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5 December 2014
Three Receive Lengthy Sentences for Roles in Cocaine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Following their guilty pleas earlier this year, three members of a cocaine distribution conspiracy have been sentenced to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Today, U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Sergio Castillo-Guerra, 28, and Juan Rangel, 44, to 210 months and 240 months, respectively, in federal prison. Last week, Judge McBryde sentenced the other defendant convicted in the case, Mario Morones-Ramirez, 29, to 168 months in federal prison. Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement learned that Sergio Castillo-Guerra would be traveling from Mexico to the Fort Worth area in May 2014, and that he already had eight kilograms of cocaine for sale that was stashed in a ranch house in the area. On May 21, 2014, law enforcement established surveillance at a restaurant in Fort Worth and observed Castillo-Guerra, travelling with two other men, arrive in a van bearing Coahuila, Mexico, handicap license plates. Castillo-Guerra called co-conspirator Rangel, who agreed to deliver kilograms of cocaine to the restaurant for delivery. Rangel called co-conspirator Morones-Ramirez and instructed him to deliver the eight kilograms of cocaine to the restaurant.
A short time later, Morones-Ramirez arrived at the restaurant in a red Ford pick-up truck. He, Castillo-Guerra, Rangel, and a witness met at the back of truck and discussed the sale. The witness was shown eight kilograms of cocaine contained in a black trash bag in the bed of the truck. Shortly thereafter, special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested the three defendants and the cocaine was seized.
Rangel advised agents that he rented a “ranchito” near Alvarado, Texas, that was used as a stash house for his boss who resided in Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico. Special agents searched the “ranchito,” in Venus, Texas and found an additional nine kilograms of cocaine, more than $300,000 in cash, a loaded pistol with an additional loaded magazine, drug distribution ledgers and a money-counting machine.
ATF investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley prosecuted.
Three Perpetrators of $49.6 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme SentencedRead the Press Release
The final three individuals involved in the $49.6 million Hampton Springs mortgage fraud scheme, which was organized and led by Miami resident Domenico “Dom” Rabuffo, were sentenced yesterday. Rabuffo’s ex-wife was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and the other two individuals who acted as recruiters for the scheme were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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, and Jason T. Moran, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Regional Office, made the announcement.
Chief United States District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced Mae Rabuffo, 75, of New York, to 14 years in prison, and sentenced Raymond E. “Ray” Olivier, 53, of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, and Curtis Allen Davis, 52, of Tampa, Florida, each to 20 years in prison for their roles in the fraud. Dom Rabuffo, 78, of Miami, Florida, was previously sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. All four defendants were convicted by a federal jury in Miami, in July, 2014, following an 11-day trial.
According to the indictment and evidence at trial, from 2003 to 2008, Dom Rabuffo and his co-defendants conspired to perpetrate a complex $49.6 million mortgage fraud scheme against various FDIC-insured lenders, including Bank of America, Regions Bank, SunTrust Bank, and Wachovia Bank. Dom Rabuffo and his ex-wife Mae Rabuffo used shell companies to acquire ownership and control of a purported residential property development known as Hampton Springs, located in Cashiers, North Carolina.
Then, Dom Rabuffo, Olivier, and Davis recruited numerous straw borrowers to purchase building lots in the development. Several of the straw borrowers testified at the trial. According to their testimony and other evidence, Dom Rabuffo paid the borrowers to obtain lot purchase loans and construction loans for building lots in Hampton Springs. To obtain the loans, Domenico Rabuffo, Mae Rabuffo, Olivier, Davis, and other conspirators, submitted fraudulent loan applications and related documents to the lenders and the lenders’ closing agents.
Among other things, the loan applications and settlement statements for the lot loans contained fraudulent statements that the borrowers paid earnest money deposits and cash due at the closing. In fact, the deposits and cash-to-close were paid by Dom Rabuffo and Mae Rabuffo using recycled proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Further, Dom Rabuffo and Mae Rabuffo sent fraudulent correspondence to the closing agents, including letters bearing the forged signatures of borrowers, to create the false impression that the deposits and cash due at closing had been supplied by the borrowers from their own funds.
Olivier and Davis recruited straw borrowers for the fraud scheme and submitted fraudulent loan applications to the lenders. Further, Olivier and Davis caused their private companies to be disclosed as the employers of straw borrowers whose actual employment was inconsistent with the inflated income stated on their loan applications. Then, when contacted by lenders, Olivier and Davis provided fraudulent verifications of employment for those borrowers.
Three other defendants, Diane M. Hayduk, 65, and Victor Miguel Vidal, 49, each of Miami, Florida, and Lazaro Jesus Perez, 44, of Miami Springs, Florida, pled guilty to the charged conspiracy and agreed to assist the United States. Hayduk assisted the Rabuffos with the misappropriation of loan proceeds and the transmission of fraudulent correspondence to the lenders and the closing agents. Vidal served as a loan officer at SunTrust Mortgage, where he sponsored fraudulent loan applications for lots in Hampton Springs, including fraudulent applications for $33 million in construction loans. Perez furnished fictitious accountant letters to Vidal, in support of fraudulent loan applications submitted to SunTrust Mortgage. Hayduk, Vidal, and Perez were sentenced in September, 2014. Hayduk was sentenced to 40 months in prison, Vidal was sentenced to 64 months in prison, and Perez was sentenced to 30 months’ in prison.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and FDIC-OIG. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dwayne E. Williams and Jerrob Duffy.
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.
Three Convicted in Methamphetamine OperationRead the Press Release
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(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistMARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Three Romney, West Virginia residents were convicted today for their role in the production and distribution of methamphetamine, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
An investigation by the Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crime Task Force revealed that Sherry Lynn Woodson, 50, Kelly Christine Gross, 46, and Amanda Marie Matthews, 36, were involved in a methamphetamine production operation.
Woodson was discovered in January 2013 in possession of medication containing pseudoephedrine. She pled guilty today to one count of “Possession of Pseudoephedrine to be used in Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” She faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
Gross was discovered in January 2013 in possession of medication containing pseudoephedrine. She pled guilty today to one count of “Possession of Pseudoephedrine to be used in Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” She faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
Matthews admitted to her involvement in the production of methamphetamine throughout late 2013 and early 2014. She pled guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamine.” She faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Stroudsburg Man Sentenced for Passing Counterfeit Federal Reserve NotesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Calmen Stewart, Jr., age 23, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, yesterday to a term of imprisonment of time served, approximately 2 months, followed by 2 years of supervised release. Judge Mannion ordered that the first 6 months of supervised released be served on home detention with electronic monitoring. Restitution in the amount of $1,700 was also ordered.
According to the United States Attorney Peter Smith, Stewart previously plead guilty to conspiracy to pass counterfeit federal reserve notes at various locations throughout the Middle District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
The case was jointly investigated the United States Secret Service and the Dickson City Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
St. Kitts National Indicted on Illegal Reentry and Related ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – A federal grand jury on St. Thomas has returned a four-count indictment charging Terrance L. Hanley, 44, also known as Robert A. Jenkins, with illegal reentry into the United States, identity theft, making false statements, and making false claims to citizenship, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced today.
According to the indictment, which was returned on Thursday, Hanley presented a false Florida driver’s license to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on November 16, 2014 at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas bearing the name Robert A. Jenkins, and told agents that he was a citizen of the United States. Further inquiries at the secondary inspection checkpoint determined that the defendant’s true name is Terrance L. Hanley, and that he is a convicted felon and national of St. Kitts and Nevis, who was deported from the United States on June 18, 2014. If convicted of the illegal reentry offense as alleged in Count One of the indictment, Hanley faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
United States Attorney Sharpe reminds the public that an indictment is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everard E. Potter.
Shelton Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that BELLARMIN NAMEGABE, 46, of Shelton, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty yesterday in Bridgeport federal court to preparing false tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, NAMEGABE, while operating a tax preparation business based in Shelton, falsely reported expenses, deductions and credits on numerous clients’ tax returns without his clients’ knowledge or consent. The false returns included fabricated Schedule A’s, Schedule C’s, number of dependents, fuel tax credits and other items.
As part of the investigation, special agents with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division interviewed 11 of NAMEGABE’s clients who stated that NAMEGABE had falsified their returns. In addition, as part of an undercover operation, an agent simply dropped off his Form W-2 at NAMEGABE’s business, provided his name and some identifying information, such as his Social Security Number, and left. With the information provided, the undercover agent was only entitled to a refund of $632. Approximately two weeks later, the undercover agent’s return was posted to the IRS database. The return was prepared falsely and generated a refund of $3,235.
NAMEGABE pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return, a charge that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton on February 26, 2014.
NAMEGABE also has agreed to pay back taxes, penalties and interest related to the false tax returns he prepared during the 2007 through 2011 tax years for the 11 individuals who were interviewed as part of the investigation. The tax loss attributed to those false returns is approximately $240,196.
This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing over $600,000 from Concord CompanyRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Consuelo “Connie” Puente pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft yesterday, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon.
According to court documents, from May 19, 2008 to June 18, 2013, Puente was employed by a company in Concord, Calif. In January 2009, Puente was assigned to the payroll department and was the only employee responsible for handing payroll for her employer. From June 2009 through June 2013, Puente admitted she devised a scheme to defraud her employer by receiving wages paid in the names of former employees. Puente obtained three employees’ personal identifying information from the company’s personnel files. She changed their status to current employees so that her employer would pay wages in their names. Puente listed her bank account information as the bank account to receive the wages. As a result, between 2009 and 2013, her employer erroneously transferred net wages of $543,545.08 into Puente’s bank accounts. The company also paid withholdings of $84,362.45 for a total of $627,907.53 in gross wages. To account for the wages paid in the names of the former employees, Puente prepared IRS Forms W-2 for each of the former employees. Puente also admitted that she filed false tax returns for 2009 through 2013 that omitted the $543,545.08 she stole from the company, resulting in $151,987 in tax liabilities.
Puente, 44, of Sacramento, was indicted on March 18, 2014, and charged with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. She pleaded guilty to one count of each. Puente’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2015, before the Honorable Yvonne Gonzales Rogers, United States District Court Judge, in San Francisco.
The maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 1343, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 1028A, is two years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant US Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS, Criminal Investigation and the Concord Police Department.
Romanian National Sentenced for Unlawful Procurement of United States CitizenshipRead the Press Release
BOISE — Adrian Briciu, 32, a Romanian national residing in Sun Valley, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to three years of probation and a $1,000 fine for unlawful procurement of United States citizenship, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also entered an order revoking Briciu’s fraudulently obtained naturalization and United States citizenship. Brici pleaded guilty to the charge on September 25, 2014.
According to court documents, a group of Romanians and citizens of other foreign countries living in the Sun Valley area entered into sham marriages with U.S. citizens in order to falsely obtain U.S. citizenship. Briciu married a U.S. citizen and then applied for U.S. citizenship based upon that marriage. In applying for naturalization, and ultimately citizenship, Briciu lied to Federal authorities about his place of residence and with whom he was living. Shortly after being granted U.S. citizenship, Briciu and his U.S. citizen wife divorced.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing this kind of fraud,” said Olson. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of the United States immigration system and those who lawfully seek citizenship.”
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Racketeering in Long Running Theft Ring Which Led to the Death of an Elderly Medina ManRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Rico J. Vendetti, 44, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Conspiracy, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“Similar to the storyline of a well known Charles Dickens novel, this defendant operated a sophisticated theft ring which utilized a gang of thieves to steal from numerous stores in Western New York,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Unlike the fictional version, however, Vendetti relied upon adults to commit innumerable instances of shoplifting, and then turned to the internet to dispose of the merchandise. The defendant’s operation also led to the death of an elderly man who owned a comic book collection targeted for theft by Vendetti. As this prosecution demonstrates, the Office will use the full extent of federal law to bring all organized crime rings to justice.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony M. Bruce Scott S. Allen, who are handling the case, stated that beginning in 2004 or 2005, the defendant began dealing with a number of shoplifters or “boosters” who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise from stores such as Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, JoAnn Fabrics, Tops and Wegmans. The merchandise was sold to Vendetti for 25¢ on the dollar. The defendant then sold the merchandise on eBay for about half of its retail value, primarily to out-of-state customers.
Prior to July 5, 2010, the defendant learned of 78 year old Homer Marciniak’s comic book collection, with an estimated value of $30,000, and began to plan and carry out a home invasion robbery. On July 5, 2010, Albert Parsons, Donald Griffin, and a third individual entered Marciniak’s Medina home. During the robbery, Marciniak=s valuable collection of collectible comic books was stolen and Marciniak was beaten. Several hours after being treated for bruises and lacerations suffered during the robbery and released from the hospital, Marciniak was readmitted to the hospital where he died of a heart attack.
Charges are pending against defendants Parsons, Griffin and Arlene Combs. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Terry Stewart was convicted of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with the case and is awaiting sentencing. Brandon Meade was convicted of conspiring to transport and transfer stolen property with an aggregate value of $5000 in interstate commerce and is also awaiting sentencing.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Troopers from the Troop A Major Crimes Unit of the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Batavia, under the direction of Captain George Brown, Detectives from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, Detectives from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, Officers from the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila and Officers from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
U.S. Attorney Hochul also praised the work of Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone who brought this case to the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2014 at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Gambling, Extortion and Money Laundring ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Joseph Ruff, 32, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., to conducting an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to collect an extension of credit by extortion, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges carry a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both, with the sentence expected to be 41 months in prison.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ruff will also forfeit over $100,000 consisting of approximately $20,489 in funds on deposit in certain bank accounts; the real property at 360 Edgemere Drive in Rochester, $30,000 in lieu of a second piece of real property and any interest in approximately $60,886 seized as part of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the prosecution of the case, stated that Joseph Ruff admitted conducting an illegal gambling business with his brother Mark Ruff, 40, of Connecticut and Paul Borrelli, 66, of Rochester. The gambling operation involved sports betting through multiple offshore internet gambling websites. It’s estimated the illegal gambling business involved $76,000,000 in total gross wagers.
Joseph Ruff also admitted his role in an extortion scheme. In one instance, he induced a bettor to make repayment on the extension of credit by telling the bettor that a third person had threatened to physically harm him (the defendant) if the bettor did not make repayment on the extension of credit. Thereafter, the bettor endorsed and delivered to Joseph Ruff a check for $230,000, the money referenced above, as a repayment of the extension of credit for the bettor’s past gambling debt from sports wagers the bettor had placed with the him in connection with the illegal internet gambling business
Joseph Ruff also pleaded guilty to conspiring with Mark Ruff and others to launder $230,000 in illegal gambling proceeds. The defendant delivered and deposited cash and check payments from bettors into his personal bank accounts and/or business accounts of co-conspirators. Joseph Ruff also made cash withdrawals from these bank accounts and wrote checks to third party payees from these and other bank accounts.
On June 24, 2014, defendants Joseph Ruff, Mark Ruff, and Borrelli were indicted by a federal grand jury in Rochester on illegal gambling charges. The indictment also charged Borrelli with 12 counts of money laundering. Mark Ruff pleaded guilty to money laundering and gambling charges and agreed to a nine year sentence and forfeiture of $230,000. The case against Paul Borrelli remains pending. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon, New York Field Division, Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Phelan, the Webster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Pickering, and Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Sandra Doorley.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 30, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Geraci.
Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Child Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Rhode Island man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the attempted sex trafficking of a child.
Thomas O’Brien, 54, of Rhode Island, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to the charge contained in a Dec. 11, 2013, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, O’Brien admitted that he was involved in the sex trafficking of a victim who was under the age of 18 from June 15, 2005, to Aug. 4, 2007. O’Brien also admitted that he compensated two child victims for activities involving numerous sexually explicit webcam sessions.
O’Brien traveled to Kansas City, Mo., in the summer of 2007 to engage in sexual activity with one of the child victims. During that trip, he spent more than $10,000 on various gifts and entertainment for the two child victims and a co-defendant. O’Brien admitted that he engaged in sexual activity with one of the child victims during this trip.
Between 2005 and 2008, O’Brien spent approximately $200,000 in gifts and various cash payments to the two child victims. O’Brien also assisted a co-defendant in rendering sexually explicit high-definition videos into a more Internet-friendly format.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the parties have recommended that O’Brien’s sentence for this offense will run concurrently to a six-year sentence that he is currently serving for a separate federal conviction in the District of Rhode Island.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated principally by the FBI and the Human Trafficking Rescue Project.
Additional assistance was provided by the following agencies: The Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Platte County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Newport, R.I., Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police, the Winnipeg, Manitoba Police Service in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Crown’s Attorney’s Office in Canada and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom.
Providence Pair Sentenced to Federal Prison in Identity Theft, $1.85 Million Dollar Fraudulent Tax Return SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Richard Lara, 23, of Providence, R.I., was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison on Thursday for his role in a scheme in which personal identifying information of more than 1,200 individuals was stolen, many of which were used to file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS totaling more than $1.85 million dollars. Julian Balbi, 23, of Providence, a co-defendant in this matter, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for his participation in the scheme.
Lara and Balbi were also ordered to serve three years’ supervised release upon completion of their prison terms and to pays fines of $1,000. Lara and Balbi previously pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated identity theft and one count each of conspiracy and theft of government property.
The sentences, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi, are announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Colonel Steven G. O’DonnellSuperintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation; and Ted A. Arruda, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence Office of the U.S. Secret Service.
According to court records and information presented to the court, Lara and Balbi were arrested by Rhode Island State Police on January 2, 2012, on an unrelated matter during a routine traffic stop. During a court authorized search of the vehicle which was owned by Balbi, State Police discovered 87 U.S. Treasury checks made out to third parties totaling $596,646.46. The investigation revealed that the checks were generated by the submission of fraudulent tax returns. Also seized were several ledgers and notebooks containing personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, of hundreds of individuals; ledgers containing employer information such as Employee Identification Numbers and addresses; and a USB flash drive containing numerous spreadsheets detailing taxpayer information and fraudulent tax returns that had been filed with the IRS.
Rhode Island State Police executed a court authorized search of Balbi’s Providence residence where they seized numerous computers and USB flash drives. A forensic examination of the computers and flash drives revealed numerous spreadsheets containing ledgers identical to those on the flash drive seized from the vehicle. A court authorized search of Lara’s residence resulted in the seizure of an additional ledger which contained personal identity information which matched information contained on the flash drive seized from Balbi’s vehicle.
Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed numerous individuals listed as payees on the treasury checks seized from Balbi’s vehicle. All of the individuals stated they did not file the tax return in question and that they did not know Balbi or Lara. The IRS conducted an analysis of all of the information associated with the 1,258 individuals listed on the various ledgers and computers seized from Balbi and Lara. The investigation revealed that between April 2011 and January 2012, 823 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds totaling $1,854,438.46 were filed with the IRS.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.
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[email protected]Point Richmond Resident Charged with Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – A Superseding Indictment from a federal grand jury in San Francisco was unsealed in district court today charging Richard Thomas Grant with tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon.
According to the indictment, Grant, of Point Richmond, is alleged to have failed to pay taxes owed for calendar years 2005 through 2009 by, among other things, concealing assets and income from the IRS. For the years 2005 through 2007, Grant concealed the nature, extent, and location of his assets by using a warehouse bank, prepaid debit cards, cashier’s checks, and postal money orders. For 2008 and 2009, Grant received taxable income of $310,129 and $327,729, respectively and failed to make individual income tax returns and pay income tax to the IRS. During 2008 and 2009, Grant attempted to conceal from the IRS his share of partnership income from Grant Engineering by not filing partnership tax returns and schedules, and concealing his income and assets using cashier’s checks and postal money orders.
Grant was arrested on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, at his home in Point Richmond, Calif. and made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on the same day. Grant was release on a $100,000 unsecured bond. Grant’s next scheduled appearance is at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2014, for identification of counsel before the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore, United States District Court Judge.
The maximum statutory sentence for tax evasion, in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. § 7201, is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the intended gain or loss, whichever is greater. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Colin Sampson is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS, Criminal Investigation.
Please note that an indictment contains only allegations. As with all defendants, Richard Thomas Grant must be presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
Plant City Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years for Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Reginald Lynn Gaines (24, Plant City) to 11 years and 9 months in federal prison for robbing a convenience store, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during that robbery. The court also ordered Gaines to pay $1,000 in restitution, which was the amount taken during the robbery. Gaines pleaded guilty on September 2, 2014.
According to testimony and court documents, on November 4, 2013, Gaines and others entered the Food Mart on Lock Street in Dade City carrying firearms. Gaines was armed with a shotgun, while the others had handguns. When they demanded money, the store clerk did not immediately open the register. Gaines then struck the clerk with the butt of his shotgun. He was apprehended the next day.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dade City Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam M. Saltzman.
Owner of a Reisterstown Business Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Failed to Pay Over $238,000 in Taxes on Over $900,000 Embezzled From his Company
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Ramon Anthony Jadra, age 47, of Westminster, Maryland, today to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for tax evasion in connection with a scheme to defraud his family-owned business of more than $900,000 over a four-year period. Jadra owned 54% of the company and other family members owned the remaining 46%. Jadra also paid restitution of $283,481, as required by his plea agreement.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.“Jadra perpetuated a scheme that was driven by greed and self-interest,” said Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “He cheated both his own company by illegally diverting corporate funds to himself and the American taxpayer by evading paying taxes on the substantial income he earned from these actions. Today's sentencing should serve as a stark reminder to others that you can’t plunder a business and not expect to pay a price. In Jadra’s case, the price includes prison time.”
According to his plea agreement, Jadra was the president and majority shareholder of a family-owned business located in Reisterstown, Maryland, that manufactures parts for the defense and aerospace industries. Beginning in 2008, Jadra fraudulently diverted company funds to himself.
Jadra carried out his scheme by causing checks to be written on the company’s bank account in the names of actual businesses with which Jadra or his company had dealings in the past, but which were not owed the amounts shown on the checks. These checks totaled $495,950 between 2008 and 2011. To avoid triggering the requirement that banks file a currency transaction report in connection with financial transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash, Jadra caused all of the checks to be issued in amounts of $9,500 or less.
As part of this scheme, Jadra established a check cashing account at a liquor store in Reisterstown, where he cashed fraudulently obtained checks totaling $368,350. Jadra then deposited $316,585 of these funds, again in amounts less than $10,000, in a checking account he had established in the name of DIA Solutions, a shell company that did not actually conduct any business.
In the spring of 2010, Jadra implemented a new aspect of his scheme. Jadra falsely advised his father and his company’s controller that DIA Solutions, an independent consulting firm, was entitled to receive 5% of the payments the company received on a contract worth over $6 million, that DIA Solutions had helped it obtain. Jadra instructed the company’s controller to issue a check to DIA Solutions for 5% of every payment that the company received on this contract. DIA Solutions had not in fact provided any goods or services, nor played any role in obtaining the contract in question. Once Jadra received these checks, totaling $313,218.02, he deposited them into the DIA Solutions bank account and then converted the money to his personal use.
Finally, in 2010 and 2011, Jadra implemented a third aspect of his fraudulent scheme. The manufacturing processes of Jadra’s company generated quantities of scrap metal, which it sold to two other companies. However, Jadra withheld this information from the company’s controller, who believed the company had to pay to have the scrap metal hauled away from the plant. This enabled Jadra to intercept checks from the two businesses that were tendered to Jadra’s company to pay for scrap metal it had sold, deposit the funds in the DIA Solutions bank account, and convert these funds to his own use. In all, Jadra derived $91,249.75 from this aspect of his scheme.
As a result of the schemes, from 2008 to 2011, Jadra fraudulently converted $900,418 from the company, and failed to pay $283,481 in taxes on this fraudulently obtained money. According to court documents Jadra’s reported income during that same time period was more than $4 million. Jadra used the majority of the embezzled funds for largely unsuccessful on-line stock trading. Other embezzled funds were used as follows: $50,000 down payment on a new 2012 BMW 535i costing $73,775.70; $14,512.58 for home renovations; $7,500 to buy a boat trailer; $31,295 to buy a watercraft; and a $15,929 down payment on a new Harley Davidson MC Screamin’ motorcycle costing $48,416.82.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the IRS- Criminal Investigation for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who prosecuted the case.
Ohio Man Sentenced for Threatening OfficersRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Crooksville, Ohio man, who threatened to shoot officers of the Lee County, Virginia Sherriff’s Office, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.
Jeffrey Allen Hinkle, Jr., 31, of Crooksville, Ohio, previously pled guilty to one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure another person. At his plea hearing, Hinkle admitted that on May 21, 2014, he called the Lee County, Virginia Sherriff’s Office and threated to “pull-up beside every cruiser . . .with [a] county deputy and shoot the officer in his face” if the Sheriff’s Office did not intervene in a civil dispute Hinkle’s relatives were having with a neighbor in Lee County, Virginia. Yesterday in District Court, Hinkle was sentenced to 30 months of federal incarceration.
“United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy praised the swift action of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshal’s Service in responding to the threat and ensuring that Mr. Hinkle was promptly taken into custody, stating “Those who threaten law enforcement officers will always be vigorously prosecuted by our office.”
The investigation of the case was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Lee County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office. The United States Marshals Service led the execution of the arrest warrant in Ohio. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Jayne prosecuted the case for the United States.
New York Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft, Credit Card Fraud in Rhode IslandRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – – Yvener Jean-Baptiste, 27, of Brooklyn, was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $150,000 in restitution for using counterfeit credit cards with account numbers belonging to actual credit card owners to purchase Target and Wal-Mart store gift cards from stores in Rhode Island in November 2013, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Ted A. Arruda, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence Office of the U.S. Secret Service; and Lincoln Police Chief Brian W. Sullivan.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Jean-Baptiste to serve 3 years’ supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay restitution to the retailers in the amount of $158,576. Jean-Baptiste pleaded guilty on September 15, 2014, to one count each of credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft
At the time of his guilty plea, Jean-Baptiste admitted to the court that on five occasions between November 1 and November 30, 2013, he and others purchased gift cards totaling $172,661.09 at Target stores in Lincoln, at the Warwick Mall and on Bald Hill Road, and at a Wal-Mart store in Warwick using counterfeit credit cards with actual account numbers belonging to other individuals. The owners of those account numbers were unaware that their personal identifying information was used to produce counterfeit credit cards.
Jean-Baptiste admitted to the court that he provided the purchased gift cards to an individual in New York and that he typically received $200 for every $800 fraudulent transaction he conducted. The investigation revealed that the gift cards were redeemed at stores in New York the same day or the day after being purchased in Rhode Island.
According to information presented to the court, Jean-Baptiste returned to the Target store in Lincoln on November 30, 2013, one day after he and another person purchased $75,894.01 worth of Target gift cards using six counterfeit credit cards. He returned to the store in a vehicle previously identified by a Target employee as being driven by the individuals who committed credit card fraud the previous day. The vehicle was stopped by Lincoln Police and Jean-Baptiste was arrested after Lincoln Police discovered ten counterfeit credit cards, a counterfeit driver’s license and multiple Target gift cards inside the vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
The matter was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service.
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[email protected]New Orleans Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Drug-Related MurderRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that EVANS LEWIS, age 23, of New Orleans, was sentenced today for his role in the shooting death of a New Orleans man. On February 26, 2014, LEWIS pled guilty to murdering an unarmed New Orleans man, Gregory Keys, and shooting another individual, Kendrick Smothers, during the course of a drug trafficking crime.
LEWIS was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a special assessment of $100 by U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown.
“For killing a New Orleans resident and shooting another, Evan Lewis will now spend the next three decades in prison,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “This lengthy sentence reflects the commitment of our federal, state, and local partners in using all necessary resources to remove the most violent offenders from our streets for as long as possible.”
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the New Orleans Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff=s Office and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff=s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharan Lieberman, Maurice Landrieu, Jr., and Matthew Payne were in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Admits to Stealing Nearly $250,000 from Two Federal AgenciesRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JAMES CONRAD, JR., age 49, of New Orleans, pled guilty yesterday to theft of government funds.
CONRAD admitted that from 1998 to 2013, he stole a total of $247,800 from the federal government. CONRAD jointly held a bank account with an individual who received Social Security Administration and Office of Personnel Management benefits. Entitlement to benefits terminated when the individual died in 1998, but the agencies, unaware of the death, continued wiring payments to the bank account until 2013. CONRAD knew that the payments did not belong to him. Instead of notifying the agencies of the improper payments, CONRAD spent them on himself.
CONRAD faces up to ten years’ incarceration and a fine of up to twice the theft amount. U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management - Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon is in charge of this prosecution.
New Haven Man Involved in Crack Distribution Ring Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that VINCENT CLARK, also known as “Nu-Nu” and “Duke,” 33, of New Haven, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 140 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking crack cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from “Operation Bloodline,” a joint law enforcement investigation targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in the Dwight-Kensington and Fair Haven sections of New Haven. Led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments, the year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on numerous telephones, extensive physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, execution of search warrants, and seizures of narcotics and firearms. More than 100 individuals were charged as a result of the investigation.
The investigation revealed that Kevin Wilson, also known as “Nature,” operated a large-scale drug trafficking operation in the greater New Haven area. CLARK served as Wilson’s “right-hand man,” assisting Wilson in the conversion of cocaine to crack cocaine, the delivery of crack to customers and the collection of drug proceeds.
On April 19, 2012, before he was indicted on federal charges, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest CLARK pursuant to an outstanding state arrest warrant, apprehended him after a foot chase and recovered multiple baggies of crack cocaine from his person. He has been detained since his arrest. On April 5, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 280 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”).
CLARK’s criminal history includes prior convictions for drug offenses and for acts of violence.
Wilson has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services and the Milford, Hartford, New Britain, North Branford and Stratford Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Marc Silverman.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Navy Engineer Arrested for Attempting to Send USS Gerald R. Ford Schematics to the Egyptian GovernmentRead the Press Release
Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 35, of Yorktown, Virginia, was arrested today on charges of attempting to steal schematics of the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and pass the schematics to whom he believed was an Egyptian government official.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Norfolk, Virginia, Field Office made the announcement.
Awwad is charged with two counts of attempting to export defense articles and technical data, and faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
According to an FBI affidavit submitted to the court in support of search warrants, Awwad began working for the Department of Navy in February 2014 as a civilian general engineer in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Based on joint investigation, an FBI undercover agent speaking in Arabic contacted Awwad by telephone on Sept. 18, 2014, and asked to meet him the following day. Without seeking additional information from the caller, Awwad agreed. The next day, Awwad met with the undercover FBI agent, who was posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer, in a park in Hampton, Virginia. During the meeting Awwad claimed it was his intention to utilize his position of trust with the U.S. Navy to obtain military technology for use by the Egyptian government, including but not limited to, the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier. Awwad agreed to conduct clandestine communications with the undercover FBI agent by email and unattributable telephones and to conduct “dead drops” in a concealed location in the park.
On Oct. 9, 2014, Awwad and the undercover FBI agent met at a hotel where Awwad described a detailed plan to circumvent U.S. Navy computer security by installing software on his restricted computer system that would enable him to copy documents without causing a security alert. At this time, Awwad also provided the undercover FBI agent four computer aided drawings of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier downloaded from the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Information system. These drawings were marked with warnings that foreign distribution could result in criminal prosecution. During the discussion, Awwad indicated his understanding that the drawings would be sent to and used in Egypt. Awwad also asked the undercover FBI agent for $1,500 to purchase a pinhole camera he would wear around the shipyard to photograph restricted material. At the conclusion of the meeting, Awwad agreed to provide the undercover FBI agent with passport photos which would be used to produce a fraudulent Egyptian passport so that Awwad could travel to Egypt without alerting U.S. government officials.
On Oct. 23, 2014, Awwad traveled to the pre-arranged dead drop site, situated on a secluded hiking trail in a park, and utilized a concealed container disguised in a hole in the ground. He retrieved $3,000 in cash before placing a one-terabyte external hard drive and two passport photos inside. The FBI later collected the contents of the dead drop container.
On Nov. 28, 2014, Awwad was observed entering his office at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard holding a cardboard tube about three feet long. Once in his office, Awwad opened the cardboard tube and took out several white sheets which appeared to be design schematics of an aircraft carrier. Awwad then placed the schematics on the floor of his office and photographed them. After approximately 45 minutes of viewing the schematics and taking photographs, Awwad placed all the schematics back in the cardboard tube and left his office.
Awwad made his initial appearance in federal court today, and is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Dec. 10, 2014, at 3:30 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Norfolk.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, in cooperation with the Department of Navy. Prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin L. Hatch and Joseph E. DePadilla for the Eastern District of Virginia and Department of Justice, Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt for the Justice Department’s National Security Division Counterespionage Section.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-163.
Navy Engineer Arrested for Attempting to Send USS Gerald R. Ford Schematics to the Egyptian GovernmentRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 35, of Yorktown, Virginia, was arrested today on charges of attempting to steal schematics of the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and pass the schematics to whom he believed was an Egyptian government official.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Susan Triesch, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement. Awwad is charged with two counts of attempted exportation of defense articles and technical data, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
According to an FBI affidavit submitted to the court in support of search warrants, Awwad began working for the Department of Navy in February 2014 as a civilian general engineer in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Based on joint investigation, an FBI undercover agent speaking in Arabic contacted Awwad by telephone on September 18, 2014, and asked to meet him the following day. Without seeking additional information from the caller, Awwad agreed.The next day Awwad met with the undercover FBI agent, who was posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer, in a park in Hampton, Virginia. During the meeting Awwad claimed it was his intention to utilize his position of trust with the U.S. Navy to obtain military technology for use by the Egyptian government, including but not limited to, the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier. Awwad agreed to conduct clandestine communications with the undercover FBI agent by email and unattributable telephones and to conduct “dead drops” in a concealed location in the park.
On October 9, 2014, Awwad and the undercover FBI agent met at a hotel where Awwad described a detailed plan to circumvent U.S. Navy computer security by installing software on his restricted computer system that would enable him to copy documents without causing a security alert. At this time Awwad also provided the undercover FBI agent four Computer Aided Drawings of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier downloaded from the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Information system. These drawings were marked with warnings that foreign distribution could result in criminal prosecution. During the discussion, Awwad indicated his understanding that the drawings would be sent to and used in Egypt. Awwad also asked the undercover FBI agent for $1,500 to purchase a pinhole camera he would wear around the shipyard to photograph restricted material. At the conclusion of the meeting, Awwad agreed to provide the undercover FBI agent with passport photos which would be used to produce a fraudulent Egyptian passport so Awwad could travel to Egypt without alerting U.S. government officials.
On October 23, 2014, Awwad traveled to the pre-arranged dead drop site situated on a secluded hiking trail, and utilized a concealed container disguised in a hole in the ground. He retrieved $3,000 in cash before placing a one terabyte external hard drive and two passport photos inside. The FBI later collected the contents of the dead drop container.
On November 28, 2014, Awwad was observed entering his office at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard holding a cardboard tube about three feet long. Once in his office, Awwad opened the cardboard tube and took out several white sheets which appeared to be design schematics of an aircraft carrier. Awwad then placed the schematics on the floor of his office and photographed them. After approximately 45 minutes of viewing the schematics and taking photographs, Awwad placed all the schematics back in the cardboard tube and left his office.
Awwad made his initial appearance in federal court today, and is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on December 10, 2014, at 3:30 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, in cooperation with the Department of Navy. Prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States are Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Benjamin L. Hatch and Joseph E. DePadilla, and Department of Justice, National Security Division Counterespionage Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-163.Musician Sentenced to Prison for Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
Follow @NDFLNewsGAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Ryan David Burd, 29, has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for inducing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The sentence, imposed on December 3, 2014, was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
In February 2014, parents of the minor victim contacted law enforcement to report Burd=s inappropriate sexual advances to their 14-year-old daughter. Burd, a drummer for the Dallas Brass musical ensemble, had met the girl during a fundraising concert in Gainesville where Dallas Brass had performed and led a music clinic for high school and middle school students. They gave consent for investigators to access their daughter’s Facebook account and her phone. A few days later, Burd messaged the girl’s cell phone and made arrangements to have sex with her at her home. When he arrived at her house, he was arrested.
The defendant pled guilty earlier this year to one count of knowingly attempting to persuade, induce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The investigation was led by agencies with the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Williams.Moundsville Man Charged with Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Kenneth Smith, 25, of Moundsville, West Virginia was arrested today after a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging him with cocaine trafficking, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
An investigation by the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed that Smith repeatedly sold crack cocaine throughout late 2013 and early 2014. In November 2013, Smith was discovered selling crack cocaine near Madison Elementary School in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Smith is charged with:
• One count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location.” He faces up to forty years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000,000.00.
• Three counts of “Distribution of Cocaine Base.” He faces up to twenty years in prison and fine of up to $1,000,000.00 on each count.
• One count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base.” He faces up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00.Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Perri is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Member of Cherry Hill Group ‘UDH’ Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin and Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced William Simmons, a/k/a “Big Chew,” age 32, of Baltimore, today to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possesses with the intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
According to his plea agreement, from 2002 through 2013, Simmons distributed crack cocaine and heroin in the Cherry Hill area of Baltimore. Simmons is a member of the UDH organization, which operates in the area of Cherry Hill known as “Up the Hill” or “Up da Hill.” UDH members and associates committed various crimes to include distribution of controlled dangerous substances, such as crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine and oxycodone. UDH members and associates used violence and intimidation to protect themselves, the organization, and their control of the drug trade in part of Cherry Hill.For several years Simmons assisted a fellow UDH member, helping him to run drug distribution shops in the UDH area of Cherry Hill. On November 22, 2013, after a confidential informant purchased heroin from Simmons, Simmons and another UDH member were stopped in a vehicle in Anne Arundel County. The vehicle was searched and officers recovered 59 gel caps of heroin, weighing approximately 17.06 grams and a bag of cocaine, weighing approximately 29.68 grams. Throughout the course of Simmons’s involvement in the UDH drug conspiracy, the conspirators distributed between 3 and 10 kilograms of heroin and between 840 grams and 2.8 kilograms of crack cocaine.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, and Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea L. Smith and Seema Mittal, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Assistant Director Announce Charges Against Brooklyn Man in Scheme to Defraud Elderly Victims Across the United StatesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging ALLAH JUSTICE MCQUEEN with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme that targeted and victimized elderly people across the United States. As alleged, MCQUEEN and his co-conspirators tricked each victim, by phone, into believing that the victim’s grandchild had just been arrested on a narcotics offense and needed thousands of dollars in bail money immediately to avoid prison. The Complaint describes MCQUEEN’s victimization of 17 elderly individuals in New York and across the United States. MCQUEEN was arrested this morning and will be presented later today in federal court in Manhattan.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Allah Justice McQueen showed no justice to his elderly victims. Instead, he exploited the emotions of vulnerable grandparents by convincing them that those they loved were in trouble and needed money. Not only did he allegedly swindle grandparents out of thousands of dollars, he also caused them considerable emotional distress. We are seeing more and more fraud schemes that target vulnerable people, and we urge you to contact our Victim/Witness Unit if you believe you have been affected.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos said: “Courtesy and compassion are among the many traits valued by the elderly, making them attractive targets for criminals who seek to capitalize on their trusting nature. McQueen allegedly preyed upon some of society's most vulnerable citizens in a so-called grandparent scam that pinched more than pennies. In this and all cases, justice will certainly come to those who engage in crimes of this nature.”
According to the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
Beginning in approximately 2013, MCQUEEN and his co-conspirators perpetrated a scheme to defraud elderly victims around the United States by tricking them into believing their grandchildren had been imprisoned and needed immediate bail money. In particular, in each case, a member of the conspiracy contacted the victim by phone, purported to be a law enforcement official or attorney, and falsely claimed that the victim’s grandchild had been taken into custody for a narcotics offense and would not be released unless the victim paid thousands of dollars, and in some cases tens of thousands of dollars, in purported bail money. A member of the conspiracy also frequently posed on the call as the victim’s grandchild, typically crying and pleading with the elderly victim to send money to secure the grandchild’s release from jail, and asking the victim not to contact any other family members because the grandchild felt ashamed. In each case, in extreme distress, the victim sent thousands of dollars, at a minimum, as instructed, to certain individuals who, among other things, provided that money to MCQUEEN at his direction. In each case, after paying the “bail” money as directed, the victim directly contacted his or her grandchild and thereupon learned that the grandchild had not, in fact, been arrested, that the grandchild knew nothing about the claims made on the call to the victim, and that the call was fraudulent.
For example, among the 17 examples set forth in the complaint, one 79 year-old victim in New York received a phone call in August 2013 from an individual who identified himself as a police sergeant and claimed that the victim’s grandson had been arrested after drugs were discovered in a car in which the grandson was a passenger. The purported sergeant said the grandson would be released if the victim sent $6,000 in bail money as directed. The victim, who briefly heard, on the phone, an individual who sounded like the victim’s grandson, wired the money as directed. The victim subsequently spoke directly with the victim’s grandson, and learned that he had not been arrested, and knew nothing about the purported sergeant or the basis for his request for bail money. The victim never received any money back from the purported sergeant.
In fact, the victim’s money was wired to particular individuals working with MCQUEEN who collected the wired funds on MCQUEEN’s behalf and provided the money to MCQUEEN. As to a portion of the victim’s money, MCQUEEN appeared personally at a particular location in Brooklyn to arrange for the collection of the proceeds. MCQUEEN subsequently deposited another portion of the money sent by the victim directly into his personal bank account.
MCQUEEN, 33, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.
If you believe you were a victim of this crime, including a victim entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, please contact Wendy Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, at (866) 874-8900, or [email protected]. For additional information, go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Elisha Kobre is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Allah J. McQueen Complaint
Leader of Burglary Ring Sentenced to over Five Years in Prison for Dozens of Commercial Burglaries and for ArsonRead the Press Release
Robbed Businesses in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Carl Paschall, Sr., age 54, of Halethorpe, today to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit bank burglary and arson of property used in interstate commerce. Judge Motz also ordered Paschall to forfeit $200,000.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Gary Gardner of the Howard County Police Department; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, from at least November 2010 until his arrest in July 2013, Carl Paschall, Sr. was the leader of a group that included his son, Carl Paschall Jr., Chad Paschall, Thomas Ellis, and Michael Johnson, who conspired to commit commercial burglaries in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Paschall, Sr. also conspired with defendants in a related case, David Paschall, Jr., Mark Johnson, Ronald Henderson and others, to commit the robberies. The conspirators stole cash, money orders, stamps, silver bars, jewelry, cigarettes, lottery tickets, prescription drugs, food, beverages, safes, laptop computers, cell phones, electronics, vehicles and other valuable items from gas stations, convenience stores, banks, credit unions and other commercial establishments during the night. The conspirators often stole or attempted to steal cash from ATMs.
The conspirators usually cut power lines, telephone lines, cables and other wires before entering a business. They used vise grips, sledgehammers, chop saws, grinders and blow torches to enter the business, and then often waited – for several minutes or sometimes up to several hours – before ransacking the business of its valuable items.
Carl Paschall, Sr. admitted that he committed, or attempted to commit, dozens of commercial burglaries and that the loss resulting from these burglaries exceeded $800,000.
On May 26, 2012, Carl Paschall, Sr. and his son, Carl Paschall, Jr. stole a white 2012 Ford E250 panel van from a rental car office in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which they used during three commercial burglaries committed on May 26th and 27th at businesses in West Virginia. On May 31, 2012, the conspirators drove the van to Newport Road in Woodbine, Maryland and parked the vehicle on the side of the road. The conspirators left some evidence of their crimes inside the stolen van, including stolen safes and lottery tickets. The applied an ignitable fluid inside the vehicle and set it on fire. Early in the morning on June 1, 2012, Howard County Fire and Rescue Department responded to the scene and encountered the van fully engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the fire, the remaining contents of the van were preserved for law enforcement.
Carl Paschall, Jr., age 32, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 66 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $200,000. Chad Paschall, age 28, of Baltimore; David Paschall, Jr., age 55, of Catonsville, Maryland; Mark Johnson, age 51, of Baltimore; Ronald Henderson, age 52, of Pasadena, Maryland; Thomas Daniel Ellis, age 24, and Michael Johnson, age 25, both of Baltimore, also pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy. All are awaiting sentencing except Henderson, Ellis and Michael Johnson, who were sentenced to, 30 months in prison, a year and a day in prison, and three years of probation, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Howard County Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Department, ATF, Coast Guard Investigative Service and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also praised the many local and state agencies in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania for their assistance in the investigation.
Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys David I. Sharfstein and Andrea L. Smith, who are prosecuting this case.
Leader of “River Otter Preppers” SentencedRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Martin Howard Winters (55, Valrico), the leader of the River Otter Preppers organization, to 30 months’ imprisonment for manufacturing and possessing destructive devices. He pleaded guilty on August 28, 2014.
On November 20, 2014, Winters’s co-defendant, Michael Keith Bonta (50, Valrico), was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for making the destructive devices for Winters. He pleaded guilty on September 2, 2014.
According to testimony and court documents, Winters designed the destructive devices and directed Bonta to manufacture them according to Winters’s specifications. The devices have been described as booby traps operated with a tripwire that project pellets from a 12-gauge shotgun shell. Bonta admitted to having made approximately 20 of the devices for Winters.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald L. Hansen.
Latrobe Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Income Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Latrobe, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months imprisonment on her conviction of income tax evasion, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Debra J. Feather.
According to information presented to the court, during the years 2007 through 2010, the defendant’s joint federal tax returns were false since they failed to declare substantial income and thus resulted in substantial additional tax owing to the United States.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Schwab stated that like many tax evaders, she came before him with no criminal history. But this was a serious crime since Feather had failed to declare income she had embezzled during the last 12 years of her employment at a law firm where she worked for more than 40 years.
Assistant United States Attorney Leo M. Dillon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Feather.
Lansing Sex Trafficker Convicted in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Patrick Miles, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan announced today that Christopher T. Bryant, 24, of Detroit was convicted on all five counts of a superseding indictment charging sex trafficking of minors; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and interstate transportation for the purposes of prostitution. This was the second federal child sex trafficking case prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. Eddie Jackson, the defendant in the first case prosecuted by this office, was convicted of child sex trafficking in April 2014.
U.S. Attorney Miles stated, “This U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement are aggressively fighting child exploitation in its various forms in the Western District of Michigan. Predators who take advantage of the vulnerable and support the markets for child sex as well as human trafficking are going to face justice and answer for the harm they do to society.”
Bryant sex trafficked three 16 and 17-year-old girls in Lansing from March through July 2014. Bryant also transported an adult woman from Michigan to Arizona in August 2012 for prostitution, and then used force, fraud, or coercion to cause her to engage in sex with customers in Phoenix in early September of that year. The victims testified and described the multiple instances when Bryant threatened, beat, or strangled them to force them into prostitution or when Bryant became irate when they were not complying with his orders to have sex for money. Bryant also controlled the victims with alcohol and drugs and told them they would get rich selling sex. However, Bryant, who has dollar signs tattooed across his face, kept all the money. The jury saw internet ads that Bryant posted selling the victims for sex, numerous pictures from social media of Bryant posing with large sums of cash in hotel rooms, and an online video of Bryant and others promoting themselves as pimps. After three days of testimony, it took the jury less than an hour to find Bryant guilty of all counts.
The trial was before Chief U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney. At sentencing, which is scheduled for April 20, 2015 at 1:30 p.m., Bryant will face a potential life sentence. The FBI (FBI) and Ingham County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case jointly. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tessa Hessmiller and Russ Kavalhuna are prosecuting the case.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor's offices; and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement.
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KC Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Illegal Firearms, Sold Weapon used in MurderRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing numerous firearms, including a handgun that was used to commit a murder.
Michael L. Bradford, also known as Derrick Lamont Brown, 30, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, to 25 years in federal prison without parole.
On May 2, 2014, Bradford pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and one count of distributing PCP and marijuana.
Bradford admitted that he sold a Llama .38-caliber revolver, which had been used in a murder less than a week earlier, to undercover law enforcement officers on Nov. 5, 2012. ATF agents and Kansas City police officers were engaged in a nearly year-long undercover operation to address violent crime, illegal firearms trafficking and drug trafficking in the metropolitan area. They operated an undercover storefront resulting in the undercover purchase of many firearms.
Bradford told the undercover operators that the firearm was reported stolen but not used in a crime, however, there was no stolen firearm report located for this weapon. Testing performed after Bradford sold this pistol to the storefront determined it matched two of the three bullets recovered from the body of David Lablance, who had been shot to death on Oct. 30, 2012.
Bradford was one of the last persons to have contact with Lablance before his death. Bradford and Lablance also had been in the storefront together on Sept. 22, 2012, when Lablance sold a grenade, with the deal brokered by Bradford. The device they sold was initially thought to be a live functioning explosive device; however, upon further testing it was determined the explosive charge had been removed and the fuse had been “expended.”
During the storefront operation, Bradford personally sold eight handguns and three long guns. He assisted with the sale of an additional five long guns. Two of the handguns Bradford personally sold were stolen. One of the guns on which he assisted had an obliterated serial number.
Bradford also sold marijuana (8.6 grams) and PCP (10.6 grams and 1.5 grams) during the storefront operation. During each of these drug sales, he was also selling firearms he brought to the storefront. On two occasions when he was at the storefront to sell weapons, Bradford made it clear that he was personally armed, not just with the guns he was selling.
Bradford had also been the target of an earlier unrelated narcotics investigation. As police officers approached Bradford’s residence on Sept. 5, 2012, to execute a search warrant, Bradford was observed walking down the street. He was arrested and officers located a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber pistol that Bradford had tossed nearby.
Bradford was arrested on Nov. 13, 2012, following a traffic stop in which he was the driver. A Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handgun was located behind the front seat and a bottle containing PCP was located on the front seat. There was also a small child in the backseat near the firearm and a female adult passenger.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Bradford has two prior felony convictions for armed criminal action, two prior felony convictions for robbery and one prior felony conviction for burglary.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Justice Department Investigating Sexual Assault Response by the University of New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – The Department of Justice is investigating multiple complaints regarding the University of New Mexico’s handling of reported sexual assaults and sexual harassment of students at the University. As part of the review, the department will evaluate the University’s policies and practices for preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment, and for investigating and responding to student complaints of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and retaliation. The investigation is being conducted under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which both prohibit sex discrimination in education programs.
Attorneys from the Educational Opportunities Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico are conducting this investigation. Anyone with information related to sexual assaults or sexual harassment at the University of New Mexico is encouraged to contact the Department of Justice at (855) 856-2048 or [email protected].
The enforcement of Title IV and Title IX are top priorities of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is available on its website at www.justice.gov/usao/nm. For more information about the Administration’s efforts on prevention and response to sexual assault and sexual harassment on college and university campuses, please visit www.notalone.gov.
Justice Department Announces Settlement with Virginia Bus Company to Ensure Accessibility for People with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with DC Trails Inc., a bus transportation company in Lorton, Virginia, that ensures that their buses are accessible to people with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids. DC Trails is a covered large, fixed-route over-the-road bus operator under the ADA.
The settlement is the result of collaborative enforcement efforts between the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The agreement remedies violations by DC Trails, including failing to provide accessible buses for all trips, failing to report the number of passengers with disabilities that used the lift to board, requiring individuals with disabilities to provide advance notice prior to a trip and failing to train its staff on accessibility requirements. The settlement agreement requires DC Trails to:
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Comply with all ADA requirements for accessible service, and not exclude persons with disabilities from their transportation services;
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Ensure that the company’s employees and contractors do not require or otherwise inform passengers with disabilities who use or seek to use DC Trails’ fixed route service that they must provide advance notice in order to use an accessible bus;
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Ensure that DC Trails only uses wheelchair-accessible buses for its fixed route service; and
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Train all employees and contractors on the requirements of the ADA for large, fixed-route over the road bus operators.
“Intercity bus service is a growing and effective means of affordable transportation across this country,” said Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “People with disabilities must be able to count on accessible bus service that is equal to the service provided to others.”
“This settlement agreement demonstrates the United States Attorney’s Office’s commitment to ensure that individuals with disabilities receive equal access to public accommodations, including transportation services that are operated out of Northern Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Dana Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia.
This is the Justice Department’s 24th settlement with bus companies over the past several years to ensure compliance with accessibility obligations.
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by public accommodations, including large over-the-road bus companies. DOT’s regulations implementing the ADA require that these companies perform regular maintenance checks to ensure that wheelchair lifts work, provide prompt accessible service with an alternative carrier if the company does not have a lift-equipped bus, train their employees on accessibility requirements, and file annual accessibility reports with the FMCSA.
This matter was handled for the Department by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Gordon, Coordinator of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Enforcement Program, and David W. Knight of the Civil Rights Division.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or this settlement can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.
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Jury Convicts Tennessee Sex Offender for Enticement of A Minor and Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. – A jury deliberated for less than one hour yesterday before returning guilty verdicts against Joseph Cain Harrison, 37, of Nashville, Tenn., for enticement of a minor and two counts of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The jury also found that Harrison was a convicted sex offender at the time he committed the offenses in Champaign County, Ill. Sentencing for Harrison is scheduled on April 6, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough in Urbana.
During Harrison’s trial, which began on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, the government presented evidence that between July 1, 2011, to Jan. 20, 2012, Harrison used the Internet and a cellular telephone to entice an individual whom he believed to be 13 years of age to engage in sexual activity. The jury also heard evidence that Harrison traveled from Nashville, Tenn., to Champaign, Ill., on two occasions, Jan. 13, 2012, and Jan. 17, 2012, for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
Harrison was indicted by a grand jury in March 2012, following his arrest in the Middle District of Tennessee on January 20, 2012. Harrison has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.
Enticement of a minor carries a statutory penalty is no less than 10 years in prison and up to life in prison. For each count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the penalty is up to 30 years in prison; however, if a defendant has a prior qualifying sex conviction, the maximum penalty for this offense is 60 years in prison. Because the jury found that Harrison was a registered sex offender at the time he committed the offenses, there is an enhanced penalty of 10 years in prison served consecutive to the enticement and travel counts. The offenses include terms of up to life supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, Springfield, Ill., and Nashville, Tenn., divisions; the Champaign Police Department; and the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department Sex Crimes Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson with the cooperation of Champaign County State=s Attorney Julia Rietz.
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.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Failing to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Anthony Vincent Burkitt, a/k/a “Vincent Thomas Wolfe,” (44, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of failing to register as a sex offender after traveling to Florida from Maryland. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, and a lifetime of supervision. Burkitt has been in custody since his arrest on April 13, 2014.
According to court documents, on or about June 24, 2002, Burkitt was convicted of attempted second degree rape in Baltimore County, Maryland. Subsequent to his conviction, and after being released from prison, he traveled from Maryland to Jacksonville, Florida, where he established residency in February 2013, but failed to register as a sex offender as required by the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On April 13, 2014, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a Jacksonville residence, in reference to a domestic disturbance. At the time, Burkitt was living at the residence under the alias “Vincent Thomas Wolfe” and was arrested. Further investigation revealed that he was a sex offender, and that he had been living in Jacksonville since February 2013 without registering as required by law.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Investment Broker Charged with Defrauding Investors of Their Retirement SavingsRead the Press Release
Fishers man swindled millions from unsuspecting investors.
INDIANAPOLIS - Josh J. Minkler, Acting United States Attorney announced today a Fishers man was charged by the grand jury with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. John K. Marcum, 50, was arrested at his home and had his initial appearance yesterday.
“Defrauding people of their hard-earned retirement savings is criminal behavior,” said Minkler. “The indictment demonstrates that Marcum used investor’s retirement accounts as his own personal piggy bank to fund his lavish lifestyle. Anyone who does that will face the full force of federal criminal prosecution.”
In 2010, Marcum founded the investment firm Guaranty Reserves Trust, LLC (GRT) operating in the Indianapolis area. He allegedly promised investors that he would use their money to achieve significant returns by trading securities, stocks and bonds with no fees being charged. Marcum arranged for investors to deposit money into various accounts and self-directed IRA’s which allowed him to control the investors’ money.
From 2010 through 2013 Marcum solicited millions of dollars from 16 investors. Marcum represented himself and GRT to be worth millions of dollars with celebrity clients and traded very conservatively. He allegedly promised to earn high rates of return with no risk to the investors’ principle. In reality he failed to invest the money as promised and converted it for personal gain. Marcum commingled the funds to finance a personal line of credit, highly speculative start-up ventures, cars, vacations and other gifts.
This was a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.
W. Jay Abbott, Special Agent in Charge, stated, “The FBI will aggressively pursue those who commit financial fraud. It is a priority to the Bureau to protect the American public from these types of crimes.”
IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee stated, “IRS Criminal Investigation stands united with the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office to bring justice to those who commit crimes against our society. We are committed to protecting the American taxpayers by following the money and holding individuals who violate the public’s trust accountable for their actions”.
According to Winfield D. Ong, Criminal Chief for the United States Attorney’s Office, who is prosecuting the case, Marcum faces up to 50 years in prison and fines of over $5 million if convicted.
An indictment is merely a charge and not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which time the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment Unsealed Charging Four from El Reno with Conspiracy and Wire Fraud Related to Vehicle Cash Rebate SchemeRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Today, a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed charging RICHARD M. ARNOLD, SR. (a/k/a/ "Rick Arnold"), 60, RICHARD M. ARNOLD, II, (a/k/a/ "Ricky Arnold"), 28, ROBERT W. ARNOLD, 25, and ROBYN R. ARNOLD, 55, all from El Reno, Oklahoma, with conspiracy to defraud new car purchasers out of cash rebates based on false representations that a charitable trust would make the victims’ monthly car payments, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
According to the indictment, from May of 2013 through April of 2014, the defendants informed their acquaintances, family members, and friends that they could become beneficiaries of a program operated by a charitable trust designed to help working people acquire new cars. The defendants claimed that "CECU Trust" financed the program, which was also called the "United Auto Buyers Co-op Association."
It is alleged that Rick, Ricky and Robert Arnold met car purchasers interested in the program at various car dealerships and arranged for purchases on credit that would include cash rebates to the buyers from $4,000 to $12,000 per car. The indictment alleges that in some instances, the defendants caused victims’ loan applications to include fraudulently inflated income. It is also alleged that these defendants told the car buyers that the rebate money would have to be given to the defendants for deposit into the trust, which would then pay the buyers’ car loans in their entirety.
After the car purchases were complete, it is alleged that one or more of the defendants met the car buyers in a public place, such as a coffee shop or a bank, to receive the proceeds of the cash-back finance transactions and deposited the money into bank accounts controlled by Robyn Arnold. It is further alleged that the defendants asked buyers to sign powers of attorney as well as proposed agreements advising the buyers that the association’s chances of success would increase relative to the buyers’ success in referring new participants to the program.
When the defendants failed to make the car loan payments as promised, various lenders notified buyers of potential defaults. When the buyers asked for explanations, it is alleged that Rick and Ricky Arnold assured the buyers that the payments would be made or that the trust would be unable to make further payments unless the buyers recruited additional participants.
The indictment charges all four defendants with conspiracy. Rick Arnold is charged with 9 counts of wire fraud, Ricky Arnold is charged with 8 counts of wire fraud, and Robert Arnold is charged with one count of wire fraud. The indictment also seeks forfeiture in the amount of the proceeds of the offenses. Each count of conspiracy and wire fraud carries up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, in addition to up to five years of supervised release. If convicted, the defendants will also be required to pay restitution to individual victims and financial institutions. Reference is made to the indictment and court record for further information. The public is reminded that each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
All four defendants were arrested before 7:00 a.m. today at their El Reno residences and were released on bonds after appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Gary Purcell this afternoon in Oklahoma City.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Public Protection Unit of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Kate Holey.
Indicted Chinese National Lands at Boston’s Logan Airport to Face Federal Prosecution for Supplying Iran with Nuclear Production PartsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Sihai Cheng, a/k/a Chun Hai Cheng, a/k/a Alex Cheng, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), arrived to face charges for conspiring to export pressure transducers to Iran which can be used in the production process of weapons-grade uranium. In February 2014, Cheng was arrested by British authorities on U.S. charges during a trip to the United Kingdom. He was detained in the United Kingdom pending extradition to the United States.
Cheng is charged in a ten-count indictment with Seyed Abolfazl Shahab Jamili, an Iranian national, and two Iranian companies, Nicaro Eng. Co., Ltd. (Nicaro) and Eyvaz Technic Manufacturing Company (Eyvaz). They are accused of conspiring to export, and exporting, highly sensitive U.S. manufactured goods with nuclear applications to Iran.
The indictment alleges that Cheng supplied thousands of parts that have nuclear applications, including U.S. origin goods, to Eyvaz, an Iranian company involved in the development and procurement of parts for Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Specifically, it alleges that in 2005, Cheng began doing business with Jamili, an Iranian national who worked for Eyvaz and ran his own importing business in Iran. Jamili remains a fugitive, but the U.S. government, through Interpol, has requested his arrest to face prosecution in the United States.
Since 2005, Cheng sold Jamili thousands of parts with nuclear applications, knowing that these parts were destined for Iran. Significantly, beginning in February 2009, Cheng and Jamili conspired with others in the PRC to illegally obtain hundreds of U.S. manufactured pressure transducers which were manufactured by MKS Instruments, Inc., a company headquartered in Massachusetts, on behalf of Eyvaz. As a result, hundreds of MKS pressure transducers were illegally exported from the United States to China. Upon receipt of these parts in China, Cheng caused the MKS pressure transducers to be exported to Eyvaz or Jamili in Tehran, Iran, in violation of U.S. export laws.
The indictment further alleges that by 2007, Iran was operating thousands of gas centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Iran has sought and illicitly obtained MKS pressure transducers to use in its centrifuge plants. Those transducers can be seen in publicly available photographs of Natanz, an Iranian uranium nuclear enrichment facility, with then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, showing numerous transducers attached to Iran’s gas centrifuge cascades. Because pressure transducers can be used in gas centrifuges to convert natural uranium into a form that can be used in nuclear weapons, they are subject to export controls and cannot be shipped to China without an export license or to Iran at all.In 2011, the Council of the European Union designated Eyvaz as an entity “involved in [Iran’s] nuclear or ballistic missile activities” and imposed restrictive measures against it. In so doing, it found that Eyvaz had produced vacuum equipment, which it supplied to Natanz and Fordow, another of Iran’s uranium nuclear enrichment facilities, and that it also had supplied pressure transducers to Kalaye Electric Company, an Iranian company which has been designated by the United States and United Nations as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison on the charges of conspiracy to commit export violations and illegal exports of goods to Iran; no greater than 10 years in prison on the charges of smuggling goods, and no greater than five years on the charge of conspiracy, in addition to five years of supervised release and a fine of $4 million. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and John J. McKenna, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Harrisburg Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that yesterday Senior United States District Court Judge William W. Caldwell sentenced David Flores, age 48, Harrisburg to 15 months imprisonment and five years supervised release for failing to register as a sex offender.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Flores was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2014 for failing to register in Pennsylvania as a sex offender after he moved from New York to Pennsylvania.
Flores pled guilty to the charge on November 17, 2014.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Pfisterer
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Georgia Co-Conspirators Convicted of Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine and HeroinRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Nicole Felicia Clark 36, of Ellenwood, GA and Steve Jacob Joseph 35, of Alpharetta, GA, were convicted yesterday evening after a three-day trial by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and one kilogram or more of heroin. Clark was also convicted of three counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement today after the verdicts were accepted by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis.
Clark and Joseph were indicted on January 9, 2014. They now face a maximum penalty of life in prison when they are both sentenced on March 20, 2015.
According to court records and evidence at trial, Clark and Joseph were members of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that transported cocaine and heroin to the Norfolk area from New York City and Atlanta, Georgia. Clark transported kilograms of cocaine and heroin from Georgia to Norfolk in a secret compartment in a 2007 GMC Yukon SUV. Clark transported hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money from Norfolk to Atlanta. Joseph managed the drug operation in Atlanta. He loaded cocaine and heroin into the GMC Yukon for delivery by Clark to Virginia. Joseph handled the drug money generated by drug sales in Virginia and paid the group’s California supplier. On November 4, 2013, Clark was arrested by Officers with the Clayton County, GA Police Department following a traffic stop of the GMC Yukon in suburban Atlanta. During the stop, the investigating officer conducted a search of the Yukon, discovered the secret compartment with 2.5 kilograms of cocaine and 595 grams of heroin inside. Trial testimony indicated that Clark was in the process of transporting the seized drugs to Virginia. Joseph was arrested by the Clayton County PD later that evening in a car stereo installation shop named JMW Customs Auto in Rex, Georgia. Police seized approximately $10,000 in cash from Joseph. The police also seized from the shop a DVR security camera system on which were found videos depicting Joseph and Clark placing items in the secret compartment in the GMC Yukon.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-8.
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Futures Trader Indicted for Allegedly Stealing Computer-Stored Trade Secrets from His Former Chicago Trading FirmRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former futures trader at an unnamed trading firm in Chicago was indicted on federal charges for allegedly stealing trade secrets from the firm, including computer code for electronic trading and strategies and other intellectual property. The defendant, DAVID JACOB NEWMAN, was charged with three counts of theft of trade secrets in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday and made public today.
Newman, 32, of Chicago, began working at the trading firm as a clerk in 2004 and later as a trader until he left in March of this year, less than a week after he collected his 2013 bonus. Newman will be ordered to appear for arraignment on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
According to the indictment, the trading firm’s trade secrets included custom-made software for pricing financial products, communicating and executing trades on public exchanges, and analyzing trading risk. They also included trading algorithms, trading profit and loss analysis, and the firm’s options modeling system. Most of the computer code the firm used for trading was custom-made by its employees or consultants, and the firm invested considerable time and money in developing its computer code and intellectual property. In 2011, Newman signed a document acknowledging that he understood the firm’s policies regarding protection of its trade secrets and proprietary information, and at no time was he authorized to copy or possess the firm’s trade secrets.
On Oct. 31, 2013, Newman allegedly accessed and copied computer files from a firm directory, containing trading algorithms, strategies, and analysis, onto a personal thumb drive. On Nov. 5, 2013, Newman accessed and copied additional files containing such information from four firm directories used by four specific traders onto a personal thumb drive, the indictment alleges. A week later, Newman established NTF LLC and was the sole owner and only member of the limited liability company.
On Feb. 24 of this year, Newman allegedly accessed and copied more than 400,000 computer files from the trading firm’s source code repositories onto a personal thumb drive. Three days later, Newman signed an agreement with the CME Group to allow NTF LLC to establish its own interface with CME online trading platforms.
A day after Newman resigned from the trading firm in March, he established an account enabling NTF LLC to trade speculatively in the futures markets, the indictment states.
Each count of theft of trade secrets carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 million fine. If convicted, restitution is mandatory and the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford C. Histed, deputy chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Ft. Campbell Military Base Resident Sentenced to 41 Months for Wantonly Abusing A Child Under the Age of 12Read the Press Release
– Child was malnourished and in need of medical care for burns
PADUCAH, Ky. – A Ft. Campbell military base resident was sentenced in U.S. District Court today by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell to forty-one months imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, for wantonly abusing her child, who at the time was under the age of 12, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Shanika D’June Pickens, a/k/a Shanika Campbell, age 28, previously pleaded guilty to a two count Indictment charging that she wantonly abused the child by failing to provide the child professional medical attention for burns and for failing to provide the child adequate food and nutrition that resulted in his medical diagnosis of malnutrition.
Campbell had custody of her 3 children, including the victim in this case, known as K.V.P., who was under 12 years of age, while living on Ft. Campbell, Kentucky military base, located in Christian County, Kentucky. Between January 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011, the victim received burns to his right side and back areas. At that time, Campbell was aware of the burns and did not seek professional medical attention that was available on Ft. Campbell military base for her family. Campbell admitted that her failure to seek medical attention for the burns was wanton because she was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the child would suffer a serious bodily condition and ultimately experienced more pain and scarring to his back and right side areas than he would have experienced had he received timely and competent medical attention. The risk of that harm to K.V.P. was of such a nature and degree that the disregard of that risk constituted a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.
Further, between October 1, 2011 and January 30, 2012, Campbell failed to provide adequate food and nutrition to K.V.P. That condition resulted in his hospitalization at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, between January 28, 2012 and February 6, 2012. During that time, the minor victim was diagnosed with, among other conditions, malnutrition. Campbell admitted that her failure to provide adequate food and nutrition to K.V.P was wanton because she was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.
If convicted at trial, Campbell faced a sentence of no more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 and a three year period of supervised release.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Sparks and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, 502nd Military Police Battalion (CID).
Four Sentenced on Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Four West Virginia residents were sentenced today on drug trafficking charges, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Ondrea K. Counts, 42, of Reynoldsville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for selling ecstasy near the Oakmound Apartments, a public housing authority facility in Clarksburg, West Virginia. She pled guilty in January 2014 to one count of “Distribution of MDMA within 1000’ of Protected Location – Aiding and Abetting.”
George Powers, 35, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison after he was discovered in possession of oxycodone pills in March 2014. He pled guilty in July 2014 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone – Aiding and Abetting.”
Aaron Jones, 36, of Fairmont, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for selling cocaine near Unity Terrace, a public housing authority facility in Fairmont, West Virginia. Jones will receive credit for time served since June 2014. He pled guilty in July 2014 to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location.”
Justin Charles Cole, 32, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to time already served. Cole was discovered selling oxycodone in January 2013 in Anmoore, West Virginia. He pled guilty in August 2014 to one count of “Distribution of Oxycodone.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Morgan prosecuted Counts and Powers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Stein prosecuted Cole, and Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuted Jones on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated Counts, Powers, and Cole. The Three Rivers Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated Jones.
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Fort Myers Man Convicted of Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Brian Robert Harling (57, Fort Myers) guilty of possessing child pornography. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2, 2015.
According to testimony presented at trial, on July 4, 2013, a tenant living in a residence owned and previously occupied by Harling found three thumb drives that had fallen from the top of the molding inside a closet. Harling had moved out three days earlier. The tenant and her mother contacted the police after they discovered that the thumb drives contained child pornography. An officer from the Fort Myers Police Department then met with the tenant to retrieve the thumb drives. The officer also located two additional thumb drives that had been concealed on the ledge of the molding inside the closet. Approximately 3,000 images and 35 videos depicting child pornography were found on the thumb drives.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Fort Myers Police Department, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Cape Coral Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Former Panhandle Business Owner Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @NDFLNewsPENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Patrick Alfred Anderson, 62, of Laughlin, Nevada, was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in federal prison for income tax fraud. The sentence was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Anderson pled guilty earlier this year to three counts of filing fraudulent tax returns. Between 2010 and 2011, Anderson sold synthetic drugs, commonly known as “spice” and “bath salts,” from retail stores he operated in northwest Florida. These include Haight Ashbury LLC, Woodstock Navarre, Woodstock NV, Woodstock Fort Walton Beach, Woodstock Mary Esther, and Groovy Gifts. Anderson derived more than $700,000 in income from the sale of these drugs. He failed to report this income on his tax returns, resulting in a net tax loss of $173,549.
In addition to the 24-month sentence, Anderson was ordered to pay $173,549 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. In related civil and administrative forfeiture actions, Anderson was required to forfeit approximately $900,000 in property as proceeds from his sale of the synthetic drugs, including cash, two pieces of real property, and eight vehicles.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers and was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation and the Okaloosa Multi-Agency Drug Task Force.
Former Maryland Veterans Affairs Official Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining over $1.4 Million in BenefitsRead the Press Release
Eight Other Veterans Convicted of Paying U.S. Army Veteran David Clark
Cash to Fraudulently Obtain Veteran Benefits
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced U.S. Army veteran David Clark, age 68, of Hydes, Maryland, the former Deputy Chief of Veterans Claims in the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, today to a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release for extortion in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $1.4 million in veterans benefits. Chief Judge Blake also entered an order that Clark forfeit $1,406,774 and pay restitution of $1,284,399.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Kim R. Lampkins of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.
In January 2011, Clark retired from the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) as the deputy chief for Veterans Claims. Clark’s duties included submitting claims and documentation on behalf of veterans in Maryland who appointed the MDVA to represent them in obtaining federal benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Clark also submitted documents to the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) in support of veterans’ applications for property tax waivers.
According to his plea agreement, while serving as deputy chief of claims, Clark fraudulently obtained VA compensation for himself and at least 17 others, by submitting false documents to the VA purporting to show that the claimants had been diagnosed with diabetes, and in some cases that the claimanst had served in Vietnam when they had not. The claimants paid Clark half of the retroactive lump sum payment they received in cash, or some other amount of cash. These payments to Clark were made in unmarked envelopes at MDVA offices in Bel Air, Maryland; the Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore; and other locations.
In support of these claims, Clark submitted fake letters from doctors purportedly treating the veterans, which falsely stated that the claimants suffered from Type II diabetes. Clark used the names and addresses of real doctors who were unaware of his conduct. Each letter stated that the diagnosis of Type II diabetes had been made a year or more prior to the date of the letter, which entitled each claimant to a retroactive lump-sum payment. The letters also stated that the claimants were currently taking insulin, which increased the amount of compensation the VA paid the claimant.
Clark created counterfeit versions of a Defense Department form for himself and five others, which falsely stated that each had served in Vietnam. These forms also falsely stated that these individuals had received various awards and decorations for the Vietnam service, including that Clark himself had been awarded the Purple Heart Medal. These documents were submitted to the VA to provide false evidence that they qualified for compensation benefits for diabetes.
Clark also submitted false certifications to the SDAT on behalf of claimants that owned homes in Maryland, claiming that the filers were entitled to a property tax waiver due to a service-connected disability.
The total loss to the government caused by false submissions to the VA is $1,151,219 and the loss from the property tax evasion is $255,555, for a total loss of $1,406,774.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama=s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys= offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the VA Office of Inspector General for its work in the investigation and praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Wise, who prosecuted the case.
Former Illinois State Rep. Keith Farnham Pleads Guilty to Transporting Child PornogrphyRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Former Illinois State Rep. KEITH FARNHAM pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of transporting child pornography via computers in his office and residence in Elgin last year. Farnham resigned his seat in the Illinois General Assembly in March of this year, less than a week after federal agents seized computers from his home and office.
Farnham, 67, of Elgin, remains on restrictive conditions of bond, including home incarceration with electronic monitoring, while awaiting sentencing, which U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang scheduled for March 19, 2015, in Federal Court.
Farnham, who must register as a convicted sex offender, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. His plea agreement states that the government anticipates a United States Sentencing Guidelines range of at least 151 to 188 months in prison. Federal inmates must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence and there is no parole in the federal prison system.
In pleading guilty, Farnham admitted that on Nov. 25, 2013, he sent an email from a computer in his Elgin office with the following message: “do you trade. This is what I lik.” Farnham attached two files to the email that he knew contained child pornography. In addition, he possessed images and videos depicting child pornography on computers and electronic storage devices in his residence, car and offices.
On March 13 of this year, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed federal search warrants at Farnham’s state office and residence in Elgin and seized computers and electronic storage devices. On that day, Farnham possessed no fewer than 2,765 images of real minors engaged in sexually explicit acts, including sexual intercourse, with prepubescent children. Some of the images involved sadistic or masochistic conduct and depictions of violence, according to Farnham’s guilty plea.
According to the court documents, HSI agents were investigating information received from the HSI Cyber Crimes Center that an email address, later linked to Farnham, was being used to trade child pornography on the Internet.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Gary Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI in Chicago.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Storino and Michelle Petersen.
Plea Agreement
Former District of Columbia Schools Compliance Officer Sentenced on Wire Fraud and Conflict-of-Interest ChargesDefendant’s Private Transportation Company Collected More Than $460,000 in Fraudulent PaymentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Donnie Dukes, a former compliance officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools, was sentenced today to a month in jail, to be followed by six months of home confinement, for carrying out a scheme involving more than $460,000 in fraudulent payments to a private transportation company that he owned and controlled.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Daniel W. Lucas, District of Columbia Inspector General, and Christopher Cooper, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General's Mid-Atlantic Regional Office.
Dukes, 41, of Hyattsville, Md., pled guilty on Jan. 22, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to wire fraud and conflict-of-interest charges. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Following his home detention, Dukes will be placed on three years of probation. He also must pay $463,621 in restitution to the District of Columbia.
According to the government’s evidence, Dukes worked from October 2008 until October 2010 as a compliance officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). His duties included making arrangements for transportation for the special needs students who received education services outside of the District of Columbia.
At the same time, however, Dukes owned and controlled a private company that provided, among other services, transportation to students who needed to travel from the District of Columbia to education centers outside of the District of Columbia for special services.
While working at DCPS, Dukes personally referred, or caused colleagues of his at DCPS to refer, 86 out-of-state student transports to his company, resulting in the firm receiving $325,000 in payments from the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Of this, the government’s evidence showed, $163,621 involved illegitimate expenses.
Dukes was terminated from DCPS in October 2010 as part of an overall reduction in the workforce. He then schemed to obtain non-public lists of students needing transportation services from his former colleagues at DCPS. Dukes later used these lists to create false invoices and supporting documentation for payments to his company in the names of the students. Dukes created 60 false invoices and supporting documentation through this scheme, causing the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education to pay his company $300,000 for transportation services that never were provided.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, Inspector General Lucas, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cooper commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Legal Assistant Nicole Wattelet and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Waxman, who prosecuted the case.
14-270Former Director of Anesthesiology School Sent to Prison for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
The former director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Nursing Anesthesiology School was sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling $215,760 from the school, said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach.
Paul Blakeley, 59, of Concord Township, was also ordered to pay restitution in the same amount to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation by U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi.
Blakely pleaded guilty to a one-count information in September.
From 2007 to 2013, Blakeley issued approximately 110 checks drawn on accounts maintained by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Nursing Anesthesiology School without authorization, and made them payable to his spouse, and various merchants and credit card issuers. On approximately 50 of the unauthorized checks, Blakeley forged the payee’s endorsement before depositing them into his personal bank account, according to court documents.
The case was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Miranda Dugi following an investigation by the Cleveland Clinic Protective Operations and the United States Secret Service.
Former Arrow Trucking Executives Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Bank Fraud and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – James Douglas Pielsticker, former Chief Executive Officer and President of Arrow Trucking Company, was arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Dallas, Texas, on bank fraud and tax fraud charges stemming from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations. Jonathan Leland Moore, former Chief Financial Officer of Arrow Trucking Company, previously waived indictment and pleaded guilty on December 4, 2014, to an one-count information charging him with conspiring to commit both bank fraud and tax fraud.
United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. of the Northern District of Oklahoma; Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry J. Wszalek for the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Division Office; and Special Agent in Charge Damon Rowe of the IRS-CI’s Dallas Division Office made the announcement.
James Douglas Pielsticker, 46, of Dallas, Texas, formerly of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was indicted by a grand jury in a 23-count superseding indictment on December 1, 2014, which was unsealed today. The superseding indictment charges Pielsticker with one-count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, 15-counts of bank fraud, one-count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, three-counts of tax evasion, and three-counts of failing to account for and pay over payroll taxes.
According to the indictment and information, from May 2009 to December 2009, Pielsticker and co-conspirators provided Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB), a financial institution located in Ogden, Utah, with fraudulent and misleading invoice data consisting of inflated amounts due to Arrow Trucking. As a result of this false information, the TAB paid Arrow Trucking more money than Arrow Trucking was entitled to under the companies’ agreement.
As alleged in the indictment and information, Arrow Trucking withheld payroll taxes from employees’ wages. Beginning in 2009, Pielsticker and others conspired to defraud the United States by failing to account for and pay over Arrow Trucking employees’ payroll taxes and with respect to Pielsticker’s own income taxes. Arrow Trucking failed to pay over approximately $5,000,000 in payroll taxes consisting of federal income taxes, Medicare taxes, and Social Security taxes. Also, Pielsticker attempted to evade his individual income taxes due and owed to the United States for the years 2007, 2008, and 2009.
It is further alleged, Pielsticker caused Arrow Trucking to spend thousands of dollars on various personal expenses, include payments related to Bruce Webber, Pielsticker’s wedding, and Bentley and Maserati automobiles.
If convicted, Pielsticker faces the statutory maximum penalty of not more than 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 for each of the bank fraud related counts; and not more than five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of tax related counts.
In addition, upon conviction, Pielsticker faces entry of a money judgment in the amount of $15,000,841.32 based upon proceeds he obtained as a result of the bank fraud conspiracy and the bank fraud scheme.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Charles O’Reilly of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Gallant and Catherine Depew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
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U.S. v. James Douglas Pielsticker