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Tuesday 13 January 2015
Connecticut Construction Company Admits Underfunding Retirement Plan, Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHERRY HILL CONSTRUCTION, INC., a company based in North Branford, waived its right to indictment and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to one count of filing a false tax return, and one count of making a false statement in relation to documents required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). ERISA is a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement plans in private industry, including a requirement that plan sponsors provide adequate funding for a plan.
According to court documents and statements made in court, CHERRY HILL CONSTRUCTION, INC., (“CHERRY HILL”) provides statewide service in site development, on-site crushing, trucking, demolition, as well as roll-off dumpsters, top soil, aggregates and landscaping. CHERRY HILL was awarded and completed prevailing wage construction projects requiring payment of the prevailing wage rate plus the fringe rate. The fringe rate is the cost of benefits to the employee.
When a company is awarded a prevailing wage project, the company must submit certified payrolls that list the hours, prevailing wage rate and fringe they are paying each employee. The company can either pay the employee the fringe directly or open a benefit plan with the fringe payment being deposited into an account for the benefit of that employee. The company is then paid by the federal, state or municipal governments the amount of payroll, including the fringe, after receiving the certified payrolls. The government entity for which the project is being worked pays these funds only because the employer certifies that the prevailing wage and fringe is being paid to an employee directly or being deposited into a benefit plan.
CHERRY HILL opened a profit sharing/401(k) plan that was covered under ERISA. In pleading guilty, CHERRY HILL admitted that, in 2010 and 2011, it underfunded its retirement plan by approximately $950,000. CHERRY HILL further admitted that it filed a corporate tax return for the 2010 tax year that inflated its actual contribution to the plan, which resulted in an increased employee benefit deduction.
CHERRY HILL is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on April 7, 2015, at which time it faces a maximum penalty of 10 years of probation and a $750,000 fine.
CHERRY HILL has fully funded its retirement plan and paid $193,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties.
This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration, and U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Choctaw County Man Sentenced to 57 Months Incarceration After Guilty Plea to Possession of A Firearm After A Felony ConvictionRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney, Kenyen Brown, announces that Darron L. Ruffin, Jr., a 40 year old resident of Lisman, Alabama was sentenced today. Mr. Ruffin pled guilty to possession of a .40 caliber pistol on July 4, 2014, after being convicted of Assault 1st Degree in 1994. Mr. Ruffin took the firearm into a local nightclub and physically assaulted two of the patrons with the firearm, fled the scene, and was apprehended approximately 30 minutes later in possession of the pistol.
Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies investigated the case and presented it to the U.S. Attorney=s Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
Chiropractor Sentenced for Bribing IRS AuditorRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lowell chiropractor was sentenced today to nine months in prison for bribing an IRS agent.
Stephen Jacobs, 56, of Lowell, was sentenced to nine months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Jacobs must report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons by Feb. 24, 2015. In October 2014, Jacobs pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to bribery of a public official.
In August 2013, an IRS auditor met with Jacobs, a chiropractor, to examine numerous issues with his federal income tax forms for 2011. During the initial interview, the auditor advised Jacobs that two $5,000 payments were not allowable deductions after Jacobs admitted that each was a payment to two different women after they accused him of touching them inappropriately during medical treatments. Jacobs told the auditor that he paid the women because he was concerned that they would report him to the police or to the chiropractic board. Jacobs admitted that he had begun kissing one woman’s feet while he was treating her. He also admitted to other inappropriate contact when he was giving the second woman a massage.
Jacobs asked the IRS auditor if there was anything he could do to “just deal with this…” When the agent said he could not “just deal with this,” Jacobs became agitated and combative, ultimately threatening the agent that he would “ruin [his] career.”
The following month, after several electronically monitored discussions regarding his non-deductible expenses, Jacobs offered to bribe the auditor in exchange for terminating the examination, saying, “. . . you want a bribe? You want me to pay you?...” The auditor, acting under the direction of law enforcement, then accepted Jacobs’s offer of $5,000 to give Jacobs a favorable audit letter showing no additional tax for one year and a small refund for the next year. Jacobs paid the auditor $5,000 in cash for the favorable treatment.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Robert O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to 420 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Manufacture MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Contact: Steve Young
A man who conspired with others to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine was sentenced on January 12, 2015, to 35 years in federal prison.
Jacob William Brisbin, 28, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 6, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence presented at sentencing showed that for over the past year Brisbin was the leader of a drug trafficking organization and was responsible for the near daily manufacture of methamphetamine. During this time, Brisbin personally manufactured over 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. He also maintained a network of various individuals who then distributed this methamphetamine on his behalf. Brisbin also distributed “Ice” methamphetamine to various customers and possessed numerous firearms in connection with his drug trafficking operation. During the pendency of this case, Brisbin was detained in the Linn County Jail. While detained, Brisbin engaged in a pattern of behavior designed to obstruct justice by influencing the testimony of government witnesses.
Brisbin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Brisbin was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve an eight year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Brisbin is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Linn County Sherriff’s Office, the Marion Police Department, and the United States Marshall Service.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-cr-88.
Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal Gun SalesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An armed career criminal was sentenced today in connection with the illegal sale of three guns and ammunition.
James Dawn, 48, of Brockton, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release. In Sept. 2014, Dawn pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to being an armed career criminal, possessing a firearm and ammunition, and dealing in firearms without a license.
In March 2014, Dawn was arrested after he sold three guns – two pistols and one shotgun, along with ammunition for each weapon, to a cooperating witness on three separate occasions. Dawn also offered other types of weapons for sale and discussed future “business.” At the time, Dawn was a lifelong violent criminal. He had numerous felony convictions, including two jail sentences for cocaine trafficking convictions, and numerous other convictions for violent crimes.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Woodlock noted the seriousness of the offense and the need to protect the public from those, like Dawn, who sell guns illegally on the street. Judge Woodlock also described Dawn’s extensive criminal record as a factor in his sentence.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn A. MacKinlay of Ortiz’s Strike Force Unit.Canadian Man Charged in First Federal Securities Fraud Prosecution Involving ‘Layering’Read the Press Release
A Canadian man was arrested today for allegedly orchestrating a large-scale, international stock market manipulation scheme in the first federal prosecution of securities fraud involving a high-frequency trading strategy known as “layering,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman for the District of New Jersey announced.
Aleksandr Milrud, 50, of Ontario, Canada, and Aventura, Florida, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. FBI agents arrested Milrud at his residence in Aventura this morning. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan in federal court in Miami.
“As our complaint shows, illegally manipulating markets to cause even small price changes can yield large gains when done on a massive scale,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “The defendant and his far-flung network of conspirators operated an international scheme in which they generated millions of dollars in illicit profits for themselves with artificial trade orders executed at high speeds.”
“As alleged in the complaint, Mildrud was the engineer behind a sophisticated, international, groundbreaking market manipulation scheme that utilized an illicit, high-speed trading strategy to execute trades,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford of the FBI in Newark, New Jersey. “The losses to investors due to this innovative fraud could be in the millions. The FBI will continue to identify and investigate frauds such as this one, in order to ensure a level playing field for all investors.”
According to the complaint unsealed today:
Milrud allegedly orchestrated an extensive and sophisticated international layering scheme that, according to him, yielded millions of dollars in illicit profits. Layering, also known as “spoofing,” is a form of manipulative, high-speed stock trading in which a trader places non-bona fide orders to buy or sell securities and then quickly cancels them before they are executed. The purpose of these non-bona fide orders is to artificially move the price of security up (in the case of non-bona fide buy orders) or down (in the case of non-bona fide sell orders) and to induce other market participants to buy or sell a security at a price not representative of actual supply or demand. While the non-bona fide orders are pending, the trader simultaneously executes trades in an attempt to profit from the artificial movement of the share price that the trader has created. Milrud’s layering scheme targeted U.S. securities markets and involved high-speed trading through numerous brokerage accounts and foreign traders that Milrud recruited and managed in China and Korea.
In January 2013, Milrud solicited the assistance of an individual who owned an off-shore broker-dealer (the Foreign-BD) but who, unbeknownst to Milrud, was a cooperating witness (CW) with law enforcement. Milrud sought to open a trading account at the Foreign-BD for use in his layering scheme. Over the course of several consensually recorded calls and meetings between the CW, Milrud and others, Milrud explained his illegal trading strategies in detail. Milrud said he controlled approximately 60 percent of all China-based traders engaged in layering, that his traders used various trading accounts that were not tied to Milrud in any manner and that the layering scheme generated millions of dollars in illicit profits. Milrud explained that to enable his traders to place and cancel many orders quickly, he worked with a software company on programming “hotkeys” – shortcuts for placing and cancelling multiple orders quickly with few keystrokes. Milrud also explained his efforts to avoid detection by law enforcement and regulators, including not discussing business on the phone, communicating through third party liaisons, and using multiple trading and clearing firms and accounts to execute a single securities transaction, a practice he described as “shredding.”
On Aug. 27, 2014, Milrud met the CW at the offices of the Foreign-BD. The meeting was video and audio recorded by law enforcement. Milrud explained his layering scheme in more detail. Milrud stated that overseas stock traders who he controlled simultaneously utilized at least two trading accounts to execute the layering scheme; one account was used to conduct the manipulative layering trading (the Layering Account), which Milrud referred to as the “dirty work,” and another “clean” account (the Profit Account) was used to buy or sell the manipulated stock at a profit during the small window of time in which the stock price had been artificially moved by the “dirty” activity in the Layering Account. According to Milrud, his foreign traders logged into these accounts from different computers and different internet protocol (IP) addresses so that it would not appear as if the same individual was trading through the two accounts and to evade automated fraud detection systems established by the trading platforms. After explaining his manipulative trading strategy, Milrud said, “Regular trading. If I didn’t tell you what I just told you, it would seem like regular trading – you would not know nothing of what I do.” The CW replied, “Will look just like regular buying and selling?” Milrud responded, “Exactly. One hundred percent kosher. If I didn’t tell you everything behind it, you have no way of [knowing].”
During the Aug. 27, 2014, meeting, Milrud agreed to log into his trading platform using the CW’s computer to show the CW his traders’ activity in real time. The CW had been provided by law enforcement with a laptop computer (the FBI Computer), which included software that recorded all activity and keystrokes on the computer. Milrud logged into and remotely accessed his trading system using the FBI Computer. According to Milrud, his overseas traders were controlling the orders and trades that he and the CW were observing on the FBI Computer. The CW then observed multiple real time trades in a number of different securities in both the Layering and Profit Accounts, and orders being placed and cancelled, while Milrud narrated.
According to Milrud’s statements to the CW during a consensually recorded call on Dec. 15, 2014, the scheme could generate anywhere from $1 million to $50 million per month and had yielded approximately $600,000 in a single day in recent weeks. The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement continues to investigate the brokerage accounts, trader identification numbers that Milrud used to carry out the scheme and the full scope of the illicit profits.
The conspiracy count with which Milrud is charged carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The wire fraud count carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s arrest and complaint. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Market Abuse Unit, under the direction of Daniel M. Hawke, for its role in the case.
The government is represented by Chief Gurbir S. Grewal and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit .
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Canadian Man Charged in First Federal Securities Fraud Prosecution Involving 'Layering'Read the Press Release
Scheme Targeted U.S. Securities Markets and Involved Complex Web of Brokerage Accounts, Off-Shore Entities and High-Speed Trading by Stock Traders in China and Korea
NEWARK, N.J. – A Canadian man was arrested today for allegedly orchestrating a large-scale, international stock market manipulation scheme in the first federal prosecution of securities fraud involving a high-frequency trading strategy known as “layering,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aleksandr Milrud, 50, of Ontario, Canada, and Aventura, Florida, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. FBI agents arrested Milrud at his residence in Aventura this morning. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan in Miami federal court.“As our complaint shows, illegally manipulating markets to cause even small price changes can yield large gains when done on a massive scale,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “The defendant and his far-flung network of conspirators operated an international scheme in which they generated millions of dollars in illicit profits for themselves with artificial trade orders executed at high speeds.”
“As alleged in the complaint, Mildrud was the engineer behind a sophisticated, international, groundbreaking market manipulation scheme that utilized an illicit, high-speed trading strategy to execute trades,” Aaron T. Ford, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Newark, said. “The losses to investors due to this innovative fraud could be in the millions. The FBI will continue to identify and investigate frauds such as this one, in order to ensure a level playing field for all investors.”
According to the complaint unsealed today:
Milrud allegedly orchestrated an extensive and sophisticated international layering scheme that, according to him, yielded millions of dollars in illicit profits. “Layering,” also known as “spoofing,” is a form of manipulative, high-speed stock trading in which a trader places non-bona fide orders to buy or sell securities and then quickly cancels them before they are executed. The purpose of these non-bona fide orders is to artificially move the price of security up (in the case of non-bona fide buy orders) or down (in the case of non-bona fide sell orders) and to induce other market participants to buy or sell a security at a price not representative of actual supply or demand. While the non-bona fide orders are pending, the trader simultaneously executes trades in an attempt to profit from the artificial movement of the share price that the trader has created. Milrud’s layering scheme targeted U.S. securities markets and involved high-speed trading through numerous brokerage accounts and foreign traders that Milrud recruited and managed in China and Korea.
In January 2013, Milrud solicited the assistance of an individual who owned an off-shore broker-dealer (the “Foreign-BD”) but who, unbeknownst to Milrud, was a cooperating witness (“CW”) with law enforcement. Milrud sought to open a trading account at the Foreign-BD for use in his layering scheme. Over the course of several consensually recorded calls and meetings between the CW, Milrud, and others, Milrud explained his illegal trading strategies in detail. Milrud said he controlled approximately 60 percent of all China-based traders engaged in layering, that his traders used various trading accounts that were not tied to Milrud in any manner, and that the layering scheme generated millions of dollars in illicit profits. Milrud explained that to enable his traders to place and cancel many orders quickly, he worked with a software company on programming “hotkeys” – shortcuts for placing and cancelling multiple orders quickly with few keystrokes. Milrud also explained his efforts to avoid detection by law enforcement and regulators, including not discussing business on the phone, communicating through third party liaisons, and using multiple trading and clearing firms and accounts to execute a single securities transaction, a practice he described as “shredding.”
On August 27, 2014, Milrud met the CW at the offices of the Foreign-BD. The meeting was video and audio recorded by law enforcement. Milrud explained his layering scheme in more detail. Milrud stated that overseas stock traders who he controlled simultaneously utilized at least two trading accounts to execute the layering scheme; one account was used to conduct the manipulative layering trading (the “Layering Account”), which Milrud referred to as the “dirty work,” and another “clean” account (the “Profit Account”) was used to buy or sell the manipulated stock at a profit during the small window of time in which the stock price had been artificially moved by the “dirty” activity in the Layering Account. According to Milrud, his foreign traders logged into these accounts from different computers and different internet protocol (IP) addresses so that it would not appear as if the same individual was trading through the two accounts and to evade automated fraud detection systems established by the trading platforms. After explaining his manipulative trading strategy, Milrud said, “Regular trading. If I didn’t tell you what I just told you, it would seem like regular trading – you would not know nothing of what I do.” The CW replied, “Will look just like regular buying and selling?” Milrud responded, “Exactly. One hundred percent kosher. If I didn’t tell you everything behind it, you have no way of [knowing].”During the August 27, 2014, meeting, Milrud agreed to log into his trading platform using the CW’s computer to show the CW his traders’ activity in real time. The CW had been provided by law enforcement with a laptop computer (the “FBI Computer”), which included software that recorded all activity and keystrokes on the computer. Milrud logged into and remotely accessed his trading system using the FBI Computer. According to Milrud, his overseas traders were controlling the orders and trades that he and the CW were observing on the FBI Computer. The CW then observed multiple real time trades in a number of different securities in both the Layering and Profit Accounts, and orders being placed and cancelled, while Milrud narrated.
According to Milrud’s statements to the CW during a consensually recorded call on Dec. 15, 2014, the scheme could generate anywhere from $1 million to $50 million per month and had yielded approximately $600,000 in a single day in recent weeks. The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement continues to investigate the brokerage accounts, trader identification numbers that Milrud used to carry out the scheme, and the full scope of the illicit profits.
The conspiracy count with which Milrud is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The wire fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s arrest and complaint. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Market Abuse Unit, under the direction of Daniel M. Hawke, for its role in the case.
The government is represented by Gurbir S. Grewal, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
15-009
Buffalo Man Arrested; Accused of Stealing Funds from Buffalo SchoolsRead 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 Hassan El Saddique, 34, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with stealing and converting to his own use, more than $5,000 from the Buffalo Board of Education. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen A. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that between September 2009 and June 2010, the defendant obtained a contract from the Buffalo Board of Education to provide Title I services at the Universal School. Title I is a federally funded program that provides assistance to school districts with high numbers of children from low income families.
According to the complaint, El Saddique never provided Title I services to students at the Universal School. Rather, the defendant appeared uninvited at Bishop Time High School, which already had a Title I program in place, and told school officials that he was there to provide Title I assistance.
The complaint further states that El Saddique volunteered at Bishop Timon knowing that there were no Title I funds available to compensate him. However, the defendant subsequently submitted fraudulent invoices and received payment totaling $15,120. Some of the invoices were submitted for days before and after the Title I program began and ended at Bishop Timon.
The defendant will make an initial appearance at 2:00 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott.
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Geoff Wood.
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; Accused of Stealing Funds from Buffalo SchoolsRead 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 Hassan El Saddique, 34, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with stealing and converting to his own use, more than $5,000 from the Buffalo Board of Education. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen A. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that between September 2009 and June 2010, the defendant obtained a contract from the Buffalo Board of Education to provide Title I services at the Universal School. Title I is a federally funded program that provides assistance to school districts with high numbers of children from low income families.
According to the complaint, El Saddique never provided Title I services to students at the Universal School. Rather, the defendant appeared uninvited at Bishop Time High School, which already had a Title I program in place, and told school officials that he was there to provide Title I assistance.
The complaint further states that El Saddique volunteered at Bishop Timon knowing that there were no Title I funds available to compensate him. However, the defendant subsequently submitted fraudulent invoices and received payment totaling $15,120. Some of the invoices were submitted for days before and after the Title I program began and ended at Bishop Timon.
The defendant will make an initial appearance at 2:00 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott.
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Geoff Wood.
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.
Brandenburg, Kentucky, Man Charged with Threatening to Blow up A Church and Apartment ComplexRead the Press Release
OWENSBORO, Ky. - A Meade County, Kentucky man was charged in a two-count indictment with threatening, by way of a telephone, to damage and destroy with explosives, a church located in Brandenburg, Kentucky, and with threatening, by way of telephone, to damage and destroy with explosives, an apartment building located in Brandenburg, announced Acting United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Shelly L. Wright, age,45 was charged on January6, 2015, and the indictment was unsealed today following his arrest by Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brandenburg Police Department and Kentucky State Police.
According to the indictment, on November 16, 2014, Wright, through the use of a telephone, willfully made a threat to unlawfully damage and destroy the Glad Tidings Church, located on Bypass Road in Brandenburg, by means of explosives. Further, it is alleged that on or November 26, 2014, Wright, through the use of a telephone, willfully made a threat to unlawfully damage and destroy the Riverview Apartments.
If convicted at trial, Wright would face no more than ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and a three year period of supervised release. Wright is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Colin Lindsay, in Louisville, tomorrow morning at 10am, for arraignment and a detention hearing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Meade County Sheriff’s Department.
***
The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed
innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Bay Area Man Who Defrauded Website Investors Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Running $1.2 Million ScamRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Northern California man who defrauded 18 victims by selling website domains that he falsely claimed would generate substantial advertising revenue was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison.
John Winston Boone, 51, of Novato, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who called the defendant’s conduct “cruel and callous.”
In addition to the 10-year prison term, Judge Wright ordered Boone to pay $1,219,138 in restitution to the victims, who reside across the United States and in Canada.
During today’s hearing, Judge Wright said Boone “showed a lack of humanity that was so base and so depraved.”
Boone pleaded guilty in November 2013 to two counts of wire fraud, admitting that he engaged in a five-year-long fraud scheme that targeted victims who wanted to own online businesses that would allow them to work from home. Boone offered the websites for sale in advertisements he placed on popular business websites, such as Bizquest.com and BizBen.com. When prospective buyers responded to his ads, Boone sent them phony financial records that falsely showed the websites had generated advertising revenue in the past. As part of his scheme, Boone lied about his employment background and falsely promised to provide training and other assistance in setting up the websites. After the victims paid money, Boone failed to provide any training or other support he promised, and the websites, with one small exception, never generated any income. When victims discovered the scam, Boone ceased all contact with them and he never returned their money.
Boone is a “financial predator, a master manipulator and a pathological liar who will do or say anything to steal money from his victims,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo filed with the court. Prosecutors also cited Boone's callous conduct, describing how he defrauded one victim knowing he was disabled, and defrauded another victim knowing he had large medical bills to pay.
Boone displayed predatory conduct, according to the government's sentencing papers. After a victim sued him for return of her $60,000 down payment, Boone counter-sued her for the full amount of the $100,000 bogus contract and won, and then harassed her for payment with the knowledge that she suffered from panic attacks.
“For 30 years, nothing has deterred him – not criminal investigation or prosecution, not civil judgments, and not distraught victims,” according to prosecutors, who described the defendant as “extraordinarily charismatic and manipulative, while lacking any conscience.”
The case against Boone was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Release No. 15-004
Baltimore Area Pimp Exiled to 7 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr., sentenced Craig Okeido Anderson, a/k/a “Snap,” “Sir Chill,” King Hundredgrand,” and “Yung Royalty,” age 25, of Catonsville, Maryland, today to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, which Anderson brandished in connection with his prostitution business. Anderson had four prior assault convictions and was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Gary Gardner of the Howard County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino.
According to his plea agreement, from February 1, 2012, through October 3, 2013, Anderson was a pimp who persuaded, enticed and coerced women to travel interstate, and transported women interstate, with the intent that they engage in prostitution. Anderson recruited women whom he met in public and over the internet to work for him as prostitutes. Anderson had the women advertise their services on websites that marketed commercial sex workers. Anderson routinely took all of the money the women earned by engaging in prostitution. Anderson provided the women with drugs and alcohol to facilitate the prostitution. Anderson used aliases in advertisements and on a website to promote himself and his prostitution enterprise to women and commercial sex customers.
In August 2012, Anderson purchased a semi-automatic rifle and an extended magazine, loaded with 7.62mm ammunition. Between August 2012, and his arrest on October 3, 2013, Anderson stored the firearm in a vehicle he used to transport prostitutes who worked for him and brandished the firearm in relation to his prostitution activities, including threatening a drug dealer who attempted to cheat some of Anderson’s prostitutes in a drug deal, and threatening a commercial sex customer who would not leave during an encounter with one of Anderson’s prostitutes.
This case was investigated by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore, the Howard County Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department and Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.
Authorities Arrest 5 Linked to ‘Pill Mill’ That Used L.A. Medical Clinic to Generate Illegal Prescriptions and Distribute the Narcotics in TexasRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – After a federal grand jury issued a 33-count indictment last week, federal authorities in Texas and Southern California this morning arrested five defendants linked to a narcotics trafficking ring that sold illegal prescriptions for cash and obtained drugs that were shipped to Texas for sale on the black market. Two other defendants named in the indictment are currently being sought by authorities.
Those arrested this morning include the operators of the now-closed Southfork Medical Clinic, who allegedly sold unnecessary prescriptions for drugs that included oxycodone (best known by the brand names OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (commonly sold under the brand names Vicodin, Norco and Lortab), alprazolam (best known by the brand name Xanax), carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant sold under the brand name Soma) and promethazine with codeine (a cough syrup sold on the street as “purple drank” and “sizzurp”). A doctor at Southfork wrote prescriptions “while acting and intending to act outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose,” and Southfork employees forged another doctor’s handwriting and signature on illegal prescriptions, according to the indictment.
The doctor employed by Southfork during the charged conspiracy, Madhu Garg, issued more than 10,000 prescriptions – with nearly 80 percent of those for hydrocodone or alprazolam, most of which were at the maximum dosage – over a 15-month period, according to records maintained by the State of California.
The conspirators also used Los Angeles as a base of operations to acquire and deliver bulk shipments of prescription drugs to Texas, according to the indictment. The investigation resulted in the seizure of multiple drug loads, including a January 2013 seizure of nearly 10,000 pills from the residence of ringleader Jagehauel Gillespie, and a July 2010 seizure of 48 bottles of promethazine with codeine from a car being driven across Texas by Gillespie and another defendant.
“Los Angeles is a major source of the deadly and addictive prescription drugs that are diverted to street sales across the Western United States,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “This case in the latest in a series of prosecutions clearly demonstrating that law enforcement is committed to stemming the tide of drugs being diverted to the black market, as well as putting an end to medical professionals who abuse their prescription pads and their ethical obligations.”
The indictment describes multiple undercover operations conducted during the investigation. During an October 2013 meeting at Southfork, Gillespie agreed that Garg would prescribe oxycodone and promethazine with codeine for an undercover cooperator in exchange for the person returning to the clinic with bottles of the prescribed cough syrup. Later that day, Garg gave the undercover witness prescriptions for those drugs, and Garg agreed to issue more prescriptions later that week under a different patient name. Six days later, during another meeting at Southfork, Gillespie gave the undercover witness forged prescriptions for oxycodone and promethazine with codeine using another doctor’s name and medical license number.
“These arrests demonstrate law enforcement’s continuing intolerance for those who are simply drug traffickers operating behind the thinly veiled guise of a medical practice,” said Anthony D. Williams, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division. “Dr. Garg and her employees brazenly wrote and distributed thousands of illicit prescriptions with no legitimate necessity, allowing a countless number of highly addictive prescription opioids to hit the streets of Los Angeles and Texas. The DEA will persist its longstanding efforts to investigate and dismantle pill mills like Southfork Medical.”
All seven defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute narcotics, a charge that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Additionally, each of the defendants is charged in at least one substantive counts of distributing a controlled substance, charges that could increase a prison term if they are convicted.
The five arrested this morning are:
Jagehauel Gillespie, 39, of Houston, the operator of Southfork who allegedly charged flat fees of up to $500 for prescriptions and who will face a statutory maximum sentence of 149 years in federal prison if he is convicted;
Dr. Madhu Garg, 63, of Glendora, California, the medical doctor who wrote prescriptions at Southfork, allegedly without any medical necessity, before the Medical Board of California revoked her license in late 2013;
Diane Nunez, 24, of Long Beach, California, who oversaw day-to-day operations at Southfork;
Daniel Clay, 45, of Houston, who allegedly shipped controlled substances from Southern California to Texas; and
Ray Steven Benton, 56, of Baldwin Hills, California, a “capper” who recruited patients to obtain prescriptions at Southfork.
These defendants will be making initial court appearances this afternoon in the district in which they were arrested, meaning that Garg, Nunez and Benton will be arraigned in United States District Court in Los Angeles (and Gillespie and Clay will be appearing in federal court in Houston).
The two fugitives currently being sought are:
Jessica Poe, 32, of Inglewood, California, Gillespie’s girlfriend, who allegedly forged a doctor’s signature on prescriptions; and
Joseph Tyree Boyance, 35, whose whereabouts are presently unknown, a “capper” who recruited patients to obtain prescriptions at Southfork; and
The drug ring allegedly was based at the Southfork Medical Clinic, which until last February operated at 1818 South Western Avenue in the Harvard Heights district of Los Angeles.
In addition to the drug counts, Garg is charged with money laundering for allegedly wiring money obtained from the drug conspiracy to an account in Kuala Lumpur.
“IRS Criminal Investigation contributes our financial expertise in an effort to halt the illegal sale and distribution of prescription drugs,” stated IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez. “Our goal is to stop criminal enterprises that profit from the illegal trade of dangerous narcotics and take away any financial benefit they receive from their criminal activity.”
Benton is also charged with firearms offenses, and both Gillespie and Benton are charged with using fake identities and fraudulent driver’s licenses to fill prescriptions at Los Angeles-area pharmacies.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.
The case related to Southfork is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles and Houston field divisions, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Department of Justice, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Release No. 15-003
Attorney Indicted in Nearly $1 Million Tax Refund Check ScamRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An attorney specializing in real estate closings and a co-conspirator were charged today with depositing almost $1 million in fraudulently obtained IRS refund checks into several different bank accounts, including the attorney's trust account, in an effort to launder the proceeds.
R. David Cohen, 63, and Francisco Oscar “Frank” Grullon, 48, both of Andover at the time of the alleged crime, were indicted on charges of conspiracy, conversion and receipt of stolen United States property, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cohen was previously arrested by complaint on Dec. 17, 2014. Grullon is believed to be outside of the United States.
According the indictment and an affidavit filed in the case, the investigation identified a scheme in which individuals filed fraudulent tax returns with fictitious W-2 information, usually a name and social security number of a resident of Puerto Rico, whose residents are not required to file federal income tax returns. Once the fraudulent returns were accepted by the IRS, refund checks were sent to designated addresses in Lawrence, East Boston and New York controlled by his co-conspirators.
Beginning in October 2011, Cohen, Grullon and another co-conspirator deposited 152 fraudulently deposited tax refund checks totaling $993,677 into various local banks to launder them through Cohen’s “Interest On Lawyer’s Trust Accounts” (IOLTA), as well as through bank accounts in the name of AD Professional Association, Inc. When questioned by bank officials about the large amount of third-party U.S. Treasury checks Cohen was depositing and negotiating through his IOLTA and personal accounts, Cohen falsely claimed that the payees were his clients.
The charge of conspiracy provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss or gain from the offense. The charge of conversion and receipt of stolen U.S. property provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss or gain from the offense. The charge of money laundering provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case was also investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Attorney General Holder Announces New Partnership with Facebook and Bing to Expand Reach of AMBER Alert SystemRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that – as the nation observes National AMBER Alert Awareness Day – the Justice Department has partnered with Facebook and Bing to expand the reach of the AMBER Alert system. Facebook will begin sending alerts to its members in designated search areas and Bing will allow users to access AMBER Alerts through its online tools. Attorney General Holder continued to urge other companies and organizations to step forward and do their part by offering whatever assistance they can provide.
“Protecting the well-being of our young people is a responsibility that falls to every American,” said Attorney General Holder. “Each of us can help by paying close attention to alerts that come in – and by making sure you are plugged into the AMBER Alert network via social media. Remember: finding an abducted child and returning him or her to safety depends on a fast response. The more vigilant citizens we have on the look-out, the better our chances of a quick recovery.”
The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:
“At the Department of Justice, we are committed to ensuring the safety and security of everyone in this country – and especially our young people. Over the last two decades, a key tool in this effort has been the AMBER Alert system – an early warning system that helps us find and return abducted children.
“Since the first AMBER Alert system became operational in 1996, AMBER Alert’s strong network of law enforcement and transportation officials, broadcasters, private-sector representatives – and dedicated ordinary citizens – has helped to rescue and safely return more than 700 abducted children. Just last month, two young children were recovered. In one incident, a three-year-old boy who had been taken in a domestic dispute was used as a shield by his abductor. In another, an infant just 20 days old was abducted by a carjacker. Fortunately, with the help of the AMBER Alert system, both children were rescued unharmed.
“Through radio announcements, highway signs, wireless notifications, and Web posts, AMBER Alerts are now capable of rapidly reaching millions of people across the country. But we have a great deal more to do in order to ensure that we can spread the word about missing children as quickly and as widely as possible.
“Today – as our nation observes National AMBER Alert Awareness Day – I am pleased to announce that we are making two vital additions to our innovative national partnerships in order to expand the reach of the AMBER Alert system. Facebook, already an AMBER Alert partner, will now begin sending alerts, along with detailed information and photographs, to its members in designated search areas. And the search engine Bing will begin allowing users to access AMBER Alerts through its online tools. These cutting-edge tools are available as a result of agreements with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which coordinates our AMBER Alert distribution efforts.
“Facebook’s geo-targeted alerts and Bing’s online broadcast tools will give AMBER Alerts an expanded social media and Internet presence – extending our web of child protection resources into new and critical areas. I am grateful for their involvement, and for the participation of so many organizations and agencies that have helped to make the AMBER Alert system such an important public safety asset. And I urge other companies and organizations to step forward and do their part by offering whatever assistance they can provide.
“Protecting the well-being of our young people is a responsibility that falls to every American. Each of us can help by paying close attention to alerts that come in – and by making sure you are plugged into the AMBER Alert network via social media. Remember: finding an abducted child and returning him or her to safety depends on a fast response. The more vigilant citizens we have on the look-out, the better our chances of a quick recovery.
“For more information on how to get involved, please go to AMBERAlert.gov or www.missingkids.com.”
The full video of the Attorney General’s message is available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/video/expanding-amber-alert-tools-recover-missing-children.
Ardmore Man Sentenced to 92 Months for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that NIKEA PAUL LEE, age 38, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 92 months imprisonment, followed by 4 years of supervised release for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B).
The charge arose from an investigation by the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police, the Ardmore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The defendant was indicted in June 2014 and pled guilty in July 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about February 6, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distribute over five (5) grams or more of actual Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
The Honorable James H. Payne, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending transportation to the designated federal prison at which he will serve his nonparolable sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson represented the United States.
Monday 12 January 2015
Wilmington Man Found Guilty of Interstate Transportation for ProstitutionRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today that a jury convicted RANDOLPH JOHNSON SPAIN, 25of Wilmington, North Carolina, of two counts of interstate transportation of a person(s) with the intent that person(s) engage in prostitution. The jury returned its verdict following a trial in federal court before United States District Judge James C. Fox.
The defendant was the target of an investigation which was a collaborative effort among several law enforcement agencies, to include the Wilmington Police Department, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Department of Homeland Security. Among other evidence received during the trial, in August 2010, law enforcement in Norfolk, Virginia, were called to a hotel for a reported domestic assault. Upon investigation, two women encountered there told the Virginia authorities that they had been working as prostitutes for SPAIN, that he had brought them by automobile to Virginia from North Carolina, that he would not pay them, and that he would not let them leave. Spain faces a maximum of ten years imprisonment on each of the two counts.
Williston Man Sentenced on Two Counts of Possession of a Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
BISMARCK - U. S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 12, 2015, Ronald Keith Edwards Gibbons, 28, Williston, N.D., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on two counts of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Judge Hovland sentenced Gibbons to serve seven years and six months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on each count to be served concurrently. Gibbons was ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
On April 15, 2014, in Williston, North Dakota, Gibbons was stopped for a traffic violation. After an arrest for driving under suspension, a law enforcement search resulted in the discovery of a loaded .45 handgun in a tool bag in the back seat. After being charged in William County District Court, Gibbons bonded out.
On June 11, 2014, Gibbons was operating a motorcycle with an expired registration in Williston. When an officer attempted to stop him, Gibbons fled at a high rate of speed and crashed. He fled on foot, but was quickly apprehended and had a shoulder holster and loaded gun magazine on him. A witness stated she observed Gibbons crash, run and throw a gun. Officers found a loaded Ruger 9mm in the area where the witness said she saw him throw the gun.
Gibbons was prohibited from possessing either a firearm or ammunition by virtue of Washington state court felony convictions for assault in the third degree in 2004, unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree in 2005, and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forged prescription, in 2011.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Williston Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler prosecuted the case.
Williston Man Sentenced for Possession of Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
BISMARCK - U. S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 12, 2015, Michael John Schell, 44, Williston, N.D., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Judge Hovland sentenced Schell to serve seven years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Schell was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
On July 20, 2013, in Williston, North Dakota, Schell was stopped for a traffic violation. After discovery of a drug paraphernalia pipe, a law enforcement search resulted in the discovery of four firearms in the vehicle, including a semi-automatic rifle and over 500 rounds of ammunition.
Schell was prohibited from possessing either a firearm or ammunition by virtue of multiple felony convictions, including California convictions for possession of a controlled substance for sale in 1995, possession of a controlled substance in 1996, possession of a controlled substance in 2001, domestic assault in 2010, and felon in possession of a firearm in 2010.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Williston Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler prosecuted the case.
Wheeling man sentenced in painkiller distribution networkRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistWheeling man sentenced in painkiller distribution network
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Derick Namack, 39, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling oxycodone in a painkiller distribution network based in the Ohio Valley, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed Namack’s involvement in a painkiller distribution network led by 38-year-old Triadelphia, West Virginia resident Brian Schultz. Namack pled guilty in June 2014 to one count of “Distribution of Oxycodone.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parr prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
Wapato Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Possession of Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
Spokane – Today, Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Aaron Winnier, age 33, of Wapato, Washington, was sentenced for possessing a stolen firearm. Senior United States District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Winnier to a ten-year term of imprisonment and a three-year term of court supervision following his release from Federal prison. At today’s sentencing hearing, the Senior Judge Nielsen noted that Winnier had previously been convicted of more than 40 offenses.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, on April 22, 2014, the Yakama Nation Police Department received a complaint of a disturbance. The Tribal Police Officers arrived at a residence where the disturbance was reportedly occurring. The officers apprehended Winnier, who appeared to be intoxicated. At the time, the officers discovered a stolen firearm in Winnier’s pocket. Winnier told the officers that he did not care if the firearm was stolen and that he would just “get another one.” Winnier has a lengthy criminal history which includes, among other conduct, convictions for: possession of marijuana; resisting arrest; obstruction; taking vehicle without permission; protection order violation; attempt to elude a police vehicle; third degree assault; fourth degree assault; third degree escape; reckless endangerment; malicious injury to property; residential burglary; possession of a stolen vehicle; and felony harassment – threat to kill.
Michael C. Ormsby said, “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting individuals who unlawfully possess firearms. Such offenses are serious and just punishment will be pursued against individuals who violate the firearms laws, as was done in this case. I commend the Yakama Nation Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for their commitment to this successful prosecution.”
This investigation was conducted by the Yakama Nation Tribal Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The case was prosecuted by Tom Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.14-CR-13-2035-WFN-1
Virginia Beach Man Sentenced to Seven-and-a-Half Years for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – David Beningo, 53, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 90 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release for receipt of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.
Beningo pleaded guilty on June 24, 2014. According to court documents, Beningo, a retired Navy Chief, was a child pornography file sharer on a peer-to-peer network. Agents were able to determine that someone using a particular internet protocol address was sharing files. That online activity was then linked to Beningo’s residence. Agents executed a search warrant on Beningo’s home and his computer equipment was seized and examined. The hard drive contained more than 450 videos of child pornography including 4 videos which contained sadistic/masochistic depictions. Beningo admitted to downloading images of child pornography and to using the peer-to-peer network. He also acknowledged that the network required him to set up a shared folder from which others could download images.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Stoker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 2:14cr86.Virginia Beach Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Bruce Michael Jarvela II, age 41, of Virginia Beach was sentenced today to 97 months in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Susan E. Triesch, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar.Jarvela pled guilty to the charge on September 4, 2014. According to court documents, Jarvela, an active duty petty officer in the Navy, downloaded an image of child pornography to his Facebook page and then tried to distribute that image to another Facebook user. Facebook flagged the image, shut down Jarvela’s account, and notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators executed a search warrant on Jarvela’s Virginia Beach residence in November 2013. They seized numerous pieces of computer equipment. Jarvela had been downloading images since 2003 and sharing with others via chat rooms and email since 2008. He is attributed with having 775 images.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Stoker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 2:14-cr-101.United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger’s Statement Regarding Twin Cities Particpation in White House Summit on Countering Violent ExtremismRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger said: “I look forward to participating in the White House Summit on February 18 with Twin Cities law enforcement and community leaders and stakeholders, my colleagues from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Boston and Los Angeles, and CVE leaders from around the world. Since I began working with the Somali Minnesotan community last spring to design a plan that will address the root causes of terrorist recruiting, I have come to learn that we share a deep commitment to see our community prosper in peace and security.”
It is expected that the Minneapolis-St. Paul delegation to the White House Summit will include approximately 15 law enforcement and Somali community leaders.U.S. Attorney Machen Announces Selection of Consultants to Work with Office’s New Conviction Integrity UnitExperienced Attorneys to Help Assess Cases, Recommend Best PracticesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. today announced the selection of two independent consultants who will provide guidance and outside expertise to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s newly created Conviction Integrity Unit.
The consultants are Jeffrey D. Robinson, Senior CounselatLewis Baach, and Kristine Hamann, a Visiting Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, who specializes in developing "Best Practices" programs for prosecutor's offices.
“In standing up the first federal Conviction Integrity Unit, we wanted to bring in outside counsel who would offer a fresh perspective to our review process in order to ensure that we were reaching the right conclusions when assessing these innocence claims,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Our goal is to not only identify historic wrongful convictions but to do everything in our power to prevent those wrongful convictions from occurring on a going forward basis. I am confident that these experienced attorneys will offer thoughtful, independent feedback that helps us achieve both of these goals.”
The Conviction Integrity Unit, established in September 2014, will review cases in which defendants convicted of violent felonies can proffer new evidence that merits reconsideration, including those in which DNA testing of biological material may establish actual innocence. Cases will be reviewed by experienced prosecutors and investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who then will determine if further action is needed.
Mr. Robinson and Ms. Hamann have agreed to serve as a resource to the Conviction Integrity Unit by reviewing material relating to incoming claims and providing their individual assessments of the potential merits of and investigative steps necessary as to those claims. Once a claim has been thoroughly re-investigated, Mr. Robinson and Ms. Hamann will be available to consult with the U.S. Attorney about the proposed outcome.
Finally, Mr. Robinson and Ms. Hamann will offer their guidance as to recommended training, policy revisions, and changes in trial practice suggested by the conviction review process. Shawn Armburst, the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, also will assist the Conviction Integrity Unit in recommending changes in training, policy, and trial practice.
This is the first Conviction Integrity Unit created within a U.S. Attorney’s Office. A number of prosecutors’ offices nationwide have established such units in recent years, including the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. As the Conviction Integrity Unit’s work continues, additional consultants could be named.
The unit, which began reviewing cases this fall, is part of the office’s Special Proceedings Division, which handles all post-conviction litigation in both the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The external consultants have extensive experience with criminal justice issues:
Jeffrey D. Robinson, Senior CounselatLewis Baach, is an experienced litigator who handles complex commercial and civil rights matters, responds to governmental and congressional investigations, develops legal strategies, and addresses media inquiries. He was lead counsel in the case establishing that racially targeted predatory lending is a violation of the Fair Housing Act. Mr. Robinson has a long and distinguished career in areas in which traditional law and litigation intersect with public policy and politics. He served for four years as Associate Director-Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF), where he successfully led an effort to reform California's Three Strikes law through a ballot initiative, and he also played an important role in multiple legislative efforts, including the inclusion of civil rights protections in the Affordable Care Act and criminal justice reform measures before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Mr. Robinson worked on behalf of Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 election Florida vote-count challenge, serving as trial counsel and a media spokesman. Mr. Robinson is a former Principal Deputy in the District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel (now the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General). He also is a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs and a Subcommittee Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Kristine Hamann, a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance, works with prosecutors throughout the country to develop statewide Best Practices Committees. She also is the chair of the Best Practices Committee for the New York State District Attorney’s Association. The Committee develops best practices and innovative strategies aimed at improving the criminal justice system and preventing wrongful convictions. The Committee has led statewide initiatives that include enhanced identification procedures, video interrogation protocols, an Ethics Handbook for prosecutors, and discovery training for the police. Ms. Hamann has decades of experience as a prosecutor. From 2008 to 2013, she was the Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York. The office conducts international, national, and local drug trafficking investigations and prosecutions, which impact New York City. From 2007 to 2008, she was the New York State Inspector General, charged with investigating and preventing fraud, waste and abuse in state government. Before serving as Inspector General, Ms. Hamann served more than 25 years at the New York County District Attorney’s Office, including nine years as the Executive Assistant District Attorney to Robert M. Morgenthau in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She also has worked as an associate at Simpson Thacher and Bartlett in New York.
15-010U.S. Attorney Announces Formation of Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working GroupRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced the formation of the Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working Group to address civil rights violations by public and private educational institutions, afterschool programs, summer camps and day care centers.
U.S. Attorney Daly stated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut regularly receives complaints from concerned parents and caregivers alleging that their children were discriminated against by schools, afterschool programs and summer camps because of the child’s disability, gender, gender identity, or limited ability to speak English. In addition, the Office has received an increasing number of complaints about bullying, sexual harassment and school segregation in public and private schools. Over the last several months, the Office has settled cases against schools, afterschool programs and day care centers for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. These settlements have resulted in monetary settlements to parents, comprehensive training for providers, and sweeping policy changes to entire educational programs and systems.
Most recently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement with Quinnipiac University to resolve allegations that the university violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by placing a student who had been diagnosed with depression on a mandatory medical leave of absence without first considering options for the student’s continued enrollment.
Recognizing a greater need to address and help prevent civil rights violations in educational and camp settings, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has partnered with federal and state agencies and advocacy groups to form the Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working Group.
Participating in the Working Group are representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, Connecticut Department of Education, Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, African American Affairs Commission, Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Connecticut Center for Children’s Advocacy, Connecticut Afterschool Network, Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association and the Connecticut Summer Camp Network.
The Working Group is developing and implementing a strategic action plan to address civil rights violations through educational outreach programs as well as law enforcement actions.
“Civil rights violations in educational and camp settings undermine the well-being of our most vulnerable citizens – our children,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “Through aggressive outreach and enforcement initiatives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our working group partners strive to eliminate these violations to improve the health and welfare of all children and young adults.”
To contact the Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working Group, please call 203-821-3836.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Two Conspirators Sentenced for the Armed Robbery of A Waldorf Convenience StoreRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George Jerrod Hazel sentenced Charles Johnson, age 20, of Beltsville, Maryland, and Madani Ilara Tejan, age 32, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, today to 51 months in prison and 68 months in prison, respectively, each followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing a convenience store in Waldorf, Maryland,.The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry.
According to their plea agreements, on September 11, 2013, Johnson, Tejan and Donnell Harris robbed a convenience store on St. Ignatius Drive in Waldorf. Harris brandished a firearm during the robbery and the conspirators forced the store employee at gunpoint to open the store’s cash register. The robbers stole $90 in cash and several packs of cigarettes.
Harris also admitted that after he was arrested for the robbery and while he was incarcerated, he threatened to hurt co-conspirator Charles Johnson if Johnson did not lie to law enforcement by stating that he (Johnson) had brandished the firearm during the robbery.
Donnell Edward Harris, age 21, of Burtonsville, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to the robbery and to brandishing a gun during the robbery. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Montgomery County Police Department and Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leah J. Bressack and Daniel Gardner, who prosecuted the case.
Topeka Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for armed robbery, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Weston Brett Canfield, 28, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of commercial robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the robbery. In his plea, Canfield admitted that May 12, 2014, he robbed Patty’s Retail Liquor at 3705 S.W. Plaza Drive in Topeka. During the robbery, he threatened the clerk with a .22 caliber rifle. Canfield got the rifle from co-defendant Aaron Roy Bundy. Bundy died on July 31, 2014, while awaiting trial.
Grissom commended the Topeka Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.
Thirteen Indicted for Interstate Drug Conspiracy Controlled from PrisonRead the Press Release
A 30-count federal indictment was unsealed charging 13 people with participating in a multi-state conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, a conspiracy which was controlled by an inmate inside an Ohio prison, law enforcement officials said.
Indicted are: Fernando Auces, 50, currently residing at Grafton Correctional Institution; Ricardo Morales-Almazan, 32, currently residing at FCI Big Spring in Texas; Alejandro Sanchez, 33, of Toledo; Roberto Agapito Vallejo-Becerra, 50, currently residing at East Hidalgo Detention Center in Texas; Alexander Gonzales, 38, currently residing at Southern Ohio Correctional Institution (Lucasville); Tammy Gibson, 40, of Akron; Javier Jimenez, 39, of Toledo; Noe Reyes, 33, currently residing at FCI Lucero in Alabama; Randy Koelblin, 39, of Cincinnati; Jasmine Reyes, 29, of Omaha, Neb.; Jenneth De La Rosa, 58, of Toledo; Daniel Ulis, 40, of Toledo and Anthony King, 41, currently residing at Ross Correctional Institution (Chillicothe).
All 13 people were indicted in Count 1 with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Auces, while an inmate at Allen Correctional Institute in Lima, Ohio, with the assistance of Almazan and others, controlled a multi-state drug operation by communicating through a contraband cell phone with others outside the prison to arrange the delivery and sale of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the indictment.
Between 2010 and 2014, Auces and others arranged for deliveries of large amounts of heroin to Ohio from suppliers in Indiana and Texas. He recruited friends and relatives, including Almazan, De La Rosa, Sanchez, Ulis, King, Jimenez and Koelblin to receive and distribute the heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to Cleveland, Toledo and elsewhere, according to the indictment.
Auces, as part of the conspiracy, agreed with Gonzales, an inmate at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, to share customers and drug suppliers. Auces arranged for Gonzales to distribute drugs to various locations throughout Ohio, including Cleveland, Akron/Canton, Dayton and Cincinnati, according to the indictment.
“This was a major interstate drug ring run from inside a prison cell,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners those who were helping this drug trafficker from the outside will soon be joining him behind bars. We will continue to work together to reduce the supply of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.”
“Refuge from law enforcement can't be found behind a prison wall,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland Office. “The Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force will continue to bring to justice drug dealers that distribute pois0n to our streets, no matter where they reside."
“Our collective enforcement efforts in this investigation have effectively shut down an operation that allegedly funneled copious amounts of illegal drugs into this community," Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Detroit, which covers Michigan and Ohio. "These charges announced today are the culmination of an extensive multi-agency approach to combating drug trafficking organizations."
Counts 2 through 7 are substantive counts of distribution of methamphetamine or heroin. Counts 8 through 28 deal with the use of communication facility to facilitate a felony. Counts 29 and 30 deal with traveling interstate to distribute heroin. The indictment also seeks to forfeit $37,050 in cash seized from a storage locker in Toledo on April 4, 2014, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vasile C. Katsaros and Christian H. Stickan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Tomaro of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office following an investigation by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force. The NOLETF is a task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division of Police, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the police departments of Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Lakewood, the Regional Transit Authority, Westlake and Shaker Heights. The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiatives, which supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate or reduce drug trafficking in Ohio.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Texan pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell methamphetamine in the Winn Parish area.
Instead of proceeding with a federal jury trial scheduled to start today, Alwyn Nord Stewart Jr., 35, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Stewart; David Lamont Mangum, 36, of Winnfield, La.; Altomio Kente Phillips, 29, of Winnfield; and Demetrius Marie Jackson, 31, of Deridder, La., conspired to distribute methamphetamine transported from Houston to the Winnfield area from the beginning of 2011 until September 2012. Stewart was the supplier of methamphetamine to Mangum. Stewart and Mangum would arrange transport of the drugs to Louisiana, and other conspirators assisted with the delivery and distribution.
Stewart faces 20 years to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $10 million fine. He and the other conspirators also face forfeiture of the property seized during the case, which includes: $29,067, two plots of land in Winnfield, seven vehicles and other seized items. A sentencing date of April 2, 2015 was set. Mangum, Phillips and Jackson previously pleaded guilty and are set to be sentenced on January 22, 2015.
The defendants were arrested as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation named “Trend Setters.” The DEA conducted the investigation. The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Cowles Jr., Brandon B. Brown and Joseph G. Jarzabek are prosecuting the case.
Tax Preparer Sentenced for Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Crystal Graham, 42, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $266,243 to the IRS for filing false claims with the United States through federal income tax returns she prepared. Graham pleaded guilty on September 22, 2014, to 11 counts of filing false claims.
Graham created bogus wage statements and other false financial information which she placed on tax returns that she prepared for individuals for the purpose of obtaining tax refunds in the names of the filers. The fraudulent returns sought refunds of $354,000 based on bogus expense deductions and refundable credits, such as a filer=s entitlement to the First Time Home Buyer=s Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit when the filer had little, if any, taxes withheld from income in that year. Graham also had her clients sign statements giving her the authority to deposit the clients= refund checks into her savings account, or to have the refund checks placed on prepaid access devices. This gave Graham the ability to take a substantial portion of the fraudulent refunds before giving her clients the remainder.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Rufe ordered Graham to pay a $1,100 special assessment. She is also prohibited from preparing tax returns. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.
Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Two BanksRead 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 Gary R. Latray, 54, of Syracuse, NY, pleaded guilty to aggravated bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling the case, stated that on November 10, 2009, the defendant entered Northwest Savings Bank at 3670 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, NY, and handed the teller a note demanding a sum of money and indicating that he had an explosive device. The teller gave Latray a specific amount of money in response to the threat.
On December 1, 2009, the defendant entered a Suntrust Bank in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and carried out a similar style bank robbery.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Williams, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia, under the direction of acting U.S. Attorney Anthony Giorno, the Harrisonburg, Virginia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Stephen B. Monticelli, the West Virginia State Police, under the direction of Colonel Jay Smithers, and the Garrett County, Maryland Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Rob Corley.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Serial Robber Exiled to over 42 Years PrisonRead the Press Release
Robbed Over a Dozen Convenience Stores, Gas Stations and Restaurants in Five Months,
Including Three 7-Elevens in Just Two Hours
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Anthony Akrah Morris, age 25, of Burtonsville, Maryland, today to 505 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit robbery, two counts of robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a robbery. Judge Grimm also ordered Morris to pay restitution of $3,375.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Michael E. Scott of the Mount Rainier Police Department; and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh.
According to evidence presented during the five day trial, Morris committed three robberies on May 19, 2012, two robberies on May 31, 2012 and one robbery on July 21, 2012. Morris would observe the target businesses before the robberies, plan the robberies with his co-conspirators, participate in the robberies and divide and receive a portion of robbery proceeds. During the robberies, Morris and his conspirators partially hid their faces with cloths or a mask. In all six robberies, Morris stole proceeds from the business, while a co-conspirator brandished a firearm. In two of the robberies, Morris struck 7-Eleven employees when they were not moving fast enough to open the cash registers.
Specifically, at 3:05 a.m. on May 19, 2012, Morris and a co-conspirator entered the 7-Eleven store at 1927 Rhode Island Avenue, NE, Washington, D.C. While a co-conspirator brandished a firearm, Morris took money from the cash register and they escaped. They similarly robbed two other 7-Eleven stores later that morning: one at 4:16 a.m., located at 1927 Rhode Island Avenue, NE, Washington, D.C. where they stole $100 from the cash register; and the other at 5:03 a.m., located at 3004 Forestville Road in Forestville, Maryland, where they stole $80.
In similar fashion, Morris and two co-conspirators robbed another 7-Eleven store at 1:05 a.m. on May 31, 2012, located at 12009 Laurel Bowie Road, Laurel, Maryland. Morris jumped over a counter while a co-conspirator brandished a firearm. The co-conspirator ordered customers to the floor. Morris took approximately $340 from the store cash register. Morris and a co-conspirator also took $475 worth of cigarettes from the store. One of the co-conspirators took money and items from customers, including an Apple iPhone from a female customer. The co-conspirators fled from the store in a vehicle driven by another co-conspirator.
Shortly thereafter, at 2:59 a.m., Morris and two of his co-conspirators entered a McDonald’s restaurant located at 15569 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. One of the co-conspirators brandished a firearm at persons inside the restaurant. Morris and his co-conspirators forced employees to open the the restaurant’s safe from which they took $1,400 in cash. They fled in a getaway vehicle driven by another co-conspirator.
On July 21, 2012, Morris and another co-conspirator entered a McDonald’s restaurant located at 4950 South Dakota Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. One of the co-conspirators brandished a firearm at persons inside the restaurant. Morris and his co-conspirator took $1,380 of store funds and fled the store. A Metropolitan Police Department crime scene technician recovered a partial palm print from the restaurant’s counter, and an FBI forensic examiner matched it to a palm print from a fingerprint card belonging to Morris.
Based on evidence presented at today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Grimm found that Morris committed seven additional armed commercial robberies, including two in which Morris pistol whipped a store employee.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Mount Rainier Police Department and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance and coordination. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan and Special Assistant United States Attorney Gerald A. A. Collins, a cross designated Maryland Assistant Attorney General, who prosecuted the case.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to over 13 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lonnell McCarter, 39, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by United States District Judge William B. Shubb to 13 years and one month in prison for participating in a sex trafficking venture that involved a child prostitute, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. After his release, McCarter will be subject to supervision for an additional twenty years.
According to court documents, in October 2010, McCarter took part in pimping a 13‑year-old child and an adult in the Sacramento area and also during a three-day trip from California to Reno, Nevada. During his involvement with the minor, McCarter took part in advertising the child for prostitution, purchased bus tickets for the minor to travel across state lines, and collected the money that the child and the adult prostitute received from customers in California and Nevada.
“Lonnell McCarter preyed upon and entrapped a 13-year-old girl in a lifestyle dominated by exploitation and abuse as she was sold for sex in both California and Nevada,” said Supervisory Special Agent Maria Johnson of the FBI’s Sacramento field office. “The FBI is committed to identifying, investigating, and arresting anyone who traffics a child. Our goal is to disrupt the cycle of coercion and violence by providing their victims a chance of a healthy and happy future.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Morris prosecuted the case.
Presque Isle Man Sentenced to Seven Years on Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Contact: F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Wayne
E. Boulier, Jr., 34, of Presque Isle, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief
Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to seven years in prison to be followed by three years of
supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Boulier pleaded guilty to the
charge on February 24, 2014.Court records reveal that on the evening of April 6, 2013, the defendant went to a bar in
Presque Isle. A bouncer at the pub approached the defendant, told him that he needed to leave
and escorted him to the door. As the defendant fell onto the sidewalk outside, he pulled up his
shirt and pulled out a loaded pistol. A bar patron and a second bouncer restrained the defendant
and took the pistol from him. Boulier was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had
12 prior state felony convictions.The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms &
Explosives, the Presque Isle Police Department and the Maine State Police.President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing to Convene First Public MeetingRead the Press Release
*****UPDATED MEDIA ADVISORY*****
Members of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing will hold the first public listening session on TUESDAY, JAN. 13, 2015, AT 9:00 A.M., EST, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Task Force members will hear testimony from five panels of witnesses on ways to improve the collaborative relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve, exchange best practices for policing strategies, promote effective crime reduction and address concerns about violence directed at law enforcement.
WHAT: Task Force on 21st Century Policing’s First Listening Session
WHO: Task Force on 21st Century Policing
WHEN: TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2015
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
WHERE: The Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001
OPEN PRESS (MEDIA PRE-SET 7:45 a.m. EST//FINAL MEDIA ACCESS TIME 8:30 a.m. EST)
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license as well as valid media credentials). Due to space limitations, entrance is not guaranteed. Media inquiries regarding logistics should contact Silas Darden at [email protected] or at (202) 307-0703. This event will be live streamed on the Task Force on 21st Century Policing webpage.
Task Force on 21st Century Policing Listening Session
9:00 a.m. EST Welcome Remarks and Task Force Overview
Ronald Davis, Executive Director of the Task Force and Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office)
9:05 a.m. EST Opening Statements by Task Force Chairs & Introduction of Task Force
Members
Task Force Co-Chairs:
Charles Ramsey, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department
Laurie Robinson, Professor at George Mason University
Task Force Members:
Cedric Alexander, Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Public Safety of DeKalb County and President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
Jose Lopez, Lead Organizer of Make the Road New York
Tracey Meares, Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale Law School
Brittany Packnett, Executive Director of Teach for America – St. Louis
Susan Rahr, Executive Director of Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission
Constance Rice, Co-Director of The Advancement Project
Sean Smoot, Director and Chief Counsel of Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee
Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
Roberto Villaseñor, Chief of Police of the Tucson Police Department
9:30 a.m. EST Witness Panel Discussion I:
Jennifer Eberhardt, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University
Charles Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and Director at Harvard Law School
Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School
Samuel Walker, Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska–Omaha
10:30 a.m. EST Witness Panel Discussion II:
Carmen Perez, Executive Director of The Gathering for Justice
Jim St. Germain, Founder of Preparing Leaders for Tomorrow
Jim Winkler, President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches
Ashley Yates, Co-Founder of Millennial Activists United
11:30 a.m. EST Witness Panel Discussion III:
Richard Beary, President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police
Andrew Peralta, National President of the National Latino Peace Officers Association
Richard Stanek, Past President and Executive Committee’s Sergeant-at-Arms of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association and National Sheriffs’ Association
1:30 p.m. EST Witness Panel Discussion IV:
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (NAACP LDF)
Laura Murphy, Director, Washington Legislative Office, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Vikrant Reddy, Senior Policy Analyst, Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice
Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO, Voto Latino
2:30 p.m. EST Witness Panel Discussion V:
Kevin Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento
Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore
3:30 p.m. EST Testimonies from the Audience
4:30 p.m. EST Task Force Closing Remarks
5:00 p.m. EST Meeting ends
*Written testimonies and a live stream of the meeting will available on the Task Force on 21st Century Policing webpage.
***
About the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing
The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing was established by an Executive Order signed by the President on Dec. 18, 2014. The Task Force – which includes law enforcement representatives, community leaders, young adults and notable scholars – will examine, among other issues, how to strengthen public trust and foster strong relationships between local law enforcement and the communities that they protect, while also promoting effective crime reduction. Members of the Task Force will engage federal, state, tribal and local officials, subject matter experts, young leaders, and nongovernmental organizations through meetings and 21st century technology. The Task Force will also convene listening sessions where they will hear testimony, including proposed recommendations for consideration, from invited witnesses and also receive comments and questions from the public.
Pittsburgh Man Facing 10 Years in Prison After Admitting to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – An Allegheny County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
James Stover, 28, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Gustave Diamond.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on or about Aug. 15, 2013, Stover knowingly possessed videos and images in computer graphic files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years of age.
Judge Diamond scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2015, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Stover.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Physician Owners of Mental Health Clinic Sentenced for $97 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The two physician owners of a Houston-area mental health clinic were sentenced today to 148 months and 120 months respectively for their roles in a $97 million Medicare fraud scheme. A group home owner who sent residents to the clinic in exchange for kickbacks was also sentenced to 54 months in prison for her role.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services-Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), Special Agent in Charge Joseph J. Del Favero of the Railroad Retirement Board-Office of Inspector General (RRB-OIG) Chicago Field Office and Inspector General Patrick E. McFarland of the Office of Personnel Management-Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG) made the announcement.
“Doctors are not only bound by oath to serve the health of their patients, they are bound by duty to serve as gatekeepers for Medicare spending,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “In this case, without the criminal participation of Drs. Sanjar and Sajadi, this fraud simply could not have happened.”
Physicians Mansour Sanjar, 81, and Cyrus Sajadi, 67, the owners of Spectrum Care P.A., a community mental health clinic, were each convicted following a jury trial on March 12, 2014, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, as well as related counts of health care fraud and paying illegal kickbacks. Chandra Nunn, 36, a group home owner, was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, as well as related counts of receiving illegal kickbacks. In addition to the prison sentences, U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore of the Southern District of Texas ordered Sanjar and Sajadi to pay $8,058,612.39 in restitution, and Nunn to pay $1,885,667.41 in restitution. Co-defendants Adam Main, Shokoufeh Hakimi, Sharonda Holmes and Shawn Manney were also convicted and are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2015.
According to evidence presented at trial, Sanjar and Sajadi orchestrated and executed a scheme to defraud Medicare beginning in 2006 and continuing until their arrest in December 2011. Sanjar and Sajadi owned Spectrum, which purportedly provided partial hospitalization program (PHP) services. A PHP is a form of intensive outpatient treatment for severe mental illness. The Medicare beneficiaries for whom Spectrum billed Medicare for PHP services did not qualify for or need PHP services.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Sanjar and Sajadi signed admission documents and progress notes certifying that patients qualified for PHP services, when in fact, the patients did not qualify for or need PHP services. Sanjar and Sajadi also billed Medicare for PHP services when the beneficiaries were actually watching movies, coloring and playing games, which are not activities covered by Medicare.
Evidence presented at trial also showed that Sanjar and Sajadi paid kickbacks to group care home operators and patient recruiters, including Nunn, Holmes and Manney, in exchange for delivering ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to Spectrum. In some cases, the patients received a portion of those kickbacks. According to evidence presented at trial, Spectrum billed Medicare for approximately $97 million in services that were not medically necessary and, in some cases, not provided.
The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, Texas MFCU, RRB-OIG and OPM-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Laura M.K. Cordova, Senior Trial Attorney Jonathan T. Baum and Trial Attorney William S.W. Chang of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Orange County Man Who Bilked Physicians and Dentists Out of More Than $2 Million Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who admitted targeting dozens of doctors and others in schemes that promised large returns on investments in the medical and dental fields and caused victims to lose more than $2 million was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison.
David Rose, 58, of Coto de Caza, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge James V. Selna.
Rose pleaded guilty in July to one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.
According to court documents, over a six-year period that ran through May 2011, Rose solicited physicians to invest in an Irvine company he called M.D. Venture Partners (MDVP) and falsely promised lucrative returns on investments in emerging medical technologies.
In a subsequent scheme, Rose used Technology Innovation Partners (TIP) and Millenium Marketing Partners, both of Irvine, to solicit dentists and orthodontists to invest, claiming funds would be pooled and invested in a company developing ablation technology that would be used to remove wisdom teeth in children without surgery.
Throughout both schemes, investor funds were misused, with Rose using victims’ money for personal expenses. According to a plea agreement filed in court, Rose used investor funds to pay $7,500 monthly rent for a house in Coto de Caza, college tuition, an $80,000 Sea Ray boat and shares in the Green Bay Packers.
The investigation revealed that no money was invested by either MDVP or TIP.
In the MDVP scheme, Rose caused approximately 32 victims to lose more than $900,000, according to court documents. In the TIP scheme, 45 victims lost more than $1.4 million. As part of today’s sentencing, Judge Selna ordered Rose to pay a total of $2,315,394 in restitution.
Rose was arrested in May 2013 and has remained in custody since that time.
“The theft of more than $2 million by fraud is a serious offense, an offense in this case that took place over many years,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing brief.
The case against Rose is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Release No. 15-002
Ohio doctor sentenced for two drug-related feloniesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Dr. Robert Timothy Hogan II, 33, of Coolsville, Ohio, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
On Oct. 15, 2014, Hogan pleaded guilty to traveling in interstate commerce and using a communications device to facilitate a felony.
“It’s appalling that a licensed physician would pump illegal pills into our communities like this,” Goodwin said. “Every time we put a law-breaking doctor out of business is a big step toward getting this problem under control.”
Hogan admitted to traveling between Athens County, Ohio, and Wood County, West Virginia, and using his cellphone to facilitate an arrangement in which he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances to an individual who was not his patient, and for which there was no legitimate medical purpose for receiving half the pills after the prescriptions were filled. He wrote more than 160 illegal prescriptions, for more than 17,000 pills between January 2013 and February 2014.
United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the West Virginia State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Loew handled the prosecution of this case.
The case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill and heroin trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
North Tonawanda Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead 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 Thomas A. Sparks, 23, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography, before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a fine of $250,000.Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that in June of 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received a report that Sparks and a friend were downloading child pornography from the internet. On June 26, 2013, the FBI interviewed the defendant’s friend, who admitted that he and Sparks had downloaded child pornography from the internet onto a flash drive.
Later that day, the FBI interviewed the defendant at his residence. At that time, Sparks admitted that he had downloaded child pornography from the internet onto the flash drive. The defendant also admitted that prior to the FBI’s arrival, he smashed the flash drive and threw it in the garbage. Sparks told investigators he got a phone call from his friend alerting him that the FBI was on the way to interview him. The flash drive was recovered from the garbage and was repaired by the FBI. A forensic analysis uncovered approximately 94 images of child pornography stored on the flash drive. Additionally, as part of the plea agreement, Sparks admitted that he engaged in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 29, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Skretny.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Trafficking in Illegally-Imported Narwhal Tusks and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Andrew J. Zarauskas, a New Jersey resident, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for illegally importing and trafficking in narwhal tusks and associated money laundering crimes, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Zarauskas was also ordered to forfeit $85,089, six narwhal tusks and one narwhal skull. In addition, Zarauskas was ordered to pay a fine of $7,500. His prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
On Feb. 14, 2014, a federal jury in Bangor, Maine, convicted Zarauskas on six counts, including conspiracy, smuggling violations for buying and illegally importing narwhal tusks into the United States and money laundering violations associated with the illegal importations. The market value of the teeth and tusks illegally imported by Zarauskas was determined to be between $120,000 and $200,000.
Narwhals are marine mammals that are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is illegal to import parts of the narwhal into the United States without a permit and without declaring the parts at the time of importation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The Justice Department is committed to the fight to save the world’s protected wildlife species, many of which are under sustained attack by poachers and wildlife traffickers,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “We are particularly grateful to our federal and Canadian law enforcement partners for unraveling this scheme to traffic in narwhal tusks and for bringing Zarauskas and his co-conspirators to justice.”
“The significant penalties imposed today for Mr. Zarauskas send a powerful message to any individual that decides to engage in the trade of illegal wildlife,” said Deputy Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We will continue to work closely with our international, federal and state partners to root out those individuals who exploit protected wildlife species for their own financial gain.”
“This is yet another case where dedicated investigators helped stop an international smuggling ring attempting to profit from the illegal exploitation and trade of vulnerable and threatened marine species,” said Assistant Administrator Eileen Sobeck for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. “NOAA will continue to work in collaboration with our international, federal and state law enforcement partners to make sure marine resources are protected now and into the future.”
According to the evidence presented a trial, Zarauskas purchased approximately 33 narwhal tusks over nearly six years from two Canadian co-defendants. The Canadian co-defendants purchased the narwhal tusks in Canada and subsequently brought them into the United States illegally by concealing the narwhal tusks either under their truck or under a utility trailer and not declaring the wildlife to border officials as required. Once in the United States, a Canadian co-defendant shipped the narwhal tusks to Zarauskas from Bangor, Maine. Zarauskas knew that the co-defendants lived in Canada and had illegally imported the narwhal tusks into the United States.
The case was investigated by agents from the Law Enforcement Offices of NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Environment Canada. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Todd S. Mikolop and James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section.
New Hampshire Man Arrested on Domestic Violence and Firearm Charges Arising Out of Saco Home InvasionRead the Press Release
Contact: Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: PRESS ALERT: Gregory Owens, 58, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was arrested yesterday on charges filed in U.S. District Court of interstate domestic violence and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in connection with a home invasion shooting on December 18, 2014, at a residence in Saco, Maine. Owens will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland today at 11:00 a.m.
Naperville Man Admits Stealing U.S. Computer Equipment Worth $332,000 While Working for Defense Contractor in AfghanistanRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Naperville man who worked for a U.S. military contractor pleaded guilty today to stealing U.S. military computer and communications equipment worth more than $332,000 from a military air base in Afghanistan and later selling and shipping almost half of the high-end equipment to vendors in the United States for re-sale.
TIMOTHY L. MAURER, 51, a former systems administrator for Raytheon Corp., a U.S. Department of Defense contractor, was charged last month with one count of theft of government property. He pleaded guilty today at his arraignment before U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., in Federal Court in Chicago.
“Stealing from the U.S. government undermines our mission in Afghanistan and anyone seeking to defraud the American taxpayer will be brought to justice,” said John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Special Inspector General Sopko. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Army Criminal Investigative Division/Major Procurement Fraud Unit (CID/MPFU), and SIGAR conducted the investigation.
In pleading guilty, Maurer admitted that between Dec. 23, 2013, and Feb. 2, 2014, he stole more than 150 items of computer and communications equipment, including laptop computers, cellular telephones, computer switches, adaptors, batteries, power cables, and electronic storage devices worth approximately $332,702. The equipment was stolen from storage containers and other areas belonging to the 445th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, a U.S. Air Force unit, stationed at Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan. On at least one occasion, Maurer forced open a lock to gain entry to a storage container, and he also stole equipment from other locations where the equipment was being stored or used.
In January 2014, Maurer communicated with multiple vendors in the United States to arrange sales of the equipment that he stole. The vendors re-sold stolen equipment valued at approximately $152,697, while equipment worth approximately $180,005 was recovered from Maurer’s quarters, from vendors, or was intercepted after it was shipped but before it reached vendors. Maurer received payment from vendors via online transactions or wire transfer of funds.
Maurer is free on his own recognizance while awaiting sentencing, which was scheduled for April 7. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while his plea agreement anticipates an advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines range of 24 to 30 months incarceration, and the Court must impose a reasonable sentence.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman and DOJ Trial Attorney Wade Weems on detail to the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section from SIGAR.
Plea Agreement
Mortgage Broker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Defrauding LendersRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Donetta Ambrose imposed the sentence on Richard Stromberg, 50, of Bethel Park, Pa.
According to information presented to the court, Stromberg has been in the mortgage broker business since the 1990s. He worked first at a company called Century Three Home Equity and then opened his own business, which was called Great American Equity Mortgage. From in and around August of 2002, and continuing until in and around June of 2008, Stromberg knowingly conspired with various other individuals associated with Great American Equity Mortgage, many of whom were former employees of Century Three Home Equity, to defraud lenders. The conspiracy involved the submission to lenders of loan applications that contained material misrepresentations about the borrower’s financial condition, such as inflating the borrower’s income and assets, and appraisals that overstated the values of the properties serving as collateral for the loans. Stromberg and others also submitted false supporting documentation for the misrepresentations contained in the applications.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Mortgage Fraud Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Stromberg. The Mortgage Fraud Task Force is comprised of investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and others involved in the mortgage industry. Federal law enforcement agencies participating in the Mortgage Task Force include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and the United States Secret Service. Other Mortgage Fraud Task Force members include the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Consumer Protection; the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation; and the United States Trustee's Office.
Montgomery County Woman Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Transporting and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Katherine Noelle Nash, age 27, of Burtonsville, Maryland, today to eight years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for transporting and possessing child pornography. Judge Chasanow ordered that upon her release from prison, Nash must register as a sex offender in the place where she resides, where she is an employee, and where she is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
According to her plea agreement, on September 8 and 9, 2013, Nash distributed nine videos depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct to an undercover officer using a file sharing program.
On October 23, 2013, a search warrant was executed at Nash’s residence and law enforcement seized two computers and other digital media. One of the computers contained 12 images and a video file documenting Nash’s sexual abuse of a prepubescent female child, as well as sexually explicit conversations with another individual regarding the child. In addition, Nash possessed 37 files containing child pornography, including files that Nash had downloaded from the internet and distributed to the undercover officer. The second computer contained approximately 190 images and videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes and Kristi N. O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.
Montana Woman Pleads Guilty to Mail and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Julie L. Duffield, 45, of Eureka, MT, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
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. 4:14cr66.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller.
Duffield was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 17, 2014. Duffield faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison if convicted. 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. Duffield is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, 2015.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Duffield admits to owning and operating Professional Closing Company, a business that among other things provided closing serviced for the transfers of timeshare units from 2010 until 2013. This business was operated at various times from Arizona and Montana and prior to 2010 Duffield provided such services through another company.
A timeshare unit, generally a fully furnished resort accommodation, is a deeded or non-deeded interest in real estate divided into intervals, most commonly by week. As alleged in the indictment, co-defendant Keith Kosco, owned and operated a number of entities involved in travel, tourism and timeshare businesses including Resort Realty, Inc., Resort Solutions, Inc., and Exotic Equity Transfers, LLC (“EET”). Since at least 2007, EET conducted timeshare transfers in exchange for a fee charged to the original owner. It is alleged that Keith Kosco and his employees represented that the timeshare unit transfers conducted by EET would be legitimate and result in clean title passing to a new owner with no further obligations of timeshare ownership (including maintenance fees) on the original owner once the transfer was complete. Transfer paperwork was handled by EET in coordination with Duffield and Professional Closing Company which served as a third party closing entity from 2007 through at least mid-2013. Duffield received a fee from EET for engaging in such services. Beginning in 2009, EET used the names of stolen identities and straw owners as the new owners for the transferred timeshare units. Duffield and others accomplished the transfers by having a fraudulent deed and contract produced to document the sale, sending the documents by mail to the previous owners and then to the resort company. Upon completion of the transfers maintenance fee bills were sent to the new purported owners of the timeshares. Those mailings were collected by EET at a post office and the majority of the fees were never paid.
For a number of years Duffield and other employees used the stolen identity of “SL” as a grantee for transfers of timeshare units. “SL” was unaware that hundreds of timeshare units were being transferred to “SL’s” name. Duffield handled approximately 459 transfers of timeshare units to “SL.” Due to the number of units transferred to “SL,” certain resort companies raised objections to subsequent EET efforts to transfer units. Duffield and others contacted the resorts falsely claiming to be “SL” in order to accomplish the timeshare transfer. When it became evident that “SL” could no longer be used to transfer timeshares, Duffield recruited “FS” and “AG” to participate as straw buyers. Approximately 252 timeshare units were transferred to “FS” and 63 units were transferred to “AG.”
From 2009 through 2013, Duffield and others caused the transfer of over one thousand timeshare units into the names of stolen identities and straw owners causing losses to various resort companies. During this same time period EET collected fees related to the fraudulent transfers in excess of $600,000
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.Local Pastor Sentenced for Embezzling over $900,000 from Community CenterRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.—Willard Lenord Jones, 63, of Tulsa, church pastor and former Executive Director of the Greater Cornerstone Community Development Project, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John E. Dowdell to a total of 37 months in prison for having committed three counts of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.
United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr., for the Northern District of Oklahoma, FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch, for the Oklahoma City Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe, for the Dallas Office made the announcement.
“Willard Jones has now been confronted with the magnitude of his crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Williams, “and he will have a long time to think about his crimes and the impact of his conduct on the South Haven community. I commend the coordinated efforts by the FBI and IRS CI and their commitment to aggressively investigate financial fraud crimes and to ensure justice is served for the community.”
"Crimes like those committed by Willard Jones violate the public trust and harm the efforts of legitimate individuals and organizations involved in improving their communities,” said FBI SAC Finch. "The FBI believes the sentence received by Mr. Jones sends a strong message throughout our community."
“Willard Jones lavished himself with hotel stays, restaurants, casinos, liquor, automobiles, a Rolex watch and a mink coat with funds he stole from the Church and the Greater Cornerstone Community Development Project and he destroyed the trust those organizations and the citizens of South Haven in West Tulsa had placed in him. In doing so, he also cheated all American taxpayers," said IRS CI SAC Rowe. “IRS CI was there to investigate, along with our other law enforcement partners, and we will continue to devote our resources to investigate fraud and seek justice for all American taxpayers.”
At a change of plea hearing on October 9, 2014, Jones admitted that, from September 2007 to June 2013, he misappropriated approximately $933,000 from the Greater Cornerstone Community Development Project, a non-profit organization formed to raise money for the building and operation of a community center in South Haven, a neighborhood in West Tulsa. He also admitted that he failed to report $390,061 of income in 2011 on his federal tax return for 2011.
As the Executive Director of the community center, Jones solicited monetary contributions from donors, including foundations, corporations, churches and individuals, to fund the development project. As part of the scheme, Jones fraudulently transferred funds from community center bank accounts to church bank accounts and then transferred those funds into personal bank accounts. Jones admitted using the money on personal expenses and luxury items, including hotels, gambling, liquor, automobiles, and jewelry.
An order has been entered forfeiting his residence, a Rolex watch and fur coat. A criminal forfeiture money judgment has also been entered against him in the amount of $933,507.80. United States Attorney Williams said, “One of the main purposes of the federal forfeiture laws is to deprive criminals of property acquired through their illegal activities. It is particularly rewarding that the United States will return forfeited proceeds to the victims in this case.”
In addition to receiving a sentence of incarceration of 37 months on the wire fraud counts and 36 months on the tax fraud count, all to run concurrently, the court imposed a period of supervised release of three years on the wire fraud counts and one year on the tax fraud count, all to run concurrently, and ordered Jones to pay restitution in the amount of $933,507.80 to the community center and $155,112 to the Internal Revenue Service. Restitution payments are first applied to the amount owed to the community center, and only after it is fully repaid will any additional payments be applied to the IRS restitution.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS CI. United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr., and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph F. Wilson, Kevin C. Leitch, and Catherine Depew prosecuted on behalf of the United States.
Lakeland Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Benjamin Cuadrado (40, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to producing and transporting child pornography. He faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, between July 2012 and March 2014, Cuadrado persuaded and coerced an infant and a toddler to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing multiple videos of the conduct. He then sent the videos to others over the Internet. The investigation revealed that Cuadrado had produced at least 50 videos depicting the children.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Miami Beach Police Department, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Kern County Man Sentenced for Counterfeiting U.S. CurrencyRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Alfonso Castellon, 41, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii for counterfeiting U.S. currency and possessing images for counterfeiting purposes, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, from January 2011 to March 2014, Castellon created counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes in $100 and other denominations. In March 2014, a search of his residence revealed sample images of $100 bills and computer equipment, printers, and ink associated with counterfeiting, along with a flash drive containing images of $100 bills. Castellon estimated he produced approximately 20 counterfeit $100 bills per week, or approximately $100,000 per year.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Tierney prosecuted the case.