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Friday 2 January 2015
U.S. Attorney’s Office Will Not Pursue Charges Against John W. Hinckley, Jr. for Death of James BradyLegal Barriers Cited in DecisionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that it will not pursue criminal charges against John W. Hinckley, Jr., related to the death last summer of former White House Press Secretary James Brady.
The decision was made following a review of applicable law, the history of the case, and the circumstances of Mr. Brady’s death, including recently finalized autopsy findings.
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan, his Press Secretary, Mr. Brady, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Thomas Delahanty were shot during an assassination attempt in the driveway of the Washington Hilton Hotel. All four victims immediately survived the shooting. Mr. Brady, however, was gravely wounded by a bullet to the brain, and remained incapacitated by that injury for the rest of his life.
Hinckley was apprehended on the scene. He later was charged with three federal and 10 District of Columbia offenses. In June 1982, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity on all charges. Hinckley, 59, has now been committed for over 32 years to St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Mr. Brady died on Aug. 4, 2014. He was 73. On Aug. 8, 2014, the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Mr. Brady’s death was a homicide and that it was caused by the 1981 gunshot wound. In the wake of that ruling, the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a review to determine whether to prosecute Hinckley for the homicide.
According to an autopsy report prepared by the chief medical examiner’s office, and finalized on Dec. 4, 2014, the traumatic brain injury sustained by Mr. Brady created difficulty managing oral secretions and food and led to aspiration pneumonia and other chronic diseases. At the time of his death, Mr. Brady was suffering from aspiration pneumonia. The chief medical examiner thus concluded that Mr. Brady’s death was determined to be “gunshot wound of head and consequences thereof.”
At his 1982 trial, the jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity of the two charges, assault with intent to kill while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon, related to the shooting of Mr. Brady. Because the jury conclusively made this finding, the government would be precluded now from arguing that Hinckley was sane at the time he shot Mr. Brady.
Additionally, before 1987, the District of Columbia courts abided by the “year and a day rule,” by which a homicide prosecution could only be brought if the victim died within a year and day of the injury causing death. At the time that Hinckley made his assassination attempt, the year-and-a-day rule was still in effect.
In summary, any further prosecution of Hinckley premised on his March 1981 shooting of Mr. Brady would be precluded by the doctrine of collateral estoppel, which would prevent the U.S. Attorney’s Office from arguing, or a court or jury from finding, that Hinckley was sane at the time Mr. Brady was shot. Thus, Hinckley would be entitled to a directed verdict that he was not guilty of the murder of Mr. Brady by reason of insanity. Furthermore, a homicide prosecution would be precluded by the common law "year-and-a-day rule," in effect at the time.
15-001Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Involuntary Manslaughter ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Kameron Lee Frank, 21, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Iyanbito, N.M., pled guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter.
Frank was arrested on July 21, 2014, based on a criminal complaint charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the complaint, Frank killed a Navajo man who was a passenger in his vehicle when he crashed and rolled his pickup truck while driving under the influence of alcohol. The crash occurred on May 23, 2014, in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
During today’s plea hearing, Frank admitted killing the victim by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol which rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating a vehicle. Frank acknowledged that he operated the vehicle without using due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.
Frank faces a statutory maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. Maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided for informational purposes only. The sentence imposed on Frank will be determined by the court. Frank’s sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting this case.
Fort Smith, Arkansas, Agrees to Upgrade Sewer System to Reduce Discharges of Raw Sewage into Local WaterwaysRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Arkansas today announced that the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, will spend more than $200 million over the next 12 years on upgrades to its sewer collection and treatment system to reduce discharges of raw sewage and other pollutants into local waterways. Under a settlement filed in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas, Fort Smith will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty and spend $400,000 on a program to help qualified low-income residential property owners to repair or replace defective private sewer lines that connect to the city collection system.
“This settlement will achieve long overdue improvements in the city’s sewer system that will substantially reduce the number of sewage discharges and help assure that the citizens of Fort Smith reside in a safe and clean environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resource Division.
Today’s agreement resolves alleged Clean Water Act violations related to Fort Smith’s failure to properly operate and maintain its sewer collection and treatment system. Since 2004, Fort Smith has reported more than 2,000 releases of untreated sewage from its municipal sewage system, resulting in more than 119 million gallons of raw sewage flowing into local waterways, including the Arkansas River. These types of releases, known as sanitary sewer overflows, cause serious water quality and public health problems. Fort Smith also violated limits for discharges of various pollutants from its Massard and P Street wastewater treatment plants numerous times over the last decade.
“This agreement means cleaner water for the residents of Fort Smith by reducing pollution flowing into local waterways,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA works with communities like Fort Smith to develop cost-effective and pragmatic solutions to protect residents from exposure to raw sewage.”
Many of the manholes and pump stations from which Fort Smith’s sanitary sewer overflows occur are located in low-income and minority communities.
To reduce sanitary sewer overflows Fort Smith will conduct a comprehensive assessment of its sewer system to identify defects and places where stormwater may be entering the system. The city will also repair all sewer pipe segments and manholes that are likely to fail within the next 10 years, develop projects to improve its sewers’ performance and implement a program to reduce the introduction of fats, oil and grease into its system, to reduce root intrusion, and to clean the system of debris which can cause sanitary sewer overflows. Fort Smith will also implement a program to determine whether human waste is entering and being released from the city’s stormwater system.
The implementation of the consent decree will reduce releases of approximately 3,492 pounds of total suspended solids, 3,343 pounds of biological oxygen demand, 543 pounds of nitrogen, and 78 pounds of phosphorus from the Fort Smith sewage system each year. High levels of these pollutants can reduce oxygen levels in water bodies, which can threaten the health of aquatic plants and animals. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle. Large growths of algae, known as algal blooms, contribute to the creation of hypoxia or “dead zones” in water bodies where oxygen levels are so low that most aquatic life cannot survive.
Sanitary sewer overflows and backups of raw sewage onto private property pose a risk to human health and the environment. Untreated sewage contains organic matter, bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxics and metals, which may cause illness or even death when humans come into contact with them. Most illnesses that arise from contact with sewage are caused by pathogens, which are biological agents that cause disease or illness in a host. The most common pathogens in sewage are bacteria, parasites, and viruses. They cause a wide variety of acute illnesses including diarrhea and infections.
Keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives. EPA is working to reduce sanitary sewer overflows by obtaining commitments from cities to implement timely, affordable solutions.
The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available for review at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
Thursday 1 January 2015
Hall County Deputy Sheriff Charged with Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
January 1, 2015GAINESVILLE, Ga. - David M. Treadwell, a Hall County Deputy Sheriff, has been arraigned on federal charges of accepting bribes and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Treadwell was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 28, 2015.
“When a police officer becomes the exception and betrays his badge to protect criminals and promote crime, he undermines the dedication and sacrifices of his fellow officers that allow our citizens to trust and respect law enforcement,” said Acting United States Attorney John A. Horn. “This case unfortunately follows too closely on the heels of other instances of police corruption in this district, but we are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting these cases to ensure that people have faith and confidence in our police.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “Allegations of public corruption at all levels is a priority concern to us at the FBI, but allegations involving a law enforcement officer offer additional challenges and concerns. The FBI, upon receiving such allegations in this case, worked aggressively with its law enforcement partners to quickly investigate those allegations and present that investigation to federal prosecutors.”
“When you have a seasoned deputy sheriff who makes the conscious choice to violate his oath of office and seek illegal financial gain it must be dealt with expeditiously,” said Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch. “I will not tolerate this kind of criminal action and I am thankful for the duty-bound officers who brought these heinous activities to the forefront.”
According to Acting United States Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Treadwell was employed as a deputy sheriff with the Hall County Sheriff's Office. On five occasions in late 2014, Treadwell accepted $200 or $300 from a person he believed was a drug dealer. In exchange for the money Treadwell agreed to alert the drug dealer if Treadwell learned that the drug dealer was under investigation in Hall County.
David M. Treadwell, 33, of Gainesville, Ga., was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the North Georgia Major Offenders Task Force that includes members of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office which assisted in the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney William L. McKinnon, Jr. is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Gainesville Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Wednesday 31 December 2014
Texas Man Sentenced to 15 Years and 8 Months Imprisonment for Distributing Cocaine in NebraskaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on December 30th, 2104, Laron Gray was sentenced by the Honorable Chief United States District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp to a term of 15 years and 8 months imprisonment, which will be followed by 4 years of supervised release. On June 30, 2014, Gray, who is 37 years old and from Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base (i.e. crack cocaine) on December 12th, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Gray would regularly arrange for large quantities of cocaine base to be delivered to people in Omaha Nebraska. On December 12th, 2013, Gray sold approximately 4 ounces of cocaine base to an undercover officer. Evidence adduced at the sentencing hearing also showed that Gray’s prior criminal record included convictions in Dumas, Arkansas for violent felony offenses including aggravated assault and battery.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greater Omaha Safe Streets Task Force.Rockford Woman Sentenced to 80 Months in Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford, Ill. woman was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala on a federal drug trafficking charge. The defendant, DENISE LAMBERT, 56, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Lambert pleaded guilty to the charge on April 11, 2014. According to the written plea agreement, from Oct. 1, 2010 to Jan. 5, 2012, Lambert was part of a heroin trafficking organization in Rockford and conspired with her co-defendants, Michael J. Craig, Michael W. Charles, Elbert Charles Dixon, Melvin Bradley, Devon Zachary and Jose Melendez, to distribute heroin. The plea agreement noted that while working for Craig taking care of Craig's children, Lambert performed tasks at the request and direction of Craig to assist Craig in distributing heroin in Rockford, Illinois including renting an apartment and vehicles in Lambert’s relatives’ names for Craig to use to store and transport heroin and heroin trafficking proceeds, delivering heroin mixtures packaged in plastic baggies to Charles, Dixon, Zachery and Bradley for them to sell to others, and collecting money from Charles, Dixon, Zachery and Bradley after they sold the heroin and delivering the money to Craig.
Co-defendants Craig, Charles, Dixon, Bradley Lambert, Zachary and Melendez all previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin. On May 28, 2014, Charles was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment. On May 23, 2014, Dixon was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment. On May 9, 2014, Bradley was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. On May 6, 2014, Zachery was sentenced to 124 months’ imprisonment. On Nov. 13, 2014, Melendez was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment. On Nov. 17, 2014, Craig was sentenced to 169 months’ imprisonment.
The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Carl Vasilko, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives; Gary Caruana, Winnebago County Sheriff; Chet Epperson, Chief of the Rockford Police Department; and Hiram Grau, Director of the Illinois State Police.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Mission Woman Charged with Second Degree Murder, Assault, and Child AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Second Degree Murder, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Child Abuse.
Rae Dawn Lunderman, age 28, was indicted on December 9, 2014. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on December 31, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $500 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on August 11, 2013, Tyler Erickson and Lunderman unlawfully and with malice murdered and assaulted a human being who had not attained the age of 18 years old. The Indictment also alleges that between August 1, 2013, and August 10, 2013, Lunderman abused, exposed, tortured, and cruelly punished two children who had not attained the age of 7 years old.
The charges are merely accusations and Lunderman is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher is prosecuting the case.
Lunderman was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial, which has been set for February 24, 2015.
Mission Woman Charged with Misprision of FelonyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Misprision of Felony.
Chelsea Larvie, age 21, was indicted on December 9, 2014. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on December 23, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 3 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 1 year of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about August 26, 2014, Larvie was aware that burglary and larceny offenses had been committed by her friends at the Todd County government building, but she concealed her knowledge of the felony offenses from law enforcement authorities investigating the matter.
The charge is merely an accusation and Larvie is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Maher is prosecuting the case.
Larvie was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Manufacturer Fiskars Brands Inc. Agrees to Pay $2.6 Million Civil Penalty for Delay in Reporting “Gator Combo Axe” Safety HazardRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has announced today that Gerber Legendary Blades, a division of Fiskars Brands Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2.6 million to settle allegations that it knowingly failed to immediately report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) a safety hazard associated with Fiskars’ Gator Combo Axe. Fiskars has also agreed to establish and maintain a compliance program with internal recordkeeping and monitoring systems to keep track of information about product safety hazards. The settlement agreement is awaiting judicial approval.
“Fiskars received numerous reports from consumers who were harmed by this product,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The company had an obligation to immediately report to the CPSC and it failed to do so. We will take action against those who fail to abide by the law so that our partners at the CPSC can protect consumers from injuries.”
The Axe was a combination product that had a knife embedded in its handle that was supposed to be secured by two small magnets. In a complaint filed on behalf of the CPSC in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the United States alleged that Fiskars became aware that the knife in the Axe handle could and did dislodge from the Axe’s handle when the Axe was in use, causing serious injuries to consumers. Fiskars imported approximately 103,000 Axes from Taiwan through its Gerber Legendary Blades division in Portland, and distributed those Axes to retail sporting good chains and stores throughout the United States.
“CPSC’s job is to protect consumers,” said Chairman Elliot F. Kaye. “The sooner a firm informs CPSC about incidents or injuries with defective products, the quicker we can act to protect the American public. Failure to report in a timely basis is not only illegal, it can endanger consumer safety. We will not tolerate such irresponsible and dangerous behavior.”
Under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to report product hazards to the CPSC. A knowing violation of the CPSA subjects a firm to civil penalties. The United States alleged that beginning as early as 2005 and continuing over the next several years, Fiskars received consumer complaints and warranty claims indicating that the knife fell out of the Axe handle while the Axe was being used to chop, pound or hammer. In several instances, the knife dislodged from the handle during use and caused injuries including lacerations requiring stitches, permanent nerve damage and surgery to repair severed tendons.
“In this case, Fiskar's failure to report to the CPSC not only put consumers at risk, it contributed to people being injured as a result of the unsafe product design,” said U.S. Attorney S. Amanda Marshall for the District of Oregon. “The settlement not only addresses the product safety issue, but also holds the company accountable and sends a message to others that these violations will be taken seriously.”
In March 2011, Gerber and the CPSC announced a voluntary recall of the Axe. At that time, consumers were advised to remove the knife from the axe handle and contact Gerber to receive a free handle cap for holding the knife in the axe handle during transport and storage, instructions and a warning label. Information on the recall can be found on the CSPC website.
The matter is being handled by Trial Attorney Roger Gural of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil J. Evans for the District of Oregon and Harriet Kerwin of the CPSC Office of the General Counsel.
In agreeing to settle this matter, Fiskars has not admitted that it knowingly violated the CPSA.
Manufacturer Fiskars Brands Inc. Agrees to Pay $2.6 Million Civil Penalty for Delay in Reporting "Gator Combo Axe" Safety HazardRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice has announced today that Gerber Legendary Blades, a division of Fiskars Brands Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2.6 million to settle allegations that it knowingly failed to immediately report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) a safety hazard associated with Fiskars’ Gator Combo Axe. Fiskars has also agreed to establish and maintain a compliance program with internal recordkeeping and monitoring systems to keep track of information about product safety hazards. The settlement agreement is awaiting judicial approval.
“Fiskars received numerous reports from consumers who were harmed by this product,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The company had an obligation to immediately report to the CPSC and it failed to do so. We will take action against those who fail to abide by the law so that our partners at the CPSC can protect consumers from injuries.”
The Axe was a combination product that had a knife embedded in its handle that was supposed to be secured by two small magnets. In a complaint filed on behalf of the CPSC in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the United States alleged that Fiskars became aware that the knife in the Axe handle could and did dislodge from the Axe’s handle when the Axe was in use, causing serious injuries to consumers. Fiskars imported approximately 103,000 Axes from Taiwan through its Gerber Legendary Blades division in Portland, and distributed those Axes to retail sporting good chains and stores throughout the United States.
Under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to report product hazards to the CPSC. A knowing violation of the CPSA subjects a firm to civil penalties. The United States alleged that beginning as early as 2005 and continuing over the next several years, Fiskars received consumer complaints and warranty claims indicating that the knife fell out of the Axe handle while the Axe was being used to chop, pound or hammer. In several instances, the knife dislodged from the handle during use and caused injuries including lacerations requiring stitches, permanent nerve damage and surgery to repair severed tendons.
“In this case, Fiskar's failure to report to the CPSC not only put consumers at risk, it contributed to people being injured as a result of the unsafe product design,” said U.S. Attorney S. Amanda Marshall for the District of Oregon. “The settlement not only addresses the product safety issue, but also holds the company accountable and sends a message to others that these violations will be taken seriously.”
In March 2011, Gerber and the CPSC announced a voluntary recall of the Axe. At that time, consumers were advised to remove the knife from the axe handle and contact Gerber to receive a free handle cap for holding the knife in the axe handle during transport and storage, instructions and a warning label. Information on the recall can be found on the CSPC website.
The matter is being handled by Trial Attorney Roger Gural of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil J. Evans for the District of Oregon and Harriet Kerwin of the CPSC Office of the General Counsel.
In agreeing to settle this matter, Fiskars has not admitted that it knowingly violated the CPSA.
To view the Consent please click here.
To view the Complaint please click here.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Settles Civil Mortgage Fraud Lawsuit Against Golden First Mortgage Corp. and Its Owner, David MovtadyRead the Press Release
Defendants Admit to and Accept Responsibility for Submitting False Loan Certifications to HUD-FHA
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has settled a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against GOLDEN FIRST MORTGAGE CORP. (“GOLDEN FIRST”), and its owner, operator and President, DAVID MOVTADY (“MOVTADY”). The Government’s complaint, filed in April 2013, and amended in August 2013 (the “Amended Complaint”), sought damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for years of misconduct in connection with GOLDEN FIRST’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration’s (“FHA’s”) Direct Endorsement Lender Program. In the settlement approved today in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, MOVTADY and GOLDEN FIRST admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for conduct alleged in the Amended Complaint, specifically that they failed to maintain a compliant quality control program and therefore did not conform to all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and FHA regulations applicable to the Direct Endorsement Lender Program. This conduct was contrary to the representations in GOLDEN FIRST’S annual certification, including the annual certification signed by MOVTADY on September 15, 2008. The defendants also agreed to a $36 million judgment against GOLDEN FIRST and a $300,000 payment from MOVTADY. Finally, the settlement permanently bars MOVTADY from conducting any business with the federal government.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “This settlement holds Golden First and its owner, David Movtady, accountable for lying to the Government about compliance with HUD requirements and approving bad loans. This type of conduct costs the United States millions of dollars when the loans inevitably default, and this Office is committed to snuffing it out.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Amended Complaint, and other public court filings:
GOLDEN FIRST was a participant in the Direct Endorsement Lender program – a federal program administered by FHA – from 1989 until 2010. MOVTADY was the owner, president and operator of GOLDEN FIRST from 1979 until 2010. As a Direct Endorsement Lender, GOLDEN FIRST had the authority to originate, underwrite, and certify mortgages for FHA insurance. If a Direct Endorsement Lender approves a mortgage loan for FHA insurance and the loan later defaults, the holder of the loan may submit an insurance claim to HUD for the costs associated with the defaulted loan, which HUD must then pay. Under the Direct Endorsement Lender program, HUD relies on lenders to properly review, underwrite, and certify loans before they are endorsed for FHA insurance. Direct Endorsement Lenders are therefore required to follow HUD’s program rules, including certifying mortgages and maintaining a quality control program that can prevent and correct any deficiencies in their underwriting. The quality control program requirements include maintaining a program independent of the lender’s business units; disclosing to HUD, within 60 days of initial discovery, all loans containing evidence of fraud or other serious underwriting problems; and conducting a full review of all loans that go into default within the first six payments (“early payment defaults”). GOLDEN FIRST and MOVTADY failed to comply with all three of these basic requirements. Notwithstanding these failures, MOVTADY fraudulently certified that GOLDEN FIRST “conforms to all HUD-FHA regulations necessary to maintain its HUD-FHA approval.”
GOLDEN FIRST and MOVTADY also engaged in a regular practice of originating and underwriting FHA loans that GOLDEN FIRST and MOVTADY knew should have never been approved. Nonetheless, GOLDEN FIRST certified that more than a thousand FHA loans met HUD’s requirements and therefore were eligible for FHA insurance.
Pursuant to the settlement, the United States will obtain a $36 million judgment against GOLDEN FIRST and recover $300,000 from MOVTADY, individually, within six months of the settlement. MOVTADY will also be permanently barred from conducting any business with the federal government. As part of the settlement, the defendants admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for the following misconduct:
- GOLDEN FIRST failed to conform fully to HUD-FHA rules requiring Direct Endorsement Lenders to maintain a compliant quality control program;
- Contrary to representations in GOLDEN FIRST’S annual certifications, including an annual certification signed by MOVTADY on September 15, 2008, GOLDEN FIRST did not conform to all applicable HUD-FHA regulations;
- GOLDEN FIRST endorsed certain loans for FHA mortgage insurance that did not meet all underwriting requirements contained in HUD’s handbooks and mortgagee letters, and therefore were not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance under the DEL program; and
- GOLDEN FIRST submitted to HUD-FHA certifications stating that certain loans were eligible for FHA mortgage insurance when in fact they were not; FHA insured certain loans endorsed by GOLDEN FIRST that were not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance; and HUD consequently incurred losses when some of those loans defaulted.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Mr. Bharara thanked HUD’s Office of the Inspector General for its assistance in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara K. Eshkenazi and Lawrence H. Fogelman are in charge of the case.
Major Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Defendant Must Forfeit Cash, Jewelry and Luxury Automobiles;
Conspiracy Generated Total of $108 Million in Revenue
Greenbelt, Maryland – Anthony Torrell Tatum, age 36, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty late yesterday to drug and money laundering conspiracies, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. As part of his guilty plea, Tatum consented to the entry of a $108 million forfeiture order, including luxury vehicles, jewelry and cash.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. McCabe of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief of Police Robert D. MacLean of the U.S. Park Police; and Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division.According to his plea agreement, from at least January 2011 through his arrest on September 6, 2013, Tatum conspired with others to distribute cocaine and heroin in Maryland and elsewhere. A co-conspirator, Ishmael Ford-Bey communicated with the drug supplier, who was located in California. The supplier shipped kilograms to Ford-Bey, using a truck driver to transport the cocaine. The same procedure was followed for each of the deliveries. The truck driver would communicate with the source in California and with Ford-Bey. After Ford-Bey took the boxes of drugs, a co-conspirator would usually drive up and deliver a box of money to the truck driver to be returned to the supplier in California.
On August 28, 2013, a search warrant was executed on a storage unit Tatum had rented in Fort Washington, Maryland, using an alias. Law enforcement agents located and seized, among other things, approximately one kilogram of cocaine wrapped in a white T-shirt, inside a black plastic bag, which was inside a cardboard box addressed to Tatum; approximately 258 grams of cocaine in three clear plastic bags, as well as multiple empty plastic bags, all found in the same cardboard box; approximately 195 grams of heroin in two clear plastic bags and approximately 6.9 grams of cocaine in one clear plastic bag, all found in a large black paper bag; a vacuum food sealer; a black 7.62x39 assault rifle, and two 7.62x39 magazines.
On September 6, 2013, a search warrant was executed at an apartment in Arlington, Virginia. In the apartment, law enforcement agents seized, among other things, $7,823 in cash; a Maryland Driver’s license in the name of the alias used by Tatum to rent the Fort Washington storage unit, but bearing Tatum’s picture; six cellular telephones; blank checks and business documents in the name of businesses used by Tatum to facilitate the drug and money laundering conspiracies; a book titled “Cover Your Tracks Without Changing Your Identity; How to Disappear Until You Want to Be Found”; and pieces of expensive jewelry and clothing. Tatum also was located at the apartment and arrested.
Also on September 6, 2013, a search warrant was executed on a storage unit used by the conspirators in Temple Hills, Maryland. Law enforcement agents seized, among other things, two digital scales with drug residue; approximately 0.083 grams of heroin recovered from a glass table top; a Glock 30 handgun, a ten round magazine, and.45 caliber ammunition; two boxes of ziplock bags; and a payment receipt for the storage unit in the name of Tatum.
On October 1, 2013, a search warrant was executed at the apartment of a co-conspirator that Tatum and Ford-Bey had been identified as visiting. Agents located a safe which contained $823,640 in cash, several expensive watches, and jewelry. In addition, agents recovered scales, three heat sealers, a coffee grinder, a currency counter, and other drug paraphernalia, as well as approximately 350 grams of cocaine. Latent fingerprints recovered from the heat sealers were identified as Tatum and Ford Bey’s.
In an effort to disguise and hide their drug proceeds, Tatum and others created numerous business entities, which had little, if any legitimate business. Tatum set up bank accounts in the name of each business and deposited drug proceeds into those business accounts. On September 6, 2013, warrants were executed on bank accounts in the name of Tatum or his businesses, resulting in the seizure of over $185,000. Tatum used drug proceeds to purchase a BMW, a 2013 Volvo, a 2010 Land Rover. Tatum also used drug proceeds to purchase expensive jewelry, including men’s watches.
Tatum faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison for the drug conspiracy, a maximum of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy; and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, consecutive to any other sentence, and maximum of life in prison for the gun charge. The government will recommend a sentence of 35 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for May 18, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Ishmael Ford-Bey, age 40, of Mitchellville, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to nine counts of a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, using a phone to facilitate drug distribution, and money laundering. As part of his guilty plea, Ford-Bey also consented to the entry of a $108 million forfeiture order, including luxury vehicles, jewelry and cash. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, FBI, Prince George’s County Police Department, U.S. Park Police and U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah A. Johnston and Thomas P. Windom, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Local Man Sentenced for Aggravated Identity Theft, Using Deceased Children’s Identities to File False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI, OHIO – Christopher K. Smith, 29, of Hamilton, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in jail for aggravated identity theft. Smith filed false federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using the stolen identities belonging to deceased individuals, including children.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
According to court documents, between February 2012 and June 2012 Christopher Smith electronically submitted at least five false income tax returns to the IRS for the 2011 income tax year using at least ten stolen identities, all but one of which belonged to deceased individuals, including children. Smith attempted to file at least three more false income tax returns using nine other stolen identities, but these returns were rejected by the IRS.
Smith prepared and filed the false income tax returns in Fairfield, Ohio. The income tax returns contained fabricated information as it related to the taxpayer, including addresses, dependents, occupations, income amounts and education expenses. The inclusion of this false information often qualified the taxpayer listed on the return to receive the Earned Income Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit and Education Credit, which resulted in even greater refund amounts.
Smith primarily used the stolen identities of deceased persons – using the names and Social Security numbers of adults as the taxpayers and the names and Social Security numbers of children as the dependents. He further indicated on the returns that the children had passed away during the tax year. In at least four instances, including his own 2011 tax return, Smith had to change the names and Social Security numbers used as dependents on each return, until they were accepted by the IRS, as some of the victims' information had already been sent to the IRS.
Smith prepared and electronically submitted a false federal income tax return using his own name as a taxpayer and the stolen identity of an individual, falsely claiming the stolen identities of this individual’s daughter and son. This then allowed him to falsely qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit. Smith claimed, and received on a prepaid debit card, a fraudulent refund in the amount of $7,482. Both the children’s identities were those of children who had died in 2011. Neither of the children’s parents had given Smith permission to use their child’s Social Security number of claim their child on his tax return.
The total intended loss for this scheme was $41,522. For restitution purposes, Smith owes the IRS $9,344.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by IRS and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica W. Knight, who is prosecuting this case.
Laguna Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Bradford Day, 40, an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo who resides in Laguna, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an assault resulting in serious bodily injury charge.
Day was arrested on May 6, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the complaint, Day assaulted a member of the Acoma Pueblo on April 26, 2014, in a location within Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. The complaint alleges that in the early morning hours of April 26, 2014, Day assaulted the victim by throwing a full pint of beer at the victim’s face, causing the victim to suffer bruises, cuts and the loss of three teeth.
During today’s proceedings, Day entered a guilty to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Day admitted assaulting the victim on April 26, 2014, by throwing an unopened bottle of beer at the victim and knocking out three of the victim’s teeth.
At sentencing Day faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes only. The sentence imposed will be determined by the court.
This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams is prosecuting this case.
Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Verso Paper Corp.'s Acquisition of NewPage Holdings Inc.Read the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Verso Paper Corp. (Verso) and NewPage Holdings Inc. (NewPage) to divest two paper mills, one in Rumford, Maine, and another in Biron, Wisconsin, in order for Verso to proceed with its acquisition of NewPage. Without this divestiture, the department said, the transaction would have risked higher prices in the United States and Canada for papers used for labels, magazines and catalogues.
The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.
“This deal threatened to weaken competition in key coated publication and label paper markets in the United States and Canada,” said William J. Baer, Assistant Attorney General of the department’s Antitrust Division. “Competition between Verso and NewPage historically has resulted in lower prices, improved products, and better service. By requiring the divestiture of mills that produce these products, today’s proposed settlement will ensure that consumers benefit from continuing competition in the sale of coated paper. The Antitrust Division remains committed to preserving competitive vigor in markets for forest products.” Baer also noted that this divestiture requirement follows two other proposed mergers between forest products suppliers that were abandoned after the department expressed concern.
Coated freesheet web paper is bright, heavier-weight glossy paper with excellent print qualities that is used for magazine covers, premium magazines, and similar products. Coated groundwood paper is typically used for the covers of low-cost magazines and the interior pages of magazines and catalogues. Label paper, a type of freesheet paper, is coated on only one side to allow for the use of graphics on the coated side and adherence of the uncoated side to a product. Coated label paper is used on a wide variety of products, from soup cans to wine bottles.
According to the department’s complaint, Verso’s acquisition of NewPage would significantly increase concentration in various coated paper markets in the United States and Canada. Verso and NewPage’s combined share is approximately 50 percent in coated freesheet web paper, 40 percent in coated groundwood paper, and 70 percent in coated label paper. Preserving competition between Verso and NewPage is particularly important in the shrinking coated freesheet web and coated groundwood markets, which are likely to see higher-cost competitors exit in the next few years.
The proposed divestitures address these competitive concerns. Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, Verso must divest NewPage’s Rumford and Biron paper mills to Catalyst Paper Corporation (Catalyst) or an alternative, independent buyer approved by the United States. Collectively, the mills to be divested produced approximately 940,000 tons of coated groundwood, coated freesheet, and other papers, which is approximately the same amount of production as Verso currently operates.
Verso is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. It operates two mills that collectively produce coated freesheet web paper, coated groundwood paper, label paper, and other types of paper. In 2013, Verso had approximately $1.4 billion in sales.
NewPage is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio. NewPage operates eight mills that collectively produce coated freesheet web paper, coated groundwood paper, label paper, and other types of paper. Its annual sales for 2013 were approximately $3.1 billion.
Catalyst is a Canadian corporation headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia. Catalyst operates three paper mills. Catalyst’s 2013 sales totaled approximately $1 billion.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Peter Mucchetti, Chief, Litigation I Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 4100, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Fort Thompson Man Charged with Arson and BurglaryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Arson and Burglary.
Lewis Brown, Jr., age 21, was indicted on December 9, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on December 18, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about October 15, 2014, Brown willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned a duplex. Brown is also alleged to have entered and remained in an occupied structure, without permission, during night time, with the intent to commit the crime of arson.
The charges are merely accusations and Brown is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Crow Creek Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Brown was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Cherry Creek Man Charged with Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Cherry Creek, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.
Joshua Hale, age 24, was indicted on December 9, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on December 18, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about February 6, 2014, Hale unlawfully assaulted an adult male, resulting in serious bodily injury.
The charge is merely an accusation and Hale is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson is prosecuting the case.
Hale was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Chamberlain Man Sentenced for Possession of A Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Chamberlain, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 31, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.
Rodney Hickey, age 49, was sentenced to 12 months of custody, 1 year of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Hickey was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 21, 2013. He pled guilty on December 16, 2014.
The conviction stems from an incident on or about January 12, 2013, when a vehicle operated by Hickey was the subject of a felony traffic stop by a South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper. During the search of the vehicle, the trooper found a pill bottle with 48 pills of various kinds, as well as two baggies of white powder later determined to be methamphetamine. Also found in the vehicle were firearms, a scale, a glass pipe, a paper snort tube with methadone residue, three baggies with residue amounts of methamphetamine, four syringes, four cook spoons, a film canister with a residue amount of marijuana, ten needles, five Q-tips, and “Hickey Drilling” forms.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Hickey was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Tuesday 30 December 2014
Woman Arraigned on Fraudulently Obtaining Ssi BenefitsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Karen Brown
PHONE: (716) 843-5836
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo returned a two-count Indictment on December 17, 2014, charging Tracy Anderson, age 43, of Tonawanda, New York, with knowingly and willfully making a false document and unlawfully receiving supplemental security income, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1001(a)(3) and 641. Anderson was arrested and arraigned on December 29, 2014. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr. stated that the Indictment charges the defendant with making a false document and fraudulently receiving federal benefits on behalf of her son when in fact, her child was not living with her at the time of receipt.
The Indictment is the result of an investigation from the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Bradley Parker.
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.
West Virginia Man Charged with Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Noel Barrera Silva, 25, a foreign national living in Moorefield, West Virginia, was charged today with methamphetamine trafficking after authorities recently recovered a large quantity of the drug from a vehicle Silva was operating, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
According to Ihlenfeld, the West Virginia State Police conducted a traffic stop in Wardensville, West Virginia last week and discovered Silva to be in possession of four pounds of methamphetamine. As a result of the traffic stop, Silva was charged today in federal court by criminal complaint with the felony offense of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” A similar charge that was filed in state court will be dismissed once a federal detainer has been lodged against Silva.
“I commend the efforts of the Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the West Virginia State Police in preventing such a large quantity of methamphetamine from hitting the streets of North Central West Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “In light of the increasing influx of methamphetamine from foreign sources, we must remain vigilant in identifying and prosecuting the sources of supply for this highly addictive and dangerous drug.”
A complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Watertown Man Sentenced for His Role in Operation Black WidowRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Watertown, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 29, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Patricio Rodriguez Pena, age 56, was sentenced to 180 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
Pena was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine by a federal grand jury on July 9, 2013. He pled guilty to the offense on October 6, 2014.
Pena’s indictment was a result of Operation Black Widow, an extensive multi-year investigation into a wide variety of alleged criminal activity. The investigation resulted in nearly a dozen indictments for drug trafficking and firearm offenses.
For his part in the Operation, Pena provided at least 500 grams, but not more than 1.5 kilograms, of “ice” methamphetamine (at least 80% purity) to various co-conspirators to distribute in South Dakota and elsewhere.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). ATF received significant assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the Watertown Police Department, the Codington County Sheriff, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Haak prosecuted the case.
Pena was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Two Serra Nissan Managers Charged in Loan Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Federal prosecutors today charged two former managers at Serra Nissan in connection with a conspiracy at the Birmingham car dealership to boost loan approvals and car sales fraudulently, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr.
The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a three-count information in U.S. District Court charging former Serra Nissan sales manager GERALD R. SHEPARD, 56, of Pinson, with conspiracy, bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return. The U.S. Attorney filed a separate two-count information charging JEFFREY R. GREEN, 33, of Porterdale, Ga., a former Serra Nissan finance manager, with conspiracy and failure to file an individual tax return. A federal grand jury indicted Shepard on similar charges in August, but he has agreed to plead guilty to the charges filed today. The government agrees to dismiss the August indictment when Shepard is sentenced on the new charges.
"These defendants are charged with conspiring to defraud customers and financial institutions who trusted the dealership to provide truthful information during the vehicle financing process," Vance said.
"Car-buyers who trusted this dealership to honestly handle their vehicle financing and financial institutions that provided loans through the dealership all became victims of fraud perpetrated to increase vehicle sales," Schwein said. "The public can expect that the FBI will continue to aggressively investigate loan fraud to protect consumers and the nation's financial system."
"The charges against these two defendants clearly illustrate that all individuals who engage in these types of illegal activities will be held accountable for their actions," Hyman-Pillot said. "These defendants not only manipulated the system and falsified documents with the intention of increasing profits at the expense of others; they also ignored the federal tax laws with regards to their own personal income tax returns."
Prosecutors charged both Shepard and Green with conspiring with others at the dealership, between August 2010 and October 2013, to defraud financial institutions and Serra Nissan customers by submitting false information to lenders to increase vehicle sales in order to boost personal profits.
The information filed against Shepard also charges him with submitting a false tax return for 2012. The information against Green charges him with failing to file his Individual Income Tax Return with the IRS for tax year 2012.
The charges against these Serra Nissan managers follow federal charges earlier this year against six other sales managers, finance managers and salesmen at Serra Nissan, including Abdul Islam Mughal, D. Scott Burton, Michael J. Wilkinson, Dwight A. Perry, Terry W. Henderson, Jr., and Roland W. Riley. Mughal, 48, of Trussville, pleaded guilty in July to conspiring with other Serra Nissan salesmen and managers to sell more cars by falsifying loan documents in order to defraud customers and financial institutions. Mughal also pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud for submitting falsified loan documents to financial institutions between January 2012 and October 2013. Mughal is scheduled for sentencing May 21, 2015. The charges against Burton, Wilkinson, Perry, Henderson, and Riley are pending and that case is scheduled for trial March 16, 2015.According to the charges against Shepard and Green, they and other members of the conspiracy participated in various means to carry out their fraud and obtain auto loans that, otherwise, would not have been approved. Those means included the following:
• Creating or altering documents to submit to financial institutions to show inflated income for prospective buyers.
• Directing finance managers and salesmen to submit fraudulent documents to financial institutions to misrepresent proof of a customer's residency.
• Listing accessories not actually included on a vehicle so a financial institution would increase its loan amount. The defendants and others had a financial incentive to increase a loan amount in order to increase commissions paid to certain employees.
• Presenting straw buyers, who could qualify for a loan, to financial institutions when the actual buyer could not qualify.The defendants and others also defrauded customers and financial institutions by quoting a customer an inflated monthly vehicle loan payment so that a finance manager could add a warranty and gap insurance without the customer realizing it, according to the indictment.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum penalty for subscribing to a false tax return is 3 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The maximum penalty for failing to file an individual tax return is 1 year in prison and a $25,000 fine.
The IRS and the FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda S. Wick and Robin B. Mark are prosecuting.
The public is reminded that an information contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Statement from Attorney General Holder on Yearly Law Enforcement Officer Fatality StatisticsRead the Press Release
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund today released preliminary fatality statistics for 2014. The data in the report shows that 126 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty this year. The report further showed that in 2014, 50 officers were killed by firearms, 49 officers were killed in traffic-related incidents, and 27 officers died due to other causes including 24 who suffered from job-related illnesses—such as heart attacks—while performing their duties.
Attorney General Eric Holder made the following statement today:
"These troubling statistics underscore the very real dangers that America's brave law enforcement officers face every time they put on their uniforms. Each loss is both tragic and unacceptable -- a beloved father, mother, son, or daughter who never came home to their loved ones.
"That's why, over the last six years, my colleagues and I have taken action to support these courageous men and women. As we speak, the Justice Department continues its efforts to empower local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement personnel to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible. In 2011, I created an Officer Safety Working Group in response to concerns about violence directed at law enforcement. The department is currently funding thorough analysis of 2014 officer fatalities, including ambushes of law enforcement and other incidents, so we can mitigate risks in the future. And through groundbreaking initiatives like VALOR, we are providing cutting-edge training to help prevent violence against law enforcement, to improve officer resilience, and to increase survivability during violent encounters.
"Through our Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, we're helping to provide lifesaving equipment to those who serve on the front lines. And through the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, we're offering our strongest support to our brave officers and their loved ones in the toughest of times.
"Going forward, this unshakeable commitment to those who serve will continue to guide our efforts to improve 21st-century policing and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they protect.
"I have always been proud to support these selfless public servants. All Americans owe our courageous law enforcement personnel a tremendous debt of gratitude for their patriotic service, for their often-unheralded sacrifices, and for the dangers they routinely face in the name of public safety."
Seven Persons Charged in Telemarketing Scheme Targeting Small Business OwnersRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Seven persons have been charged by the federal grand jury in Las Vegas with using fraud and deception to steal money from small business owners who thought they were receiving assistance in obtaining grants for their businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada and Laura A. Bucheit, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for Nevada.
Mark L. Bausch, aka Mark Eting, 40, Alan W. Rodrigues, 55, David Bergstrom, 49, Jonas Bowen, 61, Rachel Glaser, 74, Lee Panelli, 66, all of the Las Vegas area, and Craig Rudolph, 43, of Wonder Lake, Ill., are charged in a criminal indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 31 counts of wire fraud. Bausch and Rodrigues are also charged with six counts of money laundering. Defendants Bausch, Rodrigues, Glaser, and Panelli were arrested this morning in Las Vegas. They appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe and pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were released on personal recognizance bonds with conditions pending trial. Defendant Rudolph was arrested in Chicago this morning and will be scheduled for a court appearance in Las Vegas in the near future. Defendants Bergstrom and Bowen are scheduled to surrender to federal authorities next week.
“Paying money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value—such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift, is a risky proposition,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “You should always ask yourself if you have any guarantee that the person requesting your money will use it in the manner upon which you agreed. If the opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
“Today’s arrests highlight the FBI’s commitment to investigate financial crimes and the continued need for consumers to be cautious and protect themselves,” said Special Agent in Charge Bucheit.
According to the indictment, from about 2007 to 2010, the defendants allegedly organized and operated four telemarketing companies, Small Business Funding Co., Inc., Company Funds, Inc., Foundation Research, Inc., and Silver State Holding Company. In exchange for fees, the defendants offered to help small business owners obtain grants from public and private entities. The defendants made false statements and promises to the victims to make it appear that they were likely to or guaranteed to receive a grant. The defendants hired salespersons to market the services and to provide false information to the customers. In order to convince the customers that the service was legitimate, the defendants instructed their employees to conduct research about funding entities and send letters to customers and funders, knowing that many of the customers would not qualify for the grants. The defendants also solicited customers by conducting seminars throughout the United States. Through the entire scheme, the telemarketing companies received numerous complaints, and the defendants made false statements to them to prevent or delay them from contacting law enforcement. The defendants used the proceeds from the scheme to enrich themselves.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison on all counts. Additionally, there is a maximum $250,000 fine on the conspiracy and each wire fraud count, and a maximum fine of $500,000 on each money laundering count.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Schiess.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.com.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Schuylkill County Man Charged with Attempting to Entice A Minor and Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Coaldale resident was charged yesterday in a criminal complaint by agents of the United States Postal Inspectors Service with attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activities and receiving and possessing child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the complaint alleges that Robert Rang, age 25, used a facility of interstate commerce during September and October of 2014, to attempt to persuade and induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activities. The complaint also alleges that Rang received and possessed child pornography from September 2014 to December 29, 2014.
The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Postal Inspection Service in Massachusetts.
Rang appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Wilkes-Barre and was ordered to be detained in prison pending a detention hearing scheduled for January 6, 2015. Rang faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted of the enticement charge; a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted of the receiving child pornography charge; and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if he is convicted of the possession of child pornography charge.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a
nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc for more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
****Pool Company Owner Sentenced for Hiring Unauthorized AliensRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Raymond Scott Vincent, age 47, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, yesterday to two days in prison and 60 days of home confinement as part of 18 months of probation, for a pattern and practice of knowingly hiring unauthorized aliens. Judge Grimm also ordered Vincent to perform 80 hours of community service, pay a fine of $36,000 and forfeit $42,262.60.
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); Special Agent in Charge Steven Anderson, of the Washington Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; Special Agent in Charge Niall Meehan of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; and District Director Gregory Collett of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Baltimore District Office.
According to his plea agreement, Vincent was the owner of RSV Pools, a pool service company that provided lifeguards and pool maintenance to pools in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. From January 2009 through June 2013, RSV hired at least 12 unauthorized aliens. Vincent approved the employment of each unauthorized alien and knew that at least three of the individuals were not legally authorized to work when he approved them for employment. The other nine employees were legally authorized for employment when they were hired, but their work status expired and they continued employment with RSV, all with Vincent’s knowledge. Vincent approved paying four of the unauthorized employees in cash so that they did not appear on RSV’s books.Vincent also permitted at least three of the unauthorized aliens to rent a company apartment in 2012 and 2013. Vincent profited, either directly or indirectly through RSV, from the unauthorized aliens’ rent payments.
In a related case, Judge Paul W. Grimm previously sentenced Milen Radomirski, age 34, a Bulgarian national residing in Germantown, Maryland, to two years in prison for visa fraud and ordered Radomirski to forfeit $100,000. Radomirski worked for RSV from 2003 to August 2013. As part of his employment, Radomirski recruited international workers that RSV could sponsor to work in the U.S. on H-2B visas and other short-term visas. Radomirski admitted that he fraudulently obtained more than 100 H-2B visas. An H-2B visa is a non-immigrant visa granted to citizens of other countries to work in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Although sponsored workers could not legally be employed by any other company, Radomirski knew that many of the visa beneficiaries would not work for his company at all, would only work at his company for a short period of time, or would work for other employers in addition to his company.
As part of Vincent’s plea agreement, neither he nor his company can apply for visas or work permits for any foreign workers for three years.United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the agencies participating in the Document Benefit Fraud Task Force - HSI Baltimore, Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom, who prosecuted the case.
Lower Brule Man and Woman Sentenced for Assaulting A Federal Officer and Aiding and AbettingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man and woman convicted of Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer and Aiding and Abetting have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Toni Harmon, a/k/a Toni Bad Horse, age 39, and Sterling St. Cloud, age 33, were sentenced to time served (approximately 8 months), 2 years of supervised release, and each were ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Harmon and St. Cloud were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2014. Harmon pled guilty on September 23, 2014, and St. Cloud pled guilty on October 9, 2014.
The convictions stem from an incident on or about March 8, 2014, when a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer responded to a call on an alleged assault. Upon arrival, he made contact with St. Cloud, Harmon, and others. The officer began to place St. Cloud into custody for an outstanding tribal warrant, when St. Cloud attempted to run away, and a struggle ensued with the officer. Harmon then intervened and grabbed the officer’s hand. St. Cloud was able to get free with the assistance of Harmon and they both fled the house through the door Harmon had opened.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lower Brule Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Lee's Summit Man Sentenced for Selling Stolen Items on eBayRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to burglarize the vehicles of at least 144 victims and sell the stolen items on eBay.
Nathaniel Dixon, 37, of Lee’s Summit, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to five years in federal prison without parole, which is the statutory maximum sentence. The court also ordered Dixon to pay $104,657 in restitution to his victims and to forfeit to the government $125,921, which represents the proceeds he obtained from the criminal conspiracy.
On May 27, 2014, Dixon pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. From Jan. 1, 2010, until Aug. 31, 2011, Dixon led a conspiracy to burglarize scores of vehicles in the Kansas City metropolitan area, in both Missouri and Kansas. They broke into the vehicles, removed entertainment/navigation systems (often MyGigs) from the dashboard, and stole other personal items such as computers, briefcases, purses, cell phones and credit cards from the vehicles. They also jacked up the vehicles to steal the tires and wheels, and would often use the victims’ landscaping blocks to prop the vehicles up after stealing the tires and wheels.
Dixon bought the stolen auto parts and electronics from his coconspirators, then posted the items for sale on his eBay account, listing the parts at prices lower than retail value. Dixon and his coconspirators caused a loss of approximately $476,000 to the victims. Dixon received payments through his PayPal account totaling approximately $125,921.
In a separate case, Nickalass King, 36, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a total of three years and three months in federal prison without parole for his role in the conspiracy and for violating the conditions of his supervised release.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Mahoney. It was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.Fort Thompson Man Sentenced for AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man convicted of two counts of Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender, and one count of Simple Assault, was sentenced on December 22, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. He was found guilty by a federal jury in Pierre on October 10, 2014.
Santana Drapeau, age 22, was sentenced to 41 months in custody, 2 years of supervised release, $954 in restitution, and a $210 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stemmed from incidents occurring on May 18, 2014, in which Drapeau assaulted his spouse and intimate partner at two different locations, by hitting the victim in the face at a bonfire and physically assaulting her at a residence. Drapeau committed these two assaults at a time when he had three final convictions in Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Court for domestic violence against the same victim.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Crow Creek Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Drapeau was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Florida Man Sentenced in Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Temple Terrace, Florida, man convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Aggravated Identity Theft was sentenced on December 29, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Jeremy Jamar Blount, age 26, was sentenced to 21 months in prison on the conspiracy charge and 24 months on the identity theft charge, to be served consecutively. Upon release from prison he will be on supervised release for 3 years. Blount was also ordered to make restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the identity theft victims in the amount of $421,116.
Blount and 10 others were indicted on the above charges by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2013. Blount pled guilty on October 6, 2014.
Several of Blount’s co-defendants attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and are former members of the football team.Blount was involved in a scheme to defraud the United States by using personal identifying information, including names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth, of other individuals to file bogus income tax returns showing tax refunds due. The requested refunds totaled approximately $1 million, and the IRS paid fraudulent claims of over $400,000 before the fraud came to light.
As his part in the conspiracy, Blount provided co-conspirators with stolen identities and addresses that were used to receive refunds, knowing that the information was being used in the scheme to receive fraudulent tax refunds in the mail. He also exchanged stolen identities, including names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth, via text messages with co-conspirators, again knowing that the information was being used in the scheme to receive fraudulent tax refunds in the mail.
This case was investigated by the Vermillion Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Haak prosecuted the case.
Blount was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service by noon on January 20, 2015.
Federal Arson and Fraud Charges Lodged Against Oakdale WomanRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on charges of malicious destruction of property by fire and wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The four-count Indictment named Andrea Forsythe, 26, of Oakdale, Pa., as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about June 23, 2014, Forsythe set fire to a residential structure located in Sturgeon, Pa., a rental home where she had been residing, so that she could obtain money from the insurance company which provided coverage on that structure. The fraud charges in the Indictment allege that from in and around June of 2014, and continuing thereafter until on or about Dec. 1, 2014, Forsythe engaged in a scheme to defraud Nationwide insurance company in connection with the claim she made for the fire loss.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 80 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Dupree Man Sentenced for Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Dupree, South Dakota, man convicted of two counts of Sexual Contact by Force and Threat was sentenced on December 22, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
James Pesicka, a/k/a Pard Pesicka, age 31, was sentenced to 13 years in custody, 5 years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from incidents between July 28, 2008, and February 17, 2012, when Pesicka sexually assaulted a young female victim. Additionally, between March 6, 2012, and May 28, 2013, Pesicka also engaged in sexual contact by fear with another young female victim.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson prosecuted the case. Pesicka was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Dubuque Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of an Unregistered Sawed-off ShotgunRead the Press Release
A Dubuque man who possessed an unregistered sawed-off shotgun pled guilty on December 29, 2014 in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Jordan Michael Edmonds, age 24, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
At the plea hearing, Edmonds admitted that, on or about June 14, 2014, he knowingly possessed a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, specifically a Remington Sportsman model 58 12-gauge shotgun, bearing a partially obliterated serial number, which had a barrel of less than 18 inches in length.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Edmonds remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Edmonds faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin R. Eldridge and Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-1017.Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office Collected $118.9 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions and Asset Forfeitures in Fiscal Year 2014Read the Press Release
CHICAGO ― The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois collected $118.9 million in fiscal year (FY) 2014, Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today. These collections included more than $29.8 million in criminal debts, more than $80.4 million in civil actions, and more than $8.7 million collected through asset forfeiture proceedings, resulting in the office’s total collections exceeding more than four times its budget of approximately $28.1 million in FY 2014. Over approximately the last 11 fiscal years combined, the office has collected more than $1 billion on behalf of the United States.
Additionally, the Northern District of Illinois worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $62.79 million, primarily in civil cases pursued jointly with these offices.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced last month that the Justice Department collected $24.7 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014. The more than $24 billion in collections in FY 2014 represents nearly eight and a half times the appropriated $2.91 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.
“Every day, the Justice Department’s federal prosecutors and trial attorneys work hard to protect our citizens, to safeguard precious taxpayer resources, and to provide a valuable return on investment to the American people,” said Attorney General Holder. “Their diligent efforts are enabling us to achieve justice and recoup losses in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. And it shows the fruits of the Justice Department’s tireless work in enforcing federal laws; in protecting the American people from violent crimes, national security threats, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse; and in holding financial institutions accountable for their roles in causing the 2008 financial crisis.”
“Collecting more than four times what we cost is nothing short of remarkable considering that we are still recovering from serious financial challenges,” Mr. Fardon said. “Our attorneys and staff, especially in our Civil Division, Financial Litigation Unit, and Asset Forfeiture Section, continue to expand our commitment to protecting the public and recovering funds for the federal treasury and for victims of federal crime. We need to be constantly vigilant to ensure that crime does not pay, and in doing so, we have provided a substantial net financial benefit to the citizens of our district,” Mr. Fardon added.
During FY 2014, the U.S. Attorney’s Financial Litigation Unit in Chicago collected $29,831,085.20 in criminal actions, including more than $2.5 million in criminal fines; more than $6.5 million in restitution owed to the federal government; and more than $10.6 million in non-federal restitution owed to victims, including the victims of numerous financial fraud and Ponzi-type schemes. More than $9.4 million was restored to crime victims from assets that were forfeited in previous years, including approximately $9.2 million in net liquidated proceeds from the forfeited assets of Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, Ill., who is serving a sentence of nearly 20 years in prison for embezzling $53 million from the town over two decades. Some of the largest criminal fines and restitution in FY 2014 came from defendants who were prosecuted in a series of cases involving illegal importations of honey from China to avoid antidumping duties.
In civil actions, the office collected $80,406,164.97, including a $53 million civil penalty on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service from a businessman, H. Ty Warner, who pleaded guilty to failing to report income from a secret foreign bank account. Other significant civil collections included $15.5 million from a pharmaceutical manufacturer to settle Medicare false billing claims, and $7.2 million from a Chicago construction company to settle claims of fraud on government programs to benefit minority and women-owned businesses on public works contracts.
Civil collections typically stem from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. Civil debts were also collected on behalf of federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, IRS, Small Business Administration, and Department of Education.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offices, along with the Justice Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. When defendants are convicted and sentenced in criminal cases, judges must impose restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices are authorized to make efforts to collect criminal debts for 20 years after defendants are released from custody.
While restitution is paid by Courts directly to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Justice Department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Liquidated assets obtained through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings are deposited into either the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund or the Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
Cedar Rapids Woman Sentenced to over 8 Years for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
A woman who drove the getaway vehicle for a bank robbery was sentenced today to over eight years in federal prison.
Bria Daudinot, age 21, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence after an October 6, 2014 guilty plea to one count of bank robbery. At the guilty plea hearing, Daudinot admitted that she aided and abetted Javon Dockery in the June 26, 2014 robbery of a Cedar Rapids branch of the US Bank. In a plea agreement, Daudinot admitted that she drove the getaway vehicle for this robbery.
Daudinot was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Daudinot was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Daudinot must also serve a three-year term of supervised release.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-68.Brookings Woman Sentenced for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Brookings, South Dakota, woman convicted of Theft of Government Funds was sentenced on December 29, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Pennie Sue Malenke, age 41, was sentenced to 6 months in custody followed by 3 years of supervised release, including 6 months of home confinement. She was also ordered to make restitution as follows: $32,682.80 to Advance, a non-profit organization, and $4,291.12 to another victim.
Malenke was indicted for Theft of Government Funds, Making a False Statement, and Bank Fraud by a federal grand jury on December 3, 2013. She pled guilty to the Theft charge on October 7, 2014.
Malenke was employed as a case manager and support coordinator by Advance, a non-profit organization located in Brookings that provides services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities. As part of her job responsibilities, Malenke had access to the bank accounts of certain individuals who received program benefit payments administered by the Social Security Administration. Malenke took funds from these accounts by writing checks to cash, withdrawing cash from ATMs, and making direct purchases from stores. She stole approximately $32,682.80 in this manner and used the funds for her own purposes.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
Malenke was ordered to report to the U.S. Marshals Service by noon on January 21, 2015.
Monday 29 December 2014
- Woman Convicted of Preparing False Income Tax Return
U.S. Attorney Charges Hoover Man for Ponzi Scheme That Bilked Millions from InvestorsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Federal prosecutors today charged a Hoover man with fraud and money laundering in connection with an illegal Ponzi scheme that caused investors to lose more than $3 million,announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr., Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph P. Borg and Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.The U.S. Attorney's Office charged BRYAN W. ANDERSON, 40, with one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and securities fraud. The office filed the charges in U.S. District Court, along with a plea agreement in which Anderson acknowledges the charges and agrees to plead guilty to them. As part of his plea agreement, Anderson also agrees to pay restitution of about $3.1 million to victim investors. He also agrees to forfeit that same amount to the government, as proceeds of illegal activity, along with another $368,000, which is the amount cited in the money laundering charge.
"For years this defendant lied about investment options, risks and potential returns so that unwitting investors would continue to put their hard-earned money into his fraudulent scheme," Vance said. "When his Ponzi scheme collapsed, as they always do, the people who trusted him lost millions. I applaud the hard work of the FBI, Alabama Securities Commission and Hoover Police Department, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Patton Meadows, which led to the prosecution of this case."
“This case is a classic Ponzi scheme, as Anderson used false promises and fake returns to steal millions of dollars from his victims," Schwein said. "Consumers looking to invest are encouraged to review www.investor.gov , which helps investors recognize scams and avoid fraud. The public can be assured that the FBI will continue to use our resources and work closely with our partners to expose perpetrators and vindicate the victims of complex financial frauds.”
"The Alabama Securities Commission is gratified to see justice imposed for the crimes that Bryan Anderson committed against innocent citizens of Alabama and other states; of course, no punishment can take away the loss and hurt to the investors who were victimized," Borg said. "We are grateful and want to thank the Hoover Police Department, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama, in addition to the ASC staff, for successfully partnering together to ensure justice was served in this case. The strong law enforcement response to this crime should serve as notice to other scammers out there that they should stay out of Alabama or expect prosecution and imprisonment."
“I am very pleased with our department’s response in this case," Derzis said. "After taking the initial report, Hoover investigators realized the extent of the fraud and contacted the Alabama Securities and Exchange Commission, along with the FBI. With these agencies working together, we were able to obtain Mr. Anderson's agreement to plead guilty to his crimes and to repay the victims.”
According to the government's charging information and its plea agreement with Anderson, he conducted his investment scheme as follows between 2009 and May 30, 2014:
During most of that time, Anderson was a registered financial broker working, first, with MetLife Securities, from October 1998 to February 2012, then with Pruco Securities, from February 2012 to Sept. 13, 2012, when Pruco terminated his employment.As part of his scheme to defraud investors, he solicited them to invest in stock options that he said employed various trading strategies. The stock options he described were not registered securities, and Anderson was not authorized to solicit investor money for the funds.
Anderson also offered investments in a company he owned, 360 Properties. Beginning about 2009, Anderson falsely represented to certain 360 Properties investors that their returns would come from leased property income, when there were no leased properties. Some of the investors believed the 360 Properties investments were affiliated with MetLife, and Anderson did nothing to correct that false belief.
Between January 2009 and January 2014, Anderson's false investment promises caused about 18 individual and family investors to deliver more than $8.4 million to Anderson, which he deposited into an account he and his wife held at BancorpSouth, a bank based in Tupelo, Miss. When Anderson's investment scheme collapsed in May 2014, about 12 investors lost about $3.1 million.
Anderson was operating a Ponzi scheme with investor funds, paying returns to existing investors with money from new investors, as well as paying personal expenses. He transferred investor money from one of his and his wife's bank accounts to another, making only a small percentage of the investments he had promised investors.
The wire fraud count charges that Anderson caused an investor, identified in court documents by the initials K.C., to wire transfer $571,378 from the investor's Wells Fargo bank account to Anderson's BancorpSouth account in the name of 360 Properties on Jan. 15, 2014.
The money laundering count charges that Anderson took $368,000 of the $571,378 received from K.C. and on Jan. 15 transferred it by wire to a second BancorpSouth account. According to the charge, the $571,378 was "criminally derived property" obtained through wire fraud. It is a violation of federal law to engage in a monetary transaction involving money or property worth more than $10,000 that was obtained through a criminal act.
The securities fraud count charges that Anderson, on Aug. 20, 2013, fraudulently obtained $100,000 from an investor, identified by the initials T.M., by falsely representing that he would invest the money in a specific type of hedge fund. T.M. wired the money from an account at Bryant Bank to one of Anderson's BankcorpSouth accounts and Anderson took the money and used it for non-investment purposes.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the money laundering charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum penalty for the securities fraud charge is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The FBI, ASC and the Hoover Police Department investigated the case, which Meadows is prosecuting.
Third Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Ocean Shipping Services for Cars and TrucksRead the Press Release
Company Agrees to Pay $59.4 Million Criminal Fine
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), a Japanese corporation, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $59.4 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, NYK conspired to suppress and eliminate competition by allocating customers and routes, rigging bids and fixing prices for the sale of international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere, including the Port of Baltimore. NYK participated in the conspiracy from at least February 1997 until at least September 2012. NYK has agreed to cooperate with the Department’s ongoing antitrust investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval. NYK is the third company to agree to plead guilty in this investigation, bringing the total agreed-upon fines to over $135 million.
Roll-on, roll-off cargo is non-containerized cargo that can be both rolled onto and rolled off of an ocean-going vessel. Examples of this cargo include new and used cars and trucks and construction and agricultural equipment.
“This is another step in the effort to restore competition in the ocean shipping industry to the benefit of U.S. consumers,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Including today’s charges, three companies have now agreed to plead guilty to participating in this long-running conspiracy. We are not done. Our investigation is ongoing.”
According to the charge, NYK and its co-conspirators conspired by agreeing on prices, allocating customers, agreeing to refrain from bidding against one another and exchanging customer pricing information. The department said the companies then charged fees in accordance with those agreements for international ocean shipping services for certain roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere at collusive and non-competitive prices.
NYK is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the international roll-on, roll-off ocean shipping industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, along with assistance from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs, Washington Field Office/Special Investigations Unit. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section at 202-307-6694, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or call the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080.
Sedgwick Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that John
Tapley, 58, of Sedgwick, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S District Court in Bangor to
possession of child pornography.Court records and proceedings reveal that in January of 2013, Tapley brought his laptop
computer to a computer repair shop for service. A service technician found sexually suggestive
images of prepubescent girls on the computer and reported it to the police. Law enforcement
agents obtained a search warrant for the computer and found images and videos of child
pornography.Tapley faces a minimum of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000
fine. He faces an enhanced sentence because of two prior Maine Superior Court convictions for
unlawful sexual contact. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence
investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.The investigation was conducted by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit, and the Ellsworth Police
Department.Pittsburgh Woman Sentenced to Probation for Defrauding Social SecurityRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced in federal court to two years of probation and ordered to pay $78,719.00 in restitution on her conviction of theft of government property, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Laverne Russell, 74.
According to information presented to the court, Russell converted to her own use over $78,000 in Social Security Income Benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Russell.
Notice of Court Proceedings Guilty Plea Hearing Scheduled for Former Lexington County Sheriff James R. MettsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Charleston, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Chief United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten will hold a change of plea hearing in the case of United States v. James R. Metts, Case No. 3:14-cr-429.
WHEN Tuesday, December 30, 2014,
at 10:00 a.m WHERE Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Courthouse
901 Richland Street, Courtroom V
Columbia, SC 29201Muldrow Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that TERRY WAYNE HYATT, age 34, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1), punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Muldrow Police Department. The defendant was indicted in November, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about February 13, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, a firearm, which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Melody Nelson represented the United States.
Mauritius Man Charged with Abusive Sexual Contact of a Sleeping Woman on a Cruise ShipRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Mauritius man is scheduled to appear in Newark federal court for allegedly engaging in abusive sexual contact with a sleeping woman aboard a cruise ship, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced.
Karan Seechurn, 25, was detained upon arrival in Bayonne, New Jersey, early on Dec. 27, 2014, and arrested by agents of the FBI. He is charged by complaint with abusive sexual contact and is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Seechurn was an employee of the cruise line and was responsible for restocking the minibars located in passengers’ rooms. In order to conduct this duty, he was provided with a key that gave him access to passengers’ rooms. On Dec. 23, 2014, he allegedly used this key to access passengers’ rooms when he was not authorized or permitted to do so. Seechurn entered a sleeping female passenger’s room without her knowledge and permission. She awoke to find Seechurn touching her genitalia and she pushed him off her. When she tried to leave the room, he pulled her back and threated to burn down the cruise ship if she told anyone.
The federal government has special maritime jurisdiction over sexual abuse cases, such as those that occur on cruise ships.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the charge.
The government is represented by Meredith Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Linda Foster Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Seechurn, Karan Complaint
Hartshorne Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that KENNETH EDWARD DAY, age 37, of Hartshorne, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Felon in Possession of Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(e), punishable by not less than 15 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The defendant was indicted in November, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about August 20, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, firearms which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Melody Nelson represented the United States.
Harrisburg Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Leading Drug Traffickers Who Sold Cocaine and Heroin in State College AreaRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that United States District Court Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner imposed a 147 month-sentence (12 years, 3 months)on Azim W. Showell, age 25, of Harrisburg, for trafficking heroin and cocaine, as well as trading drugs for firearms.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Showell was the leader of a group of drug traffickers who brought heroin and cocaine from Harrisburg to State College, where motel and hotel rooms they distributed drugs throughout the region. According to the government’s evidence presented at trial, many of the customers had also burglarized homes and stole firearms, which they traded to the group for drugs. Many of the firearms were ultimately brought to Harrisburg.
In February 2012, police arrested Fareed Ray and other conspirators, who were in possession of stolen firearms and cocaine. That same month, Fairview Township Police stopped Showell in a rental car. In the trunk of the car, police found two stolen firearms, $10,000 in cash, and bundles of heroin packaged for sale.
In May 2014, Showell and Fareed Ray went on trial before a federal jury in Harrisburg. Police, co-defendants, drug users, and victims of the home break-ins testified during the four-day trial. The jury convicted both Showell and Ray of all ten counts of drug trafficking, conspiracy, and firearms offenses.
In May 2014, co-defendant Darrin Matthis was sentenced to 37 months in prison. In June 2014, co-defendant Josh Breon was sentenced 22 months in prison. In July 2014, co-defendant Dawan Maynard was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Fareed Ray is not yet scheduled for sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Consiglio.
Former Postal Service Letter Carrier Sentenced to Prison for Drug Distribution and Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
Corruption of Letter Carriers a “Significant Vulnerability” for Postal Service
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Devona Ursula Charley, age 27, of Washington, D.C., today to a year and a day in prison, followed by 6 months of home detention as part of three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and a bribery conspiracy.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
“The corruption of postal employees is a significant vulnerability in the system,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Through the coordinated efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other law enforcement agencies, we are investigating several cases involving letter carriers who took bribes to divert shipments of illegal drugs.”
According to her plea agreement, from at least September 2013 through April 2014, Charley, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, conspired with Dominique Jones and others to distribute marijuana. In addition, Charley admitted that she received money to deliver mail packages to Jones that were addressed to other people. Charley knew that the packages contained marijuana.Specifically, Charley provided Jones with addresses for the shipment of packages along her postal route. Charley agreed to deliver the packages to Jones even though they were addressed to another person. Her co-conspirators agreed to pay Charley $350 per package. Based on the information provided by Charley, packages containing marijuana were shipped to the addresses provided by Charley. When the packages arrived at the post office, Charley picked up the packages and texted Jones. Jones and an associate then met Charley along her mail route and Charley delivered the packages.
Based upon her role in the conspiracy, Charley is responsible for the distribution of between 40 and 60 kilograms of marijuana which was valued at between $70,000 and $120,000.
Dominique Jones, age 29, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah A. Johnston, who prosecuted the case.First Circuit Court of Appeals Denies Effort by Jose Santiago to Vacate Guilty PleaRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The First Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an effort by Jose Alibal Santiago to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with the 2010 robbery and murder of a Woonsocket gas station manager.
On September 5, 2013, Jose Santiago pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce; robbery affecting commerce; and possessing, using, carrying, and discharging a gun in relation to a crime of violence with death resulting. On February 13, 2014, Santiago was sentenced to serve 40 years in federal prison.
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Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Federal Grand Jury Indicts Huntsville Police Officer on Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM - A federal grand jury today indicted a Huntsville police officer in connection with a conspiracy to fix cocaine trafficking charges against an individual arrested by another Huntsville officer, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr. and Huntsville Police Chief Lewis Morris.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges LEWIS BERNARD HALL, 45, of Meridianville, Ala., with conspiracy, bribery, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to investigators. According to the charges, Hall conspired with someone identified in the indictment as "Individual B" to pay a fellow police officer $5,000 if that officer would claim his July 29 vehicle search that resulted in drug-trafficking charges against "Individual A" was unlawful, thereby making the criminal case against Individual A go away. The Huntsville officer who conducted the vehicle search and, subsequently, assisted in the investigation of Hall is identified in the indictment as "Cooperating Officer."
"Our community expects and deserves police officers who will protect citizens and uphold the law, not tarnish their badge and work to protect criminals," Vance said. “The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecutes public corruption cases to punish those who violate the law and the public trust and to reinforce the need and expectation of integrity in government and police service."
"Public corruption is the FBI’s number one criminal priority for a reason," Schwein said. "It tears at the fabric of our democracy and works to undermine the public’s trust and confidence in the government. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate violations of that trust committed by any public official, regardless of position.”"The Huntsville Police Department contacted the FBI as soon as we learned of possible corruption and we assisted the FBI in its investigation," Morris said. "I want to assure the public that this indictment addresses the actions of one police officer, and the Huntsville department will diligently address any other issues that might come to our attention. We value the working relationship we enjoy with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office and appreciate their attention to this case."
According to the indictment's conspiracy count, on July 31, Hall and Individual B discussed offering the Cooperating Officer a bribe to tell other law enforcement officers that his search of Individual A's vehicle, which uncovered about three ounces of cocaine, was unlawful. Hall offered the bribe to the Cooperating Officer on July 31, paid him $1,000 on Aug. 12, and had two follow-up conversations in November about what the officer was supposed to say when asked about the search of Individual A's vehicle, the indictment says.
The bribery count charges Hall with corruptly offering the bribe to an agent of the City of Huntsville and its police department, which received more than $10,000 in federal benefits within one year, to influence the Cooperating Officer in how he reported the July 29 vehicle search.The obstruction of justice count charges Hall with offering the bribe with the intent to delay or prevent the reporting of a felony or possible felony offense and the violation of conditions of supervised release by Individual A.
The false statement count charges Hall with knowingly making a false statement to an FBI agent on Dec. 8, saying he did not give money to the Cooperating Officer in connection with that officer's reporting of his search of Individual A's vehicle.
The maximum penalty for both the conspiracy and the false statement charges is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the bribery count is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum for the obstruction count is 20 years in prison and a $250,000.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney George A. Martin Jr. is prosecuting the case.
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Department of Justice Grantee Pays $105,000 to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A company and its owner have agreed to pay $105,000 to settle allegations that they failed to properly account for grant money given to Justice Planners International, a joint venture created to provide juvenile detention center consulting services to Native American tribes, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Michael Horowitz, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice, announced today.
Mark Goldman of Atlanta, Georgia, and Mark Goldman Associates (MGA) have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the federal False Claims Act. They have agreed to pay $105,000 to the United States to resolve the federal and civil claims.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in October 2005 Goldman and MGA allegedly failed to properly account for $2,369,838 drawn from Justice Department grants. These funds were used by Goldman and his business partner, Justice Solutions Group, of Closter, New Jersey, to provide training and technical assistance to Native American tribes in planning and constructing correctional facilities. While there was no indication that Goldman and MGA failed to perform the services as required by the grants, they nevertheless failed to maintain books and records to satisfactorily account for the funds drawn down from those grants.
The civil settlement agreement is between the United States of America – acting through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG), and Goldman and MGA.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited Special Agent in Charge M. Elise Chawaga of the DOJ OIG with the investigation leading to the settlement.
The government is represented by Special Litigation Counsel Anthony J. LaBruna of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Division in Newark.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there have been no admissions of liability.
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Defense counsel: Brian McEvoy Esq., Atlanta, Ga.