year, John G. Westine, Jr., a leader of the scheme, was convicted by a jury of mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and securities fraud. A third member of the scheme, Michael Hicks, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in November 2014. Westine and Hicks are scheduled to be sentenced in May.
In his plea agreement, Cornell admitted that his role in the scheme was to act as the local operator of a series of reworked wells for which production levels were exaggerated. Cornell was paid large sums of money by Westine and his associates to rework the wells and to provide guarantees of these excessive production levels. Those fraudulent guarantees were used by Westine and his associates to sell royalty interests in the wells to investors, via high-pressure telephone tactics.
In total the defendants defrauded approximately 200 investors nationwide out of more than $3,000,000.
The investigation started when investors submitted complaints to the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Securities.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Dugan Wong, Inspector in Charge of the U. S. Postal Inspection Service; and Charles Vice, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, including Postal Inspector Roberta Bottoms, and the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Securities.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Taylor and Neeraj Gupta are prosecuting this case on behalf of the federal government.
Cornell is scheduled to be sentenced in June. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. The Court will impose a sentence after carefully considering the U.S Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.
Larose Man Sentenced for Misuse of a Coast Guard LicenseRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that STEVEN BOURG, 51, of LaRose, was sentenced today for misuse of a federal license.
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced BOURG to five years probation.
According to court documents, on or about October 10, 2012, Daigle Towing in Belle Chasse informed the Coast Guard that it had hired BOURG to captain the uninspected towing vessel (UTV) Mason Ray but that BOURG had been found asleep while on watch. The Coast Guard checked the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database and found that since 2007, when he had voluntarily surrendered the license, BOURG had not possessed a merchant mariner license as issued by the Coast Guard and as required to captain a towing vessel.
The investigation revealed that BOURG had submitted an altered merchant mariner license with his application to Daigle Towing. The license was in the name of BOURG, but listed the issuance date as January 2009 and the expiration date as January 2014. BOURG had not been issued a license nor had his license renewed in January 2009. As a result of BOURG’s submission of the altered license, he had been employed by Daigle Towing from September 19, 2012, until September 25, 2012. Prior to being employed by Daigle Towing, BOURG had used the altered license to apply and obtain employment with Triple C Towing, LLC, in Houma, Louisiana. BOURG applied to Triple C Towing on or about July 19, 2011, and ended his employment on or about February 1, 2012.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the U.S. Coast Guard in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield was in charge of the prosecution.
Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
MISSOULA – A Mount Washington, Kentucky man has changed his plea to guilty for his role in an international child pornography web-based bulletin board. Ryan Hatfield, 25, plead guilty today to conspiracy to advertise child pornography in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch. Sentencing has been set for June 11, 2015 where Hatfield faces maximum penalties of 30 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson told the court that in April 2012, Hatfield became an active member of an international child pornography web-based bulletin board. Hatfield made posts in the advanced member section of the board which included URL hyperlinks and preview images of child pornography. In addition, Hatfield requested child pornography from other members and responded to and commented on posts of child pornography on the board.
The investigation, referred to as Operation Moon Runner, is an ongoing cooperative effort between the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, FBI, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, Helena and Polson Police Departments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Northumbria Police Department in the United Kingdom.
Justice Department Surpasses $2 Billion in Awards under the Radiation Exposure Compensation ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today that it has awarded more than $2 billion in compassionate compensation to eligible claimants under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
The RECA was enacted in 1990 as a non-adversarial alternative to litigation for individuals who contracted certain illnesses following exposure to radiation as a result of the United States’ atmospheric nuclear testing program and uranium ore processing operations during the Cold War. Congress expanded the scope of the law’s coverage in 2000. In its present form, the RECA provides lump sum compensation awards to individuals who contracted specified diseases in three defined populations: uranium miners, millers and ore transporters who are eligible for $100,000 per claim; participants in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests who are eligible for $75,000 per claim; and individuals who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site (downwinders) who are eligible for $50,000 per claim.
“RECA claimants worked in hazardous occupations and were subjected to increased risk of disease to serve the national security interests of the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This extraordinary statute provides partial restitution to these individuals and their families for the sacrifices they made during a critical time in our nation’s history.”
Compensation has been awarded to individuals residing in every state. Since 1990, nearly 43,000 claims have been filed and 32,000 claims have been approved. Residents of the Four Corners Region of the American southwest have filed the majority of RECA claims. The department has awarded more than 9,400 claims filed by residents of Arizona, valued at more than $500 million. Approximately 3,800 claims filed by residents of New Mexico have been awarded, valued at nearly $350 million, and approximately 5,800 claims filed by Utah residents have been awarded, valued at approximately $330 million. Colorado residents have received awards in more than 3,200 claims, valued at more than $213 million.
Awards to Native American claimants total approximately $264 million distributed among members of 17 different tribes. The department has awarded more than 2,800 claims filed by members of the Navajo Nation, valued at more than $212 million. In addition, the department has awarded more than $24 million to members of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe and more than $9 million to members of the Apache Tribes.
Since 1990, the department has awarded more than 3,600 claims filed by veterans, civil servants and contractors who participated onsite in atmospheric nuclear tests, valued in excess of $266 million. Nearly $100 million of this compensation was awarded following a surge in claims filed in 2011 and 2012.
“This benchmark reflects the department’s efforts to help thousands of U.S. citizens reach closure on a unique chapter of our history,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kali N. Bracey of the Civil Division’s Torts Branch. The RECA is administered by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, a component of the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Litigation section within the Torts Branch.
The Department of Justice is a part of a broad inter-agency network that includes the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Energy, comprising the comprehensive federal radiation compensation system. Eligibility determinations are routinely coordinated with these agencies.
The RECA will expire on July 9, 2022, and claims received after that date will be barred. Individuals interested in filing a claim may visit the department’s RECA website or contact the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program at 800-729-7327.
Justice Department Announces Findings of Two Civil Rights Investigations in Ferguson, MissouriRead the Press Release
Justice Department Finds a Pattern of Civil Rights Violations by the Ferguson Police Department
The Justice Department announced the findings of its two civil rights investigations related to Ferguson, Missouri, today. The Justice Department found that the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution. The Justice Department also announced that the evidence examined in its independent, federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown does not support federal civil rights charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
“As detailed in our report, this investigation found a community that was deeply polarized, and where deep distrust and hostility often characterized interactions between police and area residents,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Our investigation showed that Ferguson police officers routinely violate the Fourth Amendment in stopping people without reasonable suspicion, arresting them without probable cause, and using unreasonable force against them. Now that our investigation has reached its conclusion, it is time for Ferguson’s leaders to take immediate, wholesale and structural corrective action. The report we have issued and the steps we have taken are only the beginning of a necessarily resource-intensive and inclusive process to promote reconciliation, to reduce and eliminate bias, and to bridge gaps and build understanding.”
“While the findings in Ferguson are very serious and the list of needed changes is long, the record of the Civil Rights Division’s work with police departments across the country shows that if the Ferguson Police Department truly commits to community policing, it can restore the trust it has lost,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “We look forward to working with City Officials and the many communities that make up Ferguson to develop and institute reforms that will focus the Ferguson Police Department on public safety and constitutional policing instead of revenue. Real community policing is possible and ensures that all people are equal before the law, and that law enforcement is seen as a part of, rather than distant from, the communities they serve.”
Attorney General Holder first announced the comprehensive pattern or practice investigation into the Ferguson Police Department after visiting that community in August 2014, and hearing directly from residents about police practices and the lack of trust between FPD and those they are sworn to protect. The investigation focused on the FPD’s use of force, including deadly force; stops, searches and arrests; discriminatory policing; and treatment of detainees inside Ferguson’s city jail by Ferguson police officers.
In the course of its pattern or practice investigation, the Civil Rights Division reviewed more than 35,000 pages of police records; interviewed and met with city, police and court officials, including the FPD’s chief and numerous other officers; conducted hundreds of in-person and telephone interviews, as well as participated in meetings with community members and groups; observed Ferguson Municipal Court sessions, and; analyzed FPD’s data on stops, searches and arrests. It found that the combination of Ferguson’s focus on generating revenue over public safety, along with racial bias, has a profound effect on the FPD’s police and court practices, resulting in conduct that routinely violates the Constitution and federal law. The department also found that these patterns created a lack of trust between the FPD and significant portions of Ferguson’s residents, especially African Americans.
The department found that the FPD has a pattern or practice of:
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Conducting stops without reasonable suspicion and arrests without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment;
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Interfering with the right to free expression in violation of the First Amendment; and
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Using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The department found that Ferguson Municipal Court has a pattern or practice of:
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Focusing on revenue over public safety, leading to court practices that violate the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection requirements.
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Court practices exacerbating the harm of Ferguson’s unconstitutional police practices and imposing particular hardship upon Ferguson’s most vulnerable residents, especially upon those living in or near poverty.Minor offenses can generate crippling debts, result in jail time because of an inability to pay and result in the loss of a driver’s license, employment, or housing.
The department found a pattern or practice of racial bias in both the FPD and municipal court:
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The harms of Ferguson’s police and court practices are borne disproportionately by African Americans and that this disproportionate impact is avoidable.
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Ferguson’s harmful court and police practices are due, at least in part, to intentional discrimination, as demonstrated by direct evidence of racial bias and stereotyping about African Americans by certain Ferguson police and municipal court officials.
The findings are laid out in a 100-page report that discusses the evidence and what remedies should be implemented to end the pattern or practice. The findings include two sets of recommendations, 26 in total, that the Justice Department believes are necessary to correct the unconstitutional FPD and Ferguson Municipal Court practices. The recommendations include: changing policing and court practices so that they are based on public safety instead of revenue; improving training and oversight; changing practices to reduce bias, and; ending an overreliance on arrest warrants as a means of collecting fines.
The Justice Department will require that the recommendations and other measures be part of a court-enforceable remedial process that includes involvement from community stakeholders as well as independent oversight. The Justice Department has provided its investigative report to the FPD and in the coming weeks, the Civil Rights Division will seek to work with the City of Ferguson and the Ferguson community to develop and reach an agreement for reform, using the recommendations in the report as the starting point.
The federal criminal investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown sought to determine whether the evidence from the events that led to Brown’s death was sufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Wilson’s actions violated federal civil rights laws that make it a federal crime for someone acting with law enforcement authority to willfully violate a person’s civil rights. As part of the investigation, federal authorities reviewed physical, ballistic, forensic, and crime scene evidence; medical reports and autopsy reports, including an independent autopsy performed by the U.S. Department of Defense Armed Forces Medical Examiner Service; Wilson’s personnel records; audio and video recordings; internet postings, and; the transcripts from the proceedings before the St. Louis County grand jury. Federal investigators interviewed purported eyewitnesses and other individuals claiming to have relevant information. Federal prosecutors and agents re-interviewed dozens of witnesses to evaluate their accounts and obtain more detailed information. FBI agents independently canvassed more than 300 residences to locate and interview additional witnesses.
The standard of proof is the same for all criminal cases: that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. However, unlike state laws, federal criminal civil rights statutes do not have the equivalent of manslaughter or a statute that makes negligence a crime. Federal statutes require the government to prove that Officer Wilson used unreasonable force when he shot Michael Brown and that he did so willfully, that is, he shot Brown knowing it was wrong and against the law to do so. After a careful and deliberative review of all of the evidence, the department has determined that the evidence does not establish that Darren Wilson violated the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute. The family of Michael Brown was notified earlier today of the department’s findings.
Due to the high interest in this case, the department took the rare step of publicly releasing the closing memo in the case. The report details, in over 80 pages, the evidence, including evidence from witnesses, the autopsies and physical evidence from the analysis of the DNA, blood, shooting scene and ballistics. The report also explains the law as developed by the federal courts and applies that law to the evidence.
DOJ Report on Shooting of Michael Brown
Ferguson Police Department Report
Pattern and Practice Typography
Pattern and Practice Chart
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Justice Department Announces Findings of Two Civil Rights Investigations in Ferguson, MissouriRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced the findings of its two civil rights investigations related to Ferguson, Missouri, today. The Justice Department found that the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution. The Justice Department also announced that the evidence examined in its independent, federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown does not support federal civil rights charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
"As detailed in our report, this investigation found a community that was deeply polarized, and where deep distrust and hostility often characterized interactions between police and area residents," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Our investigation showed that Ferguson police officers routinely violate the Fourth Amendment in stopping people without reasonable suspicion, arresting them without probable cause and using unreasonable force against them. Now that our investigation has reached its conclusion, it is time for Ferguson’s leaders to take immediate, wholesale and structural corrective action. The report we have issued and the steps we have taken are only the beginning of a necessarily resource-intensive and inclusive process to promote reconciliation, to reduce and eliminate bias, and to bridge gaps and build understanding."
"While the findings in Ferguson are very serious and the list of needed changes is long, the record of the Civil Rights Division’s work with police departments across the country shows that if the Ferguson Police Department truly commits to community policing, it can restore the trust it has lost," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. "We look forward to working with City Officials and the many communities that make up Ferguson to develop and institute reforms that will focus the Ferguson Police Department on public safety and constitutional policing instead of revenue. Real community policing is possible and ensures that all people are equal before the law, and that law enforcement is seen as a part of, rather than distant from, the communities they serve."
Attorney General Holder first announced the comprehensive pattern or practice investigation into the Ferguson Police Department after visiting that community in August 2014, and hearing directly from residents about police practices and the lack of trust between FPD and those they are sworn to protect. The investigation focused on the FPD’s use of force, including deadly force; stops, searches and arrests; discriminatory policing; and treatment of detainees inside Ferguson’s city jail by Ferguson police officers.
In the course of its pattern or practice investigation, the Civil Rights Division reviewed more than 35,000 pages of police records; interviewed and met with city, police and court officials, including the FPD’s chief and numerous other officers; conducted hundreds of in-person and telephone interviews, as well as participated in meetings with community members and groups; observed Ferguson Municipal Court sessions, and; analyzed FPD’s data on stops, searches and arrests. It found that the combination of Ferguson’s focus on generating revenue over public safety, along with racial bias, has a profound effect on the FPD’s police and court practices, resulting in conduct that routinely violates the Constitution and federal law. The department also found that these patterns created a lack of trust between the FPD and significant portions of Ferguson’s residents, especially African Americans.
The department found that the FPD has a pattern or practice of:
- Conducting stops without reasonable suspicion and arrests without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment;
- Interfering with the right to free expression in violation of the First Amendment; and
- Using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The department found that Ferguson Municipal Court has a pattern or practice of:
- Focusing on revenue over public safety, leading to court practices that violate the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection requirements.
- Court practices exacerbating the harm of Ferguson’s unconstitutional police practices and imposing particular hardship upon Ferguson’s most vulnerable residents, especially upon those living in or near poverty. Minor offenses can generate crippling debts, result in jail time because of an inability to pay and result in the loss of a driver’s license, employment, or housing.
The department found a pattern or practice of racial bias in both the FPD and municipal court:
- The harms of Ferguson’s police and court practices are borne disproportionately by African Americans and that this disproportionate impact is avoidable.
- Ferguson’s harmful court and police practices are due, at least in part, to intentional discrimination, as demonstrated by direct evidence of racial bias and stereotyping about African Americans by certain Ferguson police and municipal court officials.
The findings are laid out in a 100-page report that discusses the evidence and what remedies should be implemented to end the pattern or practice. The findings include two sets of recommendations, 26 in total, that the Justice Department believes are necessary to correct the unconstitutional FPD and Ferguson Municipal Court practices. The recommendations include: changing policing and court practices so that they are based on public safety instead of revenue; improving training and oversight; changing practices to reduce bias, and; ending an overreliance on arrest warrants as a means of collecting fines.
The Justice Department will require that the recommendations and other measures be part of a court-enforceable remedial process that includes involvement from community stakeholders, as well as independent oversight. The Justice Department has provided its investigative report to the FPD and in the coming weeks, the Civil Rights Division will seek to work with the City of Ferguson and the Ferguson community to develop and reach an agreement for reform, using the recommendations in the report as the starting point.
The federal criminal investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown sought to determine whether the evidence from the events that led to Brown’s death was sufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Wilson’s actions violated federal civil rights laws that make it a federal crime for someone acting with law enforcement authority to willfully violate a person’s civil rights. As part of the investigation, federal authorities reviewed physical, ballistic, forensic, and crime scene evidence; medical reports and autopsy reports, including an independent autopsy performed by the U.S. Department of Defense Armed Forces Medical Examiner Service; Wilson’s personnel records; audio and video recordings; internet postings, and; the transcripts from the proceedings before the St. Louis County grand jury. Federal investigators interviewed purported eyewitnesses and other individuals claiming to have relevant information. Federal prosecutors and agents re-interviewed dozens of witnesses to evaluate their accounts and obtain more detailed information. FBI agents independently canvassed more than 300 residences to locate and interview additional witnesses.
The standard of proof is the same for all criminal cases: that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. However, unlike state laws, federal criminal civil rights statutes do not have the equivalent of manslaughter or a statute that makes negligence a crime. Federal statutes require the government to prove that Officer Wilson used unreasonable force when he shot Michael Brown and that he did so willfully, that is, he shot Brown knowing it was wrong and against the law to do so. After a careful and deliberative review of all of the evidence, the department has determined that the evidence does not establish that Darren Wilson violated the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute. The family of Michael Brown was notified earlier today of the department’s findings.
Due to the high interest in this case, the department took the rare step of publicly releasing the closing memo in the case. The report details, in over 80 pages, the evidence, including evidence from witnesses, the autopsies and physical evidence from the analysis of the DNA, blood, shooting scene and ballistics. The report also explains the law as developed by the federal courts and applies that law to the evidence.
DOJ Report on Shooting of Michael Brown
Ferguson Police Department Report
Pattern and Practice Charts
Pattern and Practice Typography
Jury Convicts Armed Felon Who Led Police on Interstate ChaseRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that a jury in Athens, Georgia today convicted James Marcus Lloyd, III, age 41 from Charleston, South Carolina of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On June 24, 2013, Mr. Lloyd was stopped by a deputy with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office on Interstate 20 for several traffic violations. As the deputy stepped from his police car, Mr. Lloyd drove off, leading the police on a high-speed chase. During the chase, which reached speeds of 95 miles per hour, Mr. Lloyd passed numerous vehicles in the emergency lane, including semi-trailer tanker trucks. Eventually, Mr. Lloyd abandoned his car in the median of the Interstate and fled on foot before being caught and arrested by the police. In the path that Mr. Lloyd ran, a short distance from his car, the police found a loaded, semi-automatic 9mm pistol.
“James Marcus Lloyd, III, endangered innocent motorists and law enforcement with his high-speed flight from the police, and he endangered the community at large as a felon who possessed a firearm,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore. “With this jury verdict, he will be held accountable for both.”
The case was investigated by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Assistant United States Attorneys Tamara Jarrett and Peter Leary are handling the prosecution for the Government.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pam Lightsey at the United States Attorney’s Office at 478-752-3511.
Iowa Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth-Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Mason City man was sentenced February 25, 2015, for his role in a Mason City area methamphetamine conspiracy.
Scott Lee Bailey, age 44, of Mason City, Iowa, received his prison term after an October 16, 2014, guilty plea. Bailey pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Bailey was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in Stockton, California, in 2007.
Information provided by the United States at the sentencing and change of plea hearings showed Bailey distributed methamphetamine to confidential informants in the Mason City area. On May 1, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at defendant’s residence, and his 2001 Chevrolet. Officers seized from the residence a handgun, $5,613 in U.S. currency, prescription pills, surveillance equipment, baggies, and narcotic paraphernalia. Located in defendant’s vehicle was 18.72 grams 99% pure methamphetamine.
Bailey was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Bailey was sentenced to 292 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve an 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Bailey 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 Jack Lammers and investigated by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Mason City Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/. The case file number is CR 14-3046.
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Illinois Man Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – JASON CRIPE, Windsor, Illinois, was charged in a criminal complaint alleging wire fraud in connection with a bogus advertisement on Craigslist. According to the complaint, Cripe advertised two Bobcat tractors for sale on the website and accepted $12,800 in partial payment. When the delivery date came and went, Cripe is alleged to have offered numerous excuses for his non-delivery. Ultimately, after promising to repay the victims’ money, Cripe is alleged to have cut off communications with the victims and cannot be located. If any member of the public is aware of Cripe’s whereabouts, they are asked to contact the St. Louis office of the Secret Service at 314-529-2238.
If convicted, wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000. Restitution to the victims is also mandatory. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the St. Louis Office of the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.Huntsville Man Indicted in Conspiracy to Bribe Police Officer ArrestedRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM - Federal authorities today arrested a Huntsville man on charges he conspired with Huntsville Police Officer Lewis Hall in efforts to fix cocaine trafficking charges against an individual arrested by another Huntsville officer, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton and Huntsville Police Chief Lewis Morris.
A federal grand jury last week indicted CEDRIC DUANE RYANS, 42, on charges of conspiracy, bribery and obstruction of justice. The FBI arrested Ryans this morning.
The indictment charges that Ryans conspired with Hall to pay a second officer $5,000 if that officer would claim a July 29 vehicle search he conducted, which resulted in drug-trafficking charges against an "Individual A," was unlawful, thereby making the criminal case against that individual go away. The Huntsville officer who conducted the vehicle search and, subsequently, assisted in the investigation of Hall and Ryans, is identified only as "Cooperating Officer."
Hall pleaded guilty to the conspiracy Feb. 24 and is scheduled for sentencing July 14. According to Ryans' indictment, Ryans provided Hall money to bribe the Cooperating Officer.
On July 31, Ryans and Hall discussed offering the Cooperating Officer a bribe to tell other law enforcement officers that his search of Individual A's vehicle, which uncovered about three ounces of cocaine, was unlawful, according to Ryans' indictment. Hall offered the $5,000 bribe to Cooperating Officer that same day. On Aug. 12, Ryans gave Hall cash to deliver to Cooperating Officer, and Hall delivered $1,000 to the officer, according to Ryans' indictment. Ryans gave Hall more cash on Aug. 24 to pay the officer, the indictment says.
On Sept. 8, Ryans discussed the "fixed case" with Individual A, and Hall had two other conversations in November with Cooperating Officer about what the officer was supposed to say when asked about the search of Individual A's vehicle, the indictment says.
The bribery count charges Ryans with corruptly agreeing to give $5,000 to the Cooperating Officer, an agent of the City of Huntsville and its police department, which received more than $10,000 in federal benefits within one year, to influence the officer in how he reported the July 29 vehicle search.The obstruction of justice count charges Ryans with offering the bribe with the intent to delay or prevent the reporting of a felony or possible felony offense and the violation of conditions of supervised release by Individual A. According to Hall's plea agreement with the government, Individual A was on supervised release following a 15-year prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance when the Cooperating Officer pulled him over on a traffic stop July 29.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the bribery count is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum for the obstruction count is 20 years in prison and a $250,000.The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney George A. Martin Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Honduran National Sentenced for Violating the Federal Gun Control ActRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that SANTOS GAVARRETE-NATAREN, 36, a native of Honduras, was sentenced today for knowingly delivering a firearm to a common carrier without written notice.
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhart sentenced GAVARRETE-NATAREN to 24 months incarceration, followed by 5 years of supervised release and a $1,000 fine.
According to court documents, on or about December 2, 2013, Dip Shipping, a common carrier based in Kenner, received a plastic container for international shipment at its West Bank drop-off location. The container was purportedly from Alfredo Barahona, addressed to Yessenia Martinez in Yoro, Honduras. The shipping label noted that the shipment contained kitchen items and shoes.
While scanning packages with a company-owned X-ray machine, a Dip Shipping employee observed the image of two firearms inside the container. On December 9, 2013, HSI Special Agents were notified of the discovery and responded to Dip Shipping. Upon inspecting the container, the agents discovered that it contained a Smith & Wesson model 642, .38 revolver (SN: CJJ4544) and a Lorcin model L380, .380 semi-automatic handgun (SN: 125407).
HSI agents determined that GAVARRETE shipped the package. GAVARRETE admitted that he did not apply for an export license to ship the firearms. Further, he did not advise Dip Shipping that the package contained firearms.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Homeland Security Agents investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield was in charge of prosecuting this case.
Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Drug and Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Neil Thomas, a/k/a “Menace”, was convicted of conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Thomas, 30, formerly of Moon Twp. and Imperial, Pa., pled guilty before United States District Judge David S. Cercone. Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing to occur on July 8, 2015, at 11 a.m.
In support of the guilty plea, the Court was informed that Thomas distributed hundreds of grams of heroin to other heroin dealers in Western Pennsylvania during the months leading up to his arrest in October 2013. The Court was also informed that Thomas stored heroin and firearms at his residence in Allegheny County and would meet customers there, sometimes while his children were also at the residence. A loaded Beretta pistol was found during the service of a search warrant at Thomas’s residence on Oct. 17, 2013, in a location that was accessible to children. In addition, the Court was informed that, had the case gone to trial, the prosecution would have presented evidence that Thomas threatened to harm an associate who owed money for heroin and Thomas fired shots into an apartment building in August 2013 where another drug-trafficking associate he was feuding with lived.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of at least 15 years and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $8,250,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office led the multi-agency investigation of this case that also included the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Moon Township Police Department, the North Fayette Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, the McKees Rocks Police Department, the Cranberry Township Police Department, the McKeesport Police Department, and the Wilkinsburg Police Department.
Hartford Man Convicted of Multiple Drug and Gun OffensesRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that RASHAUD JONES, also known as “Buck,” 32, of Hartford and Windsor, has been convicted of multiple narcotics and firearm offenses. On March 2, after a week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford, a jury found JONES guilty of all counts in a seven-count indictment.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, the Hartford Police Department and the Bristol Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey M. Stone and Peter D. Markle.
According to the evidence disclosed during the trial, this matter stems from a joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force. On December 18, 2012, investigators conducted a motor vehicle stop of JONES and seized more than $9,000 in cash, three cellular telephones and other evidence. Investigators then conducted court-authorized searches of JONES’s apartment at 232 Westland Street in Hartford and a car parked at the residence and seized approximately 935 grams of crack cocaine, approximately 635 grams of powder cocaine, narcotics packaging material, a loaded .22 Taurus revolver, a 9mm High Point pistol, a Ruger 345 .45 caliber firearm, a loaded .45 caliber magazine, a loaded .9mm magazine and additional ammunition.
Prior to December 2012, JONES had been convicted of multiple felony offenses.
JONES was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”), one count of possession with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base, one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base, possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon.
Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for May 26, 2015, at which time JONES faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Former Utilities Workers Union President Admits Embezzling $31KRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A former union official pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of union embezzlement, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Michael C. Trembulak, 41, of Pittsburgh, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Court Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Trembulak, while serving as the President of the Utility Workers Union of America AFL-CIO Local 475, embezzled approximately $31,528.65 from the union by making unauthorized debit card cash withdrawals, charges and purchases, and unauthorized teller cash withdrawals, from the union’s checking account during the period from April 19, 2012, to Sept. 19, 2012.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for June 29, 2015 at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentence, the court released Trembulak on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
Former UBS Client Sentenced to Federal Prison for Hiding Income and Assets from IRS in Foreign Bank AccountsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Gregg A. Kaminsky has been sentenced for wilfully failing to file a Foreign Bank Account Report with the U.S. Department of Treasury in connection with his concealment of income and assets in accounts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Thailand over several years, as well as his failure to report certain income earned in the virtual world, “Second Life.”
“Federal tax revenue is crucial to protecting our borders; fighting terrorism, cybercrime, and other national security threats; providing disaster relief; and to performing other critical government functions,” said Acting U. S. Attorney John Horn. “This office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who intentionally avoid paying their fair share, whether their schemes involve income earned or hidden offshore, here at home, or even in a virtual world.”
“U.S. citizens who seek to avoid their tax obligations by hiding income in undeclared bank accounts abroad should by now be fully on notice that they will be held accountable for their actions, both civilly and criminally,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot. “Americans who file accurate, honest and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don't.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Citizens and residents of the United States who have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 at any time during a calendar year are required to file with the U.S. Department of Treasury a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts,” commonly referred to as the “FBAR.” The FBAR for the applicable year must be filed by June 30 of the following year.
Kaminsky is an Internet entrepreneur who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Circlenet LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2000 through mid-2009, Kaminsky owned and controlled a foreign bank account with Union Bank of Switzerland AG (“UBS”), one of the biggest banks in Switzerland and largest wealth managers in the world. By 2006, Kaminsky’s UBS account held approximately $1.1 million. From time to time between 2002 and 2009, Kaminsky caused funds to be wire-transferred from his UBS account in Switzerland to other foreign bank accounts controlled by him in Thailand and Hong Kong. Also during that time, Kaminsky caused his income from at least two different U.S. companies to be direct-deposited into his UBS account in Switzerland.
Yet, over this period, Kaminsky did not disclose his UBS account or other foreign financial accounts to the U. S. Treasury Department as required, and thereby concealed several hundred thousand dollars in taxable income, interest, and dividends from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In addition, in 2007 and 2008, Kaminsky omitted his UBS account and associated income from Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that he electronically filed with the U.S. Department of Education in order to qualify for need-based federal financial aid to fund his tuition for an Executive MBA program at Emory University. At the time of the FAFSA applications, Kaminsky controlled over a half million dollars in his UBS account, which would have made him ineligible for federal student loan assistance.
On June 30, 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice sought court approval to compel UBS to disclose the identities of U.S. account holders who may be using UBS accounts to hide assets overseas and thereby evade U.S. taxes. The request and the order authorizing it were widely reported by the media throughout the United States, and this coverage continued throughout 2008 and 2009 as the U.S., UBS, and Switzerland negotiated a resolution and UBS began disclosing U.S. account holders to the IRS.
Following this news, Kaminsky closed his UBS account and transferred the balance of his UBS account to an account that he controlled at HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. Further, in spring 2010, Kaminsky filed FBARs for his Swiss and Hong Kong accounts for the very first time, also filing amended individual income tax returns for 2007 and 2008 that disclosed the previously unreported income in his UBS account. However, in his amended 2007 and 2008 returns, and in his subsequently filed returns for 2009 through 2012, Kaminsky still failed to report nearly $150,000 in taxable income earned from his business activities in the virtual world, “Second Life.”
Participants in Second Life, referred to as “residents,” can engage in a wide variety of business activities, including buying, renting, and sub-leasing virtual land and buying and selling other virtual goods, services, and experiences for their “avatars.” Transactions are conducted using a virtual currency, “Linden Dollars.” Linden Dollars can be bought and traded on the “Linden Exchange,” and are redeemable for cash.
Including his virtual world income, Kaminsky failed to report over $400,000 in income to the IRS between 2000 and 2012, resulting in a loss to the IRS of approximately $125,000.
Kaminsky, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today to serve four months in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, two months of home confinement, and 200 hours of community service. Kaminsky was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $91,983. Kaminsky was convicted on these charges on December 18, 2014, after he pleaded guilty. As part of his plea agreement with the United States, Kaminsky was also required to pay a civil penalty to the IRS in the amount of $250,635.20, which is equivalent to fifty percent of the value of the balance in Kaminsky’s HSBC account in Hong Kong as of June 30, 2009.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Valuable assistance was also provided by Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney David M. Chaiken prosecuted the case.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/Former Truck Driver Found Guilty on ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Margaret McFarland
PHONE: (716) 843-5877
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.– A federal jury in Buffalo has returned a verdict of guilty of all counts of an Indictment charging David Allen Vickers, 50, of Stanley, NY with transportation of minors with the intent to have sex, announced U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., of the Western District of New York.“That this defendant continuously abused numerous children over almost a quarter of a century makes him one of the area’s most prolific and dangerous abusers we have convicted,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Thanks to the courage of four of the victims who testified, today’s verdicts mean that this defendant will never again harm another child.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Elizabeth R. Moellering stated that the jury found the defendant guilty of transporting two minors in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. According to the evidence introduced at trial, the defendant, an over the road truck driver, transported two victims to Canada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and repeatedly abused and molested them while he was making deliveries. This abuse occurred in the time frame of 1999 to 2007.
The trial evidence also disclosed that the defendant abused other children, with the first abuse beginning in 1983. This pattern of abuse included extensive psychological manipulation of the victims (sometimes referred to as “grooming”), and was facilitated through the defendant’s projection of benevolence to the victims’ families. The defendant also established and operated a bed and breakfast on Seneca Lake, “Paradise on the Lake,” to which he took the eventual victims in an effort to manipulate and gain their trust. The defendant also gave the victims alcohol, cigarettes, toys, and access to ATVs.
The defendant’s cover was so successful, in fact, that both of the victims named in the Indictment had at one time been assigned to the custody of the defendant by a Family Court Judge.
The sentencing is scheduled for June 24, 2015. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.
The trial was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Brian P. Boetig, Special Agent in Charge, and the Batavia City Police Department under the direction of Chief Shawn Heubusch. The evidence was presented to the jury by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Elizabeth R. Moellering. The case was heard by United States District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Former New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 10 Years in Prison for Role in Bribery and Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that former New York City Council Member DANIEL HALLORAN was sentenced today in White Plains federal court to 10 years in prison in connection with his role in arranging the bribery of New York City Republican leaders to allow New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, to run as a Republican candidate for New York City Mayor in 2013, and accepting a $15,000 cash bribe in exchange for designating up to $80,000 in New York City funds to a non-profit entity that would allow the money to be embezzled through a no-show job. HALLORAN was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas, who presided over the two-month trial that resulted in HALLORAN’S conviction in August 2014.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “When elected officials, like Daniel Halloran, not only corrupt themselves but, unseen, corrupt the body politic from within they undermine the public’s confidence in a representative form of government. I would like to thank our law enforcement partners at the FBI and the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office for working with us to ensure that the defendant was pursued, prosecuted, and faced justice.”
According to the Complaint and the Indictment filed in federal court, the evidence admitted at trial, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
HALLORAN was elected to the New York City Council in 2009, representing a district in Queens, New York. While a member of the city council, HALLORAN participated in two overlapping criminal schemes that involved the payment of bribes to obtain official action. First, HALLORAN arranged for $110,000 in cash bribes to be paid to leaders of the Republican Party so that they would allow Smith to run for mayor on the Republican Party’s ballot line. Second, HALLORAN accepted an up-front kickback of $15,000 for designating up to $80,000 of New York City Council discretionary funding to a company he believed was controlled by those who paid him the bribes.
The Bribery of Republican Party Leaders
From November 2012 until his arrest in April 2013, HALLORAN agreed with Smith, an undercover FBI agent posing as a wealthy real estate developer (the “UC”), and a cooperating witness (“CW”) to bribe New York City Republican Party leaders in exchange for their authorization of Smith to appear as a Republican candidate for New York City Mayor in 2013, even though Smith is a registered Democrat.
In furtherance of the scheme, HALLORAN arranged for the UC and the CW to meet Vincent Tabone, the Vice Chairman of the Queens County Republican Party, Joseph Savino, the Chairman of the Bronx County Republican Party, and other party leaders. HALLORAN also negotiated the size of bribes that the party leaders required in order to authorize Smith to run on the Republican ballot line. During a meeting with the UC, Tabone accepted a $25,000 cash bribe and agreed to accept another $25,000 after his committee authorized Smith to compete in the Republican primary. Savino similarly accepted a $15,000 cash bribe and agreed to accept another $15,000 after he voted to authorize Smith to compete for the Republican ballot line. In return for his efforts, HALLORAN accepted $15,500 as a down payment on a “broker’s” fee of at least $75,000 and expected to be appointed First Deputy Mayor if Smith was elected mayor.
Bribery for City Council Discretionary Funding
From August 2012 until his arrest in April 2013, HALLORAN accepted an up-front kickback of $15,000 cash from the UC and the CW in exchange for agreeing to steer up to $80,000 in New York City Council discretionary funding to a consulting company he believed was controlled by the UC and the CW (the “Company”).
At a meeting on September 7, 2012, at which HALLORAN and the UC discussed HALLORAN’s need to raise money for his congressional campaign, HALLORAN agreed to hire someone of the CW’s choosing for a congressional staff or some equivalent position, and to help him raise money for his campaign. During the discussion, HALLORAN said: “That’s politics, that’s politics, it’s all about how much. Not whether or will, it’s about how much, and that’s our politicians in New York, they’re all like that…And they get like that because of the drive that the money does for everything else. You can’t do anything without the f***ing money.” During the meeting, the CW paid HALLORAN $7,500. And near the end of the meeting, HALLORAN remarked: “Money is what greases the wheels – good bad, or indifferent.”
In furtherance of this scheme, HALLORAN wrote two letters on New York City Council letterhead about this funding, one to civic organizations and the other to the Company. Despite suggesting in these letters that work would be done by the Company to support the allotment of taxpayer money, HALLORAN agreed with the UC and the CW that the Company would provide no services.
In addition to the prison term, HALLORAN, 42, of Queens, New York, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $45,300. HALLORAN’s co-conspirators, Smith and Tabone, were convicted for their roles in the bribery conspiracy in January 2015 and are currently scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Karas on July 1, 2015.
In the sentencing of HALLORAN, Judge Karas remarked, “This was a very serious crime. When a public official gets into cars and takes wads of cash or promises public money in return for cash to the politician, it is so troubling. It causes us all to be cynical about our leaders. It causes us to doubt that our leaders are looking after us. And it's a very serious matter.”
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division and Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas B. Bloom and Justin Anderson are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Grady Hospital Payroll Director Sentenced for Embezzling from GradyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Donald Thomas, the former payroll director for the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison for stealing nearly half a million dollars from the longstanding public institution.
“As a result of the defendant’s embezzlement, Grady Hospital lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that otherwise would have gone towards patient care,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Grady has made monumental changes to restore its financial health, and Thomas used his position of trust at the hospital to harm these efforts simply for his own personal gain. Today he goes to prison.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “This sentencing is the price paid for stealing funds from a valued health care institution such as Grady Hospital. The FBI will continue to provide investigative assistance to help protect these institutions that give so much back to their community as Grady does.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From December 1994 through June 2011, Thomas served as Assistant Controller for Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation. Grady Hospital has provided health care to thousands of Atlanta-area residents – a large portion of whom are uninsured – for over one hundred years. It has long provided low-cost or free medical care to indigent patients.
While serving as payroll director, Thomas had nearly exclusive control over Grady’s payroll systems. For over three of those years, he falsified additional vacation pay and severance pay for former Grady employees and had the funds deposited into his own accounts. Because Thomas was careful about reversing his fraudulent changes to the payroll system and had most of the funds deposited into a business account, rather than his own, the scheme went undetected. Thomas was laid off in a workforce reduction in 2011, before the fraud was discovered.
Prior to leaving Grady in 2011, Thomas became less careful about covering his tracks, and as a result, some of the falsified pay was reported as income on the former employees’ federal W-2 tax forms. In early 2012, one of those employees noticed the inflated income amount and reported it to Grady. Further investigation led to the discovery of 136 fraudulent transactions in all. Over the course of the scheme, Thomas stole over $480,000.
Thomas, 55, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. to seven years and three months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $482,851.76 in restitution to Grady Hospital. On December 5, 2014, a jury convicted Thomas of six counts of theft from an organization receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, and two counts of bank fraud. At trial, witnesses from Grady explained how Thomas manipulated the payroll system, as well as the effect of the financial loss on Grady’s ability to provide medical services.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shanya Dingle and G. Scott Hulsey prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.Former Corporate Executives Sentenced for Securities Fraud and Tax Offenses in Multi-Million Dollar SchemeRead the Press Release
Gilbert Fiorentino, 54, and Carl Fiorentino, 57, both of Coral Gables, Florida, were sentenced yesterday in Federal Court in the Southern District of Florida, in connection with their participation in an illegal scheme to obtain more than $11 million dollars in kickbacks and other benefits, and to conceal this illicit income from the IRS, while employed as senior executives at Systemax, Inc. (“Systemax”) and its subsidiary, TigerDirect, Inc. (“TigerDirect”). Carl Fiorentino was sentenced to 80 months’ imprisonment. Gilbert Fiorentino was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. A hearing to determine the remaining amount of restitution owed to Systemax by the defendants, who are brothers, has been scheduled for April 3, 2015.
On December 2, 2014, Carl Fiorentino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion, and Gilbert Fiorentino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and to impair and impede the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service.
The sentences were announced by Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Gilbert and Carl Fiorentino hid their ill-gotten financial gains from the IRS and the shareholders of Systemax. They violated their positions of trust by accepting illegal kickbacks, driving up the price of the consumer electronics and passing the price increase to the consumer. Yesterday’s sentences demonstrate our commitment to root out corporate fraud and enforce the laws that protect investors in financial markets.”
“For years, the brothers Fiorentino financed their luxury lifestyles with illicit kickbacks, all the while concealing their fraudulent gains from the shareholders of Systemax and the IRS. Such illegal self-enrichment, at the expense of a publicly-traded corporation and the IRS, cannot be tolerated,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Yesterday’s sentences should serve as a stern reminder that those who commit corporate fraud will be held accountable.”
Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, stated, “The Fiorentinos financed their extravagant lifestyle with $11 million in kickbacks. These kickbacks paid for, among other things, a waterfront Florida mansion. But the excess ends today. This sentence should put anyone who plans to shakedown shareholders on notice.”
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Kelly R. Jackson stated, “These high-ranking corporate officials undermined the process of fair and open competition and broke the law when they obtained unlawful kickbacks. They then took steps to hide these kickbacks from Systemax and the IRS. Yesterday’s sentencing sends a clear message to other corporate officials that this type of criminal behavior will be punished. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to investigate corporate officers who misuse their positions of trust and violate the tax laws.”
Systemax had its principal place of business in Port Washington, New York, and sold personal computers and other consumer electronics through its websites, retail stores, and direct mail catalogs including TigerDirect, CompUSA, and Circuit City. In fiscal year 2010, Systemax had annual sales revenue of approximately $3.6 billion according to its public filings. Gilbert Fiorentino was a director of Systemax and was the Chief Executive Officer of its Technology Product Group, including its subsidiary TigerDirect. Carl Fiorentino was the former president of TigerDirect. Both defendants worked at TigerDirect’s Miami offices before they were terminated on April 18, 2011.
As senior executives of Systemax and TigerDirect, Gilbert Fiorentino and Carl Fiorentino had responsibility for, among other things, purchasing and sourcing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of computer and electronics items for Systemax and its various operations. Gilbert Fiorentino and Carl Fiorentino conspired with each other and third parties to obtain unlawful kickbacks in exchange for steering business to companies that paid the kickbacks. For example, Carl Fiorentino received millions of dollars in payments from one TigerDirect supplier, including more than $3 million to pay for his waterfront residence in Gables Estates and millions of dollars’ worth of luxury furniture, art, and high-end electronics. Gilbert Fiorentino received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments. These included deliveries of gold coins, cash handed over in the parking lot of the Miami offices of TigerDirect, and furniture and other goods and services delivered to his Gables Estates waterfront home.
In connection with this scheme, Carl and Gilbert Fiorentino filed false United States Individual Income Tax Returns and also regularly signed conflict of interest questionnaires in which they falsely and fraudulently concealed from Systemax their receipt of cash and other remuneration from vendors who did business with the company. In doing so, they mislead Systemax’s auditors and prevented them from performing accurate reviews and audits of the company’s books, records, and accounts. Additionally, when Carl Fiorentino learned that he was under investigation by the government, he obstructed justice by instructing witnesses to lie to federal authorities to conceal his criminal conduct.
This case was originally investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York with the assistance of the FBI New York Field Office and the IRS-CI Miami Field Office. Carl Fiorentino was previously charged in the Eastern District of New York on June 18, 2013, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. The case involving Carl Fiorentino was transferred to the Southern District of Florida by court order on January 6, 2014.
The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerrob Duffy of the Southern District of Florida and Whitman G.S. Knapp of the Eastern District of New York.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement and investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Former Corporate Executives Sentenced for Securities Fraud and Tax Offenses in Multi-Million Dollar SchemeRead the Press Release
Gilbert Fiorentino, 54, and Carl Fiorentino, 57, both of Coral Gables, Florida, were sentenced yesterday in Federal Court in the Southern District of Florida, in connection with their participation in an illegal scheme to obtain more than $11 million dollars in kickbacks and other benefits, and to conceal this illicit income from the IRS, while employed as senior executives at Systemax, Inc. (“Systemax”) and its subsidiary, TigerDirect, Inc. (“TigerDirect”). Carl Fiorentino was sentenced to 80 months’ imprisonment. Gilbert Fiorentino was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. A hearing to determine the remaining amount of restitution owed to Systemax by the defendants, who are brothers, has been scheduled for April 3, 2015.
On December 2, 2014, Carl Fiorentino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion, and Gilbert Fiorentino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and to impair and impede the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service.
The sentences were announced by Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Gilbert and Carl Fiorentino hid their ill-gotten financial gains from the IRS and the shareholders of Systemax. They violated their positions of trust by accepting illegal kickbacks, driving up the price of the consumer electronics and passing the price increase to the consumer. Yesterday’s sentences demonstrate our commitment to root out corporate fraud and enforce the laws that protect investors in financial markets.”
“For years, the brothers Fiorentino financed their luxury lifestyles with illicit kickbacks, all the while concealing their fraudulent gains from the shareholders of Systemax and the IRS. Such illegal self-enrichment, at the expense of a publicly-traded corporation and the IRS, cannot be tolerated,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Yesterday’s sentences should serve as a stern reminder that those who commit corporate fraud will be held accountable.”
Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, stated, “The Fiorentinos financed their extravagant lifestyle with $11 million in kickbacks. These kickbacks paid for, among other things, a waterfront Florida mansion. But the excess ends today. This sentence should put anyone who plans to shakedown shareholders on notice.”
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Kelly R. Jackson stated, “These high-ranking corporate officials undermined the process of fair and open competition and broke the law when they obtained unlawful kickbacks. They then took steps to hide these kickbacks from Systemax and the IRS. Yesterday’s sentencing sends a clear message to other corporate officials that this type of criminal behavior will be punished. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to investigate corporate officers who misuse their positions of trust and violate the tax laws.”
Systemax had its principal place of business in Port Washington, New York, and sold personal computers and other consumer electronics through its websites, retail stores, and direct mail catalogs including TigerDirect, CompUSA, and Circuit City. In fiscal year 2010, Systemax had annual sales revenue of approximately $3.6 billion according to its public filings. Gilbert Fiorentino was a director of Systemax and was the Chief Executive Officer of its Technology Product Group, including its subsidiary TigerDirect. Carl Fiorentino was the former president of TigerDirect. Both defendants worked at TigerDirect’s Miami offices before they were terminated on April 18, 2011.
As senior executives of Systemax and TigerDirect, Gilbert Fiorentino and Carl Fiorentino had responsibility for, among other things, purchasing and sourcing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of computer and electronics items for Systemax and its various operations. Gilbert Fiorentino and Carl Fiorentino conspired with each other and third parties to obtain unlawful kickbacks in exchange for steering business to companies that paid the kickbacks. For example, Carl Fiorentino received millions of dollars in payments from one TigerDirect supplier, including more than $3 million to pay for his waterfront residence in Gables Estates and millions of dollars’ worth of luxury furniture, art, and high-end electronics. Gilbert Fiorentino received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments. These included deliveries of gold coins, cash handed over in the parking lot of the Miami offices of TigerDirect, and furniture and other goods and services delivered to his Gables Estates waterfront home.
In connection with this scheme, Carl and Gilbert Fiorentino filed false United States Individual Income Tax Returns and also regularly signed conflict of interest questionnaires in which they falsely and fraudulently concealed from Systemax their receipt of cash and other remuneration from vendors who did business with the company. In doing so, they mislead Systemax’s auditors and prevented them from performing accurate reviews and audits of the company’s books, records, and accounts. Additionally, when Carl Fiorentino learned that he was under investigation by the government, he obstructed justice by instructing witnesses to lie to federal authorities to conceal his criminal conduct.
This case was originally investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York with the assistance of the FBI New York Field Office and the IRS-CI Miami Field Office. Carl Fiorentino was previously charged in the Eastern District of New York on June 18, 2013, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. The case involving Carl Fiorentino was transferred to the Southern District of Florida by court order on January 6, 2014.
The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerrob Duffy of the Southern District of Florida and Whitman G.S. Knapp of the Eastern District of New York.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement and investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Florida Man and Woman Indicted on Fraud Charge Involving Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – ALEXSANDR RABIKOV, a native of Belarus and permanent resident of the United States, living in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area, and his girlfriend, YULIA BELOMYTTSEVA, a Russian citizen also residing in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area, were indicted by a federal grand jury February 11, charging the couple with conspiracy to steal government funds and commit aggravated identity theft. They made their initial appearance in federal court in St. Louis today.
Both have been charged with participating in a conspiracy that targeted a local bank for personal identifiers and spanned across the country and overseas.
According to the indictment and other court papers, Rabikov and Belomyttseva accepted tax refunds paid out by the United States upon receipt of false and fraudulent tax returns filed in the names of American taxpayers. One source of identifiers was the computer system of the Southern Commercial Bank, a financial institution headquartered in St. Louis. Rabikov and Belomyttseva are alleged to have directed proceeds of the conspiracy to financial accounts they controlled in the names of other individuals. It is alleged that members of the conspiracy pay account holders to turn over control of accounts so that the proceeds of the conspiracy are not all directed to financial accounts held in the Defendants’ names. Rabikov is alleged to have recruited Belomyttseva, his girlfriend, into the conspiracy.
If convicted, both defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Federal Jury Finds Munhall Man Guilty of Illegally Possessing Weapons and AmmoRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - Andre Ruffin, a former resident of Munhall, Pa., was convicted by a federal jury of five men and seven women in front of Senior United States District Judge Terrence F. McVerry in Pittsburgh, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today. Ruffin was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.
According to information that was presented at pretrial hearings, Ruffin had been under investigation, by the Allegheny County Police – Homicide Section, for the death of Loretta Jackson that occurred on April 11, 2013. During that investigation, as was revealed at trial, a search warrant was executed at Ruffin’s home on April 22, 2013. During the search of Ruffin’s residence officers recovered an assault weapon and a component for an assault weapon known as a lower receiver. Officers also recovered multiple rounds of various caliber ammunition, a bullet proof vest, firearms holsters, firearms magazines, and various firearms paraphernalia and components.
Subsequent to the search, Special Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) obtained records and conducted interviews that demonstrated that Ruffin had used his girlfriend (as a “straw purchaser”) to purchase the two firearms from Anthony Arms and Accessories, a West Mifflin firearms dealer, for his own possession. As a convicted felon, Ruffin was not legally permitted to purchase or possess firearms or ammunition. ATF also obtained records and information revealing more than a dozen deliveries of firearms-related parts and paraphernalia were made to the Ruffin home.
Federal law prohibits a person who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment in excess of one year from lawfully possessing a firearm, firearm components such as a receiver, and ammunition. The Superseding Indictment alleged that Ruffin has been convicted of a multitude of felony offenses including: carjacking; using a firearm during a crime of violence; robbery; attempted theft; and aggravated assault.
Judge McVerry ordered the forfeiture of the firearms and ammunition recovered, and scheduled Ruffin’s sentencing for June 26, 2015 at 10 a.m. Because of the type and number of his previous convictions, the law provides for a total sentence of at least 15 years in prison and up to life, a fine of up to $250,000.00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant. Pending sentencing, the court ordered that the defendant remain in jail and he was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan B. Ortiz and Ross E. Lenhardt prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office - Crime Laboratory, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Munhall Police Department and the United States Marshal Service conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case.
Any person having information relating to Ruffin and/or the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Allegheny County Police Department – Homicide Section should contact Lieutenant Andrew Shurman at 412-473-1300.
Federal Jury Convicts Illegal Alien of Trafficking Pounds of Meth to Great FallsRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – Late Tuesday a federal jury in Great Falls convicted Eduardo Ocegueda-Ruiz, 30, of Los Angeles, California of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. After the guilty verdicts were read, Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls set sentencing for June 3, 2015. Ocegueda-Ruiz, who has been convicted previously of numerous drug felonies in California, faces life in prison, and if ever released, a lifetime of supervised release, and $10,000,000 in fines.
Ocegueda-Ruiz was charged in a multiple-count indictment with 19 other defendants as part of a methamphetamine conspiracy entitled “Operation Highline Crystal Highway.” The 19 co-defendants have all plead guilty to felony drugs and gun charges and are awaiting sentencing.
During the 2-day trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Betley and Tara Elliott presented evidence that during the winter and spring of 2013, the Russell Country Drug Task Force began to investigate a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization operating out of Great Falls. Throughout the next 18 months, agents discovered large quantities of methamphetamine were routinely being transported from Los Angeles, California, to various areas of Montana, including Butte, Great Falls, and Havre by Ocegueda-Ruiz and co-defendant, Joshua Rodriguez.
Intercepted conversations and informants provided evidence that Ocegueda-Ruiz wanted to come to Montana to “kick in doors with guns blazing,” and appeared to be Rodriguez’s strong arm and enforcer. Ocegueda-Ruiz told co-defendants that he is “illegal” and described how he crosses the border from Mexico into the United States. In addition, Ocegueda-Ruiz admitted to other members of the conspiracy that he and Rodriguez intended to kill another conspirator because the conspirator was “out of control” and causing too much trouble. Witnesses established that Ocegueda-Ruiz regularly brandished firearms as a way to intimidate and threaten other actors in the drug distribution operation.
Ocegueda-Ruiz and Rodriguez made a final trip from California to Montana in the early morning hours of September 25, 2014. At approximately 4 a.m., California Highway Patrol Troopers conducted a traffic stop on a car driven by Rodriguez near Victorville, California. Troopers identified Rodriguez as the driver of the car and Ocegueda-Ruiz as the passenger. The California Highway Patrol’s drug dog alerted to the rear of the car where troopers seized 888.1 grams, or approximately two pounds, of pure methamphetamine. Troopers also seized a scale and empty baggies. Aware that Rodriguez and the defendant were the subject of the Montana investigation, and that allowing the pair to continue on would further that investigation, the troopers advised Ocegueda-Ruiz and Rodriguez that criminal charges would be forthcoming but that they would be released until charges were filed. Ocegueda-Ruiz and Rodriguez were allowed to leave and continued, under law enforcement surveillance, on to Montana.
When Rodriguez and Ocegueda-Ruiz arrived in Montana, they dropped off an amount of methamphetamine in Butte in the early morning hours and then continued on to Great Falls. Ocegueda Ruiz and Rodriguez checked into a Great Falls hotel and then Ocegueda Ruiz went directly to the Holiday Village mall where he conducted a transaction involving the exchange of guns and drugs. Ocegueda Ruiz went into a local restaurant and was arrested when he came back out. Ocegueda-Ruiz had a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his waistband and a loaded 40 caliber pistol in a restaurant take-out bag. He was also carrying about 70 rounds of ammunition. A search of the local hotel room where Ocegueda-Ruiz and Rodriguez had registered upon their arrival in Great Falls yielded another five pounds, more or less, of pure methamphetamine. The street value of the methamphetamine seized by the California Highway Patrol and the Russell Country Drug Task Force was approximately $340,000.
The investigation is a cooperative effort between the Russell Country Drug Task Force which includes law enforcement officers from the Great Falls Police Department, Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol, as well as the Havre Police Department, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, California Highway Patrol, and Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Rockwall Man on Prepubescent Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Christian C. Winchel, 48, of Rockwall, Texas, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Dallas on multiple federal child pornography offenses involving prepubescent child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Specifically, the indictment charges Winchel with one count of production of child pornography, one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, and two counts of possession of prepubescent child pornography. Winchel has been in custody since his arrest on a related federal criminal complaint in early February 2015.
According to documents filed in the case, on February 4, 2015, special agents with FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force executed a federal search warrant at Winchel’s home. Law enforcement located and forensically reviewed multiple files of child pornography, including images of prepubescent child pornography.
Count one of the indictment alleges that on July 23, 2014, Winchel used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. Count two of the indictment alleges that on February 1, 2013, Winchel transported images and videos of child pornography from Indiana to Texas. Counts three and four of the indictment allege that on February 4, 2015, Winchel possessed images of prepubescent child pornography on an external hard drive and on a thumb drive.
An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the statutory penalty for the production count is not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in prison. The statutory penalty for the transportation count is not less than five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. Each of the possession counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison. In addition, each count carries up to a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release.
The matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
Anyone who knows of someone who may have been victimized in this case is asked to contact the FBI at 972-559-5000.
The FBI’s Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force is conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.
East St. Louis Man Sentenced to over Five Years for Possession of A Firearm by A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that William A. Moore, 29, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court in East St. Louis for the crime of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
Moore was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison, to be followed by 2 years’ supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a fine of $500. The charge relates to an incident that occurred on December 30, 2013, in East St. Louis, Illinois, when law enforcement agents went to Moore’s home on a state arrest warrant and discovered four firearms in the home. Moore was previously convicted of possession with intent to deliver marijuana on April 8, 2004, in St. Clair County. The sentencing judge also ordered forfeiture of the firearms.
The case was investigated by members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Clark.
Drug Courier Sentenced to 50 MonthsRead the Press Release
Rodolpho Hernandez Flores, a 47-year old Mexican national, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Michael J. Reagan to 50 months in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of heroin, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
According to court documents, Flores pled guilty to driving 5.4 kilograms of heroin, hidden in his truck, across the United States to Ohio. An Illinois State Police Trooper stopped Flores on Interstate 55 in April 2014 and following an alert by a drug canine, law enforcement found the heroin in a concealed compartment within the truck. Flores confessed to being a drug courier.
Chief Judge Reagan sentenced Flores after considering many factors, including the facts surrounding the traffic stop, Flores’s prior employment and work history, his character, and the serious amount of heroin in this case, commenting that "it’s a lot of heroin" and that Flores had "up to 50,000 doses of heroin." There is no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Reagan also sentenced Flores to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay a $500 fine. According to United States Attorney Wigginton, "The amount of heroin in this case is astonishing and highlights how severe the problem has become in our communities. This is why I have made cases involving heroin one of the highest priorities in my office. We are deeply committed to prosecuting heroin traffickers, whether they are the illegal variety (such as this man) or those who do so with a prescription pad."
The Illinois State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump prosecuted the offense.
Charleston man sentenced for selling pillsRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Clarence Scarberry, 51, of Charleston, was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston to 21 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Scarberry pled guilty late last year to the distribution of pills containing hydrocodone. Scarberry admitted that he sold pills to an undercover police officer. Scarberry also admitted that he and others had obtained the pills during trips to Florida.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District. Assistant United States Attorney John Frail is responsible for the prosecution.
Chamberlain Man Charged with LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Chamberlain, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Larceny.
James Short Bear, age 19, was indicted on February 11, 2015. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on March 2, 2015, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 5 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about between February 11, 2014, and February 13, 2014, Short Bear stole a ceremonial pipe known as a Chanupa, which was the property of another.
The charge is merely an accusation and Short Bear is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lower Brule agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
Short Bear was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
California Resident Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion Resulting from Multimillion-Dollar Advance Fee Scheme in MarylandRead the Press Release
A Corona, California, woman was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland to serve two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland.
Yvette Johnson, formerly of Laytonsville, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow. As a special condition of Johnson’s supervised release, she is required to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine all taxes owed for tax years 2002 through 2009, and to pay the IRS all additional taxes, interest and penalties.
Johnson’s husband, Shannon Johnson, was sentenced in June 2014 to serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty to an advance fee scheme and tax evasion. The Johnsons were indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2013 for mail and wire fraud charges, as well as tax fraud charges, in connection with a scheme to defraud investors. Shannon Johnson admitted that he ran a fraudulent advance fee scheme from 2006 to 2009, wherein Johnson presented himself as a wealthy international investment banker who could provide millions of dollars and euros in financing to businesses and individuals. In return for substantial advance banking fees, the indictment alleged that the Johnsons promised to provide investors with money which they claimed they held in an overseas bank account. Shannon Johnson provided these businesses and investors with false documents purporting to be from the overseas bank to authenticate the funds. The Johnsons developed relationships with pastors, ministers and religious-based organizations to sell themselves as philanthropists on a humanitarian mission. Shannon Johnson received payments and gifts from pastors and ministers who believed substantial donations would be made to their churches. Businesses and individuals wired and mailed the advance fees to multiple bank accounts controlled by the Johnsons in different states. Yvette Johnson opened bank accounts and conducted financial transactions using proceeds obtained from the Johnsons’ business activities.
The Johnsons spent the $3.7 million in advance fees from individuals and businesses to support their lifestyle, which the indictment alleges included: the purchase of Bentley, Mercedes Benz and BMW automobiles; the leasing of a residence in California for $18,000 a month; travel on private jets; and the funding of the mortgage on their Laytonsville residence. Shannon Johnson admitted that he obtained $3.7 million by victimizing at least 11 individuals and businesses.
The Johnsons also evaded taxes on millions of dollars in income they earned from the advance fee scheme. They admitted that they filed individual tax returns for tax years 1998 through 2001 using false Forms W-2 to fraudulently generate refund claims, evaded the payment of their 2002 through 2006 corporate and individual taxes totaling $98,220, and evaded the assessment of their 2007 through 2009 taxes. The Johnsons attempted to conceal their income and assets from the IRS by selling assets in their own names, titling assets in the names of nominees, using multiple bank accounts across three states to disperse and conceal income, using nominees and fraudulent taxpayer identification numbers to open and maintain bank accounts, and using multiple business names to conduct business.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Rosenstein commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who investigated the case, and Assistant Chief John N. Kane of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sullivan of the District of Maryland, who prosecuted the case.
Braddock Woman Sentenced to Probation with Home Detention for Using Her Children's Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County woman has been sentenced in federal court to three years of probation, four months of home detention, and ordered to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $11,276.00 on her conviction of theft of government property, involving conversion of Social Security benefits, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Tawanda L. Moore, 37, of Braddock, Pa.
According to information presented to the court, Moore stole more than $11,000 in government funds by converting to her own use Social Security Administration payments designated for the benefit of minor children.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Moore.
Belleville Man Sentenced for Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy and Possession of A Firearm in Furtherance of Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on March 3, 2015, Dewayne Hill, 40, of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine (Count 1), Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count 2), and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Previously Convicted Felon (Count 6), following his guilty plea to the charges on October 3, 2014. Hill was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Counts 1 and 6, to run concurrently, and 5 years in prison on Count 2, to run consecutively to the sentence on Count 1, for a total sentence of 15 years. Hill was also ordered to serve 5 years’ supervised release following imprisonment and to pay a $600 fine and a $300 assessment. Hill has been in custody since his arrest on May 7, 2014.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) beginning in April 2013. An ATF special agent posed as a cocaine distributor for a Los Angeles based cocaine trafficking organization which was considering using the Metro East St. Louis area as a hub for distribution. The undercover agent was first introduced to Martez Moore and later to Antwone Johnson, Dewayne Hill, Brian Matthews, Bryant Sawyer, Jaren Jamison, and former East St. Louis police detective Orlando Ward. The undercover agent’s meetings with
Moore culminated in Moore asking the undercover agent to broker the supply of 10 kilograms of cocaine from the Los Angeles organization. In return, Moore agreed to provide armed security for the anticipated delivery of the 10 kilograms of cocaine and distributors for the cocaine. Moore recruited Johnson as a distributor, and Matthews, Sawyer and Jamison as armed security. Moore also recruited Dewayne Hill, his "right hand man," to protect him when he met with and accepted delivery of the cocaine. Hill was in possession of a fully loaded 9mm pistol and an extra clip for the firearm.
All conspirators pleaded guilty. Only Moore remains to be sentenced.
The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.
Beckley man sentenced for heroin distributionRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a Beckley man was sentenced today in federal court in Beckley for selling heroin. Robert Meade, 28, was sentenced to three years of probation. Meade previously pled guilty in November of 2014, admitting that he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Laurel Terrace in Beckley. The sentence was imposed by United States District Court Judge Irene C. Berger.
This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Beckley man sentenced for federal drug chargeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Beckley man was sentenced for a federal drug charge. Jason Calendar, 40, was sentenced to a four-month term of imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Calendar previously pled guilty in November of 2014, admitted that he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Laurel Terrace in Beckley.
This case was investigated by the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.
This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Defendant was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Irene C. Berger.
Beckley man sentenced for distribution of heroinRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that another Beckley man was sentenced in federal court for distribution of heroin. Ronald Greer, 60, was sentenced by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger to a 16-month term of imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Greer previously pled guilty in November of 2014, admitting that he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Adrian Court in Beckley.
This case was investigated by the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Bastrop Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Bossier City woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday, to filing false tax returns.
Stella Marie Dunlap, 37, of Bastrop, La., entered a conditional guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes, to one count of aiding and subscribing a false tax return. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Dunlap filed fraudulent Forms 1040 during the 2010 and 2011 tax filing seasons while employed as a tax preparer at Faster Tax Services in Bastrop. The returns contained fraudulent W-2 income information from fictitious companies, and the information was used to file Earned Income Tax Credit withholdings. As a result of the fraud, the IRS issued $104,401 in refunds to which taxpayers where not entitled. Dunlap received kickbacks from some of customers as part of the scheme.
Dunlap faces up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. A sentencing date of June 15, 2015 was set.
Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.