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Friday 3 October 2014
Eleven Members of Ortega Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the indictment of 11 individuals charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Minnesota. The indictment is the result of a two-year investigation, and a collaborative effort among members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Office of Special Investigations (DOC-OSI), and several other local law enforcement partners.
According to the indictment, from approximately January 2012 through September 2014, the defendants conspired to possess and distribute methamphetamine. DANIEL SEGURA, JR., and SAGE OLLERMAN are charged with distributing approximately 26 pounds of methamphetamine in Minnesota on one occasion. MARK THOMAS BUSKOVICK, JEREMY JOSEPH HUNT, JAMIE LEE HUNT, JASON ORTEGA, JOSHUA ORTEGA, SALVADOR ORTEGA, and DANIEL SEGURA, JR., are charged with conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in Minnesota and elsewhere. Each of the other defendants is charged with conspiring to distribute additional quantities of methamphetamine.
This case is the result of a joint investigation, which is ongoing, including law enforcement efforts from the DEA, ATF, IRS-CID, Minnesota BCA, Minnesota DOC-OSI, the South Central Drug Investigation Unit (SCDIU), the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force (MRVDTF), the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force (SMNGTF), and the Rochester Police Department Narcotics Unit, with additional assistance from the Steele County Attorney’s Office, the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office, the Prairie Island Police Department, the Red Wing Police Department, the Owatonna Police Department, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department Street Crimes Unit, and the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Slaughter.
Defendant Information:
MARK THOMAS BUSKOVICK, 39
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 2 counts
RIGOBERTO BASURTO, 21
Fresno, Calif.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
JAMIE LEE HUNT, 27
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 2 counts
JEREMY JOSEPH HUNT, 28
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 3 counts
ASHLEY MARIAKAS, 26
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 2 counts
SAGE OLLERMAN, 24
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 1 count
JASON ORTEGA, 33
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 1 count
JOSHUA ORTEGA, 33
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 5 counts
SALVADOR ORTEGA, 32
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Possession of Methamphetamine and Cocaine, 1 count
DALTON QUIMBY, 21
Rochester, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 2 counts
DANIEL SEGURA, JR., 30
Owatonna, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, 1 count
• Distribution of Methamphetamine, 1 count###
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Eldorado Couple Sentenced for Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsYesterday, a couple from Eldorado, Illinois, was sentenced on their convictions for bankruptcy fraud, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced. Lucy J. McGill, 62, and Gary G. McGill, 69, were each sentenced to 2 years of probation, with 4 months of home confinement on electronic monitoring, 20 hours of public service, and ordered to pay fines of $1,000 each. The sentencing hearings were conducted by U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert.
The sentencings follow the McGills’ guilty pleas in federal court in Benton, Illinois on June 5, 2014. Lucy McGill pled guilty to two counts of making false statements under penalty of perjury in a bankruptcy case, three counts of making false statements under oath in a bankruptcy case, and one count of falsifying records in a bankruptcy case. Gary McGill pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements under penalty of perjury in a bankruptcy case and two counts of making false statements under oath in a bankruptcy case.
The McGills filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy case on February 25, 2009, in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Benton, Illinois.
Federal law requires that debtors who file for bankruptcy must disclose all of their assets. In addition, debtors are required to disclose certain financial transactions that they conducted prior to filing bankruptcy. The purpose of these disclosures is to ensure that all available funds can collected to pay the creditors as much as possible on the amounts they are owed.
In their guilty pleas, Lucy and Gary McGill both admitted that they lied on a Statement of Financial Affairs that they filed with the Bankruptcy Court. The McGills falsely stated that $22,000 in two accounts in Lucy McGill’s name at SIU Credit Union belonged to Lucy McGill’s sister. In fact, that $22,000 had recently been paid to Gary McGill in settlement of two lawsuits. The McGills further admitted that they again lied on their Statement of Financial Affairs when they concealed the fact that they had recently given their son cash gifts totaling $6,800. The McGills continued to lie about these topics when they gave sworn testimony at a bankruptcy proceeding on April 3, 2009. Finally, Lucy McGill also admitted that she created fake receipts, purportedly showing that the cash in the SIU Credit Union accounts belonged to her sister, and then provided those receipts to the attorney administering her bankruptcy case.
In commenting on yesterday’s sentences, United States Attorney Wigginton said, “The United States Attorney’s Office for Southern Illinois remains committed to prosecuting individuals who commit bankruptcy fraud. This type of crime cheats creditors and represents a fraud on our federal courts. Bankruptcy should be a haven for those in need of its protections, not a place where people try to hide their assets from creditors.”
Nancy J. Gargula, United States Trustee for Southern Illinois, Central Illinois and Indiana (Region 10) stated, “Today’s proceedings make clear that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.” The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, with additional offices in South Bend, Ind., and Peoria, Ill. The charges resulted from a referral by the U.S. Trustee for Indiana and Central and Southern Illinois (Region 10) to the Southern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group and U.S. Attorney.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott A. Verseman.
EDD Employee Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison for Disability FraudRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An employee of the Employment Development Department and a co-defendant for a scheme to defraud the EDD Disability Insurance Program, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
EDD employee Simeon Shawnise Gregory, 35, of Moreno Valley, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, and Terrance Rychan Smalls, 32, of Moreno Valley, was sentenced to six months in prison and six months home confinement. Earlier this year, co-defendants Sarah Elizabeth Trout, 35, of Riverside, was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home detention, and Theresa Helena Campbell, 37, of Riverside, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
According to court documents, Gregory used her position as an EDD Disability Insurance Program Representative to improperly process and manipulate the claims of Trout, Campbell, Smalls, and others. In return for fraudulently extending her disability claim, Trout paid Gregory up to half of her disability benefits. For Campbell and Smalls, Gregory caused EDD to issue specific payments, inactivated warning flags, and forged doctor’s certificates regarding the claimed disability. For Campbell, Gregory found an innocent individual with Campbell’s same name and used that individual’s legitimate wages to get Campbell fraudulent benefits. Gregory’s actions disabled the checks and balances that allow EDD to discover fraudulent claims. As a result of this scheme, the defendants defrauded the State of California of more than $360,000.
“Today’s sentencing highlights EDD’s continuing efforts to actively pursue and prosecute fraud against the California Disability Insurance program. The defendant in this case violated our public trust by participating in a complex scheme to defraud a vital program that serves as a lifeline for millions of disabled workers. It’s intolerable,” said Patrick W. Henning Jr., director of the California Employment Development Department (EDD). “Our Investigation Division is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to safeguard this and other EDD programs. Though this is a rare transgression not at all reflective of our dedicated staff, we take aggressive action whenever and wherever fraud is found.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Employment Development Department, Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Jared C. Dolan prosecuted the case.Department of Justice Will Not Challenge Proposed Cyber Intelligence Data-Sharing PlatformRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by CyberPoint International LLC to offer a cyber intelligence data-sharing platform known as TruSTAR. The TruSTAR platform allows members to share threat and incident data along with attack information and develop remediation solutions to help define more effective strategies across industries to prevent successful cyber attacks.
The department’s position was stated in a business review letter to counsel for CyberPoint, from Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
CyberPoint’s proposed information sharing system is designed to address shortfalls in conventional, legacy information sharing services, while operating within the framework set forth in the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission’s Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing of Cybersecurity Information.[1] Assistant Attorney General Baer cited to the department’s April policy statement with the Federal Trade Commission to underscore that “the federal antitrust agencies recognize the important role that information sharing plays in securing the nation’s IT infrastructure.” He further said that “[t]he antitrust laws are not an impediment to legitimate private-sector initiatives to share specific information about cyber incidents and mitigation techniques in order to defend against cyber attacks.” In approving the proposed TruSTAR platform, he concluded that the operation of the TruSTAR platform, as proposed, would be unlikely to facilitate price or other competitive coordination.
CyberPoint is a privately held company that provides security products, services and solutions to commercial and government customers. The TruSTAR platform is designed to collect incident reports that include specific and highly technical cyber-threat information, including current attack actors, targets of attack, contextual information regarding threats, and remediation solutions. An important component of the TruSTAR platform is that members are able to submit incident reports with complete anonymity. The TruSTAR platform also provides a community forum for members to anonymously collaborate with their peers on cyber threats and techniques for responding to them. Before they are permitted to use the system, all members who participate in any aspect of information sharing on the TruSTAR platform must agree not to share competitively sensitive information.
Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the division currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided. The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if it produces anticompetitive effects.
A file containing the business review request and the department’s response may be examined in the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 1010, Washington, D.C. 20530. After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure.
[1] See Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission: Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing of Cyber Security Information (April 10, 2014) (“DOJ and FTC Antitrust Policy Statement”).
Department of Justice Charges Six Defendants in Connection with Violent Sex Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today a second superseding indictment in a sex trafficking conspiracy charging six individuals for offenses related to their involvement in sex trafficking adult victims in New Orleans and elsewhere. Five defendants, Granville Robinson, aka “Bear” and “HB,” 25; Duane Phillips, aka “P-nut,” 28; Anthony Ellis, aka “Anthony Deshun Lloyd,” “Animal,” and “AD,” 25; Christopher Williams, aka “Gutter,” 29; and LaQuentin Brown, aka “Nino,” 32, all of Memphis, Tennessee, were charged with conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. A sixth defendant, Kanubhai Patel, aka “Mr. Kenny” and “Pop,” 73, of Kenner, Louisiana, was indicted for benefitting financially from participating in a sex trafficking venture.
According to the indictment, from January 2013, until Jan. 15, 2014, Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown conspired to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain and maintain multiple adult women for prostitution, using force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts in New Orleans and elsewhere. In addition to being charged with sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips and Williams are each charged with additional counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and with transporting women in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution.
If convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown each face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. If convicted of transportation for prostitution, Robinson, Phillips and Williams each face a statutory maximum of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
If convicted of benefitting financially from participation in a sex trafficking venture, Patel faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.
A seventh defendant who was previously charged in connection with the case, Zacchaeus Taylor, aka “Little Z,” “Little Zay,” and “Little 5,” 21, also of Memphis Tennessee, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2014, to sex trafficking, conspiring and transporting women across state lines for prostitution. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated jointly by agents from the New Orleans Field Offices of the FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations as well as the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Right Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Department of Justice Charges Six Defendants in Connection with Violent Sex Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today a second superseding indictment in a sex trafficking conspiracy charging six individuals for offenses related to their involvement in sex trafficking adult victims in New Orleans and elsewhere. Five defendants, Granville Robinson, aka “Bear” and “HB,” 25; Duane Phillips, aka “P-nut,” 28; Anthony Ellis, aka “Anthony Deshun Lloyd,” “Animal,” and “AD,” 25; Christopher Williams, aka “Gutter,” 29; and LaQuentin Brown, aka “Nino,” 32, all of Memphis, Tennessee, were charged with conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. A sixth defendant, Kanubhai Patel, aka “Mr. Kenny” and “Pop,” 73, of Kenner, Louisiana, was indicted for benefitting financially from participating in a sex trafficking venture.
According to the indictment, from January 2013, until Jan. 15, 2014, Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown conspired to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain and maintain multiple adult women for prostitution, using force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts in New Orleans and elsewhere. In addition to being charged with sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips and Williams are each charged with additional counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and with transporting women in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution.
If convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown each face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. If convicted of transportation for prostitution, Robinson, Phillips and Williams each face a statutory maximum of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
If convicted of benefitting financially from participation in a sex trafficking venture, Patel faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.
A seventh defendant who was previously charged in connection with the case, Zacchaeus Taylor, aka “Little Z,” “Little Zay,” and “Little 5,” 21, also of Memphis Tennessee, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2014, to sex trafficking, conspiring and transporting women across state lines for prostitution. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated jointly by agents from the New Orleans Field Offices of the FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations as well as the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Right Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Dallas Tax Return Preparer Sentenced for Preparing Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A Dallas-area tax return preparer who was indicted in 2007 on federal felony charges stemming from the operation of that business and who remained a fugitive until November 2013, was sentenced yesterday. U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle sentenced Ousmane Sow, who pleaded guilty in April 2014 to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return, to 30 months in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, from 2003 to 2005, Sow and co-defendant Tichafara Mpariwa provided tax preparation services through a business they jointly owned and operated under the name of DSL Tax Services, LLC, located on Forest Lane in Dallas. In 2004, Sow opened a second location of DSL on Airport Freeway in Irving, Texas. Both Sow and Mpariwa were the electronic return originators at the Dallas and Irving office locations of DSL.
From 2003 to 2005, according to the factual resume, Sow knowingly prepared, and caused to be filed, U.S. individual tax returns, along with supporting schedules and forms, which contained materially false credits and deductions to fraudulently increase the taxpayer clients’ refunds. This included the use of false business expenses and the use of false education expenses to create a false education credit, thus increasing the taxpayer client’s refund.
Sow voluntarily returned to the U.S to face charges after contacting Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) from Burundi about returning. Defendant Mpariwa remains a fugitive.
IRS-CI led the investigation and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security assisted in securing Sow’s return to the U.S.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Stokes prosecuted.
Dallas Area Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Murder Plot in Connection with 2013 Fort Sam Houston Shooting IncidentRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, 29-year-old Leonard Roundtree, III, of Richardson, TX, was sentenced to five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for plotting to kill his uncle’s intimate partner announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher H. Combs, San Antonio Division, and United States Marshal Robert Almonte.
In April, a jury convicted Leonard Roundtree of one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Evidence presented in open court revealed that on June 10, 2013, Roundtree’s uncle, 52-year-old Alvin Roundtree, shot and wounded his intimate partner with a .45 caliber handgun inside the Medical Training Facility located on Fort Sam Houston Army Post. The victim, who suffered a total of seven gunshot wounds, was immediately taken into surgery and survived the incident. Authorities subsequently apprehended Alvin Roundtree while still on Fort Sam Houston and recovered the firearm. Recorded phone calls between the defendants revealed that the two conspired to hire someone to kill the victim to prevent her testimony in court. The evidence revealed that Leonard Roundtree agreed to, and in fact did, deliver information between his uncle and the hitman ultimately agreeing to pay $10,000 upon proof the murder.
In March, Alvin Roundtree pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting an officer or employee of the United States with a deadly weapon. On September 9, 2014, Chief United States District Judge Fred Biery sentenced Alvin Roundtree to the maximum 20 years in federal prison.
Assistant United States Attorneys Bettina Richardson and Joey Contreras prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Cranston Man Sentenced for Threatening to Assault, Kill IRS Agent and FamilyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith today sentenced Andrew A. Calcione, 49, of Cranston, to 12 months and one day in federal prison for threatening to assault and murder an IRS agent and his family, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and Robert E. O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, New York Field Division.
Calcione was convicted by Chief Judge William E. Smith on May 26, 2014, based on evidence presented during a jury waived trial on May 21, 2014. Calcione was convicted of one count each of threatening to assault and murder an IRS revenue agent and threatening to assault and murder a member of the immediate family of an IRS revenue agent.
According to the government’s evidence, an IRS revenue agent in Rhode Island was assigned to examine Calcione’s personal federal tax returns for years 2008, 2009 and 2010. As a result of the examination, the agent estimated that a $330,000 tax liability would be assessed against Calcione.
In April 2013, the IRS revenue agent requested that Calcione and an ex-wife of Calcione sign a Consent to Extend Time to Assess Tax form. Calcione signed the form but his ex-wife had not. On July 12, 2013, the revenue agent left a voicemail message for Andrew Calcione inquiring as to the status of the executed form.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 15, 2013, the IRS revenue agent received two voicemail messages from Calcione. One of the messages contained a threat that if the agent called him again he would show up at the agent’s home and torture the agent, then rape and kill his wife and injure his daughter while the agent watched, before killing the agent. A second message left by Calcione requested that Calcione disregard the first message, which Calcione said was left in error.
At sentencing, Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Calcione to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.###
To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Convicted Felon Admits to Possessing 12 Firearms, Possessing and Trafficking DrugsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Philip DeBartolo, 29, of Scituate, pled guilty in federal court in Providence today to being a felon in possession of 12 firearms and to drug trafficking charges, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field divisionof ATF; Scituate Police Chief Colonel David M. Randall; and Michael Ferguson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New England field division.
DeBartolo faces statutory penalties of up to 80 years in federal prison, lifetime supervised release and a fine of up to $2,750,000 when he is sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on December 19, 2014.
DeBartolo pleaded guilty as charged in an 11-count indictment to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of being a felon in possession of nine firearms, one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, one count of manufacture of marijuana, once count of manufacture of marijuana near a school and four counts or marijuana distribution.
No plea agreement was filed in this matter.
According to court documents, on several occasions beginning in August 2013, an undercover ATF agent spoke with and met with DeBartolo to arrange and to purchase three firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun, for between $300 and $400 dollars. In addition, on several occasions, DeBartolo sold to the agent plastic bags containing approximately one ounce of marijuana, each for between $200 & $225 dollars.
According to information presented to the court, ATF agents, with the assistance of Scituate Police and DEA agents, executed a court authorized search of DeBartolo's residence on January 15, 2014, and seized six semi-automatic pistols – five with high capacity magazines, three revolvers and a significant amount of ammunition found hidden beneath the floor boards of a second floor storage room. Agents and officers also seized 31 marijuana plants from the basement.
According to court records, DeBartolo was convicted in Rhode Island state court in 2005 on felony assault, drive-by shooting and firearm charges.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
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To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Colombian Traffickers Plead Guilty to International Maritime Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Three Colombian citizens pleaded guilty today for conspiring to transport more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine on board “go-fast boats” from the north coast of Colombia into international waters on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.
Angel Javier Varon Castro, 43; Luis Delio Herrera Astudillo, 45; and Eusebio David Webster Archbold, 33, all Colombian nationals, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possess with intent to distribute cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Sentencing is set for Jan. 9, 2015.
“Today’s guilty pleas highlight our successful and vigorous partnership with Colombian law enforcement as we work to halt the flow of drugs heading north from the coast of Colombia,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “These defendants and their drug trafficking partners used seagoing vessels to inject vast quantities of cocaine into international commerce. But while drug traffickers may believe they can operate on the high seas with impunity, today’s convictions prove otherwise. Working with our international partners, we will bring to justice those who would flood our ports and, ultimately, our communities with dangerous narcotics.”
“The arrests and guilty pleas of these three international drug smugglers are the direct result of the resolute partnership between the DEA and our Colombian law enforcement partners,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart. “This is another example of the fine work that DEA, prosecutors, and our partners around the globe accomplish every day.”
According to their plea agreements, the defendants worked for a drug-trafficking organization responsible for transporting cocaine aboard go-fast vessels leaving from the area of Cartagena, Colombia, to Central America, and traveling in international waters on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. During the investigation, pursuant to Colombian judicial authority, law enforcement recorded the defendants’ telephone conversations in which they planned the operation, including the use of two 40-foot go-fast vessels. These boats were later intercepted in February and April 2010 in international waters by the United States Coast Guard. Go-fast vessels are specially equipped speed boats designed to transport large quantities of narcotics.
This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case, called Operation Pacific Empire, is being investigated by DEA’s Cartagena Country Office, assisted by DEA’s offices in Miami and Puerto Rico. The Cartagena office worked in partnership with the Judicial Police of the Prosecutor General’s Office in Colombia (CTI) and the Colombian National Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Meredith Mills, Brad Price and Paul Laymon of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, with significant assistance from the Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Colombia.
Centerville Woman Sentenced in Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lorene Chittenden, 57, of Centreville, Va., was sentenced today to 42 monthsin prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and related charges arising from a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
The amounts in restitution and forfeiture that Chittenden will pay will be determined at a later hearing. More than $1 million dollars in bank accounts belonging to Chittenden were seized by law enforcement agents when the charges were first filed.Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Fred W. Gibson, Principal Deputy Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
Chittendenwas found guilty after a six-day jury trial on May 7, 2014. According to court documents, Chittenden and her co-conspirators were responsible for over $15 million in losses to various lending institutions that purchased fraudulent loans that Chittenden originated as a loan officer at George Mason Mortgage, a subsidiary of federally-insured Cardinal Bank. The defendant and her co-conspirators from Manassas, Va., real estate firm Vilchez & Associates, fraudulently inflated the income and assets of their clients to obtain mortgage loans in amounts that the clients were wholly unqualified for. Chittenden earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan commissions from the fraud, while ringleader Rosita Vilchez pocketed millions of dollars in real estate commissions. The Vilchez conspiracy targeted hundreds of non-English-speaking members of the northern Virginia Hispanic community who were not able to read the loan applications and closing documents they were asked to sign. Often the amount of the monthly mortgage payments was unknown or even misrepresented to the borrowers. Vilchez was recently arrested in Peru where she had been a fugitive. Her brother, Armando Pino, who was also a realtor at Vilchez & Associates, was arrested in Peru in December 2012. Both Vilchez and Pino are fighting extradition to the United States to face charges.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the FDIC Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James P. Gillis and Julia K. Martinez prosecuted 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. 1:12-cr-00394.
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Caribbean-Based Investment Advisor and Attorney Sentenced for Using Offshore Accounts to Launder and Conceal FundsRead the Press Release
Eric St-Cyr, an investment advisor, and Patrick Poulin, an attorney, were sentenced today to serve 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release each for conspiring to launder monetary instruments, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentences after considering the defendants’ substantial cooperation with ongoing government investigations. St-Cyr and Poulin, both Canadian citizens, along with Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, were indicted by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 6, and the indictment was unsealed March 12 after the defendants were arrested in Miami. St-Cyr, 50, pleaded guilty on June 27 and Poulin, 41, pleaded guilty on July 11. Vandyk, 34, pleaded guilty on June 12 and was sentenced on Sept. 5 to serve 30 months in prison.
According to the plea agreements and statements of facts, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud, specifically $2 million. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin assisted undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners. Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients’ behalf and represented that the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government.
“The sentences imposed by the court today show that those who use offshore accounts and entities for money laundering and tax evasion will be punished,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “This investigation, which lasted years, involved extensive undercover activity as well as cooperation from multiple foreign law enforcement agencies. The undercover IRS agents in this investigation went to Canada, the Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands to develop the evidence. These two defendants are cooperating with the IRS, and we anticipate that other investigations will develop from the information they have provided.”
“These defendants played a shell game by creating offshore entities designed to help their U.S. clients evade taxes and other legal requirements, and they used that same shell game to launder purported criminal proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to penetrate and combat these schemes wherever they occur.”
“Today’s sentencings close the door on a business built on skirting the law,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber. “This investigation reinforces our commitment to investigate and prosecute criminals worldwide who conduct illegal financial transactions, launder money or attempt to conceal the true source of their income in order to evade paying taxes. This should send a clear message to those involved in this type of crime—we will find you.”
According to court documents, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based there. St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens. Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada as well as Turks and Caicos. His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government, including the IRS. Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents to create an offshore corporation with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin used the offshore entity to move money into the Cayman Islands and used Poulin as a nominee intermediary for the transactions.
According to court documents, Poulin established an offshore corporation called Zero Exposure Inc. for the undercover agents and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients. Poulin transferred approximately $200,000 that the defendants believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud from the offshore corporation to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside of the United States in the name of the offshore corporation. The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients. Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes. Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr liquidated investments and transferred money, through Poulin, back to the United States. According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Todd Ellinwood and Assistant Chief Caryn Finley of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta Stojilkovic for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department and the IRS would like to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force for their assistance in this investigation.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
Camden Man Admits Conspiracy to Distribute HeroinRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man today admitted his involvement in a heroin distribution ring, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Keenan Johnson, a/k/a “Super Star K,” a/k/a “K,” 30, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph E. Irenas to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From December 2007 through June 2012, Johnson conspired with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.
The counts to which Johnson pleaded guilty carry a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of $5 million. Under terms of the plea, Johnson must forfeit to the United States $ 52,380 seized from his residence, as well as four vehicles, jewelry, and a Glock 26 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Resident Agency in Cherry Hill, N.J., under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Hanko; and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline M. Carle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
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Defense attorney: Jose L. Ongay Esq., CamdenCahokia Woman Sentenced for Stealing Funds from Department of Veterans AffairsRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsThe United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Mary Lee Owens, 54, of Cahokia, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East Saint Louis on charges that she stole pension benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Owens admitted that from November 2004 through April 2013, she fraudulently obtained $70,260 from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The district court sentenced Owens to three months imprisonment, three years of supervised release to follow imprisonment, with the first six months to be in home detention, to pay restitution of $70,260 to Department of Veterans Affairs, and to pay a special assessment of $100.
The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Coonan.
Buffalo Woman Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Adlyn Marie Echevarria Robles, 22, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of bank robbery, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $13,168 in restitution by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that on July 5, 2013, the defendant entered the M&T Bank at 1580 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo. Robles passed the teller a demand note threatening the use of a weapon. The teller gave the defendant a specific amount of money.
On July 24, 2013, the defendant entered the M&T Bank at 709 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo and passed the teller a demand note threatening the use of a weapon. The teller gave Robles a specific amount of money.
Charges against co-defendant Ronald McClendon, Jr. are 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 sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force.- Brother-in-Law to Former Tamaulipas Governor Indicted in Money Laundering Scheme
- Border Patrol Agent Indicted
Bloods Street Gang Leader Sentenced to 30 Years of Imprisonment for Racketeering, Murder, Drug Distribution and Firearms UseRead the Press Release
Today in Brooklyn federal court, Laron Spicer, also known as “Face,” a leader of the “Nine-Trey Gangsters” set of the Bloods street gang in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was sentenced to a 30-year prison term for charges related to the set’s control of illegal activity on Sterling Place between Buffalo and Rochester Avenues for over 12 years. Throughout the period of Spicer’s leadership of the set, Sterling Place was beset by gang-related drive-by shootings, regular gunfire, slashings and drug dealing. As the set’s primary enforcer, Spicer was responsible for numerous acts of violence, including shootings and slashings, and held neighborhood residents in fear of violent retribution for questioning his authority or cooperating with law enforcement.
The sentencing was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.
“For over a decade, Spicer used violence and brutality to terrorize the streets of Crown Heights. Let today’s lengthy sentence be a message to other gang members victimizing their own communities – we will not tolerate violence and gang-related crimes,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch thanked the FBI, the NYPD, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case.
In 2010, an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department led to the indictment and arrest of Spicer and 11 of the gang’s members and associates on charges including racketeering, drug distribution, murder and attempted murder. Among other acts, Spicer was charged with four non-fatal shootings and the 2008 murder of rival drug dealer William Singletary, who had set up a competing drug operation in the gang’s territory. During the period charged in the indictment, Spicer was arrested 30 times by New York City police officers and was convicted of, among other offenses, illegal gun possession on five occasions and witness tampering for threatening to kill a police officer who was testifying against him at a state court proceeding. On December 19, 2013, Spicer pled guilty to federal charges of racketeering, narcotics distribution conspiracy, and ordering the murder of Singletary.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Amatruda, Nadia Shihata and Erik Paulsen.
The Defendant:
LARON A. SPICER
Alias: “Face”
Age: 34
Belleville Man Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering Andwire FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Brian J. Fields, 52, of Belleville, IL, was sentenced on a two-count information charging that he engaged in a scheme to commit wire fraud and that he had committed money laundering. Fields was sentenced to serve 27 months in federal prison, to pay $98,800 in restitution to his victims, and to serve 3 years of supervised release after his release from prison.
At his plea hearing On May 28, 2014, Fields admitted that he assisted a person from oversees (Nigeria) in defrauding United States Citizens by sending counterfeit checks and money orders to individuals in several schemes (such as a “Secret Shopper” scam). The schemes resulted in victims receiving the counterfeit check or money order, depositing it into their own bank account, and then at the direction of Fields, the victim would wire transfer legitimate funds to Fields. By the time the person learned the check or money order was worthless, they had already sent the money to Fields. When Fields received the victims’ money, he would keep a portion for himself and then to further the scheme, Fields would send the remaining funds to a person located in Nigeria. Agents were able to identify over 70 victims.
The investigation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Secret Service and the Swansea, Illinois Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.
Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Manuel Montes Espinoza, 37, of Tucson, Arizona, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, marijuana. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a fine of $5,000,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated Espinoza, who also went by the name “Nero,” was involved in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy which began operations in March of 2007 and continued through April of 2010. During that time frame, the members of the conspiracy shipped hundreds of pounds of marijuana from Tucson, Arizona, to Cleveland, Ohio, Port Chester, NY, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, NY. The organization acquired marijuana from suppliers in Mexico. Espinoza, who is from Mexico and lived in the Tucson area during some of the time frame of the conspiracy, was responsible for acquiring marijuana from sources in Mexico and selling it to other members of the conspiracy who shipped it to the Northeast.
At the May 2014 trial of co-defendant, Raul Eduardo Rivera de la Torre, a government witness, who was involved in the conspiracy, testified that he would purchase marijuana from Espinoza, as well as others, and would be assisted by de la Torre, who would translate for Espinoza, who spoke Spanish, and the witness, who spoke English. The witness testified that he would utilize various shipping companies to transport marijuana packaged in boxes to various locations in Rochester. He then detailed that he later utilized over-land trucking companies to deliver crates full of marijuana to various locations in the Northeastern United States. Another government witness detailed how he was responsible for receiving the shipments of marijuana in Rochester and that he would distribute the marijuana once it arrived.
The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 7, 2014, at 3:30 p.m. before Judge Geraci.Andres Villalva-guadarrama Pleads Guilty in Federal Court for Illegally Use of A Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ANDRES VILLALVA-GUADARRAMA, age 53, a citizen of Mexico who recently resided in Gretna, Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday to a one-count indictment for illegal use of a Social Security Number.
According to the indictment, on or about January 22, 2014, VILLALVA-GUADARRAMA, for the purpose of obtaining employment and for other purposes, knowingly and with intent to deceive, did falsely represent on an US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Eligibility Verification Form that a Social Security Number not issued to him, was assigned to him; all in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).
VILLALVA-GUADARRAMA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory special assessment of $100.00. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon set sentencing on January 8, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Custom Enforcement and Removal in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene Gonzàlez is in charge of the prosecution.
(Download Factual Basis )
Albuquerque Man Arrested on Federal Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Bentley Streett, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arrested this morning by the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) on federal child exploitation charges. Streett made his initial appearance in federal court earlier today and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Oct. 6, 2014.
Streett is charged in a criminal complaint with inducing and enticing minors to engage in sexual activity; the interstate transmission of obscene matter to minors; and attempting to produce child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, in Oct. 2013, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a tip that Streett allegedly had engaged in the online solicitation of a nude photograph from a 15-year-old child victim to the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. A search warrant on a cellphone account allegedly subscribed to Streett revealed numerous text messages between Streett and the child victim, and the child victim allegedly confirmed that Streett requested that she send nude photographs of herself to him and that she declined his request.
The complaint alleges that in Feb. 2014, the BCSO seized Streett’s cellphone when they executed a search warrant at Streett’s residence. A forensic examination of Streett’s cellphone revealed that from Nov. 2013 to Jan. 2014, the cellphone allegedly had been used to send text messages to a 15-year-old child victim in El Paso, Texas. In Nov. 2013, Streett allegedly sent text messages requesting that this second child victim send nude photographs of herself to him. At the time, the second child victim was 14-years-old. In Nov. 2013 and Jan. 2014, Streett allegedly sent the second child victim photographs of nude male and female bodies, including photographs of individuals who appear to be under the age of 18. The FBI initiated a federal investigation on Sept. 18, 2014, after receiving a referral from the BCSO.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Streett faces a federal prison term of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years. Streett also would be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the BCSO and the New Mexico ICAC Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara H. Henderson as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Accountant Pleads Guilty to Hiding Swiss Bank AccountRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Forensic accountant and certified fraud examiner Howard Bloomberg has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to disclose to the U.S. Treasury Department a foreign bank account he controlled in Switzerland.
“The era of hiding money in secret Swiss bank accounts is over,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Citizens should understand that failing to abide by their banking disclosure obligations to the U.S. Treasury Department could mean criminal prosecution.”
“The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to pursue those who attempt to fraudulently obstruct or impede our Nation's tax system.” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: From 1997 to 2008, Bloomberg owned and controlled a foreign bank account with Union Bank of Switzerland AG (“UBS”), one of the biggest banks in Switzerland and largest wealth managers in the world. By 2001, Bloomberg’s foreign bank account with UBS had a high balance of approximately $930,000.
Citizens and residents of the United States who have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 at any time during a calendar year are required to file with the U.S. Department of Treasury a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts,” commonly referred to as the “FBAR”. The FBAR for the applicable year is due to be filed by June 30 of the following year. Bloomberg pleaded guilty to willfully failing to file a FBAR for the 2008 year, even though that same year he wired over $540,000 from his Swiss UBS bank account to a United States bank account that he controlled.
Sentencing for Bloomberg, 55, of Atlanta, Ga., is scheduled for December 19, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Grimberg is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Thursday 2 October 2014
‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Stars Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy, Bankruptcy Fraud and Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
Forty-one Months for Giuseppe Giudice, 15 Months for Teresa Giudice
NEWARK, N.J. – Two of the stars of the television show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” were sentenced today to prison terms for committing a string of crimes as part of a long-running financial fraud conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Teresa Giudice, 42, and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, 44, both of Towaco, New Jersey, were sentenced to 15 months and 41 months in prison, respectively. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to several counts of the superseding indictment returned against them in July 2013. The Giudices each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, one count of bankruptcy fraud by concealment of assets, one count of bankruptcy fraud by false oaths, and one count of bankruptcy fraud by false declarations. Giuseppe Giudice also pleaded guilty to one count of failure to file a tax return. Judge Salas also imposed the sentences today.
Judge Salas ordered Teresa Giudice to report to the Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 5, 2015, to begin serving her sentence. Giuseppe Giudice will report to serve his sentence after his wife finishes serving her prison term.
“The Giudices together deceived financial institutions with patently false loan applications; were dishonest when they sought the protection of the bankruptcy court and hid assets and income from the trustee; and Giuseppe Giudice cheated the government by failing to pay taxes on years of significant income,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “When they pleaded guilty, both admitted swearing to statements they knew were lies. Prison is the appropriate penalty for these serious financial crimes.”
“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General is pleased to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners in this final phase of the prosecution,” Fred W. Gibson, FDIC’s Principal Deputy Inspector General, said. “Today’s sentences highlight the seriousness of offenses that undermine the integrity of the financial services industry. We are committed in our efforts to uncover such fraudulent schemes that cause harm to FDIC-insured institutions and to the Nation’s housing industry.”
“Reality hit home today for Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice,” Jonathan D. Larsen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field office, said. “They are now both convicted felons with prison sentences to serve. Choosing lies over the truth when dealing with the IRS, banks, and the bankruptcy court will not be tolerated.”
“Concealing assets and lying in a bankruptcy case are crimes, deserving of punishment,” Roberta A. DeAngelis, U.S. Trustee for Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (Region 3), said. “The Giudices remain responsible for paying their debts. They lost the protection our bankruptcy laws afford debtors because they broke the law to obtain it.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From September 2001 through September 2008, Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice engaged in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy in which they submitted fraudulent applications and supporting documents to lenders in order to obtain mortgages and other loans. The Giudices falsely represented on loan applications and supporting documents that they were employed and/or receiving substantial salaries when they were either not employed or not receiving such salaries.
In September 2001, Teresa Giudice applied for a $121,500 mortgage loan for which she submitted a loan application falsely claiming she was employed as an executive assistant. She also submitted fake W-2 forms and fake pay stubs purportedly issued by her employer. For a $361,250 mortgage loan that Teresa Giudice obtained in July 2005, she and Giuseppe Giudice prepared a loan application which falsely stated she was employed as a realtor and that she made a monthly salary of $15,000. In fact, Teresa Giudice was not employed at the time.
On Oct. 29, 2009, they filed a petition for individual Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark. Over the next few months, they filed several amendments to the bankruptcy petition. As part of the bankruptcy filings, the Giudices were required to disclose to the United States Trustee their assets, liabilities, income and any anticipated increase in income. The Giudices intentionally concealed businesses they owned, income they received from a rental property, and Teresa Giudice’s true income from the television show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” website sales, and personal and magazine appearances. The Giudices concealed their anticipated increase in income from the then-upcoming second season of the show. They also testified falsely under oath in bankruptcy proceedings when questioned about their assets and income.
Giuseppe Giudice also admitted that during tax years 2004 through 2008, he received income totaling $996,459 but did not file tax returns for those years.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Salas sentenced Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice each to two years of supervised release, and ordered the couple to forfeit $414,588. Additionally, the judge fined Giuseppe Giudice $10,000 and fined Teresa Giudice $8,000.
Giuseppe Giudice was advised by the court that he faces deportation after serving his sentence. That decision will be made by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement following completion of his prison sentence.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FDIC-OIG New York, under the direction of Principal Deputy Inspector General Gibson; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Larsen; and Region 3 U.S. Trustee DeAngelis and the Newark office of the U.S. Trustee, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan W. Romankow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, and Counsel to the U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig, in Newark.
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Defense counsel:
Teresa Giudice: Henry E. Klingeman Esq., Newark
Giuseppe Giudice: Miles Feinstein Esq., Clifton, N.J.Washington Residents Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that two Washington residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for Drug Conspiracy and Firearm violations.
Layten Scott Banchero, 28, and Scott Evan Banchero, 50, of Seattle, Washington, were both arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Leslie C. Longenbaugh on the charge of Drug Conspiracy and criminal forfeiture allegations. Layten Banchero was additionally charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking charge and felon in possession of a firearm. Both Layten and Scott Banchero pled not guilty to the charges and criminal forfeiture allegation. Both were ordered detained by the court pending trial.
According to the indictment, between on or about May 11, 2014, and continuing until July 15, 2014, the Bancheros conspired to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in Ketchikan, Alaska. During the course of the drug conspiracy, Layten Banchero, who is a convicted felon, possessed a number of firearms, and specifically possessed a loaded .357 magnum pistol during the commission of the underlying drug offense. Additionally, the indictment seeks to forfeit drug proceeds that total over $38,000 in U.S. currency seized from the defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both for the drug conspiracy charge; the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense has a mandatory minimum of five years of imprisonment that must be consecutive to the underlying drug trafficking offense, and the felon in possession charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment; both offenses carry a maximum fine of $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. The trial is currently scheduled to be held in Ketchikan at a date to be further determined.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ketchikan Police Department Drug Unit conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Using Cellular Phone to Entice Minors from Across the Country to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Dane Scott Mihlon, 25, of King George County, Va., pled guilty today to using the internet on his cellular phone to entice or attempt to entice at least 6 minors to produce child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge John A. Gibney.
Mihlon was charged in a criminal information on October 2, 2014, with a single count of enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on January 14, 2015.
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Mihlon admitted to contacting 6 juvenile females through various cellular phone applications and enticing or attempting to entice them to produce sexually explicit pictures of themselves and send them to him over the internet. His victims ranged in age from 12 to 16 years old and were located across the country. On one occasion, Mihlon convinced a 15 year old victim living in Oregon to produce and send him over the internet at least five sexually explicit pictures.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Siebert 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. 3:14-cr-098.
Van Zandt County Man Guilty of Federal Income Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas - A 48-year-old Edgewood, Texas man has pleaded guilty to federal income tax violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Bruce Steven Martin pleaded guilty on Sep. 18, 2014, to willfully failing to file a federal tax return before U.S. Magistrate Judge Don D. Bush. Martin appeared before Judge Bush today for a detention hearing and was ordered to be detained.
According to information presented in court, Martin admitted to receiving income during calendar year 2010 and willfully failing to file an income tax return with the internal Revenue Service. Martin was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 13, 2013. After he missed several court appearances, he was ordered to be detained. Martin faces up to 12 months in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Andrew Williams.
Utah Resident Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Persuaded Investors To Invest IRA Funds In Residential Real Estate Project In Vernal, UtahSALT LAKE CITY - Armand R. Franquelin, age 57, of Liberty, Utah, who pleaded guilty in May to securities fraud and money laundering in connection with an investment fraud scheme related to a real estate project in Vernal, Utah, will serve 57 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball imposed the sentence Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
Judge Kimball also ordered Franquelin to pay restitution of $6,566.596.85 to victims of the fraud and to be on supervised release for three years when he finishes serving his prison sentence.
Franquelin and a co-defendant, Martin A. Pool, age 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, were charged in a three-count felony information filed in April. Both pled guilty in May to securities fraud and money laundering in connection with the scheme. Pool was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison in September.
As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Pool and Franquelin admitted that from 2006 to 2010, they participated in persuading investors to convert their traditional IRAs to self-directed IRA accounts and invest their funds in a residential real estate project known as Haven Estates in Vernal, Utah. This was accomplished by inducing the investors to direct their funds to their company, The Elva Group, in return for notes promising monthly interest payments at annual rates between 8 percent and 20 percent. Pool and Franquelin admitted telling investors that their funds would be used to develop Haven Estates and promised to secure their loans with first lien positions in property at Haven Estates. In fact, no investors ever received any collateral or any interest in real property in Haven Estates or anywhere else.
In reality, the plea agreement says, investors’ funds were used for purposes other than the development of Haven Estates. Investors were not told of encumbrances already in place on Haven Estates. When Elva began defaulting on the mortgage loan for Haven Estates, investors were not immediately informed. Eventually, Haven Estates was foreclosed.
According to the plea agreement, investors’ funds were used by Pool and Franquelin and their associates for their personal benefit and to pay interest to earlier investors as Ponzi payments. The Ponzi payments had the effect of lulling the earlier investors, persuading them to leave their funds in the company and inducing them to renew their promissory notes from time to time. The payments also enticed new investors to invest.
The case was a multi-jurisdictional investigation by special agents of the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation; the Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Securities; and the Alabama Securities Commission with assistance from the office of Baldwin County, Alabama, District Attorney Hallie S. Dixon (28th Judicial Circuit). Alabama victims of the scheme invested more than $500,000.
Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg, said, "This Commission is proud to have joined the collaborative efforts of the federal and state law enforcement agencies and their professional staff members to see that justice is served for the victims in this important case. The outcome resulted from a team approach between the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, the Utah Department of Commerce's Division of Securities, the FBI, the IRS, and the ASC Enforcement and Legal Divisions to send a message that this financial crime, and others like it, will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
“The sentencing today demonstrates that taking money from investors under false pretenses and using it for your own personal benefit as Pool did won’t be tolerated. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to bring our forensic accounting skills to this investigation and, working side-by-side with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, help put a stop to this and other types of white collar crime,” said John Collins, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of Utah.
U.S. Marshals Task Force Nabs Foreign FugitiveRead the Press Release
VALLEJO, Calif. – U.S. Marshal Don O’Keefe is proud to announce the arrest of Fermin Aguilar-Agueta, 26, a suspected MS-13 gang member, who is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide.
Aguilar-Agueta is suspected by Salvadorian authorities of being involved in a drunken altercation between rival gang factions, which resulted in the shooting death of an individual in March 2007. He was formally charged with aggravated homicide in El Salvador in 2009. An Interpol Red Notice was issued by El Salvador in 2013 for Aguilar-Agueta initiating an international manhunt.
On September 22, Aguilar-Agueta was spotted in a vehicle by Concord Police Department officers during a routine traffic stop. Officers gathered information about him, as well as his associates, and forwarded the information to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, which specializes in the apprehension of domestic and foreign fugitives.
The following day, based on the information from the Concord Police, and in coordination with Deputy U.S. Marshals at Interpol Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force in the Bay Area, which consists of several federal, state, and local agencies, to include officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were able to determine that Aguilar-Agueta was residing illegally in the U.S., and that he had no record of legal entry.
U.S. Marshals Task Force members located the vehicle associated with the traffic stop at the 1200 block of Georgia Street, Vallejo, CA, and established surveillance. Soon after, Aguilar-Agueta was spotted getting into the vehicle. A traffic stop was conducted and he was taken into custody without incident. Aguilar-Agueta is currently in immigration custody pending deportation.
To find more information on fugitives currently being sought by the U.S. Marshals in Northern California, or to submit an anonymous tip on the whereabouts of a fugitive, please visit: http://northerncaliforniamostwanted.org. The U.S. Marshals Service is the primary federal agency charged with conducting fugitive investigations throughout the country. The U.S. Marshals regularly works in concert with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to seek out and arrest violent fugitives and sex offenders, and has established task forces throughout the nation to facilitate the apprehension of fugitives. aguilar_agueta_press_release.pdf
Two Indicted on Drug Trafficking Charges After Arrests in Stockton; Three Indicted for Growing Marijuana in Lassen National ForestRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned three indictments today for charges of trafficking cocaine and heroin and cultivating marijuana in a national forest, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
99 Kilograms (218 lbs) of Cocaine Seized
In the first indictment, Todd Andrew Ayster, 49, of Long Beach, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. According to court documents, on August 31, 2014, Aster was arrested after a CHP officer conducted a traffic stop in Stockton. A strong odor of axle grease was coming from the vehicle, and the officer’s K9 alerted to narcotics at two locations on the exterior of the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle and attached camper led to the recovery of 99 kilograms of cocaine. This case is the product of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.Heroin, Cocaine, and Firearms Seized
In the second indictment, Cedric Sewell, 46, of Hayward, was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on March 5, 2014, law enforcement officers searched Sewell’s residence in Stockton and seized over five kilograms of heroin, 500 grams of cocaine, several firearms (including an AR-15 assault rifle), approximately $67,000 in cash, a money counter, and a cache of ammunition. This case is the product of an investigation by the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.Two Large Marijuana Cultivation Sites Eradicated from Lassen Forest
In the third indictment, Tiburcio Olmos Munoz, Adalid Rosales Lopez, and Venustiano Gonzalez-Jauregui, were charged with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana plants in the Lassen National Forest. According to court documents, on August 25, 2014, law enforcement agents served a search warrant at a large cultivation site in the Lassen National Forest. Gonzalez-Jauregui was there, and 6,769 marijuana plants were eradicated from the site. That same day, agents discovered a nearby site but due to exposure to highly toxic pesticides used in the first grow site, were unable to explore the second site that day. On September 4, 2014, law enforcement agents returned to the second site and arrested Munoz and Lopez. This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Forest Service, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.If convicted, Ayster, Munoz, Lopez and Gonzalez-Jauregui face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, Sewell faces maximum sentences of life in prison and fines up to $20 million for the drug possession charges and a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Assistant United States Attorney Olusere Olowoyeye is prosecuting all three cases. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Three Men Indicted for Lying About Casino LandAllegedly Concealed Charles Lightbody’s Financial Interest from Wynn Resorts and the Massachusetts Gaming CommissionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Three men have been indicted on state and federal charges in connection with their efforts to hide the financial interest of a convicted felon in a parcel of land in Everett from Wynn Resorts, Limited (Wynn Resorts) and from state gaming regulators, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz and Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced today. The men all held a financial interest in FBT Everett Realty LLC (FBT), which held title to a parcel of land Wynn Resorts has proposed to locate a destination resort casino.
Charles Lightbody, 54, of Revere, Dustin DeNunzio, 37, of Cambridge, and Anthony Gattineri, 56, of Winchester, were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for their role in concealing from Wynn Resorts and Massachusetts gaming regulators the financial interests of Lightbody, a convicted felon and known New England Family of La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) associate, in the land and to obtain money from Wynn Resorts in exchange for the land. Each is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aiding and abetting.
It is alleged that, between December 2012 and July 2013, in order to conceal Lightbody’s financial interest from Wynn Resorts and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), DeNunzio, Gattineri and Lightbody represented to others that Lightbody transferred his interest in FBT to Gattineri in exchange for a $1.7 million promissory note and arranged for the creation and execution of two fraudulent versions of documents reflecting the transaction. In addition, on Jan. 17, 2013, DeNunzio sent an email to Wynn Resorts falsely stating that DeNunzio, Gattineri and a third individual were the only people who had interest in FBT, when in fact Lightbody had a financial interest in FBT. In July 2013, DeNunzio, Gattineri and Lightbody also misled the MGC’s investigators about Lightbody’s interest in the land.
In addition to the federal charges, on Monday, a state grand jury charged Lightbody, DeNunzio and Gattineri with impeding a gaming investigation, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. Lightbody was also indicted for assault and battery on a person over 60 resulting in bodily injury. Those indictments were unsealed today.
It is alleged in the state indictments that in the summer of 2013, Lightbody, DeNunzio and Gattineri made concerted efforts to conceal Lightbody’s partnership in FBT, the entity that owns the Everett Parcel, on which Wynn Resorts proposes to build a casino, from the MGC investigators.
Despite attempts by Lightbody, DeNunzio and Gattineri to show that Lightbody was no longer a partner of FBT during FBT’s negotiations with casino companies, investigators determined that Lightbody was, in fact, still a partner at that time. The state investigation revealed that these three defendants allegedly attempted to hide Lightbody’s involvement in the company because he has a criminal record.State authorities also allege that Lightbody assaulted a man during a casino election rally in Revere on Oct. 12, 2013.
All three defendants, who were arrested today, will appear in U.S. District Court in Boston at a time to be determined. They will also be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date and Lightbody will be arraigned on the assault charge in Suffolk Superior Court also at a later date.
The conspiracy statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The wire fraud statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. 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.
On the state charges all of the defendants face up to five years in jail.
The federal case is being investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston, the Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts Department of Correction, in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office. The federal case is being prosecuted by Kristina E. Barclay of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
The state case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General David Rubin and Patrick Hanley of AG Coakley’s Gaming Enforcement Division. The case was investigated by the State Police assigned to the AG’s Gaming Enforcement Division in collaboration with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The AG’s Office received assistance from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Revere and Everett Police Departments, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, and the State Police Fusion Center.
For information on the state charges, please contact Brad Puffer at the Attorney General’s Office at 617-727-2543.
Three Defendants Charged Separately in Jamaica Based Lottery SchemesRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and William D. Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), announce the indictments of three individuals for their roles in Jamaica based telemarketing fraud schemes. Shanice Ethridge, 24, of Broward County, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, with an enhanced penalty for targeting the elderly, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2326. Mikhail Gorbachev George Williams, 25, of Broward County, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and unlicensed money transmitting business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1960. Fabian Winston Parkinson, 33, of Miami-Dade County, has been charged with mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.
Defendants Ethridge and Williams made their initial appearance this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt in Fort Lauderdale. Defendant Parkinson is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in Dallas, Texas.
According to the indictments, Ethridge, Williams and Parkinson participated in fraudulent lottery schemes emanating from Jamaica, in which elderly victims throughout the United States were told that they had won a lottery or a sweepstakes but first had to pay taxes, duties or fees on their supposed winnings in order to receive their prize. These elderly victims were induced to send thousands of dollars to cover bogus fees, taxes and insurance for lottery winnings they had not won.
According to the indictments, the co-conspirators and co-schemers sent letters and made multiple telephone calls to the victims claiming to be from a purported sweepstakes/lottery company in the United States. As alleged in the indictment, the victims were told that they had to pay several thousand dollars in order to collect their purported winnings. The co-conspirators and co-schemers allegedly told the victims to make payments to either Ethridge, Williams or Parkinson in order to receive their winnings. Ethridge, Williams and Parkinson received the victims money either by wire transfers, cash, money orders and checks though the U.S. mail and prepaid debit cards.
“We will not allow South Florida to be a pipeline for these money couriers who are the lifeblood of these fraudulent schemes that prey on the elderly and vulnerable,” said United States Attorney Wifredo Ferrer. “We are committed to cutting off the money flow by dismantling these fraudulent lottery cells and prosecuting all of those involved, both here and abroad.”
“Combating scammers who target senior citizens is a priority for the Postal Inspection Service” said U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge in Miami Ronald Verrochio. “Aside from enforcement; we are also actively taking steps to educate elderly Americans about the dangers of lottery frauds.”
“These arrests show that HSI is committed to stopping individuals who prey on our senior citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Miami Alysa D. Erichs. “We will continue to work with our international partners and other law enforcement agencies to put an end to these criminal organizations.”
“The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is proud to be part of the team bringing scam artists such as these to justice,” said Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder. “These scammers who prey on our seniors in Martin County and elsewhere cannot be allowed to continue. These arrests are a testament to our joint efforts with our law enforcement’s partners at the state, local and federal levels.”
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of USPIS, ICE-HSI, and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
Thomas L. Kimmel Sentenced for Conspiracy, Mail Fraud, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced Thomas L. Kimmel, 68, to 264 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. Kimmel was ordered to pay over $16.5 million in restitution. On June 26, 2014 KIMMEL was convicted by a jury trial of Conspiracy, Mail Fraud, and Money Laundering.
KIMMEL was named in an Indictment filed on August 21, 2013. Assistant United States Attorney David A. Bragdon stated, “Kimmel used his professed spirituality and position of trust as a tool to defraud victims at their churches-the very places they felt the most safe. From day one, Kimmel told lies to maximize his commissions. He used trust and faith to defraud hundreds of victims, many of whom invested their life’s savings.”
At trial, the Government presented evidence that KIMMEL solicited about $20 million for Sure Line Acceptance Corporation from investors. Most of these investors found out about Sure Line through financial conferences that KIMMEL gave at churchesrelating to Biblical principles of finance and getting out of debt. Most of the victims never received any of their principal back. KIMMEL would typically spend a few minutes of each conference telling investors about a 12% collateralized note program. Many of these presentations were recorded, and the Government presented evidence that Kimmel’s statements about Sure Line were false and that the collateralized note program was a Ponzi scheme. The jury heard testimony from three conspirators who had previously pled guilty to Conspiracy and Sale of Unregistered Securities; James Willis Kirk, Jr., Glen E. Smith, Jr., and Carol April Graff. The jury also heard testimony from about fifteen victims.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys David A. Bragdon and Evan Rikhye prosecuted the case.
Texas Man Indicted for Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Waxahachi, Texas, man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for armed bank robbery.
Richard Wayne Swicegood, 37, of Waxahachi, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Swicegood used a weapon to steal $2,770 from Boone County National Bank, 2711 Broadway, Columbia, Mo., on June 6, 2012.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the FBI, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Arkansas State Police.Tampa Man Convicted of Attempting to Induce Child to Engage in Sex ActsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that late yesterday, a federal jury found James Patrick Baker (33, Tampa) guilty of attempting to induce a child to engage in sex acts. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for January 15, 2015. Baker was indicted on May 22, 2014.
According to evidence and testimony presented at trial, between April 17, 2014, and April 26, 2014, Baker communicated online with an individual he thought was a single mother of a twelve-year-old girl. He was actually communicating with undercover law enforcement officers, participating in Operation Intercept III, seeking to identify individuals who pose a danger to children. During the conversations, Baker suggested that he, the mother, and the child engage in various sex acts together. Baker emailed a picture of his genitalia to the “mother” and asked her to show her “child” the photograph. He also had phone conversations with the “mother” and the “child.”
On the evening of April 26, 2014, Baker left work early so that he could meet the “mother” and “child.” He drove to a location in Sarasota and was arrested. Baker had discussed bringing candy for the child as well as a condom. He had both items with him when he was arrested.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.
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.
Stockton Woman Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Aggravated I.D. Theft in Large Scale U.S. Mail Theft and Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that Regina L. Perea, 34, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to six years in prison for three counts of aggravated identification theft.
According to court documents, Perea and her husband, Rudy A. Trujillo, 35, also of Stockton, possessed hundreds of pieces of stolen U.S. mail, along with hundreds of stolen checks, credit cards and identification documents at their Stockton residence. During a search of their residence, law enforcement recovered the stolen mail and found evidence indicating that the defendants were altering checks, and manufacturing credit cards. When Trujillo and Perea were arrested in San Jose, they were driving a stolen vehicle with stolen license plates and were again in possession of a large quantity of stolen U.S. mail, checks, credit cards, and identification documents. Perea had assumed the identity of at least two additional female victims while she and Trujillo were on the run from law enforcement.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office with assistance from the Stockton Police Department, the San Jose Police Department, the Placer County Sheriff's Office, and the Delta Regional Auto Theft Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.
San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the United States Postal Inspection Service stated: “We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office and our partners in law enforcement to arrest and prosecute all those responsible for stealing U.S. Mail and using the contents of stolen U.S. Mail in furtherance of fraud and identity theft crimes."
On May 15, 2014, Perea and Trujillo pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated identity theft. Trujillo, who is in federal custody, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, 2014. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Stockton Woman Sentenced to over 5 Years in Prison for ID Theft and FraudRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Frances Marie Charles, 35, of Stockton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to five years and five months in prison for aggravated identity theft and mail fraud, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, between June 2012 and December 2013, Charles participated in a scheme to obtain replacement American Express credit cards in the names and account numbers of others. In total, the scheme yielded over 215 credit cards in the names of at least 172 different people. Charles would make calls to American Express and use stolen identification and financial information of victims to cause the replacement cards to be sent to Stockton. Charles and others would then use the cards to make various fraudulent charges and purchases. The total value of the transactions attempted with the cards was well in excess of $400,000.
In sentencing Charles, Judge Nunley noted how much identity theft disrupts the lives of victims, and how much time victims often need to spend addressing the effects of identity theft in their lives.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher S. Hales prosecuted the case.
Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Conviction of David RileyRead the Press Release
“As the jury unanimously found, David Riley exploited his position and access to information at Foundry Networks, a publicly traded technology company. What Riley forged at Foundry was a pipeline of material, nonpublic information that enabled others to engage in illegal insider trading and reap a windfall of more than 27 million dollars. What Riley got out of the arrangement is a felony conviction and the prospect of losing his liberty. He becomes the 87th defendant convicted of insider trading after trial or by guilty plea in this District in the last five years.”
St. Croix Man Sentenced for Manufacturing MarijuanaRead the Press Release
St. Croix, USVI – On Thursday, October 2, 2014, Chief District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Scott Bass, 41, to 16 months imprisonment, one year of supervised release and a $100.00 special assessment.
On May 14, 2014, Bass pleaded guilty to Count One of an indictment charging him with manufacturing marijuana. Court records show that Bass was arrested on August 16, 2013, after federal agents and task force officers searched the downstairs apartment of his residence and seized 102 marijuana plants, processed marijuana and marijuana cultivation equipment. The marijuana was intended for distribution.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.
Springfield Man Indicted for Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for using a minor to produce child pornography.
Tyler Coons, 23, of Springfield, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Coons’s arrest and initial court appearance.
The federal indictment alleges that Coons used a minor, identified as “Jane Doe #1,” to produce child pornography between Jan. 1 and June 20, 2014. Coons is also charged with one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Springfield Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Jarod “Bull” Michel, 31, of Springfield, was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Michel’s arrest and initial court appearance.
The federal indictment alleges that Michel received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between July 18, 2013, and May 20, 2014.
According to court documents, Michel’s computer was identified by two separate law enforcement agencies conducting independent undercover investigations concerning the distribution of child pornography using peer-to-peer file-sharing software. Investigators allegedly downloaded several videos of child pornography that were being shared over the Internet by Michel’s computer.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Michel to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offense, including a laptop computer.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Springfield Felon Charged with Illegal Firearm and Ammunition PossessionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Springfield man was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Springfield with illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.
Jamel Bolden, 21, was charged in an Information with possessing a firearm and ammunition after being previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
According to the Information, on June 7, 2013, Bolden possessed a Ruger Single Six .22 Magnum caliber revolver loaded with six rounds of CCI .22 caliber ammunition after being previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. According to the plea agreement, Bolden has also agreed to plead guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in a related case in Hampden Superior Court.
The charging statute provides a sentenced of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. 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; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
South Florida Doctor and Other Professionals Charged with Health Care Fraud at Biscayne Milieu Health Center, Inc.Read the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Derrick Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office, announce that Salo Shapiro, 69, a medical doctor, of Broward County, Marlene Cesar, 63, a licensed nurse practitioner, of Allentown, Pennsylvania and former resident of Miami, and Sonia Gallimore, 73, a licensed mental health counselor, of Broward County, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and false statements related to health care matters, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349, 1347, and 1035.
According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators caused the submission of over $55 million dollars in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare through Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based clinic which purportedly operated a partial hospitalization program (PHP) – a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness. Instead, the defendants and their co-conspirators devised a scheme in which ineligible Medicare beneficiaries were admitted to Biscayne Milieu and Medicare was fraudulently billed for services that were never provided. Many of the patients admitted to Biscayne Milieu were not eligible for PHP because they were chronic substance abusers, suffered from severe dementia and would not benefit from group therapy, or had no mental health diagnosis but were seeking exemptions for their U.S. citizenship applications.
The indictment alleges that, as an attending physician at Biscayne Milieu, Shapiro authorized the treatment of patients that he knew were ineligible for PHP treatment. The same was true of Cesar, who also knowingly admitted ineligible patients as a nurse practitioner. The indictment further alleges that Gallimore, a licensed mental health counselor, conducted sham therapy sessions for patients that she knew were ineligible for PHP treatment. As a result of the defendants’ and their co-conspirators’ actions, Biscayne Milieu billed Medicare for over $55 million in false and fraudulent claims, and Medicare paid the clinic over $11 million.
Various owners, a doctor, managers, therapists, patient brokers and other employees of Biscayne Milieu have also been charged with various health care fraud, kickback, money laundering and other offenses in three other indictments unsealed in September 2011, May 2012, and February 2013. Biscayne Milieu, its owners, and more than 25 of the individual defendants charged in these cases have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial. Antonio and Jorge Macli and Sandra Huarte – the owners and operators of Biscayne Milieu – were each convicted at trial of various offenses and were sentenced in April 2013 to 30 years, 25 years, and 22 years in prison, respectively. Dr. Gary Kushner, another attending physician and former medical director of Biscayne Milieu, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in March 2013.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Hayes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; James V. Hayes was formerly a Trial Attorney with the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of HHS-OIG, and was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in coordination with the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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.
Six Eddy County Residents Sentenced to Federal Prison for Robbery Spree in Southeastern New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Six residents of Eddy County, N.M., were sentenced yesterday afternoon and this morning by a federal judge in Las Cruces, N.M., to prison terms for violating the Hobbs Act by robbing businesses engaged in interstate commerce, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 5th Judicial District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, Chief Kent Waller of the Carlsbad Police Department, Chief Don Raley of the Artesia Police Department, and Chief Chris McCall of the Hobbs Police Department.
The six men, Bennie Juarez, Gucci Lopez, Logan Magby, Mario Muro, Rance Williams, and Tyler Williams, together with their co-defendant Maurice Williams who was previously sentenced, were charged with violating the Hobbs Act in a criminal complaint filed on May 29, 2013. According to court filings, the seven men, acting in groups, robbed the following five commercial businesses in southeastern New Mexico between Nov. 2012 and Jan. 2013:
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The Family Dollar located at 403 W. Quay Street in Artesia, N.M., by Juarez, Lopez and Maurice Williams on Nov. 15, 2012.
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The Shop-N-Go located at 22212 W. Lea Street in Carlsbad by Juarez, Lopez and Rance Williams on Nov. 28, 2012.
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The Family Dollar located at 901 W. Mermod Street in Carlsbad by Juarez, Lopez and Maurice Williams on Dec. 2, 2012.
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The Dollar General located at 730 N. Dal Paso in Hobbs, N.M., by Juarez, Rance Williams and Tyler Williams on Dec. 9, 2012.
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The Domino’s Pizza located at 302 S. 1st Street in Artesia by Juarez, Muro, Magby and Tyler Williams on Jan. 6, 2013.
The defendants wore masks or covered their faces with bandanas and brandished firearms at the store employees when they committed the aforementioned robberies.
Bennie Juarez, 28, of Artesia, N.M., pled guilty on Aug. 20, 2013, to five counts of conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act by robbing each of the five businesses identified above. Juarez was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $28,806.22 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Gucci Lopez, 26, of Artesia, N.M., pled guilty on Nov. 5, 2013, to three counts of conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act by robbing three businesses involved in interstate commerce. Lopez was sentenced this morning to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $14,599.40 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Logan Magby, 20, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty on Sept. 3, 2013, to conspiracy to rob the Domino’s Pizza in Artesia on Jan. 6, 2013. Magby was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $1,107.82 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Mario Muro, 23, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty on Sept. 13, 2013, to conspiracy to rob the Domino’s Pizza in Artesia on Jan. 6, 2013. Yesterday Muro was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $1,107.82 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Rance Williams, 24, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty on Sept. 10, 2013, to conspiracy to rob the Shop-N-Go in Carlsbad on Nov. 28, 2012, and conspiracy to rob the Dollar General in Carlsbad on Dec. 2, 2012. Williams was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 25 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $11,323.00 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Tyler Williams, 19, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty on Sept. 13, 2013, to conspiracy to rob the Dollar General in Hobbs on Dec. 9, 2012, and conspiracy to rob the Domino’s Pizza in Artesia on Jan. 6, 2013. Yesterday Williams was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $10,206.82 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
Maurice Williams, 35, of Carlsbad, N.M., entered a guilty plea on Sept. 10, 2013, to conspiracy to rob the Family Dollar in Artesia on Nov. 15, 2012, and conspiracy to rob the Family Dollar in Carlsbad on Dec. 2, 2012. Williams was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to 130 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendants, $3,420.00 in restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct.
The defendants were prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this anti-violence initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
These cases were investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, Carlsbad Police Department, Artesia Police Department and Hobbs Police Department, with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luis A. Martinez and E. Garreth Winstead III of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
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Shreveport Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Stealing from ATMRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Shreveport man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for stealing more than $30,000 from an ATM located on bank property, causing more than $35,000 worth of damage in the process.
Frederick Charles Davis, 47, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. for one count of bank theft. The judge also ordered Davis to serve three years of supervised release and pay $61,640 in restitution. According to evidence presented at the July 1, 2014 guilty plea, Davis broke into an automated teller machine (ATM) on July 13, 2012, located at the end of a drive-through lane at a Richland State Bank in Minden, La., and stole $30,320. He used a power tool and a chain attached to the back of his truck to open the ATM, which caused more than $30,000 in damage.
The FBI, Shreveport Office, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case.Ship Operator Sentenced for Violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MARINE MANAGERS LTD., a Liberian corporation headquartered in Piraeus, Greece, was sentenced today to a three-year term of probation. In addition, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier ordered MARINE MANAGERS LTD. to pay an $800,000 fine and a $100,000 community service payment. MARINE MANAGERS, LTD. previously pled guilty to a two-count bill of information charging the company with violating Title 33, United States Code, Section 1908(a) for knowingly failing to maintain an oil record book while in port and within the internal waters of the United States, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519 for the submission of a knowingly false document to the U.S. Coast Guard.
According to court documents, MARINE MANAGERS LTD. was the operator of the Motor Vessel (“M/V”) Trident Navigator, a vessel that transported bulk cargo between various ports and places in the world, including the Port of New Orleans and other locations in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (“APPS”), makes it a crime to knowingly violate protocols established regarding discharges of waste and documentation of same. On or about December 28, 2013, while the M/V Trident Navigator was sailing, the Chief Engineer instructed the Second Engineer to construct a bypass system (often referred to as a “magic pipe”) that could be connected between the vessel’s bilge pump and overboard discharge valve. The purpose of the bypass was to discharge the contents of the ship’s bilge tank directly into the sea, circumventing the ship’s Oil Water Separator and Oil Content Monitor. On or about December 31, 2013, the Chief Engineer ordered the Second Engineer to hook up the “magic pipe” and to discharge several metric tons of oily bilge waste from the bilge tank directly into the sea. The “magic pipe” was removed after the discharge was completed and the discharge was not recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book as required. The Chief Engineer additionally confiscated a crew member’s cell phone, which contained a photograph of the installed “magic pipe,” and caused that photo to be deleted.
On or about January 18, 2014, U.S. Coast Guard personnel boarded the M/V Trident Navigator while it was anchored in the Mississippi River near New Orleans, Louisiana, and within the Eastern District of Louisiana. A tip from a crewmember led them to the discovery of the “magic pipe.” The Chief Engineer was uncooperative and further obstructed the Coast Guard investigation by instructing crewmembers to deny knowledge of the “magic pipe.”
The actions of the crewmembers on the vessel were contrary to defendant MARINE MANAGERS LTD.’s written policies and procedures. However, defendant MARINE MANAGERS LTD. accepts that it is vicariously liable for their actions.
U.S. Attorney Polite stated, “Today’s sentence ensures that Marine Managers will be held responsible for the criminal actions of its employees who illegally dumped waste into our region’s waterways.”
"The Coast Guard is committed to uncovering and investigating regulatory and criminal violations that threaten the health of our marine environment. The successful prosecution of this case is due to the outstanding cooperation between Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Department of Justice," said Rear Admiral Kevin S. Cook, Eighth Coast Guard District Commander.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service in this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory M. Kennedy and DOJ Environmental Crimes Section Attorney Kenneth Nelson are in charge of the prosecution.
Shell Company Operator Pleads Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
A Florida managing member of a shell company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Tampa for his role in a multi-million dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
Leonard Austin, 45, of Lake Worth, Florida, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to conspiracy to commit money laundering of health care fraud proceeds. His sentencing date will be set at a later date by the court.
According to his plea agreement and factual proffer, from June 2010 through April 2014, Austin’s co-conspirators submitted $12 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare through three purported health clinics, Cornerstone Health Specialists of Lakeland, Florida, Summit Health Specialists P.L. of Tampa, Florida, and Coastal Health Specialists LLC of Lakeland and Melbourne, Florida. These fraudulent claims included claims resulting from illegal kickback arrangements and claims for radiology, audiology, neurology, and cardiology services that were never rendered. In fact, some of the services were purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries who actually had died before the supposed date of service. Medicare paid over $2,500,000 on the fraudulent claims.
Austin admitted that he and his co-conspirators attempted to conceal the funds by transferring funds through bank accounts for the clinics and Austin’s shell company, BONB LLC, aka BioScan, and other entities.
Four other defendants were indicted in this case on health care fraud and money laundering charges and are scheduled for a jury trial on April 6, 2015. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Sex Offender Sentenced to 8+ Years in Prison for Failing to RegisterRead the Press Release
A violent sex offender who failed to register as required by law was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 99 months in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. TIMOTHY G. DORAN, 48, of Seattle was arrested in December 2011. DORAN pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender in September 2012. However, over the last two years prosecutors presented evidence tying DORAN to the murder of a woman in Vietnam. U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ruled prosecutors had proven DORAN guilty of the murder by clear and convincing evidence, thus making the murder something he could consider at sentencing. Today Judge Lasnik noted DORAN had a history of “multiple instances of violence and depravity against women he claimed to love and cherish…He is a clear and present danger to any woman he establishes a relationship with…. He is a serial domestic abuser.”
“This case demonstrates our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners around the world to ensure justice is done,” said Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Working with law enforcement in Vietnam, bringing witnesses to court here in Seattle, our prosecutors made sure all the relevant facts could be considered by the court to hold this defendant accountable.”
According to records filed in the case, DORAN has a lengthy history of violence against women, including rape and assaults. In 1990 he was convicted of breaking his wife’s ankle and using a knife to make a cut across her neck. In 1992 DORAN raped and brutally beat his ex-girlfriend, leaving her and her children to die in a home filling with natural gas. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and was required to register as a sex offender. Following his release from prison for that crime, his new girlfriend sought a protective order because he threatened her with knives.
In mid-2010, DORAN moved to Vietnam without updating his sex offender registration. DORAN became involved with a young woman in Vietnam and in the early morning hours of March 6, 2011, he strangled her and left her body hidden in a closet in the home. Within days DORAN fled Vietnam and returned to the U.S. He traveled between various states, again failing to register as a sex offender. Following his arrest, U.S. prosecutors worked with law enforcement in Vietnam to obtain and present evidence tying DORAN to the murder.
DORAN will be on five years of supervised release following his prison term.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Friedman, Jerrod Patterson and Brian Werner.
Sentencings for September 26 - October 1, 2014Read the Press Release
Judi Bufkin, 53, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on October 1, 2014, for arson of a facility engaged in interstate commerce. Bufkin was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee. She received 96 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $110,714.85. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
James Pearson Thain, 38, of Utah, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on September 30, 2014, for bank robbery and aiding and abetting. He was arrested in Casper, Wyoming. He received 324 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $1,400.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $51,073.66. This case was investigated by the Casper Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gina Grimm, 45, of Gillette, Wyoming, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on September 30, 2014, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 100 grams or more of methamphetamine. Grimm was arrested in Gillette, Wyoming. She received 78 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $1,900.00 fine. This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Latisha Doloris, 27, of Selma, California, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on September 30, 2014, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Doloris was arrested in Selma, California. She received 120 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Dana Christopher Conde, 36, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on September 26, 2014, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Conde was arrested in Casper, Wyoming. He received 30 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $400.00 fine. This case was investigated by the Casper Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Preston P. Montoya, 39, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on October 1, 2014, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Montoya was arrested in Casper. He received 120 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $250.00 fine. This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.