Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
5 November 2014
Nevada Woman Pleads Guilty to Receiving over $300,000 in Fraudulent Refunds from IRSRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Denise J. Vick, 39, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon to four counts of filing false claims with the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
“Tax refund fraud is a growing problem locally and nationally,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “This type of tax fraudster cheats honest and law abiding tax payers by defrauding the government and stealing funds that are not rightfully theirs. We will continue working with the IRS in Nevada to identify and prosecute these fraudsters.”
According to the plea agreement, during 2010 and 2011, Vick created and caused to be filed false and fraudulent tax returns for herself and others for the tax years 2009 and 2010. The returns reported wages, income and other information that was false, and caused the IRS to issue tax refunds to Vick and the others to which they were not entitled. The refunds were issued on debit cards that Vick controlled. In total, Vick fraudulently received $307,231 from the IRS as a result of the false claims that she submitted for herself and others.
Vick is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5, 2015, and faces up to five years prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn C. Newman.
Multiple Convicted Felon, Melvin James, Jr., Sentenced to 16 ½ Years in Prison for Possession of Heroin and FirearmsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MELVIN JAMES, JR., a 43-year old resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today for possession with intent to distribute 98 grams of heroin and being a convicted felon-in-possession of four firearms.
U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt sentenced JAMES to 198 months incarceration for possession with intent to distribute 98 grams of heroin and 120 months incarceration for being a felon-in-possession of a firearm, to be served concurrently. Following his term of imprisonment, JAMES will be on supervised release for a term of 3 years.
According to the indictment, JAMES was arrested following an attempt to sell heroin in Slidell, Louisiana. A search of his New Orleans residence uncovered 98 grams of heroin, digital scales, products used to “cut” the heroin prior to distribution, over $3,000 in U.S. currency, marijuana, and other tools of the narcotics trafficking trade including four firearms of various makes and calibers.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration and thanked the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Police Department for providing assistance in investigating this matter. Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Ebarb is in charge of the prosecution.Moving Company Owner, Dunwoodie Mcduffie, Pleads Guilty to Operating an Interstate Moving Business in Violation of Federal RegulationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DUNWOODIE MCDUFFIE, 47. a resident of Metairie, Louisiana, and the owner of a Metairie moving company, plea guilty today to eight counts of conducting interstate household goods moves without the proper authority of the Department of Transportation.
According to the Bill of Information, in 2007, MCDUFFIE applied for authorization to conduct interstate moves with his company, Mr. Move, but never followed through with the various requirements for maintain authority to conduct interstate moves. MCDUFFIE nonetheless continued to operate his interstate moving business, knowing that he lacked the proper authority to do so. Each of the eight charges represents a different move conducted by MCDUFFIE’s business in 2013.
MCDUFFIE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of one year on each count and a fine of up to $100,000 on each count, for a total potential exposure of eight years and $800,000. MCDUFFIE may also be sentenced to up to a year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney David Haller is in charge of the prosecution.
(Download Factual Basis )
Morgantown Man Charged with Counterfeiting U.S. CurrencyRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Barry Eugene Dragovich, 36, of Morgantown, West Virginia with repeatedly possessing and attempting to use counterfeit U.S. currency, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
The indictment, which stems from an investigation led by the United States Secret Service, charges Dragovich with three counts of “Possessing Counterfeit Obligations and Securities,” and one count of “Uttering Counterfeit Obligations and Securities.”
Dragovich faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00 for each of the four charges. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mission Man Sentenced for AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding was sentenced on October 23, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.
Jacob Lee, age 30, was sentenced to 350 days in custody, 1 year of supervised release, and a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Lee was indicted for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Assault by Strangulation and Suffocation by a federal grand jury on March 11, 2014. He pled guilty to Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding on August 19, 2014.
On February 8, 2014, Lee and the victim were at an apartment in Mission, and an argument ensued where Lee pulled the victim’s hair and hit her. The victim had swollen lips and suffered other injuries during the assault. Prior to the assault, Lee and the victim were intimate and dating partners.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case.
Lee was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mexican Man, Galdino Martinez-carrillo, Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-entryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that GALDINO MARTINEZ-CARRILLO, age 38, a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty today to a one-count indictment for illegal re-entry of a removed alien.
According to the court documents, on August 1, 2014, MARTINEZ-CARRILLO was found in the United States after having been deported previously on October 25, 2012.
MARTINEZ-CARRILLO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant, one year supervised release after imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman set sentencing for March 4, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield is in charge of the prosecution.
Mexican Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Sex Trafficking of ChildrenRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Javier Flores Mendez, 24, of Tenancingo, Mexico, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity and sex trafficking of children.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.
Flores pled guilty on August 15, 2014. According to court documents, the defendant is from Tenancingo, Mexico, a town known for having a widely accepted culture of pimping and prostitution. Every year residents of Tenancingo put on a festival known as “Carnaval,” which celebrates the pimp and prostitute lifestyle. Carnaval festivities include a parade where pimps will lead prostitutes down the street, sometimes in grossly demeaning displays. Tenancingo’s pimps and their associates have for years been responsible for moving prostitutes to other towns and cities in Mexico, as well as locations in the United States. A primary destination in the United States for prostitutes who are being trafficked from Tenancingo is Queens, New York.
In a ten-page statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Flores admitted that in March 2013 he approached a then 15-year-old girl who was working selling roasted corn at a food stand in Puebla, Mexico. After striking up a conversation with her, he bought her a cell phone and programmed his number in it. Over the next several weeks Flores and the girl communicated using that telephone, and later they went on several dates. In May 2013, Flores persuaded the girl to come live with him in Tenancingo, Mexico, which is approximately three hours away by car from Puebla, Mexico. Flores took the girl on a shopping trip to buy her clothes, shoes, makeup, jewelry and undergarments. At first he treated the victim well, though he always controlled her movements and activities and did not give her a key for the hotel room. After about a week, however, he began threatening that he would kill her if she did not do what he said or attempted to run away.
In July 2013, Flores planned a trip to illegally enter the United States and travel to New York. Flores admitted to forcing the victim to travel with him by threatening that he would kill her and her family if she did not go. Flores and the girl were apprehended on July 4, 2013, in McAllen, Texas, after wading across the Rio Grande River with the assistance of “coyotes,” who are individuals paid to help smuggle migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.
In September 2013, Flores reestablished contact with the girl. In late October 2013, Flores told the girl that she would have to start working as a prostitute at various bars in and around Tenancingo and Puebla. Flores forced the victim to work as a prostitute every night for a week, during which time she serviced 10 or more men a night and as many as a total of 100. Flores also told the girl that they would again cross the border into the United States and travel to Queens, New York, where she would also work as a prostitute. In or around late October or early November 2013, Flores and the victim successfully crossed the Mexico-U.S. border and for several days stayed in various safe houses in the Houston, Texas, area. On November 2 they departed Houston in a Ford Excursion with nine other illegal aliens traveling to various points in the Northeast United States. In the early morning hours of November 4, 2013, their vehicle was stopped for speeding by a Henrico County police officer on Interstate 64 East near the Staples Mill exit in Richmond. At that time Flores and the minor were put into immigration detention and this investigation followed.
This case was investigated by HSI and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Hood and Heather L. Hart prosecuted the case.
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-040Members of Long-Running International Child Pornography Ring ConvictedRead the Press Release
Two men have been convicted for their roles in a sophisticated conspiracy to distribute child pornography to a secret, world-wide network over the Internet.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler of the Southern District of Indiana and Acting Inspector in Charge Troy Raper of the United States Postal Inspection Service made the announcement.
John D. Gries 48, of Bayshore, New York, and James McCullars 56, of Huntsville, Alabama, were found guilty late Nov. 4, 2014, following a six-day jury trial of conspiracy to distribute and receive child pornography, conspiracy to advertise child pornography and engaging in a child exploitation enterprise in connection with a long-running, world-wide child exploitation enterprise.
According to testimony at trial, the enterprise began in 2000 and operated until April 2012. Gries and McCullars ran various online chat rooms available exclusively to members of the conspiracy and protected by password. These chat rooms were dedicated to the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, and were used by members to discuss and promote the sexual exploitation of children.
According to evidence at trial, as well as admissions by other defendants, today’s defendants and many of the other members of the conspiracy amassed large collections of materials depicting child exploitation. The co-conspirators sought to expand their collections using online chat rooms and a number of online servers, and to evade law enforcement through the use of sophisticated data encryption software. Dozens of children around the world have been identified as victims of abuse during this investigation.
Other defendants charged as part of this investigation who have pleaded guilty or been found guilty include:
John Edwards, 62, of Indianapolis
Thomas Vaughn, 45, of Anderson, Indiana
John Rex Powell, 43, of Fort Myers, Florida
Donald Printup, 36, of Niagara Falls, New York
Michael Fredette, 46, of Waterford, New York
Robert Guillen, 43, of Wesley Chapel, Florida
David Bebetu, 51, of Agoura Hills, California
Stephen Harvey Dault, 48, of McKinney, Texas
Rick Ricardo Leon, 53, of Arlington, Virginia
Edwards, Fredette and Dault have been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison, 27 years in prison, and 17 years in prison respectively.
Powell was previously convicted as part of an investigation and prosecution of two Australian citizens who allegedly orchestrated the sexual abuse of their adopted son at the hands of men around the world. He is awaiting sentencing in that matter.
This case was the result of a collaborative investigation led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service assisted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Department of Justice’s High Technology Investigative Unit, as part of Project Safe Childhood. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Amy Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Division and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Lower Brule Man Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute A Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on October 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Jason Long, age 44, was sentenced to time served (18.4 months), 3 years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Long was indicted for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on February 2, 2013. He pled guilty on August 12, 2014.
The conviction arose from an incident on July 28, 2012, in Lyman County, when Long knowingly and intentionally distributed and possessed with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of AM 2201, a Schedule I controlled substance.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Level 3 Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to New ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Barnstable man who was residing in Missouri pleaded guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender.
David W. Lacouture, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to a one-count Indictment charging him with failing to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2015.
In September 2010, Lacouture pleaded guilty in Barnstable County to indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age. As a result of that conviction, Lacouture was required to register as a Level 3 sex offender. At some point, Lacouture relocated without permission or notification to Missouri where he failed to register as a sex offender. In April 2013, he was arrested under an alias on unrelated state charges and returned to Massachusetts.
The maximum sentence under the statute is 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.
Knoxville Man Indicted in Hardee’s Robbery and ShootingRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A federal grand jury in Knoxville returned a three-count indictment on Nov. 4, 2014, charging Stephen Thompson, 25, of Knoxville, with the robbery of a Hardee’s restaurant, discharging a firearm during the Hardee’s robbery, and with the robbery of a Subway restaurant. Thompson has not yet appeared in court on these charges.
The indictment alleges that Thompson robbed the Hardee’s, located at 3718 Western Avenue in Knoxville, on Nov. 10, 2009, and that he discharged a firearm during the Hardee’s robbery. In that robbery, Thompson is accused of shooting a restaurant employee in the chest, which resulted in life-threatening injuries, but the victim ultimately survived. He is also accused of robbing the Subway, located at 446 North Cedar Bluff Road in Knoxville, on Oct. 25, 2014.
If convicted, Thompson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the two robbery counts. He faces a minimum mandatory term of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed, on the discharging of a firearm count. There is no parole in the federal system.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Knoxville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
KC Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sell False ID Documents to Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy that produced and sold thousands of false identification documents to illegal aliens.
Luis Daniel Cabrera-Guzman, also known as “Driver,” 30, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, to his role in the conspiracy to provide false identification documents.
Cabrera-Guzman admitted that he participated in a conspiracy with Cesar Mujica-Aranda, also known as “Oscar Gomez,” 25, a citizen of Mexico residing in Liberty, Bernardino Bautista-Hernandez, 32, also known as “Brujo,” a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., and others from Sept. 1, 2013, to Feb. 21, 2014, to produce and distribute thousands of false and counterfeit identification documents that were sold to aliens unlawfully residing and working within the United States.
Both Mujica-Aranda and Bautista-Hernandez pleaded guilty in September 2014 to their roles in the conspiracy in a separate but related case.
Mujica-Aranda admitted that he managed the production of counterfeit identification documents at his Liberty apartment. He managed the production of the false identification documents and sold the documents to numerous street level dealers, such as Bautista-Hernandez and Cabrera-Guzman. Mujica-Aranda produced fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards, counterfeit Social Security cards, and false driver’s licenses from various states within the United States as well as Mexican states. Conspirators produced and sold thousands of false identification documents to illegal aliens so that the illegal aliens could stay and work within the United States.
Cabrera-Guzman admitted that he was one of the street-level dealers who illegally sold counterfeit identification documents. The street dealers would typically pay approximately $50 for each counterfeit identification document and they would keep any excess proceeds they were able to obtain from the sale of the counterfeit documents. Cabrera-Guzman sold sets of fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards and counterfeit Social Security cards for approximately $100 per document set. (The newer versions of the Lawful Permanent Resident cards sold for more money.) Cabrera-Guzman sold false driver’s licenses from various states within the United States as well as Mexican states for about $100 each. He also sold false Mexican consular identification cards for approximately $100 each and fake Kansas City, Mo., liquor licenses for approximately $100.
On Jan. 30, 2014, Mujica-Aranda threw away a white plastic bag containing shredded pieces of fraudulent identity documents in a trash can at a gas station at St. John Avenue and Belmont in Kansas City, Mo. Early the next morning, a federal agent located the bag in the trash can. The bag contained shredded pieces of fraudulent identification documents, and weighed approximately two pounds. Each piece was approximately the size of a small paper clip, and the shredded pieces were immediately recognizable as fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards, Social Security cards, Missouri non-driver’s licenses and Kansas identification cards. The agent also discovered two reels of depleted color card printer ribbon within the shredded pieces. One reel had images of fraudulent Lawful Permanent Resident cards.
Under the terms of their plea agreements, the defendants must each pay a money judgment for the total amount of money that was obtained by this criminal enterprise. The Department of Homeland Security is still evaluating ink ribbons that were seized as part of the investigation and has already identified thousands of identification documents that were produced by the conspiracy. By the time of sentencing, the government may have a better estimate on how many identification documents it can establish were produced by the conspiracy. The court may elect to multiply this number by how much the conspiracy was selling the false documents to aliens.
Cabrera-Guzman must also forfeit to the government $9,376 that was seized by law enforcement officers at the time of his arrest, and which was obtained as the proceeds of his criminal conduct.
Mujica-Aranda must also forfeit to the government all of the equipment that was used to produce fraudulent identification documents, including three computers, a computer hard drive, printers, four cameras, six cell phones, electronic storage devices and other miscellaneous equipment and supplies, and $1,840.
Under federal statutes, Cabrera-Guzman, Mujica-Aranda and Bautista-Hernandez are each subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
These cases are being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. They were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, the Kansas Department of Revenue – Office of Special Investigations, the Missouri Department of Revenue – Compliance Investigation Bureau and the Clay County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.Jury Convicts Jefferson City Man of Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jefferson City, Mo., man has been convicted by a federal trial jury today for illegally possessing firearms.
Terrence Lamar Hawkins, 46, of Jefferson City, was found guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Hawkins was found guilty of possessing a Hi-Point .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Feb. 24, 2011. Hawkins was also found guilty of possessing a Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol on March 24, 2011. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Hawkins has a prior felony conviction for unlawful use of a weapon in Cole County, Mo.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Hawkins was arrested twice by the Lincoln University Police Department at the Lincoln University Scruggs Student Center cafeteria in Jefferson City. At the time of both arrests, Scruggs was carrying a concealed handgun.
On Feb. 24, 2011, Scruggs, who appeared to be intoxicated, was confronted by police officers in the student center cafeteria. Officers noticed a bulge in his front, left pocket. When questioned about the bulge, Hawkins stated that it was nothing. When informed that officers were going to check his pockets, Hawkins attempted to flee and was detained by officers. Officers recovered a loaded Hi-Point .40-caliber pistol from Hawkins. Hawkins was then arrested and warned that he would be arrested for trespassing if he returned to Lincoln University.
On March 24, 2011, officers were dispatched to the Scruggs Student Center after a report that Hawkins was present, in violation of the trespass order. Hawkins was subsequently arrested for trespassing. During a search, a loaded Hi-Point 9mm pistol was found in his pants pocket.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for about 30 minutes before returning the verdicts to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, ending a trial that began Monday, Nov. 3, 2014.
Under federal statutes, Hawkins is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Lincoln University Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.- Jury Convicts Austin Doctor and Unlicensed Physician’s Assistant of Health Care Fraud
Judge Sentences Kaboni Savage Soldier to 40 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Lamont Lewis, 38, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for his role in the Oct. 9, 2004 retaliatory firebombing that killed six members of a federal witness’s family, including four children. Lewis pleaded guilty in 2011 and testified against Kaboni Savage, who ordered the firebombing, and three others co-conspirators.
As part of his 2011 plea agreement, Lewis pleaded guilty to an additional five murders, and agreed to testify against Savage, Robert Merritt, who assisted Lewis in carrying out the firebombing murders, Steven Northington, and Savage’s sister, Kidada. The murder plot targeted the family of Eugene Coleman who was cooperating in the drug trafficking case against Savage. U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick also ordered 10 years of supervised release and a $2,000 special assessment.
During his testimony at Savage’s trial, Lewis admitted that he spoke to Savage in the evening hours of October 8, 2004, at which time Savage told Lewis that Savage needed Lewis to carry out a favor for him. Savage told Lewis that his sister, Kidada Savage, would explain the plan after the phone call. Shortly after that, Kidada Savage advised Lewis of the plan to firebomb the Coleman residence and drove Lewis to the location to identify the Coleman house for Lewis. In the early morning hours of October 9, 2004, Lewis contacted Merritt and explained the plan to him. Lewis and Merritt filled up two gas cans while en route to the Coleman residence and, while Lewis gained entry and fired warning shots into the residence, Merritt threw a gas can with a lit cloth fuse, and then a second gas can, into the occupied Philadelphia row house in the predawn hours on Oct. 9, 2004. Six people, including four children ranging in age from 15 months to 15 years, were killed in the fire.
Kaboni Savage was sentenced to death for 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Co-defendants Kidada Savage, Robert Merritt, and Steven Northington were all sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Maple Shade, New Jersey Police Department. The United States Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service, and the Philadelphia / Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Steve Mellin of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Troyer and John M. Gallagher of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Judge Sentences Ambulance Company Owner to More Than Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Feda Kuran, 39, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 64 months in prison for a healthcare fraud scheme involving Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. Kuran founded Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. and was its president. The defendant pleaded guilty April 17, 2014 to healthcare fraud and paying kickbacks in violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Act.
Through Brotherly Love, Kuran transported patients who were able to walk and could travel safely by means other than ambulance and who, therefore, were not eligible for ambulance transportation under Medicare requirements. Kuran, and others acting on her behalf, falsified reports to make it appear that the patients needed to be transported by ambulance when she knew that the patients could be transported safely by other means and, in fact, many of them could walk. The defendant billed Medicare for those ambulance services as if they were medically necessary when she knew that they were not. In addition, Kuran, and others acting at her direction, paid kickbacks to patients to ensure that they would use Brotherly Love Ambulance for services which were not medically necessary. Under Kuran’s direction, the company also submitted claims to Medicare for ambulance services for patients who were not transported by ambulance, but instead were transported in private vehicles or drove themselves to their destinations. After becoming aware of the investigation of her company, Kuran also sold patient lists to other ambulance companies so that those companies could continue the fraud. As a result of the fraudulent billing orchestrated by Kuran, the Medicare program paid more than $2 million for fraudulent claims from Brotherly Love.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. ordered Kuran to pay $2,015,712.52 in restitution to Medicare and a special assessment of $200. He also ordered three years of supervised release. The Court also entered a money judgment against the defendant for $2,015,712.52.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J.D. Hogan and Paul W. Kaufman.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Honduran Man, Uris Ordonez-mendoza, Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-entryRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite announced that URIS ORDONEZ-MENDOZA, age 27, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty today to a one-count indictment for illegal re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to court records, URIS ORDONEZ-MENDOZA was found in the United States on September 20, 2014, after having been previously deported.
ORDONEZ-MENDOZA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant, one year supervised release after imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan set sentencing for February 11, 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 Emily K. Greenfield is in charge of the prosecution.
(Download Factual Basis )
Guilty Verdict for Defendant Accused of Defrauding Municipality of Anchorage out of Cigarette TaxRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Michael Butler, was convicted by a jury on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to make false statements regarding the distribution of cigarettes. Michael Butler was indicted on the charges on July 18, 2013, along with Kyong Hee Kim, Sun Sims, Kimberly Sims, Jae Ho Lee, Jae Gak Lee, and Jerry Lee in a conspiracy to defraud the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) by evading the payment of cigarette excise tax. Insook Baik, was also charged in the indictment, but was acquitted at trial. Kyong Hee Kim, Sun Sims, Kimberly Sims, Jae Ho Lee, Jae Gak Lee, and Jerry Lee previously pleaded guilty in U.S/ District Court for their roles in the conspiracy.
According to court documents, Michael Butler and Sun Sims operated and managed Up in Smoke, located in the MOA, and Golden Eagle Tobacco and Longmere Lake Grocery and Liquor, both located outside the MOA. Because they owned Golden Eagle Tobacco and Longmere Lake Grocery and Liquor, Butler and Sims could legitimately purchase MOA excise tax exempt cigarettes from tobacco wholesale distributors located in the MOA, but only if those cigarettes were actually transported outside of the MOA and offered for sale at those two stores. However, cigarettes that they purchased within the MOA and intended to sell at Up in Smoke or distribute to others within the MOA were not excise tax exempt.
Between 2009 and October 10, 2012, Michael Butler and Sun Sims used their Golden Eagle Tobacco and Longmere Lake Grocery and Liquor store accounts with tobacco wholesale distributors within the MOA to purchase excise tax exempt cigarettes that they intended to sell and distribute within the MOA. Thus, they avoided paying the MOA excise tax and increased their own profits.
The other co-conspirators paid a fee to Michael Butler and Sun Sims for the purchase of excise tax exempt cigarettes. They paid this fee for the tax exempt cigarettes in an effort to avoid paying the tax owed to the MOA. Butler and Sims would collect payment from Kyong Hee Kim and other retailers. They would then convert the money collected into cashier’s checks that appeared to be purchased by either Golden Eagle Tobacco or Longmere Lake Grocery and Liquor. Then, they used these cashier’s checks to purchase more tax exempt cigarettes, which they then delivered to the following retail stores within the MOA:
- Up in Smoke, owned and operated by Michael Butler and Sun Sims and managed by Kimberly Sims
- Mini Stop, owned and operated by Kyong Hee Kim
- Arctic/Tudor Shell and Mountain View Shell, owned and operated by Insook Baik
- Party Time Liquor, owned and operated by Jae Gak Lee
- Cheap Smokes, owned and operated by Jae Ho Lee
- Lucky Seven Foodmart, owned and operated by Jerry Lee
“Like the American tax system, taxes levied by the Municipality of Anchorage are designed to provide vital government services to our people. Tax fraud victimizes honest citizens who are paying their fair share,” said Special Agent in Charge Teri Alexander of IRS Criminal Investigation. “This verdict represents the commitment of the Department of Justice and the IRS to protect the integrity of not only our national tax system, but also that of our local communities.”
Mail fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $250,000. Conspiracy to money launder carries a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $500,000. As part of their pleas and the guilty verdict of Michael Butler, the defendants also face criminal forfeitures of the proceeds of the crime.
The case was jointly prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan A. Collins and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin W. Bradley. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Anchorage Police Department.Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Man with Five Bank, Credit Union Robberies in February and March 2014Read the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY - A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Michael Alexander Bacon, age 45, of Salt Lake City, with five bank and credit union robberies in Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and North Salt Lake between Feb. 3 and March 24, 2014.
The indictment charges Bacon with a Feb. 3, 2014, robbery of Zions Bank in North Salt Lake; a Feb. 19, 2014, robbery of Mountain America Credit Union in Salt Lake City; a March 21, 2014, robbery of Zions Bank in West Valley City; and March 24, 2014, robberies of U.S. Bank and Chase Bank, both in Salt Lake City.
Bacon was arrested a few days after the last two bank robberies when a Salt Lake City police officer saw the defendant at a shopping center and recognized him as the suspect from the bank robberies. The officer approached the defendant and ordered him to stop. Bacon did not follow the command and fled on foot into a nearby store. Officers pursued him and apprehended him.
The potential maximum penalty for each count of bank robbery is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Bacon is in state custody on other charges and is scheduled to go to trial in early December. Federal prosecutors will schedule an initial appearance for Bacon in federal court once the state case has been resolved.
Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.
Gibson City Man Convicted of Mail Fraud and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Peoria, Ill. – Sentencing is scheduled on Feb. 19, 2015, for a Gibson City, Ill., man convicted last week of mail fraud and illegal application of a pesticide inconsistent with its labeling. A jury deliberated for approximately one hour on Oct. 31, before returning guilty verdicts against Carl Kieser, 61. Kieser had previously been convicted of four counts of tax evasion.
Kieser owned and operated Aquatic Control of Illinois, a business located at his Gibson City Fishing and Camping Club, south of Gibson City on Route 47. During the trial, which began on Oct. 27, the government presented evidence to establish that from June 2006 to September 2012, Kieser purchased large quantities of Diuron 80DF, a pesticide registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the control of land-based weeds. The EPA-approved labeling for Diuron 80DF warns that the chemical should not be applied directly to water due to its toxicity to fish and other aquatic wildlife.
As part of the scheme to defraud, Kieser manufactured, advertised, sold, and distributed a product he called Pond Clear Plus. Kieser produced Pond Clear Plus by mixing Diuron 80DF with other ingredients, including a blue pond dye. Kieser advertised Pond Clear Plus in newspapers and magazines and represented that he had 20 years of experience in lake management and consulting. The advertisements for Pond Clear Plus falsely and fraudulently represented that Pond Clear Plus could control lake weeds and algae “Mother Nature’s Way,” with “No Chemicals,” using a “biological method with live bacteria that dissolves plant nutrients, black muck, and rotten egg odor.” Kieser also falsely and fraudulently represented to customers that Pond Clear Plus contained no chemicals. In fact, as Kieser knew full well, Pond Clear Plus contained the chemical pesticide Diuron 80DF, which was prohibited by its EPA-approved labeling from being applied directly to water.As a result of his false advertising and representations, Kieser sold and distributed Pond Clear Plus to customers from approximately July 2007 to September 2012. Kieser obtained more than $400,000 in proceeds from customers from the sale of Pond Clear Plus, but failed to pay any federal income tax on his profits from 2008 to 2011.
As a further part of the scheme, Kieser provided Pond Clear Plus to his customers via Federal Express or some other means in 2.5 gallon jugs without any labels, including any labels informing customers that Pond Clear Plus contained Diuron 80DF and should not be applied directly to water. To the contrary, Kieser advised customers that Pond Clear Plus contained no chemicals and should be applied by pouring it directly into the customer’s pond or lake. Moreover, Kieser himself on occasion directly applied Pond Clear Plus to lakes or ponds for his customers. As a result, Diuron 80DF was directly applied to ponds and lakes throughout the United States in direct contravention of its EPA-approved labeling. Additionally, multiple customers experienced fish kills following the application of Pond Clear Plus to their ponds and lakes.“The guilty verdict is the result of strong coordination between EPA and our law enforcement partners,” said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Illinois. “Mail fraud is a serious crime that can lead to serious public health threats. This case demonstrates that individuals who profit from the misuse and illegal sale of potentially harmful chemicals will be prosecuted.”
Following the jury’s return of the guilty verdicts, Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid allowed Kieser to remain on release under conditions of bond, including that he no longer sell his product, Pond Clear Plus. Judge Shadid scheduled sentencing for Kieser on all charges for February 19, 2015.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count of mail fraud is 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for tax evasion is five years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The maximum statutory penalty for applying a pesticide inconsistent with its labeling is one year in jail and a fine of up to $50,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller. The charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Internal Revenue Service, with the assistance of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Gang Member and Robber Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 25 Years on Racketeering, Robbery, Narcotics, and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RUDY MENDOZA, 29, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 25 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, robbery conspiracy, and firearms charges. MENDOZA was convicted after a nine-day trial in November 2013. The Honorable Colleen McMahon imposed today’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Within months of being released from state prison, Rudy Mendoza rejoined the Los Vagos street gang and attempted to participate in an armed robbery. Multi-agency cooperation and coordination, including the effective use of an ATF undercover agent, ensured that a violent criminal was prevented from causing harm and has been held accountable for the full scope of his crimes.”
In September 2011, a few months after being released from state prison in March 2011, MENDOZA and five other members of a Bronx-based robbery crew were arrested as part of an undercover investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) in connection with a plan to conduct an armed robbery of cocaine dealers. MENDOZA and three of his co-conspirators who were arrested on their way to the planned robbery each possessed a loaded handgun.
At the time of MENDOZA’s arrest in the robbery case, he had already been identified in a separate investigation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) as a member of the Los Vagos street gang, a criminal organization comprising Mexican and Mexican-American members based primarily in East Harlem. Wiretapped telephone calls in the HSI case revealed that the handgun the ATF seized from MENDOZA belonged to the Los Vagos gang.
In November 2011, MENDOZA and 11 other members and associates of the Los Vagos gang were charged with racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, firearms, and narcotics offenses.
The evidence at trial revealed MENDOZA’s active participation in the robbery crew, and the inner workings of the Los Vagos gang. Shortly before he expected to commit the robbery, MENDOZA assured the ATF undercover agent that he was prepared to violently assault the drug dealers his crew planned to rob. Former Los Vagos gang members testified about MENDOZA’s role in the gang, which included supplying cocaine for the leader of the gang to resell. The former gang members also described the full scope of the Los Vagos gang’s criminal activities, including acts of violence such as beatings, stabbings, and shootings, to protect their members from rival gangs, including the Latin Kings, and to dissuade rival gangs from encroaching on their territory. The gang also extorted or robbed individuals who lived or worked in their territory, and collected dues from members in order to buy firearms and to assist gang members who had been incarcerated or who wished to return to the United States from Mexico illegally.
With MENDOZA’s conviction at trial, all six charged members of the robbery crew and all twelve charged members and associates of the Los Vagos gang have been convicted.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the ATF, HSI, and the New York City Police Department. He also thanked the New York County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance.
The prosecution of the cases is being overseen by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amie N. Ely and Amy Lester are in charge of the prosecution.
Four Men Indicted in Separate Cases of Child Exploitation, Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that five men have been indicted by a federal grand jury, in separate and unrelated cases, for offenses involving child sexual exploitation and child pornography.
USA v. Crippen
James Allen Crippen, 43, of Joplin, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Crippen received and distributed child pornography over the Internet on July 20, 2014. Crippen is also charged with possessing child pornography on Oct. 22, 2014. The indictment contains a forfeiture count, which would require Crippen to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including two desktop computers, an iPhone, two cell phones, 42 optical media disks and other electronic media storage devices.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
USA v. Norman
Chase Trevor Norman, 24, of Cassville, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Norman on Oct. 15,2014.
The indictment alleges that Norman used a minor to produce child pornography between Sept. 21 and Oct. 10, 2014. The indictment also charges Norman with two counts of using the Internet and a cell phone to induce a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Norman used an iPod app to send obscene photos of himself to a 12-year-old child, and requested and received nude images of the child victim. Norman allegedly was making arrangements to meet the child for sexual contact. The child victim told investigators that she met Norman on Facebook; she sent him a friend request, the affidavit says, because she assumed he was friends with one of her friends. A law enforcement officer assumed the identity of the child victim, according to the affidavit, and made arrangements to meet Norman in the parking lot of a local church for the purpose of taking the child back to his apartment to engage in sexual activities. Norman was arrested as he approached the meeting location.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
USA v. Albert
David Albert, 50, of Springfield, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The federal indictment alleges that Albert attempted to use a minor to produce child pornography between Aug. 1 and Oct. 2, 2014. Albert is also charged with receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet between Jan. 1 and Oct. 2, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
USA v. Schaefer
Darren Eugene Schaefer, 36, of Marionville, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The federal indictment alleges that Schaefer used the Internet and a cell phone to induce a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.
USA v. Grant
Sheehan R. Grant, 37, of Iowa, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The federal indictment alleges that Grant traveled across state lines from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Joplin, Mo., on Oct. 16, 2014, for the purpose of engaging in illicit sex with a minor.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Four Former East Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers and One Current Officer Indicted for ExtortionRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On Nov. 4, 2014, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Robert E. Cummings, 61, of Knox County, a former University of Tennessee Police Officer; Jimmy W. Douglas, 43, of Knox County, a former deputy sheriff for Knox County Sheriff’s Office; Samuel T. Hardy, Jr., 42, of Knox County, a former deputy sheriff for Knox County Sheriff’s Office; and Benito D. Lopez 62, of Knox County, a former TVA Police Officer. Also, indicted was David L. Joyner, 44, of Sevier County, a detective with the Pigeon Forge Police Department.
The indictment on file with the U.S. District Court charges Cummings, Douglas, Hardy, Joyner and Lopez each with two counts of violating the Hobbs Act. Count One charges conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Count Two charges attempt to commit extortion under color of official right. Under color of official right, a public official obtains a payment to which he or she is not entitled, believing that the money is being given to him or her in return for taking, withholding, or influencing official action. If convicted, each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
On Nov. 5, 2014, former Knox County Deputy Robbie D. Flood, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with a violation of the Hobbs Act.
This indictment is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Valley Authority - Office of Inspector General, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Theodore represents the United States case.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Youth Counselor Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Possession and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – On November 5, 2014, Michael Shane Olson, 46 years, of Lebanon, Oregon, was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Ann Aiken to seven years in federal prison for possessing and distributing child pornography. After serving his sentence, Olson will be on lifetime supervised release.
In August and September 2010, several FBI online undercover investigations around the country revealed that Olson was utilizing a peer-to-peer website to share and download hundreds of child pornography images. On April 27, 2011, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Olson’s residence in Lebanon, Oregon and seized computer equipment and storage devices that contained additional images and videos of child pornography. Olson was thereafter federally indicted for distribution and possession of child pornography and, on June 12, 2014, he pled guilty to all five counts of the Indictment.
Prior to his offense conduct in this case, Olson had worked in Oregon as a residential counselor for at-risk youth.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Lichvarcik.
Former Community Health Clinic CFO Indicted for Scheme to Defraud Millions from GovernmentRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Federal agents today arrested the former financial officer of two non-profit health clinics for the poor and homeless on multiple charges related to a scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the clinics and the federal government health agencies that provide most of their funding.
TERRI McGUIRE MOLLICA, 48, of Birmingham, was arrested on an 82-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week. The indictment charges Mollica with wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and filing false income tax returns. U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr., IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Regional Office Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson announced the charges after a judge unsealed the indictment following Mollica's arrest.Mollica was the chief financial officer of Birmingham Health Care from April 2005 through November 2008. She also performed fiscal duties for Central Alabama Comprehensive Health Inc., a non-profit clinic in Tuskegee intended to provide primary and preventative health care to people in east Alabama, regardless of their ability to pay. BHC's chief executive officer, identified in the indictment by the initials J.D., served for a time as the chief executive officer of the Tuskegee clinic and, in 2008, BHC took over fiscal responsibility of CACH.
The indictment charges that between January 2008 and March 2012, Mollica aided and abetted J.D. and others in diverting about $11 million in federal grant money, assets and property of BHC and CACH to private entities created by J.D. Mollica then conducted financial transactions to transfer money from the private entities to herself, J.D. and others, according to the indictment. It charges that she illegally received about $1.7 million through the scheme.
"Federal funds meant to provide healthcare to the poor and the homeless are not a moneybox for criminals," Vance said. "My office will vigorously prosecute health care fraud, working to ensure these funds go to the people they are intended to help, and that criminals go to jail."
"If you are stealing tax dollars to line your own pockets, you should be looking over your shoulder," Schwein said. "The FBI and our partner agencies are right behind you, ready to hold you to account and make you answer for your crimes.""Today's arrest demonstrates that individuals who engage in corrupt behavior will be held accountable for their actions," Hyman-Pillot said. "The allegations against Terri Mollica and others are deplorable. This is a classic example of abusing power while in a position of trust. These individuals made a profit by defrauding the government and will be brought to justice," she said.
"It's both unconscionable and illegal when scammers defraud federal grant programs designed to assist those in need and then pocket the funding to enrich themselves, as Terri Mollica is accused of doing," Jackson said. "Such greed-fueled fraud cheats both taxpayers and those in need, but our hardworking investigators and law enforcement partners are committed to making sure that such fraudsters are held accountable for their actions," he said.
BHC began receiving grants from the Health Resources and Human Services Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 20 years ago. Federal grants administered by HRSA and HHS constitute the overwhelming majority of BHC and CACH funding.Mollica and others misrepresented and concealed information from HRSA to ensure the agency would continue to grant money to the Birmingham and Tuskegee community health clinics, according to the indictment.
J.D. incorporated numerous private companies using "Synergy" in the name. He also incorporated Integrated Health Systems of Alabama in 2006 and later reconstituted it as Integrated Health Systems Alliance in July 2008. In late 2008, J.D. left his position as CEO at BHC "purportedly to operate" his private companies, according to the indictment. In October 2008, Mollica became the chief financial officer of Synergy Medical Solutions. She also served as CFO of IHSA, and had access to the financial accounts of the other Synergy entities, the indictment says.
Mollica faces 21 wire fraud counts for interstate wire transfers between November 2009 and June 2011. The transfers were from a Wachovia Bank account for one of the Synergy entities or from a BHC account at Regions Bank to Mollica, or to accounts she controlled.
Mollica faces 34 mail fraud counts for mailing checks drawn on a BHC account at Regions Bank and mailed to a Birmingham post office box that she controlled, or drawn on one of the Synergy accounts and mailed to out-of-state post office boxes for E-Trade or Wells Fargo. Most of the checks from the Synergy accounts were for more than $20,000.
Mollica faces 13 money-laundering counts for taking money obtained through either the wire or the mail fraud and, in an attempt to disguise the source of the money, depositing it into a Wells Fargo Bank account she owned. All the cashier's checks listed in money laundering counts 56 through 68 were deposited between August 2011 and March 2012, involved amounts less than $6,000, and were made payable to "Loan Trans - Wells Fargo."
Mollica faces six other money-laundering counts charging she used criminally derived funds of more than $10,000 in transactions with a financial institution. The indictment lists four $25,000 transactions between November 2010 and May 2012, and one $30,000 transaction in March 2012.
Mollica faces five counts of filing false federal income tax returns for the calendar years 2008 through 2012, charging her with not reporting $1.7 million received through the scheme to defraud the government. According to the indictment, she owes the IRS more $500,000 for those tax years.
Separate from the scheme to defraud the government and the community health clinics, Mollica faces two mail fraud counts and an aggravated identity theft count in a scheme to defraud Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company. According to the indictment, Mollica took out a life insurance policy on her brother-in-law, but stated the insured was her brother. When the man died, Mollica sent letters to the insurance company demanding payment and submitted an amended death certificate bearing a forged signature of the certifying physician.
The indictment seeks to have Mollica forfeit to the government more than $900,000 seized from financial accounts in her name, as well as any money held in stock trading accounts in the name of three separate minor children, and a money judgment for the total amount involved in the fraud scheme.
The maximum penalties for the offenses charged are as follows:
• mail and wire fraud, 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; • money laundering (counts 56-68), 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the value of the property involved; • money laundering (counts 69-74) involving criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000, 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; • aggravated identity theft, mandatory two years in prison added to any sentence imposed for the underlying felony and a $250,000 fine; • filing a false tax return, three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The FBI, IRS and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamarra Matthews Johnson and Melissa Kay Atwood are prosecuting the case.
Former Community Health Clinic CFO Indicted for Scheme to Defraud Millions from GovernmentRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Federal agents today arrested the former financial officer of two non-profit health clinics for the poor and homeless on multiple charges related to a scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the clinics and the federal government health agencies that provide most of their funding.
TERRI McGUIRE MOLLICA, 48, of Birmingham, was arrested on an 82-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week. The indictment charges Mollica with wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and filing false income tax returns. U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr., IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Regional Office Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson announced the charges after a judge unsealed the indictment following Mollica's arrest.Mollica was the chief financial officer of Birmingham Health Care from April 2005 through November 2008. She also performed fiscal duties for Central Alabama Comprehensive Health Inc., a non-profit clinic in Tuskegee intended to provide primary and preventative health care to people in east Alabama, regardless of their ability to pay. BHC's chief executive officer, identified in the indictment by the initials J.D., served for a time as the chief executive officer of the Tuskegee clinic and, in 2008, BHC took over fiscal responsibility of CACH.
The indictment charges that between January 2008 and March 2012, Mollica aided and abetted J.D. and others in diverting about $11 million in federal grant money, assets and property of BHC and CACH to private entities created by J.D. Mollica then conducted financial transactions to transfer money from the private entities to herself, J.D. and others, according to the indictment. It charges that she illegally received about $1.7 million through the scheme.
"Federal funds meant to provide healthcare to the poor and the homeless are not a moneybox for criminals," Vance said. "My office will vigorously prosecute health care fraud, working to ensure these funds go to the people they are intended to help, and that criminals go to jail."
"If you are stealing tax dollars to line your own pockets, you should be looking over your shoulder," Schwein said. "The FBI and our partner agencies are right behind you, ready to hold you to account and make you answer for your crimes.""Today's arrest demonstrates that individuals who engage in corrupt behavior will be held accountable for their actions," Hyman-Pillot said. "The allegations against Terri Mollica and others are deplorable. This is a classic example of abusing power while in a position of trust. These individuals made a profit by defrauding the government and will be brought to justice," she said.
"It's both unconscionable and illegal when scammers defraud federal grant programs designed to assist those in need and then pocket the funding to enrich themselves, as Terri Mollica is accused of doing," Jackson said. "Such greed-fueled fraud cheats both taxpayers and those in need, but our hardworking investigators and law enforcement partners are committed to making sure that such fraudsters are held accountable for their actions," he said.
BHC began receiving grants from the Health Resources and Human Services Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 20 years ago. Federal grants administered by HRSA and HHS constitute the overwhelming majority of BHC and CACH funding.Mollica and others misrepresented and concealed information from HRSA to ensure the agency would continue to grant money to the Birmingham and Tuskegee community health clinics, according to the indictment.
J.D. incorporated numerous private companies using "Synergy" in the name. He also incorporated Integrated Health Systems of Alabama in 2006 and later reconstituted it as Integrated Health Systems Alliance in July 2008. In late 2008, J.D. left his position as CEO at BHC "purportedly to operate" his private companies, according to the indictment. In October 2008, Mollica became the chief financial officer of Synergy Medical Solutions. She also served as CFO of IHSA, and had access to the financial accounts of the other Synergy entities, the indictment says.
Mollica faces 21 wire fraud counts for interstate wire transfers between November 2009 and June 2011. The transfers were from a Wachovia Bank account for one of the Synergy entities or from a BHC account at Regions Bank to Mollica, or to accounts she controlled.
Mollica faces 34 mail fraud counts for mailing checks drawn on a BHC account at Regions Bank and mailed to a Birmingham post office box that she controlled, or drawn on one of the Synergy accounts and mailed to out-of-state post office boxes for E-Trade or Wells Fargo. Most of the checks from the Synergy accounts were for more than $20,000.
Mollica faces 13 money-laundering counts for taking money obtained through either the wire or the mail fraud and, in an attempt to disguise the source of the money, depositing it into a Wells Fargo Bank account she owned. All the cashier's checks listed in money laundering counts 56 through 68 were deposited between August 2011 and March 2012, involved amounts less than $6,000, and were made payable to "Loan Trans - Wells Fargo."
Mollica faces six other money-laundering counts charging she used criminally derived funds of more than $10,000 in transactions with a financial institution. The indictment lists four $25,000 transactions between November 2010 and May 2012, and one $30,000 transaction in March 2012.
Mollica faces five counts of filing false federal income tax returns for the calendar years 2008 through 2012, charging her with not reporting $1.7 million received through the scheme to defraud the government. According to the indictment, she owes the IRS more $500,000 for those tax years.
Separate from the scheme to defraud the government and the community health clinics, Mollica faces two mail fraud counts and an aggravated identity theft count in a scheme to defraud Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company. According to the indictment, Mollica took out a life insurance policy on her brother-in-law, but stated the insured was her brother. When the man died, Mollica sent letters to the insurance company demanding payment and submitted an amended death certificate bearing a forged signature of the certifying physician.
The indictment seeks to have Mollica forfeit to the government more than $900,000 seized from financial accounts in her name, as well as any money held in stock trading accounts in the name of three separate minor children, and a money judgment for the total amount involved in the fraud scheme.
The maximum penalties for the offenses charged are as follows:
• mail and wire fraud, 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; • money laundering (counts 56-68), 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the value of the property involved; • money laundering (counts 69-74) involving criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000, 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; • aggravated identity theft, mandatory two years in prison added to any sentence imposed for the underlying felony and a $250,000 fine; • filing a false tax return, three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The FBI, IRS and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamarra Matthews Johnson and Melissa Kay Atwood are prosecuting the case.
Former CFO Pleads Guilty to Embezzling over $900,000 from Non-Profit EmployerRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Robert Bradley Strahan, a/k/a Robin Bradley, a/k/a Kaola Bradley, pleaded guilty on Nov. 3 2014, to wire fraud, mail fraud, and tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon.
In pleading guilty, Strahan admitted to embezzling more than $920,000 from a non-profit trade association in San Francisco where he worked as the chief financial officer. Strahan’s responsibilities included bookkeeping, payroll, and accounting. As the CFO, he had complete control over and access to the association’s books, records, and bank accounts. Without the knowledge or authorization of the non-profit trade association, Strahan wrote and cashed checks payable to himself and to “Cash” totaling over $550,000; he used the association’s credit cards to make unauthorized purchases totaling over $250,000; and he put an acquaintance on the payroll who received over $120,000 but did almost no work. To conceal the money that he embezzled, Strahan made false entries in the association’s accounting systems as well as emailing false financial statements to the board of directors that omitted the funds he was taking for his personal use. Finally, Strahan did not pay income taxes on any of the money he embezzled for calendar years 2009 through 2013, resulting in tax due and owing of over $175,000.
Strahan, 51, of San Francisco, was charged by superseding indictment on Aug. 7, 2014, with three counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of tax evasion. Under the plea agreement, Strahan pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of tax evasion. Strahan was arrested on May 30, 2014, and has remained in custody since then.
Strahan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2015, before the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, United States District Court Judge, in San Francisco.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1343, is 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1341, is 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for tax evasion, in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. § 7201, is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Hallie Hoffman is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Bridget Kilkenny. The prosecution is the result an investigation by the FBI and the IRS, Criminal Investigation.
(Strahan superseding indictment )
Former CEO of Luggage Manufacturer Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Three Years in Prison for Multimillion-Dollar Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MARVIN JEMAL, the former Chief Executive Officer of a Manhattan-based company that designed, imported and distributed luggage, business bags, backpacks, and accessories (the “Company”), was sentenced today to three years in prison for orchestrating and carrying out a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in loans from a commercial bank. To secure the loans, JEMAL and others made false statements and submitted false and phony documents to the bank. JEMAL pled guilty in August 2014 before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, who imposed today’s sentence.
According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at court proceedings:
From 2007 through October 2009, MARVIN JEMAL and Mark Bernstein, the former CEO and CFO, respectively, of the Company, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently induce a commercial bank based in New York (the “Bank”) to lend millions of dollars to the Company. Among other things, JEMAL and Bernstein knowingly made false representations to the Bank, concealed material facts from the Bank, and submitted false and fraudulent documents to the Bank, including fabricated invoices and shipping documents. In total, the Company obtained approximately $6.9 million in loans from the Bank and defaulted on over $6 million of those loans. Nearly $2.0 million in loans were obtained through the submission of fraudulent information. Moreover, although the loans were purportedly for the benefit of the Company’s business, JEMAL diverted approximately $1.9 million of the loan proceeds to personal bank accounts and used the money to pay for various personal expenses, including mortgage payments on properties he owned, credit card bills, and payments on his Porsche.
The Factoring Agreement
The Company obtained the loans from the Bank as part of a secured credit facility, pursuant to a factoring agreement between the Company and the Bank. Under the terms of the factoring agreement, the Company would assign and sell the Company’s interest in its accounts receivable to the Bank and, in exchange, the Company could borrow from the Bank up to 85% of the value of those receivables. In addition, the Company could borrow up to 50% of the value of its inventory. In order to draw down on its secured credit facility, however, the Company was required to provide the Bank with, among other things, an accurate listing of all accounts receivable, as well as supporting documentation, including copies of (i) relevant underlying invoices and (ii) shipping documents or other proof of delivery.
The Scheme to Obtain Loans Fraudulently
To obtain loans from the Bank fraudulently under the factoring agreement, JEMAL and Bernstein made false statements and submitted false and fraudulent documents to the Bank, including the following:
- JEMAL and Bernstein sent duplicate and/or fabricated invoices to the Bank that purported to reflect the sale of certain products by the Company and, thus, an outstanding receivable for the Company. In truth, however, the sales reflected on those invoices were false, as those sales either had never occurred or had already been invoiced separately.
- JEMAL and Bernstein provided fraudulent shipping documents to the Bank to substantiate the purported sales of products by reflecting that those products had been shipped to customers. In truth, however, those shipping documents were false and fraudulent, as the products had not, in fact, been shipped to the customers as reflected in the shipping documents.
- JEMAL and Bernstein concealed material facts from the Bank, including credits that the Company had provided to certain of its customers (which thereby reduced the total accounts receivable associated with those customers) and instances in which the Company had directly collected and deposited payments from its customers on the same invoices the Company assigned to the Bank.
- JEMAL and Bernstein provided inaccurate monthly inventory spreadsheets to the Bank which overstated the Company’s existing inventory.
Further, in order to conceal the scheme, JEMAL made various oral misrepresentations to certain representatives of the Bank when those representatives confronted him about irregularities and other issues that the Bank had discovered with respect to the Company’s assignment of its accounts receivable.
In addition to the prison sentence, JEMAL, 61, of Brooklyn, New York, was ordered to pay $2,729,422.71 in restitution to the Bank and to forfeit $2,729,422.71 in criminal proceeds.
Bernstein, 64, of Belle Harbor, New York, pled guilty in October 2013 before U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson for his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2015.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. Noble is in charge of the prosecution.
Five Charged in Steroid Distribution RingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging the owner of a Morgantown, West Virginia gym and four others with operating a steroid distribution network, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
The indictment stems from an investigation by the United States Postal Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Mon Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration into Carl R. Benedict, 49, of Morgantown, West Virginia.
As the owner of Club 24 Fitness, Benedict allegedly manufactured, processed, packaged, and sold compounds of Human Growth Hormone and Anabolic Steroids through the internet using materials procured from China. Benedict allegedly worked in collaboration with his associates Richard J. Pinelli, Jr., 27, of Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, Joseph B. Greco, 27, of New Castle, Pennsylvania, Derek S. Starn, 33, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, and Anthony F. DiDomenico, III, 28, of Morgantown, West Virginia.
The five defendants are each charged with one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Human Growth Hormone,” for which they each face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00, one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Anabolic Steroids,” for which they each face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00, and one count of “Conspiracy to Launder Money Instruments,” for which they each face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00.
Greco is further charged with one count of “Smuggling,” for which he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00, and one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Human Growth Hormone,” for which he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
DiDomenico is further charged with one count of “Mailing of Controlled Substances,” for which he faces up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00, one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids,” for which he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00, one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Human Growth Hormone,” for which he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00, and one count of “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises,” for which he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00.
Pinelli is further charged with one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Anabolic Steroids,” for which he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00, one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Human Growth Hormone,” for which he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00, and one count of “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises,” for which he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Federal Inmate Sentenced for Possessing A ShankRead the Press Release
Beckley, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a federal inmate pled guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Beckley for possessing a dangerous weapon. Desmel Cooper, 32, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Beckley, admitted that on July 1, 2014 he possessed a shank, a handcrafted prison weapon, at the prison. United States Magistrate Judge R. Clarke VanDervort sentenced Cooper to one year in prison, to be served consecutively to the sentence he is now serving. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John File.
Federal Grand Jury IndictmentsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that a Federal Grand Jury in Columbia, South Carolina, returned Indictment(s) against the following: Interstate Transportation of Stolen Merchandise
Sharon Donetta Fennell, age 46, of Lake City, South Carolina was charged in a 1-count indictment with transporting stolen merchandise in interstate commerce through the U.S. Postal Service, in violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §2314. The maximum penalty Fennell could receive is 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000.00. The case was investigated by agents of the United States Postal Inspection Service and Florence County Sheriff's Office and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office for prosecution.
The United States Attorney stated that all charges in these Indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Embarcadero Technologies and CA Inc. Terminate Proposed Transfer of CA Inc.'s ERwin Data ModelerRead the Press Release
Embarcadero Technologies Inc. and CA Inc. this week terminated Embarcadero’s proposed acquisition of CA Inc.’s ERwin data modeling product suite after the Department of Justice expressed continuing concern about the transaction’s potential for anticompetitive effects.
Data modeling software is used to view and streamline enterprise data, centralize data management and reduce data redundancies. An increase in the price of data modeling products would likely result in significant harm to users of these tools, the department said.
According to the department, Embarcadero’s ER Studio products and CA’s ERwin have been particularly close competitors. By purchasing the ERwin Data Modeler, Embarcadero Technologies would have eliminated a vigorous competitor that has competed to provide expanded functionality and more affordable pricing in recent years.
Embarcadero Technologies Inc., based in San Francisco, California, is owned by private equity group Thoma Cressey Bravo and provides software to build, test, optimize, and manage application infrastructure and databases for large corporations and government agencies. CA Inc., based in Islandia, New York, provides software and other tools for managing networks, databases, applications, storage, security, and other systems.
Elkins Man Charged with Painkiller DistributionRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Jonathan Paul Calain, 34, of Elkins, West Virginia, with conspiring to distribute painkillers.
The indictment stems from an investigation led by the United States Forest Service which revealed that Calain repeatedly sold oxycodone pills to various individuals over an extended period of time.
Calain is charged with one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone,” for which he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00. He is also charged with one count of “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises,” for which he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Eight Kansas Hunters Charged with Violating Migratory Bird ActRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – Eight Kansas hunters were charged in federal court here Tuesday with violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
A criminal complaint alleged the men violated the federal law protecting migratory birds when they participated in an annual opening weekend dove hunt in Graham County, Kan., on Sept. 1-2, 2013.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act classifies mourning doves as migratory game birds. It classifies owls as migratory non-game birds. Restrictions on hunting mourning doves include a daily bag limit of 15 and a possession limit of twice the daily bag limit.
Charged are:
Daniel R. Dinkel, 63, Hill City, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves.
Kent A. Webber, 52, Derby, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves, and one count of taking an owl.
Evan Webber, 25, Derby, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves, and one count of taking an owl.
George Morgan, 52, Gordonville, Texas, one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves.
Kenneth R. Beran, 67, Derby, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves.
Clark Law, 57, Hill City, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves.
Tracy D. Higgins, 54, El Dorado, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves, and one count of taking an owl.
John Kobler, 62, Topeka, Kan., one count of exceeding the daily bag limit for mourning doves.If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of six months in prison on each count and a fine up to $15,000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
Detroit-Area Man Arrested in Connection with Home Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Detroit-area resident was arrested today for his role in a $2.7 million home health care fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.
Javed Akhtar, 47, of Brownstown, Michigan, was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint charging him with participating in a health care fraud scheme involving two home health agencies in Wayne, Michigan: Life Choice Home Health Care LLC (Life Choice), which he owned, and Angle’s Touch Home Health Care LLC (Angle’s Touch). Both Life Choice and Angle’s Touch purported to provide in-home health care services to Medicare beneficiaries.
According to the complaint, Akhtar served as a patient recruiter for Angle’s Touch and Life Choice, where he allegedly paid kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for their Medicare beneficiary information and their signatures on false medical records. The complaint alleges that Angle’s Touch and Life Choice then billed Medicare for services purportedly provided to those beneficiaries that were not actually provided, were not medically necessary, or in instances where the claims were illegally procured through the payment of kickbacks.
The charges contained in a complaint are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell 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 Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Detroit to West Virginia Painkiller Distribution Network DismantledRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Brian Schultz, the leader of a prescription painkiller and cocaine distribution ring, was convicted today in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, led a sixteen month investigation leveraging sophisticated surveillance techniques to uncover a painkiller and cocaine distribution network led by Schultz, also known as “Worm.” He procured large quantities of prescription pills from groups in Detroit, Michigan and Northern Ohio. Schultz then orchestrated a series of associates to redistribute the pills in Northern West Virginia and Belmont County, Ohio.
Schultz, 38, of Triadelphia, West Virginia, admitted his role in distributing oxycodone, cocaine, and buprenorphine. He pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Schedule II and Schedule III Controlled Substances.”
Schultz faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Schultz has two prior federal felony convictions. Schultz will also forfeit approximately $70,000.00 in cash and will be ordered to pay a money judgment of $30,000.00.
Fourteen others were convicted as part of the Schultz case, including Katherine Hungerman, Dustin Namack, Derick Namack, Steven Namack, Jill West, also known as Jill Namack, Christopher Howard, Buddy Salem, Kristyn Fetcko, Michael Coppa, Cara Olako, Richard Hercules, Jr., Lucas N. High, Adam Barnes, and Jordan Sorge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parr is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.
Dallas Man Sentenced to 384 Months in Federal Prison for Committing Armed Robbery of Several Local BusinessesRead the Press Release
DALLAS — A man who admitted committing several armed robberies of businesses last year in Dallas, including a gas station, a package store and convenience stores, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Jeremy Jermal Bonner, 25, of Dallas, was sentenced to 384 months (32 years) and one day in federal prison and was ordered to pay $1,675 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in May 2014 to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in the case, on Saturday, August 17, 2013, at approximately 10:15 p.m., Bonner, brandishing a firearm at an employee, robbed the Movie Trading Company store located on Camp Wisdom Road in Dallas. On Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at approximately 11:48 p.m., Bonner, brandishing a firearm at the business’s owner/manager, robbed the Buy Low Beverage Beer & Wine store located on Zang Boulevard in Dallas.
Bonner also admitted robbing the following Dallas businesses: The Hood Store, a Subway sandwich stop, a Shell gas station, and the Kiest Food Mart in September 2013 and the Waterboy store in August 2013. During each robbery, he brandished a firearm, and during The Hood Store robbery, Bonner shot the clerk and the bullet pierced the clerk’s hand and torso.
This case was investigated by the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Allen-McCoy and Danial Gividen prosecuted.
Coos County Felon Receives 15-Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – Christopher Michael Morgan, 42, a resident of Coos County, Oregon, appeared before United States Chief District Court Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene today, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being an armed career criminal. Morgan, a felon, was found in possession of a loaded .45 caliber pistol while in a woman’s restroom at Mingus Park in Coos Bay, Oregon on June 18, 2013.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Morgan and a woman, both with outstanding warrants, were inside the women’s restroom at Mingus Park. A Coos Bay police officer confronted Morgan in front of the bathroom and attempted to arrest him for violating his Oregon parole. Morgan fought the officer and during the struggle held a loaded pistol, then tossed it away. After Morgan was subdued, methamphetamine was located in his shirt pocket. In addition to the federal charges, Morgan was also charged in state court with firearm and drug offenses, and resisting arrest. Morgan plead guilty on July 30, 2014, as part of a global resolution of his federal and state charges.
Morgan qualified to be sentenced as an armed career criminal because he possessed the loaded pistol after having been previously convicted of four residential burglaries and a felony assault. He had also been convicted six times in Oregon courts for possessing methamphetamine and once for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Morgan has been convicted of fifteen felonies and more than a dozen misdemeanors over the past twenty-three years.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Coos Bay Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr., with the assistance of Coos County Deputy District Attorney Steven Petty, prosecuted the case.
Chamberlain Man Sentenced on Burglary ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Chamberlain, South Dakota, man convicted of Third Degree Burglary and Burglary of a United States Post Office was sentenced on October 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
James Short Bear, age 19, was sentenced to 15 months in custody on each count to be served concurrently, 2 years of supervised release on each count to be served concurrently, $1,040.88 in restitution to Crow Creek Housing, $1,206.85 in restitution to the Crow Creek Food Distribution Program, and $7,976.40 to the United States Postal Service, Chamberlain Post Office. A special assessment of $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund was also ordered.
Short Bear was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 11, 2014, for the Third Degree Burglary charge, and was indicted again on April 15, 2014, on the Burglary of a U.S. Post Office charge. He pled guilty on August 11, 2014, to both charges.
The first conviction stems from an incident which happened between February 10, 2014, and February 11, 2014, when Short Bear broke into the Crow Creek Housing Authority Office in Fort Thompson and stole two checkbooks. Short Bear attempted to cash one of the reported stolen checks at the Wells Fargo Bank in Lower Brule. However, he was recognized and law enforcement was summoned. During the investigation, law enforcement was contacted by the Crow Creek Food Distribution Program in Fort Thompson who discovered that Short Bear had attempted to enter their building on February 10, 2014.
The second conviction stems from an incident which happened between March 2, 2014, and March 3, 2014, when Short Bear broke into the Chamberlain Post Office by breaking the postmaster’s door. He stole a postal money order in the amount of $210. He also stole a check made out to AT&T. He changed the payee name on that check and attempted to cash it at a local bank.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Crow Creek Agency, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Short Bear was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Car Dealer Convicted of Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal jury in Buffalo has convicted Jerry Robbins, 44, of Cheektowaga, NY, owner of Finish Line Auto Sales on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo, of money laundering and failure to report cash transactions of $10,000 or more. The convictions, which came after a nearly two week jury trial, carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel L. Violanti and Edward H. White, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that Robbins helped drug dealers launder proceeds of their illicit business by purchasing high end used cars. During these sales, the drug dealers would pay the defendant cash for cars ranging in price from $10,500 to $45,000. Robbins used the name of another person in sales and title paperwork to disguise the true purchaser and source of the money.
In addition, in an effort to conceal the amount of money received for the sale of the car, Robbins listed that only a small deposit was received from the third party nominee, when, in fact, the drug dealers had paid cash in full for the car. For each of these types of transactions, Robbins also failed to file the proper forms with the Internal Revenue Service indicating the receipt of over $10,000 cash for the sale of the car, as required by law.The verdict is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, under the direction of Commissioner Barbara J. Fiala.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2015, in Buffalo, before U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy, who presided over the trial of the case.Camden County, N.J., Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for $1.2 Million Phony Pizza Shop Investment Scam, Other OffensesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A Laurel Springs, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for defrauding an investor out of approximately $1.2 million he claimed would be invested in a pizza shop, laundering that money, failing to report it to the IRS and threatening the victim to keep quiet about his crimes, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Giovanni Arena, 58, was previously convicted by a federal jury of 15 counts of mail fraud, eight counts of money laundering, three counts of failure to file income tax returns and one count of tampering with a witness. Arena was convicted in November of 2013 following a seven-day trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle, who imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial: Arena’s scheme defrauded a single investor of approximately $1.2 million from 2004 through 2008. Arena, who had operated pizza restaurants in the past, enticed the victim to send checks and cash through the U.S. mail to invest in the purchase of a pizza shop in southern New Jersey. Rather than using the money to buy a restaurant, Arena purchased luxury automobiles – including a Maserati Coupe and Chevrolet Camaro – gambled at Atlantic City casinos and paid his living expenses.
The jury reviewed casino records that showed the defendant spent many hours at the gaming tables, losing more than $700,000 in four years of Atlantic City gambling. During the trial, the jury watched surveillance video of the defendant buying in at a black jack table using $81,000 in cash he brought to the table in a shopping bag.
In addition, Arena willfully did not file his individual tax returns for tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008, failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income to the IRS. After federal agents executed search warrants on Arena’s property during the course of the investigation, Arena instructed the victim investor to lie to federal investigators and made threatening statements, saying, “you better not put me in trouble because if you put me in trouble, I’ll put you in trouble.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Simandle sentenced Arena to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1,219,200 in restitution to the victim. The judge also ordered Arena to forfeit assets, including the Maserati and the Camaro.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen in Newark, and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch in Philadelphia, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
14-393Defense counsel: Brian S. O’Malley Esq., Haddon Heights, New Jersey
California Man, Aung Gaw, Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Crimes Involving the Sexual Victimization of ChildrenRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that AUNG GAW, a/k/a Michael Gaw, age 26, of Fremont, California, was sentenced today for Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography. According to court documents, beginning in December 2012, and continuing until May 2013, GAW conspired with Jonathan Johnson, the administrator of a multi-national child pornography website, to create and post videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet. On November 5, 2013, federal agents executed a federal search warrant at GAW’s Fremont, California residence. GAW has been in custody since his arrest on November 5, 2013.
Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced GAW to 157 months imprisonment, to be followed by a term of supervised release of 10 years. In addition, GAW will be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
“Gaw and his co-conspirators victimized over 150 young people as part of their scheme to traffic child pornography,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Today’s sentence of 13 years underscores our commitment to bringing justice to anyone who engages in this despicable criminal conduct.”
“Individuals who conspire to produce child pornography are directly responsible for what is, in plain language, the rape of children. Production and distribution of child pornography steals the innocence of children and destroys lives,” said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "Operation Roundtable serves as a stark warning that HSI special agents are actively working to identity and disrupt the trade of these illegal images, and also to identify and seek prosecution of the criminals who produce and possess them.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for investigating this matter. Fraud Section Chief and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba is in charge of the prosecution.
California Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for a Maryland Murder Solved by DNARead the Press Release
DNA Sample Taken by California Police in 2013 Matched 2009 Maryland Murder Scene
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson sentenced Dellando Recardo Campbell, age 32, of Lemoore, California, today to 30 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for interstate domestic violence resulting in the death of a spouse, in connection of the death of Serika Dunkley Holness.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The blood Dellando Campbell left behind at the 2009 crime scene was analyzed and entered into a national DNA database, where it waited four years for a match,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Thanks to a routine DNA analysis performed in California when Mr. Campbell was arrested on an unrelated charge, Maryland authorities finally learned the identity of the second killer of Serika Dunkley Holness.”
According to his plea agreement, Campbell agreed to help Ryan Dave Holness murder Ryan Holness’ wife, Serika Dunkley Holness, and conceal Ryan Holness’ role in the murder. Campbell had known Holness since 2002, when they served together in the Navy.
In November 2008, Holness represented himself to be his wife when he completed an on-line application for a $500,000 life insurance policy for his wife. Holness designated himself as the sole beneficiary of that policy. The policy would not have been issued had the insurer known that Holness purchased the policy.
Between May and June 4, 2009, Holness contacted Campbell by phone and text at least 34 times and arranged for Campbell to travel to New York City to assist in the murder of Serika Holness. On June 4, 2009, Holness told Campbell that he was going to kill the victim and that he needed Campbell’s help to make the murder appear to have been committed during a carjacking on the drive to Maryland.
Campbell admitted that on the evening of June 4, 2009, Holness drove Campbell and the victim from New York to Maryland. At around 1:30 a.m. on June 5, 2009, Holness, Campbell and the victim arrived at a rural area along MD Route 290, just south of MD Route 291, in Crumpton, Kent County, MD. Holness parked the Honda on a farm access road. Serika Holness was murdered in a field beside Route 290 where she was repeatedly stabbed, resulting in her death.
Campbell purposely left his own blood at the murder scene in order to provide support for Holness’s plan to tell the police that an unknown carjacker had attacked Holness and murdered the victim. Campbell admitted that he helped Holness stage the crime scene by depositing droplets of blood at various locations inside the passenger compartment of the Honda and on several of the victim’s personal items that were placed at the crime scene to be discovered by the police. Items at the murder scene from which Campbell’s DNA was later recovered included the victim’s purse, one of her sandals and a paperback book. Campbell then drove the Honda, guided by a GPS system, to a location between 6th and 7th Streets NW, Washington, D.C., where it was located and seized by homicide investigators later on June 5, 2009. Meanwhile, Holness told the police a bizarre, false story about the supposed carjacking.
On June 5, 2009 Holness was arrested and charged with premeditated murder. While being held in pretrial detention in Kent County, Holness asked another prisoner to draft a purported third party “confession” to the carjacking and murder. Holness told the cellmate to mail the detailed confession to the police from Washington, D.C. upon the cellmate’s release, which was imminent. Instead, the cellmate informed the state police of Holness’ efforts. Several pages of confessions, including pages written by Holness, were removed from Holenss’ cell by the state police.
After a two week trial, Ryan Holness, age 33, formerly of Lexington Park, Maryland, was convicted of domestic violence resulting in the death of a spouse and sentenced on June 9, 2011, to life in prison.
The DNA profile of the unidentified male found in Holness’ car and on items at the crime scene was entered into the national DNA data base, where it was regularly compared with DNA profiles recovered since its entry. On October 22, 2013, a sample of Campbell’s DNA was routinely obtained by police in Lemoore, California. In January 2014, the California Department of Justice notified the Maryland State Police that Campbell’s DNA profile matched the DNA profile for the unidentified male in the Holness case. Campbell was arrested by the Maryland State Police and FBI in Lemoore, California on February 7, 2014.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Maryland State Police and FBI for their work in the investigation and thanked the Kings County, California, District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Justice and the Lemoore, California, Police Department for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys John F. Purcell, and Kenneth S. Clark, who prosecuted the case.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Marijuana, Laundering MoneyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Samuel A. Flek, 25, of Orangevale, Calif. pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs and Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.
According to court documents, beginning in April 2012, Flek was paid by a drug organization to make regular trips to Columbus, Ohio for the purpose of transporting narcotics proceeds from Ohio to California on behalf of co-conspirators. Flek often stored the money in his luggage on commercial flights, and later began shipping the cash in FedEx boxes under an alias.
Investigators established that Flek transported and/or shipped more than $1.5 million in drug trafficking proceeds during the time period at issue.
The defendant also transported between 100 and 400 kilograms of marijuana from Columbus to Dayton, Ohio.
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 40 years and up to a $5 million fine. Conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and, in this case, a fine of up to $678,090.U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the Bulk Cash Smuggling Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Mike Hunter and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Martinez, who are representing the United States in this case.
Caldwell Man Pleads Guilty in Tire Dumping CaseRead the Press Release
BOISE - Terry Dorton Anderson, 49, of Caldwell, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to two counts of injury to government property for dumping junk tires in two locations on public lands in Owyhee County managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Anderson was indicted on September 9, 2014, by a federal grand jury in Boise.
According to the plea agreement, Anderson admitted to dumping approximately 450 tires, in Squaw Creek Canyon near Highway 95 south of Marsing. Anderson also admitted dumping at least 200 hundred tires near a dirt road off Highway 78. The parties agreed that the Anderson’s illegal dumping caused over $14,500 in damages (as measured in clean-up costs). The tire dumping incidents occurred between July and December, 2012.
Anderson faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Anderson has also agreed to pay restitution of $14,500 for the tires dumped in Squaw Creek Canyon and an additional amount of not less than $7,157, for the tires dumped off Highway 78 if he does not remove them according to the conditions set by BLM by early summer 2015.
Sentencing is set for January 21, 2015, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Owyhee County Sheriff’s and Prosecutor’s Offices.
Bullhead Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse of A ChildRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Bullhead, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child.
Edgar Yellow Earrings, age 51, was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 16, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes on October 31, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge stems from an allegation that between March 7, 2001, and July 21, 2003, in Bullhead, Yellow Earrings engaged in a sexual act with a child under the age of twelve.
The charge is merely an accusation and Yellow Earrings is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson is prosecuting the case.
Yellow Earrings was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A trial date has not been set.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.B U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Juan Lopez, 31, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activities and being a felon in possession of firearms, was sentenced to 108 months by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that in 2008, the defendant began utilizing Pennsylvania residents as straw purchasers to buy firearms in exchange for money and cocaine. These firearms were then brought to Buffalo for the purpose of drug trafficking. Lopez was a convicted felon at the time and unable to legally purchase firearms in New York.
“It is imperative that these types of criminals are prosecuted and brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Some of the guns involved in this case were brought into our community and used in the commission of violent crimes. Whether you are the criminal filling our streets with illegal weapons or the person who assists the criminal in obtaining a gun, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lopez, who is currently serving 25 years in New York State prison for two previous attempted murder convictions, was arrested in September 2012 along with seven other defendants. Robert Johnson, Amie Hollingsworth, Misty Mihalko, Robert Reed, Brett Abrams, Jaqueline Runyan, and Trisha Amidon were all convicted and sentenced for their role in this case.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division.Beckley Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Jason Calendar, 38, of Beckley, West Virginia, pled guilty in federal court in Charleston to distributing heroin. Calendar admitted that on August 1, 2014, he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Laurel Terrace in Raleigh, West Virginia.
Calendar faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for February 11, 2015.
The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation.This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and opiates. The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Armed Heroin Trafficker Pleads Guilty as Federal Jury Trial BeginsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christian Montalvo, 40, of Providence, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Providence to drug trafficking and firearm charges as jury selection was underway in his federal court trial, announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field divisionof the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Montalvo pleaded guilty, as charged, to one count each of possession of heroin with the intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, Montalvo, who previously was convicted in Rhode Island state court of felony assault and in Puerto Rico of multiple robberies, faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years in federal prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. No plea agreement was filed in this matter.
According to court documents, as the result of an ongoing investigation into Montalvo’s drug trafficking activities, ATF agents on November 14, 2013, executed a court authorized federal search at Montalvo’s residence and of his vehicle. During the search, agents seized nearly 10 grams of heroin found stashed inside a void in a bedroom door; a loaded .38 caliber revolver and various items used in the preparation and distribution of heroin discovered in the kitchen; and more than 58 grams of heroin discovered inside a hidden compartment inside Montalvo’s vehicle.
According to court documents, Montalvo admitted to an ATF agent that the drugs and the firearm were his and that he had purchased the firearm for $200 from a heroin user for protection.
Montalvo has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on November 14, 2013. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi on January 30, 2015.
Possession of heroin with the intent to distribute is punishable by a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison; a fine of up to $1,000,000; and a life term of supervised release with a mandatory minimum term of 3 years. Being a felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison; a fine of up to $250,000; and a 3-year term of supervised release.
Should the defendant be found by the court to be an armed career criminal, he could face a minimum term of 15 years and up to life in federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
Providence Police assisted ATF in the investigation of this matter.###
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]Alabama Man Convicted of Felon in Possession of A Firearm, Impersonating A Federal Officer, Interstate Stalking, and Tampering with WitnessesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Michael Heath Thetford, a/k/a Russ LNU, age 38, of Alabaster, Alabama, was found guilty of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Impersonating a Federal Officer, Interstate Stalking, and Tampering with Witnesses as a result of a five day federal jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 38 years in custody and/or a $1,000,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $400 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Thetford was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 14, 2011, for Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Impersonating a Federal Officer, and Interstate Stalking.
On May 28, 2010, the victims, William Jack Winslett and Shirley Winslett, a married couple, were living at their home in rural Hughes County. The victims also own property and other assets in Alabama. That afternoon, Thetford came to their door posing as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Thetford was wearing a dark suit, displayed FBI and military credentials, had a pistol on his hip, and identified himself as “Agent Russ.” Thetford accused the victims of being involved in drug trafficking and other criminal matters. The victims believed he was an actual FBI Agent. Thetford informed the victims they needed to accompany him to a polygraph examination in Sioux City, indicating they could be arrested at the end of the interview. Thetford told them they would need to bring their computers, so they produced their computers for the trip to Sioux City. Thetford directed the victims into the back seat of his vehicle, which had locked back-seat doors.
Thetford drove the victims toward Sioux Falls, but stopped at Humboldt, where he informed the victims that he had received a cell phone call which cleared them of the drug investigation, and that a different arrest was in the process of being made, and he would return them home. Along the drive home, there was friendlier talk with the victims. Thetford learned both victims were shooting sport enthusiasts, and learned Mr. Winslett had a knack for gunsmithing. Ultimately, Thetford left his pistol with the victims, asking that Mr. Winslett do some repair work on the trigger. On June 4, 2010, Thetford, posing as “Agent Russ” sent the Winsletts an email indicating an arrest had been made and he would enter them into a victim compensation program.
Over the course of several following months, the Winsletts had trouble maintaining contact with Agent Russ, and began to doubt he was an actual FBI Agent. The FBI began to track Thetford’s travel to and from South Dakota between May 25 and May 29, 2010. Around November 16, 2011, federal search warrants were obtained for Thetford’s home in Alabaster, Alabama. Numerous items of evidence were found, including fake FBI badges, fake military credentials, fake credentials for surgeons, fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniforms and credentials, pepper spray, handcuffs, computers, and molds and materials to make other law enforcement badges and credentials.
Thetford was tracked over three days and arrested on November 19, 2011, after he fled on foot from pursuing FBI agents through a rural wooded area known as Confederate Memorial Park in Alabama. After his arrest, Thetford sent a letter to a family member asking the family member to track down a laptop computer that he did not want law enforcement authorities to find. The laptop computer and other computer media seized from his home connected Thetford to a plot to defraud the Winsletts by illegally transferring their Alabama real estate and other property and assets to himself and his land surveying business. Thetford unlawfully used fake notary credentials to make transfer paperwork look legitimate. Thetford’s associate testified at trial that Thetford wanted to take and sell the victim’s Alabama property, so Thetford traveled to South Dakota in May of 2010 to investigate the victims and determine if they had plans to come back to Alabama.
Though incarcerated on other Alabama charges, around February 13, 2013, Thetford sent a letter to the Winsletts that served to threaten and intimidate the victims. The letter sought to have the Winsletts stop cooperating with law enforcement authorities and withhold testimony. A superseding Indictment alleging Witness Tampering was obtained in March 2014.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Pierre FBI office, the Birmingham, Alabama FBI office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the FBI’s Science and Technology Branch Investigative Analysis Unit, and other local law enforcement agencies in Alabama. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for January 5, 2015. Thetford was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.