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27 February 2015
Former Rochester Mail Carrier Pleads Guilty to Abusing His Position to Steal from MailsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael Bianchi, 48, of, Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson to a misdemeanor theft and corruption charge. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a fine of $100,000, or both.Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the matter, stated that Bianchi worked as mail carrier for U.S. Postal Service in Rochester. On June 30, 2013, the defendant was observed using a debit card and PIN number that he stole from the mails to withdraw $400 from an ATM.
This plea is the culmination of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Monica Weyler, Eastern Area Field Office, Philadelphia, PA.
Sentencing is scheduled for Bianchi May 13, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Payson.
Former Puerto Rico Police Officer Sentenced for Committing Perjury During Civil Rights InvestigationRead the Press Release
Former Police of Puerto Rico Sergeant Antonio Rodriguez Caraballo was sentenced today to serve 46 months in prison and three years supervised release for making a false statement under oath to the federal grand jury investigating civil rights violations stemming from the fatal beating of Jose Luis Irizarry Perez, 19, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-of the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI San Juan Field Office.
Rodriguez Caraballo pleaded guilty to perjury for providing false information to the grand jury concerning what he observed during the police-involved beating of Irizarry Perez. One other former Puerto Rico police officer has already been sentenced for his obstructive conduct during the federal investigation into the incident, while four other former Puerto Rico police officers, who also pleaded guilty, are awaiting sentencing for their roles in the beating and subsequent obstruction of the investigation. According to documents filed in connection with the guilty pleas, two former Puerto Rico police officers violated the constitutional rights of Irizarry Perez by striking him with their police batons while another former police officer physically restrained Irizarry Perez during an election evening celebration at the Las Colinas housing development in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 5, 2008.
U.S. District Court Judge Juan M. Perez Gimenez issued the sentence, which will be followed by three years of supervised release. During the three-year term, the defendant will be under federal supervision, and risks additional prison time should he violate any terms of his supervised release.
“The department will not tolerate those who violate the sanctity of the grand jury by lying under oath,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “Such conduct is especially egregious in the case at hand, where a sworn law enforcement officer attempted to cover up an assault by police officers by misleading the grand jury.”
“When those who are sworn to uphold the law and protect others choose to abuse their power and position, they undermine the public’s confidence in the justice system and our government institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Rodriguez-Vélez. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice are committed to promoting trust in our system of justice by vigorously prosecuting those who obstruct justice.”
This case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorneys Shan Patel and Olimpia E. Michel of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Contreras of the District of Puerto Rico.
Former Fund Coordinator Charged with Theft from Union FundRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging John Francis Songer (44, DeBary) with eight felony counts of theft from an employee benefit plan. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on each count.
According to the indictment, Songer was the Apprenticeship Administrator and Coordinator of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee and Trust Fund for the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 15. Over an almost six-year period, Songer used a credit card belonging to the Fund to make more than $50,000 in unauthorized charges. The credit card bill was paid by checks written on the Fund’s bank account. Songer’s unauthorized charges included personal expenditures for adult entertainment, restaurants, and gambling. He also incurred charges for travel-related items that the Fund was not obligated to pay.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Former Enzyme Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns and PerjuryRead the Press Release
A Fort Wayne, Indiana, resident pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana to two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of perjury, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the information and court documents, in 2008 and 2009, Jared Hochstedler participated in five separate “wrap,” or stock-for-equity, agreements where two companies, Signature Worldwide Advisors LLC and K&L Enterprises Inc., assumed more than $3.2 million in debt owed to Hochstedler by his company, Enzyme Environmental Solutions Inc. (EES), primarily for his back wages in exchange for stock in EES. Signature and K&L then sold the stock on the over-the-counter market for profit and paid Hochstedler more than $2.8 million. Hochstedler failed to report this income on his 2008 and 2009 individual federal income tax returns. Hochstedler also failed to report more than $1 million paid by K&L as purported loans.
Hochstedler engaged in another stock-for-equity agreement with Bebida Beverage Company, where he assumed the debt of Bebida in exchange for its stock. In 2009, he sold the Bebida stock for more than $1 million and substantially underreported the capital gain on his tax return.
In June of 2009, the SEC deposed Hochstedler regarding the stock-for-equity transactions. During the deposition, Hochstedler falsely stated that the stock he received from Bebida represented repayment of loans and that he sold the Bebida stock for $300,000 to $400,000, when the actual sales price was in excess of $1 million.
Hochstedler faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each false return count, and a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the perjury count.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation who investigated the case, as well as Trial Attorneys Richard Rolwing and Christopher O’Donnell of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. She also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana for their assistance.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
Former Correctional Officers and Drug Supplier Sentenced to Prison in Baltimore Jail Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced former correctional officer Derrick Jones, age 41, of Aberdeen, Maryland, today to 20 months in prison, followed by 18 months of supervised release, for racketeering conspiracy arising from their participation in the smuggling of drugs and contraband for members of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang inside the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). Judge Hollander also sentenced Linnard Wortham, a/k/a “Stu,” age 29, of Pikesville, Maryland, to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the racketeering conspiracy and for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Judge Hollander is expected to sentence the defendants in this case who pleaded guilty and did not testify at trial.
Also today, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced former correctional officer Katera Stevenson, a/k/a KK, age 24, of Baltimore, to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in the racketeering conspiracy. Last week, Judge Motz sentenced former correctional officers Danielle Forrest, age 28, to 21 months in prison; and Jasmin Jones, a/k/a/ J.J., age 24, and Tanierdra Finch age 26, both of Baltimore, each to a year and a day in prison. Judge Motz also sentenced former CO Vivian Matthews to six months of home detention and outside supplier Teshawn Pinder to time served, each followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Motz is sentencing the defendants in this case who pleaded guilty and testified at trial, as well as the defendants convicted at the trial.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Secretary Stephen T. Moyer of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS); Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
“I have a strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and look forward to working with them and the FBI to continue weeding out corruption,” said Stephen T. Moyer, Secretary of the MD Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
This case developed as a result of the efforts of the Maryland Prison Task Force, formed in 2011 with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors. The Task Force has met regularly for over three years, generating recommendations to reform prison procedures and producing leads that have been pursued by state, local and federal criminal investigators. Investigations are continuing.
According to court documents, BGF has been the dominant gang at the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC), and in several connected facilities, including the Baltimore Central Booking Intake Center, the Women’s Detention Center, which houses many men, and in the Jail Industries Building. Tavon White and other BGF leaders and members incarcerated at BCDC were involved with and often directed the smuggling of contraband into BCDC, including cell phones, tobacco and drugs, through the services of correctional officers (CO’s), who received payments, gifts or a share of the profits.
Former correctional officers Katera Stevenson, Derrick Jones, Danielle Forrest, Jasmin Jones, Tanierdra Finch, and Vivian Matthews admitted that while they worked at BCDC, they helped smuggle contraband into the jail, including tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drugs, on behalf of and for further distribution by BGF members. Derrick Jones also admitted to smuggling cell phones to BGF members. Vivian Matthews supplied prescription pills to associates of Tavon White, including Tyesha Mayo, to be smuggled into BCDC. The defendants knew that by smuggling such contraband into BCDC, they furthered the racketeering enterprise of BGF.
Stevenson, Forrest, Finch and Jasmin Jones also entered into personal and sexual relationships with inmates who were BGF gang members. For example, Stevenson had a sexual relationship with BGF leader Tavon White, by whom she had a child. Stevenson had “Tavon” tattooed on her wrist. Jasmin Jones and Finch had sexual relations with BGF member Jamar Anderson, for whom they also smuggled contraband. On behalf of BGF leaders White and Jamar Anderson, Jasmin Jones also opened cells to allow gang members to mingle on the tier, and she warned of impending searches by prison officers. Danielle Forrest admitted that she had sexual relations with inmates who were BGF leaders. At the direction of one of those inmates Forrest met outside suppliers to obtain contraband, which she smuggled into BCDC. Forrest also managed payments for drugs using her Green Dot account on behalf of those inmates.
Wortham admitted that he supplied contraband, including marijuana, that was smuggled into BCDC. Wortham gave the contraband to COs who then smuggled the contraband to BCDC inmates, including Derius Duncan and Jamar Anderson. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Wortham’s residence on November 20, 2013 and seized crack cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and $4,000.
Teshawn Pinder picked up contraband from sources outstide BCDC on behalf of Jamar Anderson and held the items until COs recruited by Anderson could pick them up and smuggle them into BCDC. Pinder also facilitated payment for the drugs, purchasing “Money Paks” for Anderson and transmitting the numbers to him or loading them herself onto Green Dot cards.
Tavon White, a/k/a Bulldog and Tay, age 37, of Baltimore was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Jamar Anderson, age 24, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 121 months in prison; Jermaine McFadden, age 26, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 140 months in prison; and Derius Duncan, age 28, of Baltimore, was sentenced to five years in prison, for their participation in the racketeering conspiracy. Outside supplier Tyesha Mayo pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Forty of the 44 defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy have been convicted, including 24 correctional officers. Thirty-five defendants pleaded guilty; five defendants were convicted after trial. Three defendants were acquitted and one defendant died.
U.S. Attorney Rosenstein recognized the efforts of the other members of the Maryland Prison Task Force, including: the Maryland State Police, Prince George’s County Police Department, United States Marshals Office, DEA, Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Baltimore Police Department, and Maryland Prison Task Force, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Former Castle High School employee indicted on theft chargesRead the Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
EVANSVILLE- United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler, announced today federal charges against the former extra-curricular treasurer of Castle High School. Rebecca A. McKee, 60, Newburgh, Indiana, was indicted this week on three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.
"The public deserves better from officials in positions of trust,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to steal from our public institutions will be held strictly accountable”
Rebecca McKee served as the extra-curricular treasurer at Castle High School in Newburgh, where she handled large amounts of cash for school activities. She disbursed funds related to extra-curricular organizations operating within Castle High School and was the primary person controlling the Newburgh National Bank School Extra-Curricular Account for Castle High School.
From July 2010 until August 2012, it is alleged she embezzled over $134,000 during the following fiscal years from the Warrick County School Corporation:
- 2010 -2011--$19,863.49
- 2011-2012--$89,819.06
- 2012-2013--$24,325.40
This investigation was a collaborative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana State Police, and the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
“The Board of Accounts will continue to work in cooperation with its federal, state, and local partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who would violate the public’s trust,” said Paul Joyce State Examiner. “We all have the right to expect honest representation from our elected and/or appointed officials at all levels of government. I hope that those few public servants that decide to violate this trust will see that we are prosecuting these officials and realize that this is not acceptable and we will hold them accountable.”
McKee had her initial appearance in federal court on Thursday and was released. Her trial date is set for April 27, 2015.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Sawa, who is prosecuting this case for the government, McKee faces up to 10 years for each count if convicted.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Campaign Coordinator Sentenced to Federal Prison for Embezzling Millions of Dollars from Former Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst’s Campaign AccountsRead the Press Release
In Austin today, 58-year-old political consultant Kenneth Barfield (aka “Buddy Barfield”) was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for stealing more than $2.5 Million in campaign funds from former Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge William Cotter.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Sam Sparks ordered that Barfield pay $2,513,778 restitution to the Barfield Litigation Trust Settlement and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term. Barfield also owes the Internal Revenue Service $427,073 in back taxes. Judge Sparks allowed Barfield to remain on bond pending Bureau of Prisons facility designation.
On October 21, 2014, Barfield pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of making a false tax return and one count of embezzlement of federal campaign funds. According to court documents, Barfield, and through his Austin-based companies, was a member of the campaign staff and committee for Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst’s run for the Republican nomination for United States Senate in 2012. Barfield and his companies were responsible for securing, paying, and/or subcontracting legal and legitimate activities on behalf of Dewhurst’s campaign and had a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the campaign, including oversight and maintenance of financial records.
By pleading guilty to the charges, Barfield admitted to knowingly engaging in a scheme to steal campaign funds and use it for his own personal expenses including his home mortgage, school tuition for his children, personal investments and other living expenses. Barfield further admitted that on his 2008 Income Tax return, he knowingly stated that his Taxable Income was zero when, in fact, his Taxable Income should have been reported as approximately $582,000. Barfield also admitted that under his direction, fraudulent documentation was submitted in disclosure reports to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) regarding expenditures for campaign disbursements.
“The victim in this case, a campaign fund, was out of the ordinary. But the crime, a brazen theft, was straightforward. Barfield stole a lot of money. The Court's sentence properly holds him responsible for his misdeeds,” stated Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.
“Today's sentencing is an important victory for the American taxpayer. For those who abuse their position of public trust and engage in fraud of this magnitude and complexity, as in the case of Mr. Barfield, there are serious consequences,” stated William Cotter, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This sentence should serve as a deterrent to anyone contemplating similar theft from the hard working public for their own greedy benefit. IRS Criminal Investigation remains determined and vigilant in ferreting out such nefarious schemes to defraud the citizens of this great county.”
“Whenever an individual utilizes their position to defraud the public for their own personal gain by stealing campaign contributions, it tarnishes our political process. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who choose to line their pockets with public funds and abuse their positions of trust are held accountable,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs.
This case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation together with the Travis County District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Guess and Ashley Hoff prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Former Cambridge Man Sentenced for Theft of Old South Church DiaryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Cambridge man was sentenced today for identity fraud related to the sale of a valuable diary from the 1600s.
Michael Ford, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole to 16 months in prison, half to be served in jail and half in community confinement, for using the identity of another man in August 2008 in connection with the sale a diary stolen from Boston’s historic Old South Church. Ford pleaded guilty in November 2014.
The diary was written by James Hull in 1652 and contained some unpublished sermons that had been given to soldiers before they departed to fight Native Americans. It had been stolen from the Old South Church in Boston earlier in the summer of 2008. On Aug. 11, 2008, a man sold the diary to Gray Booksellers in Harvard Square for $750, using the driver’s license of another man as identification. Within 40 minutes of this transaction, Ford had obtained the check and the driver’s license and, using the license as identification, cashed the check at a bank in Harvard Square. Gray Booksellers thereafter realized the diary was valuable and sold it to a collector in Rhode Island for $40,000, but upon learning that the diary had been stolen from the Church, the bookstore bought it back and restored it to the Church.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Harvard University Police Francis D. Riley; and Boston University Police Chief Thomas G. Robbins made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Former Baggage Handler at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport ArraignedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Eugene Harvey, a former baggage handler for Delta Air Lines, has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiring to carry dangerous weapons on an aircraft, firearms trafficking, and illegally entering an airport area to evade security and commit crimes. Harvey was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 18, 2015.
“The indictment alleges that Harvey used his security badge again and again to bypass security and avoid screening, so that he could smuggle over one hundred firearms - many loaded - onto passenger planes” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Reducing firearms trafficking is a priority for this office, especially when it threatens the safety of passengers at our airports.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “The FBI continues to play a vital role in working with its many law enforcement partners in ensuring that our nation’s airports and those traveling in and out of them remain safe. Those who violate procedures in place that jeopardize that security will be investigated and presented for federal prosecution.”According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Throughout 2014, Harvey, then a baggage handler for Delta Air Lines, worked with another former Delta employee to smuggle firearms through airport-controlled security checkpoints and onto planes. Specifically, after using his security badge to smuggle the firearms into the secure area of Hartsfield-Jackson, Harvey would transfer the firearms to his accomplice who would then conceal the firearms in his carry-on luggage and take the firearms into the passenger cabins of flights traveling between Atlanta and New York's JFK and LaGuardia Airports. Harvey's accomplice then flew to New York with the guns, where they were illegally sold.
The federal investigation into Harvey began when the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Kings County, New York, District Attorney's Office notified the FBI that a then-unidentified individual was helping a gun-trafficker move guns illegally from Georgia into New York. By that time, the NYPD had identified and arrested the New York seller of the illegal firearms, and was working with Atlanta FBI to investigate how the guns were being smuggled into New York. Upon learning the firearms were being smuggled by passenger plane, Delta Airlines worked closely with law enforcement to identify Harvey and immediately terminated him.
Since January 2014, Harvey trafficked 135 firearms between Georgia and New York. The last shipment on December 10, 2014, contained 18 firearms, 7 of which were loaded.
Harvey, 31, of College Park, Georgia, was arrested on December 20, 2014, and was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield III. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Assistant United States Attorneys L. Skye Davis and Kim S. Dammers are prosecuting 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/.Florida Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Puerto Rican Identity Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
A Florida man pleaded guilty today for his role in a large-scale identity trafficking ring, which sold the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens to foreign nationals to allow them to enter or remain in the United States illegally. To date, a total of 14 individuals have been charged for their roles in this identity trafficking ring, and four have pleaded guilty.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico, Director Sarah R. Saldaña of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Director Bill A. Miller of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
Rey David Bravo-Aguirre, 43, of Bartow, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of transferring and possessing means of identification of another person during and in relation to a felony. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Juan M. Pérez- Giménez of the District of Puerto Rico.
According to his plea agreement, Bravo-Aguirre operated as a broker of Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents out of Bartow, Florida. In that role, Bravo-Aguirre received identity documents from other members of the conspiracy located in the Caguas-area of Puerto Rico and sold them to individuals unlawfully residing in Florida. Specifically, Bravo-Aguirre admitted that he provided Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates to his customers.
The charges are the result of Operation Island Express II, an ongoing, nationally-coordinated investigation led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices in Chicago, in coordination with the ICE-HSI San Juan Office. The Illinois Secretary of State Police also provided substantial assistance. The ICE-HSI Attaché office in the Dominican Republic, National Drug Intelligence Center - Document and Media Exploitation Branch and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) provided invaluable assistance, as well as various ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS CI offices around the country.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and William Kenety of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Ramos of the District of Puerto Rico.
Potential victims and the public may obtain information about the case at: www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/beltrerj.html. Anyone who believes their identity may have been compromised in relation to this investigation may contact the ICE toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) and its online tip form at www.ice.gov/tipline. Anyone who may have information about particular crimes in this case should also report it to the ICE tip line or website.
Anyone who believes that they have been a victim of identity theft, or wants information about preventing identity theft, may obtain helpful information and complaint forms on various government websites including the Federal Trade Commission ID Theft Website. Additional resources regarding identity theft include the Office for Victims of Crime’s Identity Theft and Financial Fraud; the Social Security Adminstration’s Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number; the FBI’s Identity Theft; and the IRS’s Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Deer TraffickingRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS – Donald W. Wainwright Sr., 49, of Live Oak, Florida, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to 12 charges related to violating the Lacey Act, one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud.
Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Greg Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Chief Scott Zody, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Chief Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
According to court documents, Wainwright illegally trafficked in live white-tailed deer. Wainwright owned hunting preserves in Logan County, Ohio, and Live Oak, Florida; both preserves were named Valley View Whitetails. Wainwright illegally shipped deer to Florida from Ohio and attempted to ship deer to Georgia from Ohio. The deer herds involved with these shipments were not certified to be free from chronic wasting disease, tuberculosis and brucellosis. Federal Law requires interstate shipment of deer to be certified to be disease free. As a result, deer herds in Florida were potentially exposed to these diseases. Wainwright’s attempted shipment to Georgia was intercepted on I-71 South, about 50 miles from the Ohio River, when Ohio Wildlife officers noticed deer noses and antlers inside a cargo trailer and pulled over a truck driven by Wainwright’s employees.
Wainwright also sold illegal white-tailed deer hunts at Valley View Whitetails of Ohio. The defendant induced clients from around the country to hunt at Valley View Whitetails of Ohio – charging customers from $1,000 to $50,000 to kill deer inside his high fence preserve when Wainwright did not have a hunting preserve license. The customers then took the bucks back to their home states, including: Florida, Michigan, Alabama and Virginia.
Wainwright pleaded guilty to 12 charges related to violating the Lacey Act, one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. The parties have proposed a sentence of 21 months in prison and a fine of $125,000.00.
“One of the many dangers of illegal wildlife trafficking is its potential to spread disease,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “My office is committed to combating this serious threat.”
Under the Lacey Act it is unlawful to import, export, sell or purchase wildlife or transported, or sold: 1) in violation of U.S. law or 2) in interstate or foreign commerce involving any fish, wildlife, or plants taken possessed or sold in violation of State law. When it was passed in 1900, the Lacey Act became the first federal law protecting wildlife.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement, as well as Special Assistant United States Attorney Heather Robinson and Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Glenn-Applegate and J. Michael Marous, who are representing the United States in this case.
Five People Charged and Arrested for Smash and Grab Jewelry Robbery in Cherry CreekRead the Press Release
DENVER – Five individuals were arrested early Wednesday morning in Northern California after law enforcement determined that they were allegedly responsible for the smash and grab robbery of the Williams Jewelers store in Cherry Creek, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. A Criminal Complaint was filed in the District of Colorado charging the five individuals with Robbery affecting commerce and Conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce. They are scheduled to appear this morning before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California, Oakland Division.
Charges have been filed against Anthony Domino, age 21, Summer Sawyer, age 30, Sharde Suwannabart, age 24, Sean McCullough, age 23, and Anthony Tyree, age 23, all of San Francisco, California. According to the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, on February 24, 2015 at 10:30 a.m., the Denver Police Department responded to a robbery at Williams Jewelers in the Cherry Creek area. The owner of the store met with officers, telling them that a black female first entered the store looking at watches. She later left the store stating she was going to get her credit cards. At that time, three black males wearing black hoodies and black masks and armed with handguns entered the store and robbed the victims at gunpoint. Williams, the owner, reported that one of the robbers moved him from the back of the store to the desk area of the store at gunpoint. Employees at the jewelry store described certain characteristics of the female who was in the store prior to the robbery, including the way her fingernails were painted.
Several witnesses observed a maroon Chevy Blazer fleeing the area of the robbery at a high rate of speed. One witness observed people yelling with urgent voices as they jumped into a running and moving red SUV. Denver Police officers tracked that Chevy Blazer SUV to an alley next to 370 Clayton Street in Denver. A records checked determined that the owner of the Blazer was an Aurora resident. When that resident was contacted by police he said he had sold the vehicle the night before to two unknown black males and two unknown black females after he placed an advertisement on Craigslist. The buyers contacted him from an out of state phone number. The owner sold the individuals the vehicle for $1,550 in cash. The sale took place in the parking lot of University of Colorado Hospital parking lot. The buyers came to the purchase in a newer Cadillac “Crossover” SUV with California plates. Law enforcement was able to determine the California license plate number.
Additional investigation determined that based on the license plate the Cadillac SUV was rented at San Francisco Airport from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. On February 25, 2015, agents obtained a federal court order to contact OnStar. An employee from OnStar utilized the GPS feature for the vehicle in question, determining that at approximately 3:15 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, or roughly nearly 17 hours after the robbery of Williams Jewelers, the vehicle was located driving in a southbound direction on Interstate 80 near Roseville, CA. The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force agents made contact with the California Highway Patrol (CHP). CHP units attempted to make contact with the Cadillac SUV. At that time the SUV led law enforcement on a vehicle pursuit. After the Cadillac was involved in a single vehicle crash off of Interstate 80, in the San Francisco Bay Area, officers reported that four to five occupants fled the vehicle on foot. Ultimately five occupants were taken into custody by the CHP.
In the vehicle was a Glock semi-automatic handgun. One defendant had at least five Rolex watches, including one that had serial numbers matching a watch taken at Williams’ Jewelry. Follow up investigation with witnesses and victims of the crime, as well as additional analysis of evidence obtained resulted in all five people in the car being charged with federal Robbery crimes, as related to the Hobbs Act. Sawyer, who matches the surveillance video of the woman in the store who said she was interested in watches and was observed to have specifically painted fingernails and who is seen on video opening the store doors for the robbers, was in the crashed car. Suwannabart was also in the crashed car. She matches surveillance video taken from the Englewood Williams Jewelers store, where on February 23, 2015 she was carefully watching the store. The three males from the car matched witness descriptions and/or had stolen evidence in their possession at time of arrest.
“The raw violence used in the take-over robbery of a Denver jewelry store left no doubt of the urgent need to identify, locate and arrest the perpetrators,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Thanks to the extraordinary work of the FBI, the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, and the many law enforcement partners who worked together with prosecutors from this office late into the night, a crew of violent interstate robbers was apprehended in California less than 24 hours after their crime.”
“The arrests in this case highlight the success that can be attained when federal, state, and local agencies combine resources to aggressively pursue those that commit serious acts of violence,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “We extend our gratitude to our law enforcement partners for working together and using innovative strategies to quickly apprehend violent criminals threatening the safety of our community.”
If convicted of Robbery affecting commerce, each defendant faces not more than 20 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. If convicted of Conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce, each defendant faces not more than 5 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
This matter was investigated by the FBI, the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, with substantial thanks to local citizens, the Denver Police Department, the Aurora Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, the State Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center, the California State Threat Assessment Center, the Chico (California) Police Department, the Martinez (California) Police Department, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Folsom (California) Police Department. All of these agencies focused resources on this incident and contributed to the identification, location and apprehension of the suspects.
The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Celeste Rangel and Matthew Kirsch.
A Criminal Complaint is a probable cause charging document. Anyone accused of committing a felony violation of federal law has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a federal grand jury.
The charges in the Criminal Complaint are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
First Lottery Scam Defendants SentencedRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Eric Klumb (843) 727-4381
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Shadiki Brown, 29, of Little River, SC; Davion Bellamy, age 26, of Conway; and Ann Marie Yapp, age 44, of North Myrtle Beach were sentenced for their roles in a bogus lottery scam that targeted elderly victims around the country, notifying them that they had won a lottery or sweepstakes, but needed to pay fees or taxes in advance in order to receive their winnings. A total of 18 individuals were indicted in the case; the South Carolina three defendants are the first to be sentenced. Brown and Bellamy had previously entered guilty pleas in July, 2014, and Yapp in September. United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell, of Florence, citing the devastating impact on the more than 150 victims of the scam, imposed prison terms of 78 months for Bellamy, 41 months for Brown, and 27 months for Yapp. Each was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $839,827.
The case was investigated by Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Assistant United States Attorneys A. Bradley Parham and Eric Klumb are prosecuting the case.#####
Federal Jury Finds Deming Residents Guilty on Kidnapping and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., returned a guilty verdict earlier today finding Jessie Hopper, Sr., 54, and Polly Hopper, 61, of Deming, N.M., guilty on kidnapping and firearms charges after a five-day trial. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas and Luna County Sheriff Jonathon Mooradian.
Hopper, Sr., Polly Hopper, and their co-defendant Jessie A. Hopper, Jr., 30, also of Deming, were arrested in June 2014, on a federal criminal complaint charging them with kidnapping and firearms charges. The three defendants subsequently were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping in a six-count indictment filed in May. 2014. The indictment also charged Hopper, Sr., and Hopper Jr., with brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, being felons in possession of firearms, and unlawfully possessing a sawed-off shotgun.
On Nov. 21, 2014, Hopper, Jr., entered a guilty plea to the five charges against him. Hopper, Sr., and Polly Hopper elected to proceed to trial, which commenced on Feb. 23, 2015 and concluded early this afternoon when the jury returned a guilty verdict finding both guilty on all charges against them.
The evidence at trial established that the three defendants kidnapped a woman and transported her in interstate commerce. It established that Hopper, Jr., and Hopper, Sr., kidnapped the victim in Hot Springs, Ark., on May 8, 2014, with the assistance of Polly Hopper. Hopper, Jr., handcuffed the victim and a firearm was brandished at the victim to force her to comply with Hopper, Jr.’s demands, including a demand that she telephone family members to assure them that she was voluntarily leaving Arkansas with Hopper, Jr. On May 8 and 9, 2014, the three defendants drove the victim from Arkansas to the defendants’ residence in Deming, where Hopper, Jr., and Hopper Sr., sexually assaulted the victim several times.
All three defendants have been in federal custody since their arrests and remain detained pending sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, each of the defendants faces a maximum of life imprisonment on the kidnapping charges. Hopper, Sr., and Hopper, Jr., each face a seven-year prison sentence for brandishing a firearm that must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the kidnapping charges.
The three defendants initially were arrested by the New Mexico State Police on state charges on May 10, 2014. They remained in state custody until they were transferred to federal custody on May 16, 2014, to face the charges in the federal case. The state charges, which were filed by the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico, were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Mexico State Police and the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico. The FBI in Little Rock, Ark., the Garland County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas also assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy M. Castellano and Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
East St. Louis Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Timothy Davis, Jr., 47, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court in East St. Louis for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and for Distribution of a Controlled Substance to 37 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and a fine of $500. The sentencing judge also ordered forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition. The charges relate to an incident that occurred on June 3, 2013, in East St. Louis, Illinois, when Davis sold a .38 caliber S&W revolver and 1.9 grams of crack cocaine to a cooperating individual in a controlled purchase supervised by law enforcement agents. Davis was previously convicted of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.
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.
East Saint Louis Man Indicted for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Kasmiel Samuel Sumrall, 28, of East Saint Louis, was arraigned today, after being indicted last week by a federal grand jury, on charge of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The charge carries maximum penalties of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sumrall is detained pending trial which is set for April 20, 2015.
The indictment alleges that on or about October 6, 2014, in Saint Clair County, Sumrall, a/k/a “Kash,” possessed a 9-mm. Ruger semi-automatic pistol, its magazine, and ten rounds of 9-mm. ammunition. The indictment also alleges that Sumrall had previously been convicted, on October 30, 2007, of the felony offense of Aggravated Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Police.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the United States must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by East Saint Louis Housing Authority, the East Saint Louis Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Coonan.
District Man Sentenced to 66 Years in Prison for Armed Sexual Assaults Defendant Met Victims Through Backpage.comRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Prince Jones, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 66 years in prison for a series of crimes, including two armed sexual assaults of women he met through online advertisements, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Jones was found guilty by a jury in November 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances; two counts of kidnapping while armed; four counts of robbery while armed; and one count of threatening to injure a person. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson. Jones also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, Jones preyed on women who advertised their services as escorts on backpage.com. In October 2013, he lured his first victim to a building where he used to live in Southeast Washington, led her into a dark basement, where he held a knife to her throat, and forced her to perform oral sex on him. After the assault, he forced her back to her car, where her cousin was waiting for her, and robbed both women of their cellphones and several other personal items.
Two days later, Jones committed the exact same crime on a different woman. Detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were able to locate him within hours of the second assault. Jones was still armed with the knife he used to commit the assaults, and he had the cell phones of all three of the victims in his car with him. DNA recovered from the second sexual assault victim’s sexual assault kit, as well as DNA recovered from the crime scene, linked the defendant to the second assault.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the officers and detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Sexual Assault Unit. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Elsa Resendiz; Victim Services Specialist LaJune Thames, Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Jones and Wanda Trice; Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Lazarus who investigated, indicted and tried the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Uma Amuluru, who co-tried the case.
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District Man Sentenced to 37 ½ Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting 14-Year-Old Girl Defendant Earlier Convicted of Similar OffenseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Orlando Roberts, 46, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 37 ½ years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl within months after he got out of prison for a similar attack, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Roberts, who in 2001 was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, was found guilty by a jury in October 2014 of six counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a child. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson. Following his prison term, Roberts will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 13, 2014, Roberts drove to the 14-year-old victim’s foster home, together with Javon Henson, 19. Roberts referred to Henson as his “son,” though there was no biological relationship between the two.
Henson had met the victim online a few days earlier, and he had asked her to accompany him on a date at the park. The victim responded that she would need the permission of her foster mother. On the evening of July 12, Roberts called the victim’s foster mother and assured her that he would look out for her foster daughter on her date with his “son.” The foster mother agreed to meet them the next day. Arriving at the foster home on July 13, Roberts again assured the foster mother that he would chaperone the entire date between the victim and his “son” and that nothing would happen to her on his watch. Roberts also lied about Henson’s age, telling the foster mother that he was only 17. After much deliberation, the foster mother agreed to let victim leave her house with Roberts and Henson.
Roberts drove Henson and the victim to Hains Point. Although he had told the foster mother that he would drive the victim home immediately after they left the park, he instead took her and Henson back to his home in Northwest Washington.
Once inside Roberts’s home, Roberts got the victim and Henson into the basement, where his bedroom was located. Roberts instructed the 14-year-old victim to remove her clothing. She complied out of fear. Roberts then retrieved a flashlight from a counter in the basement and proceeded to use the flashlight to show Henson the victim’s genitalia. The victim was mortified and placed her hands over her eyes. Roberts then performed various sexual acts on the victim under the guise the he was merely teaching his “son” how to perform those sexual acts. Roberts directed Henson to perform the same sexual acts that he had just performed. When he was finished with her, Roberts drove the victim to a mall, where he bought her some T-shirts and a pair of earrings, before taking her back to her foster mother’s house.
Both Henson and Roberts were subsequently arrested. Henson immediately admitted his role in the assault and pled guilty to second-degree sexual abuse of a Child. He testified against Roberts at trial. He was sentenced today to three years in prison, with all but six months suspended on the condition that he successfully complete five years of probation. He also must register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years.
In the 2001 case, Roberts was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse of a child for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in the parking lot of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. He was sentenced to 14 years of incarceration and released in October 2013—just eight months before sexually assaulting the 14-year-old victim in this matter. He was registering as a sex offender and under Court order to stay away from all children when he committed this offense.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, including the detectives of the Youth Investigations Division and the Sexual Assault Branch. He also expressed appreciation for assistance provided by the Laurel, Md. Police Department as well as Jason Harley, a social worker with the Charles County, Md. Department of Social Services. In addition, he recognized the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson, Paralegals Jason Manuel and Troy Griffith, Criminal Investigator John Marsh, and Elizabeth Trosman, Chief of the Appellate Division, who provided legal advice throughout the trial.
Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea L. Hertzfeld and Jason Park, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
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Dental Practice Owner Charged with Health Care Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Nazanien Ebrahimi, a/k/a “Nancy” Ebrahimi, 32, of Fairfax County, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 26, 2015, on charges of wire fraud, health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and making false statements relating to health care matters.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after Ebrahimi’s initial appearance today in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson.
If convicted, Ebrahimi faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count, 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count, a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for each of the aggravated identity theft counts, and five years in prison on each count of making a false claim regarding health care matters. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
According to allegations in the indictment, Ebrahimi, a law school graduate, owned and controlled Dental Arts Group, which purported to provide administrative and consulting services to dental practices. Through her control of Dental Arts Group, Ebrahimi allegedly carried out a scheme to steal the identities of various individuals, including other dentists, and use their identities without their knowledge to open merchant accounts with consumer dental financing programs, including CareCredit. To gain access to these programs, Ebrahimi submitted false and misleading enrollment applications.
Once the fraudulent CareCredit merchant accounts were opened, Ebrahimi allegedly billed patients for charges that were inflated, never authorized, or never approved. For example, under one CareCredit merchant account that Ebrahimi opened without the victim’s knowledge, patients disputed nearly 50 percent of the total amount Ebrahimi charged for purported dental services. At the time, the dispute rate for all other CareCredit dental merchants was less than 1 percent. Furthermore, Ebrahimi allegedly submitted false CareCredit charge slips that purported to bear the signatures of patients.
The indictment further alleges that Ebrahimi defrauded Humana, a private health insurer, by submitting false and inflated insurance claims for dental services that were never rendered. Ebrahimi allegedly deposited the profits earned from her scheme in various bank accounts that she controlled. Finally, the indictment alleges that Ebrahimi manufactured, or attempted to manufacture, and destroy various patient records.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lowell and Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-57.Court Sentences Prison Inmate to 8 Years Incarceration for Assault Against Another Prison InmateRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thomas Roullier, 34, a former resident of Spokane, Washington, and an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Herlong, California, ("FCI Herlong") was sentenced today by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 8 years in prison for an assault resulting in serious bodily injury to another prison inmate, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. The Court also ordered the payment of $15,040.34 in restitution to reimburse the United States Bureau of Prisons for expenses incurred in providing medical treatment, transportation, and other services to the victim of the assault.
According to court documents, on April 26, 2012, Roullier, a Norteno gang member, committed the assault on the victim inmate, a Bulldog gang member, in a recreation area in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) within FCI Herlong. At the time of the assault, Roullier was one of four handcuffed prisoners (2 Norteno and 2 Bulldog gang members) who had just been escorted into the recreation area. The prison guard first removed the handcuffs from the two Norteno gang members. Before the guard could remove the handcuffs from the two Bulldog gang members, Roullier assaulted and severely beat the handcuffed victim. Within a very short time thereafter, a sufficient number of guards responded, entered the locked recreation area, and secured Roullier.
The victim suffered serious bodily injury, including displaced fractured bones in the face near his left cheek/sinus and a non-displaced fractured bone at the bottom of his left eye socket. The victim suffered extreme pain, trauma, bruises, headaches, and difficulty opening his mouth. The victim's fractured and sunken cheekbone near his left cheek/sinus had to be repaired by a physician specialist, who performed facial surgery to lift up the broken and sunken area of the victim's face."Judge Mueller's sentence of an additional eight years for the assault of another inmate sends a strong message that such crimes will not be tolerated,” said Acting FCI Herlong Warden G.J. Bissett. “Sentencing in cases that involve inmate on inmate assaults have a significant effect on the safe and orderly running of correctional facilities. The sentences imposed in the cases prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office have helped to decrease the amount of inmate assaults that take place in a correctional environment, especially here at FCI Herlong."
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Corporate CEO Admits Defrauding ShareholdersRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO - Mark Lopez, former Chief Executive Officer of San Diego-based Unico, Inc., pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting he defrauded shareholders in a sophisticated stock fraud scheme. Lopez entered his plea before District Court Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel to conspiring to commit securities fraud, and was ordered to return for sentencing on May 15, 2015.
According to court documents, from 2004 through June 2012, Lopez was the CEO of Unico, Inc., a San Diego-based holding company with mining interests in Utah. Because Unico’s stock was publicly traded, it was prohibited from issuing and transferring new shares of stock without having them registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
There are some narrow exemptions to this registration requirement, however, including “Section 3(a)(10)” of the Securities Act of 1933. Under Section 3(a)(10), a company such as Unico can issue and transfer exempt shares of its unregistered stock if: (a) the purpose is to settle a “bona fide debt;” and (b) the issuance is approved at a “fairness hearing” held by a court or other governmental authority.
Lopez admitted that beginning in or about December 2006, he agreed with co-conspirators to execute a scheme to defraud shareholders by deceptively using the Section 3(a)(10) exemption in order to issue and sell millions of unregistered shares of Unico stock, and then split the proceeds from the resulting sale. The scheme involved a $500,000 loan (or “convertible debenture”) made to Unico by a company called Outboard Investments. The terms of the debenture agreement (the “Outboard Debenture”) gave Outboard the right to seek repayment either in cash or in the form of Unico stock.
According to court documents, on December 1, 2006, Outboard assigned the debt to a company headquartered in the Turks & Caicos called Sequoia International, Inc. (“Sequoia”). After Unico’s default, as part of the conspiracy, on December 7, 2006, the conspirators caused Sequoia and Outboard to file a complaint against Unico in state court in Sarasota, Florida (a jurisdiction to which neither party had any connection).
The lawsuit was designed to give the appearance that Unico was contesting its liability under the Outboard Debenture, when in truth Defendant had already agreed to use the lawsuit as a way to issue unregistered shares. On the day of the filing, Lopez signed a settlement agreement on behalf of Unico that asked the court to permit the issuance of 350 million shares of Unico common stock to Sequoia. Lopez and the conspirators knowingly concealed from the state court the material fact that by so doing, Lopez had agreed to settle the $500,000 Outboard Debenture with Unico stock worth over $2.6 million. Based on these misrepresentations and omissions, the Florida court unwittingly approved the settlement agreement and allowed Unico to issue the shares to Sequoia. Defendant then secretly arranged for Sequoia to return over $1,067,000 in proceeds from the sale of this stock.
To continue the deception of shareholders and the public, Lopez signed and submitted to the SEC a Form 10-QSB (a publicly available quarterly report) as Unico’s CEO, according to court records. In that filing, Lopez falsely characterized Unico’s receipt of stock sale proceeds from Sequoia in order to deceive shareholders into believing that the Florida case was a bona fide lawsuit that was settled after a “fairness” determination.
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance in the investigation and prosecution of Lopez’s complex securities fraud.
DEFENDANTS Case Number: 12CR5236-GPC Mark Lopez Age: 50 San Diego, California CHARGESCount 1: Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Maximum Penalties: 25 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, $100 special assessment, restitution.Federal Bureau of Investigation
Convicted Child Sex Offender Sentenced to Life in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced Christopher Richard Cloonan (45, Jacksonville) to life in federal prison for using a minor child to produce images depicting child pornography. The Court also ordered Cloonan to serve a life term of supervised release and to forfeit his electronic media. Cloonan is a registered child sex offender, having been previously convicted of attempted sexual battery on a 6-year old child on November 18, 1991, in Charlotte County, Florida. He was arrested on March 12, 2014, and has remained in custody since that time.
According to court documents, in March 2014, an undercover officer in Washington, D.C. (the “UC”) posted an advertisement on an online website frequented by individuals who have a sexual interest in children. Cloonan responded to the ad and expressed interest and experience in sexual activity with a child. On March 11, 2014, while discussing sexual activity with children, Cloonan sent an email to the UC that read, “Yes…. It would be awesome to share together with like minded man, would be more awesome to see and share in person but there is WAY WAY to much hatred against too risk it. I am legit but cautious….”
On March 11, 2014, at 6:57 p.m., Cloonan sent the UC an email that indicated that he was alone with an infant child. Attached to the email were two images. Both images were produced by Cloonan and depicted an infant engaged in sexually explicit conduct. At 7:07 p.m., Cloonan sent the UC an email containing two additional images that depicted the same infant. Within hours, the FBI was able to identify the Internet protocol (IP) address used to send the images, and traced the Internet account to Cloonan.
On March 12, 2014, Cloonan and the UC continued their online communications. In several different emails, Cloonan discussed his fantasies about sex with children. He stated that “Society is coming down so hard on ‘child molesters’ etc now, we are in danger everyday as lovers of children are not seen as different from those who hurt and kill them.”
Later that day, FBI agents and detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Cloonan’s residence. Cloonan exited the residence holding his smart phone, and was placed under arrest.
Subsequent forensic analyses of Cloonan’s phone revealed that it contained at least 85 images of child pornography, most depicting infants and toddlers. Two of the images of the infant that were taken by Cloonan and sent to the UC were also present on the smart phone.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville, Washington, D.C., and Quantico, Virginia, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Convicted Child Pornographer Who Targeted Daycare Attendees Sentenced to 40 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – William Michael Howard was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for creating sexually explicit videos of three girls - ages 3, 5 and 7 - who attended a San Diego daycare operated by his girlfriend’s family.
Howard, 24, pleaded guilty in September 2014 to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. In his plea agreement, he admitted videotaping each girl’s private parts in three separate instances in 2013 and early 2014. One video was recorded when the 7-year-old was in his care. In the videos, Howard’s voice can be heard or one of his hands is seen removing a child’s clothing and posing her for the camera.
U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes also ordered a lifetime of supervision following his release.
DEFENDANTS Case Number: 14CR1430 William Michael Howard Age: 24 San Diego, California CHARGESCounts 1-3: Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a) – Sexual Exploitation of a Minor; Maximum Penalty 30 years in prison per count, and mandatory minimum 15 years per count; Maximum $250,000 fine.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESSan Diego Police Department
Internet Crimes Against Children Task ForceColombian Man Sentenced to More Than Eleven Years for His Role in Cocaine Importation ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Richard Mosquera Mosquera (44, Colombia, South America) to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for conspiring with others to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. He pleaded guilty on November 25, 2014.
According to court documents, on multiple occasions between 2009 and 2012, Mosquera worked with his co-defendant, Anderson Bryan Lever, and others to smuggle cocaine. Lever dispatched cocaine-laden vessels from San Andres Island, Colombia and Mosquera received them in Honduras. On each occasion, Mosquera received the cocaine and provided bales of United States currency (containing as much as $500,000 each) to the mariners who had just smuggled the cocaine. The mariners then smuggled the money back to San Andres Island, and Mosquera transferred the cocaine to others for eventual unlawful importation into the United States.
Mosquera was arrested in Colombia and subsequently extradited to the United States.
This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF Program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
Business Man Enters Pleas in Grant Theft CaseRead the Press Release
Contact Person: T. DeWayne Pearson (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated that Brian Morin, age 47 of Greenville, SC, was sentenced in connection with theft of government funds in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. Morin was convicted in connection with the theft of grant funds administered to Morin’s former company, Innegrity LLC. According to facts presented during the guilty plea hearing, Morin was awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation. As a grant condition, Morin was responsible for submitting grant reports certifying the hours that the company worked on grant related activities. An investigation revealed that the company’s internal records did not match the hours Morin certified to the National Science Foundation. Morin was sentenced to three years’ probation and a fine of $5,000.
National Science Foundation Inspector General Allison Lerner said, “This individual significantly inflated the amount of time and effort he and other company personnel spent on a Small Business Innovation Research Program award so that he could continue to fraudulently receive National Science Foundation funds intended to conduct innovative research. The strong support of the U.S. Attorney’s office was instrumental in leading to today’s sentencing, which can serve as a deterrent to anyone who seeks to lie to obtain scarce research dollars”. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys T. DeWayne Pearson of the Columbia office and Jamie Lea Schoen of the Greenville office.#####
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alexy Diaz, 31, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm by an armed career criminal, was sentenced to 100 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Burgasser, who handled the case, stated that on November 22, 2011, the defendant possessed a firearm at 1160 Kensington Avenue in Buffalo. Diaz was previously convicted of three violent felony or serious drug offenses in state court making him an armed career criminal.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force.
Buffalo Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography and Violating Supervised Release for the Second TimeRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.–U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael Kemp, 37, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. In addition, the defendant was sentenced to four months in prison for violating his supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated that on October 15, 2013, Kemp’s U.S. probation officer found a computer and hard drive hidden between the defendant’s mattress and box spring in his bedroom. The computer contained over 50 images and eight videos of child pornography. The defendant was on supervised release following his July 2008 release from prison for a previous conviction of possession of child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of officers of the United States Probation Department, under the direction of Anthony SanGiacomo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, and the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory.
Buffalo Man Indicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5017
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Aaron Hicks, a/k/a Boog, a/k/a Boogy, 30, of Buffalo, NY, with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, the defendant was involved, along with others, in the distribution of cocaine on the East Side of Buffalo. In a related case, in July 2014, 17 members and associates of the Schuele Boys were also arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Safe Streets Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. hunt, Special Agent in Charge.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Buffalo Man Indicted on Drug and Money Structuring ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Brandon Washington, 31, of Buffalo, NY, with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and money structuring. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, the defendant was arrested as a result of a long term investigation into cocaine trafficking in the Buffalo area. The indictment further states that Washington deposited large amounts of cash into accounts with Bank of America. But the way in which the defendant structured the deposits caused the financial institution to fail to file proper financial reports.
The defendant was arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. Hill. He is being held pending a detention hearing on March 6, 2015 and 2:00 p.m.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Buffalo Man Arrested, Charged with Being Involved in Two Murders and Four Other ShootingsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Cebrinn Hill, 25, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with aiding and abetting and discharge of a firearm that cause the death of two individuals. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on April 17, 2006, Hill was part of a group of individuals, including 10th Street Gang members and associates, who shot and killed two victims and wounded four others. Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young were murdered on Pennsylvania Street on Buffalo’s West Side. The complaint further states that the shootings occurred in retaliation for the shooting of a 10th Street Gang member the previous day.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. Hill is being held pending a detention hearing on March 3, 2015.
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Brooklyn Doctor Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to One Year and One Day in Prison for Role in Auto Insurance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that TATYANA GABINSKAYA was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to one year and one day in prison in connection with her involvement in the largest single no-fault automobile insurance fraud scheme ever charged. She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, who presided over the two-week trial that resulted in GABINSKAYA’s conviction in October 2014.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Tatyana Gabinskaya was one of the linchpins in a scheme that defrauded insurers on an unprecedented scale. At the heart of her deception was her repeated lie that she owned and operated a medical clinic she did not in fact own or operate that billed for numerous fraudulent claims. That has proven to be a prescription for prison.”
According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, evidence admitted at trial, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
Under New York State Law, every vehicle registered in the State is required to have no-fault automobile insurance, which enables the driver and passengers of a registered and insured vehicle to obtain benefits of up to $50,000 per person for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, regardless of fault (the “No-Fault Law”). The No-Fault Law requires prompt payment for medical treatment, thereby obviating the need for claimants to file personal injury lawsuits in order to be reimbursed. Under the No-Fault Law, patients can assign their right to reimbursement from an insurance company to others, including medical clinics that provide treatment for their injuries. New York State Law also requires that all medical clinics in the State be incorporated, owned, operated, and/or controlled by a licensed medical practitioner in order to be eligible for reimbursement under the No-Fault Law. Insurance companies will not honor claims for medical treatments from a medical clinic that is not actually owned, operated, and controlled by a licensed medical practitioner.
In order to mislead New York authorities and private insurers, the true owners of these medical clinics paid licensed doctors to use their licenses to incorporate the professional corporations through which the true owners billed private insurers millions of dollars for medical treatments and tests, many of which were not medically necessary. GABINSKAYA was the stated owner of one such clinic that provided MRIs and other radiology tests, although the clinic was, in reality, owned by her co-defendants Mikhail Zemlyansky and Michael Danilovich. In addition, GABINSKAYA was the stated owner of six other medical professional corporations, including five incorporated in the span of approximately one year. When interviewed under oath about her role at the clinic controlled by Zemlyansky and Danilovich, GABINSKAYA repeatedly lied to deceive the insurers and induce them into paying claims that were not eligible for reimbursement.
In addition to the prison term, GABINSKAYA, 60, of Brooklyn, New York, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $69,384, and to pay restitution to the victims of her crimes to be determined. She is the 32nd defendant convicted in this case following arrests on February 29, 2012, as part of an indictment that charged 36 defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and health care fraud and charging some defendants with racketeering and money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Bharara thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department for their continued outstanding work in this investigation. He also thanked the National Insurance Crime Bureau for its assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Kramer, Janis Echenberg, Daniel S. Goldman, Edward Y. Kim, Daniel S. Noble, Rebecca Mermelstein, and Joshua Naftalis are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolina Fornos is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.
Boston Street Gang Members Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking of MinorsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two Boston men, alleged to be members of Boston’s Thetford Avenue Buffalos, have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sex trafficking four minors.
Today, Anthony Pledger, also known as “Polo,” 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of two minors before United States District Judge William G. Young. On Feb. 11, 2015, a co-defendant, Miriam Kizzie, also known as “Keys,” 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of two minors before Judge Young. Pledger and Kizzie were charged in the same indictment in February 2014.
At the change of plea hearing today, Pledger admitted that, in October 2013, he brought two minors, aged 16 and 15 at the time, from Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island, intending to have them engage in prostitution. The minors were rescued by Rhode Island and Massachusetts police officers before any prostitution occurred.
At the change of plea hearing on Feb. 11, 2015, Kizzie admitted that, for approximately a week in July 2013, he caused two different minors, aged 14 and 15, to be advertised online for prostitution and engage in prostitution primarily in Dorchester, Mass.
According to documents filed with the court, both Pledger and Kizzie were alleged to be members of the Thetford Avenue Buffalos, a local Boston street gang.
Pursuant to a proposed binding plea agreement, Pledger faces a mandatory sentencing range of 120 months to 204 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Also pursuant to a proposed binding plea agreement, Kizzie faces a mandatory sentencing range of 135 to 153 months, to be followed by five years of supervised release. If the Court accepts the plea agreements, he will determine the sentences within those ranges. The sentencing hearing for Kizzie has been set for May 4, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. The sentencing hearing for Pledger has been set for May 28, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans made the announcement today. The case was also investigated by the Rhode Island State Police, Massachusetts State Police, and the Providence, Brockton, Dedham and Brookline Police Departments. Significant assistance was provided by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, and Plymouth, Middlesex and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Harman Burkart and Timothy E. Moran of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274, and messages will be promptly returned.
Billie Preston Imprisoned for Embezzling from Williston EmployerRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Billie Preston, 42, a former resident of Monkton who now lives in South Burlington, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 21 months of imprisonment following her guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ordered that Preston serve three years of supervised release following completion of her prison term and pay restitution of slightly more than $86,000. The court directed Preston to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 8 to begin serving her sentence.
According to court records, between approximately November 2011 and late April 2014, Preston was employed as a bookkeeper by Endyne, Inc., an environmental testing laboratory located in Williston. Preston handled the company's payroll and accounts receivables and payables.
Beginning in about January 2012 and continuing through the end of April 2014, Preston embezzled about $84,000 from Endyne, primarily by falsifying payroll records to cause the firm to issue her paychecks and make electronic funds transfers in excess of her authorized salary. Preston also made electronic transfers of company funds to pay her personal bills.
In sentencing Preston to prison, Judge Reiss noted that in 2010, Preston had pled guilty in state court to embezzling from another former employer and was serving probation as part of a deferred sentence when she stole from Endyne.
This case was investigated by the Williston Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Preston is represented by Robert Kaplan. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Baptist Health Medical Center North Little Rock Enters into Settlement Agreement Under False Claims ActRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK – Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced that, the government, acting through the United States Department of Justice and on behalf of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively the "United States"), and Baptist Health Medical Center North Little Rock (BHMC-NLR) entered into a settlement agreement under the False Claims Act. BHMC-NLR agreed to pay $2,700,000 to resolve its liability.
BHMC-NLR is a 248-bed hospital in North Little Rock, Arkansas. OIG's Office of Audit Services (OAS) referred the preliminary results of an audit finding that BHMC-NLR submitted improper short stay claims to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The United States contended that it had certain civil claims against BHMC-NLR arising from claims BHMC-NLR submitted between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 to Medicare for certain "short stay" inpatient patient encounters, which were hospital stays that lasted less than two (2) nights at BHMC-NLR. BHMC-NLR allegedly submitted short stay inpatient claims as a result of: (a) improper orders for inpatient status converted from outpatient status; (b) improper inpatient standing orders for admission without proper involvement of a physician; and, (c) improper orders for inpatient status following scheduled outpatient procedures.
In exchange for a release of its exclusion liability under section 1128(b)(7) of the Social Security Act, BHMC-NLR agreed to enter into a five year corporate integrity agreement (CIA). Among other requirements, the CIA requires both the North Little Rock hospital and its sister hospital in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas to be subject to independent annual claims reviews.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Audit Services and Office of Investigations.
Avon Lake Man Convicted of Crimes Related to Credit Union CollapseRead the Press Release
An Avon Lake man was convicted by a jury on 27 criminal counts for illegally receiving more than $10 million from the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union, actions which played a role in the credit union’s collapse, law enforcement officials said.
Gezim Selgjekaj, 43, was convicted on one count of conspiracy, five counts of bank bribery, six counts of money laundering and 15 counts of financial institution fraud. He was acquitted on a single count of bank bribery following a trial before U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko.
Selgjekai is scheduled to be sentenced May 26.
St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union (SPCFCU) was placed into conservatorship in April 2010, when it served 5,400 members and was believed to have assets of more than $238 million. The National Credit Union Association discontinued operation of SPCFCU when it was determined to be insolvent, making it the largest credit-union failure in American history.
Selgjekaj owned, operated and controlled, in whole or in part, several business entities, which were created either primarily as “safe havens” for credit union proceeds or that performed little or no legitimate business despite receiving loan proceeds intended for Selgjekaj’s “business” ventures, according to the indictment.
Those business included: Jimmy’s Trucking; Top Quality Produce; RGV Enterprises; Alba Logistics; GPA Transport; J&F Properties; Lake County Farmers Market; Albkos Properties LLC; G&M Truck Repairs; Produce, Inc.; Fresh Fruit; Fresh Start Co.; East Side Farmers Market; RGA Enterprises, LLC and Ristorante Luciano, according to the indictment.
From 2003 through April 2010, Selgjekaj conspired with Anthony Raguz, who at the times was chief operating officer at SPCFCU, and others, to defraud the credit union, according to the indictment.
Selgjekaj submitted false and fraudulent loan applications to Raguz, including submitting loan requests in nominee’s names when Selgjekaj’s aggregate loan balances reached a level that could have drawn attention from auditors or members of the credit union’s board, according to the indictment.From March 2003 through July 2004, for example, Selgjekaj received approximately $5 million in fraudulent loan proceeds from SPCFCU. Selgjekaj received another $3.6 million between 2004 and 2008, despite the fact that Selgjekaj was in federal prison for unrelated conduct. Even after defaulting on the $8.6 million in loans, Selgjekaj received an additional $2.9 million in loans from SPCFCU between 2008 and 2010, according to the indictment.
To influence and reward Raquz for providing him with the fraudulently obtained money from SPCFCU, Selgjekaj gave Raguz $40,000 in cash and five checks totaling $66,000, according to the indictment.
Overall, Selgjekaj’s conduct resulted in a loss to the credit union of more than $10 million, according to the indictment.
To date, more than 20 people have been convicted of criminal activity related to the credit union. Raguz was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to repay $72.5 million last year.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bridget M. Brennan and Robert W. Kern following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.
Ashburn Businessman Pleads Guilty to Nearly $1 Million Short Sale Mortgage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Danny Zhao, 36, of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Zhao faces a maximum period of five years of imprisonment when he is sentenced on May 15, 2015. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to the statement of facts filed along with the plea agreement, Zhao acted as a realtor in fraudulent real estate short sale transactions involving Legacy Investment Group, a company owned by his wife. Zhao fraudulently induced mortgage lenders to approve sales of property for amounts less than what was owed. In order to do so, Zhao forged the signatures and initials of homeowners in mortgage documents. Zhao also sent false hardship letters and financial statements to lenders. Moreover, Zhao failed to disclose material information about his relationship to the owner of Legacy and made misleading representations that the short sales would be arm’s length transactions.
Zhao participated in six fraudulent short sale transactions resulting in mortgage lenders losses of approximately $924,529. Zhao and his family profited approximately $200,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Uzo Asonye is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15CR51.Armed Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to More Than 13 YearsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell today sentenced Carlos Sanchez (29, Lakeland) to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a previously convicted felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty on December 1, 2014.
According to court documents, on March 9, 2014, officers from the Lakeland Police Department (LPD) were dispatched to the Best Motel in Lakeland, where Sanchez had reportedly pointed a firearm at someone. After making contact with Sanchez, an LPD canine alerted to an odor of narcotics on the exterior of his car. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded a loaded Smith and Wesson .357 caliber revolver and more than 134 grams of crystal methamphetamine. Sanchez was previously convicted of multiple felonies in Polk County. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lakeland Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray. It is another example of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crimes in communities.
Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced on Drug, Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Luis Abril, 31, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit two handguns and numerous rounds of ammunition seized during the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that Abril was a member of a Rochester-based drug conspiracy led by Raymond Collazo, in which large quantities of crack cocaine and heroin were processed, packaged and resold in various quantities in Rochester. Abril and Collazo utilized multiple locations, including 617 Ridgeway Avenue in Rochester to store, process and distribute the narcotics, and armed themselves while doing so.
On April 24, 2014, Abril, Collazo and others were arrested following the execution of multiple search warrants in Rochester, as well as Collazo’s residence in Orlando, Florida. Abril and Collazo were taken into custody at 617 Ridgeway Avenue, where officers seized over 12 grams of cocaine packaged for sale, 200 grams of heroin, three loaded handguns, one of which was stolen, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $2,466 in U.S. currency, and paraphernalia for processing, packaging, and distributing cocaine and heroin.
Charges are pending against Collazo. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and included involvement by the part of Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division, Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Sandra Doorley.
Arizona Couple Sentenced to Prison for Large Load of Heroin and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOISE – Jess Ramirez-Orta, 27, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced today to eight years in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ramirez-Orta’s girlfriend and co-defendant, Marina Morales, 24, also of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. United States District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Ramirez-Orta and Morales to forfeit $150,000 in cash proceeds. Ramirez-Orta was ordered to serve five years of supervised release, while Morales was ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
According to the court documents, Ramirez-Orta and Morales agreed to transport 5.3 pounds of heroin and 4.2 pounds of methamphetamine from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington. As the couple was passing through Twin Falls, Idaho, they were stopped for driving 87 miles per hour in a 60 miles per hour zone. Neither the driver, Ramirez-Orta, nor the passenger, Morales, had a valid driver’s license. The heroin and methamphetamine was discovered in the trunk of the rental car they were driving. Morales had no prior felony convictions, while Ramirez-Orta had previously been convicted of Burglary and Felony Assault. Ramirez-Orta was on felony probation at the time of his arrest in Idaho.
The case was investigated by the Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Ansonia Man Admits Trafficking Prescription NarcoticsRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES COSTANZO, 37, of Ansonia, pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to trafficking prescription narcotics.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad and the Ansonia Police Department initiated an investigation into COSTANZO, who had been identified as an illegal distributor of narcotic pharmaceuticals. The investigation, which included multiple controlled purchases of oxycodone and the use of electronic surveillance, revealed that COSTANZO sold prescription narcotics to numerous customers from his Dwight Street residence. The investigation further revealed that Brian Earl of North Haven supplied COSTANZO with large quantities of oxycodone and other prescription narcotics, and also sold drugs to his own customers.
At the time of his arrest on January 23, 2014, COSTANZO possessed a 9mm handgun that was loaded with hollow-point ammunition, and $439 in cash. A subsequent search of his residence revealed approximately 600 oxycodone pills, four firearms, ammunition, approximately $5,500 in cash, and more than 50 stored-value cards.
In pleading guilty, COSTANZO admitted that he used more than $72,000 in funds derived from his illegal drug enterprise to purchase a residence located at 85 Dwight Street.
COSTANZO pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, oxycodone and oxymorphone, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of knowingly engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
As part of his plea agreement, COSTANZO has agreed to forfeit the 85 Dwight Street property, a residence located at 21 Winchester Street in Waterbury, a 2005 Mercedes Benz ML350, a 2000 Ford F150, and approximately $42,613.
COSTANZO has been detained since his arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Warren E. Eginton on May 22, 2015.
On February 17, 2015, Brian Earl pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, oxycodone and oxymorphone. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, 2015.
This investigation has been conducted by the DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, the Ansonia Police Department and the Fairfield Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David X. Sullivan and Michael E. Runowicz.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Annapolis Woman Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Treating Patients While Fraudulently Posing as A Physician’s AssistantRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Shawna Michelle Gunter, age 37, of Annapolis, Maryland, late yesterday to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, which includes six months of home detention with electronic monitoring, for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to pose as a physician’s assistant to obtain employment, diagnose and treat 137 infants and children, and write over 400 prescriptions, all without a medical license. Judge Bennett also entered an order that Gunter pay restitution of $53,530.39.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Lt. Colonel Anthony C. Satchell, Acting Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Secretary-designee Mark Belton of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
“Shawna Michelle Gunter fraudulently posed as a licensed physician’s assistant, treating patients and writing prescriptions, although she had no medical training,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to her plea agreement, in June 2013, Gunter worked as a surgical assistant in a doctor’s office in Maryland. She told the doctor that she needed a $7,800 loan for emergency repairs to her septic system, when in fact she was remodeling her boyfriend’s house. Despite receiving this money, on June 21, 2013, Gunter stole a check from the doctor and forged the doctor’s signature on the check for $14,400. When confronted, she admitted the theft and was fired. These funds, totaling $22,200, have not been repaid.
Gunter searched for another job and learned that a prior acquaintance, a pediatrician who had offices in Centreville and Chestertown, Maryland, was looking for a physician’s assistant. Gunter falsely told the doctor that she had just graduated from Howard University with a degree as a physician’s assistant. Gunter faxed a false resume to the doctor. The doctor hired Gunter with the understanding that she would provide documentation of her education, Maryland physician assistant’s license and DEA certification reflecting her authority to issue prescriptions.
Gunter began work for the pediatrician as a physician’s assistant on July 5, 2013. She was immediately asked for the documentation. Knowing that she was not licensed as a physician’s assistant in Maryland, Gunter provided a forged physician’s assistant certificate bearing the license number of an actual physician’s assistant, as well as an altered copy of that individual’s DEA controlled substance registration certificate. She also provided a fabricated diploma, purportedly from Howard University.
Gunter began seeing pediatric patients without direct supervision on August 18, 2013. From August 19 to 29, Gunter diagnosed and treated 137 infants and children, including for sick visits, ADHD follow-ups, newborn visits and routine physicals. During this time, Gunter issued over 400 prescriptions for controlled substances.
Gunter’s provision of unlicensed and unqualified medical care resulted in the pediatrician’s practice unwittingly submitting hundreds of false claims for Medicaid coverage, and the payment of $19,668.19 in fees on those false claims.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Maryland State Police, HSI Baltimore, Department of Health and Human Services OIG and Maryland Natural Resources Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Tamera L. Fine and Zachary A. Myers, who prosecuted the case.
26 February 2015
Wisconsin Man Sentenced to over 19 Years on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
A man who transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity was sentenced February 24, 2015, to over 19 years in federal prison.
Christopher Heath-Lowther, age 30, of Platteville, Wisconsin, received the sentence after a November 3, 2014, guilty plea to one count of transporting a minor across a state line with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of traveling across a state line for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct. At the guilty plea hearing, Heath-Lowther admitted that, between December 2013 and February 2014, he traveled from Wisconsin to Iowa to meet a 14-year-old female and transported her to Wisconsin for the purpose of engaging in sex acts with her.
Heath-Lowther was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Heath-Lowther was sentenced to 235 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $200 was imposed, and Heath-Lowther must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Platteville, Wisconsin, Police Department, and the Maquoketa Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-1014.
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Washington State Business Owner Convicted of Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
A Burbank, Washington, woman was convicted by a jury yesterday after a five-day trial in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Washington located in Spokane, Washington, of willfully failing to pay more than approximately $2.6 million in federal payroll taxes withheld from her employees, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael C. Ormsby of the Eastern District of Washington.
“Employers who willfully fail to timely collect, account for and deposit employment taxes are, quite simply, stealing from their employees and the U.S. Treasury,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “Yesterday’s verdict sends a clear message to those individuals who view this obligation as optional – you will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to the evidence introduced at trial and other documents filed in the case, Maria Elizabeth Townsend was the president and majority owner of Townsend Controls Inc. (TCI), an electrical contractor in Pasco, Washington. The majority of TCI’s employees were members of Local 112 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Local 112). From at least April 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2009, Townsend withheld employment taxes from the wages of the members of Local 112 that TCI employed as well as its other non-union employees. She willfully failed, however, to pay those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Instead of paying the withheld taxes, Townsend purchased several automobiles and made large disbursements of corporate funds to her family members.
Townsend faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of failing to pay over employment taxes. Sentencing is scheduled for June 4.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Ormsby commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation who investigated the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. C. Jacobs III and Trial Attorney Lisa L. Bellamy of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Walthill Man Sentenced for Habitual Domestic ViolenceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced today that Terry L. Harlan, age 52 of Walthill, Nebraska, was sentenced for his conviction for habitual domestic violence. Harlan was found guilty following a jury trial in November of 2014. On February 26th, Senior United States District Court Judge Lyle E. Strom sentenced Harlan to 41 months of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release.
On March 7, 2014, Harlan and his girlfriend were at Harlan’s residence on the Omaha Indian Reservation. Harlan became angry with his girlfriend. He pushed her into a closet, pulled her hair with one hand while he punched her about the head and face with his other hand. When the girlfriend attempted to leave, Harlan cornered her by the door, punched her several more times, and kicked her while she was on the floor. The girlfriend escaped the residence after Harlan fell asleep and ultimately was able to flag down a police officer.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Utica Woman Convicted on Charges of Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced today the conviction of a Utica woman on charges of health care fraud.
BONNIE MEISLIN, age 45, of Utica, was found guilty on February 25, 2015 following a jury trial in federal court in Utica. MEISLIN was employed at Upstate Pain Medicine, which had medical offices at 59 South First Street, Fulton, New York and 287 Genesee Street, Utica, New York. Upstate Pain Medicine was owned by Mahesh Kuthuru, M.D. Following a six day trial, MEISLIN was found guilty on 23 counts of health care fraud and 1 count of conspiring with Kuthuru to send false and fraudulent billings to Medicare. In 2009, Kuthuru had moved to Las Vegas where he opened a medical practice known as Desert Pain Management. Kuthuru began to spend the majority of his time in Las Vegas and returning to his Utica and Fulton offices only intermittently. From January 2010 through September 2011, MEISLIN and Kuthuru submitted false and fraudulent bills to Medicare which indicated that Kuthuru or another medical professional under his direct supervision had treated a patient in the New York offices, when in fact Kuthuru was either in Nevada or outside the country and had not seen the patient nor supervised a medical professional who had done so.
United States District Court Judge David N. Hurd scheduled sentencing for July 1, 2015. MEISLIN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of $250,000 on each of the health care fraud counts. The maximum prison term for the conspiracy count is five years and a fine of $250,000.
Kuthuru had earlier pled guilty to health care fraud and illegal distribution of prescriptions on January 22, 2015. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2015 at 12:00 pm in Utica.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York Department of Health, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the Health and Human Services Department, the Worker’s Compensation Board, Office of Inspector General, Excellus Special Investigations Unit, Safeguard Services and MVP Health Care, Special Investigations Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward R. Broton.
Union County Resident Sentenced for Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
On February 25, 2015, Rusty J. Smith, 36, of Cobden, IL, was sentenced for a methamphetamine violation, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Smith, who had previously pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to 125 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and fined $200.00. The offense occurred between 2012 and March 2014, in Union, Williamson, and Jackson Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Smith was involved with co-defendants Ruth Diane Wiseman, Jonathan E. Merydith and others in the manufacture of methamphetamine. At sentencing, the district court determined that Smith was responsible for the possession of more than 290 grams of pseudoephedrine. Co-defendants Wiseman and Merydith were previously sentenced to prison terms of 18 months and 60 months, respectively, for their role in the methamphetamine conspiracy. Co-defendant Shannon Connett has pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Marion Police Department, Carbondale Police Department, Illinois State Police Methamphetamine Response Team and Drug Enforcement Administration. The 19th Judicial District Drug Task Force (Tennessee) assisted in the investigation.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson.
U.S. Attorney Files Civil Action to Forfeit Stolen PicassoRead the Press Release
A civil complaint was filed today in federal court in Brooklyn to forfeit a century-old cubist painting by Pablo Picasso known as “La Coiffeuse” (in English, “The Hairdresser”). La Coiffeuse, which is owned by the French government, was reported stolen from a museum storeroom in Paris, France in 2001. When it was shipped to the United States from Belgium on December 17, 2014, the painting was falsely described as an “art craft” and “art craft toy” valued at 30 Euros. Upon its arrival in the United States, the shipment was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the painting was subsequently seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The complaint alleges that the painting is stolen property that was smuggled into the United States contrary to law.
The complaint was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Anthony Scandiffio, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, HSI, New York.
“A lost treasure has been found,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Because of the blatant smuggling in this case, this painting is now subject to forfeiture to the United States. Forfeiture of the painting will extract it from the grasp of the black market in stolen art so that it can be returned to its rightful owner.” Ms. Lynch thanked the French government and the Centre Georges Pompidou for their assistance.
“The recovery of the La Coiffeuse sends a strong message to thieves that the market to sell stolen antiquities in the United States is drying up,” said HSI Deputy Special Agent in Charge Scandiffio. “HSI is committed to using its resources to successfully investigate and, more importantly, repatriate smuggled antiquities and other protected cultural property to their rightful owners.”
La Coiffeuse, painted by Picasso in 1911, is an oil-on-canvas painting that measures 33 by 46 centimeters. It was bequeathed to the National Museums of France by its former director, Georges Salles in 1966, and assigned to the collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, France. It was last publicly exhibited in Munich, Germany, where it was on loan to the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung. Upon its return to Paris, La Coiffeuse was placed in the storerooms of the Centre George Pompidou. The painting was believed to be in storage until a loan request was received in 2001, and museum staff discovered that the painting was missing. In November 2001, the painting was reported as stolen to the French police. The painting’s location remained unknown until it arrived in the United States in December 2014.
The shipping label attached to the package containing La Coiffeuse described its contents as “Art Craft / 30 E / Joyeux Noel,” indicating that the package contained a low-value handicraft shipped as a holiday present. The commercial invoice shipped with the painting similarly described the contents as an “Art Craft / Toy” valued at 30 Euros, or approximately $37 U.S. dollars. The current market value of La Coiffeuse is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
The government’s case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein.
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CV- 1002
Two Miami Tax Preparers and Client Sentenced in Fraudulent Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
Three Miami residents were sentenced for their roles in a tax refund scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Miami Office.
According to the indictment and facts established at his sentencing hearing, Sean Anthony Lopez, 35, of Miami, submitted false personal federal income tax returns claiming $625,320 in fraudulent refunds. Lopez received this refund in connection with his role as a client of an illicit tax preparation business located at 18710 SW 107th Street in Miami. Lopez was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison. The court also ordered Lopez to pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $695,635.
Lopez’s co-defendants, Claudia Zuloaga, 43, and Sharon Elizabeth Angulo, 49, both of Miami, operated this South Miami-Dade tax preparation business under the names Sterling Executive Associates Inc. and Sterling Executive (Sterling), and assisted Lopez in the preparation of his fraudulent tax returns, as well as numerous other similar false tax returns.
Angulo and Zuloaga were each previously sentenced to serve 60 months in prison. The court also ordered Angulo and Zuloaga to each pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $1,539,873.
According to the indictment and facts established at sentencing, beginning in approximately September 2008 and continuing through September 2012, Zuloaga and Angulo recruited numerous clients, including Lopez, by falsely representing that they could eliminate a substantial portion of their debts by obtaining sizable tax refunds for them. This would be accomplished through false and fraudulent tax returns prepared by Zuloaga and Angulo in exchange for a fee, usually amounting to 30 percent of the fraudulently obtained tax refund. Zuloaga and Angulo were responsible for causing the submission of multiple fraudulent tax returns claiming refunds totaling in excess of $5.4 million. As further established at their sentencing hearings, the IRS was fraudulently induced to issue refund checks in the aggregate amount of $2,305,081, a portion of which was disbursed to Lopez with respect to his fraudulent tax returns.
As further alleged in the indictment and established at their sentencing hearings, the tax returns prepared at Sterling by Zuloaga and Angulo falsely set forth that financial institutions at which the clients maintained accounts withheld sizable amounts of tax from falsely declared interest income, which was falsely claimed as having been earned by the clients. Through this fraudulent mechanism, each return gave the appearance of entitling the client to a significant tax refund due to over-withholding of tax payments in connection with their claimed interest earnings. In addition, in order to provide false substantiation for these fraudulent tax refund claims, the defendants caused fictitious IRS Forms 1099-OID to be created, which set forth the false interest and tax withholding amounts fraudulently reported upon their clients’ tax returns.
It was also established at sentencing hearings that Zuloaga and Angulo promoted the fictitious “redemption theory” to their clients as the purported justification for their fraudulent tax refund claims. Through this promotion, clients were falsely informed that the submission of tax returns in this manner allowed their clients to legitimately access large amounts of money allegedly contained in certain non-existent “straw man” accounts which the defendants claimed were being maintained by the U.S. Treasury for each individual who possessed a social security number.
U.S. Attorney Ferrer and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter B. Outerbridge of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Effendi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
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.
Two Fairbanks Residents Arrested for Filing False Income Tax Returns, Mail Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis announced today that Earl Worthy, 39 and Tammy Jean Jackson, 39, of Fairbanks, Alaska, were arrested on February 24, 2015, for filing false income taxes. Worthy and Jackson were indicated by a federal grand jury on February 18, 2015, for one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims; seven counts of mail fraud; and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, between approximately May 2009 and September 2012 Worthy and Jackson conspired to file false income tax returns claiming refunds to which they were not entitled and which used the identifying information of others. Many of the returns were filed for inmates at correctional facilities and in some instances the identifying information was used without the knowledge or permission of the person in question. Approximately 95 false tax returns claiming approximately $214,560 in fraudulent refund claims were submitted in the scheme.
The indictment alleges that the false income tax returns claimed false wages and tax withholdings based upon fabricated Forms W-2. These returns each claimed that the taxpayer in question was owed thousands of dollars in refunds to which they were not entitled. Paper copies of the false tax returns were mailed from Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, and Tucson, Arizona, to the IRS in Fresno, California, for processing and the signatures on these paper returns were forged. Tax refund checks that were issued as a result were sent to the address listed on the false tax return which in some cases was the Fairbanks Correctional Center. Other refunds were issued via direct deposit into the bank account of a conspirator.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven E. Skrocki, if convicted, the defendants face terms of imprisonment of up 20 years and fines up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
An indictment is only a charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis stated, “The false income tax return scheme alleged in this case is consistent with similar schemes perpetrated previously in Alaska and throughout the United States. Such schemes not only impact all taxpayers generally, but they also can be devastating to the victims whose identities are stolen and used as part of the fraud.”
Mr. Feldis commends the IRS Criminal Investigation for the investigation of this case.
Three San Juan County Residents Plead Guilty to Federal Narcotics Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Casey Lamotte, 30, of Flora Vista, N.M., Curtis Murray, 51, of Farmington, N.M., and Robert Valdez, 51, of Bloomfield, N.M., entered guilty pleas today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges
Lamotte, Murray and Valdez were three of 29 individuals charged in Feb. 2014, with drug trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation targeting drug trafficking in northwestern New Mexico. The investigation culminated on Feb. 26, 2014, when 26 of the defendants were arrested during a law enforcement operation led by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force. Two other defendants were arrested during the course of the investigation and the final defendant was arrested on March 3, 2014.
The 29 defendants were charged as a result of Operation “Brown Ice,” a year-long investigation that initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization led by Isaac Anaya that distributed quantities of methamphetamine throughout San Juan County and expanded to include other drug trafficking activity in the area. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
Thirteen of the defendants, including ringleader Isaac Anaya, 31, of Farmington, were charged in a 15-count federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in San Juan County from May 2013 through Sept. 2013. The remaining 16 defendants were charged with state drug trafficking and firearms offenses based on criminal complaints. During the course of the investigation, officers seized approximately five pounds of methamphetamine and five firearms. The law enforcement operation on Feb. 24, 2014, included the execution of eleven federal search warrants at two Bloomfield residences, four Farmington residences, two residences in San Juan County, two Bloomfield businesses, two Farmington businesses and a storage unit in Bloomfield. It also included the execution of three state search warrants at two residences in San Juan County and one Farmington residence. Officers seized numerous firearms, including a fully automatic Glock 19, a short-barreled rifle and a carbine with an obliterated serial number, four blasting caps, four small binary explosives and approximately 31.7 grams of methamphetamine during the execution of the search warrants and the law enforcement operation.
During today’s proceedings, Lamotte and Murray each pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, and admitted participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Each also admitted that working as a distributor for Isaac Anaya between May 28, 2013 and Sept. 25, 2013. Lamotte further admitted to acting as a drug courier for Isaac Anaya by traveling to Arizona to obtain methamphetamine and transporting it back to Farmington, where the drugs were distributed by Isaac Anaya to other individuals.
Valdez pled guilty to Count 14 of the indictment, and admitted using a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Valdez admitted discussing a methamphetamine purchase with co-defendant Richard Archuleta, 33, of Bloomfield, to obtain methamphetamine for himself and co-defendant Yvonne Anaya, 39, also of Bloomfield, in Aug. 2013. Archuleta pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and a phone count on Sept.12, 2014. Yvonne Anaya has entered a not guilty plea.
To date, ten of the 13 federal defendants, including Isaac Anaya, have entered guilty pleas and are pending sentencing. The remaining three federal defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment; they are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The federal and state cases filed as a result of Operation “Brown Ice” were investigated by the HSI office in Albuquerque, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force, Bloomfield Police Department, Farmington Police Department and Aztec Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reeve L. Swainston and Shana B. Long are prosecuting the federal case, and Assistant District Attorney David Cowen of the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state cases.
The HIDTA Region II Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomfield Police Department and Aztec Police Department, and is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.