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Wednesday 29 October 2014
Lumberton Karate Instructor Sentenced for Child Pornography ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas - A 60-year-old Lumberton, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Ronald Seabridge, Sr., owner of Brass Dragon Karate, was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 27, 2014, of receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison on Oct. 28, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.
According to information presented in court, in 2009, federal agents executed a search warrant at Seabridge’s residence/karate studio in Lumberton as the result of an undercover operation which determined Seabridge was using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to receive and distribute child pornography. Seabridge’s computer and hard drives were seized and a forensic examination revealed over 300 images of child pornography. Seabridge was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 23, 2013.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lumberton Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randall L. Fluke and Christopher T. Tortorice.Logan County Assessor Charged with Federal Banking Law ViolationRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin filed an information in federal court in Charleston today against Russell R. Grimmett, also known as Rick Grimmett, for violating federal banking laws. Banks are required by federal law to report all cash transactions in excess of $10,000. Grimmett and an associate withdrew cash from the Logan Bank and Trust in Man, West Virginia in amounts less than $10,000 to prevent triggering the reporting requirement. This practice, known as “structuring,” is a federal crime. Grimmett, the Logan County Assessor, faces up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
Today’s charge stems from an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is handling the prosecution.
NOTE: An information is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless convicted.
Lengthy Prison Terms Imposed in International Child Exploitation CaseRead the Press Release
MISSOULA - In what Montana's United States Attorney has described as a "major victory in the fight against child exploitation", the United States Attorney's Office announced that eleven men have been sentenced for their role in an international child pornography network which was targeted by investigators and prosecutors participating in Operation Kingdom Conqueror. The multi-agency, multi-national effort targeted an online bulletin board advertising and exchanging images of child pornography.
TONY BRONSON, a 53-year-old resident of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Bronson was sentenced to 224 months in prison, 10 years supervised release and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Bronson must forfeit his computers and storage devices.
CHARLES CROSBY, a 43-year-old resident of Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Crosby was sentenced to 210 months in prison, lifetime supervised release and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Crosby must forfeit his computers and storage devices.
STEVE HUMISTON, a 57-year-old resident of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Humiston received 210 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, $29,859 restitution and a $5,000 fine. In addition, Humiston must forfeit his computers and storage devices.
JOHN JOHNSON, a 58-year-old resident of Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Johnson received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Johnson must forfeit his computer and storage device.
ROBERT KRISE, a 66-year-old resident of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Krise received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Krise must forfeit his computers and hard drives.
SCOTT LONG, a 53-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced on October 21, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Long received 200 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Long must forfeit his computer and storage device.
IAN NOSEK, a 42-year-old resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Nosek received 216 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Nosek must forfeit his camera and storage devices.
PHILLIP MORRIS, 42-year-old resident of Jeffersonville, Indiana was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Morris received 216 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Morris must forfeit his storage devices and cell phone.
JOSEPH PURIFICATO, a 23-year-old resident of Mount Vernon, Missouri was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Purificato received 180 months in prison, 10 years supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Purificato must forfeit his computers and thumb drive.
PAUL WENCEWICZ, a 48-year-old resident of Polson, Montana, was sentenced on October 21, 2014 in connection with his March 2014 plea to guilty. Wencewicz received 220 months in prison, lifetime supervise release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Wencewicz must forfeit his computer and storage devices.
JEFFREY WOOLLEY, a 53-year-old resident of Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Woolley received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Woolley must forfeit his computer and storage devices.
All defendants appeared before and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of Missoula.
Two additional defendants, Joshua Peterson, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, and Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirley, Massachusetts, were found guilty of participating in a child exploitation enterprise and a conspiracy to advertise child pornography on October 9, 2014 after a trial. Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on January 22, 2015 in Missoula.
In November 2009, an early participant in the conspiracy designed and created a web-based bulletin board which allowed the board members to share in their common interest in exchanging files online which contained child pornography and non-child pornography images depicting young girls. As the conspiracy progressed, additional members contributed to the design and operations of the board. Between November 6, 2009, through March 19, 2012, members of the conspiracy used the online bulletin board to share pictures and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During that same time the participants agreed to use the online bulletin board to publish or print notices or advertisements soliciting additional images of child pornography which they would then share and broadcast on the internet.
The lengthy and wide ranging investigation, referred to as Operation Kingdom Conqueror, is an ongoing cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, the Helena and Polson Police Departments, the United States Department of Justice - Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Homeland Security Investigations, the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the States of Jersey Police Department, Isle of Jersey, near the United Kingdom.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mary Rook stated, "I commend the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana, U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation & Obscenity Section and each of the law enforcement agencies who worked on this case for their efforts in bringing justice to the victims. These successes are only possible through the commitment of our law enforcement community to working together to protect the most vulnerable, and prosecute to the full extent those who prey upon our children."
U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter called the sentences "a major victory in the fight against child exploitation. Pedophiles who savage our children through pornography, coercion and exploitation are on notice that when they are caught-and they will be caught-the consequences are dire and law enforcement's tolerance for these crimes non-existent".
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson and Maureen C. Cain with the U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation & Obscenity Section, prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was initiated under the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task (or the MT ICAC). The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.
Last of 28 "United Blood Nation" Gang Members Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison on Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Eric Eugene Brice, a/k/a “Bug,” 42, was sentenced today to 77 months in prison and to three years of supervised release for possession of an illegal firearm, a Maverick 99 pistol-grip shotgun, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Brice pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2014.
Brice is also the final defendant to be sentenced in connection with the 28 “United Blood Nation” (UBN) gang members indicted in 2012 on racketeering and related charges.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
According to filed documents and statements made in court, the defendants conspired to participate in a racketeering enterprise, that is, the United Blood Nation (“UBN” or “Bloods”) and several factions of the UBN. Court records indicate that from 2007 to May 2012, in the Western District of North Carolina and elsewhere, the defendants conspired to operate as a gang, a criminal enterprise, and in doing so, they engaged in criminal activities, including racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, armed robbery and firearms related crimes.
The remaining defendants have been sentenced as follows:
• James Anderson, a/k/a “Stank, 31, was sentenced to 84 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. • Alan Boyd Donta Barnett, a/k/a “Big Al”, 39, was sentenced to 360 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. • Travis Lamar Brice, a/k/a “Trap”, 30, was sentenced to 63 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Quinton Lavar Brown, a/k/a “QP” or “QB”, 22, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Rafas Gene Camp, a/k/a “Tick”, 35, was sentenced to 130 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Joston Jamal Clemmer, a/k/a “Ace”, 23, was sentenced to 97 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Kemmey Nicole Cooke, a/k/a “ Gangsta Wu”, 32, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Jaimel Kenzie Davison, a/k/a “I-Shine”, 31, was sentenced to 150 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Wesley Tyler Floyd, a/k/a “West Coast”, 28, was sentenced to 110 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Davon Yakeen Futrell, a/k/a “Smooth”, 26, was sentenced to 63 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Tristan Daquane Goode, a/k/a “Buck”, 22, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Nathaniel Graham, a/k/a “Nasty”, 25, was sentenced to 240 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • Joseph Dranell Gray, a/k/a “Killa”, 40, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Dominque O’Neill Jackson, a/k/a “DJ”, 26, was sentenced to 84 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Jimmy Lionell, Jones, a/k/a “Buddhist” or “Buddha”, 39, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • William Amir Knox, a/k/a “Poo Nuk”, 30, was sentenced to 108 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. • Kentrell Tyrone McIntyre, a/k/a “Mustafa”, 35, was sentenced to 192 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • William Lewis Dontars Meeks, a/k/a “Willie” or “Rock”, 36, was sentenced to 130 months in prison and 8 years of supervised release. • Kevin Jerome Morris, a/k/a “Kato”, 37, was sentenced to 84 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • Franklin Robbs, a/k/a “Frankie Boo”, 43, was sentenced to 132 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • Maurice Terrell Robinson, a/k/a “Hell Rell”, 25, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Andrew Eugene Stowe, a/k/a “Coco”, 38, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Marquise Deshawn Watson, a/k/a “ Rambo”, 22, was sentenced to 97 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Melinda Charmane Watson, 38, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release. • Daryl Wilkinson, a/k/a “OG Powerful”, 50, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. • Samatha Williams, a/k/a “Samantha Wilkinson” or “Lady Sam”, 45, was sentenced to 72 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. • Perry Gorontent Williams, a/k/a “P-Flame” or “Flame”, 29, was sentenced to 360 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.
Court documents indicate that, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants engaged in drug trafficking, and used the proceeds of their drug crimes to help finance the gang’s criminal activities. According to court records, the defendants also committed armed robberies and armed home invasions in order to generate proceeds to support the enterprise. Court document show that, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants committed acts of violence against rival gang members. According to court records, the defendants concealed their criminal activities and obstructed justice, including threatening potential witnesses. The defendants also maintained and circulated a collection of firearms for the use in criminal activity by UBN members, court records show.
According to court records, the defendants and other UBN gang members in North Carolina and elsewhere identified gang members belonging to other UBN or Bloods factions by their gang names and phone numbers, including telephone area codes. For example, according to court records, area code “704” represented gang factions within Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties. Court records indicate that gang members identified other gang members who were incarcerated by their street gang names and by their inmate identification numbers, in lieu of their telephone numbers, while incarcerated gang members were referred to as “behind the G wall.”
According to court documents and court proceedings, as gang members of the UBN enterprise, the defendants met regularly with other UBN members. During those meetings, gang members talked about past acts of violence and other crimes against rival gang members, about UBN gang members who had been arrested or incarcerated, about police interactions with gang members and discussed internal disciplinary action of other UBN members, court records show. According to court records, also during these meetings, gang members shared identities of individuals whom they suspected to be cooperating with law enforcement and discussed the types of action that ought to be taken against those individuals. Court documents indicate that during these meetings, UBN members also planned and agreed on carry out future crimes, including murder, robbery, and drug trafficking.
The case was investigated by the FBI in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Gastonia Police Department, the Gaston County Police Department, the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office, the Shelby Police Department, and North Carolina Department of Probation and Parole. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The prosecution is handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose, Daniel Ryan, and Kevin Zolot of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
KC Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Shalamar J. Wade, 34, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Wade was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On April 10, 2014, Wade pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was arrested by Independence, Mo., police officers on July 9, 2013, at a Quick Trip convenience store on US 24 Highway in Independence. When police officers confronted Wade inside the store, he resisted as they tried to take him into custody. During the altercation, Wade was forced to the floor and a loaded Taurus .38-caliber revolver fell from his belt.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Wade has four prior felony convictions for distributing a controlled substance and two prior felony convictions for possessing a controlled substance.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Jeremy Smith Imprisoned for Failing to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Jeremy Smith, 37, of Petersburg, New York, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 12 months plus one day of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that travelled in interstate commerce without updating his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss also ordered that Smith serve five years of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence.
On February 12, 2014, a federal grand jury in Rutland returned an indictment charging Smith with violating the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Smith was arrested by U.S. Marshals in South Carolina on February 21 and has been in custody since then. According to the indictment and court records, Smith was convicted in Bennington, Vermont in 1999 of sexual assault on a minor. That conviction requires him to register as a sex offender with officials of any state where he resides or to which he moves. In early 2011, after being released from prison in Vermont, Smith moved to New York. However, he did not register as a sex offender with New York officials. Under federal law, when a sex offender moves from one state to another, he has three days to update his registration.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
Smith is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced that Shaun Andrew Copenhaver (29, Jacksonville) yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. Copenhaver has been in custody since his arrest on February 6, 2014. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.
According to court documents, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Jacksonville began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in the area that had access to and/or were trading images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. The agent determined that a local computer was hosting images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, and was able to download several pornographic videos from this computer. Further investigation traced the Internet subscriber information to Copenhaver’s Jacksonville residence.
On February 6, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Copenhaver=s residence and seized a computer and an external hard disk drive. Copenhaver was at the residence. During an interview with agents, he admitted that he had been involved in downloading child pornography from the Internet for about five years. Subsequent analysis of Copenhaver’s external hard drive revealed that it contained videos depicting the sexual abuse of minor children.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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.
Inmate Pleads Guilty to Filing False Income Tax Returns for Fellow PrisonersRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI, OHIO -- James Jeremy Savage, 41, originally from Springfield, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of filing false claims for income tax refunds with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Savage was incarcerated in Ohio state correctional facilities in Warren and Madison counties when he committed this crime. Savage faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office announced the guilty plea entered before Chief U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott
According to court documents, during the 2007 through 2011 income tax years Savage participated in a scheme to defraud the IRS relative to filing false claims for income tax refunds.
From approximately October 22, 2008 to August 24, 2011 while incarcerated, Savage prepared fictitious income tax returns for fellow inmates. The income tax returns prepared by Savage reported false wages not supported by Forms W-2 or other supporting income documentation and the income tax refunds were calculated based on false federal income tax withholdings as well as various tax credits.
Savage knew the inmates, for which he prepared income tax returns for, had not worked and in some cases had been incarcerated for multiple years. In many instances, Savage prepared multiple income tax returns for the inmates, including income tax returns for the prior income tax years that had not been filed. In an effort to convince the inmates that they were entitled to an income tax refund, Savage said the money was "free money," a result of "stimulus money" provided by the President, as well as money from back taxes.
Savage caused at least 99 false claims for income tax refunds to be filed with the IRS totaling at least $148,307.04.
“The object of this refund fraud scheme was to swindle the government and the taxpaying public,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charges, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
Savage is currently in custody in Chillicothe Correctional Institution on unrelated state charges and will remain in custody pending sentencing in this case, for which a date has not been set.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne L. Porter and investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation.Huntington Beach Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Nationwide Foreclosure Rescue ScamRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeremy Michael “Mike” Head, 34, of Huntington Beach, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for a nationwide foreclosure rescue scam, United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced.
A federal jury found him guilty in May 2013, after a nearly four-week trial before United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. Mike Head’s brother and co-defendant Charles Head, 40, was sentenced in September 2014 by Judge Mueller to 35 years in prison.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mike Head played an important leadership role in a fraud scheme that promised to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and repair their credit. He recruited and managed other members of the scheme. Through misrepresentations, fraud and forgery, the Head brothers and their associates substituted straw buyers for the victim homeowners on the titles of properties without the homeowners’ knowledge. These straw buyers were often friends and family members of the defendants. Once the straw buyers were on title to the homes, the defendants applied for mortgages to extract the maximum available equity from the homes. The defendants then shared the proceeds of the ill-gotten equity and the “rent” that the victim homeowners paid them. Ultimately, the victim homeowners were left with no home, no equity, and with damaged credit ratings. Between January 2004 and March 2006, the scam netted more than $15 million in fraudulently obtained funds from scores of homeowners, many of whom were in California.
U.S. Attorney Wagner said: “Mike Head made a small fortune taking advantage of victims who looked to him for help. Instead of helping, he stole the last remaining equity in their homes, and many victims were evicted and left destitute. He will now go to prison and pay for his crimes. This office continues to vigorously prosecute multiple variations of mortgage fraud throughout our district.”
“The scheme Head and his co-conspirators devised preyed upon individuals when they were most vulnerable and lived in fear of imminent foreclosure. Despite promises to help their victims avoid foreclosure, many were financially devastated by the scheme,” said Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the Sacramento FBI. “The FBI is committed to thoroughly investigating complex mortgage fraud schemes, identifying all participants, and ensuring that those who have violated the trust of the American public face justice in federal court.”
"Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to those who commit mortgage fraud, the consequences can be severe,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “The defendants in this case have hurt so many people and so many of our communities. This sentencing highlights IRS-CI's commitment to hold accountable those involved in these types of crimes."
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Matthew Morris are prosecuting the case.
This case began on February 28, 2008, when a federal grand jury indicted Mike Head, his brother Charles Head, and 14 other defendants with violations of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and other charges. Eleven of Heads co-defendants have entered guilty pleas, and charges were dismissed against one.
Charges against the two remaining defendants, Domonic McCarns, 37, of Brea, and Anh Nguyen, 40, of Los Angeles are pending. The charges are allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was part of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established to wage an aggressive, coordinated effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
- Houston Woman Ordered to Prison for Alien Smuggling That Resulted in Death
Houston Man, Jesse R. Gonzales, Pleads Guilty to Transporting Methamphetamine and Heroin to New Orleans by "mega Bus"Read the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JESSE R. GONZALES, age 24, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty today to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.
According to court documents, Louisiana State Police troopers arrested GONZALES on November 15, 2013, while performing a narcotics interdiction detail of a “Mega Bus” travelling from Houston to New Orleans. Troopers approached GONZALES after he exited the Mega Bus at the stop near Bienville and N. Peters Streets in New Orleans. After GONZALES appeared evasive and nervous, the troopers asked for his consent to search his only bag, a red backpack. A Louisiana State Police K-9 sniffed the outside of the backpack and alerted to the presence of narcotics. Troopers subsequently searched the backpack and found approximately 417 grams of methamphetamine and approximately 25 grams of heroin.
GONZALES faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, a $1,000,000.00 fine, and at least three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for January 29, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Louisiana State Police in investigating this matter and thanked the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 90 Months for Possessing Drugs, Drug Packaging Materials and Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KARL ROYE, also known as “Eagle,” 23, of Hartford, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 90 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the Hartford Police Department received information that ROYE was selling crack cocaine out of his Holcomb Street residence in Hartford and that he possessed handguns that he used to protect his drug operation. Investigators then made a controlled purchase of crack at ROYE’s residence.
On September 5, 2013, the Hartford Police Department’s Shooting Task Force and the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force executed a state search warrant at ROYE’s residence. As the search team approached the residence, ROYE drove from his house at a high rate of speed. Officers stopped ROYE at the end of the street and seized from him two cell phones and $640 in cash. A search of ROYE’s residence yielded approximately $2,000 in cash and a money counting machine, which were found in ROYE’s bedroom. Searchers also found two backpacks that were hidden above a tiled ceiling in the basement. The backpacks revealed quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana packaged for distribution, two digital scales, drug packaging materials, and a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson, Model 60, revolver.
A firearms trace on the weapon established that it had been reported to the Hartford Police Department in November 2012 as having been stolen from the residence of its owner.
ROYE has been detained since his arrest on September 5, 2013. On June 11, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
ROYE’s criminal history includes an arrest by Hartford Police on October 8, 2009, after he was found in possession of four loaded handguns, a silencer and quantities of crack and marijuana.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department. The FBI task force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Hartford Crack Dealer Sentenced to Four Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYRONE CRUMP, also known as “KT,” 29, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
This matter stems from “Operation Vinefield,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in Hartford’s North End. As a result of the nine-month investigation, 38 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine and the unlawful possession and dealing of firearms in and around Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, one of the main targets of the investigation was Dementrius Nave, a member of the AVE street gang with a lengthy criminal history. Court-authorized wiretaps of Nave’s phones, coordinated motor vehicle stops and seizures, and physical surveillance, confirmed that Nave and his associates, including CRUMP, conspired to distribute crack cocaine and other narcotics in Hartford’s Northeast neighborhood. CRUMP is a member of the AVE.
CRUMP’s criminal history includes convictions for multiple firearm offenses, theft of motor vehicles, fleeing police, possessing narcotics and smuggling contraband into a correctional facility.
CRUMP has been detained since his arrest on May 8, 2012. On November 12, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of using a telephone to facilitate the distribution of crack cocaine.
Nave also pleaded guilty and, on August 21, 2014, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.
This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Haitian Man Charged in $200,000 “Email Takeover” Scam Against Victim in Saratoga, Calif.Read the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Maxito Pean was indicted by a federal grand jury today for stealing money through an email takeover scam and laundering those funds by “layering” them through multiple accounts, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon, and Santa Clara County Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team Task Force (REACT) Project Director Michael Sterner.
Pean, 51, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four substantive counts of wire fraud. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, four substantive counts of laundering funds to conceal their source, and six counts of engaging in financial transactions using criminal proceeds.
According to the indictment, Pean received funds as a result of an email takeover scam, in which a victim was sent a “phishing” email to capture his username and account password. The phishing email was designed to trick the victim into clicking on a link that delivered him to a fraudulent website created to look like its legitimate counterpart. When the victim logged into the fraudulent website, his username and password for that account were captured, allowing an imposter to access the victim’s account, review its contents, and send and receive e-mails posing as the victim.
The indictment further alleges the fraud began when an imposter, who had gained access to the email account of a victim living in Saratoga, Calif., posed as the victim to send an email directing a representative at Deutsche Bank in San Francisco to transfer funds from the victim’s account. Believing the instructions had come from her client, the representative wired $233,200 from the victim’s account to an account held in the name of “Southeastern Capital Group Inc.” in Lauderhill, Fla. That account was opened only a month before the transfer, by a homeless man in Florida whom the indictment alleges was acting as a “money mule” in return for a small cash payment. From there, the funds went to another account, opened by a different “money mule,” held in the name of “Meade Financial Services.” Only after passing through those two accounts did the funds make their way to the defendant.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1343, respectively, is 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the transaction, whichever is higher. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(h) and 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), is 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is higher. The maximum penalty for engaging in monetary transactions using property derived from specified unlawful activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, is ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the value of the property involved, whichever is higher.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation initiated by the REACT in San Jose. REACT partnered with IRS Criminal Investigation – Oakland Field Office to expand the scope of the investigation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations – West Palm Beach, and IRS Criminal Investigation – Jacksonville, Fla., also provided valuable support. Assistant United States Attorney David R. Callaway is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elise Etter.
Please note that an indictment contains only allegations. As with all defendants, Maxito Pean must be presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
(Pean indictment )
Government Contractor, Its Owner, and Two Employees Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Devos Ltd., doing business as Guaranteed Returns (“Guaranteed Returns”), in Holbrook, NY, its Chief Executive Officer, Dean Volkes, and two others were charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud customers, including the government. Volkes, 51, of Port Jefferson, NY, Donna Fallon, 50, of Miller Place, NY, and Ronald Carlino, 66, of Deer Park, NY, are all charged in a conspiracy to obstruct justice and were arrested this morning, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
The indictment alleges that more than $116 million worth of drug products had been returned for refund and more than $14 million of those drugs belonged to federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. Other victims include numerous hospitals, pharmacies, and long-term care facilities.
Fallon serves as Chief Financial Officer for Guaranteed Returns and Carlino is an Information Technology employee. All four defendants are charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by concealing and destroying records involved in a Defense Department investigation, six counts of obstruction of justice, and three counts of lying to federal agents about those records. Volkes, Guaranteed Returns, and Fallon are also charged with money laundering conspiracy. Volkes and Guaranteed Returns are charged in 18 counts of wire fraud, 14 counts of mail fraud and one count of conversion of government property.
According to the indictment, Guaranteed Returns was in the business of managing the returns of pharmaceutical products for healthcare providers, including the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration. Manufacturers of pharmaceutical products frequently allow expired drugs to be returned for a refund. Guaranteed Returns handled this process for healthcare provider clients in exchange for a fee based on a percentage of the return value.
The indictment charges that Guaranteed Returns promised its clients that it would hold the clients’ “indate” (not yet expired) drug products until they expired, and then return them on the clients’ behalf, in exchange for a fee. Instead, according to the indictment, Guaranteed Returns, at the direction of CEO Dean Volkes, stole a significant portion of the “indate” drug products that it received from its clients; returned the drugs to the manufacturers; and kept the resulting refund money for itself and Dean Volkes.
The indictment further alleges that during the course of the scheme, a federal grand jury sitting in this district began investigating the diversion of funds under a contract with the DoD. During that investigation, an agent from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service met with Dean Volkes and served him with a grand jury subpoena requiring Guaranteed Returns to turn over records related to the DoD contract. Volkes and other Guaranteed Returns employees stated that they would comply with the subpoena. Instead, it is charged that with the help of Donna Fallon and Ronald Carlino, they destroyed some records and concealed others, and then lied to the investigating agents about why the records were not produced.
“The defendants in this case found a way to defraud the government, hospitals, pharmacies, and long-term care facilities by exploiting the system for returning expired drugs to pharmaceutical companies,” said Memeger. “My office will continue to aggressively prosecute and seek to recover illegal proceeds from those who use our precious health care dollars to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.”
“Fraud against the government amounts to stealing from American taxpayers, in service of pure greed,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Hanko said. “The FBI takes that very seriously, and we’re committed to tracking and shutting down financial fraud schemes.”
If convicted of all charges, defendant Guaranteed Returns faces a possible fine of over $200 million along with a $4,400 special assessment; Volkes faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 810 years in prison, a fine of over $200 million, three years of supervised release, and a $4,400 special assessment; Fallon faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 160 years in prison, a fine of over $200 million, three years of supervised release, and a $1,100 special assessment; and Carlino faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 140 years in prison, a $2.5 million fine, three years of supervised release, and a $1,000 special assessment.This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Rue and Paul Shapiro.
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
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PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Four Members of an Organization That Committed Fourteen Armed Robberies in Puerto Rico Indicted Under the Rico ActRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On October 29, 2014, an indictment issued by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico was unsealed, charging four defendants with racketeering, interference with commerce by robbery, and related firearm offenses, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The FBI is in charge of the investigation.
The Indictment charges Luis Ruiz-Santiago, a/k/a “Turbo/Wicho;” Roberto García-Santiago, a/k/a “Piri;” Jesús Ramírez-Cotto, “Coco/Conteo;” and Carlos López-Soto, a/k/a “Chemito” with violating the RICO Act, Hobbs Act, and using firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence. These four defendants were part of a criminal organization that engaged in robbery and acts of violence.
The purpose of the criminal enterprise was to enrich its members and associates. To accomplish this, defendants would: (1) commit armed robberies during which, through the use of force, violence, and intimidation, they would take money, electronics, and other property from persons and businesses, (2) pool resources in order to accomplish the robberies, (3) use guns to commit the robberies, (4) have a getaway driver for the robberies, (5) sell the items that were obtained from the robberies, and (6) share the proceeds of the robberies. The indictment alleges that the defendants are responsible for fourteen (14) armed robberies to persons, businesses, and street vendors. Through these robberies, defendants were able to obtain at least eighty-thousand dollars ($80,000.00) in profits.
“This RICO prosecution shows the continued commitment of federal and state authorities to disrupt and dismantle violent organizations whose members affect the daily lives of the people residing in Puerto Rico,” said US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico is determined to eliminate criminal organizations which engage in violent offenses for profit, at the expense of the safety and well-being of our citizens.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Victor O. Acevedo-Hernàndez from the RICO Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and Special Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Zenón-Matos.If convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Former Union Officer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $12,000Read the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former secretary–treasurer of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Lodge 800 pleaded guilty in federal court today to embezzling more than $12,000, which nearly depleted the lodge’s bank account.
Jeremy Bolte, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 counts of embezzlement by a union officer.
Members of Lodge 800 are employees of BNSF Railway in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Bolte was appointed as secretary-treasurer of Lodge 800 on March 15, 2011, and remained in the post until he was removed from office on April 18, 2013. During the time he was a union officer, Bolte was the only person with a checkbook for Lodge 800’s checking account and only his signature was required on checks. Bolte also had a credit card for Lodge 800’s credit card account.
Between Jan. 19 and Sept. 7, 2012, Bolte wrote 18 unauthorized checks from Lodge 800’s bank account. Bolte admitted that he wrote 16 of those unauthorized checks to himself, which he endorsed and cashed to pay his personal bills. Bolte spent this money on personal lawyers’ fees related to a DUI arrest and a child support action by his ex-wife, car payments, rent payments and other personal expenses.
Between Dec. 27, 2011, and May 17, 2012, Bolte made seven unauthorized charges on Lodge 800’s credit card for personal expenses at Walmart, QuikTrip and Gas Depot. Bolte used the credit card at locations near his residence in Clay County, Mo., or where his children resided with his ex-wife near Topeka, Kan. In total, Bolte charged $491 in unauthorized expenses to Lodge 800’s credit card.
As a result of Bolte’s actions, Lodge 800 lost $12,009 and was left with only $33 in its checking account. Lodge 800 was also left with an unpaid credit card balance of $401.
Under federal statutes, Bolte is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts, plus a fine up to $10,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the Office of Labor-Management Standards.Former Ohio State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Violating Civil Rights of Several Female Motorists Through Sexual Activity and Cyber StalkingRead the Press Release
A former Trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol pleaded guilty today in Columbus, Ohio, to four counts of violating the civil rights of female motorists and one count of engaging in cyber stalking.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Kevin R. Cornelius of the FBI, Cincinnati Division, Superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSP) Colonel Paul A. Pride and Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth W. Oswalt made the announcement.
"There can be no greater breach of trust or abuse of authority than a police officer exploiting the power of his badge to sexually abuse the very citizens he has sworn to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder that nobody is above the law, especially those who have taken an oath to uphold it.”
“I thank the State Patrol for bringing this matter to our attention and the State Patrol and FBI for conducting an exhaustive investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Stewart. “I extend my sympathies to the victims of this unfortunate case. No one should ever have to fear illegal conduct from those very persons sworn to protect them and uphold the law.
According to court documents, Bryan D. Lee, 30, of Lancaster, Ohio, served as an OSP Trooper from approximately January 2006 until October 2013. In his plea agreement, Lee admitted that he violated the civil rights of four female victims by coercing them to engage in sexual acts, some of which he photographed, in exchange for his agreement not to file criminal charges or issue traffic infractions against the victims or their friends. Some of those acts were performed while the victims were under arrest and restrained in handcuffs. Lee also harassed and threatened some of the victims, including sending threatening electronic messages to one individual who Lee pulled over twice during a one-month period.
The investigation into Lee began when a routine review by OSP of the dash camera recordings in Lee’s cruiser revealed inappropriate conduct with a female driver and passenger whom Lee had stopped for a traffic violation. OSP uncovered multiple instances of administrative and criminal misconduct by Lee and contacted the FBI to assist in their investigation. Lee resigned his position at the outset of the investigation.
Lee’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson of the Southern District of Ohio.
This case was investigated by the Columbus office of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Division and OSP. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Also assisting in the investigation was Licking County Special Prosecutor Martin Frantz.
Former Ohio State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Violating the Civil Rights of Several Female Motorists Through Sexual Activity and Cyber StalkingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former Trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol pleaded guilty today in Columbus, Ohio, to four counts of violating the civil rights of female motorists and one count of engaging in cyber stalking.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division (FBI), Colonel Paul A. Pride, Superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSP) and Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth W. Oswalt made the announcement.
“There can be no greater breach of trust or abuse of authority than a police officer exploiting the power of his position to sexually abuse the very citizens he has sworn to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder that nobody is above the law, especially those who have taken an oath to uphold it.”
“I thank the State Patrol for bringing this matter to our attention and the State Patrol and FBI for conducting an exhaustive investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart. “I extend my sympathies to the victims of this unfortunate case. No one should ever have to fear illegal conduct from those very persons sworn to protect them and uphold the law.”
According to court documents, Bryan D. Lee, 30, of Lancaster, Ohio, served as an OSP Trooper from approximately January 2006 until October 2013. In his plea agreement, Lee admitted that he violated the civil rights of four female victims by coercing them to engage in sexual acts while some were under arrest or restrained in handcuffs. He also admitted to photographing some of the sexual encounters. Lee admitted to dropping charges for some of the victims or the drivers of the vehicles after the sexual encounters. Lee also harassed and threatened some of the victims, including sending threatening electronic messages to one individual who Lee pulled over twice during a one month period.
The investigation into Lee began when a routine review by OSP of the dash camera recordings in Lee’s cruiser revealed inappropriate conduct with a female driver and passenger who Lee had stopped for a traffic violation. OSP uncovered multiple instances of administrative and criminal misconduct by Lee and contacted the FBI to assist in their investigation. Lee resigned his position at the outset of the investigation.
Lee’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson of the Southern District of Ohio.
The case was investigated by the FBI Cincinnati Division’s Public Corruption Task Force and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Michael Marous of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Also assisting in the investigation was Fairfield County Special Prosecutor Martin Frantz.
Former KC Woman Admits to $454,000 SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Kansas City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false statements in order to receive more than $454,000 in income tax refunds.
Chiquita Tyler, also known as Chiquita Robinson, 33, of Wylie, Texas, formerly of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to making a false claim to a federal agency and to identity theft.
By pleading guilty today, Tyler admitted that she defrauded the federal government by preparing false income tax returns using false or stolen identity information in a scheme to receive $454,363 in refunds.
Between February 2010 and February 2011, Tyler prepared and filed false income tax returns using false and stolen information for approximately 70 individuals. Tyler prepared and electronically filed false income tax returns through Turbo Tax. She created false wages, false education expenses, false addresses and false occupations for the false income taxes she prepared. Some tax returns contained false dependents. Tyler directed refunds from the false returns be deposited on a prepaid debit card mailed to Tyler at her home address and other locations in Kansas City, Mo.
The total amount Tyler claimed through the preparation of false returns and use of prepaid debit cards was $454,363. The actual loss for amounts fraudulently received by Tyler was $343,889 because some of the fraudulent claims were discovered by the Internal Revenue Service prior to payment.
Under federal statutes, Tyler is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Former KC Man Pleads Guilty to Two Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former Kansas City, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing banks in Columbia, Mo., and Jefferson City, Mo.
Brian Dewitt Unthank, 45, formerly of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, to two counts of bank robbery.
By pleading guilty, Unthank admitted that he stole $6,328 from Landmark Bank, 1000 Keenesaw Ridge, Columbia, on June 18, 2010. Unthank also admitted that he stole $18,913 from River Regions Credit Union, 2009 Schotthill Woods Dr., Jefferson City, on June 23, 2010.
Investigators connected Unthank to the two Missouri robberies after he was convicted in August 2011 of robbing a bank in Texas, for which he was sentenced to prison for 10 years.
Under federal statutes, Unthank is subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the FBI, the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.Former Florence Resident Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Funds and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Bill Day (803) 929-3000
Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Don Carlos Gibson, Jr., age 46, of Church Hill, Tennessee and formally of Florence, South Carolina, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Florence, to Theft of Government Funds , a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. Additionally, Gibson, Jr. entered a guilty plea to Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1028A(a)(1). United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Gibson collected disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) from 1997 to 2013 by falsely claiming he was unable to work. During the time Gibson claimed to be disabled, he attended golfing school in Myrtle Beach and was the general manager of a country club in North Carolina; a car salesman in North and South Carolina; and the pastor of a church in Utah. Gibson's fraud caused losses of $365,000 to the VA and of $350,000 to the SSA. Gibson also used another person’s identity to purchase automobiles in South Carolina and Tennessee.
Mr. Nettles stated the maximum penalty for Theft of Government Funds is imprisonment for 10 years and/or a fine of $250,000, and the maximum penalty for Identity Theft is imprisonment for 2 years consecutive and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Department of Veterans Affairs and OIG Social Security Administration. Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.Former Clay County Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Assaulting ArresteeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former correctional officer with the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of an arrestee by assaulting him.
Eric M. Bottorff, 33, of St. Joseph, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to a federal information that charges him with deprivation of rights under color of law.
“This unprovoked assault was a clear violation of this victim’s Constitutional rights,” said Dickinson. “The use of excessive force by law enforcement officers is a serious offense that strikes at the heart of Constitutional protections for all citizens.”
According to court documents, Bottorff was working as a correctional officer in the Clay County Detention Facility in Liberty, Mo., on Dec. 22, 2008. Bottorff, while in his official capacity, came into contact with the victim, identified in court documents as J.C., who was brought into the facility as an arrestee on outstanding warrants from a local municipality.
Bottorff admitted today that he physically struck J.C., resulting in serious bodily injury and thereby depriving J.C. of his constitutional right to due process of the law.
Bottorff was acquitted by a trial jury in November 2012 of a state charge of felony assault.
“This federal prosecution transcends the issue of a mere assault to address the significant Constitutional issues that are raised,” said Dickinson. “There remains a substantial federal interest in preventing law enforcement officers from using excessive force and in protecting the rights of all citizens to due process of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government agrees to request a probationary sentence. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark and Trial Attorney Sheldon L. Beer of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. It was investigated by the FBI.Former CEO Sentenced for Embezzling $338,000 from KC CompanyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former CFO/CEO of a Kansas City, Mo., company was sentenced in federal court today for a wire fraud scheme in which he embezzled more than $338,000.
James A. Kilkenny, 50, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to two years. The court also ordered Kilkenny to pay $338,221 in restitution.
On April 24, 2014, Kilkenny pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Kilkenny was an employee of Waechtersbach USA, Inc. from December 1998 until his termination in April 2012, at which time he was the CFO/CEO. Waechtersbach USA, located at 4201 N.E. 34th Street, Kansas City, Mo., is a distributor/vendor that purchases products from the German and Asian companies to distribute to U.S. retailers. Waechtersbach USA’s parent company is located in Germany.
Kilkenny admitted that he engaged in a nine-year-long, multi-pronged plan to embezzle from Waechtersbach between 2003 and 2012.
Kilkenny admitted that, during this time, he overpaid his own salary by $133,592. In 2006, Waechtersbach management notified Kilkenny that he was required to take a pay cut from $135,000 to $115,000 because of company-wide cutbacks. Starting the following year on Jan. 15, 2007, however, Kilkenny began increasing his salary and overpaying himself without the company’s knowledge. He accomplished this by paying himself an extra $35,000 that was broken down into two accounts and disguised as “warehouse” and “office” expenses.
Kilkenny also admitted that he used company funds to pay back loans he had taken against his 401K account ($75,169 loss) and issued unauthorized company checks to himself and others ($29,783 loss). The government contends that Kilkenny also used company funds to pay for his dependents’ health insurance without Waechtersbach’s knowledge or express authorization ($12,041 loss) and used the company’s travel credit card for personal, local expenses ($87,633 loss).
As CFO/CEO, Kilkenny was the person tasked with reporting Waechtersbach’s financials to the company’s owner. His embezzlement came to light when the owner of the company was notified by the U.S. Customs Department that the company had received an $80,000 import tax refund. The owner became suspicious and came to Kansas City to investigate. An internal investigation revealed that Kilkenny received the $80,000 refund but reported that the refund was for only $8,000. Kilkenny instructed the employees in the Kansas City office to lie about the amount if asked. The company then began investigating all of Kilkenny’s spending, which led to the discovery of over $200,000 that Kilkenney had embezzled.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.Former Bank Employee Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Armed Bank Robbery in DundalkRead the Press Release
Provided Information on Bank Personnel and Procedures to Her Accomplice
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Janaya Brittne Person-Robinson, age 20, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 84 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for an armed bank robbery in which her accomplice forced a teller at gunpoint to accompany him and open the bank vault.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to Person-Robinson’s plea agreement, on October 1, 2013, Janaya Brittne Person-Robinson and her accomplice Darrius Roszario Washington, parked his car in a lot near the M&T Bank in Dundalk. Person-Robinson had previously been a teller-trainee at the bank and was familiar with the bank layout, procedures and the tellers who worked at the bank. Shortly before 7:30 a.m., Washington and Person-Robinson approached a teller in the parking lot when she got out of her car. Washington pointed a .32 caliber gun at the teller’s head and ordered her to unlock the door of the bank. The teller initially told Washington that she could not open the door but Washington told her he knew she was lying and threatened to “blow her head off,” if she didn’t unlock the door. The teller opened the door and after Washington and Person-Robinson entered the bank, the teller fled and called police.
Once inside the bank, Washington, using information provided by Person-Robinson, approached a second teller, calling her by name. Washington knew that the teller had access to the bank’s vault. Using the gun, Washington forced the teller to accompany him to the vault and ordered her to open the door, threatening that if she did not, she would never see her child, whom Washington called by name, again using information provided by Person-Robinson. The teller opened the vault door and Washington forced her to the floor at gunpoint. Washington removed the money from the vault, while Person-Robinson emptied the cash from the teller drawers. Washington and Person-Robinson then left the bank, carrying a canvas bag filled with $133,600, got into their car and attempted to flee. They were arrested a short time later. Officers recovered the cash stolen from the bank, the gun used during the robbery, and the hats and latex gloves worn by Washington and Person-Robinson during the robbery.
Darrius Roszario D. Washington, age 20, of Baltimore, was previously sentenced to 135 months in prison, for his role in the robbery.
Washington and Person-Robinson remain in federal custody.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory R. Bockin and Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.
Florida Man, Jaime Jauregui, Convicted of Gun Control and National Firearms Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JAIME JAUREGUI, age 36, of Orlando, Florida, was convicted today after a 2 ½ day jury trial. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged on both counts of the superseding indictment which charged JAUREGUI with conspiracy to violate the Gun Control and National Firearms Acts (18 U.S.C. § 371) and possession of unregistered firearms (26 U.S.C. § 5861(d)).
According to previously filed court documents, agents of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans received information in January 2012 indicating that JAUREGUI was interested in acquiring items listed on the United States Munitions List to be smuggled to end users in Mexico. On at least four occasions from January 2012 through March 21, 2013, JAUREGUI met with an undercover agent in St. Tammany Parish to negotiate the purchase of more than 100 fully automatic assault rifles, grenade launchers, grenades, and night vision goggles, all of which were destined for a Mexican drug trafficking cartel. JAUREGUI provided a cash deposit of approximately $46,000.00 during those meetings. JAIME JAUREGUI hired CARLOS CABRERA, FRANCISCO MALDONADO, AND RUBEN JAUREGUI to assist him with transporting the weapons to the final destinations. None of the men have federal firearms or export licenses. Defendants CABRERA, MALDONADO, and RUBEN JAUREGUI previously pled guilty.
U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey scheduled sentencing for January 27, 2015. The maximum penalties for Count 1 are five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and a $100 special assessment fee. The maximum penalties for Count 2 are ten years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and a $100 special assessment fee. Upon release from imprisonment, JAUREGUI is also subject to a three year term of supervised release.
“Jaime Jauregui and his co-conspirators planned to make a fortune by trafficking in illegal weapons intended to end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Fortunately, the efforts of our law enforcement partners intervened before Jauregui’s criminality further jeopardized the safety of individuals here in the United States and in Mexico. After deliberating for less than one hour, the jury returned a guilty verdict that will ensure that Jauregui is held accountable for his dangerous actions.”
“Firearms regulations exist to ensure weapons crossing international borders are properly accounted for to preserve public safety and to keep them out of the hands of dangerous criminals,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Raymond R. Parmer Jr. “This case shows the significant consequences awaiting individuals who attempt to illegally smuggle weapons across U.S. borders.”
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Louisiana State Police, and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Kennedy and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Ebarb are in charge of prosecuting this case.
Five Charged in $16 Million Investment FraudRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Commissioner Drew J. Breakspear, Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), announce the charges filed against Christopher Anzalone, 31, of California, Jeffrey Schuler, 54, of Boynton Beach, Florida, Ben Williams, 30, of Oregon, David Boyce, 30, of California, and Jacob Bradshaw, 32, of Ohio, for their alleged involvement in related investment fraud schemes that yielded an aggregate amount of over $16 million in investments from victims for the purported purchase of precious metal positions and over-the-counter stock.
According to the charging documents, the case involved the following three investment fraud schemes:
From September 2010 to December 2011, Liberty International Financial Services, Inc. (LIFS) was an investment firm in Fort Lauderdale with brokers who solicited investors for the purchase of purported precious metals positions in gold, silver, and palladium. Schuler and Anzalone were the co-founders of LIFS. Schuler was responsible for executing precious metals trade orders for the benefit of investors and Anzalone was responsible for overseeing LIFS brokers. Contrary to representations made to investors by LIFS brokers, Anzalone and Schuler allegedly invested less than $200,000 of the approximately $4 million provided by investors for the purchase of precious metals positions.
From mid-2011 through 2013, Liberty International Holding Corporation (LIHC) was a holding corporation in Fort Lauderdale whose stock traded in the over-the-counter market. LIHC brokers solicited investors for the purchase of LIHC stock. Anzalone was the co-founder of LIHC. Anzalone allegedly represented to brokers, and had brokers represent to potential investors, that LIHC had substantial assets, including a substantial position in metals held in a Panamanian depository. In truth and in fact, as Anzalone well knew, LIHC did not hold these positons or any assets of real value. Induced by misrepresentations made by LIHC brokers, investors purchased more than $9 million in LIHC shares.
From October 2012 through October 2013, Allied Financial Strategies, Inc. (Allied) was an investment firm operating in Miami. Allied brokers solicited investors primarily for the purchase of LIHC stock. Anzalone, Williams, Boyce, and Bradshaw worked at Allied. Williams and Anzalone allegedly induced investors to purchase LIHC shares by falsely and fraudulently representing to investors that a hedge fund or other large investment funds intended to purchase a substantial block of LIHC shares at an over-inflated price compared to the LIHC market price of those same shares. Williams and Anzalone allegedly used co-conspirators, including Boyce and Bradshaw, to falsely and fraudulently pose as other investors or hedge fund representatives to induce prospective investors to invest monies. Based on these false representations by these co-conspirators, investors wired over $3 million to accounts controlled by the co-conspirators.
The defendants are charged with counts of either conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum possible statutory sentence of twenty years on each count. Schuler is charged by indictment in 14-60255-CR-Dimitrouleas. Anzalone is charged by information in 14-20737-CR-Moreno. Williams, Boyce, and Bradshaw are charged by indictment in 14-20774-CR-Cooke.
An information and an indictment is only an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Mr. Ferrer thanked the FBI, USPIS, and OFR for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Final Defendant Sentenced in International Money Laundering InvestigationRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Heriberto Almonte-Reyes, the last of nineteen defendants in a large-scale money laundering organization, has been sentenced for his part in a conspiracy that laundered drug proceeds from Mexico, Australia, England, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Guatemala, Miami, New York, and Puerto Rico.
“International drug trafficking is a sophisticated business, and money launderers provide the financial lifeline for the cartels,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “These defendants, most of whom were extradited from Columbia, were responsible for laundering tens of millions of dollars of drug money.”
John S. Comer, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division commented, “Drug traffickers utilize a multitude of sophisticated methods in which to hide their assets, but one of DEA’s highest priorities is to relentlessly pursue and destroy these drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. This global money laundering investigation was a success because of the local, regional, national, and foreign law enforcement partnerships and our commitment to bring this organization to justice in the United States.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2005, the DEA infiltrated an international money laundering organization through the use of a confidential informant. Targets of the investigation asked the informant to assist them in laundering drug proceeds across the globe. Undercover DEA agents and local agents picked up the drug money in Mexico, Australia, England, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Guatemala, as well as Miami, Fla., New York and Puerto Rico. The drug money, totaling over $11 million was then deposited into undercover bank accounts in the Atlanta, Ga., area.
The investigation resulted in the seizure of over $15 million and resulted in the prosecution of high-level targets such as Severo Escobar Garzon, IV, who is reported to be the nephew of Pablo Escobar. Most of the defendants were extradited from Colombia to face federal charges, and two were extradited from the Dominican Republic and England. All of the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder drug proceeds. All of the defendants are expected to be deported to their country of origin after the completion of their sentences.
The defendants and their sentences are as follows:
- Victor Andres Murcia-Reyes, 40, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to ten years in prison, on September 5, 2014.
- Luis Carlos Rodriguez-Vaca, 50, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to nine years in prison, on December 16, 2010.
- Dario Vicente Caballero-Caballero, 51, of Barranquilla, Colombia, was sentenced to eight years, four months in prison, on April 16, 2014.
- Carlos Mario Becerra-Restrepo, 52, of Medellin, Colombia, was sentenced to eight years, four months in prison, on March 6, 2014.
- Alfredo Betancourt-Munoz, 66, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to eight years in prison, on October 27, 2011.
- Heriberto Almonte-Reyes, 41, of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison, on October 17, 2014.
- Severo Escobar Garzon, IV, 55, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to six years, five months in prison, on January 12, 2012.
- Fernando Martinez-Borreaz, 49, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to six years, four months in prison, on April 26, 2013.
- Juan Cenen Avila-Pena, 51, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to six years in prison, on April 23, 2010.
- Carlos Mario Torres, 47, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to four years, ten months in prison, on December 1, 2011.
- Oscar Eduardo Galvis-Pena, 41, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to four years, five months in prison, on December 12, 2013.
- Hernando Valencia Munoz, 61, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to four years, four months in prison, on January 13, 2012.
- Fabio Bravo-Russy, 59, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to four years, four months in prison, on June 1, 2011.
- Ampara Balaquera-Zarta, 53, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to four years in prison, on November 29, 2011.
- Alexander Salazar-Duarte, 43, of London, England, was sentenced to three years, four months in prison, on December 1, 2011.
- Jaime Moreno-Bravo, 70, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to three years in prison, on July 22, 2011.
- Jersson Ramirez-Huertas, 38, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison, on May 26, 2011.
- Martha Camacho-Roa, 48, of Bogota, Colombia, was sentenced to one year, eleven months in prison, on January 6, 2011.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Valuable assistance was provided by the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Service, United States Customs and Border Patrol, international law enforcement partners, and the Doraville, Ga., Duluth, Ga., and Lawrenceville, Ga., Police Departments.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Strippoli, Scott Ferber, and Jeffrey Viscomi prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Federal Judge Sentences Charlotte Man to More Than 18 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Late on Tuesday, October 28, 2014, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. sentenced Juan Brandon Gray-Sommerville, 25, of Charlotte, to 225 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A federal jury convicted the defendant of one count of sex trafficking of a minor in August 2013.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division and Chief Rodney D. Monroe, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and testimony presented during the two-day trial, the minor female met Gray-Sommerville through social media in early March 2012. Shortly thereafter, the defendant began exchanging text messages with the minor, encouraging her to meet him. According to court records, on March 13, 2012, Gray-Sommerville and his girlfriend travelled to a town outside of Charlotte to pick up the minor in front of her school. There, he enticed to come to Charlotte with him by showing her a large sum of money and marijuana. According to trial testimony, the three of them drove back to Charlotte and checked into a motel. Trial testimony established that the defendant created an online advertisement on Backpage.com to recruit clients to engage in sex acts with the minor. Court records indicate that the defendant drove the minor to have sex for money with two clients. According to court documents and witness testimony, law enforcement located the minor when they responded her 9-1-1 call, after Gray-Sommerville abandoned her fearing police detection. Court records indicate that during the investigation, an FBI computer forensic examiner found on Gray-Sommerville’s computer the picture of the minor the defendant posted on Backpage.com. Investigators also recovered text messages the defendant had exchanged with the minor using his cell phone.
At sentencing, Judge Conrad considered an incident that occurred several months before the defendant picked up the minor victim at her school. Testimony regarding this incident was presented at trial. During that incident, law enforcement officers and agents encountered the defendant at a local hotel when he dropped off another minor so that she could prostitute there.
In announcing his sentence, Judge Conrad said that Gray-Sommerville was a pimp whose actions were callous. The judge also found that the Gray-Sommerville knowingly testified falsely at trial and that credible evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant knew early on in his involvement with the victim that she was a minor.
Gray-Sommerville has been in local federal custody since April 2013. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation of the case was handled by the FBI and was assisted by CMPD and Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”). Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford, of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
Federal Indictment: Lawrence Man Distributed Child PornRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Lawrence, Kan., man was indicted Wednesday on a federal charge of distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Tyler B. Padden, 33, Lawrence, Kan., was charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The crimes are alleged to have occurred on May 1 and May 2, 2013, in Douglas County, Kan.
The indictment alleges he used peer-to-peer software and a computer connected to the Internet to distribute child pornography.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years on the distribution charge, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession charge.
The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Paxton L. Graves, 25, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 16, 2014, in Mission, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.
Stephen Loren Clark, 42, is charged with one count of failing to register as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The indictment alleges that he traveled to Kansas where he did not register. The indictment alleges he had been convicted in St. Charles County, Mo., on a charge of rape.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshall Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.Eleven Men Sentenced to Prison in Connection with International Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
Eleven men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in an international child pornography network operated online, which was targeted by state and federal investigators and prosecutors participating in Operation Kingdom Conqueror.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter of the District of Montana and Special Agent in Charge Mary Rook of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Division made the announcement.
According to court documents, in November 2009, an early participant in the conspiracy designed and created an online bulletin board that allowed members to exchange images, including child pornography. As the conspiracy progressed, additional members contributed to the design and operations of the board. Between Nov. 6, 2009, and March 19, 2012, members of the conspiracy used the online bulletin board to share pictures and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During that same time period, the participants agreed to use the online bulletin board to solicit additional images of child pornography, which they would then share and broadcast on the Internet. Thirteen defendants have been charged and convicted for their participation in this child pornography network.
The following defendants pleaded guilty in April 2014 to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of the District of Montana:
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Tony Bronson, 53, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 224 months on Oct. 28, 2014.
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Charles Crosby, 43, of Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison on Oct. 23, 2014.
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Steve Humiston, 57, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine on Oct. 23, 2014.
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John Johnson, 58, of Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.
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Robert Krise, 66, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.
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Scott Long, 53, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to serve 200 months in prison on Oct. 21, 2014.
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Ian Nosek, 42, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced to serve 216 months in prison on Oct. 23, 2014.
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Phillip Morris, 42, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 216 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.
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Joseph Purificato, 23, of Mount Vernon, Missouri, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 28, 2014.
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Paul Wencewicz, 48, of Polson, Montana, was sentenced to serve 200 months in prison on Oct. 21, 2014.
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Jeffrey Woolley, 53, of Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5000 fine on Oct. 28, 2014.
All of the defendants were ordered to forfeit their computers and storage devices. Purificato received a 10-year term of supervised release following his prison sentence. All other defendants received lifetime terms of supervised release. All defendants are required to pay $29,859 restitution.
Two additional defendants, Joshua Peterson, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, and Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirley, Massachusetts, were found guilty of participating in a child exploitation enterprise and a conspiracy to advertise child pornography on Oct. 9, 2014. Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2015, in Missoula, Montana.
The investigation, referred to as Operation Kingdom Conqueror, is an ongoing cooperative effort between the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, FBI, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, Helena and Polson Police Departments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the States of Jersey Police Department, Isle of Jersey.
Trial Attorney Maureen C. Cain of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson of the District of Montana prosecuted the case.
This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.
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Election Day Officer and Investigators on Duty to Examine Complaints of Fraud or Voter Rights AbusesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Arlen Storm will lead efforts in the Western District of Washington in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program with respect to the upcoming November 4, 2014, general elections. AUSA Storm has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Western District of Washington, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington DC.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and know that their vote will be counted without the corrosion of fraud,” said Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Acting United States Attorney Hayes stated that AUSA/DEO Storm will be on duty in this District until voting is complete. He can be reached by members of the public at the following telephone numbers: 206-553-7970 or 253-428-3800.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. Federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses. Complaints can be called in to the FBI at 206-622-0460.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
Detroit-Area Home Health Care Assistant Sentenced for Scheme to Bill Medicare Nearly $15 Million for Services Never ProvidedRead the Press Release
A physical therapist assistant was sentenced today to serve 50 months in prison for his role in a $14.9 million fraud scheme, through which he and others billed Medicare for home health services that they never provided, and provided beneficiaries with prescriptions for unnecessary painkillers and other narcotics to induce them to sign false medical documents to support the fraudulent billings.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Detroit Office made the announcement.
Jigar Patel, 31, a physical therapist assistant from Madison Heights, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg in the Eastern District of Michigan. In addition to his prison term, Patel was ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution.
Patel, along with co-defendants Srinivas Reddy, 38, an unlicensed doctor from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Shahzad Mirza, 43, a physical therapist from Canton, Michigan, were each convicted by a federal jury on April 30, 2014, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, Mirza and Patel were each found guilty of two counts of health care fraud, and Reddy was found guilty of three counts of health care fraud. Patel was also found guilty of one count of money laundering. Reddy and Mirza will be sentenced at a later date.
According to evidence presented at trial, between July 2008 and September 2011, the defendants used four home health care companies – Physicians Choice Home Health Care LLC, Quantum Home Care Inc., First Care Home Health Care LLC, and Moonlite Home Care Inc. – to fraudulently bill Medicare for home health care services that were never provided. Through those companies, the defendants paid kickbacks to recruiters for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries. In turn, the recruiters paid the beneficiaries cash and promised them access to unnecessary prescriptions for painkillers and other narcotics. Through a fifth company, Phoenix Visiting Physicians, the defendants employed unlicensed individuals, including Reddy, to provide the beneficiaries with the promised prescriptions and to obtain the necessary information to complete the referrals for medically unnecessary home health care services.
Evidence presented at trial showed that beneficiaries signed blank medical paperwork that Patel and others then completed with false information purporting to show that care was provided, when it was not. Patel, Mirza and others signed this paperwork, certifying that they had provided the services. In the course of the conspiracy, Patel incorporated his own staffing company, MI Healthcare Staffing, through which he laundered proceeds of the fraud.
As a result of the defendants’ fraudulent conduct, Medicare paid nearly $15 million.
The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment on Feb. 6, 2012. Three other individuals charged in the indictment remain fugitives. The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Catherine K. Dick and Trial Attorneys Matthew C. Thuesen and Rohan A. Virginkar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Controller of Greenwich Hedge Fund Charged with Embezzling MillionsRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that LAWRENCE J. HERZING, 45, of Greenwich, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he embezzled millions of dollars from the hedge fund where he was employed.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, HERZING was recently employed as the controller of Greenwich-based Contrarian Capital Management, L.L.C. On 32 occasions between 2004 and 2013, HERZING used his position to wire funds from his employer to accounts that he controlled. Two fraudulent wire transfers specifically alleged in the complaint totaled more than $2.4 million.
Following his arrest, HERZING appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was released on a $5.6 million bond, $2.6 million of which will be secured by HERZING’s Greenwich residence.
The complaint charges HERZING with wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Greenwich Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Francis and Heather Cherry.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Connecticut Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Richard
A. Kincaid, III, of Waterbury, Connecticut was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by
Chief Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for
distributing cocaine. He was also ordered to forfeit $3,906 and a 2008 Chevrolet Impala.According to court records, on March 25, 2014, the defendant drove the Impala from
Connecticut to a Bangor residence to deliver about seven ounces of cocaine to an individual
there. The defendant also collected money from drug customers at the residence. He was
arrested a week later when he returned to Bangor.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine
Drug Enforcement Agency.Citizen of Morocco Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Fabricating Refugee Application to Remain in U.S.Read the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that EL MEHDI SEMLALI FATHI, 27, a citizen of Morocco last residing in Bridgeport, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in new Haven to 24 months of imprisonment for fabricating a refugee application to remain in the U.S.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2008, FATHI was admitted to the United States after he obtained a student visa to study at Virginia International University. In February 2009, FATHI’s student visa status was terminated by the university after he failed all of his classes during the Fall 2008 semester and did not register for classes for the Spring 2009 semester. After his student visa status was terminated, FATHI failed to leave the U.S.
In December 2010, FATHI was detained in immigration custody as a result of an arrest in Virginia. While he was detained, he met an individual who explained refugee relief to him. In an effort to obtain refugee relief and remain in the U.S., FATHI reviewed certain country reports relating to Morocco and then prepared and filed, under penalty of perjury, a false refugee application (I-589), which included events he learned about in the country reports. FATHI’s false statements included a claim that he would be persecuted by the Kingdom of Morocco based on his membership in a particular social group and imputed political opinion, and that he was arrested twice in 2007 and persecuted by the Moroccan government.
In June 2011, an immigration judge in Virginia released FATHI on bond. FATHI then moved to Bridgeport and his immigration case was transferred to Connecticut. In September 2011, FATHI represented to an immigration judge in Hartford that all of the information on his I-589 application was accurate when he knew that all of the information in support of his refugee claim was materially false.
While his immigration proceedings were pending, FATHI traveled to California where he was arrested and subsequently placed in immigration custody. In January 2013, after his immigration proceedings were transferred to California, FATHI again falsely represented to an immigration judge in Adelanto, Calif., that his refugee application was true and accurate. In another hearing in August 2013, FATHI again committed perjury while testifying in support of his refugee application by stating that he was arrested and savagely beaten several times by the Moroccan authorities when, in fact, he was never arrested or persecuted by the Moroccan authorities, and that he attended a university in Marrakech during which he participated in demonstrations that caused him to be arrested by the Moroccan authorities when, in fact, he never attended any university in Marrakech.
In February 2014, during an interview with a federal agent, FATHI falsely claimed that Moroccan intelligence authorities had arrested him as part of a conspiracy with all of the other members of Jamaat Ansar El-Mehdi, a Moroccan based terrorist group that was dismantled by Moroccan security forces in 2006.
FATHI has been detained since his arrest on April 7, 2014. On July 24, 2014, he waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of perjury in an immigration matter.
FATHI has agreed to be deported at the conclusion of his prison term.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes participants from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Haven, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Connecticut State Police, Bridgeport Police Department, Norwich Police Department and the New York Police Department. The HSI attaché office in Casablanca, Morocco, provided critical assistance to the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Krishna Patel and Stephen Reynolds.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Charlotte Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years for Robbing PharmacyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Antonio Donte Smith, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 147 months in prison today in connection with the 2012 robbery of a pharmacy and related firearms violations, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney also ordered Smith to serve five years under court supervision.
Wayne L. Dixie, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Chief Rob Merchant of the Pineville Police Department (PPD) join U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
In July 2013, a federal jury convicted Smith of Hobbs Act robbery, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the September 2012 armed robbery of a pharmacy located in Pineville, N.C. According to filed documents, evidence presented at trial, and today’s sentencing hearing, Smith entered the pharmacy wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and a cut-off black tee-shirt sleeve across his face, and was carrying a Ruger .45 caliber pistol. Court records show that Smith pointed the firearm at the store clerk and demanded money from the cash register, to which the cashier complied. Court records indicate that while Smith was taking the money from the register Smith noticed a customer, pointed his firearm at the customer, ordered the customer to get on his knees and robbed the customer of his wallet. According to court records, Smith then forced the store manager to give him all the money kept in the store’s safe. At trial, witnesses testified that Smith pointed his gun at the store manager and began to count down from ten while the store manager tried to open the safe.
Court records indicate that Smith fled the store, entered a vehicle and proceeded to lead law enforcement officers on a high speed chase. Eventually Smith abandoned the car and fled on foot into a wooded area where he dropped the firearm and some of his clothing. According to court records, police officers, assisted by a K-9 unit, found and arrested Smith who was hiding in a nearby apartment complex. In the area where Smith was apprehended, officers located money and a receipt that belonged to the pharmacy customer Smith had robbed earlier. At trial, Smith claimed that it was his brother who had robbed the pharmacy.
In handing down today’s sentence, Judge Whitney stated that “Smith is a very serious recidivist with regard to violent armed crimes.” He also noted that Smith committed five armed robberies and planned out violent crimes and that he terrified the employees of the pharmacy he robbed.
In 2002, Smith was convicted in state court of four counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon. According to police reports and court documents from those cases, Smith robbed three Charlotte-area pharmacies and a fast-food restaurant and even shot a cashier working at one of the drug stores during one of the robberies.
Smith has been in local federal custody since he was arrested in February 2013. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The case was investigated by ATF and PPD. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Dillon.
Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Kevin
Rockwell, 31, of Leduc, Alberta, Canada, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to transporting
child pornography. He was indicted in May 2013.According to court records, in April 2013, Rockwell, who was in Canada, sent an email
message to the undercover email account of a federal agent in Maine, attaching a file containing
38 images of sexually explicit conduct involving young children. In May 2014, Canada ordered
him extradited and surrendered to American law enforcement officials.Rockwell faces a sentence of between five years and 20 years in prison and a $250,000
fine. He also faces a term of supervised release of between 5 years and life. He will be sentenced
after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
Homeland Security Investigations and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.CEO of Lafayette and Walnut Creek Venture Capital Firm Sentenced to 24 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Stephen B. Lopez was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, and ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution for his guilty plea to two counts of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
Lopez, 58, of Lafayette, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 21, 2013. He was charged with three counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. On April 10, 2014, a superseding indictment was returned charging Lopez with obstruction of justice and witness tampering. On Aug. 12, 2014, Lopez pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.
According to the plea agreement, Lopez, who held a law degree from Stanford University, was the founder of Lighthorse Ventures, LLC (LHV), a private equity investment company located in Lafayette and Walnut Creek, Calif. In March of 2008, Lopez needed money to pay off a civil settlement agreement owed by him personally. In order to raise this money, Lopez told victims that LHV needed money to pay off a loan; he intentionally failed to tell the victims that the money LHV received would be used to pay off his own personal debt. Victims wrote checks to LHV, which Lopez deposited into LHV’s bank account. Thereafter, Lopez wrote a $600,000 check from LHV’s bank account to pay off his personal debt.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jeffrey White, United States District Court Judge. Judge White also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered Lopez to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the victims.
Maureen Bessette is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Janice Pagsanjan. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS - Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
(Lopez superseding indictment )
Brackenridge Woman Charged with Stealing Benefits, Making False Statements to the GovernmentRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Brackenridge, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of theft of government property and false statements to the government, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count indictment returned on October 28, named Kristyn Mazinski, 46, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, between Aug. 3, 2011, and April 3, 2013, Mazinski converted to her own use Social Security benefits totaling $24,760 which she received on behalf of a minor for whose use and benefit the payments were intended. On two occasions, April 12, 2012, and April 25, 2013, Mazinski also made false statements to the government in which she advised that the minor resided with her, when in fact the minor did not reside with Mazinski.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 15 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 offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Bond has been requested at $10,000 unsecured.
Assistant United States Attorney Margaret E. Picking 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.
Bloomington Woman Admits to Having Pipe Bomb Placed in MailboxRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. – Sentencing has been set for Jan. 9, 2015, for Linda Sue Curtis, 57, of Bloomington, Illinois. Yesterday, Curtis pled guilty to conspiracy to possess a destructive device, as announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. Curtis remains on bond following her appearance yesterday before United States District Judge Harold A. Baker.
According to court documents, Curtis conspired with another individual, Lloyd Lockwood, to possess the pipe bomb, and the pipe bomb was placed into a mailbox belonging to the victims in Decatur, Illinois. Lockwood was found guilty by a jury in August of 2013, and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.For conspiracy to possess an unregistered destructive device, the statutory maximum penalty is up to 5 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Bohm. The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI, ATF, Decatur Police Department, Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington Police Department, TSA, and University of Illinois/Champaign Police Department Bomb Squad.
Biomet Companies to Pay over $6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Bone Growth StimulatorsRead the Press Release
EBI LLC, doing business as Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies and Biomet Inc. have agreed to pay $6.07 million to resolve allegations that EBI violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce use of its bone growth stimulators and billing federal health care programs for refurbished stimulators, the Department of Justice announced today. EBI is a medical device company located in Parsippany, New Jersey, that sells bone growth stimulators, which are used to repair fractures that are slow to heal. It is a subsidiary of Biomet, which is based in Warsaw, Indiana.
“Medical device companies must not use improper financial incentives to influence the decision to use their products,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General August Flentje of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to protect patients, and the taxpayers who fund their care, by ensuring that medical decisions are based on the patients’ medical needs rather than the financial interests of others.”
The United States alleged that, from 2001 to 2008, EBI paid staff at doctors’ offices to influence doctors to order its bone growth stimulators. These payments were allegedly provided pursuant to personal service agreements with staff members. The United States concluded that these payments violated the Anti-Kickback Act and resulted in false billings to various federal health care programs, including Medicare. The settlement also resolves EBI’s disclosure that it received federal reimbursements for bone growth stimulators that had been refurbished.
“This settlement demonstrates our resolve in ensuring that patients receive, and the government pays for, health care that is based on sound medical judgment, and not compromised by kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts.
“Kickbacks taint medical decision-making, cause overutilization of services, and lead to increased taxpayer and patient costs,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These improper inducements have no place in government health programs relied on by millions of Americans.”
The settlement resolves in part an allegation filed in a lawsuit by Yu Yue, a former product manager for EBI, in federal court in New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Yu’s share has not yet been determined.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; HHS-OIG; the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.
Ms. Yu’s case is captioned United States ex rel. Yu v. Biomet, Inc., Civil Action No. 09-1731 (D.N.J.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Biomet Companies Pay over $6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Bone Growth StimulatorsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – EBI LLC (d/b/a Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies) and Biomet Inc. have paid $6.07 million to resolve allegations that EBI violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce use of its bone growth stimulators and billing federal health care programs for refurbished stimulators, the Department of Justice announced today. EBI is a medical device company located in Parsippany, New Jersey, that sells bone growth stimulators, which are used to repair fractures that are slow to heal. It is a subsidiary of Warsaw, Indiana, based Biomet.
The United States alleged that, from 2001 to 2008, EBI paid staff at doctors’ offices to induce doctors to order its bone growth stimulators. These payments were allegedly provided pursuant to personal service agreements with staff members. The United States concluded that these payments violated the federal anti-kickback statute and resulted in false billings to various federal health care programs, including Medicare. The settlement also resolves EBI’s disclosure that it received federal reimbursements for bone growth stimulators that had been refurbished.
“This settlement demonstrates our resolve in ensuring that patients receive, and the government pays for, health care that is based on sound medical judgment, and not compromised by kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts.”
“Medical device companies must not use improper financial incentives to influence the decision to use their products,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General August Flentje of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the Department’s commitment to protect patients, and the taxpayers who fund their care, by ensuring that medical decisions are based on the patients’ medical needs rather than the financial interests of others.”
“Kickbacks taint medical decision-making, cause overutilization of services, and lead to increased taxpayer and patient costs,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne of the Office of Inspector General, United States Department of Health and Human Services. “These improper inducements have no place in government health programs relied on by millions of Americans.”
The settlement resolves in part an allegation filed in a lawsuit by Yu Yue, a former product manager for EBI, in federal court in New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Yu’s share has not yet been determined.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.
Beaver County Man Charged with Unlawfully Receiving Social Security Income BenefitsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Beaver County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of theft of government property, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment returned yesterday named David Tindell, 52, of Industry, Pa., as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, from in or around January 2005, to in or around March 2014, Tindell unlawfully received property of the United States, that is, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in the amount of approximately $70,654.80.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Bond has been requested at $10,000 unsecured.
Assistant United States Attorney Margaret E. Picking 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.
Alabama Bail Bondsman Sentenced for Stealing Identities that Were Used to File Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A former bail bondsman in Dothan, Alabama, was sentenced yesterday to serve 51 months in prison for his involvement in a stolen identity tax refund fraud (SIRF) scheme, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry J. Wszalek for the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced.
Roderick Neal was also ordered to pay $109,480 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to court documents and evidence from the trial of his co-conspirator, Nina Macena, Neal provided stolen identities to Ivory Bolen, also of Dothan, who used the identities to file false tax returns that fraudulently requested refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Bolen would attempt to have the refunds deposited onto prepaid debit cards, which would be mailed to addresses controlled by Bolen and Macena. Macena obtained the identities from Neal, who had access to the personal information of individuals who had been detained at the Dothan City Jail. Altogether, Bolen filed tax returns claiming more than $300,000 in refunds using the identities that Neal stole from his employer, but the IRS was able to successfully stop a number of the fraudulent returns.
Bolen was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and Macena was sentenced to serve 34 months in prison.
This case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jason Poole, Charles M. Edgar Jr. and Michael Boteler of the Tax Division prosecuted the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
- 4 Charged with Sex Trafficking of Minors
29 Defendants Facing State or Federal Charges for Alleged Roles in “Cracking Cards” Schemes Costing Banks Millions of DollarsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Twenty-nine northern Illinois and Indiana defendants are facing state or federal charges following a coordinated investigation of “cracking cards,” a scheme that costs banks millions of dollars and has its roots on Chicago’s south side and is spreading to other cities through rap music and social media. Six Indiana defendants include four men who are part of a group that has posted Internet rap videos referring to the cracking cards scheme and displaying large amounts of cash and expensive items, according to the charges announced today.
Federal agents and local law enforcement officers from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, FDIC and U.S. Department of Labor Offices of Inspector General, the Chicago Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Offices of Cook and DeKalb counties began arresting the defendants yesterday. Sixteen are facing federal bank fraud charges in Federal Court in Chicago; six are facing federal charges in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Ind., and seven are facing state charges brought by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Since at least 2011, the defendants and other individuals allegedly deposited counterfeit checks into banking accounts belonging to third parties who willingly or unwillingly surrendered their debit cards and PINs for use in the cracking cards schemes. The defendants then allegedly used automated teller machines or point of sale terminals at currency exchanges and retail stores to withdraw or spend funds that the banks advanced to the third-party accounts before learning that the deposited checks were bogus. The banks lost money they advanced to the account holders when the customers denied responsibility for the withdrawals and purchases.
Cracking cards schemes have become a popular method of obtaining illicit funds in Chicago and surrounding areas. The schemes often involve numerous participants, including some individuals affiliated with Chicago street gangs, the charges allege. Schemers use various methods to recruit bank customers to give up their debit cards and PINs, including approaching individuals at parties, schools, or on the street, and using social media outlets, such as Instagram and Facebook, to advertise opportunities for making fast cash by sharing a portion of the fraud proceeds.
“Our purpose today is to warn bank customers that fast cash schemes are usually too good to be true and they should always safeguard their account information, and, at the same time, we are putting those persons who engage in this type of illegal activity on notice that debit card fraud can result in serious state or federal charges, which carry severe penalties and consequences,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
“Over the last three years, the United States Postal Inspection Service and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, have conducted this major bank fraud investigation involving ‘cracking cards.’ The charges allege that defendants knowingly deposited fraudulent checks intending to defraud banks and their customers. The Postal Inspection Service is committed to working together with the banking industry to protect the public and preserve its trust in the U.S. mail and banking system,” said Antonio Gómez, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.
According to the federal charging documents, after schemers obtained a debit card and PIN for a bank customer’s account, they manufactured or purchased one or more counterfeit checks to deposit into the account. The bogus checks often contained legitimate bank account and routing numbers that belonged to the accounts of actual businesses. Certain individuals developed a reputation for “making paper,” that is, making, printing, and selling counterfeit checks. The schemers then deposited, or recruited someone else to deposit, the counterfeit checks into the third party’s bank account, typically via an ATM transaction. The schemers then waited for the bank to credit the purported funds from the counterfeit check, usually within hours of the deposit, after which they often attempted a small ATM withdrawal of $100 or more to determine whether an account was credited with the advanced funds. If the transaction succeeded, schemers went to an ATM, a currency exchange, or point-of-sale terminal at a retail store to withdraw or spend the remaining funds that the bank advanced to the third-party account.
One defendant, MATTHEW MOSLEY, 26, of Chicago, allegedly “made paper,” that is, he manufactured counterfeit checks, which he used and sold to others in cracking cards schemes. Mosley was arrested yesterday and charged with bank fraud for allegedly causing banks to lose more than $32,000 in funds he withdrew after depositing counterfeit checks.
Mosley was one of 16 defendants charged with bank fraud in separate criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. These 16 defendants allegedly caused bank losses totaling more than $1.7 million, with individual defendants responsible for amounts ranging from $26,000 to $260,000. Five of these defendants were arrested yesterday, one was already in custody, and arrest warrants were issued for 10 others.
Six other defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Hammond. These defendants allegedly caused thousands of dollars in bank losses. Five of the six were arrested yesterday and remain in custody while the sixth was already in state custody. All six are scheduled to appear tomorrow morning in Federal Court in Hammond.
Four of these defendants ― KEVIN FORD, 26, of Chicago; CORTEZ STEVENS, 24, of Griffith, Ind.; STEPHEN GARNER, 23,of Portage, Ind.; and MIKCALE SMALLY, 21, of Chicago ― are identified in the complaint as part of a group that called themselves “R.A.C.K. Boyz,” “Rack Boyz,” or “TheRackBoyz.” The other two defendants, MERCEDES HATCHER, 21, of Danville, Ill., and BRITTANY SIMS, 24, of Portage, Ind., were identified as Ford’s and Garner’s girlfriends, respectively.
The RACK Boyz have Facebook and Twitter accounts and post videos on YouTube, including a rap video entitled, “For the Money,” which refers to cracking cards and shows the defendants wearing RACK Boyz shirts and displaying large amounts of cash, according to the complaint affidavit. Ford is also associated with a different so-called “money team,” known as BandKlan, which also has rap videos posted on YouTube.
The complaint alleges that the defendants use social media to recruit people with bank accounts or who will open bank accounts to use in the cracking cards scheme. They allegedly sent out numerous private messages and posted messages on their Facebook walls inviting people to participate in the scheme. The charges allege that the defendants were linked to numerous withdrawals from third-party bank accounts after counterfeit checks were deposited.
Ford also allegedly “made paper,” by printing fraudulent checks, and, on Oct. 20, Ford allegedly posted threats to law enforcement officers on his Facebook wall.
Seven defendants were arrested yesterday and today on state charges filed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. They are: RAPHAEL FOX, 23, of Chicago; TIERRE McKNIGHT, 19, of Country Club Hills; DONOVAN GRICE, 22, of Dolton; ROYTRELL LONG, 20, of Matteson; LAKEYA SHAMBLEY, 23, of Chicago; MICHAEL BONDS, 26, of Dolton; and ANTONIO CHAVIS, Jr., 21, of Chicago. Each was charged with continuing financial crimes enterprise, financial institution fraud, wire fraud, and Long, alone, was also charged with forgery.
In addition to Matthew Mosley, the remaining 15 Chicago federal defendants (all of Chicago unless noted otherwise) and the amounts of their alleged frauds are: DONNIVAN ALLEN, 25, $196,000; TYRONE BULLOCK, 25, $260,000; DURRAN DAVIS, 29, $90,000; SAMAJE DAVIS, 26, $140,000; MICHAEL GREEN, 27, $61,000; DAVEY HINES, 21, $85,000; CHESTER JACKSON, 23, $26,000; ANTWAN D. KINERMAN, 23, of Markham, $45,000; DENNIS MITCHELL, 26, of Hammond, $50,000; PAIGE PARKER, 24, $85,000; KEVIN THUNDERBIRD, 28, $45,000; RASHEED THURMAN, 28, $200,000; JAVON TURNER, 21, $70,000; MAHLIK WASHINGTON, 22, $100,000; and BLAKE WILLIAMS, 30, of Schaumburg, $230,000.
The charges identify Citibank, US Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and others as being among the victims of the schemes.
As a result of this investigation, CHRISTOPHER CAIN, 26, of Chicago, was charged previously with bank fraud in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Cain, who was the first defendant charged with card-cracking, pleaded guilty, admitting that he was responsible for bank losses totaling $184,877. Earlier this month, Cain was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
The arrests and charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; David A. Capp, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana; Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney; Antonio Gómez, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; W. Jay Abbott, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Indianapolis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division; Joe Moriarty, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General; James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; Garry McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff; and Roger A. Scott, DeKalb County Sheriff. Fraud investigators from several banks assisted in the investigation.
The 16 federal defendants in Chicago were each charged with one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The six federal defendants in Hammond were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
In the federal cases, the government is being represented in Chicago by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Zell, Sunil Harjani, Elizabeth Pozolo, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck. In Hammond, the government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz. The state case is being prosecuted by the Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Complaint
Tuesday 28 October 2014
Woman Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for Wire Fraud Conspiracy Involving Stolen Identities and Consumer Credit ReportsRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – On Monday, October 27, 2014, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees sentenced Nakia Monica Brown, 36, formerly of Charlotte, to 87 months in prison and to two years of supervised release for her role in a scheme involving stolen personal identities and fraudulently-obtained consumer credit reports, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Voorhees also ordered a money judgment forfeiture against Brown in the amount of $396,194.18, and victim restitution in the amount of $447,101.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Thomas L. Noyes, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2009 to 2010, Brown and her conspirators obtained a list of more than 1,400 identity theft victims, which contained stolen personally identifiable information (PII), such as the victims’ names, social security numbers, and dates of birth. Court records show that the conspirators used the victim’s PII to obtain free consumer credit reports from credit reporting agencies and then used the credit report information to manufacture fake identification documents and to purchase over $400,000 in merchandise from 11 national retail chains.
According to filed documents and court proceedings, Brown gained access to the victims’ consumer credit reports, including the victims’ credit scores, their existing credit card accounts, their available lines of credit and other biographical information, such as their residential addresses. In this manner, Brown fraudulently acquired a combined total of 370 credit reports from three major credit reporting agencies, according to court documents. Court documents indicate that Brown then used the identity theft victims’ information to manufacture counterfeit New York driver’s licenses that contained the names, dates of birth and addresses of the identity theft victims, along with photographs and physical descriptions of Brown and her conspirators. Using the counterfeit driver’s licenses, Brown and her conspirators fraudulently purchased merchandise at national retail stores based on the identity theft victims’ available credit or based on same-day, instant credit offered by the retail stores to new customers. Court records indicate that the fraudulently-purchased merchandise was then sold to pawnbrokers, “fences” and other end users. According to court records, Brown and her conspirators purchased over $400,000 in merchandise. Brown pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft in May 2013.
Following the sentencing hearing, Brown was permitted to remain on bond and will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
Brown’s conspirators, Tiffany Sherise Young, 22, of Charlotte and Trina Monique Young, 41, of Bronx, N.Y. were each sentenced earlier this year to 10 months in prison and to two years of supervised release on wire fraud conspiracy charges.
The investigation was handled by USPIS, with assistance from the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom O’Malley and Benjamin Bain-Creed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Ukraine Man Arrested at Denver International Airport After Interfering with Delta Flight Crew MembersRead the Press Release
UPDATE: Pecherskyi is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday, November 3, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya at 10:00 a.m. for a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing. Magistrate Judge Tafoya is located on the 2nd floor of the Byron G. Rogers Courthouse, located at 1929 Stout Street. The hearing will likely involve an interpreter, which could prolong the court appearance. The defendant is represented by a federal public defender.
DENVER – Vadym Pecherskyi, age 42, of Kiev, Ukraine, was arrested late last night after he interfered with two flight attendants aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to Denver International Airport, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Pecherskyi is scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge tomorrow, where he will be advised of his rights, as well as the charges pending against him. Those charges are contained in a Criminal Complaint filed this morning.
On October 27, 2014 at 9:03 p.m. an FBI Special Agent was notified by the DIA Communications Center that a disturbance had occurred onboard a Delta Flight. The agent, after responding to the airport, learned that passenger Vadym Pecherskyi, who was on Delta Flight 2525, had made unwanted sexual advances toward two female flight attendants. The defendant had been served at least two alcoholic drinks before his behavior.
As a result of his sexual advances, both flight attendants felt they could not adequately perform their assigned duties aboard the airplane. A passenger onboard the flight also confirmed the defendant’s sexual advances towards the flight attendants.
This conduct would generally result in a charge of interference with flight crew members, where the defendant would face not more than 20 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Denver Police Department (DPD).
The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Brown.
A Criminal Complaint is a probable cause charging document. Anyone accused of committing a federal felony crime has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a federal grand jury.
The charges contained in this press release are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez Appoints District Election OfficerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Jonathon M. Gerson will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the general elections on Nov. 4, 2014. AUSA Gerson has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer for the District of New Mexico and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
U.S. Attorney Martinez said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination, and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Justice Department will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.
The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting, may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 4, 2014, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, U.S. Attorney Martinez stated that AUSA/DEO Gerson will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at (505) 362-3147.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (505) 889-1300.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
U.S. Attorney Martinez said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”