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Thursday 11 December 2014
Alhambra Resident Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on December 11, 2014, Robert E. Godsey, 34, Alhambra, IL, pled guilty to a three-count Indictment charging him with Distribution of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct (Count 1), Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct (Count 2), and Possession of Visual Depictions of Prepubescent Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct (Count 3). On Counts 1 and 2, Godsey faces a term of imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than forty (40) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years to life. On Count 3, he faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than five (5) years to life. Godsey’s sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2015, in East St. Louis, Illinois, until then, he will be held in custody without bail.
Facts revealed in Court showed that on July 8, 2014, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), obtained a federal search warrant to search a residence in Alhambra occupied by Godsey, and others, for evidence of child pornography. When executing the search warrant, officers seized a Samsung notebook computer from Godsey’s bedroom.
On the same day that the search warrant was executed, Godsey provided a videotaped statement in which he admitted collecting and trading images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct with other collectors of child pornography via the internet. Godsey said that he was the only user of the Samsung notebook computer, and that there would be some images and/or videos depicting minors under the age of twelve (prepubescent minors) engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A forensic review of the notebook computer revealed numerous video and image files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and, as acknowledged by Godsey, some of these images and videos were of minors under the age of twelve.
After obtaining Godsey’s consent to assume control of the e-mail account used to trade image and video files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, a special agent with HSI accessed the e-mail account and found video and image files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on the account, many of which involved prepubescent minors. This confirmed Godsey’s statement that he traded images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, many of which depicted prepubescent minors, with other individuals online.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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 was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Albuquerque Man Arraigned on Federal Distribution of Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Ruben Nieto, 45, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning on an indictment charging him with distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. The indictment alleges that Nieto distributed child pornography in Bernalillo County, N.M., from March 24, 2014 through March 27, 2014. Nieto entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment hearing.
Nieto was arrested by the FBI on Nov. 13, 2014, based on a criminal complaint, and was indicted on Dec. 3, 2014. Court filings reflect that the FBI initiated a federal investigation into Nieto in May 2014, after receiving a referral from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, both of which are members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. According to the criminal complaint, in Jan. 2014, investigators identified an IP address that allegedly was being used to download and share child pornography. Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to the residence in which Nieto allegedly had lived until April 2014. In May 2014, investigators executed a search warrant at the residence and seized computers and computer-related media that allegedly contained child pornography after learning that Nieto regularly used the computer while he lived in the residence.
Nieto remains detained pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the charge in the indictment, Nieto faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. Nieto would also be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and the New Mexico ICAC Task Force.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara H. Henderson as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
6 Charged in Large-Scale Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - Six persons have been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the Western District of Pennsylvania on various federal narcotics and immigration charges, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count indictment, returned on Dec. 10, named Olufemi Young, 35 of Pittsburgh, PA; Tayde Torres, 33 of Fullerton, CA; Javier Ochoa, 52 of Tolleson, Arizona; Hector Armenta-Cardenas, 39 of Fontana, CA; Francisco Javier Campos-Ortega, 30 of Yucaipa, CA; and Joel Rodriguez, 45 of Fontana, CA. All six defendants are alleged to have conspired together to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, while defendants Campos-Ortega and Rodriguez were charged with the possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. In addition, Armenta-Cardenas was charged with unlawful re-entry into the United States by a deported alien.
According to the indictment and information disclosed to courts in prior judicial proceedings, Olufemi Young is alleged to be a large-scale trafficker of cocaine and heroin in Pittsburgh. Since his release from federal prison in 2011, law enforcement has collected evidence demonstrating that Young has conspired to import multiple kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin into the Western District of Pennsylvania, with these narcotics coming mainly from California and Arizona. Young’s primary suppliers of these narcotics were, as alleged: Torres Armenta-Cardenas, and Ochoa. In April of 2014, law enforcement seized nearly $260,000 in cash from individuals associated with Ochoa in Munhall, Pa. At that time, law enforcement also recovered an “owe sheet,” indicating that Young had purchased 10 kilograms of cocaine and two kilograms of heroin from Ochoa and his co-conspirators. In May of 2014, law enforcement seized another $660,000 in cash from Ochoa and Young in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. In the late summer of 2014, law enforcement began wiretap interceptions of telephones utilized by Young and Armenta-Cardenas, and pursuant to those interceptions, law enforcement stopped a tractor trailer, being driven by Campos-Ortega and Rodriguez, in Somerset County, Pa., on Nov. 10, 2014. This tractor trailer was carrying 19 kilograms of cocaine destined for Pittsburgh and multiple pallets of food bound for Wal-Mart. Five of the six defendants have been arrested; Tayde Torres remains a fugitive.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence for Young, Ochoa, Torres, and Armenta- Cardenas of up to life in prison, a fine of $10,000,000, or both. Young and Armenta-Cardenas, who have prior federal felony narcotics convictions, face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, while Ochoa and Torres face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Campos-Ortega and Rodriguez face a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $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 Eric S. Rosen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Munhall Police Department, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police 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.
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Worley Man Pleads Guilty to Theft from the Benewah MarketRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE - Adam Lee SiJohn, 26, of Worley, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to theft from a tribal organization, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. SiJohn was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d'Alene on October 21, 2014.
According to the plea agreement, SiJohn admitted that on the late evening and into the early morning of August 20 and 21, 2014, he and co-defendants devised a plan to rob the Benewah Market. A co-defendant gave SiJohn the keys and the combination to the store safe. SiJohn took three bank bags from the safe of the Benewah Market that contained cash and checks totaling $22,655.04.
The charge of theft from a tribal organization is punishable by up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for March 3, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.
The case was investigated by Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Wichita Man Who Sold Scooters Sentenced for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. A Wichita man who owned a business that sold scooters has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. In addition, he was ordered to pay $459,284 in restitution.
Dinh Nguyen, 32, Wichita, Kan., who owned BN Scooters, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. In his plea, he admitted he owed substantial income tax in addition to the tax liability he reported on his 2006 income tax return. He knew he was making a false statement when he reported he did not owe any income tax.
Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lind for their work on the case.Vehicle Dealer and Accountant Sentenced to Prison for $75.9 Million Financing Fraud Scheme That Caused 18 Lenders to Lose $58.8 MillionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former area motorcycle and recreational vehicle dealer and his accountant were sentenced to 13½ and 2½ years, respectively, in federal prison for a $75.9 million fraudulent financing scheme that resulted in 18 lenders losing more than $58.8 million, federal law enforcement officials announced today.
RUSSELL S. OTT, 51, of Oswego, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion, was sentenced on Dec. 3 to 13½ years in prison, beginning Jan. 20, 2015, and ordered to pay approximately $61.16 million in restitution to the victim financial institutions and the United States Treasury. Ott was the owner of Emily, Inc., which did business as Pro Source Motorsports and was located last in Morris, Ill. Between 1995 and October 2008, Pro Source, the dealership at the center of the scheme, sold new and used motorcycles, luxury motor homes, recreational vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, boats and jet skis. In 2007 and 2008, Ott also had ownership interests in Liberty Cycle in Libertyville, and Huntley Chevrolet in Libertyville.
BRIAN McMAHON, 55, of Naperville, who pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting the filing of Ott’s false tax returns, was sentenced today to 2½ years in prison, beginning Jan. 21, 2015, and ordered to pay $396,829 restitution to the U.S. Treasury. McMahon was Ott and Emily, Inc.’s certified public accountant, and he also owned Triumph Suzuki in Naperville between 2001 and 2004 when he sold it to Ott.
The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang in Federal Court in Chicago.
Eight other co-defendants who acted as straw buyers in sham vehicle sales were charged with Ott and McMahon in August 2013. All eight have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents, Ott’s bank fraud scheme involved two prongs: in one, Pro Source Motorsports fraudulently obtained more than $31.3 million in direct financing through five lines of credit from Fifth Third Bank, which lost more than $27.1 million; and, in the second, individual straw borrowers obtained just under 200 fraudulent loans totaling more than $44.58 million, which resulted in 18 financial institutions losing more than $31.66 million.
Ott and the straw buyers fraudulently obtained money for their personal use and benefit, enabling them to maintain lavish lifestyles, operate various businesses, and/or make investments. The money they obtained created the false appearance of personal wealth and helped induce the lenders to advance funds more readily due to their misplaced confidence that the defendants had sufficient personal wealth to repay the loans.
Ott and McMahon fabricated false personal and business tax documents and financial statements and provided them to Fifth Third Bank, which funded traditional “floor plan loans.” Ott faxed false flooring requests with fictitious vehicle identification numbers for non-existent recreational vehicles, or real VINs for actual RVs but with dramatically inflated values. Ott sometimes “double floored” vehicles by obtaining separate financing from Fifth Third and a different lender for the same vehicle.
Ott enlisted the eight straw borrowers to obtain fraudulent loan proceeds to share with him even though they did not actually purchase the vehicles ― usually very expensive RVs ― for which the loans were made and the vehicles generally did not exist. The lenders generally deposited the loan funds into Emily, Inc.’s bank account, and then Ott periodically disbursed the proceeds to straw borrowers to operate and support their own businesses and lifestyles, make investments, and make monthly payments on some of the loans to perpetuate the scheme.
Ott used fraudulently obtained funds to operate Pro Source, which lost money from approximately 2001 through 2008; and to make lavish purchases, including a house in Elburn for approximately $679,491 and subsequent improvements that increased the home’s cost to more than $1.1 million; a $258,000 vacation home in Butternut, Wis.; a $350,000 rental home in South Elgin; a Sky Hawk 172 Cessna airplane and hanger for approximately $200,000; and pick-up trucks and other vehicles for family members and employees of Pro Source. He also used the money to invest in and purchase other vehicle dealerships, including more than $3.6 million in Huntley Chevrolet, and more than $1 million in Liberty Cycle.
The sentences were 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; and James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan.
Utah Accountant Sentenced for Filing over $9 Million in False Tax Refund Claims and $300 Million Fictitious Financial InstrumentRead the Press Release
A Heber City, Utah, man was sentenced today to serve 78 months in prison for filing false claims for income tax refunds and for filing a fictitious financial instrument, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry J. Wszalek for the Department’s Tax Division and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups also ordered Dick Reid Jenkins, to pay $250,340 in restitution to the IRS and to serve three years of supervised released upon his release from prison.
In June 2014, Jenkins, a certified public accountant, was convicted at trial of 18 counts of filing false claims for tax refunds and one count of presenting a fictitious financial instrument to the United States. According to the superseding indictment and the proof at trial, in September 2008, Jenkins filed a false individual income tax return for himself for tax year 2007 which claimed an income tax refund of $402,920. Then, in October 2008, Jenkins filed a false amended 2004 individual income tax return, which claimed an income tax refund of $434,261. Both false claims were based on the use of a falsified IRS Form 1099-OID (Original Issue Discount), which is a form of accrued interest, to claim the false refunds. From 2009 through 2014, the IRS has listed this scheme as one of its “Dirty Dozen” worst tax scams.
According to both the superseding indictment and the proof at trial, in addition to his own false returns, from September 2008 through February 2009, Jenkins caused 16 other false federal individual income tax returns to be filed on behalf of other individuals. These false tax returns also used false Forms 1099-OID and claimed federal income tax refunds totaling $8,407,623.
Additionally, according to the superseding indictment and the proof at trial, on June 30, 2008, Jenkins presented a false and fictitious financial instrument to the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the amount of $300 million.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Stuart Wexler for the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Two Men Indicted for Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two southern Missouri men were indicted by a federal grand jury today, in separate and unrelated cases, on charges involving the sexual exploitation of children.
USA v. Talbott
Jeremiah Shane Talbott, 37, of Oronogo, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Talbott used a cell phone to attempt to induce an individual whom he believed to be less than 18 years of age to engage in illicit sexual activity between June 26 and Aug. 26, 2014.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Talbott to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including his cell phone.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrime Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.
USA v. Penn
Edward Penn, 31, of Hartville, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Penn received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Jan. 1, 2013, and Oct. 3, 2014.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Penn to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including his cell phone.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrime Task Force and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Two Individuals Indicted in December Federal Grand JuryRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today the results of the December 2014 Federal Grand Jury.
“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Statutory maximum punishments are in parentheses. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.”
STEVE ARBY CHANDLER, II, age 44, of Muskogee, OK
Failure to Register as Sex Offender
The Indictment alleges that from on or about April 3, 2014 until on or about July 3, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, STEVE ARBY CHANDLER, II, defendant herein, an individual required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, after having received a felony conviction from the State of Michigan on or about January 31, 1990, for the felony offense of Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree, traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failed to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Marshal Service. The charges are in violation of 18, United States Code, Sections 2250(a)(1), 2250(a)(2)(B) and 2250(a)(3), punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson
DARRELL DEWAYNE PERRY, age 54, Tahlequah, OK
Failure to Register as Sex Offender
The Indictment alleges that from in or about October 2014 until on or about November 20, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, DARRELL DEWAYNE PERRY, defendant herein, an individual required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, after having received felony convictions from the State of Oklahoma, in Muskogee County, on or about September 14, 1998, for the offenses of Rape First Degree, Rape by Instrumentation and Sodomy, traveled in interstate and foreign commerce and knowingly failed to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Marshal Service.
The charges are in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2250(a)(1), 2250(a)(2)(B) and 2250(a)(3), punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Edward Snow
Tulsa Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement and Theft from Indian Tribal OrganizationRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that LaDONNA JANE BURNS, age 44, Tulsa, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Embezzlement and Theft From An Indian Tribal Organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1163, punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment, and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
The charges are a result from an investigation by the Creek Nation Lighthorse Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant was indicted in November 2014.
The Indictment alleged that from on or about April 1, 2013, until on or about September 17, 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, being an employee of the Checotah Muscogee Indian Community, an Indian Tribal Organization, did embezzle, steal, willfully misapply and willfully and knowingly convert to her own use more than $1,000.00 of the moneys, funds and credits belonging to the said Indian Tribal Organization.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States.
Trio Charged with Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
Alex DelValle, 37, Justelyn Lopez, 32, and Johnny Solivan, 18, all of Philadelphia, PA, were charged today by indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and attempt to possess with intent to distribute, approximately one kilogram of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison with a maximum sentence of 40 years, at least four years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of not more than $10 million.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Grigsby.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Click here to view the indictment.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Join U.S. Attorney's Office to Prosecute Crimes in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla.—Two Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, one each from the Osage Nation and Cherokee Nation, were sworn-in at an investiture ceremony today and will assist with improving public safety in tribal communities, announced Danny C. Williams Sr., United States Attorney for the Northern District.
“Indian Country is a significant priority and my office is committed to building and sustaining safe tribal communities in the Northern District,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “The Tribal SAUSAs will assist in key prosecution areas which derive from federal jurisdiction over crimes occurring in Indian land to include drug trafficking, sexual abuse, and violence against women.”
Jeff Jones is the Attorney General of the Osage Nation and Sara Hill is the Deputy Attorney General of the Cherokee Nation. Jones and Hill will work alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Northern District’s Indian Country Prosecution Unit.
The United States Constitution, treaties, federal statutes, executive orders, and court decisions establish and define the unique legal and political relationship that exists between the United States and Indian tribes. Federal laws vest the Department of Justice with primary jurisdiction over most felonies that occur on Indian lands in most states. There are thirteen federally recognized tribes in the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Thirteen Members and Associates of Violent Yonkers Street Gang Charged in White Plains Federal Court with Racketeering, Violent Crimes, Narcotics Conspiracy, and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Charles Gardner, the Commissioner of the Yonkers Police Department, announced today the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging 13 members and associates of a Yonkers-based street gang, the “Grimy Motherfuckers” (“GMF”), with racketeering, violent crimes, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms offenses. The original Indictment, filed in July 2014, alleged that GMF operated as a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) and charged three GMF affiliates with offenses related to the murder of Tyrone Arthur on December 27, 2013. Today’s Superseding Indictment charges 10 additional GMF members and associates (as well as the three defendants previously charged) with a variety of crimes, including charges related to the March 27, 2010, maiming of a rival gang member.
Eleven of the 13 defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed today were arrested today or have previously been taken into custody. The defendants arrested today were presented in White Plains federal court this afternoon. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, this Yonkers-based gang plagued the community of the Schlobohm Housing Projects with drug dealing and lethal violence. With today’s Indictment and arrests, we are another step closer to making the streets and citizens in this neighborhood safer.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: “As alleged, this investigation targeted violent individuals who used murder, threats and intimidation to further their criminal agenda. The charges demonstrate our continued effort to work closely with our law enforcement partners to strike at gang-related criminal enterprises and to eliminate the terror these groups inflict on our communities. Dismantling violent gangs remains a priority for the FBI.”
Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner stated: “Once again we have worked with our federal partners the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of NY to target violent gang members who choose to do business here in Yonkers. These particular suspects failed to recognize our determination in ridding our community of violence. They will now be held accountable for their actions and I would like to thank all of the investigators who were involved in this morning’s arrests.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment and other documents in the public record:
From at least 2008 through 2014, the GMF has been a criminal enterprise operating in and around the Schlobohm Housing Projects in Yonkers, New York. At its inception, GMF was aligned with the Strip Boyz, a different street gang that was likewise based in the Schlobohm Housing Project in Yonkers and was made up of members one generation older than most GMF members. GMF and the Strip Boyz controlled crack cocaine and marijuana sales in and around the Schlobohm Housing Project and were allied in disputes with rival gang members, including members of the Cliff Street Gangsters and the Elm Street Wolves, two gangs from the east side of Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers. In late June and early July 2012, law enforcement authorities arrested 20 members of the Strip Boyz on charges of narcotics distribution and/or firearm offenses in a federal case captioned United States v. Mark David, S1 12 Cr. 214 (ER). All 20 defendants have pled guilty in connection with those charges.
The 2012 arrests of the Strip Boyz left GMF the dominant gang in the area around the Schlobohm Housing Project, and GMF members have continued to engage in acts of violence and intimidation to preserve their dominance of the Schlobohm Housing Project and the surrounding areas that they previously shared with the Strip Boyz. In order to protect their territory and enhance the reputation of the gang, GMF members have committed numerous acts of violence, including murder, attempted murders, stabbings, and assaults.
The 10-count Superseding Indictment, United States v. Da’Quan Johnson, et al., charges DA’QUAN JOHNSON, JAMES JOHNSON, KENNETH MOORE, JAMEKE BROWN, DAQUAN COUCH, DARIN FIELDS, ANTHONY FORD, FLOYD GILHAM, CHRISTOPHER GREBINGER, RONNIE KING, GERALD MARTIN, JAMES MCCALLUM, and WILBUR RANDOLPH with conspiring to violate the RICO statute and with using, carrying, possessing, and discharging firearms during and in relation to their participation in the conspiracy. As in the initial Indictment, DA’QUAN JOHNSON and MOORE are also charged with racketeering murder, conspiracy to commit the same, and a firearms offense in connection with the December 27, 2013, shooting death of Tyrone Arthur. JAMES JOHNSON is charged with serving as an accessory after the fact to the December 27, 2013, murder and with attempted murder, maiming, and a firearms offense in connection with the March 27, 2010, shooting of a rival gang member that left the victim paralyzed. Defendants DA’QUAN JOHNSON, JAMES JOHNSON, BROWN, COUCH, GILHAM, KING, MCCALLUM, and RANDOLPH are also charged with conspiring to distribute marijuana.
Charts containing the names, ages, residences, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester Violent Crimes Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives of the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the City of Yonkers Police Department, the Westchester County Police, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. He also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. He added that the investigation is continuing.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Hartman and Douglas Zolkind are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Da'quan Johnson S1 Indictment
United States v. Da'Quan Johnson Chart
Texan Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison for Transporting a Minor for ProstitutionRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Houston man was sentenced Tuesday to 120 months in prison for bringing a minor from Texas to Louisiana and forcing her to engage in prostitution.
Joshua Baker, 29, of Houston, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. for one count of transportation of a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was also sentenced to serve five years of supervised release, and must register as a sex offender for life. According to evidence presented at the August 21, 2014 guilty plea, Baker began communicating with a minor in San Antonio, Texas, in 2012. He then transported her from Texas to Shreveport in May of 2013 and forced her to engage in prostitution. For two to three weeks after that, he directed her to engage in prostitution and physically abused her if she refused.
“My office is committed to seeking justice for victims of human trafficking,” Finley stated. “The defendant preyed on a young victim and exploited her for profit. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to track down and prosecute sex traffickers.”
The FBI, Child Exploitation Task Force, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph G. Jarzabek prosecuted the case.This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Shreveport FBI office number is (318) 861-1890.
Tennessee Woman Sentenced for Defrauding U.S. Department of TransportationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Tennessee woman has been sentenced in federal court to four years probation and eight months home detention on her conviction of mail fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose imposed the sentence on Elizabeth “Betsy” Pope, 49, of Loudon, TN.
According to the information presented to the court, Pope was in business to assist trucking companies with compliance and testing of their commercial truck drivers pursuant to the Drug and Alcohol Testing Program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The program includes pre-employment and random testing, testing for cause and post-accident testing. The Pittsburgh based victim is InTransit, LLC, an administrative and service company for several national transport companies. InTransit used Pope d/b/a Eastgate Laboratory Testing as a third party administrator to handle the DOT drug and alcohol testing for them. DOT regulations require that a percentage of negative tests and all positive drug or alcohol tests must be reviewed by a licensed doctor, known under the DOT regulations as a Medical Review Officer (MRO), to oversee the program and determine if there were any innocent reasons why a test was positive. On all FMCSA and DOT required paperwork Pope, without authority or permission, used a computer generated signature of a doctor who had previously worked for her as an MRO for a short time predating the charges in the indictment to create the impression that he had done the necessary oversight and reviews when he had not. The fraud came to light when a commercial truck driver with 18 years of experience tried to contact the MRO after his pre-employment drug test reported as “diluted” for three consecutive tests. When he was unable to get the contact information from Pope for the MRO, he searched for the MRO on the internet. The MRO in turn contacted InTransit to report the unauthorized use of his name. InTransit did an internal investigation and referred the matter to the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation. Pope billed InTransit as though her company had actually performed the required services, causing InTransit to send her checks totaling approximately $109,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the U.S. Department of Transportation-OIG for the successful prosecution of Elizabeth “Betsy” Pope.
Tahlequah Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that CHUCK ALLEN EASTHAM, age 41, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release for Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
The charge is a result from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The defendant was indicted in March, 2014 and pled guilty in July, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about October 24, 2013, 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, one Marlin (Glenfield) Model 30A, 30-30 Caliber lever action rifle, which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which he will serve his nonparolable sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Waters represented the United States.
Tahlequah Man Pleads Guilty to Racketeering ChargesRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that JOSHUA ALLEN BARNETT, age 24, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma pled guilty to Interstate Travel or Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1952(a)(3) and 2.
The charge is a result of an investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and was coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. OCDETF is an initiative led, and coordinated by, the Office of the United States Attorney. The defendant was indicted in July, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about January 29, 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant, traveled in interstate commerce from the State of Oklahoma to Bella Vista, Arkansas, and attempted to purchase Oxycodone from Cornerstone Pharmacy with a false prescription with the intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment and carrying on of an unlawful activity, that is, a business enterprise involving narcotics or controlled substances in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(C), and thereafter performed or attempted to perform an act to promote, manage, establish and carry on, and to facilitate the promotion, management, establishment and carrying on, of such unlawful activity.
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. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 5 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit Decision in U.S. V. Todd Newman and Anthony ChiassonRead the Press Release
“Today’s decision by the Court of Appeals interprets the securities laws in a way that will limit the ability to prosecute people who trade on leaked inside information. The decision affects only a subset of our recent cases, and in those cases – as in all our criminal cases – we investigated and prosecuted misconduct based on our good faith assessment and understanding of the facts and the law that existed at the time. We are still assessing the Court’s decision, which appears in our view to narrow what has constituted illegal insider trading, and are considering our options for further appellate review.”
St. Tammany Restaurants and Owner Sentenced for Employing Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that OSAKA THAI CORPORATION, which operated Osaka Japanese Restaurant and Thai House Restaurant in Slidell, SHINTO RESTAURANT, INC., which operated Shinto Japanese Restaurant in Lafayette, and their owner, TONY NGUYEN, age 57, of Slidell, were sentenced today for conspiring to harbor aliens and for engaging in an unlawful pattern and practice of employing aliens.
U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced the Osaka Thai Corporation, the Shinto Restaurant, Inc., and Tony Nguyen to three years probation and forfeiture of $250,000 of illegal proceeds.
On August 20, 2014, OSAKA THAI CORPORATION and SHINTO RESTAURANT, INC. pled guilty to conspiracy to conceal, harbor, and shield from detection illegal aliens and encourage and induce illegal aliens to remain in the country by providing them housing, transportation, and employment at the restaurants operated by the defendants. That same day, NGUYEN pled guilty to knowingly engaging in a pattern and practice of hiring aliens he knew were unauthorized to work in the United States. As part of their plea agreement, the defendants agreed to forfeit $250,000 in illegal proceeds to the United States.
According to court documents, the defendants knowingly hired illegal aliens to work in their restaurants over a period of several years and provided the aliens with housing and a van to transport them from the housing to the restaurants. Eighteen illegal aliens were arrested when special agents executed search warrants at the restaurants.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Haller was in charge of the prosecution.
Southeast Texans Guilty in Counterfeit Check ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – Four Southeast Texas residents have pleaded guilty to federal counterfeiting charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Felicia Nicole Ardoin, 30, of Beaumont, Sonja DeAnn Lee, 31, of Orange, Texas, Norris Marie Narcisse, III, 26, of Port Arthur, Texas, and Kevin Douglas Orphe, 41, of Port Arthur, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to counterfeit business checks. The pleas were held today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith F. Giblin.
According to information presented in court, a joint task force was formed after the Beaumont Police Department received an unusual number of complaints from merchants, financial institutions, and account holders that they were the victims of counterfeit checks from January 2012 through January 2014. Twelve companies in the Golden Triangle complained their bank accounts were compromised by 144 counterfeit checks manufactured to appear as legitimate payroll checks. Numerous grocery stores and other merchants who cashed the checks were also affected by the organized counterfeiting activities of the defendants. Losses to merchants and financial institutions exceeded $110,000.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Sep. 3, 2014 charging these four defendants and Kenneth Ray Smith, 39, of Orange, with federal violations. Smith pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2014, to the conspiracy charge and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendants face up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy conviction. Smith faces up to an additional 10 years in federal prison for the firearms conviction. Sentencing dates have not been set.
In addition to these five defendants, another 25 persons either cashed the checks or otherwise negotiated the checks knowing them to be counterfeited. Those persons will be prosecuted in state courts.
This case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Homeland Security Investigations HSI-ICE and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Rawls.Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Marijuana DistributionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana was sentenced on December 8, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Wesley Robert Kleinsasser, age 30, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release.
Kleinsasser was indicted with three others for Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana by a federal grand jury on March 5, 2014. He pled guilty to the offense on September 9, 2014.
During his involvement in the conspiracy, Kleinsasser traveled on several occasions from Sioux Falls to California to purchase marijuana. The marijuana was distributed to co-conspirators and others in South Dakota.
This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Haak prosecuted the case.
Shiprock Man Sentenced to Eleven Years for Conviction on Firearms and Stalking Charges Arising from Threats Against Former Intimate Partner and Her New BoyfriendRead the Press Release
Defendant Prosecuted as Part of Federal Initiative to Address
the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native WomenALBUQUERQUE – Peterson Yazzie, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison for his conviction on firearms and stalking charges. Yazzie will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Director John Billison of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Yazzie was arrested on April 24, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he stalked his former intimate partner, a Navajo woman, by leaving numerous threatening messages in her cellphone voicemail box on April 12, 2014. In some of the messages, Yazzie threatened to shoot the victim and her new boyfriend. The criminal complaint also alleged that Yazzie assaulted the victim’s new boyfriend on April 12, 2014, by firing multiple shots at a vehicle the boyfriend was driving.
On July 21, 2014, Yazzie pled guilty to the two-count felony information. In his plea agreement, Yazzie admitted stalking his former intimate partner on April 12, 2014 by leaving messages on her cellphone voicemail box including one in which he threatened to “put a bullet in her head,” causing the victim to fear that death or seriously bodily injury would occur. Yazzie also admitted that April 12, 2014, he committed a crime of violence by using a rifle to shoot at a vehicle driven by the second victim. Yazzie acknowledged committing both crimes within Navajo Indian Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Farmington Office of the FBI and Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Seven Charged in Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. – Seven individuals from four states have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Andres Prieto, 32, of Boynton Beach, Florida; Vincent DeLaPena, 63, of Los Angeles, California; Eric Mathew Benavides, 45, of Covina, California; Trieu Phuong Nguyen, 48, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Willie Hugh Joy, 44 of Alpharetta, Georgia; Yenny M. Romero, 32, of Boynton Beach, Florida; and Bart Derrick Alexander, 47, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida as defendants.
According to the indictment presented to the court, from in and around January 2009, to in and around January 2013, the defendants engaged in a “loan program” in which a hierarchy of “brokers”, “managers”, “processors” and “straw borrowers” falsified bank loan documents and supporting documentation in order to obtain various auto and consumer loans and lines of credit from 21 banks and credit unions.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of $1,250,000 or both for each defendant. 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 defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service 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.
Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. announced that DWAYNE E. HUPP, age 51, of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, after having pled guilty to four counts of bank robbery.
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced HUPP to serve 188 months incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, HUPP was ordered to pay $14,991 in restitution to the victim banks.
According to court documents, HUPP admitted that he robbed the Liberty Bank on August 6, 2013, and again on September 10, 2013, and the Crescent Bank and Trust on September 4, 2013, and September 19, 2013. Documents filed in the matter reveal that the defendant was tackled by the security supervisor and the facilities manager as he exited the Crescent Bank and Trust after the last robbery. HUPP was held until the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived on the scene. HUPP was questioned shortly thereafter by the FBI and admitted to committing all four robberies. When shown surveillance photographs of the robbery suspect in each of the four robberies, HUPP identified himself as the person in those photographs. HUPP admitted that he was a heroin addict and would regularly travel from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to New Orleans to obtain heroin. In order to support his habit, HUPP began to rob local banks.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the FBI with the valuable assistance of the NOPD in investigating this matter. Also, U.S. Attorney Polite commended the security and facilities personnel who captured the defendant and added that their actions may have prevented additional robberies. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Miller and Michael M. Simpson were in charge of the prosecuted.
Ron Wilson Receives Additional Prison TimeRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Ronnie Gene Wilson, age 67, of the Coleman Federal Corrections Institution in Sumterville, Florida, was sentenced today in federal court in Greenville for his involvement in a conspiracy to obstruct justice, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs of Greenville imposed a six-month sentence to be served in addition to the 235 months Wilson is now serving for defrauding almost 800 investors. Thus, in total, Wilson is sentenced to 241 months for fraud-related activities.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that in late 2011 and early 2012, agents with Secret Service and state law enforcement officers began to investigate Atlantic Bullion and Coin and Ronnie Gene Wilson. It was discovered that Wilson operated what is generally described as a “Ponzi scheme.” In April 2012, Wilson confessed to operating the Ponzi.
On April 27, 2012, the United States District Court—with the consent of Wilson and the Government—appointed a Federal Receiver. The Court’s Order directed the Receiver to take immediate possession of all property, assets and estates owned, controlled, used, or in the possession of Wilson.
During the course of the investigation, the Secret Service talked with Wilson on multiple occasions. On or about September 20, 2012, agents interviewed Wilson about possible hidden assets and cash. Wilson was adamant that there were no hidden assets or cash. He stated that he had turned everything over to the Government.
On November 13, 2012 the District Court ordered Wilson to pay approximately $57 million in restitution to the 798 victims of the Ponzi Scheme. He was sentenced to 235 months in prison.
In April 2014, the Government recovered approximately $164,300. This money had been hidden in an ammunition can. Ron Wilson gave this money to a family member to keep for Wilson so he would have something if he was ever released from the Bureau of Prisons.
The evening before Ron Wilson was sentenced in November 2012, evidence established that Ron Wilson visited the hotel room of a family member in Greenville and gave the family member $7000 in cash in an envelope.
In March 2014, Secret Service and the Receiver recovered another ammunition can of money ($172,859). Ron Wilson had given this money to another family member prior to sentencing.
Cassandra Kendall Wilson, age 66, of Woodruff, South Carolina, and Timothy L. Wilson, age 60, of Martin, Tennessee, are both charged in the indictment and have entered pleas of guilty. They will be sentenced at a later date.
The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.Reserve Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that KIRK P. WEBER, age 54, of Reserve, was sentenced today for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.
Chief Judge Sarah Vance sentenced WEBER to five years imprisonment followed by 20 years of supervised release. Additionally, WEBER will be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
According to court records, from May 14, 2013 to October 24, 2013, WEBER knowingly used a popular social networking website to distribute images depicting the sexual victimization of minors. During the investigation, federal investigators determined that WEBER used multiple email accounts to receive and download sexually explicit images of minors. WEBER pled guilty on June 4, 2014, and has been in federal custody since his February 7, 2014 arrest.
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."
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, HIS in investigating this matter. Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba was in charge of the prosecution.
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years on Federal Child Porn ChargeRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. A registered sex offender from Hamilton County, Kan., has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on a federal child pornography charge, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Wade H. Dewey, 48, Syracuse, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. In his plea, he admitted that on Aug. 2, 2013, in Syracuse he was found in possession of images and videos depicting child pornography. He obtained the child pornography via the Internet.
Dewey previously was convicted in 1999 in Pueblo, Colo., on a charge of criminal attempt to commit sexual assault on a child.
Grissom commended the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Wichita Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Ranch-Owner Found Guilty in Alien Smuggling Conspiracy and Must Forfeit 76-Acre Ranch to the U.S. GovernmentRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO, CA – Today a federal jury convicted Potrero, California, resident Kala D. Rains, 47, of seven counts of conspiracy and alien smuggling after a trial before the Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia. The jury also found that the ranch used by Rains to facilitate the conspiracy should be forfeited to the United States Government.
According to evidence presented in court, Rains acted in concert with other co-conspirators to use her ranch to facilitate the bringing in and harboring of illegal aliens in order to transport them further into the interior of the United States. Evidence showed that she was part of a conspiracy that orchestrated the smuggling of several loads of illegal aliens from Mexico into the United States in and around the Tecate, California- area.
Her arrest resulted from an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Border Enforcement Security Task Force, which is comprised of HSI special agents and U.S. Border Patrol agents. Prosecutors presented evidence of video-recorded undercover meetings, audio recordings, and telephonic evidence to build the case of the conspiracy. Jurors also heard from aliens smuggled into the United States by the organization who testified that they were to pay between $6,500 and $7,500 to members of the conspiracy as a smuggling fee.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office commends the HSI Special Agents and U.S. Border Patrol Agents who worked tirelessly over the two-year investigation to infiltrate, disrupt, and dismantle this transnational criminal organization,” said United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy.
Previously, co-defendants Caroline Haro Espindola, Jose Maria Partida-Esquivel, and Alexander Flores pleaded guilty for their roles in the alien smuggling conspiracy.
Rains faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2015.
DEFENDANT Kala Rains Age: 47 Potrero, California CHARGESCount 1: Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371
Counts 2 and 3: Bringing in Illegal Aliens for Financial Gain, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(2)(B)(ii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2
Counts 4-5: Harboring Illegal Aliens, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) and (v)(II)
Counts 6-7: Transporting Illegal Aliens, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and (v)(II)
INVESTIGATING AGENCYHomeland Security Investigations
U.S. Border Patrol
Prior Felon from Carlsbad Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Firearms and Narcotics LawsRead the Press Release
Christopher Reza Prosecuted Under Federal “Worst of the Worst” Anti-Violence Initiative
ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher O. Reza, 33, of Carlsbad, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Las Cruces federal court to firearms and methamphetamine trafficking offenses under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reza is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Reza was arrested on May 19, 2014, based on a criminal complaint charging him with unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to the criminal complaint, officers seized numerous weapons and ammunition as well as methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana when they executed a search warrant at Reza’s residence in Carlsbad on Jan. 28, 2014. At the time, Reza was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses including shooting at an inhabited dwelling, shooting from a motor vehicle, aggravated battery on a peace officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, breaking and entering, forgery and identity theft.
During today’s proceeding, Reza pled guilty to a three-count felony information charging him with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In his plea agreement, Reza admitted possessing ammunition on Sept. 8, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M., and possessing 24 firearms and ammunition on Jan. 29, 2014, in Eddy County, N.M. He also admitted possessing 5.92 grams of pure methamphetamine on Jan. 29, 2014.
Reza has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Reza will be sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the Carlsbad Police Department, the Artesia Police Department and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould is prosecuting this case.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Panama City, Florida, Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Wire/Mail FraudRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JAMES DEAN KAYVONFAR, age 53, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to five years probation for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud/Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant was indicted in August, 2012 and pled guilty in June 2013.
The Indictment alleged that in or about August 2007 to in or about April 2010, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant, knowingly and wilfully conspired with other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to transmit or caused to be transmitted by means of a wire communication or the United States Mail, communication for the purpose to defraud the United States and Texas Capital Bank, a financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, all in order to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson represented the United States.
Owner of Energy Crop Company Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida - United States District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced William A. Vasden, Jr. (38, Tampa) to 4 years’ imprisonment for wire fraud and making false statements. The Court also ordered restitution for the victims in this case. Vasden pleaded guilty in March 2014.
According to court documents, Vasden was the president of a Tampa-based company known as USCJO, Inc. that claimed to grow fuel and energy producing crops in Florida for a profit. The investigation revealed that from August 2010 through November 2011, Vasden defrauded at least three investors and/or buyers out of more than $3.2 million.
Vasden coordinated multiple seminars and meetings around Florida in which he solicited farmers and investors to contract with his company to plant renewable energy crops that he claimed could be refined into usable biofuel and biomass. During the meetings and seminars, Vasden falsely claimed that he was a farmer whose family owned thousands of acres of land. He also claimed that he was growing and selling the harvested crops to end-user consumers and to the United States military for a substantial profit. He lured investors into paying him to plant the crops based on promises of substantial investment returns. He also fraudulently induced a buyer to enter into purchase order agreements for a substantial amount of money to sell citrus chips. In fact, Vasden never purchased the proper equipment to produce the promised results. He used the money from his victims to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
From October 2010 through April of 2011, Vasden provided false statements in an application for a federal clean energy grant. Those government funds were ultimately withheld when Vasden’s fraudulent activities were discovered.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (Sebring Field Office) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Fort Myers Office), with assistance from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tama Koss Caldarone.
- One Convicted and Another Sentenced in 10-Defendant Marijuana Conspiracy
North East PA Man Indicted on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of North East, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count indictment named Wesley Chase, 30, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, Chase distributed, received and possessed computer images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 50 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, 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 Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Newark Man Admits Five Armed CarjackingsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted committing five armed carjackings between June 6, 2012 and June 22, 2012.
Jahleel McLendon, 21, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with five counts of theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence, and intimidation, and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On June 6, 2012, McLendon approached a man sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked Chrysler 300 and ordered him out of the car at gunpoint. Three days later McLendon and an accomplice carjacked an Acura TL while the victim was loading the trunk of the car. On June 15, 2012, McLendon and an accomplice carjacked a Chevrolet Trailblazer at gunpoint, and approximately 20 minutes later, used that Trailblazer to carjack a BMW 325 at a gas station in Newark. On June 22, 2012, McLendon carjacked a Chevrolet Impala at gunpoint. Less than two hours later, McLendon was arrested by Newark police officers and found to be in possession of a handgun.
The carjacking counts to which McLendon pleaded guilty each carry a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The firearms charge to which McLendon pleaded guilty is punishable by a minimum consecutive term of seven years in prison and a maximum consecutive term of life in prison. Each of these charges also carries a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Eugene Venable and Police Chief Anthony Campos; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford; detectives with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the Direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, and investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Meredith Williams of the Criminal Division in Newark.
14-433Defense counsel: Carol Gillen, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
McLendon, Jahleel Information
New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Defrauding Gulf Coast Claims FacilityRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that TEQUILLA LEWIS, age 37, of New Orleans, was sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to fraudulent applications she made to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) for financial assistance in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sentenced LEWIS to three years probation and ordered restitution in the amount of $188,200.
According to court documents, the GCCF made disaster assistance money available to individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The GCCF required individuals to verify loss of income. Beginning approximately October 2010, LEWIS agreed with other individuals to defraud the GCCF by making and submitting false on-line claims for lost earnings resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Pursuant to their agreement, LEWIS provided the individuals with fraudulent documentation to submit along with their false claims to GCCF. LEWIS required them to share part of any claim proceeds with her as a fee for her assistance with the claims. Accordingly, LEWIS filed numerous claim forms with the GCCF claims facility seeking emergency six-month payments on behalf of others, who posed as claimants. The claim forms falsely stated that they had lost earnings as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To support the false claims, LEWIS created and submitted false documentation in support of these claims.
As a result of these false representations and documentation, the GCCF paid LEWIS and the other individuals approximately $188,200.
This case was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at [email protected] or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Loan AMimi@ Nguyen was in charge of the prosecution.
New Haven Drug Dealer Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHIRROD HENDERSON, also known as “Rizz,” 35, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 64 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from “Operation Bloodline,” a joint law enforcement investigation targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in the Dwight-Kensington and Fair Haven sections of New Haven. Led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments, the year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on numerous telephones, extensive physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, execution of search warrants, and seizures of narcotics and firearms. More than 100 individuals were charged as a result of the investigation.
HENDERSON has been detained since his arrest on July 12, 2012. On September 9, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 28 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).
HENDERSON’s criminal history includes a state conviction for burglary in the second degree, and a prior federal conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services and the Milford, Hartford, New Britain, North Branford and Stratford Police Departments provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Marc Silverman.
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[email protected]Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Federally Commissioned Tribal OfficerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Adrian Lopez, 25, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fruitland, N.M., pled guilty this morning to assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director John Billison of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Lopez was arrested Sept. 12, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault on a federal officer. According to the complaint, Lopez assaulted a tribal officer who was commissioned as a special federal officer by the BIA on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on July 28, 2014, following a high speed vehicle pursuit. Lopez subsequently was indicted and charged with assaulting a federal officer.During today’s hearing, Lopez pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Lopez admitted being in a vehicle that was fleeing from the tribal officers. Lopez admitted that he and another person fled from the vehicle after it crashed, and that they ignored commands from the officers. As officers attempted to arrest the couple, Lopez grabbed an officer’s belt and pulled him to the ground. Lopez then struck the officer in the head several times and pushed his head into the ground with his hands.
Lopez has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Lopez faces a statutory maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Mott is prosecuting this case.
Muskogee Woman Pleads Guilty to Concealing Person from ArrestRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that JACLYN CAMPBELL, age 24, of Muskogee, Oklahoma pled guilty to Concealing Person from Arrest, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1071.
The charge is a result of an investigation by the United States Marshal Service. The defendant was indicted in November, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about October 2, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, JACL YN CAMPBELL, did willfully and knowingly harbor and conceal Joshua Allen Barnett, a person for whose arrest a warrant and process had been issued under the provisions of a law of the United States, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of Joshua Allen Barnett, after notice and knowledge of the fact that a warrant and process had been issued for the apprehension of Joshua Allen Barnett, and which warrant had been issued on a felony charge.
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. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant will remain on bond pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 5 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.
Multi-Agency Investigation into East L.A. Street Gang Results in Federal RICO Indictment That Charges 38 GangstersRead the Press Release
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USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA - 160LOS ANGELES – A task force investigation into the street gang that has terrorized the Ramona Gardens housing complex in Boyle Heights for decades has resulted in a federal racketeering indictment and the arrest this morning of 25 members and associates of the criminal enterprise.
During a law enforcement operation this morning, approximately 800 agents and officers targeted Big Hazard, a multi-generational street gang that has brought murder, extortion, robbery and other crimes to Boyle Heights for the past 70 years.
The federal indictment charges a total of 38 defendants. In addition to the 25 people arrested this morning, seven defendants were already in custody, authorities are searching for five fugitives, and one defendant was killed this past weekend.
(As a result of this investigation, another five people were indicted on narcotics charges, four of whom defendants were arrested this morning, bringing the total number of federal arrests today to 29).
A 110-page indictment unsealed this morning outlines criminal activity going back to 2007, including dozens of drug deals, acts of intimidation and violence against people believed to have cooperated with law enforcement, illegal weapons sales and threats made against African-American residents of Ramona Gardens, which includes tagging with phrases such as “no blacks.”
The Hazard gang takes its name from a park near Ramona Gardens and is currently believed to have approximately 350 members. Much of the conduct is alleged in a racketeering charge that outlines a conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which federal authorities in Los Angeles have successfully used for two decades to battle prison gangs and street gangs.
“All of the gang’s operations were done under the umbrella of intimidation – making threats and then committing acts of violence against rival gangsters, law-abiding members of the community and Hazard gang members who might be cooperating with authorities,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “The intimidation and threats extended to African-American residents of Ramona Gardens. In stark and simple messages delivered in person and through graffiti, the Hazard gang made it clear that black residents were not welcome in the neighborhood that it claimed to control.”
The gang’s main business is drug trafficking, according to the indictment, which details more than three dozen narcotics transactions involving as much as nearly one-half pound of methamphetamine. To conceal this business and expand its territory, Hazard members take steps to prevent law enforcement from infiltrating its activities, steps that include CCTV surveillance at drug houses, making bogus complaints about police officers in an attempt to have them moved to patrol other areas of Los Angeles, and threatening and assaulting local residents who cooperate with law enforcement.
The Hazard gang is closely aligned with the Mexican Mafia, and many members of the prison gang have come from Hazard. The lead defendant in the 45-count indictment is Manuel Larry Jackson, also known as “Cricket,” a Mexican Mafia member who oversees the activities of the Hazard gang. The indictment alleges that under Jackson’s control, the gang commits a wide variety of crimes, most significantly drug trafficking, which generates revenues through the sale of narcotics and the “taxing” of drug dealers who operate in Hazard territory. Some of the revenues generated through “taxes” or “rent” are funneled back to Jackson and other members of the Mexican Mafia.
“Calling yourself a ‘taxing’ authority gets the attention of the Internal Revenue Service,” said IRS Criminal Investigation’s Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez. “The role of IRS Criminal Investigation in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can financially disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. Undermining the financial infrastructure of narcotics trafficking organizations has proven to be one of the most effective means to disrupt the market for illegal drugs.”
The federal indictment that led to this morning’s takedown charges a total of 38 defendants (although one of those defendants was killed this past weekend). Including Jackson, 29 of the defendants are charged in a racketeering conspiracy count that outlines activities of the gang, its allegiance to the Mexican Mafia and the various tactics it employs to impose fear in the community. The indictment also alleges several violent acts in aid of racketeering, about three dozen narcotics offenses and several crimes related to the illegal possession of firearms.
“Because of defendant Jackson’s power as a Mexican Mafia member and his connection to Hazard, Hazard members and associates have unique authority to engage in criminal activities, such as the sales of drugs and firearms outside of Hazard territory without the risk of violent reprisal that Latino gang members ordinarily would suffer for engaging in such criminal activities in territories controlled by other Latino gangs,” according to the indictment, which alleges that the gang “is continually engaged in the distribution of methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine, cocaine base in the form of crack cocaine, heroin, and other controlled substances.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Nearly all of the defendants are charged in the RICO count and/or a drug trafficking conspiracy, each of which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The maximum statutory penalty for those convicted of those counts would be life without parole.
The investigation into the Hazard gang was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and IRS – Criminal Investigation, which worked in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Alhambra Police Department.
Release No. 14-160
More than 50 People Indicted in Joint Federal-State Operation Targeting Heroin in YoungstownRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury indicted 16 people for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that brought heroin to Youngstown, law enforcement officials said.
An additional 37 people were charged in state court for violations related to the drug trafficking
The indictments were announced by Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office, Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Detroit Office, Youngstown Police Chief Robin Lees, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene and Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains.
“This group brought heroin into Youngstown and used firearms to do it,” Dettelbach said. “The FBI and Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force did a tremendous job in disrupting this drug pipeline.”
“Fifty-three individuals were taken off the streets today as a result of an in-depth, almost two-year joint investigation,” Anthony said. “These collaborative efforts demonstrate that drugs and violence will not be tolerated by law enforcement.”
Sheriff Greene and Chief Lees said in a joint statement: “Today's roundup of suspects is a result of a lengthy investigation and is an excellent example of the cooperation and collaboration between local and federal agencies in the effort to stem the tide of the heroin epidemic.”
Named in the 119-count federal indictment are: Jean Carlos Martinez, 31, of Campbell; Alberto Delgado, 28, of Youngstown; Chael Soto, 28, of Youngstown; Steven M. Filimon, 28, of Youngstown; Michael L. Schmidt, 35, of New Castle, Penn.; Osvaldo Rivera, age and hometown unknown; Carlos Cruz, 39, of Youngstown; Alexander Torres, 43, of Youngstown; Florentino Torres, 45, of Youngstown; Edgardo Esteras, 23, of Campbell; Juan F. Ortiz, age unknown, of Bayamon, P.R.; Felix Calderon, 25, of San Juan, P.R.; Rafael J. Medina-Vazquez, 35, of Youngstown; Amanda J. Leskey, 25, of Youngstown; Yolanda R. Rivera, 55, of Youngstown, and Jennifer L. Hake, 28, of Youngstown.
According to the indictment, all 16 people knowingly conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute heroin between January 2012 and November 30, 2014. Martinez supplied heroin to Delgado, Soto, Cruz, Alexander Torres, Florentino Torres, Estaras, Ortiz, and Rivera for distribution in the Youngstown area. Delgado supplied heroin to Schmidt for distribution in the New Castle, Pennsylvania, area and to Filimon and Hake for distribution in the Youngstown area, according to the indictment.
Delgado and Filimon possessed firearms to protect themselves and their drug proceeds. Cellular telephones, code words and phrases were used by the co-conspirators to facilitate their drug trafficking activities, according to the indictment.
In addition, multiple defendants are charged with distributing heroin in the Youngstown, Ohio area and possessing firearms to further their drug trafficking activities.
A related eight-count federal indictment was filed charging Filimon and Randy A. Triplett, 24, of Youngstown, with drug trafficking crimes. Filimon and Triplett conspired and possessed with the intent to distribute and distributed heroin and cocaine from May 2014 through November 30, 2014. Triplett supplied heroin and cocaine to Filimon for distribution in the Youngstown area, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Middlesex County, N.J., Woman Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting A MinorRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for sexually exploiting a minor female by coercing the girl to live stream sexually explicit acts via the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jane Dornick, 53, of South Plainfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty, prior to the selection of a jury, to Count One of an indictment charging her with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The remaining counts will be dismissed at sentencing. Dornick entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On August 16, 2010, Dornick coerced and used “Victim 1,” a minor female, to perform sexually explicit acts and live stream them over the Internet to Michael Grennier, 51, who watched remotely via his computer in his home in South Plainfield.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Dornick to lifetime supervised release.
Grennier pleaded guilty before Judge Wolfson to a separate charge of the sexual exploitation of a minor on Dec. 16, 2013, and was sentenced Nov. 21, 2014, to 20 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s plea. Fishman also thanked the South Plainfield Borough Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police James Parker, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Andrew Carey, for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fabiana Pierre-Louis and Harvey Bartle, Attorney-in-Charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Trenton Office.
14-434
Defense counsel: Bruce Throckmorton Esq., TrentonMexican National Faces 33-Count Indictment After Using U.S. Citizen's Identity for 30 YearsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Mexican national who assumed the identity of a United States citizen more than 30 years ago has been indicted in federal court here for allegedly engaging in fraud to obtain Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security benefits, voting privileges, a driver’s license and even a U.S. passport, U. S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
The man, Ramon Perez-Rivera, 82, was arrested Tuesday by state and federal agents and is to appear before U. S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth G. Gale at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Also charged in the case is Perez-Rivera’s wife, Antonia Vargas-Ortega, also 82, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen. The defendants live in Wichita. One of the couple’s adult children, Antonia Vargas-Perez, 47, also has been charged with immigration-related offenses, Grissom said.
“Two years ago, we decided not to pursue charges in this case due the age and circumstances of the defendants,” Grissom said, “but they allegedly continued to engage in the same conduct that brought them to the attention of law enforcement officers in the first place.” He said the couple left his office “no choice” but to pursue and indictment.
“At some point, people have to take responsibility for their actions, whether they are 18 or 80,” Grissom said. “The scope of the allegations in this case is such that the interests of justice simply required action on our part.”
According to the indictment, Perez-Rivera started using the identity of a Phoenix, Ariz., man as early as 1979, and has continued to do so ever since. He even had the identity theft victim’s name changed to his own true name in California court proceedings, the indictment alleges.
After that, he used his true name – Ramon Perez-Rivera – but continued to claim the victim’s date of birth, place of birth, birth parents, and Social Security number as his own, using the information to obtain a U. S. passport, driver’s licenses, Medicaid benefits, food stamp benefits, and even registered to vote and voted, all the while claiming to be a U. S. citizen, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges 32 crimes against the defendant, as well as six counts against his wife, Ortega-Vargas. The indictment says the couple was married in their hometown of Romita, Buanajuato, Mexico, in 1961, 53 years ago. The indictment alleges that Ortega-Vargas jointly filed for federal food stamp benefits with Perez-Rivera knowing the application for benefits contained false information, including that Perez-Rivera was a United States citizen born in California. Food stamp benefits generally are not available to persons unlawfully present in the United States. The indictment alleges that Perez-Rivera has been fraudulently receiving Medicaid and food stamp benefits since 1999.
The indictment also charges Ortega-Vargas with aiding and abetting identity theft, making false statements to the Social Security Administration, and harboring defendant Perez-Rivera at their Wichita residence. She faces up to five years in prison on the false statement charges and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison on two aggravated identity theft counts.
Perez-Rivera faces similar penalties, although he faces maximum sentences of 10 years on the passport fraud and document fraud counts. He also faces the two-year mandatory sentences on five aggravated identity theft counts.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Kansas Department of Revenue, the Kansas Department of Children and Families, and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson.In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Meadville Woman Charged in Social Security Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Meadville, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of theft of government property and social security fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Jennifer Renee Dzera, 35, of Meadville, Pennsylvania as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, from August 2011 to July 2014, Dzera, after applying to receive Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) Benefits on her son’s behalf, knowingly and willfully converted those benefits to her own use. By doing so, Dzera received payments, valuing approximately $22,250, to which she knew she was not entitled.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, 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 Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General 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.
Massage Parlor Owner Indicted for Structuring and Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin R. Feldis announced today that Yin Mei Tran Lau was indicted for structuring financial transactions in violation of federal law. In addition, Yin Mei Tran Lau has been charged by the State of Alaska with Sex Trafficking in the Third Degree for her role in managing an alleged prostitution enterprise. Yin Mei Tran Lau owns and operates Yin’s Massage Therapy located in Anchorage. As alleged in court documents, beginning as early as 2009, Yin Mei Tran Lau operated Yin’s Massage Therapy as a front for prostitution.
The federal indictment charges that in January 2009, over the course of approximately one week, Yin Mei Tran Lau attempted to structure bank transactions. Structuring occurs when an individual knowingly layers cash deposits or withdrawals under the $10,000 reporting threshold so as to evade reporting requirements mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. Yin Mei Tran Lau allegedly used some of this illegally structured money to purchase real property in Anchorage.
The State of Alaska alleges that from 2011 to 2014, Yin Mei Tran Lau operated Yin’s Massage Therapy as a front for prostitution. An unsealed affidavit by detectives investigating the case indicates that the clientele was almost entirely men, that the only women besides Yin Mei Tran Lau in the business appear to actually reside at the business, and that the women working at Yin’s Massage Therapy would offer to perform sexual acts for a fee. Moreover, Yin Mei Tran Lau allegedly transported multiple women in and out of Alaska for purposes of prostitution.
The case was jointly prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Bradley of the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska and Adam Alexander of the State of Alaska Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions. The case was investigated by the Innocence Lost Task Force, consisting of participation from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Anchorage Police Department.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of structuring, Yin Mei Tran Lau faces five years imprisonment as well as fines. If convicted of sex trafficking in the third degree as charged by the State of Alaska, Yin Mei Tran Lau faces up to five years of imprisonment. Yin Mei Tran Lau is scheduled for arraignment on her State Court charges on December 16, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.Manchester Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Three Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LEROY McCOY, 49, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 54 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for committing violent bank robberies in Southbury, Cromwell and Wallingford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, McCOY, Michael Morris and Keith Sutherland conspired to commit the armed robberies of the Naugatuck Savings Bank in Southbury on April 20, 2011, the Webster Bank in Cromwell on October 7, 2011, and the Connex Credit Union in Wallingford on April 19, 2012.
Prior to each robbery, Sutherland, with the knowledge of McCOY and Morris, stole a minivan in the New Haven area. Upon arriving at each victim bank, McCOY, Morris and two other individuals, wearing masks and armed with handguns, burst into the bank and ordered employees and customers to the ground. They then forced a bank employee to open the vault, stuffed money taken from the vault and teller drawers into duffle bags, exited the bank fled in the stolen vehicle.
A total of approximately $230,000 was taken during the three robberies.
McCOY has been detained since his arrest on October 4, 2013. On September 11, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery.
McCOY’s criminal history includes nine convictions for felony offenses, including robbery.
Morris and Sutherland have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, and the Cromwell, Wallingford, Fairfield and Orange Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
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[email protected]Man Sentenced to Prison for Robbery of a Jewelry CourierRead the Press Release
An Atlanta man was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for his role in the robbery of a jewelry courier, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia.
Jose Vicente Ramirez-Rodriguez, 40, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty on Dec. 10, 2014, to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and interstate transportation of stolen property. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia ordered Ramirez-Rodriguez to pay $122,398 in restitution.
According to admissions in his plea agreement, Ramirez-Rodriguez followed the jewelry courier to a QuikTrip gas station on Jan. 31, 2013. As he was following the courier, Ramirez-Rodriguez contacted a co-defendant to help him with the robbery. That co-defendant, in turn, contacted the other three defendants, all of whom came to the gas station together. When the courier was putting gas in his car, two of the defendants approached him, one restrained him with a knife, while the other smashed the car’s window and took a briefcase containing over $125,000 in assorted jewelry.
Honorio Sanchez-Valenica, John Rodriguez, Ali Alejandro Godoy-Maximo, and Michael Alejandro Tovar-Vargas, were sentenced to serve 137 months in prison, 63 months in prison, 68 months in prison and 87 months in prison respectively on Oct. 27, 2014, for their involvement in the robbery.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Gwinnett County Police Department, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Laura Gwinn of the Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Dammers of the Northern District of Georgia.
Malvern Company Sentenced for Defrauding the City of Philadelphia and Debarred from City BusinessRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Airmatic, Inc., a company located at 284 Three Tun Road, Malvern, PA, was sentenced today to three years of probation and a $350,000 fine for a mail fraud scheme involving a city contract. In addition, U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond ordered the company to pay $556,633.03 in restitution to the City of Philadelphia. As part of its plea agreement, Airmatic agreed to a debarment by the City of Philadelphia for three years, and all of its contracts with the City were cancelled effective October 31, 2014.
The company pleaded guilty on July 22, 2014 to one count of mail fraud. Between January 2007 and August 2012, Airmatic supplied unapproved, off-contract products to various City departments in violation of its agreements with the City. The company submitted false and fraudulent invoices to the City’s accounts payable department in order to conceal that it was providing off-contract products. Instead of reflecting the unapproved, off-contract products that were actually being provided, the invoices billed for items that were approved pursuant to the City’s agreements with defendant Airmatic. Airmatic inflated the cost of the unapproved, off-contract items and products it provided to the City by an average of approximately 87% and profited from this scheme in the amount of approximately $556,633.03. For example, in one instance Airmatic falsely invoiced the City for a bearing assembly (an expensive industrial product and approved contract item), when, in fact, Airmatic delivered 12 asphalt rakes, items for which the defendant had no contract. To disguise the transaction, Airmatic manipulated the invoice and billed the City for the price of the bearing assembly, which the City never received, resulting in an extravagant profit margin on the sale of the rakes. Hundreds of similar transactions took place.
The case was investigated by the City of Philadelphia Office of Inspector General and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chun Barry.
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PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Local Labor Official Sentenced on Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – ANTHONY DAVIS, president of Mail Handlers Local 314, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution on charges involving his embezzlement of approximately $42,166 of union funds by using fake invoices submitted for payment.
Davis, O’Fallon, IL, was convicted in September of one count of embezzlement of Labor Union funds. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards. Assistant United States Attorneys Dianna Collins and John Ware handled the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Lawrence Man Sentenced for Filing A False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. A Lawrence man has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Bradley Stoneking, 31, Lawrence, Kan., pleaded guilty to making false statements in his income tax return for 2010. He falsely claimed federal tax withholdings on gambling winnings in the amount of approximately $330,000. In fact, the federal tax withholding on his gambling winnings was $300.
Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask for their work on the case.
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